Intermission...

I've had a fairly disjointed intermission in my blogging lately.

Other things have been going on.

About the only thing I've been blogging regularly, is my weekly 'A thought for you...'. This was a commitment I'd made to myself when I did the 'Blogging Your Way' course, to make sure I posted once a week. I suppose because I'd made a conscious decision to do a weekly thought, at least for the moment, this was going to be my 'once a week' connection to blogland.

Life has gotten a bit disjointed also. I didn't have a lot to talk about and I was in so much pain. Work is busy, home isn't so much, so I've been taking it pretty easy. My grandson arrives in less than 2 months, so I wanted to feel stronger for when he arrives. It would kill me if I couldn't pick him up, or play with him, or even bend over to change a nappy...hmmm, maybe I'll leave that one for my son. After all, as a grandmother, I have the privilege of being able to play and hand back!!!

For the past 8 years I've had an extremely bad back. In recent times, as in the last 2 years, I've been seeing a physio most weeks and it's only been in the last 6 weeks that I truly feel close to normal. It gets you down, having pain every day and night.

About 6 weeks ago, I couldn't stand the pain, but I had to keep plugging away. Panadol became my right hand (wo)man. It's not very strong compared to what I've used before, and I think some psychological factor takes over in your brain when it comes to masking pain, but it got me through. I had to ween myself off stronger tablets as they were making me sick, with the possibility of an ulcer forming.

Then all of a sudden, almost as if 6 weeks ago was like the peak of a tempest, the pain started to go. My back feels better with less (sometime no) pain, my left knee is getting better (still not very strong in the quads though) and my left hip is finally starting to hurt less and less. The pain in my knee and hip are a result of not being able to walk normally from the back pain, so other parts of your body take over.

I have a slight curve of the spine (scoliosis) and soft tissue injuries (muscle tears, weakened muscles). It's hard to remember what year it started, all I can see looking back, is a day in Big W with the boys, when they were much younger. I went to walk around the end of a fixture and 'BANG', something went in the left hand side of my back.

And I mean 'BANG'. It actually made that noise, probably amplified in my mind. I couldn't stand up straight for about 3 weeks. I was in agony. My boss booked me in to an Osteopath, didn't work. I went to a physio, which got me back on track, but didn't really fix the problem or help me arrest any more damage.

As the years went on, it happened time and time again. I was losing strength in my legs, my stomach muscles, my upper body, more and more, because I was too scared to do anything. Sport stopped, exercise stopped, I put on weight...so on and so on. It made me tired, being in pain, not sleeping, all the usual stuff, including tiredness from now living such a sedentary life. Doing nothing or not much at all makes you tired.

I wish I knew why all of a sudden my back feels so good, because I'd make sure I kept doing it!

I'm ready to get back into walking. Spring is coming, so maybe a bit of swimming. I might even change my physio sessions to a Personal Trainer session every now and then.

Being in pain has made me lazy. I know that...I see it all the time. I can hear my mind saying, 'You really should dust/vacuum/wash/cook, you know...Yeah I know, but I'm not going to, I'd rather read my book!'

I have been doing things, just not household things. Well...I do them, but not as much as I should.

My extra curricular activities have been sewing, making handmade gifts, some fabric designs, some typography designs...I found Pinterest! Great because it has beautiful images, not so great because you can spend hours on it, but it's given me some inspiration, especially for the arrival of Baby Grove.

Let me show you what I've been doing in the meantime...

 Home Made Rice Pudding...Yummm

A fabric block for my grandson...now has the letters 'B' 'A' 'B' 'Y' on four sides.

'A whale of a time' 3D artwork... to go on my 'Made It' store.

'Don't wish to be anything except what you are!' posters
...still testing colours. They will go on 'Made It' when I'm happy with them. 

Using these clipboards is a great idea to showcase your kid's artworks. 

From Officeworks for a few dollars!!

I participated in a Mail Swap with Sheree from Seaweed and Raine.

These are what I made and sent to Greta from On Top of a Lily Pad.

 

 

 

Burlap/Hessian Bunting ready for my 'Made It' store.

Reversible Bunting, also ready for my 'Made It' store.

