Coffee Filter Craft

I've been asked by a few people about the decorations that we used for my daughters 21st birthday last year; in particular the 21 sign. 
 
To be honest, the final design was nothing like the original brief that the girls wanted.

When I sat down with them to go over their plans, the first option was a feature wall totally covered with fresh white flowers.  Hmmm, unfortunately this did not fit within the budget, so they needed to be more creative in their ideas.

The second option presented was a feature wall totally covered with fresh hydrangeas.  I was pretty impressed with their case, considering the plan was to pick the hydrangeas roadside because they are everywhere on the side of the road were we live.  Unfortunately the birthday was in the middle of winter so hydrangeas via roadside was not an option.

The third option was artificial flowers, store brought ready to glue onto the feature wall.  Turned out, this was a more expensive option than having fresh brought flowers.

The fourth and final option was to create their own artificial flowers.  A much cheaper but more importantly, a more creative option.  Now to find the materials.

When we cleaned out the shed to make room for the party, we found an old sheet of chipboard and a piece of polystyrene which the girls used as the base and cut out the numbers.

With the help of their father, the numbers were secured to the boards, however not fully flush to the board because they wanted fairy lights behind the piece. 

Now for the flowers.  A quick search on pinterest was needed and they found an easy way of making the flowers using large commercial coffee filters, hot glue and existing paint that was watered down.

The instructions said to fold the filters into quarters and cut into shape, but the girls simply played around with them until they got the look they were after using approximately 6 filters per flower, then twisting the bottom of each flower to keep it all together.

The instructions also showed the girls how to dye to flowers prior to forming the shape, however the girls improvised, dabbing watered down paint onto the edges of the flowers.  As the filters absorb easily, there was very little paint needed.

The flowers then needed time to dry, which gave us time to give the chipboard a quick coat of black paint.  

Then it was time to glue them onto the numbers and add the fairy lights.

I have very impressed with the final product, and the effort the girls put in to making a creative, affordable option that went so well with all the other decorations for the party.

 Happy living peeps!

 

#pikitiaotera

For xmas I received a gift from my very good friend Sheryl Peters.  It was a memory jar, which basically is a large jar containing a couple of post it note pads, a pen  The idea is to capture a memory, then at some stage in the future, you open the jar and reflect back.  I thought this was such a wonderful idea!  

Over the xmas break I decided to introduce some innovation to my gift by creating #pikitiaotera on my social media accounts which captures the context of Sheryl's gift.  Why?  Firstly, I am not carrying the jar around with me!  Secondly and more importantly, someone told me that 2017 would be a year for opportunities for me, so I wanted to see just how many  moments I am able to capture ... using pictures which speak 1000 words.  Here's a snapshot of a few that I have captured.

 

I admit that I am not capturing a pic everyday, however I am enjoying the challenge.

Follow me on instagram #bungnut, snapchat #bungybut (not that is not a typo), twitter @bungynut or my facebook page Live Love Learn @bungynut.

Happy living peeps!

 

I'm Back .... So What Have I Learnt?

I can not believe it has been early four months since I last blogged!  Reflecting on my last post, I can honestly say that my MBA journey consumed my year particularly the last six months. 

On the last weekend of study, we were required to reflect on our leadership development during the MBA.  I focussed on four learnings that resonated with me throughout the year and as a result, I presented on four types of leadership;   one of which was collarborative leadership.

The learning that resonated with me for collaborative leadership was delivered in my high performing teams paper by our lecturer Yvonne O'Brien when she stated 

"There is no such thing as a dysfunctional team, only a dysfunctional leader".

Without getting too heavy into the topic of high performing teams, this resonated with me for a number of reasons.  Firstly, every individual is a leader in terms of their own behaviour and choices in life.  For example, if you make yourself accountable for what you are responsible for, the right outcomes will be achieved, particularly when it involves a group of people such as a project team, sports team or work environment. 

Secondly, absolute trust is the fundamental foundation of creating a culture within team.  With absolute trust, you are able partake in constructive conflict where open conversations can occur without the threat of implications or consequences.  In addition, authenticity compliments absolute trust; when a person is authentic, then "what you see is what you get", therefore people are able to relate to you better.

Lastly, a leader creates and manages the culture in which they want.  For example, if a manager wants a culture where their staff can work collaboratively and feel valued, then creating and managing a culture where "it's their way or the highway" is not the right approach.  Furthermore, exclusion of people is also not the right answer and neither is telling people what to do.

