OPINION: #committobeingcreative

The Grammar Nazi in me is hating on the title of this blog.............just sayin'

A reintroduction if you will!

Hi, my name is Vicki, sometimes called Dotti - mostly called a busy girl who doesn't stick with one thing for very long.....as my blog page would attest!!!

This year (I know it's nearly 1/4 through, I'll explain about that later!) I'm going to get back to being creative, if only for 10 minutes a day, and keep the creative side of me happy!!!

Do you remember this blog post I did all those years ago!?!!  well it's all still true!!  And close to 3 years later, it's more important than ever!!

I'm not going to make this super long...........just want to put it out there again that I plan on doing something small every day to feed my creative heart, and PUT MYSELF FIRST, even if it's only for 10 minutes a day!!

Make sure you stay creative - do a big project over months with your ten minutes, or do something new every day - JUST DO IT IS WHAT I SAY!!

But don't let me talk you into it - here's Shia LaBeouf to get you inspired!!!

commit to being creative

woo - time is a funny thing...............

You think of so many things you're going to do at the beginning of the day, and then BAM!!!  it's 5 o'clock and you have NOTHING TO SHOW for it!!

it's not always like that, but most days, if you're anything like me, you have grand plans of doing a heap of things, but then a little thing called life gets in the way, and you're lamenting at the end of the day for the rest of the world to stop, just so you can catch up on what you had planned.

WELL STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!!!

You are not going to get everything ticked off your to-do list - so stop beating yourself up about it!

You are going to look at a million things every day (thanks Pinterest) that you want to do, but you JUST CAN'T!!

You are going to struggle each & every day to find some time to release that creative monster in you.............I know this................it eats me up each & every day too!!

BUT....................YOU CAN #committobeingcreative!!

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT!?!!

With life being so busy these days, it's almost impossible to find time for YOU!!  Husbands, wives, jobs, kids, pets, family, friends, businesses, volunteering, sports, groups, etc.  WHEN DID WE GET SO BUSY!?!!

My new mantra is commit to being creative - simply find 10 MINUTES EVERY DAY to do something that you LOVE!!

It doesn't have to be crafty - you can cook, sing, read, make chutney, declutter, clean, scream, laugh, listen to music, watch a recorded show, hell.........you can even sleep if you want!!

The secret is to do it EVERY DAY,  for a minimum of 10 minutes..............that's all!!!

It's damn near impossible to find a half hour each day - and don't even TRY for a full hour to yourself.............but 10 minutes..........hey, that just might work!!!

SOME SUGGESTIONS TO HELP YOU FIND 10 MINUTES

Get up 10 minutes earlier than you usually do
put your hair in a bun instead of drying it for the day
put on lippy & mascara and forego the spakfilla makeup (you are beautiful enough!)
put the cereals & milk out for the kids and tell them to make their own (they can do it, believe me!)
reward your kids with tv time if they get ready early, then you can all start the day relaxed
get the train and use that time to do your thang
at work, during your lunch break (you know you're entitled to one!)
set an alarm for the same time every day so you don't forget
at night send the kids to bed and stay up 10 minutes later (if you can make it only 10 minutes!)

Now I'm not saying that it's going to be easy to find that time..........every day is different, and every situation is more challenging than the last...........and you'll probably find yourself spending more than 10 minutes a day doing it sometimes............but that's not a bad thing, is it!?!!

Before you give me your pity stories about how busy you are.....................I run a small business in a retail space that is open 6 days a week............I have to do the business work behind the scenes to make sure the business is running professionally after hours too (that BAS isn't going to do itself)..............I have a second job helping a friend two days a week (work that out!!)...........I have two school aged children who i need to care for and spend time with, who also play sports on weekends and train after school twice a week................I have a husband who is away more than he is at home (luckily he's also willing to give me time away when he gets back on weekends)................and I have no family members nearby that I rely on.

So................your excuses won't work here!!

Find 10 minutes a day to do something you love - YOU KNOW YOU DESERVE IT!!

I've already started the promotion on instagram last month, and we've already had nearly 700 posts from all over the globe!!

So why don't you join the party and #committobeingcreative...............starting TODAY!!!!

