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Contents of this issue of Craft Selling Party News

While it's easier to just go with the flow and create seasonal crafts at the last minute, try planning in advance to put you ahead of the competition.

If you're only creating your Father's Day crafts now, you've really left it too late. You should already be selling 4th of July crafts by now, otherwise by the time your more organised customers come across your items they'll already have bought what they need elsewhere.

Take a look at the feature article below to make the most of seasonal crafts.

I know from the emails you all send me that there are many of you who are already running successful craft home party businesses. It would really encourage other readers to hear about your experiences, so please write and tell us about them.

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1. Tip of the month - Send in a tip that you think other readers would find useful, and you could be chosen for this newsletter's tip of the month.

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3. Featured article - Some of the articles written for the website will also be chosen as the feature article for this newsletter, so you'll get double exposure!

4. Success Stories - There is also a section on the website featuring Success Stories from everyday people who have started selling their crafts at home parties. Just send in your story - it doesn't matter how long or short it is, the aim is just to show others that it's possible!

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We are all crafters and artists, trying to find new ways to boost our sales, and keep our inventory and ideas fresh and new. A great way to add an ever-changing flavor to your array of art is to make seasonal crafts. Seasonal crafts are hot sellers and can really boost your sales for a variety of reasons. An upcoming holiday invokes a lot of excitement and festivity, and people are often warm to buying such items. Seasonal crafts could be made for an upcoming holiday, or to reflect the time of year.

Seasonal crafts are great for gift giving. Most people enjoy receiving a craft that symbolizes an upcoming holiday or season of the year. These are also perfect gifts for people that are hard to buy for, since nearly everyone likes to put something around their home to decorate for the season. This is obvious for the end of the year when such gift giving holidays are abundant, like Christmas and Hanukkah. But other holidays and seasons can be wonderful occasions for gift giving. If someone’s birthday is in the spring months they may love receiving a spring craft to decorate their home. Mention this during your home parties, craft bazaars, etc, and boost your sales enormously.

Another reason seasonal crafts are hot sellers is because they are great for home decorating. A lot of people like to change their decorations around the house for each season. Many people decorate for Christmas, some change their paintings on the wall for different seasons, and some even change their dinnerware from dark to light. There are magazines that revolve around home decorating, and rooms in those magazines look different for each season. Many seasonal crafts are things used around the home for decorating or entertaining, and many buyers will be happy to buy these seasonal crafts!

If you want to give seasonal crafts a try, here are a few ideas to start you out with. If you have a specialty, like jewelry making, try making some necklaces and earrings in seasonal motifs and colors, like red and green for Christmas and pastels for springtime. Or, if you sell crocheted items, try making a blankets or sweaters to reflect a holiday. If you make soaps and candles, make a few in the shapes and colors to reflect the next upcoming holiday. Flower and garden themed crafts are great for spring, while summer is a great time to sell items for entertaining outside. Rich shades of warm scented candles are hot sellers in autumn, and the holiday months in the winter are wonderful for selling Christmas items and gifts!

At your next selling opportunity, include all your usual items with a few seasonal items for the current season and upcoming season, and see how you do. Point out and stress that the seasonal items are wonderful for decorating and make wonderful gifts. I’m sure you will see by including a few new holiday crafts that your sales will increase!

If you would like some inspiration and new ideas for seasonal crafts I welcome you to visit my website, which is full of craft projects for every season of the year. The upcoming United States holiday of Independence Day is quickly approaching. Be sure to check out all the great crafts you can make for this special holiday at crafts-for-all-seasons.com. I wish you the best of luck and hope you see an increase in your sales by incorporating some seasonal crafts!

Thanks to Karen Hundady of crafts-for-all-seasons.com for this useful article.

Click here for more Craft Business Articles.

If you have an article that you think will be of interest to my visitors at Craft-Selling-Parties.com, please submit it here. All authors will receive a free link to their own website if their article is used.

Jewelry Selling Insights - new bonuses from David Weiman

I wanted to let you know that David Weiman (of Lapidary Journal and Step by Step Beads fame) has added three new bonuses worth $68 to his Jewelry Selling Insights when you subscribe for one year. And instead of putting the price up, he's actually made it a dollar cheaper!

This is a really useful resource for those of you selling jewellery, and don't forget that it can be tax deductible too. So do take a look if you're in the jewellery making business. Click here to find out more.

If you know of a useful website or resource that would appeal to my readers, please let me know about it here.