Freedom Creative

Summer lovin'

2012-02-02T12:06:00.000+13:00

The things I can't get enough of this summer...

The necklace I treated myself to, by Vanette.
Frozen Planet - the only thing I'm watching on TV at the moment. It's so damn awesome, so awesome that I just bought The Planet Collection, I can't wait for it to arrive!
Bright Lights, Big Colour by OPI.
Raspberries and Viennetta. Seconds please!
Relaxing in the backyard after work, with the sun still out and a glass of Baker Hall's apple and pomegranate and lemonade in hand.
Not wearing shoes.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, a Christmas pressie from my lovely.

Just for giggles

2012-02-01T18:19:00.000+13:00

Happy hump day everyone! We're now on the downhill to the long weekend (if you're in NZ), hooray!

I just thought I'd share some internet things that never fail to make me laugh. They're all pretty popular sites, but I'm always surprised at how many people have never heard of them.

Click to enlarge

Ahhhh, the funniest ones are normally dirty, but Damn You Auto Correct has to be my favourite site for having a laugh. I've spent hours going through the pages of awesome text messages, and it even sometimes makes me a little glad that I don't own an iPhone.

Once you're done there, head over to Sleep Talkin' Man. That guy (Adam) must have an awesome imagination. I especially love this one: "Stop throwing dinosaurs everywhere! It's gonna take me forever to get the pterodactyls down from the wardrobe. Oh, you messy little velociraptors."

If you're a graphic designer, you may enjoy Clients From Hell and You Know You're a Designer When.

And if you're a crafter you've probably heard of Regretsy, which takes the piss (and rightfully so) out of amusing items on Etsy. Engrish.com is good for a few chuckles, and then there's a few of my favourite YouTube channels - Kids React in which they show kids viral videos and record their honest reactions and Improv Everywhere is also pretty entertaining.

Not often seen - some photos of me

2012-01-31T19:02:00.038+13:00

I don't often put photos of myself on here, so here's a few to prove I am a real person...

The earliest photo I could find of me // I love that pic - me at kindy

I've loved boats from a young age // A birthday in the late 80s - with crimped hair!

A cheesy school photo // Stewart Island (and tying to grow out my fringe)

High above Lake Mavora // My school formal (what was I thinking with that hair?!)

At Puzzle World, Wanaka. That guy is painted, I swear!

Last year on the cruise // At Ephesus with Mum

My favourite recent photo - me with my lovely Grandma

My new love (that you've probably been using for ages)

2012-01-30T19:55:00.034+13:00

To begin with I didn't really see the attraction of Pinterest... but after using it for only days, I was hooked! If you've been hibernating or something and don't know what it is, Pinterest is "a vision board-styled social photo sharing website where users can create and manage theme-based image collections". It's well designed, easy to use and actually a great tool. I've been using it to keep track of things I want to make, recipes I want to try, great ideas and pretty things.

To put it simply, it's just cool. Let me know if you're not in and want an invite. You can find my pins here.

What I'd like for Christchurch

2012-01-29T17:06:00.000+13:00

As you all know, over the last year or so, Christchurch has changed, a lot. A few months ago I moved into a cottage on the edge of the CBD and since then, I'm starting to care a whole lot more about the rebuild of our once lovely city.

The old Press Building

I'm definitely in two minds about it though. Part of me just wishes they'd hurry up and get all the buildings demolished, so they can get building again. My workplace was once in the CBD but since February (and for periods before that too), we've been working in a cramped temporary location in the middle of nowhere. We have a new building that we were due to move into the week after the February quake, that survived much better than our old one (above), and I'm eager to get back into the CBD. I'll be able to walk to work from my new home, and I'm looking forward to having things to do at lunchtime and just enjoy the vibrancy of a city again.

From the Central City Plan

A larger part of me though, just wants them to do it right; to put time and effort into public consultation and research to make Christchurch even better than it was. Here are the five key changes identified in the Central City Plan to be critical to ensuring the Central City becomes a strong, resilient, vibrant and economically prosperous city again:

A greener more attractive city, supported by a wider and upgraded Avon River corridor, a greener Cathedral Square, new street trees throughout the Central City, 500 new green-rated buildings, rain gardens, surface stormwater treatment and a new network of neighbourhood parks.
A lower rise city with safe, sustainable buildings that look good and function well, supported by urban design controls, new regulations and incentives, strengthened heritage buildings with adaptive reuse, new lanes and courtyards and precincts of distinct activities, character and culture.
A compact Central Business District supported by business incentives, new regulation, well designed streetscapes, a redeveloped Convention Centre, new regional and central government offices, ultra-fast broadband and free WiFi.
Making the Central City a great place to live, work, play and learn, supported by high-quality inner city housing options and demonstration projects, residential incentives, improved access to a wide range of schools, new metropolitan sporting facilites, a new Cntral Library, new public art and performing arts venues and playgrounds.
A city easy to get to and around, supported by excellent walking and cycling paths, high-quality public transport, short-term free parking, a network of green two-way streets and an efficient and attractive ring road for traffic.

And you know what, I'm actually really impressed with those statements....but I'm still a little sceptical that it's going to be rushed.

The winning design. Photo from here.

The Council also put together a 48-Hour Challenge where architects and designers were invited to redesign parts of the Central City. The winning design was The New Zealand Wood team's redesign of the Orion Site, displaying adaptive reuse, innovative architecture and civic landscaping. For a 48 hour task, they did a pretty awesome job. I'm loving those strips of trees and the raised buildings, very nice.

Conceptual art of Cathedral Square. Making the city fun - via The Pop-Up City.

I suspect that a lot of businesses that have moved out of the CBD have taken up leases in the suburbs, and won't bother moving back into the city. I guess that means there will be more spaces for parks and non-commercial buildings, which is great, but we need those people for the their vibrancy. So, we need to make the inner city a place where people want to come to - where they can relax and have fun. It used to be a sea of concrete - Cathedral Square was a drab open space with not much going for it... I much prefer this conceptual idea. And to make it fun... check out The Pop-Up City for heaps of cool, fun ideas, like having swings, or a 'transfer accelerator' (slide) instead of stairs. Seriously, who would take the stairs if you had the option of taking a slide?!

An idea for wider Christchurch that I heard at the last Pecha Kucha night we went to was from Kyle Lewis, who did a presentation titled An Urban National Park in Christchurch. His idea is to make a walking track that starts at the airport and does a loop of the city. Christchurch is the perfect place for this - it's super flat and has a diverse range of landscapes including beaches, coastal areas, tussock grasslands, parks and gardens, rivers, wetlands and forests. It would be pretty cool to be able to fly in and experience everything a city has to offer on foot, don't you think? I'd also like more cycle paths around the city, one's which aren't on roads, but tree lined paths connecting different parts of the city, that would be safe (the reason I don't cycle now is because I'm scared of getting hit by cars - so many cyclists do around here). Having a bicycle sharing system, like many European cities would be great too.

Of course, above all else, I want this city to be safe. Making a building cool, sustainable, fun or anything else means nothing if it isn't safe in this shaky place.

If you're from Christchurch, what do you want for our city?

It runs in the family

2012-01-28T16:22:00.000+13:00

This creative thing, it must be genetic eh? How many crafters/designers/artists do you know who are the only creative one in their family? Not many I bet. And so, here's where I introduce my family members...

My Mum is a contemporary glass artist. She is so very clever and such an inspiration to me. She only studied Glass Design and Production in her early fifties and her work is beautiful. I had a wee go at making a paperweight and a bowl a few years back, it's hot, heavy and hard work. You can see a bit more of her work here and here.

And in a completely different way, my brother is just as talented. He completed a Diploma in 3D Animation a few years back and this video was his end of year project, pretty darn cool eh?! He also wrote, performed, recorded and mixed the music. He must have received all the musical genes from our parents - I definitely didn't!

Of course I can't leave out my wonderful Dad. He is very clever too, but not in a way that I can show you. In a somewhat 'typical New Zealand Dad' kinda way, he can just do everything - from building, to fixing anything without any prior knowledge of what he's doing.

Love ya all, thanks for the good genes!

Please Mr Postman

2012-01-27T17:43:00.003+13:00

A few lovely looking books that are on their way to me:

Where Children Sleep

I stumbled upon James Mollison's site last week and was mesmerized by how such a simple idea can be so powerful in its message. Where Children Sleep is a beautifully presented book of "stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms." You can see some of the content on his website, I love the contrast of cultures, wealth and attitudes, and am looking forward to reading more about each child.

Missed Connections

I've been drooling over Sophie Blackall's blog for yonks and when I discovered she'd published a book of her paintings, I knew I had to get it. If you're not sure what she's about, she says it more eloquently than I ever could: Messages in bottles, smoke signals, letters written in the sand; the modern equivalents are the funny, sad, beautiful, hopeful, hopeless, poetic posts on Missed Connections websites. Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I'm trying to pin a few of them down.

Oh, she also has an Etsy shop where you can buy her lyrical prints.

