inspiration!

Well, life has been busy, but when is it not? I have been extremely blessed to be able to stay at home with my babies for the last 9 months! I always had these feelings of being a lazy little lout, but looking over the past little while, I have to say that my negative opinion is slowly changing. I am a hard worker. Even when I am not "working" I am often doing something practical with my hands even while trying to "relax". The esteemed woman of Proverbs 31 is an ideal for me, and I try to uphold those values. My favourite line is "She looks for wool and flax, and works with her hands in delight." That part I have down pretty good! And hopefully the rest will come along.

I may not be the best cook(trying to think up original meals, and figure out new recipes makes me nervous), or the best housekeeper(in an effort to become more diligent in my house keeping responsibilities I have created an excel spread sheet. I am a spread sheet geek) but I really DO want to be better.

Butterfly Garage brings me SO much satisfaction! My favourite part is when I am not working under pressure, and creating. I REALLY love coming up with new ideas, and then generating them!

Looking at my Tupperware's heaped with wool sweaters, I decided that I had to figure out what to do; what to make them into. Through trial and error, I have started discovering which types(colors and patterns) of wool sweaters seem to work best for owls and teddy bears. And not all the wool I had was really fitting into those categories. I thought of doing throw pillow covers(still might if I figure out an original enough way to do it) but felt a little uninspired, but it got me thinking... I honestly don't know where I came up with the idea, but I thought "wouldn't it be neat if you could cover you hot water bottles with this warm cozy wool, instead of having to wrap and rewrap it in an old scratchy towel!" So I decided to use up most of my sweaters, making them into hot H2O bottle cozies! I was so inspired! This was a great chance to use up my stash AND get artistically creative! I whipped out my wool roving(thanks Larissa for the amazing birthday present!) and my felting needles and started stabbing away! Click on the etsy links on the right hand side to see the ones I have for sale!

My sisters are always on the look out for wool sweaters when they are walking their thrift store beat, and have brought me some gems. One little brown zip up hooded number in particular was SO cute I just couldn't cut it up! I felted it anyways, and thought it would be SO charming on my 2 year old daughter. To anyone who felts though, you know that doing so can throw the proportion off- so my sweater ended up a good length for the torso, but had some major monkey arm issues. After removing the zipper and adding a cute little wood button, I decided to cut the arms off into a little caped sleeve, and use the arms as leggings. Oh. My. Word. socute. I took her to the market in the outfit, and a lady grabbed my sleeve and asked where I bought her outfit! I told her I made it and she then told me I should be selling my stuff at the market! So future IDEA: keep my eye out for similar sweaters, and make them into matching sweater/leg warmer sets, and needle felt a cute little appliqués onto them!

Recently I started making flowers out of my wool sweater scraps(I have bags and bags of it that I have refused to throw out saving them for an occasion such as this). One perusal through etsy and I know its not an original idea, but my pattern is original, and I have SO much fun matching colors and buttons and they are quick and easy to make. I doubt I will sell them on etsy as it is over saturated with like product but I'm thinking of selling them at some upcoming craft sales, so as to have my product accessible at all different price points.


Speaking of which! I have applied just recently for the opportunity to sell some of my wares at an art festival! Its called Kaleido Art Festival and its put on by the Ave's Artist Association. I submitted the quite detailed application last week, and I will hear back by the end of June. Lets just say I will be a tad disappointed if I don't get chosen.

Here is what my table might look like if I get in!(Might meaning, this was thrown together last minute, but will be a 100x better if I were to get a spot!)


I'm really hoping for this opportunity as I think it will be a great learning experience. My goal is to have a booth at the Make It craft fair, in November 2011. That is the BIG leagues, so hopefully by then I will have more smaller craft shows under my belt.

My goal is to be able to make this side business my career(after the kids are in school full time) so now is the time to slowly build up my presence in my local craft community/online and learn everything I can in order to be successful! I don't ever want to go back to work doing something that doesn't creatively satisfy me. Been there, done that, got the prescription anti depressants.

SO. In order to do these craft shows/fares, I am required to extensively build my stock, Which I can say is coming along! Sometimes just looking at the sewing machine hurts my neck, but when I am able to sit down uninterrupted I can crank out quite a few items. Its nice to be able to see progress... Unfortunately my limited storage space is feeling the brunt of my industry, so I am going to have to figure out where to keep all the goods(I can only stack so many Tupperware's and boxes before the avalanche sirens go off)!

Now to make sure all items are posted on both butterflygarage.com AND etsy so stay tuned!

