We have just passed the year mark for me closing my Etsy sign shop so that I could pursue blogging full time. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share some uplifting and inspiring farmhouse style bible prints as I re-cap what this last year has been like. It has been pretty incredible but certainly not without its ups and downs!

Disclaimer this post contains affiliate links.

If you find your self at a place I did a year and a half ago wondering what to do with your online handmade shop. I hope maybe the course I have take can shed a little light on what has and hasn’t worked in my quest to be a Wife, Mother to 4 (almost 5) and business owner.

You see my sign shop was thriving! It was bringing in an income I never thought would be possible for a little ol’ mom like me to make! But that success came at a great price. Time. Time that I spent endlessly in my workshop creating sign after sign, hours spent at the kitchen table packing orders, and hours researching and creating new and fresh designs. I loved so much of that process but I hated what it took from my family. Time.

So I knew things had to change, I had tried to hire workers, to lighten the load but that created different headaches and ultimately wasn’t what I had set out to create when I started selling handmade items. I quickly began to start looking at blogging. Again. I say again because that’s actually where my business sprouted its original roots. As a blogger who had no idea what I was doing and putting out all the wrong content without a single thing to show for it.

So I began to research what makes a legitimate blog, and how do you actually bring home a steady paycheck just blogging. I opened a fresh blog re-branded and set to work. All the while still running my shop. It became evident very quickly that with the right content and the right advertising and the right promoting of my posts I could actually make this blog thing work.

By the 6 month mark I had started to bring in a little cash. That got me so excited you don’t even know! and I knew that as the busy season for signs was fast approaching in the fall that I needed to close shop. CLOSE SHOP? right before the months that are my top earners all year? Yes you heard that right. I just knew. the Lord had conveyed it to me in so many ways. So, I did it I put out that post that made me want to barf a little and shared with all my loyal customers and followers that my time as a sign maker was over and I was off to blog.

I had many people respond to this like I was a crazy lady. And perhaps that’s exactly what I am. I also think that’s exactly why this year has exceeded all my expectations both good and bad!!

The days (were talking mere hours folks) after I sold my last sign and hung up my sign making hat, things began to stir right here on this little blog. Posts I had worked on and hit publish on weeks and some months earlier all began to “catch” If you you’re a blogger you know what I mean by this. I had pinned these posts to Pinterest and literally over night they began to be re-pinned at crazy rates and the traffic flowed into my blog, my affiliate income and so much more.

It also mean that the goal I had set for the entire year was now reached and in 8 months instead of 12. I had mad a goal to reach 100K page views each month by the end of the year so I could apply for an ad revenue company that I knew would be the key to that “steady blog” income I sought. I applied within a few weeks of closing my shop and was approved right away.

By November I brought in my first 3 figure check. It still baffles me. November was also my blogs first Birthday. Today almost a 11 months since then my paychecks are better and match what I was earning on top their months as sign maker.

So what was the secret sauce to my recipe? Simple: faith, a clear direction, and trying really hard, enough times, and then finally understanding what “MY” readers want to see hear and read! And of course not ever giving up.

Once I finally carved out my little space in the blogosphere it has been easy to keep going and stay afloat. But the things I love most about blogging are completely intangible! and that is Time. Yes you can get sucked into the time warp that is blogging, it is after all never “complete” but it doesn’t have a hold on me like my shop did.

My success and income no longer hinges on how many signs I can bust out each week. This alone is a freedom that goes way beyond anything I dreamed of. I hit publish on a post and if I do it right, and it does well it will garner and income for an almost indefinite amount of time. And its done, the post is finished I just have to use the right tools to promote it which to be honest is currently on auto pilot and I can continue to make an income from just one post for years.

