Showing posts sorted by date for query Victorian Scrap. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query Victorian Scrap. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Monday, December 19, 2016

Clip Art of Old-Fashioned Sleds

Description of Illustration: wooden sleds drawn by Kathy Grimm, boards, hand-built, for sledding, Victorian scrap of a young boy in red with holly on his sled.



Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject, folks.
 
 
Victorian die cut of a small boy on a sled

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Saturday, December 12, 2015

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Tree Trimmed In Silver Tinsel


       Left, In 2015, my husband has set up the white pine near to the front window of our cozy little family room. I am relieved to report that these pictures were taken last week and the tree is still very fresh. Give your real trees plenty of cool water to drink while they are exhibited during the holidays. Right, the lights are strung and I have yet to cover the rug and plastic at the bottom.


       This year my adult children requested that the tree be decorated in traditional silver; it is not my husband's preference but we will make the exception this time. For a few years I have accumulated silver tinsel garlands, picks, baubles and snowflakes on after Christmas sales for mere pennies. This is the only time to shop for such frivolities if you can bring yourself to do it. Most folks are "burned out" by this time; they are tired of the shopping and crowds. However, if your funds are limited such as mine, this is the most practical time to purchase items for your future Christmas trees.


       Here is a photo of the tree top to bottom. This white pine is very delicate and only light weight trimmings may be used to hang from it's branches. My youngest loves the shimmery glow of lights reflecting off of silver on old-fashioned trees like these. This year she chose the theme and colors of our family tree. I rarely have decorated trees using this theme because my husband does not like them so very much. However, he did find this one nostalgic and pleasing. Our oldest family member who is 91 was delighted to see it. Grandpa Al said that it looks just like a Christmas tree from his childhood approx. 1910. The silver tinsel, cotton batting and Victorian scrap all were typical of that time period. Below I have included links to some of the ornaments included on my little Christmas blog. You can make your own versions for the tree this year or next.


       Near to the top center of our family tree, hangs a lovely porcelain head angel trimmed in white feathers and silver tinsel.


       Left, is a wrapped, cotton batting Christmas Bell that I designed after a vintage photograph. Right, is one of a set of 12 icicles hand spun from cotton batting last year.


       Left, This Victorian wire ribbon rosette is so light weight that I hung it easily from the very tip of this white pine branch. Right, barely seen is a vintage chenille stem Santa; his friend, a snowman, hangs from a lower branch.


       Left, the Birch Yule Log ornament with a hollow opening for Christmas letters and or treats. Right, the DIY Sea Shell Star ornament made from cotton batting sheets and paper clay shells.


       Upper Left, is a snowball garland made from cotton batting and glass bugle beads. These garlands were very common place on Christmas trees 100 years ago.  Right, is the cotton batting basket ornament that I crafted for this tree several night before.


More Silver Tree Trimmings:
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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Fold Victorian Wire Ribbon Rosettes

My Victorian wire ribbon rosettes, three versions.
      Rosettes made with wire ribbon are made to last. They are considerably more durable and more expensive to make than the sample rosette projects that I have posted about in the past.
Left, wire edged ribbons. Center accordion fold from above. Right, accordion fold from the side.
       Wire ribbon may also be recycled easily. If you have dated looking bows and trims made with it, these can be taken apart and upcycled into something new. The Victorians often crafted with ribbon rosettes and so rosettes are frequently associated with the Victorian Era Christmas tree.
      Wire rosettes implement the accordion fold. This is the same fold that school children learn in order to shape basic paper craft projects. (video of accordion folding below)
Left, 3 wire, accordion folded rosettes. Center, cutting and pasting metallic paper rosettes. Right, gluing together the rosettes.
Left, back side of a completed rosette. Next, edge of a finished rosette. Center Victorian printed image. Right, pasted acrylic gem.