Guest blogging and your chance to win!!!

I had the loveliest of opportunities to guest blog for an amazing website: http://monsterbites365.com/ -bearer of all things green and crafty!

I did up a super easy and fun DIY on turning your old wool sweaters into a cuddly stuffed owl!

PLUS there is a free chance to win any one of the owls from my etsy shop, all you have to do is leave a comment and cross your fingers!

side note: this site features AMAZING giveaways every day, so keep it on your radar screen!

Tell all your friends and enjoy!!

1 WHOLE year!

Well its a new year!!!! I have officially been doing this business for a WHOLE YEAR!! I am proud to say that I did pretty good last year! I normally had one project on the go just about all year, and on average sold about one item per month. I must say it was hard trying to be 100% gung-ho about my business while dealing with a 1 year old and being huge and pregnant. But I managed quite well, and am quite proud of myself.

Over the holidays I was commissioned for 10 different items in the 2 weeks before Christmas, and had to be finished them all by Christmas! It was crazy, but I'm proud to say I budgeted my time properly(a difficult life long struggle) which was a miracle and was able to get all the items done without having to push back any deadlines! It was SO crazy, and really tiring and busy, but I did it! Lesson learned: Have ample stock prepared for next holiday season!!!

A really neat milestone was selling a couple items to a complete strangers- and not just the obligatory friends or family!

Also, for a long time I have been meaning to get a shop on etsy... I kept putting it off as I was quite intimidated by it. But 2 weeks ago I sat down at the computer and made myself do it! Within 5 days I had my first sale, which I was so excited about! I may or may not have done a little happy dance, and then took the family out for supper!

To see my shop check out:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/butterflygarage

But... I'm still having issues about the pricing... Too much, too little??? I have this constant struggle with how much to charge that stems from deeper issues of my own self worth. Just struggling to know how much I value myself, my time, my creativity and my talents is paramount in trying to figure out how much to charge per item. I have a feeling that I am not paying myself accurately for my time but I hesitate to raise prices as I don't know if my products are good enough, or I guess, if people are willing to pay what I am asking. I do a lot of research by comparing similar items and gauging how my product stands up to theirs... But it always boils down to "Is my stuff actually good enough that people want to pay me for it?".

I really struggle with it, because I can't put myself in the prospective buyers shoes... I would never spend 60$ on a diaper bag... My shopping philosophy is: "Why buy it if I can make it for cheaper?" And when I look at my items... Well... They are super cute... but I would never buy them...because I can make them.... And I cant seem to separate in myself the buyer v. diy'er. I go into baby boutiques, not with the longing to empty my pockets, but to see how many ideas I can steal...

Anyhow... now that I am extremely serious about my business, and I have a LOT more exposure through etsy (a couple of my items were featured and received a lot of hits) I'm constantly asking myself the whole "price vs worth" question.

I have raised the price of the Brimstone reversible diaper bags, I know I was charging myself to little, and had lots of friends encourage me to raise the price, so I raised it by 15$, which I think is fair considering the time spent sewing. I have also been trying to figure out how to add features to it that would help it to sell(line it with fusing to make it stiffer, adding stroller straps, ect) which are easy to do, not time consuming, and cheap... Any ideas?

I have also been thinking I should raise the price of the Teddy Bairds, but haven't yet as I am still debating... I figure if someone is going to pay 25$ for a stuffed teddy, they will probably also pay 30$??? Same goes for Judies booties..... Argh!!! I am in such a conundrum!!! Thoughts?

Aside from my business(Which I didn't realize how much I would love, and how much of a passion it has become), life is great! My babies are beautiful! Aurora is a vivacious and precocious, and has the greatest imagination. Auggie is so laid back and the perfect baby! He is even more laid back than Aurora was(I didn't think that was possible) and he hardly ever fusses or cries. In fact, he is constantly smiling, giggling and talking... Its amazing to see his personality. I feel I am in the middle of God's will... I get to be a stay at home mommy(my life long dream) AND I get to contribute financially(even if it is minuscule, every little bit helps!) by doing what I LOVE and using the talent God has given me!

Forever and ever ago....

Yes I realize that it has been forever since I blogged... I love to write but in the grand tangle of all my hobbies, writing is always the last one to be spooled back up.

