sweet comments

All you bloggers out there know that one of the very best best bestest things about having a blog is meeting other amazing, friendly, interesting, lovely, creative, talented and sweet bloggers. Online friends are surely one of the best things around - being able to have a real and true relationship with someone who you have never met (in person), have never heard talk, and probably never will. Somehow this does not limit the friendship in any way. And we all appreciate that if we don't communicate or comment or email every second day, it doesn't mean we don't like you any more. 

Another lovely thing about having a blog is the super cute and sweet and meaningful and thoughtful comments you get emailed to you. Isn't it so nice having just a special little comment. And sweet smile; like a flower tucked under your front door while you're out for the day.

I just got such a comment. Oh, and it really made me smile. 

Lauren Carney says:

uhmmm excuse me,
but i just thought i'd do a drive by and tell you...

that i think your blog is great :)
x x

A new comment also means that I now have another beautiful new blog to look at, and feel inspired by. And she lives in Brisbane, so we may well run into each other one day........

Visit Lauren's website, blog and shop.  And I think she'll be at the Southbank Young Designer's Market this coming {Easter} Sunday, if you're about.

*all images from laurencarneyart, used with thanks.

pink fairy bunny

Mishi had her Easter hat parade at kindy today. 

Wasn't a very big affair, but fun, and sweet. And noisy.

I only found out yesterday that we parents had to actually make the hats and bring them in. {At school, Ari has spent all week making his hat, and telling us about it. I guess I just assumed that they'd be making them at kindy too}.

So, while at the fabric shop with my friend, I found some lovely wool felt and after much brain squeezing formulated a design in my head. 

Note to self :: have plans and exact ideas and required fabrics before visiting the bright lights and brain numbing fabric shop again.

I sat up late last night hand sewing these little ears. I knew that I couldn't put them onto a headband or clips or anything, as Mishi doesn't like things in her hair or tight on her head. But I know that she likes soft little fabric crowns as we've made quite a few in the past that she happily wears. 

It was really enjoyable to plan and make something so distinctly stereotypical. Pink bunny ears for a little girl who does quite like pink.

These were very easy to make. I'll be making another pair tonight for Ari, in a pretty wheaten-brown + pale pink colour. We've already decided that he'll be called Little Nut-Brown, and Mishi is to be called Baby Pink. Or something like that. I'm sure it'll change.

She was the sweetest little fairy bunny, hopping along happily.
This full length mirror is in the lift at kindy. I love the way every morning she looks at herself - in the way that children do with total comfort and contentedness. She twists and turns, and watches how her body moves. Sometimes she'll look up at me, and catch my eye in the mirror - but mostly, she just enjoys looking at herself.

planning, gathering, collecting........

.......... collating. That's the hard one. Collating it - getting it all to come together, as one cohesive unit. Or even at one time. One stitch joined with all the others, rather than all these random stitches and lines and shapes and colours and ideas in my head. 

I have a market stall booked in for the end of April. Haven't done any markets since Christmas. And really, I didn't want to be doing any more (unless they were really big designer ones). But things didn't go as planned earlier this year, and life, work, thoughts, ideas, wishes, hopes, dreams shifted. And I had to change. 

Oh. 

I had to change. 

That's the hard one.

So, I aim to have a new range to launch at the Bris-Style Indie Twilight Market on Friday 30th April, 2010. Details will follow at a later stage; for now, if you live in or near Brisbane, mark that date into your diaries.

I aim to have many pieces that are OOAK, or at least very limited edition run. At this moment  in my self, I don't want to be making lots and lots of the one things over and over again. I want, I need, some difference. Something new, something else. 

Something that doesn't matter if it doesn't have a twin, or matching almost-look-alike sibling. Perhaps it will be a sibling, but with quite distinct personalities. So you can look and tell that they are related; yet you can look and tell that they are so very different. And you love them both for totally different reasons. Or maybe the same reason.

Things Sam + I are planning ::

>new cushion covers : something very different to our others. just you wait and see

>lots of little zippered purses : all a bit different to each other, no two exactly the same

>some special one-off pieces of skate jewellery

>perhaps a new bag design, or two : depending on how much quiet time I get during the school holidays to get any work done

>some very special, meaningful pieces of fabric and stitches 

>some other little pieces : if, when, how, why : things we make just because we want to : just because we can : just because we could

Can you wait? You'll have to. Perhaps some photos next week. Some snippets of new things slowly showing themselves. 

Until then, I'm still collating. And collecting. And finding inspiration. All. Over. The. Place.


