Author Archive

Pinterest Love – how to get started.

15 Feb 2012 by

It being the week of Love and all, I decided that this would be a perfect time to blog about Pinterest. For those of you that know what I’m talking about, I’m sure you’ll agree that this might be one of the greatest things in Social Media since sliced bread. Pinterest is basically an online pin board where you can pin images from all over the Internet for your own inspiration and also to share with other pinners… Trust me on this one, if you have one millimeter of creativity in you you’ll want to check out Pinterest. (The site registered 7 million unique visitors in December 2011).

How to get started.

1) To get an account on Pinterest you need an invite. You can either do this via the site (and they should get back to you in a day or so) or you can email me and I’ll be more than happy to send you an invite.

2) Once you’ve got your account you’re ready to start pinning (make sure your username is as close to any of your other Social Media names to make it easy for people to find you) – our username is simply ‘jamtin’

3) In the simple steps that you’re given when opening your account, you’re given the option to add a ‘Pin It’ button to your tool bar – this is an important step and will allow you to ‘pin’ any images you come across while surfing the net and allows you to pin the image to one of your pinboards (and most importantly saves the link to the original site you’ve pinned from to enable you to revisit the original page just by clicking through the image on your pinboard).

4) Next you should create various ‘boards’ for ways to categorize your pins – ie, ‘handmade tutorials‘, ‘home inspiration‘, and ‘handmade gift ideas‘ to name a few of mine.  People who follow you can either follow you in your entirety or they may choose just to follow some of your individual boards, depending where their interests lie.

5) Now the fun starts – start finding people already on Pinterest to follow – this can range from friends that are already here (you can do a search via your Twitter or Facebook account), to also your favourite creatives – so many of your favourite bloggers will already be on Pinterest, and probably have a ‘follow me on Pinterest’ link on their blog or website. Alternatively, you can just browse the site and you’ll soon find people who have the same taste as you and you can follow their boards as you go. (and you’ll find people follow you back when they see and like what you are pinning. With all Social Media tools, the more social you are, the more followers you’ll have, and that’s just good for business!)

6) You can also like and comment on pins or boards – and as I was saying – since Pinterest is a Social Media tool, it’s always important to be social for it to be effective. Everyone likes to get a comment now and then :)

You may be asking why I’m telling you all about this – well, it’s two fold really. First, knowing that most of the readers here are super duper talented and creative people, I just know that you’ll find truck loads of inspiration, but Pinterest is also fast becoming a really important Social Media tool for businesses that you really shouldn’t ignore. Think of it as a “visual- word of mouth- viral” tool which shares images and products from your site. ie – it takes one person to pin an image from your site for literally 100′s or 1000′s of people to start repinning the image – all directing visitors back to your site (depending on the popularity of the image, or article, and also how many followers you have)…. think about it…

For a really great article that any creative from a small business should read, here’s the link to : “How Pinterest is Becoming the Next Big Thing in Social Media for Business” from the Entrepreneur.

Please shout if you have any questions on Pinterest. I’m still learning, but have been using it for a couple of months now on another account and just love what it’s done for my inspiration as well as the traffic that it’s driving to my site)

ps – here’s what one of my boards looks like…

 

 

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Bottled Sunshine

13 Feb 2012 by

I linked to this product recently on Facebook and had quite a bit of interest shown, so thought I’d blog on it and give you all a little more information on these amazing jars of ‘bottled sunshine’.

The official product description is goes along the lines of  ”A Solar-powered light, a safe energy alternative, which is safely housed in a Consol Classic jar, which provides a practical and attractive  casing for the functional product”.

I prefer bottled sunshine, as that really is what it is… I just love these jars and the different ways you can use them. I took two of these jars with us on a recent, rather disastrous,  camping trip (you can read all about it on my other blog), and have to admit it might have been the one thing that I actually got right (we forgot the tent pegs, a few essential items like cutlery etc etc and it rained and poured for most of the weekend!), but needless to say…. we had light, and sometimes when you have light in a darkish situation, things tend to get a little better! They really were a bit of light, I mean life saver on the trip for me! Anyway, enough of our camping trip… it’s certainly not the only time we use the lights. In fact there’s nothing nicer at the end of a day, the little monkey asleep in her cot, and we can settle down to a drink outside with prettyness sparking out of our solar light jars – hanging from the verandah.

They’re available  at the Consol retail outlets in Woodmead (Gauteng) and  Stellenbosch; or for more information you can visit the Consol Website, or their Facebook page.

ps – they also make a great gift in my books and for R120 each you really can’t go wrong!

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Category: Garden, gifts  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment

A handmade Valentine’s Day – make the love!

