Thursday 23 June 2011

Declutter your life!

Well, I have been completely unproductive over the last few days when it came down to actually getting things done! I think I have found my excuse...........Have you heard of Irritable Desk Syndrome???? Yeah me neither! 
After hours sitting on the Internet updating Twitter.....Facebook and troweling through all the many 'suggested pages' on Stumbleupon (sometimes I think they are 'Stumbling' for a completely different user with the page suggestions that I get) anyway I came across a page on how to declutter your desk space to make you more productive and raise your mood levels.  I don't know why I felt like I needed to do this because my desk it always spotless.............

Or Maybe Not............

The article from www.nomoreclutter.co.uk apparently states that having a lot of clutter at your desk can actually cause illness due to stress levels! Who knew!  Anyway since I had a severe lack of motivation to get off the Internet and into my work I decided to follow this step by step guide from No More Clutter and here are some of their suggestions:

  • Take everything off the surface except large items like your computer screen and empty your drawers. Admire the clear space – feel how calming and de-stressing it is. It could be like this every day. 

  • Desks are for action not for storage. Be discriminating about putting things back on the surface of your desk. 

  • Time to be honest and ruthless. As you pick up each item ask yourself is this truly relevant and useful? Do I actually need to keep it? No? Chuck it. 


  • Also if you type "declutter your desk" into YouTube you would be surprised how many people have actual tutorials on how to do it! (obviously I got side-tracked again here by looking this up)  It did give me a giggle though.........anyway so the big reveal, the big life changing result of me clearing up my mess.........

    Wow Amazing right???

    Ok so I'm sure you can sense a little bit of sarcasm in this post but I must say that it did make me feel like working more once I sat back down at my clean desk!  So I am now going to make a conscious effort to be a bit more organised and stop cluttering up my workspace.  Remember folks "Desks are for action not for storage" ;-)
    All the charms I made today thanks to my Clutter-free workspace

    Monday 20 June 2011

    Gussy Sews Feature

    Today I have been featured in an amazing 24 hour giveaway on Gussy Sews.  She had a fantastic idea to feature 24 handmade shops and every hour give something different away.  The feature looks great thanks to Gussy and she has said some delightful things about my products! :)





     Gussy makes beautiful cutch purses, handbags and headbands all with a touch of frill.  The colours are just beautiful (I am like a child in a candy store when it comes to colour) and the different fabric combinations she uses look like they were made for each other!


    You can check out Gussy Sews here and keep an eye out for all her great giveaways!

    To enter the Giveaway please click here! Closes 10pm Tuesday CST

    Wednesday 15 June 2011

    A Change of Opinion

    I have a confession to make.  I used to walk past sellers at market stalls and think they were slightly crazy.  Standing outside all day freezing their butts off even getting rained on some days, I used to look at them when they were all fighting to get out their plastic covers to protect everything from the rain and think why don't you just go home?  I feel that I can say this now because now I am one of those crazy people standing out their freezing my butt off!  The difference is now I get it.  I now understand why they stand out there.  It's because they are proud of something that they made themselves and want to share it with people.  Sure there are those who just want to sell something to anyone who will give them a few dollars but most of the people I have met have a genuine love for what they are doing and want their product to go to a good home.

    I have an example.  I was at my stall one Saturday when this gentleman came over and started asking me every possible question he could think of about my jewellery.  How long did it take, what it actually costs me to make it, how easy it was etc etc.  The problem was he had already made up his mind about the answers, he couldn't see the time and love that was spent making each charm.  I mean he wasn't being rude and was complimenting the way they looked but I could see that he just didn't 'get it'.  He was convinced I had a production line going that churned out 100 charms a day and thought that somehow they were all the same one sliced into different charms.  Its hard to explain it but I actually make each charm separately, and I really felt that he didn't understand the thought and time that goes into making in each one.  While this man was chatting, at me I will say, this lady came up with her friends and started admiring my work.  Without her knowing the conversation I had just had she picked up on of my bracelets and said how amazing it was that each charm on it was different and she couldn't believe how much work was involved in it!  The gentleman simply smiled and walked away. 



    This is the reason I love going to the market every week because when you meet a customer that 'get's it' (and I must say that most of them do) then it is amazing to see their reaction.  Most people that walk up to my stall will have huge smile on their face and that's because of something I have made with my own hands.  So I will get up super early on Saturday morning and load up my car with tables and chairs and umbrella's and stands and I will go to the market in my thermals and freeze my butt off because I actually enjoy doing it.  For now I am one of the crazy people with my plastic wrap packed in case it rains but while I have a smile on my face and my customers have a smile on theirs, I am happy to be crazy for now.

    I made some more goodies to replace some bracelets that were sold last week and I have to say I can't stop looking at them. To me they are delicious and I hope you like them to.








    They are also available to purchase online at www.mouseillustration.com 

    Monday 13 June 2011

    Sneaky Peek

    Here is a sneak preview of some of the Illustrations I am working on, these will be part of a new series! I must say I am enjoying myself way to much with these :-)










    From Scribble to Vector

    Hi folks!  I thought I would share with you some Illustrations I have done.  I wanted to show the before and after.  More often than not I will quickly sketch something and that will turn into one of my Vector Illustrations without much tweaking.  I like things sketchy and I try to keep my Illustrations looking that way even after I have drawn them into Illustrator.  This is something that I want to keep working on to develop my style on the computer.


    Owl Love Before and After



    Lovestruck Panda Before and After



     

    Elephant Before and After

    I plan on trying to fit in a lot more Illustration work alongside my Jewellery so I will be posting a lot more sketches and finished artwork.  Watch this space :)

    Sunday 12 June 2011

    Australia

    The reason I haven't been posting this week is because I was in Australia.  I went on a wee holiday to the Gold Coast so I thought I would share a few photos with you.  Back to work tomorrow!!! Promise :-)

    Koala Bear

    Curious Kangaroo

    Rainbow Lorikeet

    Kangaroo and Joey

    Saturday 4 June 2011

    And the Winner is........

    Nadya!!!! Congratulations you have WON the Piggy Bookmark!!!


    This Oink Oink Bookmark is all yours :-) please contact me to claim your prize!