Swamps, Singing and Smiles

Who takes the photos in your family? I am the designated photo taker here, always behind the camera and rarely in the photos. I have lost count of the number of family photos we have of my hubby and our kids, and I have had a tiny worry in the back of my mind that my children will look back on all of our photos in years to come and worry about where I was for their childhood!

But my worry was erased recently by the lovely Kim from Kim Selby Photography. I can't begin to tell you how happy I was to have a photoshoot with her... perhaps I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.

Kim had us in hysterics jumping on beds, smiling while standing in swamps and singing on the side of the road. She was unbelievably patient with our IMpatient four and one year old monkeys, and so completely understanding when the kids needed a break or a change of scene... three hours just flew by, and we were left with too many breathtaking photos to choose from.

To anybody looking for an amazing photographer that will capture your family in such a beautiful way; who can simultaneously distract a four year old from an impending tantrum while chasing a one year old that's escaping out the front door, all the while making parents feel totally calm amoungst the chaos AND have the biggest smile about being knee deep in a swamp, Kim Selby is your girl. Kim, we feel so lucky to have had this experience with you and loved it so much we think we should book in once a month for updated wonderful photos!

You can contact Kim and see more more of her amazing work at www.kimselbyphotography.com or on Facebook, and you can also have a chat to her at our market at St Ambrose Hall in Woodend tomorrow!

All Things Nice - Missy Minzy

Why wouldn't you want to buy handmade this Christmas when the products you're buying are put together with love and care and are unique and gorgeous??

We love handmade and one of our new retailers that you will have the pleasure of meeting this Sunday, is Irene from Missy Minzy. Irene hand illustrates, designs and produces Missy Minzy's stand out range. Pop by her stall on Sunday and sift through her whimsical designs yourself :) 

Are you more sugar or spice?

Definitely a bit of mix between the two!

What inspired you to start your own business?

It’s one of the dreams I wanted to achieve in life. The dream unfolded more clearly when I was made redundant from my graphic designing job during the recent global recession. My hubby was the one who encouraged me to put my illustration skills to good use. I then fell pregnant with our first child a few months after that. Most of my hand drawn illustrations were a reflection of every precious moment during the pregnancy. It was and still is a lovely moment looking at all of the illustrations drawn at that time.

How did you name your business?

Minzy is a short abbreviation of my little nick name in the cyberworld - Minnies, I really like the nickname so much that I was considering changing my name to Minzy in real life at one stage.

Irene - the creative force behind Missy Minzy

What is your favourite piece from your own range?

I am loving and enjoy applying my hand drawn illustration onto all possible media.

My current favourite piece is the newly launched product range – Removable Fabric Wall/Décor Stickers. It features some of my hand drawn illustrations. Each of them was hand cut by me individually. Handmade 100%!

Where else can we check you out? 

FB: https://www.facebook.com/MissyMinzy

Blog: http://missyminzy.blogspot.com/

Store:

http://missyminzy.bigcartel.com/

www.madeit.com.au/missyminzy

http://www.etsy.com/shop/missyminzy

We will be at Sugar & Spice Children's Market for the first time this Sunday in Woodend. Our last market for the year will be at the Camberwell Sunday Market on 11st December in Camberwell.

Thanks Irene!!

 

Jump, Jump, Jump!

We've got something fabulous to entertain your little ones at our market on Sunday! Our lovely friends at Jumping Mania will be bringing one of their super fun and super jumpy jumping castles to St Ambrose Hall in Woodend! Bouncing is FREE for the kiddies all market long.

Jumping Mania are the people to go to for Jumping Castle hire. They have 3 castles to choose from: Mickey Mouse, Dora the Explorer and Batman, and all of their castles are cleaned after each use, ensuring your kiddies have a safe and fun experience! 

Check them out on Facebook or call Cveta on 0410 907 908 or email jumpingmania@live.com.au for bookings or further info.

Hope to see you Sunday for some Christmas Fiesta  shopping and fun.
9am - 1pm St Ambrose Hall, Corner of Ambrose & Templeton Streets, Woodend.

Amazing Christmas Fiesta Raffle!

