The Worst Mistake is Being Too Afraid to Make One

OK so now I'm going to spill some of the beans and let you guys in on a little secret of excitement I mentioned this morning on FB. 


As many of you know I recently took a webinar by the wonderful Michelle Ward - the When I Grow Up Coach about my Effective Escape (AKA effectively preparing to leave the lifestyle I have now to follow my real dreams of running Innov8ive Knits full time). Having a solid plan gave me some serious courage! The courage to do a lot of things I would have never imagined I could do!


One of the things I've recently gotten the juice to do is spread the Innov8ive Knits love BEYOND Etsy. I am officially starting to apply for local craft shows right here in southern Alabama!!! A goal of mine this year is to participate in at LEAST one craft/art fair although 2-3 would be even better. It all depends on how the cookie crumbles, and who accepts my applications. I've never done one before and am filled with enthusiasm (and a healthy helping of fear to be honest) about it!

Little Chunk of My Application

 To subdue the fears I will say that my Etsy community and close friends have been beyond words helpful and encouraging about it. More so than I ever expected and it has given me the much appreciated ammo that I needed to go through with it. No one likes being told "No" which is definitely a possibility, but "the worst mistake is being too afraid to make one" (That's not my quote BTW I found it floating around online so I'm officially not taking credit for it LOL) and I'm not going to let that hold me and my blossoming business back. 


I'm cramming for application deadlines as I type because the season is fast approaching. And if accepted (fingers mucho crossed) I'll have to start knitting in my sleep in addition of just before I go to work, when I get off, on my lunch break, and in my car before work starts haha! I'm not announcing which ones I'm applying for yet because I have a couple on the table but I will of course make a humongo announcement if/when I get accepted. I'd love the chance to really put my stuff out there here locally where people can see & touch my hard work; meet customers face to face; and get some real time feedback.


Well there she is- my special surprise. The possibility of great new things, a leap of faith, and hopes that I hear back from good prospects. Here's to sucking it up and going for the gold! Keep your prayers, hopes, wishes, and all other good juju flowing my way through this new adventure. There's so much to learn and so much work to be done if it's going to be a success! On that note I better get to it! ;-)

Mrs. Doten has arrived!!!

Happy day!!! I'm back from my wedding and honeymoon and am just glowing with all of the excitement. Now I am officially Mrs. Doten!! We had a small and personal wedding on a golf course (Blair's favorite activity). Of course a billion things went wrong (wrong flowers, wrong cake, etc.) but it was still wonderful and I wouldn't change a thing! Here's a few pics that we have gotten access to by our AWESOME photographers since then!

http://www.yourstorytellers.com/?p=7162

This next pic is one of my favorites! This is an idea I found on Pinterest and absolutely fell in love with it. Blair and I were both traditional in believing that he shouldn't see me before the wedding... didn't mean that I couldn't see him though!

http://www.yourstorytellers.com/?p=7162

I wanted to be able to get that private moment that a "first look" shot has but without ruining the surprise before the aisle. This ended up perfect. We held hands and talked about our hectic morning of getting ready apart and had a small break of relaxation and shared our happiness before our big moment. It was one of the most fun moments of the day to see that big cheesy grin on his face to hear my voice, he totally rocks my world. 


After the wedding festivities we went home and prepared for out honeymoon where our plane left at the butt crack of dawn in the morning the next day... and I have a guilty confession to make: we so watched "Pretty Little Liars" on our wedding night because we thought it was the season finale and wanted to see who "A" was before spending time in the Caribbean. Season finale was the next week and we totally missed it anyway. Thank goodness for DVR! 


In a flash it was morning again and we headed out to the beautiful St. Thomas! It really was something else, more incredible than I could dream of and a description wouldn't really give it justice. I will say though that our hotel room was right on the water. And by "right on the water," I'm not kidding. We literally could open our hotel room door and 2 steps later we're on the crystal clear blue beach.

This picture was taken right from the balcony/porch area of our room at sunset.  Just about every sunrise and sunset looked like this. It was so amazing. 


