Hobbies And Making Money

A little more than a year ago, I took Camille to toddler hour at the indoor trampoline park, and she was so worn out afterwards that she napped for two hours that afternoon.

For many of you, that may be normal, or even a shorter-than-normal nap. For me, it was double the time than I was used to. DOUBLE! Camille has always been a one hour napper (I'm getting 90 solid minutes these days thanks to the amazing and all-powerful OK to Wake Clock).

That day, my house was (somewhat) clean, I was (somewhat) showered and presentable, and I grew ... borrrrrred. Bored. I know, I am SO weird. Normal people would nap, watch TV, I don't know. Chill.

But in that last hour of unexpected naptime sleep, I taught myself how to make hairbows! I took a couple of Pinterest tutorials and fused them together to create the perfect little girly and tailored hairbow.

It wasn't long after I made that first bow before I had the idea to sell them, because I've always enjoyed making my own fun money. Especially now as a stay at home mom. I call it my "Chick-fil-A money" because it's the cash I keep on hand to buy Camille a 6-piece nuggets meal instead of always insisting on the ever-so-economical PB+J I can whip up at home.

Making hairbows to me as part of The Tipsy Bunny (the Etsy shop I own with my mom) is a blast. I love scouting out ribbon colors and putting together interesting combinations. I get excited every time a new holiday is around the corner and I can focus on holiday bows. When someone tags us on Instagram in a photo of their little ones, I am so proud! I sell quite a few bows locally from my own front stoop and love seeing a car pull into the driveway to come pick up an order from my front porch.

I absolutely love it.

The other hobby I do to make a little bit of money is ... blogging! It's no secret that blogging has changed remarkably in the 6+ years I've had this hobby, a large part of that being the monetization of blogs. Two of the most mainstream ways to earn a buck from blogging is to work with companies on sponsored posts and to use affiliate links (like the ones in this post). Sponsored posts can be fun to me if the partnership is truly genuine and meaningful. They are not really my cup of tea for the most part, though. Affiliate links are more natural to me as long as the content that surrounds them is genuine, unique, thought-provoking, and appropriate.

I think you see from the way I live my life, buying clothes at resale shops and meal planning around what meats are on BOGO sale, that I'm not obsessed with turning either one of these hobbies into a get-rich-quick scenario. I like to keep them as healthy hobbies -- low pressure, FUN, enjoyable, fulfilling.

Fulfilling is probably the most important word in that bunch, by the way.

I'd continue to do either hobby if they didn't bring me a little bit of money. But that part is the icing on the cake. To me, in this really busy season of life, it helps justify the time I spend making bows or blogging if it's time that could be spent snuggling with my hubby on the couch or tackling some household chores.

I'd love to hear about your hobbies -- whether they bring you Chick-fil-A money or not. :) What do you do that fulfills you? How did you learn to do what you do? What are your goals with your hobby?