Life in Mono...

Tea Dying...

I bought this lace for the cheaps at one of the stores in Perth - I can't remember which one now- and it was TOO WHITE that it looked borderline disgusting. So I was trying to figure out how to "age" it a little bit and then I saw a bit in Project Runway Australia (I recorded it) and they were doing some dying with Tea Bags. *Light bulb moment*.

So I put the kettle on and made myself a pot of tea and made extra for the laces. I soaked it for one hour and got the result I wanted.

I think I am going to do this to all things WHITE now. :*)

Another Project ...

How cool is this project from Apartment Therapy? I get a lot of junk mail at work and at home. Instead of chucking it in the recycling bin why not make it into art. I love the look of this one. Maybe I will try to make one this weekend. Wooohooo more things to make.

Red + Gold = Silhouettes...

I made this silhouettes paintings the other night. I printed silhouettes of greyhounds in action from the internet. I am not 100% happy with the end product though. As you can see, there are papers stuck on to the canvas. I need to either finish the painting properly with some touch up paint or try to pry the paper out carefully with the exto knife.

These paintings will hang on the wall where Walter sleeps. I will make more silhouettes paintings of greyhounds and cats in the future. I just need to know how to finish it properly.

Weekend Recap...

So no post for 4 days? What's up with that? Well things have been really busy around Casa D Mono. I have been tidying, planting and hanging up new stuff at home. So here is the recap of the weekend.

FRIDAY

We went to the annual Curtin Pasar Malam instead of the usual Friday Night Dinner. It was a total let down. Every year I look forward to the night because of the FOOD but this year, sad to say, every second stall sold Satay. I mean, ok I love satay but every second stall? No. There was not much choice in terms of food this year.

Don't get me started on the entertainment. It was a total let down. I have nothing nice to say about it so I won't say anything.

SATURDAY

I did a little bit of grocery shopping and I also went to Bunnings to get more plants for the house. I also manage to harvest our very first crop, our very own Chinese Cabbage. Out of the 6 lot, I only manage to harvest 2 lots because the rest were eaten by MOTHS!!! Yep teeeny tiny moths! GAH... The next round I am going to monitor them and maybe built like a mesh to protect them.

We finally found a coat rack for the house. M fell in love with the coat rack at our old place but unfortunately, it belongs to the house and we have been on a hunt for something similar. M was happy that I found the coat rack so now it sits nicely next to the sliding door.

After assembling the coat rack, I gave Walter a bath. He smells sweet now. Walter is a funny little dog. I was told that most Greyhounds love the water, WELL not my dog. He just stands there and shivers. Poor thing. He did well though. He has got to be the easiest dog to wash.

M went to work in the evening, so I stayed at home, put on Gilmore Girls and crafted. I made wire wrapped pendents to sell at the Made on the Left Market in November. There was a lot of trial and error but I finally settled down on the design.

Happy with the design, I set out to make pendents throughout the night. I realise that I can only curn out 3 pendents in 3 hours. So that is a pendent per hour. Geez.... the next task is to price the pendents. This task is usually tricky for me but I am prepared.

SUNDAY

Woke up early to cook Lamb Curry for the pot luck dinner that we were going to. While waiting for the lamb curry to cook, M and I cleaned the house.

Later on in the afternoon, Walter and I went to playgroup. He did not run around this time because the weather was too hot. All the dogs were either under the trees or in the tub cooling down. We didn't stay long because I could see that Walter was a little cranky. 

Came home, changed and off we went to the pot luck dinner. We came home early too. I was not feeling well by the time we came home. Took two pain killers and off to bed I went.

MONDAY

Called in sick with a migraine. I did not have enough sleep becuase all I could feel was the room spinning. So stayed home, drank lots of water and curled up on the sofa with the cats and Walter on the floor. It was such a hot day too. Summer is here.

I felt better in the evening, went to my garden and harvested Silverbeets for dinner. Yummm....

I will post photos of what I took over the weekend tonight. I promise. I will have to do a proper photo shoot of the house when I have time. 

Commissioned...

I have been commissioned to make wedding invitations for a friend who will be getting married in November. I am pretty excited about this because this means that I can go look at beautiful papers. Woooot.

