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Sunday, October 31

Spring Project - Quilt


Here is my finished Spring Craft Project that finished yesterday.

Make sure you check out the new months challenge organised my the Creative Collective - this month - they are using the finished wares to raise money for the Starlight Foundation.

If you like the quilt - it will be for sale tomorrow on Ethikl.





Wednesday, October 27

So much to tell you!


Its been quite a while since we spoke last and loads of exciting things has happened for Monkey and Me - its really a bit hard to know where to start. Ok well the last post was about the market - so lets get back to that!

I had a Blast so I want to say a HUGE THANKS to Christine who runs the Townsville and Mackay Babies and Kids Markets. I would also like to thanks Miss Danielle from the beautiful Lilah Rose who sat next to me and kept me company all day (and also let me cuddle her tiny 6 week old baby girl)! You are both great women doing wonderful things!

"Pics of the stall?" you say, HHMM you think there would be - but due to a naughty camera I can not download them. I haven't given up hope just yet but it is not looking good! Maybe I will have to recreate the set up for you and take some pics. Thanks to my awesome bunting from Giggleberrry Creations the still did look amazing!

Right clothes, clothes, clothes and more clothes!! Monkey and Me has loads of fun new stuff for summer (and a bit for christmas too) but i won't bother telling you about them because pictures speak louder than words.


We have Girls Shorts. . .




and Boys Shorts. . .




Sets. . .





We have Christmas tees. . .





And Christmas Outfits. . .



But here is something I will tell you about. . . here is Monkey and Me's newest and most exciting product!

Draw A Toy!

"What's that you say?"

Well that is where you can get your children (or yourself) to draw a picture, send the pic (by post or email to Monkey and Me, and we will send you back your picture - in a frame, ready to hang in your kids room and accompanied by a matching toy!


In short your kids will own a one of a kind toy that they designed. If your kids are too young (like mine is still poking wholes in paper as appose to making pictures) you can send in a drawing or request a custom toy and matching drawing so you can still know no one in the world has the same toy!



The drawing can be of anything from robots to dinosaurs, rabbits to rainbows, flowers to bicycles. If you can draw it we can stuff it!

"How much?" you ask.

Why $40 of course (plus postage - $8)

Let me know your thoughts on this new product and if you have any questions or want to order one just post a comment or email me at monkeyandme.tvl@gmail.com

Sunday, October 10

Market time again


Oh my goodness - it just dawned on me that the Babies and Kids Market is in less than two weeks! And due to a family wedding, a cranky sick baby and uni uni and more uni I have just had almost 3 weeks in which I have hardly touched the sewing machine!

Breath Elle . . . panic slowly. . .OK - so today I went to office works (I am a closet stationary nut by the way) and bought myself some exciting new toys!

  • Yellow note paper - may not seem exciting to most but I have already brainstormed the hell out it and I am less likely to lose it amongst the uni work cause its YELLOW!
  • Clips which I am going to use to hang some calico to my wall in the morning to use as a project board
  • Colored cards to use as To Do cards which can be filed or pined to my wall depending on priority
  • Pens - it will be nice to have working pens in my work space again
These may seem silly to you but I am pumped! I have written shopping lists, to-do lists, ideas, packing lists for the day - oh how I love lists! Now tomorrow is a crazy busy day but come 5 pm tomorrow I will be in lockdown Market Mode!! YAY I cant wait - I had so much fun last time and this time I already know I am sitting near another exciting new business owner and friend, Danielle - Lilah Rose sells amazing baby carriers and nappy pouches. She has wonderful organic products available.

If you are Townsville local make sure you come by the markets - there was some amazing stuff there last time!



Thursday, October 7

Slump, funck, rut - you name it Im in it!

So. . . What to do about it?

Well a few things actually! First - I have quit my day job, it is just making me stress and anxious! I haven't quite reached the point yet where I don't have to work a bread and butter job at all (sadly) but the job I am currently doing is a boring office job with too much pressure and no enjoyment. I used to love it but times change and priorities change. SO the job has to change!! I feel so good about this decision.

This Saturday I am starting a NEW and very EXCITING job and a beautiful quilting and craft shop in Townsville - Pom Pom Rouge! So I will be around heaps of pretty fabrics, clever people and new found love for all things quilty!

The other thing I have tried to do though it didnt work well while I was away is set myself work hours. While this sometimes means doing work when I would rather not more importantly it stops me for fiddling on the computer when I should be playing with my monkey!

