Lace printing!
Barbie then and now
Amazing!
By New York artist Holton Rower. Completely mesmerising to watch – I’d love to know what kind of paint they’re using! It looks so…liquid? Like it’s watered right down, but the colours are still so intense that I don’t think it can be. They must take a million years to dry! 
Kind of a grown up version of those paintings we used to make at primary school Galas where you tape paper to a pottery wheel and pour paint on! (Maybe that’s why I’m so taken with these)
The sea is so big and my boat is so small
Watching footage of the Christchurch earthquake, I’ve realised how vital it is for people to tell their stories. Not only for the teller, but also for the listener – hearing stories of miracles and hope can really strengthen the hope and faith of people who are struggling.
When life came crashing down around us in June last year, we looked everywhere for inspiration, for any small sign of hope that Lulu might be alright. We got very little from the Medical community, only bad news from the internet, and we simply didn’t know anyone else who was dealing with anything like what was happening to us. People gradually began to tell us other stories though, tales of their own tragedy/despair/hope/healing experiences, and we began to realise that crisis is a universal human experience – we all need propping up some times, and we can all offer a shoulder to lean on at other times – no matter what the circumstances.
So a couple of months ago we put this little video together and launched it into cyberspace, in the hope that someone who needs it will find it one day.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Ahahahahaha!
.
This totally doesn’t warrant a blog post, and animal lover is not on my resume, but good grief. Who could withstand the cuteness of this little guy? Honestly.
Inspiration Monday
The internets never cease to amaze me! There are so many clever people out there doing so many clever things -and here are a couple I’ve found recently:
Plinky is a tool for writers and wannabe writers. It provides you with a daily prompt to get you writing, and if you’re uninspired by the prompt of the day you can trawl through their archives and pick something from a previous day. 
You can also read other people’s answers, follow people whose style you like, and be followed by others who like your style.
If only there was a tool to help with generating interesting blog post titles!
Pinterest is….hmmm…kind of an image cataloging service. A ‘virtual pinboard’. It’s been a lifesaver for my hard drive, I’ve been able to upload/offload all the precious saved images I’ve collected over the years, and it lets me organise them into themed ‘boards’ (such as food, home, craft etc). You can look at other peoples boards too, and search by keyword for images – an amazing inspirational tool. Some people even seem to be selling products via Pinterest, (don’t be alarmed, there is no hard sell) COMPLETELY ADDICTIVE, I warn you.
Rising from the ashes…..
I’ve just been reading about the ‘Student volunteer army’ in Christchurch – I’m blown away at the generosity and community spirit alive and well amongst the wreckage. This is absolutely social networking at it’s best – the entire project was organised via Facebook, hundreds of students have spent the last few days making an extremely worthwhile dent in the mammoth cleanup. I imagine lots of these people are living through their own nightmares – friends or family members badly injured or lost, homes destroyed – but they’re out there anyway, doing what they can. So impressed.
Amen, Mrs Cooper.
Anything is possible…..
Speechless.
Can’t quite find the words to describe the feeling of seeing Christchurch on it’s knees.
The emotional rollercoaster of hope that your loved ones are alive, followed by warnings to prepare for the worst, then a rumor of contact made from under the rubble…..
We’re so thankful that our loved ones there have all checked in, but so so gutted for those living on a knife edge or dealing with the worst news – so very sorry.
Christchurch, you are in our prayers.
If you haven’t heard, a couple of crafty WAHMs have set up a Facebook page rounding up donations of things to be auctioned, all proceeds to the Red Cross. The items will be listed onTrademe on Monday, and Trademe has very kindly waived all fees. If you make anything or have anything you can donate, please get in touch with them.
Viva la Frida!
I’ve carved out some time to get the paint brushes out again in the last couple of weeks. A fresh batch of work has been delivered to Zippys cafe, Pukuatua st, Rotorua if anyone is interested! Quite an achievement for me these days!
Also a painting is heading to the Charity auctions for Christchurch, please check them out and if you have anything you’re able to donate please get in touch with the amazing ladies behind the project.
I’ve been reading a lot about Frida Kahlo lately, which is what inspired me to get moving again.
I’m fascinated.
Her life is almost too outrageously tragic and full of plot twists to be true, and inspired some of the most raw autobiographical work I’ve ever seen.
She often told people “I never paint dreams – I paint my reality”. Which is interesting to me as an artist and a sometimes blogger: I find myself inclined to paint and write a beautiful, palatable version of events rather than the unattractive and unpleasant parts of life.
Frida didn’t hold back – Polio, possible Spina bifida, a serious accident, a passionate but stormy marriage to fellow artist Diego Riviera, infertility, miscarriages, terminations, infidelity, and a life lived in chronic pain are all laid bare on her canvas. Beautiful in reality, Frida often painted herself with an exaggerated monobrow and facial hair, or with deformities. 
Kahlo’s extreme decorative style is what remains best known about her today. In 1998 fashion designer John Paul Gaultier designed a collection inspired by her. 
Karl Lagerfield photographed Claudia Schiffer dressed as Frida.
Lee-loo’s costume in The Fifth Element, designed by John Paul Gaultier, was inspired by a Frida self portrait
Frida Kahlo died in 1954, at 47. There is some speculation as to the cause of her death, a few days before she wrote in her diary: “I hope the exit is joyful — and I hope never to return — Frida”. In his autobiography, Diego Rivera would write that the day Kahlo died was the most tragic day of his life, adding that, too late, he had realized that the most wonderful part of his life had been his love for her.
Frida’s work was largely unrecognised in her lifetime, she was known only as the artist wife of Diego Riviera. SInce the 80′s though, the story of Frida has inspired an opera, jazz albums, postage stamps, fashion and novels, her work is still regularly exhibited worldwide, and her childhood home, “La Casa Azul/The Blue House” in Mexico is now a museum. Mexico’s 500-peso note features Frida and her 1949 painting entitled Love’s Embrace of the Universe, Earth, (Mexico), I, Diego, and Mr. Xólotl.
