Craft Fair Photos!

Hey all! Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. We were preparing for the Suffield 2010 Craft Fair, then it was like a artsy tornado after.
But we are back, and things have been great.
Here are some pictures from that fun weekend!



"Waiting" A painting I did while at the fair. It was awesome having people watch me paint away...passed some of the time too. It was my favorite part! So relaxing and fresh...it's nice to be one of the few painters at the fair. Not only does that give our booth an edge, but it gives off an ol' artisan feel, back when artists used to get their hands dirty when creating. I have the privilege of knowing some artists who still are like that, but with technology taking off, they are getting harder to find. I consider it one of God's many blessings :)

Our nifty notecard display! Tip: Wrap an artist canvas with wrapping paper. String some ribbon across the front, and tack to the sides. Drape the cards right over the ribbon, and tada! Instant (and cheap) card display. Special thanks to ehow.com for that one.

A look at what the booth looked like from the walkway. We were told so many times how our booth had the brightest and most fun colors. We had a blast, and appreciate everyone who came out to support us!

See the rest of the photos here on our facebook album!

*~*Two Featured Treasuries*~*

Because of great traffic to our CAST blog article, we have been featured in TWO treasuries on Etsy in one day!! Yay :)


Here they are:

Replenished Treasury: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c672ebaad7a8eefee948d45/he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not?index=0
Replenished Listing: http://www.etsy.com/listing/52359300/replenished-8x8lovely-collection-an

* True Friends Treasury:http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c671fa49cde6d91401ff08d/happy-friendswith-polka-dots-and
* True friends Listing: http://www.etsy.com/listing/51054211/true-friends-8x10-a-fine-art-photography?ref=tre-4c671fa49cde6d91401ff08d-15

Thank you everyone for your encouraging words and support!!

Article in Blog!

Check out my article in the CAST blog (Christian Artist Street Team from Etsy):
http://castteametsy.blogspot.com/

Bookmarks are up!!

Well...at least four of them! But that is a start. We will be continually updating so stayed tune. Until then, check them out!

WM Store:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WonderfullyMadeArt

* 10x10 Promotion for September! *

I am so excited to announce this. Ok, here goes:

Wonderfully Made will be at this year's Suffield Arts & Crafts Fair on September 11th & 12th! What is more is we are having what we are calling a "10x10 Promotion."
Every business needs start up costs, but we want to give back too!

Here are the details:
We are providing a coupon for 10% off your whole purchase when purchasing from us at the fair! The key is there are different ways to get the coupon:

1.)If you're either a past customer, business partner, or a family member then you automatically are eligible for a coupon! We will send/email you a printable coupon! We do encourage you to continue and give a donation, but that is optional.
AND/OR
2.) Help us jump start Wonderfully Made the right way by making a monetary donation, in the amount of your choice! You can do this by clicking here to visit our official donation page below!

Here's the cool part. Not only are we giving away 10% coupons on purchases at our booth, but after we tally up all of the September sales, we will donate 10% of the entire final amount to The Lupus Foundation of America, CT Chapter!
(In honor of Jacy's beautiful & inspiring cousin Erin Luciano.)

Hence, creating our wonderful 10x10 Promotion! Hey, we know it's not easy to give. But it is necessary, and if we are asking for your financial help, we want to also make sure a portion will also go to a great cause!

I am so excited about what is going on with WM right now! We still need to hurry and update our Etsy shop, and I mean fast! But I know God's hands are in it and we can only go up from here!

If you are local in CT or MA, we hope to see you there! If not, no sweat! You can still donate AND we will send you the 10x10 Coupon Code to receive 10% off your purchase on our online store!!

Summer Ending?

Oh No! The summer can't end, we just got started! The truth is, I am slowly learning that as an artist aka crafter, you must think ahead to the different seasons. Even though we are making our way into August and there is still that lovely 105 degree heat in the air, many of us are wondering what new things we will offer for Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas! Yikes...

I always cringed when I saw Halloween style ribbon in the craft store during the month of June. Or the pharmacy laying out their Christmas cards in September. But now that Jonathan and I are starting our store, we have to be ahead of the game too. Meaning, I can't cringe anymore when it comes to early planning.
In fact, businesses thrive on it! As a customer, I never understood it. I was so annoyed actually. But as a seller, even with just an online shop, the schedule still needs to be ahead of the game.

*Shiver* So, I guess I need to start a plan for the Christmas season. After all,what is summer for anyways? Sunbathing and swimming are overrated *sigh*

The Feeling of Success

Yay, we made our first sale...already! It is a great feeling to know that someone likes your work, and it's not just you :)
The best part is the feeling of dread and the thought of "Are we going to make it?" doesn't seem as daunting.
Your first sale feels like that first drive in your first new car, right after you just got your license (yes, this is a dream sequence. Not many kids I know got their license THEN a car. So, let's pretend)!
We have received nothing but positive feedback from our images as well, which is also a huge plus. Just knowing that our work is being appreciated, and now purchased, is truly amazing to us.

Today, as we drove going home, I looked over at Jonathan and said "You know, this could really work." Then, I saw it. That twinkle of excitement flicker across his face and that ambitious gaze as he nodded and smiled...
People think that they have to give up what they love to make ends meet in this life. I admit, the working world does not make it easy by convincing you otherwise. Hey, I always said I would MEVER work at McDonalds because I was going to be an artist. Guess what my first job was? You guessed it, the famous golden arches. And how would I know that is where I would meet Jonathan.

Life is funny. We go through so many motions and turns, all the while wishing and hoping that when we stop, we will somehow be doing what we love. But I feel we need to stop hanging onto hope, but have the hope in our hearts, while getting out there, and doing something about it.
My take on this is exactly what Nike has been saying all these years: Just Do It!
Get out there, and go! Make a difference by making a step! Get your head in the game, make a plan and fly to the goal. I can't tell you how many times you will fall, or fail. I can't tell you when you will succeed.

But I can tell you that if you never get off the bench to play, then you are no more closer to reaching that goal than the water boy...