Why I Do What I Do...

This is my almost 3 year old. She loves to sit beside me and "bean" while I do my work.

Like mother like daughter.

Hello Gorgeous!

I've just spent the last two weeks in the States for my grandfather's funeral. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate an incredible man and his great life. I am truly blessed to have called him my grandpa and that I was able to travel to be there. That is why I've been a bit quiet on the beaded woman front.

But I'm back and ready to hit the ground running. This week, I've got a lot of things to accomplish before my first craft market- Botany Town Centre May 1-2. If you live in the Botany area, come see me. It's a great opportunity to get Mother's Day Shopping done.
I also have my professional photo's done by Coralee de Freitas! They look amazing so will post them today so you can have a look at my work. Check out the awesome photos Coralee takes at her website. They are amazing, thank you Coralee for an awesome job well done. She also took the photo for my logo, isn't it cool!

Now that I have good quality photos, I'm going to start selling on TradeMe. I will be offically open for business. (I have made my first sale, by the way and the title of my first customer goes to Richelle! Thanks, Riche!:) )

I've also started a Facebook page and will be doing some competitions off that website, so look me up there too! They are no longer doing fans, so you'll just have to LIKE the beaded woman. :)

Photo Fun

Busy, Busy, Busy

I woke up this morning with my mind a buzz. This Saturday is my first craft market down at Botany. There is a lot to finish this week, bags, make some more samples finish the birthstone babies. I won't be doing much sitting still and I find this very exciting.
Last night my husband successfully bid on a pop up gazebo that I need for the markets. Good job, Babe! Now have I told you I need a table or two to go under the gazebo. :)
I am also aware that people would like to see my product on my blog page. The beads from the States arrived last week and the bracelets look so amazing! The only problem is they are more difficult to photograph than I thought. They look much more gorgeous in person! So it is my goal this week to get justifying pictures and get the photos up!
Right I better stop messing around on the computer and write my do to list for the week.

My first shipment arrived today!

So I went to my mailbox today and my first shipment was there! The most exciting part though was that it was on the company line it said.... THE BEADED WOMAN! Hee Hee! It made me smile.

Taking the Plunge One Step at a Time!

We were given a desk last week, so I've cleaned a corner of the living room out for my "office". It immediately attracted attention from the soon to be birthday boy. He was over there before I hardly had it in place with his animals happily "chatting" to one another as they danced across the top. "No, no, this is MOMMY'S space.", I was quick to tell him. "Oh, it's your space?", he replied. Funny how when you become a parent things quickly become the colloquial "we" and nothing is your own anymore...
Also in the last week, I've contacted three different website companies for quotes on a website (gonna have to wait on that a bit I think), started making enquiries about taking my wares to the craft markets/shows, joined Mums on Top Mumpreneur Program and have found some of the beads I need here in New Zealand so I don't have to import them myself! Oh yeah and I've contacted customs on how much it is going to cost me to import some of my beads. I've also sent out a request to friends for a portable gazebo that I will need for the craft markets (still need one of those if anyone has one that lives in the Auckland area). So this "job" is keeping me busy.
Today though, I plunged a bit deeper and made my bead order! My heart raced a bit faster as I hit the checkout button. This is a bit nerve racking really and the stress is showing up in spots all over my face! :)
So now we wait for the beads to arrive. I will put pictures up on the blog once I've made some samples. Wonder who will be my first customer? I wonder if anyone is even reading my blog!

To Jump or Not to Jump.....

Years ago I attended a party (yes, it was a children's party and yes, I was an adult) where they were making bracelets. I was hooked! I went right out to Hobby Lobby and bought everything I needed to start making bracelets. I started out small, just using stretchy cord, but I slowly graduated to more elaborate things like crimp beads and tiger tail and toggle clasps! You see, I've always loved a little "sparkle" in my life and a whole world of having jewelry for EVERY outfit was opened up to me.


Over the last five years I've had three children who fill my life with "sparkle" and suck up all the extra time I used to use on making jewelry. My oldest boy is heading off to school in two weeks and I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. Yes, I still have two more at home and I will still have the laundry, but we are getting to the point where I need to start pulling some income in as well. It's not that I don't want to go back to work, but I REALLY don't want to go back to work!


I've been trying to brainstorm small business ideas that will keep me at home with my babies! I'd love to do something with craft because I'm a creative type and I like seeing what I've been able to do myself. And I'd like it to be something that I can do at night in front of the TV while the kids are in bed.


I've been talking to my husband and my friends and I've finally got off my bum and done some research on making mother's bracelets. I've done some digging on where to source quality beads and how much it's going to cost to start up this business. I've also done cost analysis on how much each bracelet will cost to make and how much I could sell them for. Today I took a big step and took a mock up bracelet to coffee group to see if people even found them attractive. I was quite pleased with how cool they all thought the bracelets were. Even this blog is a step towards putting myself "out there".


It's kind of scary taking this step, I'm letting people know that I have this dream of staying home with my children and making money. I have a dream of "having it all", staying home and working at something I love. And quite honestly, it might flop, I may never make a success of The Bag Lady and The Beaded Woman.


So, I'm left with the question..... Do I put myself out there and see what happens? Or do I play it safe and go back to teaching?