This will be a little introduction to myself as well as “my why”. My name is Ellen and I am a wife, a mother, Phoenix native, Jesus loving, crafter and creator. I started my small business BabyCloth in 2017 a few months after we had our second child, Eva. I had been working full time in retail for a company I loved but the hours just did not fit our growing family. I started staying at home full time with our son Jack who was 17 months old and our daughter Eva who was a newborn. It was everything I had dreamed but also felt like I needed a creative outlet. This was when my mom taught me how to sew. When I was a kid I remembered her sewing some of our clothes and there was even a time when she made the bridesmaid dresses and flower girl dress for a family wedding! The first thing I ever made was a small pillow, then a blanket and a burp cloth. After making that pillow I remember her telling me, “Now that you can sew a straight line, you can sew anything!” I thought she was crazy, but she was totally right. Between tutorials, blogs, YouTube videos and being okay with messing up, I have since made a wide variety of things from blankets, crib sheets, baby/toddler clothes and even my own skirts and recently a dress!
I feel like I have learned so much over the past 6 years, my family has grown (we now have four kids ages 8 and under), my faith has grown, I have been humbled and learned so much as a mom. My roll as a wife has changed. And in some ways my business has changed, but I have to say that I have found my “niche” to be custom orders and those still go primarily to friends and family. I have spent a lot of time on social media platforms stuck in the comparison game thinking that I needed to look like other small businesses to feel successful. I thought I always needed to be coming up with the “next product to add to my shop” or keeping up with the current holiday and would feel like I wasn’t able to keep up. I’m deciding to start this blog so that I can share what I have learned in all areas of my life these past 6 years, what has and hasn’t worked in my small business. Areas that I have grown and struggled as a wife and stay at home mom. And how God has used this things to grow my faith and teach me how He sees me, because let’s face it, that is most important.
I welcome you to come here for ideas in sewing and crafting (because while sewing is what I do in BabyCloth I am up for any craft and handmade item) and ideas for homemaking, parenting and Bible Study. I welcome you to leave comments and questions and hope you know that I am grateful you are here reading, browsing or sharing. I pray that you have a lovely day and leave my page feeling uplifted or inspired to try something new.
Blessings,
Ellen
