2012 – in review

This year has been quite a big year for me. I pushed myself and concocted some more tutorials – some simple, and some not so much. I experienced a roller coaster of emotions that comes with planning a wedding, and experienced some unusual illnesses thanks to stress. But every cloud has a silver lining, and I learned how to better deal with the glory that is stress. We tied the knot, and we’ve gleefully fell back into our old routines, and now that Christmas has come and gone, I can concentrate on cracking out a few more projects at home. Bring on 2013!

I blogged about tips and tricks on how to organize a bookcase {this piece was actually featured in Handmade Living UK magazine, but they went into liquidation shortly after. I would love to share it with you but unfortunately I still haven’t gotten the PDF’s or a copy of the magazine. Massive sad face. C’est la vie}.

The beginning of 2012 kicked off with a healthy dose of DIY’s – attacked with tape, how to kitsch up your kitchen, and my himmeli tutorial. All of which I still adore and have on display, and haven’t gotten bored of any of them one bit.

Our engagement story got into the wonderful Irish wedding magazine, Confetti. That was a fun one since we may have been the first ones to get asterisks into such a dainty magazine. Most excellent.

Using scraps of wallpaper, wrapping paper or other off-cuts as a background, I did up a little tutorial under the title of lovely layers, about jazzing up your framed delights.

In April of this year I bought ‘hydrangeagirl.com’ and made it my own. That was a big step for me, and I felt like such a grown up. HG then turned 2 in August. She’s come a long way baby … 

I love, love, love getting e-mails from folks who have tried out my tutorials. One example, the lovely Robyn e-mailed me her  spin on my deceptive DVD covers. Complete creative winning. It makes all this typing worth while. 

With our wedding fast approaching, some DIY wedding stuff snuck in there too. First up a tutorial for the boutonnieres / button holes I made for the groom and groomsmen, followed by a write up about our flowering wedding favours. A  bit of a labour of love.

And of course, hubby and I got hitched in October, and flew away to a mind-boggling romanitcal honeymoon. Both of which I will be blogging before the new year – I best be getting my ass in gear then. I’m in the agonizing process of choosing which photos to share, without going over the top and boring the hell out of you.

UPDATE: you can see our wedding deets here, and our honeymoon pics here

And in November I kicked off Project Less 365 thanks to Laura Howard, and I’m proud to say even though I only gave myself 60 days to drop 365 things, I think I may have reached my goal already! I can for sure say this clear out process is clearing not only our home, but my mind of clutter too. Less is more, peeps. 
xx A

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4 Comments

  1. December 27, 2012 / 13:17

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    Bonne Année 2013 ainsi que pour votre famille
    Happy New Year 2013 and for your family
    Feliz Año Nuevo 2013 y para su familia
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    http://world-directory-sweetmelody.blogspot.com/

  2. December 27, 2012 / 14:51

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    Bonne Année 2013 ainsi que pour votre famille
    Happy New Year 2013 and for your family
    Feliz Año Nuevo 2013 y para su familia
    Feliz Ano Novo de 2013 e para a sua família
    °*”˜˜”*°•.¸☆ ★ ☆¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.¸☆
    ╔╗╔╦══╦═╦═╦╗╔╗ ★ ★ ★
    ║╚╝║══║═║═║╚╝║ ☆¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.¸☆
    ║╔╗║╔╗║╔╣╔╩╗╔╝ ♥ NEW YEAR ♥ 2013 !!
    ╚╝╚╩╝╚╩╝╚╝═╚╝ ¥☆★☆★☆¥ ★☆

    Regards from France
    Chris
    http://world-directory-sweetmelody.blogspot.com/

    A little gift for you
    http://nsm08.casimages.com/img/2012/12/26/12122605434412502810698610.gif

  3. December 27, 2012 / 20:17

    What a great year for you – nice reminders in this post!
    Think I will try the Project Less 365 in 2013.
    Merry Christmas!
    Maria x

    • December 29, 2012 / 11:40

      Happy holidays Maria! Project Less 365 is very addictive – in the best way possible. Best of luck.
      A