Debut

I don't know what it is, but I am really feeling like I have finally discovered the style that I want to hone as the season progresses. With all that this Fall has to offer fashion wise, I am feeling the creative juices flow and I am loving the way it feels.

After months of not really working on much, I have been burried in my "craft cave" for about a week straight. Any chance I get I am eager to have my sewing machine running and my hot glue gun is heated and ready for action. Which reminds me, that thing really sucks! I need a new one. And a full size one at that. This tiny one that I have is a waste of glue sticks. I think I use almost two hole sticks on each accessory that I have worked on. Blah! Well, I guess I should give the little guy some props, it has gotten the job done so far.

Enough rambling. This Saturday afternoon my sister-in-law, invited me to bring all my stuff to a photo shoot and accessorize models. I don't know that I have been this hyped about anything in quite a while. I have been really trying to focus on creating my version of a "line" of accessories that are all in a category I would call "Vintage Inspired."

In the next month I will be really trying to focus on the direction of my shop and making the kinds of things that I really love. I want to spruce up the boutique and hopefully get the attention of some new peeps!

September. Really???

I can't believe that this summer went by so quickly. I mean, I remember feeling like it was never going to end, and now all of the sudden it is September. I must say I am ready to welcome the new season and am eager to see what the rest of this year holds for me. I am actually branching out and starting another shop on etsy which I am stumped with right now but confident my troubles creating a killer banner will soon end. Hopefully that is. I have the name and a few things set up for it, but for the most part it is still an idea tumbling around in my brain. More soon about the new shop!

On the phone with a dear friend I was reminded about my blog and thought that she was right, it is high time I give some attention where attention is due. I have been sewing a bit the past couple weeks, but before then, not really at all the past little while. Not for my shop anyway. With my job slowing down a little bit during the school year this is when I can really get into the things that I love to do and take time to myself pretty much every morning. So be looking for some new things on LizzyJonesBoutique.

I will be splitting my time and ideas between the two shops now and am wondering how that is going to work out, but I am wanting to expand my shop and go a bit of a different direction as far as the style of the new one. I want to attempt to grow so we will see how this goes through the winter and go from there.

Wrapping up the summer with new goals is making me feel a little refreshed, slightly overwhelmed but mostly just challenged. I love feeling like I have something to reach for and am really looking forward to the coming months. I promise I will try not to abandon you bloggy poo!

Thankful

I just have to take a minute and really thank all the people in my life who have helped me so much throughout this process of trying to get my online boutique up and running.

My husband is so amazing and supportive. When I first mentioned that I wanted to start a shop on etsy he was so excited for me and did nothing but sing me praise for everything that I was working on. I know it is not normal for a man to get excited about scarves, greeting cards, headbands, and all kinds of other girlie things, but this man does and it really means the world to me. No matter how many things I make or what I bring to show him, he is always telling me, "good job" or "that's awesome." I can't even begin to express my gratitude to him for pushing me to do this in the beginning and to continue the support everyday.

Another huge influence has been my mom. She is always telling me that she is proud of me for just going after my dreams. I love that she always notices my hard work. She is my best friend and my confidant and I can't imagine my world without her smiling face!




Thank you so much to my friends who have been my models for my shop and by doing so I believe my shop has been taken to another level. I want to keep improving things as time goes on and am so grateful for their enthusiasm in helping me out.

Sunshine N' Smiles

I have always loved the way sunshine brings out all the beauty just lingering under the surface. Even from within myself I have always noticed how many smiles a beautiful sunny day brings about. Today was a gorgeous day. I began my day at the nature center where I volunteer. I lead a field experience for a 2nd grade class which included frolicking with bugs, searching for all the exciting creatures that emerge with the sun. The excitement of the kids is always contagious, but for some reason today the excitement completely took over me!

Something about the innocence of the children mixed with the beautiful blue sky and the sun shinning down on me made my every care dissolve. All I could think about was the photo shoot that was scheduled for this afternoon for all the new things that I made this weekend. When I left the center, I was beaming. Life just doesn't get much better, is all I could think. A day filled with nature, kids, and shooting pictures for my boutique. I have to tell you, I am such a firm believer in following dreams and doing what you love.

