This is a continuation of the series on how to direct a craft show. I've directed or helped direct a dozen or so over the past 6 years, so I have an idea or two about how to make them go smoothly. Our show has doubled in size and more than tripled in attendance. If you want to learn about the show I direct, you can visit the website: www.jccraftshow.com.
So you have found a location and done the math and you know how many booths you can have. You have a preliminary layout. This doesn't have to be exact.
So now is the time to start talking. Go to your leadership -- club, church or whomever will benefit from the show and lay it all out for them.
Some points to think and talk about:
* Realistically, your first show should be somewhat small
30-50 booths is a fantastic first show. If it is too big the people running the show will be overwhelmed and you won't do well.
* You have to keep the price low.
People are just checking you out and you don't have a reputation yet. So, attract vendors with an introductory rate. $25 - $45 is easy for a lot of vendors to do.
* This is a building year.
You won't make as much money this first year as you will in the years to come, but if you persist, you will have a great fund raiser year after year!
* The first few shows are the most work.
You need enthusiastic support and at least a couple of friends to actually help do the work of planning the show.
* Craft shows take LOTS of volunteers.
Volunteers will be needed for setting up the space, vendor set up and tear down and resetting the space.
Decisions to make:
* A preliminary layout if you don't have one. (This is just a map of where you can fit your booths. You will make a final one after you have the exact number of vendors.)
* A maximum number of vendors. (30 - 50)
* Price per booth.
And a biggie decision:
* You need food for vendors, volunteers (and possibly shoppers.) You have options:
1. Allow food vendors. This is probably the easiest way to go. They have food carts they set up outside your event and they sell food.
The pros are that you don't have to have volunteers cooking and selling food. You don't have to worry about kitchen standards or licensing laws in your state, etc.
The cons are that it is kind of expensive, and you may have to provide food for volunteers if they work long shifts.
2. Provide a prepackaged meal. A local caterer or someone in your organization may be able to package some boxed lunches at a very reasonable cost for your volunteers and you can have vendors pre-order one for themselves or anyone working their booth.
The pros are that this is fairly easy, and less expensive than a food truck.
The cons are that this is harder to plan for. You may have to place your order before knowing exactly how many people you will have. Vendors will forget to order and then be disappointed.
3. Staff a concession stand/cafe area. Your volunteers cook and sell a lunch meal and snacks through out the day.
The pros are that you can provide meals to your volunteers at minimum cost, and you can actually make a little extra money selling the food to vendors and shoppers.
The cons are that it is work to do it. You have to decide on a menu and prices. You have to shop for the food and make the food. You have to have people who know & comply with food safety regulations in your state. And you don't make a lot of money.
4. Have a volunteer make a food run for vendors and volunteers to a local business or two to bring back lunches.
The pros are that people get what they want and pay regular prices and you can't be blamed for them.
The cons are that it is a big hassle keeping people's money and order straight and transporting that much food back to your show is hard. Food will be cold or not as fresh, etc.
5. Don't do any of the above. Don't provide food or refreshments. This is not a great thing in vendor's eyes and I don't recommend it.
We have always done #3. Our cafe brings in $200-$300 most years. (But more than once we've barely covered our costs.) For 2015 I'm seriously considering outside food vendors. Their "booth fee" will be so many meals for my volunteers. Gonna think that one over...
We still need to talk about advertising. You have to advertise for vendors AND shoppers. You want to get the word out and start taking applications about 3 months in advance. I'll share my list of websites, how much we spend on advertising, yard signs, banners, targeted emails, social media and other pieces of that puzzle. I'm still trying to improve on all of this, but this one is doing pretty well.
Then we need to talk about tracking vendors, responses and keeping track of the money. How Google Docs and forms have made my life bearable!
We will cover training and working with volunteers (especially if you will be working with teens).
And I will share my checklist - what to do, when. And I'm sure there are other little tidbits we'll discuss. Hopefully you will gain a great deal from my experience and feel confident that you can do this.
But, not for a while. I'm not sharing anything else until after the 8th. I'm really sorry. I want to finish it all up now but I cannot. Its "go" time for me. I have so much to do and so little time... I won't be blogging until after the show. When you see the list you will understand.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
How to Direct a Craft Show Part 1: The Space
Its craft show season. Did you know there was a season? Guys have hunting seasons, girls have craft show seasons. We've just gotten in to the Fall Shows, and before they are done we will be in the Holiday Shows season. The Spring shows are not as well attended as the fall and holiday shows. I don't know why, maybe because that is prime garage sale season and sports are going full swing. I just know it is true.
I have been directing or co-directing a craft show at our church for a half dozen or so years. For many years we did both a spring and fall show. Now we just do fall shows. I actually started the shows. We'd had one a few years prior, but I began the show as it is now after being a vendor in a few shows. I realized that churches and schools were making a few thousand dollars by opening their building to vendors and putting on a great show. At the time our church was begging for scholarship money after having a VBS fundraiser pie auction and several people were asking for donations for mission trips. I kept thinking there had to be a way to get money from the community, not just the church members. I knew we could have a car wash and things like that -- but I also knew we'd have to do something little every month if we didn't do something big. So this was my big idea. My how it has grown! We've almost doubled the number of vendors from our first show, and tripled the number of visitors.