 Supply List:
  • acrylic gems
  • 2 to 2 1/2 inch wired ribbon
  • metallic cup cake liners
  • scissors 
  • stapler
  • tacky white glue
  • hot glue and gun
  • Victorian scrap angels
  • scrap cardboard
  • gold cord for hanging
Directions:
  1. Select a ribbon that you like, fold it front to back, on top of itself. I usually work with a length no longer then 20 inches. (pictured above)
  2. Pinch and adjust the folds so that these look consistent. Then pinch one end of all the folds together and staple.
  3. Now gently fan the unstapled side of the  accordion folded ribbon into the shape of a rosette. Staple together the two side ends of accordion folds. Conceal the stapled edges up inside the accordion folds or make sure that the staples are both on one side of the rosette. These will be less obvious on the back side of your ornament.
  4. For the ornaments shown above, I also layered metallic paper rosettes on top of the wired ribbon rosettes. These were made by first cutting the centers out of cup cake liners and then gluing the rippled paper edges back onto a sturdy cardboard round. This round was covered with the same metallic paper discarded from the centers of the cup cake liners. Why not just crush the cup cake liner without cutting it apart you may ask? Because it looks better.
  5. Then I used tacky white glue to attach a Victorian scrap angel to the center of the layered rosettes and pasted an acrylic gem to her halo.
  6. Fold an additional metallic paper rosette for the back side of your ornament. 
  7. Glue a gold cord between the layers of rosettes on the back side of your Victorian ornament and hang it on the tree.
Video by wonder studios.
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Friday, December 5, 2014

Cut and Paste Victorian Clown Paper Rosette Ornaments

I chose to make the collars of my scrap clowns using cup cake liners; this allows me to price these little rosettes for less at craft fairs. I can also produce them quicker saving both time and money.
Supply List:
  • pom poms
  • striped and solid colored cup cake liners
  • Victorian scrap of clown heads (portraits)
  • thin metalic string for hanging
  • white glue
  • scissors
Directions:
  1. Purchase or print Victorian scrap of clowns
  2. Cut out the center unruffled portions of two or four striped cup cake liners. You can use more than this to make the ruffled collars of each clown; it's a matter of preference. 
  3. Glue the tips of each ruffle to the outer edge of a single circle backed with the same papers. 
  4. Glue two rosettes together, face sides out so that only the decorative parts are seen.
  5. Clip, ruffle and reglue a smaller rosette from a solid colored cup cake liner to the front of each collar. 
  6. Glue the Victorian clown scrap on top of this second layer. The cord for hanging should be sandwiched between these two final layers.
  7. Glue on pom poms.
More ornaments made with paper rosettes:
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Monday, December 1, 2014

DIY Shabby Chic Scrap Piecework Baubles

      These Shabby Chic baubles are definitely French Cottage. I pinned this set for my younger girl who happens to adore anything remotely French or Austrian that was produced during the Victorian Era. I wrapped my Styrofoam balls with white glue and variegated, pastel colored yarns. Then I snipped and clipped my way through several vintage shawls, table cloths and dollies yellow and stained with age and wear. Most of these items came to me via an elderly aunt who hadn't the heart to throw them away. I think Hannah will be quite pleased with the end result.
More examples of Shabby Chic Scrap Piecework Baubles. On the far left you can see the beaded chain that I added for hanging the baubles. These piecework baubles have scraps of lace built up on top of yarn covered Styrofoam balls in pastel shades. The color combinations are quite elaborate; not merely shades of white and ivory.
These pieces are fun to work on; it's difficult to know when to stop though.
Details of embroidery and lacework pinned to the Shabby Chic Baubles.
Left, vintage shawls, antique lace and old table linens are the kinds of supplies you will need to acquire for this craft.
A dresser with a distressed
finish and mismatched
drawer knobs, in
Shabby chic style.
      The "Shabby Chic Style" started in Great Britain and evokes the type of decoration found in large country houses where there are worn and faded old chintz sofas and curtains, old paintwork and unassuming 'good' taste. The end result of shabby chic is to achieve an elegant overall effect, as opposed to the sentimentally cute Pop-Victorian. Recycling old furniture and fabrics is an important aspect of the look and was especially popular with modern Bohemians and artisans that made up a sidelined counter-culture movement during the 1980s when expensive quality decor became very fashionable with the upper middle classes. The original shabby chic interiors were usually considered in themselves works of art.
 More painted and layered Shabby Chic Christmas Baubles
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Wednesday, January 8, 2014

