Anna Bartlett

Are you still here?

2011-03-24T15:15:00.000+10:00

Really? You are missing out on all the new stuff!

Come on over to www.shinyhappyart.com/blog/ now - and be sure to change any reader feeds that you may have.

I'm missing you too!

Here's what you've missed

2010-12-12T21:44:00.000+10:00

Now, I've moved my blog over to my domain name, but honestly, it's feeling a bit lonely over there.

So if you haven't changed my link in your reader or in your favourites, come on over now and check out what you've been missing... there's the free downloadable candy cane paper (above). And ...

there's Emergency Cookies...

a special Christmas Dress...

Christmas Stockings sewn from scraps and denim...

And a quite ridiculous wreath that started with chopsticks...

You'd better come visit. Or I'll send the heavies around.

(Perhaps we're all heavies around here because one spoon is never enough.)

See you there!

YOU'RE INVITED

2010-11-30T01:29:00.000+10:00

to the new home of my blog - here - http://www.shinyhappyart.com/blog/

I've rebuilt my website using Wordpress, so it makes sense to do the blog there too. (And considering I just tried to add an image and blogger wouldn't let me, perhaps I am doing the right thing!)

There's still a lot to learn, it doesn't quite feel like home yet, but come over now and help me settle in.

I've even got a FREE CHRISTMAS IMAGE over there - consider it part of your 'party bag'.

NOTE - I couldn't move the comments from some recent posts across, but thank you to everyone who said lovely things on my baby's anniversary. Every one was sincerely appreciated.

Now, I'll see you on the other side!

Animation Friday - get packing!

2010-11-26T18:07:00.013+10:00

I'm not sure if this animation will work properly actually - I've built it in Photoshop (my first attempt) - so maybe you'll only see it move through once... if that's what happens I'll come back later and try and fix it. If it doesn't move at all... well, I'll definitely try again later. EDIT - HEY! Thanks Cintia - it works!

Anyway, a lovely lovely lady ordered FIFTY of my charity hankies last week (supporting the Scarlett Kisses Project), and here they are. All packed up and happily jumping into the Express Post bag.

They really are a great 'little' gift. When you want to give something, but the littler and easier-to-post the better. They're $6 and if you go to my new site when it launches this Monday you can order some to jump in a bag and be sent to you!

I wish I could have shown you my makeshift tripod set up (but the camera was in use!). A ridiculous assortment of boxes and New Guinean statues holding down the camera strap as the lense balanced precariously off the edge of the cabinet. Really professional.

So for more nifty (and perhaps more active) animations, come join in at my poppet (where you'll be glad this is not smellamation!).

Remembering

2010-11-25T08:50:00.000+10:00

I've had this post in my head for MONTHS, but here I am, with a towel on my head, trying to get it posted before I leave to collect the girls (who had a sleepover at Grandma's last night). It's pretty personal, but somehow it seems appropriate for me to document this memory in this space.

This morning my husband gave me this sweet bouquet of flowers from our garden (they're pretty battered and bruised because it's been pretty wet here this week). Mainly it's all about the gardenias (ah, their perfume!) because today it has been TEN YEARS since I gave birth to my second child, Caitlin, who was born still.

And on the day of her funeral there was one perfect gardenia in our garden.

The quilt we were given in the hospital - THANK YOU GENEROUS QUILTERS - it has a little bit of her cord blood on it, which I'm crazy happy about, and a sweet tiny teddy a friend made for her.

She's moulded our lives for the better in ways we would never have known about, had she been able to stay. I now understand more and love more, but as anyone who has known grief knows, sometimes it sneaks up on you and you have to go with it. She's definitely made me a better, softer, mother.

So thank you Caitlin, darling child of mine.

What is the secret?

2010-11-24T08:57:00.000+10:00

... to cutting Caramel Slice?

OK, one of you know. I'd like to be in on it thank you.

I've never made this morning-tea-staple before, and I suspect I should have made it in a bigger tin, which would have made it thinner, and I did try dipping the knife blade in hot water (which made a bit of a mess) but really, the thing was cracking up as I approached it with the knife.

Lucky, none of the kids at the music-break-up are going to mind. This isn't Masterchef (although if 'it all comes down to the taste', I'm a winner).

This is what it looked like in the Women's Weekly recipe book that I followed. I didn't add the walnuts because of possible allergies, of course.

Hmmm. Another first world mystery.

On a happier note, I finally got all my figures done and to my lovely accountant. Of course that meant redesigning my whole system and having to print out lovely fresh bookkeeping pages, blank and full of potential. I actually studied accounting at uni, and I think that was always my favourite bit, getting to write neat rows of figures on clean, ruled paper. Probably not enough of a reason for it to be my true calling (obviously). I used to do my figures on the computer, but since having the most recent batch of kids I've regressed to pencil and paper. It's just easier at the moment.

Other things have been happening on the website front and I am announcing HERE that it will all go LIVE next MONDAY. There, it's out there now, so it will happen. I'm also moving my blog across to the wordpress platform my new site has been built on, so I'll let you know the new address soon. Still a few things to figure out there... I can feel my brain expanding, and actually, that feels good.

OK so now, secret keepers, fill me in on the facts!

Musical Mural

2010-11-22T00:42:00.001+10:00

At the end of each year, the Year 7 kids from our school do some sort of 'service' to the school. Leaving their mark in a positive way.

This year they decided to do a mural on the old 'whitehouse', which is a rundown building that houses the music rooms and second-hand clothes room.

And as I am a Year 7 parent, they asked me to design it, and the Year 7's will finish it in colour. I got the outlines done today - can't wait to see them finish it off!

And here's another slightly blurry photograph from a memory of today, that makes my heart burst.

I love that kid. And he's not bad either.

My Creative Space - hoo hoo

2010-11-18T08:01:00.000+10:00

This week I SO wanted to sew a top for S. We've had some hot weather, and I've had this gorgeous owl fabric (from Tessuti) calling my name. (Because S's name means 'wisdom' I'm subtly suggesting a bit of an owl theme for her childhood.) So last night I stayed up and just did it.

Of course, when I asked S to put it on so I could take a photo, she insisted on heading straight out to the ride-on mower for the shots. Hmmmm. Interesting choice.

And modelling in general meant an particular stance.

I love this pattern. It's from this pattern book, and it has just enough little details to be special. There was a time when I wouldn't attempt anything with 'extras' like pleats and frills, but now I'm keen to make really special things that will be treasured and worn because I just love seeing my kids wearing them.

Head over to kootooyoo for more of today's creative spaces.

It's time

2010-11-16T07:53:00.000+10:00

It's that time of year again - I was trying to put it off until the end of term, but I couldn't wait. I needed to find what day a date in February 2011 was.

So I caved and put up the first 2/3 of 2011. It's a blank slate. Gorgeous. Clean. Full of potential.

(It comes as one big page, but I need to cut it so I can open the pantry - although hey, that would be one diet that I haven't tried yet...)

Can I tell you how much I LOVE my REMO Tempus Fugit Wall Planner? If you've been following me for over a year, you probably already know.

It's a year at a glance. It has our regular phone numbers in the margins. It means I don't miss tuckshop baking, dentist appointments and birthday parties. It's concise and to the point. And I can see everything with a phone in one hand and a baby in the other.

Click on this little square image if you want to see for yourself. They're about $17 I think. Have I mentioned that I love mine?

Taking that photo of the pantry door, made me notice the round, black remnants of the 'child-proof' lock thing we tried to keep the girls out with. Hmmm. Didn't last long actually.

Similar story on the fridge...

And on this kitchen cupboard (where we store the dry pet food - which has some sort of bizarre attraction to my kids)...

And this contraption on the TV cabinet does virtually nothing...

So, in response to Amber Dusick's question about how much parenting gear is enough, I can say that we've tried a lot of it, but either the kids are too smart, or the locks are too weak, but really, we may as well not have anything. I know that one day soon I'll notice that the baby's over the constantly-poaching-yogurts-from-the-fridge activity that is her favourite at the moment.

And that will be a very special day.

One thing I can say worked though, are these door locks (door knob covers - not quite sure what they're called, but we got ours from Target).

They stop the little girls getting into the boys rooms (and up onto their bunks) even when they're tall enough to reach the handle. Adults can open the door by holding in the red buttons to grip the doorknob. Saved us putting on locks, and has kept the girls safe. Love them.

And that's my community service tip for the day. What child safety gadgets have worked for you?

Monday's Art Tip 10 - Grid is not a dirty word

2010-11-15T07:24:00.026+10:00

Now, please, I want to stress that portraiture isn't my main thing, but I do like to try my hand at it from time to time, particularly when it comes to my kids.

They grow so fast (that's the truest cliche) and spending some time really studying their features, and creating a sketch of them, as they were, today, is a beautiful luxury. I think it's the studying that interests me the most. Noticing the curve of a brow, the tweak at the corner of a mouth, the flutter of an eyelash... gorgeous.

Anyway, hopefully you've had a go at sketching a flower or a similar 'unopinionated' object after last week's Art Tip, and now you're ready to have a go at a face.

My idea here is to study your subject in this sketching exercise, and that will set you up nicely to try an acrylic version of the portrait next week.

So, here's a little technique for you. It's not 'loose' or particularly artistic, but it's a great way to build skills for a beginner, or revisit proportions for more experienced artists.

Firstly, choose a photo with good light and shade. I stood my daughter with a light on one side of her face, then took the photo.

I imported the photo into Picnik, reduced the size, then went to 'sandbox effects', applied 'adjustable threshold' until I was happy with the contrast, and then applied 'posterize' before resaving it. (I'd usually do similar steps to this in Photoshop, but as Picnik is a free online resource, I thought it best to do this demo with it.)

Now, the easiest thing for a beginner is to print and draw at the same size, so that's what I did. I applied a grid to the image, lightly pencilled the grid on my sketch pad, and started drawing in the shapes, square to square. Remember to do this bit UPSIDE DOWN, so that your brain's thinking 'shape', not 'eye' or 'mouth'.

Then, inspired by the sketchbooks of the amazing Alisa Burke, I sketched over the pencil lines with a ballpoint pen. Crosshatching lightly seems to work for me here.

I then turned it right side up, to check it,

gently rubbed out the pencil grid lines, and then lightly coloured it with watercolour - I used plenty of water because I wanted it to be subtle (it was on 300gsm watercolour paper, so it didn't buckle too badly - be careful with water if you're using a lighter weight paper), blotting with a rag when the colour was too dark.

Just look at those paints. They're a Winsor and Newton field box, and that's my maiden name in the cover - and I've been married almost 15 years... a great buy!

And that's it - done!

My top tips for beginners to try sketching someone you love -

Don't go too big yet, and perhaps only do their face - or even their hand - that way the shapes are large enough for you to get right on the grid. And make the grid boxes as small as you need them to be. Remember, you're just doing the shapes, one square at a time.
Don't be too hard on yourself. Just as the drawing is a record of what you saw that day, it's also a record of how experienced you were at drawing on that day. If you know you can do better, or would like to do better, that's fine. Date it, and you've got yourself a benchmark.
Once done, take a photo and give either the original or the photo to your subject (it's totally up to you). I'm going to put this sketch in my daughter's 'precious things box'. So it may be years before she sees it, and it'll be a nice surprise for both of us. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that.

Hope that's been interesting, and next week we'll try it on canvas!

If you have any questions or comments about this process, I'd love to hear/answer them. Go on now, sketch someone you love.

So my kids like Harry Potter (and ok, so do I)

2010-11-14T13:06:00.000+10:00

So if you need something to do, check out the great posters you can make here.

Heaven

2010-11-13T08:31:00.001+10:00

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/11/garden-shed-studio-green-walls.php

After yesterday's rant, I think this could be my new "Happy Place". We've been planning an extension, but one look at this and I think we could be back to the drawing board.

What would be your perfect 'creation' space?

Animation Friday - a Backdrop and some background

2010-11-12T12:16:00.001+10:00

Ah, it feels like it's been a big week - and even though it's been more 'at home' than last week, I think the sense of being stuck in the quicksand that is 'housework' gets to me more than anything.

The girls are both interesting and delightful at the moment, and that seems to come hand-in-hand with 'creative destruction', 'culinary destruction' and of course, 'wanton destruction'.

