I don't know how to do it all sometimes. I want to dedicate so much time to my little business but feel like I am neglecting Minky.
We have just started her on solids so the last few weeks has been a mix of hanging my boob over a bowl of rice cereal, pumpkin from one end of the Goldy to the other and sweet potato being blown through raspberry lips.
As much as I am loving it, it is a reminder that life is changing so much. Why on earth did I think it was a good idea starting a bloody business when this little thing came along? I have never sewn in my life before nor worked for myself and sold things. Or had a baby. Am I truly mad?!?!
Had a total complete breakdown yesterday. I had to go to Medicare, Spotlight, buy a new element for the oven which hasn't worked for months, get Minky's passport and go to the post office.... then realised my drivers license expired last week. F#%K!!!!!!! Have you ever tried getting a baby in and out of the car THAT many times between feeds?
Of course it all didn't get done and we both ended up driving home crying. Me in the front, Minky in the back. And she didn't get her lunch because we were so late.
I returned home to a house that resembles a sweat-shop come chinese laundry. The cats were curled up asleep on the lounge where I had left them. Nice work guys.
But the ideas keep coming and I can't shut them out. How on earth does one manage all this? I have more creative energy than ever but less time.
I managed to get to the post office just before 5. When I was driving up there, a big cloud covered the sun, and gold and silver shone brightly around it. Thanks universe. Sometimes you can hear me after all.
So I still haven't got an oven element, passport for Minky and the cats are still asleep on the lounge but my darling baby ate apple for the first time today and the look on her face was divine. That makes up for it all.
xx
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Stomp, stomp, stomp...
I am a bit interested (and slightly mad) at this new phenomenon on Facebook involving a certain page that involves 'marching' through other peoples pages to get more fans.
At the risk of offending everyone out there, I am rather proud that I have come this far on my own talent and self promotion. I don't need to pimp my business to get more 'likers' who really just want to get more numbers for themselves.
I like the pages I like on FB because I actually, genuinely like them (wow, lots of like's there). And I hope they like me for what I do too.
Promoting yourself on Mummy Tree etc is one thing, but needing a whole army of 'troops' to boost your likers? I'll stick to hard work thanks.
At the risk of offending everyone out there, I am rather proud that I have come this far on my own talent and self promotion. I don't need to pimp my business to get more 'likers' who really just want to get more numbers for themselves.
I like the pages I like on FB because I actually, genuinely like them (wow, lots of like's there). And I hope they like me for what I do too.
Promoting yourself on Mummy Tree etc is one thing, but needing a whole army of 'troops' to boost your likers? I'll stick to hard work thanks.
Monday, May 23, 2011
What I lurve
I am hopelessly in love with so many things at the moment. I have never been so inspired, so full of creative energy. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
So I made a list. As you do!
The list is mainly comprised of pages/people I have met through FB and subsequently blogs, etsy stores, madeit stores, markets... Oh my! It goes on and on and on....
I feel like I have been re-born into this crafty movement. I have turned into a circa 1950s housewife, mother, sewing fanatic and I LOVE it!!
I had a horrible dream last night about packing up my house and having to move interstate. Horrible I tell you! But in reality it's ok because A. I am not moving, and B. Everything I have grown to love is on the internets. Isn't it great??!
So here is The List, not in any particular order, of what is making me so squeekily happy at the moment. Drum roll.....
~ Frilly nappy covers. I know, I know, I am late to the bus stop on that one. But hey, ruffles on a little bum are so cute. Tell me they're not??
~ Fabric. Oh lordy, fabric. Soft and floraly, stripy and bright. You name it. I love the feel of it, the folds when it's fresh out of the envelope in the mail. I keep even the tiniest winciest offcuts. I'm scared my cat will eat one and choke.
~ Dresses for Minky. Am I brave enough to start making them? Refer to above point. Bunting just isn't enough to satisfy my crafty-fabric loving ways at the moment.
