Ken’s been wanting to go to the US for several years. But scaredy cat me (of flying!) has always been unenthused and dismissed the idea! And the US idea never ever got off the ground. This year my word of the year is embrace and I decided I would, well, embrace my embrace word. I’m sure Ken almost fell off his chair when he tentatively raised the US conversation again several months ago and I said “let’s do it.” And so the planning has begun. I must admit now I am involved and researching, reading, learning, searching for information and taking a very active part in the trip planning – [...]
Instagram How-To
I’ve become a little bit addicted to iPhone photo apps. I have FAR TOO MANY of them downloaded to my phone. Some are free ones. Others are paid ones. But when I narrow it down, I probably only use a handful of them all the time. I do look forward to the end of the day when I can relax a bit after work and play with some apps and iphone photos and upload them to Instagram. Recently I created this little picture for Instagram with a favourite quote of mine and something I call out to my kids now and then as they leave the house for school. Especially [...]
Issue 6 is coming
It’s been a whirlwind of activity here at Etzcetera these past few weeks. There’s been a flurry of emailing and phone calls and meetings and texts and an avalanche of beautiful images flooding my inbox from contributors. Issue 6 is almost upon us. Yay. My inbox has been filled to the brim with pretty pictures and stories and projects. Lisa, our Editorial Assistant has been busy styling and shooting some gorgeous cupcakes and cupcake toppers and Bec from Ruby Ju has made the most divine party banners and fondant biscuits. I know I say this EVERY issue, but issue 6 is amazing. I love all the stories and projects we [...]
I [heart} Instagram
It’s no secret I am a newly devoted fan of Instagram. It’s like my little reward at the end of a busy work day to sit and view all the pretty pictures in my Instagram feed. And I must admit it’s one of the first things I do after checking my emails on my phone each morning..And I’m gathering a nice collection of people to follow. Instagram means I can see a peek into their every day lives and see what they are working on or doing or sharing. Plus it’s firstly fun playing with iphone apps and photos and secondly it’s nice to share snippets of my day too. [...]
Anyone for peppermint tea?
I met my friend Margaret for a cuppa the other day and she ordered a peppermint tea. It arrived all civilised in a little teapot and cup and saucer complete with a tea strainer. And the peppermint scent was divine – fresh and lovely. Margaret swears by herbal tea and loves peppermint because it’s refreshing but also helps her digestive system. Sounded good enough to me. So a few days ago I thought I would give it a whirl. I am not a huge tea drinker but I prefer mine white with no sugar when I’m being good and a full teaspoon when I’m not! And so herbal tea is [...]
Inside Dolly – in the 80′s
So I guess for those who weren’t teens in the 80′s or Dolly magazine fans, this post will not be all that interesting! BUT for a Dolly loving teen of the 80′s myself, it was an exciting mail day when my ebay purchase of four issues of the magazine from the early 1980′s arrived. Here’s my ebay bidding story here. I could barely wait to get home and open up my little parcel!! Inside..four issues of the magazine in surprisingly good condition. Just the smell of the worn pages transported me back to my high school days and filled me with nostalgia. And flipping through each magazine felt so familiar. [...]
There’s no place like hope
I have a beautiful friend called Tamar. Crafty readers may know her. Scrapbookers and kit lovers WILL know her – she used to run THE best kit place ever – Tarisota. We have known each other for some time now. And met in real life a couple of times, chatted on the phone and shared many, many texts and emails. She has been incredibly supportive of my business over the years and we have bounced ideas off each other from time to time.. Tamar is also our Style Editor here on the Etz Magazine. And she does a splendid job. She is THE BEST researcher and finder of quirky tidbits, [...]
My fave iPad Apps (at the moment ..)
So.. still on iPads… I thought I would share my favourite four iPad Apps at the moment..my favourites change all the time, but these are ones I use a lot of the time, right now. flipboard What a handy dandy little App this one is. It’s totally changed the way I read my blogs and my favourite sites. Plus it’s FREE. Find it here. Flipboard allows you to create your own personal magazine filled with content you want to read and allowing you to then flip through the content and see at a glance who has updated their blog, added to their website, launched a new product, or shared a [...]
My all new iPad speaker/stand/dock thingy
I love my iPad. I love it more than I thought I would when I first got it. I use it much more than I thought I would when I first got it. And I especially love this super, duper brand new iPad speaker/dock/stand thingy my BFF Margaret gave me as a belated birthday present on the weekend (my birthday is in January). She’s usually on time with presents. I’m usually the one late with the gift giving and sheepishly handing over a present for her June birthday at Christmas time. But after she bought me the same Steve Jobs book Ken had bought me for my birthday, she whisked [...]
Pear + raspberry bread = delicious
The other day I felt like baking something. Anything. Something yummy. We had some over ripe bananas sitting sadly in the fruit bowl looking at me and while I love banana bread, I’ve never really had much success with making it. And then I remembered that in Issue 2 of Etzcetera Jasmine Barton had shared a very fetching looking cafe style pear + raspberry bread BUT you could substitute bananas if you preferred. Perfect! I dragged out the ipad as I have all my issues saved there and off I went to work. And I must admit, Jasmine’s recipe was easy to follow and most importantly.. my banana bread not [...]
Fab Friday – Mixed Media
Well it’s Friday again and time for another Fab Friday post about what has caught my eye out there on the www. I do love Pinterest and could easily spend hours scrolling through pretty images and adding them to my Pinterest boards. I take great satisfaction in filling up those little boards with all sorts of goodness – from home decorating ideas to party planning fun and recipes. And this week I decided to choose some of my favourite pins from my mixed media boards. As I was adding these in this morning I realised they featured several of my favourite artists – Donna Downey, CD Muckosky and Rebecca Sower. [...]
Thank you April.
And another month flies past. We had a nice April – did you? April marks lots of celebrations in our family including my sister’s 40th, my dad’s birthday and my parent’s 45th wedding anniversary. Plus throw in Easter, school holidays and a few house guests and we had a bit of a busy month. Here’s my month in photos captured on my iPhone in the Project 365 App. I love that it lets me save the month as a calendar of pictures like this!!
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Issue 5 On Sale Now
Our March/April/May 2012 issue of Etzcetera is on sale now. Click here to see what's inside Issue 5.
