Three Years of Paper Flowers, Pancakes and Glue Guns Style

I can't believe today marks three years since opening up shop. I remember the moment so clearly! I've actually decided to share more about my journey to becoming a full time creative and how the shop opened soon, so I don't want to share too much about those initial conversations. But, keep an eye out for that later this year. For now, I can let you in on a preview. It involved (in no particular ord
er and skipping some MAJOR moments) growing my own flies in a science lab, waitressing, failing a polygraph while wearing the itchiest tights known to man, and having a baby. *Insert ALL the emojis here.*

Anyway, to celebrate this milestone I've compiled some of my most memorable projects, moments and mistakes. This post will just be a bit of overview and a timeline and I'll share more practical tips I've learned next week.

*Sidenote. Yes, I did go to college. The apostrophe just didn't look good with this font so I decided to ignore grammar and go with what I liked.

When I think back about my shop and look back on my numbers and sales you can't find any clear patterns. The fact that there wasn't a clear growth trajectory or a moment when things started getting real is evidence to me of what I've known all along - that it's not just me, it's not just my decision to change a title or tag it's God's sovereignty over my life and that means, yes, my shop too. *insert praise hands emoji* Ok, don't worry, I won't insert any typed emojis anymore.



When we moved to Williamsburg almost three years ago, we were excited but nervous. Sidenote - look at that picture!! We look like babies!! Wow, I've even had a baby since this picture. Wow. Ok anyway, we were going to be a one income family and incurring quite a few student loans while my husband went to school. My shop was selling about 2-4 items a month leading up to that August. I had been "in business" for 8 months. Well, August 1st comes and we move in. I didn't bother to put my shop on vacaction, because why? It was manageable and easy.

Once here, suddenly our lives weren't filled with families on weekend and friends during the weekend, it was just us. And while my husband was physically at school it was just me at home for a good chunk of the day without any kiddos or friends. I really think the Lord knew this was a pivotal time in my life, well of course He did, but you know what I mean. I had been wanting to spend time in the Word to get to know my God on a personal level but life was busy and it was just a thought in the back of my head most days that I didn't act on.  Well, now here and alone, it was easy to do. I didn't have to turn down parties or family get togethers. It was a sweet time to myself to schedule time to work from home and time to spend in the Word.

And friends, it is crazy. When you are in the Word your life changes. Even if you were a believer before, the bible just breaths life into your every day. It brings a different purpose, energy, everything. And the more time you spend in it, the more it makes sense and the more it directs your life. It's true. I bet everything on it. And I was totally ok being alone here. Because even when I had to be reminded, I was never really alone.

...

So what did this have to do with my shop? Well for the first time in my life, it felt like my priorities in life were in line. When I first opened up my shop, I did it for me - to bring some sense of purpose to my life that had been totally thrown out of whack by an unexcected career change. And don't get wrong, there's nothing at all wrong with that. But then I started to get more and more wrapped up in it. When someone purchased something I was excited, when they didn't I was really insecure. My identity was too wrapped up in this. But, God. He's so merciful friends! The more time I spent in the Word the more I started to figure out where this shop should fall in line when it comes to my priorities and my identity and things started happening.

By the end of that semester I was bringing in enough to cover almost all of our monthly expenses and sometimes extra. It was amazing! When we started the adoption process and it covered exactly what we needed for initial fees. Sometimes with excess, sometimes down to the exact dollar.

Then things got busy and I got comfortable. Over the next year it was a refining process. My sales would rise and fall as would my communication with Jesus and there's not a doubt in me that these two weren't completely related. It started off as a bit of a struggle and ended as an easy conversation with a friend. And I love that the Lord meets us where we are and speaks to us each in our own circumstances. He gifted me these creative talents and then used this little shop to build our relationship. How cool is that?


