Good morning ya'll! We are just getting back in from a trip to GA to visit my twin sister and family. The drive took longer than expected, but well worth it! I only wish my family lived closer and we could see each other more often. I hope each and every one of you had a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving.
While I'm in the midst of cleaning up the tornado (crafting room) I've created over the last few weeks, I've got a few leftovers posted on JadeMingmei Designs over at Facebook. Prices are listed, but do not include shipping charges. If you are here locally and would like to arrange a pick up, I'd be happy to help. Paypal payment is preferred. If you're interested in purchasing some goodies, please contact me at: madscrapper24@yahoo.com before you purchase.
Any other questions or inquiries can also be sent to the above address.
Thanks again,
Dawn ;)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Craft Show Came And Went...I SURVIVED!
I never got around last week to sharing my candy post, so I hope this picture heavy post will do! I spent almost every free moment tying up loose ends, changing displays, and filling space! The craft show was this past weekend and it turned out to be a wonderful experience. Even though I have crafted for years, I would have never had the courage to tackle a big craft show such as this one if it were not for my family and friends...I love ALL of you...even my cyber friends...you know who you are!
I kept the set up rather simple and cozy. It almost felt a little like home. Finally made a banner for me! The design is very simple and I can count on all my fingers and toes the amount of people who asked, "are you trying to spell something?" Yes, why yes I am....lol! Because I said it many times over at the show, for those of you who many not know, JadeMingmei is a combination of both of my Daughter's middle names...Addison Jade and Catherine Grace-Mingmei (Ming-may). I have always said many moons ago, whatever my company name was, it would be a family affair ;).
The card spinner. The cards were not my best seller, but it was interesting to see how they were purchased. I had several customers who only purchased 1 card, and then several who purchased 6 or more cards. And believe it or not, we live in a HUGE military town and I'll be darned if I didn't sell 1 single Marine Corps card!! I suppose they were looking for something different and non-military. I have a nice stash now. The altered mailboxes and box purse were sold. 
Candy loot and fruit stand. The candy was a HUGE hit and I sold out almost all of it. The nugget boxes sold out...sold the 3 nugget boxes for 2.00 each and 6 nugget for 3.00. The Christmas tags and floral tags were a sell out as well.
I have to tell you something funny about these close pins. I had them posted 2 for 1.oo and they were not selling! My sweet friend Donnak ran the booth with me and she says, "Why don't you put a lunch sack in the basket with the close pins to close the sack and sell them for 1.00 a piece!" She was genius and they sold like hotcakes! People need visuals and the close pins alone were not getting the job done...have plenty of samples of what you can do with these. One customer purchased several of these and mentioned she would be using them on pies she'd be gifting over the holidays...CLEVER!
These gift card holders were THE HIT! Who knew?! I sold out on Saturday, and then half the stock again on Sunday. These were sold for 2.oo each.
A little liquid pearls to create my creme ;)
I'm pretty proud of this peg board! Took a little elbow grease on my part to put it together. The peg board is the smallest sized one at Lowe's for $4.92 and I also used 2, 2x4's ($1.77 each) for the back supports and feet. After I used the hand saw and screwed in the supports, I used 2 cans of black spray paint to cover the raw boards. This is by far the cheapest way to display your items. What kills the bargain price is all the pegs you have to buy. I originally had my post-it pads in baskets, but I think in the end, having them displayed as such, made them more appealing and you didn't have to flip thru the baskets. The Fall close pins were also a big hit along with the Fall tags. The only thing I failed at with the tags, was not having made Christmas tags in this size. Many requests, but none to offer :(
Sunday Morning! Day 2 of the show. I took down my fruit stand since the mini tags had sold, and I moved the candy up top. I kept plenty of business cards on the table and I saw folks pick them up by the handfuls...hopefully the are getting passed around or maybe they wanted to be creative and build pyramids with them?! Let your imagination wander ;)
I would like to share a few things I learned from my first show. When there was downtime (lots on the 2nd day!) I was doing A LOT of observing not only on the crowd, but the booths as well. You don't have to spend a lot of money to make your booth presentable, you see I just used fabric, an inexpensive banner and a smile! Also, get up and out of your booth! Be approachable, asks questions, and engage your customers. Even for myself, I've shopped at craft shows for many years and I was much less likely to shop at a booth where there was no interaction from the vendor. I even went around to the booths where I saw heavy traffic and asked for some friendly advice. Here is what I was offered and I think it is valuable information: have something for the kids at your booth (mine was the candy, unintentionally!), because who follows behind the kids? Their PARENTS! Have a HIT item! This was my first show, so I had no way of knowing it was going the be the gift cards. People will look for you every year in search of your HIT item and bring their friends and buy more etc. This particular lady made body scrubbies...she's made them for years and had 200 at the start of her show...she went home with only a small handful left over! Most importantly, HAVE FUN! Several customers were stampers as well and we'd chat about some of our favorite stamps, websites, and projects. Overall, this was a very good first experience and I would do it again! There is still quite a loot leftover and I will be posting some goodies for purchase on FB over at JadeMingmei Designs. Items will not be posted until after the holiday :)
