Katie's Craft Fair (s)

A couple of months ago we were driving to Harris Teeter and I noticed a sign on a local church about a craft fair and there being table slots available.  I mentioned it to Katie and asked if she wanted to buy a table and she was all over that!  She loves to sew, knit, crochet, make rubber band jewelry and work with duct tape.  She thought it’d be neat to make some money for her “hobby.” So she made a goal for herself and got to work.  In one month’s time, she made 30 scarves, several duct tape wallets, 2 purses out of (soda) pop tabs and all kinds of creations.

October 24^th was her first craft fair.  She wanted me to take her, (Dad stayed home and moved furniture around) so on a Saturday I got up around 6am to load the car, drove over to the church and got her all set up.  The craft fair was from 8am-4pm (ugh).  As I had figured, most of the other table vendors were older ladies or men.  So they were tickled to have a little 12-year-old participating in the craft fair.  Most 12-year-olds are all into their friends, iphones, music groups, shopping, boys and things like that.  Our Katie is very engaging to adults, creative and wise beyond her years.  I’ll keep her!

It was funny because one old lady asked her how long it took her to make a duct tape wallet.  Katie answered, “Oh, it takes me about 20 or 30 minutes depending on the style I’m making.” The lady was shocked she could do it that quickly.  Then she asked, “How long does it take you to knit a scarf?  20 or 30 minutes?” Katie laughed, “No ma’am.  It takes me about 2 hours per scarf.” The lady looked over at me over the top of her glasses and said, “You are a blessed mother.  Your daughter is extraordinary for being so young.”

She ended up breaking even on what she spent on supplies on her first craft fair.   The following weekend she was invited to participate in another craft fair.  It was at her second craft fair that she actually made a profit.  I was so proud of her for making a goal, sticking to it and following through.  Before she even made any money she had determined how she was going to use her money:  First she wanted to tithe, then put half of her profit into her savings account and with the rest she wanted to buy herself rollerblades.  As her mom, I was hoping she would reach her goals and not be disappointed if she walked away only making a few dollars.  She was determined and very hopeful, so I was thrilled when she did so well.    

It was a really good learning experience for her.  She learned how hard it is to earn money.  She learned how to budget and come up with the materials first, how to take a risk that potentially nothing would sell, how to patiently wait to make a profit, how to show good customer service and how blessed she is for the talents God has given her. It was also good for her to hear the praise from all the customers regarding her work.  She is convinced Tim and I only tell her that her stuff is good because we have to because it’s what parents have to do.  It was a really neat experience to watch and as her mama I couldn’t be more proud.