Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition 2013

Here is my entry into the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition 2013.

Here was my packet.

A vibrant mix of rich oranges, neon pinks and pastel blue.

It took me several attempts to work out what do but once I decided on embroidery hoop appliques they just seemed to flow out one after the other.

Here's my final entry. An embroidery hoop collection entitled, "delight in the little things".

Like most of my creative endeavours there were many mistakes moments of perfectionistic dissatisfaction but without those "moments" I would never have ended up with the bevy of hoops I did.

I would love to write more, tell you some of the stories and upload some more pics, but for now I'm just dealing with the sinking feeling of realising that I maybe needed to do this yesterday. So off I go to write an email pleading confusion and blame my snotty nosed toddler for this being possibly late! Then I'd best get back to lots of cuddles with Munchkin Features.

xx.

Sarah

Back to business

 

So it's been another looong while since my last blog.

In that time I have experienced:

• The joy experienced in sharing your creations through sales - knowing that someone loves them enough to spend money on them as well as the feedback about how much joy their children get out of them.
• The extreme discomfort of self promotion
• The extreme discomfort of pricing your own items
• The disappointment of items not selling
• The surprise of small successes

Let me explain. Being in business is really strange fit for me. For one thing, I am one of those people whose pain receptors twinge a little when I spend money. I agonise a little too much over whether to buy or not to buy and often find myself thinking "oh I'd love to get that if only it was $2 or $5 or $12.50 less". Then when I do stumble upon something amazing (why are there so many fun and beautiful things out there?) that I know is just the right price, I get all virtuous and think 'I don't really need it' and exercise self-restraint. It's terribly sensible of me, and not at all Gen Y,  but that's who I am.

Take this AMAZING dress by Little Cumquat for example:

I saw this and loved it. I couldn't decide if the pain of spending $60 on a dress for Munchkin Features was worse than the pain of not having the dress. It is a gorgeous dress, Thao has sourced some great retro fabric, matched all those stripes perfectly, piped that stunning collar, and added a cute pocket detail...and it has a zip. It'd probably take me about 3 hours to sew this. Then I'd make a mistake and that'd add another 2 hours! If I charged my time at $20 an hour (which is next to nothing) I wouldn't even cover the cost of the materials. I really really really wanted this dress. Even more so when it wasn't snaffled up the moment it hit the market. But did I buy it? No, I was restrained. Mostly because I already had 3meters of this 'prints charming' fabric. I was thinking a shift for me with a big white collar or fabric covered buttons, but Munchkin Features has the confidence to pull it off.   

Seeing Little Cumquot's dress prompted me to act on one of those pesky ideas I had floating around my brain and I've got as far as cutting out the pattern for an A line dress...and now I want to do a bow collar. Something like this:

 

 

 

 

(This dress is available on Etsy, if you click on the pic)

Or this double bow collar:

I'm still trying to work out how to do a bow collar, so the dress has been put in the 'Sewing Projects in Progress' shoebox while I work it out!

If problem one being my hesitation to spend money makes being in business difficult it is nothing compared to problem two. Problem two would be this problematic philosophy I have that we all consume too much stuff we don't need. Personally I attempt to look at lovely things and appreciate their beauty without seeking to posses it, because the drive to possess makes me less content with how abundantly my needs (and those of my child) are already met. Not that owning beautiful things is wrong, but that the value of that should be weighed against others.   

 But my brain does have some loopholes in the self restraint department. Big loopholes. Anything second hand doesn't count cause 'it's a bargain'. And even though it is a bit painful at the cash register and I do feel like I am exercising some restraint, when it comes to buying fabric or paper or beads I tend to be a bit of a...now how to put this...hoarder? And fabric or trims or doilys found in op shops?....my wallet never stood a chance!

Which brings me back to business. I'm currently in the position where, for the first time, I have time and head space to devote to creating things (because I'm not working), but no money to spend on creating things (because I'm not working!!!). Catch 22 anyone? And hence I have tentatively entered into the realm of business.

