OLD THINGS NEW

FROM BROKEN, TO BEAUTIFUL

Navigation

Lace Bottles for a French Flea

by 31 Comments

As mentioned in a previous post, I’m going to participate in my first ever craft fair this upcoming summer. I’m kind of nervous about it. I don’t want to make too much of any one item and get stuck with a lot left over. I also don’t want to make too few of any one item because, if I sell out, I’ll always wonder if I should’ve made more!  So silly, I know. 
I blogged last year on The French Flea at the Queen Bee. It was the first French Flea Market in our area and the quality of items sold was simply amazing. You can link back for a peek at what shoppers have to look forward to. This is the fair I’ll be joining in September.
Pretty excited!
 In my post Old Buttons and Lace, I shared a tutorial on decorating old bottles with . . . well . . . old buttons and lace!  I’ve made several more here that I hope to take to the fair with me.  I painted the bottles I collected in ASCP Old White and Graphite, and distressed them with sandpaper. Then I began adding materials found at thrift stores: old crocheted doilies, lace, buttons, vintage necklaces, earrings and the like.
This chubby little bottle came with a nice corked stopper,
that I embellished with lace, an old brass earring and a pearl on top.
This bottle had beautiful color so I chose not to paint the entire thing. I added some tea stained sheet music as a stopper and some vintage earrings to the front.
Here it is displayed in a window to show off the color.
 
These twin bottles were a fun find. In addition to the lace I added some handmade rosettes (tutorial here) and lock and key charms.
 
These bottles show off a variety of laces and torn fabric strips used in the project.
This one has miniature rosettes all around.
 
 This bottle has a raised grape pattern that shows through nicely after sanding. I again used sheet music as a stopper and another strip peeking out from under the lace, then added a vintage rhinestone earring and more rosettes.
I scalloped the edge of the sheet music and crumpled it up before adding it to the bottle.
All of the bottles have flowing ribbons cut from scrap fabric and lace.  I was lucky enough to find a huge bag of old lace in the craft section of the thrift store that I aged even more in a tea bath.
 This last bottle received a British crown via The Graphics Fairy and a vintage earring jewel.
All of the bottles were simply created by cutting fabric, lace, crocheted pieces and randomly gluing them in place until something inside said it was enough!

 Now to figure out how much to charge for all the items I’ll be making, how to display them, what I need to bring to package things up for people, do I get a charge card APP on my phone?, etc., etc., etc. 
I really wish I knew what I was doing, but I guess it will be another chance to stretch myself.  I’ve been doing a lot of stretching lately.  Thankfully, I’ve talked one of my friends into coming along and sharing a booth with me (Thank you Linda).
There is comfort in shared discomfort, ha ha! 
 So, what about you? Have you taken part in any flea markets or craft fairs before? Any advice, tips, wise words, warnings? Anything at all? I’d love to hear!
    Blessings,

Linking up to the following fabulous parties:
Sunday:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:

 

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

Your Blog