The Craft Sale

Last year my sister and I were talking about how it would be kind of fun to put a table in at a craft sale. The more we talked about it, the more excited we got about it. So much so that we actually decided to do it. And then for the next 6 months we did more talking about it then sewing. The lists we made were very impressive! I think the biggest problem was that we didn't know where to start. We didn't know what people would be looking for, or even if they would like our stuff. But as the day drew closer we stopped worrying about it and got to work, otherwise our table would have been pretty empty!

For the most part, we stuck with what we knew - baby blankets! My sister made other baby related items such as car seat covers, toy giraffes, and receiving blankets. I made a couple of simple card table playhouses, fleece throws and bags. We also made bath salts (they were a big hit!), sugar scrub and recipe-in-a-jar mixes.

On Pintrest I saw a picture of a strawberry purse, and it didn't look too complicated, so I drew up a pattern, and made a few.

I had the purple fish fleece throw that I made a while back, and I made another one in blue. I also made a couple more ladybugs. I love these throws! I recently came across a few more fleece throw patterns and I hinted to my husband that perhaps they would make a good Christmas present!

I really wanted to make some card table playhouses because I think they are so great. My kids love the one in our basement. As a matter of fact I tried to take it down the other day to clean up the basement and my almost 2 year old daughter wouldn't let me! I wouldn't have had time to make actual houses like I did before, so I was glad when someone (maybe my husband?) came up with the idea of using camo fabric and making forts. I happened across some pink camouflage, and then got some regular green/brown camouflage. It was definitely my husbands idea - I remember now!

I also made some hobo lunch sacks, of course! The pattern is by Gingercake and it was used with permission. My mom told me that my littlest sister wanted one for her birthday, so she got to pick her's first.

And here are the other ones - sorry about the awful picture! I was in a rush!

And some tote bags. These are so handy!

I also sold the three baby blankets I made in the spring.

It sure didn't seem like I had much stuff, but when put together with my sister's stuff then tables sure filled up fast!

The craft sale was a month ago, and it was Thursday to Saturday. We discovered 3 days was a little long for a small city. (Especially when you are sitting beside the arcade games with the repetitive music!) They first day was the busiest, the next 2 were quite a bit slower. Overall we did really well, considering we had no idea what we were doing! Some things that we were sure would sell didn't, and other things that we were positive wouldn't sell did, so I guess you never know. You just have to wait for the right person to come by. We were very happy with how our crafts went over. It definitely was a confidence builder. We received so many nice comments - one lady actually said our sewing skills were "magnificent"! I wouldn't go that far, but we did have nice stuff! And a little different from the rest of the tables, which I think helped draw people in.


Would we do it again? Probably, but if we did I think we would try to find a one day sale, perhaps in a busier center and see if that would make a difference. And start preparing a little sooner!

Lunch Bag

I've thought about making myself a lunch kit for quite a few years now. I actually stated one when I was in grade 12, but didn't like it so I never completely finished it. Several years later, I was surprised to find one of my brothers using it for his school lunches. Even if it was ugly and didn't close, I guess it still worked!

I started looking around for patterns and the best one I found was this one by Virginia at Gingercake Patterns. It was exactly what I was looking for. I wasn't too keen on spending $8 on a pattern for such a simple project, but I had attempted to make my own once already and it didn't turn out so well! And I really liked this one!

I bought one of those pre-cut bundles of coordinating fabric from Walmart, sat down one evening and sewed it up.

In the end I'm glad I bought the pattern, it is cute, easy to follow and it turned out how it was supposed to! And now I have an awesome lunch bag, and the pattern to make more for my family! No more paper bags in this house!

Christmas Presents

With all the cross stitching I was doing, I didn't have a lot extra time to make other Christmas presents. I did, however, want to make a set of bags for my mom and my mother-in-law. Luckily they don't take too long to make so I was able to get them done. I think these are so handy! Hopefully they will find a use for them!

One of these days I'm going to make some for myself!

Beach Bags!

I've had this Butterick pattern for a couple years now and I finally got around to making it! Part of the struggle was finding canvas I liked! I checked at Fabricland and they only had solid colours. Turns out Walmart had just what I was looking for. I haven't bought any fabric at Walmart since they got rid of their bolt fabric. It was a very sad day for me when they removed their cutting tables. It was my main reason for going to Walmart! Now they only sell pre-cut fabric and the selection never changes. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to find they had a nice selection of canvas.

I haven't used this one yet since I didn't have the contrast fabric in the right colour. I should be able to get 2 medium size bags out of one bolt.

Here are the bags I did make!

I didn't use the fusible interfacing, so the sides aren't stiff. They are so perfect for going to the park, or beach, or grocery store, or anywhere!

I need to make some more! So handy and so much cuter then the ugly Extra Foods bags I have! :)