{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I'm grateful for.

Thanks to the {this moment} originator Soule Mama.

I'm off on retreat this weekend. I'll be back here on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend. xox

crafty mags that make me swoon....

My all time favourite textiles mag is Selvedge. There's an online subscription but somehow I don't think I can go past the joy of holding a copy in my hot little hands.

The beloved Frankie. I love the fact that you can now buy this brilliant little mag in the supermarket. Move over Women's Weekly and hooray to the fab Brisbane lady, Louise Bannister! (There's a great clip over at the ABC website from the 2010 Semi-Permanent Design event of Louise talking on 'Frankie Magazine: How To Launch A Successful Mag' which is well worth checking out....Sherry!)

Local Melbourne A5 mag Profile a small print publication (250 print run...so be quick)is interview based, heavy on inspiration both via text and photos...and launches today. Here's to a successful and ever expanding print run guys. Well done.

Craft: transforming traditional craft. A wealth of information. You could honestly get lost over there for HOURS! Be warned.

Paper Runway a hot new magazine where passion meets paper. They feature the latest paper sculptors, artists, illustrators, creators and quick DIY projects. It'll definitely make you want to whip out the craft box and get those scissors clicking.

Not craft, I know, but another mag I love to flip through Green magazine. The St Kilda library has a great collection of back issues too.... although any of you locals may want to wait a few weeks until I return my stash.

Over and out with another quote. This one by Albert Einstein "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." xox

All you need is love

1. Love is in the Air~, 2. 20/365- All You Need Is LOVE, 3. All you need is...1.1, 4. 69/365 (Year 2)--All you need is...., 5. All you need is love., 6. All You Need Is Love, 7. All You Need is Love, 8. Love is all you need

A few Flickr images I love. To keep me focused this week.

“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.”
- Martin Luther King Jnr, American Baptist Minister and Civil-Rights Leader

Choose Love.

Library Tuesday

Our book on loan today from the library is Monday by Anne Herbauts. Anne is a Belgian illustrator with a swag of beautiful books to her name. It's a visual and textural treat about, Monday, a Penguin who likes to stay warm. It really is an enchanting little tale for children and parents alike... Little fingers can feel their way across raised snowflakes and trace their sweet penguin pal as he disappears from the page in a blizzard. It's another gorgeous book published by Tate.

I also came across this beautiful illustration blog today by Malaysian illustrator Amy Ng. It's a feast of gorgeous works. I'm especially taken by Matthew Walkerdine's artwork. There's something so subtle and emotive about it....

Below is a little project I've set myself. To photograph the date somewhere along my day, for a month. What I don't post here you'll be able to find here in Flickr.

Adios lovelies. Till next time, I bid you good times xox

We wish you a Merry Christmas & a frosty mid year

Here is the paper Christmas Tree Z and I made for our family get together. I was inspired by Beci Orpin's tree (you may remember the cut out from my recent inspiration collage).
I'd found the original tree in a copy of Frankie a little while back. It charmed me then and now I'm so pleased to see a variation of it hanging in our own living room.
It was super fun, easy and cheap to make. A perfect space saver too. Beci's work embraces a vibrant, playful nature that makes me want to dance.....and this joy now shines out in our home.
A huge thank you.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I'm grateful for.

If you feel inspired, please share a link to your moment in the comment section.

Thanks to the {this moment} originator Soule Mama.

Enjoy your weekend. We are having a family Christmas in July party on Sunday so Z and I have just been pimping up the house with a number of crafty projects. I'll post photos next week. xx

True Blue Link Love

It's been a while since I've shared some link love. So, here's a few links that make my heart skip a beat.

This beautiful weather forecasting site... found via Mrs Eliot Books.

The idea of making one of these hula hoop rugs in summer.....found via The Crafty Crow.

Faye Toogood's Styling Portfolio.

Elle Moss' Rabbit 'round the world images.

These ideas for an 'indoor', sleek, functional laundry.

The thought of a country life, again.....oh, and here.

Browsing here at the Huset shop.

Jane Foster's very bright etsy store helps me ward off the winter blues.

A little slow off the mark.... but Arcade Fire's The Wilderness Project makes me smile. Clever indeed.

Enjoy xox

I did it!

Hooray. I've finished Z's quilt and here's the result. I'm so pleased with how it's turned out. The hours of hand stitching payed off. I really love the effect of the hand stitched detailing. I used a charcoal grey thick cord for the backing and it looks so lovely and lush. Oh, the joy of a job well done. :)

Z is as pleased as punch and enjoyed his midday sleep, snug as a bug, tucked up underneath.

Crafty Monday

We worked on the chairs above for Crafty Monday, last week. The two on the left are mine. The top right is Lisa's and the bottom right belongs to Max, fellow Crafty Lady's.
I'm hoping to get the chair in the bottom left hand corner completed today.

For those of you who remember... the fabric was ordered from Spoonflower. I waited, patiently, for 3 weeks until it arrived. Then I discovered (after stapling straight through the ply) I needed 3mm staples to fit my compressor staple gun so I could attached the fabric to the moulded ply, which fits to the back of the chair....None of my usual hardware stores stocked 3mm staples so I had to order them online.... another week. After what feels like an eternity of stop start proceedings, I'm hoping today is the day for completion!

*** oh ah, I've finished already. Just waiting now for the L.F. to fit it all together tonight. So happy to see this little job completed. We found the chair on the curb in Malvern. The L.F. spent a few hours stripping and sanding it back....and now look at it...all grown up.

Life In a Day

This gorgeous collection of clips is a collaboration between National Geographic and Youtube. It's directed by Kevin MacDonald (The Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void) and produced by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise & American Gangster) but filmed by everyday people....like you and me... uploading their clips to Youtube.
It's very endearing and I'm hoping it will come to a cinema near me sometime in 2011.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I'm grateful for.