100 Victorian Scrap Resources

 

Large Online Victorian Scrap Collections:

Victorian Clip Art Collections Online:

Victorian Scrap From Journals:

Victorian Scrap from Flickr Photostream:

Victorian Pinterest Boards:
Victorian Scrap Collections from Picasa Web Albums:
Victorian Scrap Merchants and Dealers:

Victorian Reprints: Cards, Ornaments, Gifts, Scrap Etc...

Societies:
The John Grossman Collection of Antique Images  printed ephemera of visual culture from 1820 to 1920.
ephemerastudies.org at Louisiana Tech University

Samples and Articles About Victorian Print:

More Victorian Trade Card Links:

Research Victorian Subjects:

Curator, Randall Thropp talks about 
Victorian Christmas Artifacts.
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Saturday, November 30, 2013

Q & A About Reproducing Cotton Batting Ornaments

Temporary image
for pinning, folks.
The following Q and A is applicable to those ornaments that are being reproduced for maximum profit or gratification. I am not personally picky about everything that I make or sell! Advice given for highly collectable items is, of course, far more particular.

1. What is cotton batting? Cotton batting was and still is used prolifically to line the insides of quilts and to upholster stuffed furniture with. There are many sorts of thicknesses available. The term "cotton batting" when applied to ornaments does not necessarily mean that those ornaments were not made with wool or even silk battings. The term is a general one that describes the batting most frequently used to finish ornaments with. Wool and silk are by far more superior to cotton in the crafting of a very fine ornaments because of their unique qualities.