** Image is a paprika dyed cotton doily that was in my stash. We've been doing egg dying, using natural colourings, and I wanted to use up some of the left over dye water. More similar experiments are currently happening in the kitchen. {Note - boiling paprika is quite smelly, do it when your family is not at home; just to keep them a tiny bit happy with all your witches pots brewing in the house!}

lines, shapes, texture :: family day outing

On Sunday we all went to the art gallery. With only one day a week altogether (due to school + working hours), we don't often have time or energy to go and do regular visits to busy-Sunday places. 

With the APT6 (Asia Pacific Triennial - an event held in Brisbane gallery every three years) ending very soon, I wanted to show Sam one particular artwork that I'd seen during the week, while visiting the exhibition with a friend. Between the kids' whinging, and pulling and moaning (ours and it seems at least half of the rest of the gallery - Sunday at the gallery is not a quiet, peaceful, relaxing place to be!), we did manage to stop and look at those particular drawings for at least half a second. 

We had a few fun moments all getting lost in the string room - a big room painted white, with white rope-like string hanging from the roof in varying heights. Walking around in there has a feeling sort of similar to the light and movement of being in a bamboo forest. A lovely place to be on a quiet weekday; but still lovely to experience by hearing my family chatter in the space around me.

I particularly love the way this paper sculpture fits within the shapes of the gallery. The lines, sway, movement. I feel that the GOMA is one of the best public spaces in Brisbane - so beautifully designed and made, and so lovely to have that space to be in, walk in. Often my family (my dad, sisters, Sam) have mentioned how we'd love to have deep wide windows and verandahs and spaces like that. Just spaces. With perhaps a single chair for sitting and watching the clouds change over the river. No other gallery lookers, of course. It would be our own space - we're greedy, and don't want to share this space. 

If you go to the gallery on quiet weekdays, sometimes it does feel like you don't have to share. 

the girl who ate books

I have just finished up reading the second of two novels I've read in the past two weeks. This, for me, is quite unusual. Since having kids I barely actually read novels. And also, since discovering blogs, I barely read much else!

There was a time in my life when I would stay curled up in bed, or tucked into the corner of the couch, reading, devouring and having to finish just one more chapter of my book. Many times I'd start and finish a good book over one weekend. I'm not a particularly quick reader, in fact, sort of on the slow side - as I like to read each and every single word, and don't like to skim over words (which I know was the reading style of some of my school friends).

So, anyway. The Wednesday before last I had a few quiet moments in the city, while Mishi was asleep in her pram. I decided to visit the library. I plucked a few books off the shelves at whim; based on the name of the book, the cover illustration, and a small snippet of a randomly opened page. 

While neither of the books were amazingly life alteringly fantastic, they were both remarkably lovely to read. And had great moments in them; moments of relating to my life right now as well.

Ari was intrigued by the name of "The Palace of Strange Girls", by Sallie Day. He kept asking me about it, what was happening, what the strange girls were, where was the palace, etc. I really enjoyed the story woven in about the father who worked in the weaving cotton mills, the moments of him with his daughter telling her about the different weaves of fabric, and how he knew by touch what each one was, and how they were all made. And the pain and angst of all the mills being closed down in post-war England.

"A Box of Matches" by Nicholson Baker was a detailed, finely tuned story. Every day a middle-age man wakes up early, before sunrise, in the freezing cold of January Winter. He lights a fire, and tells us snippets and memories and dreams. He tells about the hole in his sock that irritated his toe, or about the feel of taking a big bite of apple - so big that it feels like your mouth is jammed open and you have to work out how to loosen it. Those tiny little details of life; set in the dark of the morning, he has to feel for the coffee machine and the fill the water and scoop just the right amount of coffee. And the way he feels for the coffee filters, spreading his fingers out so as to make sure he only picks up one and not all of them. Oh - I do love a story that so accurately details those miniscule aspects of our days. There is not plot as such, just each morning a new fire, with new segments. 

I do think that I will try to remember, when I'm next at the library, to find some more books by Baker. And I'm going to pass his name onto my brother, who very much likes to write, and who I know appreciates those little small tiny moments. Almost laboured over with detail and explanation.

Today Ari asked me to write a book with him. Perhaps over the holidays we will sit down together and do just that. I'm not sure what he wants it to be about, or what my role will be (as his illustrations are as amazing as his imagination and story telling skills).

***** This blog title is a reference to an excellent book we have "The Incredible Book Eating Boy" By Oliver Jeffers. {"Lost and Found" is also a beautiful book}.