6 steps to decorating your house

do you love thumbing through the magazines with their beautifully displayed rooms?  do you dream of having the photographers of real living shoot YOUR house!?!!  Why not apply these simple tips and see the transformation unfold…. 

one room at a time...... 

 

 Visit elv-s.blogspot.com

clear the space – it’s hard to see a masterpiece unfolding if you aren’t starting with a blank canvas.  If you can’t move things out, try using an online planner, or get our your sketch book & colourful pencils (cause who doesn’t love to colour in!?!!)

 

find your feature piece – this is where you’ll get your colour palette from.  Whether it’s an art piece, a blanket, or a favourite piece of furniture, pick the colours from it (or go to a paint shop and find complementary colours on those paint sample cards.

www.etsy.com/shop/helloitssandra

http://www.zoffany.com/pages/products/products_wallpapers-detail/gustavus/1/

the walls are closing in – does the room need a new lick of paint? or do you think a feature wallpaper might add to the atmosphere










 larger furniture pieces move in – think of practicality and start the layering effect (don’t forget rugs at this stage too, they completely change a rooms ambience)

  Visit apartmenttherapy.com

the icing on the cake – small accessories like cushions, wall hangings and special momentos are what makes a room personal.  make sure they complement the feature piece in some way, and if they don’t, find other complimentary pieces to team it up with.  it doesn’t all have to match perfectly, but (like making pottery,) it has to have some sort of family resemblance!!  It’s always good to have a box of accessories to choose from when you feel the room needs a change too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7556502@N03/3973770095/in/faves-isleniacaico/

go to the next room and start all over again – you know you want to!!  It’s not much to do this in each room…………just easier to take it step by step!!

how to turn your hobby into a business

TURNING YOUR PASSION INTO YOUR INCOME......

TIPS & THE TRUTH

If you don't know......I own in.cube8r gallery in fortitude valley......have done so for 3 years now (this Saturday!)  I've learnt so much about business while running the gallery.....but I still have much more to share...........this was something I wrote for the main website, but I thought I should share it here too!

__________________________________________

If you make things, it comes as no surprise that you’ve thought to yourself at some point, “I wonder if I could make some money out of this!?!!”

Have you given your handmade pieces to friends, only to have them say to you, “you should SELL these in a shop!” 

Makes you feel good, doesn’t it!?!! 

The only problem is…………HOW DO I GO ABOUT IT!?!

photo courtesy of http://typeverything.com/post/24947919015/typeverything-com-question-mark-by-kumi

Have you gone to bed wondering about it…….only to be kept awake with your brain turning things over!?!!

Do I need an ABN? How much stuff would I need? What would it cost? How do I even approach a shop to see if they’d like it?

What if they don’t like it?  What if they SELLOUT and I have to make more straight away? How do I sell online?

OH THIS IS ALL TOO HARD………..I’M GOING BACK TO BED!!

I’ve seen it all too often in the gallery – people with a talent are overwhelmed before they even begin, and so they don’t do it – which is pretty sad L

SO………………..I recently hosted a night for some passionate handmadies that had already started with their businesses, but just weren’t sure how to MASTER the whole ‘handmade living’ process.

 

With the help of some Brisbane professionals, namely the devine Jess Van Den from epheriell and the lovely Liana Kabel, we wrestled some hot topics, and came out at the end of the evening with a better understanding of what needs to be done, and where to actually go from here! 

Here are some of the highlights from the evening that we’d like to share with you….

·         Get clarity on what you want to do exactly, and make sure it’s something that can be profitable – sit down & think hard, write a list of things you’ll make, and get feedback through any outlet you can to make sure it’s something that people want to buy

·         Plan plan plan – where do you want to be in 5 years?  Where do you want to be selling?  (as a wholesaler, at markets, online exclusively, at outlets such as in.cube8r.  What does a typical week look for you, have you included in promotional time, or are you just make, make making?

·         Get into action – start at the beginning and go from there…………make your items, approach your retailers, rent out a space, get an online presence.  It’s not going to happen in 24 hours (read closer to 2 years before profits start turning in your favour,) but start at the beginning and stick to the plan………….make sure you review every few months to make sure you’re on track…….the targets might move now and then – make sure you’re still aiming in the right direction

·         Promotion – whether it’s online, handing out flyers, finding affiliate promoters, paying a PR company, blogging, facebook, instagram, pinterest, markets, exhibitions – whatever it is, it’s an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY – people aren’t going to knock on your door and ask to see your work………..build up your list of followers so you can share your work with them.  Over time you’ll gather the numbers you need, but it’s a slow & steady kind of pace.

