Happy New Year!

Wow! What a hectic couple of weeks! I always look forward to Christmas and New Year, and even more so this time around as we had Emily Mae's first Christmas ~ she, of course, was spoilt rotten! But I'm always happy when the celebrations are over and I can put my feet up and relax for a couple of days...

And of course, when I stop and relax, I am swamped with ideas for 2011 ~ and the resolutions have come flowing in thick and fast! I have all of the usual things on my list, such as being more health conscious, saving money, not sweating the small stuff, etc... But I'm not holding my breath on achieving all of those! Who can save money when there is so much fun to be had in crafting?!!! So I'm going to make a concerted effort to achieve those but focus my energy on other, more fun resolutions such as my plans for Little Puddles and developing my online craft supplies store, I Love Craft.

2011 holds a lot of change for me ~ I'm returning to work part time in February which I'm very much looking forward to, although I will miss hanging out with my little miss Emily Mae! I'm sure she will have loads of fun though as we have family members clamouring to look after her while I'm at work...We're so lucky to have so much support.

I will still be taking Little Puddles to the markets in 2011, but not as many as last year. 13 markets in just over 3 months was exciting, but a lot of work! However, all products are available at our website (www.littlepuddles.com.au) and I love custom order requests! I will be developing a new product range in the next couple of weeks...am soooooo excited about it and can't wait to share it with you all.

So January will be a month of relaxing with Emily Mae, organising my office after the craziness of Christmas, creating my new product ranges and preparing for my return to work (which basically means shopping for new clothes so I can return as a yummy mummy!). Yay!

I wish you all joy and happiness for 2011 and hope it brings all that you wish for.

Natalie xx

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Little Puddles!How are you celebrating Christmas this year? We're having family over to spend the day with us, as we wanted to have Emily's first Christmas at home. I'm busy crafting Christmas presents, as well as decorations (see my handmade bon-bons pictured!). I'm going with a handmade theme this year and have made as many presents for family and friends as possible - and where not possible, I have bought from my lovely fellow stallholders at the markets!It's been a fantastic year for us... so many markets, so many lovely people we got to meet! Thank you for all of your support, it wouldn't have been such a great time without it. Looking forward to 2011, hope it brings you all that you wish for!Nat xxx

The Almost Finished Product!

Ta Dah!!! Here is the almost finished dresser - I ran out of fabric so am waiting on more to arrive and then I can finish the 3rd shelf.

I am so happy that I decided to do this, it was a lot of work but am so happy with the result. I will be shuffling around some of the pieces I have placed on the dresser, as my hubby has spoiled me and bought a huge wooden buffet for the dining room for Christmas...I can't wait!

Will upload another pic once it's finally completed...now for the next project!

DIY Queen? Almost!

Am I DIY Queen? Not yet, but I think I'm well on my way!

I'm ecstatic with the way the dresser has turned out with a coat of paint, I'm only doing one coat because you can still see the lines in the wood through the paint, which is the effect I was looking for.

Phase 3 - hubby needs to cut my mdf boards tonight and I'm going to cover them with a little bit of wadding and then my gorgeous fabric - I can't wait!

Little Puddles will be at Sugar & Spice childrens market, St Alipius Parish Hall, 78 Victoria Street from 9am to 1pm. I should be spending tonight getting ready for a fabulous day tomorrow, but I can't help myself, I need to cover the mdf tonight! I'm too excited to get a sneak peek of the finished product!

I can do it all, can't I? I'm sure I'll find a way!

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Phase 1 - Complete!

Well, phase 1 of my dresser refurb project has been completed! I've emptied out the dresser, painted the undercoat and am now eagerly awaiting tomorrow to paint it a lovely soft calico colour. In the meantime, hubby is going to be cutting some mdf, ready for me to cover in a GORGEOUS piece of fabric I picked up a little while ago. I'll upload photos soon but to give you a hint, it has gorgeous shades of pinks, blues, greens and white...stunning. I bought this fabric ages ago but couldn't bring myself to use it on just any old project. Perfect for the dresser!

I'm also spending this week preparing for the Sugar & Spice Market in Ballarat to be held on Sunday, from 9am to 1pm ~ location to be advised, please see my facebook page for more updates (www.facebook.com/littlepuddles). It will be an indoor market, so never mind what the weather is like, come visit us and do some Christmas shopping!

A new project...

I am embarking on a new project...this is a gorgeous dresser my mum gave to me and I've decided that I want to make it more of a feature in my house. So I''ll be stripping it back, painting it, and putting in some feature panels.

Stay tuned for more pictures and progress updates coming soon. If you have any tips or hints, please comment below - I have a feeling I'll need them!

Little Puddles at Fairy Floss Markets, Williamstown

It's been very busy here at Little Puddles HQ! We're lucky enough to be booked into markets every single weekend up until 13 December...FANTASTIC!

Last weekend we were at Fairy Floss Markets in Williamstown and had such a lovely day. We launched the new MaeMama Headbands which were very popular with the mamas, as were the MaeBaby Headbands ~ we even had some requests for matching sets for Mama and Baby... so cute!

On Friday 19 December from 5pm to 9pm, we will be at Ss Peter & Paul's Primary School Twilight Market at the Community Centre corner of Beverly and Leeds Streets, Doncaster East. Please come and join us, it will be a fabulous evening of shopping and the weather is gorgeous at the moment!