Crafty Swap and Gift Exchange

The first EtsyRAIN event of the New Year went off without a hitch. There were fabulous prizes, delightful treats and great stuff to swap on Saturday, February 4 at the Crafty Swap and Gift Exchange. Thanks bunches to Thea Starr, aka number 17, for taking pictures at the event. We hope to have another Crafty Swap over the summer and make it a BBQ this time with a fabulous and challenging twist. Stay tuned!

The weather outside is frightful, is your crafting so delightful?

We’re in the middle of one of the biggest snow storms this area has seen in quite a while. Most of us are used to given the snow report in inches (2, 3 or 4 really) but more than a foot of snow in some places? Wow! So, we’re trapped in with a limited agenda. Perfect conditions for crafting efforts, right?

Cari, who is just North of Poulsbo says she’s already cranked out several new pillow covers for her shop Seclusion Cove. She’s finalizing details of custom orders and gearing up to take some pictures of her latest work …after a short break, “My "snow day" project should be tidying up my workroom and re-doing some product photos, but now, I'm snuggled under a quilt and finishing a good British mystery novel, with a cup of tea close at hand.”

Amy Harris of Solstice Designs couldn’t make it in to open her shop at the Pike Place Market but says she’s sewing away at home in Burien, “It’s a crafter’s paradise,” she said via text.

That’s not the case for everyone. Keri of UPTown DownTown is too busy babysitting her grandson to get anything done in University Place where seven inches of snow fell.

Thankfully, a warm up is coming and that much needed run for supplies, whether it's food or crafting supplies is right around the corner.

Post Holiday Blues?

Through the months of November and December the number of crafts fairs, holiday bazaars and Christmas shows shoots up exponentially. The Puget Sound offers at least a dozen each weekend to help Christmas shoppers cross off their lists, buy a few treats, pump up their winter accessories and wardrobes and complete their decorating efforts. Also, internet sales skyrocket too, sending many crafters on multiple trips to the post office. It’s a prime opportunity to sell your product to the masses. We lug around tables, display gear and our carefully made items …some have it worse than others. It makes for a busy holiday season that requires lots of energy and a never-ending smile.

Now that the season is behind us, it’s not unusual to feel a bit of a lull. The lack of activity can leave some feeling without purpose and possibly a little lost. That’s normal. It will pass. Many crafters see it as an opportunity to recoup and refuel.

Dawn of  http://www.scarywhitegirl.etsy.com/  says, “I used the time when I wasn't as frantic with my crocheting to start planning the new things I want to do this year, to organize my craft room, and to look at the massive quantities of yarn that have somehow ended up in my closet."

Planning for the next year is a great way to focus your newly found free time. Reflecting on the good moments of the busy holiday craft season and doing your best to correct the not-so-special things.

“I have to admit that the lack of sales can be a real bummer.  The spigot totally shuts off.  It takes me a little while to re-train myself to stop checking my various online sales venues looking for activity," says Anne Sylte Bloom of http://www.seattlesundries.etsy.com/.

Anne uses this time to make a lot of changes to her product line. She creates new soap varieties, changes labels, and experiments with completely new items.  “It’s really the most creative and rejuvenating time of year for me.”

Taking time away from your craft is another way to recover from the holiday rush.

 “For me things tend to pick back up in February so I enjoy this time after the extreme craziness post holidays. In this time I catch up on side projects like knitting & quilting which isn't my "professional" craft. It’s like a nice diversion to do other things,” says Thea Starr of http://www.theastarr.etsy.com/ .

Good luck, keep crafting and Happy New Year!

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Huge thanks to Kris Keeker and all the participants!

Meet Our Vendors: Thea Starr

Thea’s first official craft project was red electric-tape press-on nails, Lee (of the press on nails people) didn’t have nothing on Thea. She progressed to kanzashi in 2001, one of only two people in the states who made the traditional Japanese hair ornaments at that time.

Thea takes vintage kimonos, cleans and presses them and begins the folding process, one petal at a time, to craft them into flowers. Her standard hairclips are her most popular item because, she says, they come in fabrics to fit everyone’s taste.

Her superpower is so rare, marvel comics doesn’t even have this one covered. She can balance stuff in her fridge. Theo says other mom’s can appreciate this superpower more than most.

http://www.theastarr.etsy.com/

Meet Our Vendors: Garden Bon Bons

If you enter Moulton’s kitchen you might mistake it for a chocolate shop, since her process is very similar. She puts all the ingredients for her Garden Bon Bons in a bowl and stirs. They are rolled out on baking sheets, dried on racks and wrapped for selling. The bon bons just need to be planted and watered and …magic! The perfect gift for anyone with a green thumb, or thumbs of any color.

Her Italian Herb bon bons are the most popular, since everyone uses basil, chives, parsley and thyme (well, everyone who cooks).  Her unique creations will help you understand her superpower: the ability to make people see things a little differently.

http://www.gardenbonbons.etsy.com/