Just Using The Print On The Fabric Sometimes Works Fine All On It's Own

LOL!  There's a 'money' fabric at JoAnns that someone took apart to make into individual bills as cat toys.  I thought that was pretty funny.  The fabric is $9 a yard here, I can see why the seller had priced them all at $4 each.

Here's the page I got the picture from.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/189744023/organic-catnip-toy-money-dollar-bills?ref=market

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays

Looking back over the year I've seen my creative side expand a bit more, and opportunities for selling what I make grow wider.  Instead of just one or two major places, another jumped up and several smaller ones presented themselves.  It's a long way from being self sufficient as a business but there is growth and that's what counts.

 

Niche markets can be really unpredictable especially in this economy. I'm seeing less happening in the way of creative stuffed toys and much much more happening in pet toys.  And shifts in sales too - what was 'hot property' for the Christmas season last year (felt ornaments) was completely overlooked this year and the muffs took off like crazy this year. Next year it might be something completely different and I'll be stuck with the muffs and have to look for new ideas. 

 

I did notice that one person who sold out was purchasing those $1 pair of knitted gloves from the Dollar Stores and cutting the fingers and thumb off them, sewed on a ridge of fake fur and was selling them as Texting Gloves.  Hmm.  Yes they looked cute. The fake fur was 1" wide and didn't interfere with finger use, but the things would do nothing to keep your hands from freezing when you're done texting. 

 

Niche market stuff.

 

Keep thinking up new things.  Colors, trends, fads, it may seem like taking a chance, but without taking it you'll never know how something will turn out for you.

 

Happy Holidays!

Amazing What Someone Can Do With Felt

I ran across a nicely designed creature made out of standard felt when searching under fantasy soft sculpture on google.  Take a look at this item!  She has a great looking winged wolf as well and some nicely done horse type creatures.

One can appreciate good work when they see it.  Thumbs up to the artist!



Here's her website on Etsy.  https://www.etsy.com/shop/UniversesSwirls?page=1

Holiday Orders Sidelined Me

Sorry, it's a far cry from posting 3 times a week down to once every week and a half, but I've been filling holiday orders and haven't had time to get online with anything other than my email lately.

 

All the 'emergency send QUICK' orders are done.  I'm looking at one store closing down so there go any future sales I'd have made to them. Another buyer doesn't have a show till halfway through January so doesn't need to order anything till then (when he usually orders something four times a month).  And I'm now looking at some time to start thinking about what to make for next August's Pennsic War shipment.  Nothing big is scheduled till next July. 

 

It's sink or swim, but with seasonal stuff and trying hard to make sales through smaller outlets, there's still not enough of it all to make a living off of yet.  Sad but true.  Wish it were better.  I had hopes for etsy.com but sellers are leaving that in droves thanks to the owners tanking the site by allowing Chinese imports in that swamped the board and lowered sales up to and over 75% for every artist I talked to about it.  There goes that market.

 

Well, I do want to focus on making new items, and possibly selling patterns as well.  I've looked into how patterns are packaged and can get the supplies for that so that idea is a possibility. 

 

Anyway, we're going into the new year soon - 2015 - let's see how 'good' it can be if I can come up with some other ways of thinking outside the box.

 

Here's to moving forward!

Possible New Item

There was a length of fake fur in a plush zebra print at JoAnn Fabrics that had a 'run' horizontally through the piece. Right at the end of the bolt. The sales clerk gave it to me at 75% off so I only paid $3 for something like a yard and a quarter of it. Nice deal.  I cut the damaged part off and was trying to come up with what to use the narrow strip for and thought maybe 'Cat Pot Holders'? 

 

Well not really pot holders, more like small 'sitting mats' to fling onto the couch so the cat would sit there instead of curling up putting shed fur on the rest of the couch. 

 

The strip made 4 squares about a foot on each side and I put a canvas type of fabric on the bottom.  Not sure if this is worthwhile, I'd prefer the larger placemat sized squares but it did use up the smaller section of the fabric for me.

 

On a side note, the two black fur muffs I took in to the Country Cellar were bought as a pair by a lady who got them as 'arm warmers' for her husband!  LOL   I'd played around with sliding them up my arms here at home and yes they ARE very warm, but I didn't think anyone else would be doing that.  Either way, it sold both of them. 

 

I've made 33 muffs for the store, they have about a dozen there yet, and the last week coming up is the store's big push to Christmas. They close the store a week before the holiday.