Moonmum - creator extraordinaire of our hand-made sewn gift cards

when i first discovered the beautiful hand-made sewn gift cards by Moonmum i was amazed.  i've never seen anything like it, her cards are super cute and so unique.  i think they are a lovely addition to the giftboxology store.

today we delve in the psyche of the famously talented Moonmum (well we ask her a few questions about her inspiration, life and even get some advice about starting your own creative journey)

how did you come up with the idea to make hand-sewn cards? they are so lovely but for me the appeal also lies in the uniqueness of the cards, i would love to know how it all started.

I've always loved the visual and tactile effect of paper and thread together. It gives a lovely three dimensional finish, whether it be hand sewing or machine stitching on paper it just really appeals to me.

how long have you been creating your beautiful hand-sewn cards?

I've been making my sewn paper creations for over two years now (oh how time flies...). I made a few cards just to try on Etsy and the response was immediately really positive. Within the first few months i'd had lots of sales, some great feedback and wholesale enquiries too. I shouldn't say that i was surprised, but i was!

can you tell us a bit about yourself? what other things do you like to do besides making beautiful cards?

Honestly, i'm a fairly typical stay at home mum. My days revolve mostly around my two kids, aged six and three, and running a household. Housework, however, is my absolutely least favourite activity in the entire world and i'll do just about anything to avoid it... i love books, spending time with the kids, playing the piano, tending the vegie patch, wandering aimlessly around the craft-blogosphere and heading out for a good coffee.

how do you get inspiration for your work?

Most of my inspiration comes from children's books actually. I love the simplicity of shape and colour.

whereabouts do you create your work? do you have a dedicated room at home or elsewhere? i understand you are a mum, how do you keep the little ones away from your creations? do they ever raid your creative stuff and swallow buttons etc?

My wee enterprise is run entirely from our dining room table! Our house is fairly small so i don't have a dedicated space for creating which can be immensely frustrating. I am constantly getting everything out, putting it away again, trying to grab whatever time in the day that I can use to work.

Whenever possible I'll try to involve the kids, maybe sorting buttons or choosing colours. Or i'll set up the table so they can work on a project of their own while I work too. This is actually really nice time for me and I cherish it... sitting together, creating and chatting.

No, it doesn't always work and there have been many incidents of peanut butter fingerprints on cards, lego pieces mixed in with my materials, small hands poked into product photos, endless interruptions for snacks, etc. All mum's will appreciate exactly how it goes :)

approximately how many hours a week do you spend making your cards? do you ever get tired of making the same cards or always loving it?

The amount of time i spend on my little creations varies from week to week. It all depends on what everyone is up to, what orders have come in or what i'm working on. I really love making my products and try to change colours or patterns to keep it interesting for myself and sketch up new designs. My little business is a creative outlet for me and a break from the everyday routine of being a stay at home mum. I'm happier and my brain just works better when i can spend time being creative!

which card is your best seller? (i'm guessing the Mother Bird card?!)

Absolutely... the birds and mother birds are definitely the most popular cards i make, hands down, and have been since the beginning!

i understand from reading your blog that you sell your cards at markets as well as online and in various other shops, what advice can you give to readers who might be thinking about opening up their own online store or selling at markets?

I think that having a creative outlet for yourself is immensely satisfying and if you can turn that into some extra income then absolutely go for it. There are so many online resources for creative businesses that beginning to sell your work is very simple. Be brave!

Dive in with a few items on madeit or etsy and take it from there. I have only just started doing markets and am really enjoying them. The online world is fantastic and practical for me at this stage, but meeting customers in person and getting them to actually see and feel the product is priceless.

thanks Moonmum (Belinda).

 

 

the perfect eco gift for a new baby - monster rattle - interview with Cath from Chunky Chooky

i enjoy reading about creative journeys, how talented people find their inspiration and start creating... so today we are going to interview the very talented Cath from Chunky Chooky and find out what makes her tick....

Cath makes our gorgeous monster rattles..perfect for a new bub or baby shower gift - they are a rattle and teether in one - made of upcycled denim and fabric, have a rattle inside for baby to shake and wooden handle to suck/chew on. Chunky Chooky rattles were recently featured in Cosmo Pregnancy magazine and Peppermint mag.

firstly, what made you want to start creating your gorgeous clothes and softies? i would love to know how it all started...

