twenty-four months

My little girl turns TWO in less than two weeks (and time flies by...). On the weekend she was very lucky to receive an early birthday present from her auntie and uncle. It included this gorgeous wall hanging/mobile:

Isn't it so pretty and girlie?! Her auntie sells these in her etsy shop masalachai and although she hasn't had any sales from etsy yet, she has had loads of orders from friends (I think that's why her shop's empty at the moment!). They are really sweet little things and Emily's looks so pretty in her room - what a lucky girl!

Now I have to put my thinking hat on to decide on what sort of special birthday cake to make for my girl ... stay tuned!!

Shadow Shot Sunday # 17

I love these spring mornings with the big and boundless sky ; the blue goes on forever.

This lovely old tree lives at the top of the hill. It has little holes in it where the parrots and cockys nest.

Thank you again Hey Harriet for inspiring so many people to take joy in the simple magic of shadows! Check out the other SSS participants here at Hey Harriet.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Bronty Baby

This week I needed to do something else; not related to my etsy shop, or getting ready for markets, or thinking about work, or cleaning the bathroom (eek!). So, inspired by one of my boy's drawings (I do so love young children's drawings - such candor and innocence!) I set about making a little softie - his name's Bronty ... because he's a brontosaurus (can you tell?!)

He has already made himself at home, as you can see playing with a puzzle!
The original drawing is of a brontosaurus and a triceratops eating a tree; you can see the long neck of the brontosaurus and the three 'horns' on the other one with a large leafy tree in between! I then adapted this gorgeous creature into a paper pattern for the softie.

I used an old sheet with a delightfully-coloured flower pattern on it as well as some plain green for his face, 'spot' and tail. I love him! ... and he may just turn out to be a prototype for more little 'Brontys'!!


*PS The lovely Leah from Moxie Photo and Design featured little ol' me on her blog a few days ago! Check it out the post here. Also take a look at her great etsy shops while you're at it! Thanks Leah!

Shadow Shot #16

Happy Spring Sunday everyone!
This week's shot was taken on my morning walk to catch the train this week. I love the early mornings, particularly now that spring is here; the air is so clear and the sky seems so big. And I love my walk to the station - it's like this little avenue of trees all the way ... and I have my iPod on so I can block the busy road right alongside me!

Head on over to the fabulous Hey Harriet for more Shadow Shots!
Happy Sunday!

Arty weekend

The students' exhibition at school was a success! We had such an easy time hanging and displaying it all only to have a power black-out on opening night!! A dark art exhibition is not such a good thing, but the drink was still flowing and people still munching on the delicious food! While it was looking a bit worrisome for a while with Art teachers carrying around torches waiting for the 'emergency lighting' to fail, the lights did come back on eventually and the night was a very busy and happy one!

One of my year 7 'nests'
It's such a relief knowing that it was a success. It was also lovely watching the parents come in to admire their child's work and then comment on how great it is!

A lovely giraffe from the junior school


The students' works looked fantastic; from the monsters that the Prep kids made right through to the beautiful drawings and other works of the seniors.

One of my year 8 artist's books on the theme of 'metamorphosis.

Stitches

In a busy, not particularly nice week, I've been looking for the little things that make me happy. Last night I sat down to do the little stitches around a nightie I made for my girl - sweet blue like her eyes! This made me happy. I made a rubber stamp of the little bird (a willie-wagtail) and stamped it onto a white fabric circle, added a floral and blue circle and stitched them all on.


Next Friday is my students' exhibition at school - many, many works (from prep to year 12!) and lots to do! So I've been busy preparing work, sorting name tags, mounting works ... Here are two little 'stitched drawings' from my clever year 7s - the idea came from this experiment I blogged about a while ago. Their images came from close-up drawings they did of plants.

Tomorrow I have my St Williams market (at Dawson Pde Grovely) and my littlest nephew (7 months old) coming for a visit. This will be a nice end to a not so nice week. Here's to the weekend!

PS head on over to TwinkleStarArt's blog for your chance to win one of Amanda's gorgeous prints ... hurry, you've only got 24 hours left!!

Shadow Shot #15

The Jan Power's market today at Blackwood St was a successful morning for me - lots of 'admirers', some customers and a great vibe. Hopefully I'll go back next month, that's if they don't up the stall fees again (not too happy with the lack of prior warning!). Anyway, it was fun - it's always nice when others like your handmade work enough to pay money for it! My picture of my market table is a bit hard to see because of the bright sun and the shadows ... could've been my shadow shot for this week!

My 'Little Jellies' loved their sunny outing, a couple even found new homes! Happy.

My Shadow Shot for this week is of my new market umbrella (pretty green, brown and blue stripes) with dappled leaves shadowed on it against the hot blue sky. (The light 'glare' on the brolly is actually a stripey glitch in the camera ... might have to invest in a new one!)

Visit the amazing Hey Harriet for more details about Shadow Shot Sunday and for other great shadow shots!

Happy Sunday!

Beautiful Images

I just wanted to share this gorgeous site with you; 'Gracia + Louise' are a pair of Melbourne artists who make the most beautiful things (artist's books, zines, collages)!

Their images; the juxtaposition of the different elements and the materials really speak to me - love it!


Other gorgeous, but completely different images can be found at TwinkleStarArt. Browse through her etsy shop and then head on over to TwinkleStarArt's blog for your chance to win this gorgeous 'Beep Beep' print!


Enjoy your weekend!