Coming out of hybernation

That's where I'm at right now.  I don't know why but I just don't cope well with winter.  Even up here in Sunny Queensland where the winter days are usually beautiful and sunny, the nights are freezing where I live and it's at night when I do most of my computer stuff..when the kiddies are fast asleep.  And I just generally feel like crap during Winter.  I've often though how cool it would be to be able to hybernate and just miss the whole thing!

So anyway this is just a super quick post to get me back into the swing of things.  Here's a couple of my latest creations

Ok, promise I'll be back before Christmas haha xox

Going Green

Yes that's right.  I've been reading a fabulous book that popped out at my when I was at the library the other week called 'Confessions of an Eco-shopper' by Kate Lock (her blog here) and her website for updates since the book was published www.ecosmartshopper.co.uk

So anyway, I always thought I was doing a pretty good job in doing my part for the environment.  I don't buy new clothes (except bras and undies), I rarely buy new shoes for myself and I always try and find any other item that i'm after from an op shop, flea market or the lovely handmade markets and online stores (etsy, madeit) before I venture into the 'new product' shops.  I use Earth Choice dishwashing liquid and laundry detergent (when I'm not making my own fro Soak flakes and Washing soda), I also recycle everything I can and try and buy items with minimal packaging.  With this in mind I thought I was doing a pretty good job, but after reading this book I realise I'm barely scratching the surface!  Am I down in the dumps about this realisation?  NO WAY, I'm totally, TOTALLY excited about all the changes I plan on making to REALLY make a big fat effort to reduce my environmental footprint.  And the beauty of reducing your environmental footprint is it not only helps the planet but it will also help my hip pocket...eventually.  Granted, there will be a few cost increases like my new Organics Fruit and Veg box I'm having delivered, and the Bokashi bin I plan on purchasing, but in the long run, I'll be reducing the amount of products I need to buy so it'll all work out.
And it's going to be a heap of fun (and at some stages really hard I'm sure) figuring out how to do everything and find all the good stuff out there that is actually contributing in a positive way to the state of the earth instead of a negative way.

So if you're up for it, I'd love to have you come along for the ride...or just watch me and have a laugh and hopefully learn a thing or two along the way.

STEP 1 to greener living:


Find good food to buy and grow my own
GROWING:
I'm so NOT a green thumb but after Lilly (my 4yr old) came home from kindy a few weeks ago with a tomato plant seedling in celebration of earth day, I rolled my eyes and promised her teacher I'd do my best to keep it alive...but warned her it would be unlikely since I can't even keep parsley or basil alive for craps sake! 
BUT 3 weeks on and it's still flourishing (so is my most recently purchased basil seedling shock horror).  So there is hope, and being inspired by the continued life of the plants we went out and got ourselves some seeds last week.  So far only the broccoli has germinated (is that the right word? maybe it's sprouted??) so I'd love to know any tips on getting the beetroot, spinach and lettuce to sprout/germinate/whatever.  We are talking nice to them everyday because I told my girls that will help them grow...fingers crossed.

BUYING:
I've bitten the bullet and ordered my very first organic fruit and veg box.  They also do meat so I got some drumsticks and kababs (about all my children will eat apart from sausages and chicken nuggets when it comes to meat).  The cost is obviously higher than green grocers or supermarket but how wonderful it will be to not need to block out of my brain the whole pesticide concern, which let's face it, we all do block it out of our brains don't we?  It's not something you really want to be thinking about when you're dishing up dinner..just one more thing to add to the list of maternal guilt. The other bonus is that it's delivered.  Delivered groceries = not having to take children out to supermarket where they turn into horrible little monsters and make all those 'too old to remember that their kids were naughty too' shoppers and the 'I don't have children but I will NEVER let my kids behave like yours' shoppers give me all their loving, understanding, 'we know how hard it is', community spirited death glares!  Ahhh, I'll sleep well tonight :)

Sunday Flea Market Finds

Well I actually held a stall at the local flea market today and although I was very well behaved and didn't spend all my profits I did pick up this little cutie

It's a lovely old ceramic butter dish from Norway.  I stumbled across this at just the right time because I've recently decided not to have margarine in my house any more after watching a story on the destruction of natural forests in Borneo to make way for Palm Oil plantations (palm oil is widely used in margarine and many other food and household products) and is greatly threatening the Orangutan population.  Check out the story here   So I'll need to have a fresh supply of butter softened in the mornings for breaky...don't you just hate rock hard butter!


My other two magnificent finds for the weekend were from a little garage sale just around the corner from my place.  I could not believe my luck when I stumbled upon these two glorious finds!

Gorgeous full length mirror $5!!!

 

Equally gorgeous buffet (to match my other two hehe) $10!!!

I can't believe how lucky I was to pick these up and in fabbo condition as well.  Gotta love a good garage sale.

