One Hour Craft

I have come off the year-long adreline high I have been on and after falling into a slight heap  (only slight as I am still working full-time, single mothering, running a household, running a website, caring for two animals and maintaining a social life) I am feeling back to normal.  Well, that is if you consider dancing around the house at ten o’clock at night to Amy Winehouse and talking in my best cockney accent - normal???  Tried to make me go to rehab but I said No NO NO!!  I remember checking a few times to make sure there were no gaps in the curtains.  It is a fear of mine that neighbours will see my odd antics on occasions and think I am really a cup full of crazy!!

Anyway, that is normal for me!  And I have noticed I am happily forgetting things again, being slack, driving slowly, whistling loudly, humming, flicking through magazines, snuggling into my bed early at night with a good book and - yes - relaxing….I remember wondering a month ago if I had forgotten the art of the great relax forever or if I would rediscover it. 

And there’s been good food too.   I am the clever and conscientious mama who went to the markets last week and bought five boxes of fruit and veg (yeah, halves is for wimps).  I made a sweet potato soup, roast chicken dinner, beef bourgignon.  What a lovely week of cooking.  Wait, that’s not all … Cleaning too.   My house had been taken over by craft stuff.  The lounge was jammed with fabrics and sewing things, the dining room was no longer a place to eat but packed with everything for making anything - paper clay, hot glue guns, beads, silver wire, sewing machine.  My sewing room was filled with so much it was hard to make it to the computer.  I can now proudly say that, once again, and much to my little family’s relief, we now live in a home again and not a sewing, jewellery studio.

Did I ever tell you that I am a project person?  For me everything needs to be a project.  Mundane every day things are a little harder but when something is a project I work like a Trojan to get it done.  Packed away.  Finished. 

*Slapping my hands together*  The relaxation project is finished, the house project is done, the reconnecting with the people I love project is still underway — and what next.  I am really keen to work with other crafty people on the Net at this point.  I feel the desire for connection, for collaboration.   So, I have been talking to the lovely Rachael, and some others to see what I can come up with..

Will keep you posted….

Mia

xxx

I sometimes wonder what I am at the moment.  Am I an artist,  designer, writer, jeweller, textile artist?   I suppose the best title I can come up with is a creative entrepreneur.  I am someone who is trying to make creativity a career. 

There is a huge jump between having a creative hobby and then making it a source of income, and desperately trying to build it into a money maker.  The biggest difference for me, is the fun factor.  When making for fun, I often create on a whim.  When the idea hits me I will sit down, draw a few sketches and then make a prototype or two.  Or three.   There is no rush and no stress involved.

But if I need to make something to a deadline or write an article with a nearing deadline, often the fun factor just disappears.  It is replaced with perfectionism and a drive to succeed.  If I am working to a looming deadline, I become a little growly (my man might say more than a little) and expect those helping me to be on the same plane and work at the same gruelling, manic pace.  My inner critic goes to work overtime.

I remember seeing a documentary about extraordinary Australian fashion designer Collette Dinnigan and her first show in Paris.  In much of the footage, she was backstage yelling at people, throwing her arms in the air.  I felt for her.  I felt for all that she was putting into it, and all that she was wanting back.  I understood the passion and the pain.  I understood the need to ‘make it’, to prove that she would be able to get her label onto the world stage. 

This frustration level I feel, the lack of sleep it causes me, the nail-biting and the intense pace I need to work at, sometimes makes me to think, “what the heck am I doing, why don’t I just go back to making cushions for my couch or writing a poem for my own enjoyment?”

The one thing that really keeps me going during times of frustration, guilt and doubt is a total belief that I was put on this earth to create, to write, to design, to make things.  When I look through my crystal ball, this is where I see my future.

My goal is to make a VERY good living, being creative and sharing that with others in many ways.   But I am definitely in a place where I am working out how to better channel the stress of creating for money, how to minimise the impact on my family and how to know when to take time off for me.  I need more lessons in saying No, asking for help and chilling out.

When all is said and done, I would rather be a creative entrepreneur than anything else in the world.  And I suppose it takes that sort of passion to keep you going, really.

(Ahem - At this point I would ask for thoughts and comments but my comments won’t be up and running until my site re-launch.  In the meantime I am really loving your emails.  Thanks so much!)

Mia

xxx

After having nearly completed one of my life’s dreams, I have spent the last week thinking about what the next dream is and about dreams in general.

