Announcing First Ever Giveaway!

This year, so far, has been very successful for me, in many different ways. So, in celebration of this newfound success, I have decided to do my very first giveaway. Now, I just couldn't do a plain ol' boring giveaway, that wouldn't be any fun and it would go against my creative nature.

First things first, we gotta have a theme! In honor of my oldest daughter's upcoming sweet sixteenth birthday, I will dedicate this giveaway to her. She is an Earth Day baby, so what better theme for an April 22, 2014 giveaway than Earth Day?! I love you bunches BooBooGirl!

Next topic for my Earth Day Giveaway, what and how many do I give away? To keep with the theme I was thinking of my Reusable Shopping Bag as the first prize and maybe working up to giving away a full set, since it does come in three sizes, depending on how many people have fulfilled the requirements below by the drawing date. But, who knows, I may come up with something else altogether, like take a poll on what to giveaway.

I will be keeping you all updated as we get closer to the big giveaway day, so keep an eye out on Facebook! I have specific goals in mind and I will reveal them as we hit them along the way!

Rules for participation:
1. Anyone can participate and there is no purchase required. Although, if you can't wait for the giveaway, you can visit my Etsy shop and buy your favorite item there any time, night or day!
2. You must visit and "Like" Proverbs 10:4 Gifts & Decor. on Facebook.
3.  "Share" the giveaway post from the Proverbs 10:4 Gifts & Decor. Facebook news feed onto your news feed, the more people participating the more prizes I will be adding. So feel free to "Share" as many times as you'd like for a better chance at winning a prize.
4.  You must be a Proverbs 10:4 Gifts & Decor."fan" on Facebook at the time of the drawing, or you won't know if you are a winner of one of the prizes or not and I will choose another winner instead.  Not to mention you will be missing out on future giveaway announcements and shop specials!
5.  Leave me some feedback under comments on this giveaway post. What did you think of the giveaway, what did you like or not like, what shop item would you like to see in a future giveaway, what new item would you like me to create and add to my repertoire, etc. I value your input, that is the only way I can learn about what I need to improve on or what is working just fine.
6.  One final rule is that I reserve the right to change or cancel this giveaway at anytime, although I would hate to have to do this, so let's all get along and be fair while we have some fun!

Thank you so much for your support, and Happy Earth Day!

   

"Serging" Ahead

Every weekend of late, I have found myself at my sewing station for hours on end. Orders need to be filled, new products need to be created, and there just aren't enough hours in the day...

Ok, don't get me wrong, sewing is my therapy. I can sit at my sewing station for a week straight with little to no sleep only stopping for a brief bathroom break here or there, and I would still be happy as a clam. When I am crafting, I can tune the world out, but that isn't always the best for a growing home business. So, I have been brainstorming ideas for ways to make the creation process go a bit faster while still maintaining my quality standards....

Undercover, tucked away to the back corner of my sewing station, with a bit of undisturbed dust, I catch sight of my serger. This is my second serger I have ever bought, the first being run into the ground from years of sewing hems and straight seams, and this one sits with barely any sewing hours logged in. Why? My serger and I have a love/hate relationship. I love it when it is working as it should and without complications, and once I hit that inevitable bump in the road, I hate it and banish it back to the depths of my sewing table. I have friends who bought sergers and still have them in the box after several years.

What's so scary about these machines, you ask? My quick answer, they are so much more complex than your regular sewing machines.  Regular sewing machines are fairly straightforward, no matter how many hundreds of built-in stitches they have, you choose a stitch and go.  Sergers, on the other hand, are far more complex. You have stitch options using 3,4, or 5 spools of thread, differential feed, two needles and two or more loopers with each one having its own tension dials, and the scariest of  all being the cutting blade (cutting away your seam allowance as you sew, unthinkable). Are you intimidated yet? I know I am!

Time to get over my fear! As I said earlier, I have used my serger before, on straight stitches. How boring, straight stitches. If only all of my projects had straight stitches and no curves, I'd be a Serging pro! The thought of serging a project with curves and having my fabric's seam allowance cut along the way is terrifying. What if I mess up and need to utilize my trusty seam ripper? Ok, that isn't my only grievance against my serger. The main peeve I have with it, is that it takes me half a day to get all of the settings just right for whatever fabric I am using, only to have the needle break or thread shred and knock everything out of whack to where you have to rethread the whole daggum thing. Rethreading, I forgot about that, whole other can of worms. It takes an act of Congress just to thread the goofy machine, it's very particular when it comes to threading. You've got to thread it in the correct order and make certain you hit all the correct nooks and crannies, or it won't work at all.

