What a CRAZY month I've had!

I didn't blog the entire month of July because of all the craziness going on around here. I had no idea it would take so much time to prepare for my first event. Partly because I needed to build inventory and partly because I had no idea what to expect... so I made lots of different things to test out what would be popular.

I spent hours and hours crocheting and even got to the point that I was like "i don't want to make another hat". It surprised me but I suppose you can burn out even on the things you love. 

I spent a lot of time thinking and researching good table set ups and ultimately this is what I came up with. (i didn't want to bring my nicer camera with me so these are taken with just my regular point and shoot canon)

  (you can see how close we were to the livestock)

My wonderful husband built me some great hat stands and he helped put together the stand for my big green sign so it didn't have to hang off the front of my table. I also had some stands for the ruffle scarves but the wind was not cooperating and they kept blowing over.....grrrrrr
 

This table had my "Movie Inspired Hat Collection" and I even remembered to bring a mirror so people could look at themselves when trying things on.

This is my Broncos table with a little treat for those that stopped by. 











  




Funny thing though...chocolate kisses at an outside event in the beginning of August = really bad idea. It never even crossed my mind that they would begin to melt until a cute little 4 year old came running over...grabbed one and it instantly smushed out into his little hand covering it in chocolate.

Lesson learned!
 

 This is what my whole display looked like from the space down the center of the tent that customers were walking through. 

So how'd i'd do at my first event? 
 Well.....

It wasn't what I had expected. You say "county fair" and I think carnival rides and food stands and vendors selling all sorts of things. 

What it was: the 4H livestock show and sale and there were only about 8 vendors total (one being a lady just doing a petition and none of them those fun fair food stands).

It had decent traffic and I sold fairly well but it wasn't what I had prepared for. It wasn't what I had spent hours agonizing over what and how many to make. 
  
We also, of course, had weather issues. The wind would come and go but wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Then the afternoon came and the wind got a little stronger (blowing clips off my table. Then a HUGE clap of thunder and lightning followed by a massive downpour. No biggie right...we're in a tent after all. But a tent with NO SIDES. The wind blew the rain in (not too bad) then came the mild flooding as the rain washed into the tent. Needless to say, we (meaning all the vendors) called it a day and packed up around 6 the first day and 7 the second day.
 
On the bright side...

1. I got lots of positive feedback though on my "Movie Inspired Hat Collection"...i think they will sell even better when I do some events when it's cold.

2. I  sold enough to cover my expenses plus a little and now I have inventory for my next event (which will be at an awesome dance studio here in town in the beginning of September). 

3. My daughter also came as my helper and we had a lot of fun together...great bonding time (she's growing up too fast)

4. With the downtime I had I finished a blanket order and designed a new hat pattern i'll be releasing soon. 

All in all it was worth it and i'm grateful for all I learned.
 
So be bold and do something you've never done before. Even if it doesn't turn out perfect the learning experience will make it worth while.

Happy Day Everybody!

Bite of the Week - Crab Sunhat

Wow...i can't believe it's been 10 days since I posted last. I've been so busy getting the county fair hats ready and I just got a few more orders. That's no excuse to ignore you lovely fans that want something fun to read. I enjoy blogging (in my head anyway). As i've mentioned before, I have a lot of awesome blog posts in my head. I write them out while doing laundry or dishes or vacuuming. The real test is whether or not I find the time to sit and hash them out here on my actual blog. 

I know many of you experience this. You spread yourself a little too thin in an attempt to create many great things. That has been the trial of the whole blog/business experience. Where do I place my time and how much of it do I place there. 

My thoughts on the matter: I'm a list maker and an evaluator at heart. I think if we take time (and by that I mean a few minutes) now and then to evaluate what we're doing and if it's making us happy then we will find balance. I hear that a lot...we need to find "balance". Well, if you look at someone balancing something (like a ball on their nose or bowls while riding a unicycle.....that's how I feel anyway) they are making constant little adjustments to keep things from falling down. 

                          Like the lady from America's Got Talent this last week. She was amazing.

That's what I think we need to apply to our lives. Just watching and evaluating how things are going and making little adjustments here and there. 

You never (or rarely...i've never seen someone) see a person perfectly balancing those glasses on those plates while on the unicycle. In perfect constant balance. NOPE my friends...it just doesn't happen. So let us make a small resolution to evaluate now and then and make the little adjustments we need to find balance. And realize NO ONE IS PERFECT. We do what we can and find happiness along the way.

Okay, enough of my philisophical rank ....let me share with you something that has made me happy this week. This cute Crab Sunhat. It's great for little boys (or big boys if that's their cup o' tea).

pattern by Snappy Tots found here

 I like when I can find cute crafty boy things....they so often get neglected in the crafting world. You can get your own Crab Sunhat and help you're little guy keep the sun out of his cute face. 


 





Thanks for reading my little rant...share your thoughts on keeping balance in life and have a fabulously crafty day!

GIVEAWAY!!!!!

I love how supportive everyone i've met in the crochet world has been since starting this little business adventure of mine. We join each others giveaways....like pages and share the love and support we can all use as we grow our businesses.

So in true crochet love fashion, I have collaborated with Whimsical Wonderland to celebrate her 1 Year Anniversary! She has a fun etsy shop you can check out too.

It's so exciting for her and i'm happy to be a part of it. I hope at a year I am just as successful.

So you wanna know what awesomeness you could win from me today.....this adorable Slouchy Cupcake Hat.
 

Head over to her facebook page to enter for your chance to win....the giveaway ends at 9pm EST....so don't wait.

