3 Days Down ---- 8 More to Go!

I haven't done an arts/craft show
in 5 years....
and it 'shows'.

I am sooooo tired every night...
and doing the 'time check'
every 15 minutes
the last couple of hours.
(Traffic is very minimal in the evenings...and 9 pm
tends to feel more like midnight!)

But...we've had a pretty good show so far!

I'm told that the week-days
are realllly LONG...even though the Fair
always goes for 11 days...
kids are back in school,
parents are back at work...
and traffic really slows down.

And...me keeping vampire hours...
having to get up
at the time that I'm usually
just heading for bed...
I'm so very tired!

But...I'm still glad we decided to do the Fair!
Call me...crazy!!

My birthday came and went...

The first day of our show
at the Fair was also my birthday.
While it is usually
not a 'big deal' to me...
my kids do try to make it special...

I got calls from all of my kids...
so it didn't go completely without notice.

And..as something, extra special for me..
I was one of the
"top 10 Friday"
picks
here
on my birthday!!
Thanks Rossana!

All in all...the first day didn't draw
too much of a crowd...
we still had so much setting up to do
that I am thoroughly 'beat' and quite ready for bed.
(They had already blocked off the road to the venue...
and we had to walk more than a mile...
carrying folding chairs...tables...
paintings...
and the usual 'stuff' one needs on hand
during a show.)
So...I'm not as tired from the show...as the 'trek' from
the van to the venue!

I'm not going to carry much more than myself
to 'day 2.'

While we're at the Fair...

The State Fair show starts today...
we've got a lot of set up still to do.

I can tell I haven't done an art/craft show in
several years...
and this is the first one I've tried
without my husband.
(He was the one who took care of the
set up...pricing...and interacting with our collectors!)

But...I'm sure it will all 'come back' to me.

While we're at the State Fair...
we will be offering the same originals that
we have in our Etsy shops
(we ran out of time to do Fair originals.)

Just a reminder that
we do have limited access to the internet...
so we won't be 'pulling' anything
out of the Etsy Shops unless they sell at the Fair.

We've done a number of
'brand new' items for the Fair to see how they go.
We are hoping to have a lot of
'brand new' to our Etsy shops items
in coming weeks.
This is very exciting....really!

My Etsy Shop during the Fair....

I will be taking all of my original pieces
to the Fair.
Since I have access to the internet...
(I'll borrow my son-in-law's phone...he has the internet)
I can pull any original pieces from my
Etsy Shop,
as they sell at the Fair.

Also...I won't be able to do any shipping
until after Labor Day.

The hours of the show are...
Friday-August 28th...5 pm to 9 pm
Saturday-August 29th ... through...Sunday-Sept 6th...9 am to 9 pm
Monday-Sept 7th .. 9 am to 7 pm.

We also have to set everything up
before the show starts...
and take everything down
when it ends...

I've got my heart set on having a really
good show....so, "fingers crossed".

Countdown to State Fair

Oh how I wished I had a lot of little elves...
you know (like the Shoemaker)
to come and do my work while I'm sleeping!

But...alas...I do not!

So...we're doing the best we can to
get what we can for an 11 day show at the
Nebraska State Fair.

After 140 years in the same location...
it is moving to mid-state next year...
so this will be the last State Fair for us.

I was so hoping to get so much more done
than I was able.

Almost all of my art dolls still need varnished...
I did a small batch of 'art doll' ornaments...
a few art boxes...
some art pendants...mirrors...prints...
and original paintings.

That will just have to do.

The saving 'grace' in all of this is..
I'm teaming up with Jaime and Mike
(and their goods)
which should give us a pretty full space...
for part of the time anyway.

A busy two weeks ahead!!

Between my ailing computer and

internet connectivity problems...

and an 'enormous' workload.

I haven't spent much time online the past

couple of weeks.

I really need to keep my computer

running until I can afford a new one...and mine

is giving me 'fits'.

Jaime and I have decided that we will

do this season's craft shows...

beginning with...

YIKES...

Eleven days of the State Fair!

Yes...11 days...from 9 am to 9 pm...

of the State Fair!

Talk about an 'ambitious' undertaking!!

After 140 years...this is the very last year

for the State Fair here in Lincoln...

so we decided to

'take the plunge.'

Maybe we've finally

'lost our minds'!

What I've been 'up' to.

I've been working on
'art dolls'.

I didn't get 'great' pictures
but
here's an example of one of my dolls...

I took a picture of the doll
and a screen shot of the print of the painting
that 'inspired' the doll.

I've got 25 dolls in various stages
of completion.

New Paintings

These are my latest paintings
now listed in my
Rustic Goth Etsy Shop.

I have been so busy...
Jaime and I are going to try to do
the 'State Fair'.
Wow...it's a huge commitment...
11 days
the end of August and beginning of September.

We haven't paid the fee yet...
but we're already building our inventory.
I'll show a few items
as we get them finished.