HS group craft fair ideas

[Penny_P]

So our homeschool group has an annual craft fair in December. Since this is my first year, I have never attended and don't know entirely what to expect. It's my impression that one of the purposes is for the kids to make crafts for the other kids to give as gifts. My kids are really excited about this, but I'm not a super crafty person, and I don't have a working sewing machine. The thing is I wouldn't want to buy some other kid's craft, when I have my own kids crafts that I'm always sneaking into the garbage. I have a couple of ideas and a couple dozen baby food jars, so I was hoping that:

 

a) You can tell me if you think these ideas would sell. I mean, would you buy?

 

In a babyfood jar... lid painted and cutely presented...candles, mini-hot chocolate with marshmallows, potpouri, snow globe?

 

Other ideas include making wreaths, selling cookies to eat while people are wandering, making pens/pencils wrapped with floral tape with flowers on the end, selling Christmas bags with tissue for purchases from mine or other booths, and making a couple simple ornaments.

 

or

 

b) Do you have any cute ideas that WOULD sell? I don't expect to make a fortune, but I don't want to be stuck with a ton of my own junk either.

 

or

 

c) Just open myself and the kids up for it is an educational (math, crafting, business, etc.) experience and hope to break even.

[Penny_P]

Anyone? :(

[athena1277]

I was at a homeschool event recently and several families had tables of crafts to sell. One was obviously a kid's table. The child had painted pictures on rocks and was selling them for a quarter each. They were very amateurish. DH bought one for each of our kids. :tongue_smilie:

[Penny_P]

I was at a homeschool event recently and several families had tables of crafts to sell. One was obviously a kid's table. The child had painted pictures on rocks and was selling them for a quarter each. They were very amateurish. DH bought one for each of our kids. :tongue_smilie:

 

What a sweet DH. So are you suggesting getting people to make pity purchases? :lol:

[athena1277]

What a sweet DH. So are you suggesting getting people to make pity purchases? :lol:

 

No, just saying that people will buy all kinds of things. And BTW, the kids loved the rocks!

[Farrar]

Could you make artsy containers with baked goods inside? Like 4 cookies in a little tin that you and the kids decoupage with tissue paper or something? I feel like people will always buy baked goods.

[helena]

I made very simple earring one year for a sale, and they did well. Here are some instructions: http://www.beadage.net/drop_earrings/index.shtml

They're very easy to make.

Here are some pics:

http://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/handmade+jewelry/handmade+earrings/wire+earrings/sky+island+earrings.do?sortby=ourPicks

http://redpandabeads.blogspot.com/2010/09/christmas-tree-earrings-in-swarovski.html

http://eclecticearrings.com/pearls_exclusively/freshwater_pearl_earrings.htm

 

I'd buy a wreath if the price was right, their so expensive everywhere. Here are some fun ones:

(good way to use up extra yarn) http://lessonplans.craftgossip.com/kid-made-winter-pom-pom-wreath/2009/12/31

http://thelongthread.com/?p=1310, doesn't have to be Halloween colors.

If you google images for paper wreaths, there are so many great looking ideas.

 

These are easy to do, and look amazing with the sun coming through: http://urbanpaisley.blogspot.com/2009/04/kite-paper-stars.html. My daughters have been making them since they were very young, I think they would be cute kind of like the pp said about painted rocks.

These stars could also sell how cheap but are cute and might add some ump to your booth to attract customers, especially if you did them in different colors:

[cougarmom4]

I bet some marshmallow shooter guns would sell well--made from pvc pipe, you can probably find plans somewhere online for free and the pipe is pretty cheap.

 

I think I read on here last year about someone making up arts & crafts kits or science project kits to sell. Just put all the supplies & directions in a ziploc, label w/a cute label.

[Erica in OR]

If you're going the food angle, I've always wanted to try single serving pies in a jar. They're super cute and look tasty too. I'd buy those for the kids, and feel better about that than a craft, since they're consumable, and then I could use the jars to re-make them at home, if you included a recipe.

 

One link I've seen is http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/09/single-serving-pie-in-jar.html.

 

Erica in OR

[Gwenhwyfar]

our old hs group had a christmas craft day where the kids made various crafts to give as gifts to their parents - nothing was sold (it was just the group, not a fair) but they took turns working on diff crafts that some of the craftier moms designed for them... two of the neatest ones that i remember:

 

1. large glass ... dang it what are they called. not jars, more like bowls but not really bowls...take a fishbowl and change the edges to ruffled looking.. know what i mean? anyway, into that large ruffled fishbowl went christmas scented potpourri & some pinecones/etc with a string of mini christmas lights laid among it, small plug end hanging out. pretty christmas ribbons tied around the edges.. when you plugged it in, the lights were all through the potpourri and it was all christmas coloured and smelly.

 

eta: aha! i found a picture that is almost the same as the things they used.. like this, but without anything painted on it

 

2. silverware wind chimes - this was one that a dad did with them. you get to hammer the spoons and forks until they're flat, drill holes in the handles, and hang them from whatever kind of top piece you choose to use.. they actually sound & look pretty neat!

Edited October 21, 2010 by Gwenhwyfar
add ruffled fishbowl pic

[justasque]

c) Just open myself and the kids up for it is an educational (math, crafting, business, etc.) experience and hope to break even.

 

This, yes.

 

Ask the other moms. Is the idea to have entrepreneurial-minded kids have an outlet for their creations? Do kids sell to other kids? Or do moms actually buy the things made by kids? We attended a middle school entrepreneurial fair recently. Items included decorated flip-flops, tie-dyed shirts and socks, baked goods, melt-and-pour soap, homemade barrettes, etc. The actual buying was probably half-and-half the kids and the teachers. Lower priced items went well, as did well-done items like the flip-flops.

 

Christmas ornaments are a possibility; we've seen nice origami ones that were inexpensive to make, so they could be inexpensively priced.

 

Honestly, you should budget both for creating/selling (materials cost) as well as for buying from others. If it's not your thing, consider skipping it.

[Photo Ninja]

Make decorative boxes. Get small boxes from a craft store. They can be the brown, heavy cardboard type or the wood kind. The brown paper mache ones are very inexpensive. Get all different shapes and sizes. Also get either pretty printed fancy napkins or gift wrap and some Mod Podge (like glue, but dries clear and a bit shiny) and a few brushes. Cheap, throw away ones are fine.

 

If you are using napkins, separate the pretty top layer from the plain white layer. It's okay if they get crinkled. You can tear them into fairly large pieces. Using the brush, paint on the Modge Podge, then lay pieces of the napkin on it. Cover the box entirely in Modge Podge and printed napkin (or do the same thing with wrapping paper.). Since it will crinkle some, go ahead and intentionally crinkle it first. The Modge Podge will go on white, but dry clear. Once it is dry, coat again with a top coat of Modge Podge to help seal it. You can do the box lid as well as the outside of the box. Put the lid onto the box and draw a line where the lid meets the box. Leave this half inch or so without any napkin so the lid will fit later. They look pretty this way, and you can always add a ribbon bow to the top if you want more decoration.

 

The nice thing about doing this is that all age of child can make them. It's just painting on lots of Modge Podge and putting crinkled, then fairly flattened pieces of napkin on. My dd did this when she was 3 yo and had a blast, and they looked great.

 

If you want to go one step more, fill them with candy.