I really enjoyed having a craft table at a venue with so many talented handmade crafters!! I chose to have a 10-foot space, which I will probably get again if I attend this craft fair next year too. I especially loved this venue because they had a central check-out. There were a lot of people shopping for handmade, unique, Christmas gifts, and this venue didn’t disappoint! I don’t have a lot of storage space at home. So, I like to choose venue’s that supply the table and chairs, which this one did. Christine and I had a nice-sized rectangular table. That is another nice aspect of this venue! We could share the table, but we had different, and separate, codes for pricing. The central check-out will credit us both separately for items that we sell. Christine made the beautiful indoor birdhouses (decoration great for on China Cabinets or dining room shelves) and the popular, as well as gorgeous, floral crowns.
I also realized that choosing a “HANDMADE only” venue made my craft table more successful. The other key ingredient is that the people came and supported the venue. The venue also attracted people who appreciated handmade items, and they taught their children to appreciate the handmade items as well.
I used plastic table coverings from Party City, but Christine recommended using a plain white color instead to bring out the colors in my crochet work. Next time, I will take that advice and choose a plain white color instead. I bought two packs of the plastic table coverings, and I cut one of the coverings to cover the 2 coolers that I brought. The coolers worked great because you can carry items in them and use them as a small table too. I used the small cooler in the front to showcase some of my favorite items. People bought a lot of the items that I set on there.
I really loved all of the craft setups, but I especially loved our craft table neighbor Jennie’s setup because she was really able to utilize the space on her table well!!! She also had a couple of hanging racks that looked really nice. I know a lot of people love “The American Girl Doll,” and you should have seen how happy the little girls were to see Jennie’s American Doll clothes. She handmade them, and they were really adorable!! Look at the picture below to see how she placed the wooden crates to really showcase her handmade products and her use of baskets too. I had one crate for my table to lift up my crochet police dog, but if I were to do it again, I would love to set my table up with more crates like she did. Jennie told me that the one thing that she would change is the direction of the table. Her table was vertical to the walking path of the customers, and she would prefer it to be horizontal like mine was. I have to agree with her because I had a lot of people stop and look at my table. I also noticed that if I didn’t smile and engage the person, a lot of times they would just keep walking. Most of the purchases made at my table were made to people that I talked to. One lady even told me that I convinced her into the purchase..lol…I also had a lot of people thank me, and actually told me that they knew how much time went into making our handmade crafts and that they appreciated what we do. So nice to hear!
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Masumi was another amazing artist that I met! She paints beautiful art! I purchased an original painting of one of her dogs (Of course! LOL), and I purchased a business card holder. The business card holder was perfect for my craft table! I went through a lot of business cards to people who expressed an interest in learning how to crochet. I also got a lot of interest in custom crochet work.
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Masumi also recommended that I not put my crochet work in plastic bags, which was very good advice. People responded a lot better to the crochet work when it was not in a bag.
In the picture above, you will notice that I hung up one of my crochet Fiesta Ripple Hot pad/ Tawashi dresses on a bottle to demonstrate that they make great hostess gifts (It isn’t really a wine bottle. It is one of those non-alcoholic drinks great for Thanksgiving parties. They work great for wine bottles too though.). I sold a lot of these cute little crochet dresses. I also purchased an inexpensive paper towel rack ($2.00 at Walmart) to demonstrate how you can prop up the crochet girl elf. People were more fascinated with the crochet boy elf with the locket in his pocket. People really loved the floral crowns too!
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The above pictures are some of the Handmade treasures that I purchased from other craft tables at the venue. Yes, I purchased adorable knit hats..lol…I love knit too, but personally, I prefer to crochet items. It doesn’t mean I don’t love knitted items too.
Now, I will tell you some of the items that I sold at “The Magical Season” venue:
One of the first items to go was one of my crochet small black and white siberian husky dogs. Here is the direct link, if you would like to make one: Crochet Small Siberian Husky Dog YouTube video tutorial
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The large crochet Siberian Husky Dog from the pictures above sold. If you would like to make one of my large crochet Siberian Husky Dogs, here is the direct link: Crochet large Siberian Husky Dog
People loved the crochet Fiesta ripple hot pad/tawashi dresses, most of them sold. I had to explain what they were. You can wash dishes with them, hang them on dish soap as decoration, give them as hostess gifts (hang them on a wine bottle or non-alcoholic drink), and set warm pots on them in the kitchen. Next time, I will print up a care card. Here is the direct link, if you would like to make these adorable crochet dresses: Crochet Fiesta Ripple Hot Pad/Tawashi Dress.
