looking for that holiday hustle

so i've been doing lots of crafting around here.  once all of those crocheted pumpkins were done and sent out to their new owners, i started looking around for what could be my next hustle.  i'm torn between raising money for the treadmill i really want and upgrading my embroidery machine, which is something i've wanted for awhile.  my little beginner-level machine is still alive and kicking, but it's so basic and i'd love to have some fancier features.  i'd love a multi-needle machine so i wouldn't have to change thread colors so often, with options for a bigger hoop to crank out larger sized items (or multiples of smaller ones in one hoop) and automatic stitch cutters and things like that.  

i thought maybe i might be able to pre-make a bunch of handmade items that might be good for christmas.  i came across this adorable crocheted gingerbread mickey and stitched out a sample.  it turned out to be quite a time suck - look at all the pieces involved:

once i got it all assembled, it was actually pretty cute.  

but it WAY too much work.  and took too long to make.  not a good hustle candidate.

i moved on to reusable coffee sleeves, which are really fun to make.  and picking out feltie designs to dress them up is super fun.  i think these would make great teacher gifts, or for anyone you want to give a starbucks gift card to, but when i posted them on my facebook page to gauge interest it didn't really attract a ton of attention.

in the midst of all this crafting, the bean decided to make a little plushie for one of her favorite friends since it was his birthday.  she'd made him one of these a couple of years ago, so she was excited to present him with mr. pigs 2.0, with his birthdate embroidered on the bottom.

have you heard of among us, the newest game that all the kids are playing?  the characters come in different colors and have all kinds of silly things on their heads and i guess it's a thing right now.  this same friend is a big gamer, so i made this for her to give him with mr. pigs 2.0:

and we carved pumpkins the other night.  i was pretty proud of mine until the girls looked at it and the old lady said "that's it?  it's not even carved" and i kind of wilted like a dead flower.  sigh.

still, she looks pretty cute next to the other pumpkins.

so, back to the hustle.  i think i found it, because i posted this on my personal facebook timeline and ended up making about 20 elf mask and sweater sets for friends:

and then i posted it on the local small business/boutique facebook page and WHOA.  i'm currently attached at the hip to my embroidery machine with the old lady helping to trim and cut because i have over 100 orders to fill.  i present to you the official 2020 elf survival kit:

if you don't hear from me for awhile, please come check on me to make sure i haven't been buried alive in fleece and thread, or somehow managed to sew myself to a hoop.  it could happen.