Monday, June 27, 2011

A Young Entrepreneur

When I approached Sarah and Jane through Etsy convo, I was pleasantly surprised to get this answer,"Thanks for the sweet note! Yes, my daughter, Sarah and I would feel honored to be featured in your blog." This mother daughter team work well together to make unique creations for each customer. You will love their work and, after the interview you will also love this young entrepreneur.

So now, here is Sarah from Sarah and Jane.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


1. Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Sarah Howland and with the support of my Mom, I launched Sarah and Jane
last summer...at the age of 16! I am blessed to have a whole room devoted just for allowing my creative juices to run wild! When I am not sewing (which is not often) I enjoy devouring delicious books, hanging out with friends, and of course shopping for fabric. My love for reading is how the name "Sarah and Jane" came to be. One of my favorite authors is Jane Austen...hence the Jane.






2. How did you begin working in your craft and how did it develop into a business?
I first started sewing when I was very little. My first creations were extremely lopsided pillows. As I grew older, my Mom actually taught me and other young girls how to properly sew. I really enjoy sewing clothing and tote-bags, but as I scoured a blog one day I saw a free pattern for fabric covered notebooks. After much perfecting I came up with the first Sarah and Jane notebook.





3. What is one of your favorite homeschool memories thus far?

I do not just have one particular favorite memory, but several instances immediately come to mind. When I was younger, my Mom would read out-loud to my older brother and I. My imagination ran wild and I truly fell in love with literature. Who knows what reading out-loud can do?





4. What advise would you give to other homeschool families who are also trying to run a home business?
Make sure you have time! My Mom and I started our business in the summer before my junior year. Once school started my courses munched every last bit of my time. It was very hard to take time and simply sew or imagine new designs. Even now, I am restocking the store because my studies have finished.



5. Where do you find inspiration for your pieces?
Most of my inspiration comes from seeing and touching the fabric. I can just picture what the fabric could be. My Mom also gives me tons of ideas, along with magazines, Etsy, and blogs.




6. Do you have specific goals for your business or for your homeschooling? Would you share some of those with us?
I am very interested in marketing so Sarah and Jane was at first an experiment to test my skills. I could not have done it without my Mom! But, Sarah and Jane has become a way for me to express my creativity and it also gives me a glimpse of how much goes into a business. My goal is to restock the online store and perhaps put some Sarah and Jane products in local stores. You can also find Sarah and Jane on Facebook.


Posted by VeryVerdant

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Potato Salad



Our family LOVES olives. A.Lot. And pickles. But mostly olives. So this recipe is perfect for us. Even if you don’t, this is an easy and fast potato salad! Just substitute the olives and pickles for something you DO enjoy… or simply leave them out.

Amazing Potato Salad

3 pounds potatoes
8 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup chopped red onions
3/4 cup diced dill pickles
1/2 cup sliced black olives

Dressing:
1/4 cup mustard
2-1/4 cup mayonnaise or miracle whip
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Boil potatoes whole and unpeeled. Cool, peel, and cut into chunks. Peel, rinse and cut up the eggs. Toss the potatoes, eggs, onions, pickles and olives gently. In a separate bowl, mix the dressing ingredients. Add to the potato mixture and carefully stir to coat everything evenly. Keep refrigerated. Serves 8-10.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reposted with permission from Prairie Cottage Rose
Related Etsy Shops
Prarie Cottage Rose
Puddin Toes

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Running Around In Circles

You know, I assumed that the onset of summer would bring with it a peace, and quiet and rest. I was envisioning sparkling sand and salt water, picnic baskets and pink lemonade.

Alas, reality has ended my daydream. What was I thinking? After all, I am a mother of four. Two of my kids are teenagers - with jobs. One of those teenagers - with a job- does not even have her drivers license yet.

So instead of casual strolls at the beach, I am running circles around the city taking my four children to swim practice and choir practice and work and ...

So here to celebrate the busy"ness" of mother hood are a few items from SHETEAM member. This collection is a team rendition of Running Around In Circles. After all, Stay At Home Moms can all relate to this circle busy"ness" and none of us would trade this crazy life for anything in the whole ROUND world.


Rose Peppermint Bath Bombs






Two Tone Sterling Silver Orbit Necklace





Luggage Tags




Rag Quilt





Circular Chapel Veil Cap





Heating and Cooling Pad with Removable Cover

Find more Circles and Dots HERE.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Finding Inspiration in Alaska

Krystie, of Log Cabin Creations, shares her perspective on running a homebusiness and homeschooling in the beautiful state of Alaska.


Tell Us A Little Bit About Yourself.
I am a long time Alaskan (30 + years now) and love living in Eagle a remote town of 150 near the Canadian border. My husband and I have 4 children ages 10- 14 we have home schooled for 10 years. My husband is the pastor of Eagle Bible Chapel.



2. How did you begin working in your craft and how did it develop into a business?
I love creating and being home with our kids so Log Cabin Creations was born about 10years ago. I have been selling my hand crafted items at our local Eagle Mall for the last 8 years. I am thankful that my business has grown to equal almost half of our yearly income. I do a variety of crafts from jewelry making to knitting to creating knitting patterns to knotted trivets.



Organic Cotton Flower Facecloth Set


3. What is one of your favorite homeschool memories thus far?
We were able to take a 2 month road trip and visited 21 states as well as 3 Canadian provinces/territories, we had a great time and learned lots along the way.


4. What advise to would you give to other homeschool families who are also trying to run a home business?
I keep reminding myself that my focus is homeschooling and that my business comes second, my kids are going to leave home in a few short years and then I can dedicate more time to business.




5. Where do you find inspiration for your pieces?
I love the north so many of my pieces reflect the north or Alaska.



Handmade Earrings

6. Would you share with us some of your specific goals for your business or for your homeschool?
My goal for homeschooling is to create the love of learning within my children, if they are unable to list all the states and capitals that is okay...so long as they love to learn about new things and learn how to do new things or teach themselves with all the resources around us a new skill.



Hand Dyed Cowl

To view more of Krystie's work, please, visit -
www.etsy.com/shop/LogCabinCreation
www.EcoCessory.etsy.com
www.eaglemallalaska.com
www.facebook.com/LogCabinCreations

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Sheteam Member Featured In Etsy's Quit Your Day Job

Our very own Chris and Laura of The Wood Garden


were recently featured in Etsy's Quit Your Day Job. We want to congratulate you, Laura and Chris, for a job well done!!!


Please stop by and read the article as it was posted on Etsy's Quit Your Day Job.

http://www.etsy.com/storque/seller-handbook/quit-your-day-job-chris-and-laura-of-the-wood-garden-12769/