My friends (and certainly my twin sister) will attest to the fact that I am NOT the most organized person in the world. So over the years I set processes in motion to help reduce the reliance on my administrative skills. Those are the kinds of tips I will share with you.
I will kind of start at the beginning of the process as if I were going to start a brand new show. Knowing what I know now and with the experience of directing a dozen shows behind me, how would I do it if I had to start over at a brand new place?
First, GET THE BIG PICTURE:
If you have to show an ID to get to your facility, maybe you should choose one that is more public. (Maybe not. Perhaps you want a show just for members of your social club. That's OK too! You will have to tell your vendors about this and get them in to the facility. That is OK. Get it on your questions/to do list!)
Walk through your proposed location with an eye for your craft show. Here are some questions to think through. Make notes, make a list of questions and things to do. You are trying to figure out if you should even run with this idea. Be critical of the space. Will it work? Can you picture booths there? If they only space you have is a 9 foot wide hallway, that will have a serious impact on booths. Think it all through as you make your initial game plan. Only have an outside space and want to have a fundraiser in December in Oklahoma? Maybe you need to figure something else out. Ice skating anyone?
Once you decide to continue, you need to BEGIN FOCUSING ON LOGISTICAL DETAILS:
Think about the people you will talk to and the questions they (and you) will have. GATHER FACTS you need to make a presentation (or at least have an intelligent conversation about the idea):
If possible, it is best to start off in one bigger room and plan to add space as needed. (12 vendors together is more exciting and easier for shoppers than three vendors in each of 4 classrooms. That feels small and like too much trouble for shoppers. Trust me - it does.) Get a list of possible spaces. Think about each one. (Maybe there is only one. That's great. Saves time.)
Measure the space(s) you want to use and draw a basic layout. ASK your maintenance person if there is a picture of the building layout.
[Usually there is a CAD drawing or perhaps even architectural blueprints. If you can get a digital copy, you can plan the space and even make a map. More on that in a later post.]
ALWAYS measure -- even if you have a drawing. Buildings change. The stage is different than originally planned, acoustic walls and decorative finishes may change the actual room dimensions by a foot, the sound booth is here, not there, etc. Make note of all the things that cannot be moved. The stage, the drum set possibly, the sound system. Also make note of all doors and windows. You can't block exit doors, and what if the maintenance guy, Sunday School teacher or preacher needs to get INTO his closet, etc. It all affects your booth layout. Which doors can you block? Where are architectural design elements (such as a column or overhang)?
You have to do the math here. Make a preliminary plan for the number of booths you can have. We have 9 x 9 booths. I've been in 8 x 8 booths, and they are common. Crafters really don't like anything smaller than 8 x 8. 10 x 10 is standard for very large commercial trade shows.
A lot of this is determined by the room size. We have some booths upstairs in classrooms and we generally let the 2-3 vendors in the room just divide the space. Its more than the 9 x 9, but we can't get another vendor in there, so we tell them they have to allow space for people to get in to all booths, but that they can spread out and fill the room. In contrast, in the auditorium, our main space, we tape off lines and ask vendors to move stuff out of the aisles and adjoining spaces. We tell them up front and in the vendor guidelines -- and we hold them to it. WAY too many vendors to let them 'creep' into other spaces.
www.Floorplanner.com can help you designing your layout. I will talk about that more later, too, but you can start playing with it. Especially if you don't have a layout of any kind of your space.
Speaking of getting to the booths, you have to think about outside navigation as well.
Are you overwhelmed yet? Don't be. We've only just begun! This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!
I have been directing or co-directing a craft show at our church for a half dozen or so years. For many years we did both a spring and fall show. Now we just do fall shows. I actually started the shows. We'd had one a few years prior, but I began the show as it is now after being a vendor in a few shows. I realized that churches and schools were making a few thousand dollars by opening their building to vendors and putting on a great show. At the time our church was begging for scholarship money after having a VBS fundraiser pie auction and several people were asking for donations for mission trips. I kept thinking there had to be a way to get money from the community, not just the church members. I knew we could have a car wash and things like that -- but I also knew we'd have to do something little every month if we didn't do something big. So this was my big idea. My how it has grown! We've almost doubled the number of vendors from our first show, and tripled the number of visitors.
These are pictures from our 2011 shows. At that time we had two vendor areas. We've since added an upstairs area with classrooms. Some day I'd like to have 100 vendors.
My friends (and certainly my twin sister) will attest to the fact that I am NOT the most organized person in the world. So over the years I set processes in motion to help reduce the reliance on my administrative skills. Those are the kinds of tips I will share with you.
I will kind of start at the beginning of the process as if I were going to start a brand new show. Knowing what I know now and with the experience of directing a dozen shows behind me, how would I do it if I had to start over at a brand new place?