So every time I manage to achieve one thing (like hanging a load of washing on the line or oh, putting breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, earth-shattering stuff), I turn around to find:

an entire collection of straws pulled out of a basket and distributed through the toys, or
the dog's water found behind the tree (where I thought it would be a secret between myself and the dog) now tipped on a freshly-dressed-to-go-out toddler, or
a baby who's managed to climb from a bed to a chest of drawers, and is now hanging from a wall-mounted shelf (no photo for obvious reasons)

- honestly, even by the fourth, they're still coming up with things I haven't got solutions for.

And I know I'm not Robinson Crusoe here.

The house is so FULL of stuff, I'd love to cull, but simply keeping up with the day-to-day is all I can manage at the moment. Ah! Remind me of all this when the kids are bigger and I complain about being busy, ok!

So what am I doing typing a post instead of doing the other stuff on my list?

At least I can feel there is something that I have done today that is finished, won't be undone as swiftly as it was done, and that I've been in contact with other adults. And that may be the reason why I blog!

Today's very quick animation is from Wednesday's painting of a photography backdrop. I like the way you can see the light change through the day. I started at about 11 in the morning (it took that long to move the furniture, get the paint and set up!) and finished close to 5pm (the kids ended up having dinner at Mum's that night - thanks Mum!).

Visit Cintia at mypoppet for more animations.

Until next time... I've got a few things I need to get done around here...

My Creative Space - it's HUGE!

2010-11-11T07:56:00.003+10:00

I've been painting a backdrop for a photographer friend, and it's not a neat process (or a lonely one, obviously, can see 3 phone handsets in this photo!). I used my Ezibuy catalogues as drip catchers - now I can't buy anything out of them - it's a lack-of-self-control thing, the fact that it's not safe keeping them intact.

This is the end product on the dining room floor.

The rest of the house is stacked with chairs and tables. You'd swear we were moving.

Can I also tell you that this glue is fantastic.Better than Aquadhere.

I used it to glue the two pieces of primed canvas together for this project, and I also used it when I covered my desk in fabric a few months ago (you can see a bit of that desk in this photo, actually).

And I've just realised that I've photographed the French side of the label - there's English on the other side - but that's not quite as exotic, is it? Must be channelling my inner Nathalie!

Now go and get inspired at the home of the Creative Space - kootooyoo!

The Wonderful Whimsical Wace Day

2010-11-10T08:21:00.011+10:00

You may have noticed (or not!) that I wasn't around here much last week.

I was on the committee for our school Race Day, which I'm happy to say was a huge success.

My main responsibility was Graphic Design, so I had to make sure this year's Wonderland theme was carried through on all our printed materials.

and some other very talented committee members worked their butts off to create these fantastic marquee decorations.

The amazing 'Miss Whimsy' sculpture was by acclaimed artist (and parent), Joy Heylen.

We sold 380 tickets, so the place was pretty packed.

There were promotional "Alice" characters and even a stiltwalker!

Love this photo from the night of one of my friends (Mavis Monsoon, anyone?) in the crowd.

There were some horses, and for one race they actually started right in front of our marquee, which was fantastic.

Still to discover how close we came to the amount needed for the interactive whiteboards we were gunning for... but am sure we will be close!

Great event, but happy to be moving onto the other things on my list now.

I started volunteering for SANDS about 9 years ago, and now as a regular committee member for things like this I have to say the friendships and experience and skills I have gained from being involved have been enormous. And I've also realised how much in the world only gets done because of volunteers. Incredible.

It stuns me just as much as the fact that you can TRULY BELIEVE that a baby is asleep, and yet somehow a tiny 'pop' from your ankle as you attempt to leave the room somehow wakes her from deep slumber to emit a terrifying scream.

Someone should do a study about that. Any volunteers?

FINALLY!

2010-11-09T09:15:00.001+10:00

Hey! I finally drew a winner for that alstromeria picture that I blogged about here.

It's... drumroll please... MARISSA! Marissa, I think I already have your address here (somewhere), but perhaps email it to me (just to make sure) and I'll pop it in the post.

Thanks everyone!

A Special Excursion

2010-11-09T08:04:00.001+10:00

When I saw this bag on Curlypop's blog... what can I say... it 'called my name'.

Ever had that happen?

Cam called it the "Quince Bag", and the bottom bit was originally a gorgeous linen teatowel, and the top bit is a wool blend - it feels soft and flannel-ly.

I emailed Cam directly, and was lucky enough to get in first. She's had at least two more enquiries about this particular bag (as a 'maker', isn't that always the way? You could sell one thing 12 times over, but you still have a stack of other things!) and has even custom made one with another teatowel as a result.

Anyway, today I took my new bag for a bit of an excursion...

We both loved it!

If you're in Brisbane, it ends next Sunday. I'm no fashionista, but it was amazing to see the dress that Julia Roberts wore to accept her Erin Brockovich Oscar, up close. And the incredible attention to detail was inspiring.

This was my 3 year old's favourite dress...

I fear we may have started something.

Monday's Art Tip 9 - Learning how to REALLY see!

2010-11-08T23:30:00.003+10:00

Today's tip (and thanks for waiting, by the way) is about drawing and painting what you ACTUALLY see, not what you THINK you're seeing.

I'd love to encourage you to draw your kids, their toys, your pets... someone or something close to you - and certainly that would be MY goal for you. Wouldn't you love to have a drawing of you as a child, by your parent or grandparent? Would you care if it wasn't perfect? (Would you even notice?!) But most of those subjects have opinions, or you have very high expectations of yourself to create a true likeness.

So, if you're a beginner, I'd really recommend starting with something like a flower, or even food - because they are subjects that really won't mind if it doesn't look EXACTLY right!

Now, to explain what I'm talking about today, here's a starting photo of a flower from my Mum's garden. It's got an interesting shape, and that's what I'm looking for today.

Now, here's what your mind is probably seeing as the flower... that is, what you think you had to draw. It's an arrangement of petals and stamens, in varying colours...

But I'd like to encourage you to see this instead...

And once you can see the 'thing' as a shape instead, whack on a quick grid...

... and then turn it upside down.

Now draw that!

Now you've got the proportions of your composition right (or at least they're a lot closer to being right that they would have been if you'd just gone ahead and drawn 'the flower that your brain saw'). Then refer back to the original photo to fill in the most important details... (stay loose, the world doesn't need an exact duplication - we've already got a photo!)

What next? Start shading in the background darks (don't use black!) and inside colours - keep thinking of them as shapes, relative in size and shape to the other things around them.

Then think of tonal variation - make your dark areas darker, which will naturally make your light areas appear lighter! Just push a bit harder on the pencil, or 'crosshatch' which simply means, sketching lines in the opposite direction so that they 'cross' - that'll make things darker too.

You don't have to have special pencils for an exercise like this - I used a box of "Jumbo Triangle Colourfun Pencils" (I like to have a go with them before I share them with the kids). But of course, if you're using basic colours, they may not have much of a selection. So use the COMPLEMENTARY COLOUR (opposite on the colour wheel) to 'grey back' any brights that are too bright. For example, here I have shaded some red over the bright green in the background, so it appears a little more natural and is a different colour to the green of the stamens.

Keep on filling in any areas that need more definition, then turn it right side up... and there you have it! A flower that looks a lot more like it should, than if you'd just 'drawn a flower'.

If you want to learn more about this method, I highly recommend the classic drawing book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. She describes in depth just why things don't look the same when they are upside down. I mentally turn shapes upside down when I'm doing precise calligraphy, and ALWAYS do it when I'm drawing or painting faces that need to be recognisable.

And the best bit is turning it right-way-up at the end.

This is the exact technique I used to paint this rabbit on cardboard that we used at our school Race Day last Saturday - more info about that later this week.

I'll show how I do this with faces in my next Art Tip. And I'm working on a tutorial of how you can paint a simple portrait on canvas.

What are you going to try drawing now???

Busy Busy

2010-11-02T11:03:00.000+10:00

Hey, it's a bit busy here this week, what with MELBOURNE CUP (I LOVE Melbourne Cup) and our school Race Day this Saturday - so I am even behind with my Monday Art Tips.

But the next one will be on 'truly seeing' what you are drawing, and it WILL be interesting, so I'm going to just tease you with that little piece of info, and I'll be back blogging soon.

So I'll leave you with this image of teacups, that will be available as a matted print once my new-improved site is up and running in the next fortnight.

Go on now, get lucky! (Harris Tweed has very long odds, but is talking to me... have to go and have a little flutter on it now, just in case!)

Animation Friday - Butterflies

2010-10-29T17:38:00.002+10:00

Today's animation is of a painting done this week and mentioned in yesterday's Creative Space.

It's more of a 'decorator piece' than anything. The numbers are from the pages of the lovely old butterfly book that I refer to.

At the end though, I changed one of the blueish butterflies to much brighter colours as I wasn't happy with the weight of the tones. I also lightened the tone of the background as the piece progressed, to give more contrast and interest.

Hope these are still interesting enough!

For quite a variety of different animations, head over to the not-very-well-today Cinti at my poppet.

My Creative Space - Shiny Shiny

2010-10-28T11:45:00.000+10:00

Today's creativeness has involved varnishing two canvases.

The first is a butterfly scene to be donated to my kids' school at the Race Day next weekend.

The development of this painting will be the subject of my animation tomorrow. Really. I'll be doing Animation Friday ON Friday, as opposed to Monday's Art Tip that just happened to be on Wednesday this week. Promise. OK, well, I'll do my best.

The second is a commissioned portrait of four children, that will be a birthday gift, so identities have been disguised for now, just to be sure it's a surprise.

Now off to set up for more hanky screenprinting before the bub wakes up.

For more Creative Spaces, head over to Kirsty at Kootooyoo.

Monday's Art Tip 8 - Lost and Found

2010-10-27T15:47:00.001+10:00

This is another tip that my Mum has taught me, and it's about directing the viewer's eye to the focal point you want them to, well, focus on!

There are a few ways to do this, and they can all work together.

You can make sure the focal point has the greatest contrasts (the lightest lights and the darkest darks). As in the butterflies below.

And / or you can make sure the focal point has the brightest colours (here is a detail shot of the full painting at the top of this post, it's by Diana Battle).

And / or you can make sure it has the most 'found' edges. To explain. Here's a 'lost' edge.

It's blurry, not sharp... it's 'lost'.

Here's a 'found' edge.

It's sharper, painted more deliberately, more precisely, it's 'found'.

Here's another example of found edges at the focal point, in this mixed media painting by my friend, Nic Hohn (if you haven't visited her site yet, do go, it's lovely there).

Now you can look out for more examples of this tip! I was thinking Mona Lisa, Monet's waterlillies... and if you use it yourself, please add your links in a comment below.

And for the record, yes, I know it's Wednesday, but my son just bought himself an itouch and (strangely) our internet limit has been reached... so my speed is throttled and it's driving me slightly bonkers. Things are going to have to change around here, I'm thinking!

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

2010-10-25T16:27:00.000+10:00

On Sunday morning, my little Masterchef made these Cinnamon Bun Pancakes from the "How Does She?" Blog.

And everyone loved them. THIS much.

So , here's the recipe (click for larger image), or, for a beautifully photographed list of ingredients and method, go across to the How Does She blog and have a drool.

Is anyone else watching this?!!

2010-10-23T10:38:00.000+10:00

Our whole family has been seriously enjoying the clips from "Race Around the Island" on Saturday Disney. Honestly, my husband is 47 and we're all getting a laugh out of it.

Now, instead of having to appoint one member of the family to be the 'spotter' and call us all when it's on, I've just realised you can watch the 5 minute episodes online here. There are four so far.

So meet the 3 teams -

The Newlyweds - Doug and Toni

They're fierce, athletic and cut-throat!

The Backpackers - Ronja and Sonja

They're European twins with great hair!

The Models - Hilary and Dakota

They're beautiful, fabulous and fashionable!

Favourite line -

Sonja- "We are so close. We always finish each other's...."

Ronja".... (long pause) ... sausages."

Waste no more time here - go here and have a Saturday laugh!

Nathalie Lete Love - in miniature

2010-10-23T08:21:00.002+10:00

Check out this terrific dolls house featuring Nathalie Lete (my art crush) paintings!

... hand tufted rugs and Japanese silk bed linen.

The whole story is here at Jenni's.

Makes ours look in dire need of a makeover - Nathalie style!

And here's another fantastic idea that encourages imaginative play without destroying the beds every day -

It's from Curbside Style and makes me think we may need a square edged table around here ...