07 Feb 2012 by

There’s just no getting away from the fact that this time next week it will be Valentine’s Day… The day with so many expectations, so much money thrown at red roses and chocolates, and so much pressure – pressure for singles, pressure for couples, old and new, yes, I get it, it can be romantic, and it’s good to be reminded each year that every (surely every) girl loves getting roses and being spoilt, but seriously, I’m just a little over the pressure to splash out and spend your hard earned money, spoiling your someone special with something made in China… Let’s put some real love back into Valentines day and make something for your special Valentine…. I’ve no doubt that it’ll score more brownie points and loving on the day :)

Here are some suggestions that I could find… there must be about a million more though with a little bit of imagination…

Imagine presenting a treat like this for your love…. YUM how delicious does this strawberry jelly cheesecake look. (Follow the link for the recipe)

I don’t have the recipe for this one, but I’m sure the foodies out there will do it justice! Such a cute idea from Amy Atlas’s blog

Myself personally, would fall head over heals in love with this ribbon heart… seriously – you can’t go wrong with beautiful ribbons now can you! You can find some more creative heart ideas over at A Creative Mint

And perhaps my favourite (followed closely by those yummy Jelly Cheesecake things above!) would be to create your own Valentine’s Day Date night box – beat the packed restuarants, filled with every couple gazing into each other’s eyes, but staying at home and making sure you’ve got all her favourite treats near by and cuddle up on the coach with your favourite romantic movie, or with a board game or pack of cards, some good music in the background and high fives, happy valentine’s day all around :)

And for those who are running out of time I’ll try and get a post up in the next day or so for handmade gifts that you can buy from one of the many creative Jamtin listers!

 

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Category: Food, gifts, Inspiration  Tags: ,  Leave a Comment

DIY Handmade Napkin

23 Nov 2011 by

 

I have no doubt that there will be plenty of entertaining in the upcoming month as we lead up to Christmas, and I’m sure many of you are looking for different ways to decorate. How’s this for a beautiful place setting, and the best part is that the napkins have been handmade using a stencil and fabric paint. You can check the original post out here for more details.

Happy entertaining!

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Category: Inspiration, Things to make  Leave a Comment

I Heart Market

21 Nov 2011 by

If you follow Jamtin on Facebook, or Twitter, you might have seen us mentioning the I Heart Market once or twice before. Now I might be a bit biased on this market because I do of course know that there are many beautiful handmade markets scattered around the country, this is ‘my’ handmade market – the one I get to go to when ever I’m in town on the first Saturday of the month and so yes of course I feel a little bias towards it, especially when I’ve spend so much time oohing and aahing so many of the goods that are available.

Some of my favourites from the Market include (but by no means are limited to!)

Genevieve Motley – how stunning are these cuff links

 

And these brooches from her as well…

(And while we’re on Gen Motley, if you’re a mom, or going to be a mom, you might just love reading her series on “Raising Creatively” over here)

Beautiful art and design by Jen-Jen

Next up us Yummi – how much of cuteness is Ethan the Ellie? You should check out their website for their full  range of handmade toys.

More Yumminess from Yummi with their Decor Range.

And then you have to pop over to Olivia Villet to let your eyes slowly absorb her beautiful stationary, gift cards, wrapping paper amongst others…

Wrapping Paper (R10 a sheet)

Sticker sheet – R18 a sheet

Next up is The Little Mud Hut who makes a delicious array of amazing goodies, ranging from stamped pegs, gift wrapping, bunting, fridge magnets – seriously – just a whole lot of awesome made here.

 

 

I don’t wear much jewellery, but I do really love the jewellery from Starbright Girl

Ok peeps, I have to close off this post now, as it’s taking me so long getting distracted at every blog I visit…

All I can say is that this is just the tip of the I Heart Market iceberg… there are three markets coming up especially for Christmas on the 3rd, 10th and 17th December, at the Moses Madhida Stadium (Durban).

And remember

ps – I apologise to the lovely stall holders at the I Heart Market for not often saying hello as Jamtin… flip, the truth be told is that I’m just such a shy thing. I know, pathetic, but true!

 

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Category: Handmade, Markets  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment

Lister Love: Little Mud Hut

18 Nov 2011 by

The Little Mud Hut oozes with talent and creativity and just plain and simply beautifulness… I have so many of their goodies scattered around my home, from my very own personalized fridge magnets, pegs on my desk as well as in my ‘gift drawer’, bunting in my baby’s room and a heap more  scattered around…

Here’s some of what they create…

Fridge Magnets

A beautiful range of pegs with different words, different designs, different colours… (pegs are perfect for pegging post together, a book mark, wrapping a present in a paper bag)

Gift tags and wrapping

Bunting, beautiful bunting

And lastly, if you’re getting married and looking for gorgeous favours for your gits for for that extra special touch for your decor, who gorgeous are these….

The Little Mud Hut – perfect for so many occasions, from stocking fillers, to the decor at your wedding and everything in between.

