Blogging Pressures: What I learned from my seventh month break.

Blogging is a hobby for me and sometimes I just need a break.  Well, more like a seventh month break!   I took a hiatus from blogging because I had lots of work coming in and I just didn't have time.   I felt the pressure and the stress of not adding new content on my blog. Because I felt the pressure I just stopped cold turkey coming here. I was unsure of the direction of the blog and I had so much work on my plate it was better for me to leave Sewing and Crafting with Sarah "out of sight, out of mind".  Comments sat in queue, emails went unanswered, no Facebook updates, tweets, pins, - nothing. 

Over the last several days I have started going through the comments, emails, and updating my blog.  The wonderful thing about the Internet is that it still keeps chugging along with or without you. 

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I have Google ads and affiliate ads on this blog.  My old content was still getting click-through and money was still being made.  Granted it is a small amount of money but my efforts from earlier years was still paying off for me. 

Recently, I sat down and read through the thousands of emails that were sent through my blog, most of it was spam.  However, there were some opportunities I missed out on because I was M.I.A.  I did miss some free product, some extra exposure for some of my tutorials.  But I also learned that I was getting a check from Google, Linkconnector.com, and to my surprise Zazzle.com.   I set-up my Zazzle.com store 5 years ago. The images I designed were now making money and I had sales on a store that I completely forgot about. Again, that Internet keeps on chugging!

Spending the day going through emails made me realize several things.  It is okay to stop blogging for seven months because the Internet continues to work for you.  However, if you are going to take a break here are some key tips to remember:

• Do not change your paypal address because you could miss out on some opportunities for payment.
• Do not close any email addresses -  keep them all.   It is impossible to remember all the places you have given out your email and you may miss out on some extra blog exposure if you terminate an account.
• Keep a log or journal of all your passwords and accounts.  Nothing is worse than trying to guess what password you were using seven months ago.  *sigh*
• If you are going to stop blogging for a while do not close down your blog.  Let the old content work for you.  
• Don't worry when you see an email from the Internal Revenue Service they do not use the email tightwad@.....com  - You are not late on paying any taxes.  LOL
• Lastly, do not apologize for taking a break from blogging.  It is your blog you can stop and start whenever you darn well please.  :-)

Wondering where I have been for seven months?  I invite you to visit the Bowdabra Blog for some really great step-by-step tutorials.  I will still continue to blog at Bowdabra but the holidays are a big crafting time for me and I want to make sure I share additional tutorials here on my blog, as well.  

A Glimpse into my Craft Room

My craft room is one of those things that can get out of hand really quickly.  I do so much creating in this room the absolute last thing I want to do is organize and clean it.  My craft room is my escape my "break-free" room where I can be me.  However, when it is a mess I can't stand being in here.  I feel overwhelmed and completely uncreative. 

If you notice from my last post I haven't posted anything since January 1, 2012.  Why you ask?  My craft room was an absolute disaster from holiday crafting and I couldn't stand to be in it.  I craft every day for Bowdabra but most of that crafting I was doing in my sun-room so that I didn't have to be in here.  I would hurry downstairs grab a few totes and rush back upstairs to the my warm, sunny, glorious sun-room.  However, the problem with being upstairs is one I am limited to what I grab in a tote.  I have so much craft stuff I don't really know what I have unless it is organized.  Two my husband absolutely hates craft clutter so it strewn all over the upstairs makes him a bit cranky.  Three the pictures needed a lot of post editing because the sun-room casts weird shadows and the quality of the photos were dependent on the time day.  Four any spare time I had for crafting for my own personal time went into organizing my craft room.  I spent at total of 8 Sundays getting this little room organized.   Here is a glimpse into what it looks like all cleaned and organized.

My initial problem was that from the holidays I had stuff everywhere.  Here a couple before pictures.  I had tons of shelving units but it was filled with stuff and nothing was labeled.  Also the one window I had was completely covered. 

Here is another before angle.  (Notice the window at the top left all covered up.)

I need to go through organize and label to see what I had.  To my surprise I had 2 full bins of pompoms?  Really why so many pompoms? 

I also have an entire bin of bias tape.  No idea why?

Next, I need the sunlight (A MUST) when I am in the basement I feel trapped like an animal in a cage.  I took away a storage unit to uncover a basement window.  It is small window but even just a little bit of light really helps.  I turned two storage units sideways this gave me an aisle and let me get to everything easier.

