Goodbye 2013

Well we have been missing in action from blogging land.  I guess there is never enough hours in a day but hopefully in 2014 I will make more of an effort to get on here and let you know what we have been up to.  I thought I would do one long post to let you know what we got up to for the rest of 2013.  Liana and I did a few more markets, a couple at Old Perth Rd Markets in Bassendean.

We introduced a couple of new products ready for Christmas - the Advent Calendar and tags.

In September we said goodbye to our dearly loved dog Kimba.  He was 16 years old and was starting to get "Doggy Dementia" and just not himself anymore so decided it was time to say goodbye and thought this was a kinder option than waiting  for him to become in pain and having the option taken from us. Liana and I took the day off work so we could spend the day with him and when Mark got home from work we all went together to the Vets and put him to sleep.  It is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do and was heartbreaking but it was for the best.  It has taken us along time to get used to him not being here and the house is not the same without him.

 

The beginning of November Liana, Matt and I took part in the 5km Color Run in Perth.  Sadly the night before the run I put my back out but there was no way I wanted to miss out on participating.  I went to bed early and the next morning took a couple of anti-inflammatories and was determined I could still do it.  I had been waiting to do this for months.  I was in a fair amount of pain walking down to the start but was determined I wasn't going to miss out.  Matt & Liana arrived and were happy to walk it with me instead of running.  We walked the whole 5km and had such a fantastic time.  I was rather sore and feeling sorry for myself on Monday as I could hardly walk or stand up straight but a trip to the Chiropractor sorted me out and I was feeling OK after a couple of days.



                                               

October we went on a family holiday to Melbourne and Canberra to catch up with family, do some shopping and we went to Bathurst to see the great race.  We did lots of shopping, had to buy another suit case to bring it all home, caught up with family, went to the Finders Keepers Market and just had some lovely family time together.  Then we headed to Canberra and visited the War Memorial which was just so humbling. 

 

We then drove down to Bathurst and stayed there for 3 days and went to the race each day.  This is a photo of the three of us on Sunday the day of the big race.  We were all very happy Ford won too :) 

 

I think it is one of the best holidays I have had.  It was so nice spending the time with Liana now that she has moved out of home and meeting up with other members of the family.

 

In November we did an "open house" with our friends where we both set up our stalls in our friends backyard to sell all our handmade goodness.  We just invited our family, friends and work colleagues and Holly made a beautiful afternoon tea and for a gold coin donation you got a cuppa and yummy afternoon tea.  The money went to the Fred Hollows Foundation and she managed to raise enough money to save 3 peoples eye sight.  It was a really successful day and everyone went away happy having done a lot of their Christmas shopping.

Before we knew it December was here and I had a bit of trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year.  It has always been our tradition that Liana and I set up the Christmas tree on the first weekend of December but now Liana has moved out of home I had to do it by myself and it just wasn't the same. I really struggled but I did get it done and must say that I loved looking at it when it was all done.  We have a lot of handmade decorations on the tree plus as I work in a school I quite often get little decorations for the tree from my students so it is nice each year putting those decorations back on the tree and remembering those children that had given them to me.

I also received a couple of new ones this year from dear friends.

This one was from my friend Rose's Mum who lives in England and does beautiful lacework.  I received this one in the mail and it was such a lovely surprise.  It is beautiful.

I also received this one from Mel at One Crafty Mumma who I have been writing to this year.  It is so lovely having a pen friend to write to and receiving some lovely snail mail in the letter box instead of bills.  We exchanged Christmas presents and Mel included this gorgeous little heart on the front of my package.  Now each year I will think of her as I add it to my tree.

We managed to fit in one more market for December and we went to the Mandurah Indoor Markets.  It was handy being so close to home and was our last chance to sell our Christmas items for the year.

Christmas morning arrived and it wasn't quite the same without Kimba.  He used to be there under the tree looking for his present.  He had his own stocking which usually contained smackos which he could smell and he used to love opening up his presents.  We did have Liana's furbaby Willow who hopped up to the door and she decided she would help me open my present :)

Well that comes to the end of the year.  I hope you had a lovely Christmas and hope all your dreams come true in 2014.  I will make more of an effort to blog more regularly.  Thanks for popping by :)

Dream Achieved - Market Day

It had always been a little dream of ours to have our own market stall to sell our art and craft.  We love creating but what do you do with all the stuff you make.  You can only give someone so many journals and lets face it we spend so much money on all the supplies you really need to be able to recoup some of that money back at some stage.

