I'm still here (and exciting news to share)

Um, hello [insert shy wave]! Oui, c'est moi. I am still here, feeling rather sheepish for leaving you here with nary a calling card to explain my absence. Please accept my humblest apologies. Life on Planet Baby continues to be particularly trying and I have had to expend my energy wisely. Regrettably, that hasn't included blogging. Mr PB and the pixies have needed me and that's where my priorities always lie.  I know I've been largely absent here this year owing to Mr PB still looking for a full-time job (since Christmas Eve, can you believe it?). The resulting stress and challenges have been debilitating and exhausting. But I really cherish this space and want to commit to it properly. So I have a plan - want me to share?

The thing is that notwithstanding everything going on offline which has prevented me blogging, the truth is that I've been feeling a real disconnect from my blog name. When I started blogging in July 2010, Life on Planet Baby perfectly described where I was at with a preschooler, toddler and infant. Yes, they were my babies, in the truest sense. Fast forward to now with Joshua and India at school full-time and Sammy starting three days a week Kinder next year and my babies are growing up. 

Here they are the other day, very proud of their new booster seats

I've always cherished the concept of 'Planet Baby' but now 'Planet Joy' is much more my spiritual home. 'Baby' pigeonholes me to a phase in my life I'm naturally moving away from as the pixies grow up. It also means incessant approaches from baby-related companies wanting me to endorse their products. They just don't 'get' me.

But you all do, especially those who have been aboard this Planet for a while, watching my creative spark ignite and light the warm fire which now delights me through Planet Joy. You 'get' how my crafting inspires, and sustains, me. You 'get' the hope it brings to my life.

So I guess it won't surprise you that mentally, I've hopped planets. From Planet Baby to Planet Joy.

And I'm fervently hoping you'll take the leap and join me. 

I've bought the domain name for www.planetjoy.com.au (www.planetjoy.com was unavailable) and want to move this blog there. I toyed with the idea of calling it 'Life on Planet Joy' and bought the domain name and everything as I thought it would make the transition easier for you. But then I realised it made more business sense to drop the 'Life on' part. Many people who know me through Planet Joy have no idea I blog here. Keeping it simple is the way to go, I think. 

I'm yet to talk to Katrina about how to make this happen. I'm hoping I can just export this blog to the new one and leave a custom redirection from Planet Baby to Planet Joy so you won't have to do anything. That's the plan. But it may be more complicated. I'll let you know when I find out.

And so, how are feeling about this? Wondering what direction my blog will take?

Well I've been thinking about that. I plan to write as I normally do - no change of 'voice' required. So you'll still know it's me at the tiller of this fine ship.

I'll post more about what I'm making for Planet Joy and what's inspiring me. But I won't just turn it into endless promotions for Planet Joy, though. I want it to feel balanced between both my life with our young family and my art. I also want it to be more Tasmanian focussed so you can see more about this magical place we call home.

I am so excited about these plans. I eagerly await the day when I can feel that this space truly represents where I'm at in life right now. I don't want it to feel like a stuck record any longer. It's time to pick the stylus up and start a new tune.

So (big gulp), what do you think about these changes? Excited, annoyed, indifferent? I really look forward to hearing your thoughts, of whatever kind. Truly. I'm all ears!

Announcing my giveaway winners!

Good evening, gorgeous Planetarians! Tonight's post will be short and sweet - I'm here to announce the winners of my giveaway for my 3rd blogoversary. Tonight the pixies drew the entries from the Ceremonial Planet Baby Gumboot as follows. 

First up was Joshua with 1st place which went to:

Christine! Congratulations, lovely lady. 

Second place was drawn by Miss India.

It went to Caitlyn from Mother Down Under. Woo hoo! 

Sammy then drew 3rd place.

It went to the delightful Kate of A Fountain of Mirth.

Congratulations, ladies! Please email me your addresses so I can post off your Planet Joy pretties. 

Thankyou to all of you who entered. I must admit there were fewer entries than in recent years which surprised me a tad. Giveaways like this (the unsponsored variety) seem rather uncommon nowadays, don't you think? How blogging has changed in the past 3 years!

Post of the Month Club: the July 2013 edition

Oh my word. That week has whizzed by. We're a house of sickness right now, all a-splutter with wintertime colds. I'm pleased to see some of you have entered my giveaway to mark my 3rd blogoversary. You still have until Tuesday 6 August to enter so please join in if you wish. I can't wait to see who'll receive my Planet Joy pretties!

Right, now back to business. With my befuddled head, I forgot to announce that it's Post of the Month Club time! Thanks to everyone who joined in last month. Laura's photos of the sublime summertime blooms in England was a treat. Sarah introduced us to the concept of circular knitting needles, the clever minx. And Shell showed us how to create a rainbow stitch hoop - nice work!

