Where's Waldo?

Not THAT Waldo.....Waldo, FL!

Waldo is a little town with a pretty BIG Flea Market about an hour north of Ocala, and is one of two designated 'speed traps' in the state. No, I did NOT get a ticket! My hubby warned me before I left, so I made sure to set my cruise control just under the speed limit as soon as I entered Waldo. I've never had a ticket (knock wood) and don't plan on getting one :)

It was a beautiful day for the Country & Clogging Festival, although quite breezy. We were lucky to get a booth near the stage, and the cloggers were fabulous! They performed several times throughout the day.

A lady played guitar and sang a counrtyish acoustic version of AC/DC's 'You Shook Me All Night Long' Whoaaaaa! It was pretty good though! Would you be surprised that I DO know the lyrics? lol.

There were plenty of food vendors and concession stands, but I brought my own food and beverages for Laci and I.... like boiled eggs, carrot and celery sticks, red pepper strips, cucumber spears....you get the idea. Healthy munchies! But, oh! There were plenty of things to tempt me, but I only bought fudge for hubs....a few different kinds. But I wanted the bread and pastries one vendor had. They looked wonderful! Things you would find in a really decadent pastry shop/bakery. But I refrained from taking part in the delicious art... of divine turnovers, croissants, pies, and tarts. But it wasn't easy! I could SEE her booth from mine!

My setup was different this time. I was in an open air building, building B towards the front. The tables were long, narrow, and tall. I ditched my rafia (which Anna called 'My Junk' LOL!!!) and flipped my sheets over to hide the snaps....and had to clamp and pin them together underneath the tables because the wind kept whipping them every which way and blowing them out into the passersby, and up and over my items! Thank God I didn't use the rafia skirts!!!!

The day before the show I put together more hang tags to fit more items in this display, as I knew I would only have 2 tables.

They are now arranged according to price/and category.

Bracelets and fan pulls have been added, as I had to eliminate my bracelet board....BUT had I thought about it (cause it just occurred to me...I SHOULD have stood it over at the end by the pole to hang my hair things on!) BUT I was so disoriented by having to do everything differently, that my setup was not the best I've done. I do LOVE this display and the handstamped shell hang cards, though!

I *thought* I brought my extra zip bags, but I didn't.

I have a LOT of things in my booth that aren't listed in my shop yet, but will be soon.

Do you see anything new? :D

I didn't sell a darn thing! (sigh)

But, these were next to us, so I thought of Diane from Lavender Dreams, and also thought of all of you!

What made it totally worth it was our Dear Anna from Harvest Village was there, not far from us! And we did laugh about her calling my rafia 'my junk'. I said... MY JUNK????? Whatdya mean MY JUNK? My Rafia???? LOLOLOLOL! What she said was...."You didn't put your junk around your tables". LOL!

And the ladies with the rag dolls and quilts (Patsy & Laurie) were really nice, too. We had several hours to get acquainted. And they sold a couple of quilts, and something else....a bear, I think.

I was so happy to have Laci with me, she is always great company, even though she has gotten sick EVERY craft show EXCEPT the one when she didn't drink the frappacino. NOW WE KNOW WHY she has BARFED every time....except the ONE time she forgot to bring them. No more frappacino's!

Maybe a little TMI, but hey, it was part of our day, lol!

I'm looking for other places to go to craft shows, but will be back at Harvest Village on Feb 2nd. I have some flyers to pass out, and some errands to run today, and then it's back to listing, taking pictures, and listing.....until I get all those new items in my shop :)

Sooooooo, what did you see on my tables that is new?
Annnnnnnd, do you have any ideas to make better displays for headbands, or anything else?

Your input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for hanging out for this LOOOOOOOONG and wordy post!

The Craft Show

Hello and Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a splendid weekend!

I know you are all wondering how the craft show went. It was a complete BUST. But that's ok! We got out, got some fresh air, met some nice ladies, and my daughter Laci and I got to spend the day together :)

There was an art festival in Gainesville, and that is where everyone was on Saturday. The vendors at Harvest Village mingled, and had plenty of time to talk and check out each others booths.

Laci had her own booth this time, too!

You should see what my girl can do with yarn!

This is a small sample of her talents. She makes the neatest catnip toys, kids toys, and play food, too!

Things like this cheeseburger take a LOT of time, and I wish I had a close up of her tiny cupcake necklace. So cute! By the next show she wants to have some of her other items finished. Between working full time, roller derby practice, household chores, and her big 92 pound boxer boy, she doesn't have much spare time to crochet. I think she did a great job on her booth!

I made a few changes to my booth....

I have 3 tables now, pulled them all forward a couple of feet, and hung my sign front and center.

