Recap of 2011: Goodbye to an amazing year

Posted Saturday 31 December 2011 and filed under: Just Sharing

We’ve been in Melbourne since Christmas Eve. It’s been a wonderful holiday so far. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas too. It’s been a blessing to be able to spend time with family again, meet our new nephew, and catch-up with dear friends. There has been lots – LOTS – of eating (just look at my Instagram photos!), and visiting of favourite places, such as the Maribyrnong River track, which is my favourite running track:

Maribyrnong River trail
{Maribyrnong River trail, Ascot Vale}

I’ve always run this track by myself so it was very special to come back this time and run it with the Mister.

The girls’ first request when we got to Melbourne was to visit their favourite playground in Ascot Vale:

Essendon Community Playground
{Essendon Community Playground, Ascot Vale}

Despite some shaky weather around Christmas (heat, followed by hail, storms and floods!), the weather in Melbourne has been fantastic.

Being back here in familiar grounds has been conducive to reflecting on, and being thankful for, the amazing year that 2011 has been. It’s been a year of restoring relationships, experiencing new places, and finding and settling into a new home. This year we:

  1. Moved the family to Hong Kong (and what an adventure it has been!): started new jobs/schools, found a new home, and made lots of lovely new friends!
  2. Traveled on 15 flights, spent the new year Fiji, and visited 4 other Asian countries that we had never been to before
  3. Ran our first fun-run in Hong Kong, and trained for and ran our first ever half-marathon in Cambodia
  4. Re-discovered how much I love drawing and sketching thanks to the Sketchbook Project

It really has been an amazing year and I thank God daily for it. I don’t expect we will be traveling so much next year, but I am looking forward to having more wonderful adventures with my family, running another half-marathon overseas, visiting family that I have only ever heard of but never met, doing more drawings and illustrations (and hopefully some sewing!), and finding ways to give more back to the community that we have settled into in Hong Kong. As 2011 draws to an end, I feel very blessed and am very excited about what 2012 has in store.

Sunset at Williamstown Beach
{Beautiful sunset at Williamstown Beach}

I wish you a 2012 filled with joy, peace, contentment, challenge, strength, wisdom, hope and love. See you in 2012!

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Update on the Project 18 Orphanage Handmade Doll Appeal

Posted Saturday 3 September 2011 and filed under: Just Sharing

In November last year, I put a call out into the wonderful world of craft for 9 handmade dolls, to be donated to the Project 18 Orphanage in Indonesia, which was founded by Cate Bolt. You can see the final batch that was then sent to Cate who brought them to the Orphanage for Christmas in this post.

Cate recently tweeted some photos of the girls at the Orphanage with the dolls! So wonderful to see the big smiles on their faces – the dolls are much loved and treasured. Thank you again to all of you who made and donated a doll for the appeal.

If you missed out on making and donating for the appeal, there are MANY ways you can help the Orphanage – please check out their Support page for more information.

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Handmade Teddy Bears on etsy

Posted Wednesday 10 August 2011 and filed under: Good Finds,Just Sharing

I have fond memories of my first teddy bear – I had it for almost ten years and then had to throw it away as it had basically completely fallen apart from the years of cuddles and being dragged everywhere! But there is something very special about Teddy Bears. And I love the how they come in all kinds of different styles, shapes and forms on etsy.

Here are a few of my recent favourite teddy bears on etsy – some handmade and ready for a new home, and some that you can make yourself!

  1. Sweet Amigurumi Teddy Crochet pattern by Anapaulaoll
  2. Teddy Bear Softie Stuffed Toy PDF Sewing Pattern by DollsandDaydreams
  3. Limited Edition Peony the Woodland Bear by SleepyKing
  4. Green Polka Dotted Pocket Bear by Gabrielefelt
  5. 4-inch Miniature Artist Bear Winston by TippyandTeddy
  6. Gilbert Teddy Bear Plushie by KnittingDreams

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The Crossroads Experience: A Glimpse Into Poverty

Posted Tuesday 26 July 2011 and filed under: Just Sharing

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity (thanks to the company I work for) to do volunteer work with some kids from the Boys & Girls Association of Hong Kong.


{image credit}

We travelled to an NGO called Crossroads located in the Gold Coast (yes, there is a Gold Coast here in HK – though very different from the Queensland one!). We were to play a simulation game together, to gain a glimpse into what life is like for those who live in slums and gain a basic understanding of Fair Trade and globalization. Crossroads have been conducting similar games at the World Economic Forum with participants such as Sir Richard Branson.

As volunteers, we were there to help lead, and to help the students practice their conversational English. I really had no idea what to expect. Before the game started, we were broken up into smaller ‘families.’ In my ‘family’ I had one boy student (a son), and two girl students (daughters). They ranged in age from 13-15yrs. As families living in a slum (there were about 8 families in total), we each had a specified amount of time (10 minutes blocks) to make paper bags out of newspapers, flour and water, and sell them to local shops. The shop sellers could give us any amount of money they wanted, or they could just tear the bags up and we’d have to start again. We would need to earn enough money to pay for food, rent, also somehow try to maintain good health, and if at all possible save a large amount of money to send a child to school.

