Craft Show Jewelry Ideas for Kids

Kids love to wear (and make) jewelry just as much as grownups do – and a cool product name can make more sales of children’s jewelry items!

Here are some products kids can make, either from kits you’ve put together ahead of time, or by choosing their own supplies from a selection. (However, be warned – whenever you let people choose their own components, they often take a VERY long time to make their choices!)

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Featured Crafter: Julie from Miss PrettyPretty

In this Featured Crafter, we hear from Julie from Miss PrettyPretty. Julie’s playhouses are incredibly imaginative, be sure to check out her store to view all her themed houses. They are customizable so your little one can have their own unique playhouse.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.
My name is Julie. I am married to a really wonderful man, and we have two children, a boy who is 5 and a girl who is 4. I am an “older” mom who feels very lucky to have started a business that enables me to be at home with my kids!

Where can we find you? (website, craft shows, etc.)
You can find me at missprettypretty.etsy.com . I am too busy with my online business these days to do craft fairs, but I am definitely an arts/crafts fair veteran! I earned extra money and sometime supported myself on craft fairs for about 20 years. Back then, I made a lot of embellished clothing, denim shirts, sweatshirts, etc. All of that applique work was a good foundation for making my playhouses.
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5 Tips for a Better Jewelry Booth

Are you ready to have a successful, profitable jewelry show? Here are some things you can do at home, in the days before the show, to make setting up your booth easier, more professional, and more profitable:
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Featured Crafter: Rachel from The Yellow Hobbit

In this Featured Crafter, we hear from Rachel from The Yellow Hobbit. Read on to hear Rachel’s story about how watching others knit opened her up to the fiber world.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I’m a fiber artist who knits and spins, and I also dye my own yarn and wool roving.

The name The Yellow Hobbit comes from the fact that I’m a Tolkien fan, and I consider myself to be a hobbit because I’m really short (I’m 4′11″). Being a hobbit is much more fun than just being short. I started going by this nickname my freshman year of college, and it stuck. So I figured that it would be a good name for my store as well.

Where can we find you?
I mainly sell on Etsy. My store is here: http://theyellowhobbit.etsy.com. I have a blog where I’ll often post pictures of things I’ve created: http://knitterofshinythingsknits.blogspot.com/

What first got you interested in your craft?
I’ve always been rather crafty. I used to do a lot of beading, but when I got to college, I made friends with people who knitted in class. Wanting a portable craft that I could also do in class, I asked my mother to teach me how to knit when I went home for winter break. I picked it up quickly, and by the time I got back to school, I was an avid knitter.

The spinning came along my senior year of college. A friend and I had been going to a weekly knitting circle which was held at a local yarn store, and one night a woman was spinning. I asked her if I could try it, and she said sure and handed me the spindle and gave me brief instructions as to what to do. I started spinning with the spindle, and it worked! It also happened to be the week of my birthday, and the friend who was with me at the knitting circle then gave me a drop spindle and roving as a birthday present. I was quickly addicted, and I got a wheel as a graduation present from my parents.

The dyeing came about a few years later. I had a friend who had an alpaca farm, which wasn’t doing too well and she wanted to go out of the business after her husband died. She had previously sent her fleeces to a fiber mill to be processed, but that was really expensive, so she asked if I would be interested in spinning up her fleeces for her. I said yes and set up my Etsy shop for the purpose of selling the yarn that I made. I decided that I should also get into dyeing, so that I could make prettier yarn. And while I was dyeing the yarn I decided to get into dyeing roving as well.

It turns out that dyeing yarn and roving is actually a lot of fun, and I really enjoy doing it.

Please describe your creative process.
I usually dye roving in big batches. Since I’m also a full-time student, I usually only dye things every couple of weeks. I don’t usually plan out in advance what colors I’m going to dye with; lately, the process has been to look at my big desk full of roving, and ask myself “what colors are missing?” I like having a complete rainbow, so I’ll fill it in. Sometimes I get ideas of color combinations that I think are really pretty, and I’ll do those. And every so often I’ll think of a witty name for a roving, and then dye something to match the name. But usually the naming comes after the dyeing.

