Lately I have been reflecting a lot on my business and how it has impacted my life over the last two years. The beginning of a new year, and the opportunity to start fresh with a clean slate will do that to a person .  I have taken the time to focus on my role as a small business owner and why I got started on this path in the first place.  Two years ago when I began this journey I never in a million years thought my business would be where it is today.  I have been privileged with opportunities I never dreamt possible, made connections and friendships that will last a lifetime, and have witnessed the fruits of my labor blossom into a thriving business where I get to make a positive impact in the lives of families everyday!  It is AMAZING!  Many of you have been with Freckles Crafts from the beginning and have made this journey possible for me.  To you I am so grateful!  For those of you just getting to know my company I thought it would be fun to share my story with you today!

My Story

When I look back on my life, I can not remember a time when I was not involved in a creative activity.  As a child crafting was a part of daily life.  My mom was very creative and was always encouraging me to bake, draw, write, and create with my hands.  Whether it was sewing, painting, pottery, paper crafting, or making something from old cereal boxes, she always encouraged me to try to make my visions a reality.  From a young age I surrounded myself with creative people.  My friends were crafty, and rather than playing with Barbies and dolls (although we did that to), we could often be found making gifts for family, embellishing our clothes and creating decorations for our rooms!  My grandma was also a huge influence on me when it came to crafting.  She was extremely talented and could crochet anything you could dream of.  When I would stay with her we would spend hours crafting, making scrapbooks (before scrap-booking was even an official hobby) and baking.  The influences I had as a child stayed with me into my adult life, and I have been so blessed to be able to pass this legacy onto my own children.

With this kind of upbringing it is so hard for me to understand how anyone could not enjoy crafts!  Ha!  It wasn’t until I had children of my own, that I finally understood not everyone enjoyed crafting!  When my children were much younger I used to attend a weekly playgroup with other moms of young children.  Most of our kids ranged in ages from newborns to around 4 years of age at the time.  Our conversations would often turn to how we kept our kids busy during the day, and I would mention that my children and I would spend time each day working on some kind of craft project.  The moms in my playgroup seemed quite shocked at this!  They made comments like “I would love to craft with my kids but I am not creative” and “I just can’t come up with any ideas”, or my favorite “It is so overwhelming to go to the store to buy craft supplies with kids, I always forget to buy something, and then we end up not being able to make the project anyway”.  Several moms even mentioned using craft kits from a {well known retailer}, however, they were so frustrated by the quality of the crafts, having to order a dozen of each item, and still needing to provide materials such as glue to complete the project, that they had given up on crafting all together!  If I heard this conversation among parents once, I must have heard it 100 times.  It was the same story over and over from frustrated parents who would love to have a crafting experience with their children but were just tired of it being so complicated.

I would often find myself thinking about these conversations, and how sad it was that these children would not have the opportunities for creative experiences in their homes because their parents were so frustrated with the process of crafting.  I thought about my own children, how much fun we have making crafts and how it enriches their education and provides hours of bonding for us.  This is when I had my AHA moment!  I decided then and there I wanted to help these parents.  I wanted to help them give their children the gift of a positive crafting experience, a sense of accomplishment from creating something with their hands, and the pleasure of giving a homemade gift to a neighbor or relative!

This is when the idea of a craft kit that contained everything necessary, right down to the glue, to complete a gift quality craft came to me.  It would be a product that parents could pull off a shelf at a moments notice and begin crafting with their kids.  A product that would take the guesswork out of creativity and eliminate the frustration that parents were feeling. A product that would make a craft that kids would be proud of, and parents would like to display in their home! It was this idea that started the launch of Freckles Crafts on March 31st, 2010.

Fast forward to today and I am still just as passionate about helping parents and children find their creative spot!  The Freckles Crafts brand continues to grow with the addition of handmade items, craft and party supplies (coming soon), and a blog full of free tutorials and resources for parents.  It brings joy to me every time I see a child’s face light up after completing a Freckles craft, or when parents thank me for helping them bring creativity into their home.  It is the reason I continue on this journey of helping people find their creative spot!