M.K. Stabley
Changing Directions Should be my Theme.

As many of you know, I not only write books, but I have also built myself a small business, as well.
After trying to write three different books over the last six months, nothing has progressed, so I switched gears and went back to a hobby that I used to love doing, and that was designing jewelry. Over the years I have made many different pieces, ranging from necklaces to rings. I mean honestly, what girl doesn't love jewelry, right?
Well, over the last few months, I also added new and fun beaded projects to my repertoire that aren't jewelry based. I found new items I could add my beaded touch to; pens, letter openers, wine stoppers, and even beaded wine glass charms.
I have gone as far as opening my own Etsy shop to display and sell my creations. Recently, I did a Spring Open House that a small local shop was putting on, where a variety of vendors were able to sell their goods. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet so many great people in the process.
Now, I am not sure how long this little venture will last, but I am enjoying it right now.
This week I am going to take this creating thing one step further and try my hand at giving hats a bougie upgrade. I love hats; baseball, cowboy, fedoras; all of them. So why not zhuzh them up and see what happens.
I will continue writing, when the inspiration hits me, again. The blogging regularly helps me a little, but the design projects are a way to hopefully kickstart my imagination, so I can once again put pen to paper and come up with a great book.
Now, my ultimate dream would be to open my own brick and mortar shop and fill it with amazing books, a small cafe, and carry fun gift items like I am currently making. My dreams have always been bigger than my bank account though. I'm not even sure where I would begin with such a large undertaking, to be honest.
Like the title says, changing directions should be my theme.
Creative hobbies have always been my go-to though, but to try and build a real career around them has always been daunting to me. I purposely keep it small and not let myself get in over my head, for fear of complete failure.
I have been pretty lucky and blessed to have people in my life who at least continue to encourage me, whether they believe in me truly or not, I don't know. They could be just waiting for me to fall flat on my face, so they can tell me "I told you so." But until then, I am going to keep plugging away, the only way I know how, and that is by persisting.
So, in closing - no matter what direction your life takes you, as long as you are still happy doing it, don't stop. You never know what or who you are inspiring.
If you'd like to check out my little shop, click below. I will be adding more items tonight and tomorrow. I try to update it regularly.