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Monday, September 26, 2011

Back from Troy (again)...


Hello bow makers!  Well, we're back from the NY Women's Expo in Troy, NY.  And no disasters befell us such as tornadoes or hurricanes.  Gee, maybe my luck is changing!  This could be a long post, so bear with me.

In any case, I'd first like to say that the promoters of this event were par excellence.  They outdid themselves with the set-up, venue, and advertising.  They were there on the spot if you needed them for anything and couldn't do enough to help this event be a success.  Well, we did have one little glitch in the three day show -- on day 2 the promoters entered to find no electricity in the building!  They made a mad scramble to contact the building's manager who told them they don't have an electrician on  retainer, so the promoter had to get her own electrician and have the work done.  We were up and running within an hour of the show's opening.   The promoter (Suzette Anthony) spent over $40,000 in advertising alone for this show -- now that's a promoter!

Sadly, for whatever reason, the show did not generate much traffic -- do you believe my luck?  But we had a grand time for ourselves and were able to do our own shopping (pssst!  great Christmas gifts!) at the many (150) booths.  We met some terrific vendors and swapped lots of ideas and garnered tons of advice for future shows.

I brought hubby and daughter with me as well as our dear friend, Priscilla.  Priscilla got a little crazy and bought this adorable hat very first thing and proudly wore it the first day of the show.  She said it matched her shoes -- you'll just have to take my word for it, it did.  Here's our la-di-da Queen showing off her finery.

Here's a look at Dina and Priscilla practicing their bow making.  They actually came up with even more great ideas for the Craft-Dee BowZ that I hope to share with you very soon.  Mind you, Priscilla had never even seen the Craft-Dee BowZ, but that sharp little mind of hers was clicking away.  She and Dina came up with a very clever way of making even bigger bows -- stay tuned! 



Hubby got all dressed up for the occasion -- he had to look like part of the team, didn't he?  Since we girls were wearing our glittzy corsages, hubby needed to look the part as well, so I made him a bow tie (thanks for the suggestion, Regina!).  Here he is in all his glory.  He got more attention at the show than anyone!  Everyone loved his tie and  commented on it.  (Keep this in mind, bow makers!)  As we say, "the Craft-Dee BowZ ain't just for card making anymore!"


I do have to tell you this one other story.  An adorable young lady, Victoria, entered our booth and we demonstrated the Craft-Dee BowZ with her.  As we were talking, we were admiring some of her jewelry.  She told us she makes a lot of it herself.  She promptly set about making a bow into a ring.  Here are two examples of the new Craft-DeeBowZ ring.  Isn't this great?  I love it!  Hmmm, do I see Craft-Dee BowZ earrings in the near future?  I'm modelling the one Victoria made.


And here's one I made using the double loop bow.   Don't these give you great ideas - maybe for little girls' parties, a special nite out with a bit of dare and flair?


While at the show, my friend Carol from Albany dropped by the booth.  I hadn't seen Carol in about 10 years, so we caught up on family life and such.  She was telling me that she couldn't believe the amount of advertising that went into this show.  Hi Carol!  I hope it won't be another 10 years before we see one another!

So I left this show with ideas buzzing in my brain which I hope to pass on to all you bow makers.  Drop me a line - I'd love to hear from you.

Donna

Monday, September 19, 2011

Off to our next show...


Hi bow makers!  Well, I'm off to do another trade show the end of this week.  I carry mixed emotions on many levels, but foremost is the weather.  Many of you know that the first show I did was the day after the tornado in West Springfield, MA.  The next show I brought hurricane Irene WITH me which resulted in day two of the show being cancelled.  So to say I'm a bit unsettled about this next trip would be an understatement.  What's left?  earthquake? mud slides? blizzard?  Okay, I'm going to think positively -- I know there's a higher power with some great thing in mind for me.

So with that being said, I'd just like to let you know that the Craft-Dee BowZ and crew will be at the NY Women's Expo in Clifton Park, NY (on the outskirts of Troy) and the show runs from Friday, September 23 (from 12 to 7), Saturday (from 10 to 6) and Sunday (from 10 to 4).  Tell all your friends and please drop by.  This is a wonderful event with over 150 vendors generating about 5,000 attendees and offering a multitude of products such as fitness, home & decor, education & success, jewelry, crafts, fashion, food & dining and health & wellness and many others.  Part of the proceeds for this show go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Cure Foundation.

Craft-Dee BowZ will be offering raffle tickets on this pretty little package that I put together for this occasion.  I purchased an artists canvas frame, decorated the front and back with various designer papers (from Fight Like a Girl) then filled the opening in the back with an Craft-Dee BowZ and three spools of various pink ribbons and topped the whole thing off with some gorgeous bows made with, what else, the Craft-Dee BowZ!  Here are pics of the front and back of this package.




(the above shows our old name, so don't get confused)

My friends have all been asking if I had made up a bunch of these.  That answer would be "no, not right now".  I've been so crazy busy with my teaching job and the store closing where I work that I'm lucky I have time to even get ready for this show.  Wish me well and I'll be sure to have pictures upon my return.

Donna

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Witchy, witchy, boo!


Hello followers.  I had to share this latest contribution from my friend, Chris.  She decorates her kitchen table for every season or holiday and here's her latest for Halloween.  She bought a paper mache hat and painted it, then stamped it and added some glitter.  Do be sure and note that the finishing touch is the bow made with the Craft-Dee BowZ.  She did a great job on altering this hat!  Thanks Chris!


Please feel free to drop a comment.  Love to hear from you as always.

Donna

Thursday, September 1, 2011

It's not just for card making...


Hi everyone!  Well we've been busy at work with our Craft-Dee BowZ these past few weeks and I just thought I'd share some other ideas with you that will give your projects pizazz.  By projects, I mean scrapbooking, holiday gifts and a fun twist on picture framing.  Remember, these are ALL done with the Craft-Dee BowZ and the only thing stopping you is your imagination.  So here goes.  (Click on any picture for a larger view.)

This scrapbooking page was done by a friend.  Is this not the cutest? Sorry about the word redundancy -- but it just is the most appropriate word for this layout.  You'll see how every bow to the right is the same size consistently.  The bow to the side of the picture of the Divine Miss "O" (as she is called)  was done by adding an extra tail for more interest.  And don't forget the bow in her hair!  Yep, also done with the Craft-Dee BowZ and added for a 3-dimensional look.

The Divine Miss "O"

This next layout is done on an 8x8 page.  Clearly, much simpler, but look at the dimension that the bow adds to this layout.  Simple, but just enough.  This happens to be my granddaughter at her best.

Not to be outdone, I'll call her the adorable Miss "L"


Now this next picture of the adorable Miss "L" will show you her real side.  Not to take away from my favorite (and only) grandchild, I'd like you to focus on how you can present a picture, perhaps as a Christmas gift (in this case) or change it up for a birthday gift with balloons and bows.  You get the idea.

This is the REAL Miss "L"!

And this last idea is from the owner at The Crop Shop who has sold more Craft-Dee BowZ than I can count!  She was kind enough to donate this to my booth as a way to show how you can gift wrap the gift wrapper, so to speak (LOL!).

She placed an Craft-Dee BowZ with some spools of ribbon in a cute little sleigh.
She then shrink wrapped it and added a bow made with, you guessed it, the Craft-Dee BowZ!
Well this ought to get your creative juices rolling in another direction!  If you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for dropping by.

Donna