I kept the set up rather simple and cozy. It almost felt a little like home. Finally made a banner for me! The design is very simple and I can count on all my fingers and toes the amount of people who asked, "are you trying to spell something?" Yes, why yes I am....lol! Because I said it many times over at the show, for those of you who many not know, JadeMingmei is a combination of both of my Daughter's middle names...Addison Jade and Catherine Grace-Mingmei (Ming-may). I have always said many moons ago, whatever my company name was, it would be a family affair ;).
The card spinner. The cards were not my best seller, but it was interesting to see how they were purchased. I had several customers who only purchased 1 card, and then several who purchased 6 or more cards. And believe it or not, we live in a HUGE military town and I'll be darned if I didn't sell 1 single Marine Corps card!! I suppose they were looking for something different and non-military. I have a nice stash now. The altered mailboxes and box purse were sold. 
Candy loot and fruit stand. The candy was a HUGE hit and I sold out almost all of it. The nugget boxes sold out...sold the 3 nugget boxes for 2.00 each and 6 nugget for 3.00. The Christmas tags and floral tags were a sell out as well.
I have to tell you something funny about these close pins. I had them posted 2 for 1.oo and they were not selling! My sweet friend Donnak ran the booth with me and she says, "Why don't you put a lunch sack in the basket with the close pins to close the sack and sell them for 1.00 a piece!" She was genius and they sold like hotcakes! People need visuals and the close pins alone were not getting the job done...have plenty of samples of what you can do with these. One customer purchased several of these and mentioned she would be using them on pies she'd be gifting over the holidays...CLEVER!
These gift card holders were THE HIT! Who knew?! I sold out on Saturday, and then half the stock again on Sunday. These were sold for 2.oo each.
A little liquid pearls to create my creme ;)
I'm pretty proud of this peg board! Took a little elbow grease on my part to put it together. The peg board is the smallest sized one at Lowe's for $4.92 and I also used 2, 2x4's ($1.77 each) for the back supports and feet. After I used the hand saw and screwed in the supports, I used 2 cans of black spray paint to cover the raw boards. This is by far the cheapest way to display your items. What kills the bargain price is all the pegs you have to buy. I originally had my post-it pads in baskets, but I think in the end, having them displayed as such, made them more appealing and you didn't have to flip thru the baskets. The Fall close pins were also a big hit along with the Fall tags. The only thing I failed at with the tags, was not having made Christmas tags in this size. Many requests, but none to offer :(
Sunday Morning! Day 2 of the show. I took down my fruit stand since the mini tags had sold, and I moved the candy up top. I kept plenty of business cards on the table and I saw folks pick them up by the handfuls...hopefully the are getting passed around or maybe they wanted to be creative and build pyramids with them?! Let your imagination wander ;)
I would like to share a few things I learned from my first show. When there was downtime (lots on the 2nd day!) I was doing A LOT of observing not only on the crowd, but the booths as well. You don't have to spend a lot of money to make your booth presentable, you see I just used fabric, an inexpensive banner and a smile! Also, get up and out of your booth! Be approachable, asks questions, and engage your customers. Even for myself, I've shopped at craft shows for many years and I was much less likely to shop at a booth where there was no interaction from the vendor. I even went around to the booths where I saw heavy traffic and asked for some friendly advice. Here is what I was offered and I think it is valuable information: have something for the kids at your booth (mine was the candy, unintentionally!), because who follows behind the kids? Their PARENTS! Have a HIT item! This was my first show, so I had no way of knowing it was going the be the gift cards. People will look for you every year in search of your HIT item and bring their friends and buy more etc. This particular lady made body scrubbies...she's made them for years and had 200 at the start of her show...she went home with only a small handful left over! Most importantly, HAVE FUN! Several customers were stampers as well and we'd chat about some of our favorite stamps, websites, and projects. Overall, this was a very good first experience and I would do it again! There is still quite a loot leftover and I will be posting some goodies for purchase on FB over at JadeMingmei Designs. Items will not be posted until after the holiday :)
Monday, November 15, 2010
Craft Show Goodies Part 6...
