I am a Magic Maker

We're one month into the new year and as a gift to myself, I'm getting some stuff off my chest and leaving it in 2020.  It's time for some real talk- some deep, personal talk.  I've been working on this post for the past few weeks and I think I'm finally ready to release it out into the world.  Honestly, I'm a little bit scared, but here goes... 

Ever since I left my "real" job back in August of 2018, I've struggled to adjust to being self-employed full time and with working from home.  I don't have any regrets; this was the right decision for me.  At times, I've seriously questioned my decision; but overall, I'm happy with my choices.  Working from home is what I've always wanted to do.

Something that I've learned is that working from home and working for yourself isn't all it's cracked up to be.  I've had a hard time finding the balance between work and my personal life.  That's part of the reason that I made my decision to leave my job after all.  It's harder to separate the two when your business is in your home.  I have to make conscious efforts to separate the two when necessary.

Working from home has also presented it's own challenges.  It can be hard to focus and to have good time management when there are tons of distractions all around you at home.  That's part of the reason that I'm trying to use my new Disney Princess Planners.  I'm hoping that they will help keep me more organized and on a schedule.

Don't get me wrong, working from home and for yourself is the dream.  I don't want to sound like I'm complaining because I know that I've got it good.  I truly enjoy being my own boss and being able to make business decisions.  It sounds great- and it is- but it's also hard.  When you're the boss, you are the only one to blame when things go wrong.  You're also the one celebrating when things are awesome.  It's a mixed bag.

The worst thing for me personally has been worrying too much about what others think of me.  In most regards, I couldn't care less about what someone thinks about me.  I've moved past that phase of my life.  However, in situations regarding our businesses, I'm a lot more sensitive.  This is my baby, my soul, my art.  Each thing we make with care and love- each product feels like it has a small piece of my heart.

In regards to our businesses, I feel like I've been unintentionally bullied.  And it hurts.

It began when Eliot and I started to have to defend ourselves and our business.  I was so excited about Happily Ever Hatter and our success, but when I told others, I found many to be very skeptical.  I found myself defending our business to patients at my chiropractic office.  Eliot had a lot of similar situations with his co-workers.  I tried to laugh it off and say that you'd be surprised by how much we were making.  Mouse ears are profitable business.  Eliot told people they could laugh all they wanted to and that we were laughing all the way to the bank.  But it still hurt.

The reality was that we were making a lot of money... to the tune of five figures.  The year I left my job, we made more money for our business than I was making at my part time job- the job where my job titles were office manager, chiropractic assistant and receptionist.  When we realized how much money we were making, and how much time the business was taking up, that's when it suddenly made sense for me to work at home.  We barely had time for our personal lives because both Eliot and I were always working all the time between our "real jobs" and Happily Ever Hatter.

I was so proud when I left my chiropractic job to pursue working on Happily Ever Hatter full time.  My boss was so happy for me. The other doctors were also supportive and cheered me on.  I got so many well wishes from patients before I left.  Some were still skeptical, but most of them were happy for me because it was clear how happy I was about it.  My dream of working for myself was actually coming true!

And most people have been wonderful about it.  My travel agent friends have been amazingly supportive both in purchasing ears from us and with sharing and liking our social media posts.  I have friends from high school and college who comment and cheer me on as well.  It's wonderful to feel so supported.  However, not everyone has had a great reaction.  Some people just don't "get it" and that's been hard for me.  You would think people would be happy because I'm happy, but life isn't as simple as that.

I can usually tell when someone thinks I'm full of crap or insane.  When I finally went to get my hair cut back in July, I mentioned that I worked at home so I was hardly leaving the house.  The hair stylist asked what I did and I told her.  I was met with a bunch of questions, but they weren't the genuinely curious kind; they were the skeptical kind.  I proceeded to spend the rest of my hair appointment defending myself, our products and our businesses.  Then, I left the hair salon humiliated and hurt.

