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!

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?

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.

Etsy Treasury

I think this monkey is too cute. I know it is for kids but I want to get it for our lab Cisco. He would love swinging it around. I can just see the legs slapping him in the head! He loves stuff like this!

This monkey and a few other items from Etsy Fort Worth can be found in this treasury.

Valentine's Day Gift

If you are looking for a cute Valentines day gift check out the find I posted about on my other blog. It is a darling bracelet!

Looking for a card? Etsy again has you covered. Susan a dear sweet lady I know in real life has a card shop with beautiful cards and other paper crafting items plus she does custom work!


If you have never been to Etsy you are missing some very cool and unique gifts!

Branding part 2

What is branding and should you even bother? First branding is why Starbucks can charge more for a cup of coffee than most places and it is why when you think coffee shop you usually think Starbucks. That in itself should help you understand that every business should consider branding. Also keep in mind that whether you try to brand yourself or not, you will. Your customers will develop an opinion about your business. I for one want to try to control how I am branded.

What does branding do for your company? Branding builds equity and that equity has inherent value. In other words it a well-established brand makes you think up front that it has more value than a lesser known product. Take my skirts for example, you see one of mine and one made by Old Navy, instantly you will assume the Old Navy one is better. Why, because The Old Navy name and label carry equity that Hearts & Home does not.

I want it now! Keep in mind you can build up your name or label but it takes time. Over time an image begins to exist in your customers mind about your product and you decided rather it is positive or negative. Customers will define your product by its quality, reliability, price, durability and many other factors that you may have never thought of. What we want is for customers to choose our product over similar ones in the marketplace. It is important to understand that before you can build your brand you must understand it.

As you come up with your strategy some things to keep in mind are:

1. What do you want customers to associate with you?
Quality
Service
Value

2. What is your brands personality?
Friendly
Easy to work with
Good terms

3. Who is your target audience?
4. Who is your competition?
5. What attributes does it have?
6. How does it compare to similar products on the market?
7. What are your brands strength and weaknesses?
8. How far do you want to take your product?

Branding

What happens when you see golden arches, an apple with a bite out of it, initials hp, or a cow named Elsie? You pretty much instantly know the product. Why is that? It is because of successful branding. These companies spent/spend millions to make sure we know who they are without even reading their names. What mom hasn't been in the car and drove past McDonald's and heard their child cry out "I want McDonald's". Is it because their two year old is a genius and can read, no it is because of branding!

While these companies can afford it what is a small business or a cottage industry to do? While I may not have millions or even thousands to spend on marketing with a little creativity and work I can still brand myself and so can every other home based business.

Hearts & Home has been open for about 6 years but it was only within the last 2.5 years that I began trying to build up our name and develop a repeat customer base. In that time I have found some things that really work and I have found other things that were expensive and offered almost no return.

Monday I will share a little more about getting started on marketing including some quick, simple and almost free ways to get your name out. Wednesday I will share a tutorial that most cottage businesses that have a physical product will want to be sure to stop back by for. Friday I will share some for keeping track of customers and how to encourage repeat business from them.

I am Featured!

I am so excited; one of the hardest things about trying to "make it" selling your wares is exposure. Like most crafters I have a very limited marketing budget (read that to say almost 0). So free exposure is always great and to be honest it makes ya feel good to get noticed!

In case you have not noticed the Funky Finds buttons on my side bar and the notice on our shops front page Hearts & Home will be at the 2010 Funky Finds Spring Fling that is being held in Fort Worth on March 13th. This will be my first time to actually set-up and sale in a physical location and I am very excited but even more nervous!

I am trying to get lots of stuff sewed up but every time I get something made it sells off our site or e-bay. I know this is good problem but I am worried I will not have enough stuff to fill my booth. My mom stopped by this evening and showed me some of the stuff she is working on for me and the doll dresses she is making are wonderful! I am very thankful she agreed to help me! My mom did craft shows while I was growing up so I am sure she will be a big help as I get ready!

