- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

25 March 2013

It's almost Easter...


Here's something sweet to make with the kiddos this Easter!



There are step-by-step instructions (with photos) at Spoonful.
I should think this would work with flowers & stencils too... xo



21 March 2013

crazy-busy days



Ari posed for some pics for my life drawing portfolio, inspired
by Pablo Picasso's 'Harlequins' and the 1960s 'Big Eye' prints


smiley cookie from a city cafe. studying in town= good coffee :)


rough sketch for a new series of drawings that I'm working on


Crazy days. Busy days. Crazy-busy days.

Sorry for the absence of late. I've been taking a bit of an
unplanned hiatus from blogging whilst adjusting to my new 
schedule of study. I hope to be back with more regular
posts soon and some peeks at what I've been working 
on. When I'm not here, you can find me on Pinterest.

And on occasion over here.  I just posted there about
a little project I finished today... in Haute Couture. Take a peek.

Hope your days have been busy and creative too.

Not too crazy-busy though. xox


25 February 2013

Karl Zahn





I love these beautiful dovetail animals
from designer Karl Zahn. 

Made from sustainably harvested new growth beech wood, 
they are available here from Nectar Imports.





7 February 2013

field journal

Entry Six: Summer at the Seaside
.................................................................



.................................................................

We spent quite a few days at the beach over the Summer holidays!  

We didn't collect any wild flowers or grasses from the foreshore, but we 
did collect plenty of other natural artifacts.  Sea shells, coral, driftwood,
sponges, seed pods and an array of beautifully mottled gum leaves...


You can view other journal entries here and, as always,
feel free to create your own and link it in the comments.

21 January 2013

Summer Days

The weather has been beautiful, for the most part, and 
we are thoroughly enjoying our Summer holidays!!!


Trips to the beach. Ice creams. Catching up with friends. Lazy
days... building lego, making art, reading stories, playing games.

Ten more days until school starts up for 2013.  So very sad to have
to say goodbye to all of this freedom... to play, cuddle, travel and
just enjoy each other's company. But! I am looking forward to getting
back into the studio, and to starting my new course. And to making 
some art and toys... maybe clothes and costumes too.  We'll see!!!

My sketchbook's brimming with ideas and my worktable's
spilling over with projects... some new, some old and some
barely more than an inkling. We're off to spend a few more
days at the beach and then I'll be back! Raring to start work.

Hopefully, I'll have a few new holiday snaps to share too! 

I've got a lot of ideas I'd like to share with you all this year,
so stay tuned. Twenty Thirteen is going to be a great year. x


6 January 2013

field journal

Entry Five:  Summer in our garden
.................................................................


................................................................

The last few days have been scorchers 36℃ 48℃ and today 29℃.
In the midst of this heat, I find myself in the garden... picking fruit,
weeding beds, watering vegetables and am about to spend the day
bent over the stove, preserving. I'm hoping to find the time today to 
make jams, pickles and relish from the ever-growing Summer harvest.

I'm also hoping to take a trip to the seaside this Summer. Perhaps, 
spend a day collecting sea grasses, pebbles, shells and wildflowers. 

Maybe that'll be my next entry....


You can view other journal entries here and, as always,
feel free to create your own and link it in the comments.


5 January 2013

These are a few of my...

favourite things.











Things that make me happy.
Things that I love.
Things that I'd love to own.
Things that I do own.
Things that I enjoy.
Things that I enjoy doing.




Beautiful ceramics by Lenneke Wispelwey 


 Feel free to play along on your own blog if you'd like,
I'd love to know what your favourite things are too! xo


4 January 2013

A belated welcome...

to the year Twenty Thirteen: Year of the Snake


cute calendar by one of my favourite designers,  Misako Mimoko

Ah,  it has been a rather busy year already, many a change is a foot.
At home, in the studio, in the garden. No time to dilly-dally. Onward
and upward and forward and in fact that's my new year's resolution. 

To  keep moving  forward. 
To stop looking backward. 

Like everyone, there are aspects of my life that I wish I could change, 
decisions I wish I could reverse, opportunities I wish I hadn't forgone... 

I spend a lot of time in this country of the past. It's a land of memories, 
but not all those memories are correct.  Over time our re-collection can 
become distorted by our emotions and by our present-day experiences. 

Looking back can be more of a visit to the imagination, than a trip back 
in time and it can hinder our journey forward if we choose to spend too
much time looking back. Wise words? They are words of Walt Disney.

"Around here,  however,  we 
don't look back for very long.

We keep moving forward,  opening new doors,
and doing new things,  because we're curious
and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."



One of our favourite movies of recent times is 'Meet the Robinsons'.



