Just booked the first craft/vintage show of the season. I have a bunch of applications out and pending but this one is a done deal.

Urban Vintage Raleigh

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March 4 & 5

Market Hall, Raleigh

I Know I'm Doing Something Right

One Year ago today was a huge day in our family. Today is National Senior Sign Day. It is the day that high school athletes all over the country sign their letters of intent to play at their chosen college or university.  My daughter was one of those chosen few last year. 

Our journey through recruiting was long and amazing.  Some say it is a year long process but I say more life a lifetime, my daughter's life.  It started with recreation teams with friends from pre-k and moved on to upper levels of play from there. Travel teams, premier, then classic and finally the top level for girls in the ECNL. Busses, long interstate car rides, planes, international and finally college division 1 soccer. It has been an amazing adventure.

Yes, I got more than a little teary.

When I think of all the practices and games and driving her father and I have done it is staggering. It all built up to this one moment where all her dreams came true and she signed to UNC Charlotte Women's soccer team. 

It was HER dream. MY dream is to make the dreams of my kids come true. We did everything we could to help her on this journey. That is part of my job as a mom. The bigger part of the job happens off the field.

I could not have taught her to play soccer, I was not a soccer player. My high school did not even have a team for girls (I don't think). What I can teach her is intangible. I can teach her independence. I am a small business owner who does it all on her own. I can lead by example. I can giver her all the best advice in the world and then let her make her own decisions and applaud when it all goes well and be there to help her up when it all goes wrong. It can be so hard to let them stand on their own, so often we want to do things for them. They won't learn anything that way. I am not THAT mom. I don't register you for your high school classes because how will you learn to register for college classes? I don't give you gas money because I am not driving the car, you are. Get a job. She learns more from having to EARN money than from me giving it to her.

Click HERE to see what it is like somedays.

I can teach her about determination and never giving up. I can teach her about kindness and compassion. I can show her unconditional love. I can show her how to work hard and never give up. Responsibility for one's actions and accountability. 

A year after she signed those papers, I can see all those amazing qualities in her. I know I am doing a good job as a mom. I see it in all my kids everyday. It is not often that I say "Kudos to me" but today I will.

It takes a special kind of person to go on and play a sport in college. Those kids don't show up that way.  There are parents standing behind them cheering, teaching, molding, loving, and leading by example. 

Here's me and the hubby at UNC Charlotte in the stands.....cheering and supporting, as usual. 

GO NINERS!

She is gearing up for spring soccer right now. I am getting ready for middle school track season and ultimate frisbee season.  I'm not sure what I will do when the sports end. For now I will stand on the sidelines and in the stands cheering, sit in my car during practices, and be in the stands watching halftime, not the football game.  I will continue to be the tough loving mom who never lets them give up and who never gives up on them.  There are lessons to be learned everyday and I'm doing a pretty good job teaching them. 

What brought all this on today of all days?  Memories that make me smile and cry at the same time. Proud momma moments that make me who I am. 

Here are 2 great ads that I think really capture just what I feel sometimes.

Click HERE for great commercial about dedication to a child athlete

Craft Show Applications

     It is that time of year again. Time to get all my craft show applications ready and sent out for this fall's shows. I have a system. Not saying it is a great system or the system for everyone, but it is the one I use that works for me.

1. I sync my calendars.  I get my husband's calendar, the calendar for my kids and the list of shows I want to participate in this year and gather them all together.  My kids always have too many sporting events to keep track of so my hubby and I split the duties.  Every year I cannot participate in at least one great show. It's ok, move on.  By February I have my calendar planned for just about the whole year.

2. Applications. Some applications are online and some are snail mailed to you.  Make sure you fill the application out completely and correctly.  Some shows will trash it for being filled out wrong.  

3. Photos. Photos are the most important part of the application, in my opinion. They will make decisions based on what they see.  If I mail the application back I always use actual printed photos. I also send more than they require. Most ask for 3-5 and I send 8.  I always send a photo of my booth at their show from the year before. Remind them I was there and they accepted me before.

If the application is online and I can only submit a few photos I make sure they are high quality and fit the size requirements.

     These are the photos I used a few years ago for a show in NC.  I was clearly showcasing the paper wreaths and photo albums.  Choose pics that show off what you will actually be selling.  Many shows have people checking booths to make sure your application items match what you are selling.

These pictures above are not my favorite. I would edit these to make them lighter or skip these all together.  They get dark in the background.

 

     These are better. I would use these. The show off a number of different items and they showoff my business name.

4. Once I think I have it all together I include a personal note.  Something thanking them for taking the time to review my application.  I also include my business card and ask that they contact me via email if I do not get accepted to the show (for some strange reason because I think I should get into ALL shows I apply for, don't you?).  I ask them to tell me what I can improve on to increase my chances of getting accepted in the future.  Most people are happy to help and explain why I did not get accepted. It happens about once a year, usually to shows I am applying to for the first time.  

