A New Toy!

Today has been a very rushed day yet a very happy and exciting day! I've spent it packing our things for a trip in Queensland for 10 days. I can't wait to get away!

I also spotted a camera that I liked the looks of and so my mother bought it for me as an early Chrissy present (So I had a good camera for taking away) and I gave her my old canon camera. So I can't wait to go take some beautiful shots and I also can't wait to get back home to take some beautiful shots! I'm also happy now that my Etsy photos should be of better quality. My camera is packed away for the trip so I'll let you know the model when I get back.

See you on the 9th of December!

The Bra Controversy

I read an article in Conscious Living magazine about the bra controversy..

"Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer affecting Australian women. Based on today's figures, one in eleven will develop it during their lifetime."

Here are some figures from a survey involving 4,600 women (half with breastcancer) that I found interesting..

~ Women who wore a bra 24 hours a day had an incredibly high 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer.

~ Those who wore one for more than 12 hours a day, but not to bed, had a 1 in 7 risk.

~ Wearing a bra less than 12 hours a day was linked to a far lower 1 in 152 risk.

~ Women who rarely or never wore a bra had a 1 in 168 risk, roughly the same rate as male breast cancer.

Judging by these figures, I'm thinking there's a huge link between breastcancer and bra wearing. Somewhere in the region on 70% of women wear a bra that doesn't fit properly!

Sports bras and bras with underwires are said to be the worst as they apply too much pressure to the upper outer part of the breast which accounts for 80% of the breasts lympthatic fluid movement. It might not be a coincidence that the same zone of the breast is the most common location for breast cancers!

The article suggests, as do I, that us women should experiment with going bra free for one or two weeks to see whether a difference is noticed. And don't worry, there is no evidence to suggest that going bra-less will cause sagging in later life, there is only evidence to suggest otherwise!

6 days out of 7 I go braless and opt for the firm singlet top instead. I've done so since I grew them!

I found a really good bra shop in Queensland: www.blessedearth.com.au

They are called Blessed Earth ~ Organic Cotton Bras

*Comfortable and versatile, 7 great styles
*No underwires to retrict lympatic flow
*No synthetic padding to cause overheating

So do what you can to help prevent breast cancer and jump on the site for a squiz!

You, Me & The Rainbow

I bought the most amazing and beautiful book for Holly..

It's called "You, Me & The Rainbow" by Petrea King and I highly recommend it!

The book takes the child on a meditative journey through all the colours of the rainbow. Designed to be read before bed to help your child unwind and relax into a deep and peaceful sleep.

The back cover reads:

"Have you ever been wrapped in a rainbow? Mariah has. Every night her mother wraps her in all the colours of the rainbow and they enter an enchanting world of ducklings, dolphins, tiny frogs, tasty cherries, sunsets, twinkling stars and violets."

Even though my daughter is only 10 months old and dosn't understand the story, she was captivated by the beautiful colours throughout the book. The illustrators name is Patricia Howell, an impressionist watercolourist and mixed media artist.

I can't beleive how beautiful this book is!

I bought it on Ebay through a seller called "Little Acorn Books" She has a beautiful collection of books and cd's for babies and children, I love all she sells, check her out!

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Mothers group was good today. A couple of new people started the couple of weeks I was away. They seem lovely. The playgroup is having an open day tomorrow so I'll be there on the look out for something for Holly for her 1st birthday and for Christmas..

I'll speak to you then.

It's Been So Long!

It's been quite some time since my last blog.. Life became a little hectic!

I've met someone! And he is amazing! We've been together officially for 1 month now and so far so good. We are only spending one night a week together at the moment just until he's finished his Uni exams. He is so kind and gentle and Holly seems to really enjoy his company, I know I do! I'm just hoping for the best. Adrian dosn't seem to be coping very well, seeing me with someone else. I invited him over today to see Holly but he didn't seem too interested in talking to me. I get the feeling he's trying to make me feel guilty for moving on, when really, It's the best thing to do, for not only my sake but my entire families sake!

I wont get into it anymore tonight, I'm pretty tired and it's too hot to think properly.

Hopefully I'll blog again soon instead of leaving such big gaps of time in between blogs!

Such a Beautiful Day

Today was such a beautiful day. I just love when it's been cold and wintery for what seems like forever and then all the sudden Spring kicks in and gives you all these magnificent, sunny days. The birds sing more, the air is filled with the sweetness of the Spring blossoms.. It's all so dreamy. I took advantage of the warm day and Holly and I took some photos out in the back yard.

My Spur of the Moment Decision

Talk about a spur of the moment decision!

In my last blog I was telling you about my brothers computer not wanting to read my SD card.. Well.. I got rather fed up with it and so I went out and bought a laptop! And so here is my first blog entry using it. I hope the freedom that comes with having my own laptop will be worth it! I wish I could spend some more time tonight playing around with it but I am just too exhausted from today. I did lots of walking today which probably wasn't the best of ideas because I can feel a cold coming on. I havent been sick for about 17 months!

So off to bed I go and we can continue this later.

Night all.

