So Inspiring ~ Mimi Kirchner
There were two things I promised myself I would stitch for each of my poppets while they were little; A quilt and a softie. I figure if I managed nothing else I’ll be pretty chuffed with that, and hopefully so will they. So whilst searching for inspiration
I stumbled across Mimi Kirchner. I’m probably the last to know about this clever lady. But despite the fact that lots of people have written about her already, she is just too inspiring not to club in.
Her dolls are an art form in themselves.They really do look like illustrated characters. Whether circus performers, swarthy pirates or preppy schoolgirls they look as if they have lifted themselves off the page in order to go and seek their fortune. Each one is absolutely bursting with personality and lovely handmade details. And some of the facial expressions are fantastic!
To be honest, I have never been a huge lover of dolls. Frankly, the hard plastic ones give me chills. Trying to choose a baby doll for my littlest was tricky at best… why can’t the big manufacturers make a doll whose eyelids open together. Too spooky!
… But I love Mimi’s dolls. I love their individual personalities and expressions,
it’s easy to imagine the stories of the cheeky strong man and the disgruntled pirate captain. They inspire me to wield needle and thread myself and try making a sumo wrestler, a crocodile wrestler… or maybe even a jelly wrestler… who knows,
Mimi makes it seem like anything’s possible!
If you are new to Mimi and want to know more, there is a wonderful Storque spot all about her, here and a free pattern for one of her dolls, here. A very generous lady indeed!
1 comment March 10, 2010
Ahhh, Sundays…
…what would we do without them!
I am attacking my 2010 resolution list and taking time out for AHHHHHH!
I can plainly see that if I am going to live the happily balanced life I crave, Sunday Slobbing is crucial. And completely obvious to the rest of the sane population that are not trying to squeeze every extra second out of every day to work.
The perfect Sunday brekkie has to be home made New York banana pancakes oozing with maple syrup and butter and served with slices of nectarine. These were made using a Domestic Goddess recipe… gotta love Nigella she is definitely the ‘go to gal’ for all things yum. They turned out just as I remembered; whisking me back to a freezing February morning spent exploring snowy Central Park and then stumbling on a cozy diner. I was very pregnant, completely ravenous and the pancakes were sublime. Needless to say, Mark and I weren’t the only ones to enjoy them, I felt fluttering bub kicks for a good 20 minutes afterward.
Eat these and then spend all morning and a good part of the afternoon in your pjs, perusing your favourite magazines and generally lounging about and I promise your soul will be restored and your belly, happily round. Hope your weekend was gorgeously decadent.
5 comments March 1, 2010
Playing in water
… is the only thing to do in the middle of an ultra steamy Australian summer. Especially when it’s like a never-ending sauna around here! Time to find a beautiful breezy seaside cottage me thinks, or maybe an underwater retreat in the middle of a swedish lake… hmmm!
On the drawing front, I’ve been going for a looser style than my usual in an effort to trick my control-freak perfectionist gene. So far so good, perfectionist gene has not noticed and seems to be completely preoccupied with the state of my shoes.
Hope your weekend is blissful!
8 comments February 19, 2010
Magic in the Air
Happy New Year !! Can you still say that in February?
I can’t believe February is in full swing, already! Shame on me! You must be so over that christmas ball pic… In fact, now that I think about it, I could be chatting away to ‘not-a-sausage’. Where did the better part of two months go?
…Oh, I needed to take a breath. I needed to take stock of the mean old year and get ready to throw myself into this shiny new one. And I needed to shop for school shoes and the box of tissues that went with their first outing. (All a big success I’m happy to say)
I hope you had a wonderful break too. I feel so excited about 2010. It feels promising, like there’s some real magic on it’s way. Fingers crossed!
These images are from the beautiful (n.b. daydream) beach holiday I am, apparently, still on. Thank you Flickr geniuses, such bliss!