However, as hurtful as that experience was, it doesn't compare to when people who I care about make comments.  Some of my own family members have made hurtful comments.  Last year, someone who I've always trusted and have held in great respect told my mother that "all she cares about is Disney."  It's not that the statement was completely absurd; Eliot and I do have a great love of Disney.  What hurt was that the words themselves were meant to cause pain.  They were said as if Disney was more important to me than my family.  As if I was being a petulant child that's lost in a world of make believe versus the real world.  And those words cut into me deeply.

Words matter.  I can sit here and recite 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me' and all that... but the reality is that words can really impact someone and how they value themselves and their self-worth.

Here's where the truth talk comes into play... I was depressed for the majority of 2019 and for a good portion of 2020.  I silently struggled with my emotions and feelings and didn't let anyone else in.  I think Eliot intuitively knew something was wrong with me.  I hinted at it with a few family members, but I didn't come out and say it.  Each person had a tiny piece of my truth without me fully letting any one person inside my walls.  

It was a battle.  At times, I didn't even know what my purpose on Earth was anymore.  I struggled with finding meaning in my life.  Why did I get out of bed each day?  No one thinks that I do anything anyways, so why bother?  I went through an endless loop of hopelessness, desperation and self pity.  Each time I'd finally feel better about myself, someone would make a comment, or something would happen and I'd spiral again.

2020 sucked for everyone, but for me, it provided some much needed perspective.  I slowly found my way out of the hole I was in.  Suddenly, during quarantine people were talking about being lonely and that being ok.  It was ok to be depressed and to have feelings of hopelessness.  Mental health was something that we all were suddenly aware of and talking about... and that made me feel less alone.

After spending months at home, people saw the value in the arts.  Artists and creators were the people that helped get us through quarantine, similarly to how the essential workers, doctors and nurses were the ones getting us through the pandemic.  People were looking for the small pieces of magic in their everyday life.  

Somewhere along the way, right in the middle of quarantining during a pandemic, I had discovered my purpose.  I reaffirmed the value in my creative talents.  I've always been proud of them, but that was suddenly reignited.  I'd found meaning in my life again.

You may recall that in my 2021 Disney Goals post, I declared that my 2021 word of the year was PURPOSE.  It took a bit of a brainstorming session to arrive at that point, but once I found it, that was the only word that even remotely made sense.  

The word purpose has two meanings.  As a noun, it means "the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists."  As a verb, it also means "One's intention or objective."  Both of those definitions spoke to me.  As I mentioned in my goal post, the word has a special meaning to me.

The reason "purpose" means so much to me, is that for a time, I'd lost mine.  I was alone in the darkness- partaking in an unwanted silent battle.  It was a struggle, but somehow I made it through, reentered the light and I found my purpose again.

About a month and a half ago, right when Eliot and I were in the last hours of our busy holiday season, I came to a revelation.  We were right in the middle of it.  There were mouse ear and desk accessory orders all over our dining and living room... and piles of shipping labels, boxes and packaging supplies everywhere.  We had slept all sorts of weird hours.  That particular day, I'd literally only seen two hours of daylight in between sleep and taking a really long nap most of the afternoon while Eliot was at work.

However, instead of feeling irritated, tired, annoyed or in despair, I was happy.  I even stopped in my tracks for a minute to acknowledge and watch the beautiful colors of the sunset.  As I sat back down to go back to work and get us organized for what needed to be done that evening, I felt thankful.  I was grateful that we were working so hard- and we were so busy completing orders... grateful that in the middle of a world wide pandemic when people were struggling, Eliot and I still had many orders to fill.

Even though 2020 sucked for everyone, I finally felt like I'd found myself again.  Eliot and I busted our butts over those last few weeks before the shipping deadline.  We were able to send out our products and make peoples' Christmas morning a little more magical.  Our little handmade treasures were going to make someone else's day a bit better.  That small piece of my heart crafted with care and love was going to live with it's new owner.  And after the year we'd all had, in that moment, I couldn't think of anything else that I'd rather be doing than giving others the gift of magic and joy.

