happy new year

a little fun for the new year!

a very merry xmas to you and yours

early morning

night shots

on the edge of night

hello there

hello there - just popping in to say I haven't run away! just very frantic getting organised for the double whammy market weekend. see you soon....

busy week

this past week has been another busy one. up early each morning getting some stitching and orders done before heading off to the day job. trying to stay focussed on one thing at a time {sometimes a little hard when your mind is racing!}. these journals were a custom order for a lovely customer and will be winging their way to Japan, Finland and Norway as Xmas gifts for my customer's pen pals. how lovely to think they will be used in other parts of the world. 

and of course the double whammy market weekend is creeping closer...so much to do yet!

have a lovely weekend everyone

weekend moments

my photography weekend has been and gone. it was SO much fun! we started taking photos around Ulmarra on Friday afternoon, were up before dawn on Saturday and off taking photos in the fog around Tucabia, down to Cowper on Saturday afternoon for photos of the old house near my place, lunch and a walk around Brushgrove a little later, up before dawn again on Sunday morning taking more photos of the old house, a chat about photography with Toni, and then some last minute photos after lunch on Sunday before we all headed home feeling very tired. whew! what a great weekend. 

I got to meet some lovely people who have a passion for photography and apart from taking lots and lots and lots of photos we got to talk and talk about all things photography and share our ideas and knowledge. Thanks Toni - our lovely leader! - and Karen, Jan, Gwen, Michael, Jeff and Mark, for such a great time. hope to do it all again soon.

this was a favourite spot for photos and the locals (moo, moo) like to join in and see what was in everyone's bags.....!!!

 early morning shots

photography weekend

tomorrow after the day job is finished I'm heading off on a weekend adventure....a photography adventure. I'm going to be clicking away all weekend with some other passionate photographers I've yet to meet (except for one lovely lady I know who sticks needles in me....wondering? my acupuncturist!) we are having an escape, although I'm only escaping a little way from my home as luckily for me it's all happening around my place!

 we'll be taking photos of sheds....

 wildlife.....

close-ups 

and whatever our heart desires....

the weekend escape is being led by Toni Fuller {find Toni here} who is an award winning photographer from Coffs Harbour. Toni used to have a studio in Grafton but has been in Coffs for some time now

I'm so looking forward to spending the weekend concentrating on one of my passions and hopefully getting some great photos

food for thought

this past week I spent two days at the mind & it's potential conference in Sydney. there were some wonderful speakers many of whom are leading neuroscientists, brain surgeons, psychologists, child development researchers, scholars, authors, buddhists, pioneers in creative thinking, journalists, coaches and entrepreneurs. the subjects touched on by the speakers were thought provoking and inspiring. much food for thought. all very positive, very practical and many practices that would be easy to incorporate into busy lives and would provide enormous benefits. a great couple of days spent regenerating, gathering information and ideas and finding a new way forward.

over the next few weeks I'd like to touch on some of the thoughts and ideas I heard at the conference, and share them with you.....stayed tuned.

instagram

some recent instagram photos from around our home

do you use a particular program or website to share your instagram photos? if so, I'd love to hear what you use and how much you like it. I'm pretty sure that what I'm doing is the hard way! I'd really like to hear your thoughts in the comments section....Ta!

more melbourne

whilst in Melbourne we spent another great {very long} day on a Bunyip tour down The Great Ocean Road. the landscapes were amazing and of course we got to see all the famous spots. there were lots of photos taken and these are just a few of the highlights

 the Twelve Apostles

 Cape Otway lighthouse

 more koalas than you could poke a stick at!

