do a bit

healthy party food...

2012-02-27T09:38:00.000+11:00

Gosh, I have a very busy week ahead of me! My little man will be turning three years old next weekend (I can't believe it) and we are having a little dinosaur party for him! I didn't realise how much there was to organise for this little party! I have been writing lists, buying bits and pieces the last few weeks... I'm on track, so far! I've been having fun testing out party food recipes for the last week... much to the delight of my partner and little man... not so much to the delight of my poor waist line!

:: my happy little taste tester :)

I made a small batch of rice crispies and marshmallow bars the other day. I don't have much of a sweet tooth but I nearly died of shock at how unbelievably sweet they were...Yikes!! I'm not sure I can put that on the party table, everyone may need to book an appointment with the dentist straight after the party! So, I have been looking for healthy alternatives. I will have a few yummy sugary things, after all it is a birthday party, but I would also love to have lots of healthy party food too!

So I was wondering what are your favourite, easy to make, healthy and yummy party foods recipes? I would love to know :)

my creative space: more knitting

2012-02-23T08:33:00.000+11:00

Gosh is it Thursday already... that week went way too fast! There seems to be quite a bit of knitting and crocheting going on around here lately! I think it's because it is easy to pick up and do at any free moment (5 minutes) in my crazy day! I can get quite obsessed with trying to find those precious minutes! :)

I saw these cute little knitted bunnies on pinterest by Dangercraft and thought I would have a go and knit something similar!

Source: dangercrafts via do a bit on Pinterest

I made up the knitting pattern as I went and knitted the body and ears in one piece. It was really easy and I loved knitting with these pastel colours that I got from my grandma.

:: little bunny in progress

:: what is really going on when I'm taking photos :)

:: hello cute little bunny :)

:: little bunny's pom pom bottom

The pom pom bottom helps little bunny stand up by herself! I love how little bunny turned out... so cute! Little bunny is off to the new home, a friend's lovely little girl (a belated birthday present)... hope she likes her new bunny!

I really love making these little knitted toys.. to much fun!!

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

my creative space: dinosaur amigurumi

2012-02-16T09:02:00.000+11:00

My little man is completely crazy about dinosaurs at the moment... I mean totally obsessed!! And when I saw this dinosaur crochet pattern on Amigurumi Patterns, I just couldn't help myself!

:: crochet dinosaur

I used the pattern as a guide. I used 8ply wool, used a 4.0 mm crochet hook and made a slightly bigger dinosaur! I also added the spikes on the back, I'm not sure if he's historically correct or there is an actual dinosaur that looks like that but it doesn't matter because my little man just loves his new dinosaur... ROAR :)

:: a bit of dinosaur love

I'm really enjoying learning about all the different dinosaurs! My gosh I can't believe that there were so many different and weird looking ones with names I can't possibly pronounce! Looks like I'm getting a second education through my little man :)

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

my creative space: little bunny softie

2012-02-09T14:45:00.002+11:00

This week, I have been doing lots of other things, getting out and about with my little man, bought a new large screen printing screen with squeegee (so excited), bought some t-shirts to screen print on and I've just been busy doing - I'm not sure what - but the week has flown by! So there hasn't been much time for doing anything crafty... bummer... and I'm really dying to do something soon or I might explode!

Last week, it was my neighbour's little girl's first birthday and so I got out the knitting needles and whipped up a little bunny softie! I couldn't help myself :)

:: knitting little bunny with some pretty colours

The pattern is from petite purl... in the past I have changed it slightly and made it bigger, see here. I knitted this little bunny from memory, mostly, then had to find the instructions when I got to the ears! I think I cast on a few more stitches for the body than I should have, so little bunny has ended up a little bit chubby and he does look a little cross but still very cute :)

:: a stripey little bunny

:: a stripey little bunny with a pom pom tail

My neighbour's little girl loves her new stripey little bunny... I love making these softies for the little ones :)

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

an apron for me :)

2012-02-07T14:57:00.000+11:00

Last week I caught up with my lovely, fellow crafty friend Jo from bubala... we had such a great time chatting about all things crafty while watching our little boys play together.. so much fun!

A while ago, I lent Jo a screen printing screen and squeegee, so she could have a go and experiment to see if she would like screen printing which she totally did and loves now... not surprising as it is really addictive! It's so wonderful to have someone to gibber gabber to about screen printing! Love it! Anyway, to my surprise, she made me a gorgeous apron as a thank you! How lucky am I :)

:: my little man is much better at modelling than me :)

It is so beautifully made and also has some of her gorgeous screen printed beetroot design on it too!

:: beetroot screen printed apron by Jo - bubala

:: beetroot apron - love the corner detail

I just love it! I haven't used it yet, I am enjoying looking at it on the back of the chair in the kitchen... but only because I don't want to mess it up... just yet! Don't worry Jo, I will use it! :)

There is more about her beetroot design here... and she has loads of great recipes too!

Hope you are all having a great week so far! xxx

my creative space: drypoint etching workshop

2012-02-02T19:10:00.002+11:00

I went to a free drypoint etching workshop with Rochelle Summmerfield today, which was run by the local council where I live and it was free. I was so excited when I got the email to say that I was in the workshop!

The workshop was great fun and I learnt a lot. We spent the first half of the day etching out the cardboard surface. I decided to keep it simple - rain drops and a cloud.

We etched our design on the cardboard. I made a bit of a "boo boo" on my design when I was pulling away the top layer of cardboard for the cloud, I accidentally also pulled off one of my rain drops and had to adjust my design and ended up with a few dark raindrops! If I had more time I would have redone the whole thing.. Oh well!!

:: etching on cardboard
(apologies for this bad photo)

Then we inked the whole design and then rubbed off all the excess ink - ink is left in the etched areas. We did our first prints on butcher paper to test the design and then we could adjust the etch if needed.

:: rain cloud prints on butcher paper

Unfortunately, my clouds didn't work out how I envisaged.. I was hoping for more texture but they ended up quite dark! But I don't mind it now :)

:: rain cloud detail

It was so exciting seeing my print for the first time... but even more exciting when I printed it on beautiful archival paper! Here are my finished prints...

:: rain cloud on archival paper - black

:: rain cloud on archival paper - paynes grey

I am so happy with how they turned out, especially considering it was my first go at drypoint etching! My favourite one is the paynes grey coloured etch.... the colour really suits the design so much!

It was such a fun day today and I just love learning new things! I would love to do this workshop again and I'm hoping they will run another one in the future!

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

some motivation... I think?

2012-01-31T15:05:00.000+11:00

I'm still in a bit of a creative "slump" at the moment! Just when I think I'm back on track, I go "slump" again! I'm not sure if it's because I have to many things whirling around in my head at the moment and I have no idea where to start so I feel a little paralyzed... It's driving me a little bit crazy!!!

I have been cruising around lots of creative blogs, looking for inspiration and motivation when I bumped into this!

Very interesting! I think.... it's motivating (?) or it could be a bit depressing, if you look at in another way? (oh dear... I have so much work to do!) But I suppose it's good to know that others go through the same thing too! And it's ok to have high expectations and a vision of the work that you want to create and make! Hmmm... well I better get on with it... I have a huge volume of work to do if I want to get anywhere! :)

Where do you find motivation and inspiration when the going gets tough? I would love to hear any ideas!

Hope you are having an inspiring week so far!

my creative space: chevron screen print

2012-01-26T22:23:00.001+11:00

I haven't had much time for being creative this week but I have had an idea rolling around in my head to make a bag with a chevron screen print which refused to be ignored.. you know those little ideas that wake you up in the middle of the night and won't let you get back to sleep... grrrr!! So I thought I better do something about it!

step 1: cut the stencil out

:: chevron stencil cutting

step 2: screen print the fabric

:: screen printing chevron light grey on charcoal fabric

That's as far as I have got so far... but least I have kept those midnight idea gremlins at bay and happy... for the moment... phew! I am looking forward to having a new bag soon...Thank you midnight gremlins :)

Oh and **Happy Australia Day** we had a such a great day at Hyde Park today, despite the rain! My little man got to meet Jimmy Giggle (a kids presenter here in Australia)... he was so excited and a little star struck... it was so cute! I printed this picture, framed it and hung it on his bedroom wall... he's one happy little man today :)

:: Jimmy Giggle and my little man having a chat

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

crackers... yum!

2012-01-23T08:52:00.001+11:00

I have been making lots of crackers lately... they are SO easy!! Warning... they are extremely moreish too! I got this great birdseed biscuit recipe from my lovely friend Jo from Bubala!

:: crackers with sesame seeds, poppy seed and cumin seeds

I had been meaning to make them for ages... so glad I did! I switched the butter for margarine (because of my cows milk allergy) and only put 1/2 tsp of salt. My little man loved helping and absolutely loves eating them too... bonus! I couldn't believe how easy it was.. needless to say we won't be buying crackers from the shop! Thanks Jo :)

Hope you are having a lovely Monday!

my creative space: wool before & after

2012-01-19T09:06:00.001+11:00

It's taking me a while to get back into creative mode.. my brain is still on holiday... but I'm getting there slowly! I had the urge to do some dying! My gorgeous grandma sent me loads of wool last year when she found out I was getting into knitting and crochet.. love her! There were 6 balls of a terracotta colour which is not really my colour so I thought I would have a go at dying them!

:: terracotta wool - before

I used iDye and mixed the colour gunmetal and half a packet of navy together to make a grey blue.