I've rediscovered the reason I'm here on Earth.  I know what I need to do in order to fill my own cup, and more importantly, I'm ok with it.  I don't really give a darn what people think of me.  Love me or hate me, I'm here to live my life for me- not anyone else- and I'm going to do whatever makes me happy.

Yes, I still care what people think of our businesses- they are like my children- but I'm working on being less sensitive about it.  I've come to the conclusion that some people don't "get it" and they never will.  It's not my mission in life for them to get it.  Plus, I'm trying to remind myself that some people who are critical are probably ticked off that I'm working at home, for myself, selling handmade items.  I'm only 36 and I'm living out my dream, and some people are probably jealous of that fact.  Like Taylor Swift sang, "the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate" and I need to "shake it off."  And I am.

This year, I'm focusing on taking more time for myself.  I'm making time to create, to craft, to read, to learn and making time for self-care.  Most importantly, I know that I need a dog.  I've always known that pets are therapeutic, but I finally came to the conclusion that I don't just want one, I need one.  As I've mentioned before, Eliot and I are planning to get two puppies sometime this year.  I'm really looking forward to that.

As I look ahead into the rest of 2021, and beyond, I'm doing so with purpose.

What is my purpose?  I am a Magic Maker.  

I'm proud of my job.  I'm proud of the businesses and products that I painstakingly created and nurtured over the past seven years.  I'm proud of the time and effort Eliot and I have put into them.  Right now, our businesses are our children- and I'm proud of how much they've grown.  I'm proud, humbled and incredibly honored that people entrust us to create special treasures for them and their loved ones.  I am proud about what I do for others through our businesses.  And no one can take that away from me.

I'm creative and I like to make things.  It's what I'm most passionate about.  I'm always thinking of a new product to make for our shops, or new decor or artwork to create for our house.  There's nothing wrong with that or with me for wanting to do that.

I've found my purpose.  I am a Magic Maker.  I'm here on Earth to spread magic and joy to others... and I can't think of anything else that I'd rather be doing.  °o°

Happy 7th Birthday Happily Ever Hatter

It's Happily Ever Hatter's 7th Birthday and it's also National Hat Day!!!

I can't believe it's been seven years since I decided to take the plunge into starting a business and opening an Etsy shop.  At the time, it was long overdue, but I was so afraid of failure.  I put it off for quite a while before I gained the confidence to jump in without a safety net.  But looking back seven years later, I'm so glad that I did.

A lot has happened in seven years.  I wish that I could say it's all been rainbows and unicorns but running a business is hard.  I've had so many experiences that have made it amazing.  And there have been a few experiences with customers and other small shops that have made me wonder why I put myself and my creativity out into the world.  But overall, it has been a magical, wonderful and rewarding experience.

It's hard to believe that this all started because I wanted customized ear hats for Eliot's and my Disney honeymoon in March of 2013.  I made us custom bride and groom ear hats that we wore during our trip.  People loved them and wanted to know where they could get them.  I had a mini photoshoot of them at the Wedding Pavilion.  At the time, I had no idea that my new business was born.  A year later, I took the plunge to open my shop in January and February of 2014, and I haven't looked back since.

In honor of HEH's birthday, here are seven of my favorite memories through the years:

1.) I've really enjoyed making ears for our family and friends.  I love making something special for them.  One of the first custom mouse ears I made were actually for our friend BJ to celebrate his 30th birthday!  I also made a mouse ear hat for my cousin Kaitlin's son Isaac to celebrate his 1st birthday.

2.) Something I'm really proud of is that Eliot and I first created our 3D printed mouse ears, our IllusionEars, in the spring of 2015.  At the time, we were the only Etsy shop selling them and it remained that way for quite a while.  By 2017, they became popular when another shop started selling them.  But as far as we know, Eliot and I were the original 3D printed mouse ears and I'm very proud of that fact.

