Trades

I love the tradeaholics! I just did some fab trades with a few of my friends from our group! I got some gifts but can't post the shops because I don't want these people to know!...

So I got this great necklace from Sparkle Garden












I got apple butter, pumpkin butter and mixed berry jam from First Fruit & Flynn Orchard









Got this great mug from alexmmr









Got these great pendants from artrageous clay












And this isn't everything I got, but I just didn't want to make this post a mile long! More to come later!

Craft Fairs / Festivals

I was finally able to attend my first festival October 1-4 this year. I was nervous and excited and had no idea what to expect. Where I live people are more into primitive, country style items and I was scared I would be too "modern" for this audience! I definitely got some mixed reviews! Some people loved my work and said I charged too little while others literally would gasp in front of me and roll their eyes when I would tell them my prices. All in all though, I think I did pretty well. And if I say so myself, I think my booth looked adorable!

Here are some tips for you first timers:

• Bring $1s
• Bring a calculator and receipts (good for customers and lets you know what and how much you sold)
• Bring too many business cards (I ran out, how embarrassing!)
• Bring bags, small and large!
  
• Bring water to keep hydrated and food in case you can't leave the booth
• Bring some stuff you can work on at the fair - keeps you busy, gets customers curious and lets you make more inventory!
• Make friends with the people next to you so you can take a potty break and can have them watch your booth for you
• Bring a variety of items, you never know what people will be interested in!
• Vary your display height. Keep things interesting to get people into your booth!
  
• Dress in layers. You never know when you'll be hot or cold!
  
• Don't get discouraged by the people who snob handmade! I've had people literally gasp at me when I would tell them my prices because 2 booths over a lady was selling imported Chinese bags for half my prices. Others though loved my stuff and told me I charged to little
• Be friendly and always talk to your customers, therefore be prepared for a sore throat after!
  

What do you do during or to prepare for your fairs/festivals?

And the winner is...

Number 92! And that would be Delilah!

Thanks to all of those who participated in the giveaway! Sorry for posting this so late, but I was moving and was not able to get into blogger! Delilah already received her bag and says she loves it! Hope to see some of you again at the next giveaway!

Testing out Fellow Estian Products

So, I adore Picnic Basket Craft's shop. I had a couple items custom formulated for my skin and let me tell you, they are my favorite products to date. They are also affordable for a college student like me!

She sometimes has people try out items that she's planning to put in her shop. I always volunteer, as I love to try out new products that I could see myself potentially buying. It's great because I can test out the product for her and see for myself if it works the way I'd like it to before I commit to buying. (I also just want to say I really appreciate her sending out these samples for all her testers - postage isn't cheap these days!)

I tried out a cream for her about a month ago and the latest is a solid laundry stain bar. It is made of just a few all natural ingredients, which is what I'm aiming for in my home. I do not have any kids so I don't have grass stains or food stains, but I do have grease and 'mystery' stains that somehow appear on my clothing. I tried the stain remover on two of my tops that have become sleeping shirts because they had two mystery grease/oil stains on them (probably from cooking.) One of the shirts, the stain came completely out. The second shirt's stain is not as visible, but it's still partially there. I think I'm going to treat it again and see if it completely disappears this time.

All in all, I think this is a great product. Other stain removers (commercial) obviously didn't take these stains out nor did my regular detergent so for an all natural one to get it out is saying something! I am slowly but surely switching all my cleaners to natural, and this will definitely be something that I'll be adding to the regime.

EDIT: I laundered the one shirt where the stain was still slightly visible again and the stain came completely out. And the same day that I wrote this post, I got butter on one of my shirts while baking. I applied the stain bar and laundered it as usual and the stain came completely out!

The Lucja Day Bag Giveaway!

I've participated in many giveaways this summer, and although I have not won a thing, I think it's still nice to give back! So now you, my lovely blog readers, will have a chance to win the wonderful Lucja Day Bag! This bag is made from Michael Miller fabric, lined in black cotton, interfaced with heavyweight interfacing and closes with a magnetic snap. It's a great bag for day/night transitions. Here is how to enter:

• Leave a comment about a like and/or dislike about my shop or a particular item in my shop.
• Remember to leave your email address or some way for me to contact you if you win!
  

To get bonus entries you can do one or more of the following:

• Add yourself as a facebook fan and post another comment saying that you did
  
• Follow me on twitter and post another comment with your user name
  
• Tweet about this post with @nitelily3 and post another comment saying that you did
  
• Blog about this post and post another comment with the link of the post
• Heart my shop on etsy and leave a comment with your username
  

This is open to anyone in the world :) I how how much it sucked to be abroad and not be able to enter contests! The giveaway ends July 27th and a winner will be chosen by a random number generator.

Sample Sales and Clearance

Maybe you've wondered what sample sales were and if clearance means the item is bad/defective/etc. Maybe you know exactly what it is and take a jump at the great deals you can find! Either way, I'll explain what each is and what they entail.

Sample sales are usually with clothing, shoes and accessories. They are when a designer makes one or two of a particular item and sells them at a deeply discounted price because they were the 'firsts' that were made. They usually do not have blemishes or anything of the sort, they were just made and the creator decides that they want to change the design a bit or improve on something. That is the case with me. Sometimes I'll make something and decide that I want it a little bigger or smaller, to add or take out a snap or to add more interfacing in some places. That's what happened with the July Day Bag and the Dorota Bag.

Clearance is when something has been around a little bit in a shop or a whole new style of that item came out and the designer wants to get rid of it quickly to make room for the new version. It's not that it's bad, just that a pocket that may have trademarked an item was moved and now it is the new style of the season like my Jane All Day Tote.

My advice is if you see Sample Sale or Clearance anywhere, go shop there first! You could find exactly what you are looking for at great prices!

A real business?

I have finished one online class and am now on my second one. Got an A in the first class, but this second one, the professor seems to be a stickler. But we'll see...

So, I really need to get my business going and start marketing and promoting it. I have to write a real business plan and get things in gear. I'd love it if I could have a steady source of income, even if it wouldn't be enough to pay the bills, but at least pay for my etsy addiction lol. Anyone have advice on this or some tips? I have the summer to do this, so it'd really be the perfect time to get the ball rolling for real!