The storage unit held bins of ribbon.  Instead of placing the ribbon in bins I made a wooden holder for the ribbon and placed the spools on dowels.  I also added a room separator to give me a backdrop so that I didn't have to look at all the bins.  I added some hair bows to the room separator  I think this would be a great backdrop for some craft videos.   (PS - Tomorrow's post will be how I built the ribbon rack.)

Next, I purchase a folding photography table.  The light is best by the backdrop so when I need the photography table I just set it up.  When I am done it folds up easily and can be placed in a corner.

I added some of my favorite things to the room.  My late grandfather made these wooden cars.  I added them to the room because they mean so much to me and they remind me of him.  (The photo was taken using the photography table - no after photo editing was needed.)

When of my favorite shelves is the section that holds my craft books and magazines.  Lots of my inspiration comes from books and magazines.  I added a wooden box that my father wood-burned for me.  It holds little trinkets and small gifts with meaning.

Lastly, I wanted my craft table open in the middle of the room.  On the other side of the table is my children's play area.  There is a TV, couch, and games.  By placing my table in the middle it separates my space but still lets me interact and be with them.   

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my craft room.  I found so many neat things I forgot I had and can't wait to start sharing some of my crafts now that my Sunday free time is not spent organizing it can be for some personal craft time. 

Sneak Peek Into My Craft Studio

Over at Crafts Unleashed last week, I published a post giving a sneak peek into my craft studio.  Really it was a peek I wasn't that comfortable with.  I worked right up until Christmas Eve on craft projects for several clients.  Christmas really is the busiest time for most crafters, myself included, and I was feeling disheveled and my studio was absolutely a mess.  I decided to work on my craft space all this week and add a few more pictures here on my blog.

My "numero uno" problem is that I have a ton of craft supplies and a tiny little studio.  My studio is off in the corner of our basement.  Why?  One, because our house is too small to put it anywhere else and two, I am the ultimate martyr and I would hate to inconvenience my family with piles of my craft goodies throughout our home.   So instead I designed my studio with inexpensive plastic storage shelves floor to ceiling using every inch of floor space available.  I then filled the plastic storage shelves with plastic storage containers.  My plastic consumption is probably responsible for global warming.  But I can't help it, plastic is cheap and the easiest way for me to get the most use out of my little crafting space. 

Fortunately, for me I still feel inspired down in my little office surrounded by my ugly storage containers.  I think because it is my space, separate from the rest of the house, and every inch of wall is filled with craft goodness. 

I do have a few favorite pieces that are not plastic.  I keep all my office supplies (pens, pencils, stapler, etc) in a wooden decorative box that I bought at Home Goods.  Love that thing!  I also have a circular style hat box that my husband gave me awhile back that I keep more office supplies in.  And my newest purchases are really large gift boxes that I bought at Wal-Mart on Christmas Clearance for $2.50, for the set.  I really like the bright colors, they add a little cheer among the gray plastic!

Even cleaned up is my office "Martha Stewart" pretty?  Nope, but it is my little hole in the ground and I love it! - Sarah Forhan

About Me: My Crafty Side

I began sewing at a young age with the guidance of my grandmother. I remember sitting down on the floor and spending hours looking through her scrap fabrics before deciding on the perfect one to use. To be honest looking through fabrics, all the colors, shapes, themes, is still my favorite past-time. My freshman year in high school, I took a sewing class; it is then that my love and knowledge of sewing flourished. My father surprised me with my very own sewing machine that year for my birthday. I still have that sewing 15 years later, (along with four others, including an embroidery machine, it is an addiction).

I took a break from sewing while in my early twenties. Life was too busy and I just didn’t have the time. It was not until our children were born that I began sewing again. At first it was just as a hobby; I sewed my children’s bedroom curtains and their crib bedding. I forgot how much I loved it. I couldn’t stop I started making my own stuffed animal patterns, sewed my daughter’s sun hats, and sundresses. I also started working on home décor, making quilts for our beds, throw pillows, curtains and valances. From a hobby it went to a business. I started selling children’s items at a local boutique and started selling quilts, stuff animals, and children’s items online. Most of my customer base came from a site called Clubmom. I had begun to write for them about crafting and frugal living. It was through them that my sewing and writing became intertwined. I would sew and craft in the morning while also taking care of my babies. In the afternoon, at nap time, I would write about the progress I had made that morning crafting.