3.) In February of 2017, Eliot and I were able to meet up with one of our customers who I've since become friends with and keep in touch with.  Our Walt Disney World trips overlapped and we spent a few hours talking with Corey at Hollywood Studios.

4.) Eliot and I have also seen a few of our ears out "in the wild" while on vacation and it's always a thrill.  There are three times that I remember most.  The first time we ran into a customer was when we saw our D23 ears at the 2017 D23 Expo in Anaheim, CA.  Another time, we ran into a customer who had bought football ears for her son while we were walking around the Africa section of Animal Kingdom.  Finally, we've run into two customers wearing our Sharks ears while we were visiting Eliot's Dad and attending a few home San Jose Sharks hockey games!

5.) Over the years, we have had a few popular Disney bloggers and some Instagram "influencers" ask us to make them ears.  It's always a thrill to be recognized by them!

6.) We have also gotten compliments from multiple cast members over the years.  I always feel wonderful when anyone compliments our ears, but it's extra special when a cast member acknowledges how cool they are.  One time, we even got a compliment from Larry Dotson, one of Eliot's and my favorite Disney artists.

7.) Finally, one of my favorite part of making mouse ears has been the fun character interactions we've had.  Eliot and I have had a lot of them, but my absolute favorite memory was when I wore my Minnie Mouse Disneyland 65th Diamond Celebration outfit with my matching custom ear hat.  Minnie saw me when she came out to greet guests, and she grabbed my hand and I got to run along side her to her location.  I've always loved the commercials when the kids are skipping hand in hand with their favorite Disney characters and I never dreamed that would be me one day.

There have been so many other wonderful moments over the past seven years.  I've loved making ears for my travel agent friends.  Every time they post a photo wearing ears that we've created it makes me smile.  I've loved making connections with my customers.  I've love talking to them and creating relationships with them.  I've loved the endless hours of work spent at our dining room table, where I've created most, if not all, of these designs.  And I love how I still use thread that I've inherited from both of my grandmothers to create my ear hat designs.

Happily Ever Hatter has come so far in seven years.  I'm just shy of 1500 sales on Etsy- which doesn't include all of the orders I've taken from my friends and family through PayPal.  We have 3,098 people who like and follow our shop on Etsy and we get new additions all the time.  Our social media accounts aren't as high as I'd like them to be, but I'm happy that we have many quality followers who genuinely want to see what we're posting.  I have no idea how many ear hats, hair clips and 3D printed mouse ears we've made through the years, but it's safe to say that it's been a lot!

There's so much for me to be proud of.  When I take a beat and really think about it, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for where I am.  If there's one thing that I'm most proud of, it's that Eliot and I have worked so hard with our businesses that I was able to leave my "real job" to stay at home running our businesses full-time.  It has always been my dream to work from home doing something creative.  And thanks to the success of Happily Ever Hatter, that dream has become a reality.

This past year has been really rough with the pandemic.  I'd be lying if I said it's been easy.  Our sales were down a lot last year, as was to be expected while Disneyland remains closed and when most people aren't traveling to theme parks.  But I'm still optimistic that things will pick up.  We had an increase of orders over the holidays, and I'm positive that things will bounce back once people are able to travel safely again.

The future for Happily Ever Hatter is bright.  Eliot and I are always working on new 3D printed ear designs.  I've got at least 40 samples of designs that I'm currently working on.  I'm also working on a few new products that I'm hoping to release later on this year.  We've got a lot of ideas and I'm still thinking of new ones.  I'd like to get back to making ear hats again eventually, but we'll see where things take us.

Finally, there's one thing that really resonates with me looking back at these past seven years.  I am overwhelmingly grateful to everyone who has bought something from me over the past seven years.  It's truly humbling to be able to create handmade products that bring a little extra magic into someone's life.  I am also thankful for every like, heart, follow, comment, post, and share we get on social media.  Thank you so much to everyone who has supported our business over the last seven years.  From the bottom of my heart, I am truly grateful.  Because of you, my dream has come true.  °o°

Handmade Happiness

It's no secret that I love to create things.  For me, creating and designing is automatic- just like breathing.  I can't stop myself even if I wanted to.  What the average person might not know about me, is that I also love to purchase things from other makers and small handmade shops.  I've shown a few of the handmade items that I've bought over the years here on my blog but I'd like to start showcasing more of them.

