Bags, bling and aching feet

I just got home a bit ago from the spring craft show.  I did a nice bit of business in three hours.  I did my share of spending but we'll get to that soon.  I spent a manic few hours this afternoon writing up price tags and tying them onto my bags with cute little ribbons.  I set my table up just so.  I waited (I was ready super early)...and I sold a little bit of everything.  I earned my table fee, bought a few bits of yum, and still made a pleasing amount.  Each show I do is more encouraging than the one before (after my first I was ready to quit altogether).  Selling bags online isn't easy--personally I love to touch the fabric and get a feel for the size, something you just can't do online--so I make out much better selling in person.  Anyway, here are a few shots of everything all set up.

I used a nice springtime quilt as my table cover and it added that extra little something to the presentation.

My spot was right along the entrance and exit route, so I got them coming and going.  There was another woman there selling bags, but for crazy prices.  Her fabrics were entirely different so she wasn't a direct competitor, haha.

And now for the loot.  A jewelry crafter from the first show I did was at this one, and she sold me a yummy cell phone charm.  Normally I'm not the type to "bling" my phone, and this thing may annoy me after a bit, and I'm not a cat person, but I really wanted it:

Isn't it purr-dy?  Get it? Hehe...

A few tables down was a girl selling fun scarf/sash thingees in all sorts of prints.  I couldn't decide which of two I wanted, so she offered me a deal and now I have both:

These can be used as headbands, sashes, or scarves.  The colors just sing sunshine.

The lady right next to me was selling silver charms that she makes using a process called lost-wax casting. She sketches out her design and then creates a wax prototype from it.  Once that's where she likes it she creates a mold from it, fills it with molten silver, and kiln-fires it for about twelve hours (the other method is torching it, but she hasn't tried that).  Some of them had words like 'Love' or 'Hopeful' etched into the back of it. The result is an entirely different sort of thing than you'd see in regular jewelry stores. They have a rough-hewn "homespun" look to them, but that's what appealed to me about it. I feel like I own an antique but didn't pay for one.  To top it off she puts it on a hand-dyed, hand-stitched silk cord.  Here's mine:

It's a nifty flower; on the back is etched 'Grow.'

She determines the price by weighing it, so the whole affair had a very old-fashioned feel to it.  And how can one not buy something so sweet when it is then handed to you wrapped in tissue and placed in this little bit of fun?

Looks like some of the bags on my table...

So all in all a nice little evening. I love seeing what other people are working on and getting new ideas to try.  Some of the vendors were selling Tupperware or Pampered Chef items or Avon, but I passed right by those tables and headed for the true hand-crafted items.  I've developed a greater appreciation for them now that I know what goes into them.

My feet hurt and I'm tired, so I'm off to bed.