Beautiful and tragic and so inspirational.
Ahhhhhhh, two sleeping kiddies…..
Today has not been the easiest day in my career as a mother! 
Poor Buddy has fluid in his ears from a prolooooooooonged cold, he’s deaf as a post and pretty frustrated, I don’t think it’s been the easiest day in his preschool career either. He’s just crashed out in his bed in a nest of toys, and I’m taking the opportunity for some peaceful internet escapism. Some days, a few minutes of looking at beautiful things is as good as a holiday!
Here’s what I’ve found. Maybe you could do with a wee break too.
Beautiful decoupaged necklace from Liquid Sky Arts – in fact, anything at all from Liquid Sky Arts, everything they do is beautiful!
Amazing patchwork furniture from The Baobab Tree
Doesn’t this look delicious? I can’t remember where I found this pic, I was so impressed that I made it my desktop background one day! If it’s yours please let me know and I’ll credit you/delete it immediately!
A gorgeous little angel from the incredible Alisa Burke.
‘Vintage Ruby Hoops’ from Etsy seller Divine Rose
Amazing cut paper sculpture by Helen Musselwhite
Another couple I’ve long lost the details of, but how cool are they?
Feeling better already! Hope the sun is shining where you are.
It’s Friday night. I’m sitting on the couch, across from Lulu. She’s pottering around in the middle of a pile of toys, completely engrossed in inspecting and testing each item. She catches me watching her and breaks into a grin. “Ma-ma-ma-ma”
I can’t help but think of another Friday night halfway through June this year, Tony came home from work to find me in a quiet panic, holding Lulu and trying pretty unsuccessfully not to let Buddy see my tears.
Lulu had been doing some funny little clenchy movements through the week, kind of hunching her chin down and lifting her arms. They were over so quickly it was hard to put your finger on what you’d just seen. I feel a bit silly now, but she’d just started on solids and was having a few, errmm, digestive problems…. I had put it down to that.
That afternoon she did it again, stronger and for longer than before. I got a good look at the whole episode for the first time, and I knew it was more than a digestive problem. I Googled “infant seizures” and found YouTube clip after clip of other six month old babies doing the exact little jerky, clenchy movement Lulu had been doing. One in particular said “If your child is having seizures like this, calmly pack your bags and take her to the nearest hospital”.
We took her to A&E. As soon as the woman on the desk heard ‘seizures’ she zoomed us through. A pediatrician observed her for a couple of hours, then admitted us for a week.
We were in shock.
Our beautiful, healthy, happy little princess had chaos raging in her brain, and we were completely out of our depth.. Not a thing we could do but hold her when her tiny body jerked, her eyes wild and terrified. I remember holding her and stroking her head, saying “Shhhhh Mummy’s here, it’s ok, Mummy’s here” and thinking “What am I saying – Mummy has no tricks up her sleeve to fix this one”.
We have this beautiful friend called Natalie. She will go down in history in our family for lots of reasons, but mostly because of the rescue brigade she brought to us that week. I sent her an SOS txt, and she mobilised a network of people all over the country and overseas to pray for Lulu. On the Sunday, our church plus two other local ones dropped everything in their morning service to pray for us. A constant stream of food and messages came to our hospital room, people we hardly knew came to lay hands on Lulu and pray. Another incredible friend, Wendy, came and sat with us as we listened to the pediatrician confirm our worst fears: Lulu had Infantile Spasms, then stayed with her so Tony and I could get out in the air and hug and cry and process.
Infantile Spasms, sometimes known as West Syndrome, is a rare-ish and random-ish neurological condition which affects one in around 3200 to 3500 babies. It shows up some time around the sixth month. The prognosis is not good – brain damage is generally on the agenda, and other scary words like Autism, Psychological Disorders and Epilepsy flutter through hospital corridors like malevolent butterflies.
A brain wave scan produced a printout that could easily have come out of a Christchurch seismograph. Her brain activity was all over the place. An MRI scan (a nightmare in itself) crossed tumors off the list of things to worry about, but didn’t answer any questions.
Lulu was in the ‘best case’ category: her seizures were idiopathic (no visible cause), she’d had no other symptoms, she was otherwise healthy and developing normally. She was diagnosed within 24 hours of our arrival at A&E and that day we started her on an adult dose of steroids for five weeks.
The seizures stopped within hours of starting the medication. The treatment took its toll on her – she couldn’t sleep, she was ravenous and cranky all the time, the light went out of her eyes, her cheeks puffed up like a Chipmunk. Her development went on hold. She didn’t smile or sing or ‘talk’ or pick up any new skills for a total of eight weeks, till the drugs started to leave her system.
But the seizures haven’t come back.
The Child Development Team is monitoring her. She’s doing a few things a wee bit out of order, but her development is basically where it should be for her age.
A follow-up brain wave scan shows normal brain activity.
It’s like it never happened.
So what did happen? The medical community can’t explain it. We believe she was healed by God, through a million prayers; our pediatrician’s speedy action and amazing care, the right prescription; and lots of love.
She’s singing happily as I write this, testing the limits of a yellow plastic swordfish from her brother’s fishing game. Her last seizure was on the 19th of June, our first morning in hospital (and Tony’s birthday actually) and the words that flutter through hospital corridors when we go back for checkups are ‘delighted’ and ‘excellent progress’ and ‘extremely hopeful’. They are benevolent butterflies now, all the colours of the rainbow.
Lulu this morning, photo by Buddy.
Somebody sent us a link to this video on the darkest day, it simultaneously pulled the rug out from under us and gave us incredible hope. The Dad that made it puts our feelings into words better than we’ve been able to.
Job 2:10 “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
Can you believe this?