I prepared the wool by winding into a loops and tying them up, then placed them in the dye bath and gently move them around... I was so worried they were going to get into one gigantic tangled knot! I used boiling water and I think the wool has shrunk a bit but not too bad! I also went a bit crazy and rummaged around my wardrobe to see what I could re-dyed... just couldn't help myself :)

I had no idea what colour the wool was going to turn out like... I was thinking I might have gone a brown but to my amazement it went this gorgeous deep aubergine.. I am SO pleased!

:: aubergine dyed wool - after

:: aubergine balls of wool :)

Hmmm... now what can I make with 6 balls of aubergine wool..?

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

photography: assignment #1 "bad photos"

2012-01-18T07:58:00.004+11:00

I am joining in on a little photography course (online) from Stanford University which the lovely Halina from moments of a libra found! It's a great course so far! I have completed assignment #1 "bad photos" which just means get creative with exposure, movement, blurring, white balance and composition... so not "bad" really!

I took over 400 photos... yikes!!! A LOT of trial and error, but I had lots of fun experimenting and discovering what I can and can't/shouldn't do with my camera... I learnt a lot! I do love to experiment! I had such a hard time choosing only five photos.. I was really please with what I've done! :)

So here are my five photos for assignment #1 "bad photos":

:: 1 - poorly exposed - sunlight shining through blinds behind a red curtain

:: 2 - motion blurred subject - sunlight shining through blinds behind a red curtain

:: 3 - nothing in focus - trees and sky through mesh screen window

:: 4 - wrong white balance (shade) - bedroom ceiling light

:: 5 - poorly composed- travelling on a train

There are more photos from the group on flickr here! If you are interested in joining in, it's not too late as we are doing it at our own pace! There is more info over at Halina's blog here!

Hope you are having a great week... :)

this week...

2012-01-13T09:11:00.007+11:00

I have been busy enjoying doing other things...

I read this book.. a great book! I haven't read a book in ages... just haven't had the time! I love getting lost in a good book :) but I'm always really sad when it ends :(

drooled over this book I got for christmas: I just LOVE the illustrations and it's a cook book too! Daniella has such an inspiring story about her book too, read about it here :)

:: my abuela's table - daniella germain

:: my abuela's table - a look inside

made yummy things from this book: It's got some delicious summer salad recipes! Love bills recipes they are really easy to do and follow!

:: bill granger - open kitchen

painted a cute little card and made some heart ginger biscuits - with some help - for our 10 year anniversary! Can't believe it... it only feels like yesterday when me and my man had our first date... time flies when you're having fun :)

:: helping... eating the icing!!!

went to this wonderful exhibition at the MCA: recorders by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
It is totally interactive where you make the exhibition...literally! It's a must do if you are in Sydney and it's free! We had so much fun! I think we will have to go back again... LOVED it!

:: pulse index - my finger with M = my little man

:: people on people - me and my little man

not much crafting happening around here... it's nice to have a break and do other things! I'm sure I will back into it all again soon... I'm starting feel that itch to create!

Hope you are having a great week and doing lots of fun too :)

a spot of screen printing and sewing

2012-01-04T16:16:00.001+11:00

This week I have been busy making my little niece a cute little handmade doll for her birthday! I have been itching to make one from the hop skip jump pattern book for ages!

:: Violet from hop skip jump pattern book

I decided to make Violet... I didn't have the right colour fabric for her body, so I screen printed it and I also decided to screen print some mary-jane shoes for her too! I love that I can do that... just screen print what I need :)

:: screen printed fabric for body and mary-jane shoes

:: putting her together

The pattern instructions were really easy and straight forward, I put her together in no time! I changed a few things like the position of her arms, added some plaits (red wool) and made a pleated skirt (fabric from Ikea). I think she looks SO cute! I wish I have made an extra one for me :)

:: handmade doll finished

I also screen printed a little rainbow cloud t-shirt for my niece too.

:: screen printed - rainbow cloud t-shirt

I hope she loves her new handmade doll and screen printed t-shirt! It's so much fun making things for the little ones... I love it! :)

happy new year

2011-12-31T19:19:00.000+11:00

Wow... what a year it's been and it has gone so fast too, which doesn't surprise when I look back at what I have been up to! Phew.. I have been busy :)
It's been a big learning year for me... here are some of my favourite highlights of my creative year:

There was a lot of knitting and crocheting going on...

:: knitting and crochet

I did a lot of learning new things and relearning some old skills

:: watercolour and drawing course

There was quite a lot of screen printing and making things going on!

:: screen printing and making things

I really enjoyed learning how to use my new camera... I'm still learning :)

I am really happy with all that I have achieved this year and I'm really looking forward to next years creative adventures :)

Hope you all have a wonderful New Year!!

See you next year!

Cheers
Lamina xxx

christmas number three

2011-12-27T10:14:00.000+11:00

We had a wonderful Chrismas day, filled with friends, family, lots of yummy food (my poor belly) and of course... some lovely gifts! My little man had the best time, with all the excitement of Santa leaving gifts under the tree.. it was so much fun for all of us!

:: tackling the wrapping paper :)

Last week, I was a little busy making a few gifts for my wonderful mother-in-law Norma, who has a little miniatures blog make mine mini. I decided to make her two cushions but also make them in miniature (1:12 scale)! The two human size cushions are screen printed and the miniature cushions are ink jet printed using bubble jet set 2000 (to fix the ink)!

:: home sweet home cushion - big and small

:: home sweet home cushion - miniature (1:12 scale)

:: geo-flower cushion - big and small

:: geo-flower cushion - miniature (1:12 scale)

I had a lot of fun making them! I am so happy with how they turned out and Norma just loved them!

Well it's time for me to put down my screens and squeegee for a few days (at least) and put my feel up, pick up a good book and relax...but I'm sure my fingers will start itching to do something soon :)

Hope you are all taking a bit of time out and doing some relaxing over the holiday too :)

Merry Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T16:14:00.002+11:00

Thank you so much for all the support and encouragement that you guys have given me since I started my little creative blog back in May! I feel so lucky to have made so many wonderful bloggy friends...(you!!!) and who are a constant inspiration to me... thank you xxx :)

I'm looking forward to next year and all the wonderful possibilities it holds! I'm really looking forward to a bit of break over the next few weeks... though for me that means doing creative things! I'm hoping to some watercolour painting, sewing and more screen printing....yep I never stop :)

I just LOVE this years photo of Santa and my little man! He was a bit unsure of Santa at first, but soon was having a great time! Apparently, it's the first time that this Santa had been tickled by anyone and this is the photo just after a big tickle session.... it was hilarious! Who needs a perfect pose when you can have a gorgeous, funny photo like this! :D

:: my little man and Santa having a laugh

***Merry Merry Christmas***

I hope you all have a wonderful, happy and fun Christmas!!

Lots of love and best wishes

Lamina xxx

gingerbread men gift

2011-12-22T12:03:00.001+11:00

I'm having a lovely relaxing (sort of) few days before xmas... still a few things to do but there is no panicking going on here.... just yet :) I was a very happy chappy when I opened the mail yesterday and found these very cute little gingermen that the lovely Sian, from sian lile makes, handmade and sent to me.. I'm such a lucky duck :)

:: gingerbread men by sian lile makes

I just love them and so does my little man, he played with them for ages and now they are hanging out in our crazy christmas tree! Thank you so much Sian xxx

:: our christmas tree

I know our christmas tree does look a little crazy... decorating with a 2.5 year old can be lots of fun with some very funny/interesting results.. ha ha ha love it :)

a little cushion makeover

2011-12-21T08:40:00.002+11:00

I bought this really cute little dolls house furniture set for my sister's little girl, but I wasn't really loving the cushions that came with it! So I decided, in the midst of all the craziness last week, that I would give the cushions a makeover... Yes I am slightly insane! Not sure how I found the time but I did!

:: cushion makeover - before

I prepared the fabric by soaking it in bubble jet set 2000, ironed the fabric onto freezer paper and then using my ink jet printer, printed my little designs onto it and then sewed them up into cushions... it was very easy!

:: cushion makeover - printing

:: cushion makeover - sewing

Voila... new cute little cushions!!!

:: cushion makeover - after :)

And when you turn the cushions over...

:: cushion makeover - after

I had a lot of fun doing this little project. I used my own designs... did you notice the rainbow cloud, home sweet home and the cupcake designs? I printed different images on each side of the cushion so she can mix and match! I'm so please with how they look, they are so cute and my sisters little girl absolutely loved them :)

Hope your having a great Wednesday!

ps. I have done a guest post over at make mine mini about these little cushions... thanks Norma :)

christmas number two

2011-12-20T14:00:00.002+11:00

We just got back from four crazy, wonderful days in Melbourne for our christmas no. two with my family... pheeeeew!! We had such a great time but it wasn't long enough! I really wanted to get out and about in Melbourne but we only had time to hang out with the family... hopefully next year we will stay longer! Anyway, I can now reveal what I have been up to in the last week...

I tea dyed, screen printed and made a cute little tote bag in bright orange and sky blue. I used the stencils I had made for my little bird in hand which looks quite effective I think! I love how it turned out and now wish I had made two at the same time :)

:: tote - screen printing

:: tote - sewing

:: tote - arrows and crosses in bright orange and sky blue

:: tote - inside pocket

I made another "bird in hand". I really love the grey and raspberry colours together.

