I have added new hats to the site in both the boy and girl hat categories.
Keep in mind I am always happy to do custom orders. For example if there is a hat on the site and you wish it had a flower on it….just pop me an email and we will discuss it.
Happy Holidays to you all!

People often ask...

People often ask, "how can you get all that sewing done with 2 kids." My normal answer is "it's all about time management" or "naps". But here is the truth....sometimes this is what has to happen.

Shows

I have had a wonderful whirlwind of shows. I only sold bibs and burp cloths at the shows and I couldn’t keep the burp cloths in stock. I sold so many and I cannot tell you how thrilled I am about it. It’s an easy sell…new moms and moms of 2nd and 3rd and more all need them…babies spit up. And my burp cloths are much more fashionable than the typical white pre-fold cloth diaper. The bibs sold too but not as many. Though I had my sales speech down for the burp cloths cause typically people would look at them and not know what they were right away. Once I told them and said a few tag phrases they were hooked. All of a sudden you could see the wheels in their heads turning …”who do I know that’s pregnant?”. Everything I make is used on my kids first. And the newest addition to our family has reflux and he has put the burp cloths through the utmost tests. So if they work for the reflux baby who throws up everything in large quantities they will work for the little spew most babies exude.

lack of time

Ah 2 glasses of wine down and I am beginning to feel tired. Oh how I remember the days of staying up to watch the sun come up in a drunken’ haze. Now hubby and I can barely pass 11 pm without worrying about the lack of sleep we will have the next day.
Anyways….with the lack of sleep my toddler has decided that he no longer needs naps..He’s only 2 for God’s sake! Don’t they nap in pre-school?!?!? Well I refuse to be apart of this madness so I still send him to his room for 2 hours every day in hopes that he will actually sleep but if he doesn’t I tell him he can read his books. Something quiet. Now the naps are totally on baby Zane’s Q’s…he starts rubbing his eyes we all head up stairs to get ready for naptime…whatever time that may be. The key for me to be able to actually get any sewing done during naps is to get Baby Zane down and asleep and Logan can sleep/read /whatever for 2 hours in his room. So far I think I am on track for my shows in November. I am concentrating on bibs and burps cloths. I want to get a print made of Zane on the burp cloth…I’ll post a picture here

So I want to get this pix blown up to about 20x30 so it catches people’s eyes when they walk by hoping that it will draw them in.
Let’s hope my theory will work.

dumb people

I find it pretty funny that I posted last night about hating SPAM on my blob and then I wake up this morning and someone has already commented on my blog with spam.
So maybe I need to be more clear....

If you post a comment with a link and you are NOT a craft person...it's getting deleted.

It's that simple...I'm not going to be a billboard for every Tom, Dick and Harry's website.

back to my coffee....

SPAM SUCKS!!!

SPAM SUCKS!!! So if you ever click on the comments on my blog and you see that it has been removed by me that is because it’s a SPAM. Which totally sucks! I mean come on…don’t you people have anything better to do with your time? And it’s not like my Blog is updated all that frequently…I don’t know if anyone ever reads this thing. Yet I will continue to write.
My daily TO-DO list is so long it amazes me when I’m able to cross off even 3 things. With 2 kids I never thought it would be this hard. But when people say being a SAHM is the hardest job, they aren’t lying. With being a SAHM you then feel like you should be the one who does everything that involves the house…grocery shopping, laundry, daily cleaning, writing the thank you notes for gifts, organizing play dates for your kids so they can interact with other kids and you can actually talk to someone older than the age of 2. The stuff I never knew I would have to do….the list is forever growing…and we haven’t even touched on the fact that I own my own biz and making the products I sell. Hubby and I are talking about moving back east. I’m anxious to move closer to my family but mourn the loss of the wonderful women I have met during the stages of motherhood out here on the left coast. Of course I will always remain friends with them but once we move it will be different….for one I won’t see them every week. But on the other hand I truly miss the friends we left behind on the east coast. And I worry that those relationships will never be the same since we have had kids. I mean I can’t meet up with a girlfriend at DoJo’s for steamed veggies over brown rice with carrot dressing and a cocktail in the middle of the day. Well I could but it wouldn’t be as much fun. Kids in tow at a restaurant is not the relaxing environment it once was. But yet…if it weren’t for the kids my business wouldn’t be what it is today. I started this business before having kids and once I found out I was pregnant with Logan I dove into Aunt Art head first thinking this will be perfect way to make money while staying at home. So in a way if it wasn’t for them (the kiddos) I wouldn’t have had the courage to put this company in the driver’s seat….it would have always remained this “little thing I do on the side”. Count your blessings where you have them I guess, right?

