The future of Hot Chocolate Weather/Spring Cleaning

I realize that this blog has been silent for awhile and I apologize. I wanted to have at least three posts a week, but I have been increda-busy.

- 17 credits (5 classes) in school
- an (almost) 16 month old, rambunctious, silly, goofy, funny little boy who occupies A LOT of my time.
- working two jobs

I went silent but I didn't not think of Hot Chocolate Weather. I have been trying to refocus what I want out of Hot Chocolate Weather. What do I want it to be exactly? What are some exact short term/long term goals for Hot Chocolate Weather? How do I plan to obtain those goals? What do I want to achieve? Do I see myself wanting to do this long term?

So you see, I have been doing a lot of thinking in the silence. I bought myself a little pocket notebook that I can start writing down ideas for Hot Chocolate Weather when they come to me. I try to keep it on me at all times so even if I'm in the middle of class and inspiration (hey, my mind wanders during some of these lectures!) hits me I can write myself a quick note.

One of my goals for this year was to get more organized. I'm going to formulate a plan of attack for that so I can get it done. Maybe enlist some friends to play with gooberboogerstein (don't ask, it's 2AM.) so I can get some of it done!

I will post pictures if it happens. When it happens... WHEN... not if.

30 Day Blogging Challenge: Day 5

Hey Guys, sorry it's a bit late for a blog post. It's the first day of the spring semester and I'm taking more credits than I did LAST semester. I'm planning ahead for some awesome posts though!

30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 5 is....

My Proudest Moment

Before my son was born I didn't really have any direction with where I was going in life. I had several ideas what I wanted for my future but nothing concrete. I always wondered when I would figure out what I wanted to do, who I wanted to be, etc... I was just meandering through life living vicariously through friends who did know what they wanted, and knew exactly who they wanted to be. I was so jealous. 

Then I got pregnant. Not planned, but turned out oh so perfectly. My son was born in the beginning of December of 2012 and that was my turning point. My "Aha!" moment. The next few months my brain was on overdrive, whether it being afraid of unseen forces that might hurt my child, or planning how I was going to take care of him for the future. I knew I wanted to set a good example -- so I decided to go back to school. I'm currently enrolled in the Marketing and Sales Management degree at a local college. I want to own my own business (or at the very least help manage one) so I can create a better life for my son and possible future children.

In short.... I figured out what I want to do/who I want to be and I owe it all to my little boy. 

Little Man and his Daddy the day he was born

30 Days of Blogging: Day 4

Hey guys it's Friday which means I continue (for now) with the 30 Days of Blogging Challenge! Today we talk about ---

My Dream Job

My dream job is to be able to run Hot Chocolate Weather successfully and be able to spend my day being creative. I know there is more to running my own business than just making the products even if that part is the most enjoyable. It also would allow me to stay at home (mostly) with my little boy and future kids that I may decide to have. 

This blog isn't too long because I feel I am working towards my dream job. I think every little step I take I get a little bit closer. What is your dream job? 

Next Week: Will have a WIP Wednesday and 2 more installments on the 30 Days of Blogging challenge. I hope you're all enjoying this. Let me know in the comments if there is something else you'd like to see on here instead of the 30 day challenge, or even something to talk about on Wednesday. Have a good weekend! Take some time out to relax and enjoy yourself. 

30 Days Blog Challenge: Day 2

Hey everybody, happy Friday! It's almost the weekend and I am so excited for the weekend. I hope you are too so we can share our excitement. As you know I've been partaking in the 30 Days of Blogging challenge and day 2 is:

20 Things About Me

1. I am a mom to a little boy who just turned one in the beginning of December. He keeps me pretty busy during the day. 

2. I am a college student studying Sales and Marketing Management. I just finished my first semester back after graduating from high school in 2007.

3. I have been crocheting for about four years, knitting for about three months, and am about to get reacquainted with sewing.
4: I am currently obsessed with the song, Sweet Annie by Zac Brown Band. Here is a video of them performing it at Red Rocks (Wish I could have seen it live first hand!):

5. My favorite movie is a tie between Death to Smoochy and Benny & Joon. I know those are two wildly different types of movies, but I love them both.

6. I love to read and choosing a favorite book is like asking me to choose which one of my cats I like best. 

7. I have two cats - Milo & Sparrow. We also have some fish, but only the giant sucker fish has a name, which is Leviathan. 

8. I come from a crafty family. Both of my Grandmas crochet, sew, garden,and embroider. One weaves rugs and makes soap; and the other also knits and does cross stitch. My mom likes to paint porcelain houses, crochets, sews, embroiders, quilts, can make soap, and she likes to make decorations out of plastic canvas. I'm sure I'm missing stuff that they do, because they all do a lot of different types of crafts. Also, a good chunk of my aunts and cousins do crafty type stuff too. 

9. I love organizing, but am really bad at staying organized. I'm really proud actually of my Hot Chocolate Weather Binder, because that has stayed pretty well organized so far. I've been shoving papers, mind maps and other brain storming things in it. 

