tsk tsk

giveaway

Miss M decided to tell me at 4.30pm she wanted to be an angel for the school Christmas concert which I only found out both kids were apart of at 9.00am earlier that day. The concert started at 6.15pm. I had my sister here in the afternoon hanging out with us before leaving for Thailand tomorrow and then to Ecuador so time was its usual manic mess. But I often amaze myself how I can find the most basic of materials in the house and produce a costume within a flash. White card, two straws, and some cotton wool balls.

Is that something that mothers get given when they become mothers? The ability to whip up something in order for little faces to be happy? What have you made for your little one in under an hour before rushing out the door?

This week I am giving away some greeting cards and an original collage of Schmookins over at bloesem kids for their Win on Wednesday section.

appreciation goes a long way

The best thing about doing what I do is the appreciation people have when they like something of mine. Sometimes it is in words and sometimes it is in photos. This morning I received an email from a customer who purchased an ABCme poster earlier this year.  Rachel lives in the US and sent me some photos of her little boy's nursery where the poster hangs proudly on her wall. Isn't it the most amazing room?

I've been working on some more commissions of late. These three are finished and I have another still to do. I really enjoy making these.

And last but not least I will be joining a group of local ladies in Brisbane for a Christmas Twilight market this coming Friday the 27th from 6pm. If you are in Brisbane and would like to come along, please email me and I can tell you the details. I will have a few new prints and originals there, including new Kokeshi dolls which are also in my etsy shop.

weekly obsession

i have a love hate relationship with cats. You see I much prefer the company of dogs. I guess that is a nice way of saying I hate cats.  Are you still there friends?

I just don't understand the cat species. But I do love cat sofites. I think it is their faces and eyes. And I just love the way the makers of animal softies and plush like toys dress them up in beautiful clothes. So to satisfy my obsession I have made a new limited edition print of two little kitties. Titled 'best friends', it is quite apt at the moment as I watch Miss M developing friendships. She seems to have a new best friend every week.

Some softies I really like are {r to l, t to b} Zing the Cat, by j.m. aranez from One Red Robin

Maximillian by Junker Jane

Sylvie Cat by Hop skip jump

Kitty Pair by Beeper Beeb

the print is now available for sale.

turn up the music and sew

you know when you start cleaning and all of a sudden you discover all the projects you started months ago and want to stop your cleaning in order to finish them. Well.....on the weekend I finished one of them and have almost finished the other.  AND DID SOME CLEANING!!!!! This quilt I started last year using scraps from my stash. I took it away on holidays to the beach back in January and as of today I only have to hand stitch the back of the binding! YAY.

I have decided that it is going to be my thing to do whilst the kids are splashing in the pool. So I sit here and watch over them, turn up the music and sew. Agghh, summer!!!

And the painting is another wooden original now in my shop. I hope to be painting as much as I can over the next few months.

And what music am I listening to now? Well I've just discovered the sounds of Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson and when I want to chill out I've been listening to the Anouar Brahem..beautiful Arabian styled music with jazz influences.

I'm living with bubble wrap at my feet

a few days away was just what we needed. Although the kids are still a little too little to truly relax. Especially when there is water nearby.I've returned to my work and will be busy for some weeks to come. I'm trying to spend any given break from 'tsk tsk' work cleaning up my house. Honestly, it is to the point where I can no longer yell at the kids about the state of their rooms and I'm waiting for one of them to say "but your room is messy too mum".

I'm living with bubble wrap at my feet, piles of swept cotton threads in corners of rooms and the tables and benches are quickly disappearing under all the paperwork. I can't find invitations for kids' birthday parties, or even the school fees invoice.

I want that studio space I dream of. A shared space set in an old Queensland worker's cottage in an inner city suburb.Or that mudbrick shack on a hill with an amazing view.

And then I wake up to Mr N coming in from his morning bike ride with a chin cut open and blood all over his cycle vest. 10 stitches later.....

And  It is only Tuesday.

I'm holding on to the first image of Miss M flying her kite whilst drawing in the sand.

what a week

this week isn't even over and it has been full of highs and lows. I won't go into the lows right now, but rather concentrate on the highs because it seems to be the only thing getting me through my hot and tired self.

Mathilda's market was great. I met so many new people and finally got to meet so many online friends face to face. I can't spend long posting at the moment, but I just wanted to thank all of those who bought some of my work and to those who just said lovely things. I received this via email from 'kiki' who paid me a visit all the way from the Sunshine Coast with her daughter. Asha drew a picture of me and her on this plate. How special is that? It was the icing on the cake and I will treasure the plate, minus a slice forever. A big thanks to my friend Katrina who helped me on the day and also to my friend Kylie for all the bits and pieces and I can't forget Sarah for the coffee. I'm busy with lots of work and life and dramas, but....

I'm taking a break until next week. Going to the coast with friends from Melbourne.

trigger treeding and jacorandas

It seems in this house our kids have discovered Halloween. My generation never celebrated Halloween as the Northern Hemisphere does. Infact it was't an event at all!  But I'd say that tonight  just about every neighbourhood across Australia there will be little dressed up terrors knocking on doors tonight. M calls it 'trigger treeding" She has no idea what it is all about. I think she will just be happy with green hairspray in her hair.

I was too lazy to buy a pumpkin to carve. the local ones are too hard and the imported ones too expensive. (You can see I'm really getting into the spirit of things). Pardon the pun.

So I carved a rockmelon instead. Not sure how our Jack O Lantern or as it is called by M as Jacoranda, is going to light up, but I don't think they will mind. Perhaps I should have filled it with red jelly instead.

In the meantime, I'm all ready for tomorrow. My little helpers this morning were great at packing some of the greeting cards, while I snapped some shots of work I'll be taking.

Went to the Finders Keepers today and it was really great. So happy to see lots of like minded people there. Glad Brisbane is really starting to support these events.

Best go green paint to be sprayed!!!

6 new cards

I have this feeling that my computer is about to crash. It's making that chugging sound. I haven't turned it off in over a week and I'm getting all sorts of messages about a full disk. Next week, I'll be spring cleaning my house because I don't recall what colour my floors are, and I'll be spring cleaning my computer.

Today is all about printing, packing, mailing, and getting ready for Sunday. I have 6 new greeting card designs ready for sale. I'm using a new recycled stock which has a lovely sheen. I'll just be keeping this in the Etsy shop for now. I'm really happy with how they turned out. All are blank. 4 are for Christmas, with the intent of making the design a little more suited to a warmer climate. The other two are for any occasion.

For all of you who visit my blog, I'd like to offer a special. (I'm not advertising this anywhere else. Just here in this space) Spend $25 US or AUD more in my shop and I'll send you two cards for free. I'll end the offer by November 12th.

Don't forget if you are coming along to the markets on Sunday, I only will have cash facilities.