I've worked with Bowdabra before, was let down when my daughter stood me up for our Bowdabra date another time, and absolutely love the fabulous, spunky, and dog-loving founder of Bowdabra, so when she asked me during a discussion on the phone if I wanted to try out the hair bow tool, I was ecstatic!
(We discussed in a quick email how even younger boys - like mine - love to make bows with the Bowdabra. If you go to our 2011 Christmas Card and scroll down to the pictures at the bottom, you will see our Bowdabra'd-out Christmas Tree that the boys helped with!)
Big Oops!
When the ribbons, bow wire and barrettes arrived, I showed them to my lovely daughter and told her that we could make a few hair bows for her friends. Well, let's just say she went a little bit overboard with what I said and went to school announcing that we were making hair bows for the whole class...and I found out that she did this, because she came home from school the other day and showed me a little piece of folded up paper with a 14 written on the inside.
That 14 was the number of girls in her class. Oh, goodness!
Okay, so I guess I'm getting way beyond the Valentine's Hair Bows that we made...but, just so you know, I ended up taking on more than I expected with this project!
To Get Started
First of all, I want to let you know that the hair bow tool includes a intricately done ebook with step-by-step instructions accompanied by images for even the un-craftiest person, and it's on a convenient CD, so we popped the CD into my daughter's laptop and kept it on to reference as we made bows.
Now, you'll have to humor me, because I not only let my children make the bows, I also let my daughter take the photos, so you're not going to see perfectly made hair bows...and they are not perfectly photographed, but that's not the point, right? It was fun for all, and that's what counts!
EXTRA INCOME OPPORTUNITY!
I've tried to help many, many other mothers who have chosen to take the stay-at-home mom option (for one reason or another) to find ways that they can feel like they're contributing to the financial needs of their household by brainstorming ideas with them. Although freelancing is an option for some of the women I chatted with, not everyone wants to work in the writing/freelancing, Internet consulting and management or social media management niches (the remote job opportunities that I love!), but many would be inclined to turn their crafting ideas into profit.
They could create wreaths decorated with bows and tailor the ribbon to the many holidays throughout the year...
For the upcoming Valentine's Day, red, white and pinks bows, whether polka-dot, striped or another pattern of choice, could be attached to a wreath for display on a front door.
Or you can make cute little hairbows like we made!
And make money. You could start your own little Etzy store. Or, sell them at local craft fair. When I was in my early to mid teen years, I used to make hair scrunchies and sell them at the local beauty parlor. It was so excited at the end of the week when I went to pick up the cash from the sales.
Depending on the fabrics I used and the time of year (I loved holiday season!), there were some really great weeks for a girl my age - I'll never forget the Friday I went to the salon right before Christmas and the owner handed me $150 - I had worked hard to make about seventy five scrunchies and told the salon owner to discount them 50% three days before Christmas, because they all had Christmas patterns on them and I would rather them sell than sit for another year (the investment financially was miniscule, it was the time investment that made the little pocket money) .
The owner had a really loyal client base and several stylists and happened to be the only hairdressing salon in the town - people would drive to see her from a town or to over, and they came back on a regular basis, and she said that the women and girls who came in were always excited to see the new scrunchies that were there. They sold pretty good, as I look back.
No...you're not going to get rich, and it's definitely not going to be a quick, huge payout, but it's certainly an idea to get a little padding in your pocket. And, if you like - or even LOVE - to craft and have a creative and innovative way of thinking when it comes to coming up with unique projects, the Bowdabra opens the door to even more possibilities.
Hand-made Unique Gifts & FUNDRAISERS
People have learned to treasure hand-made gifts and the time that people put into them. We're not the stay-home-and-cook-and-do-chores-all-day type of moms (or grandmas) anymore, so the fact that we took the time out of our busy schedules means something to other people in this day and age.
So, whipping up hairbows for birthdays or other special occasions, or even using them as fundraising items is another possibility.
Can you think of any other ways Bowdabra can help you make money from home?
Thanks for the hair bow tool, ribbons and barrettes, Bowdabra! We had fun!
