STAMPING SUPPLIES FOR SALE

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Don't be gawking! I know your room looks like this too?! I've been in this chair all day, for the last few days! Hopefully before the week is up, I will be back to show you a sneak peak of my craft show goodies! So sad, a 7 ft. table and all I've got to work on is a 12x12 inch CM cutting mat! I've got most of my clear stamp sets stacked neatly in the wooden case holders (IKEA), but the stack of clear ones you see, just beyond the mess of red buttons, are my favorite PTI sets that I use an array of and mix and match the sets. I'm not even going to attempt to explain the rest of the "mess", I like to think of it as "creative chaos"...kwim?

Happy Crafting!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Sweet Birthday Girl...

As I made my weekly trip (like you visit the grocery store weekly, this is my weakness!) to Michael's a few days ago, I picked up this cute set by Hero Arts. This set is a trio of sweet little girls. The card was started with the intention of using all three images, but I decided just one would do because of the pattern on the printed paper. You see, I cut my papers to have the card open left to right, now it is top to bottom! Slick, aren't I? Not really, just wasn't thinking when I started! SEE! I told you she was ca-ute! I used very light copic for the skin tone, but she looks like she blends in with the kraft cs here. Added a few rhinestones, matte layers, and a big puffy bow. The patterned paper is from Sweet Shoppe. Don't those candies remind you of Mike & Ike's Tropical Blend? They are very glittery!
While I've been hunkering down and stocking up for this craft show, my little ones love to peek in as well! This would be my 4 year old Addison who is making a bookmark with the PTI bookmark die. Now, she cannot crank this Cuttlebug alone, but her big sis Gracie (6) was helping her along...she snuck out of the pic too quick! I would give you all a sneak peak of the rest of my studio, but I wouldn't want you all to "assume" I keep the rest of my home is such disarray! Besides, a clean room is the sign of a lazy crafter right? Happy Monday!



Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Baby Banner Cards...

ETA: For my dear friend Michelle and anyone else who might be interested, the letters on the banner are from the Storybook-Cricut Cartridge. I found mine on clearance at Wal-mart several months back...I'm not sure if they even carry it anymore? Punch on the card is UPPER CREST by Fiskars.


It's been a while since I've had a request for a banner, but this one is for a baby shower and then will later be displayed in the baby's room. The only requirement for the banner is that it be in a black/bubblegum pink/lime green combo.
Once I had my design determined, I just started an assembly line with stamping and embellishments. Each card matte measures 5x7 and then each top matte is a 1/4 inch smaller to allow for each border to pop in color. The background here is Damask Designs with hot pink dot accents.
I used my Cricut Expressions to cut the letters out in pink and black. Now, I had all this put together but something felt like it was missing. The black letters just weren't as defined as I'd liked them to be, so I got this crazy idea to hand draw a dotted border! Tedious?!! YES!! But so worth it! I LOVE IT! I also received my new Tag Die from Papertrey Ink that was "die-ing" to be used! Also dusted off A Little Argyle for the background.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Simple Love...

A simple love to share. These are still a spin-off from last weeks sketch...see what I mean by not always sticking to the exact sketch? You can come up with a dozen more sketches from the original. I'm trying to keep in mind that wives will drag their hubbies to the craft show, and I might, just *might* have a man buy a card! These are 2 separate cards, all I added was the black upper crest strip. The black strip really allowed for the "I love U" to pop out! I did add stickles glitter glue to the heart and boy is SHE sparkly! There is also a subtle glitter sparkle on the patterned paper. I would definitely say these cards are gender neutral ;).

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Happily Ever After...

Another fun card with the PTI-flower die! I used the same Julee Tilman sketch from last week, but left off the 3 circles on the bottom. I could have added something more to the bottom, but I think it would have been too much. The sentiment is also from the PTI-2nd anniversary set. If your feeling extra crafty and generous enough to share your creations, come on over the my FB page and upload your pics. It can be anything crafty, not just paper crafts! I will have the contest go through Monday, once all pics are uploaded, you will then be able to vote on the submissions. To play fair, I will not be voting, however I will make the pot sweeter by giving away a free notebook:) Just click on the link below and HAVE FUN!

JadeMingmei Designs

Monday, October 18, 2010

B.F.F.

Speaking of "BFF's", we went to a birthday party this weekend for a sweet little gal who was turning 9. I had my girls make the birthday cards and was really impressed with both of them, but my 6 year olds really stood out. Gracie showed her Daddy the card she had created...she drew the girls jumping in the bounce house and then a picture of 2 little girls (Gracie and her friend) with jersey shirts and matching party hats. Above the girls was "BFF" and her Daddy asked, "Boyfriends for Forever?" to which Gracie replied, "No Dad, it's BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, besides you said boys have cooties and I cannot date until I'm 62!" Nough said!

Speaking of BEST FRIENDS, I created a few "girlfriend" cards last week. Simple layout, but with an elegant touch. The flower die is from Papertrey ink and I can't seem to put it down!
Just flip-flopped the layout here.
I cut my cards down a little bit, so even with the overhang on the flower here, it will still fit in a standard A2 envelope.

For all you cyber girlfriends who follow my blog and for those blogs I follow for inspiration, here is a BIG THANK YOU to all of you! I enjoy your comments and some of you are quite witty and keep me in stitches...especially Lynn...a recent comment on a card said it was the "BEST EVER!"...seriously, because I've seen some "BEST EVER" cards and they are NOT mine! I may have mentioned this before, but I did work at Hallmark about 10 years ago while I was in college. While on the clock, I'd go sneak off and look at all the pretty cards and crafty stuff the store carried. Unfortunately, I never really took home a paycheck because I recycled it back into the store!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Wreath Project...

ps...there is a new post, just scroll on down!

While I was on this wreath kick, I wanted to share this link from Jen del Muro...who would have thought (besides Martha!) you could make something so fabulous from cup cake wrappers?!

Check THIS out!