New Product Line - Key Fobs

Any sewer will tell you that wasting fabric is a sin. Maybe not a major one etched on a tablet, but it ranks up there with letting the water run while you brush your teeth.

So, despite the fact that I have honed my skill to purchase only the amount of fabric I need, and I have fine-tuned my cutting layout to maximize use of fabric, I am still left with remnants. They're small remnants, but it's still waste.

I make bookmarks with the leftover fabric, which uses most of it. But I'm still left with narrow strips of fabric, and nothing to do with it. I know it's not much to throw out, but I can't help but think that there's something I could be making with it. I've been racking my creative brain, but haven't come up with anything.

Then a friend sent me an idea: key chains.

Key chains? Hmmmmm...

I sketched out a few ideas, and after three discarded concepts, I came up with this:

I Googled key rings and found several distributors that sell them for a song (which may not be such a good deal, since I can't sing). Buying them in bulk will cost less than a penny each. And since Canadian pennies will no longer be minted, this means they are free, making Contessa Key Rings a pure profit endeavour.

I have a few craft shows over the summer, so I'll make a few and see how they sell. If things work out, Urban Contessa will have a new product line.

I may have to give my friend a lifetime supply of key rings to thank her for this idea.

DRCC Spring Fling 2012

Today's craft show with The Durham Region Crafter's Community was so much fun! I saw friends I haven't seen in a while and made new friends with other crafters.

I'm still working on my table display, but I was pretty happy with this one. A few vendors had some creative set-ups, which got me thinking about making a few changes.

But, in the meantime...

Cutting Up

The countdown is on. Less than a week before The Durham Region Crafters Community Spring Fling.

I needed to add to my placemat inventory. So I slipped over to Fabricland today and bought a beautiful selection of fabric. I spent the day cutting them up, and now I have a lovely pile of fabric waiting to be sewn.

I also had fabric that I had previously purchased for tote bags. I cut those up, too.

This also means I have a lot of leftover fabric, which I will use for bookmarks. Which means I still have a lot of cutting to do.

sigh

Low Sales but Good Food

I am often asked how I set up my table for craft shows. It's different every time. I've been doing this for a few years now, but I still don't feel like I've found my groove yet. I see other people's tables and think, hey, that's a great idea. But then, their product is so much different than mine, and it doesn't work. Recently, I added baskets to my display. I'll see how those work for a while. I'll probably change it up again.

At this weekend's sale, I started with this:

Yes. That's a Starbucks coffee. Leave me alone. I have an addiction.

It's not often you have round tables at a craft show. The first time I purchased a table for this show, I was taken by surprise. And it took me a lot of time to set up my table because it completely threw me off balance.

But now, I can set up in about thirty minutes.

The empty storage bins are now stacked and covered with a drop sheet to create a make-shift table. You'll notice the Starbucks latte has a new home.

Sadly, today's craft show was not as profitable as it has been in the past. Shandell and I have done this show twice a year for four years now. As the only vendor who sells home décor, I always do very well.

Not this time.

I think it's because the weather was so nice. In the past, the Hungarian Spring Sale has been well-attended. But the weather has always been too cool to be outside. This year, it was absolutely gorgeous out. The sun was shining, the sky was cloudless and it was practically shorts and t-shirt weather.

I admit, I was a little jealous of the people who didn't come to our sale and stayed outside.

I'm not too upset about the lack of sales. I did, after all, make enough to pay for my table. They say if you can make your table fee, you're doing okay.

To be honest, Shandell and I don't attend this craft show for the sales. It's all about the food. Lunch is included in our table fee.

Home-made cabbage rolls and four different home-made pastries. That, my friends, is worth the price of a table.

New Stash

I haven't had much luck finding cute patterns at Fabricland or quilt shops. In the past, I've stocked up at Joann Fabric in the States. But we haven't been south of the border in a while, and I've run out of fabric.

So, I spent several hours at the Creativ Festival today.  The mission: to purchase fabric for the pockets of my Tooth Fairy Pillows. Dragged my husband with me. What a trooper! The boy walked behind me, carried bolts of fabric and handfuls of fat quarters. He even scoped out several fabulous patterns.

I came home with this, which should keep be going until the next Creativ Festival, in October:

I do have a few favourites...


Hello Fabric!

And who doesn't love Minnie?

It's difficult to see, but there are sparkles tacked onto the fabric. Oooo! Shiny!!

Chris found this. Dr. Seuss was my favourite when I was little.

I was told that the stars glow in the dark. How cool is that?!

I have a craft show tomorrow in Oshawa, but Sunday I'll be cutting out all this fabric. I can't wait!

Craft Shows

I have a few busy weeks coming up.

This Saturday, April 28, 2012, I'll be at the Hungarian Culture Club in Oshawa.

If you don't come to purchase some beautiful home decor for the woman in your life (Mother's Day is May 13, don't forget!), at least stop by for the most delicious cabbage rolls you've ever tasted!

The following Saturday...May 5...we're at the Ajax Community Centre, at the Durham Region Crafters Community Spring Fling. This is an organization created by my fellow crafting buddy, Shandell Conboy. You should go check out our blog.

Visit the events page at our website for addresses for each of these events. Hope to see you there!

Basket is Done

Phew! It's been crazy around here. But today, I finally got some projects done.

First on the agenda was shortening and hemming a set of sheers for a client.

Next, I shortened the handles on a tote bag. A client asked me to shorten them, since she never carries the bag over her shoulder. With the shorter handles, the pretty fabric won't drag on the ground.

Last--and definitely not least--I finished the ring-bearer basket.



The MOB had a pretty pink dove that she wanted to clip onto the handle. Pink is the bride's colour (for the bridesmaids, not her dress, of course). I found some ribbon that comes close to the same colour. It's a little sharper than the bird, but this way it will be visible as the ringbearer walks down the aisle.



Picture the rings tied at the end of the ribbons.

At first, I thought it would be nice to have them hanging, but then I realized that, no matter how much you tried to hold the basket steady, the rings would still swing back and forth. And since it's the bride's niece that will carry the basket down the aisle, and we all know that little girls don't just walk...they skip...I thought it would be best to have a long ribbon so the rings rested on the pillow.

I hope the bride likes it.



I want to congratulate, Kim and Mike, on their upcoming wedding. I wish you a blessed marriage filled with love and laughter.