Great Book, Change, Pineapple, and a Project

Two days ago, Tuesday that it is, I went to “Back-to-School” Night at Drama Queen’s school.  Afterward, I had the rare and wonderful opportunity to get some time to myself.  I went to Barnes & Noble, one of my very favorite places.  I got some new preschool workbooks for Princess, which she needed.  I then went to browse the craft section.  It is always interesting to me to see what books have come out recently from designers that I know of.  I was AWED by Kristin Omdahl’s new book Croceht So Fine.  Some of the projects were remarkable.  Then, I happened to spot this book:

This is an excellent book that I am really enjoying.  Great to read if you want to sell your crafts!  I am about halfway through it already.  I am feeling very inspired and energized about things with my business.  One of the sections is about branding-coming up with an image and feel for your business and how you convey that in your materials.  This has inspired me to begin to make some changes.  I have thought for awhile now, that my trade name, “April Creates” is rather dull.  I chose it because it conveys to me why I am making a business out of my hobby. 

I was very inspired a couple of years back by a church meeting that I went to.  One of our general leaders was speaking specifically to women.  He encouraged us to be creative in order to find happiness.  He said that being creative makes us like God in a small way.  It allows us to improve the world both around us and within us.  A quote from that message is in my banner at the top of my blog.  I have hesitated to change my trade name for a couple reasons: 1) the time and effort involved, 2) concern that I might lose some of my followers in the process, and 3) not wanting to lose sight of the importance I place on creating things and what it means to me.  However, I also feel that in order to do business well, a name and an image that excites others, and makes me feel good about that image, is essential.  I’ve concluded that just like mistakes in my crochet, this is going to keep nagging at me until I fix it, and it’s better to make the change now as it will be even more work the longer I wait.  So, there are changes coming.  I want to get everything set up just right before I unveil my new trade name.  I’d really like to get that and my logo, which I started on today (that was great fun!), trademarked/registered before using them so that I can be sure no one else will use them.  So, it will be a bit before you see the changes, but I will post all the details here before making the switch to a new blog and etsy store, etc.  I am also feeling excited again about the prospect of selling finished items.  This is something I started out doing last year, but pulled back in favor of just selling patterns.  I really like the idea though of doing both.  However, the accounting is more complicated for selling finished items, and this aspect of business is SOOOOOO stressful to me.  I think that I need to either invest in bookkeeping software, or hire a bookkeeper to help me set things up before I get started down that vein again.

Yesterday I loaded up my 3 youngest and went grocery shopping, the most dreaded chore of my week.  We bought some fresh pineapple.  It was on sale.  I LOVE fresh pineapple, but I don’t buy it very often.  It is one of those things that I always get when it is available at social events and buffets.  It is one of those great summer fruits I enjoy.  I also love cherries and cantaloupe.  Does anyone have any great summer fruit recipes that I should try out before the summer fruits are gone for the season?  I chopped ours up today and had some for lunch.  Yummy!  Lady Hops-a-lot had some too, but not much.  The other girls weren’t very impressed by the sight of it.  I thought it was wonderful!

I also have a little sneak peek here of the design project I have been working on for a couple months now.  I am mostly likely going to self-publish this one, because I am itching to get a paying project out.  I took this picture sitting right here at my computer, where I often sit when I work.  I also frequently work sitting up in bed, and at the dining room table.

Well, Lady Hops-a-lot, and Princess are chasing each other, and Baby is just about to get up from a nap.  Drama Queen’s bus will be here soon.  So, I might get in a few more rounds, but then it’s off to my Mommy duties.

Happy stitching all!