***** Also, I added some beautiful images to my tumblr page this evening. Some simply glorious flowers from House on Hill Road {who takes many beautiful flower photographs}, as well as a few others. Do stop over and have a look, if you feel so inclined.

**** It's 12.24pm. It's raining now. Very slowly and quietly. The house is fast asleep, quiet and still. I can hear cars down the road driving on a wet road. I'm not worrying about the washing on the line, now wet - at least I hung the school uniforms and Mishi's favourite pants on the inside line, so they'll be dry.

blanket quilt thing for school naps

For prep, Ari needed a towel to have his afternoon quiet time lay down. I didn't really want to go and buy a boring, or expensive, towel for him to have at school. I decided that it would be a lovely thing to make him a special quilt to have his nap on. A little piece of me at school with him, for him to have that tiny bit of from-home, mama-comfort.

I used some of our own printed 'Clouds' black hemp, and let Ari choose the other fabrics from online searching. He choose some Alexander Henry Mini Calaveras; mini candy skulls. I was so pleased with his choice. Not dinosaurs, or trucks or anything like that. It shows who he is, as a boy, a child, a person - he likes things that are a bit different; candy skulls, Japanese dragons {we used this one for his library bag}, coffins, tattoos....

{On a side note, I was really really happy with the service , price and selection from Cia's Palette}.

In my usual fashion, I started one idea and then switched plans half-way through. It meant that the squares didn't turn out equal; but I didn't want to recut and loose any of the fabric by squaring it all up. It's a very simple quilt, with just big blocks of alternating fabrics - nothing too complicated. The back has a single strip of the candy skull fabric across it - the rest is the plain black hemp fabric. {Don't you love the detail of that texture...}. 

I really like this little quilt. A quilt that I don't get to see, as it lives at school.

It has spured me on to think about making some more for our home. I've started piling different fabrics for a blue quilt for Ari's bed - different shades and tones and patterns of blue and Japanese indigo. And we really do need something for our red couch, before the Winter cool sets in. Or maybe a couple of somethings so that there are no arguments about who gets to have it at that exact moment. 

{I just realised that I hadn't yet blogged about this quilt. It seems I've not been doing a whole lot of sewing or making lately - so wanted to let you know that things are happening slowly around here; but they are happening}.

7 years

this weekend marks the 7th year since my mother's death.
i have written about her in past years {here, here and here if you want to read}.

this weekend i am planning on spending precious time with my children.
we've been talking about grandma Michele. who she was, mentioning little things about her. of course both my children can never know what she was like - i feel that i can never represent her to the best of who she was. but i continue to try. and will always continue to try.

i love that my children mention little things about her. things i've told them. and so by me talking and telling them, they then remind me at a later stage.

perhaps we'll make bread - kneading the dough with strength, passion, love and honesty the way my mother did on our wooden bench. her strong arms moving the dough back and forth. i remember her talking to me about the ram's head shape it makes under your hands. {hmmmm. Sam wears a ram's head pendant around his neck}.

perhaps we'll sit and stitch, or try to crochet for a moment. remembering how my mum was always doing something with her hands. how she was a potter, a drawer, a gardener, a knitter / crocheter, a teacher, a listener.

perhaps we'll tickle and giggle and cuddle and laugh. the way my mum used to. generous laughter - sparkling pale blue eyes. her mouth open.

perhaps we'll walk around the house totally n.a.k.e.d.* the way my mum always used to. {Mishi particularly likes that one - being so very very similar!}. or wear a sarong - a pink faded batik piece of cloth that she wore for so many years. wrapped, with expert fingers, around her narrow body.

i will think about jumping in freezing cold water, screaming with the sheer happiness of the fright of the cold. something my mother did regularly enough - the Winter cold creek water, or ocean not yet warmed by the Summer.

we will light a candle. in the candle holder that my mother made with her hands. the exact same brand of candles that my mother always burned.

i will spend my days thinking and remembering the wonderful things my mother gave me, did for me, offered me, showed me, told me.

i will listen for snippets of information about her. about who she was, things from people who knew her better, more, differently than me.

i will laugh and love and cry and smile and pass on all that i know i am because of her. i will hold my head high.

i will have soft, silent peace in my heart.

i will miss my mother every single day for the rest of my life. and i will cherish that i was her child.