I haven’t come up with which dream to turn into a goal next but I have had some insight in the past year into realising dreams and the reality of them.

I have learnt…..
Dreams change as your life changes and it is sometimes a really great experience to let some go. It can free you up for new dreams or even for new experiences in life.
Dreams can cost a lot to fulfil. Sometimes the cost can be too high. If the cost for your dreams is letting go of a relationship that is important to you, this may be too high?
Some dreams are better left as dreams and not fulfilled. The daydream is sometimes better and more fulfilling than the reality of them.
Dreams are vital to our life, fulfilling them is not necessarily vital to our wellbeing.
We shouldn’t be a slave to our dreams. Life is about living. The joy will always be in the small moments. The most happiness is found in a big hug from a little child, a kind word from a parent, a great tasting chocolate muffin, a big bowl of stew on a cold winter’s night.
Dreams are free and plentiful and lovely and luxurious and they can never be taken from you…

Well, all this pondering about dreams aside, I still feel like a little girl with big dreams. My dreams have always been much bigger than me. They are vivid, bold, way beyond me, lively, happy - and I wonder which to go for next?

Mia

PS I have so many posts that I have never published, the next few weeks will be filled with a huge backlog of these posts. I hope you enjoy them.

xxx

I love the little paper Kelly handbags from Hermes!  Visit their site to download these for free.  We have a birthday in a few months and I am definitely going to make these for the lolly bags.  So cute.   Nice to see that even the fashion houses understand the power of giving something away for free.  One of the many things I love about the Internet – the freebie. 

And, hello everyone.  Yes.  We are officially back in action.  With lots of lovely treats and projects coming your way.  We will be getting the monthly craft challenge back on track and plenty more.  There will be a site relaunch in July.  So happy to have the free time to re-connect with you all.  Thanks for the well wishes while we were so busy! 

Miaxx 

I am sprinting… towards the finish line.

I have been working on a massive project for a year now.  It has been a time for me of such ups and downs.  Some days I am so happy with my progress and feel on top of the world.  Other days I doubt my ability to accomplish anything and think I am completely kidding myself trying to take on the impossible.

But now with less than a month before the final deadline, it is so exciting.  I feel a little like a marathon runner who has a second wind towards the finish line.  I feel a little exhilerated, a little tired and quite apprehensive about all the possibilities.

I am also looking forward to having a little time to breathe, to relaunch this site, to make some things, to hang out with the little one and the tall one, to go on a holiday (a novel idea around here at the moment).

And it won’t be long until I just get to the point where I spill the beans and tell you all what on earth I am talking about!

Hope you are fine!

Mia

xx

PS This has been my roundabout way of letting you know that posting will be sporadic for the next month.  Sorry.

 Here at OHC (I know it sounds like some weird disease, maybe it is???) headquarters we have had the most heart-wrenching, gut-twisting week in a long, long time.

Our beloved cat, our big fluffy boy (as we always called him) and lover of all things crafty - well all things material and snuggly, had to be put down. He had urinary tract disease and his kidneys packed in. So, on Thursday I had to make the decision to get him put to sleep.

My heart goes out mainly to the crafty kid who inspires me - my eight year old, Millie. Luciano was more like a sibling to my only child. He was used to being dressed up in all range of clothes, hugged far too long each day, brushed when he hated it and basically over-pampered.

 Mia

PS It may be way too soon but we have found another fluffy boy who comes home to look after us on Monday.  Tomorrow will be spent getting ready for him and making him a very glamourous collar (will be sure to post photos).

Have you ever had a hand towel in your kitchen - so you can wipe those grotty hands on a towel rather than on the teatowel?!?  Great idea hey.  Here I will show you how to edge towels and add a loop for hanging them.  These can also be used in the bathroom.

What you will need to do this project: a fabric cutting matt, a rotary cutter, a ruler, a fabric pen or pencil, pins, scissors, fabric, a hand towel (or towelling from a fabric shop), and a sewing machine. 

The towels are edged with home-made bias tape.  Why use the sad range of polycotton bias tape that you can buy out there (that balls up quickly and looks dreadful) when you can make your own out of any pretty or groovy fabric you like?  I found fabulous instructions by Shelley Rodgers here http://pir8.freeservers.com/quilting/CBT to make continuous bias tape.  Thankyou!  These instructions are very similar to the way my dear mother taught me how to make bias tape.

