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My new friend Charidee and I have been getting together for "craft therapy" while our husbands are working long hard hours saving lives and all that. We've been making all sorts of things together and it's been a ton of fun. A couple of months ago she met a lady who makes hats and she wanted C to make flowers/bows to put on the hats so she can sell them at craft fairs. C started making a lot of other things too (baby quilts, headbands, decorative banners, etc.) and then they went in together to rent tables at craft shows in the area.
C was kind enough to invite me to join them with a few of my things. I started out with baby diaper clutches and binky clips to go along with the blankets and car-seat covers C makes and then I remembered I could make pretend make-up too and that I still had some headbands and hair bows left over from my days selling them at a salon in Chicago. So we got a bunch of our things together and made a go of it.
At the first show, after I broke even, I made a profit of a whopping $18...well, I had spent a bit to get started after all but I sold several things and the pretend makeup was a hit! Today C was signed up for another show; I couldn't go to this one but she generously offered to take some of my things for me to sell for me. This time I had only spent about $10 or $15 to get myself a few more supplies. I made more makeup and, in order to use up some of the boy fabric, I made 4 tool belts for little boys which I also filled with some (surprisingly good quality) toy tools I found at our local dollar store.
I got a text from C this morning telling me that all 4 tool belts were sold within the first hour! I was so excited!! My makeup did well again too, but the diaper clutches and binky clips weren't as popular. That's ok because I made a profit of $100!!! I've been on cloud 9 all day. It just feels so good to know that I tried something and it worked and I discovered I love making all this stuff and that other people like it and are willing to buy it from me...it's pretty cool. I love that now I have some money in my pocket that I don't feel guilty using to buy myself a little something with and that I can contribute to our family. I'm so grateful for C and all her hard work and for her being so nice to include me in her adventure of becoming an entrepreneur.
We have one more show in a couple of weeks. This one I think will be a little different as it will be at M's elementary school and is intended for the school kids to be able to come in and buy gifts for their family members, so I'm not sure what to expect or how much to price things for. I have made a few bracelets and necklaces, I still have the headbands and hair bows, and I'm going to definitely make more makeup and (if I can find any more of those cute tool sets after I bought all the store had the last time I was there) I'll see if I can make more tool belts too. Wish me luck!!