Music to warm my soul

2012-01-26T20:05:00.002+13:00

I spend at least forty minutes in the car travelling to/from work every day and instead of listening to mindless drivel that's filled with advertising (also known as radio) I plug in my iPod and have a wee party in the car. I have a friend who has very similar music taste to me and we often do a music swap, which means songs pop up on my shuffle that I don't recognise but absolutely love. There's nothing better than discovering a new band, singer or song, and today I'm sharing a few that are tickling my fancy at the moment...

Oh Washington... When I found (Megan) Washington I was very surprised I hadn't come across her before. She's a singer and songwriter from Australia and is the perfect mix of infectious pop, witty lyrics and awesome instruments. How To Tame Lions is definitely my favourite, it's from her debut album I Believe You Liar and One Man Band is also very cool.

Another Australian discovery is Josh Pyke (cute website too). The Summer, from Chimney's Afire (the album has a paper-cut album art - this guys is definitely after my heart!) is gentle and poetic, simply beautiful. You Don't Scare Me is also a nice track.

Then there's Noah & The Whale, five English chaps I'm quite liking. If you like Give It All Back, also check out Five Years Time. It's even sweeter.

And I know I'm too late for Christmas... but A Very Little Christmas is the best Christmas album ever. It's a New Zealand beauty, put together by Little Monster Studio. With lyrics like "I don't want to think about it, Christmas is coming soon" and "Why does Santa ride a sleigh in the summer?", it's not your usual Christmas album and good listening all year round. You can download it here for free!

Oh, and one last one, this song is so sad but beautiful - Memory Lane by Elliott Smith. I found this live video of it, but the studio recording is so much better

Ahhh, so many artists in the world, so little time to discover them all!

The recipes for a great New Year

2012-01-25T20:45:00.114+13:00

I got a couple of cookbooks for Christmas and since then my boyfriend and I have been cooking a whole heap more than we used to. We're really loving trying out new recipes and exploring new ingredients. I've eaten things I used to think were disgusting and actually enjoyed nearly all of it. Here's a few of the dishes which have stood out:

The first recipe we tried was Jamie Oliver's pork chops with crispy crackling, crushed potatoes and minty cabbage from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals and it was so good! The recipes are written a little differently - instead of telling you how to make each of the dishes to the meal separately, it shows you what order to do all the things at once - so everything is ready at the correct time (see the left of that pic to see what I mean). It seems more methodical to me, and after some initial hesitation, makes cooking delicious meals a lot easier. As Jamie says: "there's no faffing about - just good, fast cooking".

One night I was even lucky enough to have tray-baked chicken and squashed potatoes cooked for me (from the same book). Ladies, here's a hint.... Leave your cookbooks laying around your boyfriend's house, and who knows what will happen, tee he he. It was delicious, and so nice to be cooked for, but still didn't quite top those pork chops.

Let me know if you'd like either of these recipes, but you should really just go and buy the whole book - you won't regret it!

The sweet cherry tomato and sausage bake recipe from Jamie At Home is so simple, and for the time it takes, very very yummy. You simply throw it all in the over for an hour or so and then reduce the sauce. I love the flavour of balsamic vinegar and cherry tomatoes and when served over buttery mashed potatoes it's perfect!

And, the last dinner meal I'll show you today was thyme and orange pork from Donna Hay's Fast, Fresh, Simple. With only a few ingredients for the pork, it is so simple, and tastes amazing served with mashed potato and a simple green salad..

And just one awesome dessert to finish off the main meals - Bill Granger's Banana Butterscotch Pudding, oh so gooey and yum! Recipe here.

Oh, I also made some beetroot relish from this recipe (but I used red onion) which is awesome on burgers, and some aioli using this recipe. Yum!

Things you probably didn't know about me

2012-01-24T19:33:00.021+13:00

Here's a few wee things you probably didn't know about me...

I was a very accident prone kid. During my fifth birthday party I put my foot through my brother's bike wheel (I was on the back), and had to be taken to hospital. My leg healed quite fast but I had to start school with a bandage around my head because my Dad threw a boomerang, which instead of returning nicely, thwacked straight into my forehead (not on purpose of course!). Of course it was while we were camping, in a beautiful spot over an hour away from any civilisation. When my parents were rushing me to the nearest doctor they got pulled over, but luckily the cop was nice enough to let them off a speeding ticket and escort them to the doctor in Lumsden. Weirdly though, I've never broken any bones.
I have a 'thing' about toilet paper. It has to be over the top of the roll. It just seems so wrong when it's not...
I got an 'A' Bursary. The only subject I got a 'C' in was Design. I'm now a Graphic Designer.
I was born with Craniosynostosis and had an operation when I was about six months old to fix it. I now have a kick-ass scar from ear-to-ear across the top of my head.
I drink Be Sleepy Tea to help me sleep.
I am currently addicted to playing Zuma's Revenge. Please don't play it unless you want to waste hours of your life.
I was born just outside of Wellington, and lived in Nelson before moving to Dunedin. I spent all my school years in Dunedin and moved up to Christchurch to study at The Design and Arts College.
When I was younger my Mum started a business selling pressed flower pictures (in glass). She named her business after me - Emma K Pressed Flowers. There will be more on Mum later...
I am so incredibly terrified of three things - dentists, growing old and heights.
I love playing board/card games. Dominion is really good - if you haven't played it you should.
I can rarely remember if I've seen a movie before, or what happens in it even if I have. Most of the time this is a great thing - I can watch movies over and over without getting bored. I also have a habit of falling asleep while watching movies.
I have 25 Scrabble boxes stacked in my room right now.

30 Before 30 - #24 Blog every day for ten days

2012-01-23T18:51:00.003+13:00

Starting tomorrow, for the next ten days I'm going to write a blog post every day. I thought it was a good time to do it, while my Felt shop is pretty quiet, so they'll be more personal posts as not much news is coming from Freedom Creative at the moment.

Here's what they'll be about:

Things you probably didn't know about me
The recipes to a great New Year
Music to warm my soul
Please Mr Postman
It runs in the family
What I'd like for Christchurch
My new love (that you've probably been using for ages)
Not often seen - some photos of me
Just for giggles
Summer lovin'

You can see these ten posts by clicking here

See my original 30 Before 30 post here
See all 30 Before 30 posts here

30 Before 30 - #25 Go to Quail Island

2012-01-16T18:16:00.001+13:00

I've wanted to go adventuring on Quail Island since I moved to Christchurch eleven years ago, so last Saturday I took the ferry across the harbour with some friends. Quail Island is a recreational reserve, named after the now extinct native quail (there's heaps of introduced quail though, which are so cute!). The island was originally used as a quarantine station and as a small leprosy colony by the early European settlers and is now a popular destination for people wanting a short daytrip from Christchurch.

We walked the track which loops the island and takes you past the old leprosy colony, the grave site of the one man who died on the island and many shipwrecks, and then stopped to have lunch under a tree, on top of a huge cliff overlooking the harbour and Lyttelton. For the rest of the afternoon we sat by the beach; relaxing and playing cards, frisbee and hacky. It was a really nice way to spend the day, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but not very far from home at all.

See my original 30 Before 30 post here
See all 30 Before 30 posts here

30 Before 30 - #2 Make Meringues

2012-01-10T20:56:00.000+13:00

Another quick, easy and yummy 30 Before 30 task done and dusted. There's not much to say really... I followed the recipe from the good old Edmonds Cookery Book, but used delicious sugar my stepmum gave me - a mix of caster sugar and rose petals. I also didn't cook them for as long as the recipe called for so they had a scrummy gooey centre - just the way I like them! Served with icecream and raspberries handpicked by my flatmate, while sitting in our garden reading a book I got for Christmas, complete bliss.

See my original 30 Before 30 post here
See all 30 Before 30 posts here

30 Before 30 - #27 Try Pear Cider

2012-01-10T20:43:00.000+13:00

What do you do when you're out of town and have a few hours to spare between a wedding ceremony and the reception? Pop down to the pub (The General Practitioner in this instance), have a drink and tick off a task on your 30 Before 30 list.

This one was a Monteith’s Crushed Pear Cider and was quite yummy. It was refreshing and much nicer than apple cider, with a much smoother finish. Still, I think I can find a nicer pear cider... any recommendations?

See my original 30 Before 30 post here
See all 30 Before 30 posts here

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T20:50:00.001+13:00

2011 has been a roller coaster of a year for me and many other New Zealanders. The earthquakes shook up our city and changed life as we knew it. Not long after, my Dad got married and I had the pleasure of accompanying my Mum on an amazing cruise around the Mediterranean. Christchurch also had some crazy snow days and to finish the year off, I moved in to a lovely cottage (that feels a bit like living in a bach) with a good friend.

I've had a manic last few months, with so many orders and markets, and am taking a break from Freedom Creative for a few weeks to spend time with friends and family; eating, drinking, playing, watching and laughing - all the things I love about Christmas.

I hope you all have the chance to take a break over Christmas and in the New Year. Thank you for reading and commenting on my blog this year and I'll see you back here in 2012!