Where is the time going???

I spend so much time with my ass attached to this computer chair. I have been researching online boutiques that I can submit my burp cloths and bibs to. The list grows every time I look away. I am still tweaking my site but all in all I am pleased with how it is turning out. I’ve made so many bibs in the past week. Poor baby Zane is tired of smiling for the camera. I keep telling him that this will pay for his college education but he isn’t buying it. On the home front we’ve been dealing with Zane’s reflux issues and have decided to switch to soy formula since he is able to keep it down. I think if this was my first kid I would try harder breastfeeding but you can just see how much pain the poor babe is in and it breaks your heart. Now that he is on the soy he’s a happy camper.
My first craft show is the first weekend in November and I am so stoked about it. I need to find another table to have for my display. Hopefully I’ll be able to find one like the one I already have that folds in half and is super portable. If you have a recommendation email me! I just bought these awesome display holders for my bibs from Hold Everything. They were dirt-cheap and they honestly look fantastic! I read an online article that said the selling market at a show is from the head to the waist…that is the “window” on a person’s body for selling. So all of my tables are hitting at my waist and the new bib holders stand on top of that and actually are taller than me and I’m 5’3”. Now for my burp cloth display I am thinking about talking a picture of Zane on someone’s shoulder using the burp cloth and having it blown up to a extremely large print on that sturdy poster board material and having that on an easel on top of the table and then having the burp cloths also on the table. So much thought has to be put into this so that the environment is attractive for buyers and also it has to be portable in my Chevy cavalier. And did I mention I have to set up and take down the whole thing too. Hubby will have kid duty whenever I have shows. J Lucky him! Ideally, now that I am done being a baby factory, I would like to do the summer markets here in Seattle next year. I love the environments of summer markets. I use to do them in NYC with a good friend of mine, Nikki. Looking back on those days I can hardly believe we made it work. I traveled from Brooklyn on the subway to the upper east side of Manhattan with this backpacking type backpack on and carrying a folding clothing rack…. Nikki had a shorter distance to travel so she was in charge of the table. Together we would sit and sell our hats and scarves in all kinds of weather. The other sellers we met there will always remain in fondness in my mind…the sense of community amongst the sellers was amazing. I am hoping to experience it again this summer in Seattle.

Here we go...

Good Lord I am a slacker on this blog. So revamped my site and I am continuing to work on it. Trying to get more bibs made for my shows coming up in November. I need to make up a flier for the holiday shopping party I am hosting. I’d like to really get the word out. Jessica suggested handing out fliers at a market of some kind. And it’s a great idea. I’m going to try and hit the federal way farmers market if it’s still going on. And then every church in Des Moines. Along with the senior centers, masons etc. Also the local coffee shops to see if they have a board to post on.
Today marks day 1 of my Body for Life Challenge. My friend Jessica and I are doing it together so here I am eating a spinach salad with chicken and almonds and a little fat free cheese. I’m really excited about starting a new fitness routine and loosing this baby weight once and for all. Cause I am done making babies! 2 is plenty! I have no idea where I am going to fit in a workout everyday with everything else I have to do but we shall see. I’m going to really try but I’m not going to beat myself up if I miss a day or 2. I feel like as long as I continue with the eating healthy I’m taking steps in the right direction.
Here we go….

Total revamp of website

Hi everyone!
Well I decided to revamp my website and I am so pleased with how it is turning out.
Take a peek.
http://www.auntart.com
New features have been added. Hats are now made to order in size newborn to size 4T. So now you can order multiples of the same style hat.
Don't forget while you are there to make out a wish list for the holidays!
Stay tuned...many more changes are on the way.

SALE

Ok I just put a ton of stuff on sale. Cleaning the store. 6 pages of clearance...wowsers!!!

Cleaning

I think I am going to really clean up my store and offer only OOAK (One of a kind) stuff on ebay and everything in my store will be order your size type of thing. Like most stores. I know I am going to do this with the hats and bibs and burp cloths. Anyway I just feel like it needs to be cleaned up. There are items that have been sitting in my store forever and I feel like my sewing talents are on a totally different level now. I feel like I am so beyond most of that stuff.
Or maybe I am just tired of looking at it.

