Same durn thing happened to me my very 1st craft show...... Bust..... but....... I met some nice people... & later on some people who had taken my card contacted me... and did get a few orders.... so...........hang in there ! ! ! Now.... for crafty ideas.... HOW ABOUT >>>>>>> *** some little specialty shops in your area... they might take some on consignment... they..... *** Might use some of the flowers in there window displays.... and let you put a sign by it to contact you via... the web.... etc.... ! ! ! * * how about telling some fancy retirement centers... that you will show... them in the ARTS & CRAFTS ... center... HOW TO MAKE>>> OR maybe they will just let you sell in the GIFT SHOP>>>. OR * * * at the HOSPITAL GIFT SHOPS>>>> cause they are.... dish flowers... and they won't go bad... ! ! ! YOU CAN STILL HAVE SUCCESS ! ! ! remember MS TOOMUCHGLASS YOU are a WINNER.... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We Love your ideas..... I wish I had extra cash to buy some from you.... I adore them.... I think everyone should have three or five at least ! ! ! ! Oh yes.... Kenosha has an art thing on the pier and then... Port Washington.... so you might mosey on over to some of those ! ! ! Love Ya Bunches ! One of your BIG FANS ! ! ! GOD BLESS ! SusieSunshine

I sold at fairs for years, and my products were garden art that could be mounted on copper stakes. I found some great buckets at Walmart that had lids, and I filled them with cheap cat litter. My stakes would go into the buckets, and they were heavy enough not to tip over. The lids made it easy to transport the buckets and not lose the litter. I also used a vintage suitcase to carry my wrapping paper & bags. I set it up on the plastic totes that I packed my items in, and it was always a hit with my customers. I also bought craft paper bags, the kind with the handles, or at Goodwill I'd buy gift bags and use those to put my customers purchases in. They just loved it...I know I get excited when I have a gift bag rather than a plastic bag! You can also find lightweight 6' folding tables for around $40. Easy to put up and easy to handle. I would put out about half my product at a time, and then bring in a new piece as one sold, and I offered to hold a customers purchase while they shopped. When they came back they'd see something new and have to buy it too! I also priced my items ending in .95, like %19.95 rather than $20, there is something psychological about that, they see it's under $20, so they 'justify' purchasing it. I kept a roll of nickles in my bag, but rarely did people want their change. I got an old bankers bag and kept my $ in there, and kept it packed up in my suitcase. Every week (or every show) I'd add $50 in change to keep it stocked, because inevitably I'd get a bunch of $20's and have to make change.

Well, like everyone else, I agree with much of what has been said but of course, as humans, we can't leave it at that and have to put our own 2 cents in :) You need to figure out a few things about your debt. Is it a matter of you currently have 35k debt that you need to pay off and you aren't adding anything to that debt? If so, then that is great! Work on ways to save every penny you can from your monthly budget to put towards debt. If you are still adding to the debt, you need to figure out why. Have you been paying for your kid's education or any of their bills? Like someone said earlier, if this is the case, they need to pay those things themselves. If they can't get a student loan, then they can cut back on their school hours, find a job full time, and pay their way through. They can also learn to take own their own insurance and phone bills if they don't already. And, if you still can't get your head above water, tell them that they will need to start pitching in on the food budget, or even pay you rent if they wish to live at home. Some may say that is harsh, but what is the best way to prepare a child to grow up and be apart of the real world? The parent pay for everything and bail them out of every problem, then suddenly graduate college and realize they don't know how to budget their own money and end up getting stuck with debt problems or unable to save for anything they want? Or having them pay for the things they want and need while under the protection and guidance of their parents so that when they graduate and/or get married and start their own family, they know how to budget and save money. So this could be a major thing to look at. You obviously don't want to just kick your kids away and make them think you don't love them, but if they aren't responsible for their own things, you need to start holding them responsible for them. Also look at other things you could save on. If you have Cable or Dish, perhaps drop them. Most shows can now be watched online, even if it means going to youtube and seeing if anyone put it up. Perhaps revise the food budget? That's one thing my husband and I have really been working on. I have cut ours in half! I am unsure of your living conditions or what type of disease you have, but if you are able to, perhaps there are things you could do for a little extra money. Clean the homes of family and friends? Host a garage sale and have all the profit go towards your debt? Are there crafts you can sell (they usually don't bring much money in, but every little bit can help). Perhaps you have a skill or talent you can train people in? If you can find something you can do that will create extra income, do it and discipline yourself that all of that extra income will go towards your debt and can't be spent elsewhere. If you haven't already, check out various sites about cutting the budget and frugal living and as you apply those tips, use the money saved toward debt. I have 2 things left to say. The first is a tip I read about paying off debt. Write down all the various debts you owe. (To whom, who much the debt for each is, and their minimum payment). Next, order them from smallest debt to the largest. Each month, pay the minimum towards each debt, but for the smallest debt, the one listed on the top of your list, pay more. I'll give an example on a small scale. We'll say you owe $ to 3 creditors. Vista debt: 300 Min: 20 American Express debt: 1000 Min: 50 Master Card debt: 2500 Min: 100 So, you pay the 50 and the 100 to AE and MC, but for Vista, we'll say you managed to get enough extra income to pay 100 a month on it. So, for the next 3 months you get it paid off (Note, I am not calculating interest, it is not needed to get the basic concept of this). Once you paid off that Vista, that gives you $100 extra each month that you can then apply to the AE card. So, rather than paying the min 50, you are able to put 150 towards it. Once the AE is paid off, you now have 150 extra in the budget so you add that to the minimum payment you were paying on the MC which means you'll be paying 250 on it each month. With this method, you can quickly pay off debt and reduce the number of creditors you are paying because rather than spending forever trying to pay off the largest amount, or slowly paying off all at the same time, little by little, you free up money as you finish paying off creditors so you can apply more to other debt. I hope that tip helps. The last thing I have to say is short. If you already have bad credit, do not fret about it. You don't want to do anything stupid, obviously, but do not fret about past mistakes. After 7 years, bad records are taken off your credit record. I could be wrong on the 7, it may be slightly more or less, but I believe it is 7 years. I know for bankruptcies, it is 10 years before it is taken off. (But please don't go bankrupt if avoidable because we, the tax payers, as well as yourself assuming you work and pay taxes, end up paying for it through our taxes). I hope the advise I gave was helpful.

I don't know alot but I do know that you have to pay a fee for every transaction, that is why when you are shopping, you will sometines get a better deal if you are paying by cash. The fee may be different for different banks, I would phone and ask. I was told it wasn't worth it for me, I organize a major craft sale and have only been asked a few times if I take Visa or Mastercard, when I say no they pay by cheque anyway.