Disappointment

Chin up, chin up
Everybody loves a happy face
Wear it, share it
It'll brighten up the darkest place
Twinkle, sparkle
Let a little sunshine in
You'll be on the right side
Looking at the bright side
Up with your chinny chin, chin up!

Ok so I've been feeling sorry for myself lately.  I think I have documented well my Market failures in the past here and here.  But even though I failed miserably after all the stress and hours upon hours of hard work, I decided I woud be fine and kept my 'chin up'.  I thought, well maybe Market's are just not for me?

I decided that perhaps doing some giveaways would help.  I noticed the followers on my blog slowly creeping up.  I was really excited to see it.  After the giveaways, I noticed them creeping back down again.  So some people were only in it for the freebies.  I tried to not let it get to me.  In the meantime, I parted with a good portion of my 'stock'.  But I told myself to keep my chin up and it's still early days.   

So next I tried selling things here on my blog with no success.    But I just kept that 'chin up'.  (I kinda knew that one wouldn't work).

Then I thought, well everyone seems to be highly successful in having an Etsy or Madeit store.  So I got myself organised and opened a Madeit store.  I'm 3 weeks into that now.  No sales, and not even an item listed as someone's favourite.  But I thought, don't let it get you down Christy.  These things take time.  This time round it was getting harder to convince myself.  My chin was starting to feel a little heavy.

So after all the flood devastation, I thought about what I could do to help, and blogged about it here.  I decided I could organise a Softie Appeal, and collect handmade Softies from whomever was willing and able to help and participate.  So I officially launched my idea on my blog here.  Although this hasn't been a big success, I am really grateful for the handful of people who have put their hands up to help.  I think I will send you a little something as a thankyou because you made my chin a little lighter. 

BUT.....

.... then I decided to continue in further efforts to help those affected by the floods.  There was ALOT of talk in the bloggy world to join in with the Auctions over at make it perfect.  So at the last minute I decided to put together three bundles of goodies to be auctioned off.  I was added to the master list and ready to rock and roll and excited at the prospect of auctioning off my goods for a really good cause.  Hopefully they would sell for more then they were worth.  I also figured the traffic to my blog would be awesome (which it has been) and would introduce new followers, and that people would become more interested in my merchandise from all the views.   

This is the part where my chin got real heavy again.  Real heavy.  Two days on and not a single bid. No new followers. 

I'm sure most of you know that people are paying up to $160 for a cushion, and $200 for a book.

And still no bids.  I've considering withdrawing them from the Auction to save myself from further disappointment. 

I sat on my bed and cried for a good half hour yesterday.  I want to put my chin back up high in the air but until I can figure out what I'm doing wrong, I don't think I'll be able to do it.  This isn't something I can talk myself out of.

So this is the part where I'm asking you to be honest.  What am I doing wrong?  What can I improve in?  I really want this to work.  If I don't find an outlet to sell my goods then I will have to stop creating because it just costs too much to buy the materials and get nothing back for them. 

******

Now that you've heard my sob story, can I ask a few favours?  It will really help. 

1.  Please leave a comment and honestly tell me what you think I can do to change/improve.  How can I get more traffic to my blog?  What do you look for in a blog?  What types of blogs do you enjoy?  How can I successfuly sell items in my Madeit store?  Please be honest (just don't be mean!!).

2.  Please take a moment to check out my auctions.  I honestly believe they are great products.  I made them with great care and love and would prefer to see them put to good use then to sit in a basket gathering dust in my craft room (which all of my merchandise is currently doing).

You can see them here, here and here.

3. Please check out my Softies for Smiles Appeal.  Whether you can make a toy, if you have a pattern, if you have fabric you can donate, please let me know.  However you can contribute will make my day.

4.  And lastly, if you have a spare minute, check out my Madeit store.

******

This hasn't been a very enlightening post has it?

I promise to share more exciting things after today.  I still need to show you pictures of my brother's wedding.  And I also was successful in finding some goodies at Op Shops yesterday, and husby and I are overhauling our house - we have bought a tonne of things to upgrade our little unit in the past month.

QLD Flood Auction - #3 Handmade Cards & Embellishments AUCTION CLOSED!!

Up for grabs we have an assorted bundle of cards & embellishments.  I will list the greetings specifically.