Step 1 

I made my bias tape super wide for effect.  I cut it out 2.5 inches (6cm) wide.  (After sewing it onto the towel it was super wide on the front and thinner on the back of the towel).

Step 2 

After making the bias tape, I simply sewed one edge of the tape onto the back side of the towel (right sides together for tape and towel) with a straight stitch. 

 Step 3

I then folded the other raw edge of the bias tape over slightly and ironed it flat.

Step 4

The next step is to fold the bias tape over the towel edge (and iron if you like) and sew into place as shown.

Step 5

To do the corners I simply cut the bias tape 1 inch longer than needed and folded it in and continued stitching.  In the finished project you can see how I just overlapped the fabric at the corners.

To make a loop to hang the towel onto a cupboard handle or hook you can use tape or ribbon of any sort.  I used some spare bias tape, folded it in half with the right sides together and sewed along the edge making it as wide as you like, then turned it inside out (right sides up), zigzag stitched the raw ends and sewed it onto the wrong side of the towel in the middle of the long edge of the towel at the very edge. 

And here you have 2 designer hand towels!

These towels were made as a gift to coordinate with a specific kitchen.  Imagine the amazing fabrics you could use to make some groovy towels to match your space  …  Go on, go ahead and make one.

Em xx

I have had the travel bug for a long time now. Well, a lifetime to be exact. I also made a promise to myself that I would go away for the next Christmas holidays.

I decided the other night that Millie and I will go to the USA at the end of the year (Mid-December 2008 - End of January 2009) (our summer, your winter). Seven weeks in all.

Yes, of course I will be taking my little sidekick, the delightful and amazing Millie. Having lived in the USA for a few years and travelled there a LOT of times, it is a comfortable and familiar place for me to take my little one. Our last trip there, Millie was only three, so it is definitely time to return.

Now, I have an even better idea. Why not visit as many crafty bloggers as I can and get to know these gorgeous ladies in person?

I am also looking to see great arty, crafty happenings, go on some hikes and maybe even a little skiing.

Having just made this decision the other night there are several questions which run through my mind like, “how the heck will I afford this vacation?”, “how will I do it so that I feel safe traveling just myself and a little girl?” and “what will I do for Christmas?”

Can I please have any ideas you can share. Can you please suggest anything that comes to mind, great hotels to stay in, great packages, art-craft related things I should not miss, wonderful places to see. Since my silly comments are only working for some, please email me at mariabinns@hotmail.com.

I would like information on craft fairs at that time, things I really should not miss, offers of a meal or a meet-up in your city and basically anything you can think of really.

So, far things on the list are; taking Millie to Disneyworld (no way I would get away with not taking her), going to visit an old friend in Washington DC, going to San Francisco, a trip back to Boston (where I used to live) (oh and Filene’s basement I still love and miss you after all these years), a trip to Whidbey Island in Washington State where my family lived for a short time when I was ten. New York with a little girl? I think I will because I am more than keen to meet up with Ismoyo.

I am planning to make a video journal of the trip and take loads of photos to share on this blog.

But for now. Ideas?

Thanks
Mia

We know a creative girl who is one to keep your eye on!  We thought we’d let you in on the secret…

*drum roll* Presenting … Rachael Barkess - the extremely talented artist / designer of rubbergob.  Rachael designs funky, unique and beautiful cards and prints.  Some of our favourite designs are the owl above, and the gorgeous kids prints - ‘kissing scooters’ and ’blue robot’ (and if that isn’t cool enough - check out the ‘pink robot’!).

You can read about her creative ways at her blog.  And you can peruse and even buy some gorgeous rubbergob stuff from rubbergob.com.au or the rubbergob ‘etsy’ store.

For those of you in Perth, you can meet Rachael (& Janine her business partner) at Unwrapped this Sunday.  This site has cards by rubbergob can be seen on this web page - blue teapot “potty” card and red forks “fork you” card . 

This will be an exciting event to see designers in Perth selling their wares.  It is located at Mends Street in South Perth from 2-7pm this Sunday the 16th of March. 

You can also find Rachael illustrating occasionally at industryinquietplaces.blogspot.com/

Inspiring!

So, maybe we will see some of you wandering around at Unwrapped.  Please come and say hello to us if you see me or Mia!

Em

PS Thanks to all those who have given us great feedback on our thong pattern (more about that later). And Mia has gorgeous Easter links coming….