We are all works in progress. Small business owner Jackie, she's definitely still a work in progress. I'd be lying if I said I didn't know how many followers I have on instagram or exactly how long it has been since my last sale. But, God. His grace is unending and he is refining me through my paper flowers. He's refining me through each one of my customers who has purchased from me. I love that I've sent a creative piece of my journey with Jesus out to all of you, and I seriously thank each and every one of you so gosh darn much!!!


So a few highlights to share, who doesn't love pictures?!

• March 2013 My first sale. This blue bird went to a lady named Terri. I cried when I sold it. I cried again when I shipped it out. 

• March 2013 The first set of chalkboards I sold. I took this picture and the bird picture on the seat of my ikea chairs.  Too bad they are now legitimately covered in coffee stains and pieces of L's mushed up food. I'm laughing out loud just thinking about staging a photo on these crazy chairs.

• August 2013 The paper flower wall I made for my office when we moved. Here's the initial set up (which has since become a nursery that my baby never sleeps in!)

• November 2013 Ornaments to help fund our adoption. The funds later went to No Ordinary Love Ministries.  

• June 2014 What the chalkboards looked like now.

• November 2014 Chalkboards to announce our someone very special <3 

• December 2014 Party favors for a special friend's birthday. One of the first times I intentionally put my products in front of people I knew! 

....insert big break here. Let's call it "The third trimester/being a huge whale and it's tough to use a glue gun without dripping it all over your belly + labor/delivery/recovery + a very mobile infant who likes to eat my flowers... 

But here is a cute picture of her little legs when I first started to make flowers again after she was born. 

October 2015 the Calvary Chapel Handmade Marketplace

• August 2015 Ruth from Light & Dark Shop made a water color of a new product I was working on. (I think this was/is one of my favorite moments/things!!)

• January 2016 What the chalkboards look like now. Plus. We are totally re-branding over the next month or two and finally opening up a website independent from Etsy!!!  More to come on that later, but I am so, SO pumped and excited to share with you about who we are working with and show you progress along the way. 

Friends thank you for reading, for supporting my shop, for helping make my dreams of being a full time stay at home mom/creative real, for being encouraging, for inspiring me, for everything. I love each and every one of you! And just because I don't know you personally doesn't mean I don't remember your name from a purchase in the shop. You'd be surprised how many orders and names I remember, I truly value each one of you.  *Insert heart eyes emoji.* Just couldn't help myself.

Paper Flowers, Provision & Promises

Friends. I just posted that we were able to sponsor our first child through No Ordinary Love Ministries yesterday!

For a little back story. I had been praying about this for the past few weeks. The month of April was the slowest month for Pancakes & Glue Guns in almost a year, it brought it approximately 1/3 of the profit it normally brings in. It was during this month that I reached out to No Ordinary Love Ministries.

The entire month I waited and waited for the shop to return to its former glory, but it didn't - it was slow! I've always said that God's hand on this shop is so perfect as I have rest exactly when I need it, it provides a distraction from work stress when I need it, and it provides finances the exact minute we need them. All of this never happens in a "safe" way, instead the shop is constantly fluctuating in sales and profit month by month to provide exactly what we need when we need it. For instance, in April I finally had some time to make my paper flower crosses and after making a few was inpsired to reach out to Hope Spoken about being a vendor in their market. Without that down time to create these I wouldn't have pursued it. God is so good and perfect!

When I first contacted No Ordinary Love Ministires, providing a sponsorship for a child once a month was actually in the excess of my shop. I would definitely notice it, but it didn't require too much faith to make it work.  I kept telling myself, well April was a little slow - so let's just start the sponsorship thing in May. But then as the days went on and I was in the Word I read about how giving in faith as a sacrifice is a form of worship to the Lord  is so pleasing to Him.

So, I went ahead and did it - the funds from April went 100% to sponsoring a child at No Ordinary Love Ministries - there wasn't any excess, this wasn't an easy donation as it forced us to rely on faith to provide what we needed for the rest of the month.