Animation Friday - Well Hello Dora

2010-10-22T14:02:00.001+10:00

It's my niece's birthday today. What was going to be a Dorothy cake, became a last minute request for a Dora cake.

And that became today's animation!

NOTE - My mother looked at it and said 'is it a cow?' and I said 'no, it's Dora the Explorer - it's a girl' and she said 'well, what are the horns for?'... and now I see them...

More of such things over at the lovely my poppet!

Happy weekend to you!

My Creative Space - Recycling

2010-10-21T23:45:00.001+10:00

Things are very busy here this week.

During bub's sleep time today, I got started on a painting that I'm donating for my school's fundraising Race Day, coming up in a couple of weeks. I said I'd do two decorator pieces, as top prizes in one of the draws, which, for me, is better than doing one 'masterpiece' to be auctioned (which is like saying 'take my heart and see if someone can get a bargain' - usually awful).

I'm painting this first one over a painting I did two years ago (that hadn't found it's destiny yet), and it's nice to farewell the old and welcome the new.

By the way, I've just found a description of a terrific way to mark where you want to hang a picture on a wall - here at 'Tatertots and Jello' - read down past the tutorial on specimen art (which is pretty cool, actually) and there it is. Involving painters tape and a thumbtack. Are you intrigued yet?

For more creative spaces, head over to Kootooyoo.

Strange Company

2010-10-20T08:21:00.006+10:00

Check out the totally bizarre and amazing ideas at this Finnish site - COMPANY.

This is prototype for a dress and playhouse in one ('for all the busy moms'). I can see that it would be handy at church, especially if we're late and need to stand at the back. Hard to get up the aisle for communion though...

How much fun are these dance shoes 'for the father and the daughter' - €95 + delivery.

And what about these Riding Pants 'for families without ponies' - at only €185, that'd be cheaper than a real pony, no?

How amazing to think of something (that would possibly be regarded as silly) and then make it (anyway)!

The Cluedo Party - Part 2 (NO BAKE)

2010-10-19T15:22:00.000+10:00

I do like to put on a birthday party. But it occurred to me last week that this is possibly the only one I haven't actually 'baked' for. And perhaps that deserves a post.

The Party Theme - Cluedo
The Reason - Eldest Child Turning 12
The Guests - 9 boys and 7 girls

The Menu

Starters - 3 bags of chips and a heated box of 64 'party pieces' (spring rolls, etc).

Meal - a "DIY Burger Bar". With on-special bun rolls, pre-made burger patties and pork chipolatas.

Dessert - a "DIY Ice Cream Bar". Modelled on the 'Cold Rock' idea, just with less choices - and without a cold rock, obviously.

I did make a layered jelly that my kids call 'Awesome Jelly' - always a winner.

Birthday Cake - Icecream Cake.

I've done this 3 times before - simply softened icecream (this time it was just vanilla), piled into a metal bowl lined with glad wrap and refrozen. I've found it's best to also freeze the plate you're going to serve it on. Then when you turn it out, tip about 1 1/2 bottles of icemagic on top and spread it around. Just before it sets, stick plastic figurines of your choice into the chocolate. Ta dah!

The cake was the icecream that they added their toppings to.

Goodie Bags - a few lollies and an M&M Cookie (packed by me in a CD envelope with a thank you sticker on it) from Coles.

Extra prizes - disposable gloves (not the latex kind, more like the home-hair-colouring kind) filled with coloured popcorn.

And there you go. Done! The kids had a great time.

I really recommend the burger bar idea when you have such a variety of appetites at the party - and it's great now that they are all old enough to serve themselves. Am thinking it'll work at my 40th next year actually.

Now our 'birthday season' is over, and life can resume it's usual pace. It's been fun.

Until next year...

Monday's Art Tip 7 - Spice it up with VaRiEtY!

2010-10-19T00:26:00.000+10:00

Just a quick one today (it's bad enough that it's actually no longer Monday) - something that I remember that my Year 9 art teacher, Mr Foley, taught me, oh, back in 1984...

break the line.

It's as simple as knowing that (when drawing) a plain, straight, consistent weight line can be boring.

Of course, sometimes a solid, even line is the look you're going for.

But if you want a more realistic image that 'dances', it's good to make your illustration more calligraphic, by pressing harder and softer with your pen or pencil, and leaving gaps in the line - this means the viewer subconsciously fills in the gaps, and becomes more 'involved' with your picture.

(notice the ebb and flow of the lines now?)

I thought I'd draw you an example - so here is a quick sketch of our old tricycle in all it's wonky back wheeled glory.

And then I was going to draw it with a single weight line as a comparison. But one of my children rode it away while I was distracted by the phone... and I can tell you where all the children are now, but I can't tell you precisely where the tricycle is ...

So here is a chair instead (much harder to be ridden away).

And it's late now, so I'm not going to redraw the chair at the moment with a stop-start line. (I might do that another day this week and add it in here.)

But can you see that the chair is quite bland in comparison to the trike and the flowers? And by giving yourself permission to let the line 'dance', you are very likely to make your whole image 'sing' too.

Go on, try it.

It is harder to colour images in photoshop or similar, if you have breaks in the lines so 'dropped in colour' escapes. But there are ways to handle that too, which I'll cover in a future post.

You can use this method with painted lines too - and I'll talk about "losing and finding" edges next week.

Tomorrow I'll reveal the menu for the 'no bake' birthday party too. Promise.

And (this is my last 'and') if you're sweet enough to have read all the way to the end of this post, and you'd like to leave a comment, I'll draw a name at noon this Wednesday 20th October, and send the winner the original of the watercoloured sketch of alstromeria flowers at the top of this page. Just as a little thank you.

So 'thank you'. And happy line dancing!

Animation Friday - Rule of Thirds Demo

2010-10-15T08:08:00.000+10:00

Last Monday's Art Tip talked about The Rules of Thirds (not exactly sure where the plurals should go there...).

This animation shows the development and application of the rules I mentioned.

For more fun Friday Animations, be sure to visit Cintia at my poppet!

The Cluedo Party - Part 1

2010-10-15T00:34:00.001+10:00

To be honest, I was a bit worried about how this party was going to work. Especially when we were looking down the barrel of cold, wet weather.

My eldest had his mind set on some sort of Murder Mystery Party, and we borrowed a board game for one from a friend... but it seemed like too much for 12 year olds.

So we settled on Cluedo.

We designed the invitations based on actual Cluedo cards. These are the actuals -

And this is the front and back of the invitation -

Then did up our game cards. J got photos of all 16 of his guests to make cards for them, and decided on 16 motives and 16 weapons (including a pineapple and an octopus).

When they arrived, the 'Butler' told them all how it was going to work and gave them all one card and their Clue sheets.

Then they all played four games, with the winners getting more cards. They were encouraged to form alliances (although one boy came and asked me what an 'alliance' actually was - obviously not a Biggest Loser or Survivor watcher), but not to show their cards to just anyone.

They started with a general trivia game -

And then there was a game involving throwing tennis balls at a hanging piece of dampened pita bread (which I thought was going to be stupid, but it was possibly the standout game),

And the classic donut game -

And they finished with a "Guess this tune" music trivia game (and a spontaneous rendition of "Hey There Delilah" which was terrific).

After that, they all had to write their guesses for Murderer, Weapon and Motive on a piece of paper, and amazingly there was only one winner, who got to take home the cardboard trophy.

And then the three hours were up, and parents started arriving! And it had been a fantastic party.

The kids themselves were terrific though, and they all took the game very seriously (but oh, the NOISE! Their fun was deafening). We certainly couldn't have done it if the 'Butler' hadn't actually been a real-life teacher, used to dealing with huge bunches of kids. So, amazingly, it ended up going very well.

I'll do another post to talk about the food and how it ended up being a total NO BAKE party.

Hope these ideas help someone else at party time!

My Creative Space - hearty

2010-10-14T13:12:00.000+10:00

I've got a lot of other things on my list, but creatively speaking, these little hearts are going to become something big. Only about oh, a hundred more to cut out! It looks good in my head, anyway.

And we did some creative jam pikelets and fairy dresses play today too. Can you see the huge gouges in the butter? My daughter would eat it straight from the tub if she thought I wasn't watching. Just after this pic was taken there was a spat about the knives - even though they're identical. Perhaps I shouldn't have let them play with knives...

I've been solo parenting the last few days, so it's been a bit hectic around here. I have just sorted the photos from the Cluedo party though, so I'll post about that next.

For infinitely more creative spaces, take a look over at kootooyoo.

The Salt and Pepper Pork Ribs Recipe

2010-10-11T21:29:00.025+10:00

Now, I'm not so good at photography that the images will have you salivating at first sight, so you'll have to take my word for it, this is delicious.

This is what it looks like in the book.

I hadn't even bought ribs before a couple of months ago, but I'd say we've had versions of this half a dozen times since. I even fed 10 on Father's Day with it. Delish.

It's from Family: Simple Ways to Success by Silvana Franco, which is currently out of print here.

Salt and Pepper Pork Ribs - so easy!

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Mix together -

2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cracked pepper

and toss

1kg pork spare ribs

around in the flour mix. Place side by side on a rack over a roasting tin.

*Just a note - the last time I made this I also coated a few chicken thighs with the leftover flour mix and roasted them on the same rack as the pork. I just may have eaten them as soon as they'd cooled a little so my family may not have any recollection of there ever being chicken that night... but they were good.

Roast for about 40-50 mins, turning from time to time. Hopefully they'll go nice and brown, then pile them on a platter (or in a glass dish like I have).

Heat a wok (I use my usual fry pan), and heat up

1 tbsp sunflower oil, with
1 bunch thinly sliced spring onion and
1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced (I leave the chilli out, actually).

** I'll note here that I have only actually used this actual, by-the-recipe vege combo once. Every other time I've just used what I had - carrot and beans; broccoli and red capsicum; corn, onion and peas - they all tasted fine.

Stirfry for about 1 minute. Then add

1 chopped garlic clove

and fry another minute.
Tip contents of wok (or frypan) over the ribs, and drizzle with

2 tbsp soy sauce.

Serve NOW, with noodles or salad.

Yum.

You can thank me later.

See, I like it so much I've even noted it on the front page of the book - do you do this? How else can you keep track of your favourites?

And because I'm experimenting with the webcam, here's me with my crazy hair on. Signing off!

It's been quite rainy today

2010-10-11T17:44:00.000+10:00

For YEARS, we have been in drought here. Water restrictions, the farcical recycled water referendum, dust storms and crisp, brown grass.

But not lately. We had the wettest September on record, and October may turn out to be no different.

So today we baked cornflake cookies...

Made dodgy balloon animals ...

And partied in cubbies.

Not bad, really.

Will post that pork ribs recipe tonight, and share the Cluedo party info tomorrow. My blog life is back on track!

Monday's Art Tip 6 - Two Rules of Thirds

2010-10-11T00:11:00.001+10:00

When it comes to painting (and photography), your composition will always work well when you're thinking about the Golden Rule Of Thirds.

(Please excuse the use of only my own paintings as examples in this Tip - I figured I wouldn't have to worry about copyright this way. I've done plenty of paintings that could have been a lot better if I'd taken my own advice!)

It's simple (and I'm sure you've heard of it before - but hey, I need to be reminded of things pretty often).

Divide your page into thirds, across and down.
Then decide what your focal point is going to be.
Make sure your focal point is sitting on (or very near) one of the intersecting 'third lines'. Or at least ON one of the vertical or horizontal lines.
Then think of the rest of your image, and see how you can compose the picture to 'guide the eye' to your focal point.

So what's the other Rule Of Thirds?

It's to do with tone - think one third dark, two thirds light, and a little bit of mid-tone. Or the reverse - one third light, two thirds dark, and a little bit of mid-tone. If you squint, it'll be easier to judge the light and dark tones in an image.

I'm happy with the way this painting of "The Germans on Rainbow Beach" played by the rules, clockwise from top left - original, thirds, blurred (see the tones?) and greyed ( another way to see the division of lights and darks).

This cat painting (below) could have been more striking if I'd used more light tones, clockwise from top left - original with third lines, blurred (see the light, mid and dark tones now?) and greyed (see - too many mid tones), and corrected to have more light tones (it's a more striking image - this would look more natural if it had been painted with more light tones in mind)..

This has been a long post, so just one more thing...

I also like to allude to things that are existing 'outside' the edge of a painting. That means cutting off the top of heads at the top of a canvas (as with the little girl at the top of this post), or half a body (as with "The Germans" painting), or even a bit of a bottom (see "Josh Jumping", above), or half a fish (see "Rub a Dub Dub", above).

