Yep, my obsession quickly grew... VERY quickly! I had decided that everyone and their mom made hair bows, and honestly, it looked really difficult. So I decided to start doing simple bow holders!
So that's what I did... I started buying ribbon that was cute, different sizes, different colors... just to play around with it. It didn't take long before I started coming up with some original and creative designs. And it wasn't long before people started asking about them!
So yep... bow holders were the second phase of my obsession. And I still do the same basic design for each one to this day!
Here are a few of my newest ones, actually just finished them up today!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Why did you start?
So, why did I start making things? I'll tell you!
I'm a SAHM (stay at home mom). This is a choice that my hubby and I made way before we even had children. We were high school sweethearts, got married a year & a half after high school and had our first child, our son, 4 years later. DJ (David Junior) is now 5. My very last day of working outside the home was a week before he was born. We knew that would be the last, so we were prepared. Our daughter, Makenna, was born 3 1/2 years later. Some days it's the BEST 'job' in the world... other days, I want to pull ALL our hair out!
We were SO ready to have our little girl! We were ecstatic for our boy too, but this time we were in our new home, back in Kentucky, just ready for a new start. We decorated her room (not that she would need it for a while!) all by ourselves, re-did dressers, she had a closet full of clothes... and a basket full of headbands and bows/ flowers! They were huge on my little 5lb baby's head!
I got tired of seeing the big Gerber daises. We had one to match every color of outfit, but they just swallowed her head! And they were so impersonal and cheap looking. So I started looking at how they were made and decided I could do that!
SO... I did!! I went to craft stores and dollar stores and bought flowers to take apart and create my own designs and color combos. My dining room got COMPLETELY taken over. My husband said it looked like a craft store 'threw up' in our house.
I definitely got better with time and practice. No glue marks all over, using lined clips eventually... Then I had people start asking about them. Mostly my friends on Cafemom, a forum for moms that I belong to. I had one friend especially take a liking to them and encouraged me to make more. She lived all the way in Alaska! And honestly, she's the one who made me decide to start selling. I could tell there were other moms out there who wanted some variety!
Thus my obsession began!
Here are a few of the first ones I did...
I'm a SAHM (stay at home mom). This is a choice that my hubby and I made way before we even had children. We were high school sweethearts, got married a year & a half after high school and had our first child, our son, 4 years later. DJ (David Junior) is now 5. My very last day of working outside the home was a week before he was born. We knew that would be the last, so we were prepared. Our daughter, Makenna, was born 3 1/2 years later. Some days it's the BEST 'job' in the world... other days, I want to pull ALL our hair out!
We were SO ready to have our little girl! We were ecstatic for our boy too, but this time we were in our new home, back in Kentucky, just ready for a new start. We decorated her room (not that she would need it for a while!) all by ourselves, re-did dressers, she had a closet full of clothes... and a basket full of headbands and bows/ flowers! They were huge on my little 5lb baby's head!
I got tired of seeing the big Gerber daises. We had one to match every color of outfit, but they just swallowed her head! And they were so impersonal and cheap looking. So I started looking at how they were made and decided I could do that!
SO... I did!! I went to craft stores and dollar stores and bought flowers to take apart and create my own designs and color combos. My dining room got COMPLETELY taken over. My husband said it looked like a craft store 'threw up' in our house.
I definitely got better with time and practice. No glue marks all over, using lined clips eventually... Then I had people start asking about them. Mostly my friends on Cafemom, a forum for moms that I belong to. I had one friend especially take a liking to them and encouraged me to make more. She lived all the way in Alaska! And honestly, she's the one who made me decide to start selling. I could tell there were other moms out there who wanted some variety!
Thus my obsession began!
Here are a few of the first ones I did...
Monday, May 28, 2012
What's In A Name?
Guess now's a good a time as any to say Hi! So... HI!!
My name is Tia Maria. Yep... I'm THAT girl, the one with a rhyming name. It's also Hispanic, yet I have ZERO Latina blood in me. That's ok tho, I've learned to be proud of my name. You see, it was my mother's pen name. What's a pen name, you ask? I'll tell you! It's a 'fake' name poets and novelists often give themselves to protect their 'real' identity. So, Tia Maria was my mother's pen name in high school when she wrote lots of poetry. Some of which I still have!
Why am I proud of it now you ask? Well, that's a long story, but I'll give you the short version. I lost my mom in a very tragic way in 1996. I was just about to turn 14. I'll always remember and love her. So a lot of the things I hated as a child and very young teen, I cherish now.
You're probably wondering why I decided to start writing. Well, I wanted to add another forum and branch of my business. So I thought would tell you in the first post why I chose the business name that I did.
Hart Of Karen Creations.
Most people assume that I am Karen. Well, as you know from reading above, I am not. However, remember when I told you that my name, Tia Maria, was my mother's pen name? Well, I decided to name my business in honor of her. Yep, her name was Karen Hart. Karen Yvonne Hart to be exact. Even gave my daughter her middle name. But I'll go over all of that another time.
So I want to keep her memory alive in every way I can, So I chose to immortalize her with the business. It's MINE. I could chose any name I wanted. I toyed with a few, but this one just hit me like a punch in the face. And it just flows off the tongue. And my very good friend, a graphic designer, said the typography just fits perfectly as far as my logo goes. It just is perfect. And it isn't item specific. I can keep creating and adding things as often as I want! I'm not limited to a specific audience.
So there it is. My first post, my introduction and a business introduction of sorts all in one!
Here is a photo from 1989. I was 7.
Karen Yvonne Hart ~ August 10, 1956 - March 20, 1996
My name is Tia Maria. Yep... I'm THAT girl, the one with a rhyming name. It's also Hispanic, yet I have ZERO Latina blood in me. That's ok tho, I've learned to be proud of my name. You see, it was my mother's pen name. What's a pen name, you ask? I'll tell you! It's a 'fake' name poets and novelists often give themselves to protect their 'real' identity. So, Tia Maria was my mother's pen name in high school when she wrote lots of poetry. Some of which I still have!
Why am I proud of it now you ask? Well, that's a long story, but I'll give you the short version. I lost my mom in a very tragic way in 1996. I was just about to turn 14. I'll always remember and love her. So a lot of the things I hated as a child and very young teen, I cherish now.
You're probably wondering why I decided to start writing. Well, I wanted to add another forum and branch of my business. So I thought would tell you in the first post why I chose the business name that I did.
Hart Of Karen Creations.
Most people assume that I am Karen. Well, as you know from reading above, I am not. However, remember when I told you that my name, Tia Maria, was my mother's pen name? Well, I decided to name my business in honor of her. Yep, her name was Karen Hart. Karen Yvonne Hart to be exact. Even gave my daughter her middle name. But I'll go over all of that another time.
So I want to keep her memory alive in every way I can, So I chose to immortalize her with the business. It's MINE. I could chose any name I wanted. I toyed with a few, but this one just hit me like a punch in the face. And it just flows off the tongue. And my very good friend, a graphic designer, said the typography just fits perfectly as far as my logo goes. It just is perfect. And it isn't item specific. I can keep creating and adding things as often as I want! I'm not limited to a specific audience.
So there it is. My first post, my introduction and a business introduction of sorts all in one!
Here is a photo from 1989. I was 7.
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