A(nother) New Project!

Last night Craig and I took Sophie out for some exercise at the mall. She rode around happily looking at all of the brightly colored things and listening to all of the interesting sounds one can hear at a mall while Craig and I got some much-needed walking. Every time we go to the mall, we see some really cute things in our favorite stores. You can always find a fabulous new accessory at "White House, Black Market" or a gorgeous wrap, headband or scarf at "Nordstrom" or some to-die-for baby item at any number of places. (It is Orem, after all. There are probably as many baby stores as ice cream shops.)


The two disappointing recurring themes that we've discovered while looking at these various items is that first, the items are not usually the greatest quality (I am very disappointed in Nordstrom's apparent lowering standards) and second, the items are nearly always ridiculously over-priced for what they are. An example: a really cute headband with ribbon was $18. It was a thin band with ribbon hot-glued on it and there were some sloppy glue drips on the back. Sad. So, naturally, the only thing to do other than whine is to change the problem, right? Craig's suggestion: start my own online store selling things that I want to my own quality standard.

Before anyone says it, I know there are a million and ten online stores, such as Etsy, that sell handmade items. The problem is, even those places sell things for too much. I'm sorry, but a pacifier clip is just not worth $12 and a plain, no-frills car seat cover just isn't worth $50 to me. So, the plan now is for me to just keep on making the things that I've been making for Sophie & friends and add the other little projects I do as I go. I will have an example picture of everything and then most items will be made-to-order. This will allow people to pick their fabrics, ribbons, clips etc. from a predetermined library of supplies.

I'm not really jumping into this expecting to make much money but more as an on-going place to offer some of the things that I enjoy and use to other people who prefer to buy quality items at a reasonable price. I've made a "short" list of some things that I've been wanting to make to my list of items I already have in my mini portfolio. Any suggestions of other items that you would like or you know people would like would be great! Craig will be building the website for me soon and I'll start posting available items shortly thereafter.

In no particular order...

• Nursing covers
• Car seat covers
• Burp cloths
• Pacifier clips
• Booties
• Baby blankets
• Baby blankets-velcro swaddlers
• Hair accessories
• Baby slings
• Felt activity books
• Baby ribbon/texture squares
• Fluffy tutus complete with wands (inspired by the neices!)
• Little aprons
• Vintage pattern baby clothes (probably just the dresses I want to make for Sophie)
• Baby shower "cupcake" essentials (like a diaper cake but totally different) 
• Baby room accessories (name squares, sparkly monograms, jars, funky floral wreaths) 
• Simple custom cards/announcements/cupcake toppers