Finishing what I started (BYW 2.0)

You may remember this post some time ago when I attempted (and failed miserably) to complete "Blogging your way 2.0" e-course by Holly Becker from Decor8. It started so well as you can tell by the picture below I had all my course work printed out and was enjoying the first few days.



THEN I encountered a piece of homework that totally threw me off track: "Make a blog mood board showing how you imagine your ultimate blog to look like – how you imagine it looking in the near future!"
Oh heck. That was it for me. I couldn't see it. I had no idea how to decide on what I wanted. I then quickly lost interest of course feeling overwhelmed and very un-creative.
Well this weekend the boy MADE ME A COMPUTER as my little laptop was painfully slow to run photoshop and illustrator from. I vowed that when I had a decent computer I would try more with graphic design and photoshop. But first I had unfinished business to attend. I was going to get this mood board done and start back into the e-course material.
Well thanks to my new super fast computer and a horrible cold that has forced me to stay home this weekend here it is....my long overdue homework!

I've been reading not blogging

I've been challenging myself to read more this year. So far so good! I have just finished my third book. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. Gifted to me by my brother at Christmas he told me I HAD to read this book. I promised him I would read it soon and last week I picked it off my shelf. I read it cover to cover in a week. I read it with a pen in hand and post-it tabs highlighting the gems of advise and life learnings Randy shares with us.
This book is based on the lecture he gave at Carnigie Mellon Univercity after he had been given 6 months to live after his pancreatic cancer had gotten worse. He leaves great life lessons for his young children to read later in their lives in this book. I really enjoyed it! I did struggle knowing his impending death would leave his family and friends without him and this lecture was his chance to say goodbye. But I was enlightened by all the life lessons he shared and the good humour in which he tells these great stories. Get yourself a copy and then afterwards watch the video of the actual lecture he gave.

My Creative Corner

Helloooo possums. I thought I would share some snaps of my little workspace at home. I've finally finished my office! Last weekend I bought a new chair from Officeworks and I am really pleased I got it in white as it makes it look less like an office! I have tried to keep my shelves clutter and rubbish free which has been a challenge but I am super happy with how it looks. What does your workspace look like? Where do you keep your projects that you are currently working on? I have them strewn across the house rather haphazardly. Paper cranes in a bag by the couch, knitting on a shelf and boxes full of unfinished sewing packed away beside my desk....and that is on a good day!

A long weekend

Thankfully it was a long weekend here in Australia! I used it to catch up on some much needed rest and tackled some small jobs around the house. Of course I managed to fit in a tiny bit of crafting too....Cranes, cranes and more cranes. I think I have made nearly 60 to date. Tutorial coming soooooon!

I want to do that.

I am still busily reading Gretchen Rubin's "The Happiness Project", and I must admit, I am really enjoying it. I have not read in an incredibly long time and I am finding her experiences in this project   both enlightening and interesting. Today I find this quote by Robert Browning incredibly poignant.
When I left Ireland nearly 3 years ago there was not a big craft scene. I had no knowledge of any bloggers based in Dublin that were into the crafty things I liked. As I started blogging in Australia I immediately started dreaming of being able to do this in Ireland. During my trip home at Christmas time I listed all the places for backdrops to blog posts and shops and cafes I wanted to share with you all when I was back in the land of the leprechauns.
Alas - someone else seems to be doing exactly that!
So there I was in Melbourne yesterday flicking through one of my favourite magazines (The Simple Things)  pondering whether to shell out the extortionate rate for a UK magazine or not, when I happened across an article on Dublin. I thought ah cool...them saw the name Emily Westbrooks. I thought to myself can't possibly be my friend's sister in-law Emily. Although I had not met her I had hear a lot about her and the name Westbrooks is not very common in Dublin....Then I recognised her husband in the pictures of the article. Turns out it was my friends sister in-law! I was super jealous when I read her article and even more jealous when I wandered on over to her blog fromchinavillage.com. My blog is insignificant and neglected compared to fromchinavillage.com. It is very cool and it looks like we have a lot in common. Immediately I followed her on Pinterest and added her to my google reader. What a small world we live in!
So as the quote says above - we should always stretch ourselves beyond what we can do. Maybe seeing Emily's article in The Simple Things or her partnership with my favorite Irish brand Avoca is what I needed to push myself to commit more time to my blog! No matter what - I am delighted to have another great blog to read :)

At my desk...

Currently I am trying out some origami for a new craft project. It was a bit tedious last night to start with but now I don't even need instructions to make a paper crane! The only thing I am struggling with is the ends of the beak/tail as they never seem to be very neat. Has anyone got any tips?
I am helping out at work design/prototype a product. It is super nice to have something creative to think about in my down time at work! So far I have a base concept in my head but I still have a long way to go with it! To make sure that I post to my blog EVEN when I am super busy I have decided to blog at least once a week on my lunch hour from work. So here goes!
In other news I got a tent for my birthday so I cannot wait to get out and go camping soon!

Draw in 3D!?!

This morning I came across this brilliant article on Core77.com. It features a write up on this kickstarter project for a pen that allows you to physically draw and create 3D shapes! I have been looking at 3D printers and the possibilities of what could be crafted and created using a 3D printer but I had not even thought about being able to draw something in thin air and create it at the same time! MADNESS!

Picture source core77.com

With 33 days left to go this Kickstarter project has surpassed it's goal of $30,000 pledged to start up with an amazing $280,000+ pledged to the project. Croudfunding is really an amazing opportunity to have your dreams and designs brought to fruition!