Determination leads to Victory

Tears flowing down my cheeks, not because of sadness but because of an overwhelming wave of emotions, happiness, thankfulness,relief and pride. You see Yesterday was the first soccer practice for Josslyn, something many parents go thru nothing to be so emotional about, except, 4 years ago we never thought this would be possible, at least not so soon.

 Josslyn was born with Turner Syndrome or TS as we call it, she is a classic case which means she is missing 1 X chromosome. This is a disorder that happens randomly in the beginning of embryonic development, it happens in 1 of every 2,500 girls born worldwide and many go undiagnosed until their teen years unless they have heart problems or clear signs at birth or are lucky enough to have a Dr that knows enough and can spot it.

 For more information about Turner Syndrome please look up: http://turnersyndrome.org/

  For our Josslyn it would take almost 2yrs from her birth to get a diagnosis that would explain everything we had been going thru since before her birth. Josslyn had been behind on all her milestones and when I say behind I mean over a year behind. Her gross motor was affected by low muscle tone also common in TS, she kept failing hearing tests and having tubes put in to drain 3 times, her language was very behind to where she had just 4 words when she should have had at least 50 or more, this caused a lot of frustration for her and us as well so we embarked in sign language which helped. A team of Early intervention specialists would visit us weekly and we also did Occupational therapy and behavioral therapy to address the anxiety with change, her gross motor skills, her language skills.

The part that most got her frustrated was not being able to walk and not yet stand alone when she was already 18mo, until then she had done army crawls and rolling over because she could not get on her knees. Watching her brother who was 6yo at the time play Soccer and my husband, my older daughter and I practicing with him would get her so upset it would break my heart. I decided to use soccer as an incentive to move her legs. I would hold her dangling over the ball and swing her so she would kick it, oh she enjoyed that so much, however our backs did not. We did this everyday as much as we could because her want to play was bigger than her not being able to just yet. Soon after she started walking, was very wobbly and would fall a lot, but was happy to kick the ball. We practiced daily which helped her balance and coordination and she was pretty good and fast.

 Even though she was finally walking by age 2 she still needed a lot of help, it wasn't until after 3 1/2yo that she could walk steady without falling so much, she continued therapy in which we practiced walking sideways and backwards, things that just come naturally to other children she needed to be taught. And even though by then we had addressed this obstacle we still had to face social anxiety, you see she also has a form of autism (PDD-NOS)and new things, change in things and being around a large group of people well it was just not possible for her.

 Thankfully having her in special education at our school starting at age 3 and still doing behavioral therapy, speech therapy and Occupational/physical therapy helped her develop social skills needed to interact appropriately with others and being able to follow rules and instructions, being able to separate from us and go with her peers and teachers which brings us to Yesterday....an amazing day in which she had decided she was ready for Soccer and we decided to give it a try.

I am so thrilled she was excited to practice and be with her peers and did so well. It doesn't matter if they win games or not, to us she already won, she defeated the odds from the very beginning and will continue to do so because she is full of Determination.

 To read more stories about TS and our families visit one of our friends  and fellow TS Mom where she featured stories for TS Awareness Month and we had the pleasure to guest blog : Fat Little Legs

 Thank you for reading our story and joining in our Turner Syndrome Awareness Campaign. We acknowledge TS Awareness month as February, but to us who love someone with TS, awareness happens every day.

 I specially want to thank a GREAT group of Moms and Families that help with support and knowledge..if you are a parent of a girl with TS, please look for us here : TS Mommies n Parents

If you are in the medical community and wish to receive a FREE 1 Hour CME credit please visit: Turner Syndrome Society of US  

Remember 1 in every 2,500 girls has TS, you may know one or come to love one and not even know it. Education,Awareness  and Early Diagnosis is key to helping them achieve their goals.

TS Awareness on the News

Yesterday we had the pleasure to recieve our local 7 News in our home and share part of our life with Turner Syndrome. We are thankful they came to help spread awareness. Here is the video.
And a link to KSWO

Facing Turner's

This is the Article our Local Newspaper released last year for TS Awareness Month

Turner Syndrome Awareness Month

First of all most of you will question what is Turner Syndrome or TS as we call it. Well it's a random genetic disorder that affects girls, 1 in about 2,500 live female births worldwide. They are generally missing 1 X chromosome and can have variations of mosaicism ( part of the 2nd X, inverted arms in the X, triple X etc).

