Birthday loot!

I do make a fuss on my birthday, and my peeps are becoming accustomed to the shenanigans. I sing silly almost-birthday songs leading up to the day, I dance around the letterbox when cards and parcels are delivered, I am wearing my best kimono (sleeves flapping in the breeze as we ride to school) - I may be 38 but really I am still about 7 years old!

So I've sampled Haigh's Truffles delivered to my door by Paula, have coloured in with my Stabilo fine liners in rainbow format (thanks Leo, Sam and Hazel!), have ooohed and aaahed over the fine books (thanks Mum, thanks Leila!) and stamps (thanks Dad!) and I hear that the Taco Truck is in my neighbourhood today, what a treat!

I hope that some of my ridiculous bonhomie rubs off on you too, here, have another exclamation point!

Saturday

 A hot Saturday in Melbourne town......

 

....... includes an excursion to Readings, Leo gets a 'How Machines Work' book, complete with cogs, gears and gizmos. All of his favourite things. I get a colouring/doodling book, I feel the need for some limbering up in the drawing department, and I have always loved colouring in, especially with crayons.

 

Chamomile - please plant some of this as soon as you can, it smells like bubblegum and is so darn cheerful. I dry the flower heads and make tea, but be warned - they are very potent!

Beloved Mohop sandals, I am also sporting a matching stripy singlet and feel very Jean Paul Gaultier, minus the French accent.

I have been repotting a few things this week, as my hanging baskets have been crying out for a bit of attention. This fuschia and spiderplant are now much happier with more room to grow, and with the addition of a green crocheted rope daisy I made last year, I feel like an attentive gardener (it won't last - I am really a lazy, neglectful gardener!)

Hazel likes nothing better than a 'wash', as she calls any sort of water. She is also quite partial to shrieking at ear-splitting volumes, how long is that meant to last? It is freaking excruciating. Damn these girl children and their vocal ranges!

Speaking of female vocals, our soundtrack of the day has been Lauryn Hill circa 1998, and Amy Winehouse circa 2004.








Hope that your Saturday is creative and/or inspiring. I have an evening of tax receipts ahead of me, which is a reminder of how running a business can be very anti-social, I need a date night with Sam!

My beloved Sam

Sam's work has been at the India Art Fair this past week, enthralling the vast crowds and generating a lot of press.

It's no secret that he works DAMN hard on everything he creates, and we are often caught in the last-minute chaos of primping and packing.

The baby and frogs, called Small Things, is his most recent work, and is so beautiful in all its plump skin textures and contours. When Hazel first saw it she went nuts, animatedly talking about 'baby baby baby'.

Turns out that someone special was also captivated by it, and so we say goodbye to another piece.

Hurrah for art! And for babies and green frogs - what a combo!

It is done!

Yes, I'm behind the times, colour-coded books is so 2011.

But I always come to things in my own time, and after many months lamenting the mish-mash appearance of books-by-genre, I'm much happier with this view.

How do I find the book I'm after? Well I have a photographic memory, and so I just see the spine and know where to find it. I've re-discovered a few gems too, and have ditched a lot of dust jackets in favour of the colour underneath.

It's funny to notice what colours are on the spines, who is in charge of that decision? I'm happy that there are so many green and yellow spines in my collection, bored by all of the black and white, particularly loving the gold and silver. 

Gorgeous and/or green

 My girl in her awesome bathers. Nothing better than a paddle pool on a 35 degree day, kept them entertained for hours!

 My boy is gummy again! Hazel pushed out his second top wobbler, it was a bit like a cat-flap for the last few days, really gross!

 Our gargantuan 1.375 kilo zucchini, we have used it in a cake, in a pasta and still have some left. A gorgeous plant to grow, such huge leaves and pretty flowers.

My soon-to-be-delivered Tree Top Green Asics. Oh boy I want them to hurry up!

High-vis mayhem

 Somehow all of this.......

 

 

....has turned into this!

This Thurs and Fri I'm doing a bike accessories workshop, using high-vis materials from Reverse Art Truck, organised by The Squeaky Wheel.

