Saturday 3 December 2011

Christmas Open House Party

I did it!!!  I survived the preparations for my Crafted by Carly Open House Party!!!  It went ahead on Thursday and, all in all, it was pretty successful.  I was a little bit disappointed that more people didn’t pop in to have a browse.  I decided to have it on a week-day-evening, as I thought people might be busier at weekends at this time of year.  Maybe I’ll try the weekend next time, and see if that makes a difference.  BUT, those who did stop by seemed to really enjoy the get-together.  The glühwein went down very well indeed (and the house still smells of it – mmmmmmm)!  I got lots of positive feedback from people about my things, and some suggestions about things I could add to my list of ‘things I make for selling purposes’, and I managed to sell quite a lot of my bits and bobs.  "THANK YOU!!!" to those of you who were here!!! 

Here are some photos of my makes for the event.....

There were lots of things for the grown-ups:

[Toiletry Bags]

[Carry-all Bags]

[Gadget Cases]

[Felt Flower Corsages]

[Purses]

And some things for the little ones:

[Little Girls' Bags]

[Kids' Aprons]

['Find-it' Games]

And, of course, some Christmassy thingies:

[Little Christmassy Houses]

[Stockings]

[I like how they looked all hanging up together!!!]

Here's how my dining room looked on the night of the party:





And what did I learn from my experience?
·         I was right to start setting up the day before (it took me AAAGES to get everything looking as I wanted it to look).
·         It was good to have someone there to help out with serving drinks and letting people in (S was my little helper on this occasion), so that I could be free to chat about my things and generally mingle with people.  S thought he should wear just his trousers and a bowtie for his job on the evening, but we decided against that idea.  Maybe next time???
·         I need to get better at talking about the things I make.  I like them (of course – or I wouldn’t make them), but find it really difficult to ‘sell’ them to other people.  Any tips there???
·         Perhaps the day/time I chose wasn’t ideal.  Next time, I’ll try a weekend.  Around this time of year, it’s hard to know when most people will be free (and have husbands/babysitters at home).  Tricky!!!
·         I think I should have sent out more invitations.  And I should have sent my advertising postcards out with them (as these show the kinds of things I make).  I’m going to have a think about other options for advertising future events too.  Again, does anyone have any good tips on that???

If you stopped by on Thursday, thank you SO much for being supportive.  I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to call in!!!  And thank you to all my super blogging pals for all your words of encouragement and advice.  I wish you could all have been here to share a glühwein too!!!

Until next time.....

Carly

x     

15 comments:

  1. Everything looks so yummy! I esp love your little "find it" game! It looks fantastic. What did you use as filler?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Mary Jo,
    Thanks for leaving such a lovely comment! :-)
    I got the idea for the game from a magazine my mother-in-law gave me. I was thinking of putting a tutorial up on my blog, as they're pretty easy to make. I used beanbag filling inside. I ordered some from Amazon (not realizing that it would come in the world's most enormous box - which I now have to try to put 'away' somewhere until the next time I need beanbag balls!!!!!).
    Carly
    x

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is such a great idea and from your photos I can tell everything looked amazing, your crafts are so cute! I also think it's really interesting to hear your thoughts afterwards. Did you just invite people you know or was it open to the public? Have a great weekend :) K.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Carly, I have just joined your blog having popped over from the Log Cabin. Your makes are absolutely beautiful. You are obviously a clever ladyX

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Carly. The Little Christmassy Houses are my favorite! Sounds like your off to a really great start. Is there a local boutique that might be interested in stocking your handmade awesomeness? It may be a great way to get more visibility even if you make a little less than you would selling independently. Oh... And I think the little elf hat can easily be increased to adult size. It really is adorable! Wishing you a happy weekend. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Carly
    Only just discovered your lovely blog. Wow, I love all your makes for your party. They are so much to my taste. You have so much talent! I don't have a blog of my own and am only just learning to make bits and pieces so a blog like yours is so inspirational! Thank you! Mandy :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Carly I love your blog and have just become your latest follower. I`d like to hold an open house party to show the crafts I do. Might plan one for Feb next year.
    Dx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your open house idea is great! I especially love the little houses they are really cute. It's really interesting to hear how it went and your ideas for next time - this is something I might try myself next year.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dear Carly,

    This all looks so amazing: well done you! I can imagine how much preparation was involved. Goodness it all looks so pretty and spruced up (great pun, ha!). I LOVE that child's apron and those little houses are really adorable.

    I think you deserve a good sized glass of mulled wine now! Speaking of which I was at a pre-Christmas gathering this weekend and I sampled some Danish glühwein. It has chopped walnuts and raisins in it and.... a heavyhanded glug of Schnapps!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi,

    thank you for your lovely comments on my blog. I love this idea was it difficult to bring together cause I would love to do something similar in my mum's house (my little flat is far too small) your beautiful creations look amazing! xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Carly,
    These are lovely, I especially love the little houses! Well done on surviving your open house! You thoroghly deserve your award! I was very excited when I received mine, it made me smile all day.

    Lots of love,
    Emma xxx xxx

    ReplyDelete
  12. hello, what super lovely stuff you made. well done you and i think you are brave having an open house. glad it was successful. xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  13. Well Done Carly, you worked so hard it obviously paid off, what a great event, it must have taken some courage to make it happen. It sounds like you learnt a lot from the event. I imagine a weekend is better, folks are tired after a day of working and just want to cosy up at home. I'm so pleased it was a success! Vanessa xxx

    ReplyDelete
  14. This looks amazing! Well done, you!
    My advice would be to get a friend to host for you- and get them to be responsible for inviting a load of people too! (Friday night seems to be a good choice as well.) I've got a very good mate who is ace at this sort of thing and it makes my life soooo much easier. I am also much quicker at setting up, now I've done it a few times.
    Well done, again!
    Xx

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh my, I LOVE everything!!!!! Your fabric choices are perfect... I especially love the christmassy makes and the green spotty toiletry bag!!!!

    xxx

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit, and for taking the time to leave me a comment. It's always a pleasure to hear from readers, and it really makes my day!

Carly

x

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...