Happy ...

I have a new card in my Look See. madeit shop. It is hand drawn and hand lettered on brown card with white and black ink. It's 14cm x 14cm and says: "happy... [on the outside] ...mother's day [on the inside]".

Order on or before May 1st to ensure your card arrives on time.

And, after Mother's Day, this card would look great framed! (Just sayin')

Some Sunday sounds - Hudson

And behind the scenes for the stop-motion video clip of Against The Grain...

Image source.
On the web.

My creative space - new blog header

Usually when I get home from work at the end of the week I'm too tired to do anything much creatively speaking, but last night I had a quick burst of activity and drew a new blog header. I had the brown card for ages and ages and but hadn't yet used it for drawing. I also hadn't used the white gel pen yet, mostly because I had a feeling it might end up looking like I was drawing with white-out. But it didn't thank goodness. The lettering isn't perfect, but I kind of like it that way.

Linking up with Our Creative Spaces.

Pinteresting - Pink & Orange

Details:

1. Vintage books by SorryThankyou on Etsy.
2. I'll Never Forget What I Can't Remember print by Harland Miller via sfgirlbybay.
3. Numeric Hues via Design Seeds.
4. Lamp by Walter G via Design*Sponge.

Fast Five with ... Sophie from Her Library Adventures

I stumbled across Sophie's blog, Her Library Adventures one wintery day last year. I had come home from London in January and was living with my parents while working at my old school again. 

I used to set myself up in Mum's sewing room/the study at the back of the house with my laptop and more often than not a hot chocolate or coffee. Or just chocolate. I was going through a real Top Deck phase, actually. Sitting next to me and my laptop would be the inevitably massive pile of marking that I was studiously ignoring that weekend. I'm fairly sure I found Her Library Adventures via one of my other blogging friends, but I can't for the life of me remember who! I clicked on the About page and discovered that Sophie was also an English teacher. Unlike myself though, she is an avid thrifter (I likes the thrifting, but I'm no thrifter so-to-speak) and crafter (I still have some knitting from last year that I enthusiastically began, but never finished).

If you're looking for a pleasant, pretty, crafty and thrifty diversion for the afternoon (whether or not you have a pile of marking a mile high on your desk), check out Sophie's Her Library Adventures. Trust me, you'll enjoy yourself over there! You can also check out the online store she runs with her mum Annie*, Wilde Asher if you feel the need for some lovely vintagey goodness & bespoke jewellery.

So ... without further ado, here is my Fast Five with Sophie:

1. What is your favourite piece of art work currently displayed in your home/studio?  My favourite artwork is my 'love pie baking zebra' in my kitchen by the very talented Tara and Moana.  I just love the colours and she's a delight to look at when I'm doing the washing up.

2. Which blog do you NEVER skip reading (no matter how busy, crook, cranky you are)? Oh I have such a big list of gorgeous blogs that I love to read, I wish I would share them all.. Right now,  I'm especially enjoying Olive Green Anna and Oh So Lovely Vintage.

3. Where is your favourite place to get coffee and/or eggs + bacon and/or pancakes? My hubby and I always like to go to our locally owned Sumo Salad for Sunday brunch with friends and for coffee I can't go past the gorgeous girls at Fine and Sunny.  The communal table is the most lovely place to enjoy coffee, a yummy treat and a spot of crafting on a Friday afternoon.

4. What is your favourite font?  This is a tough one, I don't think I have one favourite, I'm always drawn to retro typography and just love the lettering on my Capri condiment canisters.

5. What is your favourite city to travel to? I'm split right down the middle between Paris and New York.  I love both cities so much, for different reasons and can't wait to visit them again.  I'd love to see New York at Christmas and ice skate at the Rockefeller Center and Paris in the Spring to wander the amazing flea Markets.

Thank you so much, Sophie for playing along with my Fast Five!

Images courtesy of Her Library Adventures.




*Hey, Sophie - that's my mum's name too! :)

Small Screen - Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.
I've always liked a good Miss Marple or Poirot, books or on the small screen - I don't mind.
I've also always loved a good period drama, so it's probably not surprising how much I like this series.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries airs on ABC1 on Fridays at 8.30pm if you feel like a little bit of sleuthing.
Please note: All images are screen shots from Episode Eight 'Away With The Faries' screened on April 13, 2012.

How to see contrast of a song

Things what have happened this week:
Someone put the words 'how to see contrast of a song' into Google and found my blog.
I went on a school excursion to the Devonport Bluff and took Instagrams of the lighthouse.
Many compasses were harmed in the making of our excursion. (Not deliberately or anything, just from being dropped and whatnot.)
I heard this song last Saturday on Rage and loved it and forgot to blog about it earlier.