First let me get the excuses out of the way. :) In my last post I talked about selling my wares online through my website Butterfly Garage! It took me(with help from the husband) approximately 2 weeks to put the website together, and I was quite proud of myself. I waited for the orders to come pouring through.... but it has been more like a slow steady trickle. I have had at least one order on the go since, with the exception of maybe a few weeks in the summer. I am grateful for these orders so thoughtfully put in by friends and family, yet I haven't had one order from a stranger yet( I do have a remedy in mind, but more on that later). And because I have had one order on the go consistently, I haven't had time to work on a whole lot of stock....

Plus... When I had the "craft = money" epiphany I had one baby and one part time job. 6 days later I was pregnant with baby #2, a few weeks after that, I had 2 part time jobs... any of you who have been pregnant, know what the first trimester is like, let alone having a 1 year old, let alone having two part time jobs!

So in conclusion, having one order always on the go, plus a 1 year old, plus pregnancy, plus 2 part time jobs, I haven't been able to make stock for Butterfly Garage....

Fast forward 11 months... Baby number 2 has arrived all chubby and cute, and I only have one part time job to contend with! Ah finally the pace has settled down a lot, yet I am left with thoughts of how I can contribute financially. I have my one part time job which is only about 5 hours a week, which I work for my previous employer from home.

In an attempt to raise our family with as much love and faith as possible, we have decided that I will not be returning to work outside the house until we feel that our children are at a stage in life where they are comfortable without my full support(maybe junior high, or high school?)

I praise God for this opportunity, as it has always been my dream to be a stay at home mom(don't scoff at my "lofty" aspirations, as I believe being a stay-at-home mom is one of the most important jobs in the world!) I am deeply grateful to my hard working husband who is working 2 full time jobs in order for this to happen. I fall more in love with his sacrificial, loyal, and committed heart every day. He is my first greatest blessing.

But still... how do I contribute? We are one of those families that don't live to keep up with the Jones's, but still like to live a comfortable life, i.e. good food, nice clothes, a practical car, and comfortable home. We obtain all these things on sale, or second hand, and therefore I feel okay with making sure we are comfortable. We don't buy the latest gadgets, or fancy cars, or go on vacations, and although it would be nice to live a higher class life, we are happy and thankful for where we are at. Plus I don't know how I could live with the moral, social implications involved with that style of living.

Andrew and I have always maintained a good work ethic, and trusted God to provide the rest... BUT I must admit, we haven't always made the wisest financial decisions, and are, as most people, in a bit of debt. Andrews salary covers our day to day living, but doesn't dig us out of the debt hole. I would love to help do that. The biggest reason, besides the obvious(living without the extra financial weight), is we have a major house repair(foundation... oh the prices we pay for not trusting God to give us the best!!!) that is only accomplishable if we are out of ALL our consumer debt. So that's my goal for wanting to contribute financially....that and I like cute second hand clothes and decorating my house.

So now that life has slowed down a bit (how slow can it actually be though, with 2 babies under 21 months and a part time job??? but I digress) I want to amp up Butterfly Garage, and get my sore butt(having a baby hurts) in gear! I am planning on updating the web site with a whole bunch of new materials and stock! I already have about 6-7 stock items, and am working on LOTS more.

Plus I am excited to further expand my selling options by opening a store on etsy. Etsy, for those of you who don't know, is an online "mall" where you can go from store to online store and shop for handmade, vintage goods and materials. Its definitely worth checking out if you need some gift ideas! I don't know how many hits the site has per day, but I am willing to bet it has more than butterflygarage.com... I will maintain butterflygarage.com, selling stock and special orders(etsy doesn't do special orders the way I would have them handled) but I will also be posting my wares on etsy.com, and hopefully between the two, I will have steady work and profit!

My newest addition to Butterfly Garage is the Teddy Baird!(all names of all products are derived from butterfly names) It is hand crafted out of 100% recycled 100% wool! My mother, acting as my creative and emotional supporter, and I went shopping for the materials, and I am SO excited with what we brought home! I have already made 7 of these bears for special orders, and I must admit I am just as excited about it as I am of Judies Booties, and the Brimstone Reversible Diaper Bag! As I make stock I will be posting them for sale, so stay tuned!

Thanks for your patience, and interest, and hopefully I can maintain this blog a little bit easier in the future!

New Year Resolution

It’s been a while. You all know what it is like over the holidays. Busy Busy Busy! I was gone for most of December to BC and Saskatchewan visiting friends and family.
Although I was gone I was able to get quite a bit of my crafting done. In fact I finished several projects that had been plaguing me for –literally- years.

The following are the pictures of some of the projects I finished since the last post.







In other news!!! My New Year resolution! I am going to be taking my crafting one step further. I am going to be selling my wares in a number of venues- online through this website, through a crafting website called Etsy, and at craft sales.