Notebooks GALORE! You know, this weekend I packaged up a lot of completed projects and put them in the baskets I plan to use on my craft table. As I got to looking around, I realized the majority of things I have created are ALL notebooks of some kind. I didn't intend for this to happen, but I'm hoping to finish up this week with some other new goodies. The craft show is this weekend...eeeek! CRUNCH TIME! I hope all of you had a wonderful Veteran's Weekend. I'm a little biased, but I couldn't help overload with the Marine Corps notebooks. 
I know it looks like I went crazy with the Kraft cs here, but only the notebook base is Kraft, the other Kraft "looking" cs is actually brushed gold. There are 6 of these notebooks, 3 in blue rhinestones, and 3 in clear.
Dontcha just wanna squeeeeeeeze this little doll?! 
Crystal effects to make happy heart more desirable ;)
Mini-tag notebooks...I will be selling these for 5.00 each.
Now these mini-tag notebooks will not be at the craft show! But I did make these up for some dear neighbor friends and decided to post them all together. The "D" is mine...all these years in crafting and I finally made something for myself! I use this notebook for passwords and supply lists.
More post-it pads in NEW colors!
WHEW! That's a lot of work! This week is going to be very busy, but I plan to share some more things before I off like a headless chicken! Stay tuned for my next post....I will be sharing the candy goodies for sale! Happy Monday!
I know it looks like I went crazy with the Kraft cs here, but only the notebook base is Kraft, the other Kraft "looking" cs is actually brushed gold. There are 6 of these notebooks, 3 in blue rhinestones, and 3 in clear.
Dontcha just wanna squeeeeeeeze this little doll?! 
Crystal effects to make happy heart more desirable ;)
Mini-tag notebooks...I will be selling these for 5.00 each.
Now these mini-tag notebooks will not be at the craft show! But I did make these up for some dear neighbor friends and decided to post them all together. The "D" is mine...all these years in crafting and I finally made something for myself! I use this notebook for passwords and supply lists.
More post-it pads in NEW colors!
WHEW! That's a lot of work! This week is going to be very busy, but I plan to share some more things before I off like a headless chicken! Stay tuned for my next post....I will be sharing the candy goodies for sale! Happy Monday!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Craft Show Goodies Part 5...
Fluff and Stuff! My oldest Daughter uses this phrase when she has a stuffed animal with a hole, she always says, "Mommy, you think you can fix his FLUFF AND STUFF?" Definitely fitting for today's post. I actually whipped all these up yesterday...yes, I'm running behind!
I borrowed this snowman (Unity Stamp Co.) from my dear friend Donnak! She is just as passionate about paper crafting as I am. Although you can't tell from the photo, I embossed the snowman with super fine white powder against SU! blue cs...he's stunning! I made a shaker frame and added some "fluff" courtesy of Martha Stewart. The mini snowflakes are inked in shimmer blue and have ice blue rhinestone centers. I will be selling my notebooks for 10-12 depending on what supplies I used.
