Locating Local Craft Shows

It's that time of year again! The weather is warm and craft shows are starting to be scheduled. Are you ready to start looking for events?

We all know how profitable a craft show can be. Offline events are perfect for getting the word out about your business and making new contacts. What could be better than hundreds of shoppers walking right up to you and saying hello?

The most difficult part of a craft show is actually locating them before all the tables are booked. If you have never attended an event before, be prepared to spend several shows stuffed in the very back at a last minute table. Many of us start out like this, but as soon as you get on "the lists", your table location WILL be better.

The following idea for locating events is brand new, and given to us by a "neighbor" at our last craft show. While chatting with her, she pulls out a book and asked if we had this. It was titled "Iowa Calendar of Events", and was FULL of events for all over the state. Granted there were many events that do not accept vendors (theater dates, car shows, etc), but the list of shows that did accept vendors was amazing. All events were listed by date, complete with location and contact information. Perfect!

While this information might have been great for us being in Iowa, you might ask what good does it do for the rest of you in different states. I'll tell you - this booklet was free from our travel information website. All we had to do is go online and request a free copy. Iowa has a very limited amount of sights to see, yet we still have a travel website. This to me says other states have the same kind of information on website or with local offices.

There's a few ways to find out if your state has information like this:

- Check your state website
Often times the travel and event information will be right on your government website.

- Search online
Use terms like "travel" or "tourism" with your state to see if there's a specific website.

- Local offices
If all else fails, contact your state government offices to see if anything in print is offered.

Even in a small state like Iowa, we were able to find a list that will keep us booked every month for the entire craft fair season. Once you have your information, the easy part is contacting those on the list. Easy!

About the Authors: Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank are two busy wahms, and the owners of Direct Sales Helpers. For more Direct Sales Success Tips, visit: http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/newsletter.html

The Benefits Of Craft Fairs

Craft fairs provide some of the cheapest, and most fun, entertainment every Saturday in parks across America, as well as precursors to various holidays, especially the Christmas shopping season.

Craft fairs provide an opportunity for sellers as well as shoppers, and is a place to see the season's best in decorating trends, new products and inexpensive and unique gifts to purchase for yourself, your home or for presenting to others for birthdays, parties and holidays.

In many towns across America, fairs are huge events, with hundreds of booths set up for people to display their crafts and creations. Many times, fairs also offer foods, drinks and bake sales as well, a great time to enjoy tasting and filling up on confections that tempt the senses.

Craft fairs are an American tradition that serves to bring crafters and buyers together under the open sky or a gymnasium roof, though location doesn't really matter when it comes to one of these events. Kids, and adults of all ages flock to them even if they're not intending to buy anything in particular. It's an event that brings smiles and excitement to everyone and allows the sharing of ideas and creativity.

You can find a myriad of things at craft fairs, and the bulk of items offered are homemade. You can find everything from quilts to dolls to homemade soaps and candles as well as candy, wall decor and clothing to wood and metal sculptures and designs. Such a fair also displays items knitted, crocheted, pieced or woven, and the sky is the limit to the number of unique and thoroughly delightful products that proud men and women fondly display at each individual craft booth.

Craft fairs aren't only for women, and more and more men are not only attending these events, but also creating products for sale at national fairs. If you want to sell your own items, make sure you know the rules and obtain an application that can oftentimes be found at the local city Chamber of Commerce, the sponsor of the craft fair or local craft stores.

Craft fairs can be a profit-enhancing endeavor for many, but be aware that fees for setting up booths can also take a big chunk out of your profits. Make sure that you have enough items to make your booth worth the effort. Don't try to sell your crafts at a flea market or swap meet, as you'll more than likely lose money. Stay away from festivals as well, as your products will be an afterthought and not the main attraction.

Be aware that booth fees may range from single digit prices to hundreds, even thousands of dollars, depending on location, sponsor and type of craft show that is being advertised. Always read the fine print if you're considering paying for booth space and if possible, ask around for advice from veteran craft fair participants. Whether your selling or buying or just window-shopping, craft fairs provide plenty of entertainment and opportunities for both.

For more information on crafts, try visiting http://www.craftguidance.com - a website that specializes in providing craft related tips, advice and resources to include information on craft fairs.

3 Essentials in Planning a Craft Presentation

Going on the road with your craft gives you a chance to share your skills with others. Planning the event well will give you confidence and help to 'sell' yourself.

Before you get there it's essential that you do a little homework.

1. Who are your audience?

The organisation that engaged you will be your first step in planning your presentation

When will you start and what is likely to be their state of mind as they listen to you? How long have you got to sock it to them? What are they expecting from you?

Many's the time I've been 'on' after a group of ladies have finished lunch or had a chat. My preference, if I have the opportunity, is to talk to people at the start of their meeting rather than after all the meeting paperwork. If I come on after they've talked about the paraphernalia of their group's ins and outs then I may not be the main thing on their mind.