 Loch Ard Gorge

a friendly parrot

melbourne street art

we are back from our Melbourne sojourn and had the most wonderful time. so much to see and do and of course we didn't do it all....so we'll have to go back!

one of the highlights of our week was the street art tour we took with an artist from Blender Studios. we had discovered some street art on our own - it's hard to miss in Melbourne as there is so much of it - but you don't necessarily discover all the little back lanes and alley ways where a lot of the really good stuff is. and it's great to get the inside knowledge from someone working on the streets.....literally. at the end of the tour we went back to the studio and got to look around and talk to some other artists working there whilst indulging in a little drink! perfect. if you're in Melbourne and interested in street art I'd highly recommend Melbourne Street Art Tours click on the link to go have a look at their website

 Banksy

 closeup details - great colours

 Swoon

a wall of Blender Lane. one of the best spots, rich with art

simplicity and beauty

over the last several weeks as the flowers have been blooming in the garden I've been bringing a few sprigs inside and putting them in these little bottles on my kitchen windowsill. these bottles are quite special to me as they belonged to my Dad. I remember going to old dumps and paddocks around where we lived when I was a little girl and helping my Dad dig up dirt and search for treasures - I certainly know where I get my magpie tendencies!

I've been changing the flowers every few days and loving the simplicity and beauty 

lovely craft supplies

all these goodies and lots more are available in my Craftumi stores. just click on the icons over there on the right or here and here

a little break

today we are leaving this

 and this

and heading off to the big smoke way down south.....otherwise known as Melbourne. I'm very excited and have a long list of places to visit, a tour down the Great Ocean Road booked, a Street Art tour booked with real street artists! art and handmade goodies to see...and maybe buy! and time to lounge around in cafes, coffee shops and bars! excited? yep sure am! a whole week of fun ahead.......

handmade markets

there are several handmade markets coming up over the next couple of months across the North Coast and I'll be at two of them in December. on Saturday 1st Dec I'll be at the very popular Legacy House markets in Grafton and on Sunday 2nd Dec I'll be at the NEW! Simply Handmade Markets at Yamba. check out the link for this one on Facebook. there's going to be lots to see...

this photo is from my stall at the Yamba Quota Club Fair which.....you've just missed :(

spring visitors

these gorgeous little blue wrens have been visiting me everyday for several weeks now. they come to my kitchen window and sit on the buddleia outside swinging in the breeze and catching insects off the window. so sweet. I always know they've arrived when I hear their peck, peck, peck against the window. at the moment there's just the two of them but I'm hoping we'll see a little family soon.....there usually is around this time of year.

and so the Big News

and the Big News is.......

that's right people in.cube8r in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. this is such a great concept and supports many, many clever and creative Australian artists. and with Xmas not so far around the corner now is a great time to support local and handmade and get some quality gifts this year. so if you are in Fortitude Valley pop in and see lovely Vicki -owner/manager of in.cube8r - and she will make sure you find something special. and don't forget to tell her I sent you!!

and of course you can still find me on madeit and craftumi and I'll be doing two local markets in December....whew! it's going to be busy! when am I going to find time for the day job?!
images from in.cube8r

still here

I'm still here and as you can see I've been a busy little bee. lots happening around here. craft shows, creating, designing new business cards and swing tags, sending off orders, answering enquiries from groovy little shops, getting lots of positive feedback for my shops......and some exciting news on the horizon....just a little teaser for now but stay tuned. I'll let you know very soon.

oh! and planning a little holiday to a big city way down south. really, really excited about that!

fungi

these photos of some gorgeous fungi on blocks of wood at my place remind me of lace and flowers.....a little like the creativity going around here lately!

more new pretties

it's been super busy over here. lots of paper and stamping and making.....flowers and tags everywhere. lots listed at Magpie House on madeit 

ground control to major tom......

3 little astronauts, finding their way home, ready to land at my place.......what fun I've been having lately. finding treasures whilst helping my aunty do some sorting and cleaning. going through boxes and cupboards, laughing at the funny finds, oohing and ahhing at the forgotten objects, squealing at the lost dentures (that was me!), sighing at the family treasures, marvelling at the boxes and boxes of old family photos, and cherishing the opportunity to spend this time with my aunty. special days.