Excitement and Uncertainties

I have to give props to my sister, Jill, for being the first to suggest that I sell my crocheted stuff. I literally just started this endeavor about a month ago, or less, and it has taken off. Within the past week some exciting things have happened.

Monday I got two very exciting emails. The first was from Anne Jansen, a friend of a friend. She has started to dive into photography and asked me if I wanted to work together. She wanted cute and adorable hats to put on their munchkins she photographs, and I am in need of some more professional pictures of my products. I mean, taking pictures of my hats on my kitchen table is fine, but it lacks so much "oomph." So, I gave her some hats and she took this amazing pics:



The second exciting email I got on Monday was from Village Kids, a consignment shop in Ada. Apparently, they found my Etsy shop online and are interested in selling my hats in their store. I WAS MAJOR FLATTERED. (I promise this is not a blog all about bragging...but just a little bragging). I meet with them next week to discuss what this would mean.

SOOOOO, here come my uncertainties. I would LOVE to have a steady place to sell my hats, but my friend, Liz, reminded me to make sure that whatever I decide that I don't make it a job and I keep crochet something I still enjoy doing. So simple, but so wise! I LOVE to crochet, and I am so flattered that anyone thinks my stuff is good enough to sell in their store, but I want to make sure that I can be a relaxed mom, a dedicated student, a supportive wife, and a crafter who enjoys what she does. I meet with them next week, so I will learn that sort of expectations they have of me and I will explain to them where I am coming from.

At this point, all of my orders are very manageable, and I LOVE the communication I have with each person I make a hat for. I love seeing pictures and hearing each person's thoughts about what I made them. I love where I am at in life and think it's great that I get to make money off of doing something I love. Now if only I could get paid to be a mom....

Go Green!

I always use my blog as an opportunity to post cute pics of Belle. Seeing as how it is March Madness and Michigan State has found themselves in the Final Four, I found it appropriate to dress Belle in one of the gifts we got from an intern that worked with Paul. I think Paul tends to be a U of M fan, but seeing as how Michigan State is in the finals and U of M isn't, I felt the outfit was more than appropriate. It seems that Belle is rooting for MSU as well based on her BIG smile!


On another note, Belle has found her tongue and can't get enough...clearly.

New Product

Infant Vest $20

So, I have been crocheting hats like a CRAZY woman, and felt the need to expand my horizon to something more. Today I crocheted a baby vest. My goodness did it turn out adorable! I am still figuring out sizing, but this one fits a 3-6 month old. Belle is a little big for it because she is such a chunker face, but it was still adorable to stretch onto her big belly. I should have taken a picture. I feel this sweater turned out pretty good and I can't wait to make a few more....and I am POSITIVE I will be adding flowers to it. How could I crochet a girly item without adding a lovely flower? :-)

On a similar note, Cricket and I seem to be booking craft shows left and right. Well, so far we are going to two of them, but it feels good that people have encouraged us to sign up based on the work they have seen of ours. We are newbies at this whole craft show thing.

A Cute Easter Decoration for a GREAT Cause

Please, please, please consider supporting this couple. Julie and Joe are an amazing couple who have a huge heap of medical bills. Joe is currently on dialysis and needing a kidney transplant, and Julie and Joe's daughter, Ellie, just had cochlear implant surgery. They are a couple who are going through more than I can even try to imagine, yet they keep their heads up and remain positive (as you can see from Julie's blog).

This is Julie's blog, as well as information on how you can help them. There is a local artist who is currently selling Easter Egg decorations for doors. $5 of each egg sold goes towards helping them pay their medical bills. Please consider buying one and helping them.

Julie and Joe Pettinga

Chopped It!

So, after all of the comments regarding my hair, I went for the cut. I secretly knew I was going to anyway. I can't stick to one thing for too long. It must be the ADD in me. I also don't think Cricket was going to really give me another option but to chop it. So, I sat down and she started by cutting off 3 inches from the back. It's a good thing that I don't ever really get too nervous about these types of haircuts. Cricket has always given me haircuts I love and I put full faith in her. It's funny, though, because we tend to look like twins when all is said and done. I posted some pics so you can see the new 'do. Ahhh, it feels so nice!

To Chop or Not To Chop

Cricket is coming over tomorrow to cut and color my hair. Let me tell you...it is WAY past time. For some reason at the lovely age of 26, I have an out out of control amount of gray hairs. This started about 3 years ago, and has become progressively worse. I was okay with a couple gray hairs here and there because I would just pull them. Well, now around the my hairline there are tons of gray hairs popping up everywhere. If I were to pull them, I think I would start a few bald spots! Either way, they are terrible and I don't know why they are so prevalent on my head! Thank goodness for a sister who does hair and can give me a great deal on my color!