I could not find clothes that were in nice colours like reds and greys and blues for my daughter, that a) were affordable b) didn't have any advertising on them c) were original and a bit different- no pink frills for girls etc and were made from nice fabric...... around this time a friend came back from vietnam with a pair of fisherman pants for my little girl who was about 6 months old at the time, I thought I might be able to sew some for her.. so I started sewing.... there was so much trial and error to get them right...from there I moved onto toys for her - for the same reasons - wanting something a bit more like a silly monster than something pretty....and then I when I was innocently looking for inspiration online I stumbled across all these softies on flickr ... and then I discovered crafty blogs... it was like I had found a whole community of people who liked making things... something I had always felt alone in.... not really knowing anyone else who also liked making things like I did .... I just couldn't believe what I was reading.

how many hours do you spend creating your works? whereabouts do you create your work? do you have a dedicated room at home or elsewhere?

I have a sewing room at home which is set up for me and I love it, it is great being able to leave the machine all set up so if I can grab 20 minutes I can get a few little things done.

I have a day a week at home to myself and I do not waste a second of it. As soon as my child is dropped off, I fly home and get stuck in, radio tuned to Radio National, cup of tea, just me and the dog... I love it, I work best with no interruptions so being at home alone is ideal.

how did you start getting your products out there?
 
I started slowly and very tentatively... I had a couple of local market stalls with the fisherman pants and I sold out. With the rabbits I made a few of them and showed them to a couple of trusted friends who absolutely loved them and after they reassured me 500 times that they really were good and they weren't just saying it to be nice, I emailed a shop in Sydney- sent some photos and they ordered some I also opened my Etsy shop around this time and and it went from there.... ... lots of lessons learnt along the way...

what other things do you like to do besides making softies?

About six months ago I discovered embroidery, have always been interested in trying it.  I love sublime stitching and radical cross stitch, I have just started designing my own patterns to stitch which is exciting....
 I also love a bit of crocheting and also love photography oh and blogging of course!

how do you get inspiration for your work?

inspiration strikes at anytime, usually in the car or I see something and an idea just floats into my head which I quickly jot down in my always handy sketchbook... sometimes its seeing two colours together in a homewares magazine, it can be that simple...

what is your best seller?

My best seller is by far the monster softie rattles for sure. I wholesale them worldwide and I love making them.

what do you see in store for the future?

some grown up things with My Bearded Pigeon... my muse is three now so perhaps I am looking at less baby stuff... I want to get into designing my own fabric and then making things out of it... I have switched to using only organic fabric for all the softies now and want to keep it eco friendly. Chunky chooky has been featured in Peppermint magazine and Cosmopolitan pregnancy magazine which has been great, at the moment its manageable...at the moment I enjoy it...

what advice do you have for anyone thinking about selling their craft wares?

having an online business requires so much more work than it looks... 

• marketing and promotion involved is huge
• you also have to love taking photos of your products
• get your prices right... look at what other stuff is selling for... I see a lot of things - in particular softies that I know take a couple of hours to make being sold really cheaply online... the makers must not be making much money or they are getting the fabric really cheaply... you have to factor in your time
• think really carefully about consignment and if you want to go down the road.... I was burnt badly early on with a nightmare trying to get money out of people who had sold my wares but not paid me, I had naively thought everyone would be nice and just pay me... you NEED a contract with very clear terms. I now require payment up front before I even start cutting out fabric. Since I started with these terms (which many people tried to tell me would cause me to lose business) I have not had one person not agree to my terms.
• keep a very clear and very simple list of what money I have spent and what money I have made.
• take the time to get nice labels made
• I always gift wrap everything and
• include a handwritten note.
• I communicate regularly with everyone I deal with.

You can check out Cath's Chunky Chooky monster rattles in the store here, her great blog here, Etsy shop here or her new endeavour - My Bearded Pigeon (selling super cute wooden brooches) here

Thanks to the brilliant and super-talented Cath for taking time out from her family and creative time to answer some questions.

stay tuned for more interviews with some more of our talented designers of giftboxology wares.

friday ideas - for you, for your family, for your planet....

ah friday, you are here again, even in your wintery beauty i love you heaps, you are the day right next to my favourite - saturday.

here are some ideas:

for you....

http://www.bluecaravan.net/

i was referred to this website a while ago but its only just now got properly up and running.  it is an amazing online store that stocks a variety of ethical goods, from tshirts to cutlery to jewellery, stationery, beauty products.  its an easy-to-navigate website and i just love that you can search for handmade or one-offs.

for your family...

http://easypeasyorganic.com/

i stumbled across this website and the only word i can think to describe it is sensational!  i'm thoroughly addicted and have trawled through every page on the site now.  if you are trying to incorporate healthier foods, more free-range and organic into your diet but need some extra help then this website is great. so many easy suggestions without trying to be pretentious.

its a blog really, by the super talented Amanda (she has a PhD ecology), she posts detailed recipes, gorgeous pics of the food and usually does a breakdown of the cost of the meal (and its always so inexpensive). 

if you thought eating organic was too difficult and expensive then check out this site and you'll be converted! the giftboxology household is thoroughly converted, just placed our first standing order of organic groceries to arrive next week and once a fortnight after that.