:: bird in hand - grey and raspberry

I tea dyed, screen printed and made another 'home sweet home" cushion. I forgot to take a picture of it finished... drat!

:: home sweet home cushion - grey and raspberry

Yep... I have been very, very busy! Everyone loved their handmade gifts... phew!! It felt so good to give something that I made... best feeling ever :)

I will share another cute little project I also did last week with you tomorrow!

Hope your are having a great week leading up to xmas and it's not to crazy! xxx

christmas number one

2011-12-15T06:36:00.001+11:00

It's still crazy busy around here... so much to do in so little time! Last Sunday we had a small pre-christmas and a birthday get together with family as a couple of them are going overseas for christmas... lucky ducks! We had a great day and my little man was getting quite excited about the whole christmas and presents thing... it was so cute!

Last week, I was very busy doing more tea dying fabric, screen printing and making cushions for one of the presents. I'm so pleased with how they turned out :)

:: home sweet home cushion

:: chevron cushion

My little man helped stamp some christmas paper.

:: christmas paper stamping

:: some messy little fingers

I made my very first rainbow cake!!! I didn't have time to do a stack of cakes, so I just layered the different colours "carefully" on top of each other.

:: rainbow cake mixture

:: my little helper/taster

:: rainbow cake YUM!!!

The cake didn't seem to rise very much... but I am really happy with my first attempt! And my little man LOVED helping out, being the helper/taster! There wasn't much left at the end of the festivities :)

Well better get back to it... I'm still super busy, lots more things to make and do :)

Hope you are having a great week and not to crazy busy :)

kris kringle swap update

2011-12-12T07:00:00.001+11:00

I received my lovely kris kringle swap the other day... the cutest little owl with bell eyes from Ruth (I don't know if she has a blog). My little man just loves the owl, he has been running around the house throwing it in the air saying Hoot Hoot! Too cute! I have to say she has been beautifully made, the choice of fabrics are just gorgeous... so pretty... I am very lucky! She is now sitting in our xmas tree feeling right at home :)

:: kris kringle swap - little owl from Ruth

Also, I am so thrilled that Jacqueline from Zippy Zippy recieved my little birdie I made for the kris kringle swap... she just loves it :) I also got a little mention over at The Haby Goddess in her "show and tell" post on her blog.... I'm so proud!

:: kris kringle swap - bird in hand

Hope you are having a great Monday :)

my creative space: screen printing, stamping and dying

2011-12-08T08:49:00.001+11:00

It's been a very busy week for me! Lots of little projects to do for xmas! My brain is a bit scrambled at the moment and I'm having trouble putting words together, so here is my week in photos... I have been:

:: screen printing tops

:: stamping - making xmas cards with my little man

:: tea dying fabric

:: making labels

:: lots more screen printing

Phew... and that it only the tip of the iceberg... next week is going to be even busier... Yikes!! :)

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

crazy busy times...

2011-12-06T15:13:00.000+11:00

It's all go go go around here lately, leading up to xmas... I have been screen printing like a maniac, which I will "show and tell" (without giving too much away) later in the week :) I did manage to get out on Saturday and go to the Finders Keepers market at the Carriageworks in Everleigh. Wow... talk about crazy busy... I loved it!!! It was great and really inspiring seeing so many creative people and their gorgeous handmade things! I had some lovely chats to stall owners... Emma from Harvest Textiles was really lovely!

:: carriageworks in Everleigh

:: a very busy finders keepers market

I think I was drooling the whole time I was there and I could have bought so many things but unfortunately, I didn't take much money with me (bummer) and I had a few specific xmas presents to get which I can't show you...sorry! But I did collect a few business cards :)

:: a few business cards

It was just lovely to to be in amongst such a great vibe! Sigh...maybe one day I will have a little stall at Finders Keepers :)

Hope you are having a great week so far...

my creative space: softies for mirabel

2011-12-01T08:25:00.000+11:00

I made a little happy monkey for softies for mirabel this year, which is being hosted by Meet Me at Mikes! I had a little help from my little man... who just loves happy monkey and was asking if it was for him! I explained to him that it was for another little boy/girl who is less fortunate and may not get many presents for xmas... he seemed to understand (I think)! Softies for mirabel is such a great cause and I really hope happy monkey will find a very special little friend to love him! :)

:: happy monkey, relaxing on the couch

I used the pattern from hop skip jump book, which has so many great softies patterns... love it!

:: hop skip jump

:: I love a bit of sewing

:: a little help with the stuffing :)

Did you recognise the fabric from his pants? It's the chevron fabric that I screen printed the other week... very cool pants hey :)

:: chevron screen print

It was a fun little project to make and it feels really good to make something special for such great cause! I'm so pleased with how he turned out.. he's so cute! I think I may have to make one for my little man too :)

For more information:
- Softies for Mirabel
- The Mirabel foundation

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

100th post giveaway winners...

2011-12-01T07:50:00.000+11:00

The winners for my little 100th post giveaway.... drum roll.....

Please excuse the dirty vegemite fingers from breakfast...

The winner of the "home sweet home" tea towel is...

** Amy - Salamander Dreams **

The winner of the "bird in hand" is....

** LionessLady**

Woo hoo... Congratulations Amy and LionessLady!!!

I will be emailing you shortly to get your address details :)

Thank you to everyone who entered and for all your lovely comments xxx

handmade kris kringle swap

2011-11-25T08:54:00.001+11:00

Christmas is approaching fast and my xmas to do list is growing by the minute... yikes!! But I can cross one thing off the list... I have completed my gift for the handmade kris kringle swap!

I actually killed two birds with one stone... so to speak :) I made two little birds, one for my giveaway and one for the handmade kris kringle swap!

:: two birds
(one for giveaway and one for kris kringle swap)

I really enjoyed making these... hand dying the fabric with tea bags, cutting the stencils and doing all the screen printing... phew!! Quite a bit of work but well worth it... I'm so please with how they turned out!! I'm looking forward to sending them off into the world!

So now onto the next project softies for mirabel... among many other things :)

Have you entered my giveaway... don't miss out :)

Happy Friday everyone... xxx

my creative space: 100th post and a giveaway

2011-11-24T07:10:00.004+11:00

this giveawway is now closed...

thank you to everyone who entered :)

It's my 100th post ... Woo Hoo!!! I thought I would have my first little giveaway to celebrate and say thank you for the wonderful support you have given me in my creative adventures on this blog... we are so lucky to have such a great little supportive and inspiring creative blog community! I am truely grateful... thank you xxx

In the midst of doing all my crazy screen printing this week... I have managed to squeeze in some screen printing for this giveaway!

So... you could win either a screen printed "home sweet home" linen tea towel or

:: home sweet home. please excuse the terrible lighting
due to grey and rainy day here in Sydney.

a "bird in the hand" softie which has been hand dyed, screen printed and handmade, using this pattern :)

:: a bird in the hand

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below and let me know which one you would like a chance to win (or try for either.. if you fancy) Please leave an email address so I can contact you :)

Everyone can enter... Australia, international and also friends and family! The giveaway is open until Wednesday, 30th November, 2011 midnight AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time). The two winners will be randomly drawn on Thursday,1st December 2001 - from a bowl by the fingers of my little man and then results posted on this blog!

Thanks again for all your wonderful support... I really appreciate all your lovely comments and kind words!

Good luck everyone :)
lamina xxx

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

a little bit busy...

2011-11-22T08:22:00.000+11:00

Just popped in to say hi... I'm a very busy bee at the moment and haven't had a lot of time for blogging! I'm trying to cram as much into my day as humanly possible! I have just a "FEW" things on my plate... mainly screen printing, some orders (tea towels and little people t-shirts) from friends, kris kringle swap and softies for mirabel... and there is more... a little surprise later this week :) I am giving myself a deadline of 3rd Dec to get everything done so then I can concentrate on the Christmas craziness :)

Here are just a few photos of what I've been up to... phew!!

:: feather arrow stencil
(I had a sore finger after cutting all this out!)

:: screen printing feather arrows

:: screen printing tea towels

:: screen printing flowers

Hmmm... seems to be a lot of red happening :)
Hope you are having a great week so far!

softies and tea bag dying

2011-11-19T13:38:00.006+11:00

I really need to get on with my next project kris kringle swap... time is getting away from me and I hate leaving things to the last minute! I couldn't believe my luck when I saw this book sitting on the shelf at the library....hop skip jump by Fiona Dalton! It is such a gorgeous little book, with loads of softies to make, patterns and really easy construction instructions! :)

For the swap I'm going to make the sweet little "bird in the hand" and do some screen printing for it too!

:: bird in the hand

I needed to get some linen for this project but I haven't been able to find exactly what I'm looking for... but I remembered I had some heavy-ish white cotton from Ikea in my stash and thought it would be perfect if only it was more off white... then in a light bulb moment in my head... tea bag dying! I have never done it before but thought it can't be that hard! I looked it up in the Internet and it's actually super easy!

A couple of tea bags in a pot of boiled water and let it steep for a bit and then take tea bags out. Soak the fabric in water before putting into the tea dye pot. Stir the fabric around for a few minutes or longer - depending on how dark you want it. Rinse in cold water and voila! Apparently different teas will give you slightly different colours too! Too easy... Love it!

:: big pot of brown tea and fabric

I dyed a couple of test pieces first just to check the colour!