As I mentioned the other day, I've had a burst of creative energy and ideas the past few weeks.  I've been expanding the notes on my laptop.  I've been making lists of anything and everything: business ideas, artwork and decor for the house, projects to make, and more.  I've spent a lot of time on Pinterest searching for tutorials.  I've also spent time on Etsy looking for handmade items to personalize our house.  Then, I used some of Eliot's and my tax refund money to purchase a few items for the house, some fun accessories for me and some new supplies for our businesses.

The main thing I've been focused on lately is my Up themed wall.  I've seen a few pieces that would be a perfect addition.  A few weeks ago, I reached out to Soar Craft about ordering a custom Disney key design.  She usually paints keys the size of the Disney Store keys in different character designs.  I'd seen an Up anniversary design on her Instagram and I fell in love with it.  I asked her if it was possible to order a larger version so it would be more visible.  After a little bit of conversing back and forth, I'd ordered a large 9" custom order Up themed Wedding Anniversary Disney Key.

It arrived a few weeks ago and I absolutely love how it came out!  The details are so cute and the text is so good!  It looks like just the text on the Adventure Book in Up!  I could never paint it that good.  I really love how it's personalized with Eliot's and my wedding date too!  I'm so glad I ordered this from her!

Another item that I bought for our Up themed wall was this Up inspired 'Home is Where the Heart Is' sign from Pirates of Wonderland.  My Mom and Dad have a sign that says this in their dining room that I always admired when growing up.  This version was a fun, magical and modern way to incorporate the phrase into our home.  I love it so much!  The little Mickey balloons and house are so cute!!!

The final artwork that I bought was from Kodis Creations.  I've wanted to order from this shop forever and I finally did it!  Amber makes the most beautiful paper art.  She's known for her character letters, but she also makes other designs.  I ordered two pieces for my first order- Carl and Ellie's Chairs and the Candy Apples.  The chairs are so cute with the little Mickey balloons over them.  I had to have the adorable Mickey and Minnie Candy Apples.  They're going to live in our kitchen on a gallery wall there.

I've also always loved ordering accessories on Etsy.  There are so many creative things to add to your wardrobe there.  Every once in a while, I buy a few items to personalize my wardrobe and add a little bit of magic.

Recently, I've been really into those knotted bow headbands.  My hair is pretty unruly so I love to have something to hold it out of my face.  I don't wear it down often, but when I do, I pretty much always wear a headband.  Thus, I have quite the collection in my Etsy cart.  The other day, I finally ordered two from Thingamabows.  These ones are made from actual Disney Dress Shop dresses so they'll match my Mickey Sketch and Ink & Paint dresses perfectly!  I couldn't pass that up!  They really are perfect!

Another accessory item that I love are bracelets.  I don't wear them every day, but they're fun to wear when going out or at the parks.  I've started a small collection of character, holiday and event inspired bracelets.  I recently purchased some for from Ladybug Bowtique and added four more to my collection: Sorcerer Mickey, Elliott, Festival of the Arts and Forky.  I first purchased the Elliott and Festival of the Arts bracelets, but a few minutes later, I discovered Forky.  He automatically fell into my cart, and I added the Sorcerer Mickey for good measure.  I love all of the bright colors, the beautiful charms and the attention to details!!!  I'll definitely be back for more!

I've slowly been adding a few supplies to my ever-growing collection for Happily Ever Hatter.  I've got a new product in mind, so hopefully that will work out and I can show you those soon!  I also have a lot of designs that I've had in the back of my mind for a while now.  I was able to order a bunch of supplies for them with some of our refund!