Check out the wonderful items you can win just by purchasing a ticket for our Christmas Fiesta raffle! Tickets can be purchased at our Woodend market next Sunday. Make sure you come and visit us on December 4 at St Ambrose Hall from 9am - 1pm... One lucky winner will win this entire prize package, full of beautiful products from our stallholders!

All proceeds donated to SIDS & Kids.   

 

 

1 more sleep until our last Ballarat market for 2011!

There's plenty of reasons to join us in Ballarat tomorrow...

It will be our biggest market to date, with over 30 stalls of wonderful and unique handmade products!

Our market will be in conjunction with the Baby & Children's Expo, Ballarat, so there's sure to be a wealth of information for parents, plenty of activities for kids, and so much to see and do!



You might like to go exploring with Dora, have a dance with Dorothy
or a laugh with Elmo.



You may also like to enter our fabulous giveaway from Bohemian Secret Photography
(check out the details here).



These gorgeous items are from our Ballarat retailers:
Skirt from Bridie-Jane,
Skirt & Mini-Monster from Silly Milly Moo,
and wall art from Piggywinkles

 Check out our retailers list and start writing your shopping lists, Christmas is only 43 sleeps away! Come find us at Alfred Deakin Place, enter via Camp Street, or Police Lane, or through the Mining Exchange on Lydiard Street.

 We hope to see you there!

All Things Nice - Shady Days

A retailer making an appearance at our final two markets for 2011 is Shady Days. A wonderfully innovative brand that not only has your kids looking stylish but also protects them from the sun's harsh rays... what a great concept.

Shady Days sells clothing and accessories for the 1-6 year age group and their garments take into consideration the recommendations of SunSmart, the Cancer Council of Victoria's internationally recognised skin cancer prevention program. This means their designs ensure high levels of protection for all young children who love to get outside. 

Here is the duo behind Shady Days, Colleen and Laura, to give you some more background on their brand... (thank you ladies)

Are you more sugar or spice?

Colleen - When it comes to sweetness I leave that up to the kids, or my not so infrequent snacks.  As for me, I’m definitely more spice.

Laura – I’m addicted to everything sugary and sweet but am definitely more spice myself.

What inspired you to start your own business?

Colleen - Despite my sun protective efforts for my daughter at a summer day barbeque, she still got too many ‘kisses from the sun’ a.k.a. sunburn.  Mortified, I went shopping for clothing that would cover her up in the sun, unlike the pretty dresses and strappy singlets she had in her wardrobe.  When I went home empty handed I thought I’d found a gap in the market that needed to be filled.  The Shady Days concept offered us a creative outlet in which we worked on a product we really believed in.  It’s even better when we receive affirmation from customers about the designs and the sun-protection concept.

 Laura & Colleen's little people :)

How did you name your business?

We wanted a name that was reflective of our sun protective message and design objectives but that also conveyed the fun and fanciful days that childhood is full of.  It didn’t take us long to settle on Shady Days.

What is your favourite piece from your own range?

Colleen - It’s hard to choose, but the family have been getting out and making the most of the spring sunshine lately in, not surprisingly, Shady Days gear.  I love the rugby top – it covers all the bits prone to sunburn with a collar and long sleeves, it is loose and comfy and easy to whip on and off.  Evey and Hugo wore theirs all weekend and they looked really good on as well!

Laura – I’m partial to our Peace, Love & Mung Beans! hoodie.  It’s been getting a massive workout in our house at the moment because it’s great for spring when the mornings are a bit fresh but the arvos heat up.  It can be worn all day long and protect the kiddies from all the elements we encounter. 

Where else can we check you out?

Our website is www.shadydays.com.au where you can see our full range and check out lots of sun protective information.  You can also check us out on Facebook.

We will be at Sugar & Spice's last two markets for the year. This Sunday in Ballarat and Sunday 4^th December in Woodend.  We’ll also be attending the Piccadilly Market in Geelong on Sunday 20th November and Mathilda’s Market in Caulfield on Sunday 27th November.

You can win a Shady Days kaftan in our Woodend Christmas Fiesta raffle!

Mudpies & Mudcake.

