First Post

I have been making cards for a while but have recently started to sell my products.  I have attended some local craft fairs.  They are time consuming and often not very profitable.  But I have found that they are a great way to meet fellow crafters and other interesting people.  Craft fairs are also an undercover way to establish pricing.  Craft goers are on a budget and they want to get the most for their buck.  They have come to the fair with maybe a few $20 bills in their pocket and they want to spend it at as many booths as they can.  If you are competing with someone for a product cheaper is always better.  But not so cheap that they think that your product is cheaply made or that you don't make any money.  If you can establish a fair price at a craft fair you know that you can get slightly more than that on-line.  I say slightly more because you need to keep in mind that not only are there more people viewing and considering your product there are also WAY more people who have something similar to offer.

Even if you find yourself at a craft fair that is not very profitable there are always things to be learned.
      1. Meet crafters, scope out their booths and presentation of their products
      2. Check out pricing of similar products, but be sure to keep quality and profit in perspective
      3. Learn how to negotiate and initiate with customers
      4. Keep track of traffic, how many customers were there, how many stopped at your booth, how many were fellow crafters and not looking to buy
      5. Don't get discouraged there are always other ways to sell your product

Here is a recent card that I made.  I like to make cards that are white as a base because I feel like that is the best for writing on.  I also like to leave all of my cards blank on the inside.  If I customize it as a "Thank You" or "Birthday" "Holiday" etc it is usually on the front to leave the inside for personal customization.
This particular card uses a little girl stamp with black ink and a quote also in black ink.  I then watercolored the image of the little girl using water colored pencils and a blending water brush.  I liked the quote in the upper corner because it offset the negative space of that blank area and it allowed me to center my little girl.  I made corresponding cards like this in all different colors.  The background paper always matches the watercolor.

Let me know what you think of the card.
Check out some of my items on Etsy.com
etsy.com/shop/nbradleystationary