AMAZING is the word for these crochet rugs from Etsy seller “Ladies and Gentlemen“
I love the idea of a traditional craft used in SUCH an unconventional way!
If I didn’t live with such an adamant doilley-hater, I’d so love one of these on my lounge wall! Far too beautiful (and white) for the floor…..
A reminder to myself….
We spotted a fantastic painting incorporating the words of the Desiderata in a Home and Garden mag last night, a Hamilton graphic designer/Mum had painted it for her family room.
I haven’t read it in such a long time, but it really resonates with us at the moment! We could certainly do with it displayed in our house as a reminder to just…be.
Desiderata (Latin: “desired things”) is a prose poem written by American poet Max Ehrmann in 1927.
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Sushi for lazy people
Anyone who knows me will tell you that if there is an easier way to do something, I will find it. I have complete disregard for the process, and if you are Japanese, I apologise for messing with one of your national dishes. I hope you can find it in your heart to see this as a tribute!
We love homemade sushi but it certainly is labour-intensive, unfortunately one of those dishes that goes in the too-hard basket unless the kids are at Grandma’s!
But tonight I think I may have found the answer to keeping one’s cool and satisfying a sushi craving, even with preschoolers in the house.
Sushi salad!
This was highly experimental and I therefore have no idea about quantities, I’m not even going to call this a recipe.
Start with short grain rice – I used about a cup and a half – I guess however much rice you’d normally cook for your family. 
Add to the cooked rice a couple of teaspoons of sesame oil, and a couple of decent pinches of salt.
Leave it to cool for an hour or so.
If you have it, this is my favourite seasoning for sushi:
Highly unorthodox and NOT japanese, but it’s yum.
Chop up whatever ingredients you’d usually like in sushi – tonight it was carrot, cucumber and capsicum.
Next time I’ll add avocado and maybe some egg. Or spring onion?
You could use chicken or tofu, but I used a can of tuna mixed with about a tablespoon of whole egg mayonaise.
Cut up 3 or 4 nori sheets with kitchen scissors.
Layer all the ingredients in a bowl, a bit of rice, a few bits of nori, some veges, a few dollops of the tuna mix, more rice……. Don’t worry about the nori being dry and papery, it’ll soak up moisture from the other ingredients.
Arrange a few bits of pickled ginger on top, if you’re feeling a bit adventurous you could drizzle on some soy sauce mixed with wasabi, and voila!
If you shut your eyes, you would swear you were at the River Monster. (Except for the cracker crumbs and sticky patch on the tablecloth where your 3 year old was eating his orange at afternoon tea time.)
“Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?”
When I was a kid, being a writer was #4 on my list of future careers, right behind ‘diesel mechanic’, ‘artist’ and ‘air hostess’.
I’ve ticked artist off the list – I sold my first painting about 14 years ago and I have a forever paint stained callous on the inside of my middle finger, years of holding a paintbrush have almost left a tattoo!
There have been a few unexpected plot twists including a brush with retail and several years as an English teacher.
(Diesel mechanic no longer appeals – who knows why it ever did, I think I was just trying to be controversial – and air hostessing wouldn’t fit too well around kindy and nappy changes at this stage!)
But this urge to write just won’t go away. I’ve always loved words, to me they are a visual thing – a piece of writing can paint pictures in my mind no less colourful than paint on canvas.
So after wrestling with the pros and cons for weeks and months and years, I’ve decided to say ‘yes’ to writing, and see what comes of it. 
Why do I think this piece of information constitutes a blog post? Because I’ve learned that putting ideas into words, and letting them fly free is a great way to get things moving!
As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
Proverbs 23:7
So having made a decision, what is a grammar and research geek to do but get busy upskilling?
How to Become a Better Writer: Completely Non-Writing-Related Ideas
from here.
1. Be creative any way you can. Cook new recipes. Paint a picture. Design a garden. Compose a song. Build something with Lego. Organize the garage.
2. Pay attention. Observe the mannerisms of people around you. Listen to how they speak. Marvel at the way they’re dressed. Notice their shoes and their posture and the look in their eye.
3. Be an armchair shrink. Analyze people’s behavior. Ask yourself how their actions reveal their character. Wonder about their motivations. Scrutinize the dynamics of relationships. Drive your spouse and kids crazy.
4. Live life with passion. Do the things on your bucket list. Stretch beyond your comfort zone. Climb a mountain. Jump out of a plane. Serve soup at a shelter. Dine in a restaurant alone.
5. Take trips. Fly, drive or ride your bike. Dig a well in Africa or lie on a beach in San Diego or discover just how big Texas really is when you drive across it… just go.
6. Watch TV intentionally. Only the best scripted shows and only a few hours a week. Pay attention to good writing and try to figure out why it works.
7. Be a patron of the arts. Theater, dance, museums, concerts, architecture, baseball games. Enjoy beauty, excellence and precision wherever you find it.
8. Spend time everyday in mundane tasks. Do them without any music, radio or TV in the background. Wash the dishes, mow the lawn. Even your commute can be done in silence. See what you find there.
9. Pursue your interests. Have a hobby or two. Besides writing.
10. Exercise. Preferably something like jogging, walking, hiking or bicycling where you have long stretches of a repetitive activity.
The kids are tucked in and I’ve just spent an hour or so happily snooping through the archives at The Purl Bee – holy smoke they have some amazing tutorials! I’m not a knitter but I’m almost wishing I was…and I’m absolutely in love with these little felt rose hair clips. At ten months Lulu is yet to produce any significant hair, but the day any appears I’ll certainly be attaching one of these little darlings to it! (I’m hoping they don’t mind me pinching their photo – couldn’t find anything on the site prohibiting it but will happily take it down if it’s a problem!)
I really love this idea for reusable party decorations too.
I also stumbled across the blog of the lovely, wildly imaginative Katie Sokoler, a freelance street artist and photographer living in Brooklyn. She does amazing things with coloured paper – if I wasn’t married to an Engineer I’d be tempted to draw on the windows with crayon and plaster a wild rainbow of paper bubbles across the lounge wall……..
