Demoss Designs

Tell us your name, the name of your shop and what it is that you do here on Etsy.
Hi! I am Sarah DeMoss and I am the owner of DeMoss Designs. I started off making quilts and purses and this has snowballed into a shop full of custom made baby items.

What is your family life like? (i.e. how many children, their ages, names, are you a single mom? Are they supportive of what they do and so forth?)
I have a fantastic and very supportive husband and three crazy baby girls ages 6 (almost), 3.5, and 2.

Do you have another job outside of Etsy and outside of the home?
I work part time in the evenings as a social worker in a child protection agency. I have been working there for 12 years and I am SO lucky to have a part time position not that I have kids.

How do you balance home life, Etsy and work?
Our life is super busy. I spend my days taking care of the kids and working on Etsy stuff. My nights are for working outside the home. There is a lot of cleaning that does not get done but some how we do all right!

What made you decide to sell on Etsy?
I fell in love with Etsy the first time I saw it. Soon after I made a quilt for my living room that was super cute but for some reason didn't "go" as well after the fabric pieces were all put together. I decided to list it on Etsy and see what happened. Well it only took about 5 minutes for me to become obsessed with the items views so I quickly made some more stuff to sell too.

Do you feel pretty successful in your Etsy shop or is there room to grow? If you feel successful is there a secret you'd like to share with us?
I do feel successful because I have a very small goal. Prior to selling on Etsy, not many people had seen my work. My goal was for one person, one stranger, to purchase something that I made. This would make me feel justified that I was capable of making something that someone who did not even know me would want to have. I met that goal over a year ago and I am still here. I would love to grow my business but I am not looking for this to be a full time job. I get the biggest thrill just getting feedback from my great customers.

What do you feel makes your shop special and unique?
My quilts are a true expression of me. They are the artistic side of me. My fabric choices, and ability to personalize my items help me to stand out from the crowd.

As Mom's, things get chaotic and find it hard to stay focused, how do you stay focused and motivated?
Focused...who's focused! I don't really need to be motivated to sell on Etsy. I make what I love and I would likely be doing it even if I were not on Etsy. I honestly find it hard to stay focused on life outside of Etsy. Sometimes I have to put my shop on vacation mode just to breathe and re-focus on myself for a while.

Is there anything else you'd like the readers to know?
My all time favorite orders are custom ones. I LOVE it when someone says "I am looking for a gift or quilt with these colors or this theme.'" Working with my clients to create something that is inspired by their ideas is fantastic.

Lucky Penny Make

Tell us your name, the name of your shop and what it is that you do here on Etsy.
My name is Barbara and my shop is luckypennymake (luckypennymake.etsy.com). I sell sewing and craft patterns, including my two most popular, a children's backpack pattern and felt dress-up doll patterns.

What is your family life like? (i.e. how many children, their ages, names, are you a single mom? Are they supportive of what they do and so forth?)
I am the lucky wife of an incredibly supportive, wonderful man, Jason, who works very hard outside our home so I can stay home with our two littles, Junah and Ezra. Junah is our sweet, spirited, four-year old daughter and Ezra is our active, cuddly, fun, twenty-month old son.

Do you have another job outside of Etsy and outside of the home?
Nope, just kids, home and etsy!

How do you balance home life, Etsy and work?
Home life is my priority, so I fit Etsy in around the edges. I'm fortunate to have a very supportive husband who helps me make time to work on projects. Since I sell PDF patterns, I don't have to keep creating stock the way someone who sells physical items needs to, but new patterns do take quite a bit of time to prepare. I work on my craft as much as I can and as much as I need to in order to feed my creative spirit!

What made you decide to sell on Etsy?
When my daughter was a baby I started designing and making clothes for her, and people kept encouraging me to sell items made from my designs. I started an etsy shop to do just that but soon gave it up because keeping items in stock, taking photos, and all of the other things that go along with etsy was just too much for me at that time. I gave it up, always with the intention of coming back to etsy with patterns for my designs. I was able to do that a year ago, and it was definitely the right decision!

Do you feel pretty successful in your Etsy shop or is there room to grow? If you feel successful is there a secret you'd like to share with us?
I do feel successful because I have several patterns that customers just love and have given me great feedback on. But, there is definitely room to grow. I'm always working on new patterns, and have more ideas than I have time to execute them! I keep reminding myself that I've accomplished a lot with two young children at home, and that, as my kids grow, I'll have more time to work on my business. I don't have a secret to success, but do recommend that people take that age old advice and do what they love. I really enjoy coming up with new designs and creating patterns that are unique. The joy that I get from this work is what keeps me going and helps me bring great patterns to my customers.

What do you feel makes your shop special and unique?
The quality of my patterns would be the number one thing that makes my shop special and unique, I'd say. Before having children I was a drafter and I use that skill in making my patterns. My patterns are all computer drafted with computer illustrations (rather than photos) in the instructions. The illustrations take much longer to produce, but in the end, provide my customers with a professional quality sewing pattern that is easy to understand and follow.