10. I have two brothers and a sister who are all older than me. I have 3 nieces and 1 nephew.

11. Any holiday that my family gets together to celebrate together is my favorite. 

12. I have 1 tattoo and I want another one.

13. I have met Dia Frampton from the first season of the Voice (or Meg & Dia depending on where you know her from) twice. Once at Warped Tour in 2009 and when they were on tour again in 2011 for their EP It's Always Stormy in Tillamook.

14. I have a concert bucket list. I want to see these bands live before they kick the bucket and disband or retire from music.
- Zac Brown Band
- Lady Antebellum
- Rascal Flatts
- Imagine Dragons
- Hunter Hayes
- Carrie Underwood
- Dia Frampton
& many more

15. I adore cold weather drinks: Hot Apple Cider, Hot Chocolate, Coffee, Tea... I drink these even in the summer when it's not so cold out.

16. I love making to do lists.

17. I drink way too much pop, but I'm trying to cut down on how much I drink.

18. I like the challenge of reverse engineering crochet items I see in stores (which isn't too often, crochet isn't often mass produced.) I look forward to the challenge of reverse engineering knitting when I get better at it.
19. I look up to Lucy from Attic24, Kristin Omdahl, Robyn Chachula - and a bunch more. These crochet designers are absolutely amazing. I love Lucy's (haha...) color choices, and Kristin's construction of a garment is absolutely amazing. You can't go wrong with any of Robyn Chachula's patterns or books.
20. It took me 3 hours to come up with this list because I couldn't think of stuff and had to walk around and do stuff while I thought about what to put on here. 

Stay Tuned:

        Next week I'm on vacation so I'm going to try to set up the queue. If for whatever reason it outsmarts me, then the Monday after will be Day 3 of the 30 days of blogging challenge and that Wednesday will feature a FREE(!!) pattern instead of/or with an update on my WIPs. Have a good friday!

Work In Progress Wednesday

Hello! It is Work In Progress Wednesday! (WIP Wednesday from now on.) I just thought I'd let you see two of the projects I'm working on, because they are the most current ones. I do have some that are in project limbo, and maybe soon - if I stick to any resolution they will be worked on again!

So this is the stash buster. It is a granny square throw, or at least it might be. It depends. I had three skeins left of this yarn, and part of it went to making hand warmers as a gift for a friend. (I forgot to get a picture, but will because it will be the free pattern I will be posting.) The yarn is Red Heart With Love, and it was an impulse buy when I found out I was pregnant with a boy. I still love the colorway, but I don't have the wrap anymore (I have a little boy) so I couldn't tell you the name of it. 

This is the custom order I am working on. She picked up the yarn without a wrap, so I couldn't tell you what it's called, but it looks like cotton candy. She wants an elf like hat for her two year old daughter and matching mittens. I finished the mittens before my college finals. I will get a picture of the whole set once it's finished. I haven't quite liked some of the patterns I've found for hats, they look nice, but work-ability for me have been awkward. So, I decided to do this on my own with some scribbled notes that may end up being a free pattern in the future. 

What are you working on? Is it for you or are you gifting it to someone? What are some of your favorite stash busters to work on? Have a Happy New Year's Day everybody! 

30 Days of Blogging: Day 1

30 Days of Blogging
Day 1: The story of your blog

I decided to do this 30 Days of Blogging challenge for two reasons.

1. So readers could to know me, and what I want to do.
2. So I could possibly figure out what I want to do.

I know, I know... The two statements contradict each other. Shouldn't I already have a clear picture in my mind how I want things to go? Yes, and no. I have a picture, an idea that is Hot Chocolate Weather. What I don't have is the idea refined crystal clear enough that I'm ready to open an actual store or go to craft events with it. I'm still working on the brand of what I want it to be. Do I want it to just be a segment of a hand crafted business, do I want to incorporate other types of crafting besides crochet and knitting? Would I be doing too much? It's all very muddled.

 

Which is where this blog comes in. I was hoping that by starting it early in Hot Chocolate Weather's infancy that I would be able to come up with a clear idea, with the help people reading, enjoying, and maybe even commenting about their own personal journeys about their scary, nerve-wracking foray into entrepreneurship. Whether it's an Ecommerce business or brick and mortar. It's all a gamble.

 

I wanted to be able to share this with you. I hope you enjoy and maybe, possibly, learn from my own mistakes, struggles, or even from my triumphs.

 

I'm not sure if this is necessarily the 'story of my blog,' but more, why I blog. Why now, before I even have a store or inventory. I am thankful I have a learning outlet for Hot Chocolate Weather, and even more thankful for any possible readers I may get from starting this blog.

 

Side Note: Day two will be posted Friday. Wednesday will be a Work In Progress blog which will feature a custom order I am working on. Also, stay tuned because in the coming week I will be featuring a free pattern for hand warmers!

 

Have a Happy and Safe New Years everyone!



