Friday, July 30, 2010

Thank you!!

To celebrate the milestone of 200 'likers' on Facebook I'm having a little giveaway to say thank you to everyone who gives their support both on Facebook and here on my blog.
You are just the best and so appreciated! :)

I have designed a couple of cards for you to download and print. I hope you like them!

I printed them out to check them and found that my inks were running low, however it turned into a happy accident as I really like the teal colour the photo card has come out, it is meant to be more of a green! Anyway, if you have a photo editing program you use you may like to play around with the hue/saturation sliders and see what other cool colour combination's you can make!

Print as many as you like, but please read the TOU file included, basically, print, alter, give, but don't sell or claim as your own. :) Thank you!


Download HERE   Password is aroha all lower case. Any problems please let me know and I'll sort it out.

I really would LOVE to see what you do with these, so please send me a link or a comment if you get the time!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Frugal Kiwi...

I'm not sure how I have not come across it before, or how in my extensive googling for natural home made cleaning products I managed to miss it, but finally, and most likely yonks after every other person on the planet, I have discovered this amazing blog - The Frugal Kiwi. Not only is it full of useful recipes, concoctions, tips and ideas, it's all written so well, with a touch of humour. And there's marshmallows. Now I'm in heaven ;)
Honestly, if you do happen to be that one other person who does not have this on their blog list yet,  pay them a visit.
I did, just quickly before getting on with some work. So I thought. ;)
Now over an hour later I have a shopping list of ingredients that I can not only get in NZ, but get just down the road! I'm going to make Dishwasher powder, Washing detergent, deoderant and even shampoo..although I may leave trying the shampoo until I know I'll be home for a few days, just in case!
I already make my own household cleaner and use white vinegar as rinse aid in my dishwasher, but haven't yet been able to find a dishwasher powder concoction that did a satisfactory job in our house. Dried on Weetbix, day old spag bol plates... you get the idea, not an easy mission for even the nastiest scary chemical filled products, so it will be interesting to see how this one does, I will report back with results! Of course I could always just wash up, you know, in the sink, but that would be like getting the iron out, I'd need at least a week to psych myself up for that. Besides, the dishwasher is the kids job.  I cook, they dishwasher. Just not with the same urgency, hence the dried on weetbix!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Friday Felt Faves!

Ok, so I do know it's not Friday, but it's totally not my fault, the Time Gobbling Monster has been visiting my house again, come to think of it he seems to be making this his permanent residence these days!
Over the past couple of weeks I have been adding anything that caught my eye on Felt.. to my showcase. Not a good idea, wow was it hard work weedling it down to 6 items! Eventually I got there, so here they are, 6 of the most beautiful 'need it now' items out of 100's ...

























"Tui" Hapene Bouquet from Hapene. The more I see the amazing creations like this that are possible, the more I fall in love with them!
Set of four Japanese paper magnets from Freedom Creative. Not only are they beautiful, they are apparently super strong, just what I need for my new magnetic noticeboard! :)
Fantail Wall clock from Laserline, this is my "Fantail" pick for this week, I can just see it on my office wall!
Mini scented cube candles by Roseinthorns, I almost bought some of these at the Auckland Art & Craft Fair at the weekend, went off to get more funds and in the buzz and excitement of the whole market and all it's yummy distractions forgot to go back! 
Peacock Wonderland Flower Brooch from  Zippitydoodah. Another amazing artist I drooled over at the Fair, this is one of my favourite of their broaches, but really they are all just gorgeous, I think I need one for everyday of the week.
Lastly, but most definitely not least, is the Embellished Paua Bracelet - Blues and Greens by Widlflower. Whenever I see Mel's work my jaw drops again. Having tried, and I'm sure my very patient tutor would agree, failed miserably, at making the most simple jewelery in the past her talent just astounds me!
It is also no coincidence that this would go nicely with the aforementioned broach!
So is this where I mention it's just 6 short weeks till my birthday?! ;)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

New product - Sticky Wall Pix!

In the next couple of days I will be collecting the first run of my Farmyard Noises animals in Sticky removable and reusable Vinyl wall shapes. I can't wait to see how they've come out!
They will be available in a set of 7 shapes, all the animals plus a tractor. I can't share the preview the printer sent me, but here are the same shapes in a picture.
The duck will be a little larger than shown here.  If there is enough interest I will do a second set with extras like the grass, a fence, shed, pond etc.

After checking out a few tests the printer did with different materials I chose a medium weight tacky backed vinyl for the material. They will be easy to apply and remove without tearing and leave no marks on your wall, perfect if you are renting but want to personalize your space, and easy to change the look of a room as often as you like!  They are reusable, so you can carefully peel them off and place them elsewhere. I have kept the outlines on these as simple as possible to make moving them easy, but like any 'sticky' surface, it will loose tack if you drop it sticky side down on the carpet or move it heaps of times. They are not suitable for kids to play with and move around, although I am still working on the possibility of that option for the future.

For a long time now I have wanted to do some Word Art for walls, and have got together a few ideas which I will be discussing with the printer.
Here are a few of my ideas, please let me know what you think, would you/anyone you know consider buying any of these. or similar designs?! Would you prefer them to come in black, or colours? What word or phrase would you like to see? I'd love to hear, as I really value your opinions. :) Please excuse the crappy photos, if I go ahead with this idea I will do a proper photo shoot for them!





 I'd love to offer customized words too, but with the set up charge for each new design it would bump the price right up for the customer as I would not be able to absorb the set up charge myself as I am doing with the other images that will be re-printed.  That is an option I'm looking into for the future though, names and your own choice of colour, font etc.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Big Feet!

When my sons friends were here for his birthday sleepover, their shoes in the hallway caught my eye, it amused me how they varied in size, and the biggest were just plain hilarious! Well, little things and all that, I set to arranging them in size order for a photo...!
For the layout I used :
"Remember the Year Value Collection" by Tina Chambers - tape, date stamp, brads  
"Torn and tattered Beachy Papers" by Meryl Bartho - torn paper
"Rustic Charm Page Kit" by Heidi Kuester - background

Friday, July 9, 2010

Friday Felt Faves!

I hope you are keeping warm this cold Friday evening!
For this weeks Faves on Felt  I decided to go with a theme of birds.
Oh ok, I know the adorable Superman and Clark Kent finger puppets by Kazzalblue aren't exactly birds, but they fly right?! They were just too cute to pass by!
Other items this week are by these talented crafters -  My2Monsters,  Redflax, Heidelburg, t-and-g and my Fantail pick this week is by Lastik. My own product this week is my Custom Owl cards.
Click on the images to take a closer look!