Well, two hours later the Hope Spoken instagram account shared a picture of one of my crosses and I had dozens of new followers inquiring about custom orders in my Etsy shop. Then the next hour my husband receives an email that his scholarship for his summer internship had been increased by about $500 - the amount of the sponsorship.

Step out in faith friends, the Lord always keeps his promises. I am so blessed to be used by Him through my paper flowers. :)

Hebrews 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Phillipians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

May Sponsorship & Hope Spoken

Friends, we've sponsored our first child through No Ordinary Love Ministries' home-based reunification services.  You can read his story here. Please pray for him and his family. :)

Thanks for supporting Pancakes & Glue Guns this April and helping me use this shop for His glory!

And another exciting note: I'll be attending the Hope Spoken conference in Dallas next March and will be a vendor in their handmade market! I'm also providing some free swag for their "swag bags." More to come on my idea for that soon!

I'll be building up an inventory of paper flower crosses for the market. It's going to take me the entire 10 months to make enough...!! Exciting though :)

 

New Paper Flower Projects

My shop has been a bit slow lately and I've been able to get back to how my shop first started, by making whatever I wanted, in whatever colors I wanted and experimenting! Lately I've been working on a lot of custom wedding orders, which are very fun - but it's also fun to be able to pick my own colors every once and awhile.

I asked my fellow blogger friend  for some inspiration and she sent me this color combo from JCrew...I think they photoshopped her legs...you know, like that whole Target deal?

https://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/swim/theswimshop/PRDOVR~07781/07781.jsp?color_name=capri-orange

Anyway, loved it. I had a lot of tangerine, peach, and coral paper arounnd. These crosses are essentially a mini version of the paper flower wall. I think I actually enjoy making the tiny versions of flowers better.

               

              

Paper Flowers with a Purpose

My little shop has been such a blessing in my life. It has fulfilled and currently is fulling so many different purposes! Pancakes & Glue Guns started off as a respite because my dream job opportunity fell through and I was having a hard time being content where I was. With the encouragement of my husband this shop really helped me through that time.

Then, when we moved for law school and became a single income family the shop supplemented our income and allowed us to pay for textbooks, a new computer and other things before school started. 

Then, we started the adoption process and 100% of the proceeds of the shop went towards funding our agency fees. 

And for now. Now, that we are on hold with the adoption journey I've been praying about finding a purpose for my shop again. We're still a single income family and certainly need this to help us survive out here - but that purpose alone doesn't make the shop fun, it doesn't make me WANT to make my paper flowers. I've been searching for awhile for a purpose for my shop and finally found "No Ordinary Love Ministries" Everything about these people, their ministry and what they do is awesome. It is exactly what has been on my heart and I'm not sure why my million google searches didn't lead me to them sooner. :)

I reached out to Jimmy and Rachel of NOLM to confirm the needs of the mission and I'm really excited to help from afar. From this point forward at the end of each month, the proceeds from the Pancakes & Glue Guns shop will sponsor one young woman or child through the "Home Based Reunification Services" NOLM offers. Each sponsorship is a $500 one time donation that helps provide for these individuals' stays at the Emmanuel House and any costs  to help reunify these individuals with a family member or friend willing and able to care for them. Check out the link here to see more specifics about how these funds help. 

These guys are awesome, their hearts for the Lord are awesome and the work they do is amazing. So, from now on, when you support Pancakes & Glue Guns at Etsy you'll be helping those in Ethiopia who desperately need it. The Lord has really blessed this shop over the past year of it's existence and I am so excited to see what the future holds!

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." James 1:27

DIY Paper Flower Wall Take 2: The End Results

So, the second take of the paper flower wall was finished a few months ago...but since the news our of adoption we've been pretty tied up in paperwork and I haven't had the chance to update with pictures!

