Holiday Bazaar, New Stuff About to Launch, and THE GIVEAWAY!

I mentioned last time that this weekend, I would be participating in a holiday bazaar that a friend of mine does with one of her friends.  This was the fourth year that they did this, and though I heard it was not as busy as years past, I thought it went pretty well!  My daughter and I packed up our card table and LOTS of bookmarks and got over there in time to set up our table with some nice festive decorations by the opening at 11:00.  We had our first sale by 11:10!  We sold 11 bookmarks and a set of magnets, plus got a custom order for a bookmark, so all in all, we did way better than I've done in the last 4 months in my Etsy shop!  Here is my daughter at our table, just before the bazaar started:

You know, card tables are really not good for much else besides maybe playing solitaire- there was NOT enough room to display all the stuff I had!  I had to encourage people to dig through my piles of bookmarks so that they could see all of the designs.  It was a full table indeed.

Anyway, it was lots of fun, and I got to see all kinds of neat stuff that other people were selling.  There was a Pampered Chef consultant there, and I just LOVE their stuff!  They have the BEST garlic press I have ever owned- I had one for many years and it finally broke just recently, so I ordered another one.  Can't wait to get it, because I use a lot of garlic!  So, good fun, a few sales, so I'm happy!

So I am gearing up for the holidays now, and in preparation for both the bazaar and the upcoming holidays, I have made a lot of new stuff.  I mentioned before that I would like to have some holiday-themed bookmarks, and also some flower bookmarks that I can sell in packs of 3 or 4, which would be great for stocking stuffers.  I finally got some holiday designs that I like- see what you think!

These holiday ones I think I will sell in a 3-pack with one of each.

Here are a few of the new one-flower bookmarks.  Remember I did a few awhile back, and I was kind of luke-warm on those designs?  I like these a lot better!

Needless to say, I have been VERY busy in the last week or so!  The good news is, my inventory is stocked.  The bad news is, I have a LOT of bookmarks to photograph and do photo editing before I can even think about listing them in my shop!  That, I have to say, is  my absolute least favorite part about being an Esty seller....I have never been much of a photographer, it is not something I enjoy, and that is the real *work* part of what I do.  I did a marathon photo session today, and am about halfway through the editing, so this week will start listing in my shop.

Oh, one more I want to show you!  This is so cool:

Kendra sent me this cool scrapbook paper that she had that looks like maps.  There were three different map patterns, and I made one bookmark out of each pattern for the holiday bazaar.  This is the only one that is left- the other two were among the first to sell yesterday.  So at least I know there is a demand  for these!  I am thinking that maybe I need to abuse my AAA membership just a little bit and go get some maps so that I can make some more!  I had a couple of people ask me about maps with specific places on them, so I think that is a market that can be explored.  And very fitting too....I make maps in my day job (not cool ones like these, just stuff like zoning and population density and stuff that), so it's interesting that on my journey into a creative pastime, I have come full circle back to what I have always done.

Ok, so I have saved the best for last.  I am finally going to do the giveaway I have been promising!  I kicked it off yesterday at the bazaar and got several entrants already.  I am going to give away a four-pack of bookmarks of ANY design in my shop- a $20 or more value! You can choose from any of my designs that are already in my shop (sorry, custom/personalized bookmarks are not eligible) if you win.  This would be a great way to start off your holiday shopping, because bookmarks make fantastic stocking stuffers or gifts for teachers, coaches, coworkers, or to pair with a book or book store gift card for a nice holiday gift!

You can enter the drawing by leaving a comment on this blog post.  If you follow my blog, I will enter you twice- this goes for existing and new follwers!  Make sure I know how to get ahold of you if you win, especially if you comment anonymously.  You can also increase your chances of winning by promoting this giveaway on your blog!  Just leave a separate comment with a link to your blog post where you mention this giveaway, and I will enter your name to the drawing AGAIN!  I will take entries until 6:00pm Sunday, November 21st (PST), and will announce the winner later that evening.  I will also contact the winner by email, so if you comment anonymously, make sure you leave your name and email address in your comment.

Good luck everyone!