:: original colour on the right

I am so happy with the result, it is exactly what I wanted! Now I don't have to go traipsing around the shops! Hooray! You can't really see much of a difference but it is quite a bit more off white! I can't wait to do some screen printing on it now!

:: the finished piece of fabric - original colour on the right

Hope you are having a great weekend... I'm off to do a spot of screen printing :)

my creative space: it can work out for the better...

2011-11-16T08:49:00.003+11:00

Sometimes things just go wrong but it can all works out in the end! I really loved the grey and red chevron fat quarter I screen printed for the fabric swap but when I went to iron it to set the fabric ink, some odd red ink marks appeared from the iron onto the fabric... arghhh!! I know you can't really see the marks that much but I can and me being a bit of a perfectionist, I just couldn't send it as it is! I was pretty frustrated.. grrrr!

:: bad marks!

So yesterday morning I got busy and made a new fat quarter of the bold red poppy-ish flowers that I created on the weekend on some white quilting cotton.

:: screen printing flowers

:: hand stamping flower centers

I hope the recipient will like it! I actually feel much happier sending her this as she does love bright red!

:: bold red flower on white quilting cotton

I do have plans for the good bits of the chevron piece.... Things do work out in the end!

Right onto the next projects - kris kringle swap and softies for mirabel! Yay I have lots of new fabric to play with too :)

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

handprinted: a fabric swap

2011-11-14T08:42:00.004+11:00

Today is the handprinted: a fabric swap deadline... phew I made it! I have been very busy over the weekend, screen printing the two remaining fat quarters.

fat quarter no. 3 - bold flowers
I really wanted to do a bright bold flower design and I'm really happy with how it turned out! I decided to screen print the flower petals and use a stamp for the center, to add a bit of texture!

:: flower - stencil cutting

:: flower - screen print

:: flower center - stamp calving

:: flower center stamp

:: flower center - stamping

The flowers are screen printed on linen and I love how it makes the print looks a bit vintage! I almost don't want to give it away, but I made sure I screen printed a bit extra for me :)

:: bold flowers - orange/red and chocolate on linen

fat quarter no. 4 - chevron - grey and red
For the last fat quarter I screen printed the chevron design in red and grey, as it seemed to be quite popular in the comments in my last post :)

:: chevron - screen printing

:: chevron - red and grey on linen

I have really enjoyed screen printing for this fabric swap and it was fun to experiment a bit too! Now all I have to do is pack them up and send them off to their new homes... hope the recipients like them :)

Hope you are having a great Monday!

my creative space: handprinted fabric swap

2011-11-10T13:02:00.003+11:00

This week I have been busy freaking out over the handprinted fabric swap... The deadline is Monday 14th November!! There are too many ideas whirling around in my head! I can drive myself a little crazy at times... why can't I go for the simple option... Ohhhh Noooooo... I must do something challenging!! I can't help it.. I love a challenge :)

fat quater no. 1- chevron
I know this may look quite simple on the outside, but I can asure you it was a bit of a challenge! Two colour repeat... yikes! I always freak out when I'm doing the last bit part of the screen printing...

:: cutting stencils

:: screen printing and holding my breath!!!

:: chevron screen print - grey and mustard

Lucky for me it worked out just fine.. pheeeeewww!!

fat quater no. 2 - geometric flower
I just love messing around and making geometric patterns in Adobe Illustrator... this one happened by accident :)

:: stencil cutting

:: screen printing

:: geometric flower screen print - teal

Unfortunately I made a bit of a little boo boo when I was screen printing the top right hand corner... a bit of shadowing from ink leaking on the back of the stencil... grrrrr!!! So I will have to redo this screen print again... boo hoo hoo!!

:: a bit of a boo boo!

update: I re-screen printed the geometric flower fat quarter last night and it turned out perfect... I think I held my breath the whole time I was printing :)

I'm really happy with my little designs and I'm looking forward to sending them off into the world as part of the handprinted fabric swap!

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

printerest: softies

2011-11-07T08:13:00.001+11:00

hello hello... I've been enjoying a few days off from blog world, relaxing! I've just realised that I have quite a few thing on my plate this month, so no more relaxing for me!!! one thing on my plate is the "Softies for Mirabel" Christmas appeal, the deadline is not very far away... 5th December!!! So I better get my skates on :) I have been looking around for inspiration, there are so many cute softies out there. Here are a few I love from my pinterest... people are just so clever!

Source: wesaymeow.blogspot.com

Source: browndresswithwhitedots.tumblr.com

Source: adatine - etsy.com

Source: onepearlbutton.com

Source: keboniko.com

Source: donnawilson.com

Source: adatine - etsy.com

Source: ememem - etsy.com

I do love pinterest!! Hope you are having a great Monday :)

my creative space: a dress to wear

2011-11-03T09:09:00.004+11:00

I have been doing a spot of sewing this week! After last week and my "a dress too good to wear"... I got stuck into making a wrap dress I can wear :)

:: a bit of sewing

I've had this fabric in my stash for probably years!!! I'm still not sure about it... it is quite flowery for me, but I do like... I think! I thought I would make a dress out of it as I am still adjusting the pattern and didn't want to stuff up on some really, really nice fabric!

:: a flowery wrap dress to wear

I am really happy with how it turned out and I'm looking forward to wearing it out and about... though I do feel a bit like a 1950's house wife in her house dress.... I do love the 1950's style :)

ps. I have worn my "a dress too good to wear" to a birthday lunch on the weekend... hooray!

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

inspiration: Chan Hwee Chong

2011-11-02T07:19:00.001+11:00

It felt a bit weird not posting yesterday, after posting everyday for blogoberfest! So when I saw this on Creature Comforts blog I had re-post... line drawing by Chan Hwee Chong... Wow!!! People can do some amazing and inspiring things!

Chan Hwee Chong - Faber Castell from eric yeo on Vimeo.

A few other drawings by Chan Hwee Chong:

Wow it's quite mesmerising...how does he do that... amazing!!!

handmade kris kringle swap

2011-10-31T13:45:00.000+11:00

I am joining in on The Haby Goddess' - Handmade Kris Kringle swap...sounds like fun! I just saw it today myself, so you only have until the end of today 31st October 2011 to register if you are interested :)

the last day of blogtoberfest 2011

2011-10-31T08:36:00.002+11:00

Wow I can't believe that I've done it! I have completed the challenge... blogtoberfest 2011 - a post everyday for October! Pheeeeewwww! I feel like I need to break out a bottle of champagne and celebrate! :)

I wouldn't say it was easy creating a post everyday! I was freaking out (just a little bit) that I wouldn't have anything to say or share and I didn't want to just post any old thing, for the sake of it! But I think I did quite well and I learnt that I actually do have lots of things to share and not just crafty stuff! It was a really great experience and it has also helped me get my creative mojo back too... Woo Hoo!

So here are a few of my favourite posts from the last month... in case you missed them :)

inspiration: watercolour illustrators

:: So-l'y-laisse - Solenn Larnicol

pinterest: triangles everywhere

Source: totokaelo.com

flashback: in another life...

:: such a huge dress on a little me

our little paper city...

:: some intensive colouring going on!

I think I am going to have a day off from blogging tomorrow :)
Thank-you to everyone who stopped by and said hi over the last month xxx

Day 31 of blogtoberfest 2011 - the last day!!!

sunday photos

2011-10-30T11:40:00.003+11:00

This morning my little man helped me make a lemon and mandarin cake with blue icing (his choice) for his Uncle's birthday party today! He just love to help make cakes :)

:: he actually loves lemons???

:: nothing better than licking the spoon

:: correction... nothing better than licking
the icing spoon

:: heaven!!!

Hope you are having a lovely Sunday :)

Day 30 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October...

a dress too good to wear...

2011-10-29T14:06:00.002+11:00

I have been dying to make a wrap around summer dress and I've been scouring all over the internet for a plain pattern... I couldn't find one that I liked (I'm very picky) anywhere!!! It was driving me a bit nutso! My friend Jo from Bubala encouraged me to make the pattern myself, seeing as I do have the pattern drafting skills! I'm not too keen on pattern drafting theses days as it can take ages but she was right... so instead of spending more hours on the internet, searching, I decided to put those hours into drafting a pattern! My pattern worked out really well though it's not perfect and still needs some adjustments! I'm so glad I did it now!

:: a very rough sketch

:: pattern is all cut out and ready to sew

:: I do love sewing

BUT.... the idea was to make a summer dress that I could just chuck on and go! I used some really lovely black viscose fabric that I've had sitting in my stash for years (black to hide any possible mishaps in my pattern drafting skills) BUT I made it so well and now it looks too nice to wear for everyday... arghhhh!!!!

:: too nice to wear!!!

Hmmm.... how am I going to rough it up a bit??? I am now making another dress that will be wearable :)

Have you done that... made something that is too good to wear!?

note: sorry no picture of me in the dress... the light is terrible in our bedroom where the mirror is!!

Day 29 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October...

softies for mirabel

2011-10-28T08:41:00.003+11:00

I'm taking part in Meet Me at Mikes-Softies for Mirabel christmas appeal this year! The Mirabel foundation does such amazing work for kids in need! I can't wait to make some lovely little softies for this wonderful appeal!

Last year I made a little rainbow sock monkey - the first softie I ever made!!! I was so happy to send her off into the world to a very special little someone... such a great feeling!

