Hide & Seek Market

I'm looking forward to the Hide & Seek Market this Sunday 22 August - it's already spilling over into a second room so it will be even bigger and better than last month!

So .... to see quirky, unique handcrafted goodies, grab a coffee and be inspired by the handmade community - drop by between 10am-2pm at Wrights Road Community Centre, Cnr Harrington Avenue & Wrights Road Kellyville NSW.

The first 25 people through the doors will receive a gift bag filled with items contributed by the stallholders - including pinwheel present toppers Made by Jenine and Tracey's handmade gift cards.

My Monday Must See

I found something really cute the other day on Etsy and being a huge fan of bunting myself I just had to share it with you.  How cute is this?  Such a gorgeous way to decorate a cake for any occasion - you can see more fabulous cake bunting by Kiki La Ru here and read her lovely blog here.  Enjoy!

Just listed on Etsy

Last night while the rest of the house slept and the wind howled I finally listed some new items on my Etsy Shop.  As mentioned in an earlier post I've been wanting to put my Altered Clipboards in the store - well now I have - there are more designs to come though - so please keep visiting!

I've also listed three Vintage Inspired Dress Banners just to test the water and see if anyone jumps in - you never know until you try right?

Want to hear something funny?  My friend Tracey and I had exactly the same idea for a dress banner the exact same week as each other - spooky I know!!  So hop on over to see Tracey's version too.

My path to craft

How did it all start - this hobby gone mad?  Well it all started after the birth of our gorgeous daughter, Miss 5.  I searched everywhere for some "not too babyish" wall art to decorate her room.  One day I stumbled upon a TV show called "Embellish This" hosted by a very talented artist and designer, Dena Fishbein.  Dena's motto is "Embellish your Life" and boy does she ever - check out her lovely blog when you get the chance!  Well she certainly inspired me - off I went to get myself a hot glue gun, ribbons, rhinestones, glitter glue and lots of other fun bits and pieces.  I then proceeded to embellish some fantastic fabric within an inch of it's life - here's the result - not too babyish and a little bit funky - well I think so anyway!

Thankfully a few other people thought so too - I've actually sold a few of these long legged crazy haired girls at local markets!  It's funny how things turn out - what started as my handmade effort to decorate Miss 5's room has blossomed into a lovely hobby and now it's an opportunity to possibly earn a little bit of money whilst being a stay at home mum.

How did you find your craft path?  I'd love to hear your story!

I find it encouraging not to mention inspiring to hear how other people manage to combine their love of craft with their love of family - how do you do it?  Any tips gratefully received as it's always a juggle isn't it?

Hide & Seek Market Launch

I had a lovely day yesterday at the launch of the new Hide & Seek Market.  With MrJ's car full of our handmade creations and with the help of Nellie the Nav"Woman", Tracey and I made our way to Kellyville to spend a fantastic Sunday with some very clever crafters and craft loving customers.  It was great to finally meet Aloma who has done an amazing job organising this event and the other stallholders - all of whom were just as excited to be there as we were!  The new Hide & Seek Market website is now up and running - I think there might be some photos from the launch on there soon - hop on over and take a look when you get a chance.  In the meantime - here's my amateur attempt to capture the Made by Jenine and Ben and Jess stall.

Made by Jenine at Hide & Seek

Ben and Jess at Hide & Seek

Coming Ready or Not!

Just a quick post today as I'm busy putting the finishing touches on my stock for the Hide & Seek Market this Sunday 25 July - don't forget to check it out here - it's going to be fantastic!

I've made lots of banners before - banners for birthdays, for Christmas, for new bubs - but I've never made one for myself!  Well last night I did and I just quickly took a photo before it started to rain to show you!

Thanks to Lorna from Paperbag Marketing Specialists I've recently learnt (amongst other things) that one very important part of any fledgling small business is to create your image or your brand - well I've got the business cards, the labels for packaging and now I've got a banner!  It's off to market we go!!

So come along to the Hide & Seek Market this Sunday to meet myself and my friend Tracey from Ben and Jess - we'll be sharing a stall together - having coffee and cupcakes  - and enjoying being a part of something very special in the Hills District.

Something New for Hide & Seek

I've been having a lovely time lately making these Vintage Inspired Dress Banners.  I'm hoping to have lots ready for Hide & Seek - which by the way is now only 25 days away!

Tracey and I had a practice run at setting up our displays at a market over the weekend - here's mine - I think it looked very pretty but there's always room for improvement!