Press: Woman's Day

A very nice surprise today when my friend Sarah messaged me on Facebook to let me know that my 'S is for Sophie' print is in the latest Woman's Day. 

 

So I ran up to the shops and got myself a copy - woo hoo, there it is!

 You might recognise the shoot from the real living shoot I was lucky enough to have been featured in back in March and (gotta love the ACP photo library) as Woman's Day have run two of the six page shoot in the latest issue!
 

Have a great day everyone,

Stockist in the Spotlight: Rudy and the Dodo

I am starting a new series of blog interviews called 'Stockist in the Spotlight'.

I really wanted to share with you all some of the shops that stock My Sweet Prints and get a bit of insight into the amazing women behind them. Because it wouldn't be fair to keep these great shops a secret would it! :)

First up, is the super lovely mother of three boys, Julia from Rudy and the Dodo!

Tell us a bit about your shop Rudy and the Dodo
We are an online store selling terribly fabulous gifts, toys, decor and accessories for little individuals aged 0-5 years.  We are continually expanding our range for tweens and mamas too.  We specialise in quirky goodies that are not found in the mainstream stores and feature a lot of gorgeous French products. Of course, we also sell an assortment of My Sweet Prints with the black and white bus scrolls being hugely popular with our customers!

When did you open your shop? and what was the motivator behind opening your shop/starting your own business?
Our shop was born in September 2007, around the same time as our second son, Rudy.  It is continually inspired by him, his older brother Hugo ( who has pronounced his name as "Dodo" from a very young age) and now baby Jonty who has recently joined our tribe.

 As a serious shopaholic in days gone by (ie pre-baby) I was constantly frustrated by a lack of childfree shopping time and energy when searching for fabulous goodies for my own children and gifts for family and friends. I also noticed a gap in the market for gifts that didn’t follow the mainstream and started sourcing gorgeous goodies from around the globe.

What is the biggest challenge?
Separating business from family when working from home.

What is the greatest reward?
Having the independence and flexibility to work around my kids needs (and busy social calendars) and also knowing we brighten many days for little people and their mamas when they receive one of our gorgeous deliveries in the post.  I also love interacting with my customers and actively do this through our facebook page.

What's planned for the future of your shop?
With three boys under five time is limited at the moment however, as our kids grow the business will grow with, and around, them.  I have a dream to one day open a little bricks and mortar store on Sydney’s upper north shore selling our terribly fabulous stuff.  A girl has to have a dream.

 

Thanks so much Julia for sharing a bit about yourself and your fab shop. Be sure to check out Rudy and the Dodo shop and their facebook page and say Hi :)

Have a great day,

 

 

Eeeeek!!!

Look what happens when you aren't watching...
Will trying to brush Minky's teeth with his toothbrush - blaaaaaaaaaagh!

Have a lovely day,

Some lovely brights...

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I hope that brightens your day!

Love,

'My' new toy

Here is my new toy! It's actually Glen's new toy but I've decided to hijack it ;)

Amazon Kindle bookreader - complete with coffee, ugg boots and cat!

I've purchased Tina Fey's book Bossypants which is hilarious but also profound!

Have a great day,

Bursting with ideas....

I am currently BURSTING with ideas and plans, I'm in that real creative brain storm mode at the moment.

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I'm trying to work out which ideas I should move forward with and which ones to put on hold (because I DO actually have enough on my plate) hehehhe. But sometimes I think you just have to...

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And...

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Because....

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You know what I mean?
Are you in one of those cross-road moments? Or just come out the other side of one?

Do you like change or get freaked out by it? I'd love to know.

And stay tuned I'll let you know where these new ideas take me :)

Have a great day,

Interview on 'Girl With a Satchel'

What an exciting day...

Not only is it Friday, but I am also very honored to have been featured by the super lovely Erica of Girl With a Satchel today!

 

Erica Bartle is the super talented writer/blogger behind 'Girl with a Satchel', the go-to guide and reviewer of all things magazine! Erica is an inspiration to me as she is very open about her faith as a Christian and is happy to share about how it has shaped her life and the choices she makes.