First, GET THE BIG PICTURE:
- When will you have it?
So find an empty slot on your organization's calendar. Research that date.
- What other events are going on that day?
- Do a search for craft shows in your area. How many are on that date? How far away from your location?
Once you have a good potential date, figure out your location. Now I realize these two may have to be done in reverse order, or at the same time. But that's OK. Just get them both done.
- Where will you have your show? Does your organization have a building? Is there street traffic already? Is it easy to get to?
If you have to show an ID to get to your facility, maybe you should choose one that is more public. (Maybe not. Perhaps you want a show just for members of your social club. That's OK too! You will have to tell your vendors about this and get them in to the facility. That is OK. Get it on your questions/to do list!)
Walk through your proposed location with an eye for your craft show. Here are some questions to think through. Make notes, make a list of questions and things to do. You are trying to figure out if you should even run with this idea. Be critical of the space. Will it work? Can you picture booths there? If they only space you have is a 9 foot wide hallway, that will have a serious impact on booths. Think it all through as you make your initial game plan. Only have an outside space and want to have a fundraiser in December in Oklahoma? Maybe you need to figure something else out. Ice skating anyone?
Once you decide to continue, you need to BEGIN FOCUSING ON LOGISTICAL DETAILS:
- Who will you need to talk to about the idea?
Think about the people you will talk to and the questions they (and you) will have. GATHER FACTS you need to make a presentation (or at least have an intelligent conversation about the idea):
- Where will you put vendors? In classrooms? An auditorium? Hallways?
If possible, it is best to start off in one bigger room and plan to add space as needed. (12 vendors together is more exciting and easier for shoppers than three vendors in each of 4 classrooms. That feels small and like too much trouble for shoppers. Trust me - it does.) Get a list of possible spaces. Think about each one. (Maybe there is only one. That's great. Saves time.)
- How big is the space?
Measure the space(s) you want to use and draw a basic layout. ASK your maintenance person if there is a picture of the building layout.
[Usually there is a CAD drawing or perhaps even architectural blueprints. If you can get a digital copy, you can plan the space and even make a map. More on that in a later post.]
ALWAYS measure -- even if you have a drawing. Buildings change. The stage is different than originally planned, acoustic walls and decorative finishes may change the actual room dimensions by a foot, the sound booth is here, not there, etc. Make note of all the things that cannot be moved. The stage, the drum set possibly, the sound system. Also make note of all doors and windows. You can't block exit doors, and what if the maintenance guy, Sunday School teacher or preacher needs to get INTO his closet, etc. It all affects your booth layout. Which doors can you block? Where are architectural design elements (such as a column or overhang)?
- How many booths will fit? Will you have different size booths or all one size?
You have to do the math here. Make a preliminary plan for the number of booths you can have. We have 9 x 9 booths. I've been in 8 x 8 booths, and they are common. Crafters really don't like anything smaller than 8 x 8. 10 x 10 is standard for very large commercial trade shows.
A lot of this is determined by the room size. We have some booths upstairs in classrooms and we generally let the 2-3 vendors in the room just divide the space. Its more than the 9 x 9, but we can't get another vendor in there, so we tell them they have to allow space for people to get in to all booths, but that they can spread out and fill the room. In contrast, in the auditorium, our main space, we tape off lines and ask vendors to move stuff out of the aisles and adjoining spaces. We tell them up front and in the vendor guidelines -- and we hold them to it. WAY too many vendors to let them 'creep' into other spaces.
www.Floorplanner.com can help you designing your layout. I will talk about that more later, too, but you can start playing with it. Especially if you don't have a layout of any kind of your space.
- What is traffic flow?
- How do people get into the building now?
- Which door(s) will you have open?
Speaking of getting to the booths, you have to think about outside navigation as well.
- Where will parking be? Will you ask vendors to park in another area?
- How will vendors get their merchandise to their booth space?
- How far away from bathrooms will the booths be?
- How many will have access to electricity?
- How much furniture will you have to move to set up for the show and move back after it is over?
- How much wall space do you have? Will you need to move or protect anything on the walls? (Especially something to consider if you are using a classroom with preschool stuff hanging up all over the place.)
And finally, when considering your location and number of vendors you would like, you need to answer these very important questions:
- What building-related expenses will you have? Will you have to rent the space? Will you have a use fee or cleaning fee?
Are you overwhelmed yet? Don't be. We've only just begun! This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Recovering Messy - Organizing Loyalty Cards
I'm a recovering Messy.
I HATE cleaning. I'd rather be doing just about anything else.
But, I love a clean house and I love organizing things.
I feel scatter-brained in messy rooms. (This happens EVERY DAY.) My eyes dart from one thing to the other, taking my thoughts in a hundred different directions. I live in a messy, cluttered house.
It is funny, to me, that I have little pockets of organization that I insist upon. My side of the closet is organized. I have my shirts organized from no sleeves to long sleeves. Pants go from short to long. All my suits or multi-piece outfits are together, skirts and dresses are grouped as well. I can't pick out clothes to wear if I don't keep my closet like this. But in my bedroom there are piles of clothes waiting to be put away, books and unfinished projects littering the floor and the headboard.
