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!

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♥ Lady Stardust