Balloon Balls: Thank you!

Most "businesses" stay in the red for the first little while when they get going.  I can't say that though about the Balloon Balls booth at Simple Treasures this week, thanks to an overwhelming turn out and support from the now Balloon Ball Fans!!!  I won't know if we're in the show leading up to the holidays until some future unknown date, but I hope so.  I would love to have another go at spreading some balloon ball love and enthusiasm.

One of my favorite comments today from a shopper & friend came via text message: "We found them. Emili couldn't stop playing with them and we are getting these two because Abbi couldn't decide which one they like best."

That's the seersucker I am talking about!!

I have not actually counted the number of balloon balls sold, but what can I say? It is kind of hard to keep track when 4 more sell an hour into clean up time (2 hours after closed-to-the-public time)! :)  I think I put out about 55 throughout the show, and came home with 7? ...All right, all right, I am letting it all go to my head a little. I apologize.  But I am excited.

We could not have done it without our Fans!  Thank you!

Balloon Balls: Show Update

With less than two hours remaining of my first craft show experience, I have lost track of how many balloon balls sold & when, so tonight's total count will be a fun surprise!  However, I know we had sold at least 30 as of the start of this morning. I put out seven more of the solid & bold summer line that I sewed this morning around 5:30am.

I had know idea the seersucker would be such a hit. I loved one shopper's description of how it reminded her of the schoolyard playground kick balls.  Thanks for all the tips & support, Balloon Ball Fans!  Keep it coming!

About this blog

All right! This blog is about to be published on a public setting!  A work in progress!

UPDATE:

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do you pronounce "lillekenaLisa" and where did it come from?

leèl-ley-kèna leè-sah     See April 2015 post "lillekenaLisa--can I call it that?" at lillekenalisa.blogspot.com

2. What is the name of your Etsy shop?

PostalThreads by lillekenaLisa design, created in July 2015, emerged out of on-going creative projects & a love for sending & receiving real mail.  Current listings feature custom fabric balloon balls & custom décor balloon ball garland.

3. Why Fabric Balloon Balls?

Combining so many aspects I love into one just seemed to make sense:

  -Sewing & creating, especially things that are reusable, & the color scheme possibilities are endless.

  -Sending & receiving real mail.

  -Having played a lot of sports growing up as the only girl in my family with 4 brothers.

  -Festivities [hence the line of custom decor balloon ball garlands] & good old fashioned backyard fun.

  - Finding a little niche out there to contribute & participate in the home & craft blogging world that I have been enjoying for so long.

  -Sharing things I love to make, with others.

Originally, I decided to make balloon balls to send to 11 nieces & nephews in the mail for Valentine's. But then I thought more people need to know about these & I would be delighted to make them. So I applied for a booth at a popular local craft show & was accepted. The balloon ball booth was successful so I put a little more focus into developing a shop on Etsy.  Many thanks to Amelia from the Etsy shop MarigoldRegards for the Etsy help!

One of the things I love most about constructing fabric balloon balls is the fact that the final step for balloon ball completion is left up to the recipient who blows up their fabric balloon ball for the first time, and many times more after that, ultimately reaping the giggles & fun memories made.  The reusable nature of the fabric balloon ball allows balloon ball fans to let the balloon ball come & go as they please. Perfect for indoor/outdoor use, packing in a purse, traveling light to the lake, camping, gifting near or far; the list could go on. I love sharing in the process of creating such festive, bright and bouncy, reusable toys and decor, providing instant backyard fun anywhere, any season!

4. Are you going to post only about Fabric Balloon Balls on your blog?

I am currently on a balloon ball kick.  But I would love to do more tutorial posts like the DIY Play Parachute tutorial.

5. What is the best way to contact you?

  --Conversation in PostalThreads Etsy shop or shoot me an email at lillekenalisa@gmail.com

 

First Time Craft Show---Balloon Balls: Ready! Get Set!...GO!

Simple Treasures is underway!

Yesterday...

I still had to sew some button holes in the "tablecloth" so we could use this strap to secure our set-up. It worked out great! [I wasn't sure which side the "ball cage" was going to be.]

 These were some of the photos posted on the Simple Treasures Website leading up to the event!
We met our neighbors--the Johnson's down from Shelley, Idaho! Raylene bought 5 balloon balls! Talk about a great kick-off for this first-craft-show-ever experience!

I have to say, it has been fun to create a "look" when designing the whole booth display.  I LOVE the fun business cards Amelia designed!  And I love paying close attention to some of the details--for example, tablecloths.  Before I pinned some corners & straighten things up a bit this is what it looked like:

Before

After

Today...

The neighbors had moved a few things around--for the better probably.  At first I thought we got kind of lost in the change-up, but can't say it's really been a problem.  After the first 3 hours 17 (well 12 actually if you don't include Raylene's 5) had been sold.  Even some gift wrap sold.  Not so sure about the cards...are people forgetting Teacher Appreciation?!  Mother's Day and Father's Day?  Simple notes to say, "Hello"?!  It's all good, I guess.

Coming Soon...

• Yellow/gray
• A couple more poppy/turquoise
• And finally get to the anchor fabric, tonight or tomorrow morning.

This is fun.  One of my most favorite things, however, I feel as though I have not put it out there very well--that is the ad/poem. I wrote it. It can be found on the back of the balloon ball package:

Ready! Get Set!    Bump-Set-Spike   Bounce ··· Toss ··· Head ··· Throw   Reach ·· Laugh ·· Kick ·· Catch   Gift ·  Juggle · Dodge · Roll   With the reusable fabric balloon ball, you are            Always ready on the   GO! You are about to become a Fabric Balloon Ball Fan! Step 1: Center one latex balloon through fabric slit in top of fabric balloon ball cover. Step 2: Inflate balloon; continue inflating until seams fill out entirely. Step 3: Tie off balloon & tuck end under fabric. Questions/Comments/Special Orders: lillekenalisa@gmail.com   My husband reminded me that "Indoors", "Outdoors", and "Decorate" would all be fitting words as well.  I can't wait to use a bunch to decorate for a summer cookout soon!....or take one camping!