About 1% of TS pregnancies survive and are born, making these girls an extraordinary miracle, bc not only does science tell us you need all your chromosomes to sustain life, they have 1% of survival rate and still make it and thrive. Unlike most syndromes this syndrome does not come with mental disability, but yes it can bring some learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. These girls/women need to be checked for heart, kidney problems, have growth problems which most use Growth Hormone treatments IF diagnosed on time, ovarian failure and high blood pressure are also a factor.

Which brings us to raising awareness, some do not find out until they are teen or adults and some are diagnosed sadly after death upon further looking for a reason why.

Last year our local paper did a story on my daughter and her journey and ours with TS, this year we reached out to our Governor and I am happy to announce Governor Mary Fallin from Oklahoma agreed to sign the Proclamation for February as TS Awareness Month. We are very thankful as this step is just another brick on the road we are trying to build to help spread awareness not just Nationwide but Worldwide. The more awareness the more lives can be saved and be treated early to ensure a better quality of life for them.

I must add these girls are full of drive and determination, they are sweet,loving and very bright and they are able to live long, happy and fulfilled lives. Some end up being teachers, counselors, therapists, Dr's, nurses and more.

To find out more about Turner Syndrome/TS please visit TSSUS.ORG

Hellooooooooooooooo

Finally found my way back into my Blog. Can't wait to start sharing stories, ideas, inspiration and more.
A lot has happened since I last posted and a lot more is bound to happen in the next few months as our
move to Italy takes place.

Looking fwd to checking out new blogs and sharing with you all.

Giveaways

We already had the Custom MOM Bracelet giveaway by submitting
your child's drawing as an entry and now we are getting ready to close
tomorrow night at 8pm cst our 500 fan giveaway on Facebook, go check out
the items our sponsors put together and show them some love and Good Luck
to those who enter.

New Lines are getting ready to hit the lens

Designs are on their way...beads, wire, crystal, pearls,gemstones, glass and more all
taking different shapes in efforts to offer great new designs for our lines.
We will still be providing our very own Awareness lines and always open
for Custom creations for our awesome customers, but we are expanding our horizons
and materials. Get ready to be dazzled in jewels...........till next time
Make sure to join our facebook page.

Living with Punky Bruiser

It' been a minute since I posted last, mainly because we have been sick in rotations...and just in case you were wondering if I did a Typo on my tittle..NOPE. I am not talking about Punky Brewester the character brought to life by Soleil Moon Frye in the '80s,which I happened to love watching; I am talking about my very own Punky Bruiser. Yep life with Punky Bruiser is very challenging, exhausting, but loving and fun. My Punky is in love with purple, it if were up to her the world would be painted in purple with the occasional orange, pink, red and brown to contrast. See she loves these colors and they bring peace to her soul. Why? Well I don't know, and to tell the truth I've tried to figure this one out for 2yrs now and gave up and now I'm simply happy knowing it IS what it IS and it works for her, therefore it works for us. Purple works and so does mixed matched socks and shoes, tops and bottoms, it just does. Flowers and prints, stripes, dots, animals and all seasons mixed. And this has been OK because she never ventured into the world all discomposed. Never until NOW....yep she broke down and wore pink and white stripe panda shirt with blue jeans with green and blue turtle belt, white and red light up Reebok's with black socks with orange Jack o'lantern. EEEEKKK! I freaked, I tried to explain it did not match (she's usually very good about matching), but this particular day she needed to wear these mix matched items. She was going to Occupational Therapy and it's like she knew they'd be trying something new that day and would only be able to handle it dressed as "Punky Bruiser"
She broke every rule in my book and ALAS I now understood others I have seen dressed just like her. I was not going to fight, no point to it really, I explained myself a couple times and she was not "getting it" and instead of starting WWIII, I caved in and decided she needed to be herself.
And you must be wondering about "Bruiser" well that's her our little bruiser, she's tough and gets bruises often. She runs into the world head on full throttle no matter what. And when she's not getting them she's delivering them to our other children. Of course they are always under close supervision, but if you knew her you would see why it only takes her a quick second to overpower a 7yo while she is only 3. In a split second she can spell disaster in a million ways and still look angelic. Please don't get her wrong she is not lacking discipline, nor rules or limitations, they are there and set and time outs and lose of privilege take place,however she doesn't fully "get them". At least not YET. We hope and pray that someday SOON, she will join the others in the understandings of our family dynamics. Until then we keep living life with Punky Bruiser and loving her to the fullest and enjoying her silliness.
This is a glimpse in the life of my 3yo with Turner Syndrome, Developmental delays, ADHD, Anxiety Disorder among a few.


