Weekend Snapshot
October 29, 2012 § 10 Comments
Had a go at weaving with Miss L resulting in something super cool for class news and a blanket for a happy mouse.
Watched KungFu Panda with the girls and then had KungFu ‘fights’ with some truly impressive moves.
Went for a walk to the boathouse, fed the ducks and slurped ice cream on a ridiculously beautiful day in Melbourne.
Hope you had a lovely lazy weekend too! x
My Creative Space – Sharing a Secret
October 25, 2012 § 24 Comments
I’ve been busy working on a secret collaboration that today I can finally share. Hooray!
Last year my lovely blog buddy Susie of Flower Press designed a seriously sweet marble print and made it up into gorgeous treasure bags. The moment I saw those bags ‘marbles’ landed on my girls Christmas lists.
They were a huge hit, easily outrunning other more ‘exciting’ toys in the christmas favorites stakes. Immediately these marbles were named, had stories created around them, and became pretend food for other toys. But it wasn’t long before they wanted to know how to play with them ‘properly’. Ok, I had a rough idea but when you are 5 and 7 rules are paramount. So to avoid excessive use of the ‘simmer down chairs’ I went online for instructions. In all my searching I found … zip, nada, not a sausage! Nothing for teaching the new reader set. They were all too complicated and way too dull – a yawnfest!
After declaring loudly and indignantly that “someone ought to make some decent instructions for kids” I released that maybe that someone ought to be me. So I got busy. As luck would have it my pint-sized judges gave the finished product the big thumbs-up and best of all because of the simple comic format they could teach themselves. Oh happy days!
Luckily when I showed Susie she loved them too and a fun collaboration has been in the works to create entirely handmade Marble Starter Kits for other little monkeys. Today is such an exciting day, because today is our big reveal. We have just listed these in Susies Etsy shop. Yay! You can read more about them over on the Flower Press Blog. We hope you like them! We certainly had the best fun making them (Thanks Susie, you’re a star!).
Check out lots of lovely creative spaces here.
For Owl Lovers
October 23, 2012 § 2 Comments
The school-holiday, school-fete, spring-cleaning whirlwind has finally subsided and just as I’m taking a breath I realize my next project is something for 2013. Yikes! I was just getting used to 2012!
This one is for Shivani’s Owl Lover’s Calendar. It’s a free downloadable calendar that you can completely customize choosing from an incredible body of work by over 40 international artists. Amongst all that goodness are wonderful submissions by Nathan Jurevicius, Ina Hattenhauer, Christine Pym, Cally Johnson-Isaacs, Anna See, Flora Chang, Bruno Nunes …
The only problem will be choosing just 12!
As for my submission – I figured with spring in the air love letters from a certain adoring pussycat seemed just the thing.
Cheery Stuff!
October 1, 2012 § 7 Comments
Hello! Yes I’m still here – sort of – we are in the thick of pom pom making, kite flying, movie going, cupcake making, scooter riding… holiday madness. Had intended to stay ‘under a rock’ until next Monday when school goes back and life returns to some kind of routine but I have some lovely news to share…
Ink Caravan has been featured in Bron’s shiny new Blog in the Spotlight segment over at Village Voices. The company over there is stellar so I am pretty awe-struck (thanks so much Bron! ) Hi to any new visitors, lovely to have you drop by! Ok, see you when the school holiday dust has settled – after a bit of a lull I’ve some new work to share. Yay!
ps. Don’t miss the new linky thing over at Blog in the Spotlight, it should make for a treasure trove of lovely blogs to visit.
A Celebration of Bears
August 2, 2012 § 23 Comments
Our ‘big’ girl just turned seven - Wow, where did that time go! Surely it was only yesterday that they let me take home this beautiful fragile little bundle. I remember feeling shocked at how irresponsible that seemed – At the time I had no idea how to look after a new born baby. Not a clue. But you wake up one morning and there she is, gorgeous, getting taller by the minute, sporting shoes almost the same size as your own. Amazing!
She had a ‘Build-a-Bear’ party this year. Maybe it’ll kerb the dramatic sighs we hear everytime we walk past the shop (Here’s hoping!). I have to say, watching seven little girls ‘making’ their own furry friends together is seriously sweet stuff – such natural Mums. So I’m very glad I added a good dollop of the same into the invitations and the party bags. If there’d been a smidge more time some fabric party hats in sweet vintage florals would have made a pretty fab girly trifecta. Nevermind, there were sprinkles of holepunch confetti in every envelope thanks to my punch-happy assistants. And despite the lack of ‘fancy pants’ hats, the bear shindig was a big success. Everyone went home happy with a new furry buddy, a tummy full of cake and a party bag. Life’s good at seven!
ps. Interestingly neither of my girls actually chose a bear – we now have a rabbit called Floppy and a Pony called Salt.
Check out lots of lovely creative spaces here
Lovely Randomness
July 25, 2012 § 6 Comments
Happy Wednesday! Just popped in to share a few super nice things:
Yesterday lovely Susie from Flower Press posted a Show and Tell interview with me. Thanks so much Susie! I’m totally chuffed to be part of such a brilliant series. If you haven’t heard of Flower Press do pop over, Susie’s gorgeous designs will sweep you off your feet. The Chrysanthemums print above is one of my favs.
This morning I made Poh’s Maple Crunch Muesli. The smell as it was toasting in the oven was beyond heavenly with cinnamon and nutmeg eg. but…. Oh MAAAAAN the taste…! It’s that good!
After breakfast I saw this short narrated by Ira Glass and absolutely loved it – thought you might too.
A Winter Postcard
July 17, 2012 § 12 Comments
Winter in Tenterfield is a season of brooding contemplation.
There is a quiet intensity that pervades everything here.
Harsh landscapes and biting winds that take your breath away.
Rolling hills burnt to rust by frost. Deep blue shadows that freeze the far side of every rock.
Campfire flames that greedily lick and blacken each new log.
The perfect place for the mind to wander.
Paintings | The Artist’s Camp, Tom Roberts | In a Corner on the Macintyre (Thunderbolt in an encounter with police at Paradise Creek), Tom Roberts | The Heidelberg School artists, particularly Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin, have long been some of my favorites. Imagine how utterly chuffed I was when I realized that I had moved into their old Melbourne stomping grounds and that my sense of déjà vu was completely relevant. It also turns out that one of Captain Thunderbolt‘s favorite haunts was the old Tenterfield racecourse, spitting distance from Dad’s camp. Wonderfully spooky!