*i myself have not one single issue with saying, writing, thinking, mentioning this word. i do, though, have issues with this word potentially bringing unwanted search engine visitors.....

sand

A few more photos from my time in NZ.
While visiting my dear dear friend, and her beautiful family.
So many shells along the beaches. Brought up many memories of childhood walks along beaches collecting shells. Alas, it seems the sand shores I visit here, in Aust, don't seem to have as many shells as they used to. {sand dredging in the area has led to many many coastal changes over the past years}.

easing back in

i am not doing a terribly terrific job of easing back into "life after holiday"

11 days without kids,
without having to cook, clean or look after myself

oh - it's hard to come home to the noise and mess and life of a home with two busy little ones

since flying back home on Tuesday morning, i've barely been at home at all
no time to unpack a suitcase, heaving with dirty washing, dyed fabrics and memories of time away
no time to email new made friends, or catch up with old friends
barely time to even look at my photos

so today, Saturday, i've had to say no to a few things so that i can settle into the week afresh, tidy the house, and clear my mind ready to make all those 11-days of dreaming come to life. {tidy my desk and work room as well, ready for lots of new work to be designed and produced}.

here's some images from my time away in NZ.
i'll be back later this weekend with an account of my time spent on that beautiful organic farm, amongst apple and pear trees, sleeping in that sweet little caravan, finding wind blown treasures to wrap up in the luscious wool and silk fabric and simmer and boil in the pot of leaves.

new blogs i'm loving

for me to remember. in no particular order of love.

a link to look at

I just found this excellent blog post; with some highly valuable advice on costings out your products and time. Do check it out. This link came from the Etsy newsletter sent out by Danielle (but I can't remember how I got onto the mailing list. Anyone know?).

Design Sponge - How to Price Your Work

I'm sure there's some fantastic responses in the comments section, too. (Just a bit too tired to read them all at the moment - spent 1 1/2 hrs waiting for RACQ to fix my broken down car battery, while the boys had to sit in the school office, as I was late to pick them up from school).

Also, thank you, everyone, for all your fantastic comments, thoughts, feedback, opinions, ideas in relation to the other post, about pricing, etc.

*unrelated photos from my tumblr page. To show you how tired I feel, though of course I wouldn't look any where near that relaxed and nonchalantly glamorous in my sleep - neither me nor my surroundings! (click on photos to go to tumblr link).

a perfect day for it

It's raining here. We've had about 100mm of rain in the last three days. Our water tanks are overflowing. The yard is all soggy and muddy. Walking to school with a pram has been "fun", but only because we can come back home again and get warmed up.

So we've been doing lots of wet weather appropriate things.

{Some gardening over the weekend} We bought two lovely wine barrel-style wooden pots, and planted up our tomatoes, basil, lettuce, rocket and parsley. I think we'll get another pot of tomatoes growing soon, as we do eat a lot of them in our family. This was a lovely activity that we all did together; the kids + me digging in the soil and then the plants, while Sam built some wire cages to keep the cheeky possums away. We also put in some flowering plants at the front steps; both kids chose sweet little pinkish flowers, and I choose some sweet peas (I cannot wait for these to grow and flower. At our front door, too. OH!).

{Baking batches of biscuits} We made up a yummy batch on Saturday, that was meant to last at least for Ari to take to school on Monday. hmmmm. Nope. We had to whip up another batch on Sunday afternoon. Both recipes came from this book, but of course I changed things a little bit. And, just for fun, I let the kids ice them - tiny little sprinkles of icing making them happy. 

{Making fairy princess crowns} Using eco-felt and scraps of fabric and ribbon (came upon Mishi cutting some of my ribbon into teeny tiny unusable pieces - so had to make use of them. I guess that was her plan!). And playing queens and princesses all day.

{Teaching my daughter the love of simple polenta} I make this the quickest and easiest way possible - just put it in a saucepan with some water and stir stir stir. It can stick a little, but I've never really had too much trouble. Depending on if you want to have it as wet polenta or dry/fried polenta you put in more or less water. I make it wet, and often put in things like spinach, herbs, fresh tomatoes, feta cheese and some pepper. You can make it as flavoured or simple as you like. I do like it when the feta melts through, and goes all gooey. She loved it, even licked the plate clean. 

{Playing Barbies} Dressing and undressing those little things. One is the mummy, one is going to kindy and one to school. Hmmmmm - sounds a tad bit like our life. Of course, they all have quite trendy, shimmery, shiny very fitted pink outfits with matching pink shoes. Mishi has two new Barbies and two older second hand ones (that I found for $5 one day). Not sure if I'm the only one who's ever noticed this, but the new style Barbies are very different looking to the older ones (that we had as kids). The new ones have larger eyes, plumper lips and rounder faces, compared to the older ones. Check it out next time you're at a toy store. (I wish I knew where our Barbies were, as we had so many really lovely clothes that were passed down to us and that we made....).

