Painted Thankyous

Some lovely people gave some beautiful trees out of their garden, free of charge, so I thought I would do something nice to repay them.

They have two adorable little boys. One of which is obsessed with dinosaurs and I'm sure the other will follow in his big brothers footsteps.

So I painted these Canvas's for the boys walls.

Acrylic on canvas, with a touch of glitter.

Handblown mini glass bowls

I though I would share with you my latest bargain.

How cool are these!? Handblown glass bowls with colored glaze on the insides. Love the colors too.

and where did I get them from? Spotlight! For two dollars each.

There's nothing better then getting a good bargain.

Enjoy whats left of your weekend.

Finders Keepers Market

Hi all, Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, I know I am, besides the hay-fever.

This morning I headed off to meet a friend of mine, and fellow blogger Heather Peters, at the Finders Keepers Market at the Docklands.

The markets brings together new emerging and contemporary independent artists and designers of original and high creative standards from both Melbourne and all around Australia. This market has an array of new designers & artists stalls as well as a fresh new music line up.


Amongst the mass of creative talent, I found a couple of little gems I just had to have...

Small white porcelain rabbit necklace

Wooden sleeping fox brooch

Here's a list of my favorite companies that exhibited this year...


Little Shop of Handmade - Based in Melbourne, this store supports anything handmade.
Their collection contains Totes, Cards, Softies, All sorts of jewelry and much much more.

Schmooks made an appearance this year with their golden antique brass necklaces.
I came very very close to buying this little guy. I think I might still buy him :)

Print Space - was a favorite amongst the crowd with their art prints and stationery products.

Tiger & Hare - is a funky little outfit specialising in hand printed goods from homeware and stationery to Tshirts and baby clothing.

Pip & Maude - is the creative outlet of graphic designer Pip Thompson. She has been creating these handcrafted masterpieces since 2004. This little guy was my favorite.

I hope you've liked my snap shot of the Finders keepers market. If you went, id love to know what wonderful things you found.

Cant wait for the next one.

Jump Rope for Heart

Hi all, Just popping by to post these colour-in sheets I created as part of a Jump Rope for Heart program running in my area. It's a great cause and a lot of fun too, so be sure to get behind it!

My Favorite Book!

Time to share with you all, my favorite book...

J.Otto Seibold's version of Alice in Wonderland.

The well know tale of Lewis Carroll retold with quirky Illos.

Oh and it gets better! Its a Pop-Up Book. Yay!

While I was studying Illustration, I was heavily inspired by J.Otto's style of illustration. So I'm sure you can see his influence coming through in quite a lot of my pieces.

You may know a lot of his other work too.

He was the creator of...

'Olive the other Reindeer'

'Penguin Dreams'

and 'Vunce upon a time'

Its great how different books can really capture a specific time in your life.

I'd love to hear what your favorite book is and why you love it?

Love this style...

So I was attempting to clean out my Mac, as the desktop looks like a war zone, when I came across these screen shots that I must have found a while ago. I apologize in advance to who ever created this beautiful frame but I for the life of me can not find where I have found them. So if anyone knows who should get the credit please let me know so I can post a link.

Tusk

Thought I would share with you a new design that I did at work.

The range is called Tusk and it is part of artwraps amazing Pepperpot collection for 2010.

Tusk has a slightly oriental feel and is finished with a touch of spot varnish and ribbon trims.

Keep an eye out for them in store. (Australia only)

My Studio

I am starting to transform my home studio from a dull lifeless room

to somewhere I can go to feel inspired.

There are many more things that I plan to do, but here's what i have so far...

Round shaggy rug new from Ebay, I absolutely LOVE it!. White box shelves and wicker baskets from Officeworks, I plan to fill the empty spots with funky vases and decorative bits and pieces. Ribbon notice board is homemade (fabric from spotlight) ART letters from Typo and that lil white piggy is from my friends, which I am still yet to paint. Painting the roses red painting by Jasmine Becket Griffith from my fantastic boyfriend Trav. I really want another two so i can hang them side by side. And last but not least a print from the Tim Burton movie Alice in Wonderland from my sister Nicole.

So its all coming together nicely. But there's still a away to go until its exactly how i want it. hope you've liked a sneak peak into my creative area. Let me know what your studio is like. I know this looks neat but I'm sure it wont stay that way for long :)

Painting the roses red - featuring the wise, yet crazy caterpillar

Gee... What should I paint on my ukelele for

the Melbourne Ukulele festival this year?

Hmm....

I know! Maybe something based on Alice in wonderland for a change. he he he. I never get sick of using my favourite story for subject matter. There's just soooo many possibilities. So this piece is called 'Painting the roses red". I do love the wise, yet crazy caterpillar that helps Alice on her journey through wonderland, so I thought I better throw him in there.

I'm really happy with how it has turned out, you can't tell by the photos but I have got my trusty old burnisher out to burn the image into the wood. Now, the photos also hide the fact that the back, neck and edges of the Uke are varnished this vibrant cherry red. So I decided to paint just the roses to match, using acrylic. I also added very subtle spots of a white wash, just to add a bit more interest. To finish the piece I put a high gloss varnish over the roses and cards. I'm excited for it to be displayed in the Ukulele exhibition during the festival. All Ukuleles will be on display at 303 High street, Northcote

What a sweet surprise!

My wonderful friends Caroline and Benn sent me these stunning chocolates from Cacao Fine Chocolates. They came in a beautiful wooden box, which I just adore and each chocolate is individually hand crafted. I really think that they are just far too pretty to eat, but I'm sure ill give in to temptation.