Fandom Sketches

I need to update more often than once a week... I kind of needed a break last week after the craft show... plus, with Jamie leaving in a few weeks for Nebraska and his 6-week math research program, I'll be wanting to spend more time with him! But when he's gone I'll need lots of distraction, so you should be seeing more designs and such from me at that point... But I just made a really big sale, which is also my first from South Africa! So that is very encouraging... I was considering taking a little vacation from Scoutaroo but now I have a renewed interest + excitement about it. I like it when people like my stuff... ♥

Ok, now for the fun stuff; here are some doodles of some fandoms I've been geeking out over lately!

Harry Potter, of course! Never gets old... been watching "A Very Potter Musical" which is brilliant!!

And a few from Game of Thrones (currently in the middle of Book 4)... I love Dany + Drogo ♥... if Jamie liked horses he could totally be my Khal! ;)

Today is Jamie's LAST day at work!! We are celebrating with a movie tonight and probably a couple of drinks. And I have lots of mail to catch up on... I can't keep up with you fools. But it's been too long since I've taken the time to write a letter, so I'm looking forward to it. ♥

Stay classy internet people,

♥ Ciara Kay

What I Learned At My First Craft Show

Whew! What a weekend! I'm here to report that even though I didn't make any money I still consider this adventure a success. It was fun to plan a booth design, and get the experience of participating in a craft faire. Here are a few resources I used and some of the things I learned along the way.

The view from my booth!

My booth!

Resources

Pinterest

Display ideas, to-do lists, tips, etc!

"What to Bring to a Craft Fair"

Post on Etsy

"How to Prepare for a Craft Show"

Post on ArtMind

What I Learned

Smile + pretend you like people. I'm an introvert and I don't particularly enjoy talking to strangers, which is bad for craft shows, haha. I took the advice to bring some of your craft to do a little too strongly and tended to spend more energy on my drawing & painting than on making potential customers feel welcome and cared about. Luckily I had Jamie there to tell me I was being too aloof, so I was able to remedy the situation part way through the day.

Me in the cardboard clouds! ♥

Make sure people know it's locally made. Except for the Mother's Day cards people barely glanced at my other wares... I think if they had known that I was the artist + designer and that all of my products were made + printed locally they might have taken a second look... So next time, I'll probably make a sign that says "Made Locally" or something.

Don't do shows that charge an entry fee. The show I participated in was actually a small part of a larger event... a music festival for local music scholarships! Great cause, but after people have to spend $15 just to get in the door, they aren't likely to buy random cards or stationery... Plus, they were there to drink beer + hear some great local bands, not shop!

Figure out a better way to show off my stationery. I think the suitcase looked nice, but the best part of the designs were all hidden! So I need to come up with a more functional approach...

My suitcase display pre-show

All in all it was a lovely afternoon spent listening to some great local musicians and sweating our brains out, haha. Can't wait til the next one! Not sure when that will be since my primary goal in the next few months is to survive my husband being in Nebraska for six weeks and then to move to Santa Cruz!! Busy summer ahead...

♥ Ciara Kay

Guest Post at the League!

Check it out! Super Squirrel & Super Sushi asked if I would share a bit of my illustration process for the portraits I make for the LEP monthly newsletter, and my post was published yesterday!

[clicky]

♥ Lady Stardust

Craft Show Crazies

Ok, quick little update on my craft booth progress! I've taken a few instagram pics (I've decided to get an ipod upgrade so I can use Instagram more; right now I'm using a tablet, which is pretty clunky & inconvenient), and I've made a LIST. My favorite thing!

Here are the bare bones of my booth:

And my "sale" box, haha! All cards (except Mother's Day) half off at the booth!

And my growing pile of upcycled envies, which I will probably start selling in the Etsy shop when all this is over.

Stationery display!

Cute cardboard cloud cut outs I made for my backdrop.

My thrifted fabric banner in progress...

Still to do:

• Finish the banner
• Make a few paper garlands
• MAKE MORE ENVELOPES
• Rest & relax before Saturday!!

I think I can manage all that in the next few days. :) I'm getting excited!!

I'll post about the show on Monday, but I'm not sure if you'll get another blog post out of me until then! On Sunday (Mother's Day) we are going down to Santa Cruz to check out a potential housing situation. I believe I have failed to mention on here that we chose UCSC as Jamie's graduate school and we will be moving there at the end of July! Yay! Today's weather in Chico reminds me of Santa Cruz... cold, misty & overcast! In a word, glorious. ♥

Wish me luck for this weekend!

♥ Ciara Kay

Insta-envy

Ok, I am seriously considering buying a used iPod touch, JUST so I can use freaking Instagram. Look how beautiful it makes my washi tape look! I've been using it occasionally on Jamie's tablet, but I'm not going to carry that thing around with me everywhere (I think Jamie would object). Ya'll would definitely see more in-progress shots on my illustrations & show and mail posts from me if I had Instagram at my convenience...

But the anti-consumerism side of me (the weak and underfed side) wants me to wait a couple of weeks to decide... although I HAVE been wanting instagram-powers for a few months... hmmmm...

Decisions decisions... tomorrow I begin craft show insanity! If I had Instagram I would flood you with pictures. I will try to keep updates coming via text & photo despite my lack of fancy apps!

♥ Ciara Kay

Never Fails

I was going to do a mail post about how I got all caught up today, but instead I want to share this little gem that I have rediscovered. Just let it wash over you, it's quite a lovely respite from all our restless endeavors.

♥ Ciara Kay