Inspired for more - Gorgeous pics of this Durbs event!!

Two Saturdays ago I hosted a lovely morning {Inspired for more} for young business owners in the greater Durbs area. The heart behind the event, was two-fold:

Number 1...

I wanted to inspire girls who have taken the BIG, brave step of following their dreams and starting their own ‘thing’ with some practical tips and coaching tools.

Number 2...

I wanted them to have a chance to meet other inspiring creative business owners; network a bit and basically just be reminded that they are not alone in this venture to create something sustainable, successful and beautiful!

After making cappuccinos and small talk, we started the morning off with some inspiration & ice-breakers. And where better to be inspired and to let-go-a-little than sitting cross-legged on the grass, barefoot and beautiful! We had such fun finding out a little about each other, after which I ran a fun activity where we all got to tap into the ‘why’ behind our business. I am a firm believer that clients buy into your ‘why’, and not your ‘what’, so before we jumped into what they all did, I thought it worthwhile to zone in on WHY they do what they do. 

{It's so easy to forget why you doing what you are doing, and in that, to lose passion} 

So this activity got us on our feet, thinking, chatting & I even added in a little creative garden hunt to meet the needs of these creative minds J {You can read all about my passion for the ‘why’ behind your business here}

After some garden-inspirational-time, we made our way back up to the house, where we indulged in both healthy & yummy breakfast niceties, more coffee of course and plenty chatter.

With full bellies we dived into our next activity which involved working through a simple but oh-so-effective coaching exercise where I walked the girls through a process that helps to visually reveal where your time {business-wise} is currently being spent, and then to do some reassessing and goal setting around this exercise. We all had little worksheets, which we filled in and {fingers-crossed} were able to take home and put these ideas from paper into practice.

Finally, the morning ended with some networking time, intentional conversations, and swopping of business cards all the while nibbling on delicious brownies sponsored by Liquorice Gourmet.

PS - Special thanks to Desiree Dales for taking these gorgeous pics!!

If you missed out on this event, please don’t fret as…as-of August I will be running monthly networking brekkies, for young, dynamic business owners!! The morning will include an early light breakfast, an active business coaching exercise and then a guest speaker will be presenting on work/ideas from her business – this could be YOU.  These mornings will be ALL about time to build your network, meet other inspiring business owners, grow your company through coaching exercises, goal-set & ultimately remind you why you love what you do!! 

Sign up to be the first to know when these monthly-meet-ups begin

x C

Let's Chat Tuesday: Meet Miss Milly :)

Today on Let's Chat Tuesday, meet Miss Milly, AKA - Theresa Welgemoed!! This creative, inspiring woman has recently launched a stunning new blog and creative business, all centered around the things she loves most!!!

Question 1: Tell us a bit about you, your business and what you do?

My name is Theresa and I am the owner of Miss Milly. My love for washi tape turned into stationery, and pretty girly things and my love for words and writing; turned blog.

Question 2: What 3 words best describe your business?

Miss Milly is all about craft, dedication and prayer.

Question 3: How long has your business been running for?

I have been dreaming for the past 6 years of having my own business, but only started Miss Milly the business in November last year and the blog in January this year.

Question 4: What does a normal work day look like for you?

I leave home at 7 in the mornings to go to my day job and then return in the afternoons – I normally take a 30 minute break, just to putter around the house a bit before I get to Miss Milly. I check emails and reply to them, and work on orders going out. In between I spend time on social media to add updates and posts, and of course on Pinterest *blush*, to get some inspiration. Once a week I try to develop some ideas for new products, send out orders, work on my blog and network.

Question 5: Where do you work from, an office or from home? Tell us a bit about your work space.

I have a beautiful craft space at home; inspired by all the prettiness found on Pinterest and blogs. I have a trestle table (serving as my desk), in front of a large window with a nice view.

On my desk there’s a gorgeous orchid in bloom, vintage frames with photographs of loved ones, my diary and notebooks from Typo. I keep my craft supplies in different size boxes, neatly stacked on a bookshelf. Up on the wall on my chalkboard, I write inspirational quotes and draw pictures from time to time…

The colours used throughout are a combination of pastels with pink and turquoise and mint accents, and there are hints of my love for pretty things in bunting, bunnies, owls, and various trinkets. I am very sentimental and a bit of a hoarder – but in an “Obsessive-compulsive” kind of way.

Question 6: What do you consider your business’s greatest strength to be?

Miss Milly is still in her baby shoes, but I would hope that her greatest strength would be my love for craft and the finer details that add a subtle beauty to lives. And of course my faith.

Question 7: Apart from your business, what else are you passionate about?

God. Pink ice cream. Instagram. Love. Vintage. Lace.

Question 8: What’s one thing you’ve learned since starting your own business that you wish you could share with every creative out there?

To not be afraid to take the leap. Just start somewhere. And to really dream big.

Question 9: If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you take with you?

My leatherman, Redeeming love by Franice Rivers and a suitcase full of craft supplies.

Question 10: Where can we find more info about Miss Milly?

Website                              Facebook

Pretty Stationery

Korea has such gorgeous stationery so today I thought I’d inspire you with two pretty pics of my newest items!!

Have a stunning day!!

x C

Online Christmas shopping..

With Christmas approaching, and me living aboard, I’ve decided to do all my Christmas shopping online this year. This meant scouting through a number of websites that provide shipping within SA.

