hello holidays

The rabbit & the duck are packing their bags today as tomorrow they are heading off for a couple of weeks holiday in Bali. They are looking forward to a much needed break and some warm weather and sunshine : )

We'll be shutting up shop for approximately 2 weeks, and will reopen on Friday November 4 - just in time to start your Christmas shopping. Eek! Is it almost that time again?

See you soon!

keeping it simple part 2: the challenge

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Sitting at a sewing machine gives you lots of time to think : ) My thoughts have now turned to modern technology, and how easy it is to be distracted by things. Every 5 minutes I feel the need to check my email, or to see the latest Facebook status updates, or catch up on some blogs. When do we find time to be alone with our thoughts when there are so many other things competing for our attention?

This brings me to the 'Keep it Simple' challenge : )

Can you give up your technology fix for one day? For me, it will be the laptop. For you, it might be your mobile phone. Or the TV. I haven't had a TV in my home for the past few years and it's been great, but I fear my addiction to my laptop has just replaced the time I used to spend in front of the box....

Anyhow, what things could you do instead of sitting in front of a screen? You could:

• Read a book.
• Do some gardening.
• Take a bath.
• Play a board game or do a jigsaw puzzle.
• Cook dinner, and eat it at the dining room table.
• Go for a walk.
• Visit some friends.
• Work on that craft project you've been meaning to finish for months.

I'm going to do the challenge tomorrow, but you could pick any day. If you decide to have a go, I'd love to hear what you did in the comments section below.

Good luck and have fun : )

keeping it simple

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It's Saturday morning. The birds are chirping. The sun is occasionally showing itself from behind the clouds. I sit inside at my sewing machine, with a cup of tea and a cookie by my side and some lovely music playing. Everything is calm, within and without.

And I think to myself... why can't every day be like this? Most days I'm rushing about in a state of stress and anxiety, thinking a million things at once. Will I get enough work done? How many bills will I need to pay this month? Why does my back hurt so much? How am I ever going to get everything done that I want to do? I know it's counter productive to think like this but when you're in the habit of doing so it's a hard habit to break!

Lately I've been thinking of ways to simplify my life to give just a little bit of mental and physical space to get on top of these things. I've dreamed of moving to the country and living in a yurt : ) But I've realised it's not about how simple your life is or how many things you need to maintain. It's about the internal simplicity - learning to quieten the mind and teaching it to think positive things rather than jumping to the negative all the time.

So, I will take a deep breath and try to live more in the present moment. I will be kind to myself. I will catch myself when the negativity creeps in and focus more on the positive. I will be grateful for all that I have.

I will eat my cookie and drink my tea and smile : )

Happy weekend x

multi tasking

Here at Rabbit & the Duck we love to multi-task. If only I could be in 2 places at the same time just imagine how much would get done....

Well, we're excited to announce that come the first weekend of November, the seemingly impossible will happen.... while I'm busy in the studio in Melbourne getting things ready for the Christmas season, the lovely team at Blue Caravan will be showcasing a selection of Rabbit & the Duck products on their stand at the Finders Keepers market.

You'll find our favourite snap wallets, phone pouches, and pencil cases for sale as well as some of our special Christmas gift tags. Hooray!

Set of 6 Christmas gift tags, available now in our Made It store.

october deal: snap to it!

We had so much fun with our phone pouch deal that we've decided to do it all again - this time with our favourite snap to it! wallets. We have a limited number of wallets available at half price - hooray!

The fine print...

- There are 20 snap wallets available at the special price of $12.50.

- This offer is available worldwide. A small charge of $3 will be added to your order to cover postage costs.

- Click the 'Buy Now' button below to purchase this offer.

- If the button is no longer working, it means the offer has sold out.

- Please let us know which wallet design you would like. You can view the designs over at our Made It store. You will be able to leave a note when checking out.

movie monday: mildred pierce

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On a friend's recommendation, last night I settled in to watch Mildred Pierce, a 5 part mini-series set in the 1930's. I was hooked within the first 30 seconds as I watched Mildred (in a very fetching apron) bake a lemon meringue pie and a chocolate cake while a soundtrack of 1930's music played. Outside you could hear the whirr of a lawn mower, which also got me a bit excited. Lawn mowing? Exciting? Yes.... After moving into a house with a yard, I now have lawns to mow. On the weekend I bought my first lawn mower (it's red!) but I still need someone to give me a lesson on how to use it. So seeing someone mow their lawns, even if only in a movie, gave me the enthusiasm I needed to get outside and do mine.

Anyhow, I am now very sidetracked.

I've only watched Part 1 of the series but am already looking forward to the remaining episodes. This may or may not have something to do with the fact that Guy Pearce will soon appear and that I think he is a little bit spunky.

Oops. Sidetracked again!

I hope everyone has a lovely week x