jibby and juna earrings

have been meaning to show you these gorgeous earrings ~ a present from genevieve of jibby and juna! thanks so much genevieve xx

happy friday!

instagram

i jumped on with instagram! perfect for quickness and keeping up with the flow. thanks for the tip and as always , thanks for the comments and support :)

i had a weeks delay between treatments this round, waiting for blood levels to come up, and took the chace to start some painting. also bought this amazing silk/cashmere/merino lace yarn - it was fun even to make a ball from the skein - so bright and luminous. what to make!!

ps the photos are not showing up it seems and i will pop back when I figure out how to share the links! . . . . ok, got the pics here by downloading through facebook!! am sure there must be a more direct way?? my user name is gretchenmist or maybe belinda kemp ;)

hello! it has been a little while . . . . i thought i'd pop in and share some photos i took with my new iphone {yes, i've joined the 21c!! how good is it?!}

i'm in an ok place this week with the treatment. the first round was extreme: 2 good days then 9 days of hideous followed by 6 days in hospital. a couple of things have been adjusted and it seems {i hope} that it will be pretty rough in the first week then ok for the next 2 so long as i'm super careful to rest a lot and stay away from sick people {tricky with kids}. i'm really missing my work time, especially painting, but am busy making sketches and notes and taking photos for later.

hope you are having a fun week xx

spoonful magazine

my copy of spoonful magazine arrived a few days ago and i've been meaning to share some pics. i contributed the hummingbird drawing/painting on the right in the top image. so lovely to see it in print. it's a very sweet publication.
you can buy a copy here. the website is pretty too.
{thanks anthea}

*****

in other news . . . my first day of chemo starts tomorrow. i've been trying to catch up with friends and do fun things with the family in the lead up and in a way i'll be glad to get it going, even though i have no idea how sick it will make me. i'm planning to keep the shop open and keep in touch here when i can ~ i'm hoping this can be a 'normalising' thing for me to do!
catch you soon :)

creative courage e-course + interview

firstly, thank you all so much for the wonderful comments on my last post ~ it's such a boost to read all these and i'm sure i'll pop back and re-read :)

i thought i'd post a link here to stephanie levy's excellent e-course about opening up your creative confidence. i've done an interview for the course, which is exciting! so great {and flattering} to be involved. {thanks stephanie!}. there's an introduction to the women involved on stephanie's blog.

enjoy!

upside down

the last month or so has turned my world upside down ~ i found out i have breast cancer! i've had the lump removed and my lymph nodes checked and am so very thankful to have found out this week that my lymph gland is clear.

it has been a crazy stressful time. the hardest part has been waiting for a series of test results. and also telling people ~ that's been confronting! i've wondered about mentioning it here, and decided to go ahead {especially now that i have results and a treatment plan} as i feel a connection/friendship with so many readers and also i think it's one of those things that is life~changing and pointless to try and not mention.

another positive thing about talking about it here is that i can remind you all to get onto the monthly self breast examination!! this is what has been the key positive factor in my story ~ i was lucky because i found it before it spread to other parts. it's scary to think that if i had have left it for even a short time longer the outcome would have been so much more devastating. i had my annual mammogram in march and have had ultrasounds for other things {a cyst, a strange unrelated shape thing} in august which were all clear and just a few short months later i found a lump which felt small but was actually a couple of centimeters big. please, do your checks!

i lost my mother to breast cancer when she was 39 {i was 18} and this is what has made me vigilant but also what has made this time kind of tougher.

during the last month i've changed my outlook from complete shock/fear to one of positivity {mostly!!} as the treatments now are 1000 times more sophisticated than they were 20 years ago and there seems to be an effective drug for each trait they have discovered. i have 5 kinds of medical world treatments lined up which will start mid-january as well as homeopathy and yoga and of course the love and support of my family and friends. **

and i get to have a drug~free {apart from champagne + coffee} christmas and new years.

i know it sounds strange to add, but i hope you have a wonderful christmas/holiday/silly season xx