My big decision is whether to cut my hair short again, or to just keep growing it out. I struggle with keeping one hair style for more than a few months. I get bored easily. Well, I have done a decent job of letting my hair grow, but now I am getting sick of it. I usually like my hair shorter because I feel I have a bit more of a "style" than long and stringy. The upside of longer hair is that I can throw it back and in a ponytail and call it a day.

Another reason I have kept my hair a bit longer is because Paul has always like longer hair. What is it with guys that they generally all like women with longer hair? Don't they understand that some of us just don't have the greatest hair to be long? Anyway, the other day he mentioned to me that he liked my hair when we were in San Francisco a couple of years ago. It was the shortest I had had it in awhile. The picture of Paul and I on the left is the 'do he is referring to.

So, we shall see what I end up doing tomorrow. I am so indecisive. Any votes?

Happenings

The Mom2Mom sale was a lot of fun and I feel it was a success. For my first time selling my hats and things at a function like that, I am happy with the outcome. I passed out a few business cards, and I hope to have a few orders through that. Cricket and I are going to look into doing a couple of craft shows. Maybe we just had to build up our confidence a bit :-)

Now that the Mom2Mom sale is done, I feel I can breath a little easier and I have some room to slow down a bit on my crocheting. I will still be keeping up with everyone's orders, but I won't have to do double time to finish up hats for the sale. I have a lot of leftover inventory waiting to be nabbed up if anyone wants a hat right now! I will post them onto my Etsy shop. Seriously, if you need a gift NOW, I got the goods!

Belle is currently doing better and better at sitting up. It is so stinking cute. She is still sort of bobble-headish, but she is getting the hang of it. AND, she ALMOST rolled over today! Haha, she made it about 3/4 of the way over and then decided she wasn't going to go for it. Her big issue is getting her arm under her. She just can't quite put the whole concept together.

On another note, the weather is making me crabby. Michigan is such a tease. Paul and I are looking into taking a trip to Vegas. We have never been and we need a couples weekend away to somewhere warmer than this icebox.

Mom2Mom Sale

My sister and I are working hard at preparing items for the Mom2Mom sale at Cornerstone Church. We are extremely excited and my fingers are about to fall off from all of the crocheting that I have been doing! I hope that it is a success and I hope that those who can't make it check out my etsy shop at http://www.thedaintydaisy.etsy.com/. My etsy shop is rather new, so I appreciate any traffic and sales to get my started!

Check out my sister's blog to see what items she is selling. Cricket has made tons of burp cloths, hooded towels, pacifier clips, and has some gift sets. They are SOOO adorable! I am hoping that as her sister I get a discount! Go to The Potvin Family.

Below are pics of many of the items I have made. I am currently working on getting more boy hats, but it's so hard. Girly hats with big flowers are just way too cute!

I am linked up here:

6 Months Old and Healthy

I can hardly believe that Belle has been around this world for half a year! It really feels like I gave birth AGES ago. It's amazing how much life can change within 6 months. I barely remember life pre-Belle.

In general these past 6 months have been the most sleepless months of my life, but the most rewarding as well. Eventually she will start sleeping through the ENTIRE night, right? I am all about tough love, but when the girl goes to bed at 6, I don't blame her for being hungry at 4am. Heck, I go to bed at midnight and I'm hungry when she gets up to eat.

Belle's 6 month check-up went great, aside from those terrible vaccinations. Poor thing had to have 4 shots this time! Seriously, there has got to be a better way to vaccinate our little peanuts without stabbing them in the legs!

Belle's stats are: 18.6lbs (90th percentile), 26 inches (75 percentile), and her massive head was at 17.5 inches (93rd percentile). She is growing like crazy and eats like a cow. She still refuses to roll over, but we are working on her sitting up. I will post 6 month pictures once I get the rest of her "outfit" in the mail. You should look forward to them because the are going to be ADORABLE.

"Spring"ing Forward

I am very much over this Michigan weather. This past week was a gorgeous week, and it was definitely a tease for Spring. Belle is sick with RSV yet again. Poor thing was totally born into the wrong time of year and has had a rough time staying healthy this winter. I'm praying that all of her sickness means she will be a very healthy child later in life :-) Wishful thinking?


So, of all the things of Spring and Summer, here is what I look forward to most:

Walking with Belle HERE, because it is SO conveniently located in my back yard:-)

Swimming all summer in this at my sister's house:

Celebrating my 27th birthday, although there really isn't anything cool or exciting about 27, except that it sounds A LOT closer to 30 than 26.