Now don’t get me wrong its been amazing but not without it’s bumps, every so often posts ride high and then tank, The post I work WEEKS AND WEEKS on falls completely flat, and the one I spent barely a morning working on soars like wild fire! (I don’t complain about those but they sure do baffle me all the same)

Opportunities in blogging are not always as sweet and easy either. I had a magazine I had I worked with in the past contact me wanting to feature a different room in my home. I pulled out all the stops, finally purchased that incredibly expensive camera I had been dying for, purchased new d?cor, and bent over backwards to give them the best shots I possibly could. Then everything went wrong, the first set of images I shot “wrong” with my new camera and had to completely re shoot, I couldn’t for the life of me get them to load and edit them on my computer and I missed my deadline by a few hours not to mention it was a summer feature I was trying to shoot in the winter and the entire week it rained castinggray hue in the room. After all was said and done, the company decided not to even feature the images. It was a blow that’s for sure. But it taught me a very valuable lesson about working for free, and not using a contract. #neveragain!

I hope this post encourages you to pursue the things you love, to set goals and crush them. I can honestly attest to you that things do not happen over night. Sure it was quite comical and interesting that my blog began to soar just days after I closed my shop, but in reality it was the cumulative of YEARS of working my butt off for that to happen and8 months of blogging my booty off not to mention a multiple year old blog that I had also worked on that failed, to FINALLY get to that point. I just want you to know that you can do it too!!

Don’t you ever give up on what your dreams are no matter what they are!

Lastly I just want to thank each and every one of you!! You all make this possible by sharing my posts, reading them and pinning them on pinterest! YOUhave made the biggest difference in making this dream a reality so thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

Be sure to pin the image below to save these free farmhouse inspired bible prints for later!

Disclaimer and Terms of Use & Download Instructions Please Read:

HOW TO SAVE:

1. Click the word DOWNLOAD below the trouble shooting tips
2. A new window will pop up with a zip file
3. Save the files to your computer
4. Open the files in any picture editing or viewing program
5. Print and enjoy!

PRINTING TIPS:

I prefer to print on a heavier weighted paper such as cardstock but regular printer paper will also work. Print at home using your printers “best quality” settings for best results. Files are made only to print at the standard paper size 8.5×11 inches. Trying to print larger may result in grainy or pixilated images or warnings of poor print quality. However, you are not prohibited from changing the files size. Larger files are not available at this time for large scale printing. Commercial use not available.

TERMS OF USE:

Disclaimer when you save these printables you agree to the terms below:

These are free printables! That means that you may not use them to sell or market other items for sale in any manner in which you may get paid. This includes displays at retail stores, booths etc, as well creating and selling products using these free designs for example signs to sell in your own shop online and brick and mortar, aprons, napkins etc. These files are FREE that means they may never be used to sell in way shape or form. Please do not alter these designs in any way they must remain as designed originally.

HOW CAN YOU USE THEM:

Use them to create signs, aprons, pictures? & displays for your own homes is perfectly OK. Gift the printable to a friend or family member. Use them to decorate an event or party. As long as the event is not a paid for event you can use them in your d?cor.

SHARING:

I love it when other bloggers or readers share these free printables with their followers! I do have a few rules I ask that you keep in mind when sharing:

Please tag me on any social media platform you may share them on my handle is the same everywhere: The Mountain View Cottage.

You are welcome to share this set of printables in a blog post in the following ways: Only use one image per post. Please only feature one set of The Mountain View Cottage? printables per post if you are doing a round up. Meaning; you cannot link to these printables and then a different set in another post I have shared in a single round up if you happened to use more than one set to decorate a space that’s ok to share. Please do not create a single blog post solely for the purpose of linking to just these printables. If you use them in a space or as inspiration please link back. Please do not use my Pin-able graphic to link to your sight. You can however use a thumbnail of one of my images to create your own collage for a Pin-able graphic.

TROUBLE SHOOTING:

If you are having a hard time saving these files try the following:

-Open this post in different browsers than your current one and try the steps above.

-Turn off your pop up blocker and then try downloading again.

-Switch from a mobile device to a laptop or Computer and try downloading there.

Lastly ENJOY!!! I cannot wait to see you display these in your homes and I truly love seeing how you use them!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD CHIPPY FARMHOUSE BIBLE PRINTABLES?