Hip Little Wristbands

In the beginning of December I got this crazy notion that I would make a bunch of stuff to sell at Olivia's school holiday faire. We were very tight on cash and so I was trying to think of any way to help us out. Of course, I wasn't considering the amount of time it takes to create a stock of items even for a little booth at a craft fair. I had decided I was going to make lavender eye pillows, seed-bead jewelry, hand-beaded postcards, felt ornaments, and quilt/scrap-sewn wristbands. Now, I signed up to have a booth one week before the event. I told myself that each night I would make one of these items until I had enough to sell, even if I got very little sleep. The unrealistic part about this: This week I had to work late shifts at Macy's, I was planning Olivia's birthday party, there were school events to attend to, like holiday concerts, and I also did some a.m. freelance editing. So, on night one, I started sewing wristbands. I threw all my fabric scraps onto the floor, got out various fun-colored thread, sifted through unique buttons, and learned how to use my snap tool (a rather frustrating experience as I bought it at a thrift store without instructions). To no surprise, after spending hours making only FIVE wristbands, cursing the freakin' snap tool (and cracking some of the pretty mother-of-pearl snaps), and feeling like an insomniac (knowing I had to wake up to do editing work at 5 a.m.), I decided that this was a VERY BAD IDEA.


Well, the next morning I called the organizer of the craft sale and canceled my booth. She tried to talk me into keeping it, saying how lovely my items would be (she's never seen what I make), but I knew I would make a fool of myself and end up making 50 cents per hour, which really makes zero contribution to our piling up bills in the thousands of dollars realm. So, now I have five wristbands that are cute, but I don't know what to do with them. Maybe I'll save them and make more throughout the next year so that by the time holiday faire comes around next December, I'll actually have an inventory of items to sell.