Made a few more shaker frames and turned them into cards. These will retail for $4.00 each. 
Got a little heavy here with the snow fluff! A little glare can be seen via my faux snow globe glass.
This is the BIG jar of snow fluff I picked up last year. I think these large jars normally retail for 10ish? I bought this for $2.00 on clearance...well worth the price! This stuff really is FUN!
I thought I'd include a pic of the stamp I use to advertise on all my projects. You can purchase it HERE on Etsy. Now, I know in my last post I mentioned that I use this on ALL my projects, but I will mention that I do not put this on the items I create for the kids school projects etc. I also did not use it on the recent tags I posted...had I stamped the back of those, you could not write on the back of them. This stamps still works fabulously...even after inking it up over and over! I never even clean it!
I borrowed this snowman (Unity Stamp Co.) from my dear friend Donnak! She is just as passionate about paper crafting as I am. Although you can't tell from the photo, I embossed the snowman with super fine white powder against SU! blue cs...he's stunning! I made a shaker frame and added some "fluff" courtesy of Martha Stewart. The mini snowflakes are inked in shimmer blue and have ice blue rhinestone centers. I will be selling my notebooks for 10-12 depending on what supplies I used.
Made a few more shaker frames and turned them into cards. These will retail for $4.00 each. 
Got a little heavy here with the snow fluff! A little glare can be seen via my faux snow globe glass.
This is the BIG jar of snow fluff I picked up last year. I think these large jars normally retail for 10ish? I bought this for $2.00 on clearance...well worth the price! This stuff really is FUN!
I thought I'd include a pic of the stamp I use to advertise on all my projects. You can purchase it HERE on Etsy. Now, I know in my last post I mentioned that I use this on ALL my projects, but I will mention that I do not put this on the items I create for the kids school projects etc. I also did not use it on the recent tags I posted...had I stamped the back of those, you could not write on the back of them. This stamps still works fabulously...even after inking it up over and over! I never even clean it!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Craft Show Goodies Part 4...
I'm not going to touch base too much on the pictures today, but I do want to address some inquiries I've had on pricing my items etc. Just to clarify, this too is also my first time to do a craft fair, most orders I do are custom and from the comforts of my own home. I think when it comes to pricing, you really need to NOT undersell your products and be confident in your work. Trust me, it took me a VERY long time to learn this. When I first started selling my items, I was practically giving them away...which is not always a bad thing, a friend will tell a friend will tell etc. These are just a few tips I've learned over the years and I will be glad to share them!
1. In general pricing- take the cost of your supplies, double it, then add a little extra for labor. More elaborate projects will require more labor, therefore adding more to the cost of your items.
2. Look at the market you are selling to. Do you live in a large city vs. small town? Do you sell your items to a mom and pop shop vs. boutique? Higher priced areas= a higher price for your goods! I don't sell any items as "sets", I've never tried, but individual cards sell great! If you do sets, you will need to include an insert if all the cards in the set are different...otherwise I would think people would want to open the packages to see what all the cards looked like?
3. If you are selling out of state or far enough that your items will require shipping...CHARGE for shipping! Now there are always exceptions to the rule! I do occasionally offer free shipping if it is a frequent customer, or if they have ordered over a certain amount. It's a nice way to thank them for their business and keeps them coming back. I also try to include a free gift from time to time. The free gift can include a card, post-it pad etc. Whatever I have on hand!
4. Brand yourself- this is as simple as signing or stamping the back of your items. I have a small 1x1 circle stamp and I use it on just about everything I create (the link is from the store I received mine from-Stamp It Out-on Etsy). The stamp contains my full name and blog address. This is a great way to advertise yourself because you never know who will receive your card, and for me, it has turned out to be return business...almost like free advertising!
I hope this has helped those of you have asked, and maybe those of you who didn't, but were curious. While I'm putting up the craft show posts, I will go back and add to the previous ones, what I will be selling those items for. Whatever I don't sell I will most likely sell here on the blog. You will see I still have my Etsy shop up, but there are not items in there currently. I'm not anti-Etsy, but I had a really hard time overcharging on there just to make up for all the extra fees they charge. I'm not saying I won't use it again, but I much rather prefer selling my items straight to the customer vs. having to incur extra charges when I can save the customer!
