Needing ideas for Christmas
 

I have a small antique booth that isn't doing very well at the moment. I would like to make a few items to sell for Christmas to help with sales and to brighten up the booth to draw customers in. I'm new and not to the point that I could make a quilt for sale. I've seen a lot of ideas but have no idea what would sell or how much to charge. I need to be able to price at double my cost.

Do you have any idea what is going to be hot this year?

Thanks!

I can't guarantee what will be hot, but some fairly small things that you should be able to sell for double your cost are pillows with ruffles, you could do Christmas theme from purchased pillow sides, or small quilts; pot holders; christmas ornaments in felt or quilted; kitchen towels made from a quilted top with a button to go over the oven handle or refrigerator handle and the bottom being half a purchased terry towel or a folded over terry towel; quilted kleenex box covers - both large, square box, and purse size, maybe even car size soft pack. If you have an embroidery machine you could do linen or flour sack towels with an embroidered motif in the corner or in the center when folded.

Get the pillow forms at half price at JoAnns, Hancock, or online at least 16". You can get 20" pillow forms from IKEA for $4 (called cushion).

Char has a good idea. Pot holders are quick, and easy. You could make little sets using snowman fabric or the like. As to the price, that is usually a local thing. You might check out other places to see what they are going for.

Table runners are quick to make too and usually sell. Table toppers are nice too. Check out various sites, look for small things to do and make them according to your needs. (Halloween, Fall, Christmas etc.)

You can get ideas from this site, our Quilting board here. Check out the tutorial section, here you can even see how it will be done.

If you make pillows, instead of buying the pillow forms ; you can buy a regular bed pillow and cut it in half and stitch it closed. That would only cost you a couple of $$.

pin cushions would be cute too

Stockings, coasters, wall hangings, table runners, cosmetic bags. You need things as cheap as five bucks for people buying impulse stocking stuffers, or not more than $40.

Think about not doing things readily available elsewhere for very little money. Christmas stockings sold everywhere, always on clearance after Christmas. Pincushions do not usually sell; however a few that enhance your antiques in otherwords look like period pieces may sell also they could be used year around. Do a few Holiday pieces, tabletoppers in holiday designs brighten up tables, dressers anything with a flat surface. Do some for other holidays also, you can change as seasons.

A basket or metal washtub set on an angle can hold extras.

The potholder and towel ideas are great. Have you thought of some of the aprons in retro patterns?

It's not quilted but how about Christmas aprons? Quick, easy, and you could have adult and child sizes.

Crystal balls? :)

You say antique but don't specify what exactly. Fabric? Paper? Things? What about reproduction, Victorian, or Santa gift tags? Browse your local scrapbooking aisles and make "old-fashioned" blank Christmas cards. Do you embroider or cross stitch? Sachets always go over well. I stuff them with batting and a cut up dryer sheet for scent. Bundle up some cinnamon sticks, add some holiday greenery, and finish off with a red or green ribbon for hanging. Topiaries! Take a round Styrofoam ball, stick some holiday greenery in that, put it on a decorated stick in a decorated clay pot and title them "Christmas Past."

Thank you all! Wonderful ideas! I need to get busy!

I made pot holders with various "hot" items at the theme such as chickens, red, black and white, fruit, apples, hot peppers, etc. They were popular and I also made some matching dish detergents aprons and bag socks (like you put your Walmart bags in) as a set.
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Also, the new crocheted scarfs http://www.redheart.com/free-pattern...-crochet-scarf are very popular and I have seen them sell for $15 to $25 each. Another item is fabric folded star Christmas ornament http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00fIGg7MNJ8

Mug mats, notebook cover, small purse, grocery tote, zipper bag, makeup bag.

I work at a fabric store and I have been told that microwave bowl holders are very popular at craft shows. They wouldn't cost much to make as they aren't that big. They also don't appear to take too much time to construct. I am sure you could find a tute either here or maybe Pinterest. How about fabric napkins? With people being eco-friendly, those might sell too. Good luck!

I love this board for all the creative people with great ideas! Thanks so much!

I make cute pincushions with coffee mugs from the thrift shop. I find nice ones, usually solid colors but some with designs. I fill them with plaster of Paris to about 1/2 inch from the top and let it harden. I use a circle of fabric, at least twice the diameter of the mug. Run a basting stitch around it, fill with stuffing. I sometimes use very fine steel wool in with the stuffing.....sharpens pins. Sometimes I put cute buttons on top, or I make the fabric ball look like an apple with a leaf and stem of felt. I use gem tack white glue to attach the fabric ball, stuffing it into the top of the mug. They are great on the cutting table, don't tip over, hold lots of pins. Melinda in Virginia.

