I've been a stay at home mom since May of 2006 when I was laid off from my telephone customer service job. My position (along with over 100 others') was outsourced to the Philippines. Thankfully, my husband was one of just 5 lower level employees who remained with the company. Since then he has been juggled between campaigns, departments, and positions, leaving our financial standing at the mercy of the call center industry.
After that I worked part time cleaning houses and a few offices for extra cash, and we always made ends meet. In 2009 I gave birth to my second daughter via c-section, and was forced to stop working. My husband graciously picked up the slack at the office where I was on the payroll, but I had to drop my independently contracted jobs. In December of 2010 that company moved 90 miles south to Dallas, Texas, and I was left with no extra income.
That's when I started selling some of my crafts to make money. At first I made bows. This was the logical thing to do since I had two beautiful little models right in my own home! Soon though, the flood of online and local bow makers saturated the market, and I wasn't able to bring in enough money to warrant all the time spent making bows.
I had learned to crochet at an early age and was fairly good at it. I had made a blanket and some hats for my girls. When friends and family saw my handiwork, they began to ask me to make hats for their little (and big) ones. Soon orders were coming in faster than I could make them! I've been at it for nearly 3 years and am getting better at creating all kinds of accessories.
Here are a few of my recent orders:
