Hi there! Thank you for taking the time to read my first blog post! I have been staring at my computer screen for a few days trying to decide what to write about. If any of you know me personally, you probably know that I have no trouble finding something to talk about. However, this time I am struggling to gather my thoughts. What should I tell you about first? What if what I have to say isn’t interesting to other people? What if I can’t think of anything to say? (I also tend to be a bit of an over-thinker, if you can’t tell!)
Maybe I should start off by introducing myself.
Hi! My name is Lilly, and I am a stay-at-home mama with two little ones. These two angels are my whole world and I love being their mama! My husband is a career firefighter in Baltimore County, and he is the rock of our little family. I truly don’t know what we would do without him. We live in a little log home in the woods of Carroll County, and we dream of one day having our own little homestead. We currently have a little flock of laying hens, but we are also contemplating raising some meat chickens for the first time!
I also have a horse, a beautiful bay mare named Rheana. We don’t have the land needed to keep her on our property, so we board her at a farm in Stewartstown, PA. One day I would love to have more chickens, ducks, goats, a pony for my kiddos, and maybe a couple cows. I can already see my husband trying to wrap his mind around all those animals. Ha!
While my family is the most important thing in my life, I am also a small business owner.
I create unique home décor pieces, custom home décor, and beaded bracelets. Back in 2018, I bought my Cricut with the intention of using it to make fun crafts for myself. Then, I started using it to make gifts for my friends and family. By 2019, I had made a few pieces that I actually sold. That was also when I did my first small business owner happy dance (if you know, you know).
Below is a picture of one of my most popular custom signs, as well as one of my favorite ones to make. (Remember this sign, you'll probably be seeing it in another post!)
One day my mom proposed that we join forces and sell our pieces as a vendor in a local store. For about a year, we were vendors in two different local stores, and we had already grown in our abilities! Mom started refinishing furniture and became a retailer for Dixie Belle Paint Company. We also started hosting workshops where we taught customers how to create their own unique creations! Then the pandemic hit in 2020 and we decided that was the best time to open our own store! Ha! So, in June of 2020, we opened the doors to Red Barn Boutique for the first time. Our little boutique features many different local creators who all make a variety of unique handmade items, and we still host workshops for our customers! My mom also now carries everything by Dixie Belle Paint Company in the boutique, as well as items by Re-Design with Prima, Hokus Pokus, and Decoupage Queen.
When I’m not busy creating items for our boutique, I love creating in the kitchen.
I LOVE baking and cooking for my family and friends. Whenever possible, I prefer to make things from scratch! It brings me so much joy knowing that I have created something so tasty using my own hands. Canning and gardening are also some of my favorite hobbies! I love getting back to the basics, doing things the way our grandparents did it. I am still learning, but I feel that each day I am gaining new skills and knowledge.
Through this blog, I hope to be able to teach you guys how to up your crafting & furniture painting game, some of the ins and outs of the world of Dixie Belle, and a few recipes & kitchen tips I've learned over the years. I'll even throw in some posts where I talk about the magical, messy, and often comical life of a stay-at-home mama! I hope you will join me here each month for some cool tips and funny stories!
P.S. If you're local, come stop by our boutique in Hanover, PA! There are so many unique handmade things to choose from, as well as a wide variety of crafting/furniture painting items! If you're curious about what we have to offer, checkout our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RedBarnBoutiqueLLC?mibextid=LQQJ4d
or our website https://www.redbarnboutique.net/
What would YOU like learn about or see in this blog?
- DIY crafts
- Dixie Belle Paint Company product tips
- Homemade baking tips
You can vote for more than one answer.