     Keep an eye on your calendar.  Do not let the application deadlines get away from you.  Some say "must be postmarked by.." and other say "must be received by..."  Those are two totally different things.  

Fall Porch Decorating

I know it has been too long since I posted but I promise to get better at this blogging thing.

Let's start with a little tour of my fall decorating.  I love Fall. My favorite season for so many reasons, most of which involve fashion and home decor.  

I live for rolled up jeans, a t-shirt and a cutie little cardigan in a fun color.  Or how about an over sized cozy team colors sweatshirt and boots? The colors of fall are so rich and warm.  I try to incorporate it into my wardrobe and my home.

I started with by front porch this year, mainly because I was having people over and my porch was a mess from having so many kids play on it all the time.  I would never kick them out, of course, I think their stick/sword games are hilarious.

It all began with a wreath I have made more times than I can count this season.  It is my best seller.  I made one for me, then I made one for The Doodling Bug in Apex, then I sold a few more in the neighborhood after people drove by and saw it.  Then I shipped 2 out to far away states and another is going to a neighbor this week. There were a few more sales in between but you get the idea.  I am thankful for its popularity.  It is big and beautiful with a very simple elegance.  Of course no two are exactly alike, but I love mine.

After the wreath was up all by its lonesome for a week or so I found the perfect accent piece.  I usually add 2 pumpkins with floral arrangements to either side of my front door.  I wanted something different this year.

I found the most adorable red vintage wagon on Craigslist.  It was my jumping of point this year.  I can use it year round!  I am already brainstorming ideas for Christmas.  I am getting ahead of myself.  It was a steal at only $15!

I put one of the floral arrangements inside as well as one of my orange chevron pumpkins.  Love them!  I thought about adding hay or straw but I do not want to have to clean it up after my kids throw it at each other over and over.

I added the other floral arrangement to the other side o the door.  I like some sort of symmetry.  

The completed front door display is my favorite since we moved here 3 years ago.  It will grow with the addition on pumpkins for decoration that I will leave there until Thanksgiving.  It will change again when we add the jack-o-lanterns the kids carve.  They get pretty elaborate.  We have won first place the last 3 years in our neighborhood pumpkin carving contest.  We have competitive issues.  If you know me you know it has infected us all.

From the front door to the sitting area.  I keep the sitting area simple because that is where my youngest and her friends sit and play frequently.  I added Ikat pattern pillows in cream and brown. The yellow cushions are there all year.  Then another small black chevron pumpkin.  The wood lantern was a great Goodwill find.  It is Pottery Barn and it was a whole $5.  I love the Goodwill in the ritzy town!  People of affluence donate great stuff!!

It is a process and I promise to be better about sharing my process with you. 

 Stay tuned for my mantle and sideboard transformations.

Craft Show Partner

I am gearing up for craft show season.  It is my busiest time of year and I prep for next year starting in January.  

My first application for 2014 actually went out Jan 15 of 2014.

There are so many things to be aware of when applying for a show or a series of shows.

I will go into an in depth post about it at a later date, I promise.

For now I am excited to announce I will be teaming up with my good friend Bridget Norton from It's All Chic for most of my craft shows this year.   She and I get along great and our products go together so well.  It is a great match-up.

I have never had a booth-mate before.  I have always done my shows solo.  I like having someone there to talk to, to hang while I eat or run to the bathroom. But I really like bringing in double the people with a totally different type of craft.   Bridget makes hand painted signs from reclaimed wood.

Believe it or not running a booth for a day is exhausting, if you're lucky and busy.  I pray to be exhausted at the end of a show.  If it was s really good day I will have a sore throat from all the nonstop talking to customers.  It is a good problem to have.  

It also allows us both to enter a show we might not have been able to do alone.  Some shows are expensive to enter.  The Shopping Spree in Raleigh, NC is around $1300 to enter for a standard 10x10' space.  That is a lot of ching!  Too much for me even with a partner.

There are some shows that can be difficult to get into.  Smaller juried shows can be hard to get accepted to because they have a limited number of spots.  If there are two of us we can both apply for a show and hope one of us gets in.

Some people have friends stop in or family members help out but I have never. 

 I am excited about the joint venture this Fall.  I look forward to what the future holds for my business and the collaboration. Bridget is a blast and it can only help us both.

5 Craft Shows I Won't Do

I am so excited to be featured on Vend Raleigh today.  I wrote a blog post about how I choose craft shows to be part of.  Cary Heise, the founder of Vend Raleigh, encouraged me to write this after we met at their Sip n Shop event.  

I am not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, I love all my DS friends and I love my tiny little church shows.  I am trying to help all those beginners who don't want to waste their hard earned money on a show that is doomed to fail.  We work hard on our crafts and I want us all to be successful.

Check it out.

5 Craft Shows I Won't Participate in

301 Endless Yard Sale!

I waited and saved my pennies for Friday June 20 for months.  If you have not heard of the 301 Endless Yard Sale in NC, you need to find out about it!

