Well I am back and ready to roll this year. I have to complete one final subject at Uni, to finish the degree that has taken 8 years to complete, but I am going to do it, this year. Then as I am haded the piece of paper that says I am now a qualified teacer, i do not want to see the inside of any classroom. Perhaps to teach crafts or art but not standard teaching. Nevertheless, qy quest this year is to finish and graduate, then begin my dive headfirst into the world of online selling.

Wish me luck…I’m going to need it!!

Cheers!!

Ahhh.. to be creative..and to begin my little internet crafty venture. I need some spare cash so I might begin to develop the line of children’s jewellery I have been working on. How exciting, to be able to catch a glimpse of my former creative self and also involve my beautiful children. Who needs a boring day job when you can spend your time drawing and playing and crafting….uh-oh wait a minute..there is that little thing called money..I suppose we need some of that. If only it was a perfect world and I could lounge around in my designer clothes and sip cocktails by the pool while my spotless well mannered children frolicked in the yard and my young gorgeous husband drove up in his porsche to whisk me away to the bahamas………………………………..Can you hear that irritating record scratching now.

Never mind..I’ll just be content with my fibro shack and big back yard, the unshaven husband and the dishevelled kids. At least we are content to be who we are. Who has the time?

Mmmmm…..family…

Enough said on that, except that we all had a wonderful time and I am exhausted.

Back to reality of laundry, lunches, cooking and cleaning. But I have somewhat of a new approach to life(coinciding with my happy pills). I am now looking forward to investing my cherished spare time being creative. There are no more excuses. I will see my dreams come to fruition. Hold on, its going to be a bumpy ride..

I am looking for thoughts, ideas, experiences, in how and why other mums started their own businesses. I am a silversmith, jewellery designer, sewer, sculptor, knitter (ha ha), illustrator, set designer, painter etc. My problem is confidence in my abilities, minimal support and lack of knowledge of where to begin. I am attempting to pull together a market stall selling a children’s jewellery range in polymer clay (that I have made), but I worry about what I am charging, will it fall apart, will anybody even like my designs, or will I get laughed at.

Am I still plagued with the ghosts of post natal depression, or am I scared, or is it that my husband wants me to work in a ’secure’ job, or all of the above? How do you take that first step and put your self, especially your creative self, out there for the world to see?

I am not looking for a formula of how to run a business, and I am not here to steal, beg or borrow anyone elses ideas, but would appreciate any snippet of how others have learnt to overcome fear of failure, fear of the unknown. Or even to share stories of how others stumbled accross their successful ideas, or where they work, studio spaces ( or are you limited to the occasional use of the dining table and have to pack up every day- i.e., lack of space), time management, do you involve your kids………

I am curious to hear stories and share my own, and who knows perhaps I may even be able to help someone else, or empathise with their circumstances.

Cheers!!

I have so much I want to delve into and I could possibly sit and write all night. But in all my excitement I have ended up getting my second bout of tonsilitis in three weeks and should probably just go and rest.

But first, I just want to say how excited I am, and I am looking forward to meeting so many like minded and interesting mums.

Cheers!!

I am 36……

I have two sensational children, Kiara (3) who is confident, curious, talks too much and wants to know how everything works including the workings of the human body. "How did I come out of your tummy, mum?" Never did I expect to be discussing the intricacies of childbirth with a 3 year old, but i was honest and delicately truthful, to which she replied, ‘did it hurt?" mmmmm.

Then there is Enya, who has just turned one. After recovering from chicken pox we celebrated with a family bbq. Enya is quite simply cheeky with a capital C. She is very cuddly and cute and has been referred to as flea or midgie (due to her incessant bouncing and biting), and bubbles (use your imagination).

They are my girls.

The reason I have begun this journey is due to them. I have suffered post natal depression and slowly realised that I had lost part of myself, kept it hidden. "I don’t have time for that!". I am a creative person. I have always dabbled in the areas of art and craft. I have a bachelor of Visual Arts in Gold and Silversmithing and a Bachelor of education in early Childhood. I am not allowed to be depressed. I should know what I am doing.

Hold on. I am human.

I always thought I would be a mum who would make my kids clothes and toys and paint fantastic murals on their bedroom walls. I would make fabulous jewellery and trinkets. My children would grow up around beautiful things, interesting patterns, smells, shapes, colours and textures. They would appreciate simple beauty.

Thats why I am here.

Thats the mum I choose to be.

And that person was not completely lost, just hiding. Hiding under obligation and her own expectations of what a good mum should be.

A good mum should be able to be herself. Creative, interesting, funny, comforting,friendly, supportive, relaxed, engaged.

I am a mum.