:: rainbow sock monkey

I wonder what she has been up to the last year :) For more information:
- Meet Me at Mikes
- Softies for Mirabel
- The Mirabel foundation

Day 28 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

my creative space: crochet cushion no. 2

2011-10-27T14:28:00.002+11:00

Whoops... I nearly forgot to do "my creative space" post today!!! Last night my little fingers got a bit fidgety and needed something to occupy them, so I started working on crochet cushion no. 2, to go with my chevron cushion I made the other week! I really love spots so I am attempting do a spotty-ish crochet cushion with charcoal grey and cream wool!

:: spotty-ish crochet cushion

I'm not sure if it is going to work out exactly as I have it pictured in my head... but it's looking good so far... fingers crossed it does work out :)

Day 27 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October... only a few days left!!!

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

walking around my neigbourhood

2011-10-26T09:02:00.001+11:00

I love our neighbourhood... I try to go for a walk most evenings - exercise!!! We are so lucky that we have a huge goregous park just two doors away us, kitties to meet and there are loads of lovely houses to **sigh** over and wish they were mine!!! Oh well maybe one day... I'll just keep walking and admiring :)

:: old gate and tiles

:: cute little house

:: gorgeous big house

:: tree lined streets

:: kitties to say hello to :)

:: our beautiful park

note: apolpogies for slightly scruffy photos as they were taken with my phone!

Hope you are having a great day!

Day 26 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

printerest: yellow and mustard

2011-10-25T08:11:00.010+11:00

I just love yellow and mustard, which are very popular colours right now! They are such great colours and always makes me feel happy, and can really brighten up ones day :)

Here are a few of my favourites from my pinterest...

:: la casita - source

:: matthew walkerdine - source: pikaland

:: paul lowe - source: sweetpaulmag-digital.com

:: lemon - source: via ffffound

:: source: MissPrint

:: yellow - source: Little Joey

:: leah duncan - source: freshly chopped

:: source: bouy bird

:: source: yardage design

:: Philipp Klinger - source

:: source: moa og kaffekoppen

:: Anthopoligie - source: belle vivir

Have a happy bright day xxx
Day 25 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

inspiration: gemma correll

2011-10-24T08:19:00.002+11:00

I love Gemma Correll, she is such a great illustrator! Her naive style of illustrating is very cool!!! She mainly illustrates about her very cute little pug - Mr Norman Pickles, lots of kitties and some other silly things too! I just love her funny sense of humour, it just crack me up and makes my day! :)

:: catnip by gemma correll

:: planking by gemma correll

:: le chicken by gemma correll

:: mistletoe by gemma correll

:: sensible shoes by gemma correll

:: desktop wallpaper for kitsune noir by gemma correll

:: our glass recycling bin by gemma correll

:: diagnosis : google by gemma correll

You can find more Gemma Correll - website - blog - flickr - facebook

Happy Monday!!!

Day 24 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

Sunday photos

2011-10-23T14:08:00.002+11:00

Today we went to Taronga Zoo. My little man was so excited to see all the animals! Here are a few photos of our morning there! Sorry there not many photos of animals as a lot of them were having naps.. they weren't very exciting photos to publish! We still had a lot of fun :)

:: looking at elephants from the sky safari

:: the elephants from the sky safari

:: view from the sky safari... gorgeous day

:: my beautiful little man xxx

:: having fun with the statues

:: racing around the zoo

Hope you are having a great weekend :)

Day 23 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

photo challenge: face

2011-10-22T19:11:00.002+11:00

Today, I'm playing along with The Paper Mama's this weeks photo challenge "face"!

The challenge: The challenge will be based around your children. Take or find a photo of your baby (or kid... or puppy... or kitty). Focus on the face!

Here is my little man enjoying his lunch in the bush :)

Ooooooooooo lunch!!!

Day 22 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

a funny little game to play...

2011-10-21T14:53:00.005+11:00

Years ago... actually 20 years ago... a friend introduced me to this funny little psychological game! It always makes people laugh because they have no idea what they are saying!!

So here is how it goes... play along... don't look at the answers (down the bottom of the post) until you have answered the questions! You just have to list some characteristics for each of the questions!

1. What is your most favourite animal and what are the characteristics that you like about them?

2. What is your second most favourite animal and what are the characteristics that you like about them?

3. What is your third most favourite animal and what are the characteristics that you like about them? (the third one is always the hardest one to think of)

Here are my answers that I gave 20 years ago... and I probably would have answered the same now!

1. cats - because they are sleek, very independent and funny!

:: cat in a box - image source

2. dogs - because they are friendly, loyal, happy and fun!

:: happy pug - image source

3. albatross (I know it's a weird one) - because they mate for life, they are very caring and look after each other!

:: albatross - image source

Answers
The answers are taken from what characteristics you wrote down...

1. is how you see yourself... (eg. sleek, very independent and funny!)

2. is how others see you...

3. is how you really are...

So tell me how did you answer them? Does any of that ring true for you? It does for me.. even after 20 years, though I don't really see myself as being very sleek these days... I'm a bit more like that cat in a box.... more homely ha ha ha :)

One of my friends back then answered every question with bunny rabbit and the characteristic "fluffy" and nothing else... she couldn't think of any other animal or characteristics at all... needless to say she really was quite a "fluffy" person but very lovely :)

Hope you have fun with this little game.. it's a good one to do at the pub when everyone is a bit tipsy :)
Happy Friday!!!

Day 21 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

my creative space: cushion + banana bread

2011-10-20T12:38:00.001+11:00

I've been busy... I have managed to finish my chevron crochet cushion which I am really really happy with - my mothers group friends really loved it too ...thanks guys xxx What do you guys think?

:: crochet chevron cushion

:: tested and approved by my little man!

I also made my very first banana bread for my mothers group today... recipe from here! I change it slightly because of my lactose allergy - exchanging milk for soy milk and butter for dairy free margarine. I seriously can't believe I have never made one before... it was so yummy and everyone loved it! I was a bit worried making something for the first time but luckily it worked out beautifully....phew!! :)

:: my little helper and taster

:: he just can't wait until everyone gets here... yum!

I am also joining in on onegirl - handprinted: a fabric swap! This is so up my ally... woo hoo!! You only have until tomorrow - Friday 21st October 2011- to join up if you are interested :)

Day 20 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

our little paper city...

2011-10-19T08:29:00.009+11:00

After posting about Paper City from Made by Joel the other day here... I couldn't wait to make our very own! We have been having so much fun making our paper city... my little man is just loving colouring in all the images!

:: some intensive colouring going on!

I got out my very old Derwent colouring pencils, which I have had since I was about 10 years old (I was totally obsessed with drawing and colouring when I was little)! I'm so glad I still have them! It's quite funny that all the brown coloured pencils look brand new..... I obviously didn't like colouring in those colours!

:: a work in progress... still lots to do!

:: oh no there is a lion in the city scaring all the people!! :)

I also printed off some of the other colouring pages of fish and animals for him to colour in too, cut them out and made some foot stands for them too - copying the idea from the little people stands! You've got to have some fish and a lion in a paper city :)

I'm not sure who was having more me or him ... happy times :)
Check out some other wonderul paper cities at - sian lile makes - June at Noon

Day 19 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

pinterest: I rather like bowls

2011-10-18T08:20:00.003+11:00

I have a little thing for bowls... there are some beautiful ones out there and I wish they were all mine!! I will just have to be happy having them sitting on my pinterest :)

:: laura carlin - source: lauracarlin.blogspot.com

:: Michelle Summers - source: aplateaday.blogspot.com

:: Michelle Summers - source: flickr.com

Makoto Kagoshima - source: biotope.biz

:: Helen Carnac - source: elizabethbunsen.tumblr.com

:: Maria Kristofersson - source: aplateaday.blogspot.com

:: David Eichelberger - source: aplateaday.blogspot.com

:: Janetta Kerr Grant - source: primoeza.blogspot.com

:: Cecilia Levi - source: cecilialevy.blogspot.com

:: hold - source: poppytalkhandmade.com

Day 18 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

inspiration: Rob Ryan

2011-10-17T06:49:00.007+11:00

How gorgeous and beautiful is this man!!! I just love his work, his words and his philosophy! His paper cutting work is amazing... I'm quite envious! This little video/interview that he did for Etsy blog is just lovely... it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy :)

:: source: Handmade Portraits: Rob Ryan from Etsy.

Here are a few of his beautiful pieces of his paper cutting work:

:: source: rob ryan - etsy.com

For some more Rob Ryan: etsy shop - web site - blog

Happy Monday!!!

Post note 19/10/2011 - I am so envious!!! The gorgeous Lisa from Lil Sonny Sky went to a Rob Ryan book signing of his book "A sky full of kindness" and has a done a lovely little post about it here! I wish I was there! I really want his book so much!!!

Day 17 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

Sunday photos

2011-10-16T19:47:00.002+11:00

It was such a gorgeous day today, so we went for a little drive up to Glenbrook Nature Reserve, near the Blue Mountains. We had such a great day hanging out in the bush! We went for a little walk up a trail, my little (and big) man had such great time exploring everything!

I took loads of photos of interesting little flowers or they could have been weeds... I'm not sure... they looked pretty to me! It was great to get to use my camera out in the bush! I think I still have a lot learn about photography, but I had fun :)

We also went to Jellybean pool (a water hole in the bush) in the reserve, where my little man had the best time splashing about!

