Just Makin' It

In early December 2013 there was a Book Fair at the kids' elementary school. There was also a craft fair attached to the event, and I had the crazy idea to sell my wares at it. I wasn't quite sure what my wares were....but I got sewing and crafting and had an eclectic grouping of handmade goods to sell come time.

Because I had a mix of items, I wasn't sure what to call my new little "business." I had the thought that if things sold well, I would consider doing more craft fairs throughout the year and might even open an etsy shop. I wanted to start off with a clever name and finally came up with "Just Makin' It." The tag line: "Crafts Made During Those Rare Quiet Mom Moments." It was supposed to be a sort of play on words for the handmade nature of the goods and the feeling that many a harried mother has of "just makin' it" through the day. It also gave me the freedom to have a variety of crafty things to sell. I don't know if people got it--or even paid much attention to it at the fair--but I was pleased with it.

I worked hard during spare moments for several weeks, cutting, sewing, stuffing, gluing, and more. I was so anxious on the day of that I had trouble sleeping and got up early to attach my price tags. Damon found me in my bathrobe at the kitchen table with a hole punch and some string.

My products included hair clips, kids' aprons, stuffed animals, headband hangers, and a significant stock of leftovers from Damon's mother's dancewear business that she gave me to sell.

The stuffed animals, which my kids had dubbed "Fleecy Friends," were definitely the best sellers. I had bluebirds, elephants, penguins, whales, and frogs. I'm not sure which one was my favorite. I designed all of them (with some template-searching help on Google) and am proud of how they turned out.

The hair clips had pretty stiff competition and I only sold a couple of those, and the headband hangers were a complete bust. I'm not sure people understood and caught the vision of their purpose, even though I had a display. (Personally, I think they're brilliant and ours has totally saved us from a mess of headbands in a drawer or on the floor in our bathroom.)

I sold a few aprons, a couple of the Watercolour skirts, and many of the Watercolour scarves/ties. What I didn't sell became a great stash for birthday gifts throughout the last year as my kiddos got invited to parties, so none of my work was for naught.

It was a fun experience and I'm glad I did it. My enthusiasm and motivation did wane after the event. Truthfully, it was difficult to find other venues for selling; I did dedicate some time after the holidays to searching for other craft fairs. I wasn't really ready to launch an etsy shop. From here, if I press on with any of this, it will probably be in the Fleecy Friends department. They were fun to design and popular with the customers (and the birthday gift recipients). Hmmm...just writing this post is giving me a little itch to get out the fleece....

SLO Children's Museum

On November 30, 2013, two days after Thanksgiving, we visited the Children's Museum in San Luis Obispo with Uncle Jotham, Aunt Dana, cousins Cassie, Braden, and Kara, and Grandma and Grandpa. We were quite a crew, and gratefully the small museum wasn't too crowded. We had great fun exploring the many hands-on exhibits.

We tried to build earthquake-proof structures . . .

and played with magnets . . .

and "spinny discs."

Grandpa was served lunch at the Cosmic Cafe by chefs Gunnar and Holly.

There were firefighters...

Cassie, Gunnar, Braden, and Holly

...and crime fighters.

In all, it was lots of fun for all the kids--big and small.

Back in the Saddle

I've had a few encounters recently that have encouraged me to return to blogging. I was moving along pretty consistently in the spring and then got derailed by some Picasa/Blogger photo uploading issues. It just got harder to blog. (Why do they have to change things that are working?) Then life kept humming right along while blogs--mine and my friends--continued to fall by the wayside. Who's blogging anymore?

Turns out, a few people are. And I enjoy reading their blogs. Julia, Liz, Maren, Marisa: Way to keep at it!

Who was reading my blog? I wasn't sure. But then a chance mis-text reconnected me with a friend to whom I hadn't talked in years! She said that she liked to follow my blog. Really? A reader? I thought maybe I should get back at it, even if it was just for an audience of one. (Thank you, Heather.)

Finally, during a schoolyard chat with yet another friend, I was reminded of one of the real reasons I ever started blogging in the first place: it's a record of my family's life. Simple as that. Whether anyone else is doing theirs or reading mine, this blog is where--for now--I've chosen to record what happens. It's my history. It's my family's history. That's worth the effort.

So, now that the Thanksgiving holiday is only a few days away, I've got some serious history to catch up on. The last post I published was from Thanksgiving 2013. I've got a whole year to record, and I'm going to do it. It'll take awhile, but I can do it.