2. Who were the primary producers of cotton batting ornaments? Some of the earliest cotton batting ornaments were produced in Lauscha, Germany. But during the World Wars, Americans opened up their homes and started to build small cottage industries that supplied cotton batting figures for Christmas and Easter as well.
      American individuals also made many of these ornaments by hand at home. Ladies home journals, newspapers and other publishers would describe the novelties in detail and people would often craft their own versions rather than purchase them from overseas venders.  
3. Why is it so difficult to research the techniques used in the production of cotton ornaments 100 years ago? Well, there is a litany of reasons: One reason being that many ornaments were made of ordinary materials and processes that everyday folk took for granted and so they did not always bother to record those processes.
       Another reason, books describing old artisan methods are often tossed by librarians who believe them too 'dated' to be useful to modern crafters. Much of the information that I know concerning the making of doll and novalty (ornamental) items, came from a late 1800's volume that I just happened to have read about twenty years ago. That same book was eventually tossed by the library that once had loaned it to me.
       Vocabulary changes over the passing of time. Crafters don't always use the same terminology from one century to the next. So if you are reading very old descriptions, you may not understand the original meanings or  know which words to use in order to search a term via a computer search system. In order to research original news clippings or books about doll making, people need to use the vocabulary of the artisans that lived during the era being researching, capisci?
Antique clown made from
composition. He is about
the size of a penny.
       Partial knowledge is not full knowledge. For instance, "What is a composition doll head made from?" Unless you happen to have the recipe written down for it, you may never know the exact formula used to pour a doll head over 100 years ago. Chances are that composition head or mask was poured from a formula mixed with plaster, wood pulp, cat gut or ground horse hooves (glue), flour and resin.
       Many cottage industries one hundred years ago guarded their methods from the public so that they could "corner their market" so to speak. Just like crafters today, they were worried about competing with other craftsmen for just a few orders. Sometimes this made sense and sometimes it was an unnecessary precaution but irregardless, it makes the task of finding things out much more difficult.
       Some products used in the ornament making of 100 years ago are no longer manufactured. Therefore, it is difficult to reproduce exact replicas.
       The few remnants of antique ornaments that still exist are too valuable to dismantle without destroying their value. Often owners can not afford to look too carefully at 'how' an item is made without causing permanent damage. Many people, not me, pay thousands of dollars for antique cotton batting ornaments!
4. Are there old methods or practices used in the making of Christmas ornaments that crafters may be better off not reproducing? Absolutely. Wheat paste degenerates rapidly and small rodents will chew on objects made with it. Wheat paste is made from flour and water and folks often used it in crafting 100 years ago. This is one of the primary reasons that so few Christmas ornaments have survived over time.
       Crafting with inexpensive papers is also a very bad practice because these fade faster and have a limited shelf life due to the acid content in the papers. Select acid free and/or heavy weight papers for finely crafted Christmas ornaments to ensure their durability.
5. Are there old methods worthy of reproducing? Absolutely. Sand, prime, and paint objects and then varnish them. Do these things more frequently than printing out images that must be glued down, unless your ornament is made completely from acid free papers or the scrap included on the ornament is reproduction lithographed scrap. Printed images made from those printers used with a home computer will fade out fast even if the paper is acid free. The inks must also be acid free and these are not commonly used in those kinds of printers. Hand-painted faces, hands and added novelties are far more pleasing.
      Handcrafted miniatures make reproductions unique and far more collectable. Take the time to train yourself in some of these old folk crafts so that you can make higher profits and better product. Your only real competition will do this. For example, learn to emboss heavy weight papers by hand or learn to tool metals by hand. These few innovations will greatly improve the detailed ornamentations that may be included with your own original designs.
       Include reproduction Dresden-like, embossed, cardboard trims; pay extra and then do not hesitate to charge extra. Molded cardboard trims are most authentic to the tiny decorative ornaments and trims found attached to cotton batting ornaments. Angel's wings were often made from real Dresden ornamentation. There are contemporary companies that now reproduce similar embossed wings.
       Sign your work. When contemporary crafters sign their work they are proving not only that they are honest, i. e. not trying to sell a reproduction as an original, but also providing their work to a secondary and perhaps more prolific community of collectors, those people who are interested in purchasing contemporary folk art.
       Also, signed work just sells better. Even if you don't think that your painting is as professional as the next guy's. Some consumers prefer naive painters, you may profit better than you expect.

Left, traditionally figures were made from wire and paper wrapped between layers of wheat paste. I recommend, however, that students use masking tape for this process now. Both rodents and insects are highly attracted to wheat paste and they will feast on your handcrafted items if you don't take precautions. Right, my mushrooms/toadstools are ready to paint. On the right, I have yet to wrap a spider and his web, rabbit, and figures with cotton batting.
6. Were cotton batting ornaments entirely wrapped with cotton batting? No, and I am aware that many of you actually didn't think to ask this question. It is perhaps one of the most important pieces of "secret" information that those who wish to reproduce cotton batting ornaments must posses, in order to begin successfully producing these ornaments. 
       There is a difference between spun cotton ornaments and those antique figures produced with a final application of cotton batting; a very important difference. The former are made by the act of spinning the object while layering cotton until a shape is formed, the latter is constructed by applying batting to a small paper mache form. 
      Sometimes pressed cotton was molded by compressing it into either a prefabricated led mold or hand-carved wooden mold. Then it was glued onto the paper mache form. This was one of the most common techniques used to create such amazing detailing in the faces of those ornaments representing people and animals. When molded cotton, spun cotton balls or scrap lithograph faces were not used, inexpensive porcelain heads from Japan could be attached to the tiny doll bodies instead.
Angel with a prefabricated spun cotton head.
       As some of you may have discovered through trail and error, simply wrapping a wire armature with cotton and then painting it, can lead to an ugly mess. Hurray for the fact that you tried it! Sorry for the unappealing mess. You must learn to crush, twist, insert and manipulate light weight paper mache forms in order to successfully pull off the perfect cotton batting reproduction. I will include specific tutorials on this blog that demonstrate many of these methods in the future.
7. Were spun cotton fruit ornaments factory made or handmade? Yes, Both mechanical and hand methods have been done in order to produce ornamental spun cotton fruits. "Spun" cotton does refer to the spinning of cotton but it also refers to the manual method of spinning cotton around a form by hand in order to craft a hand-spun ornament. Some perceptive German translators use the term "wrapped or wound" when referring to hand spun methods.
       The term, "spun" was used by both those folks who were actually spinning cotton on a spinning wheel and those people who manufactured thread on a spinning jenny or spinning frame that displaced the foot propelled wheels used prior to the Industrial Revolution.
      However, both of these uses of the term "spun cotton" do not refer to the "spun cotton" ornaments hung on Christmas trees. These ornaments were made by hand in small batches by families of crafters in the Christmas cottage factories of Germany and then also later by crafters in America who made them by manual spinning means prior to the industrial revolution.