Regular size:
- x2 "Dear Dad"
- x1 "Happy Valentine's Day"
- x1 "Make a Wish"
- x1 "Thank You"
Smaller size:
- x1 "Get well wishes"
- x1 "Congratulations"
Card Packs:
- x2 packs of 4 cards (8 in total) mini "Thank You"
Embellishments:
- x3 packs of 2 paper flowers in assorted colours (6 in total) 

This is a pack of 21 goodies, worth a total of $35

How this auction works:

1.  Bidding will start at $25 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.  
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone.  Postage is FREE for Australian residents, International buyers will need to pay $10 to cover some postage costs.
5.  The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.

6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send their proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your goodies to you.

8.  Thank you for participating and happy bidding!

(Don't forget to check out my Softie's for Smiles Appeal for children affected in the floods) 

I have two other auctions.  Check them out here and here.

QLD Flood Auction - #2 Baby Clothes & Accessories AUCTION CLOSED!!

Up for grabs we have 2 appliqued girls onesie jumpsuits (both size 1).  Both come with a matching flower clip.  I have also included an elastic headband for the hair clip to be attached to.  That is 5 items worth a total of $30.

How this auction works:

1.  Bidding will start at $20 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.  
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone.  Postage is FREE for Australian residents, International buyers will need to pay $10 to cover some postage costs.
5.  The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.

6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send their proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your goodies to you.

8.  Thank you for participating and happy bidding!

(Don't forget to check out my Softie's for Smiles Appeal for children affected in the floods) 

I have two other auctions.  Check them out here and here.

QLD Flood Auction - #1 Hair Accessories AUCTION CLOSED!!

Up for grabs we have 3 Fabric Flower Rosette Headbands, 4 Ribbon Flower Clips, 1 Fabric Rosette Clip & 4 Flower Clips.  That is 12 hair accessories worth a total of $45.  

  

How this auction works:

1.  Bidding will start at $25 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.  
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone.  Postage is FREE for Australian residents, International buyers will need to pay $10 to cover some postage costs.
5.  The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.

6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send their proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your goodies to you.

8.  Thank you for participating and happy bidding!

(Don't forget to check out my Softie's for Smiles Appeal for children affected in the floods) 

I have two other auctions.  Check them out here and here.

Softies for Smiles - Flood Relief for Kids!

(If you are unaware of the current situation in Queensland, Australia, go here & here to find out.)


After witnessing so much loss, sorrow, heartache & utter chaos I have decided to put into action a plan to help some of the little people out there.    I guess as adults we can understand the concept of loss a little better.  We know that in the end everything will be OK, which brings a sense of relief.  I think this is a harder concept for a child to grasp.  To them, they have just lost their home.  Their bedroom.  Their precious possessions.  Their toys.  What horrible childhood memories this flood has created for them.  I hope to bring a little glimpse of joy back into their lives, and give them something to play with.  Something to give them comfort and bring back some normality!

This is why I have decided to focus my efforts on making Softies for children, in hopes that we can put a smile on their face!

Here's how it works.

• Make a Softie, doll, animal... anything you like.  There are plenty of free Softie patterns all over the internet.  But to make your life easier, you can look here, here, here, here or here for some ideas.  (These are a few I just found in Google now).  It can be big, small, colourful, made of fabric, knitted.... it doesn't matter!  As long as it's a toy!!  It doesn't matter if you have never made a Softie before.   Just keep it simple!  Use the internet to give you more ideas, and tips.  And if you're feeling brave why not draft your own Softie pattern (this is how I made the monster Softie above!)

• I ask that Softies be finished and sent to me by 31st March.  I am flexible with that, but I know how busy life is and I find it easier to have a date to work towards.  At this point in time I do not know exactly where the Softies will go but am working on that now and will let you know ASAP!  

• If you want to join in please let me know!!  I will put your in my sidebar as a participant so that everyone can see how wonderful you are!!  Also if you are participating, please grab the button at the top of my sidebar and put it on your blog so we can spread the word.   The more Softies, the more smiles on childrens faces!

• If you are able to make a Softie or two, I ask that you attach a small note/card to each toy that you send in for the recipient.   Just a nice extra touch to let them know that a complete stranger cares about them. 

• If you are unable to make a Softie, but have fabric/accessories you are willing to donate towards the cause please let me know.

If you know of any families or businesses that would benefit from the Softie for Smiles Appeal PLEASE tell me about them!!!  I would love to be able to help YOUR loved ones and friends.

