It’s always good to have a back-up plan.
So, if this whole writing thing doesn’t go as well as hoped, then I think I might become a professional baker, gift-maker, and fundraiser!
We just held the Rock Springs Humane Society’s first annual Holiday Market yesterday and though it was a lot of work, it was a blast. There were jazz standards playing (had to introduce these folks to Michael Buble and Diana Krall) and apple-cinnamon candles burning. We had vendors from Silpada, Tupperware, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, and Cookie Lee selling their wares and taking orders (and giving us a percentage of their sales!). And we had a great bake sale for pets and people; donated items (some sent all the way from relatives in Canada); and crafts.
We made a nice chunk of change to help provide the necessities for sheltering animals while we find them homes. We also got people out to the shelter to shop, chat, and hang out. We may have even recruited a few more volunteers that I can put to work at future events!
Oh! And I also did my first adoption – Riker’s little girlfriend, Dixie!
It took a lot of preparation. Over the last week I made:
- Oatmeal-Raisin, Triple-Chocolate, Gingerbread, and Peanut Butter cookies
- Vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with home-made icing (and little dog-bone sprinkles!)
- White chocolate brownies
- Green, red, and white milk bones
- Edible bird ornaments: rice cakes and pinecones smothered in peanut butter and rolled in bird seed as well as dried cranberries on floral wire, bent to look like a heart
- Spiced Mocha Mix gift arrangements
- Hand-knit scarves
There is already talk of doing an Easter market next spring and a yard sale next summer. Time to start looking for new recipes to try and crafts to make!
Here are a couple of photos of ‘my’ sections: baked goods, crafts, and donated items.
Poor Topaz, a Miniature Pinscher, is subjected to a pink frilly dress after she wouldn’t stop barking for attention. I think this is called aversion therapy 🙂