Click HERE for 301 Endless Yard Sale FB page

It was an awesome experience. My hubby was nice enough to let me go alone, no kids!  He stayed home and did a little yard work so I could have a day to myself junking and picking all by my lonesome.  It was glorious.

I started in Selma,  NC at 8am.  Very cool little antiquing town. Lots of little antique stores  so I hoped it would be a good town to pick.  It was. Great old furniture, maps, tobacco baskets.  Everything you could want.  The best deals were with locals who did not own shops but had lots of old stuff.  I scored a bunch of 1950's National Geographic maps, a few frames, 3 big wooden spools, and a metal scoop. Pics to follow down below.

I did see a really cool tandem bike.  Not $300 cool though.

Some prices in Selma were waaaay too high for me but I am glad I started there to give me a base line for prices in other towns.

Next I stopped at the American Legion sale.  So many nice men trying to raise money for our Vets. I purchased a vintage Bulova wind up mens watch.  It is aleady scratched up a little so if I scratch it again I won't feel bad. The Vets were so nice and let you dig through boxes and bags and there were totally willing to haggle.

I also picked up a Canon film camera AE-1 with a lens kit, a ton of lenses and a converter kit.  What does that do?  It lets me use all those lenses on my NEW Canon.  I got a telephoto lens in this kit too!  I am so excited.  I can't wait to try it out.  I would post a pic but the Vets made me swear not to tell anyone what a deal they gave me.  I will say I got the camera, 3 lenses, cleaning kit, lifter kit and huge bag all for $20!!!! WHAT!?  Crazy I know.

I drove through Selma into Smithfield stopping at a bunch of yard sales all along the way. So many nice people.

I Smithfield I stopped at a sale in a parking lot with 4 huge sellers.  The first would not deal at all saying it was too early in the weekend to reduce prices.  Fine by me.  NEXT! The cute little hubby and wife team behind her had an old Minolta Autocord camera for $5!It came with the original instructions and receipt. It doesn't work and I don't care. I have a couple I use as display in my home.  I did find more dorm beds here than a college would ever need.

The beds were only $15 each!  Crazy!  They also had a ton on office furniture, classroom furniture and bunk beds.

There were less sales on Fri than Sat., but I am glad I went on Fri to get the good stuff first.  I stopped at a house of all Thirty One items. Lady was a rep and was cleaning out!  She was swamped.  Other people had their yards all mapped out with yellow tape where new vendors would be on Sat.  

Somewhere down the road a little more I scored a bed for $30.  I will let you know more about this later as it is a project hubby and I will be working on later

One of the best stops was at an intersection with 4-5 sale.  I bought a solid piece feedback quilt for $5. Yes, I said $5.  This family cleaned out their barn and just wanted it gone. They had the coolest fishing tackle, quilts, old hairdryers, luggage, and the cutest kids to sell it all. When I drove by again later in the day on my way home they had hardly anything left.  Good for them.  I also bought the best bundt cake here.  I am a big believer in stopping at ll lemonade stands. This one happened to have homemade, still warm bundt cake.  $1 for a lemonade and a piece of cake. Breakfast of champions.

So many great sights on the way.

So many beautiful old houses and barns, and gorgeous fences. The people could not be nicer and everyone wants to know where I am from.

More than once after I told them Apex, but originally NJ, I was called a city girl!  ME!  If they knew where in NJ they would never call me a city girl.  I do talk fast and loud.  Love it or leave it.:)

Somewhere in Four Oaks I picked up a vintage tobacco burner and windows for $1 each.  More to come later as I will be showing you in a later post how I used these items.

I made it all the way down to the Dunn Benson line.  Great little shop with lots of old items right on the border at the Mary Stewart School. 

I think the best items and deals were in Smithfield and Four Oaks.  The people renting out their yard crack me up.  It was such a blast I can't wait for next year already.   So many people were in their campers and set up a sale in a parking lot. I want to do that.  Next year I will sell Sat and buy Fri.  Everything you could ever want was there.  also discovered some great junk shops. 

Funny story....I only regret not buying a vintage metal fan that worked.  I tried to haggle and she would not budge so I moved on.  So I am on my way back home and stop at a house with tons of kitchen sets from the 50's.  So colorful and in great condition.  The couple loading their truck asks for a hand. I am happy to help.  We start chatting about where the good deals are and they mention a deal but not a deal on vintage fans.  They tell me about the same lady who would not budge on price but they bought the fans anyway.  They show me the fans I did not buy!  I was bummed but glad they were so happy about them. We laughed about it when I told them my side of the story.

It was a great day. I finally got home around 3pm.  Here are pics of some of my smaller items. I will post more pics of the big items i am working on.

 

You can see more on my FB page as well.

Sarah Coffey Designs Facebook Page

Stay tuned for more on my other items and see where I used them in my home and how I repurposed them into other items!