I've currently got a few more things on order for the house- and that doesn't even begin to cover all of the things that I've put on my to order list.  I'm hoping to order a piece here and there when we're financially able to.  Plus, there's no point fully diving in and buying everything now since we're still painting and getting the house prepared.  But, I think that we're off to a great start so far!

I also have a long list of artwork and decor projects for Eliot and me to make when we can.  I've started to order a few of the supplies for some of them.  I'm also starting to work on a few of the easier projects.  Keep your eyes peeled; I'm planning to post tutorials for some of the projects that I'm working on here on my blog!

I really love the personalization and special touch that handmade items bring to an outfit or a home.  I want to fill our house with bright colors, handmade treasures, home decor and artwork created with love, magic, faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust!  °o°

The Next Chapter Begins...

Hello Everyone!  I have very exciting news to share with you!  After much deliberation, Eliot and I have decided that it's time for me to begin a new chapter in our lives.  I am leaving my job and I will be running Happily Ever Hatter (and our new businesses!) full time!  This has not been an easy decision, and it's been one that I've been struggling with for some time now.  We finally made the decision back in June, and I've been dying to make the announcement here on my blog.

Yesterday, I went into work for my last official day seeing our patients.  I still have to go in a few days next week (while the office is closed for vacation) to tie up loose ends, finish training my replacement, and to clean out my stuff... then, I'll be home full time.  

I have absolutely loved working at the chiropractic office these last four years.  The doctors I have worked with are all an inspiration.  Their passion for chiropractic and our patients never ceases to amaze me.  Working with them has been a privilege.  And what can I say about our patients other than that they're incredible.  It's been really hard saying goodbye to everyone.  I've gotten a lot of hugs and tons of well wishes and it's so encouraging to hear how proud they are of me to be going after my dreams.

To be totally honest, the past few weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions for me.  I'm so excited about this new chapter in my life, but I'm also terrified at the same time.  Being fully self-employed can be freeing, but it's also a little overwhelming.

This feels right though.  I always knew that I wanted to run my creative businesses full time.  My parents run their own accounting business, and both sets of my grandparents ran their own businesses too.  I've always said that running my own business(es) is in my blood.  I've never pictured myself doing anything else long term.  This has always been my eventual goal.  It just came a lot sooner than I ever imagined.

It's been a year and a half since 3D printed ears became a big business and our shop, Happily Ever Hatter, has kept us so busy.  Eliot and I have barely had time to stop and smell the roses.  We've been trying to take more time for ourselves, and we did more this summer than we did last year.  But, we still spend a good part of our weekends working on ears and we spend most of the evening working on them as well.  I'm hoping that with me home full time, I can get most of it done during the day while he's at work.  We're looking forward to having more of a social life once we're caught up!

The future looks bright.  We've got plans to do some traveling over the next year and we're looking forward to seeing friends and family we haven't seen in a while.  We're hoping to get to a few UNE hockey games and to spend time with Elissa.  Portland has a new ECHL hockey team, the Maine Mariners, so we're planning to go to a few of those games.  In addition, we're actually going to see our San Jose Sharks a few times this season!  I'm also hoping to get a lot of progress done on our house.  We still have so much to do, but finishing it doesn't seem so far off now.  Of course, we're looking forward to visiting Mickey Mouse a few times too!

With more time to focus on it, Happily Ever Hatter will continue to grow.  Eliot and I have so. many. ideas... I literally have lists of lists of them.  I'm excited to have more time to work on samples along with orders.  Plus, Eliot should have more design time now!  I'm really excited to see what we can accomplish in the next few months!

What I'm most excited about is that I'm going to have time to focus on our new businesses. I've been talking about these forever... and now I'm finally going to have time to work on them.  Eliot and I are planning to move forward quickly.  We're hoping to launch two of them in the next few months so they'll be ready for holiday orders!

Finally, I will actually have time to work on my blog!  I've decided to re-name and re-brand it, so I probably won't be diving in head first right away.  I'm hoping to get some behind the scenes stuff done before I get back into the swing of things.  But I'm really excited that it could be closer to it's potential soon!