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People really loved the crochet Dachshund Dogs and Puppy Dogs. One of the favorites was the littlest brown dachshund dog, which surprised me. A lot of people loved the secret container compartment. There was one little girl that liked the blue crochet dachshund dog, and when I showed her the secret compartment, she was ecstatic..lol…
If you would like to make a crochet Dachshund dog, here is the direct link:
Crochet Dachshund Dog
If you would like to make the crochet Dachshund Puppy dog, here is the direct link:
Crochet Dachshund Puppy Dog
I didn’t like how loose the crochet body was around the container on my blue Crochet Dachshund dog. So, I crocheted an inner compartment (Made the same way as the body, except I used my 6.00mm crochet hook.) with the off-white colored yarn. In the picture above you can see that the crochet white inner compartment is already around the container. Put some craft stuffing into the blue striped body, put the off-white crochet inner compartment into the blue striped body (Without the container). Sew the ends of the white crochet inner compartment and the blue striped body together. Now you can insert the container. It worked perfectly.
My crochet vintage blooming rose hot pad also sold in the glitter pink color. Here is the direct link, if you would like to make one: Crochet Vintage Blooming Rose Hot Pad.
People loved my crochet boy and girl elves, but especially the boy elves and their cute little pocket lockets. If you would like to make a crochet elf, here is the direct link:
Crochet Heirloom Boy and Girl Christmas Elves
I only had one crochet reindeer left for the craft fair. He sold with his little reindeer food. A lot of people were eyeing him. Some were probably thinking of making their own with a red nose. One wanted one with a red nose. Another person who absolutely loved reindeer ended up getting him. If you would like to make an adorable crochet reindeer, here is the direct link: Crochet reindeer.
One of my crochet sleepy bears sold, but he had safety doll eyes and a beautiful blue blanket. He didn’t have a hat. For some reason, I didn’t have the sleepy bear hat for him, and she really wanted that, but she bought the cutie anyway. I put my crochet sleepy bears with a children’s book. If you would like to make a crochet sleepy bear, here is the direct link: Crochet Sleepy Bear.
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Of course, the star of my craft table was my crochet German Shepherd Police Dog. I had at least 2 young boys say in amazement “Look a Police Dog!!” LOL! They were each begging their parents for him. I had two police dogs on my craft table. If you are going to make a crochet German Shepherd Police Dog, these are my recommendations:
Have one crochet German Shepherd Police Dog in full police gear and sunglasses, and have one crochet German Shepherd dog without anything. You can have the gear available if the person wants to pay extra for extra items, but the plain crochet german shepherd dog should be sold separately. Another option is to tell the customer that they can purchase the police gear themselves at Build a Bear, or purchase it on Amazon Prime.
My Crochet Medium-sized German Shepherd Police Dog is a paid pattern. Here is the direct link to Helenmay Crochet Studio: Crochet Medium-sized German Shepherd Police Dog.
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My little pink crochet dragon with beads sold with her “How to Train a Dragon” children’s book and art kit. The lady that purchased it was very excited and happy that she found it, which made me happy! If you would like to make my crochet dragon, I actually have 3 dragon designs: “Puff the Magic Dragon,” the dragon you see above, and my granddaughter’s favorite dragon. Here are the direct links to all 3:
- Puff the Magic Dragon
- Magical Season Craft Fair dragon.
- My granddaughter’s favorite crochet dragon
I was surprised that a lot of people loved my crochet medium sized cocker spaniel dog. I really altered the look from the original, but never got to making another video tutorial for her. If you like her, and would like me to make a video tutorial specific for her, let me know. She actually sold.
Unicorns have been extremely popular! I only had one little crochet unicorn left, and it sold too. I told people that I had the little one, medium-sized one, and large one on my YouTube channel. Here is the direct blog link for the little one that I sold: Quick, easy, beginner little crochet unicorn
Here is the direct link to my medium-sized crochet magical unicorn: Crochet Magical Unicorn
Well, that about does it for “The Magical Season” Craft fair. I had a lot of fun and met a lot of great people!!! If you want to know how to price your crochet items, here is the blog post where I talk about pricing your crochet work: How do I price my crochet work?
For me, I like to use the 3 times material costs for pricing my items. I think it is a personal choice for pricing your crochet items, but it is nice to know how other people price their crochet items too. I will sometimes negotiate a price too.
Happy Crocheting!!
Helenmay Crochet You Tube Channel 