Crafty Goodness

So quite a while has passed since I last posted a blog....which is kinda lame. I've been thinking about how I can get more consistent with blogging and I think I've had an epiphany (I'm on a roll with epiphanies this week, but more on those a little later in the post...). I'm going to turn this into my craft blog. I have goals about wanting to craft more - anything from crocheting to scrapbooking to learning to embroider to beading to cake decorating. And I also have a goal to start blogging once a week. So I'm gonna have two birds in one hand and one stone in the other. Or something like that.....

So. Epiphanies. Had a doozie of one at the end of last week.

A wee bit of a backstory - I've been stuck in a job that I don't enjoy very much for the past 6 years and I've really been struggling to find my way to being happy in my work. I've gone on interviews, looked at schools and different degree programs (clinical research? why not!?! underwater welding? sure!!!), even thought of making baked goods out of my house and selling at the local farmer's market (I love to bake and thought it would be a good career. Unfortunately, having 3 rambunctious pups = not being able to get a license from the health board to operate a food business out of my house.).

So back to the epiphany. I had finished a framed scrapbook page for my best friend for her birthday and was thinking about trying to find a local craft store to go to crops or classes or whatever. So I googled. There was one (count them - ONE) scrapbook store in my town that wasn't a big chain. So I called to find out hours and such. The nice lady who answered the phone said that they actually were now a graphic design shop that did some digital scrapbooking. So I asked if there was another store in the area and the response? Nope, nada, zilch, zero. So that started my little brain a'churnin'....

Why not open a craft store myself? (Note: I am still mentally hyperventilating at the thought of doing so. Just an FYI.) A place that's warm, inviting, beautiful, and friendly that stocks really great products for all kinds of crafters (or those of us who like to dabble in a bit of everything). Somewhere that always has the coffeepot full of fresh coffee, comfy chairs to sit in, and someone to share ideas (and cool tools!) with. Kind of like "Cheers", but instead of alcoholics, it's craft addicts. AKA - my idea of heaven.

And I realize that it's going to be a reeeally long road with lots of bumps and potholes, possibly a few ravines and crevasses, certainly some switchbacks and washouts, and probably at least a few hundred speed humps and iffy bridges. Enough with that metaphor.... This is going to be hard. Super-hard. BUT! I have that feeling in my gut of this being the direction I should go in. And I have an awesome man, a supportive family, and some fabulous friends to help me get there.

It's also gonna take some time and I'm gonna have to be patient. This year is so full already with planning my wedding and I don't want to take away from that awesomeness. But I figure this year will be my "research phase". Talk to some shop owners, to scrapbookers I know, other crafty people to see what their opinions are about what a great store should have. Go to the free seminars that the community college offers on starting businesses and figure out the legal end of things with registration and taxes and accounting and business loans and all that scary stuff. Figure out who to buy products from and how to do that. There's lots of stuff to learn and I have the rest of this year to do so. I'm hoping that by January of next year I'll be ready to start the process of getting a business loan, finding a space, buying inventory and setting up shop for reals.

So that's the dream. The first step is done - I've found it. And that's so exciting! And daunting! And crazy! And scary! And fabulous! Whew.

Okay. Back to the blog topic of.....blogging. That sentence made no sense. Whatevs. I think I'm going to try to post once a week - probably Saturday mornings. Have some pics of what I'm working on. Maybe a tutorial on how I did something. I'll also keep a record of how the research on the craft store business is going and any further epiphanies I may or may not have. There will also probably be a few updates on these guys...



2 of the 3 pups flopping about our house at any given time. They're big into flopping. They're also big into wallowing, snoring, and collar-shaking. They're the best.

Later, taters!
Ru