Oh, for consistency...
ANYWAY...
Today I'm going to share an organization trick for your purse. It is awesome. I don't know where I got the idea. I remember being desperate to organize my insurance cards. I don't have any Pinterest pins on this, but in a search, I do see that someone else has had this great idea, too. (Here is the original source for the Pin I saw tonight.) I may have seen it and used it way back when, without pinning it. I just don't remember.
It is very simple organizing technique that will save you time when you are out and about.
You will need a hole punch and a key chain ring or binder ring.
1. First find all those grocery store and restaurant loyalty cards. Your craft store cards, gift cards and whatever else business-card-size cards you have out of your purse.
2. Go through them and throw away any you don't use, expired, etc. (I threw away several tonight -- taking my own advice!)
3. Take a hole punch -- just your normal, everyday single hole, hole punch, and punch a hole in the corner of each card you have. Just be sure you don't punch a hole in the magnetic strip or barcode, or in a spot for one of your 'punches' if it is a loyalty punch card. And, make sure it isn't too close to the edge.
You may notice that it may not be in the same place for all the cards. That is OK.
4. Put them in alphabetical order so finding the one you need is easy, or just put them in any ol' random order. After they are in the correct order, you can turn them or flip them so they all line up before putting them on the ring.
5. You can put them on a key chain, but the thought of threading them on a double ring like that was a big deterrent for me. I pictured broken nails, bent card corners and frustration levels high enough to drive me to pitch the whole thing in the trash...
So I used a binder ring. (Also called a looseleaf binder ring.) You can get them at office supply stores. I had some at home. (Which is why the larger one is SO big.)
Done!
The next time you go to Game Stop the young boy's eyes will widen as he admires your organization skills when you pull that ring from your purse for him to look up your account.
[That really happened last Christmas. He even said "wow, that's cool" as I flipped through them. It happens all the time. People love this idea!]
As you can see in the picture, I have a separate ring for insurance cards. We used to have one for each of us for health and a different one for the whole family for prescriptions and one for each of us for dental. With 8 in our family, that was 17 cards in my purse. It was a NIGHTMARE! That is actually what prompted me to find a solution for the card mess in my purse. This last time they sent cards there were 4 persons on each and we use those two for everything, so I COULD put them on my general card ring, but I won't. I'm too "into" my system of having them on their own rings.
I use a safety pin to pin the ring in my purse. It just makes it easy to find since I kind of have a big purse. If you have a pocket you can put it in, you can do that. But safety pins are awesome at keeping things in place if pocket space is unavailable.
I HATE cleaning. I'd rather be doing just about anything else.
But, I love a clean house and I love organizing things.
I feel scatter-brained in messy rooms. (This happens EVERY DAY.) My eyes dart from one thing to the other, taking my thoughts in a hundred different directions. I live in a messy, cluttered house.
It is funny, to me, that I have little pockets of organization that I insist upon. My side of the closet is organized. I have my shirts organized from no sleeves to long sleeves. Pants go from short to long. All my suits or multi-piece outfits are together, skirts and dresses are grouped as well. I can't pick out clothes to wear if I don't keep my closet like this. But in my bedroom there are piles of clothes waiting to be put away, books and unfinished projects littering the floor and the headboard.
Oh, for consistency...
ANYWAY...
Today I'm going to share an organization trick for your purse. It is awesome. I don't know where I got the idea. I remember being desperate to organize my insurance cards. I don't have any Pinterest pins on this, but in a search, I do see that someone else has had this great idea, too. (Here is the original source for the Pin I saw tonight.) I may have seen it and used it way back when, without pinning it. I just don't remember.
It is very simple organizing technique that will save you time when you are out and about.
You will need a hole punch and a key chain ring or binder ring.1. First find all those grocery store and restaurant loyalty cards. Your craft store cards, gift cards and whatever else business-card-size cards you have out of your purse.
2. Go through them and throw away any you don't use, expired, etc. (I threw away several tonight -- taking my own advice!)
3. Take a hole punch -- just your normal, everyday single hole, hole punch, and punch a hole in the corner of each card you have. Just be sure you don't punch a hole in the magnetic strip or barcode, or in a spot for one of your 'punches' if it is a loyalty punch card. And, make sure it isn't too close to the edge.
You may notice that it may not be in the same place for all the cards. That is OK.
4. Put them in alphabetical order so finding the one you need is easy, or just put them in any ol' random order. After they are in the correct order, you can turn them or flip them so they all line up before putting them on the ring.
5. You can put them on a key chain, but the thought of threading them on a double ring like that was a big deterrent for me. I pictured broken nails, bent card corners and frustration levels high enough to drive me to pitch the whole thing in the trash...
So I used a binder ring. (Also called a looseleaf binder ring.) You can get them at office supply stores. I had some at home. (Which is why the larger one is SO big.)
Done!