·         Network – go and visit markets, go to exhibitions, comment on other peoples blogs, BUY HANDMADE YOURSELF AND SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS, join craft groups & business entities with similar interests………….do all of these or just one, but be seen to be involved

·         Be Unique – what sets you apart from all the other makers out there?  (do a quick google and see how many others you’re competing against!)  Make sure your style reflects “that thing that you do differently” and that your customers see your story behind your work too.

·         Keep at it – it’s a continuous wheel of activity – and no two days are going to look the same (isn’t that a good thing for us creative souls!?!!) one day you’re making, the next you’re meeting with a prospective seller, the one after that you’re blogging about your stuff as well as getting a wholesale price list printed…..have a well-structured plan, but be flexible – opportunities arise when you start to work towards your truth!

·         Keep it professional – remember when you’re online you’re out there for all to see (and critique & comment on,) so make sure you play nice!!  Spend a bit of time on getting your photos up to a high standard, have good descriptions, get feedback from friends, and give your own to others.  If something goes bad, remember to keep your cool and get back on plan………no one likes to hear people whinging and bad mouthing others – so choose to take the high road

·         Find your market – get clarity on this when you can…….find out who your demographic is and where they shop – look for opportunities to ask questions of your customers, (through surveys like Survey Monkey or just on blogs, etc.)

·         Remember you are constantly learning – you will never know  everything about handmade, or business – keep learning every day.  Go to courses (BrisStyle hold some great free ones,) do some online classes, get involved in great business courses like National College of Business as long as you continue to learn

 

·         Stay grounded – after the monotonous tasks comes the happiness……just remember that it’s not all the good stuff – the hard or boring stuff is all a part of it – if you don’t do it you really are denying yourself the very thing you want……..a BUSINESS (warts and all) making money from something you love doing.  We live in a world that gives us so many opportunities.  Take life by the shirt front and give it a go……………..it’s better than living with the regret of not trying!

We were also lucky enough to have Anna-Marie & Belinda from Made of Australia who spoke at length about their experiences with funding assistance from local councils.  This was a great insight into the process, and we all learnt about this as a possible avenue to get our businesses up & running if we needed large amounts of capital. 

We spoke of many different apps, software programmes & websites, so I’ve listed those that I remember for you to do some searching in your spare time

www.etsy.com/ - international site for selling your work – the holy grail of handmade

www.madeit.com.au/‎  - an Australian version for people who want to sell online & support Australian handmade at the same time

www.mailchimp.com/‎ - Online email marketing solution to manage contacts, send emails and track results.

 

www.blogher.com/‎ - the Web's leading guide to the hottest news and trends among women in social media.

 

www.picasa.en.softonic.com/‎ - Manage, edit and share your photos with ease.

 

And finally…..thegoodguide.com.au/2013/03/20/bam-espresso/‎ - BAM! Espresso in Fortitude Valley. The coffee house caffeinating people and saving the world one espresso at a time – THANKS MICHAEL FOR BEING THE HOST WITH THE MOST!!!

So that’s it!!  A few simple steps that you need to take on your own before you head off into the business wilderness!!  It’s a fun & scary ride…………..but at the end of the day…………….when you realise that you’re in fact the only one that can make this happen, you feel empowered & RARING TO GO!!!

Remember that there’s always others out there ready & willing to help you out, and to be there when you need reassurance or a guiding hand!!

NOW GET OUT THERE AND MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!!

mixed media, my latest crush

If you want to know what's going on inside a woman's head.........imagine a desktop with 2,634 tabs all open..............all the same time...................all the time

YUP, THAT'S ME!!

Hubby had a laugh when he saw this one - it's absolutely explains why I go from craft to craft and from high to low in the blink of an eye.

SO WHAT'S MY LATEST LOVE!?!!

why.......it's MIXED MEDIA of course!!

