taking stock no.2

Here we go again …

Making :
 my February significant something project
Cooking : 
food my kids will eat and much basil pesto (lots of basil pesto)
Drinking :
 freshly made juices everyday (thanks Kemi) oh and coffee
Reading :
 still goldfinch and latest collective magazine
Wanting :
 a weekend away (with no kids)
Looking :
 at my whiteboard full of ideas
Playing : 
on the kids trampoline (a lot)
Deciding :
 about an overseas holiday later in the year
Wishing :
 there weren’t so many pleats in my sons school uniform (I hate ironing)
Enjoying :
 eating tomatoes freshly picked
Waiting :
 for my latest ebay purchases to arrive
Liking :
 that tomorrow is Friday
Wondering :
 how I became a full time mum-taxi
Loving :
 my hot pink letterbox
Pondering :
 holding an exhibition this year
Considering :
 planting an asparagus patch
Watching :
 winter olympics (and wishing I was at the snow)
Hoping :
 for rain, lots of rain
Marvelling :
 how lucky moments pop up and surprise me
Needing :
 still a massage
Smelling : 
an unidentified odour wafting in the house each evening
Wearing :
 my new op shop purchases
Following :
 all the aussies competing at the olympics
Noticing :
 how my chooks know there are new lettuces planted
Knowing :
 I am not taking enough ‘me’ time
Thinking : 
how pleased I am our son enjoys school
Feeling : 
a little torn
Admiring :
 doers
Sorting :
 through my huge holiday magazine pile
Buying : 
op shop goodies and some vintage fabric on ebay
Getting :
 into raw food a little more
Bookmarking :
 megan mortons bits and bobs
Disliking : 
expectations
Opening :
 new packet of coffee (of that smell)
Giggling :
 at my daughters reasoning
Feeling :
 a little bamboozled
Snacking :
 on soya chips
Coveting :
 a pair of winter boots a friend bought overseas
Wishing : 
I could go overseas to buy the same boots
Helping :
 my son with reading homework
Hearing : my chickens fight over a snail

what are you up to this month?

learning journey

Last year I unintentionally embarked on a bit of a learning journey (I have mentioned it here and here and here). I’m not sure why but there has been many benefits the most of which is realising that I really really really like learning.

I thought I would have a break this year but a month in and the journey has continued. Right at this moment I am completing a skillshare course in establishing a new business the right way, Kemi Nekvapil’s Raw Beauty 30 Day Self Love Experience, working through an e-course on how to Write and Sell Your Damn Book! by Paul Jarvis, preparing for Interwoven in March and finishing off watching (again) some the Big Hearted Business 2013 online conference.

Phew! Sounds busy hey.

Having realised how much I like learning I am now struggling with what to do with all these new things? Do I actually need to do anything? Is just doing it because I like it enough? Should I have a bigger picture plan? Should I … should I … should I …

Truth is I don’t really want to have a plan. Completing these courses is very satisfying. Satisfaction drives a tonne of other things for me many of which are creative-based and as a designer what more could I want? Enjoy!

something significant – feb13

Well here we go…

A few weeks ago, thanks to a little push from my Blogging with Pip buddies, I decided to undertake a ‘making’ project each month. What will I make? Something significant of course!

So first up is this funky little skirt from sewcountrychick. I like it because there are lots of piccies that I am sure I will be referring to frequently and the instructions make sense to the non-sewer that I am. And the main reason I chose this is because my Little Miss 3-year-old saw it and promptly announced ‘I would look funky in that mum’.

If you would like to keep an eye on my progress (and possible tantrums as I do tend to be a perfectionist with these type of things) follow me on Instagram (@stuffbyrenee or #significant something). I’ll be sure to show you the fruits of my labour at the end of the month here on the blog. Wish me luck!

my year of ethical fashion

It has been a month since I took the Year of Ethical Fashion pledge and I have had some serious moments where I really thought that this would be something that I would not be able to do.

But alas, I feel more empowered to succeed than I thought I ever would.

A few of my fears and concerns are on my Year of Ethical Fashion page here – but essentially the reason that I have decided to do this is really just to give me a kick up the butt to finally learn how the sew but to also force me to stop and consider what and why I need things and whether these reasons are really justifiable?

school starts

Last week there was a huge and exciting event in household – first day of school!

