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Well, I think that I've finally recovered from last week's Clifton Fun Days. It was held on Friday evening and all day on Saturday. And, of course, it was the hottest weekend we've had so far. Started with setting up around 3:00pm. The organizers wanted us all set up and ready by 5 so that they could concentrate on getting the parade ready to go for 7. So, I went and got my tent and showed up at the park. Got my space assignment and backed my car in to unload. It was in the hi 90s.

There was a lovely couple who were grilling the pork chops for the Track team's sandwich tent right behind me (great sandwiches!). Since they had started their huge grill and were just waiting for it to get to the right heat, they very generously offered to help me. We got the tent set up and the car emptied out. I parked my car where it needed to be and came back to the tent to start setting up the tables and merchandise.

As I was putting on my table covers and setting up display pieces, I started feeling very weird. I recognized the feeling. My blood sugar was crashing. I sat down, popped a couple of glucose tabs and drank some water. Deidre saw me just sitting there and came over to ask if I was okay. I told her that I would be in a few minutes. Then I ate the peanut butter crackers that were in my purse and drank some more water. I would get up and do about 5 minutes of work, but would then have to sit back down. I finally pulled out my cellphone and called my niece (who only lives about 6 blocks from where I was at). I told her that I had taken a second dose of the glucose tabs, but I didn't have anymore of the crackers. She told me to sit still, she was on her way.

Jill got there about 5 minutes later and brought with her a little bag of goodies which included two cold grilled hot dogs, some club crackers, Fritos, two more bottles of water, and, best of all, a small bag of cashews. I started with the cashews, then had one of the hot dogs and I started to feel better. Jill hung around and helped me finish setting up. When I finally had some color back (I had evidently turned very pale despite the heat and suntan), Jill left. Thank goodness for caring family members.

Once the bad stuff was over and I had finally gotten everything set up, folks started coming over to my booth to check things out, even though it wasn't yet 6pm (the start time). I made my first sale at around 5:45 and it was three items for $33. A lot of folks started showing up and then the parade came down the street, past the park. Another sale that I made that night was to a little girl. She and her mother and sister had stopped by my tent just before heading off to watch the parade. The little girl fell in love with one of my heart pendants (it was the gold wire one set with a 7 carat lemon quartz). She asked how much and I told her $10. I could see that her mom didn't really want her spending so much on one thing, so I didn't push it and they left. About an hour later here they came again, and she picked up that necklace again and said, "I want this." I looked at her mom, who nodded yes. So I took her $10 and then asked if she wanted a bag or to wear it. Of course, she wore it. I love it when children learn an appreciatiion for hand-made and good quality at an early age.

We closed up the tent at around 9. I left everything there except the jewelry. I had to be back at the park at 9:30 on Saturday (10am open). There wasn't much activity over in our area during most of the afternoon. I made a few large sales, though, so I was happy. When the sun started going down, the crowd started getting better. I had a really good string of sales throughout the rest of the evening and ended up with $152 in sales for the weekend. Space fee was only $20, so I was extremely happy.

My nephew, Dylan, hung around with me during the evening and was on hand to help me pack up. He actually listened to my instructions and did things the way I wanted them. It only took us about 20 minutes to get everything packed up and the tent taken down and into its bag. I couldn't drive up to the space the way I had on Friday, so I got my car close and Jill and the kids carried everything down to me. I packed up my car, gave them all kisses and hugs and my thanks for the help, and headed home, a very happy crafter.

While it was very tiring, I'm glad that I did the show. It was in my hometown and a lot of my friends got to see my work for the first time. I was able to visit with a lot of family members and, except for the bad time on Friday, had a very enjoyable weekend. I sent an e-mail off to the organizers thanking them for doing the event and asking that they remember me for next year (you have to be invited to be a vendor, not open to just anyone). Needlesstosay, it's taken this whole week almost to recover, but it was so worth it!

LindaJ52

Glad you had a good show!!!! Not to mention family close by to help. Hope you are feeling much better.

So nice to hear you had such nice sales! I love it when the little kids come around and enjoy what we make. It's so nice you had some family to help you out too!

Wonderful that you had a great sale! You are very lucky that you have a close family ready and willing to help out.