Em x

An ethical and crafty cafe

2011-12-14T20:18:00.000+13:00

If you live in Christchurch (or even if you visit every now and then) and haven't been to the Addington Coffee Co-Op you really should. I love the relaxed interior of the former mechanics workshop, how they use country flags instead of table numbers, and the food is pretty darn delicious too.

The co-op includes a roastery, the cafe, a laundromat and now The Addington Store. The sweet wee shop which specialises in local and ethical gifts opened a few weeks ago and they have a small range of my Japanese and Scrabble tile jewellery amongst gorgeous items from other locals like Mixing Ink and Black Swan Designs. They also stock a lot of fair trade products, including Freeset bags and only use fair trade organic coffee beans, so they're looking after our world while keeping everyone happy!

Addington Coffee Co-Op
297 Lincoln Road, Christchurch

Last market of the year...

2011-12-07T17:01:00.000+13:00

Wow, it's all go around here at the moment! I'm just back from a lovely four day trip to Wellington, for a wedding and a bit of a break. I'm also about to deliver some items to a wonderful new stockist (more on that later), trying to get Christmas sorted and preparing for my last market of the year - All I Want For Christmas this Saturday.

If you're still looking for an opportunity to shop for sweet handmade items and support local businesses please come along. It's on at Shirley Intermediate School, in the hall, on the corner of North Parade and Shirley Road, from 10am til 4pm. All my favourite people will be there, including Black Swan Designs, Stitchology, In My Backyard, Cloud Nine Creative, Rose In Thorns and Locket, and of course there'll be new talent too.

After the market I'm hoping to get some more items into my Felt shop, so if you're out of town, or don't get a chance to pop along, that's where you'll find my things if you need a quick pressie. I have cuff links for the men in your life, hair clips for the kids, jewellery for your mum and my magnet sets make the perfect wee stocking stuffers or secret Santa gifts.

Have a great week!

Christmas Essentials

2011-12-01T09:07:00.000+13:00

Wow, I seriously cannot believe that today is the first day of December.... It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

In my full time job I design advertising for a huge range of companies and by the time December rolls around I'm already sick of putting the same old holly, bells and Santa in ads. So here's some unique handmade items to make your Christmas special, without needing to go the mall (shudder).

$5.00

$5.00

$6.00

$79.00

$8.50

$5.99

$10.00

$10.00

To market, to market....

2011-11-21T12:59:00.003+13:00

Looking to get your Christmas shopping all wrapped up? The Christmas Encraftment Market is this Saturday and is the perfect opportunity to support talented local craftspeople and finish your Christmas shopping.

I'll be there will my usual range of Japanese paper jewellery, Scrabble jewellery and butterfly frames. If you're really stuck and not sure what Great Aunty Dot would get the most enjoyment from, I'll also have gift vouchers for sale (in $15, $25 and $35 amounts), so she can browse my online store at her leisure.

With over 80 craft stalls including my favourites Black Swan Designs, Mudbird, Sailor Spy, Relique, In My Backyard, Honey and Spice, Rose In Thorns and Sly Fox Jewellery there'll be no shortage of amazing products, and the live music and yummy food will keep the whole family happy!

When: This Saturday, November 26, 10am - 3pm
Where: Christchurch Girl's High School Gym, 10 Matai Street, Riccarton, Christchurch
Why: Because supporting local small businesses and shopping for awesome, unique gifts is fun!

Loving this week:

2011-11-14T21:06:00.000+13:00

Amazing Bookmobile by Lisa of Shop House

Matches: Hidden... match artwork by Pei-San Ng

Splash photos by Cymaii on Flickr

All found via Colossal

Fair goodies

2011-11-02T18:45:00.000+13:00

Craft2.0 went off with a bang last weekend. It was truly a fabulous day - the new venue was great and people were happy, chatty and lovely. I met some sellers I hadn't had the opportunity to meet before and it was probably the most fun I've ever had at a fair, and a really nice weekend overall. Thanks to everyone who came along and to Sue and her team for yet another great fair.

Above are all the goodies I bought on the day (some for me, some for gifts):

The Squid and the Whale print by my fair neighbour Chris Waind
A copper brooch by Jewellery By Tanz
Little birdie earrings, also by Jewellery By Tanz
Green and blue drop earrings by Random Little Things
An amazing Felt Ring Box by my other fair neighbour, Katy of Threadmark

Oh, and I also bought a couple of these delicious Gourmet Caramel Apples by Smash Palace, but they didn't stand a chance with my sweet tooth!

Not long now...

2011-10-27T17:19:00.000+13:00

Yippity yippity yay, Craft2.0 is this Saturday!!! In an awesome new venue in central Wellington, and with over 70 amazing stalls, it's bound to be a great day.

I'm heading up early on Saturday morning as usual, but this time we're taking our lovely men and staying the night. Hooray for crafty fun, Christmas shopping, a few drinks with great friends and a wee break!

Here's just a small sample of the talent on offer:

$24.00

$39.00

$20.00

$49.95

$7.00

$56.00

$40.00

$38.00

Craft2.0, now in the city!

2011-10-12T20:00:00.000+13:00

That's right, Craft2.0 has a new home for this month's market! For a fun day out, head along to the Atrium in the Chaffers Dock Building, Herd Street, from 10am - 4pm on October 29th, where wonderful crafters from across New Zealand will bring you the best excuse for shopping there is (dare I say it, but Christmas isn't far away....).

Check out the Craft2.0 blog for information about who'll be there and what goodies will be on offer.

30 Before 30 - #29 Give Blood

2011-10-06T21:11:00.003+13:00

The first time I tried to give blood was earlier this year, February 22nd to be exact. I was sitting in the mezzanine floor of the Heritage Hotel in the Square, reading through the information and ticking boxes about what I hadn't been in contact with when my lunch break was suddenly interrupted by the 6.3 magnitude quake and I got out of there as quickly as I could.

I was sick for my last appointment and they don't like sick blood!

So, third time lucky, today I gave blood. And there's not much to report really. I was a tad scared, but the needle wasn't huge and it only hurt as much as having blood taken for tests (which I do yearly anyway). I would encourage you to sign up to give blood if you are able - you never know when you might need it!

A couple of interesting facts:

Blood only lasts 35 days
42,000 patients are treated with blood or blood products in New Zealand each year
Only 4% of us currently roll up our sleeves and donate
With each donation YOU can save up to three lives
They require 3,000 donations EACH AND EVERY WEEK to meet hospital needs

Check out the NZ Blood Service website for more information.

See my original 30 Before 30 post here
See all 30 Before 30 posts here

Friday Felt Favourites

2011-09-30T09:02:00.000+13:00

Every week I love checking out the Fresh On Felt blog post that Rose compiles on Felt. The creativity of the human race never ceases to amaze me. I have so many items in my favourites at the moment, here's just a few:

$1150.00

$15.00

$15.00

$4.00

$48.00

$260.00

$15.50

$25.00

30 Before 30 - #26 Coffee

2011-09-21T18:48:00.001+12:00

Some people find it really hard to believe that I don't drink coffee (or tea (except for fruity/herbal ones) for that matter). I hate the smell of coffee and from the few sips I'd tasted, pretty much knew I hated the taste of it too. Even though I used to work in a cafe/bar with a coffee machine (making them all day) I'd never downed a whole cup, so I put it on my 30 Before 30 list to at least give it a chance.

And you know what... I hated it. It's bitter and gross. I'm glad I had a yummy juice to wash it down!

And that's about all I have to say about the experience. Now that it's done, I never have to drink it again, hooray!

See my original 30 Before 30 post here
See all 30 Before 30 posts here

Clever Sisters

2011-09-15T12:35:00.000+12:00

I met heaps of lovely customers and some awesome crafty people at Spring Encraftment last weekend. Among the stall-holders that I (very briefly) met, were twin sisters Christie and Megan.

Christie, aka ChristieBell Designs makes those sweet glass bottle necklaces. That wee fox and mushroom with a caterpillar (as well as cool birds nests), are handmade from polymer clay and carefully placed inside the tiny vials. I love them and can't stop thinking about them - I really should have bought one at the market...

And Megan, aka Sly Fox Jewellery makes those funky rings (among other beauties), with illustrations from UK based designer InkFive.

Sweet eh? Very clever girls!

This weekend

2011-09-06T09:53:00.000+12:00

I'll be at Spring Encraftment on Saturday. I hope to see a few of you there!

Hey 2011, please slow down!

2011-08-30T17:53:00.000+12:00

Wow, the year is flying by huh? I can't believe another month is nearly over... Just thought I'd do a quick round-up of all the wee things that happened in August:

I sent off a range of my Japanese paper jewellery to new stockist, Vesta Design Store in Queenstown.
I completed a custom order for a lovely lady from Tauranga. She wanted four of my butterfly frames in a larger size than I usually make, for her bedroom - so sweet that someone likes them enough to put them in such a personal space. I have no idea what her bedroom looks like - but that photo is how I imagine them. I also made a few spares, so I'll have them with me at Spring Encraftment on September 10th.
We had a great week long break in one of my favourite places - Wanaka. It was really nice to get out of Christchurch, have some fun on the slopes and actually relax.
We had fun building snowmen and making snow angels when it snowed a heap for the second time this year.
I've been sick with a nasty flu that I just can't seem to shake. I've now had more than two weeks off work for sickness this year. With that, snow, earthquakes and holidays I feel like I've been away from work for more time than I've been there!
I won the amazing prize of a 'Little Weathered Friend' journal from Bibliographica. Louise won a prize in my last giveaway, so that's pretty cool.

