Happy Holidays from Happiness is...

Thank you so much to every single person who supported me this year, by commenting on the blog, following me and interacting on social media or purchasing my goods or services - I really and truly appreciate it :)
Posting will be erratic here for the next week or so as I take some time out as well, but I'll get back to regular posting in early Jan.

Have a most wonderful and magical holiday  and festive season! 

Last Minute Gift DIYs

The season of gift giving is upon us! If you've left your gift shopping too late or are choosing to go the simple, cost effective and personal handmade gift route, these are for you! What I really love about them is that they can easily be adjusted and customised to be very personal or to suit materials you have on hand. Most of the materials are also easily found at a decent craft store. Have a look!

Fabric-covered letters and words

Make it your own - paint on your own design or pattern; cover it in pretty paper; stick on paper crafted flowers or other decorations

Handmade cookies and packaging
Make it your own - Find a fun handmade paper packaging idea; place the cookies in a personalised hand-painted mug or other container that can be part of the gift.
"Things I like About You" booklet
Make it your own - Use pretty scrapbooking papers to make a booklet.
Ribbon Cuffs
Make it your own - Add on your own embroidered or beaded design.
Mug Planters
Make it your own - Find pretty teacups or mugs to use, or hand-paint your own; use vintage tins.
Hand-painted Wooden Spoons
Make it your own - Paint on a special quote or pretty pattern so they can also be used decoratively.

Hope you found these useful! Happy gifting  :) 

*all images are from the respective referenced links

Free Printable Christmas Cupcake Toppers & Gift Tags

I don't usually create stuff that's specifically Christmas-themed, but these were made for something and then didn't end up getting used so I thought I'd hate to see it go to waste... why not offer it to you guys... for FREE :)
Although they were made to use as cupcake toppers, they'd work well as gift tags, or even as part of your table decor.
2 x "Merry Christmas"
1 x "Noel"
1 x blank, for you to add your own message

DOWNLOAD

I'd love to see how you use them so if you'd like to share some pics, please do! :) Enjoy!

Monday Meow 09

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Happy Monday!

So unfortunately we missed a few Monday Meows recently, but it's back and since we're  talking about Mondays... there's only three more left in 2013! Yikes! Better make'em count :)

Have a wonderful day and week ahead, and watch out for some free festive printables this week, too!

Life Lately

Life's gotten so busy lately and blogging has fallen behind a bit, but I thought I'd pop in quickly to give you a quick look at some of the fun stuff I've been up to recently. When you get busy with work keeping up with drawing and crafting tends to fall by the wayside, but I've been trying to make an effort to make time for it. I also really enjoy spending time outdoors and with animals, so I've been trying to do more of that, too. Here's a little look at some of what's been going on...

Follow me on Instagram for more life stuff :)

Creating an Online Store - Day 6 in the Creative Business Series

Happy Monday! I hope you've been following the Creative Business Series last week! Caitlyn started it off with “The most important question to ask yourself before starting your own business”, then was Megan with “Should you combine many passions or just choose one?”, Ilze spoke about “The importance of Professionalism”, Roxy spoke about “Blogging - where to begin?”, and Kelly spoke about “How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Business?”

TODAY I'M GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT...

 

Ever wanted to sell your products on an online store, but didn't because it seems scary? I'm going to give you some insight into what's out there, best practices and what to watch out for.

GETTING STARTED

First off, do some searching for online stores to find out what's available and what will best suit your product range. There are many options out there, each with different requirements and suited to different products. Just like in a normal store, you have to make sure that the online stores you choose to stock are aimed at your target audience. Look around at other seller's pages to get a feel for the kind of info you'll need to share and to see that the quality of products offered are in line with yours - you don't want to be represented on a site that doesn't suit the level of your work. Some sites, like Etsy, even allow you to see how many sales each shop has made and when they started their store.

Business Card Designs Featuring an Illustrated Fox & Hare

A little while ago I was commissioned to design some business cards for the chef and restauranteur at local restaurant, Vovo Telo. She'd seen my business cards and was inspired by the variations and illustrations and asked for something based on that idea.

