Five great Holiday Craft Fair items

Looking to make some money to help pay the bills and thinking that local holiday craft fairs are a good way to make some? When you take into account the cost of reserving table space and gas to get to the fair and everything else, it adds up quickly.

Here are five great inexpensive ideas for craft fair items.

1. Greeting Cards

Get some card stock weight art paper and some art supplies at the craft store.
Don't forget to buy a box of invitation envelopes.

Let your imagination flow and create one of a kind holiday cards. Remember to put a little coordinating design on the lower left or on the back of the envelope, but don't decorate the places for the names and addresses or the stamp area.

2. Gift Bags

Making fabric gift bags is a great craft fair item going into the holiday season. Use heavy weight stabilizer in between the liner and the outside to give the bags a sturdier structure. Buttons, small ornaments and jewelery supplies are great for decorating the outside of bags.

3. Hobby Horses

Search online, there are lots of sites that explain how to make hobby horses based on your own preference for crafting style. Sock headed horses, wooden horses, knit ones and sewn ones.


4. Rag Dolls

Going into the holiday season, rag dolls are a great idea. You can make basic rag dolls intended for children to play with, or you can make more fancy ones that are intended for collectors and decoration.

5. Scarf, mittens and hat sets

Rather you knit, crochet, or sew, you can likely find patterns online for how to make warm scarves, mittens and hat sets. Create coordinating sets and package them in appropriately sized gift boxes ready for someone to give them as gifts.

There are many more ideas for things that you can make, so look around online, find some craft ideas that you would enjoy, and create an assortment of items that you can take with you to a craft fair.

Shop local this holiday season

I see all sorts of talk on the local crafter sites about the local holiday bazaars and craft fairs.They are a great way to not only sell your crafts, but an excellent alternative to spending lots of money in those large box stores this holiday season.

Many of the people you will meet at local craft fairs are your neighbors, and some are there to make ends meet for their own family this season, so by purchasing your holiday gifts from a local craft market, you are helping your neighbors to stay warm and have a happy holiday season.

This year, think small and local when you do your last minute shopping.  Pick up a copy of your local newspaper and sit at a local coffee shop to enjoy a warm cup of coffee or tea while you plan out what craft fairs you till shop at this holiday season.

Sell your handcrafted items for free at ArtFire.com

I found a site for selling handcrafted items where I am going to list some of the many craft projects that I create. I am hoping that this site will help me to begin selling my projects and building up a fund toward saving my parents' house.

You can Register on ArtFire.com for a free account to sell up to 10 individual items at a time, or for just $7 a month you can sell unlimited items and even create your own personalized store.

I want to upgrade to the store level membership when I can afford it, but for now I am happy to find a site that will allow me to sell my handcrafted items.