~ Crafty blogs. Don't have time to mention them all here but sheesh, there are some rippers. That's another bloggy entry all together.
~ Boys stuff. There just isn't enough of it and I want more!!
~ Vintage childrens book illustrations and cartoons. I am getting some serious inspiration from the past.
(from Sweet Eye Candy Creations)
~ This crazy little blonde thing. AND this dress by Here Kitty Kitty (I can't even put it in the cupboard it's so pretty)
Do I really have to say more??!
So I made a list. As you do!
The list is mainly comprised of pages/people I have met through FB and subsequently blogs, etsy stores, madeit stores, markets... Oh my! It goes on and on and on....
I feel like I have been re-born into this crafty movement. I have turned into a circa 1950s housewife, mother, sewing fanatic and I LOVE it!!
I had a horrible dream last night about packing up my house and having to move interstate. Horrible I tell you! But in reality it's ok because A. I am not moving, and B. Everything I have grown to love is on the internets. Isn't it great??!
So here is The List, not in any particular order, of what is making me so squeekily happy at the moment. Drum roll.....
~ Frilly nappy covers. I know, I know, I am late to the bus stop on that one. But hey, ruffles on a little bum are so cute. Tell me they're not??
~ Fabric. Oh lordy, fabric. Soft and floraly, stripy and bright. You name it. I love the feel of it, the folds when it's fresh out of the envelope in the mail. I keep even the tiniest winciest offcuts. I'm scared my cat will eat one and choke.
~ Dresses for Minky. Am I brave enough to start making them? Refer to above point. Bunting just isn't enough to satisfy my crafty-fabric loving ways at the moment.
~ Crafty blogs. Don't have time to mention them all here but sheesh, there are some rippers. That's another bloggy entry all together.
~ Boys stuff. There just isn't enough of it and I want more!!
~ Vintage childrens book illustrations and cartoons. I am getting some serious inspiration from the past.
~ This crazy little blonde thing. AND this dress by Here Kitty Kitty (I can't even put it in the cupboard it's so pretty)
Do I really have to say more??!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Kids v's Design
I'm blogging when I should be putting the washing on the line. I'm blogging when Minky is asleep and I should be having a shower. I'm blogging instead of making a coffee. Oh, hang on that last one IS important, back in a sec....
*sip* Ah that's better!
So much to catch up on, so little time. I keep thinking about all these cool things I am going to write about and how I will become the next really interesting person on blogger. Alas Minky keeps me too busy and I am trying to juggle home, sewing and all that. So for now my interesting-ness will have to stay in my own head and be drip fed to you all one post at a (far in between) time.
One thing that I have been thinking about lately though is kid's rooms. Funny that, since I spend most of my day and night in one. I read an article somewhere, maybe Home Beautiful or the SMH or somewhere about a new kid's store opening up in Sydney around Dank Street. Without going into too much detail it basically put forward the idea that people who have mega-trendy homes need mega-trendy rooms for their little ones so they can keep their bedroom doors open without being embarrassed. Why should you let a children's messy, Dora splattered room spoil the overall aesthetic of your shiny, Eames filled inner city terrace? I had to laugh at the photo of this shop. Honestly it had about 3 things on the shelves, none of which the average toddler would find even moderately interesting. I'd be terrified of letting a 3 year old loose in there in case he/she left muddy footprints on the shiny white polished concrete floors! Most 6 year old girls would rather stare at their own reflection, play with their hair and wonder what to dress Barbie in when she got home than admire the fine lines of the retro-inspired foot stools (something apparently kid's reeeealy need in their bedroom).
So it got me thinking about how our own design ideas filter though to our babies rooms. From the initial stages of planning a 'nursery' right up to teenage rooms (the latter I will not *thank GOD* have to experience for a long while yet).