So we ended up with five different card designs because she loved them all and couldn't bear to leave any out, but unlike mine they all have their own fronts and backs. 

It was so much fun drawing and painting these characters and I'm so happy with how they turned out! I used a combination of brush pen and watercolour paint...

Check out my own business cards here and read about Vovo Telo here.

Monday Meow 08

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Happy Monday!

Here's wishing you a happy and productive week ahead! In case you missed it last week, here's a link to the free December calendar printable to help get your holiday plans organised, and I've also included a little something extra. In other news this week, I'm part of a panel of nine bloggers and creative business owners who'll be sharing tips and expertise over the next two weeks. I'll be doing my post next week on how to start an online store, but click here to find out more about the Start Your Own Creative Business series and which other bloggers will be posting and when. 

I've got some fun, inspirational and informative guest bloggers lined up for some new posts coming soon, but will let you know more about that closer to the time. You can also look forward to more free printables to help make your holiday gifting and decorating original and special ;)

Have a wonderful week!

New Business Cards!

If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram you might have seen the quick shot I posted of my new business cards earlier this week. A promised, here's a full look at what's changed since last time.
There are 9 different back designs, some the same as last time and some new. As with last time they're all zoomed in areas from my sketchbook, all originally hand drawn or hand painted. I've made them slightly larger now at 60x90mm as opposed to the standard 50x90mm, and I really like how that looks. I think considering there's a mini ‘artwork’ on the back, the increased size suits the content.

On the front, I had this idea of adding in a little doodle block. So my doodles are on the back, and you can add your own doodle on the front! Or just use it to write some quick info, up to you. I thought it was a fun idea so I'm trying it out. I also used a different paper this time that's lightly textured with a kind of natural look to it.

Maybe I'm trying to do too much here on one little business card, but I'd really like it to have more purpose and interest than the usual. Hopefully it also adds more value to it, which is always great! This batch will be numbered since there's just a few of each design and I might do a whole new batch next time... It's kind of an experiment, and I feel oddly excited about it :)
If you didn't see the last batch, you can have a look here.

I'd love to know your opinions on these ideas, so please do share your thoughts in the comments! :)

Free December Calendar Planner & Shopping List Printables!

So considering people need to plan for December way ahead, I got the December calendar to you earlier than usual, plus a little shopping list to match! So you can make your holiday and gift shopping lists while you're planning stuff on your calendar! Super organisation here we come :)
The lettering is all hand drawn and the “December” and “shopping for” are painted in watercolours. Hope you like the black and gold!

Download your free shopping list printable

Download your free December calendar printable

Enjoy and feel free to share these :)

The First Ever BlogOlympics!

Tomorrow is the first ever BlogOlympics, hosted by Mr Price Sport, and I'm invited! Super keen, but also kinda scared, not gonna lie. 
It's all happening right here in Durbs at our awesome Moses Mabhida Stadium. Bloggers from Joburg and Cape Town will also be joining us to make up 24 BlogOlympians altogether to compete against each other in some fun events, including Afrisak, the Waboba Ball, the Zooper Ball and the Super Frisbee. (What the what what?! Haha, try saying "Waboba Ball" many times fast)

“Each of the recreational games in the range have been included in events that will test the BlogOlympians’ skill in various disciplines, while bringing a light-hearted element to the competition.”

I love gyming, but competitive sports and things of the frisbee-tossing nature are not my vibe, so this should be super entertaining.... for everyone watching!
Jokes aside, I'm super keen! Can't wait to meet a bunch of other bloggers in person and hopefully even win some prizes, and even get a workout in. The official hashtag for the event is #BlogO13, so watch out for that tomorrow if you'd like to see what's going on via twitter. Wish me luck! :)

image via

Monday Meow 07

Happy  Monday! Today's Monday Meow is slightly different in that all these items are actually my own! Yup, total cat-lady over here. 
1 tiny little black cat I got many years ago from a charity stall
2 little felt keyring I made a few years ago
3 cat scissors I've owned pretty much my whole life (or as far back as I can remember!)
4 black cat tape dispenser/holder - a gift
5 rubber cat magnet whose tail bends to make it a hook to hang stuff on. Awesome or what?! - also a gift

Have a wonderful week ahead and watch out for the December FREE calendar download tomorrow plus a little something extra! If you missed November's calendar it's not too late to get it here.