And in French...



My birthday present to myself arrived.
I bought some great prints from this here place and they arrived.
It was sunny, windy, rainy but still warm and humid. My hair has not liked this.

Tomorrow it's mum's birthday. Dad and I are taking her out for dinner. But before that I will be marking like crazy and writing reports.
I really will.

My creative space - Just for the fun of it

I got so frustrated while trying to draw my first version of a Mother's Day print a few weeks ago, so I just sat down last week with a fineliner and some gel pens and drew for drawing's sake. Not to make something to sell. Just to draw lines and colour bits in. You know, for fun. (I forgot about the fun bit for a while there.)

And I feel a lot better for it. (I did end up doing something I could sell - well, something I would feel better about selling - but that's another story.)

All of which tells me I need to do that much, much more often.

So, I think I will.

Linking up with Our Creative Spaces.

Fast Five with ... Jodi from Che and Fidel

Jodi from Che and Fidel is one inspirational lady! She is a writer and pre-natal yoga teacher with the two cutest kidlets you ever did see. When I started reading her blog I fell in serious love with her project to post a portrait of her children once a week, every week. Those photos are amazing and can you imagine what a wonderful gift that will be for them when they are grown? I think it's brilliant. Jodi is a woman who blogs from the heart and you really do need to go and take a peek at Che and Fidel if you aren't already a regular visitor. Go on, go now. I'll wait...

In the meantime, here is my Fast Five with Jodi...

1) What is your favourite piece of art work currently displayed in your home/studio?  The chalk drawings on the blackboard wall in my kitchen. A collection of spontaneous lines, shapes, letters and numbers by my four-year-old.

2) Which blog do you NEVER skip reading (no matter how busy, crook, cranky you are)? I recently stepped into the home of Michelle from hugo & elsa - I think I've read every post she's ever written so it was an absolute pleasure to meet her in person. She had picked apples from her tree the day before we visited and made apple sauce for Poet to eat. While we were there she made plum jam and served it up on Rayburn sourdough toast - oh the memories. She is beautiful, generous and kind and her blog is my taste of country Tasmania when I can't be there myself.  

3) Where is your favourite place to get coffee and/or eggs + bacon and/or pancakes? We are homebodies so we like to buy takeaway coffee and sip it at home while eating a home-made breakfast (our favourite is lemon-scented pancakes). We have started looking into buying our own coffee machine and grinder...one day we'll make a decision.

4) What is your favourite font? Anything handwritten - I like seeing words threaded together.

5) What is your favourite city to travel to? I'll admit that I'm definitely not a city girl. But in saying that I've spent two very short stints in Melbourne and I love it for its quirk, style and food. We've just booked a 10 day trip there in May and we can't wait. Melbourne, here we come!

Jodi, I think I can smell those lemon-scented pancakes from here and they smell good!  :-)

Photo by Tim Coulson, courtesy of Che and Fidel.

I wish I lived here: The Trupp Family Home featured on The Design Files

About a fortnight ago, Stephen and Helena Trupp's family home was featured on The Design Files.

I was immediately drawn to the retro/vintage style and all the quirky little details.

Then, when I read the article, I discovered that Stephen was a contestant on Channel 9's Top Design last year. Now, I have to be honest, I got a little bit addicted to that show at the time. I got pretty upset when my television lost its signal halfway through an episode. Harsh words were spoken to the television, and I still haven't apologised to it. I will one day. Promise.

Stephen was my favourite designer on the show and I was crushed that he didn't win. I loved his style. I remember a project he worked on with another designer, Dee. The brief was to transform a haggard old caravan. They turned it into this awesome 1970s inspired surf shack. I loved that caravan. {I also loved the idea of hitting the road, selling milkshakes to surfer dudes and then moving along to the next beach to do the same. One day.}

Stephen and Helena run a business together called Empirical Style - they source fantastic vintage and retro items and the great news is that you can buy online. {Personally, I'm putting off looking more closely until my next pay. I have a feeling my credit card could suffer some serious damage if I spend too much time over there right now.}

Anyhoo, you can read the full article here (and you totes should, it's well worth it) as well as checking out more gorgeous photos.

All images from The Design Files.

Made With Love Market Bazaar - April, 2012

A few shots from Saturday's Made With Love Market Bazaar.

You can see the rest here.

And I'll be posting a few to my Flickr profile as well, so check back on that regularly if you like.

