How hard is it to run a family AND a crafty biz at the same time? We all know what the answer is – pretty damned hard. Any way you look at it, it’s an enormous juggling act whatever age your kids are.

I had three children under the age of 2 – my twin boys were born when their older sister was 22 months. So yes, I was very busy those first few years! But what it has taught me is to appreciate the time that I do have.

Let me just say I am not perfect. Nowhere near it. My house is not squeaky clean, nor is it even particularly tidy; there is always a pile of clothes in the washing basket,and I have no idea what we are having for dinner tonight, let alone for the rest of the week.

My ‘tractorgirl’ label is not as big as I would like it to be. I don’t want to take over the world; I just want to make a living doing what I love, and not have to go back to a ‘real’ job ever again. It will happen! But how?

‘Interstitial’ is one of my favourite words at the moment, because that is what my biz is. It fits in those tiny spaces between all the other stuff in my life. Just to prove it, here are some pics of my creative space.

And here are my tips. Building a biz can be hard & slow, but it’s not rocket science.

1. Find a craft that is easy to pick up and put down. Especially as you get interrupted so very much! And one that you can do inside the house, with kids around. I actually trained as a jeweller & silversmith, so it’s pretty obvious that’s a no-goer.

2. Lists, lists, and lists. I have trouble staying focused most of the time (oooh,what’s that shiny thing over there??) so these are my essential tools. And it’s good for the soul to tick those things off!

3. UNPLUG! I KNOW this is a tough one, and even though we have no telly(our choice) I still spend way too much time on social media, and checking out pretty things. Set yourself a time limit. You do not need to check your email more than once a day, do you? Really?

4. A final quote, and what I think is THE most important thing of all –“Discipline is remembering what you want” (unattributed).

Everything else unimportant falls away.

If you keep going, you’ll get somewhere.

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tractorgirl constructs bags and cushions from fabric remnants and other reclaimed fabric items. She strives to be gentle on the earth, and uses upcycled components somewhere in all her pieces. Recently she has started designing fabrics too.