8. Are millinery fruits made from spun cotton? Are these identical to spun cotton fruits? Sometimes millinery fruits are made from spun cotton but sometimes these are made from molded cotton or composition. Remember that composition is poured into a mold allowed to set and then unmolded, molded cotton is pressed into a mold as a pulpy smooth clay-like substance and then removed to dry hard. Usually these fruits have both a top and bottom side that must be glued together after unmolding. In other words they are molded from half molds.
       Vintage millinery most often refers to the fruits produced in Germany during the 1930s through the 1950s and these are made from poured composition. Antique spun cotton fruits and molded cotton fruits were crafted from as early as the 1870s in Germany.

9. Were cotton batting ornaments shaped with wire armatures? The armatures used in the vast majority of these ornaments were made from crushed paper, glue and sometimes the occasional nail inserted for strength. Sometimes the figures were even stuffed with grass, horse hair, lent or saw dust wrapped in rags and then the batting was glued to the surface. Many people would use the materials they had ordinary access to. These materials were relatively common to processes associated with upholstery, doll making and quilting. Some attachments like bunny ears or posable limbs were shaped structurally with thin wires; but this is not quite the same thing as a heavy traditional armature associated with big paper mache pieces artists create today.
       The word armature implies much more to our contemporary experiences in crafting. Technically there is such a thing as a small delicate armature, but I am certain that most Americans are not getting this image in their heads when they read about it. Why? Because the results have been miserable and the degree of misleading or ineffective writing on the web is too common. Don't think ARMATURE, think armature. As you read about these tiny figures!

 10. I thought that cotton batting ornaments were sewn and stuffed, was this a uncommon method? This depended entirely upon the person making the ornaments but there were very likely many ladies who had the needle skills to accomplish this type of sewing. Remember, at the turn of the 20th century, many more women could sew and did so either out of necessity or to earn extra cash for their family. Needle sculpting has been found on antique cotton batting ornaments. That would also be a very helpful technique to learn when reproducing these kinds of ornaments.
11. What types of paints were used on cotton batting ornaments? I suspect that watercolors or dyes were used. If you look carefully at these ornaments, you will discern that the majority do not have polished looking surfaces. In the superior surviving examples the cotton looks soft and unaffected by the color added to it's surface. This can not be easily achieved with inexpensive, glossy, oil paints.
       Many Americans in the business of Christmas cottage industry had easy access to watercolor and fabric dyes. 
       Today paints like acrylics are color fast and consequently, much better suited to the painting of batting and untreated textiles. When painting my cotton figures, acrylics are my paints of choice.