Here she is in her favorite color, purple with her older sister being silly.



Miss Punky B Tutu made by mom

1 poop, 2 poop, 3 poop, 4!!!

Note: This is a mommy blog, so we might have the occasional mention of body functions. Feel free to ignore if offended...

How much more???? Yep that's ME, busy life with 4 kids, just sitting here waiting till the day I see NO MORE POOP! So I thought I had this all figured out, I mean I had my first born 7yrs ago and before that I had watched kids, many many times. I thought by 3 I would be done with diapers and by 4 wiping others so now what? I have changed diapers, wiped, potty trained, gone thru all these crazy bio waste stages and yet I am still baffled at my youngest.

It was pretty easy to get my oldest potty trained, only to mess him up and make him regress after 2 trips out of state, 1 which was a move and the birth of our 2nd. Pretty soon after we moved we were on track again and I was done wiping that butt. Now our 2nd child, my Diva Melody she was potty trained before 2yrs old, only regress to such extent it took us another 2yrs to get her back (long story). And don't get me started with still hearing the "Moooommyyyyyyyy" yelled from her bathroom when #2 arrives. Yep, still wiping that one, occasionally making deals to put an end to it....no such luck yet. Then we have our 3rd Josslyn, happy go lucky, moody girl. With her you never know what you'll get, and yes she has started going potty, but she is so frequent, she would have to live in the bathroom, nonetheless she makes an effort..and when she doesn't make it, which is her usual she is quick to let us know and bring her supplies. Now our 4th and last Mady (21mo), this is the child that has me scratching my head from the moment I found out I was pregnant. Everything was different, odd and confusing, but that's another story. Mady has taken to join in on the potty training and does pretty well, she announces proudly when she is about to go or in the middle of it, so we rush to help her get there. She has no issues peeling down rather quickly to make her trip to Mr. Potty,we can sit there till what seems like forever and nothing happen, but she is trying and occasionally her tiny body listens to her and obliges.

And now about my confusion and puzzled mind with her...if we do not notice she has pee pee in her diaper, she will strip down and run naked bums around the house as if she has been set free after going. And if we ever not notice immediately she has pooped she does the same and itches herself and we find her in disbelief with "muddy" hands and disgust! You would think after many attempts with same results she would figure out she would get the same outcome..why oh why does she continue to do this?? I never had my other 3 do this and yet she continues to do this on a daily or whenever the occasion arises. So I am praying that something clicks and she figures out Mr. Potty can handle this better than us and she takes it up to him to handle this situation.
All in all here I am 7yrs of wiping butts and about 4more years to go...all this work and time and experience and I can not even apply this to my resume. Ahh motherhood, done out of love..Priceless!


P.S Any pointers to help my child from getting "muddy" hands??

Just a Tuesday break

So after being pretty active I took a HIATUS from here and most everywhere else. Took time to re-think myself, my family life, my business, my everything. I've been reading, thinking, remembering, organizing thoughts, re-living memories and making new ones. After reading about TUESDAY, my heart sunk, I hurt so bad and it became all to clear how fragile we are and how present our mortality is. I felt the same pain I felt when I got Josslyn's diagnosis of Turner Syndrome, yes I know Josslyn was still very much alive, but that little girl was forever gone. Something had changed, it was still her smile, still her soul, still her love, still her everything, but not the same. But I will talk about that later so you can understand.

This past week was about TUESDAY, thinking about her and her pains and her family pains and joy. She has inspired so many and touched even more. I was not left out of this circle, therfore my family unknowingly was also touched. Thank You TUESDAY for reminding us over and over again, than in an instant our lives can change, we can miss saying good-bye, I Love You's and how much we care. I have loved more and said it, I have cared more and showed it, I have lived more and was thankful for it. I will never again take a single moment in my life, in my kids life for granted, for every second with them has been a gift of love from God.

