Tag: kid entrepreneur project

February 1, 2017

Kids’ Entrepreneur Series: Vision Boards

One of the first things Kayne and I did for our Kid’s Entrepreneur Series was make vision boards.

I just love making vision boards, don’t you?

I’m a visual person, so I like to see my goals in color, in different fonts, in pictures.

And I wanted my son to have a clear vision of what we were working for. It’s not just to make money for money’s sake. We set goals for a reason.

Otherwise, what’s the point of having a business and making money?

Here are the final products:

Mine’s all “Do work that matters” and “Let’s find our way with words” and “Let’s elevate the moment” and “for the love of leaves” with Scripture dead center.

Meanwhile, Kayne’s is all tractors and girls and dogs.

It cracks me up a little. Clearly he’s a boy and I’m a girl. And clearly there’s a value difference.

We’re still working on the materialism with him.

But I think the main point here, the main point of creating vision boards, is to set goals and to give yourself something to work toward. To give real visible life to your dreams. To provide motivation.

For a good half of my life, at least, I never really sat down to figure out what I wanted. I didn’t know what to “want.” I didn’t really know I had permission to “want.” Now, they are the driving force of so much that I do!

All of my “wants” are pretty abstract and value driven, but they are very clear and this vision board so perfectly represents them.

I want my son to dream. And pursue dreams. Right now they are to “have a girlfriend,” “being rich,” “having 100 cats and 100 dogs,” and “be a rockstar like Dierks Bentley.” And apparently…tractors. Who didn’t have those kinds of dreams when they were 8?

It’s an exercise in dreaming as big as you want to.

I’m still working on “values” with him. We’re learning about setting aside money to give back and being generous. We’re also learning about how much work it takes to build a business. We’re learning about practical money saving ideas. Not everything can be about fast cars and girls (sorry guys!).

This is such a fun, eye-opening project to try with the kids. It’s a great way to get their imaginations going and start creating some goals with them. It’s also an illuminating project for you to do alongside them to bring your own goals into vision.

Here’s something to distract you. This Pinterest board is all things Vision Boards if you really want to get into it.

So, let’s hear it…

When’s the last time you created a vision board? Did anything stand out to you?

December 2, 2016

Kids’ Entrepreneur Series: Monarch Wing Necklaces

Hey #flashers,

Welcome back to my Kids’ Entrepreneur Series where I’m sharing the ins and outs of nurturing little entrepreneurs. In the first installment, I showed you how we put together nature necklaces to sell at my work craft fair (which btw didn’t happen because Kayne and I both ended up with the rampant flu that day. Major bummer).

Today, I’m back with another batch of necklaces that my son helped me make that we intended to try to sell at the craft fair and will still try to sell to last-minute Christmas shoppers.

These are so incredibly magical to me, especially since we got to witness Monarch migration happening in our own backyard this year. We also visited the butterfly gardens where we got to tag and release a monarch. Then, we tried raising a few monarch caterpillars ourselves.

So, this summer had a bit of a monarch theme going for us (one year it was miniature golf).

And over the course of the summer, we were able to collect a whopping 20 wings! (remember, each butterfly has 4 viable wings) One butterfly was the accidental casualty of Hubsters truck that we found in his grill, RIP pretty butterfly. We found two after they passed away in our own backyard. And the rest were picked up at the butterfly garden when we visited.

Though these beautiful butterflies had run their course on this earth, we were able to preserve their earthly bodies where their beauty lives on.

Press them in a thick book before using!

So, for the other supplies to do this project, we took a trip to Hobby Lobby and found these awesome glass window pendants. They came in a kit. Then, I bought one package each of matching jump rings, clasps, and cord crimps. I already had some nice black cord on hand. I used cord instead of silver to complement the black veins in the butterflies. The only other tool you need is a set of pliers.

All you have to do is place the wing between the two glass windows and trim around the edges.

Insert the glass panes into the silver frame and screw the top shut. They work just like embroidery hoops, if you know how embroidery hoops work.

Then, cut a piece of cord to your desired length. Attach the pendant to the cord with a jump ring.

Then, fold the ends down (because they fray) and squeeze a cord crimp on either end of the cord. Then attach a jump ring to connect the crimp to the clasp.

Voila! Quite simple actually! They probably seem more daunting than they really are.

And the finished product makes my heart leap!

Such a simple project to do with your kids where you end up with a beautiful piece of art that everyone falls in love with. These would make great Christmas presents too for any ladies left on your list.

For the gents, I suggest framing the wings in a masculine frame with a cool background. (If you want one and you’re local, hit me up; I still have some.)

Since my nephews went to the butterfly house with us last year, I framed a wing for each of them instead of the necklace. They LOVED them! And oh, what a meaningful gift, since they’re so attached to a fun memory.

What types of projects have you done with your kids that were worth selling?

November 17, 2016

Kids’ Entrepreneur Series: Nature Necklaces

My little buddy has the entrepreneur bug in him.

He’s always talking about what he can do or sell to earn money so he can accomplish his goals (i.e. buy toys, hehe).

And as my role as his momma and guide, I want to nurture the little business man in him.

So, we’ve been slowly working on projects so that he can earn some extra money.

Since we have a craft fair coming up at my workplace, we hustled our little buns off to get some inventory built up. A lot of people get their Christmas shopping done here. It’s perfect timing to get our little hustle on and get to selling!

So, what are we going to be selling at the craft fair?

Nature necklaces!

Now, we’ve done two batches of these necklaces. The first was with real monarch wings that we’ve been collecting over the course of the summer. I will come back in a few days to show you how we made them. The hardest part is finding the wings!

The second is little glass vials and bulbs that we filled with little bits and pieces of nature. We took a walk around the yard and collected little tiny seeds and flowers and things that would fit inside these itsy bitsy little vials. We also had a set of bigger glass vials that we filled with treasures.

Btw, You can watch our Periscope about these necklaces here. (Subscribe to see this series unfold before your eyes).

These fun mini vial kits are available at Hobby Lobby:

All the pretty fall things to stick inside:

Other ideas for what you could put inside the vials:

Calming or invigorating aromatherapy blends
Tiny scrolls with messages, poems or scripture
Sand/soil from places you’ve traveled: I brought back volcanic ash from Costa Rica in two of mine.
Charms with special meaning
A lock of hair from your child’s first haircut
Lace from your grandmother’s wedding dress
Bark from a tree at your childhood home

So, all we did was place the pretty nature bits inside and plug them with the included cork. Then we used jump rings to attach the eye hooks to the necklaces.

Annnnnnd, the final product:

I hope that whoever buys these feels the heart we put into them and that they offer the wearer a little connection to our heavenly slice of earth (if I don’t keep them all for myself;)

Well, stay tuned for more from my kids entrepreneur series to see how we did at the craft fair and what else we might be making. I have a few more things I’m planning on doing with my son as part of the money-making process including budgeting, giving back and goal setting as well.

We also have a few more projects up our sleeves: cool things to sell that kids can make and people will actually want. Because that’s all part of the business process too, right? Creating products that people actually want. I’ll be sure to share what we come up with.

Did your parents ever help you start up a “side business” when you were a kid? Have you ever tried to help your own children with this?