keep your chin up

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*sigh*. More of Rob Ryan.

markets!

Last Sunday I had my very first Pepper Stitches market stall. Here it is early in the morning before the markets opened, when I stood back, rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sipped tea from my thermos.

Things I did:

- set up the table in the loungeroom first to check it out and sort out signs and extras. It was so much easier to set up when I had done it before.

- brought extra stock. It's nice to replace stock on the table when it goes

- sold out of antler boys and babushka rattles!

- made friends with neighbouring stall-holders

- brought pretty ribbon for free gift wrapping

- had business cards on the table

-didn't forget to bring plenty of change!

Things I learnt:

-2 thermos of tea is enough. Any more and too many toilet breaks ensue.

-bring a market umbrella (lucky I bought one from this gal) to shield me and my table from the sun which even in winter almost gave me sunstroke

- bring product packs with wholesale price lists for interested peeps (and there were a few!)

- don't bother bringing knitting or the paper. You won't have time.

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Thanks to my lovely friend Ange who awoke so darn early to drop me and my suitcases off, and my new housemate Louie who picked me up (and will ferry me to and from future markets in return for jean darning and sewing services!). Thanks to everyone who said I should do it, and everyone who came by. You made my day!

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I will be there again this Sunday, at the Addison Rd Organic Markets in Marrickville, if you are in Sydney do come by. They have lovely coffee and so many pretty things.

deep breath

Oh My I haven't posted in over a week. You see I got so excited, with so many ideas and plans and possibilities swirling in my brain, and doing so much all at once, that after four days I found myself on the floor of the Boys apartment unable to do anything but watch Oprah and re-runs for 3 days.

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It's just that I get so excited I almost hurt myself. There are so many things to make, to do, to cut and sew and stuff and paint. And there's not as many hours in the day as there used to be (my theory is the days seemed longer when I worked 9 to 5 in a job I didn't always enjoy. Sometimes time draaagged on. Now I'm creating, the day disappears awfully quickly and I wonder where the hell it went. )

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The markets went so well, and I have wholesale orders and appointments and custom orders and shopping and meetings and so.much.indeed that I am feeling a little overwhelmed and need to take a deep breath, and have faith that this will work out and I may actually be able to make a living.

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Here's hoping, and here's to slowing down. I need to learn to pace myself and do one thing at a time. I'm trying to scheduled in rest times. Library times, cafe times, just.doing.nothing. times. Also photo times and blogging times. I am making an effort to consciously note when I start work and choose to stop. Here's hoping.

blog love of the week- banana smoothies for strawberry sundays

via tramfriends

Hannah from banana smoothies for strawberry sundays likes vintage salt and pepper shakers (see some cute ones from her collection here) and makes pretty things. You can see more in her shop tramfriends where she sells them with other things made by her friends. I like her blog for its simplicity and pretty pictures. Shes' very nice, too.

I love lists

I do. I make them all the time. Every week about what I need to do during the week. Every day. Lists about what I will do, what I haven't done, what I want to do, what I need. Books I want to borrow, ideas I want to think about, friends I want to catch up with. I need to empty out my brain on paper or the thoughts keep circulating and I'm afraid I'll forget them all.

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I just read this post about obsessive list disorder. It made me smile. There are list-writers everywhere. I think if you're going to make so many lists, I think you deserve a very pretty book to write them in, like one of these.

etsy craft party @ notebook

The etsy party on Friday was just super. We came, we chatted, we made. We each recieved a sweet goody bag. We ate heaps of deliciousness. We laughed.

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There were brown owl friends who are always funny and lovely and encouraging too; and I met other crafty peeps like Michelle (who made me laugh heaps!)and Alex (who is super creative and holds crafternoons! and made that retro crafty holder in the photo up there) and Britt (who makes adorable mug cosies, (I want this one)) and Jackyln and Amanda (who is releasing a line of beautiful stationary) and Anastasia and other people too and hope to see them all soon.

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I made a brooch (see that linen one with the yellow button?) and learnt how to stitch hexagonal paper pieces (thank you Amy) and had a lovely time. Plus I won one of the awesome door prizes! A pack of this fabric donated by the ever-super Badskirt! Woot!

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Etsy ought to have more birthdays. Heaps of thanks to Corrie from Retromummy who organised the whole shebang.

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Aceness.

It's etsy's birthday!

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Etsy is throwing a huge party tonight in honor of creative communities across the globe, find one near you here. (on Meetup, just use your facebook account to access!). If you're in Sydney, make sure you come to this one.

We're going to make fabric yoyos and have goody bags and meet new crafty people and everyone is bringing a plate of scrumptiousness. It's going to be lovely. See you there!