I spin much more often than I dye. If I’m at home I’ll use my wheel. Conveniently, there is a television in the same room as the wheel, so often I’ll watch something while spinning. When I’m out of the house, I’ll either spin on my drop spindle or knit, depending on what I feel like doing.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I’m a master’s student at the Simmons Graduate School for Library and Information Science, so that takes up a lot of my time. (I’m concentrating in archival management, and am hoping to work in a museum once I graduate.) In terms of fun things, I’m really into gaming (role playing games, strategy games, etc.). I’m a huge nerd, and am into Science Fiction and Fantasy. I’m also in an a cappella group at MIT. I live in a hippie commune with 5 other 20-somethings. Most of us are crafty, and one of my housemates actually has her own jewelry studio in the basement. It’s a fun life.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Spinning is fun and addictive. You get to work with really soft fiber, and create really beautiful yarn. I would highly encourage anyone who is interested to try it.

Featured Crafter: Mary Katherine from Silvia’s Heart

In this Featured Crafter, we hear from Mary Katherine from Silvia’s Heart. Read on to learn how Mary Katherine’s love of a tiara turned into her love of gemstones.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I worked for a number of banks for many years, but lost my job because my medical leave expired and they couldn’t hold my job until I got better. Still on disability. I have loved gemstones for forever. I started making simple jewelry about 2 years ago. When I lost my German Shepherd Silvia a year ago and lost my job, I started to actually learn about gemstones. My wonderful husband has invested a lot of money in my learning process. Caliper gauge, carat scale, refractometer, microscope, loupe, loose gemstones, reference books & DVD’s. It has been a wonderful learning experience. I love setting my gems & then creating something around them. My loves are my husband Gabriele, my dogs Lacie & Tiler, Family and my gems and being cancer free for 10 years and running! (breast cancer & then skin cancer due to radiation)
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Featured Crafter: Mary from Maggie’s Raggedy Inn

In this Featured Crafter, we hear from Mary from Maggie’s Raggedy Inn. Read on to learn how Mary squeezes her passion for crafting into her busy life.

My name is Mary and I am a very busy lady. I am the Director of a community museum which brings a lot of stress into my life, yet gives me the opportunity to be creative. I have one daughter who is away at University studying to be a teacher for handicap children. I live in the small community that I was born in and share my life with my best friend, 4 adopted cats and a little dog called Rosie.
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Featured Crafter: Jeri from Jeridiehard

In this Featured Crafter, we hear about Jeri from Jeridiehard. Read on to learn how Jeri became a beadaholic.

I am an x-ray tech, cast tech that works for 10 orthopedic doctors. I became interested in jewelry when my neighbor made jewelry and became my jeweler. She decided to leave to further her education and I had her teach me how to make jewelry. That was 4 years ago and now I am a beadaholic!!
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Whirlwind Hat Pattern

Finished Size
18” Circumference and 8” tall.
Yarn:
Approximately 50g of worsted weight wool yarn;
Examples knit in Malabrigo Worsted Taureg Blue & Mint.
Needles:
Sizes US 6 (4.0mm) & US 8 (5.0mm): 16: circular (cir). Size US 8 (5.0mm): set of double-pointed (dpn)
Notions:
Marker (m); cable needle (cn); Tapestry needle.
Gauge:
18 sts = 4” (10 cm) in patt from chart using larger needles.





This pattern is available as a downloadable pdf file.
$5.00 USD

Here is a link to the pattern in Ravelry.

Featured Crafter: Maddylane from Miycreations.com

In today’s edition of Featured Crafter, we interview an inspired at-home crafter, Maddylane (Madeleine Langlois). She specializes in creating “Make it yourself” (Miy) craft projects for kids, teens and the whole family. The Miy mantra is to make things naturally simple, and have fun with recycling! She showcases great projects to make and decorate all year round, including Easter, Christmas, Halloween, St Patrick’s and more.

Continue reading to learn about Miycreations, and Maddylane’s projects and inspiration!
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Knitting Comic

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