Awesome things

2011-08-17T20:35:00.000+12:00

Neat things I've treated myself to in the recent months:

Emerge MMXI-II-XXII Brooch by Mudbird
Such a clever way to make something beautiful from the cruddy silt from this year's earthquakes.
Extra Curricular, issue 6 (which you can now also subscribe to)
My copy should be on its way to me... can't wait to have a read.
Tin of Super Cute Glossy Labels by Mixing Ink
Perfect for anything!
Mini Monster by Super Plush
Just look at his little face!!! I can't get enough of him!

Winter holiday

2011-08-05T09:21:00.000+12:00

Photo by moaan on Flickr (Not really related, but it's pretty)

Tomorrow I'm off on another wee holiday, this time down to one of my favourite places - Wanaka, for a week of wintry fun.

My Felt shop is now closed until Monday August 15th.

Have a great weekend and week everyone!

Snow day!

2011-07-26T09:46:00.000+12:00

Yesterday was the most amazing snow day ever! I haven't seen that much snow in the ten years I've lived in Christchurch. That's the view from my house (a wee bit up the Port Hills), and the view down Dyers Pass Road - the main road down the hill. The road was closed for most of the day, so I got to stay home from work (and still am now because the snow has turned to ice this morning).

Yesterday I did a bit of work, went for wee walks down the street and had fun throwing snowballs for the dogs, and then watching them get very confused about where they'd gone amongst the rest of the snow.

Mother Nature really is giving us the full deal this year. I'm definitely not complaining about this treat though!

Shop Update - Hair Clips, Vouchers and More!

2011-07-21T08:06:00.002+12:00

space

$25.00

$12.00

$15.00

$32.00

I've just finished updating my Felt shop with all sorts of goodies, including new hair clips (in small and large sizes) and heaps more magnets, necklaces and brooches. Freedom Creative gift vouchers are new too, the perfect gift if you're not sure what to pick. I've also reduced the price of my drop shaped necklaces because I'm no longer making them and want them gone!

Over 100 items for you to browse - sorry if I've made it too hard to choose!

Emma Makes... lovely things

2011-07-20T09:36:00.000+12:00

... bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens,
brown paper packages tied up with strings,
these are a few of my favourite things

Yesterday I received that lovely package in the mail. I was super lucky to win a gorgeous Emma Makes bag from a giveaway on her Facebook page. I've been drooling over her bags for ages, and they're even better in real life - so pretty and really well made. If you'd like one of your own, you can get one from her Felt store or off her website.

Emma also makes sweet notebooks and the most awesome witty pencils (which I've blogged about before).

Thanks Emma!
Oh, by the way, you have an awesome name, tee he he.

Craft2.0 treats

2011-07-05T17:57:00.000+12:00

Look at all the lovely goodies I bought at Craft2.0 on Saturday!!! The market was a bit more quiet than usual, so I had a decent chance to have a look around thanks to my lovely stall neighbours.

'Shits 'n Giggles' and 'Too Many Lollies Will Make Your Teeth Fall Out' tea towels by Dustys & Lulu
'God Bless Sunday Morning' print by Dear Colleen
Print by Devon Smith (I've wanted one of her works for SO long!)
A sweet felt bird brooch by Katy of Threadmark
A ceramic brooch by Stephanie Cahorel
Blue owl print by Sweet William
Lucky dip hearts and quote/unquote magnets by Helen of Tinch

Tomorrow!

2011-07-01T12:13:00.001+12:00

Exciting! Craft2.0 is tomorrow!!! Here are some items from sellers who'll be there. I'm looking forward to checking them out in person for a nice change. Have a lovely weekend everyone!

$4.50

$139.00

$5.00

$84.00

$39.00

$30.00

$25.00

$2.50

Meet....me!

2011-06-27T09:18:00.000+12:00

My profile is up over on the Craft2.0 blog. Head on over here if you'd like to have a wee read about me and my business.

And if you'd like to meet me in person, of course I'll be at Craft2.0, this Saturday (July 2nd), 10am - 3pm at The Dowse Art Museum, 45 Laings Road, Lower Hutt.

Hopefully see you there!

As long as that pesky ash cloud stays away! Grrr!

Things to remember

2011-06-22T12:54:00.000+12:00

Lovely photos + lovely quotes + lovely typography = images by Julian Bialowas. You can buy digital copies of the photos from his website, or check out the rest of his beautiful 365 day project here.

Getting my craft on

2011-06-20T17:40:00.000+12:00

It's less than two weeks til the next Craft2.0, on Saturday July 2nd. I'm busy preparing things for my stall, and hoping the wee aftershocks Christchurch is getting don't come at just the wrong time to stuff up the resining process!

Doing the trip up to Wellington for the day is always fun. We're usually the last to arrive with only a few minutes to spare and the market is over before we know it. Then it's off to the pub for a well earned drink before heading home. I love catching up with other sellers and customers, and the rush and excitement of the day keeps me coming back for more!

If you're a friend of Craft2.0 and you come along, you'll get an awesome bag filled with goodies, including a sweet treat and discount voucher from Freedom Creative (to be used on the day, or in my Felt shop during July). If you want to become a friend, you can here.

30 Before 30 - #9 Watch the Sunrise

2011-06-14T19:18:00.000+12:00

I actually completed this nice 30 Before 30 task a few months ago when I was on holiday cruising around the Mediterranean. I got up early to watch the 6am sunrise over Western Italy (between Rome and Civitavecchia) on our second to last day at sea. It was lovely and peaceful, only a few other people up and about the cruise ship, and awesome to be able to complete this task in such an amazing place!

Eeek, only 5 tasks down, that means 25 to go and only 558 days to complete them (although a few are things which are in progress). The weeks are flying by, so I'd better get to it!

See my original 30 Before 30 post here
See all 30 Before 30 posts here

Oh yeah, feeling a little deflated after yesterday's quakes, but hopefully that feeling will be gone soon. Thanks for the tweets and messages making sure all was okay (again).

300 Fans, 3 Great Prizes!

2011-06-07T10:32:00.001+12:00

I'm running a giveaway over on Facebook as a thank you to all those who support my wee business. It's the easiest giveaway to enter - all you need to do is 'like' Freedom Creative by 8pm Wednesday June 8th (NZ time) and you're in the draw.

The three prizes are:

A Japanese paper bamboo necklace.
A set of four super strong magnets and two small Japanese paper hair clips.
A Japanese paper Scrabble necklace.

Good luck!

Friday Felt favs - Monster May Market

2011-05-27T11:46:00.000+12:00

Here are some of my favourite Felt items from sellers who'll be at the Monster May Market tomorrow. Pop along if you feel like getting some crafty treats.

$30.00

$15.00

$40.00

$20.00

$75.00

$35.00

$10.00

$34.95

Geeky cool

2011-05-25T08:20:00.000+12:00

How cool is this?! Artwork and mosaics made from Rubik's Cubes on RubikCubism.
Found via Rock+Paper+Scissors.

Monster May Market - see you there!

2011-05-19T20:05:00.004+12:00

Yip, I'll be at the Monster May Market, organised by the lovely ladies at The Craft Collective. It's next Saturday, May 28th, 10.30am - 3pm at North Linwood School (221 Woodham Road, Christchurch). Please come by and say hello. For more information check out their Facebook page here.

A few holiday snaps

2011-05-17T18:23:00.002+12:00

My holiday was amazing! Thanks for your comments on my last post wishing me safe travels.

That also means I've completed another of my tasks from my
30 Before 30 list; 1. Take, or have flights booked for an overseas trip. A GIANT thank you and BIG SLOPPY KISS to my amazing Mum for the opportunity of a lifetime and being a great travel partner.

Here's a few of the 1400 photos I took over two and a half weeks.

Venice was so lovely and different - definitely one of my favourite places.

The view of Venice from St Mark's Campanile.

Click here to read more...

Italian women having a conversation in Bari.

Inside the Notre-Dame de la Garde
in Marseilles.

Dubrovnik - my other favourite place! I'm looking forward to going back to Croatia one day.

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona - photos will never show how huge and wonderful this church is.

Mum at the Colosseum.

Jellyfish at the awesome aquarium in Genoa.

It's holiday time!

2011-04-20T17:24:00.000+12:00

Tomorrow my wonderful Mum and I are off on the most amazing trip!!! We're flying all the way to Venice and then going on a fourteen night cruise around the Mediterranean; Italy, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, France, Spain and Malta. I can't even express in words how excited I am!

That means that my Felt shop will soon be closed for a few weeks.

Arrivederci!

