The Kim Archer Blog

Only seven days until kickoff!

Not long to go until we officially kick off our 2011 Handmade Christmas workshop..

Here's a few more sneak peek photos!

BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE.

Handmade Christmas 2011

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without our online Handmade Christmas workshop.

It's our MOST popular workshop and we've been running it now for years! From our humble beginnings on this very blog to now in our custom built online classroom, I know it's MY favourite class to prepare and I know the excitement ramps up amongst the Support Team girls when we start brainstorming ideas for the class.

So. I am thrilled to say, we opened registration today for the class. I know many of you have emailed me about whether we ae holding the class this year so I am pleased to say YES!!! We are so holding this workshop again this year. Yippeee.

You can read more or purchase the class here:

The Details -

• Class registration OPEN NOW.
• Class fee gives you access to the classroom, chatroom, member photo gallery to share your work and all instruction, giveaways, fun and frivolity that comes with our online workshops.
• The workshop officially kicks off 25 November and runs until 1 December 2011
• Classroom remains open until 31 January 2012
• SIX days of full on projects. This is a content rich class with lots of how-tos, ideas, inspiration and workshop guides. Multiple projects will be uploaded each day.
• You will receive an email each day so that you don't miss a thing.
• projects include: teacher's gifts, quick and easy projects for busy people, scrapbook layouts, projects for family members and friends and a load of inspiration to help make 2011 a very merry Handmade Christmas.
• In the leadup to the official launch of the class, we will have some giveaways, sneak peeks and a some fun before we begin!

BOOK YOUR PLACE TODAY.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Ahem..hello?

Anybody still out there?

It's been totally ages since I have updated my blog.

Etzcetera Magazine sorta took over my life over the past 6 months while I worked hard to get it all established and organised and with the release of Issue Three (yes, already! Time flies), I feel like I finally have some breathing space.

Soooo. I'm back.

I still have a few readers, just a few (thank you)..my stats weren't zero like I thought they would be. In fact I got a lovely surprise to see a lot of link backs to Pinterest for my 25 Days Of Christmas album I made several Christmases ago..

This image..

Which is lovely..thank you everyone!

Exciting announcement...

I do have an exiting announcement for our @Home customers..will be announcing very, very soon.

KIM

 

coaching..classes..a new all consuming project

Where are all the new classes over on the @Home site? I know our regulars are wondering why there haven't been any new workshops uploaded over the past few months.

Well, I have been working on something enormously ambitious over this first part of the year which has been all consuming and taking up a mammoth amount of my time and energy.

It's a new direction that will marry nicely with what we already do @Home so the site won't be going anywhere. However, in these early stages of developing the new project, my site has been a little neglected and light on for new content - but that's only temporary for just a little while longer.

I've gone through lots of what ifs? and can I do this? and self doubt and fear and anxiety and worry and I've worked through all those doubts and processed it all and I've come out the other end excited, motivated, still a little scared but really, truly thrilled with this new endeavour and eager to share it all..

But it's not time. Not just yet. But soon.

I find it frustrating when people announce on Facebook and their blogs etc that they have a BIG secret squirrel and can't tell just yet and then you have to wait. wait. wait for ages before you hear the big news. So I apologise 'cause that's exactly what I have done!!!

BUT I wanted to make mention of the fact that the @Home site hasn't had any new classes uploaded for a little while but that we will be back on track very soon AND more importantly I wanted to acknowledge someone (besides my family) who has been pivotal in helping me work through my self doubts and take this big leap of faith with this new business venture..

Her name is Julie and she is my business coach.

I haven't ever had a business coach before so it's been quite a novelty to have someone motivating to talk to, someone to encourage and guide and advise and Julie seemed to pop into my life at just the right moment. Julie owns Sassii Coaching and has helped me to move forward with my ideas and turn them into reality.

Each session she gives me a little set of tasks to complete before the next session so that I continually move forward instead of getting stuck in the one place (which I have a tendency to do!!!) And I tell you what, there's a bit of a flurry of activity the night before my next session to make sure I have done all my homework Julie set me the week before!!! I do like to work right up to a deadline!!!!

If you head on over to Julie's site I just noticed my little testimonial is featured on the front page today - woo hoo!!

Over the next week or so I hope to start revealing what I've been up to and I thank all my lovely regulars for being so patient with me...

Meet The Support Team - Sheree Forcier

------Sheree Forcier------

1.      What craft do you like to do curled up on the sofa in front of the tv (if any).

Lately I’ve been hand stitching hexagons and doing a little crochet…both perfect ‘on the couch’ projects that I love to do.

2. Is there a craft you would like to try?

I’ve always wanted to try quilting and I’ve recently started on my first ever quilt.  It’s a simple design but I’m learning a lot along the way!

3. What's your earliest crafty memory?

I think it would be making my own Barbie clothes out of scraps of fabric and old t-shirts. 

4. Have you always been crafty?

Definitely!  As a little girl I loved playing with a toy sewing machine that I got for Christmas one year…and I’ve tried a few different crafts since then.

5. What other crafts have you dabbled in?
I did cross-stitch for years before I discovered scrapbooking but I’ve also had fun with tapestry, embroidery, sewing, knitting and crochet.

6. Do you consider yourself arty or crafty or a bit of both?

I don’t think I’m very arty so I’d have to go with crafty.

7. Where do you get your craftiness from? Does it run in the family or are you the only crafty person in your family?

I remember both my Nannas creating the most beautiful crochet blankets, doilies, etc.  My Mum has always sewed and now loves stamping and dabbles in scrapbooking too.