So thank you again Erica!

And I hope you enjoy reading the interview,

Cheese Biar Truck

William LOVES fire trucks at the moment. He's got a little Matchbox fire truck and a mini tonka one and a gorgeous wooden one too.

And lately I've taken to cutting shapes out of cheese slices for him, usually Roary the racing car, dump trucks or trains but this evening I'm pretty proud of the 'Biar' Truck I made. It's got a ladder and everything!

It's funny the things we do for our kids isn't it. Have you cut shapes into cheese or smiley faces onto sandwiches lately?

Cheers,

Two new prints

 Here is a look at two new prints I am launching this week!

Bathroom Reminder Bus Scroll 

I figured the bathroom is one of those places you find yourself nagging about the most, soggy towels left everywhere, toilet seats left up, the day's clothes left in a pile in the corner.... etc. 

So this is a friendly little reminder for your little (and big) ones who need a bit of a nudge.

Baby Bird Name Print - in red and blue

Features the My Sweet Prints birdie in the nest, child's name and date of birth.

In blues

In pink and green.

I thought it would be nice to have a slightly different take on my Birdie Initial Print.

They are up on my website now. And I'd love to know what you think???

Thanks,

Interviewed by Nest Design Studio

Thank you so much to the very lovely Belinda of Nest Design Studio for interviewing me on her blog today! You can read the interview HERE.

And take a look around Bel's blog if you haven't already. She is one VERY talented interior designer and she offers a wonderful Online E decorating service... and if you've seen her son's nursery you would jump at it - seriously stunning!!!

Thank you again Belinda!

And have a lovely day everyone,

I heart period dramas

Is anyone else loving Downtown Abbey?

I am a sucker for any period dramas, the clothes, the life, the houses, the horses.... etc so Downtown Abbey is top of my 'must watch' shows.

 

Look at the beautiful dresses

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Not too shabby hey!?!

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If it wasn't for the fact that her parents were trying to 'sell' her off to the richest husband and all the drama that goes along with it, I'd quite like the life of Lady Mary :)

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Have you been watching Downtown? 

We've had a very boring long weekend as my bubby is sick again with both his ears infected now and a very bad cough. He's getting better today though and is having a lovely long sleep as I type.

Have you enjoyed your long weekend (if you'd had one)?

Cheers,

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

On Monday Will and I went to Ikea. We got a few frames, two of their super cheap throw blankets and the kids toy Duktig 9-piece fruit basket.

I had an egg carton saved from over the weekend so I decided to make Will a 'Very hungry caterpillar' so we could reenact the book where the caterpillar eats the fruit :)

 

I just cut the egg carton in half long ways (it was just a 6 egg one) and coloured him in using crayons. Drew on the nose, eyes and little legs and used pipe cleaners for his ear thingys.

We've had lots of fun playing with him and pretending to eat the fruit ourselves too.

How good are egg carton crafts!

Have a lovely day everyone,

Busy, busy...

Sorry I've been a bit AWOL from blogging this week.

It's been pretty busy as I am guest speaking at the ISCD (International School of Colour + Design) both yesterday and today.

 

It was really fun talking to the Surface Design class yesterday about my work and background etc. And they asked lots of great questions about starting and running a business.

I was a guest speaker last year at ISCD and blogged about it here.

ISCD is a fantastic school, with a great atmosphere and lovely teachers who all seem to have a wonderful passion for colour and design. They offer distance education so you don't have to miss out, even if you're not in Sydney you can enroll in one of their fab courses!

Anyway, have a lovely day,

Enjoying his babycino

Hair and Beauty

Thought I'd share some of my favourite pics from my Hair and Beauty inspiration board on pinterest.com today

Love this pic of Scarlett, the makeup and hair and the colours

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Stunning eye make up

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Very cute ideas I want to try

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I really want to try this gorgeous side chignon, although my hair is so thick it would be quite a challenge to myself, the bobby pins and the hairspray ;)

 Have a beautiful day,