We Were On a Break!

At a sad fall out in mid December during a slow moving unsuccessful Christmas Market, Wreaths and I decided to take a break. After my third Christmas Market failed,I boxed up almost all of my inventory, shoved it into the car, kicked the tire and drove home with a pouty bottom lip. This was a low point in the Mainly Maren Wreath Making Experience.

Christmas Market #1

What hurt the most was how I put our entire lives on the back burner for eight weeks preparing for the Christmas Market season. Husband was so patient with the disaster zone that became our flat, he cooked meals nearly every night, built my wreaths a display, and helped set up and take down the inventory three different Saturdays. This is most definitely not how a man wants to spend his weekends. 

Christmas Market #2

I'm not sure why the Christmas wreaths did not sell here in Germany. I did my research comparing similar handmade wreaths on Etsy and Dawanda for pricing points. Each wreath took me nearly 4 hours to complete and the cost of my time plus materials created a price point that might have been too high for some shoppers. In the chain stores, I saw wreaths made of plastic material, mass produced in far away lands, with prices not much cheaper than my individual handcrafted yarn wreaths.

SOLD!

The yarn wreaths for a few years now have been popular in the States. As I watched shoppers pass my booth I noticed people's eyes widen as if this was a new concept here in Germany. Many said nice compliments, took my Mainly Maren business cards, and seemed genuinely interested. These wreaths are a craft that anyone can create but... Who else has done this? You are walking around a craft show and make mental notes in your head of all the ideas you are going to recreate when you get home. And? What happens? The day ends and the crafts never get made. 

Gifted

The week after my last failed Christmas Market, Husband and I flew back home to the States. I packed our suitcases full of German chocolate, mustards, and about 8 Christmas wreaths. I am sure TSA thought Mrs. Claus was flying Lufthansa that day. I wasn't joking when I told my family and friends "Everyone is getting a wreath this year." Everyone got a wreath. 

Gifted

I'm not sure if my mom just told me how wonderful my wreaths are because she is my mom and has to, or if she really does like them. Regardless, after three unsuccessful Christmas Markets I became burned out crafting wreaths in my free time. In fact, I have not spend any time on crafts over the past three months.

My mom opening one of her Christmas gifts.

That is until Friday when a coworker asked me if I was still "doing my crafts". I told her no and felt a little bit of sadness come over me. 

April Showers Bring May Flowers

I don't particularly enjoy wrapping yarn around Styrofoam circles but the arranging is always the most interesting to me. Perfectly situating every piece, looking at where the items should go, and coordinating the colors together was and is the part I enjoy.

A Breakdown of some items used.

So...Saturday afternoon I spent four hours creating my newest (and only) Whimsical Wreath of 2014.

Inspired by the rainbow.

The theme and goal of Mainly Maren is to "Make Life Beautiful". While my Christmas Market experience at first left me feeling a total burn out, in the end I was able to find beauty. (After a three month break!) I found the support of Husband, family, and friends encouraging. It took courage to plan, prepare, and act on an unknown area. Even more so in a foreign country! I now know creating individual wreaths is something I enjoy as a hobby and will continue doing in my free time...at least for my momma.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow,

Digital Photo Albums

It has been over a week since my last entry and I apologize for that! I'm not exactly sure why I haven't written but I think it could have something to do with the Christmas Markets, snowy day naps, and a short run with a cold.  

Jingle Mingle Market

Husband and I are both extremely anxious to get back home to our families for Christmas. This week is a big one with the anticipated birth of our first niece. Last night Husband and I bought her a Christmas gift, the first one from us, and let me just say this could be trouble. Husband already said a little speech about how "we need to be careful" and "we shouldn't spoil her too much"...blah blah blah...yeah...uh..huh..."Sure honey." Sorry older folks on my list, I love you all, but it is just so much more fun shopping for a little one. Everything is so cute, petite, and those ruffle butt outfits are too adorable for their own good.  

In other news, today I spent several hours finishing up our August vacation photo album. A couple of years ago I started documenting our travels using the digital photo albums available on snapfish.com. After every trip, I create an album with the photos we took. 

An Earlier Version in 2011- A Simple Photo Album

Not only do I create albums for our travels but also every year I compile our Christmas pictures into a book. Each Christmas I pull the photo albums off the shelf and display them on our coffee table. I have only done this for the past two Christmas' but already it has been fun to look back and remember the memories.

2011 Christmas Album

Now of course I have an organizational system for these albums. (a tad OCD sometimes...) Every travel album I create with a brown cover, white lettering, with a title of the place and year. On the shelf all of the albums are together and sorted by year. The Christmas albums I always bind in a green fabric cover. Then our engagement, wedding shower, ceremony, and reception albums are all covered in the same white lace fabric.  

Wedding Shower Page- Not too much "flair"

This past year Snapfish has become more user friendly. It used to be very controlled with restricted photo placements, only a few font options, and hardly any cutesy flair at all. Now I am able to re-size and crop my photos any which way, they are movable depending on where I want them, and there are more updated font options. My favorite part (and most time consuming) is that Snapfish recently launched "Embellishments". Embellishments are tags, photo borders, letters, and clip art pictures you can drop into your pages.  

The Latest Album with the "Embellishments"

These new features make the photo albums more personable and I love that I can use my own creativity. It does take more time using the Embellishments but the books are something Husband and I will look at for years to come.  

The Newest Spread

Typically the books run about $25 a piece but I always wait for the coupons. The books I have finished sit in my "Project" folder on the Snapfish website until I am ready to order. Every few months (or sometimes more often) Snapfish will email a Buy 1 Get 2 Free coupon. When this coupon hits my Inbox, I go back into my Snapfish account and make my purchase.  

Are you making life beautiful with memories? How do you preserve your family moments?

Making Memories,

Exciting News for Mainly Maren!

Exciting news today...Mainly Maren has officially hit the shelves (well, one shelf at least) in Munich!  That is right.  I am now selling my wreaths in the local handmade specialty store, Karusa.  For a few months now, I have been debating opening an Etsy shop but with the high cost of shipping, this seems like the best option for me.

It will be interesting to see what sells here in Germany and I am looking forward to learning more about the market.  Right now, the crafts I see around in the markets and stores tend to be traditional Bavarian styles.  Think deer antlers, hearts, mushrooms, and elves.  Will the Germans take to the American style crafts?  We shall see!

Here is what is currently in store:

The Newest Project- "Baby Blue Bird"

Check out my German labels!

Special thanks to Raw Lux Gems for the information on Karusa.  Also, if you stop by the shop, make sure to check out Cut and Tear's Oktoberfest dolls! Buy homemade y'all!

Graphic By: http://monsterellaplushart.wordpress.com/

Make Life Beautiful,