How Girl Scouts brought "Mostly Monsters CV" to life!!!

It's been many years since posting this story, and seeing as it's almost time for the Girl Scouts, San Dieo Volunteer Conference (where I teach  a class every year), here's the back story on how this business came to be...


​So people who've recently met us often wonder WHY we frequently refer to Girl Scouts in conversation, on our Facebook Page,
etc. etc. etc.
Well, simply put, Girl Scouts STARTED this business!

Girl Scouting is far more than cookies, crafts, and camping! It's about
Leadership, Business, and finding yourself. Since 1999, our household has been firmly connected to the Girl Scout world.
1 Lifetime Girl Scout, 1 Lifetime Leader, 1 Registered Girl Scout Dad,
and 1 brother who reluctantly got dragged to lots and lots of
camps & activities, always surrounded by more Girl Scouts.
Yes, there were Cookie Sales.
Yes, there were LOTS of crafts...glue, beads, string, fabric, art
supplies EVERYWHERE!
And yes, of course, there was plenty of CAMPING!
 But Girl Scouts is a great program to develop leadership and business skills too!!!

 In 2011, our Girl Scout 
Ambassador Troop of High School Juniors &  Seniors were required to work on a program called a "Journey". For those who've done "Journeys", bear with us a minute while we explain.
For those with puzzled expression, a "Journey" is a program that guides Girl Scouts through the process of
Discovering subjects they are passionate about,
Connecting to the world and the people around them, and
TAKING ACTION to actually DO SOMETHING to make the
world a better place in relation to that passion they found in the "Discovery" phase.
This particular Journey called "BLISS: Live it/Give it" required the
girls to "adopt a dreamer". 

Yeah, it sounds  a little corny, and the girls really had to rack their brains to figure out who this "dreamer" should be, what that person's DREAM was, and how in the world GIRLS could help this person achieve their dream. No small task (especially for a bunch of 16-17-year-olds!) And the girls really didn't want to waste their time doing the steps simply because a book told them to. They wanted it to be personal, meaningful, and REAL.

 Brains buzzed, heads turned, and fingers pointed.
At ME, their humble Troop leader of 12 years.

 They decided that after devoting my time to THEM for so many years, it was time for ME to get "ME" back.

Remembering some super-cool furry hats I had recently made for them to use at a Japanese POP culture event they'd hosted, they hit on a plan, a theme, and new LOOK! Monsters...about to be all the rage!

Together, they came up with a name for the new venture.
One girl researched what was needed to start a business. 
One girl created a LOGO.
One girl set up an Etsy account. 

And so on. Until "Mostly Monsters" was born. But when they went to
create the FACEBOOK page, they discovered that "Mostly Monsters" was already taken  by another crafter far away in New Zealand.
So Plan B...where we were from? CHULA VISTA! Best "small town" in a Big City!
New name: "Mostly Monsters Chula Vista"
(or "Mostly Monsters CV" for short)

 And so with a lot of help from the girls in the first few months, we
brainstormed hot new trends, colors that pop, ways to revamp popular old favorites with a new monster twist. At first, the Girl Scouts helped with simple gluing, photography, and of course price tagging. 
SO MUCH TAGGING! Their help with the piddly details left me free to create. And Taylor  (also a member of the troop) got dragged in too, once it was discovered that SHE had the youth, talent and the artistic eye to keep things young & fresh (as well as the added incentive of contributing to HER college fund!)

 And so without Girl Scout Troop 5007, "Mostly Monsters Chula Vista"
would never have been hatched!
Taylor graduated college in December, 2015, walking (and receiving her diploma in May 2016.) We are proud to say that she graduated DEBT FREE thanks to the monsters!!!
All those "girls" are now adults with blossoming careers, some married, some Moms themselves. Several of them are STILL Co-Leaders with me for our CURRENT troop of high school Girl Scouts in Troop 5007!!! 25 years with sdgirlscouts and counting.
They all continue to support this business with word of mouth,  sharing on the internet, and of course,modeling merch in the real world!

 So we like to pay it back AND pay it forward by donating what we can to local Girl Scout events, helping other girls to reach THEIR goals, and teaching projects to both girls AND their leaders! Each Summer, I teach a class called "Just Junk" to other Girl Scout Volunteers, to encourage them to be creative on a budget. I'm proud to be a Girl Scout.


THANK YOU, Girl Scouts Troop 5007 for helping us achieve our
  "BLISS"!!!
​

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