November 30th - Small Business Saturday

I have made a huge leap of faith today. I am offering up a few select items for sale on my Facebook (my personal one) to celebrate Small Business Saturday on November 30th.

If you haven't heard of it, Small Business Saturday is a day devoted to buying from your small local businesses. It's a great way to help support the local economy, and make a lot of extra smiles. As you probably know, Sunshine Stars has had a very hard time getting off the ground because I have a day job and not enough spare cash to start building a stock or even supplies. I could probably start a piggy bank, but I admit to being a bit discouraged, so I haven't made much effort yet. I'm hoping in March when I get my bonus from work I can use it to get started. But I digress.

In an effort to give it a shot again, I am offering fleece ear hats and scarves, plus scoodies (hooded scarves). These are all things I am familiar with making and comfortable to do quickly and without much expense. It's also a good way to cut my teeth on the business side of owning a handmade business. I admit that numbers and such are not my forte, but it's something I need to learn if I ever want to do this for real. And I really, really do.


Fleece Fun's version and pattern.


My version I made for Micah. He wears it all the time to play pretend that he's a cat.

I won't lie. I am scared half to death that I am going to fall flat on my face. But the only way to learn is by doing! I have one sale already in progress, and the best part is that it is out of state. So I can learn the best way to ship, too!


A Simplicity pattern I picked up in both adult and kid sizes just before Halloween when they had patterns 5 for $5.

I think I'm going to pass out now. Please excuse me.

It's weird being the one in front of the camera

I don't think I have ever really mentioned this here, but I am also a photographer in my (little) free time. It's mostly a hobby, but to keep my skills sharp I take little paid photo gigs on occasion. I like to shoot family portraits, especially children.





A few weeks ago, a photographer friend of mine got an idea to do a photo series of people she knows, called Overexposed/Underexposed. The point was to take one photo of something special that everyone knows about you, and one that not everyone knows but is important. After some thought, I chose to use photography/sewing. I have been a photographer since 2007 (holy cow, I just realized how long that is), but I have only been sewing since 2011, and mostly for myself and Micah. So when people think about needing a photographer, they would likely think of me, but if they needed pants hemmed, they likely wouldn't. In my social circle, that is.

The final photos of me will not be public until the whole set has been shown in a gallery somewhere here in Albuquerque, but in exchange for my (rather lacking) model skills, Minie took some pictures of me at my machine that I could use as a headshot/profile image online in places where I talk about my sewing. Like here!

I haven't changed my pictures everywhere yet, but my Pinteresting Mommy Facebook page is using it, as well as my Kids Clothing Week profile.



And you guys? I have never liked a photo of me as much as I like this one. I am used to being the one holding the camera, not the one posing, and I felt super awkward. But Minie makes me look thoughtful and awesome, so she gets a ton of kudos. In fact, you should go hire her if you are local! She will work her magic for you.

Did you get photos taken for your online presence?

Sunshine Stars in the works!

From the moment I laid my eyes on my first sewing machine, I knew I wanted to make things for my son. And once I had a few successful projects, I knew I wanted to start making them for other people, too. There was no one I admired more than Dana from MADE and Ashley of Lil Blue Boo. I read their blogs for months before I even started sewing, and every time one of them posted a new project, my creative little heart went pitter-patter. They were my new heroes, and they both ran their own business from home on the internet. That's what I wanted to do.

I've made a handful of things, all but one project (the unfortunate little boy suit) turned out well enough that I have become fairly confident. I have had enough people request things from me or suggest that I open an Etsy shop that I figured my work must be decent. After a stint on Etsy in the past trying to sell my photography prints - which was a rather dismal failure - I've decided it's time to give it another shot. Except this time, I am giving baby clothes a try.

After a long time of wishing that I had the funds/the gumption/the time, I decided to just jump in. I contacted a few friends with baby girls and arranged for them to model the clothes for me, and now I will be spending the next few weeks whipping up the initial pieces for photographing and formulating prices. I have quite a to-do list, and hopefully this weekend I can get most of it out of the way.

I'm not hoping to be the Next Big Thing - in the saturated blog market, that would be folly - but I would enjoy being able to do something I liked to do in my free time and make a few dollars while I'm at it. I think it sounds like an adventure, and I can't wait to get started!

Next up - Sunshine Stars begins!

Pinterest - E-book giveaway!

I received one or more of the products mentioned for free using Mom Blog Society. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

As an avid user of Pinterest, it isn't terribly surprising that I would be very interested in anything involved with it. As part of the Mom Blog Society, I was offered an opportunity to review a copy of an e-book based on Pinterest, and ways to use it to further a business. Be it a shop, a blog or a photography business, Pinterest can really work wonders to help you build an audience and reach hundreds, even thousands, more viewers than you would the old-fashioned way. It is such a valuable tool.

So when I came across an opportunity to read an e-book all about using Pinterest to build my readership, by Kim Garst, I jumped on it.



As a fairly new blog, my "brand" has not really been built yet. I don't have a ton of followers, or a steady posting on certain days of the week. I usually just do my best to drop in and post something that might be interesting once or twice a week. So using Pinterest to gain attention for my blog is key right now. As I read through the e-book, I found myself clicking back and forth between my Pinterest boards and the PDF so I could make changes as I read. Some of the hints were things I was already doing, but certain key points - like organizing my Pinterest boards so the most active ones were near the top on my profile! - were quickly implemented because they just made so much sense, I had no idea why I hadn't thought of them before.

Kim Garst is just awesome. She has taken a virtual pin-board that most would use as a bookmarking tool, and evolved it into a way to expand a business. Genius. You can find her all over the net!

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kimgarst
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/socialmediabrandinggal

So...would you be interested in getting a copy of this e-book for yourself? You know you want one.

So leave a comment! Name and valid email required so I can contact you if you win. Want a another way to win? Follow me on Facebook and get another entry. I will be using Random.org to choose the winner.

Good luck! Contest ends Saturday, March 17th.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Mom Blog Society. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.