Let the projects begin!

So I started my new part time job at Joann's this week.

And I resisted.  I have not bought any new yarn...  or many of the other things I now want...  yet...

But as I am working I am looking at all of the things around me and thinking to myself, "I can make that...  oh I could definitely use that!...  I think I need that...  I could use that for ____..."

It has inspired me to get cracking on the projects I have on my mental list, because I vowed not to start anything before I finish those.  Period.  Some I have been looking forward to making (like my first batch of cold process soap) but haven't set aside time to do it, others I have been nervous about trying (like the quilt I have stripped out but haven't started sewing together) but now am ready to give it a go! 

So being a cold and yucky weekend (it actually snowed here in MD this morning), let the projects begin!

Yes that's right. You can find Essentially Melanie in a store!

That's right folks.  You can now find all natural products from Essentially Melanie in a store.

My table at Bowman's Home and Garden

This feels pretty awesome.  I know it won't make me a millionaire, but it is a wonderful start!  They want to sell my afghans in the fall, so I am excited to learn lots of new, original blanket patterns and have them ready.

  Better get to work. 

Happy Dance!

This.  Is.  ME.

 

I just checked the tracking number on the package I am expecting to arrive any day now with my lip balm safety seals and my soap supplies.  Yes Canada.  I have an uncanny ability to order things from other countries that take forever to get here (just ask my husband about the tub seat I ordered for my son that was from Jerusalem~ it took WEEKS to get here, and arrived in a beat up box covered in a trash bag!  LOL!).

 But today is the day says the UPS site!  I may just do this dance when the UPS person stops by...Then my package being delivered will make both of our days.

Don't you just love the UPS guy?!?!?

It's like Christmas morning!

Don't get me wrong, I do love shopping.  After all, I am a girl.  But there is just something about getting a package delivered to your doorstep that you have been waiting on with anticipation!  It's one of the reasons I love Amazon.  It is also one of the reasons I love my monthly packages from Young Living's Essential Rewards program. Getting a package is just glorious...

You just jumped in with both feet... now what?

I am so new to all of this, that sometimes the amount of learning I have to do is overwhelming.  Especially when you have to run your house, take care of all your kids, and actually research, make, package, and sell your products while doing it. 

You know the feeling, you just jumped in with both feet, and now you had better figure out how to do it!
Learning about SEOs, boosting your site and page, how to optimize hashtags and label and keywords, trying to use both graphics online and then learning you need a completely different way for print material (God bless my friend Leigh for coming to my graphic design rescue this week!), how to word the titles on your products to get the most views, what time should you post your blog, how you should pitch your business to others effectively, etc.

WHEW! 

But learning new things is also something I thoroughly enjoy, too.  I like new.  I like change.  I like different.  I like finding out how to do things I've never done before.  And when I feel particularly challenged, I've found some awesome people out there that though they gain nothing by it, are willing to help you when you ask. 

Don't be afraid to try something new and jump in with both feet.  Do a little learning yourself.  You never know what you will fall in love with or be totally amazing at if you don't give it go!

A no go...

Another day of trial and error, as we discover more recipes that we don't like.  Yes my whole family is getting involved in this one, as we are trying and perfecting a new shop idea to make the perfect "Melanie's Mash and Mush Soap."  We are still working on it to get it just right, and as you can see we are having a lot of fun working with it!

It is so awesome that my kids love getting involved in my business.  They get excited to help, and it is really helpful for me to get their point of view for some of the products I am making that are geared toward kids.  Working together on these projects is just another bonus to being your own boss, working your own hours, and being able to work out of home!

Grand Re-Opening!!

So after much internal debate, I decided to redo and re-open my Etsy Shop!  I like that Scott's Marketplace is new and small and ONLY for handcrafted items, but Etsy just has so much more feedback and features since it's been around for a while and has such a big online presence.  So now I decided to  have a store in both!

I am all fired up and have worked tirelessly to get it up and running (ok, that's a lie, I AM tired) over the weekend.  It was worth the work; I am really happy with how it turned out.  "If you build it they will come..."(did that date me?) 

Check out what I've got goin' on!  

www.etsy.com/shop/essentiallymelanie

My first store presence!

Oh.  My.  Word.

Maybe a small step, but a step that made me infinitely happy. 

I have my first store presence!  I am an excited consignment vendor at a local store, Bowman's!  I am going to have a few items for sale in their store, possibly more in the future (we even talked about crochet items, too). 
Now I do realize that I won't make a living from selling my lip balms and soaps at Bowman's.  But it is a first step, something that has given me confidence to approach other locally owned shops in my area, confidence in my product (she tried my lip balm and loved it), and confidence in myself. 

Ok, time to get to work!

Example of my lip balm display

The day feels full of promise...

Don't you just love days like these?

I woke up at 4:45am, just like usual. 

But it doesn't feel like a usual day.  I like it.  The sun is shining, it's going to be 75 degrees, and the day feels full of promise.  Perfection.

Some days when I have a million and one things to do and my head is so full of to do lists that it feels overwhelming and I have to remember to breathe and take time to not just do mom things but to be a mom.  But not today.  Even though I have so much I want to accomplish and I am sure I will still go to bed late tonight with things left undone I am excited for the day.  And excited for all my new projects!

And I have big plans to push my little boy on the swing, too.

How about you?