Lesson Learned. Again.

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(Card by Brenda Dean. See below.)

Here's a lesson I haven't had to relearn in a long time: Trust Your Instincts. That's what they are there for.

I had a number of reasons not to participate in the craft show this weekend and only one reason why I should participate - to be a team player and support the store where I sell my Sticky Notes.

I should have acted in accordance with my instincts. That's how I try to live all parts of my life. No second guessing allowed. The show turned out to be every thing I thought it would be - with one additional little mishap thrown in, one I had never envisioned in the various scenarios I had for this show.

Traffic was very slow. Here it is late the next day and I haven't even counted my money yet. I know my sales covered my fee with some to spare but I haven't had the heart to count my money yet.

It was sunny, mid-70s, gorgeous, with a very slight breeze. A breeze that changed directions a few hours into the show and knocked over my black screen that holds my framed art. I had two pieces on the back side of it, just to add some color and entice people to enter the craft sale. Naturally those were the only pieces with glass in the frames so they shattered into smithereens. (Every other piece has Plexiglas.) I cut my finger starting to clean up the glass, but I deserved that for even trying to use my hands. (I can replace the glass, no big deal.)

A customer helped me pick up the framed art. Another customer offered to go into the store to get a broom & dustpan. I swear I was so shell-shocked that I never thought of getting a broom - thus the teeny cut on my finger. One of the women working in the store came out and swept up all the glass for me. Other vendors were very nice to me and came over to help too.

But all I could feel was humiliation, like I was a rank amateur. That's dumb but that's how I felt. A handful of other vendors who didn't have tents either so that shouldn't have bothered me. I was just not ready to invest in a tent I wasn't going to use for a year or more - if I ever start doing outdoor shows.

I then had to display my framed art flat on the table, thereby creating what I call "card table syndrome", definitely an amateur move. The funny thing is - the art got more noticed that way than when hung on the black screen! Guess I need to rethink my framed art presentation.

That standing screen was my only shade, and it offered very little shade at all. My face is very sunburned. I did remember to bring sunscreen but it was too little, too late, I'm afraid. (Other than that whole skin cancer possibility, I guess I can put "worked on my tan" in the positive column for the day.) :-)

The show ran 11:00-4:00 and about 3:00 the black clouds started rolling in. I kept a very careful eye on them and finally decided they weren't going to blow over. Or if they did blow over, there were plenty more behind them. So I called Steve to come pick me up and I started packing up. The thought of any of my inventory getting ruined by rain was too much to bear. (Another vendor left quite a bit earlier - not sure why she left.)

Naturally, it never rained and by the time Steve got there and we got the vehicle packed up, it was 4:00 and the show was over anyway. But that's another amateur move I would never do in a million years under any other circumstances - leave a show early.

To be fair, some positive things happened too. My booth was next to a mother-daughter team who called me last fall to ask about my experience at The Enchanted Rose Garden. It was right when I was going from being a renter to a consignor but I had nothing but positive things to tell them. I was glad to hear the store was working out for them.

I received a lot of positive reaction from new customers. The people who bought Sticky Notes (the only item that sold) bought them in multiples. One woman bought 4 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon.

Brenda stopped by to say hi and drop off a Stampin' Up catalog and samples - including a card she made for me - which has two techniques I'm totally going to steal. (Hi Brenda!) She contacted me through my blog a few weeks ago so we've been emailing but had never met before. Meeting her and talking paper crafts was the highlight of my day, which kind of astonished her, I think.

When I got home, I was happy to find an invitation to participate in Mercy High School's November show. That will make 8 straight weekends of shows Oct-Dec. I will be a head case for sure. God help Steve and Simon.

Some of this stuff would have happened even if I didn't do this weekend's show - but still, I'm glad there were some positives to the day.

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We celebrated the August birthdays (Mom, Nick & Paul) with a family breakfast this morning at The Log Cabin. Speaking of being a head case, Steve and I arrived last, and as soon as I sat down, Mom and Gretchen asked how the show went and I burst into tears. Totally shocked me, as well as them, I'm sure. I was tired and depressed and even at 52, you still sometimes just need your mom, ya know? It was a very short-lived sniffle fest, thank God.

However, I finally got it all out a little while ago when Steve and I were watching my journalist -boyfriend-crush Bob Costas interview Michael Phelps and his mom. He loves his mom and she supports him. It was nice.

So I guess instead of being mad at myself for not following my instincts, I could say that it's nice to know my instincts were correct. They are trustworthy. I need to remember that.

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(I did paint my office today and I'll post about that later, complete with before and after photos.)

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