Well, I must be doing a craft fair in t-minus 3 days because my anxiety is through the roof this morning. I was worried that maybe I won't sell anything for about a week now, but now I'm worrying that maybe I'll get really sick the day before. I'm also worried that maybe they're will be a terrible earthquake while I'm there. Not to mention I'm afraid that I invested too much money in this and that I'll be stuck with a ton of work that won't sell. All things that sound a little ridiculous as I am typing.

Ugh. I know I'm not alone in these feelings. I know that I'm only feeling this way because I'm nervous about the upcoming show.

I've been making sure to indulge in self care the past couple of days. I've been going to the gym, going to yoga and last night I gave myself a facial and drank a ton of chamomile tea.

 I'm also going to continue to stay active, going to yoga and the gym. I'm hoping to get a couple of good runs in over the next few days too. I'm also going to try to remember to breathe and stay present. These are the best things that I can do for myself over the next few days. Wish me luck!

It's a really busy time of year for most of us. My blogging has become pretty non-existent so far this month. I've been getting ready for one of the only Crafty Wonderland, one of the only craft fairs that I do every year. This will be my 5th year and I still don't feel like I know what I'm doing.

I think one of the hardest things to figure out when doing a craft fair is how much inventory to bring. I've gotten accustomed to trying to write down what I sell at each craft fair. It doesn't always work out. Sometimes things are so busy you barely have time to do math in your head while trying to pack up customer's orders. The best you can do is quickly jot down the amount of the sale you made so you can tally it up later.
I do my best to write down a little note about what I sold so I can look back the following year to see what sold. That way I can be sure to bring that item, or multiples of that item, with me. I think this year my plan is to take an inventory of what I'm bringing with me to Crafty, then taking an inventory of what I have left after. That way I can be really sure on what I sold and how much.


It never fails that no matter how prepared I feel, there is always several things that I don't think will sell that end up being my best sellers. I guess the only way to prepare for this is to bring lots of everything.

Behind the scenes!

There are also a lot of things that I have to remember to bring that aren't related to product items at all.

This list includes:
Snacks
Water
Mints
Aspirin ( I never know when a headache will strike and having one at a busy craft fair is no fun.)
Tape
Scissors
Pins
Lots of change in all denominations
Credit Card reader
Pens
Markers
Pencils
A Notepad for writing your sales down
Business card (I didn't bring any one year because I didn't think I would need them and that was a huge mistake. People LOVE business cards, even if they end up throwing them away.)

Doing a mock set up at home is ALWAYS a good idea.

Some other things to consider when doing a craft fair is display ideas. I was really luck to get the acrylic holders from where I used to work. You can also build your own out of wood, use old suitcases or search online. They are pretty expensive. If you're lucky to live in Portland, you can always visit Portland StoreFixtures. I love Portland Store Fixtures. They carry used fixtures and they also carry things like paper bags and tissue paper.

I really want to revamp my display for my next craft fair. So I'll be looking into finding some new cloth material, new displays, maybe a couple of new card racks and I'd love to add a more professional banner.

Well, these are just a few tips. If you have any you'd like to share, please leave a comment in the comments section!

If you're doing a craft fair this holiday season, good luck to you! :)

It's here! One of the few sales I do in my Etsy shop has arrived! From now until Monday at midnight, my entire shop is 35% off. I'm also offering free shipping on prints! Hooray!

My next sale won't be until March of 2016 so now is the time to scoop up those original illustrations and stock up on cards!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Nate and I did. It was relaxing and fun and I'm sad it's over. However, I am looking forward to Christmas :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Chloe and Nate. My little family <3

Whoa. It just came up on me with such a quickness. Thanksgiving is the week!! How did that even happen?!

And so begins the holiday season. I love this time of year, but like a lot of people, it can sometimes be kind of a difficult time of year. Growing up, my mom always made the holidays seem magical. She really went all out. It was the time of the year that she really shined. She would decorate and make cookies with us. My parents were really amazing when it came to Santa too. They would set things up so special, they really made it seem like he existed. Even when we got to be too old to "believe" in him.

Remembering all those times is bittersweet. It makes me miss my parents and what it was like to be a kid. It makes me wish that we had a better relationship with each other. It also makes me wish that we lived closer to family members. It's a happy time of year and I wish that we were closer to family to help share that.

But, we both live far away from our family and working in retail doesn't really allow you much time off this during this time of year. So we stay here in our small cozy home, just the two of us.

I try to make the best of it by creating a festive and cheery atmosphere. Lights and a tree and I even attempt to bake things! They don't always turn out well, but sometimes it makes the house smell nice! We give presents and see friends and this year we're even going to watch the tree lightening ceremony downtown with friends.

So even though this time of year is sometimes hard, I still look forward to it. Even if it is the two of us, we have each other (plus Chloe), and that in itself is really wonderful.

I hope everyone has a really wonderful week. Stay tuned for my special weekend sale coming up!

I haven't been ignoring my blog this week, I promise. After what happened in Paris on Friday I just wasn't really sure what to write about. I felt silly writing about the work I was making and I just couldn't seem to write anything about the attacks that I felt okay about.

It's a complicated subject and the complications are such that they will most likely never be solved. What happened was a tragedy and a nightmare. The attacks in Lebanon and Beirut were also horrific. I have no words to say that will help with either events.

I just don't understand. I don't understand how people can be so unwilling to forgive, let go and to be willing to kill for what they believe is right. I just can't comprehend that. Be angry, be upset, be whatever it is that makes you feel, but why kill? Why take people's lives? It just makes no sense to me.

Maybe it's because I'm a white American girl that I don't understand.

Anyway, I had written 3 blog posts on this subject and none of them felt like they really held up to all of the sadness and confusion that I feel, and I'm sure many other people feel as well.

I'm just a white American lady, without any answers or true insight, but I know that my heart hurt when I heard about Paris. My heart continues to hurt for the Syrian refugees and the Muslim people, who don't wish any harm on anyone, but are being shunned regardless.

After 9/11, like the day after, I was driving to work, stuck in traffic, listening to the radio and John Lennon's "Imagine" started playing. It's such a fitting song for all days, but especially after such tragic losses. Sometimes the works, and words, of writers and artists, are the best things for me to turn to when events like this happen.

art by Carye Bye

Bat!