Changing plans....

At the beginning of this year I had so many plans for this year... small things, big things, things I had been wanting to do for ages.  I even had set times to have them done by, taken small steps to achieve them already.  I had a schedule written out for blog posts, monthly market nights, new product releases and much more... but none of it has materialised.

And I've come to the conclusion that it's ok.  Last year was absolutely crazy busy and super stressful (you can read about it here).  This year I think I need time to slow down and settle.  We still have renovations to complete, Hubby's work roster has changed, I've started working part-time three days a week and just last week, Jenna was diagnosed with glandular fever after being sick for weeks and a hospital visit.

So instead of monthly Facebook market nights and lots of market stalls I've decided to keep it simple this year. I'm just going to do Facebook market nights when I have something new to show you, and "real-life" markets will be few and far between as my Husband now works one day each weekend.

I had plans to do a Pozible campaign to raise funds for building my studio.  However I don't feel right getting people to pledge for rewards that they might not receive for six months, so I'll be using sales from my markets to that instead.  As a result, I'll have some different "opportunities" up for sale at my market nights, such as VIP shopping nights at your house or in my studio, and Painty afternoons for you and 3 friends.  I can't wait to have all my stash in the same house as me and be able to do a LOT more creating. 

So here is what I DO have planned for this year so far:

For Toowoomba locals, you will be able to check out (and purchase) some of my larger original paintings at the Glennie School Fair this Sunday, the 28th April.  It is sure to be great day out with the Art Show, lots of stalls as well as kids entertainment.

I will also be having a Facebook market night on my page this Wednesday night starting at 8pm.  I have some new magnet designs as well as new necklaces and bracelets.  Perfect timing to grab Mum something for Mother's Day (or for yourself).

You will also be able to find me at an "Australia's Biggest Morning Tea" on the 26th May.  More details coming soon.

And I shall leave you with a few sneak peaks of some of the new products which will be available this Wednesday night, the 24th of May.  Make sure to head over to my Facebook page and check it all out as well as make some purchases.

So what kind of "opportunity" would you like to see up for sale at one of my Market nights?  Leave your suggestions in the comments below.  Thanks for stopping by.  :)

Fancy a day out??

Come out to Jacaranda Manor, Highfields this Sunday for a fantastic day out.  There will be market stalls, fashion parades and kids entertainment, all to raise money for the Cerebral Palsy League.  You will find me there along with other fabulous market stalls as Tiahtana Designs, Twisted Jewellery Creations and Shnuckylove.

Food, Glorious Food!

The last few months we've been changing the way we eat around here.  We've been trying to "eat clean", trying to stay away from pre-packaged foods, soft drinks and takeaways and eating more salads and home made foods.  I always ate packaged cereal for breakfast each morning and now I make my own oats and muesli instead.  We also now try and buy organic where we can, especially for fruit and vegetables.  I've been lucky enough to find 2 places in Toowoomba for cheap, organic fruit and veg and have joined a local co-op to buy organic food through wholesalers to keep prices down.

As part of this transition, I've been trying out a lot of new recipes so I thought I would share some of them with you.  This week I needed to use up some apples so I found this one... Apple and Date Cake.

You can find the recipe here:  http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/apple-and-date-cake-L7484.html

The verdict:  This cake is super yummy! I didn't use butter or margarine like the recipe said but coconut oil instead.   I'd also make a few other changes next time I make it.  The cake is really quite sweet so I'd skip the sugar in the cake and just add a tablespoon or so of maple syrup.... with a cup of sugar in the cake and another half a cup on top, I find it just a bit too much. I think I'll also try substituting half the flour with coconut flour... I've been doing that with other things I've been baking and it's worked so far.

So... how did you like this recipe?  Have you made any changes to your way of eating lately?  Would you like to see more recipes? Let me know in the comments below or over on Facebook.  Thanks for stopping by!

Ready, Steady, Shop!

Lots of new items have just been added to my new online store!  You'll have to head over to Hand-made.com.au to check them all out.  There's magnets, necklaces, cards and lots more.  Here's a look at some of the original paintings you'll find...

