Light Bulb Moment

I have always loved creating things with my hands. Ever since I can remember, I wanted to do some sort of craft with my mom, at school or just because! Through the years, most everyone in my family have received many "handmade" gifts from me (even well past my childhood years!). After I got married, the trend continued not only because I loved making their gifts but because it was much cheaper on our "newly married" budget which quickly turned into our "first home/new baby" budget! Since baby bedding was so expensive, (and I had watched my mom sew for years), I decided to give sewing a try and my very first sewing project was a rag quilt my mom (who did the majority of it) and I made for Isabella. (I don't have any pictures of just the quilt, besides she is so adorable, I couldn't resist!) I absolutely LOVED to sew and have always loved all kinds of fabric, so I began making several patchwork quilts! Including this one for Elijah:

(Again, how could I not include this precious picture of him on his new quilt?!)

My first Christmas quilt I made and donated as a gift for our church's Women's Tea (which made me sad because I really wanted to keep it once I finished it and have been planning on making another one ever since, but I haven't really gotten around to it!)

This quilt was my first attempt at doing something a little different and it is now hanging in our bedroom!

I discovered that not only making gifts was cheaper but maybe I could sell my "crafts"! So, shortly after Isabella was born, I began making hairbows for all ages and selling them to help with the cost of a new baby (but also so I could keep my little girl "dolled up" in bows without having to pay ridiculous prices for them!) I then began dyeing little onesies and ironing cute little appliques on the chest and matching one on the bottom side with matching socks!

I loved the way they turned out and VOILA!, a new little business was created called Heavenly Heartstrings! I had great success at first but quickly got burned out making bows all the time, especially when Elijah was born and I had two babies within 14 months of each other! I had absolutely no time to make and sell baby items and so I was left with hundreds of ribbon spools, onesies and socks of all sizes, appliques, bottles of dye and enough fabric to start a fabric store! I constantly used the ribbon to make bows for Isabella, but everything else went into a storage container for several years!

Fast forward to 2006....Ever since we started this adoption process, Brad and I both knew that it would be a huge financial undertaking so we began to think of ways we could bring in extra money to help pay for the adoption costs. As Brad took on additional jobs, I tried to think how I could help while staying at home taking care of Isabella and Elijah. I had discovered this company called Once Upon A Family a few years back and decided to become a consultant with the company quickly after starting the adoption from China in 2006. Once Upon A Family provides families with unique ideas and beautiful products to help create lasting memories through simple traditions that strengthen families. I love the company, their goals, their focus on family, and their heirloom-style products as I still remain a consultant with them. However, I was getting the "itch" to be "crafty" as many of my friends were having many babies, so I was looking to create gifts that were functional and helpful, but also cute and inexpensive.

One day while sewing on my mom's sewing machine, she told me she had an embroidery arm attachment but she had never had the time to figure out how to use it. I started to "tinker" with the embroidery arm and a light bulb went off! I have tons of fabric, tons of ribbon and now I have access to an embroidery machine.....I am going to make cute embroidered burp cloths for baby gifts and maybe I can sell them to help with our adoption costs!

My very first burp cloth that I made (and I still have it!):

I finally found something that I absolutley love to do, it allows me to be creative, it is tremendously therapeutic for me, and I can raise funds to bring our little ones home!!! My mom has been so gracious to let me "live" in her sewing room for hours at a time during the kids' naptime while embroidering burp cloths! I am currently working on a website to sell my burp cloths but for now, just click on this link to view the collection of burp cloths available to purchase! (The ones below are just a little sample!)