Musings and the Craft fair

     Hey, guys. I've been thinking a lot about the holidays lately, with Christmas being so close. Some people seem to go way overboard on their spending on gifts. I know I'd like to give more handmade gifts, but really some people seem to think that you're being "cheap" when you give something you've made.  To me, nothing can be further from the truth. Ever priced quality yarn or craft supplies plus the time involved? I made my sister a digital album last Christmas and had the pages professionally printed and put them in an album. She did love it, but I spent more putting it together than I would have normally spent on her gift. I really guess ti depends on your family. Some are more into homemade gifts than others. One time I spent a long time knitting a lace wrap with tiny fingering weight yarn for my mother. Her response was "I look like the mom from the Munsters now". Yeah, I don't give her elaborate handmades anymore. LOL

 On December 1st, I had a booth at a craft fair at our local elementary school. I did "okay". I had set up a quilt stand where I had about 14 ruffle scarves.

(the stand before I filled it up with scarves)

I also had a table for Close to My Heart complete with a catalog to browse, newsletter signup, handmade cards, and examples of stamps and paper. I did get a few contacts, saying they may throw a gathering (yay!) I had another area with my knit and crochet items. Dishcloths, baby hats and little stockings I'd made. People mostly came over and looked at the scarves but didn't explore the cards much. I just think that cards are a dying thing. I did sell some, but not as many as I had anticipated. I'm not too worried. I have another craft fair on the 8th. I did sell 7 of my scarves and two baby hats, so I really need to make more of those. I didn't sell any of the adorable paper purses or the little stockings.  I noticed that the "not hand made" booths were doing a brisk business. (Pampered Chef, Scentsy, Origami Owl). All of these are businesses I like. I even bought some Scentsy melts. I just think we need more love for the handmades sometimes. :) 

Do you make gifts for others for the holidays or special occasions? Have you ever had a "bad reaction" to a handmade gift? Happy Crafting!