My Etsy selling story

Happy Monday everyone! There has been a lot of chatter (mostly from me) within the last week on social media about my new Etsy shop: SweetSuits. I want to use this little corner of the Internet to share more about the who/what/why/where/how's of my new venture and hopefully inspire you to check out my products or maybe even start a store of your own!

The idea came to me about 2 months ago when I pinned this image on Pinterest. I'm always looking for fun swimsuits and I hate showing up in the same suit as someone else (don't we all?). I started pittering around on Etsy and ended up buying a swimsuit top from this shop owner, the same one that makes the popular one that I had pinned. I really like the top and I've gotten some compliments on it, but I had a few issues with it...

First - I noticed in the reviews that a lot of the customers weren't happy with the fit (it slid down when they bent over, etc.) and they didn't like how wide the back was. I seemed to agree with both of these statements after I got my top, but I knew what it would look like and how it would perform, so I wasn't entirely displeased.

Second - the suit was VERY simply made and had a few small issues like gapping and unfinished edges. I immediately knew I could make something similar and better.

Since the wide back seemed to bother me (and others) the most, I got on Etsy to see if anyone was selling a normal bandeau top with a proper back closure like a clasp or tie. I couldn't find ANYTHING! I couldn't believe that it could be THAT hard to make a swimsuit top that fits and performs like one you can find in any other store front. 

So with that, I starting thinking about starting a shop and making suits. I found more images that I wanted to try out and did my research on Etsy about what people were making and charging.

First I tested a swimsuit top using cheap material I got at Jo-Ann. It served its purpose and I was able to answer a lot of questions I had about how to make the top (since I was sewing without a pattern). I learned that my 68+year old Singer sewing machine wasn't going to cut it since it only had 1 stitch pattern and I needed  a zig zag stitch for the nature of swimsuit material. I also learned how thin cheap fabric can be!

the prototype

Then, I found some great resources that have super cute patterns and solid colors and are great quality, so I ordered samples from them. Once I got my samples, I ordered a few yards of 3 three different fabrics. 

my first fabric order!

Last week, after a plan to borrow a sewing machine that could do a zig zag stitch failed, I took the plunge and found a great deal on a simple machine on Craigslist (are you sensing a theme in my shopping trends?). As soon as I got home I got to work sewing my next suit. It came a LONG way since the first one, and that's when I took photos and listed it for sale here as a pre-order. I have access to a great number of different patterns and colors, so at the moment I'm letting my customers decide which combination they want. It's a great way to keep production costs down!

my craigslist score (3/3, if you're counting)

just a small amount of the patterns available!

my first listing!

So that was my path to opening my Etsy shop. Of course, I listed (and sold!) a few camera straps before I had everything ready for the swimsuits. My goal is to be able to make fun, quality things and sell them at a great price. A lot of Etsy items are really great, but sometimes I feel like sellers take advantage of their customers just because it's a handmade item. I need to be able to buy my materials and pay for my time and shipping, but that's all I'm going to be charging my customers. As I come across crafts and projects that I think will benefit customers, I'll make them. I'm just super excited about this new creative outlet and I hope to be successful!

my first sale!

fun camera straps posted this weekend

fabric I'm hoarding for future crafts!

Of course, I'd love your help getting the word out, so please feel free at any time to share my blog, my Etsy shop, my pins on Pinterest, and my instagram account, because social media is so important to bringing new eyes to my products. Anyone who shares and tags me gets 20% off any item of their choice, even custom orders. :)

Thanks so much for reading and please contact me if you would like anything custom made! 

Blooms

Summer has SUDDENLY arrived in Texas so that means 100+ degree temps and lots of dying plants and grass. A lot of my annuals are starting to wither away, but other plants are fighting to stay alive. I went ahead and snapped some pics just in case they die off in the next few weeks... #blackthumb

We planted some Russian Sage flanking our garage doors last weekend and I cannot believe we waited so long to figure this out. I think they look great against our house colors and I can't wait for them to get big and bushy! They are supposed to be drought tolerant and perennials...we'll see. 

Our big pecan trees are full and green, too!

My hydrangea are turning colors...this one has been green for a while, but I'm thinking its going to turn pink eventually. See the pink on the edges? They change colors depending on the soil acidity and there is a house down the street that has a bunch of pink hydrangea, so I'm thinking that's what we are in for. Can't wait for them to make up their mind!

I relocated all of my petunias to the back where they get more sun. They should be annuals (right?) but as long as I give them plenty of water, they are happy! Also, #patternmixing. :)

I love green onions but we don't seem to use them fast enough and they go bad. Here's a tip - stick the roots in water and they will grow! I had them cut down all the way to the blue sticker, so everything else is growth. Love this tip!

..and this is my bloom failure. I picked this orchid up from TJ's for $5 a couple months back. It did fine and was independent for a good 45 days but suddenly it shriveled up and the flowers died. The bottom still looks alive so I just chopped off the flowers and moved it to the windowsill. Crossing my fingers it comes back! Any orchid experts out there want to chime in?

Fresh flowers, as usual. :) I picked these up for $1.49 at Kroger on Saturday. LOVE!