Here are 3 of my current favourites…

1.   Hello Pretty

Hello Pretty is basically an online store that features a number of amazing designers and their products.Their website makes it so easy to find stunning products, ranging from art to jewelry to house & home…

Here are 3 products that recently caught my eye:

l  Different is beautiful canvas (Little Miss Linguist)

                                           

l  Wooden Coasters (Mossie handmade)

l  Cast Leaf Ring (Muchi Galoosh) 

2.   Hey Gorgeous Skincare 

I recently found this amazing skincare website and will definitely be using them for Christmas shopping!! As they say on their website, “All of our products are formulated by real women for real women and are made with the highest quality organic and natural ingredients that are completely beneficial for the skin.”

     LOVING these 3 products…

    l STRAWBERRY & BLACK PEPPER BODY SCRUB BLISS (R120)

    l COCONUT ICE CANDY BATH FIZZERS (R120 for 10)

 l RASPBERRY RIPPLE WHIPPED MOUSSE OR BODY BUTTER (R90 or R165)

     Use this link to find them on facebook.

3.   Oak & Willow

I am ridiculously in-love with these wooden, authentic pieces a special friend of mine back home, is making. How stunning are these 3 pieces...

Follow them on facebook.


Happy online shopping!!!

xC

Christmas DIY advent calendar fun... {Follow up post}

So as you know or if you missed my post about 'Getting into the Christmas spirit' then read more here; Sunday was set aside for some Christmas DIY girl time!! 

The girls arrived in Gwangju, from their various cities around Korea, at 10am and we headed home to my little apartment. We arrived home to the yummiest milktart that my husband had made for us as well as fresh coffee on the stove. {I’m a lucky girl, I know}. Although the plan was to start DIY-ing immediately, we instead did what girls are best at, and drank tea and chatted for a good hour before suddenly remembering why we were.

I had set up all the brown bags, little pegs, washy tape and pretty things on our dining-room table as well as having printed advent printables which I found on pinterest, {If you're looking for pretty printables - pinterest is the place to find them}. Then, to add to the Christmas spirit, I had baked each girl a baby banana bread the night before and Roxy wrote each of us a beautiful Christmas message on pretty paper and sealed in an envelope marked with her CityGirlSearching sticker .

Roxy also took all the photies...click here to see more of her beautiful work...

This is our dining-room table...fill with creative bits and pieces..

These were my baby banana breads...I wrapped them in clear cooking paper, added some twine and a pretty Christmas printable {straight from Pinterest} :)

We cut, glued and giggled...and of course, chatted and chatted!! It just so happened that the girls who could make it were all South African..and I have to admit there is something seriously special being surrounded by people who know your home-town, who have friends in common with you...and who basically just 'get' you'!! 

The girls...

After cutting and sticking and arranging all the bags (see pics below), we took a quick break where we munched down our delicious milktart {Thanks H}…and then came the seriously fun part...when we poured all our little goodies/gifts/pieces of advice onto my bed and started filling the bags at random.

Putting the bags in order from 1 - 24... 

A taste of what went into our advent bags...

After all the bags were filled, we each chose 24 bags (numbered 1 – 24) that then became our very own Advent Calendar :)

These 3 pics were taken by Gwen - thanks my friend!!

By far one of best days in a while...thanks girls for making it so special, loved having you in my home!!!

Let me know what you think of our little DIY bags. I think they are so pretty and CAN’T wait to start opening them from Dec 1^st.

Getting into the Christmas spirit...

So, with Christmas approaching, I’ve gone into serious ‘Christmas mode’. The one thing I know I will really miss this Christmas (Christmas isn’t really a thing in Korea), is advent calendars. So, instead of scrapping having one this year, I have gone pinterest crazy and have downloaded a couple really cool ideas as to how to make my own.

Now this is all good and well but the problem came in when I realized that the Advent Calendar would then only be for my husband as I’ll know what’s in every day’s package. So, I put on my thinking cap and this is what I came up with. (The reason for my sharing this is I realized it’s not too late for you to copy my idea and have your own DIY day next weekend! ENJOY) J

DIY Christmas Advent Calendar morning...

A DIY advent calendar girl’s day!! I approached ‘married/dating’ girls as I thought we could then all buy for 2 that way keeping it simple.

Date: Sunday 24th Nov (It obviously needs to be before the 1^st Dec)

What will the morning include?

I will buy us (the girls who committed to joining me) each 25 little brown bags or wrapping paper if I can’t find bags (see pinterest pic ideas), as well as printing numbers 1 – 25 on cardboard for each of us. (Affordability being key)

The girls (and me) will then go shopping this week, thus before our DIY morning, and buy or make 25 very small gifts/ vouchers/ notes to fill these bags (ideas below).

The morning will be spent cutting, sticking & basically just making the bags look pretty. After that, we’ll fill the bags at random until all the packages are ready to be taken home. Then, we will randomly select 25 bags, numbered 1 – 25, and those will make up our advent calendars – that way, we won’t know what’s in each package each day.

Package fillers..

The idea behind these is to keep them simple, cheap and meaningful, so literally anything from…

- Create your own vouchers (Give each other a hug, massage, cook dinner together, etc)

- Choccies

- Stationery/ Hair things

- Encouraging note/ scripture

So that’s it J and this is all happening next week Sunday! I will keep you in the loop with pics and info about how the day goes the following week J And stay tuned for more creative Christmas DIY fun in Dec!

Hoping this has inspired you to do some Christmas DIY-ing yourself. Please comment below if you have any other ideas for my readers – let’s share the Christmas love J

Lastly, if you’re wanting some additional inspiration – go check out my ‘Jingle Bells’ pinterest page for plenty Christmas-ey ideas J

xC