Tags, tags, and MORE tags! I added this pic of the fruit stand in my previous post but forgot to mention it. I picked this stand up at Target in the kitchen section. Although a little pricey at 16.00, I justified it by telling myself I could actually use it for other things then just craft show items. There was another stand I had initially decided on, but the "plates" inside were round and I much rather prefer that the plates on this one are flat. I also picked up some matching baskets at Wal-mart for only 3 bucks! I will share those at a later date!
Tags that are more elaborate will sell for 1.00, those less elaborate will be 2 for 1. I'm not SET in the pricing of all my tags just yet, so this could change...I've still got 2 weeks to decide!
1. In general pricing- take the cost of your supplies, double it, then add a little extra for labor. More elaborate projects will require more labor, therefore adding more to the cost of your items.
2. Look at the market you are selling to. Do you live in a large city vs. small town? Do you sell your items to a mom and pop shop vs. boutique? Higher priced areas= a higher price for your goods! I don't sell any items as "sets", I've never tried, but individual cards sell great! If you do sets, you will need to include an insert if all the cards in the set are different...otherwise I would think people would want to open the packages to see what all the cards looked like?
3. If you are selling out of state or far enough that your items will require shipping...CHARGE for shipping! Now there are always exceptions to the rule! I do occasionally offer free shipping if it is a frequent customer, or if they have ordered over a certain amount. It's a nice way to thank them for their business and keeps them coming back. I also try to include a free gift from time to time. The free gift can include a card, post-it pad etc. Whatever I have on hand!
4. Brand yourself- this is as simple as signing or stamping the back of your items. I have a small 1x1 circle stamp and I use it on just about everything I create (the link is from the store I received mine from-Stamp It Out-on Etsy). The stamp contains my full name and blog address. This is a great way to advertise yourself because you never know who will receive your card, and for me, it has turned out to be return business...almost like free advertising!
I hope this has helped those of you have asked, and maybe those of you who didn't, but were curious. While I'm putting up the craft show posts, I will go back and add to the previous ones, what I will be selling those items for. Whatever I don't sell I will most likely sell here on the blog. You will see I still have my Etsy shop up, but there are not items in there currently. I'm not anti-Etsy, but I had a really hard time overcharging on there just to make up for all the extra fees they charge. I'm not saying I won't use it again, but I much rather prefer selling my items straight to the customer vs. having to incur extra charges when I can save the customer!
Tags, tags, and MORE tags! I added this pic of the fruit stand in my previous post but forgot to mention it. I picked this stand up at Target in the kitchen section. Although a little pricey at 16.00, I justified it by telling myself I could actually use it for other things then just craft show items. There was another stand I had initially decided on, but the "plates" inside were round and I much rather prefer that the plates on this one are flat. I also picked up some matching baskets at Wal-mart for only 3 bucks! I will share those at a later date!
Tags that are more elaborate will sell for 1.00, those less elaborate will be 2 for 1. I'm not SET in the pricing of all my tags just yet, so this could change...I've still got 2 weeks to decide!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Craft Show Goodies Part 3...
Simple, quick, and easy! I can't even tell you how much I LOVE this tag die from PTI. This die makes all of your holiday gift labeling a cinch! Most, if not all of the tags were created with a kraft base and when I wanted to add the patterend paper, I cut another full die of the patterned paper and cut down the middle to fit. Make sense? If not, I would be happy to do a tutorial ;)
I've made a recent winter card with these adhesive snowflakes and when I'm done with all these tags, I will have used the entire stock! Remember what I said earlier about not buying any extra supplies for this craft show?!!! I can't even tell you when I bought these, but at minimum 3 years ago!
Love this candy cane ribbon! This ribbon is available at Mike's in their new holiday dept.
LOTS of buttons! The buttons are still from my current stock...great way to use up those supplies girls!
I've made a recent winter card with these adhesive snowflakes and when I'm done with all these tags, I will have used the entire stock! Remember what I said earlier about not buying any extra supplies for this craft show?!!! I can't even tell you when I bought these, but at minimum 3 years ago!