There are tonnes of fabulous people out there doing similar things.  Pop over to Retromummy's blog where Corrie is hosting "Quilts for Queensland".  You can also go to Her Library Adventures, Sophie is donating money from her store sales towards the Premier's Flood Appeal.  And then there is also the Online Auctions of all things crafty.  Pop over to Toni's blog, Make it Perfect to see the master list of all the fantastic people auctioning off their goods for the Flood Appeal.

Thanks in advance!!

Pay it Forward

Can you tell that I'm using today as my Blog catchup day?  It's been crazy around here and it's nice to have a few hours to work on my blog.


Well I have this amazing blog friend over at The Clip Cafe who gives me fantastic ideas.  She is participating in a Pay it Forward.  And I want in!  Here is how it works.


1.  I promise to send something HANDMADE to the first FIVE people who leave a comment here.  


2.  To be eligible, YOU MUST ALSO POST THIS IN YOUR BLOG, offering the same thing to 5 other people. 


3.  Once you have blogged about it, let me know about your post.


So the rules are simple.  It must be handmade and it must be sent to your 5 people throughout 2011.

If you are playing along, it would probably be wise to you give yourself an approximate due date so the people that signed up don't get too impatient!!  

At this point in time I'm looking at having all of my PIF's out by June.  

Don't forget to let me know once your PIF post is up and remember to leave a comment if you want in!!!

Wedding preparations.

Well yesterday my brother got married!  Yay!  Now all of us are married!  I will do another post of wedding piccies and such, but for now I want to share some of things we made and did for the wedding.  There was minimal budget, and considering the wedding ended up being the week of the floods, everything got downsized and simplified....which added to the last minute stress of course.  

Last week, my sister Alicia, my SIL Bethany & I got together one day to make these....

Isn't that fabric just amazing?  It was originally for Bridesmaid's dresses.  But time was not on our side and the dress idea got scrapped, and we made these instead!  We used them to decorate the Reception Hall like this..

...and the Wishing Well like this....

And then there was the cake.  Whoa this was an interesting job.

In the fridge after finishing for the night.  The rest of the icing flower blob things & fresh flowers were added the day of the wedding

We tried to make fondant flowers last Sunday night.  The humidity we are experiencing here in Australia (because it's Summer) did not allow this to happen.  It made the fondant gooey, sticky & it just fell apart.  We didn't know what to do.  So Bethany & I decided to make up our own style of fondant.  I can't give up the recipe, but it pretty much was amazing.  We ended up with White Chocolate & Coconut Fondant.  We didn't make it too stiff.  We didn't need to roll it out and place it on the cake.  We just grabbed chunks of the fondant out of the bowl and patted it down on the cake and then shaped it.  We didn't want it perfect, we wanted it to have a slight 'rustic' look.  (I forgot the mention Bethany & her friend MADE the mudcakes themselves and they tasted aaaamazing).  

After we patted the fondant onto the cake, we used this amazing pattern sheet of plastic.  It was a roses pattern.  Then we coated it in a Pearl sheen spray.  Then the pearls around the bottom, and the icing flower blobs around each layer.  

Day of the wedding one of the ladies helping for the Reception is luckily a florist and she placed the roses on the cake for us.  She did an amazing job.

And then there is the hair piece.  I don't actually have a proper photo of this because I FORGOT TO TAKE ONE!! Doh!!  It was a combined effort from Bethany and I.  While I was sewing the clip onto the felt, she twisted the fabric into a perfect rose shape.  We were trying to match the fabric roses that came on her dress...

This is the best picture I could find on my camera of the flowers in her hair.  It was basically one small one and one big one, and the little one was clipped on top of the big one so it looked overlapped.  

Sorry they're not very good photos. 

Bethany and I also made thank you cards for all of the guests, but I forgot to take photos of those too.  

And I think that is everything that I had my hand in helping to make for the wedding....  

A touch of France.

Do you know how hard it is to get a 18 month old to stand still while you take pictures of her?  Some of you probably do. 

But because she's cute, and has food all over her face adding to her cuteness, I forgave her.

I got this adorable Beret pattern from Lil Blue Boo.  She offers free PDF patterns all the time.  I don't think this pattern is available anymore, but I'm pretty sure she has a different free pattern available instead!  Definitely worth checking out!

What can I DO to help?

This is the question that has been repeating over and over in my head for the past week as a result of these cruel floods.  How can I make a difference in someone's life that is currently shattered?  How can I lighten their load?  How can I make them smile again?  