Most of these images were captured with a Holga toy camera. It seems truer somehow than a regular camera. More like a memory of a moment, like a sensory postcard. Not every detail is important, but impressions and sensations are. And the Holga creates them in spades:
the flaring light that has me squinting and scrambling for my sunnies,
the pops of colour in cossies and beach umbrellas,
the undulating hum of cicadas,
the chill in the first wave that takes your breath away
… it’s all there, captured perfectly on film, all in an old fashioned click.
I am so inspired by beautiful photography and add to that the happy accidents of light leaks that come along with lomography and I’m in seventh heaven. I can’t wait to get my hands on one. I may even take the next Photography Adventure challenge run by this talented keen bean. Yep, 2010 is going to be magic!
Flickr Credits ~ My Red Bike, Duchamp ~ Surfers, Heather ~ 1933 Helene and Dory, Kathleenie ~ Eva and the Seagulls, Mildly Diverting ~ Sandpipers, Justin Gaynor ~ Water Patterns, Brande Jackson ~ Not Bare At All, Patreesya ~ 0686Cra-R1-E005, Tylerc083 ~ Botanical, Brande Jackson ~ Holga Splash, Jan Isaac ~ For the Sake of the Picture, Barely Legal.
(Please click on individual image titles to view larger and for licence details)
12 comments February 14, 2010
Twas the Day Before Christmas…
… and all through the flat…
‘Santa’was very quietly going nuts keeping small monsters amused whilst smuggling-in some last minute wrapping i.e. desperate snipping, rustling and mad taping in the bathroom, in the laundry, in the wardrobe… you get the picture.
Yes it is cloak and dagger, but the prize, if I pull it off, is a gorgeous Christmas Eve curled up on the couch next to a pile of waiting pressies with my Mr… and not a poppet stirring. Oh I can see it now; me, him, bubbles in hand and a satisfied smirk on my face. Well worth the dramatics!
Wishing you all a beautiful Christmas full of sparkle and laughter. Thank you so much for coming to read my little blog. I get such a thrill out of reading every lovely comment left here. I adore being part of the blogging community and have made some gorgeous friendships since I started that I’ll always be grateful for. I’m also really looking forward to the New Year. Can’t wait to attack my loooong list of resolutions, show you some new work and make some yummy blog changes.
Much love to you and yours. Hope you have a lovely, chilled break and see you full of va va voom in Jan.
x Alisa
10 comments December 24, 2009
A Peachy Party
Hello, hope your weekend was lovely and relaxed. Ours was completely chockers with poppet parties. What is it with all the December birthdays? Sheesh!
Television and the weather must be woeful in March.
Our littlest turned a big three on Sunday. Wow! I still can’t get my head around where that time’s gone, anyway, thought I’d share some pics. It was a very small family affair but she had a ball.
The ‘baby’ and the little quilt were a huge hit as was a pint sized stroller from a clever aunt. Needless to say, baby doll Ruby was cuddled, fed, taken out, wrapped, fed, changed, undressed, fed, wrapped, unwrapped, dressed, fed… etc. All day!
Hurray for me! Can’t say Ruby shares my joy.
I had great fun playing ‘event’ co-ordinator, with the quilt’s colour scheme in mind. I didn’t make any invitations for this one but I’m itching to do it for the next. I’d love to put together a party with the style of this über talented gal. Maybe basing a party around a favourite book or toy could be fun and helpful for game, invitation and food ideas. Hmm, perhaps a Slinky Malinki party in the future… Aaaaaw too cute!
As luck would have it, chocolate was in my scheme and it’s ‘her favourite and her best’. I used a Nigella recipe to make Choc Cherry Birthday Cupcakes. Oooh! They were so, so rich and every inch a guilty pleasure. I heartily recommend them.
Every last cupcake morsel was scoffed in appreciation.
And when all the sweets had been gobbled,
the presents had been ransacked
and the guests had set sail…
… the wild rumpus began.
Red food colouring will do that!
