2011 so far ...

Apologies for the lack of blog posts so far in 2011, we have been busy little monsters! Here is a snapshot of the first 3 months of the year ...

January & February flew by at the speed of light! Never in my life have I had a busier social life than in those 2 months. Parties & weddings galore!

Feb also saw the birth of my new little niece, my brother's first child. Such a little treasure that I looooooove to spoil with girly goodness (mostly handmade too!)

Personally, I have achieved 2 goals that I set for myself to accomplish in 2011. The first and most important goal for was to start leading a healthier lifestyle and to get fit! I had ended the year feeling sluggish, carrying a little extra weight and not taking the time to look after myself properly. A friend of mine had completed a Boot Camp just before Christmas and was contemplating another in the New Year. It took me a little time to convince myself that I should give it a go and I finally built up the courage to say "Sign me up". Little did I know that this is one of the most gruelling Boot Camps you can attend, based on training for our SAS soldiers :-/ After the first gruelling running session, of which I crossed the finish line last (walking!) and only just within the time frame, I wondered what the hell I was doing to myself!! Did I need to put myself through this? Was it going to be worth it? By the 2nd running session I was fully motivated to do my best and get through the next 5 weeks and show what I was really made of. I started a healthy eating plan, completed my 3 sessions per week and ended up discovering I COULD RUN! And I ran and I ran and I ran and I ran ... (you get the picture!) Never have I run so far in my life!! I used to struggle running to the corner and now I'm running 5km 2-3 times a week. This is one of the best feelings I have had in a long time! I feel proud of myself for sticking it out and getting results and it feels great fitting back into my clothes again and not fitting into some that are now a little too big ;) The 2nd goal I set for myself was to grow my nails. I have been a nail biter all my life and tried numerous times to stop chewing away but always fell off the bandwagon fairly soon after. Well, I'm happy to say I am a nail biter no more! Just decided one day that I'd had enough and quit cold turkey, just like that! My dear mum also treated me to a manicure & pedicure as a little reward and I can tell you I enjoyed every minute. So nice to get pampered and I love getting my fingers and toe nails painted :)

During all of this, Funky Monsters took a bit of a back seat to my busy life but still found me creating lots of handmade goodness. Lots of orders for baby booties, hats and a few dresses along the way as well as a number of art smocks. After a request from a friend for a personalised art smock, I found these became quite popular and have made a number of these for my lovely customers. I have also made some lovely handmade gifts too. Here are just a few.

For those of you that follow my Facebook page, you will know that I am currently taking an indefinite break from the creative process. I just need a little time out for myself and my family. Time flies by and I don't want to blink and miss it! But during this time, although I may not be sewing, I still want to share with you the wonderful funky and mostly handmade things I find along the way and plan to do this via my blog.

So stay tuned ... and keep in touch. Who knows when my creative juices will start flowing again!