Everything and nothing...

I've been absent for the longest time in such a long time... Life has been always busy, always messy and very, very full. Full of one very busy toddler, a business and regular day-to-day life which seems to  be full of everything and nothing all at once.

 Like a Monday morning where you can't remember all the wonderful, busy, simple things you got up to on the weekend... There's nothing. I've lost the momentum and with it the words... I have so much to share about our recent days. I have the pictures too! But right now, I've got to focus on sleep. Somehow I reckon once that picks up, everything will just flow. Meanwhile, this is what everyday life is looking like at our nest these days... Lots of dreaming and planning, gardening and relaxing. Everything and yet nothing...

More soon. I promise. I have the pictures!!

How are you going? 

Getting enough sleep? 

What do your days look like? xo

my creative space

It's been such a long time, but I finally found some creative space in my week! I mean, sure there's been creative parenting, business creativity, blogging and stuff like that... but the real creative stuff, where you set out to make a thing, you play with colour and pattern and you make a thing. A beautiful thing or a practical thing... that's the stuff I love most. There's a zone you get into when making and creating. A space. I love that space...

So anyway, this week, I made space to make some Owlet Garden Skirts for Spiral Garden. Three new skirts and this time they have a little pocket for treasures... But then this lovely woman came and visited and took off with two skirts tucked under one arm! I'm so glad her gorgeous little ones will be wearing them... But it looks like it'll be a little longer before there are skirts in the shop. More creating for me :)

More creative spaces here

my creative space

I'm making some tiny toadstools for our tiny tree. Big Owlet is joining in and needle felting a star or two. I think it's going to look rather lovely and festive. And gosh I'm enjoying making things again! I've whipped up a couple of custom orders before I get stuck into gifts for family and friends. Lots to do! Happy days!



more spaces here.

my creative space :: put a mushie on it

Moving at snail's pace, but getting there, slowly. Let's face it, my creative space is almost non-existent these days. Blogtober, babies and a super busy social calendar are keeping me from creating. I'm hoping the best summer ever will rectify things. For the patient though, I'll share the link to my new shop. I'm at the point of beginning again. I'll be adding skirts and bits and pieces as I steal moments to make them, but for now, you'll find custom slots for skirts, crowns, mei tais and apron kits. And Huz's music! The owlet shop is now about all things owlet, including papa and our three owlet babies... It'll be an organic space for us to put whatever we feel like sharing. So keep an eye on it... you never know what we'll pop in there when the mood and the time to create strikes.

more creative spaces here.

my creative space

My creative space this week consists of...

* Hair clips and onesies for an order for the Wilderness Society Shop. If you're in Hobart next week, pop in there and visit ;) I managed to make two hair clips at Brown Owls on Saturday. So Brown Owls may not be a space where I get heaps done, huh? Too much talking to do... You can read about the first Hobart Brown Owls meet here. It was excellent fun.

* More ric rac doll bits lying around. Need to get some more stuffing so we can continue.

* Choosing a project for me. Because it's most definitely time. Either a wrap skirt or a schoolhouse tunic.

* Knitting. This time, back to squares for Tiny's rug. Always knitting something.

* Planning gardens. Always planning. Looking forward to the actual gardening bit.

See other creative spaces here.

my creative space...

Getting there... slowly. Grabbing snippets of time, with Big Owlet by my side, sewing Ric Rac dolls. Craft spells nurture for Big Owlet, so I'm making time for this when I can. I'm also looking forward to Brown Owls kicking off on Saturday week! I wonder what I'll take to work on?

Visit some more creative spaces here.

my creative space...

I've been chipping away at these ric rac kinder dolls for a while now. I'm almost up to the fun bit. The sewing bit where it starts to come together... The owlets flock to the table with bated breath at the mere sight of me tinkering around in my crafty space. Big owlet is keen to get on the machine and learn all about sewing. I'm excited about that. Now to grab a sneaky chunk of time...

More creative spaces here.

my creative space...

We've been rearranging everything. Digging our way out of a winter slump. Slowly, with owlets underfoot. It's like a jigsaw puzzle. You add one storage solution and suddenly every cupboard is being emptied and moved and a new streamlined version of our nest emerges.

In the current version, my craft area (the dining table), has taken on a whole new organised look... and I think it's rather lovely. It makes me want to sew. And I can find everything. We've popped the "lady lamp" on the table to watch over proceedings. She was my grandmother's lamp and she's been lighting up a corner here for the longest time. I loved tracing her shape with my tiny fingers when I was little and it's lovely that the owlets are doing the same. And creativity will flow for all of us. We hope.