The whole experience was INTENSE. My family only had four people whilst others had five, so we were really struggling in terms of churning out enough paper bags. I found that I had to keep telling myself it was going to be okay, and to keep encouraging my ‘children’ to keep going and working hard, even if it seemed so hopeless. We ended up losing our ‘home’ and then had to live under the bridge, which was owned by a very shrewd and mean landlord. At one point, I had to choose between selling off my two ‘daughters’ in the family to the landlord (and never seeing them again), or agreeing to be his second wife and therefore be able to send all the kids to school. Being a mum of two daughters myself, it was an easy decision to make – there was no way I was going to sell them off!

We only did that activity for just under an hour. But I tell you it felt like so much longer than that – and there was a lot of emotion – in fact during the hour you actually forget that it IS only a game! Kudos to the students in my little ‘family’ – they kept going even when it seemed easier to give up. Through our limited English conversations, I found them to be bright, mindful, mature and kind. For that hour or so, our situation seemed so hopeless and desperate. We were given no respect. We worked so hard only to gain so little. And it just seemed like an endless cycle – no matter how hard we worked, we just couldn’t break through that invisible barrier.

And the very sad, heart-breaking reality is that there are billions (not just millions) of people around the world who face this kind of life daily – not just for an hour. I cannot imagine or grasp what kind of life that would be. In many parts of the world, those living in poverty are working very hard to simply survive. In places such as India and Bangladesh, whole families are making paper bags to sell – they work for 12 hours a day, and those 12 hours translate into just under $2 (USD) of earnings. Isn’t that ridiculous?! How could they possibly feed their family, maintain good health or even send their children to school on $2 USD (or less) per day?!

So what did I come away with from that experience? Simply that we who have the opportunity and the capability to help break the cycle, should do so. Because if we don’t, who will. One of my favourite quotes is by Theodore Roosevelt: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” And how to help? I’m not going to list a hundred ways to help but I will mention two organisations that I have supported over a number of years who do TRULY help break the cycle by providing things we tend to take for granted – education, good health, skills improvement, physical/emotional/spiritual and mental support. One is child sponsorship through Compassion International, and the other is through business micro-financing via KIVA. They don’t require a lot of money – perhaps a few sacrifices on entertainment, clothes, food now and then – but worth it when you think about where the money is going and the impact it will have on the future of the recipient.


{some of the kids getting ready for lunch}


{Crossroads has a wonderful shop selling Fair Trade goodies!}

And if you’d read this far, I just want to say THANK YOU for letting me share this experience with you :-) Thank you to Nhu and Jennifer for the opportunity to be involved.

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The Artful Bird by Abby Glassenberg

Posted Tuesday 1 March 2011 and filed under: Just Sharing

When I first started reading crafty blogs, Abby’s (called While She Naps) was one of my first blog feed subscriptions :-) I love her style and each of her softies are endearingly adorable. I was blown away when she started making soft sculptures, especially her range of fabric birds.

So I was thrilled when I found out that she was actually writing a book on how to make these amazing birds! The book has now been released, and I was also privileged to receive an advance copy recently  – it’s called “The Artful Bird“:

Inside you’ll find 40 of Abby’s stunning bird soft sculptures, complete with pattern pieces with detailed and helpful instructions.

These are some of my favourites, which I hope to try once I get a new sewing machine :-) The Peacock, the Flamingo and (of course) the Owl:

Absolutely amazing, right?! You’ll also find an excellent section on materials and techniques – very well illustrated and explained:

And in the back there is a section of Q-&-A with well-known bird artists like Ann Wood.

This is definitely a book for crafty bird-lovers! I am so proud of Abby – her creativity and talent are awe-inspiring and this book is a testament to just that.

As I mentioned, once I get all my crafty stuff together again, I’ll definitely try making one of Abby’s birds!

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Project: Hello Hong Kong!

Posted Sunday 20 February 2011 and filed under: Just Sharing

So, I’ve mentioned previously that we are moving soon. And this will be our new home:


{above images are credited to A. Aranez}

Yup, the family and I are relocating to Hong Kong!! It has happened rather quickly with a job offer sent my way just before Christmas. It’s one of those opportunities that you know will only come around once in a life-time. So we are packing up and moving to HK. In fact, we are leaving at the end of this week!!! :-)

It’s been a whirlwind of activity and paperwork since just after new year, organising accommodation, schooling, storage, flights, mail redirection, etc. The to-do list was huge to begin with and it is encouraging to see it slowly reducing in size as the weeks have flown by!  I have been to Hong Kong numerous times on holidays but it will an exciting experience to live there for a year or so.