Talking first means that their minds are not full of any other information (that I know about) and I can get straight on with things.

It helps to have some idea of what they want from you in terms of the level of presentation. The most important factor is some indication of how long they want you to 'speak' for.

When I say speak, I really mean 'perform' because if you just speak you'll lose them. In your planning you need to think how to wow them with only sensory stuff. Don't just rely on the voice. Go for the other senses too. Include things to touch and look at if appropriate. It'll also take their eyes off you.

2. What are their interests?

Do you know what their interests are? Do you know their abilities and levels of skill in your area?

It may seem basic, but knowing something about the audience's level of skills will help you to pitch your 'performance' more accurately. If they are professionals they will expect a certain level from you.

If they are a general interest group then be general. If you don't know, ask. It will help in your planning.

3. What do you know about the venue?

How long will it take you to get there? What equipment might you need to take? What about light, and the position of the chairs? Do they have the table space and covering that you need? Can you park nearby?

I always plan out timings to the venue carefully and leave plenty of time to set up. Look at a route map, check the route and add on time for other eventualities (filling up with petrol).

You may have decided to take other equipment with you: projectors, PC's etc. Find out what you can reasonably expect to be there already (but does it work?). Ask about the light in the room. It's important that they can see you well enough and you can see them (well the whites of their eyes anyway!).

I once had to set up behind grouped chairs. The audience faced away from me to begin with, listening to their Chairman and then at the appointed hour, 50 or so chairs scrapped the floor and turned their full attention 180 degrees to face me and my table. Both scary and comical!

Finally, if you are carrying heavy boxes it's important that you can park nearby to save your back. Think about taking a trolley of some sort to help you as you can't rely of assistance.

At one venue a lady sent to help me most certainly couldn't have lifted anything. If in doubt, be prepared to do it all!

They are basic ideas but they'll help get you on the road to success. Don't forget that you'll need to think about planning what you do and thinking about your resources and samples too.

Thinking a little about what they want first will help you to plan what you want out of the experience, and how you can bring both together.

Geraldine Jozefiak is passionate about crafts and their place in education. Be part of raising standards in teaching and learning by using the best possible craft instructions. http://www.the-craft-teacher.com Article Source: http://www.the-craft-teacher.com/RecentArticles/.

3 Essentials in Planning a Craft Presentation

Going on the road with your craft gives you a chance to share your skills with others. Planning the event well will give you confidence and help to 'sell' yourself.

Before you get there it's essential that you do a little homework.

1. Who are your audience?

The organisation that engaged you will be your first step in planning your presentation

When will you start and what is likely to be their state of mind as they listen to you? How long have you got to sock it to them? What are they expecting from you?

Many's the time I've been 'on' after a group of ladies have finished lunch or had a chat. My preference, if I have the opportunity, is to talk to people at the start of their meeting rather than after all the meeting paperwork. If I come on after they've talked about the paraphernalia of their group's ins and outs then I may not be the main thing on their mind.

Talking first means that their minds are not full of any other information (that I know about) and I can get straight on with things.

It helps to have some idea of what they want from you in terms of the level of presentation. The most important factor is some indication of how long they want you to 'speak' for.

When I say speak, I really mean 'perform' because if you just speak you'll lose them. In your planning you need to think how to wow them with only sensory stuff. Don't just rely on the voice. Go for the other senses too. Include things to touch and look at if appropriate. It'll also take their eyes off you.

2. What are their interests?

Do you know what their interests are? Do you know their abilities and levels of skill in your area?

It may seem basic, but knowing something about the audience's level of skills will help you to pitch your 'performance' more accurately. If they are professionals they will expect a certain level from you.

If they are a general interest group then be general. If you don't know, ask. It will help in your planning.

3. What do you know about the venue?

How long will it take you to get there? What equipment might you need to take? What about light, and the position of the chairs? Do they have the table space and covering that you need? Can you park nearby?

I always plan out timings to the venue carefully and leave plenty of time to set up. Look at a route map, check the route and add on time for other eventualities (filling up with petrol).

You may have decided to take other equipment with you: projectors, PC's etc. Find out what you can reasonably expect to be there already (but does it work?). Ask about the light in the room. It's important that they can see you well enough and you can see them (well the whites of their eyes anyway!).

I once had to set up behind grouped chairs. The audience faced away from me to begin with, listening to their Chairman and then at the appointed hour, 50 or so chairs scrapped the floor and turned their full attention 180 degrees to face me and my table. Both scary and comical!

Finally, if you are carrying heavy boxes it's important that you can park nearby to save your back. Think about taking a trolley of some sort to help you as you can't rely of assistance.