Luckily we brought a change of clothes for him with us, he got very wet! We all had a great day together :)

Hope you have all had a great weekend!!!

Day 16 of blogtoberfest 2011 - over the half way point.. Woo Hoo!! :)

Today...

2011-10-15T17:51:00.002+11:00

My little man wakes up pretty early in the morning - 5.30am! This morning the pirates had left their treasure chest behind... much to the delight of one little person :) My partner has spent the last few week making the treasure chest so we can put all his toys in. Love it!

:: totally stunned with early morning happiness :D

I made a yummy chocolate coconut slice (forgot to take a photo) and got to grips with how to sew button holes (for my crochet cushion) with my sewing machine which I haven't done since I got it a few years ago! It was a bit tricky but once I figured out what the instructions meant it was really easy peasy!

:: hmmm.... crazy button hole instructions

We had a lovely family lunch over at my in laws... my little man had such a great time and had lots of yummy treats!

:: bottle tops make great treasure for the treasure chest

:: learning new ways to eat an ice cream cone

:: yummy chocolate coconut slice

Don't worry he did have a very healthy lunch before the ice cream and chocolate coconut slice!!!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend too :)

Day 15 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

I love paper city...

2011-10-14T07:21:00.002+11:00

How cool is this....Yesterday I found sian lile makes through Our Creative Space. She did a post about "Paper City" which she had made with her little ones! Lots of colour in and playing...it looks like so much fun and it really caught my imagination.. I just love it!

source: sianlilemakes.blogspot.com

She got the images for the paper city from Made by Joel! Sian said she also drew lots of her own things too! There are loads of things to print off and colour in for the paper city.

:: paper city - source: made by joel

:: paper city - paris - source: made by joel

But that's not all from this fantastic little site... they are all about making craft and creativity accessible to all kids! There are so many great little craft projects and other things to do - here - and they are all free to access!!

:: paper kite

:: slotted building discs

:: yo-yo ball

There is so much to explore on this great little creative site... I just love it :)

Happy Friday everyone xxx

Day 14 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

my creative space: plane screen printing

2011-10-13T09:50:00.003+11:00

I've been up to quite a bit of creativity this week which means I think I have got my creativity mojo back... hooray!

I have been working on a new screen print design... my little planes which I made a stamp of the other week - here - from this design - here! I really loved how the stamped design turned out on that t-shirt, so I decided to make a screen print of that design!

I cut out the stencils - I've cut out two stencils because I also planning to do multiple colour planes at a later stage.

:: stencil cutting

I decided to do white planes on a blue t-shirt as a practice one! I used Supercoat White by Permaset fabric paint which is used when if you want to print on dark fabrics (it's more opaque). I haven't really used the supercoat much, as it has been tricky beast for me to concur! But I think I have finally cracked it... woo hoo :) I did stuff up the top plane a little bit (not that you can really notice) but luckily it is a practice one and I know what I did wrong!

:: screen printing

:: white planes screen print

:: my little man didn't want to pose,
so he made a silly face :)

Anyway, I am so pleased with how the t-shirt turned out.. it looks so cute! I will be doing a few more of these I think! :)

Day 13 of blogtoberfest 2011 - blog everyday for October

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

flashback: in another life...

2011-10-12T07:02:00.002+11:00

In another life, many many years ago, back in the mid 80's... I was a wedding dress designer! I worked in a bridal boutique called Adele Chapeaux in South Yarra, VIC (the shop is no longer there), where I designed and fitted wedding dresses for clients. It was such a fun job, though sometimes a little bit stressful because the brides and their mothers stressing!!! I have some pretty funny stories of those times! My boss Adele, who was a very funny/odd lady, just loved me so much that she always wanted me to do the bridal modelling ads for the Mode for Brides magazine! In those days I had a bee hive hair do, which was perfect for bridal dresses! It was so much fun pretending being a model every now and then! Here are a few pictures of my very brief modelling career! :)

note: the leg of mutton sleeves that were so popular in the 80's! Yikes they were so big! And big bows were pretty popular too! ps. I didn't design these dresses!

:: such a huge dress on a little me

:: that's me on the right, trying to look sultery :)

When I showed my little man these pictures he said I look like a princess.... awwwww... major heart melt!!! :)

I do laugh when I see these pictures... Gosh, I was so young, wanting so much to get out and experience the world! My mum went a bit crazy and would buy every copy of the magazines from the about 3 different newsagents (probably more)! I'm glad she did because I wouldn't have these copies otherwise! It's so interesting to revisit those days... I have such great memories of those funny times!!! Do you have different lives lingering in your past? I have many :)

Day 12 of blogtoberfest 2011... phew it's hard work but I'm still going good :)

pinterest: triangles everywhere

2011-10-11T06:59:00.004+11:00

I have been cruising around my pinterest and I've noticed that I do have a quite a lot of triangles going on! I love triangles and they seem to be everywhere at the moment.. or is it just me noticing them!!?
Here are a selected few favourites...

Source: bookhou at home - etsy.com

Source: patternandco.tumblr.com

Source: totokaelo.com

Source: printpattern.blogspot.com

Source: lauracarlin.blogspot.com

Source: Louis Reith - flickr.com

Source: stylebubble.co.uk

Source: society6.com

Source: ericakelly.tumblr.com

Source: habit-of-art.blogspot.com

Source: lulisanchez.com

Source: twoems - etsy.com

Source: commasandclauses.blogspot.com

I do like a good triangle!!
There is more on my pinterest :)

Day 11 of blogtoberfest 2011

inspiration: watercolour illustrators

2011-10-10T09:29:00.003+11:00

There are some really talented and amazing watercolour illustrators/artists out there and I thought I would share a few of my very favourites! I just love their work and find them so inspiring... they also have great blogs too :)

Anna Emelia - blog - portfolio

:: Flower Of The Seas

Golly Bard :: Holly Ward Bimba - blog - etsy

:: frolic in the fernwood

Daniella Germain - blog - portfolio

:: dayelsford daydreaming

Geninne D. Zlatkis - blog - etsy

:: lovebirds

Yelena Bryksenkova - blog - portfolio

:: in the flowers

Becca Stadtlander - blog - portfolio

Heather Smith Jones - blog - portfolio

Catherine Campbell - blog - portfolio

:: faith in wordless knowledge

So-l'y-laisse :: Solenn Larnicol - blog

:: table

Catlin McGauley - blog - portfolio

Happy Monday everyone!!!

Day 10 of blogtoberfest 2011

Sunday photos

2011-10-09T15:12:00.001+11:00

We went to a friends little boys 3 year old birthday party today! So much fun!! My little man didn't want to wear him pirate outfit at all...but he loved his feather sword...phew! He had such a great time running around with all the other kids, but the best part of the party was the birthday cake, of course! :)

:: contemplating how to get his hands on the birthday cake!

:: no one will notice if I take just a little pinch... ha ha ha

:: finally he got a big piece of cake all for himself :D

It was such a funny day... I had a massive blast from the past!! It turned out that I use to work with my friends sister, over 15-20 years ago... what a great surprise! It was so lovely to talk to her and hear about what she's been up to all these years.. Wow! Recently, I have also bumped into few other old friends from my past... it always spins me out a bit, but it's so interesting though! There are loads of people from my past that I would love to catch up with but I haven't been able to find them... oh well may be one day I will bump into them somewhere... hopefully!

Day 9 of blogtoberfest 2011

a busy morning...

2011-10-08T13:30:00.002+11:00

My little man went over to his grandma and pop for a few hours this morning, so Mr and I took a little trip to Reverse Garbage in Marrickville! It's a great place to rummage around, there are some strange and weird things in there... one persons trash is an others persons treasure... I do wonders sometimes though!

Amazingly, I only spent $5! I didn't come out with much but they were things that I needed, a metal ruler $1.50, wrapping ribbon $2.00 and some bag rings for $1.50 (I'm planning to make a new bag)... Woo hoo!!

I also had to get a few things done before my little man got home this morning ... I got busy stamping and wrapping a present, making a feather pirate sword and fixing up a pirate hat for a 3 year old dress up birthday party that we are going to tomorrow! My little man is going to LOVE it! It should be great fun :)

Day 8 of blogtoberfest 2011

Hope you are all having a great weekend :)

sweet memories of rock cakes

2011-10-07T08:49:00.000+11:00

A few weeks ago the lovely Tammi from little poppa blog posted a recipe - old fashioned rock cakes. I had totally forgotten about these yummy little treats for years and years... that post time warped me back to when my mum use to make them when we were little... so I just had to make some!!! They are so easy to make too! I changed the recipe slightly because I'm lactose intolerant and I also added cinnamon.

Rock cakes
100g margarine (or butter)
2 cups of flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sultanas
1/2 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs
2 tbs of soy milk (or milk)

Sift flour and baking powder into bowl, rub in margarine - then add sultanas and cinnamon

Mix together beaten eggs, sugar and soy milk - then add and mix with dry ingredients

:: all mixed up

Spoon two teaspoon size blobs (a very technical term there) on to greased tray with baking paper

:: blobs

Place in preheated oven of 200°C for 15 minutes and then Voila!!!

note: my mum would sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top before she put them in the oven - I forgot to do it for this batch!

:: they aren't going to last very long!!!

