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Crochet Party Time – Art Night Out Party Kits

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Crochet Party Kits
Art Night Out’s Crochet Party Kit

Have you ever seen this Jewelry Crochet Kit before? It’s called Art Party Kits by Art Night Out.

Art Night Out is from Maine, USA where they specialize in creating a fun night out at their studio. They have a unique mix of different genres of crafting; there seems to be something for everyone. They realized there was a need for Party Kits where people want to have all the supplies to be able to teach others.
This kit allows you to host a party where the focus is creativity. Kits range in different sizes depending on the party you have. The kit you see above is for 4 people. 

I’ve done this before where I charged my friends a fee for learning crochet jewelry with me. Using these kits, you get everything you need such as crochet hooks, beads, wire, clasps and more. I don’t feel bad about charging my friends because all of these materials cost money. My expertise and hands on instructions are worth some money as well.

Here’s what I did:
  • Bought the kit so I had everything on hand. The kits have a great selection of products inside to really make interesting jewelry that adults and kids would appreciate working on.
  • I charged a fee to attend my course in my home. The fee includes the materials and my time.
  • I worked out the course fee to be about $30. In one course, this kit can bring in about $120. Minus the kit fee and the rest is in my pocket for a rainy day!
  • I can make money on the side by hosting creativity parties such as this.
It’s a great little idea that has really neat cash earning potential. If you get some of these kits you can throw a party of your own! Make some crochet jewelry that you’ll wear forever.

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Yard Sales Creativity, Viewer’s Opinions

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Don’t you just love when you felt you ripped off someone at a yard sale knowing you just picked up something for a nickel that was normally twenty bucks or more. You can’t help but think, pay it real quick, run to the car and leave rubber tire marks on the road thinking that the previous owner doesn’t know what just happened.

On The Crochet Crowd Facebook Fan Page, viewers have been revealing that yard sales are one of the most fabulous ideas for implementing creativity, getting inspiration, and picking up incredible products. One viewer revealed she got nearly 30 skeins yarn for five dollars. She scored about one hundred and forty five dollars. The previous owner was over purchasing yarn and got carried away thinking she would use it one day. One day never came and its now on the yard being sold to someone else with lots of ambition.

I’m not a fan of hosting a yard sale. People do slow and judge like prey animals. I have to smile when you see the people in the car and the woman figure has got her hand over her mouth to stop us from reading her lips. I can just hear it. “It’s junk… where’s the next sign!”. With so many people driving by without ever getting out, I look around and say, “Sheesh all my stuff must be junk!”

Yard sales to me are puzzles of creativity. A bit from this sale, combined with another sale can make a complete item. I love decorating clay pots that sit in the garden as part of the décor. Most plants aren’t in bloom all summer, so a freshly painted pot sitting amongst the green between flowering times can add so much beauty. It’s not like figurines where today’s trend is out next year. Pots can be re-painted at any time.

I’ve come to adopt the feeling that the junkier the sale appearance, the more you have to discover. Viewers have chimed in on this topic on The Crochet Crowd on Monday May 23, 2011. See their opinion below.

