Christmas Eve

I still cannot believe Christmas is tomorrow...it almost feels like this year has flown by before me as i stood on the sidelines watching helplessly. Of course that hasn't been the case at all...in fact, it's because i've been 'participating' so much in life this year that i'm probably more disappointed that i don't have more time to do more fun stuff before it all comes to an end! I think living from one event to the next has that effect...like doing one Kraftbomb and then trying to get more done before the next one just makes the months disappear.

It's raining outside at the moment..the kind of misty rain that is enough to make your hair frizzy but not enough to give you the 'i just washed my hair and i look hot' look. But man does it look a lot like really light snow....hmmmm, pretty! This is the view from my work space...


So Kraftbomb 6 - the Christmas Special was yet another success story! Well done ladies! I had a fab time as usual but encountered a wee drama before i arrived...the night before i'd been working away like a good Christmas elf until 1.30am and the next morning i was up with the birds at 7am getting more done. So when 9 o'clock rolled round i was psyched that everything was sorted, stuff was all packed and i just needed to get my butt in the shower. My flatmate Seanie had offered to give me a ride to the Grey Lynn Community Centre so that base was covered too. (Now, i've only lived in Aucks for a year so my sense of direction is still improving...) To cut a long story short, Seanie took a wrong turn and we ended up in Henderson! (it's okay Seanie, these things happen and i definately don't hold it against you!) Gah! So when i finally arrived i had like 2 minutes to set up my stall. The wonderful ladies on either side of my stall were so helpful (thank you!), they must have seen the frazzled look on my face...both of you were an absolute godsend! I'm sorry i wasn't better company...normally a lot chattier and personable but being that late despite of being so super organized really rattled my cage. Alas, i conclude that everything happens for a reason...and whatever it was, i'm sure it was a significant step in the right direction in the grand scheme. So thanks to the wonderful Niella of Just a Lil Paper Goodness...i at least have one photo of me and my stall...thanks hunny!


Oooh, and of course i gotta show you the new additions to the sock monkey family...

These two bad boys are made from some seriously awesome socks i got from Colorado (the shop not the place), they are super soft and snuggly!



And yes, i have a thing for love hearts..:)



And lastly...baby nautical monkey...i'd been meaning to make a monkey out of baby socks for ages and i finally did! He was a hit...will have to make more for next time!


Ah yes, I also sold quite a few of my reversible headbands which was mint! It all started out with me making one for me and thought they would make nice Christmas pressies so i made a few more and then everything spun out of control and before i knew it there was a huge pile of gorgeous fabric begging me to use them and me sewing until wee hours of the morning with doorstopper and towels stuffed under my door hoping to muffle the noise and not wake my flatties. :) (will be tweaking the elastic bands for them for next time though, to accommodate more heads hehe, i only had mine and boy flatties around to test sizing out on!)

My organized chaos / workspace at home:


One more shot of my stall where you can see my clothesline (complete with mini pegs) of headbands...yipee!


That night, Dean and i were invited to go to The Do in the Zoo with his family. It was organized by Air New Zealand and heaps of people went. It was kinda cool to get to go to the zoo after hours but too bad that most of the animals were asleep. I took my camera with me...show and tell time!

This is Dean's nephew Callum..a.k.a. marshmallow man...



Then we have close up shot of Mr Hippo by Dean...(being tall has its perks in a crowd of people, i must say. It's a pretty cool picture so i got to give credit where it's due eh?!)


Look at this little meerkat posing for me! Cute-ness!



Well, i think that's all for today folks...bring on Christmas!


Have an awesome one, be safe and much love from all of us at Sock Monkey HQ,
Miss Deb

Headbands...

This is a very late but very satisfied post...

These are some of the headbands (just pressed and now waiting to be sewn up) i'm making as a special treat for the Christmas K-bomb...Yay!



Now, for some much needed sleep..
xoxo
Miss Deb

I'm so excited...and i can't hide it...

Come one come all..
xoxo
Miss Deb

Naughty or Nice?

Inspired by the lovely lilysmakebelieve...i too, have made a wee list of things i'd like Santa to bring me this Christmas...:)

1. A Moleskine Notebook (i've had a love affair with stationery for like forever...)



2. A billfold wallet from treeswithknees



3. Some lovely bedroom slippers from Toukoushima



4. This robin egg blue, buttercream & navy brass filigree locket from MStevenson Designs



5. The Porter getaway bag from the extremely talented and super lovely Wendy of Moop.


Every bag ordered has a 2 week lead time because she sews them up from start to finish for you! It's quite cheeky of me to request yet another Moop bag as i've already got a Moop Market Bag which is surgically attached to my side anyway!