And speaking of rainbows, in case anyone needs a reminder of the infinite creativity of the hand that holds us in orbit – 
Here‘s a lovely little collection of rainbow goodness.
Book review – ‘You Sexy Mother’ by Jodie Hedley-Ward
I loved this book, and even more so because it was a Christmas gift from my husband – the man has earned a million never-expiring brownie points for this one! I think I was so delighted to read it because I saw myself on every page – and was relieved to know I wasn’t the only new-ish Mum struggling to get a handle on her forever-altered life.
“When she became a mother herself, Jodie Hedley-Ward failed to find any book that supported her own beliefs about what motherhood could and should be, so she set about writing one herself. You Sexy Mother was the triumphant result. Since then, thousands of women have read and absorbed the You Sexy Mother philosophy.”
The book is thought provoking and full of little ideas that you can easily pick up and run with – I’ve found just a few little paradigm adjustments have made big differences already.
Jodie’s beautiful website is also full of little “Do one thing each day” tips and ideas, plus the lovely “You Sexy Mother Manifesto” and a link to her blog. And here’s an extract.from the book.
Also available is a journal with reflection questions and a “Ten day turnaround plan” – sounds interesting!
After writing this book, Jodie Hedley-Ward (along with Dr Angela Huntsman) pioneered the International Motherhood study – a research project gathering information from mothers worldwide regarding their emotional and motivational states. At this stage it’s thought that within the field of mothering and motherhood, the IMS may hold more information than has been gathered about mothers at any one time or for any one purpose to date. Watch this space – I’m sure the girls will be putting their research to interesting use!
A miracle of carbs and saturated fat. And sugar.
I’ve always been a pikelet girl, really. I find scones a wee bit…..meh. To be honest. At best, a fantastic excuse for eating cream and jam, but otherwise stodgy and dry and…baking powdery. I just don’t like that baking powder flavour.
BUT. This was all before I got my hands on Tony’s Granny’s scone recipe. [cue angelic choir and rays of light poking between the clouds] I once was blind, but now I see.
Baking powderyness does not feature in these puppies, and they are the lightest, softest, most delicious scones you will ever eat. I guarantee it. And weirdly, they stay fresh for days – Tony’s Mum had one on Monday from a batch we made on Saturday, and it was still fresh as a daisy. Magic.
You have to try this.
Chuck 3 cups of Self Raising flour and a small pinch of salt in a bowl.
Add 1 cup of cream and 1 cup of lemonade.
Mix till it’s all combined, it will be a bit sticky. This doesn’t matter because there’ll be no rolling out or cutting. Add sultanas or chopped dates if you like.
Drop spoonfuls onto a tray lined with baking paper (or greased, whatever).
Bake at 220 degrees for 10-15min or until as golden as you like your scones to be.
Go about your usual scone routine, cream + jam, whatever you like, then marvel at the texture, the miraculous lightness.
Forsake all other scone recipes from this day forward.
Big bubbles…no troubles
We’ve had a few pretty gorgeous days….the end of cabin-fever season is in sight! I’m starting to get some warm weather projects lined up. Top of the list is bubbles and here are the two bubble projects we’re starting with, in case anyone would like to join us.
We’ve ditched the fiddly little loop things that come with ready-made bubble mix, they’re really only good for detergent burn all down your arms and are just too tricky for a little sprout to use successfully.
A less messy plan is to cut the handle off a milk bottle, dip the lid end in bubble mix and blow through the handle. The other end of the handle stops the liquid from running up your arm.
The undercover hippie in me likes to use the bottom half of the milk bottle for planting seeds, but that’s a story for another day.
This may not be everyone’s idea of a handy hint – but I’ve discovered that bubble blowing in the kitchen on a rainy day that coincides with the floor needing a good scrub = clean floor with minimal effort! I gave Buddy a towel to stand on so he didn’t slip on the tiles, then just washed the floor with plain hot water when he finished.
Now if it’s super-duper bubbles you’re after, you’ll need to bring out the big guns.
This takes a bit of practise but the results are fantastic!
You’ll need two sticks around a metre long – garden stakes or thin, straight branches are fine, I got some bits of dowel from Bunnings for about $1.30 each.
You’ll also need two eye screws and some really thick cotton string, the thicker the better. (Cotton absorbs plenty of the bubble mix). Cotton piping cord or cotton tape are ideal. And a medium washer – not too heavy and not too tiny, it’s just to help hold the loop of string open.
I started writing assembly instructions after very little sleep and nowhere near enough coffee, and got completely tangled up. So I did a bit of googling and found that Down Memory Lane has already said it so clearly it seems redundant to duplicate.
ENJOY!
Book review* – Grow Great Grub by Gayla Trail
Yes, that’s her real name.
This is a beautiful, beautiful book, jam-packed with gorgeous pictures and really great information. Gayla Trail writes the blog You Grow, Girl, now in it’s tenth year, and is a veteran balcony gardener in Toronto, Canada. 
Grow Great Grub packs in helpful tips and essential information about…
- Choosing a location and making the most of your soil (even if it’s less than perfect)
- Determining the limitations of space and strategies to overcome them
- Keeping pests and diseases away from your plants—the toxin-free way
- Growing bountiful crops in pots and selecting the best heirloom varieties
- Details on growing hundreds of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and edible flowers
- Storing and preserving instruction to make the most of your garden’s generosity
“Whether you’re looking to eat on a budget or simply to experience the pleasure of picking tonight’s meal from right outside your door, this is the must-have book for small-space gardeners—no backyard required.”
Amazon reviewers love it as much as I do – see their comments here.
*Book review disclaimer: My only intention is to share books that I’ve bought myself, read and loved. I don’t receive payment or freebies of any kind for this, and I don’t even bother mentioning books that I don’t love.