The next time you go to Game Stop the young boy's eyes will widen as he admires your organization skills when you pull that ring from your purse for him to look up your account.
[That really happened last Christmas. He even said "wow, that's cool" as I flipped through them. It happens all the time. People love this idea!]
As you can see in the picture, I have a separate ring for insurance cards. We used to have one for each of us for health and a different one for the whole family for prescriptions and one for each of us for dental. With 8 in our family, that was 17 cards in my purse. It was a NIGHTMARE! That is actually what prompted me to find a solution for the card mess in my purse. This last time they sent cards there were 4 persons on each and we use those two for everything, so I COULD put them on my general card ring, but I won't. I'm too "into" my system of having them on their own rings.
I use a safety pin to pin the ring in my purse. It just makes it easy to find since I kind of have a big purse. If you have a pocket you can put it in, you can do that. But safety pins are awesome at keeping things in place if pocket space is unavailable.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Wind Chimes Tutorial (Sunday School Craft)
Over the next two weeks, I will be teaching a Sunday School rotation on Acts 2. We've had the kids all in one class this month. We've taught two lessons in this rotation already. The first was Drama. I was on vacation, Linda taught and did a great job! (I know because one of our 1st graders could tell me the main part of the story the next week!)
This past Sunday was a special day at our church. We officially merged with a larger church. I taught a mini class on our story in Acts 2, focusing on sharing the Good News while the moms and dads were fellowshipping and getting to know each other. The "big" project was to make balloon kites (helium-filled balloons with scriptures and an invitation to our church on the "tails"). After we made them, we let them go outside. I hope they land near enough to the building so people who find them will come visit.
These take some prep work on behalf of the teacher/parent/children's minister/adult-type person. But its a great project to do with kids. My kids, who have seen me preparing the various parts and making the "sample" set cannot wait. In fact, my 12 year old wants to make her own set even though she is in youth group. (Mommy points!) I looked at lots of wind chimes on Pinterest (LOVE!) but ended up making my own design.
Here is how I made the example pictured above:
Materials List:
Advance Preparation:
1. Make holes in cans. You can use a hammer and a nail. I used a seam ripper instead of a nail for some, but I quickly broke it. (boo!) I also used a can opener for some. An awl or ice pick would probably work well, too.
4. Make and attach the beaded fringe to the larger can. These beads will bang against the lower can and make the noise. The beads clanging against the can is actually quite pleasant - not loud and tin-y like cans banging together.
This past Sunday was a special day at our church. We officially merged with a larger church. I taught a mini class on our story in Acts 2, focusing on sharing the Good News while the moms and dads were fellowshipping and getting to know each other. The "big" project was to make balloon kites (helium-filled balloons with scriptures and an invitation to our church on the "tails"). After we made them, we let them go outside. I hope they land near enough to the building so people who find them will come visit.
If you are interested in my lesson plans for a rotation-style curriculum, click here to go to the Sunday School page on my website.
If you are interested in learning more about rotation-style Sunday School, go to www.rotation.org.
We have a craft project to do this month that will take a bit of work each of the next two weeks, so we are once again combining all ages for these two weeks. We will do part one of the craft then go to a new room for the Science rotation where we will discuss the wind in our story and experiment with Bernoulli's principle and air pressure.
Our craft is to make wind chimes, so when we hear them (in Oklahoma, that will be OFTEN!), we will be reminded to tell others the Good News of Jesus.
We have a craft project to do this month that will take a bit of work each of the next two weeks, so we are once again combining all ages for these two weeks. We will do part one of the craft then go to a new room for the Science rotation where we will discuss the wind in our story and experiment with Bernoulli's principle and air pressure.
Our craft is to make wind chimes, so when we hear them (in Oklahoma, that will be OFTEN!), we will be reminded to tell others the Good News of Jesus.
These take some prep work on behalf of the teacher/parent/children's minister/adult-type person. But its a great project to do with kids. My kids, who have seen me preparing the various parts and making the "sample" set cannot wait. In fact, my 12 year old wants to make her own set even though she is in youth group. (Mommy points!) I looked at lots of wind chimes on Pinterest (LOVE!) but ended up making my own design.
Here is how I made the example pictured above:
Materials List:
* String or heavy fishing line. (Fishing line is easier for young kids to use when stringing beads.)
+ 1 long piece - the length of both cans plus 13 inches.
+ Short pieces - the length of the smaller can plus 3-4 inches.
The number of short pieces is the number of holes you made around the can. I have 8.
+ Short pieces - the length of the smaller can plus 3-4 inches.
The number of short pieces is the number of holes you made around the can. I have 8.
* Beads (we are using pony beads)
* Hammer & large nail or awl or ice pick - Or can opener (see Advanced Preparation)
* Clean cans from soup, etc. Two different sizes per child. Smaller can should fit inside larger can.
* Paint
* Paint smocks
* Paint brushes
* Newspaper or something to protect tables (This would be a great outdoor project!)
