Party plans

Tomorrow's card project

Woke up this morning in a slight panic about my CTMH party tomorrow. I haven't done one since Mom's, last May! Somehow, though, I feel that I know more now than when I did my first party, last January, even though I've only done a grand total of 3 parties since becoming a consultant in November of 2003.

My mom's party was (to me) a disaster. She meets with a stamping group once a month; the women she meets with are known to show off a card they've worked on (one card!) for two hours. I put together some fun (quick) projects for them: mini comp books, a card with glitter using our awesome Write N Rub pen; then, there was the great mini-scrapbook promotion going on that month: a 6x6 album with all the pages done already (just add photos). I'm still selling that one, at the regular price.

For starters, my mom thought only 5 ladies could come, since that's all that RSVPed. The morning of the party, she had 6 more reply! We ran to the post office to make copies of the order forms (I think I'd planned for 7 total, just to be safe, but...eleven! Yikes).

Then, once the gals got the catalogs in their hands (and got together for the first time in weeks), it was yak, yak, yak. I could barely introduce myself, yet alone show them projects! I had one lady do a card (pretty much on her own), and I walked one gal through a mini comp book. Overall, sales-wise, it was a decent party, $600 - nothing to sneeze at - but my Mom won't do it again. She feels compelled to invite people that don't stamp or scrap, and a couple of those gals ordered things they've never used, so she feels bad, like she pushed them to order. My opinion is, let me do a workshop that gets them using that stuff! Even if it's a year old. Sheesh. I can't even get my Mom to have a party!

I called Carrie, my hostess, right after I met with Karen on Tuesday, to let her know that her party was off to a good start (with an outside order from me), and she told me she only had two definites, but was going to call some more on Wednesday to get a response.

As usual, they are more of a scrapbooking than stamping crowd, which I can make work. My first party, my own Jump Start party (where I was consultant AND hostess, and I got all the hostess rewards), I think I sold only one stamp set, and still had a $350 party - on just cardstock, patterned paper, and albums.

So it's a toss-up. I love presenting stuff, I've never had a problem with public speaking (the usual nerves, but they disappear once I get into my groove), but it's going to be a tough sell when I can hear crickets. In winter.

In the spirit of Not a Damn Dime Day, I figured out how to use my scanner as a copier today, and put together a scrapbook project for them as well as the card project (who knows, some of them might be thinking about stamping. Can't hurt to have a nice Valentine's card to take home). I've got everything all together (I think) and I'm rarin' to go.

Back to knitting ('cos I feel guilty if I don't write SOMETHING about it), I have only one more round of single crochet around The Afghan, and I am done. Notice I didn't say I am done! (exclamation point...) Because I'm still not happy with it, but I realized my inlaws are tickled that I knit them something for Christmas. And that will have to be enough. Live-n-learn. C'est la vie. Okay, I will stop now.