It seemed quite weird how excited everybody was, not just Mr 5 (who had tried his uniform on 39 times in the few days before he started) but myself and hubby were just as pumped about him starting.

It was like Christmas Eve and New Years all tied into one, I couldn’t sleep with anticipation. The morning before we left was smooth sailing and little man taught me a thing or two about staying cool, calm and collected.

Arriving at school we quickly touched base with his teacher, identified where his desk would be, had a quick run-down of the morning routine, stayed for a quick welcome assembly and then he was off without so much as ‘seeya mum’ (although we did get a sneaky thumbs-up when he spotted us peeking in the window).

Some mums and dads were a little weepy, some strategically wearing rather large sunglasses but I was insanely excited and filled with happiness that our little man was embarking on this huge chapter in his life with the laid-back casualness he takes on most ‘big’ things. Let’s just hope it lasts!

taking stock

This is the first time I have posted a ‘taking stock’ post. I read foxs lane and meet me at mikes ‘taking stock’ posts regularly and always think what a great way to encapsulate exactly where you are right this second. So here goes:

Making : patches with embroidered patterns
Cooking : anything with the vegies I am harvesting from our vegie patch
Drinking : coffee, always coffee
Reading : goldfinch and attempting to tackle my inspiration pile
Wanting : an ethically created pair of winter boots
Looking : at paint colour charts
Playing : snap with my kids
Deciding : about a trip to vegas, mexico and new york
Wishing : there was a fresh cup of coffee right here right  now
Enjoying : the smell of rain
Liking : my new watch
Wondering : if my tomatoes will ripen before it gets cold
Loving : hearing about the safe arrival of &kathleen’s baby boy (total warrior mama!)
Considering : opening a studio
Watching : movies from the 90s
Hoping : hubby gets the deck painted before the weekend
Marvelling : how kids can be best friends then worst enemies within minutes
Needing : a massage
Smelling : roses outside my bedroom window
Wearing : colourful combinations
Noticing : how much I appreciate feeling organised
Knowing : that I need to kick my butt into gear and get a couple of projects finished
Thinking : about how much is too much to undertake
Feeling : calm
Admiring : this list is so long
Sorting : school uniforms
Buying : milk, so much milk
Getting : excited about undertaking interwoven in march
Bookmarking : anything to assist my something significant plans for 2014
Disliking : people who choose to focus on the negative potential of a situation
Opening : any pic or link or post that shows me snow!
Giggling : always giggling at my kids
Feeling : happy about being busy

Enjoy!

a cup of tea with me

Over the last few months I have been enjoying the complete delight that is Pip Lincolne through her course Blog with Pip (I’ll write a little more later on). Today is the “official” last day – yes I am sad but mostly I have butterflies. Excited butterflies.

So to go out with a flutter, students have been invited to pour a cup of tea (actually I dread to think how many cups have been consumed during this course) and share a little about ourselves. So here is my interview with me:

What I do on a daily basis
Design (graphic/print), make, create, dream, be a wife/mother/friend and drink copious amounts of coffee.

Favourite things to do
Same as above.

Favourite place to be
Anywhere where I am experiencing something new or loved – usually at home or near the ocean.

Favourite things to eat/drink
Coffee, wine, coffee, bubbles, coffee, tea (and if my beautician is reading this lots of water, lots!) – oops I forgot food.

Favourite inspirations
Seeing/reading/learning about people who are doing what they are passionate about.

Something I want to know more about
There is not enough time or space to deal with this list here.

Some favourite blogs
&kathleen,  the red thread blog, poppytalk, style by emily henderson, oh joy, plus all my new blogging mates from the course with Pip (check out their links here) and last but not least meetmeatmikes. Enjoy!

introducing something significant

Last week I caught up with the lovely ladies that I have been completing the Blogging with Pip course with for an online chat. As usual there were a tonne of ideas shared, tea drunk and feedback given.

Following a question posed about whether anyone is or will be considering writing posts based around a daily/weekly/monthly type projects, I piped up and mentioned that I was hoping I could make a ‘significant something’ each month that forces me to brush up on skills I have lost or new skills I want to learn, especially in support of my ethical fashion pledge for 2014 (more on that later).