I'll leave you with some gorgeous travel related Felt finds:

$20.00

$20.00

$95.00

$5.00

$67.00

$18.00

30 Before 30 - Update

2011-04-17T20:22:00.000+12:00

Hi everyone! How are you all?

I've been super slack lately with my 30 Before 30 list... I will have completed one very big and exciting task before the end of this week though, but more on that on Wednesday...

The last task I attempted was #29 Give Blood. I was signing up with the NZ Blood Service in the Millenium building when the February 22nd earthquake struck. Thankfully that meant I wasn't in my work building, but I didn't get to complete the task, so I'll have to make another appointment soon. I wonder what happened to the clipboard with all my information on it that I ended up throwing across the floor.

However... there's one thing on the list that I'll now never be able to complete after that devastating day; #20 Climb the ChristChurch Cathedral Tower, so I'm calling on suggestions for a replacement task. What shall I do instead?

Shop Update + Free Brooch

2011-03-28T20:19:00.000+13:00

I've just finished updating my Felt shop with some new magnets, necklaces, brooches and a few pairs of earrings. The next five customers who make a purchase will receive one of the above brooches for free! They're one of a kind and the only five of that style I've made. Your brooch will be selected at random for a nice surprise in your parcel.

Time is flying by these days and it's been ages since I've done a blog post. Sorry about that, hopefully I'll have more time for the internet soon.

Have a nice week and be quick if you want a free brooch!

Help mend Christchurch!

2011-03-02T21:38:00.000+13:00

The amazing Maddie of Li'l Magoolie has done it again! Even though she lives in Christchurch, she's managed to find the time to organise an awesome auction of amazing items. So please help mend my broken city, every dollar from the auctions goes to the Red Cross NZ Christchurch Quake Relief. Bid from now until March 30th.
Information about the auction here.
Or get in and bid on items here.

I can't do a blog post about my quake experience just yet, and I'm not sure if I ever will. At the moment I can't keep my mind on anything and everything is feeling rather overwhelming. It's weird... I was fine until two days ago but now everything is raw. I'm happy to be alive and still have all my friends, house and job. Life is short and some families have lost so much. Our city is hurting.

Thanks for all your messages making sure I was okay. You're all lovely. Thankfully I wasn't in The Press building at the time, I was signing up to give blood as part of my 30 Before 30 list. If you'd like to see some of my photos from the day you can check them out on Facebook.

Quick 4 - Current Felt Favs

2011-02-22T12:00:00.000+13:00

A wee look at the items currently in my favourites on Felt.

$32.00

$25.00

$12.50

$89.00

30 Before 30 - #10 Go to Sepia Restaurant for dinner

2011-02-18T13:15:00.001+13:00

Why was such a simple task like going out to dinner with my man on my 30 Before 30 list? Because we kept saying "we should go to Sepia Restaurant for dinner", but just never got around to it. So we got a bit dressed up and went out for dinner. Expectations were high as he'd (I'll call him M for this) been there before and had really enjoyed it, but it was disappointing. Sorry, there's no photos as I didn't want to be all paparazzi like and intrude on our date.

A REVIEW:

Food - Mains 3/5
I had a tenderloin steak with garlic mash. The steak was pretty average and the mash was yummy, but not garlic. I figure you can judge a lot of restaurants on how good their steak is. M ordered the duck breast, which came on yummy rice, and even though I don't eat duck I had food envy.

Food - Desserts 4/5
The desserts made up for the disappointment for my main. I had white chocolate cake with cotton candy sorbet and strawberry sauce and it was SO good. M had the crème brulée which he seemed to thoroughly enjoy too.

Service/Atmosphere 1/5
Restaurant service means a lot to me... and I don't think I'm overly fussy - I just expect a little attention. When we were finally seated (after standing around for ages), it was right in front of the main door, even though there were small tables elsewhere which would have been much preferable for a couple obviously on a date. Those tables had 'reserved' signs on them, even though nobody turned up in the couple of hours we were there and considering that we left at 9.30pm, I'm sure they weren't really reserved. They were obviously very busy, with a number of huge groups, but I don't think that's an excuse for bad service. We felt forgotten about a few times during the evening and everything took a very long time, including the basics like water for the table. Luckily I had lovely company or it may have been pretty uncomfortable. One of my pet peeves is when there's items like Fish/Pasta of the Day on the menu, but your waiter/waitress doesn't mention what they actually are. There was also a special menu just for that day that they didn't mention. I don't think you should have to ask about these things, right? M had talked the place up and even though it's a hotel restaurant I had expected awesome service in a somewhat fancy setting. Sorry, that turned into a rant.. let me get on with it...

Company 5/5
No comment needed really. M, you're a great date.

It was a nice evening, but mainly because of my company and the dessert. The service was a huge let down and I probably wouldn't go back because of it. They also lose points because their online menu isn't up to date.

Next week I'm giving blood, not looking forward to that one so much.

See my original 30 Before 30 post here
See all 30 Before 30 posts here

Felt like new!

2011-02-15T10:47:00.000+13:00

Monday saw the launch of the new and improved Felt site. Felt is close to my heart and the small team have been busy working on the update for ages. Their hard work shows in the new site - it's fresh, stylish and easier to use.

Last night I updated my shop with some new necklaces and brooches, and I'm now selling Scrabble tile rings. I now also offer international shipping on all my items and combined shipping, meaning that you only pay for postage for the first item you buy, all other items in the order ship for free. Finding lovely items on Felt is now effortless, with improved search functions and shops split into categories, and telling everyone about what you've found is easy with the new Facebook and Twitter buttons.

Basically, it's awesome and you should check it out.

Sooooounds good to me!

2011-02-10T16:42:00.002+13:00

Over Christmas I finally got around to framing these two pieces of Doily Art I bought in November 2009 (!), from Melbourne based artist Sooooound. I love the mixture of illustration, colour and mixed media on an unconventional (and sweet) base. By the way, if you ever need decent quality, stylish frames, made here in New Zealand, I would totally suggest contacting Auckland company Factory Frames.

30 Before 30 - #4 Read Craft Inc.

2011-02-07T09:27:00.001+13:00

This was another quick, simple and enjoyable task to tick off my 30 Before 30 list.

Craft Inc. - Turn Your Creative Hobby Into a Business by Meg Mateo Ilasco will teach you how to take the next steps to make money from your hobby.

I thought I'd learn more from this book than I actually did... I guess if I'd read it three years ago I would have found it really helpful, but because I've already been in business for a while, most of it seemed like common sense to me. In saying that, it was good to re-think things like my business plan, and reading the interviews with other artists was certainly inspiring.

Things I did learn:

Fabric patterns are covered under copyright laws, meaning that some fabrics are only made for non-commercial use.
This book recommends the below formula for pricing, which I really don't follow, maybe I should...
Wholesale = (Cost of materials) + (Cost of labour) x 150%
Retail = Wholesale price x 100% Markup
I'm hoping America has a lot more laws and rules than New Zealand, because it talks about things I've never heard of...
The most important message from this book came right at the end. "Truly there is no universal algorithm to make your creative dream continuously successful. Every creative business will ride through highs, lows and various stages of profitability and creativity". "For small businesses, every experience holds a lesson. Through it all, remember that only you can define what success is for your business."

See my original 30 Before 30 post here
See all 30 Before 30 posts here

30 Before 30 - #8 Watch Labyrinth

2011-01-30T21:45:00.001+13:00

Today I spent a lovely afternoon doing number eight on my 30 Before 30 list - watching Labyrinth. I was in two minds about whether or not I'd enjoy this film because I usually dislike movies that were made years ago because they seem dated, but I love the illustration work of Brian Froud (especially in his Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Books). It had also been really hyped up as a classic that I 'had to watch' so it had a lot to live up to.

Now that I have seen it I can see why everyone hyped it up and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would! My favourite character was definitely Ludo (who, did you know, was voiced by Ron Mueck?), and Jennifer Connelly did a great job of playing Sarah at such a young age. The styling of the ball scene was amazing and Jennifer Connelly looked stunning, even if David Bowie was a bit creepy. It also made me really appreciate and think about the craftsmanship and ingenuity behind older movies. The puppets may not have looked as amazing as today's CG graphics, but it's hard to comprehend how much work must have gone in to them all.

Starting off small and easy! One down, twenty-nine to go.
See my original 30 Before 30 post here
See all 30 Before 30 posts here

Recent makings

2011-01-24T19:45:00.000+13:00

Click on the image for a larger view

Here's a couple of wee family projects I've finished over the last month.

On the left is the Glass Calendar I made for my Mum for Christmas (she's a glass artist).

On the right are wedding invitations I made for my Dad and his wife to be. I pretty much had free reign over what to do for them and all they told me was that their colours would be silver and lavender. Whenever I make wedding stationery for people I think 'this is so nice, I could do this for a living', but by the end of it I'm glad I only do it once in a blue moon!

Quick 4 - Recently discovered blogs

2011-01-20T16:24:00.001+13:00

Sweetness for your eyes:
Jeannie
Tabitha Emma
Pretty Zoo
But Honestly

Now in store

2011-01-18T21:29:00.000+13:00

I've just packaged up a range of my Japanese inspired jewellery and cuff links for Vast Interior in Wellington, so they'll be available in store very soon. Vast specialise in hand-crafted quality timber furniture and inspired cultural designs for the home and their store looks very cool.