Linkage:
Rock My Roll
Baby Boudoir
Lisaloo
Crooked Stitch
Once Upon A Time

Easter holidays - the end bit before going back to work

Aside from Melbourne this Easter holidays, there was also...

Watching old Western movies while rugged up snugly.
Some family time with my cousin.
Where we checked out the talent (musically speaking) at a local Open Mic Night.
The Made With Love Market Bazaar yesterday (post tomorrow about that one).


And did I do any school work?

Uh. Sure. (Do I sound convincing?)

But, to help me procrastinate from the marking, I did do a bucket-load of housework. So, the house looks good. Bonus. Right?

Sigh.

Hello, Melbourne: State Library

State Library of Victoria
La Trobe Reading Room
328 Swanston St, Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Ph. (03) 8664  7000

Pinterest-ing: Red, white and neutral all over

1./ 2./ 3./ 

1. Shelf above kitchen sink. Via iVillage. Originally pinned by Zara Pearson.
2. To and Fro. By Lisa Congdon. Originally pinned by me.
3. Cats eye Ray Bans. Via Keiko Lynn. Originally pinned by Emma Gleeson.

Hello, Melbourne: Out & About

Fast five with Bec from Naughty Shorts!

For this edition of Fast Five, I'm lucky enough to be featuring the brilliant Bec from Naughty Shorts!.

If you haven't already heard of her (and I'm sure you have) - she's a dress-making, crafting and photo-taking sensation. Bec makes the most insanely beautiful dresses and her blog is an honest and very pretty account of her work and life. I started reading her blog last year and was heaps chuffed to win a free dress in a competition she ran. I love her blog because it gives me an insight into her creativity, and every time I look at her photos I involuntarily gasp because they are so, so pretty.


Here's what Bec had to say in response to my Fast Five questions ...

1) What is your favourite piece of art work currently displayed in your home/studio?
Just before I moved here to the middle of the Pilbara, my mum who is a superbly talented artist, gifted me an oil painting of two magpies on a raw linen canvas, and I swoon every time I walk past it.
2) Which blog do you NEVER skip reading (no matter how busy, crook, cranky you are)? 
There are numerous... but I can tell you that the blogs that make my heart sing and the world a more beautiful place are Kit and Nancy and Dottie Angel...
3) Where is your favourite place to get coffee and/or eggs + bacon and/or pancakes?
Living in Pannawonica there is actually no option available to us other than making our own. There are no cafes or restaurants here. I have the best stove top espresso maker given to me by my mother in-law which means that I don't have to live without coffee (thank goodness) And we have beans shipped to us by the Yallingup roasting company...
4) What is your favourite font?
I don't actually have one, but I have been meaning to make my own for a while now, I think that a font that was uniquely mine will be my most loved... I am still rather partial to the old typewriter font...
5) What is your favourite city to travel to? 
At the moment it would have to be Perth, as boring as that sounds. My family and friends are there, and after living in isolation so long it may as well be New York... I am that excited to get there. Maybe once I am back living in Perth, I might upgrade my favourite city to somewhere a little more exotic....

Word on those two favourite blogs of yours, Bec. They are regular reading for me as well - beautiful images, lots of creativity and inspiration!

Thanks Bec for participating in my Fast Five and for sharing these lovely images - the shot of your mother's art work is wonderful!

Check out Bec's blog and Facebook page, Etsy shop or do what I do and Instagram-stalk @naughtyshorts. (Umm, Bec? I've pretty much hearted each and every photo in your Instagram feed! You have a way with the lens, Missy!)

Images courtesy of Naughty Shorts!.

Hello, Melbourne: Food & Drink

Cafe No. Five
5 Centre Place, Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Ph. (03) 9650  0055
Lorca Cafe
9 Centre Place, Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Ph. (03) 9650  6337
ITO Japanese Noodle Cafe
122 Bourke St, Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Ph. (03) 9663  2788
Laurent Patisserie
148 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Ph. (03) 9417  7310

Hello, Melbourne

I went Instagram mad in Melbourne. It was a lovely (and way too short) weekend. More to come...

Happy Easter weekend

I'm not here. I'm in Melbourne. With him. Having coffee and drinking champagne and eating nice food. And possibly shopping when he's not looking - have you ever shopped by stealth? It's fun. Try it.

Hoping you have a lovely Easter weekend, whatever you're up to.

Pinterest-ing: Botanical

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Details:

1. Sweet William print originally pinned by me via Art by Wiley.
2. Golden leaf originally pinned by Jessica Colaluca via Couture Splash.
3. 365 days of hand lettering originally pinned by me via Lisa Congdon.