Inspired by... A Playful Day podcast

I've been listening to A Playful Day podcast for just over a year, I adore my weekly date with this podcast and it has become one of my favourite things to listen to. There are very few British podcasts that I listen to that I love so much and that I am really inspired by. With season one of the new-look podcast recently completed, I thought it would be a great time to share it with you so that you can catch up on the wonderful content over this rainy May bank holiday weekend.

A Playful Day is created by Kate, a talented blogger and podcaster who has recently moved from London to Dorset. Until the end of last year the podcast was focused mainly around knitting and yarn based chats, with monthly themes around making and creative process. Kate decided to take a short break away at the end of last year to rethink her podcast and change things a little. Relaunching her podcast in March, with a fresh new look and feel, the focus of A Playful Day podcast has now widened and contains some of the most brilliant content that I've listened to for a long time, they are subjects that are close to my heart too.

During season one Kate has been interviewing creative people, finding out about their process, the projects they are making, their small businesses, and discovering how they got to where they are. It's fascinating to hear about how people have started their creative businesses and what they are inspired by. There's still the occasional knitting and handmade chat which I adore, with the addition of wonderful recipes and updates on Kate's life. It's a podcast that I listen to on my walk to work, and also one that I will snuggle down with a mug of tea and a blanket and soak up over a weekend.

Kate is very much in touch with living a creative and sustainable lifestyle and her podcast now reflects even more of her story. By covering these different subjects Kate has really carved her own niche podcast, and having met her in person at Blogtacular last year, is as wonderful, honest and genuine in person as she sounds on her podcast. Kate has a fantastic voice to listen to and someone who loves her life and what she does. Kate bravely started a wonderful new creative adventure with her business and I feel very inspired by her. I would love it if you could take a listen to A Playful Day podcast, it will bring warmth, inspiration and brightness to your day.

Getting creative with my DSLR camera

Last Sunday I went on a photo walk as part of the Worldwide Instameet. I joined around 20 others in Bristol who love using Instagram. Waking up on Sunday morning I felt nervous but excited to be getting involved. We all met at St Nicholas Market in central Bristol and were lucky to be greeted by a morning of wonderful weather, fantastic light and surrounded by enthusiastic photographers. I was so glad to see a group of people had formed by the time I had reached our meeting point. There were familiar faces that popped out from the group too which was comforting. The plan was to take photos of the details of Bristol that people may not normally see or associate with the city and upload them to Instagram with the hashtags #WWIM12 and #igmeetbristol_details.

We spent over an hour wandering round central Bristol looking for inspiration and things to photograph to illustrate our theme of Bristol details. I've never been given a photography brief before and I had a lot of fun trying to capture it. I spotted so many things I had never seen in the city before. Early on in the photography walk my phone battery started dying very quickly so I tentatively got out my DSLR camera. I have a touch and go relationship with my camera, some days I manage to get it to capture what I want it to, but other times I fail, especially when taking photographs inside.

I got into the swing of taking photos with my camera and really enjoyed the quality time being creative. I felt a real flow of creative energy as I walked around. I really loved using my camera again.

My Nikon D80 camera was set on the auto setting to give me chance to really focus on the images I wanted to take and think about composition. Just by picking up this camera again I felt energised and know that I will pick it up more and eventually get off the auto setting once again.

I enjoyed the morning so much that I wanted to share with you a few of my favourites photos here.

Discovering the details really made me connect to the city in a different way, exploring the beauty and colour that we can find.

At the end of the photo walk we all met up in Cosy Club Bristol, a stunning and beautiful location on Corn Street. We drank coffee and chatted to each other getting to know everyone a little more.

By taking just a few hours out of my normal Sunday routine I managed to take away a few key things from the experience.

The morning showed me that looking for the details of things around me each day that we take for granted can be a fun way to connect to places and get an alternative view of the space. There is so much beauty in the things around us, even in an urban environment, and we don't have to head out to the countryside to take photos.

It reminded me that taking a step out of my comfort zone and doing something new is energising and an experience I do really enjoy, even if I feel a little nervous beforehand.

For me one of the biggest take aways was reconnecting with one of my very favourite hobbies, photography. My love of taking photos and capturing details pushed me to start this blog. Picking up my DSLR camera after a break away from using it made me realise how much photography means to me.

Thank you to Laura, from the beautiful blog Circle of Pine Trees, and Lou from Little Green Shed for organising the event. It was lovely meeting you both and talking photography. I'm very grateful for the experience last Sunday as it got me back in a photography flow once again.

The year of change...a new chapter begins!

I love autumn, a season of change and the chance to learn something new. The year so far has brought plenty of changes in my life and it is now about to change even more…

In January I put my job and career on hold for three months and went travelling. It had been an important goal of mine for a number of years. During the trip I went out of my comfort zone, took on new challenges and saw so many fantastic places. Whilst I was away I had time to reflect, being away from my normal routine and the city I have lived in for 10 years. Every day of my trip I gained a new perspective of what the day to day could hold and discovered a real appreciation of what made me happy.

Being away from home I realised that my job does fulfil my need for new experiences and challenges. I love the working environment I’m surrounded by every day, however something big is missing in my life. This is the opportunity for me to be creative, to have real hobbies and interests that make me tick.

I want to change that and it got me thinking...when I was younger I enjoyed dabbling in creative hobbies, however I let my interest in them slide to other choices I made. I rarely gave myself chance to flourish creatively…So in April I came back refreshed from my trip and started thinking about the next chapter in my life.

After a summer of getting my head together, I have made a decision to embark on a set of new goals to challenge myself. I want to reinvigorate my passions that I had but put on hold, clear out the clutter in my life and start something new. I want to learn new creative and practical skills to grow into a queen of domesticity! My aims and goals are to teach myself new crafts, build on my passion for interiors and home styling, learn to be a great gardener and become a brilliant baker!

I hope that through The Pink Button Tree I will be able to share with you my journey of learning crafts, home styling, gardening and baking. Each week I hope to bring you updates on my projects, my thoughts, my tips and my inspirations.

This autumn change is happening…I’ve planted a new seed into my life and I hope you will join me as I grow my passions and start creating. I’d love for you to follow me through this new chapter in my life and leave your comments.