My First Outdoor Market Season

I had always wanted to do the local farmer's markets and fairs but wasn't sure how my creations would sell at those venues. I limited myself to thinking my business was a craft show business even if I had the urges to expand to the spring/summer seasons. Well I took the dive this year. I found out that most of the popular markets start the application process back in February and March which is the end of my craft show season. By the time I looked into this in May, most of the markets were booked.

 I have managed to find a new market on Saturdays in Harmony, NJ. It is run by this extremely nice woman on her farm. There has been a different set of vendors each week since its start on June 1st. Most of them handmade vendors and artists which is nice to support each other. The struggle with this market is getting people there. Most people that stop by are looking for a flea market not handmade creations. I am going to give this market a few more weeks and if I am still not making at least my table money then I am going to have to say Good Bye.

On Sundays, I am at the Belvidere Farmer's Market (Belvidere, NJ). This is one that I debated on doing for quite a while because going to church is very important to Lily and I. One of my fellow church members approached me last week and asked me to give it a try. My only stipulation was that Lily still had to be in church so of course my church being the wonderful people they are made sure she was watched over in church. People really loved my soaps! My first day was a great day and I can't wait to go back this Sunday!

My biggest market this summer is the Warren County Farmer's Fair from July 27th through August 3rd. This is the market that I have always wanted to do but was afraid of having enough supplies and enough money for the table. The table is $180 for the week which is my largest fee of the season but worth it for the week. I have been going to this fair for the past 5 years with my family and there is always a large crowd no matter which day or what time. This is the one that scares me and excites me at the same time!

I don't have anything lined up for August yet because the large fairs, Musik Fest and Allentown Fair, start their application process well before I looked into it. I am excited about expanding my seasons to be a full year now and next year is going to be awesome!

The Struggle

As you can see I haven't blogged in days mainly because I have had some struggles going on in my life. Some of them family issues but most of them financial. I am having the hardest time keeping my daughter and I afloat which is a hard struggle for most single moms. I try my hardest to do the best that I can but sometimes it can feel like the best isn't enough. With bills piling up and my income being very little the past few months, I had to make the choice to pay some bills and not others. I have only been selling online for a short while with only a few sales, so one bill that I couldn't afford was my Etsy bill. I had listed over 250 items in my shop with only 4 sales which wasn't enough to pay the bill. I had just enough to pay my Handmade Artist monthly fee so that shop will stay open for the month of July. Please feel to stop by my shop on Handmade Artist: https://handmadeartists.com/shop/redshoeaffair

Thank you for all your support on my journey. 

Sixlets Candy are Gluten Free

As a kid, I loved candy especially anything chocolate. Well as an adult that hasn't changed much... ok not at all! Sixlets were a favorite when I was younger so when I saw these at Walmart in the Easter candy I knew that I had to put them in our Easter baskets. Yes at 31 I still get an Easter basket! As an adult I don't eat all the candy within a week, it is just a piece here and there. So now we are in June and I still have my Easter candy. Last night I got a craving for chocolate so I went to the Easter candy bag. When I saw that I had just one more pack of Sixlets. When I picked up the pack it caught my eye that it said gluten free. Not once, not twice but three times in bright letters it says GLUTEN FREE. This excites me because this is the first time I have seen a candy not in the special gluten free section that advertises it is Gluten Free. I guess it is time to keep my eyes open to more everyday foods that advertise they are gluten free at a responsible price not the inflated prices in the special Gluten Free section. Yummy Yummy Yummy!

In Need Of A Change

For almost a year now I have wanted to move away from the area that I grew up in but something has held me back. Everytime I begin to make my plans to move something has happened to prevent me from following my hearts desire of going some place where everyone doesn't know my name or my family. See I live in an area where I grew up, my parents grew up and my grandparents grew up so everyone knows everyone (for the most part) and I got out once but after I gave birth to Lily I moved back because I thought I needed the help. Now I am realizing I should have stayed away because I was happier being away. Lesson Learned that you can't change the past and wallowing in your sorrow doesn't help you today or in the future. So am sitting here biding my time until it is the right time for my big, amazing change. One day the chaos will subside and I will get to live out my dream of moving away and living some place new.

Have you ever wanted to do something different, change something but chaos held you back? 

Lily Dentist Appointment

No real posting today because Lily has a very important dentist appointment. She is getting a cap on one of her baby teeth. One of her classmates had gotten a cap a little while ago so she knows that she won't be the only one. The dentist has told her that she is getting a special princess tooth to help ease her fear. So in a short while she will be getting a special tooth so wish us luck!

DIY Kid's Summer Scrapbook

DIY Kid's Summer Scrapbook

Lily and I have lots and lots and lots of plans for this summer to have fun. She had asked to create a scrapbook but scrapbooking is expensive so I came up with this budget friendly way to record our fun each day this summer. The scrapbook is made from things I had laying around the house including a gift box top, stickers and ribbon. I want her to have a journal of what we do that she can look back when she is an adult and remember the fun times we had.... now my challenge is to make each day unique so we have something to write about in the scrapbook!

Materials:

Gift box top/bottom or cardboard that you can color

Stickers

Crayons/Markers

Paper (I used computer paper)

Ribbon

Scissors/Paper Cutter

Hole Punch

Directions

1. Cut the edges off gift box then cut in half and punch with the hole punch. (I used a 3 hole punch)

2. Trim your paper to fit your cover and punch holes in the paper

3. Decorate your cover. I used stickers I found when cleaning Lily's play area last week and since the A's were missing I used a crayon for the As in the word vacation.

4. Tie the ribbon into the scrapbook holes and your finished! Time to start to record your summer fun!!

Happy Father's Day to All the Single Moms

As a single mom, we play mom and dad everyday so why shouldn't we be recognized on Father's Day? We most definitely should! Not to take away from the dads out there that wonderful because I do have friends that are wonderful dads. Some single moms are by choice, some are forced into it by the father's choice and some are thrust into it by a horrible tragedy but at the end of the day we are still Single Moms that are Single Dads too. Single moms on a daily basis do the duty of both a mom and dad. We do all the cooking, all the cleaning, homework helper, bathtime, playtime, disciplinarian  and everything else a parent must do times 2. We also get the joys of the fun times that the dads don't get to experience like special cuddle time, boo boo kissing and special dates that only a mommy and child can have. So we play only be one single mommy but we are both mom and dad in action so Happy Father's Day to all the single mommies!