I have a few others in the process of completion, just need to trim the tips, turn them out, iron them and attach the trim and ties. Oh...and I decided to make one for my room too.

My fabric designs are coming along, and I've found a Melbourne printer, to be launched in a few weeks time, who just might be a good substitute for what I've been having done by Spoonflower in the US. Frankie and Swiss is the name of the company. Their website is still under construction, but they have a Facebook page, so check them out. 

Love the name for their printer, Florence (the machine). Hmmm...wondering if it's any coincidence the name is similar to Florence AND The Machine. Great band, fabulous voice!!

Thank you so much for letting me get that off my chest. I don't talk a lot about myself here, maybe I should. Treat it as my therapy...haha! I have always wanted 'designed to a T' blog to be a positive space for me, so the little intermission has given me some space to find something to talk about. Something positive. I didn't want to be sounding defeated, or a whinger, which I know I do, whinge that is, or have done, because quite frankly, I haven't been well. Not 'sick' in the sense of the word, but generally not well.

Anyway, onward and upward as they say. October here I come, welcoming a new life into the world with the arrival of Baby Grove!

'Decorate' Book Review

Have you got your copy of Holly Becker's 'Decorate'? Holly is the author of the very successful blog, decor8!

Mine arrived in the mail yesterday, as a bit of a late birthday present. I had actually forgotten my son emailed me a Gift Certificate, from an online book store, for my birthday in June.

My mail order package also included 3 books by Pia Jane Bijkerk, who just happens to have been a contributor to 'Decorate'. I'll review those in another post soon.

I've been following Holly's writings and insights for a while now, even before I had started my own blog, but through Haus Maus, her other online presence. Earlier this year I joined many bloggers, worldwide, in Holly's eCourse, Blogging Your Way. 

'Decorate' has a wealth of creative resources and inspirations. Some of the world's best interior designers and decorators have collaborated with Holly, and her co-author Joanna Copestick, to bring us this absolutely gorgeous book.

The book is broken up into 4 areas:

• Space Matters
• Setting Your Style
• Room by Room
• and Attention to Detail

Leslie Shewring, another of the contributors, and Holly's co-facilitator of Blogging Your Way, has allowed the team into her home to photograph her daughter's room in Section 3, Room by Room. Check out pages 220 and 221.

Leslie is a freelance photographer and stylist from Los Angeles. Her blog is A Creative Mint, where she catalogues the most gorgeous mood boards and colour stories. The Los Angeles home studio where Leslie works from is also featured on page 73, in the Mood Board section of the book.

The authors have retained the photographic expertise of Debi Treloar to bring these inspirations to life. There are so many, so I thought I'd leave you with a little movie (60 sec) of me flicking through some of the pages and finish with some of the beautiful images. There is a music track accompanying the movie, so just check your volume control.

Every now and then throughout the book, you'll come across insightful quotes from designers and decorators. Here is the one from our own Shannon Fricke.

And the winner is....

Remember this giveaway:

When I found this book at Ikea, and saw some of it featured in Real Living, I knew I had to have one. And because it is such a stunning book, one of you should have one too.

Who should be the one to win but:

Jane from 'Life on Planet Baby'

I know she will be thrilled as Jane lives in lovely Hobart town and doesn't have an Ikea nearby. Unless she crosses the ditch to Melbourne!!

CONGRATULATIONS JANE

The Giveaway was to celebrate a belated anniversay of the 12 months since I started my blogging journey. I held off on the actual January date because of all the natural disasters happening in Australia at the time. We all threw our combined resourses behind many successful fund raising appeals and I just didn't feel right bringing attention to such a small thing as my blog-iversary considering what my fellow Aussies were going through.

Jane's blog is one I'd visit every now and then, but we 'found' each other through an Online course run by Holly Becker from 'decor8'. 

Please head over and visit Jane if you haven't already.

Jane - all I can say to you now is 'enjoy'! (Also could you email me your postal address and I will have your book to you as soon as Australia Post can deliver it.)

Bye for now...T

My 'Made It' store up and running...& Don't forget my Giveaway!

How about that, I finally took the plunge and thought, what the heck...If I'm not ready now to do this, I never will be!!

My 'Made It' store has some STOCK!! Check it out over here!