We have ivy surrounding our house, and it has decided to start taking over this flowerbed. I'm totally OK with it right here since it's bare anyway, but should I be concerned about it popping up all over our back lawn? 

Everywhere. 

I hope some of these blooms stay alive into next winter. I love lush, green plants!

#favtotalsocial

I'm linking up with my fave Dallas bloggers today for #totalsocial! Link up and follow along!

Favorite pet I ever had

-The current pups, Motley, Motters, Mo-mo, Momosita, Momolicious, Momosa, Motts, Mo.

Favorite car I’ve owned

-Sporty Spice, my current car, a Kia Sportage. Even after this happened. :(

Favorite meal out, ever

-Ooooooh ok this is hard. Ummmm I had a really great deep dish pizza AND (at another meal) an amaaaazing chicken parmesan in Chicago. I'd have to say the chicken parmesan was the best ever. SOOOOO good.

Favorite food I’ve cooked

This simple one pot chicken alfredo is pretty dang good.

Favorite food from childhood

All of the sugary foods that my mom never let me have live Gushers, Fruit loops, etc.

Favorite movie of all time

Hmmm. also hard. I like Anchorman, and musicals, and things like The Holiday. No favorites though.

Favorite book of all time

The Harry Potter series! They are what got me into reading when I read them about 7-8 years ago. 

Favorite item category to go shopping for with a girlfriend

Hmmm I'm not big on social shopping but I'd have to say just window shopping/browsing accessory stores (like in Bishop Arts) is my fave.

Favorite day out – what, where, with whom

Out on the lake and to a patio dinner with friends and family!

Favorite color

It always changes, but I'd have to say red-orange and fuchsia right now.

Favorite artist

As in art, or as in music? I don't know that I have a favorite for either...I do love me some Mumford & Sons. Does that count?

Favorite song

Ugh. This is way too specific. I don't know!!!

Favorite paid entertainment I’ve ever seen

John Mayer

Favorite hobby activity that makes me get lost for hours

Blogging, when I get into a groove. It's so much fun and really fulfilling!

Favorite skill (past or current)

I played French Horn for about 8 years and I really enjoyed that. I wasn't the best by far, but I feel like I was pretty good!

Favorite advice I’ve ever been given

Don't use credit cards. Really, people, don't. You'll stay out of a lot more trouble and lose a lot of stress that way.

Favorite advice I’ve ever given

Well, I give a LOT of advice...haha ummm I'd say my best advice is to NOT TEXT A GUY FIRST! See my explanation above, because it applies here as well.

Favorite year of the best birthday I ever had… and why

Easy. Barbie birthday when I turned 5 years old. AND fell asleep before the party started. 

Favorite natural wonder I’ve ever seen

The Na Pali coastline in Kauai.

Favorite close call I’ve ever had

We had a serious icy winter a few years back in Dallas and my employer at the time didn't believe in closing the office (our restrooms weren't working) so I had gone to work. I drove a little Chevy Cavalier at the time and I didn't have lunch so I had to go out to get some. As I was coming back, about to enter the highway (but still going rather slow), my car lost traction and started careening towards a guardrail, which happened to be 'guarding' the drop off on the small bridge I happened to be on. I screamed and did the whole turn your wheel thing and finally regained traction about 12" before I hit the rail. I just sat there stopped for a minute. It was scary!

My favorite flower – purchased

-Peonies

My favorite flower or plant – personally grown

-my blue/turning pink Hydrangea in our front yard!

My favorite hair day ever?

-back when I had hair. :( see post from Friday.

The most favorite gift I’ve ever gotten – what and from whom?

-Hmmm this is really hard! When we first started dating, Mark bought me tickets to see John Mayer in Austin, so that was fun. I also got my DSLR for my birthday this year and I've loved having that!

Favorite unusual pet I’ve ever had

We had a turtle once named Diddly Squat that was pretty awesome. He successfully escaped the jaws of our dog Lucky 1 out of 2 times...

Favorite outdoor smell

-Campfire, easy!!!

Favorite Saturday night ever?

-well this is specific...ummmm I don't know?!

My favorite non-relative adult growing up

-Hahahah these questions are hilarious. Non-relative adult, hmm? Well my first grade teacher (Miss Purdy) was pretty awesome and she always remembered me when I ran into her around town. Even to this day!

Favorite TV rerun I could watch 50 times?

-the Office : beach games

Favorite item no one knows I own?

-What? Um...my uncle gave us our own stars when we were younger?

Favorite competent activity I do?

I really like to play volleyball, but haven't in YEARS!

Favorite food item I can never run out of?

Macaroni and cheese, always.

The favorite picture I’ve ever taken?

This is kind of the worst quality, and I guess my friend Terra actually took it. But I really like it for some unknown reason!

Favorite secret I still safeguard? (don’t reveal it!)

duh.

checking in with Pinterest!

If you're new here, you should know I LOVE Pinterest. I was mildly active before we bought our house, but now that we own a home and are deep into the routine of  married life, I find myself using it all the time! I refer to it for recipes the most, and I keep a running list of decor inspiration and fitness tips to keep me motivated! You can find my profile here or click the button to the left.

