Hello All!

Today is what is considered Small Business Saturday.

Since MissNissCraftworks is a small business, why not support her with purchasing a gift from the shop today! 

Plus, you'll get 25% off your entire order when you use the coupon code holidaygiving in the check out.


You can buy something already in shop or order and purchase a special order.  Valid only today, though, so you better make your decision quick :)

I've been quite busy lately.  Lots of orders are coming in for Christmas.  It's a bittersweet time in a crafter's world.  While I adore having many projects to work on and my lovely customers, I do wish that business would be as active throughout the year.  (This is my creative outlet, let me make something for you folks!)  I have faith that time will change this, though/.

One of my recent orders included a granny square hat.  This customer found the look she wanted from an online store.  I often see things in the stores (usually machine made China things) and think, 'I could totally make that, but better!' So of course I said it could make one for her, but in my own style.  :) 

The hat she wanted is pictured below.  A fantastic granny square hat!  I've contemplated doing something similar in the past (without having seen this before), and now I had the chance to do it!

The colors she chose were hot pink, orange, and white.  Now with anything with more than one color I usually have to contemplate the placement of the colors for a while.  I feel that the balance of colors in a piece can make or break the look.  Pink was obviously going to be the primary focus.  The only issue was figuring out where to put the orange and white.  Here's what I came up with for the granny square. 

Once I finished the hat as the picture showed I felt there were still something missing.  My flair!  The hat as is is pretty basic, a little bland in my mind.  I decided to add a nice picot edge in white and accented it with a slip stitched orange over that.  Here's the final product!

Some of my best work comes from special orders.  You'd think with a free reign of creativity for every other project those would be the best ones.  Unfortunately not.  It seems that with a certain goal in mind and a customer to please my focus and creativity are really honed.

My latest project, as you could guess, was to make a couple of beard hats for a couple of children.  The beard hat seems to be a popular novelty item lately.  The novelty comes mostly when the hat is set on a little babe.  A once hairless child is transformed with a full beard!  Ha! Cute and funny.  Dare I say?  Children and women may now be able to participate in no shave November! 

I do believe that these hats aren't purely for novelty.  It struck me that they really could keep the face warm in the cold temps of winter.  The beard itself is pretty thick and warm.  Hey, might be a great addition to your snow shoveling ensemble!  You may get a few funny looks from the neighbor, but you'll be warm.  :)

My version of the hat ended up being a basic chunky beanie with the beard pattern from Ashlee at I'm Topsy Turvy.  I would have really loved to be able to create my own pattern, but this one was so perfect I couldn't argue with using it!  Both hats turned out really well which you can see below.

Over the weekend I traveled to my college Alma mater, Waldorf College in Forest City Iowa.  Never heard of it?  That's OK.  Have you heard of Winnebago?  Yeah?  Well, where they make those big campers is the same town my lovely little college is located.

My visit there was two fold.  First, my cousin Corey was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at the college.  He already had his name up as an All-American athlete, which I would point out to anyone who would listen to me in my four years at Waldorf.  Being inducted into the hall of fame was a perfect, humbling honor for him.  Needless to say the whole family was proud and happy for him!

The second purpose for my visit was the craft fair.  Miss Niss Craftworks has now been open for an entire year.  I felt it was time I pull my products into the real world.  I figured the alumni craft fair was the perfect starting point.  The location was one where I am known by my affiliation to Waldorf College.  I could get my business name out to people I know and to those who 'know' me through Waldorf.

Above is a picture of my booth at the craft fair.  As you can see, I brought some of our Sheltering Woods items along with Miss Niss Craftworks'.   Those items would be the grapevine wreaths and angels, pressed flower cards, and seeds.

A few things I learned from the craft show.
1. I need better organization. -The table was cluttered and I feel overwhelmed my customers.
2. I learned what items will sell well at a show. -Baby hats, baby booties, hair accessories, and toys in my case.
3. I need to offer a variety of sizes at the show. -The items that had most interest by customers weren't always the size that a customer wanted.  Contacting me at a later date for a bigger or smaller size was inconvenient to them.
4. Smiling and engaging people at your booth is the best way to get people to come back.
5. People appreciate hearing/knowing that your product is made by YOU and created by you. -It makes their purchases special and unique compared to what you can find at 'the store.'

Overall, I had a great experience.  I have no other shows to compare it with, so I would say the show was successful for me.  I'm hoping to hit a holiday show in my area at the end of November.  So, if you read this and are in the Quad Cities keep an eye out for me!