Based on the book 'A Day with Wilbur Robinson' by William Joyce.

It tells us the sweet story of Lewis, an orphan, who dreams of seeing his
mother again... if only once. Subsequently, he is taken on a wild ride to 
the future, where he encounters a world beyond his wildest imaginings
and in the end he realises- all he has to do to bring that world to life is  

'keep moving forward'

... classic Disney stuff, but the message never grows old for me 
or for Ari, and whenever we watch it it brings tears to our eyes. 

xox

red delicious

Their red goodness is just starting to bloom in our vegie patch. 
Last Summer, we were knee deep in tomatoes and it looks like 
we will be once again this year. Delicious, yes! But what to do? 

It seemed a shame to turn all those sweet little reds into sauce, and 
one can only eat so much relish!  Luckily this blog had the solution








I bagged and froze what we couldn't eat (we ate A LOT of these as
they were just so yummy) and what was left became our wintertime
staple. So flavourful. They needed very little spice added and were
the perfect ingredient for homemade soups... pasta sauces... pizzas...
tarts... muffins... risottos...  making everything just red and delicious!

For those of you in Winter climates be sure to bookmark the recipe.
Summer will find her way northward to you soon enough... xoxox


31 December 2012

Snippets

We had a rather lovely Christmas Day.











Ari rose at the crack of dawn to a stocking filled with toys.

His big gift from Santa was a set of Automoblox hot rod cars.

I love their designs, but I must say it was rather disappointing 
when the one of the wheels snapped off first play.  Dear me.
I think we shall be asking the elves to send us a replacement...

From Mama and Dada he received a Maxi Micro Scooter!

He outgrew his Mini Micro this year and we decided it was
time for an upgrade and it was love at the first sight! It's already 
taken a trip into town and it's bound to get a lot of loving over
the school holidays. It's beautifully warm here lately, Summer's
definitely reared her head, at last! I'm hoping we'll get down to 
the seaside and give our new swimsuits a bit of a whirl too.

Ah, lovely food, lots of sweets, family and friends...


I hope you had a lovely Christmas too and have something 
equally wonderful planned for New Year's Eve? xox


23 December 2012

wreath

Wow it's been a busy, busy December!

Not long till Christmas now and Ari's crafted up a storm
of paper snowmen and colourful garlands this past week.

No wreath yet! But plenty of ideas to choose from....



and there are three more wonderful wreath ideas here
if, like us, you are up for a little last minute crafting.

22 December 2012

the christmas play





I orchestrated a lot of the costumes for Ari's school play again.

Little elves, christmas rockers, a marvellous toy and Ari's PJs.
Yes, all those years of costume making and millinery training
definitely come in handy at times. It was exhausting, but fun! 

Ari helped me choose this lovely fabric for his polka dot pyjamas
and looked mighty swell as he recited 'A Night Before Christmas'.

I made his slippers and nightcap too and managed to snap a quick 
picture or two before we raced out the door to oversee the dressing 
and make-up pre-concert. I think a rather fun night was had by all!


19 December 2012

sweet and simple christmas ideas






A round-up of some sweet and simple DIY paper decorations...


...and more wonderful project ideas here and here on Pinterest.

pretty paper

I fully intended for us to make our own cards this year...




Ah,  life rarely runs according to plan.  There's still time, agreed,
but I'm halfway through making Ari's costume for his Christmas
play and I have several others to finish off before Thursday night
and then we're off to a two day wedding on Saturday+ Sunday.

And I'm hoping to fit in baking and decoration making, sometime.

So, Ari and I popped into Kikki K instead and we purchased a few bits 
and bobs from their lovely Christmas range.  Hard to resist and almost 
as sweet as something handmade.  I particularly love the pop-up cards.

Take a peek xo


14 December 2012

Art School

On another note, I will be returning to study next year....


I've found the most wonderful creative development course
and am thoroughly looking forward to further honing my skills.

It's project based, so I will be able to work on my own designs...
toys, clothing, illustration and a secret project or two, inline with
the further development of the Raised by the Wolves label.

I look forward to sharing my developments here with you.



It's an awfully long time since I was a student, studying at 
Art School. These works were some of my final year pieces
when I undertook my Diploma of Visual Arts at Swinburne. 

I'm still terribly fond of them, fifteen years on. I've been busy
working on a new series of images along these lines recently
 and am hoping to exhibit them someplace in the next year.



This week, my days have been filled with costume making.

For Ari's school play once more. Just a handful of elves to go
and some polkadot pyjamas for my little man and it's done.

Better get to it I guess!

You can view my art portfolio here, if you fancy. x