Overwhelmed but Blessed...and Monogram Dress Sneak Peek

Ahh, my long lost blog!  I've been both blessed and overwhelmed with so much work these last few months!  Out of all my designs, holiday ones keep me the busiest.  And ever since Halloween last Fall, the holidays hit so fast, one after another...Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter (which came super early this year!).  It's been quite a challenge fulfilling the holiday orders, plus getting new designs ready for the next holiday, on top of regular birthday/new baby orders and answering e-mails.  It's crazy how much time it takes to answer e-mails!

I offer a couple of different ways to shop Amylou Baby.  People can order through my website www.amyloubaby.com, or through my Facebook page, through my Etsy shop, or even just by sending me an e-mail.  Of all those different options, Etsy has brought in the most sales for me.  I had my first Etsy sale in April of last year.  Over those first few months, I made about 25 Etsy sales, just offering tutus, hair accessories, and hand sewn appliques.  Then once I got the hang of my embroidery machine, I started listing personalized items starting in September.  From September through the rest of the year, my total number of Etsy sales shot up to 100 total for the year...which I thought was a lot!

After Christmas, I thought I'd finally have some time to breathe.  How busy could January possibly be?  People were done spending money for the next month or so, right?  Wrong.  My total sales in January were just over 60, and in February 40...already surpassing my total sales for the entire previous year.  And these were just the Etsy sales!  I know this may not seem like a lot when just looking at the numbers, but considering most of my time is spent taking care of my 3 little ones (all under 4), it was difficult finding enough time to do it all.

So, like I said, I've been overwhelmed....but blessed.  And I'm so thankful for each and every sale.  It's been such a pleasure to work with all my wonderful customers to create all of these custom items for their loved ones!  Sometimes I converse with customers so much while working on their orders, that I feel like we're friends after it all! And I just love that about this kind of work!  And the absolute BEST part of it all is hearing feedback from people who are so happy about their purchases.  I love when I can put a smile on someone's face...especially hard working mommas!

So, to say thank you to all my customers, I'm going to do a Facebook giveaway next week (I'm so excited about this...I've been wanting to do one since I started my Facebook page!).  I'm thinking either one of these new monogrammed tank top dresses I'll be offering soon.  Or maybe a personalized July 4th/Summer shirt or onesie.  Let me know if you have a preference!

Here's a look at my newest creation: