I really need to start doing this!

Well hello blogging world! Its nice to meet you! I've always been really terrible about posting things about my life...which is ridiculous, because a) I journal all the time, so I'm used to putting thoughts into writing and, b) I love talking about myself. Like, too much. If I ever get too self-promotional or annoying, just tell me. It's a big pet-peeve, of which I am unfortunately guilty. But fortunately, I'm good at taking constructive criticism, so I'll love you more for it, I promise.

ANYWAY. I have been on quite the adventure the past few months! I started an Etsy shop at the beginning of January, and I have been exploring this huge, gigantic, overwhelming world of making money for things you make (in my case....things I've already made for our apartment, and re-create for others). It blows my mind that I've been even remotely successful, but I have. And at this point, I'm about as successful as I can manage....with three part-time jobs and no concrete "life plans" past July, (I really love being in my twenties, and having no idea what I'll do with my life....NOT) there's not much time to establish anything too serious.

That being said.....I love it. So much. I love that I have this constant source of stimulation, where I have to think and plan and create and use my hands. Not only that, but the outcome is something productive, that I can hold with my hands and show other people and say "I made this!" I've learned that about myself...I need to have something to show for my time in order to feel satisfied, and creating products for my Etsy customers is such a great way to accomplish this.

I doubt I'll be one of those people who literally quits their day job and puts all their time into Etsy as their main source of income. I love that that is an option - one of those 'maybe someday' options floating out there in the ether - and I think it speaks volumes about the platform Etsy has set up for crafters, and I'm so excited I'm a tiny part of it. But I've also worked really hard on the other aspects of my life to abandon them. I'm definitely re-arranging my life to involve more Etsy, though, and more time to work on the things that need to be worked on. If I learned anything in undergrad, it's that you can't be involved in 80987 million things and expect to do any of them all that well. I'm going to focus. It's a new leaf for me, I'm tellin ya.

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I mentioned earlier that most of my Etsy products are things I've made for personal use and then re-create for my shop. It's difficult to pick and choose, because literally (not really) everything in my apartment was hand made. I mean...anything that could have been sewn instead of purchased, probably was. It blows my mind that people would pay $200 for a shower curtain (!?!?!?) when you can buy 4 yards of fabric and some grommets and create one pretty easily for under $40. That's how I got started in the first place....I'm clearly my father's daughter, and my Dutch genes are showing through. It's not cheap....it's just more practical! ......

My plan for the blog is to share some of the other creations in our house, and a little bit of how to do it, in the interest of spreading some inspiration and - I'll be real, here - to show people what else I can do. I absolutely adore getting new projects and finding new things I can do. Last week, I took my car door off and disassembled the center console to figure out why my window wouldn't go back up...I may have broken a few pieces parts, but I figured it out eventually! Things like that are what I love to do....who knows what you can do until you try, right?!?

So I'll be posting some photos and some projects up just so spread the love. Right now I'm working on making a table (yes, a table) from a slab of wood my daddy cut from a tree in our backyard. It's a little out there, but I think it'll be great. We're going to be moving in July, so I'll have a whole new, blank slate that I get to fill with my things, and you can expect a deluge of posts around that time. Until then....message me if  you have any ideas to share!!!