Moving On

We have sold our house, YAY!!! The paperwork is not finalised yet, but I’m fairly sure it will all go through without a hitch, and we will be moving very soon. I have been madly trying to find us somewhere to move to, which ticks all the boxes and is affordable, and I think I may have found somewhere. I don’t want to get too attached, because it may not work out, but I am already planning my new craft room. Really, I am going to have a craft room no matter where we end up living, because that is my main requirement. All I want for my birthday is a craft room :) Here’s some inspiration I found on Flickr.

1. Craft room, 2. Craft Room: Updated!, 3. Untitled, 4. 3 studio desks - overview - best view in large size!, 5. Where Women Create Blog Party, 6. My Playroom, 7. A corner in my studio, 8. MY CRAFT ROOM, 9. Scrapbook Room, 10. Craft Room, 11. My Creative Space November 25, 12. Mini Vintage Fabric Bunting, 13. Mini Vintage Fabric Bunting, 14. New Chair, 15. Untitled, 16. First pics of my Craft Room

While browsing through all the amazing images on Flickr I found a most gorgeous and drool-worthy photostream, and I am totally in love with EVERY.SINGLE.PHOTO. And she also has a pretty awesome blog, totally worth checking out.

Believe it or not, I have actually started packing. The problem I have is that there is nowhere to put all the boxes that are being packed. They are currently piled up in just about every spare “edge” of room, and soon there will just be small walkways to allow us to get from one room to the next. Small sacrifice to make in order to get a MUCH bigger house.

Funny thing is (at least I think so) the thing I am most excited about is getting to wash, iron and stack all my fabric, which is currently stored all scrunched up in bags stashed in different parts of the house. The downside is, I won’t be able to do any thrifting or bring home anything from funky junk until after we have moved, because it’ll just be more stuff to pack.

In my life I have packed and moved so many times you would think by now I’d be a pro, but I just can’t get my head around where to start, so I’ve ended up packing a couple of boxes of kitchen stuff, then moved onto the bathroom, then the bedroom, then the lounge…..the result is a bit chaotic. I guess once we have a definite home to move to and a date I will be able to focus more.

I don’t think there will be any crafting happening until after the move, and I’m probably gonna be pretty busy packing, so my little blog might get a bit neglected in the next few weeks. I hope you understand :)

Wardrobe Wednesday…On Thursday…

Today I am procrastinating, because I have plenty of stuff to do to get ready to move, but it’s raining, the boxes are out in the garage, and I don’t really feel like going outside and getting wet.

Cardi – from postie plus I think, top – thrifted, skirt – unfinished project found in funky junk, I think it used to be a dress, but someone cut the top off to make it into a skirt, but then never finished it. Works for me though, it was free and I love the retro print! Go here to see what other kiwis are wearing.

So, it turns out I didn’t have to make a decision after all (but I think we were leaning more towards staying here for another year and saving some money). We finally got an offer on our house that we are going to accept, a little below what we needed, but we can make it work. Now for the humungous task of packing up all our crap in as little time as possible, and I just don’t know where to start. I think I am going to have to start with my craft stuff, because that pretty much covers every surface in our house, but once it’s packed up I won’t be able to make anything, and I still have one more swap package to finish.

Rain rain go away. I need sunshine to motivate me to do stuff. Oh, and if you know of any 4+ bedroom homes coming up for rent in the Tauranga area, please let me know, otherwise we will be homeless in a few weeks.

Revamped Relics

Someone who follows my blog emailed me a flyer for this great event which is coming up soon, so I thought I would share it, in case any local people see this. It sounds like something I will definitely be keen to get to, possibly lining up at the door on opening day :) (retro fabric-aholic is a pretty accurate description of me, and I love me some up-cycling!)

Keeping it Real

As I get another week closer to the last year of my twenties, I find myself in a state of gloomy, unmotivated, emotional unstableness. Not so much because of my age, but because of the place I am in life which is so far from where I imagined. Ten years ago, as I approached my 19th year of life, I was in my first term at art school. Life was all about being creative, whether that was writing, drawing, painting or just sitting around day-dreaming about where life would take me. I wanted to be so many things, but most of all I wanted to be my own boss, have my own business, my own labour of love.

Anyway, that’s not the point, that’s just another reason for the gloominess. The point is that I have to make a decision, a rather largish decision that will affect the future of my little family in a big way. And I am struggling with the selfishness of this decision. For those who don’t know me personally, I feel that it’s slightly important to point out that I am an only child. But I am not your average selfish-spoilt-brat only child, because of the way I was raised. However, there will always be that little part of me that thinks like an only child.