Staying in one of these for a week:



AND taking pics of Belle's cute little bootsy in her bikini looking like this:

Three Years Sober

I feel I need to give mention to a big milestone in the life of my family. I should have posted this 4 or 5 days ago (to hit the anniversary on the right day), but either way I am posting it now.

I am thankful for the sobriety of my brother. My brother is officially a recovering alcoholic for 3 years. He doesn't make a big deal of this, but it is definitely something I have thought about lately.

Over three years ago I had a brother that I didn't know if he would live to see his daughter grow up. I didn't know if his wife would ever feel she would see relief from the prison she lived in, and I was unsure if his daughter would have a father who would come to her recitals, play games with her, or take an interest in her life.

My brother might drive me crazy on different days, but I wholeheartedly respect him for his strength and his courage to become sober. His journey to sobriety was hard and was not absent of legalities, but nonetheless, Steve has made it...and he is continuing to make it in his sobriety.

My brother's alcoholism penetrated each part of our family in different ways. From my own personal experience, I remember a brother who moved home my senior year of high school because he had his license revoked for drunk driving. There are parts of that year I would like to forget, but I know that God was working. I was angry at Steve and felt that he stepped into a part of my life and took something from me. Addiction is a terrible disease. It steals the person you love and makes them a monster. It steals the family you know and makes it obsessed. It steals your thoughts and it makes everyone angry.

I love Steve for fighting his addiction everyday. I love him for making his life worth living, and in turn making the rest of our lives worth living. Three years sober means three years of healing that our family has done. God has been good to us. Our burden has become our strength, and in many ways I believe that no one in my family would change our story.

I don't mean for this post to be so intense and deep, but it is something that I have been thinking about lately and wanted to give a few props to my brother and my family (especially Stacy). God has brought us through this journey and we are walking together closer than ever.

Crochet Sites

I have had a few people message me and ask me where I get my patterns. I have made up a few of my own patterns, but have yet to write them out and put them out there for the world to see. Maybe I will get to this eventually.

Anyway, my two most favorite sites for patterns are:

Crochet Pattern Central and Ravelry

I have just been introduced to ravelry, but I was ecstatic when I found it! It has hundred and hundreds of patterns. Some of them are free, and others you can purchase. In general, it is patterns that are out there that other people have created and they are willing to share them with everyone else. For this, I am VERY grateful.

It's funny, because somehow my blog has turned into a crochet blog, although I still want to keep this blog true to sharing the life of my family. I created this blog to share what is happening with out family, but in many ways it has become a journal of our lives that I can look back on. Someday, I hope to be able to go back and show my kids all of the posts I wrote about them and what was happening in our lives at the time. In the midst of the family posts, they will be able to see how much their mom loves to crochet :-)

Etsy Shop

Okay, I have JUST started my Etsy shop. I only have 3 listings, but it's a start for now until I can focus more energy into it. Please pass along the link to anyone who is interested in buying a hat. I am very open to suggestions to make the site better. At the moment we are in the infancy stage.

The Dainty Daisy

More Mega Flower Beanie and a Mega Fat Baby

For some reason I LOVE taking pictures of Belle in the bath tub. There is just something about all of her rolls hanging out that just cracks me up. There is no other time in one's life where you can just hang out and let all your chub hang out and people refer to it as "cute," so I figured I better document this time in her life! At the moment Belle is STILL not rolling over, but she is just starting to sit up. She can only keep her balance while sitting in the Boppy pillow and her massive muffin top helps stop her from face planting into the floor!

Okay, so I not only love taking pics of Belle in the tub, but I LOVE taking pics of her modeling my newest creations. I think she models them well (if I do say so myself). It's hard to put these hats up for sale because I want to keep them all for her, although she will most likely outgrow them in a week. Either way, she is the perfect model for my hats!

To Etsy or Not To Etsy

I am thinking of starting an Etsy store. Actually, let me clarify....I HAVE an Etsy store, but I have never listed a single item. This is due to multiple reasons:

1. I have no clue how to list an item
2. I don't think I have enough inventory to list
3. I don't know how to let customers know that I can customize what they want....let alone make a customized listing
4. I am scared of becoming overwhelmed by too many orders (I realize this may sound presumptuous, but it is not intended to be)

If anyone out there reading this knows how to assist me in going about this I would appreciate the feedback. I believe I have a talent that I can actually use to make a little money while I stay at home with my little one. Not to mention, that I have informed Paul that I am saving all of my profits to buy new counter tops for our house. If you saw our counter tops you would completely understand. Why would anyone make OR buy a lavenderish grayish countertop? Yucky.

Anyone have thoughts on my Etsy endeavor and how I can go about beginning this without being so intimidated?