As Moms, things get chaotic and find it hard to stay focused, how do you stay focused and motivated?
I stay focused by taking it one day at a time and giving myself a break when I need to. Here too producing patterns is an advantage; I only list patterns that are ready to be sent out. So, on a hectic day, the only thing I absolutely have to do is send out patterns via e-mail. If I don't have time to work on new patterns, well, I take a deep breath and put it off for another day!

Staying motivated isn't hard for me, I expend so much energy taking care of others, and crafting is a way that I take care of myself. Doing creative things refuels me and gives me the energy I need to attend to all other aspects of my life.

The hardest aspect of etsy, for me, is the social networking (teams, facebook, twitter, etc.). The possiblities are endless and it can all seems really overwhelming sometimes.

Is there anything else you'd like the readers to know?
Somedays I don't have time for big craft projects so I squeeze in bits of time here and there to write (my love before I found sewing!). I share my writing (and sometimes free patterns!) on my blog (www.luckypennymake.com).

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Missy Maddy Shop

Tell us your name, the name of your shop and what it is that you do here on Etsy.
My name is Melinda. My shop is Missy Maddy Shop and I sell classic children's clothes, mostly items for girls.

What is your family life like? (i.e. how many children, their ages, names, are you a single mom? Are they supportive of what they do and so forth?)
I have one daughter, Madeleine, who we call Maddy. She is the inspiration for my shop and everything I design. Maddy just turned one year old this February. My husband, Shawn, is very supportive of my business. He's an incredible father and husband.

Do you have another job outside of Etsy and outside of the home?
Yes, I have a "day" job. However, I work out of my home office, which affords me the time to create and care for Maddy.

How do you balance home life, Etsy and work?
I do? LOL. I break everything down into clusters and assign priority. This allows me to dedicate100% of my time to the most time-sensitive items and move it off my plate. Then on the next one!

What made you decide to sell on Etsy?
I've always loved Etsy and the amazing artists that sell through the site. It really seemed like the most relevant and efficient way to launch my shop's online presence.

Do you feel pretty successful in your Etsy shop or is there room to grow? If you feel successful is there a secret you'd like to share with us?
There is absolutely room to grow. I'm new to Etsy, so I do not have the luxury of hundreds of sales like some of the more senior shops on the site. I think even then, there's always room to grow. Even at my level, I would advise on staying connected with your audience. Take advantage of all the free social media outlets. Also, treat each customer like your only customer. I’m such a stickler for customer service in generally, so I strive to treat all of my customers like gold.

What do you feel makes your shop special and unique?
What brings uniqueness to my shop would definitely be my own personal taste for fashion. I love all that is classic, vintage, and girly. Since all of my designs are for kids, I have my daughter in mind when creating anything. I consider how it would look on her, how flattering is the piece, and most importantly do I absolutely love it. Each item that I offer to the public is a little part of me that I love and have crafted to perfection.

As Mom's, things get chaotic and find it hard to stay focused, how do you stay focused and motivated?
I'm fortunate that I really enjoy what I do. However, sometimes I do get side-tracked with life and lose a little focus. What brings me back is the fact that I love the end result. I love holding that dress that was just a few pieces of fabric and lace when I started and thinking "wow! this looks gawwwgeous!" I actually love my creations so much that I get a little sad each time I have to send it to the client. I always have ideas for new designs or altering existing designs, which keeps me consistently focused on getting it done.

Is there anything else you'd like the readers to know?
Yes! Thank you for reading through my feature and enjoy a special 10% discount on your next purchase at www.missymaddyshop.etsy.com. Just use code "LittleMissCards" at checkout.

Stay connected withe Missy Maddy! Check us out on:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MissyMaddy
Blog: www.missymaddy.com/blog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/missymaddyshop

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My weekend project

I still have that big order going on that I was talking about here, so I'll probably be working on that this weekend. And I need to finish Tessa's shoes, but hopefully if there's time, I hope to, at the very least, check out the thrift shops for a dress to convert into a skirt. I'm kind of doubtful though, the thrift shops here are poorly kept, dirty, and the clothes aren't in very good condition and very outdated.

Wish me luck!

 What are you doing this weekend?

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!!

Hello everyone, I hope your Sunday is filled with SUN... Get it? SUNday? Although there is nothing sunny about my Sunday, it's been raining all day so far.

So what are you guys up to? Today, like every Sunday, I'm rushing to get myself and the little one dressed and out the door to church with the help of my mom. By the way, having a cute little baby in your lap while making funny noises makes it really hard to concentrate on the sermon, and if you have kids then you know what I'm talking about.

A couple of weeks back I bought a PDF pattern for baby shoes from sewingwithme1for Tessa's Easter shoes. Mom and I finally got around to sewing them, however they aren't done yet. I don't want to show you the steps for it because I'd hate to take away from sewingwithme1 sales but once it's finished I will definitely put pics up of the finished product.


So stay tuned!

Back to the Drawing Board...

Yesterday, I made a blog post about a DIY project from this weekend, and after about a day of using my seat cover, it broke. One of the straps popped out of its seam. So, I will be removing that from the DIY page.