Having a strong passion for design, colour and interiors didn't sway me to make Minky's room 'fit' with the style of the rest of the house. She is a baby, babies need baby rooms. She didn't need a $3000 cot, Swedish bed linen or wall art that would be more at home in the Tate Modern. She needed a cuddly cot, white just to keep it simple, soft fluffy toys and a comfy chair for me to sit in. I kept it neutral with splashes of bright red and green as we didn't know if bub was a he or a she. And the rest I made myself.
Sure, I had off cuts from Cloth fabric which I turned into cushion covers but I always kept it child friendly. Bright. Soft. Not hard and stark. My baby needed a warm coocoon not a reminder that Mum and Dad were at the forefront of cutting edge 'staarl' and just itching to be featured in the next Vogue Living.
Kiddies need a bedroom that is inviting. So what if they want to splash Barbie from one end to another? Have Bratz dolls curtains and a Dora doona cover? Let them be kids. They don't understand the difference between Bebe Jou and the Wiggles. They just care that little Jack next door gets a Ben 10 sheet set and they are stuck with plain white bamboo-organic-dye-free-fun-free sheets that won't scream bad taste when their bedroom door is left open.
My antidote to all this silliness was to hand make a heap of stuff and recycle things from the shed (shock horror!). I've mentioned the birdy mobile before, and also my cushions. My dear friend crocheted a blankie and I made my first bunting. Minky got thousands of teddy bears when she was born, so they adorn every corner and shelf. There is an old set of drawers that I put in there. They were the first thing I bought when I moved out of home 12 years ago, and now they are hers. I didn't even get time to paint them. Her big designer pieces are a $18 lamp from Ikea and a wardrobe of French clothing her Grandma bought from ozsale.com.au. Other than that my aim was to have a place she would feel safe and happy.
The end result was something that I am proud of because I put MY heart and soul into it for MY daughter. And if it is a mess, well then I guess it does match the rest of the house, and I will keep that door wide open to show the world that I have a baby, and her comfort and enjoyment of her surrounds means more to me than anything else. See how it has evolved below...
So if you really want to integrate your children’s room with the rest of the house, stop and think for a moment. Will it really give them an advanced sense of style at age 3 or just make them feel sad they don't have a fun bedroom they can relate too? Bring on Dora I say.
Minky's first cot photo - I was so proud of this.
And after a few months of settling in, it's much pinker.
*sip* Ah that's better!
So much to catch up on, so little time. I keep thinking about all these cool things I am going to write about and how I will become the next really interesting person on blogger. Alas Minky keeps me too busy and I am trying to juggle home, sewing and all that. So for now my interesting-ness will have to stay in my own head and be drip fed to you all one post at a (far in between) time.
One thing that I have been thinking about lately though is kid's rooms. Funny that, since I spend most of my day and night in one. I read an article somewhere, maybe Home Beautiful or the SMH or somewhere about a new kid's store opening up in Sydney around Dank Street. Without going into too much detail it basically put forward the idea that people who have mega-trendy homes need mega-trendy rooms for their little ones so they can keep their bedroom doors open without being embarrassed. Why should you let a children's messy, Dora splattered room spoil the overall aesthetic of your shiny, Eames filled inner city terrace? I had to laugh at the photo of this shop. Honestly it had about 3 things on the shelves, none of which the average toddler would find even moderately interesting. I'd be terrified of letting a 3 year old loose in there in case he/she left muddy footprints on the shiny white polished concrete floors! Most 6 year old girls would rather stare at their own reflection, play with their hair and wonder what to dress Barbie in when she got home than admire the fine lines of the retro-inspired foot stools (something apparently kid's reeeealy need in their bedroom).
So it got me thinking about how our own design ideas filter though to our babies rooms. From the initial stages of planning a 'nursery' right up to teenage rooms (the latter I will not *thank GOD* have to experience for a long while yet).