** the book i chose to take into hospital for the surgery was marieke hardy's 'you'll be sorry when i'm dead' ~ i hadn't read any reviews and thought that it would be a funny, kind of upbeat read. then i got to the story about her friend! weird how that happens! and i want to borrow her friend's idea of the t-shirt that reads: 'thank you' {for all the love and support from friends and family}!

a new cushion design

i took this brand new cushion cover design to craft hatch yesterday ~ i meant to show you earlier but ran out of time! it was lovely to meet some blog friends and to chat with my sister and penny from pocket carnival!

the new design is completely inspired by the making of the diy garland packs! i really loved the process of choosing the pieces for each pack. the collage is on the front and the last pic shows the options for the back of the cushions. there's a lovely darker version of the original soft aqua open flower design {2nd from the left}.

there's also a version with the 'music festival 3' print on one side and '7 tents' on the other.

the cushion covers are a collaborative project ~ digital printing and production is all local and by michelle at frankie + swiss {will share a link this week when the site launches ~ very exciting!}. i'm so happy with the way they turned out.

if you would like one between now and the end of next week {dec 16th} you can order by emailing me {gretchenmist @ gmail . com}. they are $65 including postage within australia {+$10 for international post}. they will be made and posted just before christmas!

will post a pic of the market next week too.

have a fun sunday!

our creative space

printing, cutting labels, framing . . . thinking about how the display will work . . .

happy creative space day :)

to see more spaces/play along click here.

black friday weekend print sale~ buy 1 get 1 free!

a quick post to let you know about my black friday ~ cyber monday weekend print sale in my etsy shop. if you buy one, you get one free {free print = same or less value}. choose your free one and mention in the note to seller at the checkout.
happy shopping weekend!

our creative space

production mode!

making lots of garlands which is kind of rythmic once i get going. guessing about numbers . . . do i make more or pack more as diy versions? i guess the time limit will answer that question!

also thinking about black friday tomorrow ~ hoping to get organised for a print sale! stay tuned.

happy creative space day!
to play along and see other spaces, click here.

spoilt

i've been totally spoilt by viktoria! each year the ag team {on etsy} have a christmas swap and this is what i received. i feel overwhelmed by viktoria's generosity and beautiful work {and the chocolate which is handmade is austria}. the beads are so tiny and i love the design. she chose blue-greens just for me :)
you can see her shop here and read about her work here.
excuse the daggy photo of me ~ i find it impossible to be normal when someone is taking my photo!!
thanks viktoria.

our creative space ~ late!

about 4pm yesterday i thought to myself ~ umm, it's thursday!! finding myself under piles of paper and lists this week. . . all in preparation for the upcoming markets, craft hatch and sisters' market. also a couple of wholesale christmas orders happening. {apologies if i haven't popped in lately!}.

last night our littlest fell out of bed and fractured his collar bone! his bed is really not far off the ground, so i can't quite picture how it resulted in an almost broken bone! kind of added to the general feeling of craziness here!

happy friday! hope you had a fun and creative week :)

if you haven't already checked out what the others are up to, click here.

thanks curvy, phoebe and fede!

a belated thanks to phoebe and curvy for this post.
and also thanks to fiona for this lovely post.

hope you are having a fun week so far!

our creative space ~ shelved!

the creative space has been shelved today ~ there's a professional development day at the childcare centre, which means no care today! kind of lucky i don't have to be somewhere on time etc but it comes at a time when i have a to-do list longer than ever!

the exciting news is that i have been accepted to do the december craft hatch market organised by craft victoria. i'm also doing the christmas sisters' market in brunswick the following week . . . so exciting, but kind of nerve wracking :0. will keep you posted on dates etc as it gets closer!

meanwhile . . . i've been slowly working on these paintings. not sure if the dark one is finished or not, i think it is. the bottom one needs a little more, possibly some grey flowers.

happy creative space day! to see more/play along click here.

i won!

i was so lucky to win kylie's cushion from her blog giveaway! i love it!
her work is immaculate. and i can't help admiring the gorgeous green backing fabric with the hidden light blue zip! perfection!
thanks so much kylie :)

see more 3 sheets cushions here.

have a fun weekend! any exciting plans?