Hello Friends!! Today I’m switching gears a bit from the normal home decor posts you see around here. I’ll be back with more of those this week, but today I want to share something thats been on my heart for awhile to share. If you caught my last post than perhaps you are anxiously awaiting this post? If not, I shared in my last post how I’ve really been wanting to encourage women more, not just in their homes, but in their lives as well. I believe we all have a God-sized dreams placed inside us, and I shared more about why I refer to it that way. You can catch up HERE, in case you missed it, but today I’m going back. Back to the beginning of when I first started blogging, which lead to me starting a design business, and a path I took the lead to something I was sure would be apart of my business. To this day, I still don’t regret making those decisions or choices that led me down that path, but I share it with you in hopes that it will enlighten your thinking, that not all things that come to an end are bad, and sometimes we just have to take a leap in order to find out what is truly meant to be apart of our calling. So today I continue with the story about embracing the process while I chase my “God-sized” dream!
My first Professional photo taken for the blog. I took a chair from our living room and had my husband carry it outside and put it in front of our barn. I hung the sign that inspired the name and styled my favorite home decor pieces around it.
I made the DIY grain sack throw pillows in this photo, the DIY bead garland, and the coffee table!
Shortly after I first started blogging and started my business, I was creating DIY decor, because the farmhouse decor I longed for just wasn’t sold in the stores at the time. I was painting my own grain sack fabric (believe it or not you can still find this tutorial on the blog. Warning – enter at your own risk, it is an old post), and making custom pillow covers out of them. Building cute wooden trays, and hand painting signs to achieve the look I wanted, before Pinterest was really a thing and tutorials weren’t readily accessible.
Before & After of our Dining Room 4 years ago, featuring one of my DIY grain sack table runners.
Back then I was just creating out of my own burning desire to make something, and I had enough friends who asked where I got the pieces I made, and if I ever sold them. Finally after being asked enough times I decided to participate in a holiday show. This wasn’t just for crafters, although there were some there, this was for business owners of all types, where you could come and set up a booth to promote your business, and sell merchandise. I remember asking my husband if he thought it was a good idea, wondering if I was even capable of doing something that was well, so public. I was nervous about putting myself out there, and my hands were full with an 18 month old and a 3 year old. But something inside me was just bursting to create things, that I couldn’t ignore it. My husband told me to go for it, and without a second thought I paid the $40 to reserve my booth. $40 was what was on the line, so if I messed up I was out. Somehow that thought of losing $40 made my fear of failure that much more greater. I got busy over those next 2 weeks making pieces and crafting items. Every spare moment I had went to making stuff for the event until the night finally came. I was exhausted, but so excited and nervous at putting a tangible face to my online presence.
My first booth at Market Days – 6 years ago.
Local friends came out to support, and I gained a lot of attraction at my booth, including a few new potential design clients. I made $280 and felt like I had won the lottery. After having what I deemed a successful night, and having even more clients ask me to custom make things, I decided to take another leap.
The funny thing about taking a leap is you don’t always know where you are going to land, but it is vital to get from one place to the next. I am the type of person where that kind of uncertainty sounds maddening to me. Who in their right mind would jump if they didn’t know where they were going to land? Yet here I was on the brink of taking another giant leap towards the direction I thought I was supposed to be taking.
Learning and Growing in your business is a process. And learning to embrace that process is necessary part when you are chasing your God-Sized dream!
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