A Buck..

One single dollar of thrifty goodness..

x N

High pants- $1.00 Local thrift

Shirt - Aunty L , Target

Wooden cane - Great grand pop

Cuteness- Mum *wink*

Brothers by fate...

Meet Austin -'Oz Man' and Phoenix - 'Buddha'

These kids have had their fair bloody share of hick ups.

Hurdles and speed bumps.

But heres to a healthy, fun and gorgeous friendship of 2 boys who have there whole life to get to know each other.

Sammy, I am blessed to have had you share those daunting and over whelming nights stuck in a ward with nothing buy UV lights and nasal tubes.

Someone who knows my fear and anxiety.

We are each other tower of strength and our boys will one day sit down to hear how we survived their rocky starts.

You are an amazing mother, and it is scary how much we have in common.

I adore you and your family.

x

Wordless Wednesday

Daisy , Roo and Two are doing it..

My little drummer boys are doing it!

And Poppy Seed Baby made me LOL..

So before i head off to do the school run and the made rush house clean..

Here is our wordless Wednesday.

x

Miss-Junctivitis

Snot + Eyes

Shes over the worst of it.. but those antibiotic eye drops are sending her berko.. Any hot tips on how to clear this up.. A-sap!?

x N

Where the magic happens..

Its been a working process for months. This did not happen over night. I would have been impossible. I wanted to share an area with the kids where i could see them and they could see me. I didnt want to work in another room from them and feel distant.

We are lucky enough to have a house at the end of a culdersack with a long driveway. So i decided to take over the double garage.

For the first few months our garage looked like this.. Chaos.

A dead set nightmare.

I attempted many times to get some sort of order. But to be able to achieve that would have meant NOT restoring and rehoming.. it meant removing.

I had to part with alot of stuff.

The past few months i have done load after load to the tip and donating to thrift shops.. Parting with things ive stored for years.

Now i have a haven where i sit all day (And usally all night).

The kids have free run of our street, we watch movies, we warm ourself in the sun, we chat with the neighbours. Every 2nd house is a family full of kids.

Its bliss.

Huge TV - $0 Free cycle

Sewing desk- $5 Salvation Army

Small pink and white storage- $0 (From a good friend)

I also take the baskets out and use it to store my tea cup candles at my market

Butterfly felt mobile- $0 Gift from 'Friends for Felix'

Plastic storage containers- $10 for 20 Reduced to clear rack at target.

Long Cabnet- $5 Garage sale.

Frames- $2

Reused from my table placings at our wedding.

Now they store handmade doilies as a wedding gift from my husbands Aunty.

Desk and cabnet - Free

(Thank god for granparents with style)

Chair- Free from my parents old dining room set.

Scales- Free

Best friends mum..

Book shelf - $10

Garage sale

Tea Pots and tea cups- Thrift shops and garage sales

Clothes racks - Free

Some girls i met at a market.. forget their names..

Whether you sew, paint, cook or create..

Show us a snipit..Where does your magic happen?

x N

The memories..

Sneaking your chupa chup out the window in the feezing air..

And licking it while its cold.

What are your expectations..

What do you expect to gain from holding a stall at a local market.

Are you there after spending weeks and weeks sweating out stock , to by the end of the day have it all sold?

Are you there to meet like minded crafty people?

To showcase your product and gain interest?

With the fee you pay for your market hoping for loads of people to come past your stall?

And what is an appropriate amount of effort, you as a business owner / crafter are willing to contribute in to promoting the fact you will be a stall holder.

Do you promote on your facebook page? Do you promote pick up for sold items

.. then bringing in more potential customers for fellow stall holders?

Do you ask the co ordinator of pamphlets, leaflets, email-able and printable details..

Personally, I am there for the pure adreniline.

I, in all honesty, couldnt care if i walked away with a $5 sale.

I always take my best friend with me so she can man the stall and i can go meet the other stall holders.

I adore seeing the care and passion my fellow madies have put in to their wares.

the nervous chit chat while you wait for the 'approval' from others.

Market day to me, is my day to shine.

Its my little 6x4 shop.

I get to my market nice and early.

Starts at 9.. Im there around 7am , giving me time to focus on details.

Last month i was lucky enough to have my parents drop by before opening.

Watching my dad spin all the little teacup handles the right way, dropping the tags down beside them and perfectly placing my bunting across my table.

Each bunting inside each other. It looked so therapeutic for him.