The decision I have to make concerns our current living situation. Those of you who follow my blog have probably heard me bitch and moan about my current living situation many times. Coming up to 4 years ago, when children were not even a thought in our minds, we purchased our first property. We fell in love with this place immediately, the perfect modern little unit for a young professional couple. We knew that it would be a struggle to start with, but once hubby was finished his diploma and could work full time, it would be perfect. We moved in at the end of September 2006, about 3 weeks later I found out I was pregnant, completely unexpectedly and the situation was less than ideal. But it didn’t take long for us to adapt to that situation, three people living in a 2 bedroom unit wasn’t so bad. Well, loads of stuff happened after that, including moving out and becoming landlords so we could have more space, then having to move back in when the recession hit because we couldn’t afford it anymore. Now we have had our place on the market for 2 years, and it has become apparent that in the current market we are not going to be able to sell for enough to just break even, so we are in a position where we need to decide what next.

There is only so long that little man can sleep in a cot in our bedroom, there is nowhere to put another bed and bunks are not an option. But if we had to, at a stretch, we could probably keep him there for at least another 6 months to a year, as he is not mobile yet, and he may not even be walking by two. So my decision is selfish because: I want our bedroom back for the sake of our relationship, I want a room for all my creative stuff so I don’t feel stressed every time I want to create something but I have to dig around in uncountable places where things have been stashed away out of reach of little people or out of sight of visitors, and mostly because I want a HOUSE. A whole house. A house we can turn into a home. Because we never thought this place would take so long to sell it has always felt temporary, no point in settling in because we won’t be here long. The thing is, staying here would mean that for the first time in 4 years we would be a lot better off financially, because of the current interest rates (and ours is coming up for renewal). So, what would you choose, financial stability in a less than ideal living situation, or comfortable living with a bit of financial struggle? I just can not decide, and until I decide I can not get myself motivated to do anything except mope in gloominess (this gloomy weather doesn’t help at all!).

Sorry for the rather gloomy, un-illustrated, desperate tone of this post, but I really do need help.

My Felt Shop

Is finally up and running. I have started listing some of the jewellery I have made over the years, because it is just taking up space and needs to go somewhere where it will be worn and appreciated. Please browse and feel free to buy :)

***If you buy something then come back here to tell me, I will put in a little bonus item or two, to say thanks***

EDIT: It appears that my listings have to be approved because I am new to Felt, so they could take up to 24 hours to show up, please keep checking back if you want to have a nosey.

Stuff and Things, bla bla bla

I’m really not keeping up with the blogging thing very well, am I? I do try, I almost always remember to take photos of things before they get sent away/given away/stolen by small people, but those photos don’t always make it into blog land. So here is a bit of a catch-up with a bit of randomness thrown in.

This was part 2 of my “here comes the sun” parcel, which was sent off yesterday.

Some bug softies made for the babies at daycare, because that's their theme at the moment. I have more of these ready to sew up, I just haven’t had the time. These three (ladybug, butterfly, bumble bee) have cellophane inside them so they make crinkly noises when squeezed. Unfortunately I sewed the ladybugs wings on crooked, but since they are just for babies, I didn’t think it mattered. If I had been paid to make them then I would have been a bit more worried, but they are just something that I thought would be fun to make, and there is only so many softies I can handle in my house.

These are my new sunglasses, which I had to buy in the weekend because I left mine at home and I can’t go a whole weekend without sunglasses. I just love them, and they were only $3.90.

Cute stickers also bought in the weekend, not that I need them or have any idea what I’ll use them for, but they were too cute to leave behind.

Yesterday I did something shocking…..I started knitting!!! I can’t tell you what, because it’s for one of my swap partners. But I can’t believe how easy it is, when all those years ago I struggled and never felt like knitting was my thing, to just pick up the needles and remember how to do it like it was only yesterday. I guess knitting is like riding a bike. Only problem is, because I never actually finished knitting anything, I have no idea how to finish it. Is it called casting off? I think I will have to do a bit of Google research to try to figure it out. 

At the moment most of the things I make are for swaps, so I can’t show them on my blog or it will ruin the surprise. One swap down, One almost finished, one just barely started but just about completely thought out. What I wouldn't give to have a spotlight close by!!

Wardrobe Wednesday

I’m going to cheat a bit this week and use a photo from the weekend. You see, last weekend I had the opportunity to be part of a very special weekend, what is called a “Magic Mums Weekend”. This is something that happens once a year, and it is a chance for mums with special needs kids to have a weekend away to be pampered and to connect with other mums in a similar situation. It was absolutely fantastic, I had my hair straightened, my nails done, my make up done, and I felt more glamorous than I have in years.

So this is my recent go-to outfit for any occasion that requires something a bit fancier than jeans. The dress (which you can’t see very well because I am sitting down) was thrifted, it is super comfortable, can be worn casual or dressed up, and goes great with my favourite boots and tights in winter.

And to prove how much I loved this hairstyle, I’m going to show you a photo of me in my pyjamas, because I still felt glamorous at 1am sitting in the motel room drinking tea and chatting to amazing mums.

BTW – HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!! And hasn’t the universe provided us with the perfect spring day!! I hope the skies are blue and the sun is shining wherever you are today :)