More spaces here.

my creative space :: inspiration

It's been a while since I last read a magazine, or for that matter, a book. I keep trying, but I fall asleep after the first sentence...



And my waking hours are full of owlets with questions and wriggles and so, I don't read much...



I can manage hours worth of picture books though. So I've been making sure on our library visits we bring home books with pictures so beautiful, they inspire us all, or remind me of my own childhood when they were first read to me.



I'm loving the return to colour and simplicity and the detail. I'm snaffling away some ideas for our upcoming "arternoons". Big owlet has asked me to "teach" her everything I know... And so at least one afternoon per week will be set aside for art and passing on knowledge. Sharing my happy place with her.



But first, some reading. Who doesn't love a book about an owl on a knitting extravaganza?!



We've been playing with paper dolls too, bringing some old illustrations to life. I remember having this exact same paper doll when I was an owlet.



And now the owlets are loving her all over again. Yes, it is possible to sleep and eat with a paper doll. Just in case you were wondering.

More spaces here.

my creative space...

I made something! I've been meaning to make daytime/night time reversible bags for the owlets for ages now. I thought they might make the process of getting ready for things a smidge easier.

Now little owlet is going through, umm... a phase. It takes her hours to get ready for bed, or to go out. She spends a great deal of time singing, humming, playing and everything else. It takes an average of 10 reminders for her to start the getting ready process. She just forgets. Completely away with the faeries... She's so much like me. *sigh*

So big owlet loves me making stuff for her. Its her favourite form of nurture and connection with me. She asked me to make these yesterday and when tiny owlet napped for longer than usual, we stopped to make them out of some old sheets and scraps of left over skirts. I have the sewing machine in position for such emergency craft situations. Big owlet was thrilled to have a go each step of the way and it's so lovely working with her. I'm hoping we get more windows of time to work on things together, as we did when it was just us all those years ago...

More creative spaces here

my creative space...

Green felt crown for a little one soon to celebrate his first birthday! Lots of jewels in shades of green and orange, some brown and green ribbon, a gold star and orange stitching around the outside... Quite Autumnal and not like anything I've done before, so I'm a bit nervous about whether his mama will like it. I always find customs so much harder... but it is lovely to make things with people in mind. Hey, around here it's lovely to be making things full stop!



I'm itching to get to this delicious pile of fabric too...

More creative spaces over here.

my creative space...

Here's the bad news: I suck at knitting. I'm slow and I make lots of mistakes and I forget where I'm up to and I forget to count. However, I am tenacious and by hook or by crook (or circular needles), I will finish this Milo for tiny owlet. Good thing is she's small and doesn't know.



Here's the good news: My creative mojo is found! It was missing, not just in the things I made, but in the day-to-day as well, and with much concentration and some collaboration with Huz and the owlets, I feel it has returned. Our days are suddenly extremely full. Now to find time for the creative projects I have planned. And the lovely bits I'm making for other peeps' owlets. And the growing list of things my own owlets have in mind for me...

Pop over here and see creativity happening in other spaces. Kirsty has created a whole new space for the creativity! Bless her!! xx

my creative space :: where for art thou?

I've been looking for my creative mojo everywhere. Have you seen it? I've decluttered. Discovered that organising the bookshelf by colour really does bring harmony to the hallway. But the mojo wasn't behind a book. Or in a cupboard. It's just gone. I've been distracted. Instead of finding creative inspiration and using it, I've noted it to myself and filed it away for a later date... When I have time.



I see little dots, smears and scribbles around me, pick out their shape, like watching clouds or seeing faces in tree knots. Then I go cuddle someone, wipe a tear, wash a nappy and I forget about it until next time...



But the scribbles, smears and dots are still there. For when I'm ready to notice and bring them into my creative conscience again. It feels like an eternity since I felt truly creative. I look back at our photos of the last two years and I can find the exact point that the creative spark died. When I stopped listening to focus on other things. Important things. The colour drained and it makes me sad. The magic went from our day-to-day. Since then, creating has been an effort.



I've plugged on regardless. Keeping my hands busy with a little business and learning new things, but it has seemed at times arduous... I'm slowly feeling a shift. The great lesson now is for me to act on the spark when it first occurs... Find the spark and the magic and run with it. Towards it. Rather than wait for my owlets to drag me to it...