My mother, on the other hand.

Tipped my bundle of hair ties, brooches and pins out of the converse shoe box i keep them in.. flipped the shoe box over and placed them on and around it.. Bless..

I always have friends who come up and have a walk around.. Bringing me chocolate and coffee.

And fellow face bookers drop in to finally put a voice.. to the name.

I am so proud of each market stall i hold.

Not only because i am made to feel like an asset to the market but because of the effort i put into making it look and feel amazing.

That, is why i spend my Sundays in a hall, with hundreds of crazy shoppers and like minded WAHP's.

I promote my market as it were my own shop.

I ask Cassandra from The Upper market in Upper Coomera for pamphlets which i keep a dozen off in my nappy bag. They are month friendly so they never out date.

On the Friday before , when i head to pick master 5 up from school i drop leaflets on all the car windows.

I even blue tacked one to the gate at day care.

I gave 20 to a friend i know who works at the local bakery and she slipped them in peoples plastic bags.

And a friend who lives 45 minutes away put one up in her daycare.

I spam my page with links to the market leading up to the big day. And i offer market specials.

I bring a jar of lollies and have a free guessing game. And promote that too.

And this bring me to my question.. As i see many stall holders publicly voicing their disappointed in the market days they attend.

Now, Why are you a stall holder? and as a stall holder, what do you have to offer your market if anything?

I am just thankful my local market it a reasonable rate, has fantastic publicity and an awesome bunch of like minded people.

x N

Freedom..

On Monday i had the sweet Jess (and her mama) from Winnifreds Daughter over delivering Master 6's birthday present he had bought off her with his birthday money.

We also sat and disgust Master 1's christmas custom order. (Honestly, i highly doubt im going to be able to wait untill christmas to gift it to him..)

For a while now i have always wanted to ask her where she got her inspiration from when creating these unique creatures.. Jess not only uses facebook as a base to showcase her creations, but also uses etsy.com , Im not a big follower of etsy so maby i am blinded to other similar creations, but Winnifreds Daughter blows my mind.

The attention to detail, the designs.. So unique.

When i finally got the guts to ask how her design came about , it was such an awesome explanation.

She had drafted many different faces and bodies. Played with legs and eyes and faces and ears until she found the things she loved. She uses upcycyled materials, and even brought around the 2 jumpers she will be using for Master 1's softie.

When i asked her how she knew her design was perfect.. She said it was like she had found Freedom.

You can tell when someone finds their freedom. That something that set them apart.

Yes , a gazzilion people make ruffled nappy covers, but its the combinations and client love, the passion for charities that sets Tina from Georgie girl apart from the rest.

The fabric and child like imagination that makes Cherie from Lace and Ryde stand out from the millions of other doll makers.

Its the perfection that Jodie from Flowers, Frills, Buttons & Bows will not settle for anything less of when it comes to making her babushkas and Kokeshi's

Lucy from Coco L'Amour.. 100% handmade and crafted cushions.

Yeah, sure you could by a mass produced cushion from Target or spotlight for $31.00. But its not the best feeling when your visitor mentions she saw that cushion at their mums just the other day and she had brought it at the target sale for $25.00

(...Yes .. it happened to me.. sigh..)

I love following Janine's growth and talent at Little Wildrose .. every new collection released is just jaw dropping..

.

I know, your thinking.. 'All the big names' .. but take a second to realize why they are so well known. They arent known for giveaways or page spamming.. they are known for the amazing work they have to offer.

Personally, i am far from finding my freedom.

I dabble in hundreds of different designs and ideas. 98% of the time its not even shown on my facebook page.

I am still far from finding that one or 2 ideas that give me freedom.

How and when did you find your freedom?

Are you still looking?

Doubting yourself?

Are you at the stage you feel for filled? or still looking for praise?

Do you still crave that one thing that will make you stand out?

Does it not worry you?

I want to know the person behind the page.

Your reasons for what you do.

Share with me who you are what is your passion.

x N

Appreciating..

Today i am appreciating.

I appreciate sunsets. And the glow they have to offer at the end of an exhausting day.

The dimples.

The Love a baby has for his baby.

I appreciate the bond.

The curls. I appreciate the curls..

The feet.. I pray these feet never grow.

I appreciate the way he looks at me.

Appreciating the strength he gives me.

Today, for the first time in a long time i was proud of myself.

Proud of what i achieved and proud of my family.