{Reading} The latest issues of both Mixtape and Thaw arrived in the post yesterday. We've all been slowly reading through them. Sam included.

*Biscuit pictures taken by Ari, with his camera. I do like seeing his viewpoint of our life.

To clarify my words

I just wanted to clarify a few things about my last post, as I feel that I didn't express myself well enough. (Sometimes the words just flow out in a certain way, and that's the way they stay and I don't  get to highly edit my posts. I guess I don't always remember that people are out there reading; so I'm just having a little babble to myself, and I sort of know what I'm talking about!!).

Anyway, I want to say that I'm really really really and truely sorry if I have offended any hobbyist crafter with my comments, about not wanting to be beside them at a market stall or on Etsy. This is wrong - What I should have said was :: It's so amazing that there are so many different sorts of crafters / designers / artists out there. And the reason that craft markets and Etsy work so well is that everyone out there isn't a full-time crafting business. {In fact, when you look around most of us aren't full time anyway - we have full children as well as sometimes part time jobs and other commitments.}

What I meant was that being a hobbyist crafter, as opposed to a full-time business crafter, doesn't mean that you shouldn't or don't have to cost out your products properly. When I see listings on Etsy or Made It and something is under-priced at only $5 or $10, I feel sad and upset and, yes, I'm going to say angered for a few reasons. The main reason is that I see that the hobby crafter isn't valuing their time or design skills. Even if you have made something that you perceive as simple and that everyone else out there is making, you have to remember that you have put your own voice into the picture. And that voice is worth something. And even if you used fabric from your stash, how did you buy that fabric in the first place - perhaps you did buy it 10 years ago and have no idea how much you paid for it; but once you use it you're going to have to buy some more aren't you. And fabric seems to increase in cost every year (in Australia anyway), and second hand shops are trendy now-days, so you may not be able to replace that piece of fabric as cheaply or easily. So while it only cost you $2 for that piece of fabric, it's actually going to cost you $10, or $5 or $15 for another piece.

And then you have to think about the time it took you to make your item. Yes - a lot of you may sit with your children, or while having cups of tea with your friends, or do snippets here and there so you couldn't possibly work out the cost and "you would have been doing nothing if you hadn't been doing that". Does this mean that your time spent making the item you want to sell is worth nothing - because you did it around the rest of your life? Or does it mean you are a multi-tasker who could be earning a little bit of money while playing with your children or chatting with your friends (or on lunch break at your part-time job). 

It is something that women do often, some women more than others, and something that we need to continue to fight to change. But we often undervalue ourselves, our time, our skills, our ideas.  Saying that you were only doing it around other things, so you don't need to worry about it. And anyway, you love sewing so why should you get paid for it. This is undervaluing yourself.

I totally understand that a lot of people start at home, making and then realise they could sell it, and they don't really know how to cost things out - their time or materials. You can make a rough gestimate - I mean, I think we all have a fairly good idea of how much a meter of fabric costs (you know things about your addictions, don't you!), and you know if it took you 15 mins compared to 2 hours. 

And then, there's the hidden costs - that we forget to factor in. Things like the tag you might sew into your item, and the swing tag or business card you'll print up (paper + ink costs, or pay someone else to print), and then things like the listing fees. Yes, Etsy + Made It don't cost much for a listing - but they still cost something about $0.50 or so (at least), and then Paypal fees. (If you list 5 things a week, with listing fees of $0.50c, then that's about $130 a year.) And then the time it takes you to actually upload an item, and then wrapping, packaging and taking it to the post office.

And other little things, like electricity. The Australian Government allows you to factor in $0.26c an hour for the cost of electricity in your daily usage of earning. This is your sewing machine, your computer (for uploading, etc), your lamp for toiling over your hand sewing, your radio. So, you spent maybe 5 - 10 hours this week on doing things that you are now selling online. This is $2.6 a week = $135 a year. Not much, you say? Well - I think if you could be factoring that into your costs, and earning yourself an extra $135 a year. Add that to the online listing fees - $260 or so; that's not something I'd scoff at for a nice little bonus.