Right, so the regulars know the drill but for any newbies, here's how we play it:

• Become a Planetarian (a follower of this blog) by becoming a Google Friend Connect follower (see my sidebar), by RSS or by email subscription (click on the icons under 'Want to find me?');

• Look through your posts for July 2013;

• Find the one you're most proud of; 

• Edit it to add the POTMC button at the post's end (you can copy the HTML from my sidebar) to let everyone know that you write for the Club;

• Add your post to the linky at the bottom of this post; and

• Visit a few other (or as many as take your fancy!) Club members' posts to share the bloggy love with comments. Don't forget Operation blog love! Plus it's a lovely way to meet new bloggers instead of just 'dumping and running'.

Let's see if we can make it a bigger edition than last month's effort of 12 entries. This edition will close publication on 15 August 2013.  

Celebrating my 3rd blogoversary and a giveaway!

Oh my stars! Can it really be three years since I hit the 'Publish' button on my first ever post here? Little Sam had just turned one and I was sleep deprived with two toddlers and a pre-schooler. My PND was quite bad and my darling Dad's health was deteriorating. I can no longer recall the precise moment when I decided to start blogging but I'm so grateful I did. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that three years later, I'd have written 424 posts and have 573 followers. Or have made so many delightful friendships the world over. Not in a million years.

Thankyou for the phenomenal support you Planetarians have gifted me over the past three years. You've shared in my escapades with the pixies, supported me through my recovery from PND, comforted me both before, and after, my Dad's death, encouraged me to start Planet Joy and generally provided me with kind and compassionate companionship on my journey through these testing years.

You are all the best.

I can't imagine my life without the joy blogging has brought to it. So many of my closest friends are now bloggers, both in person and online. Starting this blog was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Now, as is the custom, to help me celebrate this little milestone, I'd love to offer you a giveaway of some Planet Joy pretties I've made. Here they are!

To start, I'll make the initial of your choice from a selection of the Liberty fabrics I have, just like this one.

Here's a wire wreath I made, complete with Francophile-loving ribbon.

Here's a plain green covered wire piece to brighten your day.

Here's a Liberty flutterer, perfect for hanging or as a bookmark.

And something to inspire some day-dreaming.

And to end, here's a trio of little Liberty-covered hearts I've hand-bent from wire.

In true Planet Baby style (after my first giveaway), there will also be prizes for the second and third names drawn. I’ll keep them as surprises.

Terms and conditions

So, here’s my lawyer’s fine print:

1. If you're a Planetarian, leave a comment and you're entered.

2. If you're not already, become a Planetarian by either:

• clicking on the little Google Friend Connect button in my sidebar and follow the prompts; or

• clicking on the RSS icon in my sidebar to have my posts delivered to your reader.

3. You get an extra entry for:

• blogging about it;

• linking to it;

• putting it in your sidebar;

• tweeting about it;

• sharing it on Facebook; and

• sharing it on Instagram.

To make it super easy for you to do so, you can just click on the little icons at the bottom of this post!

Make sure you leave a comment for an extra entry to be awarded in each case.

4. This offer is open worldwide to all my fellow Planetarians. Yes, the pixies will happily help me lick enough stamps to post it anywhere. *Real* stamps, too – not just those stickers-dressed-up-as-stamps!

5. The giveaway will close at on Tuesday 6 August 2013 at 6 pm AST (Australian Standard Time so overseas Planetarians please take that into account) and will be drawn by the pixies from the Ceremonial Planet Baby Gumboot.

So, over to you! Dive in and have a go. I can’t wait to send these little packages winging their way around the world. 

I'd also love to hear which of the prizes take your fancy as well.  I welcome all feedback - you all have such fabulous taste!

Sam turns 4

Well good evening, my fine friends. The rain has been tumbling down in Old Hobart Town all day. Nothing better than hearing its patter on our tin roof. Or thinking about the good soaking all the little treasures we've tucked under the soil in our garden are getting. Not long now and they'll be poking their heads up, all ready to put on a spring spectacular for us! So as I sit here with my mug of hot chocolate, I thought I'd share with you some snaps of our celebrations of Sam's recent 4th birthday. Yes, my baby's growing up!

Here he is, as proud as punch to be wearing his new badge.

Here are the troops, reading for The Great Unwrapping.

Miss India delighted in making him a card. Bubble writing is her preferred style at the moment.

This was the noisiest and craziest present. Thanks Mr PB!

This was the most imaginative one. All three of them will put this to good use. It's genius in the way one side is a theatre and the other a shop. 

These wooden dominoes will provide the greatest challenge to them. There will be maths involved in the placing of them the right way. And lots of fun starting the big donger to knock them over!

This wooden harbour set is the sweetest. I've sure my Dad is looking on approvingly. It's a little bit Scandinavian and delightfully tactile. Not to mention colourful. Hours of fun to be had with it!

Here's a little close-up so you can appreciate the detail.

And the pièce de résistance is my attempt at the Australian Women's Weekly's car cake. It was my first use of fondant icing since Joshie's 1st birthday. I was rather glad with this effort.

The smile on his dial is all I need as a verdict!

And to think he'll be starting Kinder next year. My word. No longer do I have 3 under 4. It's all happening here! Right in front of my eyes.

Now I'll bid you adieu and race to the telly to watch the Ashes. Being a cricket tragic and all, you know! Night.