A Gift for Adrian for Fathers Day

I haven't blogged for a few days now due to the computer not wanting to let me take my photos off of my SD card. Which is a real shame because I have so many photos to share. Now all I can do is tell you what I've been up to.

My last headband inspired me to back more, so far I've crocheted up 2 and now I'm just adding the finishing touches..

Then today I realized that Fathers Day was this weekend and so I had to have a brainstorm on what Holly and I could do. I decided on Holly's hands imprinted into clay I remembered I had sitting in a container.. Unfortunately the clay had become very dry over time and I didn't have the time or the patience to add water and knead it through. The clay is far too messy and stains my hands whenever I use it and I decided that wasn't a good idea to use on Holly's hands anyway. Then I remember a brilliant thing called 'salt dough!' I quickly looked up a recipe and whipped up a batch in no time. I divided the batch into 5 pieces and then added a tiny amount of oil paint in each primary colour to each ball. I then rubbed them and kneaded the colour into the balls and then flattened them out onto a baking tray. Once Holly was ready I brought the tray to her to imprint her little hands into the doughs and they just look so cute! I then added a hole at each end of the moulds for tieing up later. I'm planning to make it into a wall hanging. I might even add a crystal to the end to make it into a suncatcher. I am just waiting for the moulds to dry now so I can paint a letter from her name onto the back of each handprint.

I can't wait to finish it, I'm really excited about this! Hopefully I'll get this computer sorted out soon. I think it's time to buy myself a laptop and stop relying on my brother's old and slow computer!

It was such a beautiful warm and sunny day today! and to top it all off I went to my Steiner mums & bubs group which is held fortnightly. It was great, I love it there, it's just so peaceful and I always leave so inspired. Holly loves seeing the other babies and playing with all the gorgeous handmade woolen pom pom balls, knot dolls and natural tree branch blocks. Holly has really taken to her new blanket doll I made her yesterday, she held it all the way to the group today in the car and didn't cry at all! (Holly isn't a big fan of being restrained, especially whilst traveling in the car) Although she had a little sook on the way home only to fall asleep.

I made another doll this morning, I called him a pillow doll because he's shaped like a little pillow. He's made of 100% recycled wool and stuffed with 100% alpaca. I also took advantage of the weather and took Holly outside for some quality time with Mother Nature and while she was busy playing I took some lovely snaps while modeling the little headband I made a couple of days ago.

At the moment I'm working on a new project, a baby toy. I've used plant dyed 100% wool felt in earthy tones and the same hand painted organic alpaca wool I used in the headband. I've also made little wooden rings which I just sanded and lightly oiled with organic olive oil. Hopefully this little one will be finished by this time tomorrow and on Etsy.

A Hard Night Followed by a Productive Day

Oh what a night! I was taken on a roller coaster ride of emotions brought on by myself! After I went to bed last night something came over me, I was thinking and then crying and then thinking some more and crying even more! I always wonder how my life could have been if only I'd taken that trip to California to be with the man of my dreams who I'd never actually physically met. It was all so exciting. I worked and worked and saved and saved only to meet someone else 2 weeks before my flight. Then I guess I got cold feet and I canceled my flight and my entire trip!

Well, had I not, I wouldn't have my beautiful blessing of a daughter. And thanks to her, I feel that my life has a real purpose. Before I knew of her coming into this world, I felt like I was just floating around. I felt meaningless..

Now back to business! Having had only a couple of hours sleep last night, you could say I've been a little airy fairy today. Airy Fairy may have been so but I still have a fantastic and productive day where crafting is concerned! I found my daughters very first blanket and decided to turn it into something more usable! As you know, newborn baby blankets are so tiny and once baby grows out of them, there's not alot you can do with them except transform them into beautiful dolls! I managed to make 3! So little Holly has one and now Etsy has two!
I've even already started on my next free form headband! This time in an adult size, I'm not really sure how it's doing but I'll kept at it anyway :-)

My Very First Blog

Well hello!

I'm happy to say this is my very first blog!

Although it's 12 am and I should be in bed with my daughter.. (and her father who's staying the night) but I had lots of things I'd sold on Ebay to package and stamp, ready to be posted tomorrow. Then I thought to myself 'finally some time to write my first blog!' Although I'm not quite sure how long it will last, Holly's father is a bit of a snorer and she's not used to that with just me in the room! So I'm keeping an ear out for her. (Adrians snoring doesn't wake Adrian especially when Adrian doesn't wake to anything!)

So anyway, what I really wanted to tell you about was the beautiful wool I ordered from a lovely Etsy seller named Grace Gerber a.k.a Larkspur Funny Farm & Fiber Arts Studio. The wool I ordered was just gorgeous! Not only was it hand painted alpaca, it's organic too! Beautiful! The colours are so vibrant and inspiring.
I decided it was time to do some creative things with wool and I planned to start with crochet. I'm not the best follower of patterns and was in more of an experimental mood and so a few hours later I had produced a gorgeous little headband for my daughter. When she woke in the morning I was so eager to have her try it on only to find it didn't fit as well as I wanted it to, it's too small! So hopefully over the next couple of days I'll post it up on Etsy for someone who's daughter it will fit!


I told you this would be quick! I can hear Holly now.

Goodnight all!