Like all good things our honeymoon had to come to an end. But on the bright side that means I'm back home and running the store again! After some much needed vacation time, I feel so refreshed and have some extra spark behind myself to really take Innov8iveKnits to the next level. I've got some extra drive and passion behind me that I lost a little while juggling a full time job, my true passion (Innov8iveKnits), and planning a wedding. 


I am so proud of where my new business has gone in the small amount of time that I've been running it and feel now that I really have it in me to tackle all of the things I want to do with it this year. I won't spill it all in just this one post (so you'll have to follow me to hear all about it) but this year will be full of tackled goals, new product, and fun things for all! That means YOU too!


I know this post doesn't have a ton to do about the business, but all of you who follow me feel like close friends and I wanted to share these special memories with you because you guys are the ones who make my dreams of being a business owner possible! You rock by the way!


My new life as Mrs. Doten is bright and full of possibilities. This year I start a new family and build my new business of my own. - Dreams really do come true.

I Do It For Me

Last week has personally been a long and hard week between everything that life has to throw. I came through thanks to a great class held by Michelle Ward the "When I Grow Up Coach" about an Effective Escape to my dream ~ taking Innov8ive Knits as a full-time job. It couldn't have come to me at a better time! This is her website: www.whenIgrowUpCoach.com. She holds classes, writes helpful blogs and does all things amazing. I follow her religiously and it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.


I'll share more about my new found Escapee goals but I wanted to give her a special shout out for being so "AMAZEBALLS" as she would say and putting a light at the end of the tunnel. Life doesn't have to be all about  8-5 desk jockeying if you don't want it to. 


One thing that I have decided to do as a result is wake up in the mornings for me. So now instead of getting up, getting dressed and going to work for someone else, I'm getting up earlier, getting dressed and doing whatever the heck I want until I go to work. Whether that be knit, blog, yoga, or catch up on some TiVo I start the day knowing that I started it for myself and no one else.  You may not be a morning person like I am but when you roll out of bed knowing good and well that you're doing it just because YOU want to and not because you have to does a world of difference to your attitude. 


It's been a wonderful, healthy change that I've made just last week. It has improved my morning, it's improved my self esteem, it's improved my entire day. 


If you have too much on your plate and dread the day or wake up with a sad face because you don't want to hit the daily grind this makes a huge difference and you should definitely try it.


Go visit my mentor!! :) Trust me you'll love her! www.WhenIGrowUpCoach.com

It's a scarf, it's a necklace, no it's BOTH

Today I am glad to announce that I added a new line to my Etsy store! The knitted cowl necklace. It's unique and several things in one: it's a necklace, it's a scarf, it's cowl, and its well... awesome! I'm super excited about it because it's not only super stylish but is so versatile and useful as well. Because it's so many things it has so many uses! 


This is perfect for this time of year when the weather is doing it's thing moving into the next season. It's just the perfect amount of warmth without overdoing it and making you hot. Here's a few pictures of it!

You can find it in my store HERE (CLICK ME)

I have high hopes that this will be popular this season with it getting a little warmer and have a few other colors up my sleeve. Which color would you like to see it in next???


Also this week I finished the blue flower clip that's listed in my store to change it from a custom made to order item to a ship at once item. I'll touch more on this later but I am going to make my entire store a ship at once store. No one wants to wait for goodies that they've already paid for. I know I don't and I don't expect anyone to have to do it either!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/89492154/crochet-flower-hair-clip-with-rhinestone 

I've been telling myself I'm going to do this for some time but this week I've officially decided that I am going to enter in at least one craft show this year. I have gotten a hand full of the local shows on my list to decide which is best for me and am digging through them now. I think this will be a great way to get my name out there further and generate some extra traffic for my knitwear! I've got a lot of work to do to make sure I have enough things made to make the fees and trip worth while so I will be one busy lady these next couple of months!


Last but not least I will be closing the store for vacation starting March 8th for my wedding and honeymoon!!! If you would like to purchase anything or had any questions please try to squeeze them in before then, otherwise I will get back to you when I am back (the 22nd).