Monday Madness

Ahhhhh!!!!!  A lot of frustrated comments and remarks were heard throughout my house this past week.  Tonight, I am totally bummed, but I also feel a small sense of peace at the same time.  I decided today to close my Etsy shop.  Why?  Well...because I made children items, I had to make sure I was compliant with CPSC.  It is for safety reasons and I totally understand why we need to have safety precautions, however my little Etsy shop had to be compliant the same way Walmart or Toy R Us has to, and at the same level.  If I wanted to make and sell cute little baby plush toys...I had to pay for 3rd party testing?!  I won't even go into all of the paperwork and what not that was required for me to maintain on the variety of fabrics I have.  I have to provide proof of certification that my cotton fabric I bought from Joann's passed flammability regulations?!  Seriously?!  The other reason...NYS taxes.  There is a reason why our mom and pop stores here are becoming non-existent.  Totally ridiculous how they treat small businesses here.  I applaud all of the small businesses that are somehow making it work, I don't see how they are, but some of them are managing...against all odds, literally.

So, I have decided I can either sit here and wallow in my failure OR I can choose to see the positives out of all of this.

1.  I bet I'll probably be a whole lot nicer to my girls and hubby ;)  Did I mention it was a rough week?

2.  I can make some new fun outfits for my own girls.  They LOVED their Easter dresses I made.  I bet they would also love anything else I decided to make for them.  Plus, I'm always looking for new challenges :)  For those of you that have not seen my Easter dresses:

I made them using the Party Dress pattern from Lindsay Wilkes aka The Cottage Mama.  FYI:  You think these are cute, my hubby bought me Lindsay's book...I have lots of things I am looking forward to making for my girls! 

3.  I can finally make myself my cute lil handbag I've been drooling over for over a year now.  Goodbye diaperbag!

My fabric for my cute lil handbag!

4.  I just freed my day and night up tremendously with not having to promote myself on all of that social media.  I have more time now to sew and/or knit, blog, or to just chill out!

5.  I have developed a new sense of awe and appreciation for small business America.  Seriously...you guys inspire me :)

Stay tuned as I embark down a detour of my new and exciting journey and love of sewing!

Blessings,