New Year's Resolution

I spent way too much money on Christmas gifts this year. Plain and simple. Which leads me to my only resolution for 2014: I am only going to give hand made gifts this year. I know, I know, I said that for 2013 too... However, here is the difference: I now know my limits AND I got a sewing machine for Christmas. I should probably get started, there's five birthdays in January. Ufta. 

Somebody played too hard at Grandma's on Christmas Eve. Not going to say who, but let's just say I was in bed shortly after too! 

I also have some goals I want to achieve with Hot Chocolate Weather which is to have an Etsy shop and inventory by the end of 2014. I'm currently only taking custom orders and I want to actually have SOME inventory. Especially if I want to be going to craft shows eventually too. 

What are some of your goals or resolutions? How do you manage your time best? Let me know in the comments!

Merry Christmas!

I just want to say Merry Christmas to all of my readers! Thank you for reading, and I hope you have an enjoyable day that you get to spend with family/friends. Have safe travels!

Thank you everyone who has contributed to Hot Chocolate Weather in some way this year. I have some big plans/ideas for this blog and HCW in the coming weeks and I hope you all are as excited as me. So stay warm -- and you stay classy San Diego. ;)

Business Wish List

Some things I've been thinking about while I should have been crocheting some of the custom orders I have (!!!):

I really want to be efficient and organized and still be able to keep a relationship with my current and future customers. I want to be able to keep track of things I have made for them, with pictures and maybe a copy of the pattern (or if it's one I whipped up on the fly maybe a brief description of what I did.)

I don't have much space in my apartment for an office area. If I did, I'd be afraid my little monster would get into it. So, anything I do have for HCW needs to be able to be tucked away or hidden from his little, curious fingers.

I started a wish list (on paper not on Amazon or other shopping site) for possible things I might want to help keep me organized.

- File Folders
- File Box or Case -- Or even a hanging wall file - that would keep it away from curious little fingers!
- Manila or "Kraft" Envelopes
- Receipt book(s)
- Printer (and ink and paper.... )
- Ledger Cards & Notebook
- White Board/Bulletin Board to keep track of custom orders and progress of custom orders.

Sidebar - I just really like office supplies as a whole, but these are things I'd like to help me run my business more efficiently.

What makes you efficient? How do you stay organized? Let me know in the comments :) Have a nice day!

Facebook Give Away!

There is a Facebook give away going on!

All you have to do is like the status that mentions the give away (there is one and will only be the one) and be liking Hot Chocolate Weather too!

Bonus entry for sharing it too!

Winner gets a FREE custom order mitten and hat set! So get to liking and sharing!
Hot Chocolate Weather Facebook

Holidays

I don't know about you, but I am getting super excited for the holidays. My Pinterest board "Holiday Cheer," is currently getting bigger and bigger with ideas for decorating my apartment for Christmas. A lot of them are things I can have my son make (he'll be one, so it's easy stuff like his foot print) to create keepsakes for the years to come.

What are you looking forward to this holiday season? Food, decorating, family, maybe even the snow? I am just getting giddy with excitement for Thanksgiving too - can't forget the day we give our thanks! 

One thing I am thankful for this season is being able to do what I love to possibly bring others happiness. I am thankful for my family and all of the craziness they bring. Also, I am thankful for you, for reading this post. 

Thank You. 

Hot Chocolate Weather

A quick link to my Pinterest Holiday Cheer Board: Holiday Cheer

Now on Facebook!

Hot Chocolate Weather is now available to be liked or shared on Facebook! Once I get to 100 likes there will be a giveaway! Oooooh Exciting. :)

Hot Chocolate Weather on Facebook!

Like me & Share me because there might be a surprise for a referral.

Also.... it's kind of blank, now. But I will be updating it when I get more pictures of what I have on hand.


Thank you!

Etsy Store or Somewhere else?

Hey Guys,

So, I've been away from normal blogging for three reasons.

1. We went to the Renaissance Festival and I was busy getting us (me, the boyfriend, and baby boy) ready so we could just leave after I got off work.

2. Work/School

3. I've been researching ways to sell online.

I've been looking into the obvious shops like Etsy or if I should do it more organically and create my own shop. Creating my own store online I feel would be 8 bagillion (it's a measurement I swear!) times more expensive and time consuming. Which, as I've illustrated above I do not have a lot of.

I really want to take my time with this and get all the details right for me so I am proud of what I come up with and not so rushed. That's really why I wanted to start this blog first so I could document my journey of creating Hot Chocolate Weather. I want to make everyone feel included.

I'm thinking that maybe before starting a store online and selling actual inventory (vs. custom orders) that maybe I will start going to craft shows, expos, trade shows and talk with people and see how they did it. Then maybe set up a booth when I feel more comfortable.

I want to start out small and gain customers who keep coming back because they know I'm good at what I do and I will work with them.

I'm really seriously debating on whether or not to focus on one aspect of crochet or just go crazy and do what I want and sell what I want.

I'm also thinking of future promotions or small gifts for large orders. I keep telling myself to move slowly but I feel like I keep rushing. I'm going to get a notebook to keep all my loose lists and ideas in.

With that I leave you...

Love & Warmth to You,

Hailey