Here's what I'm pinning (and doing!) : 

I am pleading with Mark to let me repaint our main bathroom in this slate blue color (shown above and below). It's currently navy, which isn't far off, but we went wrong when we chose to use satin for the bathroom (according to recommendations). It's TOO shiny and a little too dark. Help me convince him!

These look SO good! My mouth waters just looking at them...

I've been dying to make my tiny laundry corner a little more functional, so I've been pinning lots of ideas for worksurfaces. Look for a blog post in the future if I ever get around to it!

We have explored 500+ options for our next backyard landscaping project. Right now I'm liking the below image, but the grass would be pebbles because grass isn't growing in the area we want to do this.

I've seen SO many people repin this and they look super yummy! I have a jar of Nutella in my pantry just begging to be turned into this...

I saw this picture and was like - YES - this is my style, to a T. Do you agree?

I made this baked cream cheese spaghetti last Sunday and it was pretty tasty!

I also had this chicken taco bowl recipe cooking in the crock pot all day Tuesday. It was really tasty, very similar to a chili I make in the fall, but I didn't serve it over rice because we didn't end up eating until about 9:45 that night! 

Love this print... 

...and this one too!

This California club pasta salad is DELICIOUS and perfectly light for summer. I didn't have avocados (oops) so I just put a tiny bit of ranch dressing in there, and it was SOOO GOOOOD. Seriously, this is going to become a staple recipe, which I don't currently have, other than desserts. :)

I'm still trying to come up with things to do for our trip to California in September. Santa Barbara is high on the list!

We've decided on pretty solid plans for our backyard, but now we just have to implement them! I'm thinking of doing a garden on one side of the house. I love this quaint one below! Looks manageable!

Happy pinning!

Finish the sentence...

Just sharing a fun little survey today. Maybe you’ll learn something new about me! Feel free to copy and repost on your blog!

When I open the fridge, I always hope I find.... something yummy I forgot I had. Like cheese…mostly cheese.

                       
My favorite article of clothing is... hmm it’s a toss up between a ripped up pair of comfy jeans or my fuchsia VS size L sweatpants (tall girl problems – I swim in these but they are long enough!!!)

Last week I was really upset when... I missed out on a $150 fancy drawered dishwasher. BUT then I found another great deal so that was short lived.

One thing nobody understands about me is... how about just me in general? Apparently I’m pretty mysterious…

One thing I don't understand is... all of the unnecessary problems of the world.

The world would be a better place if... there was no hate.

If I had a million dollars, I'd... pay off our house and the rest of our loans, buy another house on land, rent our current one out, invest part of the money…and probably have a baby and stay home. (sorry Beth)

If I knew I'd die next week, this week I'd.... see all my family members and friends, tell them I love them, go to Europe, then come back and eat LOTS of Mexican food, bacon cheese fries, Dr, Pepper and cheesecake. (shoutout Courtney)

If I could change one thing about myself, it would be... my height. Being tall mostly sucks.

Something that can always make me happy is... puppies!

Something I'll never blog about is... political/religious hot topics. We are all entitled to our opinions, but I don’t want to start a mess!

If I could go anywhere I would go... ALLLLLL over western Europe. Mostly Greece. And Spain. And Italy. You get the picture.

If I were an animal I would be a ... ummmm………I don’t know. A leopard probably, since I wear spots all the time. lame.

My idea of a perfect day is... energy to get up in the morning and go on a walk or to the Farmer’s market. Then lunch on a patio somewhere followed up by time spent on the lake and dinner looking out over the lake as the sun sets. I can dream, right?

Things are looking up

Hey, remember this post?

starting point

Or what about this one?

light update

We finally got around to sprucing up our quaint entryway, and we did it easily and inexpensively!

I first spotted this removable wallpaper by Devine Color at Target a few months back and have been biding my time waiting for inspiration to strike. I ALWAYS envisioned using it on the ceiling here, but I wanted to make sure I made the best decision on color/pattern. 

I decided to go monochromatic but textured and patterned, and I really REALLY like it!

I chose the "weave" pattern in Mirage & Silver. It is a great grey without any green or blue undertones, which works perfect with our Dolphin Fin grey paint by Behr. 

We had to cut 3 strips of the paper and then Mark and I worked together to stick it on the ceiling as best as we could. It only took about 30 minutes and was pretty easy! It would be even more simple if you applied it to a wall, so don't be afraid to do it if you're thinking about it! At $30 for a roll, you can take the risk. Plus, it's REMOVABLE (and genius!)!!! 

In case you needed to see 5 pictures of the same thing:

now we're here!

I'm loving the metallic punch along with the darker grey tone, especially when the light is on to make it really sparkle. This transformation has been one of the easiest to accomplish and I think it works wonders on the first impression when stepping into our home. Love it! 

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Monday news: I've set up an Etsy shop! It's called sweetsuits (you can find it by searching or just click here)

Right now I only have camera straps listed, but I'll be posting lots more this month. 

Think pillow cases, swimsuits, etc.! Please let me know if I can make you anything custom, because that's available too. Thanks for your support!