A few months ago when I started my boutique on etsy, I had just decided that I was going to go for my dreams. I decided that I was done not doing things because I didn't think that I could or that I would ever make it big. This was the greatest decision that I could have made at this point in my life. I have been so happy. And although I am still only beginning, I can tell you that when I made the choice to follow my dreams and started my little shop I felt a new sense of happiness that I was happy to welcome into my life!

Finding My Niche

Well, it has been a long few months since the first day I started my little boutique out there in the wonderful world of cyber space. I knew that it would be hard and that I wouldn't be an overnight success, but remaining hopeful and patient (I am not so good at patient) has proven to be harder than I thought it would be.

In the first few weeks I was going nuts with crafts of all sorts. When there was laundry piling up, dishes to be done, and a husband who likes to eat dinner, all I could think about was what I was going to make next, and posting my creations as soon as they were finished. As I soon came to realize, life did not stop for me while I was hibernating in my craft cave, and I had to find a balance between keeping up with my life and taking the necessary steps to follow a dream.



I will tell you that it has become more of a, "when I have time I will work on things," thing. But I can also tell you that when I get to burrow in and work on things I have a satisfaction that is so consuming and much more appreciated! Before, when I was frantically trying to work on things I wasn't really getting the chance to enjoy what I was doing. Now, I relax into a trance as I let the little craft fairies carry me away to a land where all things are made with pure enjoyment!

I have found my niche. By forcing creativity I was actually blocking the flow. With everything in life coming into focus and my priorities aligned with my goals I feel as though my dream of one day having a boutique on a busy downtown corner are that much closer!

Happiness!

It is truly amazing what getting outside of your "comfort zone" can do. Earlier this year I decided that I was going to go after my dreams and do the things that I have always wanted to do! I started a little boutique on ETSY.com and I also started volunteering at a local nature center. I just knew that I didn't want to look back in 5, 10, 20 years and say, "man, I really wish I would have done that." I knew that I love being a nanny, but that I wanted to do something to get into my field. So I started at the nature center working with kids and leading little field experiences. I must tell you that I absolutely LOVE what I am doing there. What could be better than bug nets, kids, nature, and plenty of trails to explore. With a brand new selection of plants and wildlife to learn about an examine I could not be more excited for the summer months! Every day that I go out to the center there are more things blooming and waking up from their long winter nap.

The shop on Etsy.com is my other big endeavor so far this year. My closest girlfriends laugh as they call me the gilryist tom-boy they have ever met. This holds just as true today as it ever did before. I love the feminine things in life but I am not afraid of the dirt and bugs. My love of creating crafty things that I want to share with others is backed by the hope that I can combine the two things I love most, nature and creativity! I hope that you will stop by and check out my collection, it is sure to grow and I can't wait to see where this new adventure may take me in the future.

Nature Nurtures, Praise be to Him!

Ever since I was a little girl running around in the forest, staying close the freshly picked campsite as my mom and dad set up camp, I have felt the healing powers of what God has given us all. The beauty of what He has given never seizes to amaze me. I feel the air He gives flow through my lungs in a way that I can't explain when I am surrounded by the beauty He has given and it absolutely consumes me. I feel refreshed. Peaceful. Happy. I sometimes get so caught up in the life that I am living that sometimes, as weird as it sounds, I forget to live.

To me, to live is to allow myself to be completely enveloped in all the things that the Lord has given to me. Sometimes that means I have to stop what I am doing and escape all the worries of life as I steal away to the nearest place where I can sit in the quiet hills He has given me and simply be still and know that He is God.

This week I was faced with a decision, the first of what will hopefully be many. I had to turn down something that really felt like a perfect opportunity and do what was "smart." I had to make the choice that I didn't want to make. The thing is, having to turn down something that I really wanted to do was eye opening in so many ways. I realized that there is a reason for what happened this week and even though I have no idea why this was all put in front of me for what seems like no reason at all, I know that I learned to really pray about things, be patient (something that is really hard for me), and that God has a reason and all I have to do is trust Him. For He knows what is best for me and His timing is impeccable!