My prayers are with you and yours....and now revived I'm back from my hiatus.

Go on over to TUESDAYS blog...and leave her mom a message.

Not MY MAN anymore.....huh??? HER MAN???

OK so bare with me...let me vent! Here I am thinking we have 4 kids ages 7,4,3,1 and after 8yrs everything should be stable, right? Right? So why does this beautiful Dark Haired female, I must admit she has a gorgeous face and puppy eyes and well she is YOUNG, says to me "MY MAN" referring to my husband!!!!????

UGG what was she thinking, that after all I've been through I would just give in just like that? For goodness sake we have moved from west to east to south and who knows where next, have been thru soo much, military changes and long, very long work hours and this girl thinks she can just call him "my man"...I don't think so!

Did you know we went thru 5 pregnancies and have 4 kids and 3 angels out of this? We endured a year of testing for Josslyn to figure out what was going on with her. Sleepless nights and still have these, hair pulling moments and great times too, not to mention everything else we have been thru us together and with our kids and still do. So I always thought of him as being MY MAN, never said it out loud, I am beyond that age and besides I do have his ring on my finger, so you can imagine my surprise when during this Ice Storm and days without classes as I am preparing dinner we hear the door open and kids running "Daddy, daddy" and Josslyn jumps out and says


"MY MAN", "MY MAN is HOME", I turned to look at her and the LOVE I saw in her eyes was truly "PRICELESS"..and Yes I have to say he is "HER MAN, HER DADDY, HER HERO"
and Yes all these thoughts of everything we have been thru raced thru my mind in a split second. I already knew how I felt, but this tiny comment made me realize just how much I love him and how much of MY MAN he is.

Now what were you thinking?


Now here's a pic of that beautiful dark haired, angel face, puppy eyes female I was talking about with OUR MAN!

24hrs

So here I was thinking who's brilliant idea was to make our day 24hours? I know, I know..the scientific reasoning behind this, but did anyone ever bother to ask a mommy what she thought of this?
I mean 24hours is not even barely enough time to accomplish all that we have to do in a days work. So we are supposed to sleep at least 8hrs in a day, so really that leaves me with 16hours to do things? Really are you sure? Have you accounted, showering, toilet breaks, preparing meals 3 times a day and eating, what about snacks 3 times a DAY!!? What about cleaning up after eating and the dishes and chasing little ones to change diapers, wash and dress them...well by now I only have 10hours, oh and did we forget to pick up toys, check email, pay bills, check mail, ship out and do laundry and clean bathrooms and floors, never mind the dusting,organizing, weeding out outgrown items. I'm down to 5hours left now. Well if you're in my house picking up takes a bit more, since Miss Joss seems to never ever find what she is looking for on her first try, now I have 4.
The rest of this time is spent catching our breathe, running to catch the phone before we miss the call, picking up spills, kissing ouies, wrestling kids to nap, pick up once more, squeeze in some Motrin for this body ache, teach some manners and some grammar while we're at it, getting kids from bus, helping with homework, guiding kids back to homework, breaking up fights, kissing more ouies, re-directing kids to go outside to play, greet dad when he gets home and have him watch kids while I can clean up again...get them showered and ready for bed, teeth brushed, kids room picked up once more, read a book, say our prayers and tuck them in 10 times before they finally "pass out" . By then this mommy just wishes her day was shorter so we could all go to bed earlier, even though now after 10pm she finally has enough time to do something for herself,nope not yet, here comes the baby who woke up once more and by then it's 11pm , but now she is too tired to do anything and has less than 8 hours left for sleep, so she hurries herself to get ready for bed, brush her teeth, turn everything off, check her munchkins once more before going to bed and in hopes that maybe, just maybe tomorrow during the day she can find 15min or so to do something for herself.

Phew! I'm exhausted, I need a MAID...so what did you do today?

I ♥ Faces Kids Entry

Mady 17mo

I just loved how peaceful she was laying there with her bear
at the Big Green, while we cheered on our Soccer team.

This is my Entry for I HEART Faces photo contest
hosted at: http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com
Go over to their blog and check it out. So fun, new contests every week.