Liana was always so keen to have a stall and spent ages checking out where they were all on and how much they cost etc.   She located a few reasonably close to home and that weren't going to cost a huge amount to be a part of so started pushing me to commit to one.  It was all becoming a little bit too real and then I got nervous and scared and thought no-one would want to buy my stuff, that it wasn't good enough etc etc. 

Liana then visited the Canning Bridge Arts and Crafts Market in May and said they looked really good and that there were lots of people around and we should book a stall at the next one in June.  I decided I just had to bite the bullet and give it a go.  If we didn't try we would never find out and they weren't that expensive so if we didn't sell much we hadn't wasted too much money.  We went on line and filled out the application only to find out that the June Markets were to be the very last one as they were closing them down.  They had also reduced the price as it was their farewell market, even better still.  However, we also felt sad as now we had made the decision to try the market and now it was going to be their last one.  Now we were both feeling a bit nervous but I must admit a little bit excited.

Anyway we were signed up so it was all go.  We got busy building up our stock to make sure we had plenty to sell.  Liana was busy arm knitting to make as many different coloured scarves as she could.

 My hubby even went out and bought us our own gazebo to use over our stall.  He has always been my greatest supporter of my creativity.

Finally the weekend was here and it was all go. We stayed up late Friday night making price tags, making sure we had everything and packing up what we could.  Saturday my Mum and Dad were having their garage sale so we would be spending most of the day over there.  As it turned out I wasn't well when I woke up Saturday morning and spent most of the day in bed.  Liana and Mark were left to help at the garage sale without me.  Liana made the decision that her and Mark would still do the market without me if I wasn't well enough but I wasn't going to let her down and leave her to do it on her own.  It was our dream, so I was going to go through with it no matter what.

We were up early Sunday morning 5-45 am (very hard on a Sunday morning I must admit) and on the road by 6-30 am, yes it was still dark.  We arrived at the markets 7-30 am and began setting up.  Some of our planned display didn't work but we just had to reassess and make do with what we had.

Once it was all set up it did look really good and I must confess I did feel quite proud of our little stall. The weather was freezing which in one way was great as Liana sold quite a few of her scarves but I think it kept the people away plus it was also a long weekend. I am happy with the little amount that we sold, I would be happy to do some more now that we have done this one.  We met some lovely people who were so welcoming and encouraging as they knew it was our first time.  They told us not be disheartened as it was a lot quieter than normal and told us of other markets to try.

I am so grateful that I have a husband who supports my craft and was happy to spend his day with us, helping us to set up and hang around until we had finished.  I really enjoyed spending the day having quality time with my family.

Now that we have done it once, it won't be so scary next time, we have everything sorted that we need for the day so it shouldn't be so stressful.

We can happily keep crafting away now knowing that we will have an outlet to sell our stuff and we have proved that dreams can come true :) you just have to take that initial leap even if it is a little scary.

Market Bound

Hey guys, Liana here :)

We have some exciting news!
Lilyden Creations is going to market!
The Canning Bridge Arts Market to be precise. TOMORROW!

We made the decision to go after I went and checked out last months market. The sun was shining, there were people singing, dancing and so many beautiful stalls! Sometime during the next week we finally took the plunge (we'd been planning to do markets for what feels like forever) and be booked our stall!

 

Just a few of the owls we have been busy getting ready for market!

 

So there you have it. We had three weeks to organise everything and no time to blog :(

We still owe you a blog on how our garage went!

 

Speaking of garage sales it was Nanna and Pop's garage sale today. Of course when I got up this morning it felt like I was on the North Pole, my toes are still numb!
I went to help out and sell a few more clothes out of my exponentially growing wardrobe and I came home with this...

 

 

 

I'm going put a fresh coat of paint on it and put it in my house... when I have one...

