Neglection

I've been quiet on here lately! I must admit, it's been hard for me to focus on my designs, and I've been neglecting my Etsy boutique practically since I first opened it. When we first moved to the Rock, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to work because I only interviewed with one company--a nonprofit organization.

I thought perhaps this would be the perfect time for me to start a business if I wanted to. I started thinking about things that I'd love to do, and my list kept going back and forth between event planning, graphic designing (since my announcement, invitation, and favors were a hit by the people who received them), and starting a website. Since I was receiving requests from family and friends for candy bar favor labels, I figured that I would start off with that venture, and see where it takes me. So I quickly decided to come up with a name and created a store to see if I could attract some business. And, to be honest, keeping up with an Etsy store is more work than it looks! It's nothing like selling items on Ebay, Amazon, Half, and Craigslist, where I've resold numerous things from books to an outdoor kennel. Perhaps because it now became my product rather than reselling someone else's product, and I took my time thinking about my policies, pricing, etc.

After I set up shop on Etsy, I received an offer to be the Marketing & Communications Director with the nonprofit I interviewed with! I was so excited! And I happily accepted the position! Unfortunately, I'm a one-person department, and there are tons of projects that I've been working on. Most of the time, I'll bring work home (it's a bad habit, I know). Coupled with being a mom to a baby who's had an ear infection for the last two months and a wife to pilot who's constantly training, my favorite hobby at the moment is sleep. So, for now, Etsy is on the backburner; but I still work on designs when requested!

Nursing Curtain at Work

With all of the benefits of breastfeeding, I, naturally, want to give my son the best nutrition. Luckily, I have a supportive boss (it always helps when she just recently had a baby as well) and my own office where I can conveniently and privately pump.

Of course, things aren't always that simple; all of our office doors are classroom style, so I have a long vertical window. I didn't want to stick papers or a piece of fabric to cover the window because, in my own opinion, that just looks plain tacky.

Stores around the area didn't have any curtains that would fit my window, so I decided to research online. After numerous researches trying to find a company that already sells curtains for classroom doors, I found none. Zip, nada. Should I just resort to covering it up with papers? Of course not!

I decided that I was going to make my own fashionable and functional curtain. Granted, I should have decided to do this earlier--like in my third trimester--when I didn't have a 7-week baby needing me every second while still exhausted from a long day of work.

With my window measurements in hand, I went to Hobby Lobby and picked out my fabric. There were a few pieces of cute fabric to choose from, and I decided to purchase two different pattern prints and make a reversible curtain.

It took a few evenings for me to complete my project--squeezing a few minutes of hand sewing in between taking care of Tristan, cleaning, making dinner, and sleeping--but I finally finished it!

I must say that it was well worth the time and effort! I was thinking today that maybe I could make a business out of this project. I wonder how many other breastfeeding moms found themselves in the same predicament. What do you think?