I have a better idea for a cover now, however I won't have time this week. This week I'll be doing a lot of cleaning since this weekend my sister, her husband, their four kids and Tessa's Dad will be coming in this weekend to visit. Its going to get crowded.

My weekend

"Hey Boo Boo, it's a picinic basket!"

Saturday was a beautiful day here in Porterville, California. It was sunny and 65 degrees, perfect yard sale weather.

Quite frankly, I was surprised I even had the energy to go out Saturday morning and thrift. Friday night Tessa just would NOT sleep, she was tired but she decided screaming was a better use of her time. It took Mom and me, both to get her to finally go to sleep. We weren't even sure we would feel like getting up in the morning, but we did.

We set out with the little one about 8:45 am. In one yard sale I found a couple of toys and two really cute dresses for Tessa, she LOVED the toys. I love them, too, they're easy for her to grab onto and aren't hard like her other toys so I don't have to worry about her accidentally hitting herself with it.

Tea for two anyone?

I found an old picnic basket for my bike! I was so excited, I very rarely reach my goal when I'm out and about at yard sales. I was thrilled with my find. We found another yard sale with three different picnic baskets, there was one that was much nicer than the one I had picked up earlier but wasn't as deep. Mom bought a little glass tea set for Tessa when she's older and a stone vase/pot for herself. I found this really cool vintage lamp, i would guess from 60's or 70's, but when I plugged it in at home it turned out it didn't work very well. But I only paid $.50, so its not like I was at a huge loss. Once we were done, we picked up some breakfast and headed home. We had a very good morning.

My sewing project started off a little rocky. I had everything measured out and pinned together, it was actually turning out quite smoothly. But when it came time to turn it right side out, I realized I attached the straps wrong and had to take it all apart and start over, bleh.

So after much seam popping and re-pinning here is the final result.

 First, you want to measure your seat and figure out how much of the seat you want to cover; do you want it to cover the entire back portion or just where your back will be touching the seat? Do want it to cover the seat part so your booty doesn't get burned when you sit? So measure accordingly. Mine is 20 inches long and 12 inches wide. You also want to measure the width of the head rest so you know how far apart to attach the straps.

Next, pick out your fabrics, I chose two coordinating fabrics with different patterns. The top fabric is more of corduroy material and the back fabric is just your everyday cotton material. You don't have to, but its best that one of the materials is thicker than the other so your back is more protected from the heat.

Tip: you could put batting in between the two materials for a little extra comfort and extra protection. 

My two fabrics, right side facing me

Cut out your two pieces of fabric according to the size you want, I left an extra half inch on all sides for seam allowance. Then cut out your straps, I made mine an inch in width and twelve inches long.

My straps, I used the cotton fabric since the corduroy would be hard to fold

To sew the straps, I folded the raw edges inward, toward the wrong side of the fabric and then folded the strap in half length wise so that the raw edges were on the inside and pinned it together (don't worry about the ends). If your having trouble keeping the raw edges in place, iron them down and then fold, then pin. When you sew your straps your only going to do a top stitch along the sides, again, don't worry about the ends. Don't forget to do your back stitch!

This is where I messed up, I didn't tuck the remaining strap inside, don't pay attention to the fact this is ribbon, not my strap

Now, pin your two pieces of fabric together, right sides facing each other. When your doing this, pin your straps to the outside of one of the fabrics and then tuck the remaining length of strap in between the two fabrics so that when you make your turn, the straps will be on the outside. Be sure to pin your straps apart according to the width of your head rest.

Once its all pinned together start sewing, remember to leave at the most, half inch seam allowance. Don't sew all the way around, leave at least 4-5 inches of unsewn fabric so that you can turn it right side out. Before turning it right side out be sure to trim the excess fabric if you need to, especially the corners.

Once thats all said and done, do a top stitch along the hole to close. Now your all done! Take the straps and tie it around the head rest! I attached each strap to one of the bars underneath.

I have to try this out to see if it will keep my back from getting sweaty during the summer, but its supposed to be in the 70's all week, perfect for testing it out.

Happy Sunday and Happy Birthday!

Lovely, no?

Things change so much when you get older. When your young you have little birthday parties and invite all your friends to eat dessert and play silly games. And then when your adult you go out to dinner with friends or family or you still have a party but the celebrating is different. Last weekend my brother came up from Bakersfield and took us out to dinner for my birthday. Yesterday, to my surprise a very good friend sent a gift to me. Perhaps you've heard of it, its a silly board game called Quelf. I can't wait to play it. This morning I awoke to a very lovely, touching card and birthday money from my Mom which I used to purchase a very beautiful dress that I can't wait to wear!

My last post I said I would attempt to make a brag book for my Mom based on a project posted on Design*Sponge . It took all day yesterday and came out good, if I do say so myself  (But I know I can do better). However, I was unable to find the time to take pictures; BUT I do have this awesome photo to post for you; its my attempt at sewing a straight line.

I'm terrible at sewing