Christmas Craft Fair

On Friday I participated with my downline Ethel DeTemple in a Christmas Craft Fair at our local hospital.  The Craft Fair was a fund raiser for the United Way Campaign and was quite a lot of fun with lots of different types of vendors and activities going on for the hospital staff and customers. 

When Ethel invited me to participate I thought why not, this could be fun.  Little did I know how difficult it would be to prepare for this event with only a week lead time.  I had a lot of things on my plate and had to fit working on my projects in between all the other tasks I had on the go.  Running out of 
creative time and energy I was very thankful for all the great craft item samples on Late Night Stampers, Pinterest, Stampin' Connection and Split Coast Stampers.  I was able to find some simple and fun ideas to case.  

 

My Table Set Up:

I had a small table, thank goodness, so all my merchandise managed to cover it.  It wasn't until I began to unpack my things that I realized I'd forgotten a container that held my table cloth, price tags, scissors and other accessories and display stands.  It was too late to go home and get it, so I just went ahead and set up, and even though it wasn't a pretty setup, life went on and it still worked.  I've filed that oversight under "lessons learned" ..what happens when you rush!  LOL!

Snowmen Treats:

 

I made several bags of these snowmen and they were a big hit.  In fact I sold them faster than I expected.  These little stocking stuffers were super fast to assemble. Just click on this great video by Diane Marie Chianelli to see how quick and easy they are to make. 

The snowman shape is accomplished by punching out 6 scallop circles using the 1 3/8" scallop punch from bashful blue cardstock.  These were adhered to a wrapped peppermint pattie with glue dots.  Because I didn't have the stamp set Diane used to create the Snowman's face, I changed mine up by using Basic Rhinestones coloured with a Sharpie Marker for the eyes and mouth, and I cut out a nose from Pumpkin Pie card stock using my old large star punch (retired).  They were so cute!  

  
Snow Flake Pictures:

I used picture frames to show case the lovely new Bigz Snow Flurry Die Cut.  These simple black and white  frames were purchased from the local Dollar Store and were a great design.  I cut a 5 x 5 square of Shimmery White Card stock for the opening,embossed it with the Fancy Fan Embossing folder and then mounted a layered snowflake that was cut from Champagne and Silver Glimmer Paper.  I used large clear faceted buttons with a pearl mounted in the center for the center accent piece.  For stability I assembled all pieces using my glue gun. 

 Gingerbread Treat Jars: 

When I was at Cheryl Lefore's Stamp Club in November I spotted a cute little treat jar made by Martha Gusman for a gift exchange.  It was so dang cute, I just had to CASE it.  I changed up a few things on this one too, just to make it mine. 

 

I was lucky to find the same jars at the Dollar Store.  They were 2 for $1.25.  I filled mine with  Christmas M&Ms and Jelly Beans. The cute little mug is double cut and mounted with dimensionals, and the Gingerbread Man is from the Scentsational Season Bundle stamp set and cut out with the matching framelits. I embossed my Gingerbread Man with the Early Espresso Embossing Powder and it turned out really cute.  The mug is stamped in Real Red ink and then  embossed with Clear Embossing Powder.   The cute little Christmas Stocking is from the "Snow Much Fun" stamp set and is fussy cut by hand and coloured with Real Red and Olive Green markers.  A little glitter was added with the cherry cobbler and dazzling details glimmer adhesive. These little jars were very cute and easy to make. 

The original by Martha Gusman. 

 





 

Two Tag Snowman Candy Holder:

 

These super cute snowmen were made using the Bigz Two Tag Die Cut from Stampin' Up.  Cut two 3 x 4" pieces of Whisper White Card Stock, layer them on the tag die and run through the Big shot Machine.  Score 1/2" from the bottom of each tag and fold.  Add a small strip of sticky strip on the inside fold of one tag and then adhere the second tag fold over top of that.  The hat was made by punching out Basic Black cardstock with the Curly and Modern Label punches.  Some Whisper White ink was sponged around the Hat to give it some dimension and a small flower punched from Red Glimmer paper was added for some fun.  The eyes and belly stones are Basic Rhinestones coloured with a Black Sharpie Marker. 

 

Side View of the Chocolate Santa nestled between the two tags. 

 I also sold a number of retired stamp sets and All Occasion and Christmas Cards.