For more great flea market finds visit Her Library Adventures

Sunday Flea Market Finds

Last month I found this cool blog that has a 'Sunday Flea market finds' post each week and bloggers from all over the place can post a link to their own Flea Market Finds.  As you probably know I'm some what in love with obsessed with op shops and flea markets and although I am on a very tight budget at the moment I had $15 pocket money to play with this morning so I took myself down to the Ipswich Sunday Markets at the Ipswich Showgrounds.


This is what I left with...and I had to restrain myself because there was one stall I could have spend about $100 at!  Total cost of the below items was $12.  Don't you just love flea markets!!!

I really should take some extra special photos of that Jug.  Oh my god I'm in love with it!!!

Another new addition to my house is this GORGEOUS buffet that my lovely friend gave me this week.  How cool is it?  It makes me happy everytime I walk in the door and it matches perfectly with my large buffet.  Thanks Krissy!  (oh and pssst, she got it from a cool new second hand shop in Mining Street Bundamba for $15)

Mathilda's Market Wrap Up

So yesterday I did my first Mathilda's Market at Eagle Farm Racecourse.  It was a good day overall.  I didn't sell anywhere near as much as I needed to to cover the cost of the stall which is rather high compared to other Handmade markets, and frankly it is very disappointing that they promote the market as 'Handmade or Small Production Line' when you see mass produced COMMERCIAL products for sale.  $220 for a stall to someone who just purchases their products from a wholesaler is an awesome deal for a market, but when you're sitting there making everything you sell it's a lot of money. 

I did sell out of my little Butterfly canvases and sold quite a few crafty packs so if I had of had heaps more of those I probably would have done better sales wise.  At the end of the day though I still chalk it up as a good experience, I've done it now so I won't need to wonder how my stall would do there.  I'm thinking I'll just stick with the trusty BrisStyle Markets in future as I did really well at the first one of those.  And there's quite a few exciting markets coming up in the BrisStyle line up! 

Here are a few piccies from yesterday's market...sorry for the blur, I was in a rush to get my photos taken before the crowds came in.

Screen Printing anyone?

That's exactly what I got to see on Sunday.  I took the girls to the Thea & Sami Open Studio Day where we were lucky enough to not only have a good chat with Thea and her partner Voyt, but also to see them screen printing a brand new fabric design.  It was such a great experience and my little ladies where thoroughly impressed.  Emma even took a notebook so she could write down the proceedures of screen printing.  We bought a little screen so will have a bit of a play ourselves when I buy some ink.

Here are some piccies from the day

Emma - deep in thought about the process of screen printing and eagerly awaiting the live demo

Meg - LOVING the orange fizzy drink Thea kindly supplied, and making herself right at home -shoes off

Lilly insisted I add this photo of me that she took....oh lord do I really look like that???

 

Mmmmm pretty fabric

let the printing begin....look at this muscley lady will you?  Go Thea!!

the screen has to be in PERFECT position or else... then they put the white ink down one end of the screen

 gotta love teamwork

 voula! Beautiful fabric

some of gorgeous products made with their gorgeous fabrics.  You can buy the fabric itself or the finished products over at www.thea-sami.com.au

note to self - orange fizzy drink makes small people a little crazy, especially when out in public

It's ok, they didn't go toooo crazy, and I managed to keep them from spilling anything on all that beautiful fabric so it's all good :)

A Fabulous Easter weekend!

Did we go anywhere? No

Did we have a great time? YES

Firstly, here's just a little sneak peak at some of the canvases I made over the weekend in preperation for the mamoth marketeering I'll be doing in the next few weeks.  Firstly I've got Mathilda's Market in Ascot on the 17th of this month, then we've got the first every BrisStyle Twilight Market at King George Square in the city Friday 30th April 5-9pm, and if that wasn't enough, the following week we've got the first BrisStyle Mother and Child Market on Saturday 8th May at Hamilton.

 Still lots more making to be done but at least i've started!

I picked the girls up Sunday morning from Kevin's because they spent the weekend with him.  And from then until last night we were busy with lots of crafty projects and other things.  It was so nice to spend quality time with my girls.  Not having to be anywhere or do anything, just sit and play.
Here are some piccies from our lovely Easter weekend.

 Meggie was more interested in eating everyone's chocolate than making stuff.  Although she did take a fancy to the small butterfly punch.  We had tiny butterflies all over the place!

Here's Lilly's before photo (we didn't get to an after photo...sorry)

Emma's masterpiece here is a Birthday card for her little friend India (who's birthday was about two months ago..better late than never hey)  The picture is suposed to be her face...can you tell?

what our lounge room floor looked like for two days!!!  It's nice and clean again now thank god!

This is how we finished our Easter weekend last night

YUM

see ya