I hope to be able to share this creative and business journey openly and honestly with you, and maybe if you like what you see, and need it, or just feel like being a bit undisciplined you can pop over to my facebook site facebook.com/ricracandretro where I'm selling my things.  
 

The Blog Posts That Got Away

"Our life is frittered away by detail...simplify, simplify." - Henry David Thoreau

Recently my mind has been awash with creative intentions. Sometimes I wish I could switch my design mind off and just look at a piece of fabric and see a nice composition of colours, a vintage sheet and see an out dated piece of linen, a collection of jars and see a collection of jars, an old book and see a book. But these items just have a way of setting my design mind adrift and the compulsion to create and upcycle sets in. I can barely take breath between the waves of inspiration that seem to crash one on top of another and I end up lost in this ocean of intended projects. Recently I have been craving the solid, grounding feeling that comes from simply completing something.

Take this blog for example. In my mind I have written dozens of blog posts since I last actually posted.

There was the one about the joys of creating and receiving home made gifts.

Such as these cushions I made for my Mum for Christmas using iron on transfers and applique...

And my delight upon receiving these curtains she had made me in return...

There was the blog post about how to make your own luggage tags...

There was the 'How To Applique' blog post.

There was the posters I made blog post...

 

 

There was the hanging pictures and washi tape (read cheap electrical tape) hack blog post.

There was the post describing the vulnerability of trying to sell your hobby creations, there was the blog post outlining my new system for meal planning involving fun names to add structure to the week (Mince meat Monday, Tight Tuesday, Wok on Wednesday, Three Veg Thursday, Free-grain Friday, Stock up Saturday, Sort it out Sunday), there was the blog post about opportunity shopping, when I thought "she'll be right" and ended up with poo smeared all down the front of my white top, there was the blog post about how to turn a Little Golden Book into a decorative banner...

But have I written any of these blog posts? No. Rather than blogging I have been watching Munchkin Features learn to walk, saving her life a couple of times a week, launching my Facebook business, making new local friends, wiping sticky fingers, battling to get out the door on time, beginning to run a play group, learning how to share a car with Justice Boy (did I mention battling to get out the door on time?), op shopping, putting my name down for relief teaching at the local high school, and beginning a whole raft of creative projects.

Too many projects. Too many almost completed projects. And the problem with almost completed projects is that they kind of haunt me until they are done. And there are enough unfinished things around here to make my studio a pretty scary old room.

One solution might be to give up on the blogging and just focus on finishing things. The problem is I actually kind of love writing. So much so that when I got the opportunity this morning to drop off the Munchkin with her Babushka I thought I want to go to a cafe and WRITE! So here I am sitting in a café and I am writing. And I am sitting. And I am writing. And I am still sitting. And I haven't been interrupted. And I am still sitting. And I am still writing. And I have still not been interrupted. There is a certain joy at the simplicity of just doing this one thing at the one time rather than attempt to talk on the phone, pick up toys, find food for the child, and do pelvic floor exercises all at the same time.

And now I am going to sit here and do this...

I plan to blog again next Tuesday but hope to squeeze in another post on the above earrings before then. I couldn't stop myself making a whole bunch of these they are so simple.

Is there a blog post from the list of potential blog posts you would like to read?

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf said "women need money and a room of one's own". Without googling I'm pretty sure she was referring to an independent female domain where a woman could be free from the constraints of a patriarchal society. As for me I just want a space not dominated by toys where I will be free to create....money  wouldn't be bad either.

Over the last fortnight I have laboured establish a 'studio' (now that sounds a bit la-di-da doesn't it) which would be an inspiring and practical safe haven for all my creative pursuits.

My goals were to:

• Not spend too much money
• Organise my stash and supplies
• Create a space I would be happy to leave the door open on
• Not spend too much money

So my dream studio would be something like this...



Norske Interior Blogger

 

Or this...

Mlle Magpie 

I like the base of sleek white modern IKEA shelving combined with a few retro items in the first room and I like the rustic touches in the second room. And so long as we're in fantasy land throw in a huge light filled space, fat old wooden floorboards, a pendant light, some 1960's mod Danish furniture, some pastel pink and aqua and some contemporary geometric prints and the fantasy is complete.

