Burp cloth love.... and other Sunday happenings.

Good morning!

In an effort to expand my little business, I had a chat with my friend Emily about the set of burp cloths I'd just given her for her adorable little boy, Luke. I am always curious if moms find my products useful as well as pretty. I was overjoyed when she said she used my burp cloths more than any of her others, because they are more absorbent. She also went on to say that she uses them for more than just burp cloths.... she lines her Nap Nanny with them, uses them with the carseat, etc.... and then she said "...and they're cuter than my other ones" :-)

I was beyond happy!!

It is my goal to make a good, useful product... not just something that cute. Often I'll see really attractive burp cloths on Etsy, and I'd wonder how they managed to sell them so cheaply... after reading the descriptions I realized that they were only made with two layers. The front cotton layer and the back layer, usually minky or chenielle. My burp cloths have the same front and back as the others, but they aslo contain a middle layer of cotton flannel. This layer makes them more absorbent, and apparently, according to Emily, makes them comfortable to lay on too!

Luke's Burp Cloths

In other news..... my mom's birthday is coming up, and I have no idea what to get her.... none. Not even a tiny clue.... she's incredibly hard to shop for. She wants nothing. you ask her what she'd like... the reply is always "nothing".... I'd ike to make her something, I'm just not sure what. I could bake cookies, and ship them to her, or send her something found on Etsy... I have about a week to come up with something. No pressure.

Also on tap for this week.... 3 baby gifts need to ship out. 2 of my cousins had baby girls (Josie and Emily), and my college roomate, Nadia, had a baby boy, Collin, recently. Most of the gifts have been cut out and pieced together, and are now waiting to be sewn.

It has been raining here all weekend, and the dogs are driving me insane. Not nearly enough "outside" time to help them burn off some energy. As I'm typing this, there is the tiniest ray of sunlight peeking through the clouds. Crossing my fingers that by the time I get home the sun will be shinning and I can take the little monsters on a loooong walk, and just maybe, that will deter them from turning my living room into a race track....

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday!

Lyn

A glimpse into my life...

Ever wanted something so badly that you could close your eyes and see every detail of it? Or to steal a phrase from my mom, wanted it so badly that you could taste it? That's how I feel about Paputsi. I can sit down and tell you in great detail where I would like to be in five years. What products I'd like to sell. How I'd like them produced and where. I can describe it in such detail that you'd be able to taste it.

So what's the problem???

I'm the only one who believes in it. Well that's not completely true; I do have a few friends who believe in my vision and talent. But the people closest to me, think this should just be a hobby. That I'm wasting my time trying to grow Paputsi into a "real" company. Some people would take this lack of support, turn it on its heels and work even harder to become successful. I am having trouble with that part. Throughout my life I've always just gone with the flow. If my needs did not get meet... no worries, it woud happen sooner or later. I have spent much of my life doing something I didn't want to do because someone else thought it was best for me. If you were to meet me, you might be shocked by this. I am a pretty independent and strong individual... who on the surface looks like she goes for what she wants. The truth is, I do go after what I want... until someone, a major someone, discourages me. I fight back for awhile and then give in, thinking... no worries, it'll happen eventually.

I am ready for that to change. It won't happen eventually. People are always going to discourage you... mostly out of their own fear. So today, Wednesday August 25th, I am changing my outlook. I can not make the discouraging, unsuppportive people disappear, I can only disregard their negative words. I can not make my dream company appear out of thin air, but I can set realistic goals, and work everyday to turn my dreams into a reality. I don't have to let my day job (and career that everyone seems to think I should concentrate solely on) interfere with reaching my goals. I don't have to sacrifice one for the other. I can successfully do both. Some things wll have to shift, in order to accomplish that, but it can be done.

This post is the first of many changes, and in an attempt to hold myself accountable, I am posting those changes here.

~ Everyday I will work on a Paputsi related project for 2 hours.
~ I will blog at least 3 times a week. Blog posts need to contain more substance. Gone are the "here's what I listed... and that is all" posts. The posts should be interesting, visually stimulating and fun to read.
~ I will take better pictures... or better yet, learn more about photography so I can take better pictures. I would also like to take more pictures of everyday life. I am always envious of people who have wonderful pictures on their blog of what they did that day, or their garden.....
~ And of course I will continue to tweet about what's happening in my day.

I think that list is a good one to start with. Realistic, attainable goals. Of course, I will adjust as time goes on.... but this is where I will start. And I will start today.

~Lyn

New tags....

I have been working on updating Paputsi... Steamlining the logo, updating prints, offering new products, etc... Here's one thing I have completed in this transformation.

New product tags!

Old tags......

New tags!!!!!

I hope you like them as much as I do!

Shop update!!!

So... I have been super busy at work (more on that in a later post), but I did manage to update the shop with the " Dragonfly" blanket tonight. In my last post I showed you all the three things that need to go in the store.... one out of three isn't bad... right??

Next week I'm working on a few gifts for family and friends who just had adorable little babies. Those will be posted as soon as they get done. Until then..... enjoy the upcoming weekend! :-)

I'm Baaaaaack!!!!

....and I have new stuff!!!


All of these will be posted in the shop tonight..... Who am I kidding? This is me we're talking about..... They'll be posted tomorrow. I get off from my "real" job late tonight, and there is no way I'll be able to update the shop tonight. I am trying to set boundaries and realistic goals so that both of my businesses (is that a word) will be successful. It is proving to be a bit of a challenge.... to say the least. I'll do a little post soon, with more info about me, my "real" job, my life, etc soon....

till tomorrow....