Inspired to Action

I really like the short and sharp post on the Inspired to Action blog today.

SHE team finds

 From the team this week I've selected fun and happy colors!





Fibre Beads from Ebrown2503






   Big Rainbow bling from isewcute









Bringing Hope Notecards by Wellofcreations

Hand dyed silk mandala scarf from me! (Blowing my own trumpet)

Rainbow Window Star from harvestmoonbyhand

          I hope these beautiful items have brightened your day!

The Schooling at Home Etsians blog is here.

New goodies in the shop

I've been very busy this morning with these new listings for my Etsy shop. I sort of wish I could skip the whole listing part and just get on with the creating part!

Remember the bright shibori dyed fabric? Now it's a skirt.

           This is pretty cool - a reversible scarf. One side is bright.

                        The other is dark.

                        Do you like?

Posts from the past

Considering I now have 510 posts on this blog I figured it was about time to actually look back at what I'd written (weird that I'd never done it before!) Perhaps I was worried about being haunted by things I never should have posted. I'm happy to report there are no such skeletons. Apart from the things I was "going to do" and never did. This time last year I was gearing up excitedly to release my first doll pattern..... it never happened.
I was also a little confused as to how I deemed the quality of my early photographs as suitable eye candy. Thank goodness that has improved! It seems I also neglected how to post a link properly, another issue that has thankfully been fixed.

So I've been thinking about my goals for this year and will be posting them shortly. They will be decidedly realistic and attainable - one thing I am slowly learning is to not set myself up for disappointment by aiming too high.

I've been enjoying reading other's goals for the year in all their variety.

Talk soon. God bless.

Mandala toddler skirt

Oh so cute! I cut out the skirt then folded, tied and dyed in a mandala.

The colours are so vibrant. Most astonishingly it wasn't too difficult to get some good photos of my 18 month old model.

This skirt is available in my shop now.

Now that grabs your attention!

I've been experimenting with the shibori technique which is really fun and interesting. I was quite surprised when I unwrapped this yesterday after leaving it for hours in plastic in the hot baking sun.

I didn't exactly get the fine lines I wanted but it certainly doesn't lack for brightness! I'll see how it looks as a skirt.

"Second Chance" book review

"Second Chance" by Sandra J Gerencher is a story based on the author's own family and involves the adoption of a new dog - "Chance". The tale is told through the eyes and perceptions of the Chance, who had been living in a shelter.

Chance has many adjustments to make to his new life. There are other dogs in the house and he also notices that there is something different about his owner, Ryan. As Chance learns more about his new family he finds that he and Ryan have a great deal in common.

"Second Chance" offers readers an interesting insight into both adoption and autism. The themes that really stand out in the book are love and hope.

Sandra Gerencher has extensive experience in special education and has also adopted a son who has autism and other special needs. Sandra has a personal mission to save dogs from high kill animal shelters through adoption. You can read more about Sandra here or at Tribute Books.

Just because it's beautiful

I love the voice, humility and grace of this woman - a truly inspiring performer.

Another spiral skirt

This time I used really strong fuschia and turquoise to spiral dye this circle skirt.

To fit ages 5 -6 (more measurement details in the Etsy shop listing)

The last one sold within half an hour so I'm hoping for a similar outcome! I hope to stock my shop with lots of these and my market stall (if and when that happens!)

Aren't I lucky to have such an obliging little model?

Sunflowers!

The very first sunflower of summer. The bees love them too!

This one hasn't bloomed yet but is absolutely giant. I had to take this picture lying down on the path to fit it on the screen! The kids can't wait until the seeds are ready to feast on.

My husband has quite a cactus collection, some in pots and some planted into the garden. This is the first time this one has flowered. The blooms usually last one to two days only. The scent is like freshly cut melon - beautiful!

A little secret for those who are unaware. Don't waste your money on packets of sunflowers from a seed producer - you can get marvellous and massive blooms (like ours) from the supermarket by buying a bag of bird feed! Naturally, you want a bag with only sunflower seeds. I got hundreds of seeds for roughly $4 and planted them everywhere.

Etsy shop sale

New year = out with the old, in with the new! I'm offering 10% off any order in my shop for the month of
January. Simply enter the coupon code DOLLSALE2011 when purchasing and the discount is automatically applied. Happy shopping!