7 comments December 9, 2009
Goodness
Recently I was asked by the very lovely Shirley to participate in an International Art Exchange and no sooner had I said yes than ‘bing bong’ gorgeous art on my doorstep from two brilliant artists. Ooh, I so love that!
The first two images are of the four artist trading cards Shirley sent me, even though I was not on her list. She’s such a sweetie like that. This lady can work magic with watercolour. These ATCs all feature her dapper ‘Monsieur Olivet’, a gentleman mouse with a very refined palate. What a little cutie, thanks Shirley.
And these two are from the amazing Sarah aka Flossy P. How lucky am I! She sent two beautiful cards (check out that delicate line work) and a fabulous hand-painted mono-print of Sydney terraces which will look just gorgeous all framed up. Thank you Ms Flossy, I love them.
And now I have a confession. I haven’t sent mine off yet, and it is late. To my poor Exchange recipient, I hope you can forgive me. I did so badly want to share my swap in this post with these lovely goodies, but alas disaster struck (in the form of an ever curious small person) and I have to start over. Mind you, some might say that the extra wash (ie. jar of sludge brown water) has added a certain vitality to the piece, sadly I am not one of them. I will definitely post about it when I’ve finished it. That’ll be me, all by myself… with nobodies ‘help’… bless them.
11 comments December 2, 2009
Of Light and Shadow
Over the great bridge, with sunlight through the girders making a constant flicker upon the moving cars, with the city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money.
The city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
Pinch and a punch, it’s the 1st of December, already. Sheesh! Blink and the whole year’s gone, just like that. Sometimes I wish I could slow it all down. And have more moments of pause; more moments to breathe life in.
I love the hazy filmic quality of these Polaroid images. They seem to capture small moments of quiet in the midst of the ceaseless city. It’s the New York that lives in my memory, coloured with scenes from wonderful movies and novels. I love the long, lanky shadows and the warm palette; they feel just like stills from an ethereal ‘film noir’. So wonderfully lyrical.
Image Credits: ToTR ~ Edward Kimuk. Spectra 7/10, NYU-01, SOHO-08 and Greenwich Village-01 ~ ToyBox. Please click on image titles for licence details.
4 comments December 1, 2009
Happily Crumpled
I can’t believe it. It’s finished. My first teensy quilt is done and dusted; crossing the finish line before the littlest poppet’s birthday. Oh so totally chuffed with that!
If I’m dreaming please don’t pinch me.
I can’t stop staring at it’s rumply, crumply surface amazed that we, my walking foot and I, actually created something that looks like the real deal. Imagine that?!
I’m happy to report there were no tears to speak of thanks to Denyse’s book, Liesl’s sanity saving info, and Fii’s fab binding tutorial. And the freeform approach inspired by this clever gal and this yummy book worked like a dream. In fact I found that playing with the colours and textures of the prints was hugely enlightening. I’m sure the discoveries made there will start showing up in my drawings as well, some how.
But at the end of the day it’s a doll’s quilt for a doll, so I had to try it out on a test subject. There were a few nail biting moments…
But what-do-ya-know, Foxy, who can be surprisingly hard to please, loves it.
Who’s the Mummy!
Head on over to Kirsty’s to peek into many, many more creative spaces.
You’ll be so glad you did.
17 comments November 26, 2009
Visions of Sugar Plums
Aren’t these images beautiful. They’re from Noa Noa Miniature’s Christmas collection, and have such a gorgeous vintage storybook quality to them, they make me wriggle in anticipation. Look at those plums and jewel blues.
Christmas is going to be huge at ours this year; I can’t wait! We are already stopping to examine every single Christmas decoration on route to everywhere. Along with having many animated discussions about how Santa could get inside when you don’t have a chimney. And trying to work out how ‘good’ does one need to be to make it onto Santa’s List.
When you have a three and four year old to share Christmas with, it can only be completely magical.
(Credit: All images used with kind permission of Noa Noa.)
9 comments November 17, 2009
