We are at the tail end of fall break in our house and there have been ups and downs but one thing that I have very much learned over this break is that I need to re-adjust my expectations for our breaks. This is something that I have always known I should do more of, but as our kids get older I am feeling it more and more. On a break our kids end up watching more TV than I would like as it is, so if I am also trying to get my normal amount of work done, they will be watching it even more. Which they don’t mind, but I certainly do. And I have always believed that when watching the movie or show it may feel nice but the kids end up with a lot of pent up energy that still needs to get out. It then explodes out once the movie is done and we all feel a bit out of sorts once that happens.
There are some things that I am able to do while my kids run around and play but that also means I need to adjust my expectations of what that work time looks like, I have to plan mentally to be interrupted and stop more. And also be okay with that, because it is not fair to get frustrated with my kids because I am trying to focus my attention on multiple things.
For Christmas break this will take some extra planning ahead of time so I can take days off over the break. I will need to get even more ahead on my content writing and sewing so that I do not feel the pressure on those days off to focus my attention multiple places. When I first started sewing I would do my work late at night because I knew that I would not get interrupted. However that had multiple downsides, I would be exhausted because of lack of sleep. Kids still wake up at the same time even when we go to bed late. And I would not be spending as much quality time with them because I would be tired and short tempered. It also started to wear on my marriage because at the end of the day is when my husband and I can relax and hang out together. We usually like to eat a bowl of ice cream, watch a sermon and then chat before bed. If I am leaving all of my work for late night it cuts into the time I get to spend with him.
All that to say, I have shared a day in the life blog post and now I try to line my work up with times that my husband is in a meeting. He works from home and while we don’t have to stay quiet during his meetings, I feel like it is easier to have the kids watch a show during that time and I will also focus on some work. Today I am going to share some of the process I put into creating a custom order. When I started BabyCloth, part of that dream was helping moms create a beautiful nursery. I am far from an interior designer, nor have a desire to advertise myself as that. And I think that interior designers do beautiful work, however not everyone has the ability to work with an interior designer. Or someone may be able to do some of the projects for a nursery, but not all of them. I have always wanted to be that “in between” for a mom, the one who helps them bring the picture of their nursery come to life.
This is the reason my custom orders will vary so much, almost always a custom order includes a blanket. But then what is paired with that blanket depends on what the mom’s needs are. Sometimes that will include a lot, like two crib sheets, blanket, burp cloths, paci clips and bibs. In that instance it goes beyond the nursery to every day needs that a mom and baby have, but it is still made within the color pallet and theme that the mom desires for her nursery and baby. Sometimes the custom order will be a swaddle blanket and two burp cloths, which doesn’t necessarily add to the nursery but will still compliment the colors and themes the mom has chosen. In addition, a beautiful swaddle blanket draped over the side of the crib is a great touch in your every day nursery.
One of the times I had the most fun with a custom order was when I got to make a crib sheet, baby blanket, name sign and tassel garland for a little girl’s nursery. All of these were for a mom at our church who was able to do a lot of projects on her nursery but allowed me to take over the sewing and wall hangings. She spent her time thrifting for furniture and painting it the colors she wanted. It was so much fun to message with her back and forth about what we were finding and how the process was going. Yarn tassels were something that I had not made before but thought looked fun and this gave me a great reason to try them out! I was able to pray over her pregnancy and delivery as I worked and love that I still get to see her and her baby girl at church. What is even more fun is that this mom is pregnant with another girl and I am getting to help her again! We already have the fabric picked out for her blanket and I will be making a new and different wall decor that I will be excited to share in the coming months. It is such a privilege to help a mom bring her nursery together and I love getting to do it more than once with the same mom!
I have a handful of friends who have come back to me more than once for baby shower gifts which is also a huge blessing. I love getting a message that says, “Hey Ellen, I have a baby shower next month, can we put a gift set together” Of course my answer is always yes, but then I get colors and theme so I can start browsing fabrics. When I say that a gift set is made with mama and baby in mind, I mean it. I look online at Joann’s, Spoonflower, or Stash Fabrics. When I first started sewing I would always want to shop in person because I was not as confident with different fabrics. But after many years I have gained experience and insight into what fabrics work together and how to sew with them. I am able to confidently shop online and know what fabric types I am working with.
Something that I love about Spoonflower is that the prints are available in all fabric types, which is really great for custom orders. There have been times where I send options for a blanket but the mom wants to know if it would work for a crib sheet. Crib sheets require a wider fabric than some cottons so in that case it would not, but when you are ordering with Spoonflower you find the print you like then can select the fabric type you want (knit, organic cotton, quilting cotton, minky…there are so many options to choose from!) Spoonflower will certainly be more expensive than shopping at Joann’s or Hobby Lobby but the quality of their fabric is great, and you really can’t pass up the options you have to work with.
Once I have found a handful of fabric options and combinations I then send them to who I’m working with. I have found that it is best not to overwhelm them with too many options so I usually start with about 3 and always let them know that if they do not like those I will find more! I have never had someone say that they don’t like anything I send them, we are always able to find something they are excited about and that is a blessing. I have also found that it’s best to send the fabrics together so I use the app Layout to paint that picture for them.
I was thinking that I would love to create an album of all of my custom orders but in reality that is my Instagram page. I do not think there have been any orders that were not share there, which is pretty cool. That is definitely an upside to social media and being able to share my work with those who follow me. If you are interested in a custom order you can see what I have created there and contact me to get an order started. I absolutely love what I do and consider it such a blessing that God has gifted me this business and ability to sew. My dream would be to continue doing it for as long as I can and have this business and blog be a method for sharing how He works in my life and blessing mom’s with beautiful baby accessories that they love to