You can email Venessa here

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Christmas Gifts in Jar

10 Nov 2011 by

I recently received a bunch of glass jars from Consol and they are truly beautiful to use for storage around our home. There are some in the kitchen, some in my office, one withbe jelly beans in (they don’t last long), some that are still empty cause I need to find things to store in them! With a few of these jars around at the moment I did think about using some to make some Christmas presents. What you think?

Love this gift idea for Cookies in a Jar. You can see the full post over at Make it Do, together with the free printables like the one on this jar, as well as a printables with the directions for baking.

And how about these labels for your mason jars that you give…  (Seen on Older and Wiser)

Or how about this cute sewing kit from The Paper Mama


 

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Category: Food, gifts, Handmade, Things to make, Tutorials  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment

Lister Love: Skaapie

04 Nov 2011 by

“Skaapie is a small friendly creative company that makes pure wool homemade felt products using local and natural materials. Our specially handcrafted felt toys are made in Cape Town, South Africa by talented people who love bringing wool to life.”

That’s the ‘official’ introduction that Skaapie uses on their Jamtin Listing… I think they could also add something along the lines of : “Bringing joy and cuddles to both  children and adults with their deliciously beautiful range of felt toys and decor that are made with love, by wonderfully creative people, for wonderfully clever people who know the beauty of a handmade goodie”.

Take a look at some of their range and tell me you’d be crazy not to add at least one of these to your Christmas wish list…

(View details here)

Love these monkeys (handfelted with 100% merino wool of course)

(More details here)

And what about this felt bunting

More bunting and mobiles here

And…how about these stunning cushions

I could go on for quite a while longer, but why not pop over to Skaapie’s listing on Jamtin where you can see the variety of products they have on offer, as well as their contact details for placing your order ;)

 

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Hosting a Craft Party

31 Oct 2011 by

A few of us friends get together every couple of months on a Saturday for a crafting day… Babies and kids are left behind with the Dads, craft bags are packed with scissors, double sided tape, glue guns and any other crafting accessories we need. Cupcakes are made, we’ve even had home made lemonade and biscuits brought as sustenance for the day, and it’s a full day spent chatting, creating and gathering inspiration from each other. Seriously, I’m such the novice amongst the group of creative ladies I’ve been clever enough to surround myself with – that’s my talent I bring to the group – choosing the right people to hang out with!

Now how cool is this invite for our next craft day!!!

 

(Image and idea from Lefrufru Blog)

And then I could use these craft party printables from Etsy, as seen on  Green Lily Designs

And anyone looking for some tips on how to host a craft part here are some from Living the Swell Life.. (Don’t be intimated by this list – this would be a uber uber craft party). In my opinion all you really need is a group of like minded crafting chicks, whatever you each want to bring from your craft cupboards, some inspiration from each other, some basic food & drinks and that should be more than enough for an amazing day that you’ll wish you did more often (hint hint to our craft club, it’s been a while!)

I’d love to know more about craft days that you host or attend?

 

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Kamersvol Geskenke

28 Oct 2011 by

I first heard about Kamersvol Geskenke probably 2 years ago now and have been in awe of the event from the first moment I lay my eyes on their website… So many talented and creative people, all selling handmade products; in a setting that is just too beautiful, with an attention to detail second to none.

The day finally arrived – bidding farewell to children and husbands, we  left our homes for Durban airport at 4.30am on Tuesday morning… (a 4am wake up for me should be some indication of my extreme excitement for our ‘Kamers Tour’). I’ll jump to the important stuff… we arrived at Lourensford Wine Estate bright eyed and bushy tailed, 9am sharp on Wednesday morning, not quite sure what to expect, but all three of us bursting with nervous excitement – we just knew what we were about to experience was going to be special – I’m happy to report that the reality of it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Our day was spent wandering through the tents, looking, touching, chatting to the stall owners, and of course buying!!! Leisurely cups of coffee in the tent, listening to toe tapping live music, adding to the ambiance of the occasion. Lunch with the backdrop of the mountains in the distance and then the attention to detail of the actual event. Bunting marking off the parking to welcome you, actually, bunting everywhere, ribbon strung from the roof of the tent, vendor caravans, roses, food stalls, oh, the list could go on. I can’t do it justice trying to explain our experience – it was exactly that – just the most amazing experience that I shall savour for a long long while… perhaps until Kamers 2012!

It brings such excitement to my heart to see such beautiful handmade products, such creativity, such beauty and the best part of it all – all handmade in our beautiful country.

Anyone in Cape Town or the surrounds would be crazy not to visit tomorrow (Saturday 29th October is the last day).

The good news for any Joburg and Pretoria people is that Kamersvol will be in Irene, at the The Open Window School of Visual Communication. 29th Nov – 3rd December 2011

Please visit the Kamersvol Geskenke website for more details.

Photos all from the Kamersvol Facebook page

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