Having a strong passion for design, colour and interiors didn't sway me to make Minky's room 'fit' with the style of the rest of the house. She is a baby, babies need baby rooms. She didn't need a $3000 cot, Swedish bed linen or wall art that would be more at home in the Tate Modern. She needed a cuddly cot, white just to keep it simple, soft fluffy toys and a comfy chair for me to sit in. I kept it neutral with splashes of bright red and green as we didn't know if bub was a he or a she. And the rest I made myself.
Sure, I had off cuts from Cloth fabric which I turned into cushion covers but I always kept it child friendly. Bright. Soft. Not hard and stark. My baby needed a warm coocoon not a reminder that Mum and Dad were at the forefront of cutting edge 'staarl' and just itching to be featured in the next Vogue Living.
Kiddies need a bedroom that is inviting. So what if they want to splash Barbie from one end to another? Have Bratz dolls curtains and a Dora doona cover? Let them be kids. They don't understand the difference between Bebe Jou and the Wiggles. They just care that little Jack next door gets a Ben 10 sheet set and they are stuck with plain white bamboo-organic-dye-free-fun-free sheets that won't scream bad taste when their bedroom door is left open.
My antidote to all this silliness was to hand make a heap of stuff and recycle things from the shed (shock horror!). I've mentioned the birdy mobile before, and also my cushions. My dear friend crocheted a blankie and I made my first bunting. Minky got thousands of teddy bears when she was born, so they adorn every corner and shelf. There is an old set of drawers that I put in there. They were the first thing I bought when I moved out of home 12 years ago, and now they are hers. I didn't even get time to paint them. Her big designer pieces are a $18 lamp from Ikea and a wardrobe of French clothing her Grandma bought from ozsale.com.au. Other than that my aim was to have a place she would feel safe and happy.
The end result was something that I am proud of because I put MY heart and soul into it for MY daughter. And if it is a mess, well then I guess it does match the rest of the house, and I will keep that door wide open to show the world that I have a baby, and her comfort and enjoyment of her surrounds means more to me than anything else. See how it has evolved below...
So if you really want to integrate your children’s room with the rest of the house, stop and think for a moment. Will it really give them an advanced sense of style at age 3 or just make them feel sad they don't have a fun bedroom they can relate too? Bring on Dora I say.
Minky's first cot photo - I was so proud of this.
And after a few months of settling in, it's much pinker.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Inspiration, where art thou??
I haven't blogged as I am having one of those moments/weeks where I question my ability/inspiration etc etc. Am I good enough to sell? Why can't I come up with any new ideas? I think the FB fraternity were recently calling it 'loosing your sew-jo'. Well I thought I had lost mine.
Until.......(I've never blogged about another business before so please forgive me if I haven't given enough credit)....
Sipping my morning coffee and opening my FB page one of two amazing things happened.
Firstly, somehow, somewhere along the way I have accumulated 200 'likers'! That is 200 individual, special, lovely people who have stopped by my page, looked at my things and said lovely words about them. I honestly feel so totally and utterly undeserving, yet proud and motivated at the same time. What a cool morning this is!
Then, among the last 199 or so visitors to my page was a business that has totally re-ignited my passion. Photos so pretty I got all giddy inside. Images with such delicate, pure beauty I am almost ready to become a florist myself!! I am talking about Velvet Lily Florist who are based in Melbourne. Their Wall Photo gallery contains daily inspirational images of based around wedding photos and floral design. Even if you aren't in the market for a wedding florist (such as my happily-married-self) their exquisite collection of shots are sure to pique your interest.
My dream has always been to provide a snippet of daily inspiration to you, my readers. Wether it be a photo or other tid-bit, I have wanted to keep an online journal that gradually accumulates to be a nice little place for people to visit to be refreshed and inspired. Unfortunately having a new baby means that some days I don’t even get to shower let alone blog, but we will keep that dream in the pipeline!! Velvet Lily have nailed it though.