Amanda just makes it look so easy and simple and relaxing....

for the planet...

http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/thesustainables/ten.htm

if you are looking for some inspiration for easy ideas that you can do to be more sustainable then check out 'The Sustainables'.

have a lovely weekend

jen x

a staple for every green household..

i thought i'd share some info about one of my favourite products at giftboxology, its our Little Bean Cold Packs

i first stumbled upon Little Beans in October of last year on madeit and instantly loved them.  the lovely Emma from Little Bean has developed a gorgeous, unique and totally useful product.

its just a great simple idea that is a green, cute and functional gift.  they are little cold packs that are filled with Australian rice and natural lavender, you just pop them in the freezer and take out and use whenever you need.

perfect to soothe your bubs bumps and bruises, headaches, sore back, sore necks, a great natural and reusable product. also perfect for breastfeeding mums.

gift box of Australian-made goodies....your way

we've added a new function on the website today, you can create your own gift box now, still $10 door-to-door courier delivery EVERYWHERE in Australia, but now you can select exactly what you want to include...

this way you dont have to buy anything you dont want and you could put together a bunch of goodies for the whole family if you wanted....

click here to start building your gift box of goodies

dont worry, EVERYTHING is still Australian-made.....

friday ideas - for you, for your family, for your planet

ah friday, you're here again and i love you, just the prospect of a delicious, sunny, relaxing weekend ahead is enough to keep me smiling all day....

here's some small ideas....

for you....
http://www.kiva.org/
well not exactly for you, but will make you feel better about being you as you are giving to a fantastic organisation, you aren't even actually giving...you are lending. you put up $25 (USD), choose a worthy recipient (that's right you choose who you are lending your money to, and why not, its your money), and when they pay it back you can lend to someone else. you'll feel all warm and fuzzy

for your family
http://www.supportmfm.org/
do you do Meat-Free Mondays? even if you are feeding the hungriest carnivore in Australia surely the family could survive one night eating a vegetarian meal?
Meat-Free Monday is exactly that, no meat on Monday. a fantastic idea that is helping to reduce meat consumption and prevent climate change.
our household has MFM, even if it ends up being on a Thursday...
some great recipe ideas are on The Heart Foundation website here

for your planet
oh i'd say that you have this one covered if you check out kiva or MFM, both are helping people/planet.

happy friday
x

giftboxology store news

we sent out an email newsletter this week - if you didn't receive and would like to sign up (we've sent two emails in 3 months, don't worry you wont be bombarded by daily emails!) head over to the website here

last weekend we changed the pricing on all of our gift boxes, you will find that they are significantly better value now. we are in the process of adding all of our products individually so that you can now create your own gift box...

here's the email newsletter that went out..

greetings from the giftboxology headquarters!!

 its been a busy few months at the giftboxology hq. we love making up our gift boxes and spreading gifty love with Australian-made goodness

we invite you to check out our savings....

we have changed our pricing structure recently so you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that all gift boxes are now significantly better value!

customised gift boxes - the choices are endless ...

in exciting news we are soon to offer a customised option - all of our great gifts will be available individually so you can create your own unique gift box filled with great Australian-made products. you will still receive your beautifully packaged gift box with all the trimmings but now you can decide exactly what you want to include.

new gifts are coming...

there are so many great gifts that we are adding to our store over the next few months.

our beautiful new hand-sewn gift cards...

it goes without saying that if you order a giftboxology gift box you receive a beautifully wrapped gift with custom giftboxology gift tag - we can write your message on the gift tag for the recipient (in fact we LOVE doing this!). but now there's more - you can select a beautifully hand-sewn gift card to include your gift message to your recipient - the choice is yours.

FREE Organic Sunflower Seeds during May/June...

we are flat out putting together branded packets of Organic Sunflower Seeds to include in fundraiser goodie bags for The Heart Foundation, Leukemia Foundation and various other soirees at the moment. we are happy to include a packet in all of gifts ordered during May/June - they are certified organic and come from the sunny Gold Coast

Australia-wide courier delivery for $10...

our gift boxes are handled with absolute care from our hard-working courier man. $10 gets your beautiful gifts delivered to the door of the recipient. if your gift recipient isnt home, don't worry, the courier will leave a card and re-deliver at a convenient time. no trips to the post office necessary!

will be in touch very soon once we get the individual gifts added to the website...

jen x