Making History and Impressions of a Lifetime

Today history is being written into the books of life with the Inauguration of our 44th President, Barack H. Obama. We have come a long ways since our forefathers and we still have a long way to go. But this is not about politics or racism this is about me. All this going on had me wondering, what have I done for people to remember me thru out the years? What kind of legacy am I building?

Now I am NOT trying to go for President, or Mayor, OK not even President of the School Board, nothing like that. I want to leave a legacy to those who know me. This has really inspired me to think, how much can I do? Well I will start from the bottom and work my way up. I can start by making memories with my own children, reading to them, baking for them and having them help too, building traditions of our own. Going out of my way to ensure I do the best for them and provide what they need to be whatever it is they want to be in life. I will make sure I do my duties without complaints, with honor and respect because my job is the most important job out there, I'm MOM. I will be the best role model I can be, I will share stories of our ancestors and what they have been thru and what they accomplished. I will tell them my grandma broke barriers if sexism in her young days all to bring her family out of poverty, how far they walked to go to school, how they built homes with their own hands and how we all came together as one big extended family during holidays , birthdays and mourning's and everyday in between. I will tell them how hard they worked to live the American dream and how they passed down this desire to succeed to me, to us. I will show them manners and teach them respect and about taking turns and being fair. I will show them how to be a family and unite and work as a team. I will continue to include them in my activities at home, my crafts, my projects and our dreams. I will continue family time and individual time with them for as long as I can. I will go back to college and graduate and show them it can be done and will continue to help others and make others aware of the medical issues that affect us and our society. I will do the best I can at whatever I decide to do. I will show them to "try and try again" and that giving up is not an option. I will teach them that friends are very valuable, they can be our angels when we need them and our family when we have none.

I will make sure they see me as more than just mom, or a wife, but they see me as a woman who did great things for them and for herself and others. I will do things in hopes when I no longer exist with the living that they all look back with love at things I have done.

I will live my life knowing that Everyday in our life is History in the making.

New items to add...

I wanted to keep you posted on new designs
I will be posting on my site. I still have tons of ideas I want to put into motion and create "eye candy" items for others. I might be taking a new turn here as I start to concentrate more on my jewelry designs...and some surprises yet to come.



Friends are Angels







Candy Cane Heart

If you find anything you would like to order, just shoot me an email and we'll work out the details. I hope to be adding these to my site very soon! I love making custome orders and unique otems for people to cherish.
If you have something in mind maybe I can help put those ideas into creations just for you.


Sweet Love












Teach Inspire Believe

New Year......resolutions??

Yeah Yeah, I know, this was supposed to be done before the end of the year to get a good start on things, but Hey I'm busy and didn't have a clear list, come to think of it I still don't. Besides it's still January.
I'm not doing the infamous exaggerated changes that we all know will not be accomplished in the year, come on we all know that if it has taken us this long, 12 months ain't gonna help...LOL
So I will keep this simple, OK simple for me, I hope...LOL

OK not really all resolutions..more like a to do list. (in no particular order..)

• I will make sure to make more time for my kids, time to play, craft and teach. (Already getting a head start on that one) Continue Family time (love this!)
  

• I will TRY to keep in better touch with people. (key word TRY, so this should be easy)
  

• I will start to purge our garage and extras for the impending military move. When do we move? We don't know yet, probably by next year. (Oh good, enough time on this one to work at it)
  

• Research possible New Military Posts for our move....Schools, Children Hospitals, College (for us) etc.
  

• Create a new biz plan for me and implement it, network and make a 5yr plan. Work on more designs, take pics ,upload and promote.
  

• Get kids into daycare for Special Mom and Dad night out dates. Make more couples time for the things we love to do and talk.
  

• Tell the people that I love and care for, that I DO. Not leave that for tomorrow when we have today.
  

• Try to spread Awareness about Turner Syndrome, Autism, ADHD and other causes dear to us.
  

• Start to finish my BA in Psychology even if it's 1 class at a time. (Should be done by 2011)

• Continue to work with Joshua on Advance courses, with Melody and her school work, with Josslyn to catch up and with Mady.

This is definitely not all of it...but it's a list in progress...

