Well, hello crafty chicas. I am here to announce the winners of our lucky dip. Firstly, thank you for the good wishes. I really loved receiving them. Now onto the prizes. Luciano wanted to help choose the prizewinners, so I let him, of course. The first prize, the summer bag, goes to Feli. Congratulations. And the necklace goes to Meowy. Hope you enjoy your gifts.

Now, for my favourite news of all. We are officially back and will be posting more tutorials, crafting tips, links to other great tutorials and much more. It has taken me about a month to get my life more under control.  I have so much on my plate that it became a choice to either get rid of some of these things, or get my life whole lot more organised in a hurry.

And, obviously, I chose the latter. I have been working really hard at streamlining the way I do things, both at work and at home. I am now a devotee of the wonderful book, Getting Things Done by David Allen . Even within a few weeks it has given my life a lot more structure and things are running more smoothly.

Another big change is that I have started to wake up at 5.00am instead of 6.30am. I am doing this with varying degrees of success. But when I do, I am noticing that I am getting so much done in that extra hour and a half. It is like my brain works a little better when it is only half switched on. Go figure.

All this means that One Hour Craft is back with loads more crafting ideas. We will be getting more structure to our week here and we will be posting a lot more frequently. And I couldn’t be happier!

Kisses

Mia
xxx

It’s our Bloggiversary! It’s one year since I have been crafting up a storm at onehourcraft.com! Nearly two years since I started the blog at Wordpress. I can’t believe it – time has flown by. What a year it has been!

The highlights for me personally have been, oh my where to begin? I love the amount of support we receive, the link love and of course the amount of traffic. I loved getting into Venuszine. That was quite exciting for me. I have really appreciated the amount of people who have joined our swaps. It has been overwhelming.

But the best thing about the year has been YOU! I have loved reading every single comment and email I have received. They have been overwhelmingly encouraging, funny, thought-provoking and at times even, tear-jerking. I have loved the fact that this blog has made an impact in other people’s lives. Thanks so much for the kind comments and the love you have shown.  This week I was so happy to read Miss Marzie’s post about how much she enjoyed being involved in our Apron Swap.  This just makes all the hard work worth it for me!

So, to say thanks I have two presents to give to you! If you would like to go into the hat (yes it will literally be a hat) to receive one of these, just leave a comment at the end of this post.

The first gift is this Summer Bag! I think of it as being a bag to take on a romantic summer’s picnic.

The second gift is a necklace I made. I call it Wild Berries, because I reckon it looks entirely edible. It is made from silver and vintage glass beads. It is a lot longer than it looks on my neck.

So leave your comment, any old comment and thanks again!

Love and Kisses

Mia

PS For those of you who are involved in the Apron Swap, don’t forget to get yours mailed out soon!  And please upload photos to our Flickr group, I want a look see.

Please join us! It will be a load of fun. If you would like to put this up on your site, feel free to take this image to use.

The Craft-Off Starts today and goes for until 8th July. We are going to have a craft night and make stuff in groups for this challenge, here in little old Perth. If you guys do the same get some photos and put them on our flickr site as well. We would love to see them!

Share the Good News!

Thoughts?

Mia and OHC Team

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” — Hans Hoffman

There was a time, not long ago (I sound like an old lady) when I could fit everything I owned into my little car.  I mean everything.  And it made me feel like the world was alive with possibility.  I didn’t want stuff because I wanted to be able to get up and go when I wanted without spending a few months sorting through the stuff.

My mum commented a little while ago about how much stuff I’ve collected over the last few years and how it just didn’t seem like me.  She knows I am a light traveller at heart.  Heck, I even backpacked with Em around Europe with only daypacks on our backs.  While we saw other backpackers struggling to carry their huge packs, we felt light and at ease.  We easily jumped off trains and just as easily bolted to catch the next one.  The funny thing was that there was nothing that we missed.  At no point did we wish we had brought more stuff.

I am still getting rid of stuff.  I feel like I am dumping a huge weight.  I keep wondering when it is going to start to hurt.  Will I regret this major dumpage at some point?  Is it too drastic?  Heck, I am even getting rid of my copy of poetry by Rimbaud I studied at Uni.  But where do I draw the line?  Is it time for my letters from Montaigne to go as well?  I have always thought that if a robber broke into my house he could steal anything, just not my books.  And now I am dumping these friends who have become too heavy for me to carry.

Simplifying is not simple.  I have been finding that is is requiring some serious decision making on my part.  It is also requiring me to take some risks, both big and small.  But I fully recommend it!

Thoughts?

Mia

PS I will be back with some more crafty loveliness, just as soon as I have eliminated more of the unnecessary.

Boo!

Yeah, I know I said I was taking a break but you just can’t keep me away!

I am at a point where I have so much on my plate, I thought I would have to give up at least one thing in my life. I was wondering for how much longer I could keep working (at a job I love), be an attentive, loving mum, run a household, run a website, keep fit, eat healthy meals, have a social life, be part of a big and gorgeous extended family and keep working on my three other projects I have underway. I am a seriously busy person!

This is the reason I decided to take a few months off this site, to get some clarity on how I can simplify things. Now I realise it might be helpful to some of you to share where I am at and what I am trying to do. I am more than certain that loads of you, especially the mothers, are facing the same challenges I am.

So, I have been taking some time in the last week to think about what to do. I have come up with two choices. I can either quit a few things, or do the things I do a lot more efficiently. Although sometimes, I am tempted to put the dog on Ebay or retreat to a cave on a mountaintop in Nepal for seven years of meditation, there is nothing I really want to quit. Everything I do I consider to be a privelege (well nearly every day).

So, I have decided that my house, my life and my work will have to be run more efficiently. I am working on ways to simplify and smooth out the lumps (of which there are many) and not make my life too ascetic or dull. I want to retain the colour and variety and laughter, while getting rid of some of the crap.

I am sure this is do-able. I have come up with a few websites with loads of ideas to help…

• Lifehack
• Zenhabits
• Moneytrackin – a really simple internet tool to keep track of your dosh.

I’m not just reading. Also taking action. We are doing a major clean-out of our house at the mo and getting rid of everything we don’t need. I am also trying to figure out which things I can outsource (get someone else to do), for a reasonable price. I am asking for help from friends and family – a very hard thing to do for someone like me. I am going to bed earlier. I have given up drinking caffeine all together. I am getting rid of a lot of my clothes. I realised the other day that the number of clothes I have is almost criminal and the time it takes me to look after them is eating into other time. I have also decided to move closer to my daughter’s school to cut out about forty minutes of driving each day. And the list continues….

Is anyone else in the same situation, give up something or streamline?

Thoughts?

Have a good day!

Mia

xxx