Ok, I have to defend the poor thing now. "If they are so much trouble, why buy one", you ask? I know what they are capable of doing, I just have to learn how to use it correctly. The decorative stitches are intriguing, rolled hem on some linen napkins for wedding gifts, perhaps. How about yards and yards of ruffles to add to a project without having to stitch two rows of basting stitches and hand gather, hoping the threads don't break and send you back to the drawing board, yes please! A more professional finish to garments you create, most definitely!

Here goes nothin'! What a beautiful thing, the picture above is my proof that my serger can give me a perfect tension set-up! My love affair with my serger is back on, and, after searching Pinterest for tutorials and ideas, I am ready for more than just straight seams! 

                                                                                                                           Wish me luck!

Etsy School!!! I'm a student again!

I started out this new year with a reignited fire lit under me to get my business into gear and moving full speed ahead. Well, I found that fire to be burning brighter inside me than in was on the outside. I wasn't sure what my next business step was supposed to be. I was doing my day to day schedule but my efforts didn't seem to produce results. I felt that I was just going through the motions and just spinning in circles.  So, by mid-January that fire had fizzled to a small ember.

 Late January rolls around, still not intensity in the business flame, I logged in to my Etsy shop and saw a conversation message had popped up from my Team Serenity leader with the subject line reading "Etsy School". I opened up the conversation message on the team page and read the details. "Eureka" an answer I was looking for! This was something I HAD to do!

Starting February 1, 2014, this four week class covers everything you need to know to become a successful etsy shop owner. I was partnered with Janice, Aqua Iguana, and I couldn't have been partnered with anyone more perfect! The team leader says she used a random pairing software to choose who is partners with whom, but I fully believe that God was the one doing the choosing in my case.  We are both at the same point in our shop history, and we are both dying to make our shops morph into our primary day job. Janice has been harsh when she needs to be, which is what I need, and praising where deserved. I am so thankful for this opportunity! We are on week 3 of 4 and I have already seen BIG changes in my shop! Anyone new to Etsy should join a team and check out Etsy School, it surely has helped me!   Show my partner some love and check out her handiwork, https://www.etsy.com/shop/Aquaiguana

Thinking about starting an Etsy shop? Check out this etsy blog, I think most of your questions will be answered here https://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2008/a-beginners-guide-to-starting-a-shop-on-etsy/

Well, time to get back into creative mode!

Here we go again!

Looking back, it is always this time of year when I attempt to revive my blog. To say it has been on life-support is an understatement! Well, I have been diving into every aspect of my online business and have decided to turn to my blog to document my journey, time lapses and all! 2014 is the year of Proverbs 10:4!!! I am more determined than ever to dedicate the time and effort needed to grow my baby business! I started my Etsy shop in 2008 and posted my first listing in 2010. No, that is not a typo, I didn't list any items for two years. Shameful, yes, I know. Why did it take me two years, you ask? Well, as a newborn entrepreneur, I was under the mindset that I had to have a professionally done shop banner and avatar, pages and pages of beautiful product listings, all the latest equipment to create said beautiful listings, and the ability to accept credit cards for payment (who needs Paypal? Even though it was the only option for accepting credit cards back in the day).  So, I waited....

2010 rolls around....I realize that my money tree is never going to magically sprout in order for me to be able to get all of the lovely things I need to start my shop. So, biting my lip and with a slight gasp, I open a Paypal account, and get this, it didn't cost me a thing! Why I was under the impression that Paypal was such a taboo thing, I'll never know.. It has become a great asset to me now over the years. But, I digress, my next step was too take a few photos ( I am so not a photog!) of my precious creations. What followed was my Aha moment, I had three product listings live in my Etsy shop and my world didn't crumble because my shop was not perfectly adorned with all the glitz and glamour that I had envisioned in my head. Within about a week I got my first order, holy crap, I was in business! With that first order, I was able to hire a graphic guru to create an avatar and shop banner for me. My shop began to take shape, and I was floating on cloud 9!

So, what happened??? Life happened, kids getting more involved in activities in school, husband had surgery on his shoulder and was out of work for 6 months, and I had to work full-time outside the house, my shop took the proverbial backseat. Anyway, what's a girl to do?

This girl is getting back up, attached some stronger bootstraps and is ready to roll! I have decided to chronicle my journey here on my blog and let it morph into what it may. You are welcome to tag along for the ride!