It's just so practical, you can extend the strap so it's a messenger bag or shorten it and it's a handbag. The pockets are perfect (no thrashing around trying to find stuff) and the material is soft but heavy so you know it'll withstand the test of time and washing.

6. I lost my iPod headphones the other day so...i'd like these adorable ear buds from Fred Flare please...



7. Sushi USB storage drive from Dynamism! Drool...



8. An awesome old-school style cookie press! There's a gorgeous one being sold on Trademe for just $26.99! I only recently discovered that these things existed from Heidi's blog My Paper Crane...her cookies look soOo good! Nom nom nom...(Photo changed, thanks for your tip Ginny! They are sold out online so am definately going to Milly's Kitchen tomorrow!)



9. My family! Mum and dad aren't coming over for Christmas this year, and my brother is stuck working in Russia...so it's just my sis and me this Christmas. So Santa, if possible could you give mum, dad, my bro and Tracey a ride on your sleigh over here?! Boy, do i miss having everybody together! The last time was in 2006 for my sister's wedding!

xoxo
Have a great weekend!
Much love,
Miss Deb

Hump day Wednesday!

So who's happy we're already half way through the working week? Yes yes, i do love where i work but i love having the whole weekend free to sew like a mad woman and chillax in the sun!

I packed a picnic dinner last Sunday for Dean and me. :) Made sushi (chicken, red pepper, spring onion & cucumber) and bought some yummy chocolate milk. Drink of choice would've been a Teza but alas they're not available in supermarkets. Tee hee hee. Cornwall Park is gorgeous this time of the year! So excited that it's only the start of summer, truckload more days like this to enjoy! Yay!!


Ooh...guess what i'm getting today? Well i bought it off Trademe yesterday but my knight in shining armour has a day off today so he'll be picking it up...a 'dining'/sewing table! I've been sewing on my dressing table for ages now so it is going to be epic to have a table solely as a home and pedestal for my grand sewing machine. :D I'll have to post photos once it's settled in with the rest of the room fixtures but boy am i stoked! It's even extendable so i can have my sewing machine on the middle bit and use the 'wings' for pinning or cutting!

Had quite the little productive evening yesterday too...made a pumpkin and feta pizza for work lunch today (and made a spare one for the boys as i'm out to dinner tonight!)....AND decided it was finally time to dip into my monkey stash and put more up on Toggle, finally have a shop on Felt and of course Etsy! It's all a work in progress as i'm still figuring out how to make a 'banner' for my 'shop front' Gah! but the important part is done. This also means i will HAVE to sew more monkeys before the next K-bomb which is in less than 2 weeks! Yikes! Deadlines are thrilling though aren't they...:) You'll either see me pull my hair out or do my victory dance!

Anyhoo, i know i still owe you photos of my last K-bomb purchases as well as my loot from the last Swap Away...good things come to those who wait...X

Hugs!
Miss Deb

Swap-a-di-do-da-day!

(sing it with me...)
"I'm the happiest girl...in the whole...USA.."

Yes, i am feeling a bit random...but i also did have a fantastic day! It's been such a fun-filled 24 hours...
I'll start from the very beginning..

I went to the Ministry of Sound dance party last night! It was at a warehouse on Rosebank Road in Avondale! It was pretty mean to have a club experience in such a spacious and different venue. Fun times! Of course photos from badly lit events like this never turn out that great but what the heck...heheh

Sean, Dean and Andrew...


Dean and me...


Me not using the self timer button...


Group shot!



So Andrew was actually catching a flight to the UK for a whole month this morning but i was too exhausted to go along with the boys to drop him off at the airport. Sorry drew-boy! Hope you had a good flight and that the stopover in Tokyo was wicked!

Woke up at about 10 am ready for the Swap-Away...was so super excited! Came home quickly to have a shower and chuck some clothes on, grab my swappables and out the door to Ponsonby! Got caught in traffic 'cos of the Ponsonby Market Day but luckily i got there in time to check-in and chill out with a Teza in hand while chatting to the girls. I also bumped into the lovely Miss Scissors, it was awesome to finally put a face to the blog and connect all the dots, you know what i mean! Yay you for getting into Craftwerk hun!
Anyhoo...I had so much fun and definately scored some primo items...thanks a bunch hunnies, you ladies did a fabulous job! So proud of you!
Will have to post up photos of my loot but am exhausted so will leave you with a cute-sy photo of me and the pretty Swap Away musketeers for now...heheh



Nighty night my precious...sweet dreams...
Until next time,
Miss Deb

November Kraftbomb yeeyah!