So, today is the first day of the next chapter of my life.  I'm sure it will be an adventure but I'm ready for it.  And I think the universe is too.  Last night, when I left work, there was a small rainbow over the road as I drove away from my past and forward into the unknown of full-time self-employment.  I think it's a sign that I made the right decision. 

"Have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through."  °o°

Happily Hatting

Hi Friends!!!  I'm so sorry I disappeared again.  It's been a crazy whirlwind around here- the holiday season usually is.  Eliot and I have been up to our eyeballs in mouse ear and soap orders and we've also been working on new designs!  It's been insane, but so much fun!  (And as always, we're so grateful for our customers!)  Now that I'm finally able to catch my breath for a minute, I thought I'd show you a few of the things I've been working on for Happily Ever Hatter!

Confession, these first three designs are actually ones that I made for our Walt Disney World trip back in September/October.  Our trip was so crazy fast, that we weren't even able to wear them, but we're planning to bring them for Princess Half Weekend!

The first, is my favorite, Tigger.  I made Eeyore ears a while ago, and I'm very happy to finally have a Tigger design to match.  He came out just as I imagined, and I'm head over heels in love with his fuzzy tail!  Plus, Eliot finally got his own pair of Eeyore ears!

The next design is my Haunted Mansion Maid ear hat.  I've wanted to make this hat since I started making ears a few years ago.  I'm glad I waited, because I got the exact fabric and look that I wanted.  It was well worth the wait!  The stars aligned and I love it!  I can't wait to get some Haunted Mansion pictures in a few months!

Of course, where there's a HM Maid, there's got to be a Haunted Mansion Butler!  This was another design that I've been "dying" to bring to life.  I love it!

I made this nurse ear hat design for my friend, and fellow Key to the World travel agent, Stephanie.  Her husband just graduated from nursing school so she had me make these for their trip to Walt Disney World!  I love the scrubs with the little pocket, the Mickey heartbeat and the stethoscope with Mickey on it!

Next, is a design that I pulled together over the past few weeks.  I had a customer who wanted an Ariel design that was different from the ear hat Disney sells.  He wanted to give it to a friend for Christmas.  I looked into a few ideas, but in the end, I'm so glad we went with Kiss the Girl Ariel!  I've already cut out pieces to make one for myself!

I've wanted to make this design for two years.  In fact, I cut the pieces out two years ago when Eliot and I lived in the house we were renting.  I had every intention to finish it, but Christmas came and went so fast I couldn't finish it in time.  Fast forward to last year, when we were moving into our new house.  I had to table it again since all of my supplies were in storage.  This year, I was determined to finally bring Christmas Anna to life.  It's a twist on my regular Anna ear hat design, and I love how it turned out!

And, what's Christmas Anna without Christmas Elsa?  This one was always in the plan, but I hadn't actually bought the materials until this year.  I found the perfect silver fabric for her skirt, and I'm so glad that I went with the red, white and silver color scheme.  It's regal and elegant, but still packs plenty of holiday punch!  And it's so sparkly!!!

Which brings me to the best part of more designs... this is what our Christmas tree looks like right now!  Eliot and I really wanted to put our tree up, but didn't want to get the ornaments out since we're still unpacking everything slowly.  Instead, we decided to decorate the tree with my Happily Ever Hatter designs!  Not only is it beautiful, but it brings me so much pride to see all of my designs displayed next to the twinkling lights.

And I'm no where near finished making new designs.  I've got a lot of ideas up my sleeve.  I'm already talking with customers about a few other new designs.  I'm in a really good creative zone, and I already have supplies for a bunch of my ideas.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to make a few more new designs early in the New Year!  °o°
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Shop Small

Hi friends!  I just wanted to pop in quickly to remind you that today is Small Business Saturday!!!  As a small shop owner, it's really important to remind people to support their local business owners, as well as us handmade makers who sell online!

