DISCLAIMER: Some of the links below may be affiliate links. This means, at zero cost to you, I may earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. I only recommend products I’ve personally used and love and appreciate your support of my small business. 

Eek! I have been working on the Expressions Vinyl Mystery Box for February 2023 and today's the day I can finally tell you all about it! Are you wondering what's inside the Expressions Vinyl Mystery Box? I have all the details below.

As a crafter, I know using quality vinyl makes the crafting experience more fun and also creates better products. I love Expressions Vinyl and that they sell individual sheets of vinyl in addition to rolls - sometimes you just little bit of a color, sometimes you need a lot!

I was so excited to get to design a couple of happy patterns that they produced in adhesive and HTV, plus pick out coordinating colors for this month's Mystery...

DISCLAIMER: Some of the links below may be affiliate links. This means, at zero cost to you, I may earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. I only recommend products I’ve personally used and love and appreciate your support of my small business. 

I love teaching my online course: Design. Create. & Sell and helping other women learn how to make SVG designs. I am a firm believer that there is plenty of room for everyone in the digital world and that community is always better than competition. 

The "thing" that makes you unique also makes your SVG designs unique. It is the special sauce that literally nobody else on the planet can bring to the table. Girl, never dim your light to try to fit into whatever limitations you think you have. You can shine, you can thrive and you can create your dream life.

My very favorite part of my business is helping creative women with big dreams launch...

DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links that will reward me monetarily or otherwise when you use them to make qualifying purchases. In addition, there may be non-Amazon affiliate links in this post which means I may receive a commission if you purchase something through a link. However, please be assured that I only recommend products I have personally used and love!

Experience really is the best teacher, but so is learning from someone who has been there before you - it can speed up your learning curve and help you reach your goals faster. So for those of you who are running businesses, I think this subject is so stinkin' important. I have had a business with both physical and digital products. They each have their draws, especially as a maker, but there is a clear winner, in my mind, no matter where you are in your business journey. 

If you're new here, you can read about my business history from my very first Etsy shop to current day...

Last month my sisters and I were chatting poolside about our jobs. My younger sister turned and directly asked me "Do you ACTUALLY make a livable wage doing this?". It made me laugh a little because I assumed she knew this was beyond some little hobby but clearly she had doubts. And if my own sister has this question, then I'm guessing many of YOU might be wondering this too! Well let's chat all about it. 

So, it is really possible to make a full-time income with an online business?

I couldn’t say “yes!” fast enough. If you haven't been along this journey with me for long, you may not know my back story. I was stuck in a cubicle with big dreams not long ago. 

How My Journey to Making a Full-Time Income with an Online Business Started:

In 2016 I started making handmade signs and opened an Etsy shop. I worked while my kids were asleep and on the weekends hustling to make a few dozen signs a week.

It was...

The first step is believing in yourself.

Just want the free files? Skip to the bottom.

It wasn't a new car, or fancy outfit, nor was it a special vacation. 

It was this business. And not just actually starting the business but ALLOWING myself to have big dreams and chase them and not give up on them. 

Have you allowed your self to dream big? Is there something you wish you could do if you knew FOR SURE if would work out?

While there is never a guarantee, giving myself the opportunity to take a risk has turned into one of my proudest accomplishments. 

This little business is run from my home, in the hours that work around my kids' schedule, and it's not only given me freedom from my cubicle 9-5 job but it's given me so much more! It's given me purpose, connection, and the ability to help others. And those things have turned out to be the best gift ever. 

I've always believed that as you climb the ladder in life, you should turn around and pull others up with you if you can. And I was so excited...

Don't shoot the messenger, but it's really time to start considering Christmas shopping. 

And great news! The SVG Club's featured member for August, has got some really perfect gift ideas in stock...oh and double bonus, she's given me a coupon code to share with you guys.

Rhiannon can be found on Facebook and Instagram where she shares lots of the new products she makes. Earrings, dish scrubbies, kitchen towels, crochet stuffies, keychains...really so many great and easy gift ideas! You can shop all her great stuff here: personalizeitbyrhiannon.com and use code STEPHANIE15 for a discount!

Tell us about your business, how you got started and what you create?

I started by making cards and gifting them to people. Then people wanted to start ordering them and it’s just changed in what I’m offering item wise. I still make cards, just not as many and not as often.

What’s your favorite thing about running a business?

I can do what I want and change my...

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PIN for Later Tools for Making SVGs or FREE SVGs

Have you ever wondered what it take to make SVGs?
(If not, you can skip to the bottom to find the free files!)

I'm going to break down all the tools I use in my business for SVG design. The great things about designing SVGs is it doesn't take a lot of material goods, like a handmade shop may require. And there's no shipping supplies or postage. But there are some tech tools that are a must! 

And you don't have to hand letter to design and sell SVGs, but if you do there are a few extra tools you'll need. Let's cover those first. 

1. iPad & Apple Pencil (for lettering)

I bought my iPad back in 2017 after trying one out at a craft retreat. I ABSOLUTELY loved making the transition from paper and pen to iPad. I opted for a larger screen size but lower memory size, and it's worked out great! The specs on my iPad Pro are 12.9 inch with 128 GB...

The SVG Club is full of incredibly creative ladies, so why not celebrate one each month! 

This month: Jessica of Create with Crafty Jessie (you can find her on both Facebook and Instagram)

Jessica works with polymer clay and teaches others how to do the same. How cool is that? We asked her about how she got started, check out her Q & A below, but even better she's offered to teach SVG club members about polymer clay AND she's sharing with you her "Polymer Clay Beginner's Guide", snag it here. 

Just for you guys she's also giving 15% off in her Etsy shop! Use code "STEPHANIE"

www.craftyjessiecreates.etsy.com

Tell us about your business, how you got started and what you create?

I’ve always been crafty, but my current journey began during my senior year of college. I was student teaching and needed something to do to destress myself. I found polymer clay and began sculpting for fun, eventually opening an Etsy shop and doing local craft shows. I worked in...

Among the school community, talking about back to school during July is kinda frowned upon. Teachers and staff are still recovering from what might have been the most wild ride in education. But, my crafty friends have, again, gathered up some amazing SVG cut files and they all happen to be FREE. (Yay!) So while you're starting your back to school shopping list, you can also start planning out some super cute crafts for your kiddos and their educators. 

But before we get to those cut files, did you all know I'm a part-time tech aide at my kids' elementary school? My free SVG cut file reads "The future of the world is IN my classroom" and we all hope and pray that students are IN THE CLASSROOM all year. However, now that we live in a pandemic world, where computers have become so critical to education, and we never know what the year will bring - I thought I would share some of my top troubleshooting tips for when your kids' computer isn't working quite...