      • I just like to snoop. I get out of the car if there looks like a good amount of stuff. Love multi family sales. If there is only a little out there I usually skip it.
      • I did a yard sale the other day. I had matching Table Clothes, professional signature and all colour coded… I think that is why no one got out… was too organized.
      • I don’t mind organized–In fact- one of my biggest pet peeves is totally unorganized with no prices!
      • I look to see if it has some organization to it. If it is just out there I don’t stop It may be your Junk but to others it could be a diamond mine. I go looking for craft supplies and things I didn’t know I needed lol
      • I have always made a list througout the year of things I would like to find at yard sales during the summer. I give the lists to family and friends so they can also keep an eye out for me and let me know if they find any of the items Im loo…king for. Right now on my list I have buttons, lace, fabric, yarn, crochet needles, microwave, and the list goes on and on. I refuse to stop at yard sales that only have “one table” full of stuff. I am a drive by shopper or so my husband says. I drive by really slow and try to see if it looks like its worth stopping at.
      • Both! I usually have a mental list of what I want to keep an eye out for and sometimes just find things that I just hae to have! To stop I have to see more than just clothes and a box of books! Yes the junkier the sale the better and usually better prices! I hate going to overpriced yard sales!
      • We are running a garage sale at the moment. We plan on doing it on most nice weekends through out the summer. We have tons of nice things and do not price most items. That way the stickers don’t ruin the item (which has happened to us lots) and if you are interested, ask. Our answer is usually fair or “make me an offer”.
      • Usually we drive by slow and then if I see something I want to check out we get out. Usually we are just looking for clothes for my 4 year old daughter. I like to look for stuff so if it is organized or not I don’t mind. Usually when I have… my own I try to get everything organized to a point. People still have to look through the boxes of clothes, but I put all the clothes in one area LOL.
        My mom on the other hand will get out at all yard sales she sees and really look around. She doesn’t care what it looks like. When she throws a yard sale though I think she over prices her stuff. You aren’t supposed to be trying to make money you are supposed to be getting rid of stuff.
      • I love to snoop and see what treasures I can find! I stop at every one I can find. And if they have toys I have to stop so my daughter can look. Some time it pays off. I have found some great things to use for crafting. Love to find knitted… swetters that are no longer wanted. I Frogg them for the yarn, buttons, zippers… Love to remake old or broken jewlery new. I add it to my crochet, knit, or just make more jewlery with it.
      • When my mom used to take my brothers and I out, we used to hunt for lost treasures, it was definately a case of the junkiest yard sale was the best to go to. I remember finding a vinyle copy of Elton John’s Yellow Brick Road, it was amazing…! Some of my best memories are of getting up on Saturday, walking around the neighborhood with a twenty dollar bill, and going back home with an armful of things, they just don’t do it like that anymore.See Moreabout an hour ago · LikeUnlike
      • A sale has to have lots of stuff!! Not piles and piles of clothes. A table of folded clothes and some on a hanging rack won’t deter me. But I want to see tables of books and tchotchkes. Toys are okay, but piles of stuffed animals…yuck! Furniture yes, tires NO! But lots of stuff visible from the street.
      • Kids selling lemonade or water & sodas are a plus. The organizer wearing a hat and apron mean organized to me.
      • PRICED ITEMS! If items are not priced or priced far to high, organized or not, I will walk away. I know many o fthe things we see in true garage sales are personal treasures and have a history with the seller but the seller has to be hone…st and put good prices (prices that will sell) on their items. I put low prices on my items and sell more than if I had high prices. . . .would much rather see the money in my pocket than the item back in my house! Homemade items that are made for the sale (Like Mikey’s) are a whole other story!
      • I usually go out if I have something I am looking for and enjoy the snooping. Gas prices are to high these days to just go out without a reason.

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The Cost of Creativity – Creating Your Own Online Store

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A very common question I receive is about the amount to charge for crafting goods. I specialize in teaching Crochet & Loom Knitting. New enthusiastic people come on board and learn with my “How To” tutorials and then get all rev’d up on the excitment. While sitting there, they get thinking big about creating their own home based businesses. They see people selling stuff all over the internet and then they start seeing themselves as a business owner and marketing their goods.

Realistically, what something is worth is up to the person who wants it. If you are creating something that can be found all over the internet, “How is your product any different?” Are you doing something, a stitch, an emblishment, or a style that is unsually pleasing to the creative beings of your purchasers?

The question answer is, “I have no idea what something is worth, that’s up your purchasers?”

Many websites have great Create Your Own Online Stores with service fees attached to it. Then companies like EBAY or PAYPAL also take a small percentage of your purchase price. Have you thought about shipping and the level of services required to ship your item. Just ensure you factor in the costs of all the service fees that make a transaction possible.

We are in a society where “OUR WORK” aka Creative Designs is heavily discounted due to mass production of stuff available to the general public. We are very used to big box stores clearing creative things at bargain prices. So when you go to price your item, you need to think about your material costs, and then time involved. For some strange reason, “Time” in “OUR WORK” seems to be heavily discounted as its perceived as a pass time hobby. However, you are still an artist regardless.

I know myself… people have offered prices for blankets that have taken 40 + hours and the rate they want to pay is less than the material costs of the yarn. The big box stores have made it harder for real people who have creative abilities to be recognized because they can buy something that looks half creative at a fraction of the price. Creative to many people these days is a really cool idea that has been mass produced a million times over that would look great and can be made cheap due to the mass production involved. People perceive seeing something in your project that they seen at the local store for merely pennies… and take that in account when offering a price.