Vast Interior The Woolstore Design Centre, 262 Thorndon Quay, Wellington 6011, Phone 04 894.2184

Quick 4 - Sweet Felt items

2011-01-17T12:01:00.000+13:00

Deer Cushion Cover

lastonepromise

$40.00

Short Feathered Neck...

pitch

$20.00

Pink And Blue Floral...

cloudnine

$25.00

I Love You Upcycled ...

oddoneout

$40.00

Crafty Christmas/Birthday Goodies

2011-01-11T11:38:00.002+13:00

How lucky am I to have received all these goodies as either Christmas or birthday gifts!? Ok, some of them I treated myself to... but that still counts, he he.

1. Glory Necklace, beautiful, but sadly from the In My Neck of The Woods closing down sale.
2. Lovely ceramic fantail made in Nelson.
3. 2011 Frankie Diary, so pretty I don't want to write in it...
4. Craft Inc., by Meg Mateo Ilasco.
5. 'If you gotta problem, yo I'll solve it' and 'Imagination Machine' pencils by Emma Makes.
6. Frankie issue 39.
7. Spaces by Frankie (can you tell I love Frankie, ha ha!)
8. The Art and Craft of Making Jewellery by Joanna Gollberg.

Thanks to my lovely friends and family who either knew me so well to pick out such awesome gifts, or just gave me some money to go shopping - you're the best! *mwah*

30 Before 30

2011-01-07T08:54:00.019+13:00

I've been tossing up in my mind whether or not I should do this for quite a while.... and with just under two years until I turn thirty, I guess it's now or never... Some are small, easily achievable things, others aren't so straight foward, but I've tried to make them all feasible.

30 things, 717 days, so that's one every 24 days or so, sounds achievable right?

In no particular order, before I turn 30 I will:

~~Take, or have flights booked for an overseas trip.~~ Blogged here
~~Make meringues.~~ Blogged here
Swim with dolphins.
~~Read~~ ~~Craft Inc~~. Blogged here
Pay off and cut up my credit card.
Take a silver jewellery class or course.
Only eat raw food for a week.
~~Watch~~ ~~Labyrinth~~. Blogged here
~~Watch the sunrise.~~ Blogged here
~~Go to~~ ~~Sepia Restaurant~~ ~~for dinner with my man.~~ Blogged here
Stop biting my nails for good.
Go skinny dipping.
Help a community less fortunate than mine.
Write letters to five different people.
Walk the Godley Head track.
Try Pimms.
Watch Schindler's List.
Make 500 sales on Felt.
Go to a movie by myself.
Relax in Hanmer Springs for a day or two.
Ignore Facebook for a week.
Go to Cirque de Soleil.
Order a steak medium-rare.
~~Blog every day for ten days.~~ Blogged here
~~Go to Quail Island.~~ Blogged here
~~Drink a whole coffee so I can say I've given it a chance.~~
Blogged here
~~Try pear cider.~~ Blogged here
Go to Orana Park.
~~Give blood~~. Blogged here
Document each of these tasks on my blog.

Check back for my progress.

I have had to edit the list a tad since February 22nd's quake, as number 20 used to be to Climb the ChristChurch Cathedral Tower. After the events of the past year, I wanted to swap it to something relaxing and fun, and Hanmer Springs is the perfect destination for a stress-free break.

Goals are dreams with deadlines Diana Scharf Hunt

Looking Forward

2011-01-06T08:50:00.001+13:00

This year I will:

Pay off my credit card and then chop it up (early in the year). That means I can start saving for a grand adventure or something fun.
Go on holiday to somewhere I haven't stayed before. You see, when I usually go on holiday it's to the same spots because of family or the attractions - Dunedin, Wanganui, Wanaka, Queenstown etc, this year I'd like to stay somewhere new, even if it's only a thirty minute drive away.
Try new things.
Stay positive.
Stress less.
Exercise more.
Eat more salads.
Keep an open mind.
Enjoy life.

Looking Back

2011-01-05T13:53:00.002+13:00

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm still in holiday mode, but back at my full time job today. I've just been looking back at my post from about this time last year, which had a few resolutions for 2010, let's see how I did;

1) To do my book-keeping at the end of each month, no excuses, just do it. Ah yeah, ok, I didn't really do too well at this, but as of now it's up to date! I did do my tax return myself so that's quite an achievement considering I've never studied accounting.

2) To not be so angry and stressed about my 9-5 job. I think I achieved this a lot more during the last half of the year, so that's got to be a good thing. I'll be keeping it up this year.

3) To continue to provide excellent, professional craft services to all my customers. Well achieved.

4) To support local crafts-people and buy handmade. This was too easy with all the awesome products around me! Over half of the Christmas gifts I gave last year were handmade.

5) To continue to value my wonderful friends and family, and make sure they know how much I love them. I hope I've achieved this, let me know if I haven't!

6) To go out more often, do different things, and enjoy life! I think I did do this a bit more in 2010 than previous years. I definitely enjoyed 2010 and am looking forward to making 2011 an awesome year!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-21T18:04:00.000+13:00

Wishing you a fabulous Christmas and relaxing New Year. I hope you all have the time to enjoy a break with your family and friends, eat lots of good food and have fun making some new memories. Your support throughout 2010 has been amazing - thanks for all the blog comments, tweets, Facebook comments and emails.

It's my last day of work tomorrow for a few weeks and my Felt shop is closed for 2010. I'll be re-opening in January sometime, but for now I'm really looking forward to a relaxing Christmas and New Year.

Take care!

Market this Saturday

2010-12-15T18:16:00.003+13:00

I'll be at A Craft Christmas Market, this Saturday, December 18th, outside Goodbye Blue Monday, Poplar Lane. It was a last minute kinda thing, so I hope I have enough stock! If you still have some Christmas gifts to purchase, the wonderful Rose In Thorns, Black Swan, MudBird NZ and Relique Vintage Jewellery will be there too (and many more).

Oh yeah, I'm also closing up shop on Monday December 20th for a much needed summer break, so make sure you get any orders through before then.

Have a nice week!

As sweet as honey!

2010-12-14T20:01:00.001+13:00

Once again I was lucky enough to win a prize over on the Honey Design blog. The prize was to choose an item from her Felt shop, so I chose that super cool 'Love What You Do' notebook, and look at all the goodies Lisa sent me!!! They are amazingly well made and I've been admiring her Alice In Wonderland range since I first saw them on Felt. I'll be rehoming some of them as Christmas gifts to share the love, but they'll be hard to give away as they are so sweet. Thanks Lisa!

New Products

2010-11-30T22:15:00.001+13:00

I've just finished another HUGE shop update. I now have 80 items in my Felt shop, including new Earrings (in rectangular or round), Rings, 3D Butterfly Art and for the first time, Scrabble Board Coasters. I'm pooped.

To market

2010-11-24T19:09:00.003+13:00

Just a quick post to let you know I'll be at the Rolleston Community Market this Sunday, November 28th, 10am - 1pm. Hopefully the weather is good, and then we'll be in the Community Centre carpark, otherwise we'll be in the Stadium. It's my first time out there, but I'm beside Rose of Rose In Thorns, so please pop out and say 'hi'!

I'll hopefully be back on Friday to share some new products with you...

The amazing work of Ron Mueck

2010-11-23T19:29:00.001+13:00

In the weekend my boyfriend and I went to see the Ron Mueck exhibition at the Christchurch Art Gallery. It was one exhibition I really didn't mind paying to see and it didn't disappoint; it was amazing! His human sculptures are so realistic, right down to the hair, toenails and skin blemishes, and the videos showing his process were very informative and intriguing. I enjoyed the undersized sculptures as much as the oversized ones, and my favourites were probably Dead Dad and Pregnant Woman (both pictured) .

You have to go if you live in Christchurch! Unusually, you're allowed to take photos in this exhibition, but I didn't know that until I was there without my camera. The exhibition is on until January 23rd, more information here.

Quick 4 - Favourite products

2010-11-19T11:27:00.007+13:00

Japanese Paper Neckl...

freedom

$30.00

Japanese Paper Neckl...

freedom

$30.00

Scrabble Tile Pendan...

freedom

$13.00

The Winner's Choice

freedom

$27.00

In a Twitter giveaway this morning I asked anyone who follows me to tweet back to me what their favourite item from my shop is, these were the first four replies. It's always interesting to see what people like.
Happy weekend everyone!

Sweet treats

2010-11-10T20:26:00.001+13:00

Oh, lucky me (once again), look at what I won the other day! These sweet items arrived in the mail for me today from Joanna, aka Little Minx in Dunedin. I tried taking my own photo, but it didn't do the items justice, so I nicked one from her blog. You should see how cute her random number generator is, that picked me out! One of my family members who sews a lot more than I do will be happy to receive the needle book for Christmas, but the pencil case and brooch are mine, all mine!