In conclusion, I am very happy of my massive effort of study.  On the morning after submitting my last assignment, the immense workload I had just achieved hit me.  11 papers over 36 weeks which included 40 assignments.  Over and above this, it included 18 weekends of staying away from my whanau.

Year two of my MBA journey starts in April 2017 and my intention is to reground myself by relaxing, reflecting and enjoying my time with my whanau; all while enjoying the view along the way.

Happy learning peeps!

I'm Still Here, I Promise

Far out!  It has been a very long time since I posted anything on my blog and I have received feedback that people are concerned I've stopped all together.  Rest assured, I have not.  It has just been a very busy year, which has seen me enter into a new kind of learning journey - my MBA.  This is my first year of a two and a half year journey and although it is definitely challenging, it is enjoyable and very fulfilling.

So to give some context, I enrolled in the University of Waikato and chose to study with the programme delivered through Waikato-Tainui College back in February this year.  My cousin Marian had enrolled in the last class, and she inspired me to take on the challenge.  In fact, if I am to be totally honest with myself, she asked me to enrol with her, and like many others given that choice, I took the “I’m too busy” option.  Two years later, I am listening to Marian deliver a speech at the annual Raupatu dinner, feeling so proud of my cousin’s achievements, when it hit me.  “Idiot! I should have done it”.  Over the next few days, I reflected on that decision and was overwhelmed by another decision I made, over the same journey.

18 years ago I was given the same opportunity from my manager at the time to complete an MBA.  At that time I struggled with the concept of investing in myself, over investing in my family and it definitely wasn't an easy decision to make.  My wonderful husband has always been very supportive of my career and development, but costs at that time was enough for a deposit on a house with additional means to decorate.  After careful consideration I felt the best decision for my family was to get our first home, and to date, it is a decision I have never regretted.

Reflecting on my second decision to postpone my MBA journey, I came to a cross road again.  Sometimes it is easier to brush off a huge challenge with the reason of “being too busy”.  Although my life was VERY busy when Marian asked me to join her on her journey, I came to the conclusion that if I am truly living, loving and learning throughout life, then my life will only get more demanding as the years go by. In 2016, the cost is still enough for a deposit on a first house, although in today’s economy, it won’t be in Auckland, Hamilton or in Ngaruawahia for that matter.  I just needed to bite the bullet and decide whether this is something I truly wanted to do and if so, just do it!

To date, I am thoroughly enjoying my new challenge.  Particularly deciding to study through the Waikato-Tainui College, and especially given that this programme demands the delivery of indigenous learning concepts.  This presents its own challenges for a MBA programme which is traditionally built around mainstream concepts and research.  There is an interesting debate on whether these concepts are relevant in today’s world, and my belief is that they are.  The maori population continues to grow and the maori economy will only get larger as time progresses.  If we, as a people, truly take our future seriously, we need to understand what that means today and tomorrow, then implement our own business concepts that are relevant to us.    They shouldn’t be copied from ideas and structure that is based through a non-maori lens.

I have formed some great friendships with my fellow colleagues taking the same challenge.  We have quickly shaped into a whanau who feed off each other in order to succeed.  More importantly, when times are tough, they provide me with the motivation to get over myself and get the job done.  What truly fascinates me, is seeing the evolution of knowledge and the growth occurring, not just for me, but within my fellow classmates and our tutors.  The environment that we are in at the college helps me tremendously to enable that to happen, because to me, it is an inspiration to always challenge myself to learn more, even when I may think I already know everything.

 

The view from my room when I'm in MBA study

Although I am not finished my MBA journey, I do feel compelled to shout from the rooftops.  If anyone is thinking about an MBA, then I highly recommend looking to do it at the Waikato-Tainui College.  The journey is absolutely 150% challenging and definitely tests your critical thinking, but the enriched learning you receive is truly uplifting.  When comparing feedback from people who are studying their MBA through the Waikato University campus, quite a few have stated that had they known about the college, they would chose that programme because the environment provides a sense of belonging and purpose.



Now when I reflect on my decision to decline the offer to study with my cousin Marian, I believe I still made the right choice.  It has empowered me and my cousin to create our own success and experiences as individuals, and although she has completed her MBA journey, mine is still on track. 

Happy learning peeps!