I have so much about Hearts & Home I want to share with you but I need to work on our menu for next week and on a cute dress I am making!

By the way, the pretty young lady wearing the bib apron that is featured above is my daughter.

Ready For 2010

I went to Office Max today and picked up my 2010 day planner. Normally I get refills for my Day Timmer but this year I wanted to go with something that was thinner, would fit in my purse but still have nice big squares to write in and look cute.


I probably spent 30 minutes looking through the different styles but I kept coming back to this one. I love the black and white design; feminine but not flashy.

It opens flat and has nice easy to flip pages, a notes section, contacts and dates to remember.







The other must I had decided on was that I wanted monthly and weekly calendars. It is nice at the start of the month to glance ahead and have an idea of what is coming up including birthday's and such.





My favorite part is each days squares are 2" X 4". Plenty of room for lots of details and to accommodate my big messy handwriting!

I have already started filling in appointments, birthdays and craft shows! I think this is the most excited I have been about my calendar in a long time. Weird what age will do to ya.



As for my schedule I got my coupons done, bills sorted, and invoices started. I am pretty behind in logging receipts into my spreadsheet for taxes but once I get going it will go pretty fast. I also managed to finish an order, grade some school work, pot some plants, straighthen up my bedroom and give the dog and cat their flea treatment. They were none too pleased.

Tommorow I am going to work on grading more school work, take the boys to the library and work on receipts a little more.

Cricut Items

I am so excited! We now have a selection of Provocraft items listed on our website including the new Gypsy!

I have had so much fun with my Expression, the few carts I have and Sure Cuts A Lot. The one big downside is that it can get expensive and sales are few and far between. With that in mind when I did my pricing I tried very hard to keep my prices low and right now shipping is free on all orders over $200.

We do have lots of cartridges, most for under $30 but the page is not working. If you need those send me an e-mail and I will get you a price quote.

So... if you need some Christmas gifts for family, friends or yourself head on over and get your shopping done early.

We also have modest clothing, dress up clothes, kitchen items and American Girl books and crafts.

Button Button Who's Got the Button

Like most people who sew or craft I have a stash of buttons, ones that fell off clothes, came with clothes and many that I bought because they were just to cute and I knew I could use them on something. I still have some little animal shaped ones I bought when Sydney was about 7 or 8. I also have a jar of buttons that is filled with dainty antique buttons that I will probably never use but love looking at.

I got to thinking about all these button a few days ago when I was at Joann's picking up some fabric. While at the cutting counter a lady was discussing how she wished making buttonholes was not so hard, then maybe she would actually sew more and wear the things she made. She said her machine had a setting for it but no matter what she did they came out just awful. As she spoke I thought back to the many times I thought the same thing. When Sydney was little I made her a dress, I think it was her 6th birthday, I got so frustrated trying to do buttonholes by hand, my machine did not do them, I sewed on snaps then placed a button on top to hide it. I am so ashamed to admit that but that's where I was.

My current machine does have a buttonhole feature and after some practice I learnt how to use it and now days I hardly think twice about making them. They do not always come out perfect but I am not ashamed to have someone look closely at them either. One of the best resources I found on making them was this pdf from You Can Make This. It is a free e-book from their site that includes lots of tips and some practice sheets and lots of pictures.

Don't let something as small as a buttonhole keep you from creating beautiful clothing!

Repair Your Sewing Machine Yourself

If you have ever had to take your machine in for repairs you know it can be costly. A few years back I was sewing 2 layers of heavy denim on my serger, missed a pin and threw my timing off. A $150 mistake, the garment I was making did not come close to covering the cost of the repair.

Often times after paying for repairs or maintenance I have wished that I knew how to make them myself, that was until finding this e-book. In it you learn machine repair and maintenance. I rarely promoted things like this on my blog but the normal cost of this e-book is $69.00 and right now it is on sale for $39.95 and includes a bonus bundle of other e-books for FREE and comes with a money back guarantee. Since I have three machines and have paid $60-$75 per machine for yearly maintenance even at the normal cost this book pays for itself!

