Tuesday, November 8, 2016

A return to simplicity

 

To say its been a long time between posts seems like an understatement at this stage!
January 2015 was the last time I wrote anything and its now November 2017!!!

Alot has changed in our world.
Ive ummed and ahhed for a while about returning to blogging. After 7 years this space really feels like home but my life has change significantly since I started My Handmade Heart and now feels like the right time to close this chapter and begin a new one.

When I first started this blog it was to explore and share the crafts I was making after just discovering a passion for the handmade. People started encouraging me to sell my crafts and soon My Handmade Heart became a business. I did ok......not great, I just never had the drive to make en-masse and as an artist my motivations and insirations were constantly changing. I had a few highs and a few lows and before my daughters (you've met Mini and Tiny was just added recently) arrived was doing quite well with ETSY online sales and through Instagram.

Then motherhood took over.......I dabbled in making and art and continued to share on instagram but the store remained closed and even my plans for a Sale to get rid of existing items were forgotten. The more I immeresed myself in the world of mothering the more I saw how much I missed the real reason I had started crafting in the first place.

The first thing I ever really made properly were 3 lap quilts made from my grandfathers shirts after he had passed away. I think that speaks volumes about what I believe good handmade craft should be - personal, homey, imperfect, full of stories and most importantly made with love.

I havent pulled out my sewing machine in years (save to make the odd pillow for the couch) but my making days continue. These days you will find me in my new/old home, making mountains of washing that never get put away, making vegetables appear magically from the ground, making new and exciting experiences for my daughters, making time to spend with my children just playing, making crafts and paintings galore with my toddler, making plans to sleep again (one day).

With that in mind Ive decided now is the time to close this chapter and start a new one.
If I ever do return to selling and making I'll be coming back as My Handmade Heart, so this space will remain open untill that day. 

In the meantime you can find me in my new/old farmhouse, in the hidden hills of Sydney, doing all sorts of good things with plants, dirt, kids, family and exploring a simpler life at The-Family-Croft