I have to say I'm quite excited about it. I've been sitting back doing the Blogging Your Way course and reading all of the regular blogs, and some new ones. But it wasn't until I was reading one blog in particular that made me realise, 'Why am I holding back?? Why not get a few things up there and see how they go??'

It's that old indecision thing I was talking about a little while ago over here on one of my Saturday Thoughts.

Anyway, I'm going to talk in particular about this inspiring blog in a new post very soon.

Here is a little taste of my new eye chart design. I'm in Melbourne for my 'real job' this week, but as soon as I get back to good old Sydney town, I'll be making it into a screen print.

{Available in A3 & A4 in both Blue and Pink}

Now don't forget my giveaway of the beautiful IKEA Textiles book, as it's coming to an end on Saturday 26th March (NSW Election Day). You have until midnight on Saturday to get your entries in as I'll be drawing it on Sunday morning. Don't forget to leave me your email address so I can let you know when you've won!

{Image: Terese Grove}

{Image: IKEA}

You can become a follower, or comment that you are already are - that's one entry. If you want a couple more entries in the draw, you could tweet about it or comment on your Facebook page, then come back and leave a comment about that too. So all up you could have 3 entries.

Not too many entries at the moment, so you have time still to enter. Good luck to everyone who enters.

Oh and by the way, sorry I didn't have my Saturday Thought up this week, I was traveling home to Sydney and to be honest forgot to schedule one. It'll be back next week.

Bye for now...T

Blogging Your Way eCourse - Mood Board exercise

I've long been thinking I need a bit of a face lift for my blog, so the exercise we had to do as part of the Blogging Your Way eCourse helped me to think about what look I really wanted.

My blog is the start of a fledgling business, with a plan to continue through word of mouth (the blog) to promote some of the things I do. It's a 5 year plan and I'm already nearly 2 years into it. With some study now behind me I can concentrate on the physical part of the plan - the business profile.

Hmmm....this is another part of my blog I need to think about - just as I mentioned in my Saturday Thought this week. It's not that I'm completely indecisive, it's just that I like sooo much!

My days are full of creative thoughts, even when I'm at work in my 'real' job as a Facilitator where I get to draw and use coloured markers to create words and images to have the participants focus their thoughts on the subject we are covering.

When I'm not at work, like now while I am on annual leave for 2 weeks, my mind never stops because I know I need to get as much done as I possibly can before I go back to work.

At least I have 2 weeks to absorb what we are learning in the course and start to put some structure around where this is going. I also have to (most definitely have to) finish setting up my 'Made It' store front, and stock it with a few things.

Some of my fabrics have been printed, see them over here at my 'jane on jane st' blog, and I have showcased one of them as a bunting/garland embellishment on my mood board. I hope you like it!

I'm a sucker for stationery...

Regular visits to Officeworks and Typo are my weakness. (Not to mention my overwhelming urges for everything IKEA)

There I've said it!

Just can't help myself, and when I started this eCourse about Blogging, I needed a note pad or something to keep my notes and info from the course.

I have a thing for white also, but when it came down to it, a white binder just didn't look right to hold all the fabulous materials from the course.

On Thursday, in My Creative Space I featured some work I did on Photoshop. This became the cover for my white binder, my font of blogging knowledge.

A thought for you...

'It is human nature to stand in the middle of a thing.'

Marianne Moore - Poet

15 November, 1887 - 5 February, 1972

As part of the Blogging Your Way eCourse with decor8, we are asked to describe/illustrate what our blogs are for, how we want them to affect other people through thoughts and images, and what 'market' does our blog fit into.

I have to say I am indecisive, because there are so many things I would like to do. My sewing, my papercraft, some styling, some colour, my fabric design. 

I am unable to afford the time for a blog for each of them. So how do I go about making my blog cover all of that without it being TOO eclectic.

I thought I was on the right track, now I'm not so sure.

Maybe I need to rearrange a few things and have my 'pages' set up for each interest.

Next would be to give it a whole new look. Which I'm planning/working on at the moment. But what is my overall theme, and do I make it my main theme, then my Twitter and Facebook pages match!

AND do I move to Wordpress!

Oh the indecision!