If you want to nab something for yourself, check out the Little Minx Felt shop.

Thanks Joanne! x

Oh, and for those of you who wonder how I win so many giveaways.... it's because I enter lots while I'm bored at work. :P

Thanks for the support, you're lovely

2010-11-09T21:03:00.001+13:00

Just a quick post to say a huge thanks to everyone who read and commented on my last post. You are all awesome and made me feel perfectly 'normal' and sane! I've replied to a lot of you below that post but honestly, every single one of you gave me something to smile about and something to think about. I love this quote that Evie wrote, so quickly made it into a printable image. Help yourself if you want. x

EDIT Just read this and you should too.

Flip-flopping

2010-11-04T12:37:00.008+13:00

Argh, things are stressing me out and making me think a lot lately so I'm just going to blog about it. Even if nobody reads it, it'll help me to write it done...

TRAVEL I want to travel... I especially want to go to Canada and Japan. I feel like by now I should have been overseas more (I'm nearly 28 and only been to Australia and Fiji, with my Mum or Dad). I want to experience more of the world, and before I get too old, ha ha. The thing is, I get paid bugger-all at my job (especially considering I've been there nearly eight years, and had two years training before that), so that makes it pretty hard to save any money, let alone pay off my debt.
CHRISTMAS Christmas is sneaking up once again (sorry, I know, I said the 'C' word). I love my family, I really do, but having both parents living in different islands and neither of them in the same city as me can make things stressful. I've lived in Christchurch for nearly ten years, it's my home and only once have I had Christmas day here. I feel quite a lot of pressure to make nice things for them... and making special presents for family takes a lot of time. My birthday is also on Christmas Eve, and I would love to be able to just relax in the sun with friends and good food, but I always end up travelling.
If you've made it this far well done, but there's more...

BUSINESS I've also been thinking about this business, Freedom Creative and if it is worth all the effort and time I put into it. I love crafting and love selling my wares, but it can just be so tiring, especially at this time of the year. I started Freedom Creative as a way to do something more in life, to be more creative, to meet new people... I feel like it's made me a better person, I've met a whole heap of lovely people, some of whom are now my best mates, and I've enjoyed learning how to run a business. But I'm not sure I need it anymore. Then again, I can't imagine my life without it.
CRAZY WOMAN I often wonder if I'm bipolar. I mean, I'm generally a very happy and positive person, but I just have really low days. Part of me just thinks that that's part of life and everyone has those days, but another part of me wonders if it's not quite right. Either way, I'm not too keen on asking the doctor about it because I don't want medication for it. I have a relative with bipolar and I've seen how hard her medication can effect her. Instead I just try hard to keep things in perspective and to keep a positive outlook on things, and that works, most of the time, except for when my brain goes into overdrive and I think all of the above.
And just finally, if you've read all the way down to here, thanks. Do you ever feel like life is just a little too overwhelming? And I don't even have kids or a mortgage to worry about...

Quick 4 - Ceramic Felt Finds

2010-11-02T12:06:00.000+13:00

Lace Blossom Bowl

thebusyfinch

$32.00

Ceramic Brooch Black...

abbypotter

$39.00

Ceramic Gift Tag - S...

mudbirdnz

$15.00

Bicycle Brooch

blackswan

$20.00

Loving ceramic items at the moment. ♥

Crafty times

2010-11-01T18:23:00.004+13:00

Hello! Craft2.0 is all over once again, and it was another fun, successful fair for Freedom Creative. Like last time, Mel, Lucy and I arrived with about 15 minutes to set up before the Friends Of Craft2.0 were allowed in to shop, so it was a rushed morning. It seemed a little quieter and less manic than last time, which was quite nice. The crowd was lovely though and my new products went down well.

Thanks to Rose for manning my stall a few times during the day so I could get out and meet some other crafters and buy some awesome crafty treats. Half of them are Christmas pressies, so I can't show you them, but they were from Dear Colleen and my neighbour Rose In Thorns. The photos are of things I can show you! The giant toast (a gift for the boyfriend, photographed on the plane home with Mel's giant toast - they're best friends of course) from Bad Animals, a Minu print and a super cool ceramic milk bottle from PS Ceramics.

As always, thanks to all the organisers and helpers on the day. A special thanks to Sue for giving me a bigger stall than I'd booked, allowing me to spread out. I may never go back to a half stall again...

I should be relaxed now but my to-do list is still long, even thought I don't really have any huge plans for too many more markets before Christmas. Sigh.

Crafty Business is on tonight (very soon), so that should be fun. Have a nice week!

Making Craft Pay

2010-10-27T09:22:00.001+13:00

This article from Zest in the Press today is an interesting read for anyone thinking of trying to make a go of their craft as a business. Yip, that's me looking all cheesy at my desk, and it also mentions the lovely Rose of Rose In Thorns and the extremely talented Colleen of Dear Colleen. The article does make it all seem a bit hard, but I truly enjoy what I do, I promise! Thanks Katy for doing a great job of getting craft into mainstream media, he he.

Click on the image if you want to have a read.

$5 off anyone?

2010-10-25T21:02:00.005+13:00

Craft2.0 is less than a week away and I'm busy putting the final touches on my products and display.

To thank you for being wonderful followers on here, and fans on Facebook, just click on the above voucher, print it and present it to me this Saturday for $5 off any purchase over $25!
Valid only on 30/10/10, at the Freedom Creative stall at Craft2.0, one per customer.

Craft 2.0 is a cult Wellington craft fair for style junkies, craft enthusiasts and fans of handmade.
This Saturday, 30th October 2010, 10am-3pm, at TheNewDowse, Lower Hutt, Wellington

Quick 4 - Blogs I can't get enough of

2010-10-21T09:44:00.000+13:00

Lushlee
Missed Connections
Handmadelove
PostSecret

Oooh, look up there!

2010-10-15T11:54:00.005+13:00

Just a quick Friday post (yay, it's Friday!)...

Look up there, in your web browser, on the tab you're reading, what's that you say? It's an awesome new favicon that Angela of Striking Keys made me! Sweet eh!? I tried making one when I first started this blog, and then it stopped working and I couldn't figure it out again, but I won her Friday Favicon Freebie and with the super simple instructions she sent, it was so easy!
{EDIT: Hmmmm, now it doesn't seem to be working.... is it for you?}
{EDIT: Ok, it's working again! Ha ha}

Also, my profile was up on the Craft2.0 blog yesterday. It's only two weeks away! I'm really looking forward to it, especially meeting more crafters from around our beautiful country.

New products (finally!)

2010-10-10T15:11:00.001+13:00

Finally I've had the chance to photograph some new products I've been working on. These are vintage kimono fabric necklaces and brooches. I got the gorgeous Japanese fabric from Cherry Blossom and have been looking for a way to use it for ages. As usual, I used Ponoko for the laser cut bamboo pieces and highly recommend them for the awesome customer service they provide! I'll be debuting this range at Craft 2.0, which is less than three weeks away!

So that's where I've been lately, busy busy making new things and getting up enough stock for upcoming markets and the pre-Christmas rush. Better get back to work!

Em x

Quick 4 - Flickr Favs + Today's Emotions

2010-09-23T12:24:00.002+12:00

Sweet Flickr images found using four words I'm really feeling today:

Creative Calm photographer's agitated mind
Motivated 113/365 :: living among fairies
Happy Bee Happy And Enjoy Your Weekend!
In love with life Labor of love.

It's nice to feel completely positive for a change. I have new products using beautiful vintage kimono fabric, which I'm just putting the final touches on, so hopefully I can show you them soon! I hope your week is going well too.

Felt Like Helping Out

2010-09-12T20:30:00.001+12:00

As I'm sure you're all aware by now, Christchurch was rocked by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in the early hours of last Saturday morning. I was actually in Dunedin when it happened, but it was certainly enough to wake up our household down there. It was weird to be out of town for it, and come home to the damage on Sunday night, but after the week of aftershocks, I'm glad we were away! I was very lucky, in that my flat was pretty much fine, and the same with nearly all of my friends homes. Looking at the damage, it's so surprising that more people weren't seriously injured or killed. The above are some photos I took on my walk home one day. We had a few days where we were asked to go into work, which was in the cordoned off area of town. It was quite surreal to have to go through a police checkpoint to get to our office. I won't babble on about the earthquake, as the news and other bloggers have done an excellent job of covering it.

However, this post is mainly about the awesome Felt community, who have come together to raise funds to get my lovely city back on its feet! Some generous volunteers have opened a Felt shop called Felt Aid and all profits from the donated items will go to the NZ Red Cross, how sweet is that?! I've donated a few necklaces, and there's so many other cool items in the shop (and more being uploaded each day), so if you want to help out, and snag yourself something nice, check it out!
Blog here
Shop here

Quick 4 - Recently listed lovelies

2010-08-27T11:01:00.002+12:00

Plush Toy - Mother M...

zooshii

$10.00

Black Spiral Choker

bobbiepene

$35.00

8 X 10 Original Fine...

lightbox

$25.00

Chocolate & Cream No...

bibliographica

$28.50

New Cuff Links In Store Now

2010-08-19T21:33:00.002+12:00

I've just finished updating my Felt shop with some new Japanese Paper Cuff Links, just in time for Father's Day here in New Zealand. All my cuff links now come in packaged in a strong and tidy black leatherette box, making them great for posting as gifts, and nice and easy to wrap.