So if you are interested in learning to fix your own machine or know someone who would head on over to his site and get this before the price goes back up.

New Apron

We have a new apron in our Etsy shop. It is made from some super tasty looking fabric! Every time I see it I instantly want mint chocolate chip ice cream!

My goal at the start of the month was to make an item a day and although that has not worked out I am happy with the items I am getting in there including a cute little sundress made from white fabric and accented with pink and blue flowers.

Here a little there a little. Are you working on anything special? If you have time leave a comment and tell us about it or leave a link so others can visit your shop.

Car Wreck Equals SALE

Well Sydney got her car a few weeks ago and last night on the way home she was in a wreck. She is fine and so is the gentleman who hit her however he was in a fairly big pick-up so as you can imagine her car is not ok.

Since Syd is working hard towards college and staying out of debt I want to try to help her and you at the same time so I am having a sale. I have listed lots of new items in my Etsy shop and on e-bay and for the next week if you purchase two items and mention this post in the payment section I will give you FREE shipping. If you buy three items I will give you free shipping and a free gift. I have given Sydney permission to use any and all of my fabric and trims so what she makes will be total profit towards her car. All together Sydney needs to raise about $1,500; I feel confident with some hard work she can do it. She is a great seamstress and knitter and as I type this she is hard at work making some darling pinafore and mop cap sets for toddlers so you will want to be sure to check out our shops over the next few days. Here is a link to her Etsy Shop. You can also see a preview of her work in my sidebar.

Also we would appreciate your prayers as we try to get everything handled that goes along with a wreck. This is her first one and she is a bit shaken so if you have time stop by her blog and leave her some encouragement!

Skirted Culottes

I just added skirted culottes to my Etsy shop! I have had these on our website and sold them to friends but for some reason had never gotten them listed on Etsy.

I have the skirted culottes with a zippered waist or for little girls I have an elastic waist option. This is extremely helpful for little girls who want to dress themselves and for potty breaks.

If you have never seen skirted culottes you have to take a look. Unlike traditional pleated culottes these look like an a-line skirt in the front and back and have modest slits that make doing everyday activities a breeze. When you run or participate in sports these do not fly up.

My daughter Sydney loves these especially in the summer and she even wears them to work! The pair in the picture are made from a light weight denim fabric and match everything just like a denim skirt.

Coupon Giveaway #1

Giveaway Over

I have found myself with several coupons for baby things including formula and I don't have a baby anymore, my youngest is 13.

The Give Away will last through next Wednesday, 6/17/09 at noon. The winner will be selected at random and will be mailed the coupons.

You may enter once by leaving a comment and then again if you mention it on you blog come back and leave a link for you second entry.

Please leave a way for me to contact you if you win.

If you are in need of coupons for other items be sure to check out my other coupon giveaway.

Coupon Giveaway

I have been so busy the last few weeks that I have gotten waaaaay behind in organizing my coupons and since I usually get three papers when the coupons are good I have a lot to go through.

So as I spent the evening going through them I realized I have a lot I will never get to use before they expire and decided to have another coupon giveaway starting in the morning.

I will list two separate giveaways:
1. General coupons including baby items

2. One just for baby items including some formula checks

Be sure to check back by in the morning to sign up, the giveaway will last 1 week and I will have ways for you to enter multiple times.

Cleaning out Patterns

Well, I have come to a very big break through in my addiction. After much contemplating I weeded out some patterns that have never been used from my collection. Some of these are ones I bought and decided not to make and some are ones people gave me and for various reasons I cannot use.

I have decided this year to really get rid of a lot of the excess I have around the house so I will also be cleaning out my art cabinet later this week that holds all my craft notions, scrapbook stuff and who knows what else. I am ashamed to think of how much money has been spent on things I never got around to using. I may even go through my fabric stash actually that should be stashes.

