New Crafting Adventures with Naomi - Gently Does It...

I thought it would be fun and useful to share with you all some things I've been learning in my new role as a Mousemaker. Not necessarily things about making mice, but important stuff that is helping me to enter a craft that is brand new to me. You see, I have done bits of sewing throughout my life, but never in so particular a fashion as this, and Anna is helping me to learn so much in a very short space of time. But this is still very new to me, and so I am finding that I have a lot of new knowledge and insights that I'd love to share.

The first mouse I made when I joined The House of Mouse was made without a "pattern" or any instructions, because I was just too impatient to wait for the parcel that Anna had posted to me! But even though I was only making him for my own pleasure, I knew to be gentle with my first attempts at this new craft. I've learned that whenever we try some new creative endeavours, we become something like a little child again, experimenting and making mistakes. That little child inside of us is delicate and can be emotionally immature, so it's really important to make sure that the harsh adult part of our brain doesn't squash that fragile little thing: it will one day grow into a magnificent artist, but it has to start somewhere! So even though his nose was wonky, even though his eyes were sunken and his ears lop-sided, I cherished that little mouse and let myself see the potential and feel some pride. And sweet Anna showered me with praise for my clumsy first attempt! She, too, knows how important it is to treat your inner artist child gently.

And, as we both hoped, my learning was very quick! Paired with Anna's wonderful patience and our natural ease of communication together, as well as some fantastic tutorial videos, I was quickly making mice that are fit to sell in our Etsy shop... And here they are, with Anna's Chewy mouse!

And so my first piece of advice for anyone considering trying something new or changing some part of their creative work is this: If you are, I must tell you that it can be the most liberating, exciting and rewarding experience if you give yourself space and time to learn. It is also important that in those first early days of your new crafting, you are careful about the people you share your work with. Some people might not understand how to see the potential in your new work, and may judge you harshly (including yourself!!). Be gentle and patient and see what develops.

I will share some other thoughts with you soon, but we'd love to hear from you if you're thinking of starting something new or have already started, especially art or crafts or anything business- or Etsy-related! It's very exciting to play around with your creativity and freshen things up with something totally different once in a while.

Much love,

Naomi xx

My Creative Space

Well, Anna and I decided it was about time we showed you our creative spaces. It's going to be so interesting, because of course we're both making mice, but in two different countries and each with our own ways of working and our own "studio setup"! So this week you'll be hearing from me (Naomi!) here in the UK. Right now, I am working from a mixture of little exciting bundles of materials and other goodies that Anna has been sending me (like those parcels they drop on desert islands!) and my own sourced materials, for the mice and their clothes and accessories. I've been making good use of some wonderful boxes with fabulous little compartments and cubby-holes that had not been properly used before to store my new wealth of threads, materials and allsorts.


The mice are sitting mostly on the desk with me at the moment, but as I make more and more I am finding that they need official 'homes' before they are adopted, if I want to keep my work space clear! It's going to be fascinating to look back on these Creative Space posts and probably laugh at my very first attempts at some sort of organisation. As I get more and more familiar with the mice, I am sure little tricks will emerge on how to keep things organised! (Any helpful hints, Anna? Or anyone?!) :-)

Oh yes, and finally... This little guy rarely fails to make me grin when I'm mousemaking in here.... He's been lovingly nicknamed "Pinhead", the poor little thing... If anyone would like to rescue Pinhead from his doomed existence, then please do buy me a pin cushion! ;-)

Want to play the Creative Space game with us? Visit Kootoyoo's blog!

Much love,

Naomi xx

Giving myself some "Me" time

When you run your own business it is amazing how many different tasks can take up your day. There is a never ending list of orders to fill, packages to ship, supplies to buy, emails and convos to answer, suppliers to call, marketing, promotional and networking work to do that we rarely find enough hours in the day. It is easy to let certain things in our life take 2nd place. The things that lose out can be anything from your social life to remembering to clean the house. Although personally I know I should clean, I just don't want to!

There are several things that I continuously fight to keep in balance, but something I noticed I am not doing enough of is giving myself some creative "me" time to just explore new ideas and dream for a bit. I know that it is essential to enjoy what I do to keep my passion for The House of Mouse going. But somehow over the last few months I have let the orders and everyday chores completely take over so when I am in the studio I am only making the "old favourites" from my store and a few custom orders when they come in.

Yesterday I gave myself some time to create and just enjoy the process again, and oh how I needed it! It has really sparked my interest and fascination with sewing all over again. I have several new mice that I am going to make over today and possibly tomorrow too. I can't wait to show you my new designs!

To any sellers out there who let their other chores take over, I say reserve some time just for you with no interruptions or detractions, and make something just for yourself. You won't regret it and you will probably be rewarded with a whole load of new ideas and excitement over what you do.

Creative Overload

A few years ago I had creative block. On the rare occasion I had an idea I was too scared to make it happen. Then something changed, I can't quite put my finger on what did it but I started making my mice, and a stream of new ideas hit me constantly. I have a list so long of characters I want to make, but I also want to learn how to make other things too, and I have a house to keep clean and friends to stay in contact with.

Now I find myself with a whole new problem, quite the opposite from creative block, this is Creative Overload. I don't have enough hours in the day just for The House of Mouse business and home life, but I don't want to reject the new creative needs and ideas in my mind either.

How do you find the balance and time for everything you want to make and do, whilst still maintaining a business that is going well?

I suspect time management is important, but would love to hear any other tips you might have.