Being a Girl Scout Is Finally Paying Off – Some Thirty Years Later!

I think everyone will agree that sales have been slower than slow these past few months, no matter how much interest we are able to generate. Relisting, twittering, chatterboxing, whatever… Nothing seems to be working with any consistency. So, what am I doing, you ask? Doing my best to prevent this economic bust from getting me down by challenging myself to work with new mediums. And in doing so, learning a new skill, or rather, in my case, relearning a new skill, has kept me busy as well as rekindled my love for handmade.

While I must admit that I was hardly the model Girl Scout (I hated camping then and I hate it now), my competitive nature motivated me to work towards earning as many badges as I could before dropping out (I think I lasted a year). One badge, specifically, required I learn to embroider. To fulfill this requirement, we had the option of taking a class from one of the scout’s mothers who was a whiz with a needle and thread. And she showed us how to do a number of stitches which I remember practicing, over and over, until I had them all down pat.

So, did I ever utilize those embroidery skills that I worked so hard to perfect some thirty years ago? The answer is, no, at least not until a couple of weeks ago when I decided to buy some felt after stumbling upon some really cute felt work on Etsy. At first, those skills I learned in that one embroidery lesson did not come to me with ease. In fact, it wasn’t until my third or fourth attempt that I even remembered earning that Girl Scout badge. But when I did, everything started to click and my ability to embroider started to improve. I can’t tell you the names of the stitches I’ve been using to make some new items for my shop. But who cares? The point is that I have generated new interest in my wares, from people who might have not checked out my shop otherwise, simply because I am working with a new medium, or rather, a medium I hadn’t worked with in over three decades.

So, my tip for you is to try something new, something totally different, and see what happens. If you’re lucky you’ll not only generate new business but have a lot of fun in the process and perhaps even find a new passion.

Good luck!

To see my new felt items, feel free to browse my shop: http://anisemouette.etsy.com