1 - Studio on Tumbler

2 - Torie Jayne 'My Craft Room (insanely organised supplies)

3 - Bare Wunderbar (Danish blog)

 

But remember goal number 1? So I had to come up with a more prudent version. I did say it wasn't going to be a magazine makeover.

 

The transformation lead inevitably to the op shop I found a whole stash of tin garden pots. I also grabbed an old spice rack for organising supplies but ultimately I didn't use it, so it's still awaiting it's new lease on life. Then began a process of cleaning which was a little but like taking two steps forward and one step backward. I always seem to have to make mess in order to organise a mess. In fact in probably was more like two steps backwards for each forward because Munchkin Features kept invading to pull all the books I'd just shelved categorically out of the bookcase. But little by little I made progress in the organisation stakes. I did a lot of 'shopping my home' for things I could use as storage; tin cans, glass jars, a little crate, part of the old entertainment unit, some baskets, a vintage briefcase, a wire bin, a wooden box and a chair all found a new home and purpose in my new studio. But all that folding and piling and sorting so much STUFF drove me a bit insane and so even though it wasn't strictly necessary I picked up some pretty paper one weekend, and at a final op shop found another mini crate. The rest of my prettying up was either printed off the internet, came from elsewhere in the house, or I found in my stash like a few old calenders for some pics.

So here is my new CLEAN and ORGANISED studio!
 

 

 

 

 

 

I think my dresser is crying out for a makeover (like a creamy outside and pastel pink and mint on the shelves) but because we're going for "Perfectly Adequate Homes" rather than "Better Homes Than Yours (you better splash some cash and keep up)" I will leave said dresser as is.

 

So what did I spend? Other than hours staring at the mess in despair I spent cash on the following items:

 

5 tin containers @ $2 each = $10

Spice rack = $2

Vintage spool papers 2 @ $1.50 = $3

mini crate and ceramic pots = $2

Paper and ink for printing = no more than $2

And that's it! Everything else was either reused or recycled.So in total I still spend less than $20 and I really feel like I have a room I just want to escape into my imagination in. If anyone needs me I'll be in my studio.

 

The ripple effect living room restyle

Ok, so I know I said I was going to organise my office/craft room, but organisation tends to be a bit like a pebble dropped in a pond, it causes ripples to flow out from the point of impact. Organising one area tends to show up another which now looks positively squalid in comparison. Organising one area often leads to reclaimed space which may cry out for a piece of furniture or other items currently located elsewhere, which then in turn create new spaces that need your attention. Or, as was the case for me in the previous few days, organising one area requires the rehousing of certain items elsewhere. For me it was books.

The office/craft room (hmm, if you've got any catchy room name suggestions let me know) currently houses the majority of our books owing to the fact that Munchkin Features like to read, a lot. One of her favourite past times is pulling books of the shelves, reading them, and discarding them. Book, read, discard. Book, read, discard. So the process goes on until the shelf is almost bare and standing to pull more books off the shelf requires balancing on a rug of abandoned pages that have a way of slipping out from underneath you. Ergo the only books in the living room are her board books.

But if I am to effectively organise my craft I will need to reclaim some shelf space in the room, which is why some books had to go. My solution was to build a bookshelf in the living room from bits and pieces of furniture we had already. I LOVE this kind of redecorating. New look, new feel, new purpose without spending any money! I am so happy with how it turned out.

It started with this inspiration from pinterest:

Better Homes and Gardens

and this...

This is one of those images floating around pinterest and doesn't link to anything

I had a coffee table who's only current function was to hide the power cords and display a pot plant.

I had a old bench collected in council clean up years ago who's only current function was to have a hidden wasps nest underneath it...found that one out along the way!

I had an old crate I got for a few dollars at a garage sale years ago before I knew crates were trendy who's only function was for display

I had a little cheap pine IKEA bookcase/bedside table who's only current function was as a place for future organisation of craft or office supplies.   