More Tips for Professional Results:
  • Remember to use acid free glue when applying surface embellishments to cotton batting ornaments. It would be horrible to put so much effort into a fine ornament that may show yellowed surfaces within a few years time. The alternative to glue may be to actually sew trims directly onto your ornaments. Think carefully about "how" you will treat the final finished surfaces of the ornament.
  • Consider using a surface fixative of some kind to prevent soiling.
  • A mixture of cornstarch, glue and water may also be applied to larger surfaces areas with the fingers in order to smooth out some imperfections.
  • Visit merchant's who specialize in authentic supplies for your ornament making projects. Products like spun glass, dyed goose feathers, and antique looking clamps add that little extra touch of authenticity to reproduction ornaments.
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Friday, November 15, 2013

Free Christmas Gift Tag & Label Ideas!

A selection of printable Christmas gift tags from our blog.
      Looking for a fast free way to print of a Christmas gift tag or label? No problemo folks; I've linked to the best below.

Traditional Christmas Gift Tags and Labels:
  1. Printable gift tags from Sea Urchin Studio
  2. Printable Christmas Tags from The Scrap Shoppe
  3. Lovely, Classic, Christmas Greeting Tags from 1910 by Kathy Grimm
  4. Many different designs from The ClipartPal 
  5. Fun fonts by Ashley
  6. Christmas Gift Tags from Skip to my Lou
  7. Free Printable Christmas Gift Tags
  8. Free Printable Christmas Gift Tags from freeprintigngifttags.net
  9. Large Printable Santa Gift Tags for BIG Gifts!
  10. Santa Claus Sugar Plums confectionary labels recolorized by Kathy Grimm
Vintage Victorian Christmas Gift Tags and Labels:
  1. Cherub Christmas 1873 from Wings of Whimsy
  2. Neutral vintage gift tags by Lilac & Lavender
  3. Printable vintage style Christmas tags by Miss Cutiepie
  4. Printable vintage Christmas Carol gift tags
  5. Craft and Print Victorian Christmas Gift Tags
  6. A Collection of Printable Little Victorian Ladies
Free Retro Christmas Gift Tags:
  1. Freebie Image: Vintage Christmas Tags by Free Pretty Things For You
  2. Freebies: Printable Gift Tags from HEYLOOK
  3. Very retro Christmas gift tag just for Dad
Bright, Bold and Playful Looking Contemporary Christmas Gift Tags:
  1. gift tags and labels from Orange You Lucky! - My Favorites!
  2. Adorable Winter Gift Tags by Emily Winfield Martin
  3. A Little Gift for You by Vanessa Valencia
  4. printable Elfie gift tags from Jenny B. Harris
  5. Holiday Snowmen Printables from Living Locurto
  6. Free Printable Holiday Gift Tags from domesticfluff and Wintry Holiday Tags here
  7. lovelydesigns christmas tags by Sharilyn
  8. haciendo el indio
  9. Traditional cut themes from Mushy
  10. Printable Christmas Gift Tags by Poppies at Play
  11. Mrs. Fox's Christmas Gift Tags
Hand Crafted Gift Tags for Christmas:
  1. DIY Gift Tags from Trader Joe's Bags
  2. Printable gift tag frames - very interesting
Hand Crafted Gift Tags for Christmas: Video:
  1. Finally Friday - 3 Christmas Tags: TwoPeasInABucket
  2. Day 3 - Holiday Card Series - Gift Tags by K. Werner Design
  3. Gift Wrapping Tips: How to make gift tags
Unique Christmas Gift Tags and Labels:
  1. Little red reindeer by Amy Moss
  2. knick knack gift cards by Hannah
  3. Red rose gift tags from the Pioneer Woman
  4. Mail-y Christmas by babalisme
  5. Wings of Whimsy - excellent, giant assortment of Christmas gift tags!
Color Your Own Christmas Gift Tags and Labels:
  1. Snowmen by Cheryl Seslar
  2. gingerbread boys and girls from Christmas Coloring Pages
  3. Gift box gift tags
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Thursday, July 25, 2013

"The Christmas Tree Book" by Phillip V. Snyder

The History of the Christmas Tree & Antique
Christmas Tree Ornaments: The Christmas Tree
Book by Philip V. Snyder.  The Viking press,
1976, and Penguin Books Ltd., 1977
      For those of you who are interested in doing some serious reading about antique Christmas tree ornaments, primarily from Germany, The Christmas Tree Book by Snyder is one of the rare publications available in English about the subject.
      Snyder also writes about the history of Christmas trees in both Western Europe and the United States. 

