A few months ago, I was sitting at my desk at work when I was hit with this overwhelming idea to start an etsy shop full of things I love to pieces which is, of course, kitchen stuff that reminds me of anything prior to 1965.
I began instantly pinning images, inspiration, and ideas.
And then I went to work. I made two rules for myself.
#1) Instead of creating things I hoped would sell (which is how I’ve always approached the “selling what I make” world), I would instead give my own flava free reign. This means LOTS of bright colors and LOTS of not telling my gut “no” when I see a new shade of yarn I like. This means going antique shopping and buying kitchen antiques I’d normally say “no” to because I already have that (egg beater, sifter…) and this also means I’m learning more about myself as I go. It doesn’t take long for me to lose myself in this crazy, busy world. This shop will give me an outlet and keep me grounded and save me from just tiredly going with the flow. On Saturday, we went shopping. My husband told me he’d set a chunk of cash aside to buy some things for the house.
“Want to look at shower curtains for the kids’ bathroom?” he asked.
“Go ahead,” I said, “I’m going to go check out.” (At this point, we’d been shopping for HOURS with three CRAZY kids and it was my first gluten-free attempt at shopping. I was overwhelmed and over-tired.)
“It will only take a second,” he coaxed. So I went. He choose a very nice coastal scene shower curtain.
“What do you think? I really like it,” he said.
“It’s nice,” I said, though my heart wasn’t really in it. We choose a liner and some of those shower clips to hang it with… and then I just kind of snapped out of it when we tried to find a rug to go with it.
Because the rug we almost chose was TAN.
TAN.
Is there anything in the world that’s more hum-drum than a TAN RUG in the bathroom where children play?!
At that point, I snapped out of it. I tapped into my gut that I’ve been fostering over the past few months and bagged the whole coastal idea, asking my husband to please just… trust me.
And that’s when the bright GRASS GREEN rug came out to play. And a cherry red towel and a dark, rich purple towel… and ROYAL BLUE shower rings. As it now stands, the kids’ bathroom is a bright, playful room the kids can’t get enough of. Even Danny’s in love.
I made my own theme because Wal-Mart can’t tell me what to do. Ha!
My etsy shop is a reflection of that -my own theme, my own colors, my own taste in lovelies.
“Are you doing this for money?” My husband asked as I sat and crocheted for hours on end. I hadn’t even given two shakes’ thought about the ol’ payolla.
“No,” I shrugged, “I just want to do this.”
#2) I will step away from the shop if I ever start to feel pressured or panicked or stress… because that isn’t what this is about. It’s about giving myself space and permission to invest in what I love, even if there’s a conflicting, nagging voice going on inside my head… telling me “it’s not as important as family history or visiting teaching orororororor…”
And with that, even though I’ve been working on it since November, I give you… My Etsy Shop
It’s where I go to play when I get the urge to paint a flour sack towel with my Mom’s old potato masher… or I’m suddenly struck with a quick saying to burn on a spoon, or I can’t get a crazy color scheme out of my head until I sit and put it in a pot holder.
And the best part? When I finish a project, IT STAYS DONE.
That never happens in my house. There’s always a critter trailing behind me mucking the house up, but all is well in Kitchen Scratch.
All is well.
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