Our friends over at 1000 Homes of Happiness decided to make mudpies this weekend as part of the Playlist and I couldn't wait to join in the muddy fun, it has been a few (!) years since I've baked a mud pie. Miss Sugar however, was not convinced. "But I don't like pies Mum". Hmmm.

So we changed the menu! Cakes are definitely the way to Miss Sugar's heart, and we decided to bake Mudcakes instead. Off she went, hunting through my kitchen cupboards for cake tins and wooden spoons, and then raided her toybox for cake decorations and her chef hat... Mudcakes are serious business.

Over 2 hours later she was still busy creating, squishing mud between her fingers and asking me what I thought the mud would taste like. She would only come inside for dinner when I promised that we could do it all over again tomorrow - of course we can, we have the main ingredient in our backyard!

The thing I love most about the Playlist is that it shows how simple it can be to encourage outdoor play.

And so here is our secret recipe for Delicious Mudcake: (it's really easy)
STEP 1: Get outside!
STEP 2: Get bucket of mud!
STEP 3: Have lots of fun!
STEP 4: Repeat!

Nature.

This weekend I'm thankful for 1000 Homes of Happiness' Playlist for so many reasons.

For getting us out and about on what would be the only decent day of weather this weekend.
For allowing us to explore a place that we would normally just drive past.
For giving us reason to wander this magical place, that is pretty much in our own backyard.
For giving us this 'outdoor' mission and allowing the night-shift-working-Daddy-of-the-house some peaceful sleeping time!
For bringing things like gum nuts, bull ants, beetles, wildflowers, dragonflys and frogs to our Saturday. But most of all for allowing little hands and inquisitive minds to touch, see, hear and feel nature.

Nature - Yippee!

The count down

Almond Tree Frames Christmas Rules Card

(Come visit them at our December Woodend Christmas Fiesta!)

There is officially only:Days to Christmas Countdown

59 ^days 3 ^hours 41 ^minutes 50 ^seconds
left until this Christmass Christmas

to go until Christmas (at this very moment in time)...... eeeeeeeeeeek! 

This means shopping, shopping, shopping :)

Make sure you save some of your list though as we have two very special markets planned to finish off the year. We're ending 2011 with a bang!

If you're looking for gorgeous, unique, handcrafted and inspiring gifts for the little people in your life, our next two markets are not to be missed.

Sunday 13 November

Ballarat Sugar & Spice Children's Market 

(in conjunction with the Ballarat Baby & Kids Expo)

10am - 4pm.

Alfred Deakin Place, behind the Baby & Kids Expo at Ballarat's Mining Exchange Building.

Enter via Camp Street or Lydiard Street's Police Lane.

Sunday 4 December

Woodend Sugar & Spice Children's Market

(Our big Christmas Fiesta!)

9am - 1pm.

St Ambrose Hall, Corner of Ambrose & Templeton Street.

Hope to see you there :)

Rain.



Dr Seuss, The Cat In The Hat

Does your heart sink when you have to put layer upon layer of clothing just to go and check the letter box? Mine does! I pine for Summer during the colder months, I adore daylight savings and swimming and going barefoot and laying on the grass in the sunshine with my two giggling monkeys!... So these past few months when we'd get days and days of rainy-rain-rain, I'd find myself becoming very grumpy indeed... and I'm sure Ms Sugar (3) and Baby Spice (1) thought they were acting out the first page of The Cat In The Hat (which we have read on many a rainy day).

But not anymore! Thanks to 1000 Homes of Happiness' Playlist, I've been reminded that it's great to get outside, no matter what the weather! With this week's play theme being RAIN and Baby Spice blissfully napping (lucky baby!), Ms Sugar spotted a rainbow from our kitchen window... We grabbed our gumboots and umbrellas, and off we went to have a better look - and found not one, but TWO rainbows! We couldn't believe our good fortune!


We hope you can see the second (fainter) rainbow between the two trees!


We then went hunting for some puddles, who knew there'd be so much happiness to be found in a little pool of rain? It's just too hard to be grumpy with so much splashing and giggling going on!

So excited to for next week's playlist, we hope you're playing along too!