"Snyder is a veritable  mine of fascinating facts about his favorite subject--and his enthusiasm is quite contagious." --Harper's Bazaar

      The book also has many photographs, although not what I would call exhaustive, that record popular types of ornamentation purchased in the United States prior the the World Wars. It should be very helpful to collectors in terms of explaining just what and why particular Christmas ornaments are valuable enough to collect at auction. Both mouth-blown glass and Dresden molded cardboard ornaments are covered in the volume, as well as cotton batting and wax dipped ornaments to a lesser degree.

"A seasonal bonus, too big to stuff a stocking but just right for under-the-tree display . . . the reproductions are delightful." --Kirkus Reviews

      The photography in the book is not by today's standards all that impressive. One must consider that at the time it was published in 1977, very little had ever been written about the topic for ordinary American consumption. Today it is still a seldom explored topic for serious history buffs to write about. Although I have seen volumes in recent times that attempt to record a kind of visual history of tree ornamentation for collectors.
      I have delivered a few lectures on the subject of Art and Christmas in St. Louis and the resource has been quite useful to me. For this reason plus the added bonus of being a novice collector myself, I will recommend the book. Snyder covers the information that should be known in general by those who are researching antique Christmas ornaments.

Similar Book Types to Consider:
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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Assemble Victorian Scrap Ornaments for Christmas Fairs

Above is a photo of a Victorian child all bundled up
for Winter in her lovely white wool. I layered these
 images with tinsel rosettes and purchased glittery
snowflakes to create my version of this classic
 Victorian scrap ornament.     
       Sometimes I assemble Victorian scrap ornaments for Christmas fairs. These particular versions are both simple and inexpensive to assemble. I do not sell them for much, only a few dollars each. Whenever you are preparing for a craft fair, it is best to create a wide variety of Christmas ornaments that are priced from $2.00 and up. Some of my ornaments sell for $25.00 dollars and others for pocket change. This is because all kinds of people visit craft fairs. Some of them are looking for truely unique, one-of-a-kind pieces, but there are always patrons that spend more impulsively or that are looking for inexpensive trims for packages. The latter are the folks that I supply Victorian scrap to because these ornaments costs me very little time, energy, and supply to craft. Most folks who attend craft fairs rarely consider profit margins for artisans. Americans are so familiar with purchasing items from manufactures that they have unrealistic expectations when it comes to buying handmade product. They do not take into account the labor or the initial costs in the acquisition of materials. However, if you wish to profit from such ventures, these are important considerations to make on your own. You need to develop product that satisfies the impulsive nature of some folks in order to compete with what they are most familiar with. Don't waste time producing too much inexpensive product though, just have a bit of it for those who expect it. Spend more time producing collectable pieces, for this is the reason to attend excellent craft fairs after all.


       Above you can see that I printed Victorian scrap ladies and then cut them to layer on top of purchased glittery feathers. I cleaned images myself in Photoshop. These were in the public domain and are easy to find all over the internet.



       The finale Christmas ornaments were crafted and assembled for the Christmas fair that I attended last year. I displayed the ornaments in a giant, shallow cardboard box. The box was wrapped in a subtle brown paper so that the full attention of the customers would be focused on the product. I also filled the bottom of the box with wood shavings supplied by my husband's woodworking interests. The shavings added a subtle, pleasant odor and also gave a kind of a folksy ambiance to my displays that year.
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