Book review* – Canvas Remix by Alisa Burke
I’ve been a blog-stalker of Alisa Burke‘s for a couple of years now. Her work is so so different to mine but there is something about it that I’m just mesmerised by, and I’ve really loved watching her career progress. So when she wrote a book, well, duh.
It’s an absolutely beautiful piece of bookery. (I just made that up. I think it has a nice ring to it though)
Kind of like a piece of art all on its own. The projects are pretty amazing, I’d be unlikely to make any one of them strictly as per Alisa’s instructions, but then I am pathologically unable to stick to any kind of instructions or formula in general so this was always going to be the case. (You, however, are diligent and focused and completely capable of completing anything you set your mind to.)
I bought the book primarily because I think it’s so important for we artists (us artists? whatever) to cheer each other on, but I’ve found it to be completely inspirational, I’ve picked up lots of little tips and techniques and ideas to use in other contexts and I’m really glad to own it. And I wish I could just wrap a bit of something round my head like that and look all classy like she does!
Here’s the publisher’s description:
“Strong colour, bold lines and funky ideas combine to introduce the reader to forty-five techniques and twenty-five projects using paint, collage and canvas.After a brief introduction to working with canvas (including stretching canvas, working with raw, unstretched canvas, working with a variety of paint, and several applications – blending colour, glazing, spattering, distressing), the reader will take their painted canvas to the next level with hand-carved stamps, adding journaling and writing, image transfers and more.Once the reader has learned to create their own graffiti-inspired works on canvas, they’ll be guided through the step-by-step creation of twenty-five projects that use the canvas, such as upholstery, a tote bag, placemats, a lunch sack and even canvas beads for jewellery.”
Here’s a little tip for anyone who loves books – I highly recommend www.bookdepository.co.uk . ALWAYS cheaper than NZ bookshops, and free worldwide delivery.
*Book review disclaimer: My only intention is to share books that I’ve bought myself, read and loved. I don’t receive payment or freebies of any kind for this, from the author or the Book Depository or anyone, and I don’t even bother mentioning books that I don’t love.
If you’re one of these people who suddenly kicks into Martha Stewart mode each December, sailing through Christmas without breaking a sweat, I salute you. I’ve realised that as a mere mortal with two littlies in tow and a generous dose of baby brain (I don’t care what the studies say, I insist it exists) it takes me a LONG TIME to get stuff done. If there is to be any kind of Christmas in the Running with Scissors household, preparations must begin months in advance. As in, now.
Frankly, I don’t rate the commercial side of Christmas that highly. We try really hard to keep things simple, and we’re really grateful that our extended family chooses to give time to our kids all year round rather than lots of stuff. Buddy loves a new toy as much as the next kid, but what he really loves is when the giver spends time playing with it with him. You could take the new toy out of the equation, and he’d still be happy.
So the thought that kids in developing countries won’t be getting a load of Tickle-me-Elmos on the 25th of December doesn’t affect me too deeply. What does affect me is that parents just like Tony and I, who have the same hopes and dreams for their children as we do, are struggling to provide the very basic necessities of life for their families. Poverty has spin-offs that we could never imagine.
Which is why I love Oxfam Unwrapped so much. And World Vision Gifts of Hope. And Operation Christmas Child. And Unicef Inspired Gifts.
And there are yet more gift ideas in Treehugger‘s top ten best Christmas charity gifts list.
With a few clicks of a mouse, a funky little card arrives in the mail all ready to tuck in with another gift, or to be a gift in itself. Can I get an amen for online shopping?
And if I had a pig, I would definitely dress it in a tutu, no question.
Housewifery and frumpery
I caught the sewing bug a little later in life than most, I think.
I had the most horrendous Home-ec teacher at school, and consequently I filed sewing with housewifery and frumpery, to be avoided at all costs. The need to eat and a love of food must have somehow over-ridden her best efforts at making me hate cooking though! I do love to cook.
But my Mum never gave up hope on the sewing- she bought me a sewing machine for my birthday a couple of years ago, and there’s no denying I’m a housewife at this point, so I gave up and got stuck in. And I’m hooked! It’s the best feeling to be able to bypass the chain stores and be a bit creative in dressing my kids and the house. I’m yet to attempt anything for myself, but I’m always scheming.
The skills are slowly coming back to me and I’m producing some fairly passable stuff at this point. The latest obsession is dresses for Lulu- I’ve made her a whole rainbow of them in the last few weeks, I really have to either stop or start giving some away! My name is Rebecca and I can’t stop sewing baby dresses…..
I made a pretty exciting discovery yesterday; probably interesting only to me but my inner design geek and my new-found inner fabric geek nearly had a meltdown when they discovered this:
Marimekko Unikko “Poppies” fabric, designed in 1964 by Finnish designer Maija Isola. US$43/yard.
Quilters cotton, Spotlight Rotorua, NZ$14/metre.
Pretty similar, right?
At US$43/yard this would be staying on the roll, but at $14/metre it’s already another little dress. ($7 actually, this pattern only takes half a metre.)
I’m under no illusions that the other kids at play group will mistake Lulu’s dress for mid-century Finnish design, it’s just a happy print that reminds me of summer and being a kid in the very early eighties!
Creativity
This is definitely worth a watch: Elizabeth Gilbert of ‘Eat, Pray, Love” on nurturing creativity.
Also I’ve dredged up some of my favourites from ‘An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth‘ by Bruce Mau, recycled from a post in 2006 but I can never read this often enough.
- Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.
- Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we’ve already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.
- Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.
- Capture accidents. The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.
- Drift. Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.
- Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.
- Don’t be cool. Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.
- Ask stupid questions. Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.
- Stay up late. Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you’re separated from the rest of the world.
- The work you produce today will create your future.
- Think with your mind. Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.
- Listen carefully. Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.