 

So that's really it for now, I have to go make some more goodies for the markets!
Have a great day :)

 

 

Liana's Graduation

Wow I cant believe how the time just flies and we are now into April and it seems like forever since I have blogged.  Liana's Graduation was back in February and I cant believe I havent got around to sharing it until now.  I did start a post a few weeks ago and I have come back today to finish it and it has disappeared so I guess I shall have to start again. 

Liana graduated from Curtin University on 7 February after studying 4 years and now has her degree - Bachelor of Science (Laboratory Medicine).

These are a few of the photos before the graduation.

After sitting through I dont know how many graduates it was finally our girls turn and we were so proud and excited to see her receive her certificate.  She had worked so hard for 4 years and had worked to put herself through university.  It was all over in about 30 seconds but we were so thrilled to see it and so very proud.

The ceremony ended with the 2 ladies from Divaliscious who were on Australia's Got Talent singing The Prayer which was absolutely beautiful and gave me juicy eyes and then the sky lit up with fireworks which were spectacular and a beautiful ending to an amazing night which left me with tears running down my face.  What can I say, I was one very proud (and emotional) Mum.

Liana is now working at Fremantle Hospital on a 12 month contract as a Medical Scientist. She is loving her job and her life.  As parents we couldnt be happier or wish any better for our girl.  She has a lovely man in her life that treats her like a Princess.  We wish her every happiness in the future and hope all her dreams come true.  I must say though I do still miss her not being at home but I do love the time we get to spend together and sharing our love of all things crafty :)

Getting Ready for Winter!

It feels like forever since we have got to blog! Life has been one busy roller coaster lately but we have still been enjoying the ride. 

Lately we have been hitting up the markets on the weekends checking out all the lovely handmade stalls and getting inspired, most recently the Perth Upmarkets. 

Soon we will be packing our stuff and heading off to market too! Exciting!

So although we have been much busier than we would like (with things not creative!) we have had a little time. The latest new project - Arm Knitting! 

First try was okay, second try - so very very pleased with the result! 

As a result the local spotlight nearly ran out of wool....

Can't wait to make many more ready to keep us warm this coming winter and to stock our market stall with!

Speaking of markets - we are participating in our first online market! You can find it here.The market is for handmade items for Babies and Children. In the market you will see  two of our 'Amelia Owl's' along side many other gorgeous handmade items.

Don't forget to like us on facebook!

Everyone take care out there - blog again very soon :)

My Empty Nest

Last Sunday was a very sad day for me as my girl moved out of home and has moved out into the big wide world on her own to learn to be independant.  I guess I should be happy as I did manage to have her at home for her 21 years but it was very hard to cope with.  We have always had a very close relationship and when she moved out it felt like I was losing my best friend.  I know we will still see each other regularly (I have the most amazing craft room that she will miss) but I had so many emotions going on like no longer being needed and my role as a mother had finished.  Probably silly I know but I assume this is what they call the empty nest syndrome.

So we packed up all her stuff, soooo many clothes and headed off to her new room in Alfred Cove.

This photo is of Liana driving up, looking very happy so I told her she shouldnt look so happy to be leaving home so we took this one too just to make me feel better.

These photos are outside her new home and her house number.

So we dumped all her belongings into her new room which is pictured here.  It was a magenta wall.  We then headed off to Ikea as Liana wanted to buy a new bed and chest of drawers preferably in white to match the wall.  Mark entertained himself riding around on the trolley.

We then headed back to her room and of course she needed Dad to help put all the furniture together as it all came flat packed.  

Here she is looking very pleased with her new bed.  Her bed head was out of stock so she will have to get that in a couple of weeks.

 It is such tiring work supervising your Dad :)

So by the time we had finished building all her furniture it was about 7.30 pm and time for us to say goodbye and head home. I tried to be very brave and told Liana that I wouldnt cry in front of her and did sort of manage to keep myself together until we got into the car but Liana had to ask one of the other residents to move their car so she came out to the car then to see us off and did see my juicy eyes.  I cried all the way home, Im such a big sook. 

Anyway I have survived my first week without my girl, we did see her Thursday night when she graduated which I will blog about soon and she came home this weekend as she had a 21st birthday party to attend and needed to use the craft room to make valentines cards.

Thinking on the bright side, the house does seem to stay tidier when she is not here :)