Book!

I’m finally able to tell you about my book…!

It’s been six months in the making (it was meant to take three) and has been a bit of an epic adventure for me. However, I got there in the end….thanks to a very patient bunch of people from my publishers Ryland Peters and Small….and a very patient husband + family.

The book is aimed at pre-schoolers and contains 35 colourful, fun & crafty projects. It really does look ace thanks to the efforts of photographer Carloyn Barber, stylist Liz Belton and Designer Sonya Nathoo (I’ll show you some pictures in the new year). Annabel Morgan has also done a super job of helping me out with the words.

It’s due to be released in April and is available for pre-order on Amazon. I’ll also be selling copies via my site when it comes out.

So, now you know why it’s been a bit quiet around here at times.

Phew! Weight lifted!

facebook = hurray!

Yeah! I have finally set up a facebook page for minieco. I would love very much for you to come and ‘like’ my page. (I have ’0′ friends at the moment so it’s a bit lonely over there!!)

On my facebook page I am going to share all my favorite crafts from around the web. I’ll also post about any new minieco crafts as they pop up. The best thing is that you can post content too!

I’m not entirely sure what I am doing(!) so there may be a few hiccups to begin with. The world of ‘social media’ is a scary, unfamiliar place at the moment! Ha!

Action Pack from Whipup.net

I‘ve been leafing through a copy of Action pack: Issue 4 {June + July 2011} The Great Outdoors this week.

For those of you not in the know Action Pack is a new e-magazine put together by the lovely Kathreen at Whipup.net and contains loads of craft, art, cooking and outdoorsy projects for kids to do.

I can honestly say that I was amazed by the amount of ideas Kathreen has managed to pack into this issue.

My favorite projects? Campfire food and wild body paints! I want to be seven again! Head on over to Whipup to check it out!

pinterest ♥ facebook

A huge thank you to all those people who have facebooked my posts or added my images to their pinterest boards. Collectively you guys are referring lots of new people to minieco…more than any other site in fact!

If you’ve got a crafty pinterest board or facebook page that you want to shout about then paste the address in the comments section below….I, for one, am really interested to see what you guys are getting up to.

I have just opened my own pinterest account and love it…such a great way to keep track of new ideas or inspiring imagery. You can have a look at my pinterest board here!

Guest post: Li’l Magoolie

Hi, my name is Maddie. Kate has kindly asked me to talk about a fundraiser I’m currently running on my blog, ‘Li’l Magoolie‘.

Three weeks ago, our little city of Christchurch (New Zealand) was struck with a 6.3 magnitude earthquake which killed hundreds, damaged homes and decimated the city centre.

My little family was lucky enough to come through it with little more than scratches and a lost dog (who later returned). There are those who weren’t so lucky – people who lost their homes, businesses and livelihood. There is not a single family untouched by this tragedy. Power and water have been restored to most homes now but starting a city from scratch is a big undertaking. Schools are still shut (some never to reopen) and many families have to start again with nothing.

I created the ‘Li’l Quake Appeal‘ to help in some small way to get our broken city back on its feet. It will be a long, slow process and every single dollar will make a difference. Items have been donated from all over the world – Germany, Australia, the U.S and New Zealand. You can find everything from booties to fabulous folded landscapes. I’d love it if you stopped by and had a look – there might be something you’d like and every cent will go directly to NZ Red Cross who are doing some amazing work here.

If you’d like to show your support in a more creative way, I’m also collecting paper cranes to be strung together to commemorate the earthquake’s victims and serve as a wish that the shaking will stop and we can get back to normal life.

Thankyou so much Kate for this opportunity.