What BOXED UP Means to Me

"Creativity is Contagious...Pass it On!" - Albert Einstein
In light of the one year anniversary, I've been reflecting on what My Home Matters BOXED UP means to me. Sure, you may be thinking, "Well of course it means a lot to her - people pay her to send them craft projects!" Well, sure. That's a perk. But anyone who has the privilege of doing something they love with all of their heart knows that it's so much more than just about money.


Over the last five or so years since becoming an entrepreneur (I still have a hard time saying that word about myself), I have met hundreds of people. I've gotten to know folks that I never would have had the privilege of meeting had I not started hosting workshops and doing custom work. I've learned just how small of a world it really is. I've become friends with people that started out as customers. I've shared personal struggles, including my dad's cancer and ultimate passing, the fact that we lost our first baby, and more.

I've learned that I have folks out there via social media who will go to bat for me if need be. I have former high school classmates who are cheering for me... folks recommending me on local sites... messages from local folks, even local business owners (and some not so local) just to say they admire what I've been doing and are rooting for my success. I've met ladies who come back time and time again to learn a new project. This along means THE WORLD to me! I'm so grateful God led me down this path.
If you don't know my full story, I invite you to check out this video done by my friend, Kip Peters (Videos by Kip). He did a great job capturing how My Home Matters came to be in the first place along with a glimpse into my family life and the start of BOXED UP! My family is the reason I started this business in the first place. Boxed Up helps me to help support my family who has been super supportive of me from the very start. My kids have watched me grow this business from scratch and their pride shows when they encourage me to try something new. I've had so many great teaching opportunities to share with them as well. Being that my husband also has his own business, they are truly learning how hard it is to run a business, despite the many advantages.

But not only does Boxed Up help support my family, it also helps to employ some wonderful ladies I have been graced to find to assist me with the many facets of running workshops, an online shop and a subscription service. And let's not forget the other local businesses and individuals that I can help support as well such as my website designer, logo designer, ads manager, videographer and more!
But now that Boxed Up is one year old, not only have I learned a lot about myself as well as about running a subscription membership (I will continue to learn no matter how long it continues to run!), but I've also learned that I still have that passion for teaching that kind of got put on the back burner once I had children. While my formal education took me down the path of secondary education teaching math (and some French) to high school kiddos (and even graduate students), the teacher is still inside of me longing to share my passion for creating with others. To see a project come to life - whether it's something we've seen done before or whether it's an idea we had in our head that we bring to fruition from scratch... the quest for finding just the right projects each month is exhilarating to me! (And, yes, sometimes exhausting at the same time).
And then there is the Facebook community. We wanted a place where we could have our members feel like they can be part of a group of other folks who have similar interests when it comes to decorating and creating and DIY. I love getting to see the finished projects and the group interacting with each other and helping to troubleshoot or ask a question. Members will often ask each other what method they used to achieve a certain look or what color they used. What's really fun is when members start receiving their boxes each month and the mystery starts to be revealed as they do... to see their posts inside the group that show their excitement without giving away the project to those who haven't gotten their box yet.

Never in a million years did I think one day I'd be running a subscription box service! But there is one thing I've seen fairly clearly ever since I was a little girl and that's teaching. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to teach our members how to do their projects each month. I'm grateful to have the platform to be able to teach how to do our kits online.

Boxed Up means way more to me than income.

• It's watching members step out of their comfort zone.
• It's watching members "think outside of the box" (PUN INTENDED).
• It's seeing members light up and get giddy over the surprise coming on their doorstep.
• It's watching members support each other.
• It's watching someone go from "I can't paint well" to "I did it!"

As we head this week into our next "Open Cart" where we open the doors to new members, I will be collecting thoughts from our current group and next week, I'll share what Boxed Up means to our members. This month, we celebrate our Founding Members who joined in the very first open cart before any of our boxes went out. They took a leap of faith with me and for that I am forever grateful. Since then, we have welcomed many more ladies into the membership. I feel like this is a family of sorts. I'm so truly blessed. While it's not always easy, I love it. Do you have a question about our membership? Feel free to ask below in a comment or head to our Boxed Up page for more information!