Hello!!! Thank you so much for visiting!!

I call my story "My Unexpected Journey" because I never imagined that I would have my own little shop on etsy, but now that I do, I can't imagine NOT having it!

Before turtlebugs I was a 6th grade teacher in New York City, and I absolutely LOVED it!! Once I got pregnant with my first child I decided I wanted to stay home for as long as possible. One year, turned to two, then three, and one child soon became three too :). I realized in this time that if we could afford for me to stay home with our three beautiful children then that was what I wanted to do.

Being a "Stay At Home Mom" was the right decision for me, but I needed to have something for myself, something to do in my rare but precious "down" time. One day, I was with my mother-in-law, a fellow crafter, and she was showing me a project she was working on. It was a flower pot with these adorable fabric flowers. My eyes lit up...I LOVED them, and I had never seen anything like them. I immediately said, "These would make the cutest hair clips!!"

She quickly showed me how she made one, and I discovered what a "Yo-yo" was. I would love to tell you that I have been sewing and crocheting since I was a child with my grandmother, but the truth is, I didn't learn these skills until I became a mommy myself. Now that I have started, I have become a crafting and fabric junkie!! That first Yo-yo has become many, and I love learning and using different techniques and fabrics to create different styles of fabric flowers and new designs for girls' accessories!! I recently received my very first sewing machine and I am very excited to create even more!! My heart skips a beat just to think of it! I am so excited to see what the future holds for my little shop!!

I hope you enjoyed my story, and maybe it inspired you...it's NEVER too late to reinvent yourself!! I am LOVING my unexpected journey!