Really all I did was pile them up and then add my books! I got my interior decorator on by laying a few books flat, grouping some similar colours and sizes together, adding a plant and a few ornaments and boom, bookcase! Maybe one day I'll paint and distress the new IKEA shelf, but for now I'm more than content.





Unfortunately Munchkin Features thought it looked pretty good for climbing, her newest skill, so I had to move the suitcases she's sitting on (they do look a lot like stairs I guess). However, because of the depth of the coffee table her access to the books is somewhat restricted. She has had one go in the last few days, but nothing in comparison to letting her loose on a regular bookcase. Oh I realise I did buy something new, that little wooden plane I found for $2 at Vinnies. Ornament for me or toy for Munchy...only time will tell. 

Anyway, after I built the bookcase on one side I felt like the room needed some balancing out in height. So I brought in a ladder from outside (it came from the same garage sale as the crate) to add height and use as a magazine rack. Saw one of these once in a funky cafe on Derby St in Newcastle and mentally filed it away...see not all my ideas come from Pinterest!

 

I really love the new height and warmth and texture to the wall created by the rustic touches.

And while I was in the organising mode I decided to tackle our collection of technological items. Munchkin Features has a way of sniffing out all things technological and I am forever fishing my phone out from behind cushions on the lounge where it has been stashed out of sight, or confiscating the tablet that was left with reach on one of the coffee tables. I saw this toolbox conversion and thought it was one of the best ideas I'd seen in a looooong time.

Better Homes and Garden

And thus my new crate found its purpose (I knew I would find a worthwhile use for it!). 

It simultaneously organises and hides the cords as well as creating a safe place to leave technological bits and pieces.

And with tangent No. 1 completed I have resumed organisation of the office/craft room. Today I wound all my bias binding and elastic and ric-rac and other trims around pieces of cardboard and put them in a shoe box while Munchkin pulled as many books as she could off the freshly organised bookcase in the office, reinforcing my belief that I need to organise me a child free space!

What about you? Do you find organisation has a ripple effect? Or do you have any nifty solutions for organising the charging of your technology? 

A time for organisation

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time for covering every surface of your home with craft supplies, and a time to organise all those little bits and pieces into pretty little homes of their own"

Ecclesiastes 3 NSV (New Sarah's Version)

Last week I was house and pet sitting for my parents who live just a few minutes away. This meant I had the luxury of doing my crafty projects at home during the day during while Munchkin Features napped and then leaving everything and returning to a house unsullied by the paper and fabric scraps peppering the carpet, the stray scissors posing a serious safety risk to my child, the fabric pieces strewn about the living room after they were used for an impromptu game of peekaboo, and most of all the dining table. With the little plastic bowls filled with discarded cherry tomato skins* nestled in among plastic bags bulging with fabric, hastily scrunched and stashed to avoid the curiosity of  Muchkin's jam hands, the shoe boxes spewing pretty paper pieces, the colourful cloud  garland discarded from the weekend's party, the sewing machine, the pin cushion devoid of pins which instead are dotted in and amongst the mess, the table looked more like a tip site than a work surface. In fact, you couldn't even see the surface. Needless to say when we returned home on the weekend the scale of cleaning seemed overwhelming. I tried to explain the injustice of the situation to Justice Boy, "the amount of cleaning here is absurd, honestly I did spend most of my time on your child last week; packing away the books, the toys, the clothes, wiping sticky gross stuff off clothes, and faces, and hands, and bottoms, preparing wonderful nutritious meals for her to turn her nose up at and fleck about the room...I even vacuumed!"

It was concluded that sewing and craft projects really did need to take place somewhere other than the dining table and so this week I'm attacking the office/craft room. I'm not going to take a before shot, or even write a before description because that would be just a little bit embarrassing. The room has never really been properly unpacked since the move two months ago, it's the kind of room where the door gets shut if you have guests over, and if for some reason someone does need to enter the space you just hope they don't open any of the cupboard doors. I hope you know the type, I'm sure we're not the only ones.