Whirlwind

I haven’t had the time to really devote to posting to the blog since we have had a whirlwind of visitors. Haven’t been sewing much either. Thank goodness for crochet! I can always make hats while people oooh and aaaahhh over the new baby. My latest visitor is my 7-year-old niece who I have taught to knit. She has quite a knack for it..must be in the genes.
I’ve been researching the difference of wholesale and consignment and how to go about getting your things into stores. So much work has to be done. I guess owning your own biz and being a craftsperson is never “easy” work.
Tomorrow my new camera arrives. I am so excited about taking better pictures. Hubby and I have deiced to switch my sewing room and our bedroom so that I we can have the bigger space as the workspace. That way he can have his workspace there also (he’s a writer) and I can have my sewing table and also I’ll be able to create a place to take pictures of the kids indoors. Since the rainy season is about to begin this is really going to come in handy. A fellow ebayer told me how to create a great backdrop and I really admire her pictures. I haven’t tried it yet but she has told me to buy 6 yards of white vinyl and a piece of Plexiglas. Basically have the vinyl attached to the wall and run onto the floor and then place the Plexiglas on top of the vinyl so that the kid stands on that. Once the lighting has been put into place the kid will look as if he is standing on a really shiny surface.
Pretty cool.

Schedule

Oh I need to get these kids on the same schedule. Currently most of my work time is during naptime. And today the kids are napping at different times. I need to figure out what I can do creatively work wise when these types of situations arise. For example right now Logan is asleep and Zane is refusing to shut his lids. He is sitting in his little infant-to-toddler rocker and I am rocking him with my foot while I type this. My FIL was very impressed with this multi-tasking skill that I have acquired. So I ask myself what can I be doing work wise instead of putzing on the Internet? There has to be something I can do sitting down and rocking with my foot….I thought maybe cutting fabric. But that involves bringing all the supplies downstairs…and then it’s turned into a production…with the cutting board, fabric, pattern, scissors and pins. Research stores and blog is all I have come up with. But I believe deep in my soul that there must be more.
I used the Paypal shipping feature today for the first time. Yesterday when at the Post Office Logan decided to throw a total temper tantrum. And of course it’s on the day that everyone and their brother is at this po-dunk PO….normally it is dead in that joint. And it wasn’t even about anything….just proving that he is indeed turning 2 in a few days.
Earlier today I attempted to make my very first long sleeved collared shirt. It’s still in the making but so far it’s looking pretty cute. The first ones of anything are always for Logan so I will take pixs and post them here so you can see my latest creation.
The 2 sets I have up on ebay right now have been sitting without any hits and only 2 watchers. I hate that feature on ebay. It’s torture really. 2 people are watching…are they going to bid…is the set going to sell…..torture I tell you, torture. Don’t tell me who’s watching…leave it as a mystery. I become too obsessed with watching the freakin’ ebay page myself. Plus when I’m on ebay and looking at stuff I add things to watch and then totally forget about them sometimes…other times I watch something and decide to bid once I know it’s exactly what I want. Which are these people who are watching my auctions?? I hope the ladder. Maybe they just haven’t made up their minds yet.
Let’s hope.
Well I hear my little prince calling from upstairs, “Hello, mommy! All done Night-night! Mommy! All done night night!”

Balance

As I sit here typing this I am balancing a newborn babe on my lap. I’m starting to get use to the multi-tasking that I have to do now a days in order to be productive. I’m waiting for Logan to actually take a nap; I can still hear him up there in his room rummaging through his toys. Then oh sweet heaven…I can sit at my sewing machine and CREATE!!!
We’ve had such a flurry of guests recently…which I loved having all that help but I have missed my precious Viking.
The thing I hate about taking such a long break (a month) is when I get back to work I feel so overwhelmed. I spend so much time just looking at my fabric trying to decide what the first set will be. I tend to feel pressure that the set I make has to be outstanding. This is my own weird issue…no one has sparked it in me…..just the way I am I guess.
My husband is reading this how-to book on freelance writing and I wish someone would write a how-to book about contacting stores to sell your wares. Like a wedding etiquette book….the dos and don’ts of contacting a storeowner. Ex: never call 10 minutes before the store closes. Who knows maybe someone has already written this book. And I guess I could just post my questions on the discussion boards I frequent. Ah well…just a thought.
So…I began to write this and then went upstairs to find Logan and babe were both down for the count so I started sewing. I’m working on a set to put on ebay. I feel that I should balance ebay and my website to maintain the best exposure.
Off to sew some more…..

