Friday, 30 January 2015

Valentines Day

Valentines day is coming soon. Have you thought about your loved one's gift yet? How about a Valentine's Day card to say "I love you"...


"For you see, 
each day I love you more
Today more than yesterday
and less than tomorrow."
Rosemonde Gerard




"Be completely humble and gentle;
be patient, bearing with one another in love."

Ephesians 4:2


"Love doesn't make the world go round. 
Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."
Franklin P. Jones

Friday, 16 January 2015

5 Tips for Managing Time

Here I am again, it's a new year and I'm hoping that this year I will have more time to make time for new ideas and creations. So starting out, I have written down some tips for managing time. 

Trying to manage a small business, an online shop, can be very difficult. Especially if you have a full time day job, a little toddler running around the house, and all those chores like laundry, cleaning, and cooking. Yeap that's me!  I'm always having problems with managing my time, as many things come along every day, to fill up my schedule. But I have so many ideas and things I want to do and create that I will find the time.

Hopefully these tips will help you as they will help me too.

1. Lists! Yes that's right. To do lists are my favourite thing in the world. I have different list. For example. Shopping list, Home cleaning list, Things to make, Etsy shop list, Gift list, Food ideas list, Creative ideas list, and I can go on for ages. Lists basically help me clear my mind. I have it all on paper, in my lovely diary (which I bought from Busy B).
Of course a to do list, can get you carried away, and you could write an awful lot of things that would not be possible to finish in 1 day.
So I suggest, when making your list, place the most important things on top, and consider how much time you need for each task. Therefore you can manage your lists and not add things you know you won't have time doing.

2. Clean Up! It's good to have your work-space clean and clear of bits and pieces before you start working on a new project. This way your mind is clear.

3. Take short breaks! For a cup of tea, for some biscuits, or fruit, or a bite to eat. Your brain needs food and drink to work and perform better. And remember the most important (which I usually forget) DRINK WATER. 

4. Switch off your phone and internet! We can get very distracted with all this new technology and social media going on around us. If you really want to work and concentrate I do suggest it's a good idea to turn off your phone, or just "forget" your phone in the other room. 



5. Make time! Sometimes we just really need to make the effort and make time. Especially, if you have a full time job, and manage a small business at home, through Etsy or any other place and space. Now that I have a baby and my free time is limited, I just decide what is most important for me. For example, do I want to bake a cake, watch TV or work on my blog, site, shop.? That's the most difficult thing. But if you want to grow your business then you have to make sacrifices from other small things you like doing.



Thursday, 9 October 2014

Weekly Finds - Christmas Gift Ideas

I've started looking for some ideas for Christmas Gifts. I know it's a bit early, but I really want this year to order most of my gifts from fellow Etsians who make special handmade creations. These beautiful creations I found are all from Europe. 


Personalized Necklace - Initial Jewellery: I have bought a gift for a friend from shrynka a gorgeous shop from Slovakia and just love her creations. Have a look at her shop for many more amazing items.

Dragonfly Earrings: I love dragonflies! and these are my favourite earrings. Should I just buy them for myself instead..? :) From the wonderful shop ArxRosarum from Finland, who makes victorian and art nouveau jewellery.

Crochet Coin Purse: From Thessaloniki, Greece, polixeni19, is an amazing shop with exquisite handmade crocheted & knitted accessories. Have a look at her shop, I'm sure you will find a gift for Christmas.

Beaded Bracelet: Found from the shop BacaCaraJewelry, Cologne, Germany. You can find unique artisan jewelry handmade with vintage treasures!  Perfect for a gift for someone special, for Christmas. 

Saturday, 4 October 2014

Christmas is in the Air

This are my all new Christmas cards! Rudolph Christmas Card, Christmas tree cards, Snowman Card.
Ready for sale in my Etsy shop, along with many more Christmas Cards! 







Thursday, 2 October 2014

Weekly Finds - Hello baby girl!

This weeks finds are for my baby niece, who my husband and I are going to baptize in the spring! I can't wait to be a godmother :) 



Handmade baby doll: from this cute little shop called Miusla on Etsy. Amazing creations for kids, from Lithuania.
Baby girl romper / onesie: this sweet onesie is all the way from Australia, from the shop ChasingMini.
Ballerina nursery art print: I love tutus! And I love ballet. This is just perfect for a baby girl nursery. From DreamsandNotions, a Photography and Arts Shop on Etsy.
Lavender bunny: From my favourite shop CrochAndi who makes handmade crochet dolls and finger puppets.
New baby card: From my Etsy shop, this handmade, hand-stamped card is made with a wooden embellishment. 

Sunday, 14 September 2014

5 Tips for a Tidy Workspace


What I learnt from my years of experience as a crafter and creator, your workshop can get messy easily. A few years back when I first moved to our new home, my workshop was all over the place. Everything was everywhere. Once I started creating more cards, everything got chaotic. Especially during Christmas season. So after that I decided it was time to tidy everything up. It took me a few days, but I finally got everything in the right places. If my workshop is messy, then I feel that I am messy and I can’t think straight, therefore I can't work. So I always keep everything in its place, unless I’m creating of course. 


Here are a few tricks I use to make things easier.



1. Boxes, Boxes! Get lots of boxes to separate each item you use. For example, a box for papers, another box for stamps, another box for punches.. etc.

2. Categories! Along with the boxes, you can categories your materials. For example, all Christmas materials can go in one box. If you have certain things you use for weddings, christenings etc you can separate that in categories.

3. Colour coding!  Categories with colour. This can work for handmade creations like jewellery or clothing where you can separate all your materials according to colour.

4. Labels! Make your own labels and label each box. Believe me it makes life easier, as I always forget where everything is. Especially if you have lots and lots of small things.

5. Tidy Up! Last but not list, every time you make something, make sure at the end of the day you tidy everything up, and clean whatever needs to get cleaned. Therefore you will always have a nice and tidy environment to work in.

I hope this was helpful for your own work space! 


Tuesday, 9 September 2014

Weekly Finds - Red is Always a Good Idea!

This weeks finds from Etsy, are from my latest treasury. Every week I will be posting my favourites.



Red Mosaic Heart - From one of my favourite Etsy shops here in Cyprus, MiaCristi
Freiberger porcelain vintage red floral set of sugar bowl with lid, creamer cup and coffee pot made in Germany Democratic Republic - From this unique shop USSRvintage
Cranberry Necklace - From this sweet shop called Herinia's Jewelry Chest
Adjustable Bead Ring - From my favourite shop Quimeras (I have bought a pair of earrings from here and had them for nearly 2 years and love them!)