Even though I know this kind of room is probably completely normal, the problem is it doesn't exactly invite creativity or productivity, you only need to enter the space and your brain feels foggy. So over the next week or two I will attempt to organise the craft room (insert ominous music here).

It's not going to be a magazine space, I'm not going to spend any more money than I have to to get things practically organised...but if I can pretty it up a bit with things from my stash I will be a happy woman.

*Muchkin is causing serious headaches about eating at the moment, a normal phase that I hope will pass quickly before I succumb and her diet consists entirely of yogurt, crackers and blueberries (she's lucky they are a super food!).

DIY Post Box Toy

I don't need to read parenting books to work out Munchkin Features has reached the age where she loves 'posting' things, all I have to do is open my mouth while she's eating and see her delight when she pops a grape or blueberry or pre-masticated piece of cheese on toast in my trap. 

For a while I've been meaning to create a shape sorter posting toy using a box and our blocks, mostly because all the shape sorters at the op shops are missing too many shapes. I very rarely buy new-in-their-box toys, come to think of it, I think I have only bought her three new toys since she was born: Sophie the Giraffe, a 'teaching clock' and set of blocks in a trolley. Even though she is a well-designed toy, the giraffe was probably was me succumbing to kiddy consumerism; all the babies have a 'Sophie' and you begin to feel a little odd without one. The clock and blocks are both nice wooden Pintoy toys I got on Brands Exclusive when she was still too young to play with toys. Again they are lovely, durable toys with good play longevity (the 8 year old nephew quite liked playing with the clock and the blocks too) BUT I think I was probably suckered in by the sale. I love seeing my child react to new toys as much as any parent, but I prefer to source them from op shops, garage sales, council clean ups and the odd gift from friends or family. (I'm sure ebay, gumtree and freecycle would be great too!)

Anyway looking at the boxes I had available I couldn't help but notice that the handle holes looked like little post box flaps and so I had some fun creating this little letter box!

A few days later and Munchkin Features is still happily entertained a few times a day by her post box!

Here's how to make your own. Great for ages 1+ as once they've mastered posting, they can then move on to imaginative play. Or what about writing letters to your littlie as they are learning to read so they can discover them in the morning, or when they get home from school?

You will need:

• 1 study box, preferably with handle holes.
• masking tape
• stanley knife/box cutter
• a roll of wrapping paper
• a roll of clear contact
• sharpie
• something to decorate your box with like alphabet paper
• old pill boxes that fit through the hole
• brown craft paper




Step 1: Using the picture as a guide mark an ark on each end of the box around the handle, and along the sides of the box from the bottom of the ark at each end. (Mine is a bulk buy nappy wipes box)

Step 2: Cut out the section of the box you have marked above the ark on each end. (leave the sides)

Step 3: Fold the cardboard along the lines you've drawn on the side of the box so that the meet the ark, overlapping in the middle at the top. Use masking tape to keep it in place..I used quite a bit.

 

Step 4: Cut a flap...my box had a ready made guide.

Step 5: Cover the middle of the box in wrapping, some nice fire engine red would be great! I only han polkadots so that's what I used! I jazzed it up by spelling out 'POST' with alphabet wrapping paper. I also think it'd look great with a red base and jazzed up with vintage postcards and air mail envelopes! I then covered it with clear contact. You could always just use contact. 

Step 6: Trace end shape onto wrapping and mark and cut out handles and flap. Cover ends with paper and contact. (Because my contact was old and not too sticky I added some clear tape to the edges to improve the seal)

Oops, ran out of wrapping...better make a 'feature side'

Step 7: Using the off-cuts of cardboard, and some paracetamol boxes wrapped in craft paper, I drew up some letters and parcels addressed to various Playschool, nursery rhyme, and children's song characters. I love having fun with this stuff, for example:

Mr Grey Elephant

One Balancing Place

String City

1234 

And voila. A post box posting toy that I created from things I had lying around!

And I think Munchkin enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it for her!