Behind the Scenes: Getting Ready for a Craft Show

When you walk through the doors of a holiday craft show, you’re greeted with twinkling lights, Christmas music, festive displays, and handmade treasures ready to take home. But behind every booth is a whole lot of planning, prepping, cutting, engraving, organizing, and hauling that happens long before we ever set foot at the venue.

Today, we’re taking you behind the scenes for a real look at what it takes for Blue Bonnet Studios to get ready for one of our biggest events of the season: the Christmas Trio Gift & Craft Show at the Walla Walla Fairgrounds.

🎄 1. Designing & Preparing Our Build-An-Ornament Station

This year, our biggest feature is the Build-An-Ornament experience. That means:

Designing display cards for each ornament style
Creating clear step-by-step instructions
Cutting and engraving all the wooden backers
Organizing snowkids, cows, stockings, trees, and gingerbread people
Sorting beads, strings, bows, and decorative add-ons
Testing each ornament to make sure it assembles perfectly
Packaging everything so it’s easy to restock during the show

Each display is cut on our xTool lasers, sanded, assembled, and staged so customers can choose their parts quickly and easily.

🧰 2. Building Custom Displays

Everything you see at our booth is handmade:
the ornament shelves, the signage holders, the backer trays, and the layout grid.

We measure, cut, build, and test every piece to make sure:

It fits the space
It’s sturdy for all-day shopping
It showcases the ornaments clearly
It's easy for customers to interact with

Craft shows are hands-on events, so our booth setup has to withstand lots of traffic while still looking cute and cohesive.

🧼 3. Sorting & Prepping Inventory

Behind the scenes, we spend hours:

Cutting batches of ornaments
Engraving personalization samples
Organizing hundreds of small wooden pieces
Sorting by theme
Packaging finished items
Labeling boxes so setup is fast and painless

A smooth show starts with a super organized workspace at home.

🖨️ 4. Printing Signage & Making It “Show Ready”

Clear communication is everything at craft shows.

We prep:

Large header signs
Individual ornament instruction cards
Price tags
Social handles
On-site engraving signage

Everything is printed, mounted, and tested for readability from a distance (because shoppers scan booths quickly!).

🚚 5. Packing the Trailer

This might be the most intense part!

We carefully load:

Product boxes
Display units
Tools
xTool F1 engraving machine
Power cords & backup cords
Tablecloths & grids
Decorations
Extra materials for on-site personalization

It’s like a Christmas-themed game of Tetris.

🎪 6. Setting Up at the Fairgrounds

Set-up day is showtime before the show!

We:

Build the booth walls
Hang signage
Set up lighting
Assemble the display tables
Load in all ornaments
Hook up the engraving machines
Do a full power + engraving test
Step back and make sure it FEELS magical

Once everything looks perfect… we finally take a breath.
Then we get ready to greet hundreds of shoppers!

🎅 7. Show Day — The Fun Part!

All the behind-the-scenes work pays off the moment customers walk in.

People light up when they see the “Build-An-Ornament” display.
Grandparents get emotional choosing snowkids.
Kids pick out trees taller than dad.
Families laugh while arranging gingerbread people and pets.

And we get to engrave everything right in front of you — creating a gift that is just as fun to make as it is to give.

❤️ Why We Share This

Handmade isn’t just a product — it’s a process.

Every ornament is:

designed
cut
sanded
painted or stained
engraved
assembled
packaged
and made with a whole lot of heart

Craft shows let us bring that magic directly to you.

Thank you for supporting small businesses this season — it means the world.
We can’t wait to see you THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY at the Walla Walla Fairgrounds!