I was contacted by someone who had seen my original paper flower wall on my blog and asked if they could use it for an adoption party they were throwing for a friend. Now this was before adoption was on our hearts and looking back I think this is so cool :). What I do know is that even though we needed the money I offered to make a brand new wall for them to use for free and I'd eventually use back in my office. When I was up at 4am multiple nights in a row I questioned this decision (HA) but I am so happy with how it turned out, how it's first use was at an adoption party, and I'll always look at the wall that is now hanging in my office and constantly be reminded of our adoption journey and the many others that are out there.

So, below are photos taken at the event that I received in return for supplying the wall :) I love how they used it. This wall was three canvases and they hung them from the trees in the yard. What do you think?! Obviously these girls know how to throw a party, the table is beyond gorgeous!

Event Planners: www.fleurishevents.com

Photography: www.sweetrootvillage.com

And here is the wall in it's new home at my office:

Recent Paper Flower Creations

Since opening my Etsy store in January, I've been asked to make a few custom projects. I've really loved how they all came out and I wanted to share them here.

The first was a custom cross and I received  a picture of fabric as the inspiration:

 

The next has been my absolute favorite and I was asked by mom to make them for her office, I did and gave them to her for Mother's Day. 

And there were a few more custom crosses: 

 

Besides the crosses, which are my favorite things to make, I've recently made several custom orders for miniature chalkboards. My recent favorite is below. This customer requested a set of chalkboards in this particular shape for her to use in pictures with her little girl. She wanted to write the day or age of her daughter and have it either in the background of pictures or have her little girl hold the sign so she would remember how old she was specifically or when the pictures were taken. I really liked that idea and we worked together to pick out cute girly papers. This is how they came out: 

I'll have more to share soon! 

DIY Swirl Paper Flowers

                            

So these paper flowers are my absolute favorite thing I have made so far. I saw the same set of directions on many different blogs and websites about creating flowers out of a simple swirl drawn on paper. Here are my few suggestions and at the end I'll show you 10 of the 1000 places I have used these flowers :).

First, it really is this simple. You draw a swirl on a piece of paper and cut it out. The bigger your swirl, the bigger your flower. If you use an entire 8.5x11" piece of paper your flower will come out to be approximately 2.5-3" in diameter. Here are the sizes I have drawn:

The swirl to the far right is almost an entire sheet of 8.5x11" paper, the two in the middle are also pictured below they take up about half of an 8.5x11" sheet. You can tell by scale how small the littlest guy is on the left.

Like I mentioned earlier, the largest swirl will create a flower that is about 2.5-3" in diameter.  The middle swirls will create a flower that is about 1.5" in diameter and the smallest swirl will make a flower that is less than an inch in diameter.

The second tip is that depending on how wide your swirl is, the flower will look very differently. The petals will be as tall as the swirl is wide. So, in the picture below the swirl on the left will be a very flat flower and the swirl on the right will turn into a taller flower with more dimension. I used a combination of both of these, however the wider swirl is MUCH easier to cut.

Thin                                             Wide

 The last tip is that the direction of the swirl does matter. You will drive yourself crazy if you draw the swirl the "wrong" way. Pictured below is the best way I can thing to show you how to make the swirl, assuming you are right handed (if you're a leftie just reverse it.) This way, when you cut the swirls it will be much easier to cut. 

 

The next step is to cut out the swirl.  Once you are done it should look like this: 

 Then, place the swirl with the pencil markings down and begin to roll the edge towards you: 

Keep rolling.......

Now grab the rolled paper and leave a bit remaining at the end and use your glue gun to place a generous amount of glue where I have drawn the pink X. Keep one finger on top of the flower like shown below and press down onto the glue and hold for a few seconds.

If you'd like you can let the flower loosen in your hand if you'd like it to be bigger and not have such a tight swirl in the center. I let the flower loosen completely and then glued down and here is how it turned out:

They are a bit time consuming to make, but once you get the hang of it it's not that bad! Here are some more pictures of what I have used the flowers for:

Chalkboard Sign

Chalkboard Frame

Boutonnieres