It has almost been 6 weeks since my last post! Shocking. How can it be so long? I suppose the phrase “Life gets in the way” comes to mind. Due to work, a very busy toddler, and visiting family on weekends, I have not spent the amount of time I wanted to on my business. I definitely struggle a lot with self-doubt, so some days are better spent playing with my beautiful daughter rather than struggling to write a blog post.
I started writing a post last week, but I did not have a clear idea of what I wanted to say and started writing about our May half term adventures. There was something about the post I wasn’t happy about and so I have abandoned that and started afresh. I still feel that I don’t have anything to say but I really want to try.
What am I working on?
Over the last week I have had lots of ideas about new products and crafts I want try. So I have had a few parcels delivered with some new projects! Yay!! Last Monday, I painted my first painting in almost two years. I put my toddler in front of the TV (yes, I can hear the tut-tut-tuting, but sometimes as a stay at home parent, you need a bit of ‘me’ time); set myself up at the dining room table, grabbed a flower from the garden for inspiration and started. I didn’t have much of a plan but I told myself to just get on and start, it didn’t need to be perfect as it was just for me. Well, it was amazing. I felt so relaxed and calm, even with my daughter trying to climb on me and steal all of my paintbrushes. You can see my final piece below, nothing amazing but I enjoyed it, which was my goal. I really want to make time to paint more and find my style.
I have been working on a custom crochet blanket, so other crochet items/projects have been put on hold for the mean time. I managed to finally get my sewing machine out and finish off some zip pouches that I had cut the fabric for all the way back in January before we moved! I wanted to practise sewing a lined zip pouch and trial a few different sizes. I really like these pouches so I’m definitely going to add some of these to my Etsy shop over the next few weeks.
My eco-journey
While away on holiday, I really noticed all of the single use plastics that we encountered in food packaging and the like. I really want to explore more eco-friendly products that I can add to my range of items. My focus at the moment is reusable items that can be used for shopping or storage purposes. I have one range of crocheted dishcloths on my Etsy shop currently, you can find them here. I will be adding to my eco-friendly range over the next couple months. I am really excited about all this. If you have any reusable household items that you love or find really useful, please let me know in the comments.
I have finally ordered an EcoEgg, which is a reusable laundry detergent. I currently use liquid laundry detergent and by replacing this with a reusable version I will reduce my plastic waste and reduce the amount of chemicals that I am putting into the water system. Once I have put it to the test I will be adding my review on here so watch this space.
Going forward
- Make time to paint each week
- Add some fun zip pouches to my Etsy shop
- Get started on making and trialling new eco-friendly products
- Try out my new EcoEgg
Bye for now,
Chanel
Hoopoe Crafts 