My sister sells at craft shows in the Twin city area, She said Some operators do require a ST19, but she falls under the "occasional" seller! I found this on the MN web site Operators of selling events Before an operator of a county fair, craft show, art fair, flea market, trade show, or similar selling event can rent space to a person to sell at the event, the operator must have written documentation from the seller that they hold a valid sales tax registration, or a written statement from the seller that no taxable items are being sold. Form ST19, Operator Certificate of Compliance, is available for this purpose. You can find this form on our website at www.taxes.state.mn.us. Anyone who pays consideration of any kind to sell at such an event is considered to be in business and must collect sales tax on all retail sales of taxable items unless it falls under the "occasional sales" provision. Occasional sales provisions applicable at flea markets and similar events. The law allows a seller at a flea market or other similar event to qualify for the isolated and occasional sales exemption if all of the following are met: � The seller participates in only one event per calendar year that lasts no more than three days; � The seller makes sales of $500 or less during the calendar year; and � The seller provides a written statement to that effect, and includes the seller�s name, address, and telephone number. An organizer can accept a written statement from sellers who make isolated or occasional sales indicating that they meet the above-mentioned criteria. The isolated and occasional sales provision for businesses does not apply at these events. Hope that helps!

So you don't talk much! OK so smile & look customers in the face & don't talk a lot to your booth mate! I find it annoying to be interested in something to find the booth folks going on about kids dating problems or hubby being lazy & not getting something done, I just pass on by no matter how interested in the product I was, personal talking between sellers turns me off. I'm there to buy & expect booth owner to be available to answer questions. I sold & headed up many boutiques over the years & that was problem, 2nd problem was people selling, really pushing their wares hard, huge turnoff. 1 lady had son that made lovely wooden pic. frames but she practically shoved them in people's faces. Lot of complaints on her & I talked to her about it but she wouldn't quit & people that had bought $200-300 dollars from us( in the past) just said 'sorry, we won't be back! So that ended our club's boutiques. When you push like that you come off as being desperate! If people regret spending money because "they were pushed into it" they won't be return customers & the return customers were ones that bought most of our handmade items each year.We sent them a flyer each year! Most things were sewn, crocheted or knitted, pillows, natural materials floral arrangements on driftwood,doll clothes for Barbie, fridge magnets,baby bibs & decorated spit-up cloths etc, we had some Christmas but most items were gifts & solved the customers gift giving problems. We tried to have different items each year, not same old stuff as year before, if something was excellent seller we would try to change colors, like when kitchen colors changed, we changed to match what was new. Jan

Welcome to the forum, Blueiris. Selling st a craft show is easy and fun. You can go to craftlister.com and find shows in your area to get started. I would suggest you start out at a school or church show. Come spring there will be plenty of them around. But start looking for them now as some may fill up fast. Cost? Anywhere from $35 to $75 for a table space. Make smaller items, find a show and give it a try. You might actually like it. I got hooked in May of 1980. But as far as accepting checks goes, don't be afraid to do so. Things you look for is the name and phone number on the check. Look to see that the check number matches at both the top AND bottom of the check. We don't accept "starter" checks as that's the only time we got burned and couldn't collect. We have had a number of checks come back for non sufficient funds. So all we did was call the bank instead of the customer, made sure there were funds available, informed them I will be redepositing the check and have had no problems. I was charged $5 by my bank for the returned check but found it too much bother to go after the customer for a crummy five bucks. I have really had only about a dozen bounced checks in the 27 years I've been doing shows. And only two that I couldn't collect on. So if you're not afraid to write a check, don't be afraid to accept them. 99.99% of them will be good. Oh, and don't even think about accepting credit cards until you decide whether or not to pursue the shows on a regular basis, no matter what anybody says.

Hi Lara...I'm back too, now that the board's free...a super easy craft is embellished burp cloths. Buy the PREFOLDED cloth diapers. Buy 1 yard of ribbon per diaper. Sew the ribbon across the (short) bottom & top of the diaper. You're done! Instead of ribbon, I've also seen people add maybe a 2"-2.5" piece of fabric to one end. I've never done this, but I'm assuming you fold the fabric over so the front & back are both finished. To carry it further, (and make the end product worth more $), you could cover the entire back in teh same fabric. Hmmm. is that clear as mud?