My business was only a few weeks old and, after a craft show failure, I found a shop willing to sell my hand-painted ornaments and, even more exciting than that, the owner was willing to accept my painted furniture and antiques on consignment. It was the first opportunity I had at a somewhat steady income stream. I decided to take the “shotgun approach” and scoured my house for anything and everything that someone might want to buy.  I had a lot of things found over the years at yard sales, antique stores, thrift stores, my Opa’s attic, and a few things that were passed along to me for free as well.  It was time to turn all of that squirreled-away stuff into much-needed cash. In addition to scrounging for things I could tag and put right into the store, I painted a few pieces of furniture that had been hanging out

As far as degrees go, I probably have one of the most useless degrees when it comes to preparation for the business world. I have a degree in Musical Theatre. My class schedule sort of looked like Fame.  I went from tap to private voice lessons to costume design to acting.  My backpack was filled with ballet shoes, leg warmers, scripts, and a music binder. When I decided on that degree, it was not because I wanted to prepare myself for starting a business.  It was because I loved theatre and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. When I started my business, it wasn’t because I thought I had the right credentials, background or degree or even a solid plan.  It was because I felt compelled to.  I needed to.  (Try explaining all of this to a guy in a suit when you need to get liability insurance!) So I didn’t have

I’ve shared about my business before and how it all began, but I haven’t shared the entire story. …and it’s time that I do. So, let’s go back to 2008.  I was a youth pastor’s wife/stay-at-home mom of a 2-month-old and 17-month-old.  The story of my life was diapers and bottles.  And for someone who isn’t a “baby person”, it was really hard at times.  On top of the strain that comes with little sleep and being “needed” all day long, our finances were tighter than they had ever been before. It wasn’t just that we didn’t have “fun money” or couldn’t go out to eat or take a vacation.  We didn’t have cable TV or internet.  I used to spend all day in the dark, lights turned out and everything unplugged that wasn’t in use.  I would angst at the grocery store, calculator in hand, figuring out what we

As I’ve just passed the five year mark of being a blogger, I’ve been thinking a lot about the early days of my blog.  I laugh at some of the things I did and wince at others.  I pressed the “start a blog” button on blogger with very little clue of what I was getting into.  My friend, and talented artist who designed my MMS logo, suggested I start a blog.  I thought blogs were political rantings from someone who doesn’t really know what they’re talking about, but feels the need to share it anyway.  From their mother’s basement.  Usually in their underwear.  Oh, and they are probably a serial killer, too.  I had no idea there was a whole community of women, mostly stay-at-home moms, who were sharing their love of decorating with the world.  I found blogs like The Nesting Place, Thrifty Decor Chick and The Lettered Cottage

I have to come clean on something.  I was getting ready for my vacation…packing, getting stuff done, making sure my blog posts were ready.  In the midst of all of that, I only skimmed Jami’s guest post.  I already knew her business story, so I didn’t feel the need to read every sentence in great detail. Well, I checked my e-mail as I was on the way home from Maine and I started reading all of the comments.  I could see how people were so encouraged and inspired.  I figured I needed to go back and really read the post, so I did. It cracked me up when Jami said, “I actually have a pie in the sky dream for the “softly spoken” collection too. Hmmm. You know what? I’m going to share it with you. Marian seems to have a magic blog over here. Everything she writes happens.  (Kidding, of course. Every

The other day, one of my readers asked what my dreams were for the future and I thought it would be nice to share the answer in a post instead of a comment.  Before I share my dreams for the future, I’m going to share a bit about the past. Many of you know my story.  In short, my business was started out of the desire to add a little income to the family budget.  I didn’t have any big dreams attached to it.  I just wanted to make a couple hundred dollars a month to help with some bills.  I’ve never considered myself an entrepreneur or a designer, writer, photographer…any of that.  I was just a stay-at-home mom who wanted to do something more than what I was doing, but I wanted a job that would allow me to stay home with my boys. About a year into my business,

I shared back in January that I had the opportunity to go up to New York City to be a guest on The Nate Berkus Show. Well, the wait is finally over and the show aired (or airs, depending on where you live) today.   Here’s the video in case you missed it… I’ve been sitting on (not literally) all of my behind-the-scenes pictures and I am finally able to share them! It really was a great experience.  I was extremely nervous, but my word of the year is celebrate and I was determined that this trip and opportunity was going to be a celebration, not a bundle of nerves.  I was not going to let self-doubt and fear and anxiety rob me of the joy.  With my mind made up about those things, I had some butterflies, but I was able to thoroughly enjoy myself. The morning of the taping, I