My Craft Store Extravaganza!

For some people, going into a local craft store is a treat that is equal to enjoying a picnic, a sporting event, or a much needed get-away from the stresses and strains of a hectic lifestyle. Such places are bright with colors, ideas and designs that never fail to bring a smile to even the most busy people.

Major businesses such as Michael's, Jo-Ann's, Hobby Lobby or A.C. Moore stores provide a wealth of possibilities and supplies for any sort of project ideas that will keep your hands and thoughts busy for the entire year. Whether you like to design floral arrangements, paint, knit or scrapbook, a craft store will have the supplies you need.

Many smaller communities also have their own version of the larger stores, and will carry items that the big ones don't, while other carry only selective items that are the most popular at any given moment. Whether you shop at a huge national store or a small, local one in your town, a craft store is the first place to shop when you have a particular project in mind. Whether you're making a quilt or knitting a sweater for junior, visit your local stores first for ideas and products that will make your job easier.

Some stores cater to specific needs, such as painting, yarns or beads and stones. Larger cities often have more than one store, which makes completing any project a snap for locals, while smaller communities are more limited in their offerings.

However, the Internet makes shopping at any craft store as easy as clicking your mouse. In fact, more people today are ordering their supplies from stores on the Internet to take advantage of more competitive pricing, product offerings, as well as the ability to shop globally.

When looking for a local store that will suit your needs, it's a good idea to visit them to see what kinds and amounts of items they carry and to determine whether their employees are knowledgeable, friendly and willing to answer questions or provide suggestions when it comes to help or ideas. Check and compare pricing as well, as they will vary.

Sometimes, people will choose a particular craft store to support and utilize and refuse to visit any others. Such loyalty is nice, but may prevent a customer from benefiting from additional ideas, supplies and opportunities. Try to find at least two or three store offerings in your area that will cater to several craft supply needs, the most common of which are yarns, scrapbooking and fabrics.

Even if you don't need any particular types of supplies, it's fun to venture into a craft store once in a while just to get an idea of what people are doing and creating. Especially around the holidays, visiting a craft store can provide a myriad of ideas and projects that will help to create lasting memories that are designed and created with love and provide plenty of enjoyment for years to come.

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 store.

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

Christmas Craft Ideas

Christmas is a fun time of year, a busy time of year, and a bumper craft sales season! You can never start planning too early, and each year you'll find you improve your results from the previous year as you get more experience.

Christmas Craft Ideas - Where To Sell Your Crafts

There are so many opportunities out there for holiday season sales, here are a few Christmas craft sales ideas:

Christmas Fairs & Markets - Do an internet search using your local search engine, and stock up on your local print media to check what's being advertised in your area. Book early! If you're too late to book for this year, put your name on the list for next year.

Retailers - Find out about the promotions at your local mall, and ask your local convenience store if you can rent a small space to display your crafts.

Charities and Fundraising Events - These are usually well supported by the community, find out what's taking place near you.

Home Party Sales - Christmas is also a good sales period for this type of selling, so arrange your own parties or ask someone you know who does home party selling to take your crafts along.

Door to Door - Offer the kids in your neighborhood a commission for any of your crafts they can sell for extra pocket money.

Christmas Craft Ideas - Best Selling Crafts

Seasonal events like Christmas present great opportunities for fun craft items and new product ideas!

Decorations and ornaments are an obvious idea, and a good one, especially if you can come up with something really unique and creative.

Gift hampers with different themes are great, especially if you can create a clever package for men because they can be quite difficult to buy gifts for.

Offer discounts on some of your items that sell well throughout the year to boost your Christmas sales, or sell it for the same or a little more but with an extra item packaged with it.

For more free craft business info and resources, visit Craft Business Home.com - the free guide on how to turn your craft into a profitable home business!

The Craft of Crochet

The early development of the craft of crochet is linked to the imitation of lace and lace making.

The word crochet comes from the French ‘croche’ or ‘croc’ meaning to hook.

In the 16th century nuns taught the craft to their students and it became a recognised accomplishment of a high-born lady. Crochet was considered to be suitable only for the rich with the poorer people having knitted items.

In the 1840s crochet instructions began to be published and so crochet became more popular. Before this time crochet had been handed down through families with each generation passing on the skills.

Many older patterns contained just a picture with just a few of the more complicated sections explained, as a consequence you were expected to work from the picture for the majority of the pattern!

Irish crochet is often considered to be crocheting at its highest expression and is done with the finest thread and hooks in intricate patterns, usually displaying a motif of leaves or flowers set in an open web-like background.

When trying to imitate lace very fine threads and hooks were used but nowadays it is more usual to use soft yarns to produce clothing, home furnishings and wall displays.

How to Crochet

When you begin to crochet you start with a slip stitch on a hook. However, unlike knitting, crochet uses this single starting loop to work a row of individual chain stitches. So each new loop is formed by catching the yarn and drawing it through the previous loop.

Then you work back along this series of chain stitches, each new stitch being looped through a stitch in the previous row.

Each stitch is completed when only a single loop remains on your crochet hook, and then the next stitch is worked. Although this may sound complicated in practise it is very easy to do.

By using various combinations of stitches it is possible to create a variety of textures and patterns. These combinations can have descriptive names such as pineapple and popcorn as well as the more usual chain, double, and treble.

An Ideal Craft for the Busy Person

Crochet can be done with the minimum amount of equipment and mess, and is very quick to tidy away.

This makes crochet an ideal craft to do when you’re travelling. There is only your yarn and a crochet hook, and possibly a crochet pattern, to carry. If you drop a stitch or make a mistake it is easy to pull the work back to a ‘correct’ single loop and restart from there.

Crochet Pattern e-books

Crochet pattern e-books are great value and very convenient. You can print out just the instructions for the pattern you are making.

This allows you to have only a page or two for your pattern and you do not need to carry a whole crochet book.

If the pages you’ve printed get damaged or lost it is easy to print the pattern again from the e-book allowing you to complete your project.

Crochet is an interesting hobby. You can crochet straight forward items almost immediately and once you’ve mastered the basics you can go onto the more complicated patterns when you fancy a challenge.

Catherine Calder sells crochet instruction videos that are ideal for beginners. These computer video files show the basic crochet stitches and all the stages to crocheting your first Granny Square. Visit http://www.learnanddo.com/crochet.asp