In our area baked goods at a craft fair is not a big deal. If you are cooking or catering from your home- that's another story. I think if you are going to advertise and set it up as a business there are some issues. In order to cook from home in Mississippi you have to have a dedicated kitchen (one that is not accessible from the inside of your house.)

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~~~Carol~~~
Mom of Walker 3/96, Kimmie 2/98 and Cooper 12/07

I'm impressed with your money making ventures. I think the tote bags would be a big hit. A craft show is the kind of thing I forget to bring my bags to.

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It's not what you make; it's what you spend.

I think the bags for groceries would sell for sure. The bags at the local grocery store have gotten smaller and the price higher and with talk of being charged for bags shortly, you are on to something.

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"Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body." ~Anonymous

I would only do it if I knew their origins. You just never know... Unless they are top quality, there are probably use signs anyway. I just don't buy anything iffy. You know what's funny, though? If you look around the web, there are a LOT of people making new from old. In fact, in L.A.'s garment district, some of the makers buy used clothes and make them into new clothes. And, of course, in Hollywood, the stuff from thrift shops and hand-me-downs is no longer called gently used...it's called "vintage".



What is the problem with fudge and eggs? The eggs get cooked during the process anyway, don't they?


Here's an additional idea: I'm sure a LOT of people forget bags and wish they had them. You could save your plastic grocery bags , smooth them out and sell each one for 5-15 cents. It would probably add up, and you can put a little sign asking if they need a bag to make life easier. You could also sell stickers for the kids for 5-10 cents each. Of course, balloons go over well with the kids, and as they drag their parents/grandparents over to see the balloons, you get new customers! I'm always forced to stop at tables that give away balloons.

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I don't know how to make fudge. Mom said it had raw eggs in it, so we decided against it, which was a mistake b/c everybody asked for it. That's all I know! We'll look into it this yr for sure!

I thought about giving away plastic grocery sacks. I don't think I'd charge for them, tho. I'm one of those people who feel REALLY bad when I feel like I'm nickel-and-diming somebody. That's why, generally, I'm no good at sales! Which is funny, b/c TWO sales ppl (selling some sort of life juice and some sort of green products) approached me that day to try to get me to sell their stuff. (I'm very friendly--I think that was the appeal. They SWORE I'd be good at it! lol)

The baloon idea is great! Kids really do have a good hold over their parents. We're not going to the same show this yr, but I don't expect the one we're trying to make it to to be any different. And there weren't many kids there. We brought a coffee pot and gave away coffee--25 cents if you didn't buy anything, free cup if you did. And we got LOTS of attn b/c of that. I guess it's the adult version of the balloon.

I love the grocery bag idea. I hate the ones they sell at the store because they are BORING! I plan on making my own, but if I found then already made then I'd probably buy them. Maybe create some sort clasp to keep them together when you're not using them.

The free coffee with purchase is a neat idea.

I like your idea and would probably buy one. Have you seen the tote bags that were on the Martha Stewart show made of duct tape and staples? They were really cute and looked easy to make. The directions are on her website.

My only question is if sheets are sturdy enough to handle groceries. Most of the store bags are made from some synthetic woven material. It would be really nice if you made some pretty canvas bags and used the sheets to line them. As long as the sheets look new, most people won't care if they are used. Not sure what Desertmom meant by iffy? If used clothing, blankets, sheets are iffy, then I guess my whole house is iffy because at least 50% of my girls clothing comes from yard sales. Clean sheets do not have germs in them, otherwise washing your sheets would be pointless. People today are starting to think GREEN, reusing perfectly good sheets is green. Make sure you market them as green bags. The wine totes are a great idea with the holidays coming up. Make up a couple of "gift" bags so people can see that they can be used instead of the paper bags. Also, give out samples, the lemon cookies you made last year sound really good, but people are afraid of things they haven't tried. Cut the cookie into smaller pieces and offer free samples of things that aren't moving.

Another good cookie idea is make dog treats, you don't have to make many but make enough to fill a good sized basket, put 6-7 small treats in a cute cellophane bag and tie it up with a ribbon and place a sign "don't forget about Fido!" They are perfect "gourmet" stocking stuffers for pets.

I highly recommend that you at the very least place ingredient cards by each type of cookie, pie, etc. This is a society that has too many frivolous lawsuits.

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"He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money."
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Good advice from crankymom. I will also say that I have no problem with the used sheets thing except for the sturdiness factor. My mom has fabulous taste (she is a designer) and has scoured many, many antique shows and flea markets in search of vintage fabric to use for various things. I bought 5 grocery totes from Trader Joe's at the beginning of the summer and they were coming apart within a month of using them. I would love to find some affordable totes that fold up nice and small and actually hold up from the wear and tear of lugging heavy stuff around.

This is off topic, but for all of you sewers out there, the perfect bag would be one that has a flat bottom so that you can load it better but is still lightweight. The shape of my LLBean tote is perfect and it is so sturdy, but the handles are the pits and it takes up a ton of room in my car because it doesn't fold flat. I end up using the LLBean bag to hold all of the other random tote bags that I gathered up around the house to use after my Trader Joe's bags broke.

And one more thing. Has anyone made little reminders that can somehow stick to a small place on your dash that say "don't forget your bags" or something like that? I think that would be a great idea. I forget to take my bags in the store a lot of the time. I don't want to stick a sticker on my dash and I know a magnet wouldn't stick, but what about those clear vinyl cling things they make oil change reminders out of? That would work. If they make those in sheets that run through the computer, you could print some cute ones out and give them away if people buy the bags.

I also forgot to say that I love the suggestion of someone above to line them in plastic. What about oilcloth? It would be great to have at least one like that for meat.