Love this candy cane ribbon! This ribbon is available at Mike's in their new holiday dept.
LOTS of buttons! The buttons are still from my current stock...great way to use up those supplies girls!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Craft Show Goodies Part 2...
More BRIGHT notepads! I'm not usually a fan of bright colors when I'm creating, but lately I've jumped out of my comfort zone. The bright color combos were brought on when I opened my new package of Concord Crush CS from SU! It has just a slight hint of purple with a very deep shade of navy blend. It goes perfect with Pixie Pink, Lime Green, and Yo-Yo Yellow.
The flowers are cut from my PTI die and then I went back and stamped versamark polka dots over the flowers. Stamp set is Take Note.
You will see a trend of polka dots and BUTTONS...lots and lots of BUTTONS! Since I'm mass producing, I didn't want to go over the top with embellishments, so buttons are an inexpensive alternative to adding texture. I have not gone out and bought anything extra (other than display containers) for this craft show. I'm trying my best to use all the supplies I have on hand. I've been able to use up a majority of scraps here and then added some flair with the PTI star die.
Another blend of Concord Crush and Pixie Pink! Love that new color!
A little sneak peek at the tags I will be selling. I will share more details on displays and tags in my next post!
The flowers are cut from my PTI die and then I went back and stamped versamark polka dots over the flowers. Stamp set is Take Note.
You will see a trend of polka dots and BUTTONS...lots and lots of BUTTONS! Since I'm mass producing, I didn't want to go over the top with embellishments, so buttons are an inexpensive alternative to adding texture. I have not gone out and bought anything extra (other than display containers) for this craft show. I'm trying my best to use all the supplies I have on hand. I've been able to use up a majority of scraps here and then added some flair with the PTI star die.
Another blend of Concord Crush and Pixie Pink! Love that new color!
A little sneak peek at the tags I will be selling. I will share more details on displays and tags in my next post!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Craft Show Goodies Part 1...
YEAH! Some fun stuff to share. I'm giving my fingers a little rest (other than typing this!) and thought now would be a great time to share some goodies I'm making for the upcoming craft show. I will have a number of items for sale and I've made sure to make extras with patriotic designs since we are military and the show is also held on a military installation. For you Marine families out there who are local and want to swing by the craft show it will be held Nov. 20-21 at O'club aboard Camp Lejuene. Saturday, Nov. 20 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Nov. 21 from noon-4 p.m. 
Post-it pads made with my favorite Verve Set-American Hero. These post-it pads will retail for $3.00 each.
My favorite PTI Set-Take Note. I normally use this set on my large notebooks until my sweet friend Elizabeth sent me THIS link on Kerry's Paper Crafts.
Some of you may recognize this OLD SU! paper. The only thing extra I added here were 2 little flowers and rhinestone centers.
Now, these two little gals are the rest of what I already had made up from a recent bday card I posted. Both girls were going to go on that card, but they just weren't working with the design I had in mind. VOILA...light bulb moment! I think these pads would be prefect for little girls along with "BFF" in place of the sentiment! If I can get my alpha's lined up just right, I may just try it!
I will have more post-it pads to share in my next post so stay tuned! I'm off to see what other messes I can make!
Post-it pads made with my favorite Verve Set-American Hero. These post-it pads will retail for $3.00 each.
My favorite PTI Set-Take Note. I normally use this set on my large notebooks until my sweet friend Elizabeth sent me THIS link on Kerry's Paper Crafts.
Some of you may recognize this OLD SU! paper. The only thing extra I added here were 2 little flowers and rhinestone centers.
Now, these two little gals are the rest of what I already had made up from a recent bday card I posted. Both girls were going to go on that card, but they just weren't working with the design I had in mind. VOILA...light bulb moment! I think these pads would be prefect for little girls along with "BFF" in place of the sentiment! If I can get my alpha's lined up just right, I may just try it!
I will have more post-it pads to share in my next post so stay tuned! I'm off to see what other messes I can make!
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