But remember - YOU CAN BREAK THE RULES! It's just best to know the rules, so you can choose to break them.

Some subjects do work best when they're slap bang in the middle of the painting. Or when the horizon is 7/8ths of the way down the page... and doing this can cause a viewer to stop and take notice. But if you're looking for naturally pleasing compositions, the Rules of Thirds are a great way to go.

My animation this Friday will show the steps in a painting that does use these rules.

Next week, I'll touch on adding variety to your painting. Thanks for listening and if you've got any thoughts on or examples of these rules in your own work, or in paintings that you love, please leave a comment!

Catching up

2010-10-08T17:28:00.000+10:00

Hey, it's been a busy week. I didn't realise how regularly I had been blogging until I simply had no time to post! There've been a lot of things happening in the cloud we live in (honestly, right now the fog is floating in one window and out the other).

I've posted these -

I've cooked this (Salt and Pepper Pork Ribs - so easy and delicious - want the recipe?) -

I've looked after some extra little people and we did some fun things -

I've screenprinted some more Bless You hankies (for The Great Hanky Drive - I'm nearly halfway to my goal!) -

I sewed these (soon to be available in my new-improved shop)-

And packaged these (oh, they turned out so well and they'll also be in the shop soon)-

And baked these (Walnut Palmiers - yum - have you ever done palmiers before?) -

all for the terrific morning tea that I co-hosted yesterday with another wonderful lady (that's Jen on the right, and the lovely Kay on the left) -

And here's Jen's gorgeous daughter, a super-stylish farm child (even when missing the soles on her boots) -

So no animation today (however it's not midnight yet!), and it's full steam ahead for the 12 year old's Cluedo party tomorrow night.

Ah! We'll resume normal transmission next week... thanks for worrying about me!

We have winners!

2010-10-04T22:59:00.000+10:00

Firstly, thanks so much to everyone who has left a comment on my Art Tip/Giveaway post over the past two weeks, going in the draw for your choice of two poppy paintings. I loved reading your comments and seeing that people were interested!

Now, because I'm in a good mood - which may have something to do with the fact school went back today, I thought I'd give both paintings away! I planned to draw the first, see which canvas they preferred, then keep drawing more until I landed on someone who preferred the other painting.

As it happened, Cathie from m.e. was the first winner (comment number 6) and preferred the white background.

Then the second number was 22, which is Mrs Woog, who happily preferred black!

Congratulations to both of you! I'll be in touch to get addresses etc.

Thanks again to everyone who left a comment. I have really enjoyed having such enthusiastic participants in my giveaway and will be sure to do it again very soon!

Monday's Art Tip 5 - Alternatives to Black

2010-10-04T09:17:00.000+10:00

Now, this tip applies to artists that use lines in their work (as I do with my illustrative style), as well as people looking to paint darks and shadows...

The background story - my mother, Diana Battle, is a very talented artist. She can paint beautifully in both oils and acrylics, and is also very confident in pastel and watercolour. The next two paintings (with their enlarged sections on the right) are by Mum.

She's always told me there's no need to use black straight out of the tube (in the actual painting, that is - it's still ok to use it as an underpainting or base colour).

She'll choose to use Paynes Grey (which is a very dark navy) or a dark mix of colours, but feels that black out of a tube, like Carbon or Mars Black, is too flat and uninteresting and unneccessary.

So the message is, that using a 'black-substitute colour' creates life in a painting, adding interest and movement. Here are three black-substitutes that I use often, compared to black, on the bottom right.

Now this tip definitely applies to a realistic-style of painting like Mum's, but it's something I also remember when painting murals - like this recent one here...

At a glance the lines look black, but they're actually painted in Dioxazine Purple (which is my black-substitute of choice). Take a closer look.

Here's a pic of the bottle. I use A LOT of this colour.

And here's a painting I did years ago, where the lines are done in Ultramarine Blue.

In this next painting of proteas (done for a handbag, that's why half is upside down!) the shadows are deep greens and a mix of green with a touch of red (that's another tip - add the complementary colour (from directly opposite on the colour wheel) to darken a colour - ie. add a touch of red to your green and vice versa, add a little purple to your yellow, or blue to your orange... you'll be amazed at how much better it works rather than using a totally different colour from another tube).

I hope that's been interesting! If you're an artist, I'd love to hear about your experiments, and if you're an art-lover, you'll have something more to look for when you see an artwork that you love.

Next week I'm chatting a little about composition. I'm jumping a bit all over the place, but I didn't want to do all the pre-painting tips first. I wanted to give you ideas to use straight away. I certainly hope that is the case!

It's also your REALLY VERY LAST CHANCE to be included in my poppies painting giveaway. Just leave a comment on the Art Tip #3 post here, and I'll be doing the draw this afternoon. Good luck!

A lovely impulse purchase

2010-10-03T21:48:00.001+10:00

I do love hearts.

So much so that I just had to accidentally buy this gorgeous plate from here on Etsy just now.

This sounds like a confession, doesn't it.

I might have to put it away so one of the kids can give it to me for Christmas. Do you do that too?

PS I will be drawing the winner of the black or white poppies painting tomorrow (Monday) after lunch. So if you haven't left a comment yet, just go here to be in it. Good luck!

Inspired to take Turkish Tea

2010-10-02T13:06:00.000+10:00

I went to Brisbane yesterday, working on the redesign of my website (very exciting, really, it is!) with my very helpful brother, and his girlfriend, Erin, had this most lovely collection of colourful teacups that I had to photograph...

and so, fuelled by 'Mother' for the 1.5 hour drive home at 10.30pm, I arrived after midnight, still quite wired and unable to sleep. So I painted them. And it felt good.

I have been working on making things with my floral hearts and am so happy with the direction they're going, and now these teacups... it'll be good to have something very new on the new website! Stay tuned for the big reveal.

I was VERY tempted to join in with Blogtoberfest this year, but have decided, that since this week is the beginning of ONE DAY OF DAYCARE/GRANMA CARE for my little ones (!!!!) that I'd best use that time to actually do work, instead of blogging, which is always the direction my procrastination seems to take these days.

So it'll be lovely to have plenty to read this month, but on the sideline I will be.

Giveaway wise, remember that I'll be drawing a winner for black or white poppies painting this Monday - so leave a comment here if you'd like to be in it! Good luck!

Animation Friday - more Nathalie

2010-10-01T01:40:00.000+10:00

Nathalie's source images for her mural. Gorgeously expressive line drawings.

OK, OK, so this has been Nathalie Lete week around here! Honestly, I haven't felt so enthusiastic about a particular artist for ages.

So my submission for Animation Friday this week is from the photos I took of Nathalie painting the window of the Blue Illusion store at Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast, last Monday.

Thank you for indulging me! Of course, for a bunch of other interesting animations, head over to mypoppet. You could add one of your own - they're very simple to make.

Next week I'll have other topics to mention, I'm sure. And the results of my Nathalie-inspired art-hearts to show and tell!

Have a lovely weekend.

My Creative Space - Lete-ing inspiration in*

2010-09-30T07:52:00.005+10:00

Last night I got a little homage to my art-crush Nathalie Lete out of my system.

I have a few ideas for these hearts - hope they look as good when I finish them as they do in my head! (That's often not the case, unfortunately.) We'll see!

Kristy's back from her break so head over to Kootooyoo for more creative spaces.

*Sincere apologies for the dreadful pun.

My name is Anna, and I'm a groupie

2010-09-29T14:47:00.002+10:00

A Nathalie Lete groupie!!!!

On Monday I drove two hours to see the wonderful Parisian artist, Nathalie Lete (seen here wearing one of her limited edition Blue Illusion cardis), paint in the window of the Blue Illusion store at Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast. It was worth every kilometre!

I blogged about Nathalie painting a window in Japan back in March, and then Pip blogged that she was coming to Australia, then Cintia at mypoppet mentioned that she'd seen her (and her window photos are actually much clearer than mine), and then I discovered that she was coming to Queensland, so I coerced my mother and sister to look after my kids and off I went.

I arrived at about 1pm, thinking I was late, but Nathalie had been delayed at the airport. So I browsed with the proferred macaron and French champagne until she arrived (it's a bit dangerous to shop with a glass or two of champers under your belt, and the clothes were VERY nice, I'm just saying) and got straight to work.

She was dressed in black and navy, with stockings and sweet heels, a purple apron and with a quirky, aqua pendant hanging on a long necklace. She mixed up her own paint (from powder) and started with the Eiffel Tower - which she was obviously incredibly familiar with.

By the end she had decorated the pane with butterflies, birds (including one complete with feathered top hat), flowers, a rabbit, and ladybugs. She then very generously signed Blue Illusion catalogues (which she has also illustrated), chatted and posed for photographs.

Her artwork will also be on the next Blue Illusion Catalogue, and the painting will stay on the window until Christmas goes up in November.

I'm so inspired by her style of painting and her whole body of work. It's quirky, colourful and decorative - is there such a thing as 'mature naiive' painting? And as a person she simply oozes French-ness.

A lady in the crowd recommended this book to me -

so because I was in some kind of French frenzy I even managed to find a copy of it at a bookshop at Pacific Fair and am about 4 chapters in already. It's great. I'd love to take my daughters to Paris when they're old enough.

For the record I did not buy any Krispy Kremes while I was there. And that's significant.

Because I was at the Gold Coast and love the beach, I had to put my toes in the ocean before heading home (via Ikea!).

A fabulous day. And the inspiration is dripping off me. Can't wait to put a brush to canvas.

Monday's Art Tip 4 - Choose the right white

2010-09-27T08:41:00.016+10:00

I first found out that there were different kinds of white many years ago in calligraphy class. We were using gouache paints (a type of opaque watercolour) and I can remember learning that there were four different types of Winsor and Newton whites, and all had different degrees of opacity and permanence.

In my current, painting-in-acrylic world, there are two whites I use all the time. Titanium White and Zinc White. In the pic above I'm holding one of each, and they both come in the tube (Golden Heavy Body) form and the bottle (Golden Fluids).

If you look really closely, just above the colour name on both the tube and the bottle there are three black diagonal lines (the Golden paint people actually handpaint a swash of each paint onto the label) and by painting it over these lines, you can see how transparent or opaque the colour is. You can only just see the lines on the Titanium White tube.

So, now that you know what you're looking for, you can see that Titanium White is quite opaque, while Zinc White is quite transparent. (Just ignore the yellow and aqua splodges on the bottle - things get a bit messy 'round here.)

Great, so how do you use these two types in practice?

Because Titanium White is so opaque, it's great for covering the colours underneath - that means you can paint over parts of your acrylic painting and start again if you need to. I use this white to mix pastel colours and by itself, as one of my last painting stages, to add highlights and my signature 'swirls and curls'.

On the other hand, Zinc White is transparent, which makes it ideal for tints and glazes. To explain a 'tint', understand that when you start with red and add Titanium White, you'll get an opaque, rosy pink. If you add Zinc White, you'll get a transparent, lighter red. I've demonstrated this in the pic below.

I also regularly use Zinc White to overpaint my background colour - to lighten it, without taking away all the colour.

I used this technique to 'knock' the background back on each of the poppy paintings I featured last week.

Don't forget there's another week before I draw the winner of my Poppies Painting Giveaway. So, if you're keen, just leave a comment on this post, telling me which painting you prefer. Great, thanks for that.

Next week, I'll talk about a few alternatives to black and whether you should be using black at all. I can see you're on the edge of your seat!

****
If you're interested in buying some of the white paint I've talked about, read on...

FREE POSTAGE plus a free gift

Some brands of paint may not have the Zinc White option, and some may call it by another name, but I do stock both of these whites - and I'm offering FREE Australian POSTAGE for THIS WEEK on any purchase of white Golden Acrylic paint.

I'll also include a free trial size of another Golden paint colour. So if you're interested, just email me with your order and I'll send you my bank details.

GOLDEN Heavy Body Titanium White (tube) $13.20 AUD

GOLDEN Fluid Acrylic Titanium White (bottle) $20.35 AUD

GOLDEN Heavy Body Zinc White (tube) $13.20 AUD

GOLDEN Fluid Acrylic Zinc White (bottle) $20.35 AUD

They are lovely, lovely paints to use, so thanks for your interest!