He has arrived!

So 14 days past my due date I was induced at UW. 12 hours later Zane Jack arrived…just shy of the 4th of July. He weighed in at 9 pounds 11 ounces and 22 inches long. I was able to endure another pain med free birth…which was really important to me even though I was in the hospital. Originally the plan was to have a home birth. Ah, Zane had other things in mind. I won’t bore you with all the details….I could ooh- and ahhh about Zane for days. He’s an amazing little guy and so different from his big bro. My best friend Jessica asked me once if I believed that baby’s are born with their personalities in tact. I’m still on the fence about it. But it is quite amazing to see such a difference in 2 kids that come from the same gene pool.
I haven’t quite decided when I’ll be back in the swing of things of producing clothes. I’m still napping a lot during the day and all in all really tired. But then again it’s only been 10 days since I gave birth. I have to keep reminding myself that I am entitled to taking a break right now. It’s so hard for me to take it easy…I go a little stir crazy…not to mention I get BORED of just sitting around. Right now I’m thinking the 6-week mark. Seems like so much happens at the 6-week mark….
The bleeding stops….you can have sex….you can start a fitness program/get back in the gym….and why not add another…I’ll be back at the sewing machine at nap time.
Though I highly doubt I’ll be able to sit still that long. Like I said it’s been 10 days and I’m already looking at my stack of fall fabrics and thinking …hmmmmm…..what will this become?
3 days after Zane arrived I already had him modeling. Here are pictures of my new burp cloths and my new baby.

Still waiting....

Just so you know I've been on a little hiatus because I am still waiting for this baby to arrive. I am 11 days past my due date....and hating being pregnant. I can't sit at my sewing table any longer so I've been stocking up on crochet hats. At least I can do SOMETHING!
Hopefully this weekend I'll have an annoucement to make.

new stuff

Well it worked. I got some great shots of Logan in both of my new sets and launched them on ebay. Thanks to the hubby…it’s defiantly a 2 person operation. That kid is getting fast. Here are some pixs….

had a bit of a scare today for some reason my site was down for a few hours. Still don’t know why it happened but of course it begins a panic…what if I lost everything?!?!?! Every pix …every description!!!
Thankfully it all worked out.

Sneak Peak

Here's a sneak peak at my rockstar set I just finished. I'm hoping to get a pix of Logan in it this weekend while I have the assistance of the hubby to wrangle him in front of the camera.

I've made up my mind

Well after much thought and research I am going to focus on boys clothes. It just makes more sense…considering I am soon to have 2 boys myself. Plus I believe that my ideas of what little boys should look like will be something that many other moms will enjoy too. I even made my first button up shirt yesterday. It will be Logan’s since there are a few minor flaws….but that’s how you learn. I was pretty impressed with myself…considering I am a self-taught sewer. I even impressed the hubby with my skills.
I will still make girls clothes too…don’t worry about that. But all in all you will see more boys clothes is all. Nothing else will change…the name will still be the same…the site will look the same. Some may never even notice. We shall see.
Right now I am researching labels for clothes. I have about 10 left of the tags I have been using. I don’t like them so I want something completely different. Also I’d like them to do double duty as tags for clothes and tags that I can put on the burp cloths. So they can’t be too huge or too obvious. I’m throwing around the idea of either having just “AUNT ART” on the label or “auntART.com” Can’t decide.
Joann’s’ had a huge sale on notions so I stocked up on needles and snap tape and snaps. These things I can always use and they don’t take much room to store them.Trying to get as many burp cloths made as possible before little man arrives. After he arrives I’d like to market to some of the boutiques in Seattle. I started doing a pack of them for the alternative mom…they are pretty cool if I must say so myself. Even the dad won’t be embarrassed to have the burp cloth on his shoulder.

