I think that maybe looking for fresh new ideas is part of the problem. There is a vicious circle that goes on in the crafting world that involves the basic "I wanna do that too" mentality. Right now a large chunk of the crafting community is into jewelry right? Well, if I went to a crafts show and saw that 10 of 20 booths were all selling jewelry that pretty much all looked the same, I would in all honesty quickly lose interest as a consumer. But if among those booths I find one booth that has something completely different even extraordinary from all the rest, I might be tempted to linger and look, and if the crafter is warm and friendly, I will probably buy. I, who does find the style charming, am throroughly sick of "country crafts" - no offense to any of you who love and enjoy that. It's just that it's something that has been done over and over and over again. I think the key to having a successful crafts business these days , and I don't count myself as an expert, is to find something that is hard to duplicate by machine. In reality everything can be replicated by machine, but some things just aren't the same. Maybe we need to look not for brand new ideas, but dig into the past(and I mean pretty far back) to revive all but dead crafts that could have a possible aesthetic and attention grabbing quality that would appeal to today's consumer. Consumers who are looking for that special something that is out of the ordinary. Honestly, if you go to the same crafts shows year after year, how many scarves and Home Sweet Home signs can you possibly collect before it just becomes ridiculous and not worth your effort. I don't even go to the local crafts shows anymore because it's just the same old stuff year after year. And I too understand the fact that most consumers now days can't tell the difference between handmade and machine produced which is a sad indicator that the artistic side of our culture is in a sad state of decline. Personally, I don't join crafts shows anymore either. I sell to private persons who have entered my home and drooled over my wares long enough until they are willing to pay the price I want because they can't find somthing like it elsewhere. As for "Dollar Tree" ornaments...sure, I've bought some in the past and will probably continue to buy them in the future. But I do have rules when doing so: 1). Is this what I would consider a "bare bones" ornament, meaning will it act as a filler. 2). Will it compliment my "handcrafted" ornaments, which happen to be the showpieces on my trees? 3). Is this something that is of decent quality, that would cost me a fortune at an upscale ornament display and would be very difficult to easily and successfully replicate by hand? 4). Is this something I can take apart to use in my "hand crafteds"? And personally, as a crafter and artist, I am finding myself drawn more and more towards "old world" crafts that just cannot be had in this world, things that are even difficult to find reading materials on. You know there is a reason the Amish make the kind of money they do from their quilts. It's hard to find quilts that have been completely hand constructed these days and with the precision and artistic quality they present. So I all of a sudden find my self interested in things like bobbin lace, weaving, egguery, pysanky, and many other things. From an equally frustrated crafter who refuses to give it up because a part of myself would more than likely wither and die - doubt I would be much fun if that happened. Netta

Gift bags, tissue paper, birthday cards, candy, orange or apple juice from the cooler I need a small amount for a recipe and Betty Crocker parchment sheets that come 10 in a bag, cat litter box when I need a new one. I know what I won't be buying there again, metal kitchen items. I bought a slotted spoon and just noticed last night it wasn't steel like I thought it was, it was coated metal and after I used it last night saw it was coated to look like steel and it was flaking off.

It is a zinnia with a yet to fully open flower bud.

I do a lot of propagation of woody and other interesting plant material, and give the propagules a good start on their way toward bonsai. When people visit and show interest, I give these plants away. Of course, they look soo much better if they're in a nice pot, so I always have my eyes peeled for cheap ones. A few years ago, I bought about 3 dozen smallish soup bowls (hold about 2 cups of soil) with interesting drip glaze or planty-looking hand-painted patterns for $.99 each from Walmart. Obviously, soup bowls don't come with holes, but a .5 inch diamond core drill (around $20) makes short work of putting a hole in the bottom. You get about 20 holes per bit fir vitrified materials (glass/ceramic) - depending on the hardness.. If you are drilling terra-cotta, you might get 100 holes per bit. Repots I've been doing for the last 3 weeks: Sort of hard to see everything. These are my deciduous trees. I have about an equal number of conifers and tropicals, so this about 1/3 of my collection. Al