And then there's the market thing. I read a while ago, on a USA blog (can't remember where now), that she won't go back to another craft market if she hasn't made more than 10x her stall fees. This sounds like a lot, and sounds scary to think about. And it's not something that we all would aim for - some people may be happy to earn enough money to head back out into the market and buy some lovely things from the other crafters. And, really, that sounds pretty good to me! {In reality,  it's not always so easy to earn 10x the stall fee at just a general monthly craft market - in Brisbane, anyway. The bigger designer markets are a different story.}

But, when you think about what it means - 10x your stall fees. A lot of markets around Brisbane cost about $85 for a stall. So that's $850 for the day. You sold $850 worth of things - Yah! That's really exciting. But this isn't profit - this is your takings. How much did it cost you to make these items, perhaps $450 (if you had costed things out and then doubled your costs to get to sell price). Take this off your takings (=$400). This has to cover things like, well for starters your stall fee. So take $85 off your takings (= $315), then think about your petrol to the market, and the fact that you had to sneak out of the house at 5am or drop the kids off at your in-laws (which the kids do love, but you're away from them for a day, missing out on family life - which is sometimes nice!), and whatever props you had to buy for your market set-up, and paper / plastic bags for people to take their goodies home in.  Let's say maybe $30 - which may actually be more on your first market, and then not have to rebuy for your next ones. (So, take that off = $285). And also all the pretty little business cards or postcards you gave away to all those customers who liked your things, but didn't want to buy then and there (or, just as likely, took it out of guilt, or because it's a pretty postcard that they like, but they're never going to buy from you, or because they're a kid running around and collecting them). Did you give away 100 business cards - oh, they only cost $20 (take that away = $265). And, there's other costs which sort of got forgotten along the way - that happens when it's just for fun, and you're not keeping receipts or factoring in all costs. So, $265 sounds really decent doesn't it. You just earnt that one day at the market. BUT - did you factor in your time when you costed your items? No, okay - umm... so that $265 for one market day now has to get divided up between all the little bits of time that you spent making your items. And sometimes you take custom orders, so you now have to go home and make those things because someone's paid you for it. And, remember, if you are actually charging just the material costs for your product, without taking into consideration any other factors, and you didn't double your costs (because "why would you charge someone for more than it cost you to buy your materials"). You made your $850 by selling lots and lots of cheaper items - but did you make any money to take home, or did you only make enough to pay back costs?

If you only took 4x your market stall fee, then your final profit would be a whole lot less. {$400 - $200 (product costings - which doesn't include your time, because you didn't factor that in at the start) - $85 (stall fee) - $30 (paper bags, etc) -$20 (business cards) = $65. That's how much you just earnt by sitting at that hot, cold, wet, windy, long, tiring, force-your smile market day}.

So - this whole ramble is best summed up by saying that if you are a hobbyist, you can still factor your costs so you can earn some money - for your time, your materials, and to contribute to your family income.

I feel upset when I see something online or at a market stall that is beautifully designed, well made, unique fabric, buttons, etc and is well photographed or stall lay-out is lovingly planned. And then you are only asking a small amount for your actual item. And then, I go into some high-end boutique and see a similar sort of item, but of course with a designer name, and they are charging 5x what you were asking at your market stall. 

So, I do love sitting next to hobbyists (and yes, that's you Hol, because I'd love to share another craft show experience with you) at market stalls, but only if you are valuing your time and design skills, and asking others to do the same. 

Rant over. Thank you if you made it to the end. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this matter.

*photos included because a post this long really needs some brightening up! 

i just remembered :: Friday # 7

It's Friday today. 

That means I'm to take a photo and then load it up. hmmmmm. Can we do another of those computer ones?

I'm wearing all red today. Well, mostly sort of. It's red day at my son's Prep room. He went to school in a whole red outfit, with a cute little felt elf hat on (that I made for Mishi's b'day party). 

Red dress a hand down from my sister (is it called a hand up, if I'm older than her?). Anyway - I'm older and fatter. The dress is much too big for her, but I fill it out quite nicely, thank you very much.

Today I came across a new blog; Crafting an MBA (which I'm going to spend a while reading through over the next few weeks).

And wrote a really long comment on my google groups (Bris-Style), about costings and mark-ups and that sort of thing. 

There's heaps of "it" going around blog land at the moment. The way we all cost our products out; the fact that those of us wanting to make this our business (and hopefully make a speck of money) are having to continue to compete with those who are hobbyists. Being a hobbyist crafter isn't a bad thing at all - it's just well, quite a bit annoying when I have to place my products next to yours at the market stalls or Etsy site. 

Michelle from Cicada Daydream wrote an excellent post about it a few weeks back. Read the comments too, lots of interesting points.

I'm working on writing a post, for Selvedge House blog, which will address some of these issues. I've had a fair bit of experience in retail and costings and wholesale aspect of business, and have done a few different business courses. So I do have a few thoughts on it all. If there's something particular you'd like me to talk about, let me know and I'll add it to the post up. (Which will happen after my NZ trip).