Remember, you can always order one from my website if you don't win. (always free shipping to the continental US)

Bite of the Week - Craft Fair Prepping

Sorry i've been quiet the last week. I've been working on a crazy idea and trying to balance that work out with blogging.
 
So Yes...i'm going to be crazy.....go out on a limb....and do a craft fair....dum dum dum (foreboding music)

Well it's actually a county fair so it'll draw a broader crowd than just a craft fair.

The problem is that I have SO MANY ideas and things I want to put on my table. If  I was like Samantha from "Bewitched" (google it if you're too young to know what this is)....holy cow....my table would be awesome....in a flash....

But alas, I am but human and have limited time. I did want to share some of the projects i've been working on for my table. It's not my traditional Bite of the Week but it'll do and I like to share.

 



I have several cute Ruffle Sun Hats made up....it will be August after all and the heat will still be around. 
 

I live in Colorado and the Denver Broncos are huge here so I thought i'd make some Broncos themed hats. The orange football hat and the Mohawk hat should be popular. I also plan on making a few Mohawk Hats in different colors (definitely) some girl colors. 

 

With the new Despicable Me movie coming out, I thought a few of these would be fun to have out.

 

 I want to have a Minion Hat for each of my kids and then I want to take them to the store wearing them...or maybe a whole bunch of kids...all in Minion Hats...it would be funny!

 The Viking Hat is just too funny to not have a couple out...if nothing else to get some "oh that's funny" comments.

Some of these hats are on my website but if you'd like one of your own just leave a comment or message me on facebook or my email.

And while i've been working on stuff for my tables, my dear children have been turning into superheros....hahahaha.....I love their creativity.

 I love the fun they bring to my house...even if I have to live through a little craziness to get there!

Have a fun week everyone.
 

Shark Bait - Homemade Marshmallow Fondant

About 2 weeks ago I was telling you all that I had been asked to help with a friend's graduation cake. We did homemade cakes and even made the fondant for it. I've made fondant before and many people are surprised and have this idea that it's really complicated.

Well let me just say now that it's not....it really really is not hard. 

So i put together a little tutorial on how I make it to show you how easy it can be.

And how fun it is to play around with.

 I like marshmallow fondant a lot better than regular store bought fondant. It has a few drawbacks but it tastes sooooooo much better. 

Homemade Marshmallow Fondant
My instructions are for making the fondant mostly in a Kitchen Aid mixer. You can do it all on the counter with your own hands (i've done it many times) but it makes a much bigger mess....but it's a fun mess.
Also, marshmallow fondant is best made the day before you'll be using it. 

 You'll need: some crisco (to grease your table or countertop) 
                     16 oz bag of mini marshmallows (i like Jet Puffed the best)
                     1 tsp vanilla
                     2 lb bag of powdered sugar

 Put your powdered sugar in a bowl and wisk it to get rid of any clumps. You can use a sifter of course....if you have one...that's one of those kitchen tools I keep meaning to get and keep forgetting about until I need it.

 Have a bowl with some room temp water and a 1/4 c measuring cup.

 Grease the inside of your mixer really well...don't forget the kneading hook...it needs grease as well.

 

Grease your countertop or table top (this is my table...i like that it's a little lower and easier to work on)

 

 Put about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar in the bottom of your mixer. This will help the fondant come together a little better and the marshmallow mixture doesn't stick to the bottom of the mixer so bad.

 Put your marshmallows, 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 c water in a bowl. Then microwave it for 1 min 30 sec. What you're going for here is to get your marshmallows totally melted but you don't want to overheat them or they will harden. I have found that 1m 30s works well. If you're concerned you can stop at 1m and mix it....if the marshmallows don't completely melt stick it back in for another 15s or so.

 This is what it will look like coming out of the microwave. See how the marshmallows are mostly just puffed up. They will melt the rest of the way as you stir it. 

 This is what you want it to look like....smooth...no clumps of marshmallow. 
If the whole recipe of fondant will be the same color you can add the food coloring now (i recommend the wilton color pastes). If not, i'll show you where to add it later.

 Pour that lovely mixture into your mixture and slowly add you powdered sugar. Make sure to mix on a low speed or you'll end up with a powdered kitchen (not fun to clean up by the way)

It will look crumbly for the first few minutes but don't worry it will get smooth...just be patient.

It's ready to come out when it's got a nice smooth finish. Remember though, it will still be warm and soft...be careful when pulling it out of the mixer.

 Plop that blog of yumminess on the greased surface and knead for a minute or to. Your really don't have to knead much because you're mixer will have done most of this but it's a good way to see if there are any clumps that need to be smoothed out.

Plus, it's kinda fun....it's like edible play-do for grownup.

 At this point you can color it before wrapping it up. The color will intesify some as it sits overnight and it's a little easier to do now then the next day.

 You'll wrap that yummy ball well in plastic wrap...you don't want any air to hit it or it will dry out....and dried out fondant is no fun.

Place it in a ziploc bag for extra security and let it sit in your fridge until the next day. Fondant that has sat for a day is just easier to roll out and work with. 

The next day.....have some fun. You'll need to lightly dust the surface you're rolling on with powdered sugar (or cornstarch). Not too much or it'll make your fondant dusty looking. Also, if it's a warm day leave what you're not working with in the fridge. It will start to get tacky as it warms up when you're working with it and will be more likely to stick and break (and make you very very angry).

 This was the finished cake for her graduation party. We used sugar sheet on the middle layer (it was kind of a pain...another story for another day)
I was really happy with how it turned out.

And this is the bitter sweet moment when the beauty is eaten...at least it tastes good.
 
Now go and play with your own homemade marshmallow fondant.... if you do, let me know how it goes!