1 Year!!!

One year ago today, Daddy sat down with his computer and asked me, "What is a username and password you won't forget?"

I was a little disturbed at what he could be doing ;), but after some persuading, I answered him, and the he asked, "Now what did you say you wanted to call your Etsy shop?"

I've considered opening an Etsy shop since I was about 14, but I always put it off as a "someday" project. Confirmed: if you haven't noticed, that's pretty much what I do with pretty much everything that I've never done before. A couple weeks before, Daddy had asked me, "Is starting an Etsy shop really something you want to do, or do you just think that you should because it's something we've mentioned you could do?"

"No, I really want to do it," I answered. "But you know me. I'll enjoy it once I'm started, and I want to do it, but I'm terrified of actually starting. I'm going to need a push before I'll do anything about it." So he set the wheel in motion. Yeah, he's pretty awesome :).

Selling on Etsy is fun, and challenging. It's challenging in that I do want to make everything I think of right away, but, you do have to sell some items to have the money to pay for others ;). And there was that one order I got that I was out of town when it came in, and in order for it not to be super late, I tatted 20 bookmarks in one day. A major victory and headache was gained that day. It's also a bit challenging in that I'm super un-techy, and everything internet side takes longer than expected.

But it's fun that I can be making money crafting, which is something I've always loved! I have a reason to make things that I don't actually have a designated purpose for, and I get to make things that other people get enjoyment out of, and it's really awesome to hear how much others enjoy using something I had so much fun putting together :).

As I was thinking about my shop's one year anniversary, I asked Tori, "Do you remember the craft shop I ran behind the couch when we were little?" We used to have this corner couch, but because of our fireplace, it was set up so the couch created a walled-in corner in our living room, rather than fitting into it. Mama kept an extra end table behind it, and I would take a small chair, put up an "open" sign on the window behind the couch, and wait for business- usually making hats or diapers for Tori's and my care bears. I also read back there, or watched the hummingbirds that visited the feeder right outside the window. I actually kept a "humming bird sighting log"... for about two days. There were so many that I just gave up. I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that I pretty much lived back there for about a year, haha!

"YES! I had forgotten, but YES!", Tori answered. "I would come and ask you if you could make something, and you would say "Let me see what I can do". And if you didn't have time to make something, you would just make a paper pattern and sell me that. I always just glued the patterns together, I didn't actually make anything."

"And you paid with printer paper money," I remembered. And all of the hats fell apart, because I would cut holes for the Care Bear ears, not knowing how to bind off and then recast on in later rows, haha. It's fun to think back on, now that I'm doing it "for real". I'm looking forward to continuing to grow my Etsy, and I want to thank all of you who have supported my shop. Whether it was by teaching or encouraging me in a craft technique, or sharing or liking my shop, giving me your leftover crafting supplies, or in actually buying an item (or, in the case of my Mama, not banning me from crafting when those chopped up hats shed yarn ends all over the carpet for months), thank you!

And to celebrate Under the Tapestry's 1st year anniversary, all customers from August 10th to August 12th, 2016, may use the coupon code "1YEAR" in my shop to get 15% off of your order :)!