Her theme is Purple and I already have the wording pinned down and this week I have all week to search for the perfect paper and accessories to go with it. Wooohoooo....

This week's Learning Curve is pretty easy so I should have something up either on Thursday or Saturday. Its all about Dreams and Plans just my cup of tea. :*)

Its down to...

I spoke about narrowing it down the other day and did my homework this weekend. Hence not getting online this weekend. I did a lot of things actually. Cooking and baking being one of them.

Anyway, I made a list and kept on crossing and adding things that I know how to basically make and cross out things that I know I will not be able to make or do at the moment because I have not done research on it yet. So those are on my "to do later" list. I have a copy of the list in my notebook and I am going to scan it to show my thought process. To tell you the truth, its not much of a thought process. Just scribbles here and there.

Anyway, I have narrowed it down to 3. It was hard to narrow things that I want to make down to three. I was strict with myself saying "don't kid yourself too much". So here is what I will be making on a constant basis...

1. Beaded Earrings.
2. Vintage Button Rings.
3. Zipper pouches

I will also make limited edition Moleskine prints when I have come up with a sketch or design that I am happy with and also simple shopper/book totes.

I sat in my studio for the first time last night and I felt great. I started sewing some zipper pouches for loose change and coins. I am still trying to play around with the pattern but I am getting there. Missy kept me company by sitting near my feet and keeping it warm. She is such a good kitty.

Anyway, I hope to get more things done now that I have narrowed it down to 3.

Thank you to all of you guys out there for the encouragements and tips. (((HUGS)))

Narrowed down...

This is what I feel like at the moment. Curling up into a ball and sleep. Anyway, I have been thinking a lot about In Mono Designs lately. Up to the point where I want to just close it down and be done wit it. But I manage to reason with myself stating how I love to create and how much I like the indie craft world. Those and also the fact that I have spent my hard earned money investing in the business trying to set it up and get it going for the past few years.

I also thought of how little I have grown since then. Nothing much has been done. A craft fair here and there but that's it. No aggressive marketing and sales. I realise that I have loads of ideas running in my head all at once and I have always told myself that I need to try everything under the sun and try to make something out of everything. I also realise that that is not always a good idea because at the end of the day, I will crash and I will burn, crash my head and burn my money. HAHA..

So I have decided to narrow down 3 of my ideas or products, for the moment, and make it work and improve on the designs. What are those ideas? I have no idea yet. I am making a list and this weekend I am going to make myself sit in my studio and come out with 3 finalist.

Since I only have 3 ideas or products , i.e. earrings, rings, necklaces, etc. I will have to improve on each items and progress from there. Once I am an expert in it, then I will go on and add another idea on the list. That way, at least I will be good at something that is worth selling. At the moment I am having this "low-self esteem" feeling when it comes to my designs. Hopefully by narrowing it down to just 3 ideas/products, this feeling will disappear. You should hear my head when I was at the "Made on the Left" event but that is another story for another day.

So, hopefully by this Sunday, I will know what I will be concentrating on.

Wally's Coat...

As promised, Wally sleeping and lounging around in his new coat. You can't really see it because its Dark Blue but I am very happy with the outcome.

He was trying to catch the warm rays of the sun on Sunday because it has been really cold lately and I know he hates it. He knows how to use the pillow to support his head when he sleeps on the floor. He is one smart cookie.

A little Craftiness...

... on a very hot day. I made these while watching TV the whole afternoon. I am trying my hand at embroidery and also weaving.

I made this baby bib with the patterns I bought from Sublime Stitching. It was fun. The Potholders are woven. I bought the book from Borders the other day. These are addictive.

Baby bib is for one of my best friend who just had a baby on Wednesday. I will have to post it to her though. I am so excited. I am sad that I am not there to see the baby first.

The Potholders are experiments. Hopefully I will improve and maybe stock them in the shop. Its been a while since I last stock up the shop.

Rare Birds...

I manage to squeeze in some time on Monday and Tuesday before going to bed to make these little collage. There are called Rare Birds. I use scrap paper that I had lying around and also stamps that I manage to collect from the Op Shop a while back.

Its my first time trying to do something like these birds. I didn't know what to do.  I want to seal them with something clear, like a varnish or something. Any ideas? Is it a good idea to coat with with something so that they last or do you think that I should just put them into a shadow box?