So, that's me today. I'm having my afternoon coffee. Before I head over to pick up the school boy (walking) and then (drive) to get the kindy girl. Then do the dinner thing, and the teeth, stories, bed thing. And then, maybe I'll fold the laundry. 

my creative space :: planning

The kindy teachers got word that I can sew.

After seeing the robots that I made for the kids to take into school / kindy, they have still silly notion that I can sew softies.

Miss Kate asked if perhaps I could make one little softies friend that the kids can each take home for one night, and they're going to write about what their friend did at their house that night. Sounds so sweet doesn't it - like the story of that teddy bear that traveled around the world and sent postcards back to the school students. 

She chatted to the kids about what sort of friend they would like. And you know what they came up with? Those 3 - 4 years olds! All the boys wanted a truck, and all the girls wanted wings. So - ummm a flying truck. 

Ok, ok. My softie sewing skills are still quite limited and I'm not so sure I'll be able to make a truck they're totally happy with. Though I'll have a think, and a look. 

But then I suggested perhaps a crocodile. With wings? 

All the rooms at kindy have different animal names, and Mishi is in the Crocodile room. So, crocodile seems fitting. No?

I went out to super-fun exciting Spotlight, to search for some tiny glimpse of inspiration. Not much happening there. I came home with 10m of calico, for pattern drafting, and some other little finds. And then I spotted a greenish/teal version of this fabric. The shop assistant appeased me by agreeing that it looked "vaguely" crocodilish. You agree, don't you. Yes, I know you do!

I didn't want something that would be too brown and boring and ugly for the kids, but something fun and bright. Without being silly. 

I've got to sit down and do some sketchers and plans of how to make this crocodile. I'm not sure if I'll do a lying down one, or sitting up one. This one's cute, and this too. Can you point me to any other ideas.

The other fabrics in these pics, is for some little picnic rugs I'm making for the Crocodile kindy room. When I was there the other day, I watched a few of the little girls packing things up from the play kitchen and shop, and go for a picnic. And all they had to picnic on was the normal carpet. So, I've decided to make three little simple quilt-style rugs for them to use. I'm trying to make them all different colours, to appeal to girls and boys. 

Hopefully there'll be enough of this cute bird fabric left over to make another little rug for someone else. (I'm thinking that surely I owe something to a family member - speak up......).

**do visit the other wonderful creative spaces.

this

This photo.

Talks to me.

In more ways than I can talk to you. 

You see - I quite like dead flowers. 

Spent many many years collecting and photographing and creating with them. 

Pieces of dead flower stuck onto paper - coloured fancy, Joss paper. And taped onto my walls. 

Or stitched and sewed onto fabric.

Or simply left arranged in vases in corners of rooms. 

I love the dried up curl of their petals. 

And the faded muted colours they become. 

Also, I love what they mean and feel. 

The dead flower, if left on the plant to die naturally, isn't dead at all. It's simply the fruit blooming and growing. And the fruit become the seed. Which becomes the new plant and the new flower and the new flesh all over again. 

And when I pick them and see them dead sitting there, the cycle is obvious. 

Even though I've broken the cycle. Cut it. I still know it is happening with the other blooms still on the plant. 

I will hopefully have many interesting and wonderful and life affirming photos of dead flowers to show after my journey to NZ. Let's see. 

For now, it's way way past my bedtime. xxx

*photo used with deep deep thanks to Nan, from Rummage. Really, I love all the photos she shows. The colour and life and vibrancy. Do have a look.

me on a friday

Here's my contribution to this week's 52 Fridays. I missed last week, due to it being the busy-crazy-mad-rush week that it was. I'm hoping there is at least one nice photo of me from Mishi's party (taken by my father-in-law).

So, anyway. Today I did the quick and easy computer photo. With silly prop! My new beautiful cup, that I bought last week from Shibui Homewares in West End. I had a lovely chat with the lady, who owns and works in the shop, about her visits to Japan, and about Japanese tea cups.

Right now I am being deliciously cheeky. My cup contains a yummy, hot / cold concoction of vanilla icecream and coffee. Otherwise known as affogatto. I haven't had one of these for ages - icecream  is rarely bought in this household, this is left over from Mishi's party. And Ari tempted me. Friday afternoon, afterall. Icecream and afternoon television for the boy. Before we get the girl from her kindy.