I just can't get over how easy and yummy this recipe is... especially as I'm not the best cook in the world! It can be hard when you have an allergy and you have substitute (like this one) ... some recipes work great but sometimes it just doesn't work! I'm glad this recipe worked out though my waistline is probably not very happy with me today... whoops :)

Day 7 of blogtoberfest 2011 ... Woo hoo!!!

my creative space: cushion + sausage dog

2011-10-06T11:32:00.002+11:00

I was really inspired by Christina Lowry Designs' gorgeous ripple baby blanket she has been crocheting. I have been dying to try the ripple crochet for ages, and thought I would make a cushion! Our couches desperately need some nice cushions! I looked up some videos on YouTube and found this one by Mikey (he totally loves crochet!!) really helpful and easy to follow!

:: ripple crochet

I think it's going to look great... much to the disgust of my Mr... he's not too keen on crochet! I think he thinks I'm going to go crazy and start crochet everything in the house! There are some crazy crocheting people out there... ha ha ha!

What do you think? Am I bit crazy, is it going to look ok or is it going to be totally daggy/unsightly?

:: nearly finished...

I also finished my little sausage dog, he's so cute! He was looking a bit strange as I was putting him together but looked gorgeous once all his little bits were sewn on :)

:: sewing his bits on

:: a sweet little sausage dog :)

Day 6 of blogtoberfest 2011

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

today we...

2011-10-05T13:50:00.007+11:00

Me and my little man are having a nice relaxing day today! Mr returned to work today, after a week and a half of holidays... it was so sad to say goodbye to him this morning :( So it was just me and my little man... we didn't do much, just hung around the house, played games, I managed to do some crochet (more on that project tomorrow), then we went off to the park and run around there for ages... great fun!

:: my little flash, chasing the pigeons
(he chose this photo to put on the post)

:: apparently we are in the jungle with the spiders
and sea creatures... eeeek!!

:: just a little pooped on the way home
(pretending to be asleep)

:: a photo from yesterday
... checking himself out after he got his hair cut!

I love hanging out with my funny little man and seeing the world through his eyes! He makes me laugh my head off every day.. I feel very lucky :)

Day 5 of blogtoberfest 2011

i love love love pinterest...

2011-10-04T09:45:00.007+11:00

I just love pinterest... it is such a fantastic tool to organise pictures, images and ideas that one loves! I thought I would share some of my favourites from recent hunting and gatherings :)

Caroline Maine: I just love her chunky square-ish painting style especially the fruit and bottles... amazing!

Source: carolmarine.blogspot.com

Luci Everett: how beautiful is this collage of feathers pattern? Love her work!

Source: happinessetc.blogspot.com

Bess Georgett: such a beautiful vintage bag.. I really wish it was mine!

Source: bess georgett- etsy

Pinkkiss: I have a real soft spot for ceramics especially bowls, this one is just beautiful!

Source: pinkkiss

Cloverlaine: I really want to make a pair of these kitten mittens... so cute!

Source: cloverlaine - flickr.com

Catherine Campbell: such a great painting! I do rather like a good "flowers in vase" still life!

Source: blog.catherinecampbell.net

Cindy Lane: I love messy watercolour paint boxes.... so inspiring!!!

Source: artistsblog.com.au

Elizabeth Graeber: a beautiful illustration - pen ink and watercolour.

Source: elizabethgraeber.com

Josef Frank: this textile design is gorgeous... I just love the colours and shapes.

Source: coraginsburg.com

I could have posted SO many more of my favourites but I ran out of time! I've got dash off and take my little man to get a hair cut... it's getting so long I can barely see his eyes and someone called him a girl the other day.. and he was wearing very boy clothes??? Quite funny really :)

Anyway.. there is loads more on my pinterest.

Hope you all have a great day!!!

Day 4 of blogtoberfest 2011 :)

inspiration: papercuts by Nia May

2011-10-03T06:56:00.003+11:00

We live two minutes away from Summer Hill in the inner west of Sydney, it's such a great little village with some lovely cafes and shops! One of my favourite's is Sweets Workshop which is a gorgeous little art gallery that also sells beautiful prints, gift ware, zines and all sorts of fab things! I always wish I had lots of money every time I venture in there! I popped in there on the weekend to check out Nia May's little exhibition! Wow.. her work is just so beautiful, a little quirky and SO inspiring, especially as I love cutting stencils for screen printing myself! I really admire people who can papercut so beautifully! It just makes me want to get out the craft knife and get cutting some stencils :)

:: sweets workshop - 1.5m paper cut
window display

:: sweets workshop - nao & masako

:: sweets workshop - so many beautiful paper cuts

:: from nia may's flickr photostream

There are more beautiful papercuts on her blog nia may papercuts and her flickr photostream... I just love her beautiful work! :)

Day 3 of blogtoberfest 2011

like old times...

2011-10-02T08:45:00.006+11:00

My little man got to hang out with his grandma and pop for a few fun hours on Saturday morning which meant that Mr and I had a few precious hours to ourselves!!! So, we headed off to the Glebe Markets (which is in an inner west suburb of Sydney) for a little cruise around, we hadn't been there for many years!

:: glebe markets

It was such a beautiful sunny morning, we had great fun wondering around, people watching, looking at all the funny things people were selling and trying on loads of silly sunglasses... as you do :) I was a little disappointed that there wasn't that many vintage clothes stalls as there use to be, like back in the old days! I use to find loads of amazing vintage clothes there! Oh well, things change I suppose... we didn't end up buying anything, it was still great fun anyway!

:: glebe markets

It was really lovely to have a few hours just me and him, hanging out together and having lunch on the grass... reminded me of our early days together... lovely... we really must do "us" time more often! :)

:: lunch on the grass.. yum!

Day 2 of blogtoberfest 2011 :)

blogtoberfest 2011

2011-10-01T08:20:00.005+10:00

Day 1 of blogtoberfest 2011

I'm joining in on "Blogtoberfest 2011" over at {tinniegirl} and taking on the challenge to post daily for October! Yikes!!! I thought it might be a really great way to get back my creative spark, motivation and have a bit of fun at the same time!

I'm looking forward to posting about lots of different things.. crafty and not so crafty! I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do it but I'm going to give it a whirl!
There are loads more bloggers joining in too, so it should be fun :)

my creative space: sausage dog crochet

2011-09-29T13:39:00.001+10:00

Not a lot going on around here really... I'm still trying to get my creative spark back! I think it's slowly coming back from it's holiday!! I've been a little creative this week... I found this really cute crochet pooch book at the local library... Ami Ami dogs, there are so many pooches to choose from! (Here is a little review)

It's a great little book with really easy to follow patterns and instructions! I'm making a cute little sausage dog! There are crocheted doggy body bits everywhere at the moment! I am really enjoying making him!

I'm hoping my little sausage dog will end up looking a bit like these cute little guys :)

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

my creative space: cars and plane stamps

2011-09-22T09:06:00.001+10:00

I woke up this morning thinking it was Wednesday and also thinking I have plenty of time to do something for my creative space... then realised... it's THURSDAY.... Yikes!!! Luckily I had planned to do some stamps on plain t-shirts for my little man! I had already made the car and plane stamps, so I was ready to go!

:: some early morning stamping in my sunny little kitchen

:: YAY.. two cute t-shirts!!

Such a quick and easy little project to do and I'm so happy with how they turned out. I really like working with stamps, they do allow you to be quite creative!

I think I am slowing coming out of my creative rut... Finally!! Nothing like a kick up the creative butt by our creative space to get things done :)

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

creativity... where are you???

2011-09-20T09:14:00.001+10:00

It's all been a bit quiet around here.. creatively speaking! I am really missing having a structured creative class to go to each week :( I'm feeling a bit low/blue, a little unmotivated and it seems there are quite a few fellow bloggers out there feeling the same way! Must be something in the blog air! I suppose, one does need a little break every now and then! I'm really hoping the creativity will kick back in again soon :)

Though, I did manage to finish my watercolour landscape.. hooray!! There are a few things that I would like to change/redo... it's SO not perfect but I'm pretty happy with my first watercolour landscape attempt!

:: landscape - watercolour on A4 watercolour paper

:: the original landscape photo - image source Cuba Gallery

Hope you all are having a more creative week :)

my creative space: triangles and planes

2011-09-15T14:18:00.003+10:00

I bought my little "M" a pair of cute red shoes which he loved for only one day, then decided he didn't like them any more!!! Don't you just hate that when it happen.... Arghh!!!

:: unloved :(

I hate the idea of a perfectly good pair of shoe just sitting on the shelf... so I decided to attack them with a sharpie permanent pen and go crazy with triangles (love)! I think they turned out great!

:: loved :)

He loves wearing them now... hooray!!

A few weeks ago at Spoonflower - where you can get your designs digitally printed on fabric, they had a free swatch day!! I was very excited and have been wanting to test Spoonflower out for ages, so I did a simple little paper plane design! The whole process was actually really easy!

:: paper plane design on Spoonflower

I was so excited when I received my little swatch in the mail the other day... it turned out fantastic though the colour turned out a lot more orange than red from my original design, but I actually really love the orange. I'm going to have to order some... I have loads of ideas for it :)

:: paper plane swatch

Have you every wonder how pencils were make? Here is a little video from the etsy blog (scroll down to the bottom)... it's totally fascinating!! I just love that sort of stuff!

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

drawing course: week 8

2011-09-12T07:52:00.001+10:00

Boo hoo hoo... it was the last week of my drawing course! It was such a great night, we all brought some food or wine and had a few breaks from drawing to enjoy a bit of a last day party! It's quite sad really, after 8 weeks you get to know these great people, then you'll probably will never see them again! It's been excellent to see how far others have come with their drawing skills from the beginning.. a few have really improved amazingly!