Did you know that each month I give away a prize to a lucky subscriber of my email newsletter?  This month you can win one of my favourite keyrings.

You can sign up over to the right of my page, or right here.

New-year-itis

This year I've really been struggling to get back into things for some reason.  There are so many things that I want to get done but I always seem to find myself being distracted by other not-so-important things.  As is usual at the beginning of each year, I have seen lots of courses, e-books, webinars etc about coming up with your business plan for the year and setting goals etc, etc.  And normally I would've been right into it, planning out my year and getting things done but it just wasn't sitting right for some reason.

Then I realised... I think this year needs to be a bit more about me.  A bit less busy, with time to settle and relax after the craziness of last year.  Time to play and have a bit more fun and concentrate on the things that I want to do, not the things I NEED to do.

For ages, I've been wanting to learn how to use my camera better - to start taking photos in manual mode.  I want to start reading again and plan a family holiday.  I want to take time out and take a bath!

That's when I stumbled across Leonie Dawson's "Create your Incredible Year" workbooks and something just clicked.  Now, there are two versions... the "Life" edition and the "Business" edition.  You can buy one or both (if you get both, they work out a bit cheaper) but I decided that I was only going to purchase the "Life" edition.  Last year I spent so much time planning business stuff but I really didn't take any time to focus on myself.  So this time around (at least for the first few months) I'm going to focus on myself and let the business stuff come after that.

And you know what?  It is awesome!  I bought myself a spiral notebook, printed out all the pages and glued them in.  Even just doing that I was already having fun... LOL.  I haven't finished all the exercises, in fact, I've not even done half... but I've already noticed a difference.  I'm taking time to do stuff that I want to do... I've started reading, we've booked a holiday for September and I've actually had a bath two times now!!  There's just something about taking the time to write things down to give you some clarity and focus.  And the workbook looks fantastic, all bright and colourful and happy.

I actually love the workbook so much that I signed up to be an affiliate... something I've never done before.  So if you click on the links here on my page and purchase yourself a copy, some of the purchase price will come to me.  And by doing that you will be helping me raise funds to build my new studio that I so desperately need right now.  Click on the pictures above, the image in my sidebar, or by following this link.

If you do take the plunge and buy the workbook, make sure to let me know in the comments below or over on my Facebook page.  I would love to know what you think!

In Print

I have been stalking my local newsagent for the last couple of weeks so you can imagine I was very excited to see this.....

I'm lucky enough to have been included in a feature on art journaling in Scrapbook Creations magazine!  Issue 97 for those playing along at home.  Now, I'm not going to show you the whole article because you are just going to have to buy the magazine to see it all... but I will show you the two new pages which are in there.

The last few months have been so busy that I have done barely any art journaling, but I'm itching to get back into it.  Since all my supplies are in a different house to me it makes it a bit more difficult, so I'm going to grab a few essentials and make a little space for me to create in.  I'll make sure to take some photos so you can see my "can't live without" supplies.  But I warn you now.... I've never been one to pack light.  :)

2012 - What a year!

Wow, 2013 is here and it feels as though 2012 has gone by in a blur.  Last year was definitely the biggest year our little family has had to face.... but in the end it was all completely worth it.  We are loving our new life here in Toowoomba and can't wait to see what this new year brings.

So just in case you missed it all, here is a quick recap of the year....

The craziness all began back in March when my husband and I decided to quit our jobs and move back to the town where we had met.  You can find the original blog post here.  So over the Easter long weekend we made the big move - packed up the truck and away we went.  It was a VERY long trip with car trouble along the way... you can read about it here. 

We were so lucky that hubby was able to find a job so quickly which made it so we could buy a new house.  The one we ended up purchasing was definitely a fixer-upper.  It took 3 months of renovations before we were able to move in - without my Dad's help we wouldn't have been able to get nearly as much done as we did.  You can check out a heap of photos in this blog post.  The kitchen would have to be my favourite change by far.... it was completely gutted and redone even a door was filled in.  Here's a quick before and after...

And another before and after, although this one was not nearly as much fun... not long after moving in we had plumbing problems.  Unfortunately, the pipes were under a LOT of concrete.