At one venue a lady sent to help me most certainly couldn't have lifted anything. If in doubt, be prepared to do it all!

They are basic ideas but they'll help get you on the road to success. Don't forget that you'll need to think about planning what you do and thinking about your resources and samples too.

Thinking a little about what they want first will help you to plan what you want out of the experience, and how you can bring both together.

Geraldine Jozefiak is passionate about crafts and their place in education. Be part of raising standards in teaching and learning by using the best possible craft instructions. http://www.the-craft-teacher.com Article Source: http://www.the-craft-teacher.com/RecentArticles/.

How to Craft a Garden Scrapbook

Garden scrapbooks can present a natural feeling when the audience is reading your storybook. Flowers are one of the popular natural-based elements that many people cherish. You can store flowers in a scrapbook to craft a garden style creation. To start you will need a dried flower. Compress the flower placing it into your scrapbook pocket, such as the memorabilia. Next, glue, tape, etc, the flower so that it is sticking on the page securely. You may have seen flowers preserved in bibles. The process in scrapbooks is similar, only you want to stick the flowers so that it does not fall out.

How to craft flowers for scrap booking:

You can use corsages, bouquets, or the colored part of the flower to craft your garden scrapbook. The compressed and dried flowers should be in a straight line, added to your scrapbook page, and smoothly seated near your photographs. The dry flowers and compressed flowers should be laminated with Xyron, or any acid-free product .

The season of fall is the best time to pluck materials to make up a garden scrapbook. As you make up your garden scrapbook consider title page, captions, journal, lettering, photos, plant species, headings and more.

If you are adding fall leaves to your scrapbook, you may want to visit a copy shop. You will need to place the leaves in a sealed container when transferring the leaves. The leaves with depreciate over time if the steps are not followed. You can add the leaves at your title page to start your garden scrapbook.

Snap a few pictures, If you are making up a scrapbook to present your garden, and make up a blueprint. The blueprint should include each detail of your garden. Following, you can add a journal to let your friends and family know how you invented your garden.

When to take photos: Spring, summer, winter, and fall provides the best opportunity to take photos of your garden. Each season provides you a variety of colors, shades, texture, blooms, etc. Once you snap the shots add them to your garden scrapbook. In addition, you can cut and paste extra pictures from magazine or books based on your garden theme and add them to your scrapbook. Also, you can add tips beside your pictures to help your family and friend learn.

During the seasons, you want to document your gardens activities as well as your own to create a genealogy, and history of your scrapbook. Record detail specifics to help your audience learn from your efforts. During the summer, record the blooms so that when winter comes you can look back on your success. When the blooms start to grow, you may want to snap photos so that you can add to your scrapbook. Try crafting your scrapbook in a chronological order so that your book tells the story you want to portray to the audience. Some people add special rocks to their scrapbook. If you decide to add, rocks try to find the small, flat rocks. The thicker, bulk rocks will only interrupt your scrapbook.

Flowers are beautiful inside scrapbooks. The flowers that set off garden scrapbooks include roses of all colors, daffodils, tulips, crocuses, and so on. Still, if you add flowers to your scrapbook you want to use petals that harmonize with your theme. For instance, if you are crafting a summer page, then use colorful flower copies. If you are crafting a fall theme, then use the flowers that flow in harmony with your theme.

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The Craft of Candle Making

Candle makers know that candles are a welcome addition to our daily dealings. This knowledge has transformed the candle making business into a multi-billion dollar industry, with big wigs like Yankee Candle Company pounding out product, small independent businesses like Kingston Candles in New Hampshire following suit, and thousands of men and women making candles from their home.

The inception of candle making is hard to trace. In ancient Egypt, candles were regularly made using beeswax in 3000 B.C. In places like China and Japan, whale fat was used for candle making. Fat from cows and sheep were used for candle making in Europe during the middle-ages. It wasn’t until 1790 that a method not involving animals, or their by-products, was used. Waxy molds—specifically called paraffin, which was derived from coal—were used for candle manufacturing with the help of a machine that could produce more than a thousand candles an hour.

Paraffin wax is the primary ingredient used in candle making today. The wax is melted down, poured into the shape of the candle mold that is desired, with the wick is placed inside. This is not exactly a detailed explanation of the process, but it is, in essence, the way in which it is done (a fully-formed candle can take several days to complete between the warming and cooling of the candle; some steps involved in making the candle can’t be done until it is completely cooled). This relatively easy process of candle making is garnering not only enjoyment for the crafty among us, but a great deal of money for the entrepreneurial among us. And for those who are really crafty and want to add their own special zip to their product, candles spiced with marbled colors, bi-colors, tri-colors as well as draping layers add a special flare that the ancient Greeks and Chinese could only dream about.

For more information go to http://www.infostormpublishing.com/ebooks/?bk=35