Repurposed Wine Bottles

I’ve been a busy crafter today!

For the past couple of years now, I have been saving all my wine & liquor bottles and storing them in my garage… or wherever I can find space. These are some of my bottles that I have (I forgot to take pictures of the ones in my art room). Yeah, I’ve collected a few…

OK – now that I’m done making myself look like a lush, let’s continue…

Now when I started saving these bottles, I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do with them. I just had a hunch that I should hold onto them until I decided; figured there’s always recycling if I didn’t come up with any ideas.

So I started working on this bottle today. It’s not complete yet, but it’s going to be a lighted wine bottle and I’m going for the chic vintage motif with an image of Marilyn Monroe.

My next step is to drill a hole into the back of the bottle and insert white lights so that it can be lit up by plugging into the wall.

I haven’t got the right kind of drill bit to drill into glass. That’s on the shopping list for my next trip to Home Depot or Lowes.

However, in the mean time, this is a work in progress…

As you can tell I’m not a photographer!

My handy little background technique went to the crapper when I forgot about it and took my pictures from different angles instead of just turning the bottle! Oh well…

I’ve Found My Theme!

I am so excited to announce that I have come up with a theme for my candles/crafts.  First of all, let me tell you why I decided that I needed a theme.

I got to looking at my candles from a critical eye and decided that they were, well let me just be honest here, a bit on the boring side!

Sure they burn and smell great, but I had to ask myself: what really makes my candles any different from those sold at your local box store or even those sold by other average candle maker that also sells their product at craft shows??? Well, not much really.

So I decided that if I wanted this venture to be successful, and that is the goal here, then I needed to figure out how to set Roxy’s Wicked Scents Candles & Crafts apart and make my products interesting and appealing to my target customer base.  Otherwise, why else would they want to buy from me?  Let’s face it… they won’t.

I’ve pondered on question for a week or so now, and it finally came to me!  (Thank you to my dear friend, DeAnna, who’s wedding last April really served as my inspiration…) I’m going with a Chic Vintage theme!  I’m so excited because I love that kind of style anyway and it seems to be a big trend right now.

With that being said, I’ve also decided that I am going to take this business focus a step beyond just candles.  Candles will remain to be my main focus, but I also plan to incorporate decorated wine bottles, and multi-media canvas art.  All of which will  fall into the same Chic Vintage theme.

I feel I need to do this because I’m a bit ADHD when it comes to my art projects and I have to be able to change gears every once in a while; otherwise, I will just get bored and burn out.  Work with what you got, right?

Needless to say, I’m experimenting with some samples at the moment.  I will be sure to post pictures, and possibly even videos of my techniques, as they come to fruition.

So be sure to follow my blog so that you will know when I post those!

PS… I can’t wait to share them with you!!!!

Juried vs. Non Juried – Where should a beginner begin?

My research this week has revealed that there are two types of Arts and Craft shows out there to choose from: Juried versus Non-Juried.

Juried shows require that you submit an application along with your fee and portfolio (photos of the product(s) you intend to sell at the show as well as photos of your booth set up with your products displayed). A committee then convenes and decides on which vendors will be accepted and which one’s won’t.

Depending on the size of the show may dictate how strict their requirements/standards are for accepting applicants. It is my understanding is the specifications of what they’re looking for could range from how unique your item(s) is to how marketable it is to the crowd that they’re expecting to draw in.

I have no trouble finding juried shows. There are numerous websites listing upcoming shows by state. I guess they are relatively easy to locate through online research because they have decent marketing budgets to work with.

As for non-Juried shows, that’s another story. They just require that you pay a fee for your booth space and do not require that you submit a portfolio to be accepted as a vendor to their event. These are typically smaller venues which would include, but not be limited to, smaller Church and school fundraiser events.

However, honestly, those don’t seem to be as easy to come by though my online research. My guess is that it’s probably due to the fact that their marketing budgets are very limited and it’s going to take a little more leg work to find these venues.

So back to where a new kid on the block should start… I’ve come across conflicting information about which is better for a beginner, like me, should begin; juried or non-juried… that is the question!

Some say that non-juried events are a great place for “newbies” to get started and build up some experience and confidence in the craft show process. In addition to not requiring a portfolio upfront, the booth rentals are generally a lot less expensive.

Others say stay away from non-juried events if at all possible because, in their opinions, the types of crowds they tend to attract are not the same quality as those that non-juried shows tend to attract. Those in this camp of argument say that because of this, these shows make it hard for a crafter to make money at, much less break even – whether your a newbie or experienced.

Wow! Enough to make your head spin! So what do you do?

Well, for me, I’m thinking it would be best to start out with a non-juried show if at all possible. One that I can book about 4-6 months out so that I have time to build an inventory of product and time to make the investments in the items/supplies needed to properly set up a booth: table, cover tent, table clothes, props, chairs, etc.

The biggest reason for going this route (at least for a first show), I don’t already have the items needed to “set up a booth” that I can photograph to submit along with a portfolio. I would have to go out and make all these investments before I could even apply for a juried show.

But how in the heck am I going to find these non-juried shows??? Where do I look??? I’m a little stuck.

I would love to get some suggestions and feedback!

Overcome Doubts About Running Your Own Craft Business

Overcome Doubts About Running Your Own Craft Business.