I can't remember if it was when I purchased some lovely stamps from Coral of Finding Firelight that got me started, or if i was searching on Pinterest and came across this great tutorial from Christy Tomlinson that set me on fire.........but BOY AM I HOOKED!! (hope this link works! If not find it on my pinterest board titled tutorials worth taking note of)
http://pinterest.com/pin/234468724322643802/

I love that this incorporates so many of my favourite crafts, but it's still unique & different each & every time.  I love

stamping
doodling (zentangles please!)
painting
scrapbooking
texture painting
stencils
song lyrics/inspiring quotes
paper textures
ribbons & washi tape
ALL THE COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW!!

If I could give it a terrible analogy, it would be like all those beautiful different things fuse together to represent the inside of my mind!!!

I've been loving the process for about 4 weeks, and already I've made some pieces - I'VE EVEN SOLD A PIECE AT AN EXHIBITION!!  woo!! 

So now I'm doing pieces for birthdays, weddings, and some inspiring ones for the shop!!!

Love, love, love it!!  hope i'm doing this for a while before I go onto the next thing!!

my passion, my pottery

Do you have a specialty craft that you love, or are you the type that tries everything to learn the process, and be able to say, "i can make that."

I usually find i'm trying to find my nieche craft.........drifting from scrapbooking to zentangles, sewing to crochet, maybe one day i'll do a soldering class and make a sculpture dragon purely out of hex nuts. (it's a dream of mine along with life drawing and a screenprinting class.)

But my passion, or medium of choice, is clay.

A medium that can be moulded into any shape......the ideas are endless.

I've had two wheel lessons and have made a few 'thrown' bowls.....but it's not my forte. Most potters use the wheel as a way to create vessels......the real magic is in handbuilding.

I'm currently enjoying simple bowl making with textures etched in...doilies, stamps, or anything laying around. I'm also playing with glaze colours and finishes (waiting on availability to do a glaze class.)

I've sold a few things in the shop and i'd love to sell some work at the markets,  but it would be 1/3 pottery, 1/3 upcycled & 1/3 mixed media......because i never want to just have one specialty........but that's just today!!

Tomorrow I might find something else on pinterest and go off on another tangent!!

But for today, I'm just happy to steal away 10 minutes to do something creative with my hands.

If only I could stretch those 10 minutes into 2 hours and get my hands dirty!!!  :)

can I borrow an hour of your time!?!!

I'm often the first to put up my hand and say i don't have time for anything - I think it's my safety mechanism to make sure that no one can tell me I haven't done enough.

If something is too hard I put it off - if I get questioned about it I instinctively go into defence mode....

"I have a full time business,"
"I have two young kids,"
"my husband travels alot and isn't home during the week"

blah blah blah - all valid reasons - but still in my head it's sometimes still not good enough

I sit halfway between "stop feeling sorry for yourself," and "oh man how DO you do it!?!!"

I get up at 5.30 in the morning to check emails for 1/2 an hour.  I then exercise while watching tv for another 30 mins.  breakfast is followed by the usuall yelling at the kids to get ready for school routine.  Once they're gone I'm in the car or on the train - to get in touch on my social networking and to see what the rest of the world is up to.  Working in the gallery is mixed - sometimes it's quiet and I can check my emails and do more networking/behind the scenes work, other times my whole day is talking to people - hearing their stories and sharing the concept - it's sometimes a 'lost day' in my book because I haven't had a chance to be in action.

After I close the doors it's back to travelling home and then to being a mum & wife.  cooking, bit of cleaning, maybe a chat with hubby if he's home.............maybe even 10 minutes to do some crocheting, or painting, or zentangling............either way I don't work after hours cause I'm too tired and need 'me' time!

I'm writing this post while sitting in my gallery - it's a rainy day and I'm not expecting an avalanche of people today - but I'm finding 10 minutes to spend time doing something for 'me' that has been neglected.

I have so many things I want to do, but no free time

I know I use that as an excuse, but if you followed me around for even half a day you would see that i'm already squeezing a hell of a lot into my list laden, time poor schedule.

As long as you find time to do what you love, all the rest is incidental!!

I hope you find 10 minutes to yourself a day to get things done that you are truly passionate about

I just did :)

my unhealthy obsession with Pinterest

“what is the use of a book,' thought Alice, 'without pictures or conversations?'"
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, Ch. 1


If you have any creative bones in your body, chances are you are also hooked on Pinterest.