I will certainly miss Melbourne, my family and friends, and I will miss this house that we’ve grown into so comfortably over the last 8 months. And I think I will most definitely miss the freedom to go running outdoors and the clean, fresh air :-) But there are a lot of good things to look forward to in HK as well and it will be a good, fresh start.

Travelling a lot as a kid myself, I think it will be wonderful for the girls to experience a different country/culture/way of life while they’re still young. It’s funny that my eldest is the around the same age I was when my dad first relocated my family overseas to Asia from Australia :-)

So what happens to One Red Robin? I’m bringing only a very small portion of fabric and notions with me. I might get a new sewing machine while I’m there too. I know they have a huge Spotlight store over there, and I am looking forward to exploring all the small, crazy-cheap fabric shops. I’m planning to work on new designs for my sewing range with Pattern Press, but besides that, I don’t see much making happening in the next few months. So expect this blog to be filled with photos of our adventures in HK for a period of time whilst we settle in :-)

Hopefully my next post will be from our new home!

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How NOT to make Dulche de Leche Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

Posted Sunday 13 February 2011 and filed under: Just Sharing

The lovely Holly posted up a link to a recipe for Dulche de Leche Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches – and I knew straight way that I had to try and make some! The key word in that last phrase being try :-)

Click over here for the recipe and to see what they SHOULD look like.

Now, this is how mine turned out:

Erm …. I can only put this down to the fact that my subconscious saw the word “sandwich” in the title and therefore subconsciously caused me to make them as flat and big as an actual sandwich :-)

But seriously, I think I put way too much butter in the cookie dough (and maybe overdosed on the peanut butter). And the condensed milk took, like, forever to firm up into dulche de leche, and I kinda gave up earlier than I should have (and then chucked it in the freezer for a little while, which helped to make it thicker).

I have to admit though that the actual peanut butter cookies, though flat and crunchy, turned out quite good. I could eat a couple of those in one sitting! And put all together, the sandwich is really delicious – crunchy on the outside and gooey in the middle.

Ok, I better get back to the packing ….

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Checking In

Posted Monday 7 February 2011 and filed under: Just Sharing

I’m back from self-imposed blog-break! And with a rather boring photo of what I’ve been working on:

Checking In

But I have a good reason for the boring photo – I’ve sewn up three new softie-related designs for an upcoming book, so I can’t do a full reveal just yet :-) I’ve written up the instructions and all that is left are the photo how-to’s and diagrams. I’m super, super, excited to be part of this book as the other contributors are my crafty heroes . . . . and my girls get to be involved too *insert ear-piercing girl squeal!!*

I’ve also been in the thick of packing/throwing out, organising, and paperwork for the big move. But more about the move next time :-)

A belated Happy February to you! I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead. We’re experiencing some crazy weather here in Australia – devastating floods and cyclone in Queensland, flash flooding here in Victoria (and today it is freezing cold – it’s meant to be Summer!), and deadly bushfires in Western Australia. Please keep all those affected in your thoughts and prayers. We Aussies are a tough bunch :-)

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Just a few hours left to bid on Fiorella…

Posted Monday 31 January 2011 and filed under: Just Sharing

Fiorella the Fawn

Hope you all enjoyed (or are enjoying) your weekend. Just wanted to pop in and say that there are only a few hours left on the auction of Fiorella Fawn, which is part of Nuffnang’s Queensland Flood Relief Appeal. All proceeds from the auction will go directly to the Queensland Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal.

We are in the midst of a big move at the moment, so I won’t be making fawns (or softies in general!) to sell until much, much later on in the year as I won’t have access to my sewing machine and fabric for quite some time (I know, how will I survive?!) . So, if you are keen to own one of my fawns, please do bid on Fiorella over HERE – and you’ll be making a important contribution to the rebuilding of Queensland’s flood-affected areas.

I’ll be on a blog break this week to focus on the big move, and also to work on a project for an upcoming collaborative book, which I am very excited about! The deadline is approaching soon, so I better get cracking :-) Meanwhile, please help yourselves to some of the freebies/tutorials I’ve posted up over here. And with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, you may want to try my free Sweetheart softie :-)

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Happy Mail: Fabric!

Posted Thursday 27 January 2011 and filed under: Just Sharing,Prints, Patterns & Fabric

It’s been a busy week! I haven’t had a chance to sew anything but I’m hoping this happy mail received today will get me back into the craft room :-)

Some lovely linen from Linen Me on etsy, and a few pieces of my designs printed on to fabric by Spoonflower:

Happy Mail: Fabric

I’m especially delighted at how Woodland Cutout in pink on linen/cotton blend . . .

Happy Mail: Fabric

. . . and Little Mushroom Girl in grey and red on cotton turned out :-)

Happy Mail: Fabric

——————
Don’t forget that the auction of Fiorella the Fawn for the Nuffnang Queensland Flood Relief Appeal is still open! Please do bid HERE!

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"one red robin" design & content © Copyright Jhoanna Monte Aranez 2006-2011
The work of One Red Robin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Australia License.