Em x

Featured Seller

2010-08-17T08:00:00.001+12:00

I'm having a busy week trying to sort out things like a huge pile of paperwork, and making new cuff links, but over on the Felt blog, I'm the Featured Seller, yay!!

Please pop over and have a read if you would like to know a bit more about me and my business.

Quick 4 - Father's Day gift ideas

2010-08-12T14:43:00.002+12:00

It's only three and a half weeks away New Zealand peeps!

Scrabble Tile Cuff L...

freedom

$28.00

Honey Oat Bar

honeynspice

$12.00

Father Bear (awoke S...

minu

$36.00

Jandals Mens Tee

nickycc

$35.00

On holiday

2010-08-05T21:25:00.000+12:00

My Felt shop is now closed for a few days while I'm on a quick break. I'm off to Wanaka with some lovely friends for a bit of skiing and hopefully a lot of fun and relaxing. My shop will be open again next Thursday.

And... if you make any purchase on Felt (not just my store), between now and August 20th, you go in the draw to win one of 20 copies of Peppermint Magazine - how choice is that!? So click on over there and get yourself some handmade goodness.

See ya next week!

Em x

Pretty snail mail - giveaway

2010-08-02T17:48:00.001+12:00

Love the work of Rosa-May Rutherford since I found the Frank and Dean Felt shop, and now she's giving away some super sweet postcards. Head on over to her blog to find out how to win!

And she says to say this, and I have no complaints as it's completely true... "Oh my godddd!!!!! Look at this amazinggggggg shiz!!!! I love Rosa-May Rutherford!"

Repeat-x Repeat-y

2010-07-29T16:47:00.000+12:00

I hope you've all seen this awesome site... Repeat-x Repeat-y is "a collection of (seriously) kick-ass patterns from a plethora of designers/illustrators/artists". All the designs are seamless so you can use them to decorate your desktop, Twitter background or wallpaper your room (ok, maybe not). Just click on any of the patterns to see how it looks when tiled.

The sweetest parcel

2010-07-24T15:47:00.004+12:00

How lucky am I??!? The other day I received a super sweet thank you parcel in the mail from Clazena of Tumbleweed Press. We shared a table at A Craft Affair and she really needn't have thanked me for anything - she was the best neighbour ever!

I've always had a soft spot for letterpress stationery, and her designs are so cool, and made here in Christchurch. Check out her shop here, and she has FREE SHIPPING until the end of July!

Thanks Clazena!

Quick 4 - Felt Favs

2010-07-21T20:24:00.002+12:00

Pinka Pocket Wrap Sk...

fragile

$29.00

'me And My Balloon'

madibleu

$50.00

Delicate Blue Leathe...

spirocreations

$35.00

Vintage Wooden Stool...

poetryandcloth

$80.00

The Envelope Project

2010-07-20T19:45:00.000+12:00

I sent in my envelope for The Envelope Project today. Have you heard of this? I was a bit slow on the up-take. Pip from Meet Me At Mike's is organising it. People are sending in a decorated envelope with a few crafty goodies in it, and then someone will win THE WHOLE LOT! I was number 312, so that's a lot of fun things to win for some lucky devil. If you want to participate, your envelope must reach Pip by 30th July. Photos of the envelopes here.

I threw mine togther very quickly, and included some old children's books pages, Japanese paper, wallpaper scraps, old housie cards, a bit of Japanese fabric and other wee bits and bobs. The envelope is made from the front page of a newspaper from 1912.

A wonderful affair

2010-07-17T17:50:00.000+12:00

Thanks to everyone who came along to A Craft Affair on Sunday. It was a huge success (as all of Lucy's markets are!), and all the sellers and customers seemed to really enjoy it. I was lucky enough to have my Mum staying with me, so I actually had a chance to have a look around and meet some new crafters. Thanks Mum for looking after my stall, and thanks to Lucy and her helpers for making it a fun day.

I won't bore you with another photo of my stall (it looks the same as last time), but the above is a photo of the gorgeous necklace I bought from Jo at Random Little Things (my one purchase as I'm saving for a quick trip away next month), and on the right a couple of lovely dioramas from my fair neighbour - Ana Aceves. I really wanted to treat myself to the top one, but it was sold before the fair had even opened! Her whole stall was so sweet, I wish I'd taken a photo of it.

Many other bloggers have summed up the days events well. Check them out!
A Craft Affair
Black Swan Designs
Relique Vintage Jewellery
Cat Taylor Design
Little Minx
Rose In Thorns
Songbird Designs
and Li'l Magoolie has a few different posts from a non-seller perspective

Next market: I'm back at Craft2.0 in Wellington, October 30th.

Feeling thankful

2010-07-06T11:53:00.000+12:00

Love this: Leah Dieterich's mother always told her to write thank you notes. So she does. To everything. thxthxthx is her daily exercise in gratitude. Website here.

I'm not sure why, but lately I've been feeling very thankful. Nothing in particular has happened to make me feel that way, but I've just been feeling lucky to have such good friends, new relationships, good health and a happy and generally stable life. Of course there are parts of my life I would really like to change, but overall, things are good. I've been trying pretty hard not to stress about things, to appreciate the small things that make my days happier, and to concentrate my energy on those things rather than the less enjoyable parts (meaning my fulltime job really), and it seems to be working for me.

This could have been brought on by this post I read yesterday, which made me re-realise that life is short. I don't know Lou or her family, but it brought tears to my eyes.

What are you thankful for?

Em x

Meet the maker - ME!

2010-07-05T12:08:00.000+12:00

My profile is up over on the A Craft Affair website. Pop on over and have a read, and while you're there check out all the other makers profiles - such an awesome variety of clever New Zealand crafters.

The market is this Sunday, so don't forget, see you there!

Gorgeousness

2010-06-25T10:58:00.000+12:00

So glad it's nearly the weekend. I hope you find time to relax and do something nice with someone special.

Lovely image from Shana Rae {Florabella Collection} via Flickr

A (very late) Craft2.0 rundown

2010-06-21T21:50:00.001+12:00

Craft2.0 Wellington feels like it was only yesterday, but it was a week and a half ago now, so sorry for the slow blog post! It was a very early start for us Christchurch folk, as we flew up and back on the day. That left us with about 20 minutes to set up once we got to TheNewDowse, and from then on, it was go, go, go!

The crowd was amazing - so supportive and friendly, and they just kept coming through the doors. I only took one photo of my stall (above), and sadly only got around a few to have a look. It was great to finally meet some of the clever North Island crafters and Twitter buddys - Colleen from Dear Colleen, Sarah aka sl0u, Catherine of Imba, Victoria of Free Range Baby (my cool new fabric cranes pictured above), Erin Carver, and my neighbour, Sam from Plastic Fairy who I bought those neat bird brooches off. Thanks to everyone who stopped to chat and introduced themselves, sorry if I missed anyone!

And of course, a special thanks to the organisers, especially Sue, and to my travel buddies, Mel from Black Swan Designs, and Lucy of Felt.

Next up is A Craft Affair The market formerly known as Craft2.0 Christchurch, 11am till 3pm, Sunday 11 July at Our City O-Tautahi, corner of Worcester Boulevard and Oxford Terrace, Christchurch. See you there!

Making gifts

2010-06-04T17:40:00.000+12:00

Here's a photo of a couple of gifts I've made over the last month - they were both pretty cheap and very fun to make.

On the left - a painting I did for my best friend, Nat. I asked her what some of her favourite songs were, and took the lyrics from one of them and turned them into art.

On the right - the birthday card I made my Dad (a keen fly-fisherman). Made with a pattern from here. Their pop-up cards are great fun to make and put together - just make sure you have a few hours spare if you want to do a complicated one without video instructions!

New products, debuting at Craft2.0!

2010-05-30T17:45:00.002+12:00

Woohoo!! Finally here are some photos of some new (and some existing) products. The new ones will be debuting at Craft2.0 in a few weeks time. I'll have other new products too, and items starting from as little as $3. Here's what they are:

1) New Japanese Paper Butterfly Gift Cards
2) New Japanese Paper Peg Magnets (these are super strong!)
3) Stick Pins in new designs
4) Wooden Brooches in new designs
5) New Scrabble Board Coaster Sets
6) New Acrylic "Window" Necklaces
7, 8, 9) New Japanese Paper Bamboo Necklaces. I've simplified the design of these and added a range of new shapes. They'll also be a tad cheaper than my previous Bamboo Necklaces.

Reduced to clear

2010-05-29T16:45:00.001+12:00

I've reduced my original bamboo pendants to clear, as I'm no longer making them in this style. Now only $25, there's only seven left, so be quick! Available from my Felt store.

Check back tomorrow and you'll see the replacement ones and other new goodies.

Happy weekend!