And so here it is – a significant something will start in February!

At the start of the month I will talk about what it is I am attempting to make, challenges and concerns and the bits I look forward to the most. You will be able to follow the progress on instagram (@stuffbyrenee) and I’ll provide a wrap-up on the blog at the end of each month hopefully with the completes something.

This will be challenging but thanks to the support of the Blogging with Pip community I looked forward to giving it a go. Enjoy!

interwoven :: make : thread : craft : art is back!!!

Early last year I undertook the first ‘hands-on’ course I have undertaken since probably leaving school – interwoven :: make : thread : craft : art. From the moment I signed up I was completely hooked (literally – yes, crochet was one component). Two super-dooper talented ladies – Lisa Solomon and Katrina Rodabaugh – whipped a bunch of us in the creating action.

I shocked myself by just how much I could learn, absorb and create in such short bursts of time. I attribute undertaking all the other courses I have been discussing lately to feeling the creative sense of achievement I did when I completed this course.

It has influenced how I undertake some of my design work – yes I have hand-stitched ‘love’ into 60 invitations and hand painted 760 love hearts that were individually sewn onto cards for another invitation. Some say ‘crazy’ (well mostly my hubby) but I have loved it! My first thought with every project now is what part of this can I create by hand.

But the sweetest part about this is these lovely ladies have decided to do it all again – yay! You should have seen the excitement from those of us that had completed the course last year – I admit I thought I might wet my pants when I saw the news – and many have signed on again (not a bad recommendation I think!).

So now I am sharing the news and even more splendid news that they are offering all my special friends a discount – simply enter the promo code SPECIALFRIENDS at the checkout for 10% off. Enjoy! (I know I will be as I have just signed up again!)

 

*I have been asked  if these posts about ‘learning’ are sponsored posts – these are not. I am simply sharing my experiences on this little journey of learning I have embarked on because they have all offered me something as a creative that may or may not appeal to you also.

learning about branding

My journey moved on from Braid Creative and a few months ago I discovered this other cute looking online course happening over at creativebug.

If making and creating appeal to you and you haven’t heard of creativebug then I highly recommend you immediately drop everything and check it out (but please come back and finish reading this).

When you subscribe to the site you are exposed to an unlimited library of video tutorials on everything – knitting to sewing to paper making to drawing to quilting to jewellery to floral arranging to lampshade making … you get the idea. The quality of the videos is superb and the instructors are leaders in their craft.

So when they offered this neat little five week dive into branding and creative business the temptation was too much.

It was presented as a series of discussions that featured a live chat each week with one of the contributors (again an early morning rise for me as this was based in the US) as well as a course notes that reaffirmed concepts discussed and provided additional links and avenues for further discovery.

The contributors are complete experts in their chosen fields. They included Lisa Congdon (illustrator), Liesl and Todd Gibson (Oliver + S), Heather Ross (illustrator and textile designer), Melanie Falick (publishing director of STC Craft/Melanie Falick Books) and Christine Schmidt (Yellow Owl Workshop).

Their wealth of experience (good and bad) was shared with us all. They called it like it was, warned you of pitfalls and rejoiced in successes.

Todd and Liesl’s practical advice about how to approach creative business was super. As a creative you often forget the ‘working on your business’ side of things and how necessary that is to allow you to build, develop or evolve. I just wish (along with every other participant in the course I think) I had a ‘Todd’ working for me!

As always, Lisa Congdon was insightful and genuine. I have admired her work for many years because of the honest portrayal of her subject matter (oh and the ‘pink’). So to hear about her experiences as an illustrator in business was a special little insight that made me all warm and fuzzy inside.

For my business it has revitalised a sense of determination. I appreciate that set-backs happen and the attitude and approach used to deal with these determines your success. It highlighted to me the fact that I do want to publish something. And, most enlightening, if my passion is to create, make a healthy living from being creative, share my creativity and evolve as a creative then really there is no excuse not to (as long as I have a business plan to do it – hey Todd?). Enjoy!

*I was asked earlier this week if these posts about ‘learning’ are sponsored posts – these are not. I am simply sharing my experiences on this little journey of learning I have embarked on because they have all offered me something as a creative that may or may not appeal to you also.