My Lemonade Award

I am honored to have been given the Lemonade Award. Yes truly I do live my life with this "motto" in mind as much as I can and do hope some of "it" rubs off on others. hee hee
Vicki Green a fellow WAHM nominated me for this and am thankful to her for having me in mind and reminding me where I come from. She is a very special soul how has touched many and I always look forward hearing from her.



Here's the rules as I was given them:
#1 You must link back to the person you received the award from.
#2 You have to nominate 10 bloggers who are deserving of this award!



So the following bloggers have earned the "When Life Gives you Lemons, Make Lemonade Award" {in no particular order}:

Tiffany: http://mypreciouspeanutdesigns.blogspot.com/

Jen: http://tutusbliss.blogspot.com/

Brandy http://askbrandyellen.blogspot.com/

Vicki: http://lunawolfs.blogspot.com/

Carole : http://mybizzyworld.blogspot.com

Krystyn: http://krizzydesigns.blogspot.com/

Giny: http://got47.blogspot.com/

vsmphotography: http://vsmphotography.blogspot.com/

Patty: http://imstillblessed.blogspot.com/

????? don't have 10..sorry

All these ladies in one way or another have a connection with me, have inspired me or left an impression. I have selected them for the Lemonade Award because I thought they were deserving. Please visit their links and find out for yourself. ;-)

"Would you like some sunshine with your lemonade?"

"I love you too Mommy"

As a mother we all live waiting to hear these words out of our children's mouths. We grasp at the faint utterances that might have the hint of "mama" in them. A tiny gesture of our children showing their affection or need for us is what we live for. Now why else would we have gone thru pregnancy pains and childbirth tortures if it wasn't for those tiny hugs and sloppy kisses and "I love you too's".

Well my day finally came on Nov 11th,2008 just 3yrs and 14days after her birth. Yes I have heard it before from Joshua and Melody and even Madyson who is now 19mo, don't get me wrong I didn't take those for granted or mean any less, but Josslyn was one I wasn't sure I would hear it from. See, even as an infant she didn't like my touch while I nursed her, hard to fathom even harder to endure. She never liked hugs or kisses and her favorite word has always been NO!, even before she could speak, she would sign it. So every time we asked for hugs or kisses that's what we would get and big fat NO!

It wasn't until Madyson was born that she showed affection in her own way that is, but it was mostly towards her, we got some random hugs, never kisses,never "I love yous" but Mady must have made an impact on her because by her 9mo Josslyn was hugging her and kissing her gently.

I knew then my time would come, just not soon enough. By then she was mostly attached to dad, still is, he was and is the light of her life and her safety net, me I'm the one who takes her to Drs and therapies and gives her shots and meds, I'm the one she tells to "GO AWAY" when I walk in her room. But my day finally came...I remember it like it was a second ago and I'm sure I will remember it just like this for the rest of my life.

Like any other day, I woke up and got the kids ready for school and waiting for the bus as I am in the kitchen Josslyn comes around the corner and runs to hug me and I hug her back and she whispers in my ear "I love you too Mommy", right then and there I knew it was going to be a GREAT day. We hugged for what seemed like hours and I cried of joy.

Such simple phrase and it means soo much, I had not even told her I loved her yet..but she knew what I meant by that hug. Just 19mo ago she only had 4 words in her vocabulary and in such a short time she has made some major achievements we can not and will not ever take small steps for granted.

Christmas came early this year!

Christmas at Home

Well this has been on VERY interesting month, some of you know what I'm talking about..LOL

I have been super busy, ahh when am I not? Christmas was creeping up on me without hesitation and I was running low on time. But I did get what I needed in time to give my family our traditional Christmas. (sshhh still have some 3 Kings Day gifts to mail off. What am I waiting for...get your butt into gear)

We had my sil and her girls come over Christmas Eve and we enjoyed our Christmas Eve dinner, change into PJ's to drive around looking at lights, tuck kids in bed and finish playing elf till late that night. We woke up casually late for us after 7am and I started our Christmas Morning breakfast. Yummy Egg casseroles for kids and us and Eggnog French Toast, that is super yummy. Homemade Hot cocoa mix and after breakfast we opened gifts.

Needless to say kids were on cloud 9, as usual we try to keep it simple with items they need and want but will use and it all worked out. We have lounged and played for hours with them and watched movies, all in all a Good Christmas.