I have a bit of a secret that I will let you in on. I am a wedding connoisseur. Lover of all things lacy, floral, shiny and happy. The pureness of love and innocence that is reflected in a couples wedding through all those tiny details just sends me over the threshold! Those who know me personally will already be aware of my Royal wedding dress-up last Friday night in which I squeezed myself back into my wedding gown. Every time I go to a wedding I am the first in tears and the one taking photos of every flower, table arrangement, goodie bag there is in sight.
More than that, I think I have a slight obsession with whimsical photography. The way a single image can change my entire day is so powerful. The two I have included here have really touched me in two entirely different ways.
This picture by Three Nails Photography confirms my belief I should have been born in a Jane Austen novel. My life would have been that of picking wild roses, sitting in front of a fireplace doing cross-stich waiting for Mr Darcy to come and sweep me off my feet.
This next one by inspires me in a totally different way. The same way reading Country Style does. Instantly I am whisked off to a fresh country laneway, bright sunshine in my eyes, crisp air filling me up with all things good, wholesome and yummy. Tell me you wouldn't want to be here! (Adrianne Smith Floral & Jennifer Dery photo)
My head is now floating in the clouds surrounded by fluffy David Austen roses, lavender, sweet peas and poppies!
These are the tip of the iceberg! I can't wait for my daily image from these girls to come floating into my FB news feed. Thank you for my first dose. Sew-jo has liftoff!!!
♥
Until.......(I've never blogged about another business before so please forgive me if I haven't given enough credit)....
Sipping my morning coffee and opening my FB page one of two amazing things happened.
Firstly, somehow, somewhere along the way I have accumulated 200 'likers'! That is 200 individual, special, lovely people who have stopped by my page, looked at my things and said lovely words about them. I honestly feel so totally and utterly undeserving, yet proud and motivated at the same time. What a cool morning this is!
Then, among the last 199 or so visitors to my page was a business that has totally re-ignited my passion. Photos so pretty I got all giddy inside. Images with such delicate, pure beauty I am almost ready to become a florist myself!! I am talking about Velvet Lily Florist who are based in Melbourne. Their Wall Photo gallery contains daily inspirational images of based around wedding photos and floral design. Even if you aren't in the market for a wedding florist (such as my happily-married-self) their exquisite collection of shots are sure to pique your interest.
My dream has always been to provide a snippet of daily inspiration to you, my readers. Wether it be a photo or other tid-bit, I have wanted to keep an online journal that gradually accumulates to be a nice little place for people to visit to be refreshed and inspired. Unfortunately having a new baby means that some days I don’t even get to shower let alone blog, but we will keep that dream in the pipeline!! Velvet Lily have nailed it though.
I have a bit of a secret that I will let you in on. I am a wedding connoisseur. Lover of all things lacy, floral, shiny and happy. The pureness of love and innocence that is reflected in a couples wedding through all those tiny details just sends me over the threshold! Those who know me personally will already be aware of my Royal wedding dress-up last Friday night in which I squeezed myself back into my wedding gown. Every time I go to a wedding I am the first in tears and the one taking photos of every flower, table arrangement, goodie bag there is in sight.
More than that, I think I have a slight obsession with whimsical photography. The way a single image can change my entire day is so powerful. The two I have included here have really touched me in two entirely different ways.
This picture by Three Nails Photography confirms my belief I should have been born in a Jane Austen novel. My life would have been that of picking wild roses, sitting in front of a fireplace doing cross-stich waiting for Mr Darcy to come and sweep me off my feet.
This next one by inspires me in a totally different way. The same way reading Country Style does. Instantly I am whisked off to a fresh country laneway, bright sunshine in my eyes, crisp air filling me up with all things good, wholesome and yummy. Tell me you wouldn't want to be here! (Adrianne Smith Floral & Jennifer Dery photo)
My head is now floating in the clouds surrounded by fluffy David Austen roses, lavender, sweet peas and poppies!
These are the tip of the iceberg! I can't wait for my daily image from these girls to come floating into my FB news feed. Thank you for my first dose. Sew-jo has liftoff!!!
♥
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