Salem Etsy Craft Fair, Craft Fair Set Up
Don’t ya just love the smell of a craft fair in the morning!
DIY Studio showed up to accept donations toward opening the first ever Creative Reuse Center in Marion County. Not a lot of people know what a creative reuse center is, so it was great to connect and chat about the change that is coming to Salem.
This was a last minute invite so we got busy making creative, upcycled craft kits to give away with every $10 donation and thought up a quick set up.
Here’s what we did:
- We made up lots of craft kits. There were plushie pac man pins, cat pins, hair pins, cards, and collage house kits with step by step instructions and photos. Most kits included everything needed for the project as well as typical items that we accept for donation.
- I used upcycled suitcases to display the items. The large suitcase is mod podged with old science text book pages and the other cosmetic suitcase was donated by a friend’s mom. It was her carry-on that she used for her honeymoon. I gave it a facelift with an old Dick and Jane illustrations.
- These crates I salvaged from the neighbor’s curbside recycling bin the week before the event. (shh, don’t tell anyone) I knew they could be reused for something cool.
- The donation jar is probably my most favorite. It is actually an old pickle jar wrapped in yarn. For the sign we embroidered some scrap felt and attached it to jute using tiny clothes pins. Goodness those tiny pins were so cute!
- We added examples so customers could see how the projects were put together. We can’t wait to open the shop (keep those donations coming!) so we can put examples next to raw materials. Examples really help customers envision what can be as well as inspiring spin-off creations.
- We used jute and clothespins to attach our handmade banner.
- Please excuse me as I swoon over this banner a bit. Reminiscent of Girl Scout Brownies Sashes, this banner was made with bits of fabric scrap and embellishments. Can you spot the fabric ruler? We used heat and bond to help attach the letters and then blanket stitched around each letter to make it super secure and lovely.
- A repurposed orange sheet added a pop of color and was the perfect size for draping.
I thank all of the Salem Etsy Team for great time as well as the many wonderful supporters who came out to see us!