This is what I did for my hair barrettes on the net. It's tied to the canopy frame....

and the card holders hang from big earring hooks that I attached to the net.

Using the same cards that I stamped with my tiny shell stamp gives my bracelets a nice handmade packaged look.

I have enough rings for another ring holder, the flat kind with slots. Any ideas on a bookmark display?

Everything else is pretty much the same. You can see that I had trouble with the rafia skirts pulling the table cloth forward, no matter how much weight is on it, they pull, and they aren't that heavy so back to the drawing board. The good thing is the snaps held it on! It wasn't falling off! I may use my canopy weights just under the backside of the table cloth to hold it in place, unless I am outdoors and it is windy.

It was VERY windy in the afternoon, and my heads and busts kept flying off the table, even after I velcro'd them down. Wind is a challenge!

The Orlando show is in 9 days, so I have 8 days to get ready, to do the final tweaks, make a few more bolo ties and anything else I want to take....and figure out how to leave room in the back seat for Kyle. 

The Orlando show is indoors! No wind! Yay!

What else can I do to have the best booth ever?

It's Show Time!

I really thought that by this date and time I would be anxious, nervous, scared, terrified.....or SOMETHING! But I'm not.

I'm EXCITED!

I'm wondering if that means that I'm actually ready for this???
I think so.

These first pictures were before I changed my mind about something.

I wanted to use this crab trap to hold the earrings. But, depending on the length of the earrings determined if they lay nicely against the wire, or if they were short they kind of swung there, and you couldn't really see them. That's why the post earrings are on the bottom. It just wasn't working.

So I went with this earring rack that I picked up on Etsy. It's not very beachy, but it works.

Kim sent me a nice velveteen ring holder, and I still might use it, but I set up my rings on a brand new pair of white flip flops that I picked up on clearance for $1.50. They are so beachy :) The tie tacks and cuff links look like toes! Hahaha!

My book of seashells to display the bookmarks works great! I've had this book since I lived in Virginia in the early 90's.

This oak and glass case is full of sterling silver and 14k gold filled items. It has a lock on it for safe keeping. (shhhh I don't plan on locking it during the show...I'll be right there)

The bracelets work great on the old wood display my hubby made! I really like this! And the tables will be closer together on Saturday. That sticky velcro gave me fits all day. It was hotter than...well, you know what on Monday and they kept coming loose. I'm going to safety pin it in place from behind until I find the time to sew some hook and eye clasps around it.

The necklace stand box pegboard display works like a charm, and I can leave the necklaces in there to transport them without getting them tangled. I've already closed it up and tested it out, and they don't tangle or fall off the hooks at all! It's the perfect depth to butt the hook fronts to the pegboard facing it when closed....they can't fall off. And I have them staggered so they don't touch.

After setting these up, I realized I had a sterling necklace on a bust. That's been changed.

I bought a couple of nets from Hobby Lobby with 40% off coupons for each one. I went a couple of times to do this....I was on that side of town anyway :)

My mirror is not for sale!

I used the other net to clip barrettes on....still playing with this, but I do like it.

I will wrap something (maybe a beach towel?) around the base of the 'head'. Right below her (her! LOL!)
is a wicker bed tray that the hair pins are on.

I wanted them on the net....and may use clothes pins to attach them to it, and use this as my packaging station. Wait til you see my bags ;)

Did you notice the oar with pegs in it? Hanging above....it has table cloth weights on it.

This picture is horizontal on my SD card....thanks blogger. Anyway..... I would love a more attractive package for these, but haven't really had a chance to think of one. This was a spur of the moment thing because I wanted to use my oar. I've had it for years.

This cute metal aqua color coral basket we picked up from Bealls on Saturday. The ceiling fan pulls are in it. And there is the crab trap, sitting lonely at the edge of my 'shop'.

By this time, the sun was in the wrong place to get a good picture of the entire set up. If I stood farther back, it was a complete glare.

So there we have it! A complete mock set up!
My sign was hanging with zip ties, but I'm picking up some thin rope, or using bungees to keep it straight.

I have almost all of my hang tags attached, just a few left to do today, and then I am hand stamping a shell on white lunch bags, and maybe hole punching around it to string some curling ribbon through them. I will wrap the items in tissue paper upon purchase, and into a cute bag they go. Unless they want to wear it right then!

Laci is making signs in my font and colors that have 'HAIR BARRETTES' ....'FAN PULLS' and so on, on them.

What do ya think???? What else should I do? Any more tips of any kind? Have I missed anything?

A big THANK YOU to my hubby for helping to make this happen!!!!! You are the best babe!