If you haven't heard of Pinterest.................there are no words!!

                                  

Here are some of my boards and favourite images to date - I love that i have a GO-TO website that inspires me and encourages me to keep on making beautiful things.

i love that it doesn't judge me like facebook does, or that it's not about how many people like my stuff like instagram - it's just a lovely place to catalogue all your favourite parts of the internet, in a visually enabling way.

As creatives we are all about the visual - so it's nice to see things in a visual format.

No wonder it's one of the most popular social networking tools in the world............now if only i cared enough to use it for that purpose...........

In the meantime, if you want to find me, I'm usually on my tablet late at night, adding items to my most biggest board, aptly named, "if only I had more time..."

Come join me, won't you!?!!

http://pinterest.com/vicki_sinclair/

finished #4 - upcycled ottoman

ok - this isn't going to be a tutorial, but I'm really happy with my first prototype, and might eventually make a few more of these to sell at a market some time.

100% upcycled

Fabrics from a BrisStylers destash sale were used for the top & sides.
And old wooden button was recovered & handstitched on to tidy up the messy points, and the same fabric was used to edge the main pattern and create the sides
the base was reclaimed from offcuts from a shop fitout (yoink!) and the legs were bought from a recycling centre, cut down & sanded back

           

The only things i bought new were the staples to fix the fabric to the bottom of the base, even the scuffs were leftovers in a packet from our dining table chairs.

So there you have it - warts and all!!  I'm not a sewer by any feat (and obviously not an even stapler either,) but as first goes go, I'm pretty impressed with my efforts!

next time I might try for some autumnal colours and maybe some greys to blend in - WHO AM I KIDDING, RAINBOWS ALL THE WAY!!

finished #3 - tie mobile phone holder

mobile phone holder from a tie

I'm a self taught sewer (translation, I'm very bad and not willing to pay for lessons cause I won't retain the information) so I'm only ever good on the machine for straight lines, or the occasional zig-zag when i'm using it for scrapbooking (did I tell you I like to scrap too? Jill of all trades, master of none)

SO............when I added this pin to my pinterest board I thought I'd tackle the project after christmas while I had some down time.

http://pinterest.com/vicki_sinclair/if-only-i-had-more-time/

sadly for me the link no longer works, so i had to create my own tutorial.

SO HERE IT IS!!

What you need
a tie (duh!) preferrably one your hubby is no longer using (unless you've had a fight with him) but if you don't have a bloke partner or a tie, the local op shop will always have a spare few going for $2 ish
Scissors
a sewing machine
a key ring attachment (is there a technical term for these!?!!)
needle & thread
snap fastener (or button)

What you do
size up your desired tie length by slipping in your phone of choice into the bottom of the tie, and folding over the top so it can be fastened with a snap pin or button at the end.  Mark the bottom and cut it, allowing for a 5m hem

Now is the best time to pop on your keyring attachment.  cut a small section from the thin end of the tie, sew it closed, fold it over and sew up the ends together.  then you need to make a small slip on the side of your tie to slip this into.  pin it in place before going to the next step.

Next, decide if you're going to have a pocket for business/credit cards etc (i started with one then ended up not including it for this,) and sew around the sides & bottom (depending on if it is going to be folded over for the pocket or not) remembering to sew the keyring attachment into place at the same time.

NB - if you did want to include the pocket, at this point you would need to sew to the bottom of the phone holding section (are you still with me!?!!) and then unpick the tie from there, stretch the side to sit in line with the wider part of the tie, turn over & hem the end, stitch the side and then hand stitch the top of the pocket to allow space for credit cards......i might have to do a second example and include that in another blog






ok - starting to take shape now..........time to turn it inside out, pin the open sides of the tie and handstitch them together - remember to try and keep it neat if you don't have a pocket, as this is the part that will be on display if there's no pocket to hide the handywork

Once that's done you simply need to add your fastener of choice.  I have a box of snap fasteners here so I used one of those.  you could always sew on a button and use your fancy button hole foot on you sewing machine (maybe that's a blog I need to find!) or use a hair tie to stretch over it.  I'm happy with my pearl top button fastener though!

That's it - if I can do you , you can!!

it's always fun doing the first one, but maybe the next edition will have a pocket and a button, just so i can say that I did it!! 

What colour should I do next?