Anyways if you are interested in some good deals be sure to check out my Etsy shop and my e-bay shop. If you find several things and want to work out a deal let me know, I really want these things to go to people who can and will use them and I want to get them out of my sewing area quickly.


Again be sure to check my shops often because I will be adding stuff frequently over the next few weeks.

WHat I Have Been Up To

Well, it sure has been a busy 2 weeks for me! We started back to school, my husband started some home improvement projects, and then I got flooded with sewing orders. All in all things have gone pretty smooth. God has definitely answered my prayer for energy and a clam spirit, often I get grumpy when I feel overwhelmed, but not this time. It was definitely God answering prayer because even when I felt overwhelmed a quick prayer helped!

So... here is some of what I did.

Some elastic waisted culottes for a friends little girl. I could not find a pattern that would fit her (she is tiny) so for the first time I made my own pattern!

I also made some I made her some solid black ones and a pair of pink ones that have brown polka dots but did not get pictures. They are adorable!








Some gowns I sold on e-bay. I saved the quality too low so the images are not great but you get the idea. The other one is the first image of this post.



I also made a pinafore, some mop caps and bonnet sets.

Coupons, Coupons, and More Coupons

Over the last few months I have seen several people mention finding certain coupons in the magazine All You on their blogs, I kept thinking there is no way I am going to buy a magazine for a couple of coupons. Boy was I wrong!

In the check out lane a few weeks ago I noticed a copy of the magazine and decided to take a peak at it. Imagine my surprise when I found that almost every other page had a coupon on it. I noticed that few of the coupons were for free items and the cost of the magazine was $1.97 but rang up for $1.77.

At home I attacked the magazine with my scissors. All together I cut out 39 coupons; many valued at $1.00 and several for free Kraft items.

So... today while I was out I ran by the store and picked up 10 more copies. I know it may sound crazy but I like to stock up when items are on sale so having multiple coupons is a must for me!

Moral of this post... check out those magazines and watch for new sources for coupons. The Internet and newspaper are just the beginning.

My Etsy Link

I finally got a link up with some images of a few of the items I have listed on Etsy. This is something that has been on my to do list for far too long!

I have done better on e-bay in comparison to Etsy but I think it is because more people are aware of e-bay, I am here to help change that!

If you have never visited Etsy please do so. The site is full of wonderful quality made items. Sydney and I are always amazed at the many creative people out there and the beautiful reasonably priced items they create. Etsy is also a great place to find craft material including beads, patterns, lace and my favorite.... fabric.

Using Your Talents To Make Money

We all have been given talents by God and we can choose to use them or ignore them. It may take time to discover them but they are there! Now, how you use those talents is up to you. First make sure however you use them will glorify God; but can you also use it to make money? Of course you can. I choose to use my ability to sew to make money but I only sew things that I feel are modest, high quality and reasonably priced.

I started off making culottes for my daughter. It was so hard to find modest clothing for her that did not look over sized, frumpy or out of date. I personally do not think modest has to mean frumpy! Then others at church started asking me to make them pleated culottes,skirted culottes and skirts. After altering some patterns I found it is possible to have cute, fashionable modest clothes. Now I sell my clothing on e-bay along with dress up clothes, aprons and in a few months I will have a spring mother/daughter collection of skirts, jumpers and dresses. Lord willing I will also have my website done!

So, if you desire to make some money from home and are not sure how to use your talents to do so let me encourage you to pray. Pray with your husband and ask God to reveal a plan to you. I did not start off planning to make a part time income doing this but God did make the need for modest clothing known to me and then through some weird events provided the start up money and fabric I needed. I have never doubted that this is what God wants me to do.

Make sure you set out a plan and specifics in regards to your time. It is very easy to get consumed and forget about what is truly important.

Do not do anything if you do not have your husbands support and make sure what ever you choose to do that it is something you enjoy.

If you have time visit my store and let me know what you think about it.

Looking for other ideas to make money? Visit Money Saving Mom