8. Finish this sentence.."I am most happy surrounded by...."

...family, friends and something crafty to work on.

9. What crafty or arty projects are you working on right now?

I’ve got a few things on the go at the moment…crochet squares for a blanket,  my first ever quilt and I’ve got an unfinished scrapbook page sitting on my desk.

 
10. Who would you love to sit and chat and create with ..if you could choose three people?

Oooh that’s a hard one!  I always love a good chat and craft session with my close friend Melanie, but there’s quite a few online friends I’d love to catch up with again or finally meet in person.  I don’t think I could narrow it down to only three!

Here's a peek at Sheree's FIRST ever quilt..beautiful!!

Sheree's @Home Gallery
Sheree's Blog

we are opennnn

We officially opened the registration doors to our brand new MAKE IT classroom late yesterday. I was dragging the chain trying to get the handout finalised but it's now all done and ready for viewing...

Introducing a fun paint-y, stitch-y, arty type layout online class...

PAINT IT

We take you STEP by STEP through the process of creating your own arty type layout, showing you techniques you will be able to appply to other layouts and projects!

We do some white washing and watercolour painting...and layering, stamping and a little bit of stitching (if you want to)

The Support Team girls experimented too and I LOVE their so very different interpretations of the class. Here's a peek at Lisa's layout sample..

Our online classes are very easy to follow and I am always there to answer any questions you may have. And what's more, you can create when YOU want to as the classroom is open around the clock...enter the online virtual clasroom any time that is convenient for you.

Looking forward to *seeing* you in the PAINT IT ONLINE CLASSROOM.

Make sure you check out our EARLY BIRD PRICE - for a limited time only so be quick!

a new workshop is in the wind...

We're putting the finishing touches to that new paint-y, art-y, stitch-y online class I showed a sneak peek for a little while ago. I hope to have details up on the site over the weekend and registration opening very soon.

I do love creating a class and then watching what the Support Girls come up with. They look at the class and interpret the project in their own way and I always marvel at how different the samples all end up looking.

Here's a sneaky peek of one of the additional samples.

Can you guess which Support Girl designed this one?

early bird pricing offer EXTENDED

Well as I am terrible at putting together a newsletter (because I have THE MOST frustrating newsletter system ever BUT thankfully I am in the process of changing over to something less frustrating to use!) and I have only sent out a quick email to my regulars about the new ALPHABET IT class AND the early bird price...

SO..

I truly NEED to do a newsletter TODAY to let all of my customers know about the class before the offer expires therefore I have extended the deal for two extra days so that it expires Saturday midnight 12/3/11.

So there's a few more days to take advantage of the offer. Click the image above to find out more about the class. We would love to *see* you :)

Two Weeks Off

So. Starting today, I will be taking a two week break from the @Home site. Read my post below for the reasons why:)

You can still book into any of our classes. That side of things will keep ticking along without any disruptions. But I may not answer your emails as promptly as usual. And there won't be any new content uploaded for now.

In the meantime, I am thrilled to hand the blog reins over to my Support Team girls - Janelle, Mardi, Lisa, Yvette, Sheree and Mel who have a ton of ideas and things up their sleeves to share with you all over the next two weeks.

So keep on checking back to see what's going on.

I'll still be here but not online as much as usual and not actively working full time each day like usual. In fact, taking a break will feel a little weird - I'm not so good at doing nothing.

Handing over to Janelle now..oh and keep an eye on our facebook page for updates and to be kept in the loop:)

 

A weekend to remember

I spent more time in hospital over the weekend.

I wasn't expecting to. I had been feeling ok. Tired I guess but then it was back to school and work and BUSY and the heat had been unbearable. But I didn't feel all that bad. And I knew I wasn't quite back to normal after being so sick between Christmas and New Year. But I thought I was ok.

But then a migraine hit on Friday night and while I stemmed the brunt of it by taking Nurofen in time, I still ended up with dreadful nausea, vomiting and feeling revolting in such a short space of time. I went downhill so quickly. Too quickly.

So back up to the hospital we went as I didn't feel I was getting any better..

I have been to hospital 6 times now since Christmas. I didn't even get back here to talk about my first round of hospital trips which happened between Christmas and New Year. Basically, then,  I had a succession of stuff happen starting with a plain old cough after having an everyday cold... that turned into a worse cough that turned into me coughing so badly I pulled all the ligaments and tendons in my rib muscles!!! The rib pain was so intense I was in agony. I then had asthma, a violent reaction to some pain meds (note to self - I am allergic to panadeine forte but it did take away the rib pain so that was one plus), a combination of asthma drugs that caused anxiety (not good when you are anxiety prone anyway!!), blood tests, xrays on my ribs (nothing broken - phew), reflux from the asthma and coughing, vomiting and dehydration. 

Eventually my GP reopened after Christmas so i could finally go and see him and by that time it was early January and I had then developed Bronchitis. So after three courses of antibiotics and reflux meds, I felt I was healing - albeit slowly, but at least I could feel I was improving. But still I wasn't really improving as quickly as I should have been.

Anyway, I don't want to make this a looong story but the weekend hospital trip revealed I was severely rundown and dehydrated and I hadn't recovered properly from my earlier sickness... I was given anti nausea meds and three bags of fluids, electrolytes and other stuff, more blood tests and told to take two weeks off from work, exercise and netball etc. I'm not even supposed to go for a walk but I negotiated that one and they said as long as its gentle walking that is fine.

TWO WEEKS OFF! From work. That will be interesting!