I've come up 3 or 4 projects, starting with a belt, which is pretty easy. I've stitched the lengths together (first image) and we just rivet on the buckles.

The next project is a mandala on the front wheel of the kids' bikes (they are all teenagers), so this may take a bit longer. After much trial and error I've finished mine, and hope it stays together in the heat. Am pretty darn happy with the result though!

I've also made a shield/plate for the front, inspired by a BMX race-plate. Leo's bike is modelling it in the 6th and 7th images.

We just whipped up a few keyrings, and I think I'm done, now I have to pack my bags and load up the bike for the ride into town tomorrow. Wish me luck!

The easy birth of a sandal

 Well, a pair of sandals, obviously.

 

 

Hello navy blue soft-as-soft sheep leather sandals.

Made in a few hours here and there over three days, that's so satisfying!

I have some red sheep somewhere, maybe I can make another pair before flying to Adelaide on Friday - hang on, I have some silver aswell.....

On my bedside table

The Creative Women's Circle began as a networking group, run by my dear pal Dearne Herrenberg, who got very busy and handed over the reigns to graphic designer Tess McCabe. Events are held throughout the year, usually a guest speaker who tells their story, providing know-how, advice and inspiration to a crowd of enthusiastic gals.

Tess is an ideas lady, and a bit of an achiever, producing this nourishing little blue book, Conversations with creative women, interviews about the careers and creative lives of 15 Australian women.

Such beautiful details, she has even made a letterpress scissors bookmark! I love a good bookmark.

 Two of my very favourite ladies, Maryann Talia Pau and Pip Lincolne, are present, and although I have known each of them for a while, and have had many in-depth personal conversations with both of them, I have never quite heard the stories they share in this book.

Also included are Kristen Doran, Lucy Feagins, Marian Hosking, Clare Lancaster, Cristina Re, Kate Vernon, Masayo Yasuki, Serena Lindeman, Grace Camobreco, Lou Pardi, Seja Vogel, and Tess Lloyd and Maja Rose. Phew!

( Please excuse my dodgy scanning!)

The intriguing Polli team.

 It's a words book, not a picture book, but includes title pages for each subject, designed by 15 different illustrators, a great way to give a few extra people some big-ups!

I took this book to sleep school with Hazel recently, and although we were only there for one night (meant to be three, snotty daughter not allowed to stay and share her leaky nose with the other babies) I devoured it in any spare time I had, relishing all of the stories and career paths, the advice of both what to do and NOT to do.

I have always had great relationships with teachers in my life, as I am quite an avid student. Looking back I can see that I've had a stream of creative mentors over the years: my high school art teacher Mr Caskey, my sculpture lecturer at Uni George Popperwell, my chalk-and-cheese shoemaking teachers Simon O'Mallon and Tim Skyrme, Johanna Preston during the time I made shoes for her label, and my capoeira teacher Lorem Dias.

I guess I consider this to be a book full of mentors, which is just what I need right now. I have been a bit disconnected from my craft and from the larger world of teachers and practitioners, which is one of the pitfalls of working from home. Any one know of a good mentor for me right now?

One of the crucial lessons learned at sleep school was to look after myself.  The staff at Tweddle urged me to take at least 15 mins to myself as soon as Hazel is asleep, no cleaning, no domestic duties, just me and a cup of fine tea and some equally fine reading material, or whatever it is that takes MY fancy.

So here I am, kids are out at school and daycare, and I have a hot date with my sewing machine. I'm making sandals to wear in Adelaide over Christmas, I am supremely aware that it is a rare skill, and that I happen to have it. Yay for shoemaking!

Yay for this book and the restorative effect it has had on me.

Yay for all the teachers in the world, especially all of mine.

Finally, yay for Tess McCabe, she gets a gold star!

Inspirations

Via etsy!
Fabulous chair......also from etsy.


Allona Goren. Fresh at Craft Victoria.

Idle hands

Ordered for the holidays! Via BookDepository.

Eye candy

If only I had oodles of free time, I would be sitting in a comfy chair crafting away from these books.
Via ebay and Camberwell Market.