Within these work hours I am also allocating myself specific time to business development, production sewing (filling orders and market prep) and creative sewing (anything fun!) This is helping me focus and get my tasks done but still enjoy myself!

Oh and I have a new found appreciation for all things caffeine; but especially a yummy Japanese green tea with lime - its great hot or cold! MMMmmm tea!!!

The last very exciting thing on my list of De-rut tricks is to sign myself up for a Spring Craft Project! This is a project run by the Creative Collective - who is a group of creative, clever bloggers who want to offer interactive projects for their readers so have joined forces and are kicking it off with a Spring inspired project - head over here if you want to read more about it.

Feel free to leave comments with springy suggestions - maybe a light cotton quilt? Or a floral dress? What do you guys think? I am defiantly thinking Amy Butler will play a role!

Giveaway Quilt


For those of you who have followed MnM for a while now - you may remember a Quilt Giveaway we had way back when. . .

Well here is a pic for you because the quilt is finally in the hands of the very deserving owner Kylie - who encouraged followers and offered great suggestions!




We need to get less than 30 more followers on Monkey and Me's Facebook Page and we will host another exciting giveaway!! So if you haven't already liked us - head over. And if you have please suggest us to your friends. You don't want to miss out on this one!

As Seen in . . .



It is with a racing heart beat and a smile from ear to ear that I share with you the exciting news. . .

Monkey and Me is in PRINT - wow is that a little surreal or what?

Dumbo Feather is a fabulous mook (half mag half book), that comes out four times a year. Each issue contains the stories of five remarkable, creative people.

I myself only discovered it a short time ago but I find it truly inspirational and always interesting! So when there was an opportunity for new businesses to advertise at a discounted rate I jumped at it!!

With the help of a wonderful friend Michaela, and her beautiful daughter Julia, my own handsome Monkey, and the amazing Amanda Fuller - who has done lots of great design things for me now - the ad was completed and submitted all in about 4 days.

I strongly suggest heading to the website and checking out Dumbo Feather - but for those of you who dont here is the ad. What do you think?



Tuesday, September 28

Holidays. . .

With Uni, Buy Hand, Monkey and Me, bread and butter jobs and various other projects - not to mention a teething, fevery, cranky, clingy baby I am feeling a little burnt out.

SO I am on hoildays!! Working holiday still but hoildays non the less! So hopefully by the end of the week I will have some fun pics to share with you and a few exciting bits of news

Do you juggle too many balls? I plan and deballing my life a little when I get home.

Tuesday, September 7

Poor Monkey!


Oh my poor blog - I do love you!! And readers I love you too!! I have just been SO crazy busy these last few weeks the days just slip away one after the other and no blogging gets done. Well tonight I am here - and I have so much to tell you all.

The reason I have been a little absent is I am busy with my new little venture that like Monkey and Me I thought would take a while to grow and change into a full fledged plan - but no - it has boomed into my life like freight train and it is full steam ahead!!

I am kicking off a store for Clever Crafty Types to sell their products at very low cost. There will be some sort of membership fee and maybe a small commission on sales but all of this will be put back into building and growing the business so we are all winners. I don't want to make money out of your products but build a place we can all make more money from our wares!

The store will be called Buy Hand and I hope to have the website live and full of products by Octobers end. This will soon be followed by a retail outlet in Townsville, QLD.

If you like the idea check out my other blog Buy Hand - or our Facebook page! I was lucky enough to do a guest post on the beautiful Hello Owl Blog so while you jumping around the net stop by over there too.

This new venture may take some of my attention away from MnM but I am hoping not much at all as I love this business and Buy Hand was born out of a need to find an avenue to sell my products that worked for me.

The exciting thing about our facebook page is that it is interactive and I strongly encourage feedback! I am hoping Buy Hand can suit you too so tell me what you want in a stockist!

Oh and in case you dont follow Monkey and Me on Facebook here are some pics of what I have been up to lately. . .







Friday, August 20

Hats hats HATS!


Well I have been having so much fun making hats the last few days! They are so cool the way you sew a few lines a certain way and you suddenly get a 3D object!

Here are some pics - i would love you all to let me know what you think?










Tuesday, August 10

Tuesday Treasures Double - Stripes


I know I missed last week and I am sorry! Just with a few rush orders and very stressful uni exams lurking I could not justify the time it takes to browse the wonderful wares at MadeIt!!

So this week I am giving you ten stripy treasures to make up for it! Although I still have another exams this week I have been a bit better organised and the last two went well so I am much less in nervous breakdown territory and feeling more confident.

