Future Note

This post is a note to future me. Probably/hopefully year 2015 me.

These are for projects for our next baby. I've had the ideas floating around for a few months, and tonight I researched exacts and I donn't want to forget these things for when it's time.

Boy theme: Peter Pan/Puff the Magic Dragon/friendly pirates/dragon green.

Project: Personalized Taggie Blankie

Fabric from Fabric.com, ribbon from Ebay

Project: Baby Dragon Crochet Plush:

Prpject: Pirate

Girl theme:

Either light purple or a scarlet/crimson color. Princess will be either Ariel, Alice, Snow or Cinderella.

Project: Taggie Blankie

Ariel fabric on Amazon.

ProjectL Blooming flower crochet

If an Ariel:

No Soliciting Painted Sign

Now that school is back in session, it means that kids are being told to sell things - which means lots of door to door "will you please by this, and this, and this?" every few hours every day. Last Monday I had a breaking point - FOUR people throughout the day came to my door, trying to sell all kinds of things that I have no interest in nor the money for. It happened to be a hot day, where I wasn't fully clothed and I was feeling very pregnant, so me peeling myself off the sofa while dogs bark like crazy and rush to the door (waking my toddler in the meanwhile) just so a mom of a child could once again plead their case to me was quickly becoming very irritating.

My solution came to me in a facebook reply - that supposively, these kinds of people are supposed to listen to No Soliciting signs. Whether they would or not, I quickly decided that it was worth the chance that it would work. I took to Pinterest and decided to combine a few cute ideas, then ran out to the store and bought the supplies. Last night, while watching my way through my netflix que, I painted this up. Since I was tired and watching tv, it's clear to see that not every line is quite straight, but maybe that makes it more eye catching.

I also added "and the baby is sleeping" at the end as 1) it's already true at times and it'll be truer later and 2) most people don't want to deal with a tired mommy that just had her baby awoken by someone trying to sell her something. If you're not going to listen the rest (and the Beware of Dogs sign I have in my window) then for your own self-preservation, listen to the baby sleeping part and stay away!

Anyway, here it is, slowly being surrounded by pumpkins (I have three giant pumpkins to put out there after I carve them...probably tomorrow.)

Homespun Dream's Week 6

Another week's blog post is up - matching brother hats, 2/3rds of a triplet set completed and a fuzzy baby polar bear!
http://homespundream.blogspot.com/2013/10/week-6.html

H.D.'s Week #2

Check out my new post from my newest blog - lots of pictures and an adorable little toddler "elf!":

Homespun Dream's Week #2

New Blog

I decided that this blog is a wee bit too crowded. Between my sewing projects, crocheting, business posts, other craft projects, cooking and baking, that it was just hectic.

I took one of those out and made a new blog for it instead. Check out the newbie blog here: Homespun Dreams and feel free to follow along!

Crafts: Growth

I just finished an order that I'm super proud of.

Not only do I love the product in person (I haven't even managed to watch this movie yet and I think these things are so freaking cute and want to make my baby one!) but I used to make adult hat versions of these early last year.

If you look at the hat item from last year and the one I just made tonight, there's a huge difference.

Last year's:


Tonight's:


Seriously?? Can you see it?

I've grown a lot as a crocheter. I've gone from something basic to something that I'm really proud of. I'm so excited to see how much growth I've gone through in a year. With each order, I get a little better. I get more creative as each week goes by. There's times where I'm laying in bed at night, all cuddled up with my pregnancy insomnia, and crochet ideas are floating through my head. How can I elevate this? How can I make this better? What stitch can I use to get the exact, very difficult, look that I want?\

This little guy just sold, he's a custom order for another little December baby (2014 kids all around the country are going to be decked out in crochet wear at this rate! For two months I've only been selling to December Baby mommies because they've kept me so busy!)

Next up on the crochet list - a quick newborn hat for my own December baby (it's true - I haven't made him any hats yet! I know, bad mommy!) and then back to the orders. The next one I'm really excited about - it's a big order including a Santa stocking cocoon, a Hungry Caterpillar set and two matching brothers' ribbed cable winter hats. This is from a customer who's bought from me twice before and keeps coming back - her baby is going to be so ready for his photoshoots!

Craft: Milestone!

Hit a huge milestone today! I just got my 17th order since joining Storenvy, and I've now crossed the $500 mark in sales! Over half of that is just since this past June, and $100 of it is just from this month. All in all I've sold over 25 hats. This isn't including the 15+ custom order requests currently sitting in the request book that I'm slowly making my way through each day.

I'm trying to keep track of how the business is going so I know how to continue to improve and what does best. So far it seems to be heading in the right direction, as it's continuing to do better all the time. I've become much more in demand, receiving custom requests multiple times each week. I'm doing well enough to make custom orders worth my while without having to raise any of my prices. My crochet items are all still under the majority of etsy prices, while having the same great quality. While I'm sure I could get even more sales on Etsy, I've decided to stay on Storenvy and do customs for now. I'm also hoping to get to a few flea markets and craft shows at some point when I have enough down time to start building stock. Right now I'm just trying to stay on top of these custom orders. I always feel like I'm falling behind no matter how fast I work! Mainly because each order includes multiple hats usually, so it takes longer to get through one and then through the next in line.

But I must say, I'm really enjoying it! While custom orders make for stressful, overwhelming moments at times, it's very satisfying. I've been getting great reviews and many of the custom orders I have now are repeat customers who were very satisfied with their other purchases from me. That means the most to me - getting repeat customers! It means that not only does my stuff look good enough to get orders, but they hold up in person and please those who are buying enough for them to continue wanting more and buying more. I've had more people sharing my business on their facebooks as well, which means my facebook site is growing in followers again as well.

My fingers are sore from working on two custom orders all day today (One that has five of the same hats and another that's a hat, diaper cover and suspenders set) but I'm sure I'll still be up a while longer working away at them! It's 1 AM now, better get back to it!