I get this question a lot! Thanks so much to those of you that compliment me on my fabric choices. Sometimes I wonder if I chose good ones, and you always seem to give me the confirmation when I need it. ;)
I get most of my fabrics on Etsy. I am a loyal customer, so I only shop at 2-3 different stores, unless I must have a fabric that my fabric suppliers aren't currently offering. The following shops offer a huge variety of fabulous fabrics, as well as excellent customer service, and genuineness.
Fabric Supplies [I shop here most often]
Fabric WormLanie Jane [they have a website, which they use exclusively now:
Lanie JaneLike I said, I do occasionally shop others, like
Fabric Closet,
lollipop shoppe,
Hypernoodle2, and
My Heart and Sew. These shops have 1-2 fabrics I need that some of the others don't, so they have been my go to shops if the first 3 don't have what I am looking for.
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How did you decide on the names for your girls?
This is a fun one! It's not a super entertaining story, I'm afraid, but I will tell anyway. ;) Angelina literally came from Angelina Jolie. No. I am not kidding. LOL! I really like her as an actress, and think she is quite beautiful. Not to mention, Angelina seems to be quite a rare name these days, and as the case is, I love rare names. I don't like such rare names that they are made up and they sound horrible. And I am really anal about having a name that someone I know already has or has chosen for their children. But, since most of my friends weren't pregnant at the time of Angelina's birth, her name was fine. So there is Angelina's name. Her middle name is Skye. I wanted to actually name her Skye, but Mike didn't want that. He said it sounded to hippy. I also wanted to name her Jocelyn, but Mike didn't want that either. I still to this day love the name Jocelyn. It's such a lovely name. But, Angelina fits her to a T.
Zoe got her name because, A. Angelina and I LOVED it, and B. It was an agreeable name with Mike. Mike and I had a boy's name all picked out, even though we were 99.9% sure we were having another girl. LOL! But, Mike was pretty hard to sway from his #1 name choice. Dare I even say it? First off, sorry if you have any kids with this name. He wanted the name Josephine. And, I just couldn't do it. And so many people we knew didn't favor it either. Not in the least. He just would not budge on that name. Why? Who the heck knows?! He thought we could nickname her Josie or Joe or something. But why not just name her her nickname, right? LOL! So, anyway. After many weeks and weeks of begging and arm twisting, he finally agreed to the name Zoe. And her middle name was always to be Rae no matter what the first name was. Rae was Mike's grandmother's middle name, and to carry on the memory of her life, we always knew that one of our girls' middle names would be Rae. And Zoe, actually was the PERFECT name, because as most of you know. Zoe was born 10 weeks premature. The name Zoe means "Life". Perfect! :)
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I have questions about camera lenses... I have a pentax k200.. right now i only have the 18-55mm... I want to get a 70-300mm or something in that range... wondering what brand you suggest... I found a couple different ones for under $200 but wondering what you would suggest...
I suggest getting prime lenses. Also known as fixed lenses. I have a 75-300mm in my camera bag that I VERY rarely ever use. I mostly shoot right up on my subjects, and therefore prime lenses are the best for me. A prime lens means that the lens does not zoom in and out. You as the photographer are the actual zoom. In order to get closer, you walk closer, and vice versa. Prime lenses are the best lenses I own, and many of my photographer friends only use primes. Their images always seem to come out so crisp and clear... unless shooting a 2 year old jumping bean, of course. ;) I own a Canon 50mm 1.8 prime lens as well as my most recent birthday present, my Canon 35mm 2.0 - lenses are expensive!!! But, they are the most vital part to taking pictures. Great quality glass [lenses] lead to great photographs.
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Do your little ones do ballet? I saw an older video of Angelina.
Angelina and Zoe aren't currently enrolled in ballet. I am getting ready to enroll them in swim lessons, though. ;) Angelina and Zoe both used to do ballet. Angelina for several years until recently. That's another story, though. :)
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How do you decide what fabrics to pick for your shop?
Honestly? I am usually re-ordering fabric that I am about out of, and just so happen to come across a fabric I can't live without. So, I get it. Sometimes, however. I have been asked for that certain fabric, or I see what fabrics are most popular so I can appeal to those that like the fabrics that are most popular. I usually look at the fabric for about 5 minutes [literally] thinking if it would work as a camera strap slipcover. Not all fabrics will. Since my camera strap slipcovers are only about 2.5" wide or so... only certain fabrics will work. The funny thing is... so many times I have bought fabrics that I think aren't going to sell well, and they sell like crazy. Funny how that works. ;) I just LOVE fabric, so I like to experiment.
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Are there any new items for your shop in the works?
Actually, yes! :) I have lots of ideas, and I certainly welcome any ideas you may have too! I will have more time here very shorty to work on some new stuff, and then I will share them with you, of course. ;) My turnaround time will be coming down drastically by the end of this week too. Stay tuned for that!
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I know Christmas time was super busy for your business, what other
time of the year is busy for you?
Christmas time was busy, but in no way was I prepared for March, April and May of this year. That's not to say that I am complaining, because I certainly am not. ;) I am so appreciative of each and every customer that visits and buys from my shop. Words could not express how thankful I feel! March started a frenzy in my shop! I had over 150 orders in 1 week, and in the rest of that month I had over 300 orders! April was close to as many as March and May there were a lot of sales too! I had to hire an assistant to help me. I was simply buried up to my eyeballs. LOL! It was wonderful, though! That was the reason my turnaround time was so long... I just couldn't get them made fast enough. So, thank you everyone for loving my product so much! I was and still am beside myself! My shop turns turn ONE in August! My husband and I were just talking about some big plans for the birthday. :) Thanks are in order to all of you out there! Stay tuned!!