2-Ingredient Gluten Free Pancakes - Illustrated!

Yup, you read correctly - just 2 ingredients! I'm not into a gluten free diet or anything but am just trying to eat healthy. I came across this and thought it couldn't possibly taste any good with just two ingredients, but it's really not bad! The banana also makes it pretty sweet, so no need to add any sweetening agents during or after (the honey in the end pic is just for fun and for anyone who likes honey). And after I made them I also just felt like drawing this so that's why it's here, haha! Anyway, they also fall into the Paleo category so if you're into that it's for you, too!

So in case the pics don't say it clearly enough, here's what you do:
Use 1 banana and 2 eggs. 
In a bowl, mash up the banana with a fork as much as you can so that it isn't chunky. 
Then add the eggs and mix it up nicely. I used a whisk for this. 
Then pour the batter into a well greased pan on medium heat in small circles the way you normally would with crumpets/flapjacks (although the recipe says "pancakes", they really are more like crumpets)
Give them about a minute on each side to cook.
Get them out the pan and eat them while they're hot and yummy! 

I sprinkled some cinnamon on mine. They were tasty and also sweet enough to satisfy a sweet craving, and so quick and easy to make.
I can't remember where I first saw the recipe but I came across it again recently here if you'd like to see the original and nutritional info.

Hope you like it! Enjoy! :)

Alternative Wedding Fair

If you didn't make it to the Alternative Wedding Fair a few weeks ago here are a few snaps of it. There were some lovely pieces from other vendors and I had some cupcake toppers and notecards on sale which will be available in my Hello Pretty store soon and are also made to order to suit your event.

Thanks to Lauren and Laurelle for the lovely pics!

Monday Meow 06

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Hope you had a lovely weekend! Here's to a happy productive week to start off November! And speaking of productivity, don't forget to grab your free November printable calendar planner.

November Free Printable Calendar Planner

Hope you like the November calendar download! I've been playing around a bit with different looks and would love to know which of the calendars have been your favourite so far. (Check out the past calendars here if you missed them). This will help me make them more awesome in future. If you have ideas of what you'd like to see, you can share those too! All feedback is appreciated :)

There are two designs because I like the black one, but I realise that will use a lot of black ink for the background, so for printer-friendliness there's a white background version as well.  You can choose which one you like... or even print both!

• Download your free printable calendar planner here (black and white) •

• Download your free printable calendar planner here (colour) •

Hope you have a happy, productive November and a fantastic weekend!

Freelance from a Desk with Benefits

I love that there is a global movement towards freelancing and collaboration. It's really such a great way to work, and the fact that it's catching on means more resources are being created for people who work like this. One such resource I mentioned a while ago is a place called The Sett, and another I've come across recently is a hot desk at Ampersand Republic, a creative design studio based in Morningside, Durban. I went by to check it out and chat to them...

If you haven't heard the term “hot desk” before, it's basically an available desk that is rented out for people to use, or as Ampersand put it, “freelance from a desk with benefits” - love that! There are even a few sites dedicated to locating available desks, such as DesksNear.Me and Desk Camping. As usual, there aren't that many easily available in SA just yet, so it's great to see the start of it happening so nearby. You can rent a desk at Ampersand on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. It also includes the use of their facilities such as wifi, printers, tea and coffee, meeting rooms, etc. It's great if you're working on your own and find yourself missing office camaraderie and creative input, or just need a change of environment or use of facilities. They're a great bunch of creative people so it'd be fun hanging out there, too. Check out their site and get in touch for more info. 

Are you a freelancer? I'd love to know - always great to connect with others :)