I make a lot of purchase at "big box" stores, but I always look for more unique items from handmade sellers.  There's something special about opening something from those people. I really love receiving an item from someone who put their heart and soul into it.  It makes the item more special, and certainly more unique!

Of course, Eliot and I have our own small shops: my shop Happily Ever Hatter and his shop Snowblade Creations.  And for those of you who don't know, I'm also a travel planner for Key to the World Travel.  If you're planning a trip to Disney, I'd love to help!

However, this year I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite small shops.  There are so many, and I've discovered and followed a ton of them through Instagram!  These are a few small shops that I've personally purchased from over the past year!  (You've probably seen a few of these, but a lot of them I haven't shared on here before!)

Recently, I've started purchasing a few ear headbands from other sellers.  I wanted to support my fellow ear makers!  My favorite shop that I've purchased from is Elephant and Mouse.  Maggie makes great designs and I already own 4 of her creations!!!

Earlier this year, I was able to purchase a hand painted pendant necklace by Savanna Rodriguez.  I've admired her work via Instagram for awhile.  I was fortunate to grab one during a recent shop opening.  It's absolutely stunning!

I love these postcards that I got from Artist Marnie.  She paints beautiful paintings and I had to get some of her postcards for my art wall that I'm dreaming of!  These are stunning and I hope to purchase some prints from her soon!

Earlier this year, I got some accessories from Le Petit Mouse.  I ordered a Rapunzel Pendant Necklace and a Starbucks Necklace/Brooch.  I love them!  I'm sure I'll be ordering more items from her soon!

I also got these custom dresses from Shadows13Bows.  They're awesome!

For Valentine's Day, I bought this limited edition Rapunzel ring from AOS Design.  I've been admiring these from afar and my only regret is that I didn't order one sooner!  I just wore it for the first time the other day and it's perfection.

I also had to get something special for our house.  I finally worked out a theme and design for our open concept kitchen,dining room and living room.  I found these pillows from Carlson Quilt Fabrics.  I love them!

As you've probably gathered, I'm really into scarves.  They're the perfect accessory in the winter.  At this point, I have a giant Disney scarf collection!  I absolutely love my Mickey and Friends Cupcake scarf from PlayItByEars!  My Tsum Tsum scarf is from MadeByMelephant.  I love it.  It's so soft!

I ordered my first fascinator this year for Spring Dapper Day at Disneyland.  I decided to dress up as Diamond Celebration Minnie so I had to get this from Hat and Mouse.  I also got this cute brooch from LilSweetumsBowtique.

Speaking of brooches, I've also ordered a ton of them from LilSweetumsBowtique on her Instagram page.  She does sales about once a month on ready to ship items and my brooch collection is huge.  Here's a small sample of the ones I now have from her!

My favorite Disney jewelry sweet shop is Enchanted Candy Carousel.  April makes amazing designs and my collection of her handmade items is also growing!  I have a few new designs for Christmas on their way soon, including my second fascinator!

I purchased my first order from Pretty Little Monograms earlier this year when they had an awesome sale!  I had been wanting a nameplate necklace in the Disney font for a while and this was the perfect opportunity.  I also caved and bought myself a hot pink monogramed shirt!  I love it and will probably be ordering more next year!

Finally, I'm absolutely loving my clothing from Oh Sew Magical.  Linsay makes awesome adult leggings and skirts.  I have one pair of her leggings, a few skirts, (a few more on order...) and an autograph shirt!  I love them and know I will be ordering more!

I love all of these small shops and hope that you will consider supporting one this holiday season!  We all love and appreciate each and every one of our customers!  

"When you buy from a small mom or pop business, you are not helping a CEO buy a third vacation home.  You are helping a little girl get dance lessons, a little boy get his team jersey, a mom or dad put food on the table, a family pay a mortgage, or a student pay for college.  Our customers are our shareholders and they are the ones we strive to make happy.  Thank you for supporting Small Businesses!" - unknown  °o°