Animation Friday - Poppies Galore

2010-09-24T10:33:00.003+10:00

As promised in last Monday's Art Tip, here are animations of the process of the two poppy paintings I featured. One on a black background and the other on white.

I'll be giving one away in just over a week - all you have to do is leave a comment on last Monday's post, telling me which you prefer. Good luck!

On white

or on black?

There'll be more Animation Friday discoveries over at my poppet!

Have just discovered that the wonderful French artist Nathalie Lete, who I posted about here, is painting at Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast on Monday. Am definitely moving heaven and earth to be there.

Some crafting in the dead of night

2010-09-23T23:06:00.004+10:00

I made this owl last night.

I did it because I was egged on by Chantal who is putting together an etsy owl treasury. But I've accidentally fallen for it. So it won't be for sale - it's for my daughter. Her name means 'wisdom' so I've decided owls are her thing (until she tells me otherwise). Plus I've realised I'm never going to be a making-softies-for-sale sort of girl. There are much more competent sewers out there with marvellous ideas. I might just make a couple more of these for my own present shelf.

The table is my creative space at the moment. I am making some more hobby horses that will be for sale, so it's good to know that's all underway.

And the undies - well, the lovely Cintia of my poppet put me onto Project Underpants and I was in Kmart
and knew it is a little project that I'd be happy to help. Maybe you can too.

Or join in my "Great Hanky Drive" and pick up a handy hanky for charity. More designs are on their way.

So it's all happening around here this school holidays. I'm a bit tired of cleaning up spills (lemonade on the carpet, anyone?) and having no chairs because of the climber we live with is wearing a little thin... But hey, the
mornings are a LOT cruisier. Love it.

Love Note Cushions - Lovely Idea

2010-09-22T12:25:00.000+10:00

I'm off babysitting nieces and nephews this morning, but thought I'd post this link to a special project by the extremely talented Alisa Burke. Who can ever have enough cushions?

Post 314 - special, isn't it!

2010-09-21T08:36:00.014+10:00

The lovely MMMC tagged me for a Versatile Blogger Award yesterday. I'm not usually too good at these things - always having the best of intentions, but rarely remembering to follow through. But it's miserable and rainy and we're all on holidays, so hey, I've remembered!

You HAVE to read her entry about driving a car down a set of stairs. I was in stitches.

MMMC has been blogging a few months and has done 200 posts. I've been blogging for years and this is number 314. That's how amazingly prolific she is. But the quality is excellent. A laugh here, a bit of educational content about Danish design there... it's something I look forward to reading every day. I thought that maybe one day I'd see her on Oprah, talking about her blog.Of course, now that Oprah's only on for one more year, if she doesn't make it to the Oprah House we might have to settle for Kerrianne. Or The Circle. That'll do.

She says I have to list Seven Evil Things you don't know about me. I think she's using some creative license - I'm pretty sure they didn't HAVE to be evil... not that I'm baulking at evil... 'cause there's nothing wrong with that MMMC... but here goes...

My favourite illustrator in the whole world is Quentin Blake. His website is fabulous and these two videos of him working are brilliant. And I've just found out he's done wallpaper. Makes me sort of tingle. I'm going to have to earn some dosh and build a wall so I can paper it.

2. In Year 12, I could do the most sit-ups in a minute of all the girls (and most of the boys) in my class. Now, after 5 caesarians, I can barely do one. Actually, I just got on the ground and tried, and I can't do even one. Hmmmm.

3. I can't drive past an empty shopfront without trying to figure out the sort of business that would work there. And whether I should do it. Of course, the fact that I have 4 young children usually puts the kybosh on any grandiose plans of business empires. So the flesh is weak, but the mind is free!

4. I dream of having story about my art in Country Style magazine. But need to lose the weight first. It's literally a weight around my neck (and thighs and tummy and chin). I'm sick of it, but haven't managed to coordinate my desire for weight loss with an ability to stop stuffing food in my mouth while I rush from one task to the next. Probably contributes to point 2.

5. I did 6 parachute jumps in 1993, and honestly thought that it was something I could be good at. But then I travelled for a year and lost my nerve. Also, the thought of me in an jumpsuit... see point 2 again.

6. Sometimes having kids drives me crazy. I wouldn't swap them for the world, but it's often a lot harder than what you'll ever see on my blog. Sometimes my husband also drives me crazy. I just don't write about that stuff much.

7. Blogging keeps me sane. The night I read someone's blog entry about how they stayed up the night before a wedding and made a jacket from an Ottobre pattern, complete with mistakes, meltdowns and cursing ... but simply had to do it... I felt like I'd found my tribe. People who like having birthday parties at home, making things for their friends, and showing their love through cooking for friends and family... and doing it all creatively, but not necessarily perfectly... yep, these are my people. Thank God.

An 8th thing could be that I never pass on chain emails. OK, perhaps once in a very blue moon, if it's EXTREMELY funny. But never if it says something bad may happen, or that you have to send it to six people, etc. It's nothing personal, and I don't mind being sent them, it's just a policy that works for me. Plus, I start thinking who the seven people may be, and then I get distracted. So I may never be tagged for anything like this again, but MMMC I was honoured and it was fun to play!

So thanks for listening. We'll resume normal programming tomorrow. Or the next day. There'll definitely be some animation happening on Friday anyway! Loving school holidays.

Monday's Art Tip 3 - A Giveaway and "What a difference a background makes"

2010-09-20T08:05:00.005+10:00

I may be oversimplifying this tip, but I want to point out the difference between painting on a white background and painting on a black background. Of course, you could also paint on an orange or red or blue (or any other colour!) background (and I have done all of these), but for today, let's stick to black and white.

Can you pick the undercolours used in the two paintings above? And which do you prefer? Read on for details of my giveaway...

To demonstrate, I did these two paintings at the same time, starting with the sketch above. As a point of interest, I was looking at the composition and arrangement, making sure the focus in each picture would fall on a 'third' line, not slap bang in the centre or anything.

I then sketched the images onto the freshly gessoed canvases in yellow because it would compliment the eventual colours of the poppies.

There you go, now you know which is which!

When I got stuck into each painting, I was watching the tonal variations - making sure the black background didn't make the whole painting look dark... a problem I've had before. So I deliberately lightened the blue of the background towards the end, overpainting with zinc white (we'll talk about a couple of different whites next week).

I also underpainted parts of the white-background-painting in red and yellow - because red is the complementary colour (opposite on the colour wheel) to the green of the stems and grass that would go on the bottom of the painting, and yellow is almost the complementary colour to the mauve-y blue I planned to use for the sky... being able to see hints of these complementaries through the final colours adds life and movement to the painting. In group exhibitions, this can really make a painting stand out from the rest, and look more professional.

In general, I do like the effect that painting on black gives, as the edges of the poppies seem more subtle and blurred ... you can see here how the poppy was painted on the original black, but the bee was painted over the colour of the sky...

... and you can see the underpaint colour in the grooves of the canvas - which I think is more interesting in a painting like this than panes of flat colour would be...

You can see the yellow outlines a little in the white-background-painting, and the poppies are quite defined...

which is still a very acceptable way of approaching a subject like this.

So it really does come down to your personal choice. But if you've always painted on white, I encourage you to try black, and then other colours. You'll see your paintings come to life!

Now, which do you prefer?

Black

or White?

Leave a comment on this post, with a contact email if you don't have a google account, telling me your preference, and I'll draw a winner in two weeks time - on Monday 4th October (which is the day my kids go back to school - so I won't forget!).

These paintings are painted with Golden acrylic paints on a canvas panel and measure 20 x 25cm. You can frame them without glass, or mount them in a box frame, or simply perch them on a shelf or windowsill, it's up to you.

I'm keen to hear your preference!

I'll be animating the process of these paintings for Animation Friday later this week.

If you haven't read them already, my other Monday Art Tips can be found here.

Next week, my tip is about white paint - now that sounds exciting, huh!

Animation Friday - Flashback

2010-09-17T08:33:00.003+10:00

This is a painting that I did a couple of years ago, so I haven't photographed as many steps as usual. Sorry! And I did an extremely brief blog post about it here.

But I think it demonstrates next Monday's Art Tip, which will be about painting on a coloured or black background.

I love all the bright colours and the freedom in this one. And it was bought by a family with four kids, three girls and a boy - that's them, floating in the sky! I think this animation also shows the variations in colours possible with photography. And they're not all good.

Once again, this is my contribution to Animation Friday, over on the lovely my poppet.

My Creative Space - Paper Blooms

2010-09-16T08:15:00.001+10:00

This week I made some VERY SIMPLE tissue paper flowers for a tea party birthday.

And because I had one person ask me how (and I really like her), here's the instructions. I'm sure I didn't think this up myself though, so if anyone can remind me where I saw it, please let me know!

This is the only tidy space in my house today.

I started with this $2.50 pack of multi-coloured tissue paper, from the $2 shop (I know, so why did I pay $2.50?), and a pack of 30 florist wire pieces that cost $2.95 (how does that happen?).

I cut a strip off the end like this (this is the third strip I cut, the paper was longer to start with).

Then I laid out the strip, tidied it up so each piece was on top of each other properly (not staggered like they are in the pack), and cut it into three (didn't measure - just approximated), and trimmed the corners like so.

I then had to fix this situation. Hmmm, does dirt count as a protein?

Then take 3 pieces and pinch in the middle (I tried to put the lighter colour in the middle, but that's just being perdantic).

Wrap a piece of florist's wire around and twist to secure.

Fan out the 'petals' a bit, and you're done!

Before you know it, you'll have done another two...

... and maybe some green ones for leaves...

And you'll have a lovely bouquet like this.

Which you may like to try wearing on your head. And setting the timer to take a photo.

Totally up to you.

For more creative spaces, head over to the lovely Kirsty at Kootooyoo.

What's missing?

2010-09-15T23:51:00.000+10:00

(Apart from the usual mess. I moved it to take the photo.) Yep. The chairs.

And there's the reason, just slipping out of shot at the right.

For now, the chairs will live out here.

This is my latest solution to the new climber that lives in my home. The kids are eating at the kitchen bench and I now sort the mail on the ironing board.

Problem solved.

Until she learns how to drag things over...

I was pretty chuffed with myself, remembering that I did this when S was at this age, and it worked. Must have got a bit smug, because later this morning I tried to say "no" to a request to volunteer at an event (and I had LOTS of good reasons), but I buckled, rearranged my life and the lives of those closest to me, and said "yes".

I don't know how people do it. This "no" thing.

That, and the dreadful wind we had today, have really put me on edge. Bugger.

Monday's Art Tip 2 - Guesso Gesso

2010-09-13T08:05:00.000+10:00

Image from here

You know those canvasses that say they're pre-primed... and unless you are making them yourself with a fabric like linen or calico or some other sort of canvas, most of the ones you buy would be 'pre-primed'.

Today's tip is simply to make sure you prime them again. Before you paint on them. It's the difference between your paint DRAGGING on the surface or GLIDING on the surface.

Obviously GOLDEN is my brand of choice - the gesso is like pouring cream - divine

Priming a canvas with gesso helps keep your paint on the surface, so that it doesn't seep through, which in turn means you'll have more control over the paint and be able to predict your results better.

This Atelier brand of gesso is quite thick

I've been particularly interested in the concept of gesso since I saw this amazing portrait of Deborah Mailman by Evert Ploeg at the National Portrait Gallery. It's painted on jute, and the background is rough and raw, but her SKIN is so smooth you want to touch it. I imagine he built up layers of gesso and perhaps molding paste, to create this delicious distinction.

There's a terrific video here about how to prime your canvas - http://video.about.com/?bcpid=42795866001&bclid=0&bctid=326119601001

And a wonderful video here about going a step further than just simply priming with gesso, and making a totally smooth surface to paint on, using modelling paste -

There are different types of gesso, but I mainly use GOLDEN white or black. GOLDEN's Sandable Hard Gesso is great if you are painting on a rigid surface (timber, etc) and want to sand it between coats and get a super hard, smooth surface. You can use acrylic gesso under acrylic or oil paints.

So, if you haven't tried painting on a properly gesso'ed surface before, please try it - you'll notice the difference straight away.

Next week, we'll talk about the difference a coloured background makes.

Mad Hatter's Party

2010-09-12T23:54:00.002+10:00

We had a early birthday party for my nearly 9 year old today. It's been a huge weekend as he also had his Confirmation and First Communion on Saturday night. At his request it was a Mad Hatter's theme, and he got to wear his brother's bookweek costume (as was the plan all along). I was determined to keep it all pretty low tech, and the old classic, the egg and spoon race, was a highlight!