Today I have spent a fair bit of time reading and working on planning. I spotted Steady Days in the side bar of Soulemama's blog*, and clicked over and purchased. The book arrived in the post on Wednesday, and I've been carefully reading it in spare moments. This isn't a cute-pretty sort of book, but it's so easy to read and so well laid out. I really like the way that there are no half-page headings for each new chapter (saves on paper). This book feels like one of those Cliff's notes to .... (you know the cheats guides to Hamlet or McBeth that we all read at school?); it breaks things down into simple language, honest words and truthfulness in the telling and the story. I really like that Jamie (the author) doesn't pretend as if she's perfect, actually she often reminds us that she's not. 

So, I've been planning how to be more organised. These past few months (weeks especially) I've felt lost and drowning in the vastness of it all. I've been weighed down. And have felt pretty useless at a lot of stuff. You know when you feel like that it takes a lot of get back up and get going with stuff. The piles of paper normally just keep building up, and the mounds of laundry almost topple onto the kids while they're trying to find clean socks. 

I've written out a daily, weekly and (still working on) monthly plan for the whole family. I've included chores - silly things that shouldn't need to be included in a to-do list, but that have been getting  begrudgingly pushed between Sam and me lately (like the washing up, or the laundry). I've included a half hour every evening, before dinner where the whole family sits down and talks or plays a game, or writes / draws together in our journals. We do always sit together at breakfast and dinner time, but we're often caught up in the 'kids sit down', 'stop putting food everywhere', 'use your fork, please', 'eat your veges', rush to school, work or bed deal. So - I'm hoping some small amount of time to sit and enjoy as a family will help us all be a little bit happier in where we're at. 

I also added a whole hour, once a week, for Sam and me to sit down together and talk about our plans and dreams and goals (both personal and professional). This is something that we rarely get to do, and if we do, it's normally moments between making school lunches or reading bedtime stories or rushing out the door to work.

I'm going to spend the weekend working on and finalising the planning. Steady Days book suggests to put everything into an easy to reference binder, and I'm going to work with that. I'm also going to consult Sam and the kids on it all, as I want it to be something we do together, not something that I enforce and dictate.

Hopefully this time next week I'll be well into the good feeling of being organised and on top of things. And I'll be getting some proper solid work happening. Rather than this dribble-drabble-nothingness that's been happening around here lately.

*And look, it's on her bedside table today as well.

Craft Hope for Haiti - book bag

 

This is a book bag that Sam and I made quite a few months ago. I haven't been able to show it to you before now, as it's actually a project in an upcoming crafting book. 

I was so honoured to be asked to contribute a project to the Craft Hope book. I'm not sure when it's due to be released, I think they're still in the last stages of writing. I'll let you know when I have a copy in my hands. There are many other amazing crafters who I'm so pleased to be bound up with in the pages of this fantastic book. 

This little bag was hand stencilled, onto organic cotton / hemp fabric. It's designed for children to use as a book / library bag, but really just makes a great bag for everyday needs. 

It is currently listed in the Craft Hope for Haiti Etsy shop - so pop on over and have a look. This is a one of a kind bag, and has been listed at a very reasonable price.

*photo used with thanks from Craft Hope (much better styled than my photos of the bag, as I was rushing it out the door to be posted all those months ago).

tree change :: dreams

I'm looking at real estate. Again!
I think it's something us women do - based on my 'research', it's a woman thing!
Needless to say that these are pretty much mostly out of our budget.

 

This one is as close to my dream house as I can ever imagine finding already built. Of course I'm going to have to design and build my dream house, as it's so specific. But this one really does come quite close. Sam agrees too. I mean imagine having a bath in that bathroom. Or lying on that large lovely cane lounge and dreaming away a beautiful afternoon. Or sharing tea on the verandah with your dearest friends and family - who would visit you often in a house as comfortable and inviting as this one. This is what I'd buy tomorrow if I won the lotto, or found a few spare bits of cash lying in the gutter!

This one isn't so much my dream home, and to be honest, I probably wouldn't want to spend the money (if I had it!) on living here. But I do really like some aspects of it. And I'm good at ignoring the bits I don't like, and focusing on the parts I do. Like that view. Or the library reading room. And the fact it looks like a timber castle, full of Persian rugs.

And this one, well, this one is so totally out of the budget it's just simply silly to even bother looking at it. Imagine coming home to that view and the swimming pool - is this a resort or a home. You'd never get rid of your friends living in a place like this, would you? I wonder if you could bill them at $1000 a night!

I'd love to see what your dream home looks like.

crunch

Tea parties with Mishi today.
Rain. Pouring down from the sky.
Washing on the line.
Singing and dancing and prancing.
And wearing sweet little new dress that just arrived in the post today, for her birthday. Thank you, friends.

and working on {super exciting} financials.