Hello lovelies,
Alas, the long awaited post.
Kraftbomb was super duper awesome-ness! Had so much fun and because it was my second time i wasn't worrying over nothing and had...no, MADE time to go shopping and say hello to all the wicked crafters. I always feel so humbled and of course grateful being surrounded by so much talent.
Anyhoo, photos yesh?
A total of 8 adorable sock babies got adopted into loving homes..






The lovely Sarah from BobbyRobin adopted Dino..


Fred our cutiepie lemonade boy adopted this little guy...


and lastly...Andrew, my flatmate, is gifting this cheeky little monkey to a very special munchkin named Athena..



Hmmm...makes me so happy to know that someone out there's gonna love these little ones as much as i've loved making them. It's tough to give them up sometimes but so very rewarding when you see someone's face light up and hear them squeal..Ooooh sock monkeeeeesssss....hehehe Don't worry though, if you see something you like but its already been sold i love doing custom orders! I'm always shopping for new socks so give me an idea of a colour scheme you'd like and we can go from there!

Lastly, big shout out to my stall buddies on the day! Round of applause for the dynamic duo Snez & Reuben from Squidlimbs!


I la la la la LOVED Snez's amigurumi creations and will definately be saving up to get Reuben to work his magic on a pair of kicks for me. Check these out...




Cool huh?! Go to www.squidlimbs.com to get a custom order or just to stare and point in awe.

Well lovelies, i will leave you with these..oh yeah, finally a shot of me with my 60s inspired haircut :)

Now you see her...

Now you don't...




xoxo
Miss Deb

P/s Special post to come for gloating purposes...i haven't even started talking about my purchases on the day!! :) Let's just say i wear my lilysmakebelieve owl necklace with much pride! X You girls rock! Other items might only get a mention after Christmas though...can't let the cat outta the bag :P

I O U

I know i know...i owe you an update about the awesome November Kraftbomb...it's coming don't worry!

In the mean time...i felt like sharing...'cos sharing is caring obviously!:)



xoxo
Miss Deb

I Heart ETSY!

Mmm...when i was naughty a couple of weeks ago i went shopping on Etsy..

Look what arrived today...
EcoCuff - French Religious Charms on Black Tooled and Pierced Leather made by the lovely Greenbelts

This piece is truly one-of-a-kind. It's eco-friendly using recycled materials to make it unique. You won’t find a duplicate anywhere.

The specs are:
Color: Black leather band and silver accents.
Size: 8 3/4” long with two sets of adjustable snaps.

Unique Characteristics: The band of this cuff is 1 3/4” wide and made from a recycled full grain leather belt. The band is tooled and pierced with a lovely flower pattern. A friend of mine found a lot of these vintage metal Christian symbol charms in France and brought them home for me. They are all different with images of Jesus, various Saints, symbols, etc. They are all tied onto the band with doubled thick thread and reinforced on the underside with a circle of leather (so the knots don't irritate your skin.) The charms hang down on your wrist and make a slight chime sound when you're wearing it.

Swoon...

I heart Etsy...


I also heart the lovely Sarah from BobbyRobin who did a superb job on her November arts column on NZ Girl (click here to have a read) where she mentioned Kraftbomb, me and my creatures, the awesome lilysmakebelieve and the wickedly cool Cardboard Box! It was the first time i ever got a mention and it's definately made my year!! Thanks a bunch hunny!

Anyhoo, lovelies...
I'm off to chime around the office now..

xoxo
Miss Deb

Quickie!

I've got the day off today yay!

So I'm heading into town with the boychum for a spot of op-shop therapy!!

Also on my list of things to do today:
1. Update my blog
2. Drop of a certain sock monkey to his new home with the lovely Frances
3. Stuff and sew more monkeys before Kraftbomb
4. Finish and print my Novermber Sock it to me! theme flyer
5. Send off a Christmas parcel to my mum and dad in Malaysia
6. Oooh, this ones good...start wrapping Christmas presents! (You see I'm one of those accumulators..I started shopping for Christmas 2008 Boxing Day last year hahah...freakish I know!)

Anyway better run...talk to you later...have a lovely day!
I'll leave you with a random photo of me and the boychum at my Halloween party this year...heheh He came as a pimp while i dressed up as a killer stepford wife complete with bloody tea towel and rolling pin!


xoxo
Miss Deb