I think the most obvious thing one could do it to help physically.  Get in there and clean up the mess.  Help them regain order in their home.  

But what if I don't have the time?  (stupid work)

So I have been trying to think out of the box.  I considered joining in with the Craft Auctions over at make it perfect.  I even thought of just giving money to the Premier's Appeal.

Then my thoughts went to the children affected.  What an awful childhood memory to have.  The day your house went under water and you didn't have time to take your treasured possessions with you when you were whisked out of the house.  It must be so frightening for a child to go through something like that.  

And that's where I got my idea.  I don't know where I am going to go with this idea right now, but I suppose I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in helping out in this way.  

Sewing softies for children.  

I'm not a very good sewer yet, so I thought maybe this is something that I would be successful with if I kept it simple.  

It is something quick and simple that could make the world of difference for a child.

What do you think??

Interested??

Wordless Wednesday

The first time in my life I wish I didn't live in Brisbane.

My Madeit store is officially open! Freebies for the first few sales!

Greetings to you all on this strangely cold and rainy Monday Summer's morning!

Well my Madeit store is up and running and has some goodies in it.  To boost sales, more like START sales, I'm offering a little incentive, and it's only for my followers!!  The first 4 of my followers to purchase something from my store will receive an extra of the item they are purchasing.  Now I think that sounds confusing so if that is the case I'll explain it in a different way.  If you buy a greeting card from my store, I will include another free greeting card as a little thank you. 

Remember you have to let me know when purchasing the item you are a follower!!

Baby Steps

I have so much to tell you and show you but I simply do not have time.  It is wedding central around here with my brother's wedding approaching in just over a week's time, and I am helping with a whole deal of last minute preparations.  I promise I will try and post about all the fun stuff I've been up to soon.

Well, I officially 'opened' my online store... and I have a bundle of goodies waiting for new owners!  Check out my Madeit.com.au store.

In the meantime, thanks for the great links to your favourite blogs.  I've checked them all out and there certainly are lots more talented people out there that I am now following!

Favourite blog.

I was just on my lunch break at work and was thinking about what bloggy land has done for me in the last year.  I have come across a whole bunch of super talented people.  I've also come to realise that alot of you talented people are flippin awesome too! 

Then I was thinking that I just don't follow enough blogs.  I mean, I check that Dashboard a zillion times a day hoping someone has posted a new entry, to entertain my imagination, to give me ideas, and to drool.  116 blogs is NOT ENOUGH.  Seriously. (I'm not even joking).

Do you have a absolute favourite blog that you check every single day? 

I do.

The Clip Cafe.

What's your most favouritest blog in the whole wide bloggyworld??  I'd love to hear about them so I can add them to my list of most favouritest blogs too!!

Apron Giveaway

I haven't seen too many giveaways floating around lately that I'd want to enter/win.  Maybe I've become more picky, but that comes with NEVER WINNING any giveaways.  But this one is sweet and if I won, which won't happen I would give it to my SIL because just yesterday she was telling me she wants a pretty pink girly apron and these would suit her to a tee!!!

So to enter head over to The Dalli Cottage Collection and enter the giveaway to win a custom apron to your taste!

Experimenting...

I decided to give my brand new sewing machine a work out.  She's pretty good.  And she even shows me when her bobbin is getting low.  Which is convenient.

(Disclaimer:  photos were taken on my phone due to laziness in retrieving the camera from downstairs)

So I cut out a whole stack of random fabrics more appropriate for a little man, and decided to make a pram quilt.  I have a thick piece of wadding left over from a previous project and just decided to use that even thought it is thicker then most quilting wadding.  I just figure the little man will be extra comfy.  I also found a baby blanket in my stash to use as a backing.

Then was the fun part.. placing them so they looked evenly spaced.

And I sewed all my rows together, and then ironed them and ironed the seams in the opposite direction from each row below it, bla bla bla...  It didn't take long to sew it all together!

I also have sewn the wadding and back on, but don't have a piccie of that yet.  I'm debating a few things with finishing it off.  I need to attach all the layers together in the middle of course, and not 100% which method I want to go to do that.  But it is a pram quilt so the baby will be laying on top of it, so I may go for little knots with wool.  That way it stays nice and cushy.  And then there is the matter of binding.  I may end up having to make it which I'm not keen on, but boo hoo!  I might even just use ribbon.  We shall see what my little fingers do to it tomorrow!