Decoration wise, the thing that I was most happy with were some VERY simple flowers made from tissue paper and florists wire. I now have a whole bouquet of them left over - love them.

This was the before photo of the cake. Definitely looking more 'safari hat' than 'mad hatter hat'. But the top was a chocolate shell with lollies inside. So this was the 'before' shot -

And here's the 'after'.

It was modelled on a Donna Hay spaceship cake, and while mine looked supremely dodgy and not really mad hattery at all, the kids loved it. The hammer was a big hit anyway (no really, it was!).

And because I'd over committed myself in my head, these lovely double-decker chicken sandwiches (also inspired by Donna Hay, and my nod to having some slightly healthy food) only got made because the very lovely Whitney came over and made them for me (she did lots of other very helpful stuff too! THANK YOU SO MUCH WHITNEY!) -

The goody bags were put together late Saturday night. And Number 1 Son took on the job of decorating, running a scavenger hunt, and even got in and ran musical chairs and musical statues after the cake was demolished. He was a huge help and I didn't end up feeling like a performing clown, like I had after J's party two years ago.

So, we're 3/4 of the way through our 'birthday season'. One more to go in October. But now, to sleep. Goodnight!

Animation Friday - In the garden on Margaret Street

2010-09-10T08:58:00.001+10:00


Detail of "Margaret Street Garden", 60 x 90cm, acrylic on canvas

This week's animation is of another painting done for the Carnival of Flowers exhibition - delivery is this Wednesday. The theme has to be "Wine, Food or Flowers" (and flowers are obviously the subject here). I used to have an issue with painting flowers, thinking that they just didn't 'say' enough, but in recent years, I figure if Margaret Preston was happy to call herself 'a flower painter' then it's good enough for me!

To do this one I walked around my parent's garden (I've been painting at their place lately so Mum can help me with the kids) and took photos of some of the different plants, and put them together in this scene.

I overpainted a painting from a few years ago, starting with black gesso and then the shades of blue. I've propped the canvas up on a couple of my sister's tupperware containers which are now uniquely decorated - she didn't know about that, until now. Sorry Loz.

Glazes were used to 'knock back' the brightness of the greens, and to add depth to the background. I consciously made the background lighter than the foreground, where usually I do the opposite. I'll be talking about the different kinds of white that make this look possible in a couple of 'Art Tip's time.

And I finished off with my signature 'swirls and curls' for movement.

Often I think I'd like to stop at the 'sketch' stage though. That's the part that comes most naturally I think.

Thanks for indulging me! I hope someone finds this sort of thing interesting - I personally am really nosy about how other artists work! Next week I should have a different style of painting to share.

To see my fellow animators, visit my poppet today.

My Creative Space - flowerishus

2010-09-09T08:05:00.026+10:00

These are the palettes, that painted this painting...

...that was from this scene in my parents backyard...

... and that is winging it's way all the way to Germany. Tomorrow.

Very exciting.

Can you see the three bees?

I was lucky enough to catch one in my photo.

You'll see them pop up again in one of my Animation Friday posts.

For more of Thursday's creative spaces, off you go to Kootooyoo.

Today

2010-09-08T23:04:00.000+10:00

This is pretty much a visual description of my day today.

I took the girls to a coffee shop, for a farewell to a friend who was travelling for a month.

It was SO NICE to see some friends.

But going to a cafe with my children is like having coffee in the monkey cage at the zoo.

When we got home I had a little helper at the clothesline.

At least that's what she told me she was.

To distract myself from the peg situation, I took the camera into the yard and noticed this wierd plant unfolding before my eyes (Anyone know what it is? My husband would know, but he's asleep and waking him up for blog post research probably isn't a career move...).

And this wierd, tap dancing dog of ours.

And the way the light glowed on the beads of water on the black chook.

And this wierd bird in our tree.

And a lonely swinging monkey.

And my snapdragons in bloom. Snapdragons remind my of my childhood. I love them.

And then my day felt a lot better.

Hope you had room to breathe today.

Monday's Art Tip 1 - Canvassing for Quality

2010-09-06T08:00:00.006+10:00

image credit

At the moment, wrapped, clean edge canvases are my surface of choice. Sometimes they're called 'gallery wrapped', which basically means the staples are not on the edge, they're on the back. These canvases have been a good thing for artists, as the cost of framing can be crippling when you've got a lot of work in stock. Buyers can hang the work as is, or frame the work to their liking.

With any canvas, whether you go cheap, or buy quality, always check out how the corners are made.

You don't want 'cut corners' like this -

... because if you do ever need to remove the painting from the frame, you'll have difficulty restretching it. Many of the cheap brands have these cut corners.

Much better to go with a 'folded edge' canvas construction -

The good brands do this, and if you paint your masterpiece, you know you'll be able to reframe it later if needed. And if you're the buyer, a folded edge is one indication of a better quality product.

I used to use the cheap ones, and sometimes I still do, but only for 'non heirloom art' - if it's to be used in a growing child's room or hung on the wall for a season or two. I can tell you that the canvas is thin, very likely to tear (if it isn't already torn by the time you get it home) and over time the frames may warp or swell. It's also harder to paint well on poor quality canvas.

I now usually paint on Winsor and Newton brand (or similar) canvases, as I trust the quality of the timber stretchers and construction, the strength and weight of the canvas itself, and the quality of the pre-priming paint used. They are more expensive, but I'm at a stage with my art where I simply have to make the investment. I dream of having canvases made just for me, with lovely deep sides and thick linen fabric. That time will come!

Whichever you decide to paint on or buy, inspect it thoroughly and don't pay big bucks for a canvas that's not going to last.

Coming up next Monday, Gesso Guesso!

Happy Father's Day

2010-09-05T08:14:00.000+10:00

Love this vid - especially the bit about the Disney video. Saw it first here.

Hope you're able to do something special this Father's Day. We're tidying up for a family lunch. We call it 'Emergency Tidying' and it makes it much more pleasant to live here for at least a couple of days.

Monday Art Tip Intro

2010-09-04T08:31:00.002+10:00

After blogging for coming up to four years now, I feel like I'm (finally) getting into some sort of rhythm. So to give a little back, and keep up the momentum I'm starting a Monday's Art Tip feature.

I didn't realise that I had quite so much to say about art, and painting in particular, until recently when a new friend asked for a few tips. Poor thing, she may have drowned under the avalanche. But the red wine that continued flowing seemed to keep her silent, and (perhaps as she got progressively tipsier) she kept asking for more.

Some of the tips are little things, and others are more important. And I'm certainly not a guru, and I haven't actually studied art at uni or anything, I'm simply a working artist. If you're already a painter, they won't all be new, but maybe they'll be a handy prompt. My medium of choice is usually acrylics (they dry quickly and I've got four kids - see the correlation?) and I do some work with gouache on paper.

I'm hoping that some of these tips will not only help people who actually paint, but they'll also educate those of you who may buy art (something I recommend to everyone!). Many of them are things my mother has taught me (she's a VERY good artist), but all are from my personal experience. I've made STACKS of mistakes, but I can definitely see the improvement in my art over the past 10 years.

So please, come back Monday for Tip One!

Animation Friday - Finches in the Flowers

2010-09-03T08:09:00.004+10:00

Finches in the Flowers, 60 x 90cm, acrylic on canvas.

A painting I did this week, that will be in entered in the Carnival of Flowers exhibition.

I really enjoyed using big brushes, loose strokes and a limited colour palette. It's a bit 'decorator-ish', but there's a lot of detail up close, so it's really growing on me.

Come back Monday - I've got 20 topics for my promised 'Art Tips' Series, and it's all ready to go!

In the meantime, for more Friday Animations, visit the lovely my poppet.

My Creative Space - shiny shiny

2010-09-02T08:17:00.001+10:00

Varnishing is my favourite part of the whole process of painting. I love my paintings to be glossy and shiny, it really makes the colours pop. And it's a signal that it's finished, ready to go out into the world.

My Mum helped with the girls this week, so I could fit in a few sessions of painting for the Carnival of Flowers exhibition that's coming up. With limited time, I paint like lightening! But I did totally redo the butterflies during the process of this one (I love acrylics - nothing has to be forever) and this butterfly (can't remember the name) is one that can actually be found in Australia.

I can't vouch for the other one though. I think he's a visitor from out of town.

For more creative spaces, head over to kootooyoo!

Covet

2010-09-01T10:03:00.000+10:00

Can I just tell you how much I love this pendant, from Yellow Owl Workshop? A lot.

The next stage

2010-08-31T22:32:00.001+10:00

Now that B is not only up on two legs, but can do this

(can you hear her at your place?!!!) and this

and every meal needs at least two spoons (and sometimes two outfits)

it does make it pretty difficult to package these (lovely new colours, in the shop soon)

and send off these

(thanks to all those who've already ordered Hanky Drive hankies - seen here with their smart, new labels)

but luckily, she's also incredibly good at doing this.

Grinneating.

It may not be a real word, but it's a real talent.

A little interlude with Marcel

2010-08-30T07:41:00.003+10:00

I saw this on my poppet who saw it on Li'l Magoolie and OH IT'S TERRIFIC! If you haven't already, I hope you've got 3 mins and 20 seconds to spare to watch it!

I've been interviewed by Thea, here!

2010-08-27T09:46:00.003+10:00

It's wierd, seeing my words on someone else's blog (and realising that it didn't even cross my mind that I wasn't wearing shoes when she took that photo of me! Probably too busy trying to position the child in my arms to make me look slimmer...) but the lovely Thea from Thea & Sami has interviewed me for her "Friday Follower" feature today.

I did a screenprinting day with Thea a couple of years ago and we have kept in touch. Do check out her lovely, eco-friendly fabrics and homewares while you're there. She has a fretwork design that I've loved for ages. And her new soap range smells amazing.

Think I'll go put some shoes on now.

It's on now

2010-08-26T22:45:00.002+10:00

I have a plan to sell 1000 hankies by Christmas!

Why? To give 50 cents per hanky to the Scarlett Kisses project - gifting small photo frames to mothers in hospital who have just lost their baby to stillbirth or neonatal death. The frame is wrapped with a SANDS brochure and tied with a sweet tag. My second baby, Caitlin, was stillborn so it's a cause close to my heart.

My friend Jen, who I met through SANDS, thought up and started the project herself, saving up and buying frames when they were on sale, in memory of her stillborn baby, Scarlett.

It's just a little project now, but I'd love to support it and help it grow. When your baby dies it's a very lonely grief. The hospital staff will usually take photos for you, and maybe hand and foot prints ... whatever they can. This frame gives the mother somewhere special to put that first photo, honouring that little soul.

Now, on to happier things! I've done a number of designs, some of which you've already seen here, and they come singly or in packs of 3. Singles are $6 each, and 3 packs are $16. They're available in my madeit store now. If you've already bought one or more, your donation has been counted, so thank you so much.

I've got more designs in the pipeline, but for now there are two versions of Gesundheit! (which I happily learned actually means "Good health to you" in German - that's lovely, isn't it?) And look Lisa, you can blow your nose in the middle with this one! (Actually the screenprint is still quite soft, so you're able to blow your nose over the print if you really want to.)

This one reads "For your lovely nose" in Finnish. See, handy AND educational.

And these ones quite obviously say 'Lovely', 'Bless You' and the just a little frisky 'Hanky Panky'. Which mean just that. No surprises there.

So please help me hit the 1000 and place a little (or big!) order. They're great to pop in a card to a friend or send to someone who's sad. They'll wipe hands, clean glasses, dust computer screens, mop brows and start conversations - you can even blow your nose on them if you need to. And once you've got one in your bag, you'll wonder how you managed without it. Hankies are just great.

Thanks so much for all the encouraging comments so far. It's seems like a daunting goal, but I really think we can get there. I've loaded them in batches of 4 or 5 in the store, and will reprint as they are sold, so just email me if the one you want seems to be missing.

And please pass on "THE GREAT HANKY DRIVE" details to anyone else you know who'd like to help.

You're all quite lovely, you know.

SAHM Guilt Overload

2010-08-24T23:11:00.000+10:00

In a fit of what I can only think of as 'Stay At Home Mother Guilt' (as opposed to 'Working Mother Guilt' beautifully described by Maxabella recently), I got it into my head to help my kids have really good costumes for the bookweek character parade at school today. (That and my now-Year 7-er proclaiming a year ago that as it's his last year at primary school he really wanted to have a 'decent' costume for bookweek this year - looking back, we've cobbled together costumes from things in the house each year, and he doesn't have much to complain about, really. Must have caught me at a weak moment.)