Happy Birthday Etsy!

my creative space

I'm afraid there's not much goin' on in my creative space right now, my sewing machine decided to splutter and die last week (I know, great timing, right?) and I already have a bunch of patterns cut out and lined up, so can't bring myself to add to the pile. I ordered a new machine (yay! on special too!) and other assorted supplies of course.. and I'm waiting waiting waiting for them to arrive.

Until then, here are some antler boys and girls that I finished by hand, they have embroidered faces and hand stitched antlers and little hand knitted scarves. They were fun to make, and fit nicely in your hand. (They're in my shop now)

Catching up on lots of blog reading, and making notes on my business plan, and seeing.as.I'm.a.wee.bit.hungover.today considering making pancakes and watching tv.

(see more creative spaces here!)

I've always wanted..

a polaroid camera.


Polaroid Camera Print, Antique polaorid camera, Classic Polaroid camera Baby One Piece , Photos Inside Label Collection ,Polaroid Vintage Camera - Graphic Pop Art Canvas Tote Bag ,Original Illustration-Polaroid Camera

Eloise takes a picture of Ramona on her polaroid camera - 4 x 6 art print ,Retro Camera Badges - Four Pack ,Vintage camera tray ,Polaroid camera bobby pin , Polaroid Camera- Limited Edition Print of Drawing ,SX-70 Camera Organic Onesie for Baby

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ps. thanks for your encouragement and support after my last post, you guys rock! Terrified or not, I'm goin' for it.

hey! vote!

You can vote now in the feeling stitchy rainbow embroidery competition. You can see them all here.

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I'm going to vote for this one, because it's my favourite. I really like antlers. (Plus Cathy from ChunkyChooky stitched it. I'm not biased or anything.)

my new boss lets me nap

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Guess what I did. I resigned from my job. I did. Last week I packed up my desk, and put my pirate bobble head and novelty tape dispenser in a archive box and walked out, like they do in the movies.

Right now, I am entirely self employed. Today I had a nap. I just had breakfast for dinner.

I have a business plan. I have business cards, and postcards and a marketing plan. I have the feeling that my ignorance of what I'm undertaking is protecting me somewhat, I'm not as terrified as I should be.

my weekend

Sitting in the sun at the markets with a friend.
I saw a Twilight poster and laughed and she turned to me and said, 'you know, I know you well enough that even if you liked Twilight, we could still be friends'. Apologies to any fans out there, but it made me laugh. (and yes, that is another yellow phone. Because four is just not enough)



Planting seeds for winter veges.
I made labels from chopsticks and duct-tape, an idea I got from a tutorial I saw which used cheap yellow pencils, but despite searching I've forgotten whose blog it was. Please let me know if it was you. It's a grand idea.


Making giant burritos with boy housemate, and eating too many.
He is a bad influence on me. We went grocery shopping and bought chocolate biscuits, iced vovos and multiple lolly packets. Multiple.

Watching soccer (sorry. football.) and sitting in front of the fire. With a warm cat.

Wondering how many games I can stay up late/ get up very early for. I don't usually watch, but am always one to get swept up with the excitement. Go Socceroos!

A flea market find! WOOO!

So very excited that when I found it I yelped and my friend (and several other people) thought I had encoutered some kind of spider. But just very very excited.

At the markets I bought 4 typed of potatoes and 2 kinds of sweet potato to roast with this organic chicken. Sunday roast.

(they were all delicious)
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Looking forward to a wonderful week.

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I hope your weekend was lovely!

on the subject of cubby houses

Build CC has an article on Couch Cushion Architecture. I wonder what grade our cubby house would have earned. I sure like the architectural tone in the reviews.

Via Dude Craft

this weeks blog love- seeds & stitches

Hannah from Seeds & Stitches is a lovely lass who has a lovely bit of garden, and stitches things, has a lovely style and is eco-friendly, and had polaroids for her wedding photos. She's super-nice too.

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She also write crafty/recycle-y articles for Amelia's Magazine, which I like very much, like this one on weather-proof bunting and using old envelopes and jars.

Go check out her blog, it's one of my favourites.

Oh! Deer!

Here are the deer I finished last week, I think they turned out pretty deer-like after all. They're in my shop now, and I'm cutting out some more in lots of colours including pinks, greens and blues to suit all deer lovers.

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I sure do like antlers.

a certain amount of hugs

On the weekend my bestie and I made a cubby house. We sat inside drinking wine and telling ghost stories. She's gone to Christmas Island for a month, volunteering and teaching asylum seekers English, which I think is a very noble thing to do. She's a noble kind of person. I'm trying to think of that instead of missing her.

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The Boy is back after a week away. I missed him. Here he is cooking, he cooks delicious food. Incredible good cook, and my waistline shows it.

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Here he is again. He doesn't like photos much, can you tell? Sometimes he laughs when I take photos of things on the street or my lunch, but I don't mind.

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I'm glad that my favourite people are taking it in turns to be away. I need a certain amount of hugs in my life.

I've always wanted to

live in a tree house..

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