- Take field trips. The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the Internet, or even a totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, object-oriented, real-time, computer graphic–simulated environment.
- Imitate. Don’t be shy about it. Try to get as close as you can. You’ll never get all the way, and the separation might be truly remarkable. We have only to look to Richard Hamilton and his version of Marcel Duchamp’s large glass to see how rich, discredited, and underused imitation is as a technique.
- Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.
- Explore the other edge. Great liberty exists when we avoid trying to run with the technological pack. We can’t find the leading edge because it’s trampled underfoot. Try using old-tech equipment made obsolete by an economic cycle but still rich with potential.
“Somewhere between the blue and the green……..”
Ahh, blogging is such a great excuse to ignore the mountain of washing and other jobs in the aftermath of a beautiful long weekend on Waiheke Island. 
We’re lucky enough to have some relatives who know their way around and we had the best time, it’s a slice of heaven.
We checked out the Ostend market on Saturday morning, and found Mark Sommerset promoting his fantastic book series “Cork on the Ocean”. He signed a copy for us and it’s the loveliest story, really sweet.
Absolute bliss, but we’re not too upset to be back to reality. We actually have quite the slice of heaven happening here too.
Hello…………………..?
Is this thing on?
Anyone still here?
I won’t be so presumptious as to assume there is anyone still here to apologise to for disappearing for a whole year. If you are still hanging on, your reader could do with a spring clean, perhaps?
So here we are. I’m a little rusty, it’s taken me a good twenty minutes to remember how to log back into WordPress, but I have the best intentions for the future!
I have some spring cleaning to do around here, and I’m looking forward to catching up with long-lost blogging friends and making new ones.
Stay tuned.
Partying like it’s $19.99
With the economy unraveling like a cheap jersey, (sorry, that’s a terrible pun) terms like “recessionista“ and “slow fashion” are popping up all over the place. Every world event seems to spark off it’s share of jargon, but this batch is really resonating with me.
I’ve been an op-shopper since high school: when I was studying it was for economic reasons, since I started working it’s been for environmental and ethical reasons, plus the thrill of the chase! Seriously, if I had $20 to spend on an item of clothing I’d 100% prefer to buy a gently-used, good quality, designer item that will last and last; than a new, cheap chain-store Tshirt that won’t survive the first wash! My dollar goes 100 times further, and I sleep peacefuly because I’m shopping sustainably.
Not to mention the fact that every dollar we spend on imported instead of locally made stuff is another nail in the coffin of our economy. Buying NZ made is ideal but it ain’t cheap, because the price tends to reflect the real cost of producing the item – we have various pesky laws about wages, working conditions, product safety, etc that other countries don’t bother with, but it’s definitely smart if we don’t want to join the 3rd world.
The recession is affecting different people to different extents, but whether you get creative with your wardrobe for environmental, ethical or financial reasons: anyone that manages to dress well without exploiting people, ruining the economy or feeding the landfill with cheap junk that only lasts three washes is ok with me!
My tips from 15 years of op-shopping are:
- ONLY buy quality: Look for good brands, go 100% wool, silk, cotton. Lots of secondhand shops have a designer rack, it’s a good place to start but lots of great stuff can end up in the ordinary racks too.
- Don’t waste your cash on chain-store junk: even at op-shop prices, it’s still junk and you will end up looking like you got last pick from the rag bag.
- Go often and don’t expect to find Trelise Cooper or Workshop Denim every time! You will find it sometimes, but you’ll also have days where you find nothing at all. Dedication pays off though.
- Don’t even think about buying anything if the colour doesn’t suit you, it’s the wrong size or doesn’t fit properly, and definitely not if it’s damaged, faded or stained. Just walk away. (Unless it’s a once in a lifetime find, you have the sewing skills to sort it out and you actually have the time to do it)
- Optional: Lots of people choke on paying more than a few bucks for secondhand clothing. To me, a new poly-cotton Tshirt from a cheap fashion store (without mentioning any names) costs about $25. With that in mind, I’m definitely happy to pay $25 for something designer, in excellent condition that I know would have cost a lot more new. (Assuming it fits well , is my colour, etc etc) And especially if it’s Merino or silk or something fabulous. Up to you.
And here’s an inspirational roundup of ‘recessionistas’, turning the economic downturn into an opportunity to live consciously and sustainably as well as stylishly. Unfortunately all American, does anyone know of any Kiwi chicks blogging about such things? I haven’t been able to track any down. (No offense to Americans, just we don’t live there!)
The Thrifty Chicks (“Thrifting” as in “op-shopping”)
Articles : What Elizabeth Taylor Can Teach Us About Simplicity
Paper cuts – without the blood!
Chris Natrop is a Los Angeles artist who ‘draws’ with a knife.
His installations, which are cut from enormous sheets of paper, hang from the ceiling with wire and string, taking on a sculptural presence. They cast dramatic shadows that refract and reflect projected light.
His compositions are influenced by his fascination with the intricacies of everyday forms encountered in his direct surroundings, in nature and landscape. And he starts from scratch. He has no preconceived pattern or preliminary sketch, allowing the work to shape itself with each cut.
Amazing! Check out his website here.
Resolutions schmesolutions.
Picture: Self portrait by Anna Lisa
Every year I seem to make over-ambitious resolutions. I start with sincere enthusiasm that evaporates by the second week of January, and I’m generally slightly embarrassed but pretty much back to normal by Waitangi day.
So instead, this year is the year of Kaizen and Wabi-sabi. You won’t see either of them on the menu at River Monster, but they do sound kinda yummy! Kaizen is the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement through constant small changes. In practical terms, this would mean (for example) if I wanted to get up an hour earlier every day, (which seems absolutely impossible and completely unappealing to me at this point) instead of setting the alarm for a whole hour earlier, I’d start with five minutes earlier. After a couple of days, ten minutes earlier, and so on for a couple of weeks until I’d almost painlessly achieved my hour.