If you feel inspired, please share a link to your moment in the comment section.

Thanks to the {this moment} originator Soule Mama.

Organics vs Biodynamic

The photos above were taken on our recent field trip to Crieghtons Creek.

I've started on the Joshi Holistic Detox. Dr Joshi.... holistic guru to the rich and famous, with devotees such as Gweneth Paltrow, Madonna, Ralph Fiennes...to 'name drop' a few, all advocating his brilliance. This not being the reason why I chose the Joshi Detox but it does add to the fun.
Day 2 and all is going reasonably well, aside from a slight headache. Nothing a cup of detox tea and a lie down didn't fix.

The words 'organic' and 'biodynamic' are bandied around frequently. However, I must admit, I've been a little unclear on the differences between the two until reading Dr Joshi's book. For those of you who may have the same haziness over these two words.... this is what I discovered. Although they are both similar, in that neither use chemicals or GMO's (genetically modified organisms), biodynamic farming is the 'holistic' approach. The farming practices enrich the plant and soil quality rather than deplete them.

I also wasn't aware that Rudolph Steiner, famous these days for his alternative schooling system, was the founder of Biodynamics.
Saffron Rouge have a page dedicated to 'Organics vs Biodynamic' on their site if you're interested in reading more.

Here's to healthy eating and kicking my winter sluggishness.... you cows are safe with me. Happy hump day everyone. xx

Cilla Remnak

(most of us would recognise Cilla Remnak's work from this Ikea rug).

I am totally, head over heels, in love with this work by Cilla Ramnek. If you like it too, her bead work here is also astonishing. She really is Sweden's true pattern queen.
Her blog is full of her incredible projects. Including a number of restaurants I'd love to dine in, not for the gastronomic delight, the visual feast would more than fill me to brimming point.

This little book 'Nesting' by Cilla Ramnek and Pia Ulin (Pia's site takes a little while to upload but it's well worth the wait her photography it stunning) is now officially on my wish list. I'm such a sucker for peeping into the beautiful spaces in other peoples homes.

oh boy, see it really excites me, take a look here at Cilla's home featured on Apartment Therapy for Elle Interior.

That's it...I should be a photographer, or stylist for an Interiors magazine. That way I could nosey around in beautiful homes and be paid for it. Perfect. Enjoy. x

ode to one Crafty lady

On Crafty Monday here's an ode to one of my favourite Crafty Lady's..... Sonia Delaunay.



Here's a link to the recent exhibition, Color Moves, Art & Fashion By Sonya Delaunay, held at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, in New York.

Now I'm off to craft....totally inspired.
Love xox

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you feel inspired, please share a link to your moment in the comment section.

Thanks to the {this moment} originator Soule Mama.

Slow Textiles

I came across this book today.
Z and I had to vacate the house while the L.F. worked from home this morning. 12 degree temperatures, rain, fiercely bitter winds and both with crappy head colds, we took respite in Readings.
I'm so grateful to the cold and the L.F. for ushering us into the warmth of Readings and this discovery. Sasha Duerr's philosophy and passion for plant dyes is so accessible and fascinating.

Sasha has established the Permacouture Institute. An educational non-profit organisation for regenerative design in fashion and textiles. Check out their mission statement for more specifics.

In an environment where we see retail fashion houses opening (and closing) at a rapid rate, all heavily discounted, largely synthetic and more often than not made in China, the Slow Textile movement is a welcomed reprieve.

Better still I can start my own Slow Textile movement in my humble old kitchen. Watch out L.F. you could be sporting a couple of purple business shirts....dyed using red cabbage leaves....shortly!! Wont you be the talk of the town.

I snapped these, with my iphone, on our way to stay with the L.F.'s mum in Creightons Creek (take a peek at this property in Creightons Creek the landscape is stunning!) on Friday evening.
I LOVE a country sky. It's so crisp and always seems so magnified and intense. I find the brilliance quite overwhelming.

We drove the 2hrs, via Nagambie & Heathcote, to Kyneton on Saturday for a nosey around and to check out this, which unfortunately needs a lot more TLC and time than we have to offer..... but boy, isn't it great.

As much as I enjoyed our weekend away, I must confess, we all caught a chill from the incredibly icy air. Now we have foggy heads, runny noses and are totally reveling being tucked up in the city with the heater blasting.

Be still my fickle heart.

Pieces of me

This photo was taken in the kitchen last night while cooking dinner...after a tiring weekend in the country.
It is part of a series of facial shots for an assignment I'm doing. I've never looked this closely at the pieces that make up me before. It is totally self indulgent but kind of fun.
Smudged make up, sunspots, blemishes, crooked eyebrows, the pucker (a specialty of mine, especially after a drink) Instagram makes everything bearable.

Making Daily life more beautiful, fun & functional.

I came across this line when researching Marianne Westman's designs and was instantly sold Marianne made the Swedish daily life both more beautiful, more fun - and more functional. That, to me, speaks volumes about what life is about. Marianne is in her 80's now and her work is still as fresh and inspiring as it was 30 years ago.

These images certainly inspire a sense of beauty and fun in the practical.

New House Textiles in the Uk have aquired the rights to reproduce Marianne's designs and have a fantastic collection of vintage design tea towels.

If you're looking for something a little more local, however. How about printing your own tea towels. Harvest Texiles, in Brunswick, run some fantastic courses to get you going. Ohh, so many courses. I'd like to do this one, this one and this one..... to start with.

Have a fun filled weekend! A week of dreaming.... and now we're off to the country for a couple of nights. We can't wait(a huge thank you to my dear friend N, for covering my bacon and doing my babysitting duties....next year I'll need to invest in a year planner on one page...I completely forgot to flip the page before making plans. Sorry). xox