“The Presentation Of Your Goods is everything and you only get one opportunity to impress…” Follow some simple tips as follows below:

  • Great photographs. Don’t show pictures of your goods with an untidy house or something in the background that is a turn off.
  • Be careful of showing pets. Pet hair perception on items is possible and a turn off to some people.
  • Do great write ups about what they are purchasing.
  • Tell a story… give your items some meaning. The inspiration or thought behind your item.
  • Tell the realistic time on how long it took to make.
  • Don’t expose your raw material costs, but focus on the emotional satisfaction of what it was like to create it.
  • Don’t be too specific on the materials used or the methods on how you got your item to the way it did. There are many people out there who may be asking questions but getting you to reveal your trade secrets so they can mimic or duplicate it for themselves.
  • If you are customizing… say what options are available.
  • Tell how you are shipping it and maybe communicate tracking numbers and when you shipped it to the buyer.
  • There will be people that will bargain with you and will try to get your price to near costs if not below costs. Remember, those customers aren’t doing you any favors. Those are the type of people taking advantage of artists creativity for their own personal gain.
  • If you are using Facebook or social networks to sell your goods, be careful what you post and the comments you decide to make. If you are a negative commenter about your own life or personal circumstances, it may be best to keep potential buyers from seeing your Facebook. Reading negative comments or life’s sad stories really don’t get a buyer to be sympathetic to purchase… they are silent deterents.

There’s lots to think about… and many people can benefit from making a few extra dollars off their creativity. Just be mindful and think about all avenues before getting the itch to buy a skid of raw materials.

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Start Your Own Sewing Business and How to Make a Door Draft Stopper

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We recently received a recommendation to check out the Sew Home Pursuits hubpage from Dame Scribe. Her helpful hubpage is all about starting your own sewing business and is  a great collection of resources on the topic. In reality, anyone with a sewing machine and a little free time can start a sewing business. While experienced pattern drafters are always highly sought-after, starting a sewing business does not have to mean creating complicated sewing patterns. Instead, you can sew and sell simple, practical items needed in any home, including blankets, throw pillows, and drapery. The key to sewing simple items is having the right tools and a basic understanding of measurements. Use beautiful fabrics (or print your own fabric) and add fun embellishments with applique, embroidery, ribbons and more. Here is a really simple project for a door draft stropper:

Materials:

  • Sturdy, tightly woven fabric (8″ x 41-45″)
  • Scissors
  • Sewing machine and thread
  • Yard Stick
  • Filler- sand, rice, dry corn, aquarium gravel, kitty litter (You can mix in aromatic elements such as potpourri or evergreen tips)
  • Funnel

Instructions:

1. Measure the length of your door frame. Most will be around 41″ or 45.”

2. Cut your fabric into a rectangle of the right width (8″) and length.

3. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise to form a 4″ wide tube with the wrong sides of the fabric facing out.

4. Sew the length and one end together with a ½” seam allowance. Sew the length and one end again with a ¼” seam allowance. This keeps any filler from escaping.

5. Turn your tube inside out, using the yardstick to help push it out.

6. Using the funnel, fill the tube with the filler, leaving 1 inch at the top.

7. Turn in ½” of the top edge and sew closed. Repeat with another seam ¼” away from the first.

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My 5 Favorite Decorative Wreath Crafts

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Homemade wreath are a fun way to decorate any door or wall of the home, and normally the materials are very inexpensive. As I already mentioned here at the blog, crochet offers many opportunities for holiday wreaths. Even without crochet, you can use yarn to wrap wreaths.  Whether yarn, paper or spare buttons, your favorite materials can likely be turned into a wreath. Here are my top five favorite ideas right now:

Easy Paper Wreath– This wreath is a great craft project to do with kids.

Birdseed Wreath– A natural wreath pays tribute to our feathered friends.

Save your Buttons– Display all your favorite spare buttons on a wreath.  Why not hang above your sewing table?

Paper Pinwheel Wreath– Turn pretty paper pinwheels into a colorful wreath, perfect for a child’s room.

Sea Glass Wreath– Collect sea glass (or mixture of seaglass and seashells) for a wreath to remember your trip to the beach.

All these projects use foam wreath bases, but keep in mind you can you can also use a cardboard circle, salvaged from a large box perhaps. With a 14-inch diameter circle wreath, you would want to cut a 12-inch diameter circle out of the middle. You can also use a wire hanger bent into the shape of a circle for your wreath base.

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