Epic update, show and tell etc...

Well hello! It’s been so long and I felt like stopping by and showing you a few things – prepare yourselves for a long one :)

So, what have I been doing? Besides looking after a very active very gorgeous little boy (who is almost 6 months old – OMG), with Christmas in mind I’ve started doing a few creative/crafty little bits and pieces here and there…

I found these free templates online and just started playing around with it, putting photos I’d taken throughout the year into the calendar pages when I thought, maybe I’ll get some printed and give them out to family and friends…

So I did just that. I added day headers so mine are a bit more crowded than the template. It’s kind of a nice way to end the year looking back at photos from the year gone by and putting them together into something fun.

So I’m probably spoiling the surprise for some people reading this but here’s how they turned out:

For a while now I’ve been loving the security envelope trend that’s popping up here and there. I’ve always noticed the different patterns on the inside of my mail but never thought to use them for anything. So for months now I’ve been collecting loads of envelopes (you’d be surprised just how many you get in the mail) and I’ve made some little books with them.


I was going to give them to friends for Christmas but I’m not entirely happy with them (I rushed the binding so it’s not how I wanted it to be). I’ll keep them for a rainy day anyway. It’s got me wondering what else I can do with all of those pretty bits of paper.


Other creative attempts: This morning I attempted to make gingerbread men for the first time ever. I was so excited to make them but the results weren’t what I’d hoped for… I still haven’t got my oven quite right so I overcooked the first batch and undercooked the next but they still taste pretty good and will still make cute little presents for people on Christmas day I guess…

On a Christmassy note – I’m loving the free downloads at Mae – I decided to use some of the patterned paper for gift wrapping. Combined with some recycled kraft paper, and hemp twine (and the Martha Stewart tags), my presents look super cute this year.

And finally, there are a couple of things I’ve been meaning to show you for a while now. Firstly, this gorgeous pendant I had made. It’s from Tiny Tokens, you can customise them however you like. I had mine and my husband’s names put on one, our wedding date on another, Harry’s birthday on another… So cute, I love it.

And saving the best till last…

For the longest time I’ve COVETED the address files, journey and pocket books made by Sharilyn at Lovely Design (as well as regularly reading her blog – her studio is AMAZING and she's so inspiring – more than ever for me now because she’s a Mum too)…. Anyway, the last time she updated her shop with some address files, I thought I’d buy myself an early Christmas present.

It didn’t disappoint. She uses recycled/found/repurposed papers and collates them beautifully into colour order. SO beautiful.
If, like me you’re a paper FREAK – you really need one of these. Really.

And speaking of spoiling myself, seems I’ve been in the mood to do that a bit lately. When I got an email from Lotta’s studio a couple of weeks ago about their sale and new products I jumped on over there and allowed myself to GO NUTS and put in a big fat order. I can't wait to see it all. Gotta do it sometimes, you know?

To me. From Santa. Ahhh…

If I don’t come back before Christmas have a great day x

SO. TIRED.

Where have I been? I don't know. Seriously. But I do know I've been SO. TIRED.
We've just come out of a hideous phase with the little one where his sleep was getting worse and worse each day. I was averaging 4 hrs sleep a night (in 1/2 hr - 1hr blocks!). TORTURE! But thankfully, someone sent me a lifeline - when I ran into Stephanie at the market a few weeks ago she told me about a "baby whisperer" whom she used when her baby was having trouble sleeping. Last weekend we found our relief. HHHAAALLEEEELLLUUULLLIIAAAHH!!!! (THANK YOU STEPH!!!!!).

Slowly but surely I'm beginning to feel my old self coming back with each night of good sleep I'm getting. It'll be a while yet, but I'm getting there.

So not much work has been done since the market except on the wholesale front but will hopefully have updates etc. soon. I'm just taking it one day at a time...

I look forward to re-joining the real world soon :)

finding the rainbow

Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? Things got a little nuts over here in the last month or more. In my frantic race to prepare for last weekend's finders keepers market I neglected to keep anyone reading this informed about new products or tell you about the market itself. How (sadly) ironic. Needless to say the market went really well, we did really well, and the new products were really well received (too many really's there really...). However in the craziness of the last month or two there are a few other important things that got neglected along the way, namely my sanity but other things as well.

Time to stop and smell the roses I think. I'll be taking it easy as much as possible in the next few weeks so will hopefully feel more inclined to stop by here and update you on the latest. I do miss our chats.

x

i'm coming back...

Slowly slowly getting back into it...
Here's a tiny sneak peek of some new bits and pieces coming soon. What are they? Ooh mysterious. Actually, I'm not really trying to be all mysterious, it's just that's kinda all I've got to show you at this stage!!

The plan is to have the full new range ready by 31st October and 1st November when I'll be participating in The Finders Keepers market here in Brisbane. It's a month and a half away but I'll need every spare second I can get. Life with the little munchkin now means I have about a tenth of the free time I used to have.

But don't get me wrong, being a Mum is awesome.
I mean, hello...?

P.S.

My super talented friend Kia Hing Fay has some gorgeous new bits and pieces in her shop. Check it out, you'll love it.

hello. how are you?

I thought I'd show you the little birth announcement cards I had made (click to see bigger/clearer). I designed most of it while I was pregnant and just filled in the details and picture after he was born. I had them printed on recycled card and sent them out to family and friends - we wrote on the back of them so they doubled as thank you notes for all the gifts we received.

I've created a new set on my flickr page so you can follow pics of the little monkey there. Of course I won't be able to resist putting pictures up here from time to time but eventually I'll have to get back into talking about work :)

But for now enjoy some cuteness...

The view from where I am...

The view from up here is pretty damn cute...
Haven't been up to much else except getting used to life with this little man (and doing laundry - oh my god, why did nobody warn me?!)... It's all going well and we're getting to know each other better and better each day.

I got copies of the article I talked about in the last post from the journalist. It turned out really well, the best interview/feature I've had I think! It's generated a lot of interest and sales so my planned break from work has been a little interrupted but that's ok - it's all welcome. Will get some new retail stockists out of it and have already got some new customers so that's great.

More news soon.

x

Quick request...

Hi there, just a quick question... Apparently last Saturday the 11th the Sun Herald Newspaper in Victoria ran an interview they did with me a while back in their "Home" magazine liftout. I didn't realise it was running that day and didn't manage to get a copy - is there anyone out there who might still have a copy or know someone who might?
I'll contact the journalist next week to see if they'll email me an electronic version but I always like to have hard copies if I can...

If you've got it and wouldn't mind posting it I'll be more than happy to throw a few freebies your way!

Still adjusting to life at home with a new baby, will be a while before we're back into the swing of things where other non-baby-related things are concerned... But will keep popping in here and there.

Talk to you soon.

Finally, he's here...

Introducing Harry Finn Dando. Born Monday 6th July 2009 at 8:40pm.
It's been an amazing first week with our new little one.

Just a quick hello now, will stop by here again soon with more news and stories to tell.

x

{Catalogue Card Generator}