Kaizen began to be implemented in Japanese businesses such as Toyota during the country’s recovery after World War II, and has since become a key principle for businesses throughout the world.
Wabi-sabi describes finding beauty in the imperfect- seeing past the obvious to the important stuff underneath. Practically, this would involve me seeing beauty in all our works in progress: for example; pre-wabi-sabi the garden was a half finished mess that was driving me nuts, the plants are taking waaay too long to grow etc etc, but hopefully I’ll learn to see it as beautiful in it’s own right, much better than it was before we started, and getting better all the time. The important stuff underneath is that the unfinished and weedy bits represent time spent working or hanging out with our little boy, which are far more important in the big picture than having a finished garden.
So hopefully, this combo will produce a less frustrated, less overwhelmed and more productive Rebecca! Small changes do add up to big improvements.
Winding up…….
Art in the Park is almost here again – I’m painting furiously in 10 minute bursts between rescuing Buddy from various predicaments, reading stories and administering cuddles! Really looking forward to it. It’s on the 15th of February, at the Government Gardens in Rotorua, usually from about 10am to 3.30ish. Some sneak previews to come, watch this space.
Why didn’t I think of this?
Oxfam unwrapped
Oxfam have a bigger and more comprehensive selection of ‘gifts’ this year. Goodness knows we all have more than enough ‘stuff’- these are gifts that will actually make an impact in someone’s life beyond Boxing day! I tried a few out on various family members last Christmas- they went down a treat, huge novelty value. (Possibly also huge relief at not having to feign delight at yet another soap-on-a-rope!)
We’ll definitely be shopping with Oxfam again this year.
The idea is, you donate money on behalf of a loved one, to a cause that would be relevant to them – for example, you’d buy the coffee gift for your coffee-addict brother: tools and training will be supplied to a farmer in a developing country so he can grow and sell better beans, and earn more as a result. And more beans means more money to spend on education and health care. You buy the donkey gift and one donkey will be delivered to a family in a developing country. (Why a donkey? These hardy animals can carry goods long distances to and from market, collect fuel or building materials, and even power water pumps. And the fertiliser comes free.)
- Animal lovers
- Bookworms
- DIYers
- Eco-warriors
- Foodies
- Gardeners
- Globetrotters
- Parents & carers
- Superwomen
One I particularly love is ‘Train a Businesswoman” The donation goes towards supporting and training women as they start their own businesses. They’ll learn how to improve production processes, find new markets, and manage their finances. With ‘sisters doing it for themselves’, they’ll make it big in no time.
Oxfam sends a cool card and info pack to your friend or relative, and they can bask in the warm glow of altruism and the thought of less junk to quietly put on Trademe after the Christmas fuss dies down. Best of all, you don’t need to lift a finger except to type in your credit card details.
More Christmassy goodness…
….is a bit of a waste of time in the southern hemisphere, but there are other white things to dream of.
Like meringues! These are mini meringues stuck to a polystyrene (or cardboard) cone with royal icing.
Just butter the bottom of each meringue with a bit of icing, using an ordinary knife, and stick’em’on. You’ll need to hold each one in place for a few seconds till you’re sure it’s not going to go anywhere, but royal icing sets really quickly. The meringues come in packs of 12 from supermarkets, or if you were going for extra domestic goddess points you could make them from scratch.
Also: Paper evergreens at Martha Stewart (shown above)
Styrofoam ornaments by Kathleen George
Flying felt birds at Disney Family
Very time-consuming garland at Craft Stylish
Fabric Christmas trees at The Small Object
A paper wreath from Real Living magazine
Clay ornaments at Living Creatively
Snowflake ornaments at Domino Magazine
Papercraft elves at macula TV
Paper bag gingerbread towns for kids at Family Fun
Lace earring tutorial
Oh, dangly earrings. I love them so, but they are sadly a thing of the past for me now that I have a thug dear child who grabs at any shiny thing that appears before him! The thought of ripped earlobes doesn’t do a lot for me. But these……
would almost be worth the risk!
Tutorial here.
Holy smoke! Not many sleeps till Christmas!
Here’s a quick roundup of Christmas awesomeness from various locations:
Cool tabletop Christmas trees from Evie S
Download the template here- just cut out and glue together. Piece of cake.
And a slightly fancier one in case you want to get all carried away.
Avoid the cheesy reindeer giftwrap and go classy with printable graphic wrapping paper:
Swirly Wrapping Paper (includes oval frame accents)
Striped Wrapping Paper
Cameo Cummerbund Wrapping Paper
Fancy Cummerbund Wrapping Paper
Graphic Wrapping Paper (includes ornamental plaque)
Other crafty bits and pieces:
Glue your button and bead collection (with craft glue) to a polystyrene cone from Spotlight.
Mother of Pearl or coloured plastic buttons threaded on fine wire and bent into a heart or circle- I’m guessing a star would also be cool?
Hey-la, hey hello-ah…..
Sorry blog, I have to confess, I’ve been hanging out with the back yard for the last few weeks. I think it’s serious.
It’s warming up, and several huge weekends spent chopping and digging and dragging and carting away trailer loads of junk and green waste are starting to leave a dent……our big wasteland of a section is slowly getting whipped into shape. Nobody will be happier about this than our neighbours, I’m sure- after months of having to look at an old Kombi, piles of dead tree and a flourishing crop of noxious weeds growing through the fences, life must be better for them too.
Not too much art happening unfortunately, but lots of fun nonetheless.
I do have this to show you though:
A mirror frame made from recycled magazine pages glued to a corrugated cardboard base (via Urban Outfitters) -not a project for those with short attention spans!
Show me the moneygami
Origami made from currency- brilliant! I love Queen Elizabeth, she definitely looks like she’s up to something.
New work…..
