From Fabric Stash to Website Refresh: My DIY Journey with ChatGPT

Transforming my little website into something amazing, guided by the power of ChatGPT.

Hi there and welcome to the start of something a little different on the Creative Muse Handmade journal!

If you’ve stumbled across my site before, you’ll know it’s a little passion project of mine—one I started to combine my love of sewing with a gentle push (read: persistent nudge!) from my husband to make a dent in the mountain of fabric I’ve lovingly hoarded over the years.

Let me be upfront: I have no formal qualifications in web design or marketing. My paying day job is as an Executive Officer at a regional Australian university, and while I do have business administration qualifications and a smattering of post-high school study behind me, this whole small-business-website-world is one I’ve been navigating by feel, instinct, and a healthy dose of trial and error.

In the past, I’ve worn many hats—working at the Australian Blood Bank, managing a civil engineering lab, enduring the chaotic juggle of an underpaid "office all-rounder" role, dabbling in marketing (loved the design, loathed the cold calling), and even pulling shifts at KFC and Lincraft in my high school years. Somewhere along the way, my love for sewing—something my amazing mum passed down to me—became more than a creative outlet. It became mine.

My website journey? Oh, it's been a bit of a ride. I started with WordPress and spent two years tweaking, changing, and learning—without a single sale. Then came Shopify: easier to use, but again, after two years, still no sales. Eventually, I landed on WIX, and finally, I’ve started seeing orders come in. Not hundreds—but enough to keep me inspired and know I’m moving in the right direction.

That said, there’s always room for improvement. I get a ton of emails and messages—from so-called "website specialists" claiming they’ve looked at my site and spotted things that could be “boosted” or “optimised.” Some say they love it but noticed it’s not ranking well on Google. Others suggest a homepage redesign. But let’s be real—those services come at a cost. And for a hobby business that’s more about joy than profit, it’s just not something I can justify right now.

So I’ve decided to try something new.

In my day job, I’ve started using ChatGPT and CoPilot to help write reports, emails, and make life a little smoother. It got me thinking—could I use ChatGPT to help improve my website too?

That’s what this blog series is about.

Over the coming weeks (or however long it takes!), I’ll be sharing my progress as I work through little improvements on the Creative Muse Handmade website—with free help from ChatGPT. Whether it’s reworking my homepage, tweaking product descriptions, or just trying to get a better understanding of what SEO even means—I’ll be documenting it here, honestly and casually, just as it comes.

This isn’t a tutorial. It’s not expert advice. It’s just one creative person trying to make her little corner of the internet a bit better, with the tools she’s got.

So if you’re a fellow small biz dreamer, fabric hoarder, or creative soul trying to DIY your way through this digital world—come along for the ride.

Let’s see what we can do—with a little help from AI, a whole lot of coffee, and a bit of creative chaos.