Reflections on Heartmade ~ the Past Two Years

Despite having a couple sick little ones in the house this week past, I somehow found time to complete a fair amount of the sewing I had planned for this week...{{happy sigh}}
As my next order should only coming in at the end of July and having completed the previous one on Monday, I now have a slight break, giving me time to restock my market stall.
This week marks Heartmade's second anniversary...time has just flown since we began trading at our local craft market and it is wonderful to look back at where we have come from, think of all we have learnt and achieved and plan for the future!
 Thankfully, the Lord holds our future in the palm of His hand, so we simply need trust Him and follow His leading.

I thought I would take a few moments to share about the market we trade at...  {To see my post, Following His Leading and How Heartmade Began, stop by my previous blog here.}
We started off in July 2014 in a temporary spot on the deck of the building (most stall holders have their spots on the sand surrounding the actual market building).
We were there for a few months before moving down onto the sand area...  This was quite challenging as our items are delicate and fade quickly....and can I just mention that a South African summer and a few dusty breezes is not ideal!

From there we moved to another spot on the sand area and for some reason, our sales went down considerably.  This was demoralising at first, but the Lord used this time to teach us patience and how important waiting on Him is...  He also showed us that even though we were there to sell, that was not the only reason - we were, and are, there to shine for Him.  This should be our main focus and since then we have really sought Him and not allowed ourselves to become frustrated, tempting as it may be at times.
After much prayer and a little over a year of waiting, the Lord opened doors for us to move our stall onto the deck again, only this time in a new area on the other side.  

Why we were given this spot, being new to the market still and not having the biggest stall, I don't know...but what I do know is that I serve a loving and gracious King who hears prayers!  

And so we have a permanent spot that is both shaded and away from all the sand and dust.  

Also, it is more contained and so easier to set up our table each week.

Even though we have days when sales are not as we would have liked, we choose to give glory to Jesus for all He has done and is continuing to do in our lives and in the lives of others through Heartmade.  

He has given us the opportunity to speak volumes into the lives of others who are very far away from Christ, simply by being at the market each week..  We have formed friendships with most of the stallholders and although they do not know Christ {yet!}, we hope that by being who we are in Jesus will bless and inspire them to question how they are living out their lives.  

Thus, Heartmade is not just about our quality handmade items, it is about spreading love and light through what we are blessed to do and through being open vessels for the sake of the Gospel!  Sometimes we become frustrated, but God continues to shine forth His might and through the market I have gained a couple good clients for which I am very thankful!
And...I get to do what I truly love to do in my own time...and I am at home...it surely does not get much better than that! 

Now let me show you a couple of the items I have been working on this week including something new...{{Smiles}}

Meet this sweet new bunny which I made for a client of mine...she sent me a picture of what she had in mind and I tweaked things from there and used beautiful pink 100% cotton fabric and added a pink ribbon to finish it off...

Here is another I made, only this time I used a beige print with a leafy design...this is a more neutral coloured rabbit...I think he is my favourite of the two!  {{smiles}}

Of course I made another one or two for my market stall as well because oh!  They are just too sweet...

It was lovely to play with beautiful fabrics for my actual stall this week...althugh I do enjoy creating orders as well!  But my stall has been looking somewhat sad and neglected of late....  The busy season is approaching, so I need to keep on top of things a bit more...

Here is a red and beige floral mini bunting I made and I think I may just keep it...it doesn't work with the colour scheme of my bedroom, though, so I suppose it can bless another...:)

I am enjoying making my patchwork hearts at the moment.  If you remember from last week, I hosted a sewing workshop for girls and we made these hearts....only they did theirs by hand and only worked a heart cross stitch motif as all of them were new to the concept.  

I also prepared two more reindeers to sew whilst sitting at the market on Saturday...I find it is a great time to work on things I don't normally enjoy doing at home...  The sewing on of the paw pads take a while as they're handstitched and the stuffing is easy to do while I keep an eye on my stall and chat to passers by.  

Hopefully I will have these lovelies finished very soon...and I may even add them to my Etsy shoppe, so stay posted!  {{Smiles}}  The reindeer are my top sellers in late November, early December and so far my stock of them consists of three with these two...best I get to work!  {{Smiles}}

 

A turqouise ellie softie and a pink patchwork baby taggy ball were another two items I had fun making this week...I try to keep a good stock of every item, usually about half a dozen of each, maybe more depending on their size and how popular they are.
The ellies are definitely my best seller by far, more than likely because we live in the Knsyna area where there are forests and elephants have been spotted...
Tourists love anything to do with elephants and these are sweet gifts to take home to babies and toddlers...or even young children!

 

  This pink taggy ball is now available in my Etsy shoppe over HERE...

 

This sweet beige bunny with a red and white striped bow is now available in my Etsy shoppe!  You can visit the listing over HERE...

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And I simply couldn't resist sharing yet another photograph of this precious boy!  
Ah, Caleb is growing like a weed and has started grabbing things with his chubby little hands...when I am talking to him and giving him kisses, he puts both his wee hands on my face as if to draw me closer...now that is enough to melt any heart!  
Caleb is now 12 weeks and continues to be a blessing and a joy around our home!  
On this particular day Mom was hanging the washing and put Caleb outside on a blanket to look at the world around him...he enjoyed this so much! 

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I would love to know what you has been happening in your crafting room, my friends.  

It is always inspiring to hear of what others are making, so I invite you to share your creativity with me!  {{smiles}}

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My country diary has been quite happy this week...in case you missed Tuesday's post, What Being Happy Means to Me, stop by here.  And I know this week's Thursday Pearls will lighten your heart as well...do take a moment to read these pearls of wisdom and may your heart be blessed!

I pray each of you will be blessed with a wonderful Lord's Day tomorrow!

With love,

Kelly-Anne