Advance Preparation:
1. Make holes in cans. You can use a hammer and a nail. I used a seam ripper instead of a nail for some, but I quickly broke it. (boo!) I also used a can opener for some. An awl or ice pick would probably work well, too.
2. Paint both cans as desired. If you want this to hang outside, use paint that will be weather proof. You can also skip the painting or use Sharpies, paint markers, etc.
The kids loved painting the cans. I was surprised by how long it took.
When dry: (We are doing this next week.)
4. Make and attach the beaded fringe to the larger can. These beads will bang against the lower can and make the noise. The beads clanging against the can is actually quite pleasant - not loud and tin-y like cans banging together.
* Add (3-5) beads on the string.
* Tie the string so the top bead dangles 2-4 inches down from a hole in the large can.
* Repeat until all holes have strings.
* Cut off excess string.
* Tie the string so the top bead dangles 2-4 inches down from a hole in the large can.
* Repeat until all holes have strings.
* Cut off excess string.
5. Attach the string to the large can.
* Thread the string through the hole on the top of the large can. (The "fringe" is at the bottom.)
* Tie a single bead onto the string below the can about 9 inches from the top of the string.
This is a stopper or place holder so the can will stay in place on the string. It won't be seen.
Tie it with a double knot around the bead so it won't slide.
6. Add decoration to the top string as desired.
7. Tie a large (3-4 inch) loop in the string so it will hang later.
8. Attach the smaller can.
* Thread the string from the large can through the smaller can. (The open end is the bottom.)
* Push the smaller can inside the larger can.
* Thread a bead onto the string and tie it so the bead is 2-3 inches below the large can.
This is another place holder bead so the can will stay in place on the string. It won't be seen.
Tie it with a double knot around the bead so it won't slide.
9. Add a "clapper."
* Add a few beads to the bottom of the long string
* Tie the string around one final bead. It should hang down an inch or two below the lower can.
* Cut off any excess string.
Hang your completed wind chimes and listen!
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Summer's Over
I've had a hard summer. Graduated our first child in May. She left for Guyana, South America two days after graduation. She spent the summer as an intern for a Medical Mission: Operation Guyana. I'm so proud of her! Then she moved in with my folks to go to college. Just like that, she has moved out! This is all very, very good. But it was a transition. It was a big deal.
While she was in Guyana, my brother died. Crazy. He was not old enough to die. Not even 43. While we were all still reeling from his death, before we'd even had his funeral, his widow began saying and doing some incredibly hurtful things to my mom and the rest of the family. She was/is angry at my brother for dying. I know that anger is a stage of grief. But it still hurts. I don't know if I will ever see his kids again. Ever. It hurts. Big transition.
About a week after the funeral, we found out our church body would be merging with a much larger congregation. Our preacher preaches his last sermon Sunday. I am no longer the Children's Minister. We've remodeled, painted, fixed, moved (and all those transition words) getting ready for our new beginning. Now, a few months into the process, someone remarked that there are a lot of us who wish we could hit a reset button. Slow down. Do it a little differently. Things didn't go as well as they perhaps could have. Lots of personalities. Lots of changes. Transition is hard. Big transitions are really hard.
A few weeks after that process started, we began working on homeschool co-op set to start in September. When it was all said and done, we'd about tripled in size. New families. Nice. Wonderful, even! Awesome families whom I already love. But new to our system, our habits, our ways. It is harder to communicate with everyone. Technical difficulties. Even good transitions are hard.
And somewhere in there, I agreed to teach three classes at our co-op. I LOVE them. LOVE. Love all three! But three is a lot of work. And I've got 5 kids still at home, being homeschooled. Did I mention we live over an hour away from co-op and church and my mom?
So, I'm stressed. I'm completely and totally stressed out. There. I've admitted it.
I'm this good Christian girl who is supposed to be light to a dark world, setting a good example for all my kids and the kids in all my classes. A good example for those younger moms who can't fathom more than the none or one kid they have. A good example for the people I meet.
Um... well... um... I'll be honest, I've not really been one to follow lately. Please don't even notice me.
But you know my kids look to me. They see me every day -- all day long. Mostly just me. We live in the boonies in a little town with 800 people in it, a quarter-mile from my in-laws, who are amazing. (I hope they still love me in five years after living so close.) I want to look good for them. I want to have them over and be comfortable like I am at their perfectly clean house with a regularly-mowed lawn and pretty flower beds.
And I feel woefully inadequate. At everything. I'm hurt and angry and jealous. And And And... You know how it just builds when you let yourself go down that path?! It saps your energy. It steals your time. It interrupts your sleep.
When you begin to believe lies about others AND yourself, your thoughts are no longer pure. Your heart suffers. Have you been there?! Are you there?
That is where I have found myself lately. Then, I was late to co-op and so angry at myself that I was literally flustered the WHOLE ENTIRE DAY. I flubbed every class because I could not let go of the last one. And lunch was a disaster, too. Oh the guilt!
I am hurting over giving up my ministry, so I'm touchy, and took some poor lady's head off the other day. She was wrong, but I sure wasn't right. Know what I mean? I called to apologize but she didn't answer. I left a message. Have not seen her since. Oh the guilt!