I present to you Fantastic Mr Fox and The Mad Hatter.

So in the last 3 days I've made my first ever foam costume hat (a learning curve, I tell you), fur ears and a tail, and a suit jacket and pants out of half-priced mustard coloured faux-suede. Yum. Thank God for dear Annette stopping by and mentioning that her daughter had dressed up as the Mad Hatter just last week, so the rest of the outfit was borrowed from her (she has a doctorate in op-shopping, that girl!).

I blame all the lovely, encouraging comments on this blog, for raising my levels of self esteem and self-perceived-skill-levels ... I was actually at the stage of thinking I could pretty much sew anything! It was just a pattern after all... cut it out and sew it up!

But no, that jacket looks ok in this photo, and yes, it's only a costume - but dear God, how do you sew sleeves in well? These were a total mess. Ah, but the ears and tail, they were fun to make!

The kids were suitably appreciative (very sweet actually), had a great day, and now it's over I'm going to bed.

If you could see the massive pile of folding due to my sewing bender you'd be pretty impressed too. Oh yes you would! Guinness world records material.

The Nursery Mural is finished

2010-08-21T08:05:00.002+10:00

Yesterday I finished the mural I started earlier this week, (updated animation here) and because I actually recharged my camera, I now have some pics to share. Pictured above is what will be a little reading corner, so the bunny will be peeking over the beanbag that will eventually go there. I think this bunny is my favourite bit. I love how he turned out on the coloured wall. Of course, most things with the Hungry Caterpillar on them look good to me.

And, as animation is my flavour of the moment, here's a little look at the other extra special bits. (I've linked up to the new "Animation Friday" on My Poppet's blog too. Don't let on that it's Saturday, ok.)

Thanks for coming to my show and tell!

Believe it or not, I'm baking again

2010-08-20T08:02:00.002+10:00

Number 1 son requested 'Peaches and Cream Cupcakes' when he was browsing through this cookbook I bought in a past-my-bedtime Book Depository frenzy a few weeks ago -

The fact that he was reading a cookbook at all surely demonstrates how Masterchef has changed our lives. Anyway, I made them for him yesterday.

What can I say - they're fabulous!

A combo of light vanilla cake, topped with vanilla cream icing and a sweet peach surprise in the middle... delish.

Would you like to try? You'll have to be here quick smart because they're going in lunchboxes now, otherwise you could make your own.

The recipe says it makes 12, but I doubled it and it made 23 - it's an English book, so no huge American cupcakes for them! Make sure you fill your papers about 2/3 full, because then you'll probably make 24, no probs.

Hummingbird Bakery’s Peaches and Cream Cupcakes
(my paraphrasing)

Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius.

Put all of these into your mixer bowl -

120g plain flour

140g caster sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

A pinch of salt

40g unsalted butter, at room temp.

And beat on slow speed until a sandy consistency and all combined.

Gradually pour in

60ml milk

And beat until just mixed in.

In a separate bowl, whisk

1 egg

¼ tsp vanilla extract

And another 60ml milk

Then pour into the flour mixture, beating until just incorporated (scrape the bowl with a spatula though).

Slice 400g tinned peaches (or fresh peaches, or other fruit - be adventurous!)

And divide between the paper cases to cover their bases (I just put a piece of tinned peach in each case, but covering the base would be even juicier!).

Spoon the cake mix on top until 2/3 full and bake 20-25 mins until light golden colour. Cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire rack.

When cold, spoon vanilla buttercream frosting on top and finish with a sprinkling of light brown sugar if you wish (I didn’t – I think buttercream icing is sweet enough).

YUM YUM. But not good for my 'dream body' plans! Will be strong.

Happy weekend to you!

My Creative Space - mural progress

2010-08-19T10:08:00.009+10:00

Here's the progress of a nursery mural I painted this week -

It's not finished yet - and my camera battery was flat before I finished, but I was so keen to try this animation thing! I've got another two hours or so to do to finish it tomorrow, so I'll update the animation when it's done.
NOTE: it's now done and I've replaced the original animation with the finished one.

The lovely client is having a baby boy in October, and wanted a big autumn tree. Through the progress of the day we added quantities of things that will hopefully be a nice distraction during nappy changes - one dog, two frogs, three rabbits, ... ten bees, twelve ladybugs, etc...

Lots to do today, so I'll post again about the special bits of the mural after I go back with my recharged camera.

This weekend the boys and I are working on Mad Hatter and Fantastic Mr Fox costumes for bookweek. If you have any suggestions for either of those two, please let me know!

For more lovely creative spaces, head over to kootooyoo!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-18T11:14:00.003+10:00

(shhh ... Byron Bay. Lovely.)

More lovely pics here.

Totally Armless

2010-08-13T08:01:00.001+10:00

For my birthday earlier this year, a lovely and talented friend Annie made me this totally original and handsewn totem - "Armless Anna". It features current Prints Charming and 'vintage' Art Park fabric, and she even made the felt balls on the pockets as she knows my violent aversion to buttons.

The thought behind it is that the only way I could have a true relax, is if I could take my arms off and just stop.

Annie didn't know that having 'removable arms' has been an appealing thought to me for as long as I can remember. To be able to take your arm off and lie on your side, without having to figure out how to stick it under the pillow, or under your head... just imagine the possibilities... It does get confusing though, because if you took both arms off, how could you put them back on again? A serious conundrum. (I didn't set out to sound like such a wierdo when I started writing this post...)

This is where 'Armless Anna' lives at the moment. Above my super desk in the living room. Where I spend most of my creative time these days. She was in my office near the paints, but I was missing her. So here she is now.

Reminding me to stop occasionally - so I think I'll do that now! Have a lovely weekend. I'm off to Byron Bay for the first time in about 12 years. Can't wait!

Creative Space - hanky panky

2010-08-12T01:01:00.000+10:00

This week I've been sewing a gift for a sweet one-year-old nephew -

Making delicious lemon cake with a mysterious hole through the middle (how does THAT happen???!) -

And gaily screenprinting new hankies for my upcoming project - due for a spectacular launch soon! (Some hankies are for sale already here, now.)

Just in case you thought I was dead. Because I haven't been posting. That's all. Thanks for worrying!

For more creative spaces, head over to Kirsty's at kootooyoo!

My Creative Space - painterly

2010-08-05T08:28:00.004+10:00

This is my favourite painting that I've done for the Downlands Art Show this year. It's a little one, just 30cm square, and was the last one I did. Of course now I'm in 'the zone' I've got no more time (or babysitting) so hopefully I'll be able to find 'it' again to do some more art for the upcoming Carnival of Flowers exhibition, and a Pinktober charity event after that.

Here is a pic of my beautiful studio assistants (although perhaps 'assist' shouldn't have been in their titles)

and the other paintings I finished just in time (these were all 30cm square also) -

and of course, this one which was 60cm square -

There's a bit of shine there, from the light hitting the canvas.

All in all I'm so glad to have submitted something. It was probably the most difficult it has ever been to find the time and inclination to paint, but now that B has turned one, I've definitely felt something shift and a few more things are becoming possible again.

Now I just hope something sells!

For more creative spaces, head over to kootooyoo .

Strike a pose

2010-08-04T08:32:00.001+10:00

I have to confess that pettiskirt kit has not yet been made - I ended up getting this gorgeous one from here (online shopping in the middle of the night) - and S wore it to Steffi's birthday party yesterday...

that kid's got personality.

So's this kid -

and she's walking now - leading to my favourite parenting moment -

What's yours?

A baby the size of a bus

2010-08-03T22:55:00.001+10:00

... it was amazing... beautiful... awesome... we loved it!

The Ron Mueck exhibition at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art has just finished, and we made it there on Friday - just in time. After the initial 'shock' of the nudity (it's surprising how quickly the kids and I got used to it), I loved looking at the amazing details this artist notices and manages to replicate... the translucency of the skin, the shine of the eyeball, the teeny tiny toenails... the boys were seriously impressed.

And as it was a pupil free day, I took all four kids, and found myself recommending having four to a complete stranger in the lift. They were that well behaved. Fantastic.

After the main exhibit we went down to the 'Ghost World' exhibit for kids. And as usual, the gallery team have done a great job to make a fabulous interactive activity space for kids and they all loved it.

The day ended up costing quite a lot (by the time you add up petrol, parking, food etc - next time we'll definitely take our own lunch), and after a lovely visit to my brother in his new house, we didn't get back home til 9.30pm... but it was a great day that we all enjoyed. I used to look at people with four kids and wonder how on earth they could leave the house - and now I know it's not easy to plan it, but on a good day it's like a roving party.

An in-between post

2010-07-31T00:22:00.000+10:00

Just for posterity, I'm reporting that I'm joining in with pottymouthmama's habit plan -

and the habit I am going to master (and look, it's not a biggie) is to drink 10 glasses of water each day.
In doing so I'll at least have less TIME in my day to stuff my face with other comforting things. And I do like to drink water. I'm just out of the habit - until tomorrow, when I will be back in it. And that's that.

And if you haven't read it already, you should go read this hilarious blog - Make Mine Mid Century.
She's prolific and has a gift with words (and has four kids which contributes to the wierd parallels our lives sometimes seem to have).

And I'm also getting my act together body wise and using Trish to help me. She's turning 40 a month after me, and boy, I've got some work to do. The stupid thing is that I know what I need to do, and yet, am not even close. So the reminders that she's posting, and the 'truthful tuesdays' that she's promising, will surely do more good than harm.

And for a little bit more papercut love, this is from 'thetimeisnow' on etsy. Lovely.

I've got some more papercut ideas that have yet to come to life, so the inspiration is welcome.

And that is it for now, have a great weekend!

My Creative Space - Yeehar

2010-07-29T08:32:00.010+10:00

I haven't finished it yet, but this is the main painting I'm sending to a local art show next Monday. I have still got to add some glazes, making the colours richer and making the background recede more successfully.

The only way I could do this was with the help of my mother and husband looking after the children. So it has been a big job for all of us. And it felt SO GOOD to get stuck into a painting again. Let's hope someone sees it and can't resist...

For more creative spaces, head over to the lovely kootooyoo (you should see the great lace lights she's made...).

Yummy Boozy Roast

2010-07-28T21:13:00.000+10:00

I'm having trials with keeping a three-year-old in bed tonight, and am not feeling as patient as this post may sound.

Luckily tonight was not totally lost, as my oldest son did his first roast using the ingredients above. This recipe was mentioned by a friend just last night, so it was my first time too.

We put a 1.8kg lump of beef in a casserole dish, poured over the Guiness, then the plum sauce, and finished by sprinkling over the french onion soup mix. Put the lid on the pot and into the oven at 180 degrees. Two hours later - voila! Delicious.

My friend, Suzanne-the-Sauce-Queen, could no doubt have done wonders with the liquid in the pot. But we ate it with green beans and mashed potato and it was terrific. And the leftovers will be very handy.

And I think I needed the iron. Very tired. So goodnight!

Really good chocolate patty cakes

2010-07-26T08:01:00.013+10:00

Firstly, apologies for the quality of the pics - it was late. But I had to share. Here they are, already in the tupperware, ready to be frozen for school lunches (and to keep them safe from me).

I've made a lot of cakes in my time, but these choc cupcakes are REALLY yummy.Verging on 'melt-in-your-mouth' when eaten warm from the oven. Just ask my husband.

They're from this book (another late-at-night photo, sorry) -

I've made lots of lovely cakes from this book actually (vanilla, hummingbird, carrot, lumberjack, zucchini) and it was the book that really gave me the 'secrets' to a great cupcake, including beating the butter for a few minutes before adding the sugar. Of course that means that we have a lot more noisy beater time now, but ah, they're so much better. Of course, the decoration in the book was a lot prettier than my 'school lunch' version. But Masterchef was on and I had places to go, people to see.

Here's the recipe. They say it makes 24. I say it makes 24 big cupcakes and about 36 mini ones from the one batch.

