Sewing Pants & Coffee

RUNNING MY HOME-BASED BUSINESS (how I handle my incoming orders) So you should now have a stack of order sheets and your packing lists are stashed away in a designated place to await your order's completion.  This next step is more understandable if you have an order with multiple items.  If not, no worries, you will just have the 1 page to deal with. The next step I take to prepare my order sheets is to circle or highlight the item I will be making using that sheet.  This is not necessary if there is only 1 item ordered. Now it’s time to create labels.  The first set of labels I create are the ones that go on the backs of my hang-tags.  These are just descriptions of the item on the order with the size info.  This is really helpful when I make multiple of the same item in different sizes for my customer.  You don’t have to use hang-tags, it’s a personal preference and an extra expense, but I find that it adds to my branding and makes my items more p...

HOW I RUN MY HOME-BASED BUSINESS - MY WAY (and your way is okay, too) The way we run our businesses is as different as the products we sell…the little variations in both of these subjects is what makes our business OUR business.  For the most part, there are no right or wrong ways and we can organize any way we want.  Some of us are great working in the digital world and others are very visual and hands-on and need to SEE it to feel in control.  Most of us, however, are a combination of both.  For me, I need the combination.  I can organize like nobody’s business, but if all of my organization is inside of my computer, it might as well not be done.  I at least need the visual reminder to go look at a list or calendar so I can see what needs to be done at any given time. Since I am a one-person operation, I also need ways to hold myself accountable for everything I plan to do.  Creating this series is my way of doing just that.  Some of the pro...

  Monday, 2/22/21 🌺 Wow, this year is flying by already and February is almost over! Valentine’s day has passed and we are working on St. Patrick’s Day and Easter is fast approaching. Before you know it, summer will be here. Here in the desert, our weather is gearing up for Spring. Our nights are cool but usually in the 50s and our days are getting up into the 70s now. Our 2-3 weeks of winter have passed but, one never knows when we will have a cold front come through! Orders are picking up for Devonchey Creations…I’m so happy to see them start to trickle in. This means our economy is starting to recover and I hope it keeps up. I can’t wait to order some new fabrics for my shop. I have been working hard on creating processes and being organized before I get really busy again. I just finished up a 3-day paperwork weekend and have come up with an intensive social media posting schedule that I am testing out this week. Part of yesterday’s organization was putting together m...

BEHIND THE SCENES OF A HOME-BASED BUSINESS 1/27/21 Have you ever looked at your friend’s handmade business that she operates from home and thought, “Wow…what a lucky duck!  She gets to do what she loves AND get paid for it.  AND – she gets to do it all from home.  Why can’t I do that, too?  Surely there is something I can make and sell.  How easy could that be?  Easy money, for sure!” Well, before you jump into the handmade creative work-from-your-home business world, let me take you on a little tour of a real hand-made business home…this is definitely BEHIND THE SCENES. WHAT YOU SEE vs WHAT YOU GET Hop on to Youtube and search for a craft room tour or sewing room tour.  I love watching these and seeing all the color-coordinated little items and bins and organized drawers and shelves holding a few bolts of fabric and a couple of sewing machines.  These rooms are gorgeous, but how do they stay that way?  I always wonder if this is some...

  I Have AOADD (Self-Diagnosed) 05/12/2020   AOADD is something I may (or may not have) made up.  It is Adult Onset Attention Deficit Disorder.  It also may just be that, after so many years of having to juggle a lot of different things, my brain just said, “I GIVE UP,” and decided to go on vacation.  What it actually feels like, for me, is that my brain has divided itself into 2 parts…the front brain and the back brain. The result is I have a really hard time focusing.  My front brain is used for things that require me to think more than usual, like reconciling my check book, assembling anything from directions, working in Quickbooks, setting up paperwork processes and calendars, and just about anything that requires reading or using math. Imagine your life being one continuous word problem…you know the kind I’m talking about:  “Mary has 4 apples, if she buys 3 bottles of wine and runs 2 miles to the fabric store, how many pigeons will land on the...

  Who I Am Who am I? These days, the definition of me makes me feel pretty content. I am happy and at peace with my life. - I am a grandma of 5 healthy and beautiful boys - I am the mother of 3 grown children and my daughters live within driving distance. - I have been divorced (and happy about it) for many years. - I am friends with my children’s father. - I am 65 and ok with it. - I live in the desert but I am not a desert person (but it’s growing on me, especially the sunsets). - I am semi-retired and this is as retired as I will probably ever be. - I love my step-daughter, she is awesome. - I am a part-time bookkeeper. - I am domestic but I seldom cook (but I did just order an Instant Pot, so that may change). - I pretend I am not allergic to wheat. - I need to lose 100 lbs. and am drastically out of shape (not okay with this). - Hawaiian print fabric makes me very happy. - I am a homebody and introvert and hate shopping unless it’s online. - I love sweet, flavored coffee wi...