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Now that you've moved, what is your next BIG project
(besides unpacking and decorating that is)?
Wow. This is a tough one. I think my most ambitious project/goal right now is to eventually open my own fabric shop website/Etsy shop. I love fabric so much that being surrounded by it all the time would just make me happy. Not to mention... think how pretty walls of fabric bolts would be! Oh how lovely! :) I have been finding that fabric is quickly becoming a passion of mine that I don't want to let die out. I get like a child on Christmas morning everytime a fabric I ordered comes in. Even if it's Black and White Damask, which I order tons of. :) Fabric makes me happy, so why not surround myself with it? Now, this goal isn't going to be one that starts for a while, but as ambitious as I have become, I think I can make it happen some day - hopefully soon.
Of course the project that overshadows everything is just that of being a good mother. I strive to be the best mom I can be everyday. I am so far from perfect, but I try my best. I have a lot of goals for the future, so who knows what will happen! So many goals, so little time! I better get moving. ;)
And, yes. I do have projects I need to start working on for my home. For the girls mainly. I am thinking about making Angelina a quilt for Christmas. Something that she can always cherish. Something special just for her. I know she would adore something like that. For Zoe, it's all about Owls and woodland creatures for her room, so I need to get moving on that. All in good time. :)
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You seem to be a highly productive person, working on your shop items, reading, spending time w/ your family...how many hours of sleep do you average? LOL!!
LOL!!! This is so funny! Thank you for this question, I literally burst out laughing when I read it. ha ha. I don't get a ton of sleep... but I do get a decent amount. My whole life I have been a night creature it seems. I just love night time, and don't seem to want to sleep until past midnight every night. If I am in bed before midnight, you KNOW I was exhausted. ha ha!
Let's see... I am productive sometimes, but I am lazy at heart. So many days there is nothing I want more than to lay in bed and read all day and do absolutely nothing. Now how do I convince my kids that this would be fun? Ha! Very funny! ;) I am not a clean freak, but so strive to keep the house at least semi clean for my husband's sake. Because, my husband is a neat freak. But, over the years, he has learned that I am set in so many of my ways that changing me is never going to happen. But I also try and occomodate him as well. Do the dishes [I have a dishwasher now, so it's super easy], sweep, vacuum, mop, etc. His weakness is clean sheets, so I know if the house is a mess all I have to do is change the sheets on our bed, and everything in his world will be OK. ;) My husband does ALL of the laundry, because he's awesome like that. Everything else I just do when I do it. The toilets are where my freakiness comes out. I must have a clean toilet, and sometimes I clean my toilets 2-4 times a week just so I know they're clean. Toilets are NASTY! But, we must have them, because going outback in an outhouse would just be so much worse, don't you think? LOL! I think I am getting SO offtrack here.
Anyway. I read every single night. Even if it's 1 page. I just have to do it. Reading for me is just a pure, wonderful and blissful escape. And it's making my brain work, so that's excuse enough for me. I do read A LOT and sometimes I am up until 2am with that amazing page turner, but then I regret it big time in the morning. ha ha! I never make an excuse of being too busy for it either. Because I think reading a good book just aids in making my day better. After my kids go to bed at night, I usually sit down and read for a couple of hours until I am ready for bed. Reading doesn't make me tired if the book is good, and lately I have read SO many good ones! I have a book recommendation post coming soon!
I have had to change a lot too to make time work for me. My kids are always number 1. So, I make time for them no matter what deadlines are looming. Naptime is a crucial work time for me. A productive nap time ensures that I don't have to work at night, because that would be cutting into my time with my husband as well as my reading time, blog time, or whatever I want to do time. I hate working at night, and therefore strive to get as much done during naptime as I can. Sometimes I work a little after my kids are up from their nap/rest, but I try not to. My kids are pretty independent, so they play alone a lot or together. Of course, we play games together, or sing. We also love having dance parties! That's a fun calorie burner for ya! ;) So, basically, I have my day roughly scheduled out so I know what I need to do. Since owning my own business it's been crucial to do so.
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I am quite jealous of your new crafty space. But where or where
are the pictures of Rob??
HA HA!!! Funny how you noticed Rob was missing. :) Don't you worry your pretty little heads! Rob is still around... I just need to find a good spot for him. I will be sure and take a picture of his new spot in my office. Likely watching over me while I sew. ha ha.
Thanks for the love on the new house! We are absolutely loving this house as well. I am especially loving my sewing studio/office/own space! SO nice to be nice and cool when I sew! And we moved just in time! It's been quite sweltering lately!
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Well, I hope you enjoyed the Q&A!! I sure did! And, I hope I answered all of your questions!! If not, shoot me an email! I love questions!
Thank also for reading my blog!! I am so flattered that you all love this little piece of cyberspace enough to come and check it out. It means a lot to me! I love every comment you leave me, and I visit a lot of you as well! Leave me a comment, and I will go to your little chunk of cyberspace and leave you one as well!
xo,
Shealynn