Acrylic diptych on box canvases, finished with gloss varnish and ready to hang. The NZ image is a woodblock print (hand carved by moi) printed in white acrylic, the stripe through the middle is pale metallic gold, and the two leaf images on the right-hand canvas are prints of leaf skeletons in white acrylic.
The background is a real raspberry red- guaranteed to brighten any space.
NZ$100, plus freight (at cost) SOLD - thank you
email rebeccashrimpton@gmail.com
Koru- acrylic on box canvas, as always finished with protective varnish and ready to hang.
NZ$250, plus freight (at cost) SOLD- thank you
email rebeccashrimpton@gmail.com
Ok. So I didn’t manage to get an exhibition together.
The three of us have been playing ping-pong with the flu for the last six or eight weeks- I tell ya, having the flu is one thing, but having the flu and looking after a bebe’ with the flu as well is quite somethin else! So we haven’t got much of anything done, least of all painting. Unfortunately. But I’m itching to get back into it- hoping to schedule in a bit of time over the weekend to get some paint under my fingernails.
In other news- Check out Artklick. For artists and art-lovers alike, “Art Klick is New Zealand’s new free online gallery designed specifically to help artists sell their artwork and earn income from their passion. We are dedicated to promoting New Zealand’s emerging and established artists by providing a personal profile and online shopping functions, while providing fun events for all the public to participate in.”
Interesting, give it a go, I reckon! The creator of the site is also selling his LEG as advertising space- you can have your logo tattoed on his leg for $500 per square cm. With 2,000 square cm’s on both legs he’s hoping for $1,000,000 worth of “advertising”. Hmmmm
Also interesting are Nubby Twiglet’s article about fighting artist’s block, Steve Pavlina on shaking off the apathy and making money from doing what you love, how gratitude can change your life, and No-impact man‘s no-impact living experiment.
I’ll keep working on the exhibition thing- watch this space.
Clean sweep
Our resolution for 2008 was to clear the clutter. The most challenging part of being married so far has been trying to combine the assorted treasures of two creative twenty-somethings (and now +one little sprout) into one functioning household! There has been a constant flow of Trademe packages going out the door, many trips to Habitat and the tip….a few sighs….a wee bit of facing reality including a sad farewell to a certain Kombi van…..it hasn’t been easy and we still have a long way to go.
So I’m absolutely in awe of Dave Bruno, an online entrepreneur who apparently looked around his San Diego house one day and realized how much his family’s belongings were weighing him down. “Stuff starts to overwhelm you” he realised, and thus began what he calls the 100 Thing Challenge. Dave’s online journal of his slow and steady purge, (with the goal of living for a whole year with only 100 things) has developed quite a cult following online, inspiring others to launch their own countdown to clutter-free living. To a girl who usually has more than 100 things just in her bag, this guy sounds like a legend! His blog is here.
Another wee sneaky peek…….
I’ve had a couple of those really great ‘in the zone’ days lately……you know, when you seem to be on a roll and everything just goes how you want it to…… So I’ve finished a couple more pics for the July exhibition……..
Just found a kiwi girl doing FANTASTIC work- go check out Jamey Gunn at Miss Gunn. Or her blog here.
Jamey is based in Marahau, near Motueka and Nelson. She silk screen prints her original designs onto clothing and accessories she makes herself- hoodies and vintage-style wallets and wrist cuffs.
Anyone who lists native birds and vintage fabric, lady grey tea, red high heels, green ginger wine and rock’n'roll as a few of her favourite things is ok with me! (Especially the green ginger wine bit)
You can find Jamey’s stuff at: Sunshinz in Hoki- (Hokianga?) Frutti in Wellington, Four Winds Gallery in Motueka, Dusk Gallery in Christchurch, and the Nelson Market Every Saturday. Also if you’re not near any of these outlets I’m pretty sure she’d sort something out for you if you get in touch with her.
So go buy a piece of NZ made goodness.
Jack is back…
We had one of our first serious frosts this morning- woke up feeling reasonably glad I’d been OCD enough to put frost cloth over my fig tree!
This is my Mother’s Day gerbera on the kitchen window sill at sparrow cough this morning, whilst waiting for the jug to boil. (Kindly focus your attention on the gerbera and not the filthy window behind it- I’ll get to it one of these days!)
Bemused….? Bewildered….?
What’s the word?
I just had a look at the site stats for this blog- one of the amazing features supplied by WordPress is a list of the search engine terms people have typed into Google (or whatever) and been directed to Running with Scissors. Here are a few intriguing ones from the last few days:
“lips of buddha” (seven people searched for this and got….me?)
“what is a kiwi”
“oops”
“tubing” ?
“secret lips”
“clear beer bottles”
and my personal favourite:
“christchurch billboard call girl”-( I can’t imagine how disappointed this person must have been)
Anyway….as you were.
Whew!
It’s been a couple of crazy weeks- SO much happening I’ve hardly had time to get near the computer. I loved the 30 days macro challenge, learnt lots about my camera etc- but man it’s nice to be off the hook! There’s a bit of a lull in the storm today and I have paint under my fingernails for the first time in WEEKS- such a good feeling.
I’M PLANNING AN ONLINE EXHIBITION FOR JULY, (that’s in caps for the skim readers -don’t feel bad, we all do it) and the first few pieces are underway today. If you’re on Facebook and you’d like an official invitation a bit closer to the time, send me a friend request and I’ll make sure you’re in the loop. Otherwise, check back here on the 1st of July.
Here’s a little sneak preview of the work in progress:
In other news- thanks to whoever it was that anonymously suggested Trademe for Amber beads a while back- I managed to track some down for a teething necklace for the little guy- it’s been the only thing that’s helped at all so far! I highly recommend them if you happen to have or know someone who’s getting teeth! Plenty of people are selling them ready made on the net or one could have a go at making one oneself, most of the ingredients (beading wire, a few crimps and a magnetic safety clasp) should be at your favourite local crafty bits shop. More info about teething necklaces here.