With out any further here is STRIPES by MadeIt











































Sunday, August 8

This moved me today so I thought I would share it with you all

Friday, July 30

I should be. . .

I should be hanging out washing - the last load has been finished since about 4 this afternoon.

I should be sewing - I have loads of orders to get on with! YAY!!

I should even more than that be studying - I have my LAST three uni exams coming up over the next two wks (that is if i manage to pass all these ones). YES so close! Then just a few more assignments over the coming months and I will be DONE!

So why aren't I sewing, or studying? Well I have just put the baby to bed and did a quick email, FB, twitter check before I got into work of one kind or another. And I have a new liker on FB (up to 152 now!!) and a new email from another WAHM. I have also had tweets of mine ReTweeted!

And it just struck me - I love this network of Work At Home Parents that I have accidently become apart of. So many of us do similar things but we still all shout out and support each other rather than the backstab competitiveness you find in the corporate world. So to all you mums (and dads) out there trying to achieve the same thing - a better life for you and your kids, hopefully getting to do something you love along the way - THANK YOU for your support, kindness and willingness to build each other up!

Hope you are all having a great Friday night - I better study, or should I sew???

Tuesday, July 27

Yay - its still Tuesday!!


TUESDAY TREASURES!! I am so glad I made to the computer while it is still Tuesday this week.

I do admit for the past hour my attention has been very divided - by that I mean I look at the computer for the few min during the ad breaks of rafters! I cant help it!!

Anyway now onto business and this weeks Tuesday Treasures from Made It have a very special theme. ECO FRIENDLY!

This theme is in celebration of Monkey and Me's new ECO, ORGANIC, BAMBOO clothing range! I am SO SO excited to start sharing these with you all. But thats for another day (hopfully very soon).

It is with this in mind that I am bring you 5 amazing Made It finds from five great stores, all of which are in someway mindfully of their Eco Impact while crafting!!

one - You cant get much more ECO Friendly then abit of good up-cycling! Check out this great skirt from Lillipilli Lane, it is made from a preloved table cloth. It is fun, frilly and yellow - how can it not be great??



two - A cute little halter neck dress, made from recycled fabric! Cute cute CUTE! Red Tree Designs is another store to be sure to stop by, all of their stuff is Eco Friendly and it is all so bright, fun and fantastic!


three - Forget me Not Matchbooks are sweet little note pads made from recycled, handmade cupboard and paper. Their size means you can keep them in heaps of places to write you self reminder notes. I love the colors too.

four - Now who doesn't love a good hobby horse? Well I put it to you that you do not know a GOOD hobby horse until you have checked these out!! Calamity Bolt makes these and amazing, unique horses from reclaimed fabric and sustainable pine.


five - now I promise she isn't paying me, and I didn't even go looking for these I stumbled across them in my ECO hunt! But the clever little lady who helped me with my blog, logo and various other design tasks - who also blogs and I am such a million other creative bits and pieces - is working on a stationery line called Lemon Tree Lane. I think these "In Any Language" prints are wonderful! They come in various different colors and you can get brother, sister, father, mother and friend! And of course they are Eco Friendly to boot!!


Hope you had as much fun as I did, Im off to bed! :- )

Monday, July 26

MARKETS!!


Well it has taken me two and half days to recover - I have a bunch of sewing to get on with but I wanted to share with you all a little bit of the fun I had on Saturday at the 1st Townsville Kids and Babies Market!! So here is a BIG shout out of thanks to Christine for all her hard work!!

I had such a blast! Got some orders, meet some great mums!! And learnt lots for next time!! Quite a few new product ideas have come to mind since as well so stay tuned :-)

I am sorry about the quality of pics - my camera was not being friendly so these are off my phone at least you get the idea!

Hope you all had fabulous weekends as well!



Friday, July 23

So what do you think?



It has been far too busy a week this week. I have had so much to share with all and no time to share it :-(

Today is a busy day with an exam to do at two and i LONG night of sewing ahead of me to be sure, and double sure I am ready for the markets tomorrow. But I just wanted to ask you all want you thought of the new look for our little blog? So please leave a comment and let me know!

If you like it you should certainly head over and check out Calico and Co. Amanda is a very clever graphic designer who has helped me out with logos, blog design and a few other tricky things. Working with her has been a pleasure so if you need any of these services I can not recommend her enough!

But even if you don't need these things make sure you check out her blog - she shares some of the most interesting things, talks about Aussie designers, has loads of giveaways and more!