It's Spring Craft Show Season!!! \(^_^)/ YES!!

      

       I love to read literature. 

I love the art of story telling and character development and all the little details. 

       I love using my imagination. 

Unfortunately, I think that has made me rather long winded. I find myself getting too immersed in my stories when I converse with coworkers about my weekend. I elaborate too much and take too long to get to the point. But tonight will be different... I'll be snappy; three months, five craft shows and a short description of each. Let's get this going!

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26TH:

       WEST OKC QUARTER MANIA "FUN"DRAISER IN MUSTANG, OKLAHOMA

       This will be my first charity auction. All of the vendor booth fees will go directly to the Mustang Animal Shelter. (Yay! Puppies! Adopt, don't shop!) If you buy a paddle to participate in the auction or get dinner at the event, those proceeds will go to the shelter as well. The Facebook page for the event is here.

       I had no idea what "Quarter Mania" is until I signed up for this event. (I still don't quite know all of the rules.) From what I gather, all you need to do is to show up, buy a paddle for $3 and then bid on items for a quarter each. For each quarter you bid on an item, you get your paddle's number thrown into the hopper. When the auction starts, they draw numbers out of the hopper and if your number is called, you get the item regardless of how many quarters you bid. Of course, the more quarters you bid, the higher your chances are of getting the item. Here are my three items I've donated to the auction.

 Animal themed gift basket

 TV & movie themed gift basket

OU themed gift basket

SATURDAY MARCH 5TH:

       D.U.C.K WEEK JUNK SHOW IN PIEDMONT, OKLAHOMA

       This will be my first official craft show of 2016 and I'm pretty excited about it. The event organizers are doing one heck of a job on advertising and promotion! There will be some direct sales consultants (boo) but there will also be a lot of craft/junk vendors, too (hooray). Here's the Facebook page for this event. Two words- food.trucks.
       I didn't know what D.U.C.K week was before I signed onto this event. It's a charity acronym that stands for Doing Unselfish Charity for Kids & and an event that the Piedmont High School does each year. The residents of Piedmont petition the school to support their child, then all the proceeds from the week's events go to the children that were selected. I think it's pretty great of the community to be a part of this. There is a $3 admission to this event but it will be worth it. There are both indoor and outdoor events and promises fun for the entire family.

SATURDAY MARCH 12TH:

       CREATIVE CRAFT FESTIVAL IN NORMAN, OKLAHOMA

       There's nothing too out of the ordinary about this show; it won't be a charity event and there won't be live music but there will be unique handmade items, craft vendors and artists. Just like how a good old fashioned craft fair should be!
       I have two vendor friends (Glass Soldier Gifts and Pens & Things by Paul) who do this show annually and they love it. I have only heard good things about this show and I really wanted to do it last holiday season but I did not have time. So, I'm pretty pumped that I am a part of it this spring. There are a handful of shows throughout the year at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds and this will be the first one to kick off 2016!

SATURDAY APRIL 16TH:

       WESTERN OAKS CHRISTIAN CHURCH 7TH ANNUAL CRAFT SHOW IN OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA

       This will be my first time participating in this show but the show has been around almost a decade! 7th annual craft show!! From what I've been told, spaces for vendors fill up quickly. When I applied, RagsReborn was put on a waiting list and the show committee had to decide to open up more rooms within the church for additional indoor booths. (Thank goodness that they did!) That is just one indicator of how big this show will be. Here is the Facebook page. The photos section shows previous years' indoor and outdoor craft booths with lots of variety in items for sale.

       As you can tell from the picture above, I have just barely started to prepare for this show. I have almost all of my product for the February and March shows complete but I haven't done much for April shows. I have a lot of fun shirts and ideas swirling around in my head so keep posted for new pillows. I post on Instagram pretty regularly. (P.S. I can't get this to type black. For some reason, Blogger really wants it to be green.)

SATURDAY APRIL 30TH:

       THE CROWN CENTER'S HANDMADE SHOW IN MOORE, OKLAHOMA

       This is the ONLY all handmade show that I have ever been to as a shopper and as a vendor. There are absolutely zero direct sales and no boutique items. It's all crafters, artisans, upcyclers, etc. There are booths with quilts, jewelry, wood workers, religious items, peanut brittle, baby bows... Craft show perfection!!

       I participated in their holiday show last year and absolutely loved it. The show organizer was amazing, the other vendors were friendly and the shoppers and church community were very supportive. It ranks in my top three of shows that I have ever done. At the end of the holiday show last November, the show organizer invited me back to be a part of the spring show and I could not have been happier. I have been looking forward to this show for months and cannot wait to see all of you guys there!