Here is a little background as to my resolution:

Some of you may know that I have a little girl… that little girl is turning one on February 2nd which also means that my mat leave and subsequently my EI, is also coming to an end. I have decided that due to the fact that daycare is ridiculously expensive, and I would have had to have been on a waiting list since before I was pregnant, and lets be honest I don’t want to leave my little girl- I wont be returning back to work full time, so I will need to make some extra cash.

Reason number two. I LOVE to craft!!!! I love it, love it, love it! I think I have come up with some pretty cool stuff, and I have had amazing response to my finished projects. A lot of people have said that I could sell some of my wares, and that was so flattering to hear and it got me thinking, “Why not?”

To sum up: I love to craft, I need to make some extra$ and I know people who would like to buy my crafts….

As of right now I am doing research, setting up the appropriate internet web pages, putting the final touches on my logo, and the most important thing- building my stock.

My stock will be made up of mainly two products. As soon as I build up enough stock in these two areas Í will expand my wares.

The first product is reversible diaper bags. One side will be for him and one side for her. It features at least 5 pockets, and is made of durable and stylish fabric. I will be looking into repurposed fabrics as well as environmentally friendly and sustainable fabrics. If you know of any place I can get good prices on this let me know. (See below for example of product)



The other product is baby/toddler boots. These boots will be leather soled. The leather will be repurposed from garments, or scraps. The color of the boots is unlimited, the closure Velcro, and can come with a leather medallion of your choice. (See below for example of product)





And to my fellow crafters- I will also be selling the patterns online for those of you who would like to make these products yourself. I just have to write them out first!

I am also going to do graphic design for all your announcements needs! (baby announcements, thank you cards, invitations, holiday greetings, music posters, CD covers, ect). What I will do for this is request a high quality digital photo and the pertinent information, I will do the graphic design based on the customers request and email back a jpeg for the client to do with what they like. Here are some examples of some work I have done. Once I have my other page up and running you will be able to view a full portfolio!









As of right now I am still researching how much I should charge. If you have any advice let me know!

If you would like to put in a special advanced order, I would be happy to accommodate you, and can make the product to your liking. Email me at butterflygarage@gmail.com with a subject line of “Butterfly Garage advance order”, and we can correspond from there!!

Eventually I am going to set up a special webpage for sales purposes, but for those of you who like to follow my crafting adventures stay tune to this blogspot, as I will never stop chronicling my experiences!

Crocheted Elephants

Our friends recently had a 2nd baby girl. I wondered what to get for little Zooey that she didn't already have(the 2nd baby inheritance rule). I decided to make something for her. So I put my crochet talent and some pink yarn to use. I made it up as I went along and I am pretty pleased with the results! Here are some pictures....







Also on a side note I will be occupying a corner of a craft table at the end of November, I will post pictures of my wares as I make them!!!

53.555868,-113.488957- Crafting Haven!

My crafting haven now has a permanent address! We had an extra room in our house that was sitting empty after we let a friend in need use the bed that was occupying it! "What to do with all this space?" was the thought that was running through my head.... I have always wanted an area that was solely dedicated to crafting and all the messiness that it entails. Andrew was also keen on the notion as it would mean that all my mess would be confined to one area... (ha ha ha) So we set about reorganizing and purging(its amazing how much stuff one can collect in attempts of recycling, scavenging... or the thought..."hmmm this will come in useful later" which, sadly, it never does) and we came up with a glorious work room! On one side is all my craft paraphernalia and on the other- in the closet is our computer desk/Andrews recording area! We took the mirrored doors of the closet and are going to make built in desk and shelves to better organize and utilize our space, but over all I am SO happy my sewing machines now have a place to call home.(previously when I wasn't using them the cats liked to sleep on them) This endeavor took way more time than I thought.... a couple days.... with a baby you can never work straight through.... but it was all worth it!!!! Here is a picture!

The box below the desk is FULL of tomatoes!
This is the MASSIVE plant I picked all the tomatoes from-
It started as an itty bitty 3 inch plant!

When I picked the plant clean I filled this box half full-

I sorted all my tomatoes so they would ripen

I cleaned my garden out and with its produce, I now have a pot of beet borscht simmering on the stove - my favorite soup of all time! Ahhh I love the fall and harvest time! More posts to come as I am determined in the next week to finish off at least a few of several projects I have going!!!

Love Love!

p.s. Unfortunately as I write this blog I am listening to nothing.... the audio isn't working for our computer...