The wheels in my head are turnin'

“What is special about your product (what are the unique features and benefits of your product) that no one else is offering?”
I found this great quote on a discussion board I frequent (www.switchboards.com). And it has started the wheels in my head turnin’. The conversation was about finding your target audience…which I was just reading about the other day in an entrepreneur magazine. I’d say my target audience is moms. But even that is too general. Since finding out that the bebe in the belly is another boy I’ve been throwing the idea around of specializing in boys clothing. Though I will say I’m hesitant because it seems as though moms with little girls are always more than willing to spend $ on their precious to look adorable. Why aren’t the moms of boys? Or are they and I’m totally missing them? I know from my own experience I tire of looking at navy blue and gray over and over again in every store or the little boys department. And when I stumble across a boy’s boutique line typically it’s either so close to being girly that I just can’t bare to put my son in it or it’s plain boring. I mean I want cute clothes for my kids. Even if I do have boys. I don’t think boys should only wear sweat pants and jeans…there are more options. And these statements are coming from the mom of a kid who loves mud puddles and getting dirty.
As you can tell I’ve been thinking about this a lot.
It’s one of those things that if I do specialize in boys clothes I want to go whole hog. I’ll always have girls clothes too though I would imagine because otherwise I know a few customers who would be upset. And they know where I live…haaahaaa. So here I am again….what is special about my product that no one else is offering?

Trial and Error

Well the show didn’t go as well as we would have liked. But as I told the other venders when you’re hosting it yourself it’s trial and error to discover when a good time to have it is and what you need to do to get the word out. The next show Corie and I do will be around the holidays at my house. I’m making sure to keep notes of ideas so that we remember to set them up beforehand.
The burp cloths though were a hit among the few who came to the event. Another vender who makes and sells gift baskets mentioned that she saw burp cloths at the latest Gift Show and that my prices were better than anything she saw there.…so that’s promising.
Went to the midwives yesterday and they said after this week I can have this baby at any time. I will then be considered full term. Fingers crossed he decides to come early. I am beyond ready. They even gave me an herb to take to speed things up…hey whatever does the trick I am all for.
So during this slow period which always happens for my business this time of year. I am trying to remain positive, which is always hard when you are self-employed. These are the moments when you discover if being an entrepreneur is for you…the down periods. Anyone can be an entrepreneur when the sales are high. But the slow period is when you separate the hobbyist from the businesses, in my opinion. After saying all that…to occupy my time and thoughts I am preparing for the fall. The fall and into winter are when my sales are typically high. People are buying gifts for the holidays. I already have a weekend show in November set up, plus Corie and I will host another show and I’d like to add more venues. By that point I’ll be able to hand the kiddos off to the hubby and take off for the day.
Speaking of kiddos….I hear my angel awaking. Till next time.

The bad Blogger

As my husband pointed out last night…I am a bad blogger. I promise to try and be better. But with my “free time” …the phrase makes me laugh. I can’t remember the last time I had free time. What on earth would I do if I didn’t have a gazillion balls up in the air at one time?
I started making burp cloths last night. I made some when I was preggo with my son and he is 21 months now and we’re still using them. Though now they are getting used as washcloths after he eats and has food all over himself. So I thought I should make some and try and sell them. They are really turning out nice. A lot fancier than the original ones I made for my son, Logan.
The countdown has begun on the arrival of baby #2. I am trying to get my website looking fresher before his arrival. I don’t know why I put this pressure on myself to have it done before baby arrives but hey that’s how it gets done I guess. So I have taken all of my inventory and re-taken pictures of everything in the same format. So there is a more uniformed look to the site. Also need to get on there and get rid of all the winter stuff…who’s buying crochet hats now? No one.
My friend Corie and I are hosting a party this Saturday. Looking forward to meeting new people and seeing what the response is to the new products I have going on right now. I’m hoping the burp cloths will be a hit. I know as a seasoned mom they sure do come in handy…it’s the gift that keeps on giving. I may even use the burp cloths to get into some boutique stores. That is on the list of things to do after baby arrives and I’m functioning again as a normal human being. I want to hit boutiques and get my products out there for people to see. It’s the only way my biz is going to take off. People need to see the products up close to see for themselves how fantastic they are.Well it seems as though Logan is finally asleep…I can now sneak into my work studio and get some sewing done.

Spring into Summer Party

Myself and other local Seattle women business owners are getting together on May 21st to have a One Stop Shopping Party. If you're in the area please stop by. Here is a link to the invite.

http://members.sparedollar.com/auntart/springparty.jpg