A very GOOD Christmas now that I put it in perspective because Mel is home. I often thought of the soldiers missing their families during the Holidays. I tried not to cry, but it's very close to my heart. My best friend and sister Agnes is out there serving while her kids are missing her back home. Her and many others we know personally are still out there. We just pray they come home safe and sound and SOON.

Now Bring on the New Year!!

Craft Fair checklist

So as I was getting ready for my craft fair I started making a list of needed items and what to bring to survive a craft fair. Here's a list I came up with...you might need to add some items of your own to cater your crafts and needs.

Hope you find this useful.

Janine's Craft Fair/Show list (indoors)

Buisness aspect:
1.Tax/Biz Id and chart
2.Calculator
3.Biz Cards- special Fair discounts
4.Money-change and bills $125 in a box
5.Flyers with upcoming shows and how to find you.
6. CC machine/Laptop-internet for CC sales
7. Big Sign name and Logo
8. Easel to announce sales -payment methods -website
9. Wear a shirt with your biz logo, name and site if possible
10. Hardcover sign in book for newsletters
11.Inventory price sheet- to scratch off a sale
12. Freebies with your cards
13. price tags
14.Camera -batteries and memory card
15. Laptop with pretty slide show of your past work (examples)- should draw attention -power cords or fully charged
16. Office supplies (Tape, scissors,staplers,pens, notepads,pencils)
17 Clear bags to place their items.
18. Gift bags/Jewelry bags (if needed)
19. Carry cart/bag to carry all supplies with you
20. Receipt book with carbon paper
21. Order notebook
22. Make a photo album of items for sales in various colors and styles (catalog)
23. A plastic envelope with zipper(kids school supplies) to place orders, receipts, others biz cards etc. (remember craft fair booth fees are tax deductible as well as travel and food expenses)
24. Extra bin with more inventory to replace sold items.

Networking-get traffic
1. Arrive early and get to know your neighbors- help watching for potty breaks
2. Know your area so you can redirect traffic to your booth with signs.
3. Have FREE candy, treats in a small bowl to atract customers.
4. Invite customers on your lists to the fair, family and friends
5. Arrange for someone to help you, so you can take a break and visit other crafters and take biz cards with you. And also poty and eating breaks.

Fair Survival
1.Cooler with drinks and snacks
2.makeup for touch up
3.hand lotion
4.chapstick
5.tylenol or other headache meds
6.paper towels
7.garbage bags
8.windex- to wipe down
9. Chair- if not provided.
10. Dress nice and wear your items if possible, but dress comfortable.
11. Cell phone on low- for emergency
12. Comfortable shoes
13. small broom and pan
14. zip ties

Crafts
1. Bring extra tools to craft while waitingc(hopefully you wont have to wait)
2. Bead Charts, Ribbon Charts color options
3. Mirrors (so they can see themselves with your items)
4. Ribbon or other craft materials in an organized bin.
5. extension cord
6. light source


Display
1. Table
2. Long solid color table cloth so they wont see your feet and under table mess.
3. Vase in various heights- for hats
4. Flower Pot with craft foam and Pipe Cleaners to display Clippies and small bows.
5. Ribbon draped over craft table decorated at end with flowers for bows and clips
5.Set different levels for any items displayed and get more use out of your space.
6. Small lattice panels for tutus, clothes, bows and more.
7.Xtra string- just in case needed.

Do's:
Always wear your smile.
Say Thank you (even to snotty customers or bypassers)
Welcome everyone who passes by, never know who might be interested.
Be polite when they ask how do you make your craft, ask for sources, instructions, how easy it looks etc.


Dont's:
No music of cellphone talk- you want to give your customers all your attention
Don't Wear perfume- strong fragrances- some ppl are sensitive, might deter them from stopping by.
Don't Comment on how bad you feel, how you crammed for the show or any negatives even about other sellers.
Don't get too personal (no family issues etc)- keep it professional ie. why you craft? where your from? what motivated you? What are they made of? Can you customize? etc



*Outdoors

Summer

Tent (sandfilled pails, tie downs)-Sun Block/Sunscreen-Bug repelant- shades, paper weights, fan

Winter

Tent(same as above)- space heater-jacket (weather appropriate)