To look at it, you'd think it was a fairly creative week. I've knitted, dyed fabric with tea leaves, begun cutting fabrics for dolls for my two biggest owlets. No small feat amongst all the baby gazing and other things I do... But still, it could be more exciting and colourful. More productive and enriching to us all. Colourful and magical. I know it's there waiting... under a rock somewhere. And I can't wait for it to return.

Perhaps it's waiting somewhere over here. Best go look!

our creative space....

Didn't you always want the sky on your walls? Clouds and all? The owlets have chosen the colour of the sky. One more coat. Clouds are next. Then their "doorway to the sky" is complete. They've chosen to share a room again. They have been for months anyhow, but this makes it official. We're hoping there will be many sweet dreams...

more here.

our creative space...

Our little play area is complete. It's a space we hope will inspire a little creativity in the owlets. Particularly little owlet who is a little afraid of spending time outside. If we did school, this would be her kindergarten year, so we were a little mindful of that when thinking of what elements we'd like for the garden. Combined with the new sand pit and fairy log ring, the whole project cost us about $50. We're hoping to do a major removal of weeds and spiky plants, but for now it's functional.



The banging wall is a big hit (pun intended). Perhaps not so much with the neighbors... thanks to Soulemama for the idea.



The mud pie kitchen - brilliant. Perfect for cooking for the mud cafe.



Balancing beam in place - perfect for lining up mud pies in the sun and walking the plank.



Mud. That's my little bug and dirt-phobe there...



Knee-deep in mud. Loving it.

More creative spaces at Kootoyoo

my creative space... start your engines

I can feel a return to crafting happening. With me, everything is slow and steady. I've been waiting for the urge to strike and the stars to align before I return to making things with my busy hands. I'm very keen to try out the new overlocker. My mind is also bubbling with loads of new ideas for owlets, both mine and other people's. It's just occurred to me that I've never made any baby clothes for my own owlets before and I'm excited to indulge my tiny one. The bigger ones seem to have grown too, so some new clothing is in order. I'm looking at all things Ballets Russes and wishing I could get up to the exhibition before it closes... but the book will probably suffice. I'm thinking I might make a proper start with crochet too. See if it suits these shakey hands more than the knitting needles.

Play along at Kirsty's

my creative space...

Still haven't got hands free for craft... I have ideas bubbling around in my head and I know it will be a while before I get to them. Frustrating? Yes. So I'm spending lots of time wandering around the place with tiny owlet on my back, looking at things I can get creative with. Like the garden. Huz can help with that. We plan to start from scratch. The vegie patch, sand pit and herb garden are being dismantled on the weekend. We have a plan that involves raised beds, more fruit trees, and a children's garden. I'm looking around for inspiration and thinking about natural playscapes. I'm looking at what we have and how it can be re-used. I'm thinking the bit of boat you can see in the picture might be useful, but the Snuffelupagus of grass cuttings might have to go...

More creative spaces to wander through over at Kirsty's.

my creative space...

A couple of orders have rolled in this week, so I'm digging out the sewing machine for a last blast for the year. I'm hoping to make a couple of bits and pieces for gifts too, but that will have to wait until the last minute... as usual...

Pop over to Kirsty's for the last creative space of 2010. It's been fun! Thanks so much for hosting Kirsty!

her creative space...

I've been preoccupied with other creative pursuits this week, so big owlet has taken over the creative reins today. I've been waiting for her to show an interest in origami. I had the paper, the how to books, suggested it from time to time, but no go. We watched the fantastic documentary Between The Folds on iView a few nights ago and her interest was finally sparked. So in true big owlet style, she completed most of the book...



And made a bowl full of little cups which we'll use for our activity advent calendar this year.

Visit some lovely creative peeps via Kirsty.

my creative space...

* Flowers from the garden for inspiration
* A stack of awesome magazines to read
* Some japanese silk and wool felt for making gifts that were due embarrassingly long ago -last on my list of must-dos!!
* Obligatory knitting
* Craft for the baby - silk thread for a cord tie. Well its that or dental floss! We may not even use it, but its good to be prepared... we've each chosen a colour to braid together - kind of like baby's first friendship bracelet ;)

Hoping to have some quiet time to get stuck into this stuff today... See more creative spaces at Kirsty's and join in if you feel like it!