 BEFORE

AFTER

And that's not even the end of that story... the problem isn't fully fixed so we have to rip up the concrete ramp in the next few days and replace some more pipe.  Fun, fun, fun.  Although the up side is that we will also now be able to run the pipes up to my future studio.  All my art supplies and paintings are still living over at my Dad's house a few blocks away as there is not enough room in the house.  So I'm hoping that during the next few months we can build my new studio so I can move it all over to where I am.  There is going to be an exciting opportunity for you to help with this project too, but you're just going to have to wait to see what that is.

Business-wise, 2012 was an awesome year.... I introduced my jewellery line as well as cards and magnets and I have had awesome feedback on all of them.  I was also lucky enough to be an exhibitor at the Food and Wine Festival as part of The Carnival of Flowers.  I was there with Handmade in Country and met up with lots of other talented, local artisans.  You can see that I was very excited when I got my pass.  :)

Being a part of the Food and Wine Festival would not have been possible for me if it wasn't for some fabulous new friends that I have made here...  a fantastic group of women who also run their own businesses from home and make some of the most wonderful things.  Without their knowledge and support I would have not even known about half of the opportunities and events that I have been a part of.  So a huge "Thanks" to them - you know who you are!  :)

So here's to a fantastic 2013.... Have you got any great things planned for this year?

Lots to share!

So many things have been happening around here lately so I've decided to do a catch-up all at once... this may be long.  LOL

The lovely team at Derivan sent me some of their fabulous KindyGlitz so I got busy making some cards.  This first one was SUPER easy... just draw some messy circles with a black pen and then colour in with KindyGlitz.

For this next one I used some KindyGlitz on a chipboard flower...

I got the idea of stamping with KindyGlitz stuck in my head, I wasn't entirely sure if it would work but I think it looks great as a background pattern.  I used a foam stamp as it has a larger stampable area than a clear stamp.  I also dyed a doiley with some Matisse Ink and stamped with some brown ink onto a tag in the middle.

And speaking of Derivan... have you seen their new range of Chalkboard paint??  The colours are absolutely yummy!  I've used them to paint the fronts of Jenna's drawers in her new room. 

House renovations are still plodding along slowly... we still haven't been able to move in yet and I can't wait until the day we are able to!

The most exciting news at the moment is that I will be going to the Carnival of Flowers "Flower, Food and Wine Festival" in Toowoomba over the weekend as an exhibitor!  I'll be there at the Handmade in Country section selling my wares... I'm so excited to get there and meet so many new people.  If you haven't already, make sure you head over and "like" my Facebook page as I will be sharing photos over the next two days of the Festival.  Toowoomba definitely brings out it's best over the Carnival of Flowers.  :)

And last, but by no means least...  Here is my page for September's 123 Challenge.  The criteria are:

WORD: MAN or MEN

COLOUR: GREY

TECHNIQUE:

use something METAL

This will be my last page for the 123 Challenge as I've decided to step down from the Creative team. I have absolutely LOVED my time there and I would like to thank Charm for all the hard work that she does to keep the blog running.  It really is a great challenge blog as there is no limit to what you can submit as long as it meets the criteria.

That's about if for now.... although I will leave you with a sneaky hint.  See that box over to the right in the sidebar?  The one where you can join my mailing list?  You really should sign up, I have BIG plans coming up where you will be able to WIN stuff every month just for being a subscriber.  ;)

Have a great weekend!!

Market Night

This Thursday night I'll be having a "Market Night" over on my Facebook page with lots of goodies up for sale.  Market night begins at 8pm (Qld time) and it's as simple as commenting "SOLD" on your favourite item/s to purchase.   Here's a look at a few of the items that will be available...

Magnets

Cards

 Necklaces

Bracelets

So if you haven't already, make sure to head over to my Facebook page and click on "like" to keep up to date with everything that's going on and grab yourself some goodies this Thursday night. 

Paintings share....

Just a quick post to share some of the new paintings I've been working on lately.  :)

  

 

 

A few of these will be available for sale as prints or cards, maybe even jewellery at my next market night over on my Facebook page.... which one is your favourite??