Happy New Year

Its been a while since I have tapped out a post on my laptop for the Etsy Ireland Blog.  Well, its a New Year and the time has come to say hello again......   So, Hello Again.......

I am not one to make New Year Resolutions, I used to be but I gave that up a long time ago.  So many good intentions never fulfilled...... So, what to do instead!!!!  

I have come across 2 positive alternatives while catching up on my reading over the last week which I have embraced for 2012. 

Firstly, before saying goodbye to 2011 I sat yesterday and wrote down all of the things I achieved during the year and I must say I was surprised at how long the list was.  It included all of my Etsy events, people I met, places I went to, new skills (I tried a bit of weaving for the first time), as well lessons learned from mistakes I made, etc. etc. etc.

Secondly, going forward into the new year I listed a number of new things I would like to try, places to go to, etc a type of bucket list.  I came up with 52, one for each week of the year.  Now I will look forward to planning them but wont be too discouraged if I dont get all of them ticked off the list before the bells ring out for 2013 as they can be added to the following year.

So, why dont you try to do the same - list what you have achieved and gather together what you would like 2012 to bring you. 

I wish you all the best of New Years.  May the Crafting Fairies visit you often and bring you creativity and sales to make this a positive year to remember.

Cheers
Mo
www.huggleknits.etsy.com

It's a New Year, What are your Resolutions?

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that you ate your fill of turkey, sweets and biscuits. But now the new year has rolled around again and lots of people are making resolutions. Every year we all promise ourselves to try harder, and set crazy tasks to complete in the year. Last year I wanted to get 100 listings in each of my shops and to hit 100 sales, thankfully both of those things happen. I also said I would learn how to drive...but as yet I'm have never sat behind the wheel of a car..oops, ah well, maybe this year. Here are some of the things I want to get done this year...and I'd love to hear all of your New Years resolutions too!

Eiffel Tower By Felix McGinley

I would love a holiday, not necessarily to Paris, I'd even settle for a weekend in Galway. It's been years since I had the time or money to take a holiday but this year I really want to get away from everything and give myself a well deserved break. This resolution might go hand in hand with trying to win the lotto though!

Toddler Tom by Miss Aine

I don't have a huge garden, in fact it's more like a decked corridor between my house and my garage, but I've been meaning to plant some flowers for ages. But I don't ever seem to make time for it. I haven't inherited my mothers magical green fingers but maybe this year I'll give it a shot. Even I like to grow some herbs as it's so handy for cooking.

Paddy the Rat-Tanya Bond

This is a rather unusual one, mostly people say things like 'I must work harder', but for myself I have the opposite problem. This is a resolution to spend more time with friends over tasty pints ( I prefer Beamish, but Guinness will do nicely too). I find that there is always a million orders to catch up on and the temptation is to stay locked away in my studio working all the time. But I have a great group of friends that I need to make more time for. Years ago I remember watching an episode of Oprah and she was talking to a man who was a workaholic and she said 'on your death bed you are not gonna wish you spent more time at the office, you will wish you spent more time with your wife and kids, enjoy that time now and don't waste your life working all the time'. It was one of those things that really stuck with me years later.

Jumper Pencil Case-2boos

These next few pieces are about getting organised. Part of having more social time will mean managing my work time better. I bough one of these fab wall organisers from Design Birdie and last year I got one of these sweet pencil cases from 2Boos. This year I will hopefully go full time at Nice Day Designs so things like spread sheets and all other grown up accounting things will have to happen. It's a bit terrifying but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out.

Gaelic Irish Book Page Pencils by Homespun Ireland

2011 Wall-Calendar by Designs Birdie

Home Card by Placed

My boyfriend is currently living down in Cork for college, and that means that my good friend Cecily has moved in to share the house/rent. Having a house mate that isn't my parter has made me much tidier and more considerate to live with, I actually wash the dishes instead of leaving them in the sink! I want to continue with this through the year, and when John moves back I'll try not to get lazy again...I can only promise to try though!