AND oh, the tears. So many tears. You have to know, I am NOT emotional. At all. I am not one to EVER cry in public. Not at funerals, weddings, movies. And I can't even finish this post without crying. Ugh!
I've come to realize I'm a fixer. I deal with emotion by DOING something about it. But I can't. Not this time. I can't make my brother alive again. I can't make his widow let us see the kids. I can't make my daughter 8 instead of 18. I can't make people be nice, or say things the way I want them said, or do things the way I want them done. I can't make people read their emails and respond. I am powerless over all those other people's actions and situations.
I can only allow the Holy Spirit to be in charge of ME, to help ME. I can allow God's grace to shine through me, or I can be the one who needs others to give me lots of grace. I have power over MY choices. period. And if I continue to let my circumstances and other people's actions dictate my mood and my actions, I will NEVER, EVER BE FREE of the feelings of anger and guilt. That never-ending cycle that threatens to overwhelm me at any given moment. To drown me in despair or a flood of tears or a volcano of ugly words spewing from my lips.
Yes, I know this. Easier said than done. Especially when people have 'done ya wrong' and don't seem to care. But I know I just have to let it go. (Go ahead, hum a few bars.)
But HOW? That is the million-dollar question. I'm sure there are lots of ways. Start an ice-storm, build a castle out of ice... OK, maybe *YOU* and *I* can't do that. I can't run away, either. I can't pay someone to come in and fix it.
So, this is what I did:
I had several conversations with God (and my husband and my preacher). It wasn't pretty. Its OK. He's a big God and he can handle when we are mad at him. (Remember Job?) Then, when I'd exhausted my anger, I cried out to him. Because really, I was hurt, and I wanted the hurt to go away. And I could not heal my heart on my own. I tattled. I told him all about it (as if he didn't know). I told him how I was right, how they'd hurt my feelings. I told him what I wanted. How I'd make it right, everything. And I took a good, long soak in a very hot tub. And then, finally, I agreed to listen. When I do that, I start by thinking of Bible verses that speak to my situation. First, I rattled off all the Bible verses I knew about righteous indignation. (Remember, I was right.) There were not that many. None that I could think of, but I thought about it a while. Then I remembered, "In your anger, do not sin." And then, I told God I was sorry.
For not being gracious when all the while he has been so gracious to me.
For holding grudges while he freely forgave me.
For wanting my way when his son prayed "not my will but thine" and went to his death for me.
By the time I'd finished apologizing -- really apologizing -- I wasn't hurt anymore. Well, maybe just a little, but not vindictive, not angry. I had made peace with it. With all of it.
And then, God sent his spirit to comfort me. (Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.) As that bath water shriveled my skin, I let go of my baggage and submitted to God. Whether they do or not, I'm going to be me. The real me. The me I've been remade to be. That old vindictive crazy lady is GONE! (Praise the Lord!)
And God -- so true to HIS character -- blessed my obedience, my submission. He gave me some creative ideas to fix some problems in a couple of areas. I never would have thought of them or been able to present them to others if I hadn't submitted and let go of my anger. Best of all, he has given me peace. Not Pollyanna, not giving-up-but-mad, not stuffing-it-deep-down-so-it-doesn't-show-for-now. Peace. Assurance that it really is all OK. A glimpse, perhaps, into the bigger picture. His picture.
Later, God also confirmed a choice I had made that I was questioning. He's got that one covered, too. "Submit your plans to the Lord and he will make your paths straight."
Took me a while to get there. Hope this helps your journey be shorter.
While she was in Guyana, my brother died. Crazy. He was not old enough to die. Not even 43. While we were all still reeling from his death, before we'd even had his funeral, his widow began saying and doing some incredibly hurtful things to my mom and the rest of the family. She was/is angry at my brother for dying. I know that anger is a stage of grief. But it still hurts. I don't know if I will ever see his kids again. Ever. It hurts. Big transition.
About a week after the funeral, we found out our church body would be merging with a much larger congregation. Our preacher preaches his last sermon Sunday. I am no longer the Children's Minister. We've remodeled, painted, fixed, moved (and all those transition words) getting ready for our new beginning. Now, a few months into the process, someone remarked that there are a lot of us who wish we could hit a reset button. Slow down. Do it a little differently. Things didn't go as well as they perhaps could have. Lots of personalities. Lots of changes. Transition is hard. Big transitions are really hard.
A few weeks after that process started, we began working on homeschool co-op set to start in September. When it was all said and done, we'd about tripled in size. New families. Nice. Wonderful, even! Awesome families whom I already love. But new to our system, our habits, our ways. It is harder to communicate with everyone. Technical difficulties. Even good transitions are hard.
And somewhere in there, I agreed to teach three classes at our co-op. I LOVE them. LOVE. Love all three! But three is a lot of work. And I've got 5 kids still at home, being homeschooled. Did I mention we live over an hour away from co-op and church and my mom?
