handmade nursery

It's been a while in the making, but I've finally taken photos of my daughter's room, to share just how easy it is to create a sweet handmade nursery for a baby on a low budget.

Most of the items which I made were created using existing supplies which I already had on hand. Scraps of patterned paper make festive bunting, fabric scraps turn into cushions and recover an old lamp and felt pom poms float on thread or can be glued to just about any surface.

Let your imagination, with the help of Pinterest, transform existing objects into something new to adorn your little ones' room.

With touches of crocheted, embroidered, quilted and stitched objects, your growing bundle is going to appreciate the textures, patterns and colours of the visual feast you have provided them.

read it: *bespoke* magazine

If you're reading this, then chances are you subscribe to a few creative blogs. But do you always read them? I know I don't or can't always dedicate the time to sit down each day and read my fave blogs.

Magazines both of the physical and digital kind are a great go-to when I need some inspiration or a diversion from chores. They are digestible morsels of curated information, inspiration and beauty. They're easy to read and you can skim over any articles that don't interest you to find ones which are more your flavour.  Mmm, flavour.

There are quite a few crafty magazines out there, but a personal favourite of mine is *bespoke* zine. Why? Well it's produced in Australia and contributed to by the handmade community. People that you may know and interact with on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. All there sharing their tips with you, the reader!

It's packed with tutorials from clever crafters, insights and tips from successful indie business owners, stories to help you start out your own handmade business, recipes (mmm food), links to shops selling handmade, and a butt-load of inspiration.

The cover of each issue is illustrated by a different illustrator, graphic designer or artist. So as you can see it really is a collaboration of creative proportions.  

Now if this sounds like a magazine you'd be interested in, you might want to help out by pre-ordering a bumper issue that the editors are trying to get off the ground.  In order to print a huge 100-page Winter edition, the eds of *bespoke* are calling out for people to get behind them and pre-order before May 31st. Show your support for handmade and creative. Jump over and pre-order now!

The lovely editors at *bespoke* have offered up a 12 month (3 issues) digital subscription worth $25 for one of you to win! 

All you need to do to enter is leave me a comment on this post answering either one of these questions:

Have you read *bespoke*? 
What's your favourite creative magazine?


the small print
Value of digital subscription is $25
Digital subscription is for one year or three issues of *bespoke* magazine
Issue 10 will be out July 31st, Issue 11 is released Nov 30 and Issue 12 will be early next year
Entries close Friday 31st of May at 8pm. 
I will draw a winner randomly through random.org

creative supplies offer

envelope tin $6

The past couple of weeks I've been quiet as a mouse over here because I've been working away at matching up the almost-200 creative pen pals which have signed up for the snail mail exchange.

This week I'm sending out pen pal information emails, so if you're eagerly awaiting news of who you've been matched up with, please have faith that an email is on its way.

Today I'm just popping in quickly with a lovely offer from Angie at the Shop Creative store. 

paper stickers $5.50

To help you get started (or add to) your letter writing kit, or to just simply stock up on some creative supplies, Shop Creative have offered a 10% discount on your purchase until 24 May 2013. Simply use the code CREATEPENPAL at checkout for the discount to be applied. Please note the discount does not apply to shipping charges and can't be used in conjunction with any other offer.

arimail stripe washi tape $3.50

So pop over, see if something takes your fancy and get ready for news of your pen pal(s)!

Thanks for your patience and understanding that I am a one-woman-show (with a young family) and not a machine!

5 creative uses for your DYMO label maker

It may come as no surprise that I'm an appreciator of stationery and office-related tools and accessories. However, anyone who steps into my craft studio would be forgiven for thinking I was moonlighting in office administration. I like to be organised and I like the challenge of using seemingly boring and conventional items in a variety of creative and unconventional ways.

So I was rather excited to be set a challenge on how to use a DYMO label maker creatively. Sure, you can use it to add labels to index tabs in ring binders and the like, but I have come up with some other ways in which you can get creative mileage out of your label maker at home.


ONE: organise your craft tools 

I have sets of drawers throughout my craft studio. It's the only way I can stay semi on top of where things are stashed. Plus drawers can put a pretty face on the mess that might lay within.

It's all about the pretty face. Especially if you're anything like me and regularly do a craft "dump and run" when cooking and other domestic duties call.

So, why not make things even easier by creating labels for your drawers.





TWO: give your notebooks names
I like a good notebook. I have one for "ideas", one for scribbling in, another for art journalling, one for sticking random memorabilia into and a few more with to-do lists and equally as random stuff in them.

I do my best to remember which is for what, but now I have my handy-dandy friend to help me give them all names.

Use some contrasting washi tape as a base for your clear plastic labels. It will add a bit of fun and element of colour.





THREE: magnetic meal planner
Over the years I've tried various methods to staying on top of planning dinners for the week. The fridge is the obvious communal place for family members to have their input on what will be consumed for the week.

Print out labels for each day of the week along with each dish that's in your dinner repertoire. Stick the labels onto unwanted large flat advertising magnets (eg "Jim's Plumbing") and trim them down to the size of the label.

Stick them onto your fridge and each week, planning out dinners (and grocery shopping) will be a breeze!



FOUR: jars need names too
A few years ago, in a bid to be more grown-up, I started making my kitchen more functional. After several trips to Ikea, I had lots of lovely, some fancy and many functional things to make our home work better for us.

I bought jars. Lots of jars. I started filling the jars. I arranged them all in a pretty line. I forgot what was in some of said jars. I labelled jars. I now know what is in my pretty jars.

I realise "sprinkles" don't really need to be identified, but I couldn't very well leave them nameless.




FIVE: visual cues
Upon the suggestion of an instagram friend, I recently started a vision board. I chopped up magazines and collected lovely pictures and phrases of how I'd like my life to shape itself.

I started glueing all of my gathered items onto a large piece of poster card. But there were some obvious words missing which could not be found in my magazines.

I adjusted text heights and formats before printing labels with key words to add to my vision board.

You could do the same with scrapbooking. It's much quicker and economical than printing a page, cutting and then glueing. Especially if you only need a few words.

Here's some nifty facts about the DYMO LetraTag which I've used in these projects:

• The labels come in paper, plastic, metallic and iron-on finishes in a range of colours (depending on the type of label).
• It has the capabilities to print onto two lines
• There are five font sizes
• You can add borders around text
• It is super easy to use 

Do you own a label maker? If so, have I inspired you to dust it off and use it creatively? What will you use it for?

Don't own a label maker? Well then, this is your lucky day. The folks over at Newell Rubbermaid have been very generous to give me a DYMO LetraTag to giveaway to one of my readers along with refill tapes.

Would you like to win? Read ahead for details...




DYMO COMPETITION DETAILS

1. Entrants MUST be Australian residents. 
2. To enter simply leave a comment on this post. It can be anything. You can tell me what you'd like to use the label maker for. Or whatever you'd like to say is fine.
3. Entries open Wednesday 1 May 2013 and close Friday 3 May 2013. 
4. I will randomly select a winner on Saturday 4 May 2013. Winner will be notified by email.
5. The prize is a DYMO LetraTag LT-100H along with two refills with a RRP of AUD$69