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Business Card Help

This one?











Or this One?

Funky Finds: Coming Together... Sorta

I went and picked up hangers, dress forms and a few other items Monday at American Fixture store in Dallas and ordered the dress form I really wanted that was not in stock. Thursday my dress form arrived and I am very happy with it! Saturday morning we had an Etsy Fort Worth Meeting to wrap up any loose ends for the Funky Finds. That afternoon I picked up my table, I got a six foot table that will be used for my machines when the FF is over. All was going well and falling into place until I woke up around 3:00 am Sunday morning with tons of stuff racing in my head: accepting credit cards, accepting checks, how much change do I need, what about my business cards, I still need more stock, what about walls, the tablecloth still needs made and yes, I DID still need a sign.

I crawled out of bed quietly and went into my studio and tried to figure some stuff out. I made of list of the items I most want to get made and included color and sizes, I decided no checks, credit cards I am checking with my bank today to see what they offer. I thought about paypal but they do not offer a credit card scanner and I am not sure about writing down all the info and then entering it in later. I looked at my business card again and made a few more changes and now feel ready to get them printed today, I should be able to get same day service if not Wednesday at the latest. Around 8:00 Sunday morning I came up with a great idea for a sign and it is almost done! I am so excited about it!!!! It will be reusable if I decided to do more shows later and can be changed quickly plus it is making use of a frame I have had sitting in the laundry room for years. I got part of the inspiration from a fellow Etsy Fort Worth Member, Original Youth.

Some of the things in my set-up needed some minor repairs and I needed to buy some "stuff" for my sign so off to Home-Depot we went. The next few hours were spent off and on working on my display and sign then the after a much needed nap I got to sewing again. I finished 22 headbands and one dress and bloomers set. I got 5 bonnets and 10 aprons half done before Ray convinced me to take a break and watch Monk on DVD with him. By 11:00 pm I was more than ready to fall asleep. I am not sure if it was just being physically tired or having some things finished but I slept pretty well and feel much calmer today. I am ready for a great week!

Bib Apron Giveaway

A few weeks ago I got a message via Etsy from Sandhya stating she had featured my bib apron on her blog. I must say I was very excited; it feels so good when someone likes your stuff enough to share it with others! Of course it is also one of my favorite items and one of the last ones my daughter modeled for me before leaving for college so I love the photo too!

Anyways, after looking around on her blog and noticing she was in the market for an apron I offered to give her an apron to giveaway and one to keep for herself.

Sanhya has several ways for you to enter the giveaway so head on over to her blog for all the details.

Funky Finds

I can hardly believe the Funky Finds spring fling in LESS than a month away. I feel so unprepared! This will be my first "show" and I am more than a little nervous! I have some things made but not nearly enough compared to what had wanted to have done. My goal is 200 items and I am not nearly there, I will not say what I have but it is fair to say it is probably less than half that.

I still need to make my clothing tags to put the prices on and I need to set up my display area and figure out exactly how I plan to set everything up in my little space. I have bought a clothing rack, I have two dress forms but still need to get at least one child size mannequin or dress form and I would like to get a banner or nice sign but that is not a big must. I do have my cricut and some vinyl so most likely what will happen is a few days before hand I will panic and make a sign that will do. Oh.... do I know myself too well or what? I guess that is good because at least I will not be surprised when the panic hits huh? I could save myself the grief and work on one now but that would take away from making clothes and ..... writing this post.

I do have some cool new "everyday" styles for spring and summer that I am very excited about showing especially since a few of them are made with my own patterns. They keep with a modest girly look that I think is very important but are fun and cute at the same time. I have no idea where the notion came to try and make girls look so cheap, especially little ones who have no say in how they dress. I want to cry when I see these little girls dressed to look like Hollywood divas. They just look sad!I have two new historical outfits I am working on also that I plan to take in a couple of sizes and then hopefully take orders for others.

My biggest goal for this show is to get my name out and bring an awareness to our website. E-bay is making some more big changes and of course it means higher cost to sellers and they are doing away with stores so I need to get as much traffic going to my website before that happens as I can. Also I would not mind making some money at the show but that is not my main focus this year.

Have any of you been to shows before? Any tips you can give a newbie? Anything to watch out for or be sure to do/take?

Daily Bread

If you enjoy making bread and are looking for new recipes or want to start making bread be sure to stop by my other blog. This week I will be featuring a new bread recipe everyday. I just added day two, Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread

Self-Employed: Not For the Faint at Heart

I am sorry I have avoided this blog and my other one. We have just had so much going on here at home I have not had the time or energy to put together much.

My husband like myself is self-employed and with the economy lately that has had more downs than ups. In November he went six weeks without work and then for the last four he has not had any work. We have gone round and round about what to do and tried to have faith that God was in control, and He is, but it still has been tough!

We finally made the decision he would look for regular work with a company and at the same time if any jobs came up he would do those. I know the idea of giving up his company was not easy for my husband and I am thankful he is willing to do so. He has had some interviews, all promising to let him know something in the coming weeks. He does have a job that will take 4-6 weeks starting Monday and we hope that by the time it ends someone will call him about full time work.

I can tell you that over the last 6 years that we have both been self-employed off and on I have learned somethings that I think can make a big difference for any self-employed person. In no particular order here are my top tips:

1. Have a good support group. When things get hard this will make all the difference. For me it is God, my family and friends.
2. Save money during the times of plenty and do not touch it.
3. Check out Dave Ramsey! Paying our house off a little over a year ago has made a HUGE difference for us along with his other principles.
4. Live within your means; I honestly believe you should live far below them but within them at the very least.
5. If you use a credit card pay it off every month. You never know what the next month may bring. I think a debit card is best but I know that is not always practical.
6. Keep good records
7. Keep your personal and business money separate
8. Keep up with your taxes, Keep up with your taxes, keep up with your taxes!
9. Network and get your name out there.
10. Do not let your business take over your life, you need to make time for your family and for yourself
11. Believe in yourself and do not give up
12. Know when to walk away. I know this may seem like it contradicts number 11 but there does come a time when you know you have to do something else. It may not be for financial reasons but you need to know how to recognize it and even have somethings already written down as signs for you.



I have written a little more about what is going on from a more emotional view point on my other blog if you are interested.