As my children grew, so didn't my crafting experience and crafting knowledge. I began to experiment with other crafting mediums; beading, ribbon work, hair bow making, home décor crafts, seasonal crafts, decoupage, scrapbooking, and jewelry making. With each craft or creative idea, I would write about it.

My writing and crafts were noticed by Sandy Sandler, owner and inventor of Bowdabra. I began writing step-by-step instructions using the Bowdabra for seasonal and home décor crafts. Through my work with Sandy I have learned the importance of easy to follow instructions and large clear pictures. I added an office to my home along with a photo studio. Working with Sandy has allowed me to grow creatively, professionally, and has added photography to my repertoire.

I also began to write crafts for a non-profit called C4K555.org. The purpose of the website is to provide easy to follow step-by-step instructions for crafts that you can do with your children. The crafts usually take less than five minutes and the materials cost less than $5.00.

I feel privileged to be designing children’s crafts for C4K555.org. It is a wonderful site and near and dear to my heart. If it wasn’t for my grandmother and my parents encouraging my own creativity at such young age I might not have been able to turn my creative ideas into a business as an adult.

Family Craft Night - Reading and Recycling

The wonderful thing about crafting with your children is that it gives you a chance to talk and interact with them.  To see their little imaginations at work is absolutely priceless! 

One of my favorite crafts is the “Piggy Bank” craft.  Not only do children get to design their own piggy bank but they get to use recycled materials to do it.  This craft teaches children the value of saving money and be environmentally consciences.

I love doing crafts that involve children’s books.  The love of reading is one of the greatest gifts that a parent can give their children.  I designed a craft centered on the book, “The Ugly Duckling” by Hans Christian Andersen.  Visit your local library to find the book.  Begin by reading the story to your children and then follow the instructions for making a swan out of a recycled water bottle.

Visit C4K555.org click on the side bar entitled, "Family Night" to download the craft instructions.

Visit related blog posts: Crafters 4 Kids

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Crafters 4 Kids

I started designing and writing crafts for Crafters 4 Kids, in early November of 2009.  

 Crafters 4 Kids is a wonderful organization that has grown in leaps in bounds in just a few short months.  It is a non-profit organization dedicated to designing craft instructions that are easy, inexpensive, and family oriented.  The main premise of the site is to offer a wide variety of seasonal and family crafts that can be done in 5 minutes and under $5.00. 

I feel blessed to be part of such a wonderful organization and work with such wonderful talented people.

The founder of the organization, Sandy Sandler has been diligently working through media and written interviews to get the word out about Crafters 4 Kids, also known as, C4K555.org.  Please visit her site to see all the wonderful things it has to offer and to look over all my many craft instructions.

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A Need to Blog

When I started my business Sarah Forhan Enterprises and my website http://sarahforhan.com I decided to end this blog. My thought process was that I would be so busy I would not have time to blog. Little did I know blogging had become such a part of my life that I would feel a huge void without a blog.

Three years ago, I started to blog for Cafemom formally Clubmom. When I began blogging it was out of a need for income. My children were very young and I didn't want to work out of the house. At that time even the little that Clubmom was paying me was a Godsend to me (literally). It gave me the freedom of earning my own money while still being at home taking care of my children.

When Clubmom abruptly ended I started this blog; Sewing and Crafting with Sarah. I needed a place to display all of my craft projects that I had designed over the past three years. However, this blog formed out of a need not a desire. With Clubmom ending I lost my income. I needed to find a way to continue to make money, unfortunately this blog could not do that. It was basically a warehouse for my projects; not the nice shiny new home with the white picket fence I so desperately needed to put my projects in. So I resented this blog, even grew to hate it. All my ideas thrown into one place with not much thought or love put into.

Then last year, I began to write for Bowdabra. I started writing their craft projects, Home Decor. Ebooks, and crafts for their tv segments. Finally, I had a purpose, a way of earning income. My creativity was earning me money again. As I started to earn more money I realized that I needed to start my own business. I no longer could be an Independent Contractor but rather a real live business owner! It has been a scary starting my own business but has been a wonderful learning process for me!

And now I have come full circle. I no longer need this blog; I think that is what makes it so special to me. I get to take a deep breathe and just write, live, laugh, and love.