A few of us were feeling the pressure of the last night... wanting to draw really well! We were having a few problems relaxing, but it was a different story once we had a glass of wine :)

We started off with a few 1 minute drawing to warm up!

:: 1 minute sketches - charcoal on A2 paper

Next - 5 minute drawings and a portrait. I was a bit happier with these ones. Our model had really fantastic dreadlock hair tied up into a bun arrangement!

:: 5 minute sketches - charcoal on A2 paper

:: 5 minute portrait - charcoal on A2 paper

Next - we did some shadow drawing, where we drew/shaded the dark areas in the shadow. I really liked this exercise.

:: 5 minute sketch - charcoal on A2 paper

Then we moved onto 10 minute drawings and we had some more food and wine :)

:: 10 minute sketch - charcoal on A2 paper

I'm really happy with my last sketch of the evening! I'm not really good at drawing feet and hands in such a rush but I like my foot in this one :)

I have really enjoyed this drawing class so much and it was good to get back to basics, I felt that I learnt a lot! I would really love to do some more drawing or painting courses but I think the next thing I will be doing is photography! I really need to learn how to use my new camera... desperately!!

Hope you all are having a great Monday :)

30 minutes spare...

2011-09-10T08:01:00.001+10:00

What to do on a Friday night, when you have just put the potatoes in the oven, Mr has gone to the garage/workshop to tinker and you have 30 minutes spare before sorting the rest of dinner out....

Make a flower stamp... of course!!!

I sketched my little flower design, trace it onto the stamp rubber and carved it out.... all in 30 minutes! I love it :)

Hope you are having a lovely weekend!!

my creative space: Father's Day screen print

2011-09-07T13:42:00.035+10:00

Last week I was on a secret squirrel mission for Father's Day. I got my little man to make a card for Fathers Day, drawing with felt pens and some cutting and pasting paper on a card... very messy but lots of fun! I am really loved the abstract design and thought it would look fantastic on a T-shirt for his daddy!

:: Father's Day card by M

Wow what a little challenge I set myself!! I wanted it to look exactly like the card! It's quite a difficult one to do and 6 colours too! I was thinking "Am I totally insane???" "Yes" was the answer :)
I also had to hide it and keep it a secret from Chris/daddy... not an easy task when with a big piece of board with a partially screen printed t-shirt on it! I was praying that he would need to go looking for something under our bed!!

Anyway... once I had figured out the best way to do the screen print, I cut out the stencils for each colour!

:: cutting stencils for each colour

It was all pretty straight forward really, the only tricky bit was making sure everything lined up perfectly! A lot of masking tape got used to set up all the registration marks so the screens line up! With each colour I screen printed, I would check it against the card and make minor adjustments with a fine paint brush to make it look exactly like it, with the brush strokes and torn edges of the paper on the card.

:: 1st - aqua and blue :: 2nd - yellow
:: 3rd - red :: 4th - orange and dark blue

I am so happy with how it turn out and M's daddy just loved it :)

:: masterpiece on a t-shirt

Sometimes I think someone (the fun police) is going to tap me on the shoulder and say "Excuse me you are not allowed to do that anymore, YOU are having way to much fun!" :)

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

drawing course: week 7

2011-09-05T07:49:00.001+10:00

My second last class :( We did life drawing this week... I really loved it! I have done a little bit of life drawing about 20 years ago and I don't remember a thing really! But I found that I got into the swing of things really quickly!

First we did loads of 1 minute basic line sketches to get our bearings.

:: 1 minute drawings - charcoal on A2 paper

Next - 3 minute drawings: We drew circles for each part of the body and then drew the body outline, if we had time. This was a really great technique to get the body proportions right... I need all the help I can get!

:: 3 minute drawings - charcoal on A2 paper

Next - 5 minute drawings: We drew circles in pencil this time and then drew the outline of the body in charcoal. *Please excuse the smudging over the top of the drawings which is caused by other drawings on the facing pages. I had to use both sides of the paper as I nearly ran out of paper!

:: 5 minute drawings - charcoal on A2 paper

The next set of 5 minute sketches: We used squares and triangle to sketch out the body and then drew the body outline over the top with charcoal.

:: 5 minute drawings - charcoal on A2 paper

Next - 10 min drawings: These were my favourite from the whole evening! At first I thought I liked using the circle technique as it is give a smoother finished outline. But after chatting to one of the ladies during our break, she was using squares and triangle... I decided to switch and try the squares and triangle again! I am so glad I did as I much prefer the slightly more angular look it gives to the drawing when you do the outline. So funny, the lady I was chatting to decided to switch to circles!
Some of the positions the model was sitting in were quite difficult to draw especially where she has her leg tucked under the other... I think I did really well :)

:: 10 minute drawings - pencil and charcoal on A2 paper

It was such a great class and I am so pleased with how my drawings turned out... such a huge improvement from the beginning of the class!!! I really do surprise myself sometimes :)

Next week...my last week :( and more life drawing... Yay!!!

Happy Fathers Day!

2011-09-04T09:40:00.001+10:00

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there :)

This week I'm joining in with The Paper Mama's photography challenge "Heart"!

We went to Toronga Zoo last weekend and had such a great time.. M just loves seeing all the animals but best of all he loves hanging out with his daddy! They were just so cute together! So in honor of fathers day, here is my little photo of them at the zoo, fascinated with the seals :)

I "heart" them xxx

Hope you are all having a fantastic Sunday :)

my creative space: kitty and pom poms

2011-09-01T10:39:00.001+10:00

This week I couldn't resist but make another knitted softie, this time a little blue kitty cat! I seem to have a thing about blue cats??? I just love making these, so quick and easy! I have altered the knitting pattern to make it a bit bigger! Now little bear has a new friend :)

:: new friends hanging out on the couch

:: first a bit of loving

:: then it was time for fun
- I think they are flying!

I also helped out my lovely mother in law Norma and made some pom poms for some beanies she knitted for charity. I just love all the bright colours :)

Hope you are having a great creative week!
There are loads more creative people over at our creative spaces...

watercolour and photography

2011-08-30T09:23:00.006+10:00

I am so happy to be back doing some watercolour painting! I don't know what it is about it that I just love so much! I really love playing and mixing the colours and the fact that it takes lots of "bits of" time to build up an image/painting, that suits me fine! I never knew I had so much patience, in the past I would want everything done/completed now! But alas these days it is just not possible with a very active toddler jumping around... so it's good that it does take lots of little "bits of" time!

My landscape watercolour from this post, is coming along really well... I still have loads more layers to do!! :)

:: landscape - some tree backgrounds

:: landscape - some more tree details

I have decided to join in with The Paper Mama's photography challenge "Favorite photo from August"... seeings I have a new camera! It should be fun even though I still don't know how to use my camera very well :) So this is my favourite photo from August: My little man helping me make orange icing for a birthday cake... his crazy hair and the look in his eyes is just SO sweet, I cried when I saw this photo! :)

note: apologies for the lighting in the watercolour photos... I'm still trying to work out the best way to photograph them and other drawings... lighting can be a bit rubbish at my place... it's driving me a bit crazy... anybody got any ideas they can share?

Hope you are all having a great week so far :)

do a bit

healthy party food...

my creative space: more knitting

my creative space: dinosaur amigurumi

my creative space: little bunny softie

an apron for me :)

my creative space: drypoint etching workshop

some motivation... I think?

my creative space: chevron screen print

crackers... yum!

my creative space: wool before & after

photography: assignment #1 "bad photos"

this week...

a spot of screen printing and sewing

**happy new year**

christmas number three

Merry Merry Christmas

gingerbread men gift

a little cushion makeover

christmas number two

christmas number one

kris kringle swap update

my creative space: screen printing, stamping and dying

crazy busy times...

my creative space: softies for mirabel

100th post giveaway winners...

handmade kris kringle swap

my creative space: 100th post and a giveaway

a little bit busy...

softies and tea bag dying

my creative space: it can work out for the better...

handprinted: a fabric swap

my creative space: handprinted fabric swap

printerest: softies

my creative space: a dress to wear

inspiration: Chan Hwee Chong

handmade kris kringle swap

the last day of blogtoberfest 2011

sunday photos

a dress too good to wear...

softies for mirabel

my creative space: crochet cushion no. 2

walking around my neigbourhood

printerest: yellow and mustard

inspiration: gemma correll

Sunday photos

photo challenge: face

a funny little game to play...

my creative space: cushion + banana bread

our little paper city...

pinterest: I rather like bowls

inspiration: Rob Ryan

Sunday photos

Today...

I love paper city...

my creative space: plane screen printing

flashback: in another life...

pinterest: triangles everywhere

inspiration: watercolour illustrators

Sunday photos

a busy morning...

sweet memories of rock cakes

my creative space: cushion + sausage dog

today we...

i love love love pinterest...

inspiration: papercuts by Nia May

like old times...

blogtoberfest 2011

my creative space: sausage dog crochet

my creative space: cars and plane stamps

creativity... where are you???

my creative space: triangles and planes

drawing course: week 8

30 minutes spare...

my creative space: Father's Day screen print

drawing course: week 7

Happy Fathers Day!

my creative space: kitty and pom poms

watercolour and photography

happy new year