So, I'm stressed. I'm completely and totally stressed out. There. I've admitted it.
I'm this good Christian girl who is supposed to be light to a dark world, setting a good example for all my kids and the kids in all my classes. A good example for those younger moms who can't fathom more than the none or one kid they have. A good example for the people I meet.
Um... well... um... I'll be honest, I've not really been one to follow lately. Please don't even notice me.
But you know my kids look to me. They see me every day -- all day long. Mostly just me. We live in the boonies in a little town with 800 people in it, a quarter-mile from my in-laws, who are amazing. (I hope they still love me in five years after living so close.) I want to look good for them. I want to have them over and be comfortable like I am at their perfectly clean house with a regularly-mowed lawn and pretty flower beds.
And I feel woefully inadequate. At everything. I'm hurt and angry and jealous. And And And... You know how it just builds when you let yourself go down that path?! It saps your energy. It steals your time. It interrupts your sleep.
When you begin to believe lies about others AND yourself, your thoughts are no longer pure. Your heart suffers. Have you been there?! Are you there?
That is where I have found myself lately. Then, I was late to co-op and so angry at myself that I was literally flustered the WHOLE ENTIRE DAY. I flubbed every class because I could not let go of the last one. And lunch was a disaster, too. Oh the guilt!
I am hurting over giving up my ministry, so I'm touchy, and took some poor lady's head off the other day. She was wrong, but I sure wasn't right. Know what I mean? I called to apologize but she didn't answer. I left a message. Have not seen her since. Oh the guilt!
AND oh, the tears. So many tears. You have to know, I am NOT emotional. At all. I am not one to EVER cry in public. Not at funerals, weddings, movies. And I can't even finish this post without crying. Ugh!
I've come to realize I'm a fixer. I deal with emotion by DOING something about it. But I can't. Not this time. I can't make my brother alive again. I can't make his widow let us see the kids. I can't make my daughter 8 instead of 18. I can't make people be nice, or say things the way I want them said, or do things the way I want them done. I can't make people read their emails and respond. I am powerless over all those other people's actions and situations.
I can only allow the Holy Spirit to be in charge of ME, to help ME. I can allow God's grace to shine through me, or I can be the one who needs others to give me lots of grace. I have power over MY choices. period. And if I continue to let my circumstances and other people's actions dictate my mood and my actions, I will NEVER, EVER BE FREE of the feelings of anger and guilt. That never-ending cycle that threatens to overwhelm me at any given moment. To drown me in despair or a flood of tears or a volcano of ugly words spewing from my lips.
Yes, I know this. Easier said than done. Especially when people have 'done ya wrong' and don't seem to care. But I know I just have to let it go. (Go ahead, hum a few bars.)
But HOW? That is the million-dollar question. I'm sure there are lots of ways. Start an ice-storm, build a castle out of ice... OK, maybe *YOU* and *I* can't do that. I can't run away, either. I can't pay someone to come in and fix it.
So, this is what I did:
I had several conversations with God (and my husband and my preacher). It wasn't pretty. Its OK. He's a big God and he can handle when we are mad at him. (Remember Job?) Then, when I'd exhausted my anger, I cried out to him. Because really, I was hurt, and I wanted the hurt to go away. And I could not heal my heart on my own. I tattled. I told him all about it (as if he didn't know). I told him how I was right, how they'd hurt my feelings. I told him what I wanted. How I'd make it right, everything. And I took a good, long soak in a very hot tub. And then, finally, I agreed to listen. When I do that, I start by thinking of Bible verses that speak to my situation. First, I rattled off all the Bible verses I knew about righteous indignation. (Remember, I was right.) There were not that many. None that I could think of, but I thought about it a while. Then I remembered, "In your anger, do not sin." And then, I told God I was sorry.
For not being gracious when all the while he has been so gracious to me.
For holding grudges while he freely forgave me.
For wanting my way when his son prayed "not my will but thine" and went to his death for me.
By the time I'd finished apologizing -- really apologizing -- I wasn't hurt anymore. Well, maybe just a little, but not vindictive, not angry. I had made peace with it. With all of it.
And then, God sent his spirit to comfort me. (Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.) As that bath water shriveled my skin, I let go of my baggage and submitted to God. Whether they do or not, I'm going to be me. The real me. The me I've been remade to be. That old vindictive crazy lady is GONE! (Praise the Lord!)
And God -- so true to HIS character -- blessed my obedience, my submission. He gave me some creative ideas to fix some problems in a couple of areas. I never would have thought of them or been able to present them to others if I hadn't submitted and let go of my anger. Best of all, he has given me peace. Not Pollyanna, not giving-up-but-mad, not stuffing-it-deep-down-so-it-doesn't-show-for-now. Peace. Assurance that it really is all OK. A glimpse, perhaps, into the bigger picture. His picture.
Later, God also confirmed a choice I had made that I was questioning. He's got that one covered, too. "Submit your plans to the Lord and he will make your paths straight."
Took me a while to get there. Hope this helps your journey be shorter.
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