There is a table runner that you can make that's called the "ten minute runner". I've made it and it took me over 1/2 an hour to make the first one. It's really easy and could be a great seller if you choose fun fabrics and they liked the buttons or whatever you added to it. There is a youtube on it that I watched. good luck!

Along this line, penny rugs/candle mats are cute and fairly quick to make. You could set the candle mats up with a scented candle to match, doesn't have to only be Christmas (for instance, holly mat with holly scented Yankee candle, Easter bunny mat with a jellybean scented Yankee candle, etc.)

There was a quick-looking idea recently on qb or another site; an apron made from a man's shirt. The picture showed you just cut it into an apron-shape with the buttons intact, and decorate. That would be very inexpensive, and easy. I tried it briefly, and just laid an apron over the top of a man's shirt and marked it and cut. Wasn't hard, or I couldn't have done it! The finished one was very clever!! Mariah

Mug Rugs with matching cups - buy the cups first then make mug rugs to match.

I did a mini version of the "ten minute runner" and all my friends loved them.

If you have an antique booth, I would suggest using dark homespun fabrics and maybe making simple hemmed table runners or placemats, or even napkins. I'd rather by a candle than a poorly made pot holder, so if your sewing skills aren't quite up to par, it might bring down the price of your antiques with a "craft show" feel, rather than drawing people in. Just something to think about.

my friend does craft shows and the mans apron thing sold several (I didn't get the appeal myself) but she only got 12.00 for it so it depends on how much time will you invest vs cost vs return.. why would a pot holder have to be poorly made? do a flip it inside out with INSULATED batting only in it and you can have a nice item still, maybe not bound but the time invested is not intensive and everyone who cooks uses a pot holder. table mats, runners (check out my swap for ideas) ORNAMENTS people buy ornaments. In my six craft shows I have done ornaments were the biggest seller followed by wine bags. make them cheaper than you would buy a paper one is the trick. satin ribbon as the ties at the neck. one does not have to be a sewing wiz to make those. I sold over 100 at one show. . and yes under 10.00 is the trick to big sales, under 5.00 is an easy sale. quanity.. and antiques are anything over 50 years is my understanding so not necessarily Victorian or early Americana I think. Could be atomic era or groovy 70's lol so mix it up.. if you sell fiesta ware use fabrics that match up. button holders? jars with cool lids fabric covered.. check out the ornament swap this year. there are tons of pictures posted from 2010 swap and 2011 maybe you can borrow an idea?

Mug rugs and wall hangings along with all other suggestions.

Amelia0607, Google "quilted baby cowboy boots". You will find photos of quilted cowboy boots and other baby shoes. There are absolutely darling, fun to make and you absolutely could double your cost as they can be made with any fabric and batting, take about 1 1/2 hours at most to make, and sell very well. Good luck and let us know what you decide on and how it works out for you.
P.S. Christmas fabrics would make great shoes and boots.

Mug rugs, pot holders, and table runners are pretty big around upstate NY but I guess it's what's hot in your area

pot holders and mitts are always in demand. Then there are place mats and napkins, mug rugs, table runners and wall hangings with Christmas theme. The list goes on and on. Pin cushions, scrap catchers, needle cases

There are lots of Christmas wall hangings that are not difficult to make and should sell. Eleanor Burns has a Christmas tree and Christmas wreath made up of log cabins that are not difficult to piece. I might suggest table runners (use Christmas on one side, then another holiday on the back), placemats, (pot holders using the insulated batting), mug rugs, pin cushions, the ideas are endless. Last year I had very good luck at a fair selling Bow Tucks bags along with table runners and sets of placemats, as well as seasonal wall hangings. Previously I would make and donate wall hangings, table runners, placemats, etc. to the church fair and they usually sold very well.

Not up on hot sellers.
 

I never sell anything I make but last year I did up a bunch of flannel flax seed warmers...small pillows with washable case. I started with some really cute alien space people, Batman, bears and bright florals. I gave about 14 of them and was asked for more so I will probably do some this year since I have plenty of supplies left. You can also use rice but you can buy flax in quantity at Winco pretty cheap. They heat up fast in the microwave and stay warm for quite a while...they're great if you throw them in the foot of your bed about 20-30 minutes before retiring. By then, I had usually forgotten it so warm toes was a nice surprise. You can also freeze them for summer.

Ten minute table runners are quick, easy and people seem to like them. Make some for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. froggyintexas

The Christmas topper on Missouri Star quilt tutorial is super easy, fast and looks good - maybe an idea!

What a great tip, thanks!

I make extra large potholders with 2 layers of insul-brite. I use my scraps for the potholders and charge $5 each. I sell a lot of them at every craft show.

The idea I have is from gifts I gave to people. They came back and asked for the pattern. I made the triangle looking scissor holder. I also last year found a pattern off a Christmas stocking which was a high heel shoe. But can't find it .it must have been free.