Winner!! I have chosen to name my shop "Ruby's Circle of Friends" Crafts & Consignment! the winner of the purse is Debra with her Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6238436 Now she will get to choose her purse. Will update when the choice has been made.

As for the shop, the electric is on. Now I need the water on. I had no idea the water had been shut off. A call to the village tomorrow should be all it takes. I have taken some of my handmade items down and different things for displays. Once I get it all set up I will post some pictures. Will go get my insurance this week too. Getting closer all the time. Have my first classes scheduled with a Girl Scout troop so that should be fun. Check back to see how things are going!

Help me name my shop!

Lease is signed and first month's rent paid, have the key! I need a name for my shop. I have thought about it a lot and nothing really comes to me that is an "oh wow thats it!" idea. So asking for help! Post it to me on twitter, convo me on Etsy or leave a comment here. Look at my shop description in the previous post and fire away! The name chosen will win their choice of the purses pictured here from my etsy shop. Contest will end 9/8/09.

Brick & Mortar Shop

Okay so tomorrow I go to sign a lease for a brick and mortar shop. My plan is to have a craft consignment shop but to also offer crafting classes for all ages and all types of crafts. I plan to have quilting, spinning, knitting, crocheting, stamping, felting, stained glass and more for classes. Also hope to bring in younger people by having all inclusive birthday parties with them making crafts to take with them, include the cake, invites and balloons/decor in a one price package. I think the idea is a good one but I do worry about being in a small town. I will have to work hard to pull in people from neighboring towns and word of mouth will also hopefully help spread the word. I hope to post here in my blog the steps I will take. Before the rental space I have had to find insurance and inquire about a dba and tax numbers. I plan to use the consignment items as decor as for the space. It is on the main street in town and is visible to anyone that passes through town. I will say I got the space at a reduced rate for the first 6 months, after that I have the option of walking away or going on with a year lease. Im hoping with the holiday season coming and people wanting things to do in the winter months it will help people to choose to come check out my class offerings. Any ideas from blog readers or tips would be greatly appreciated!!

Craft Festival and Stamping cards

Went with 3 great friends to the http://villageofremsen.org/content/Generic/View/2 Remsen Barn Festival. It is a really nice outdoor show. The weather was perfect, sunny with a slight fall chill in the morning but warmed up very nicely way before noon. There were vendors up and down the main street in this little town. There were quilts, pottery, art work, spice mixes, food, fiber arts and beautiful alpaca and wool yarns. There were plenty of food venders and even a few yard sales thrown in the mix of people that lived right in the town. Lots of beautiful eye candy!!
If your in the neighborhood it is worth a look.

After that we went back to one of my friend's house to stamp. A fourth friend stopped in too. We have kind of gotten away from making cards on a regular basis and wanted to make an attempt to get back into it. We had lots of fun using the stamps we had bought but not yet used. Used some embossing plates and the sizzix machine. Hope we can do it again soon. I have posted some pictures of the cards I was able to finish.

Fair events and winnings

Well I got the afghan done, I had hoped to blog about my progress but that didnt happen. I completed it the morning it was due to be entered. Tying in the last few ends and pressing it slightly for a finished look. It won first place! I also entered a crochet purse, sew purse and a few other items. Two more days and the fair has come and gone for another year. Now is the time to think of what I can make and enter. Maybe I wont have to scramble the morning of to get things done.... but probably not LOL!

Starting an afghan to enter in our county fair

Just started an afghan to enter in our county fair. My goal is to someday (this year would be nice!) win best of show to follow in the footsteps of my mother and grandmother. Third generation winner would be pretty cool. I wil post my progress here and get some pictures too. I have 3 squares done so far out of a probable 20 needed. Im using Red Heart yarns. It is a pattern from Crochet Fantasy October 2001. Check back to see how Im making out!

New Purses made on Vacation

Went to Myrtle Beach for vacation and the first few days were a bit cold and rainy. Went fabric shopping and ended up making 4 purses for my Etsy shop. Here are the pictures