Chocolate Birthday Cakes - keeps 2 days, freezes 2 months

2 cups plain flour
2 tsps bicarb
1 tsp baking powder (I only had SR flour tonight, so I replaced these first 3 ingredients with that and it worked fine)
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp instant coffee granules (I'll probably only add 2 next time, but the kids are still liking 3)
1 cup hot water
1 cup cocoa
1 cup cold water
200g softened unsalted butter
2.5 cups caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla

Method (my words)

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Put out patty papers.
Sift together flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the coffee, hot water and cocoa until smooth. Then add the cold water and whisk again.
In another bowl cream the butter for 1-2 mins. Add the sugar 1/3 at a time, beating for 2 mins after each addition and then beating until sugar has almost dissolved. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 1 min after each addition or until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat again!
Add flour and cocoa mix alternately, about 1/3 at a time, beating on low until thoroughly combined. Don't overbeat though, or they'll be tough.
Spoon into papers. If you don't want them to crack on top, wait 20 mins before baking. Cracking doesn't bother me, so I just went straight ahead and baked them for about 20 mins (less for the mini size). Cool on wire rack before icing.

I did a simple cocoa/icing sugar/butter/milk icing and added sprinkles.

Love them. And the kids are stoked. We've got enough for a few weeks. Very happy. Do try them.

What you wear can change your life

2010-07-25T23:59:00.002+10:00

This is the book I was reading one night when I realised my husband and I are REALLY quite different.

He was reading 'Teach Yourself Latin'. (He is a history teacher, so I suppose that's ok.)

Today was a bit of a redletter day, with me finally getting back to some painting this afternoon, while the kids enjoyed the solo parentage of their father. It's a big thing. B is still breastfeeding, but can go most of the day without. So with help, I can be free from time to time. And it feels good.

Pip has just asked the question - "What’s your making style?" explaining that she has to dress down to be really creative, and if she's even a little bit 'fancy' she feels the need to take herself out for coffee.

To be creative, this is what I wear (winter version). Taken just now, at night, of the reflection in the door.

Not flattering. Definitely not fancy. Very comfy. Pretty sure Trinny and Suz would not approve.

Before the most recent babies, I got to wear an outfit like this most days of the week. And I loved it.

Today I moved my 'studio' (paints, brushes, canvases, etc) into my mother's studio (to separate me from the kids more successfully) and worked on this piece for the Downlands Art Show that's coming up. Three hours straight. It felt fantastic. I dissected the composition and I'm rebuilding it on the canvas. When all the colours are up, I'll add glazes and movement (well, that's the plan). This is what I got done.

You can see that it was light outside when I started, and was dark when I finished up. It's upside down, by the way. NB - it's a merry-go-round...

I don't always paint this 'bitsy' way, but it's a good way for me to get back into the swing of it again and rebuild my confidence.

And the best news is that mum's helping me with the kids tomorrow so I get to spend some more time on it.

I'm thinking I might do some posts on my painting tips. Interested? It'd make me move forward, knowing that you're waiting to hear more! Are you keen?

My Creative Space - Daily Bread

2010-07-22T10:15:00.000+10:00

Friends started using their breadmaker again last week, which spurred me on to get our ancient breadmaker out of the laundry cupboard, so today this is what my creative space looks like.

Still haven't seen any stylists using my tip about the Peppa Pig plate...

I'd never baked bread in it without a mix before, but after a bit of googling, this is the basic recipe I used, and I added a handful of mixed seeds that I had in the pantry.

I've just put another batch on and set the timer so it'll be done at 3.10 - just in time for after school. So this is what it looks like now -

On an totally different note, did you know if you don't have softened butter you can just grate it for the same result (why did I only just figure that one out?).

B wonders the same thing...

Thanks for all the hairdressing comments on my last post so far - I really appreciate your ideas and insights.

My next question is - what would it take to get you to CHANGE hairdressers? Is it price, personality, bonuses... what would you think was enough?

OK, paintings due for an art show soon. Will be mulling over hairdressing ideas as the paintings come out of the end of my brush ... that's the plan anyway!

For more creative spaces, head over to kootooyoo!

Now let's talk about hairdressers...

2010-07-21T14:33:00.001+10:00

New York, New York. Getting a manicure while drying hair at Francois de Paris, a hairdresser on Eighth Street (LOC), originally uploaded by The Library of Congress.

I've never done this on the blog before, but I've just taken on a client who is a hairdresser, and I'm putting together some ideas for their, quite elegant, salon.

So what I'd like to know from you is:
- the WORST thing about going to the hairdresser, and
- the thing you love BEST about going to the hairdresser.

And if you have been wooed by some marketing that really spoke to you, I'd love to hear about that too.

Myself, I think parking and timings are difficult things with appointments (and babies), and one of my biggest frustrations is that I'm nearly 40 and still don't know of a haircut that I'd love.

My happiest hair period was when I was making regular appointments with a hairdresser that was a terrific cutter, and her salon had heaps of natural light, fantastic coffee and homemade biccies.

I'd love to hear your stories!

More colours!

2010-07-20T15:35:00.000+10:00

It's still all about hankies around here folks.

I've finalised my packaging (going with the papercut theme and the doilies remaining from the recent party) and am really happy with it. Neat and easy to post, but personal. There's a little story about them on the back too.

To thank my first madeit customers, I've done a small run of these 'solitary girl' hankies, and am including them as a thank-you with each new order until they're gone. So if you're one of the lucky first eight, they'll be making their way to you very soon.

And I've printed the 'Bless You' design onto red and blue - which I love. The white is so crisp and clear, and there's plenty of room around the outside if you really have to blow your nose or something. I have just listed two of each in the new shop.

Now that this project is up and running, I can turn to other things (like cooking dinner I guess).

Actually, it's as if since B turned one and is a little more independent, interesting business opportunities have been coming my way. I've never been a marketing consultant and had a blog before (I have done the marketing thing, before the blog) - and I'd really appreciate your feedback on a few things. So start thinking what you like and don't like about hairdressers, and we'll chat about that tomorrow, shall we?

Bless you all!

A little hanky panky is afoot

2010-07-18T14:21:00.001+10:00

I've screenprinted some hankies - and I'm really happy with them.

Here is my son modelling 'hanky panky' (I didn't let him keep it - I made him have 'bless you' - because there's only so many more years that I can do that).

As you dear readers that have been following me lately know, I did this papercut a little while ago -

And a couple of days ago I turned it into this -

And then I built myself a brand new little madeit store (I'm totally over my old site and this is step one in my rebuild) to list them on.

At the moment there are two designs in these colours -

My mum (and currently my best 'customer') has already snatched up three, and has advised me to 'see how they go' (I'm prone to throwing myself into making a hundred of things before I test the market), so that's what I'm doing. If you like, please let me know.

A couple of months ago I started keeping a few hankies in my bag, mainly for wiping faces, hands and knees (moreso than tears and noses actually) and I have really enjoyed using them. So I'm hoping I'm not Robinson Crusoe here.

I also think they'd be great to pop in a card for a girlfriend, add to a personal gift, or send to someone who's sad. So if they're not a hit with you lot, I'll be using them all myself anyway.

If they are a hit, I'll happily print more and more and more... and take over the world one hanky at a time!!! Mwahhahhhahhhaaaa!!!!!

Yeah sure. I'll calm down and finish packaging them first maybe. They're not going to make my millions, but I really do love them. Hope you do too.

My Creative Space - Bless You

2010-07-16T00:48:00.000+10:00

I really didn't think I'd get anything up for Kootooyoo's Creative Space Thursday this week, having had kids on hols 'til Tuesday, then cute but clingy little ones and a husband away for work. But this project has been on my mind for weeks, and when they all finally went to sleep tonight, I cleaned up the kitchen and got stuck into it.

I've got lots of plans to change my website around, and perhaps open a madeit store, and these will be my first 'new' items in a while.

The folding's still covering the lounge mind you. Maybe tomorrow...

LOVING papercuts

2010-07-12T11:28:00.001+10:00

I've been so interested in papercuts lately. Thought I'd research a little and spread the inspiration.

It's been happening at the home of Kylie from 3 Sheets -

And Karen O'Leary does these amazing hand cut maps from large blank sheets of paper.

Craig Ward incorporates type into his papercuts -

Julene Harrison does amazing things too -

And of course, the pretty amazing Skinny La Minx makes all sorts of things from her papercuts -

Now off to finish the folding (again) so I can find some time with the scalpel...

Projects for Paula

2010-07-12T09:41:00.001+10:00

Two Friday's ago my desk makeover was featured in a lovely article by Caroline at Salsa Pie.

Caroline not only has her main site, she also has a complementary "How To" site with instructions for the projects she features.

With nearly four kids, Caroline has just decided to manage her posting schedule to include a recipe, a project and a featured person each week, and she really does have some lovely ideas.

So, dear Paula, it's a good place to stop and perhaps gather inspiration for regaining some of your art/craft mojo. I know you can do it!

Procrastinating about my really real life

2010-07-09T12:57:00.001+10:00

Today we were meant to go to Brisbane and visit friends. But B had a quick trip to emergency with asthma last night, so we've decided to stay home and be sensible today.

Which means instead of doing this -

Pic from here

(yes, Helen and Annie, I had high expectations), I'm doing this -

and there is still this lot to deal with too -

(it was much happier as a merry-go-round I think).

I've already done a bit of this -

which is handy for finding things like this -

and even this -

(there's nothing like being prepared).

B, through her wheezing, has decided a new 'up do' might help her feel better -

And S has decided to choose her lunch from her literary references -

(and yes, that's a nappy OVER her pants - we're having some issues there).

Speaking of literature, I did just finish "Mao's Last Dancer", finally, which was a pleasant change from my usual library of bedside tomes -

This is my latest favourite though - hilarious.

OK, enough chatting. Thanks for coming by. I'm now going back to sort out this -

Yep. Looking forward to the next party actually...

If you've got a moment, check out this great post about mummy bloggers at mamamia .

My Creative Space - The Third Birthday Challenge

2010-07-08T11:29:00.000+10:00

Look, I don't have pay TV, so maybe it's been done before, but I'm thinking that kids party "event management" could be the next reality TV "big thing". And this has been my creative space this week.

The Challenge - to do a not-to-stressy three year old's birthday party at home, with a merry-go-round theme, for seven little (and admittedly non-judgemental) guests.

The Conditions - daylight hours are out due to normal household/parenting stuff, you need to breastfeed every couple of hours and there'll be lots of siblings coming too because it's school holidays.And don't go stupid with the budget.

The Reality - And I'm happy to admit a lot of this party was about me - and how I wanted to do my child's birthday party. I really like to make memories for all of us, and to be able to look back on the year and have it punctuated by memorable and happy events. That's why I stay up late and do this crafty stuff. Often things don't quite go to plan, and I was a bit frantic just before the 10am deadline (with heavy editing I'm sure it could have been entertaining) but all things considered, this one was a goodie.

There were quite a few kids and the rain held off just long enough...

The hobby horses were a hit. I ended up making six (for seven guests - I know - but I was obviously a little bleary that night, but then I was pretty sure I could count on at least one little one refusing to participate) and my self-imposed condition was that I had to use fabrics and ribbons from my stash. With my mother-in-law's help, I stuffed them with the innards of some old (washed) pillows but I did buy some lovely new broomsticks (not too expensive though). I used the darning foot to 'free motion' stitch around the eyes (felt circles with a top layer of clear plastic) and predictably stabbed myself with the needle - geez, is there a secret about that foot that I don't know about?

Used this video tutorial for inspiration to make the horses.

The clothesline carousel was great (there were more kids involved just before I took this photo - really!).

The cake was fun, but I gave up on the idea of having a cake on the top too and used a circle of cardboard with a wedge cut out of it to make a pointed roof thingy.

And there is no such thing as a horse-shaped cookie cutter in this town (seriously - don't little girls like ponies anymore? I thought they'd be so easy to find...), so those horses are shaped with a play dough cutter and skewered with well, a skewer. S wanted a red cake, so I used Cathie's recipe for Red Velvet Cake, and it rose and rose... would have been perfect to cut into four layers for this cake icing attempt actually.

And finally, some thank-you bags containing some odd bits and pieces that I hoped little ones would like.

The Judgement - with a bit of grandmotherly and friendly help in the kitchen, almost everything went according to plan.

When asked what her favourite part of the day was, S replied, "The merry-go-round cake".

Better than anything Gary, George or Matt could have said.

For more creative spaces, head over to Kirsty at Kootooyoo.

And here's cheers to a husband who is starting to 'get' my blogging and actually offered to help take a photo of the horses. Thanks D.

And about that reality TV show - I'd be keen, but sorry, I'm too busy doing it for really real.