nature play

love these illustrated playing cards by Hanna Krajni,

wasn't able to find much information on this artist

Sabine Timm via virginhoney on flickr

more illustrated playing cards by Hanna Krajni

nature patterns via botanicals and curios on Pinterest

walnut boats via art and children on Pinterest

 Mortéza Esmaîli Sohi via Atelier Pour Enfants

A few of my favourite nature craft inspirations.

Some kooky 70s nature craft ideas in this book.

The shape of me and other stuff...

Strangely enough, we didn't have a copy of this amazing book 

until I ventured into our favourite secondhand bookshop the

other week and spied it in amongst their wonderful collection.

We are huge Dr Seuss fans round here. But then... who isn't?

Ari can read books like this by himself now. How the years fly!

Ribambelles

The beautiful work of Nathalie Parain has a timeless quality to it.

I love the simplicity of these designs and the beautiful shades of

blue and red against the parchment used in this 1932 craft book.

You can view all images from this book here (and many other 

wonderful vintage french illustrations) and you can read more

about Nathalie and her designs here (link will need translating).

paper planes & memories

There is a giveaway for a rather cute book on Fine Little Day.

also available from Amazon

To enter you just need to leave a comment
about a favourite paper plane memory.

So, I asked Ari what we should say and he said 

"Well, all my paper plane memories are in the drawer!"

And indeed they are. Ari likes to keep all the projects we make

and probably spends just as much time playing with our paper and 

cardboard toy creations, as he does with the store bought ones.

So we pulled them out and took some photos of

'Ari's paper plane memories'.

He was so happy to see his creations up here,
on my blog, that it got me thinking perhaps... 

he should have a blog of his own?

It's something I've mulled over before but he always seemed
too little to understand the concept of having a web page. 

This year he turns seven though! Such a big boy ;)

Perhaps we'll build Ariel Gray an art blog for his birthday!

Miller & Goodman

Sort through your toy box and take things apart

Making or breaking, you find the rules

Add thumbprints and scribbles, splodges and swirls

Mistakes and suprises are all part of ART

I found this wonderful book at the NGV shop last week.


It's inspired Ari and I to make some fun faces of our own.
We've been rummaging through the studio and found all sorts
of bits and bobs to use!  I'll post here when we're done :)

Faces is available from millergoodman's shop
and take a peek at their lovely blog here too!


It reminds me very much of Sabine Timm's wonderful work

Arrietty

Yesterday morning we went to see Arrietty at Cinema Nova.
(How comfy are those cinema armchairs?!  Wonderful.)

It's based on Mary Norton's fantastical book 'The Borrowers'.

It was so... enchanting.... sad but... beautiful.  How I'd love to slip
into that secret world with it's towering flowers and tiny teacups...

Oh, I do so adore the beautiful animation work of  Studio Ghibli.

Afterwards we enjoyed italian hot chocolates and macarons at Brunetti's

(a Melbourne institution when it comes to cakes) and Ari found another

Robert Crowther Pop-Up Book at the plaza bookstore for $10. Bargain.

I spent the better part of today helping at Ari's school and am just about

to pick him up and head to Swimming lessons. Happy Monday everyone! 

xoxox

Funny Bones

Speaking of spooky...  the Funny Bones book series is in 

constant demand come bedtime reading at the moment.

I enjoyed reading the original book Funnybones when I was Ari's age. It 

had just been published then! I love Janet and Allan Ahlberg books. 

Peepo & The Baby Catalogue were among the first books I read to Ari.

Allan's stories are funny and cute and Janet's illustrations are delightful,

and what's more their books are fun and entertaining for parents to read.

It's worth noting that the first Funny Bones book was created by the 

Ahlbergs & illustrated by Janet but the rest of the series (created later)

 were illustrated by André Amstutz. I think possibly this was due to 

Janet's illness, as André's illustrations very much keep with her style.
Janet Ahlberg died from cancer in 1994, aged just 50.  So sad and 

such a tragic loss for the world... for children and their parents alike.

Recently Ari and I discovered the animated Funny Bones series ↓

The series was created in Wales in 1992 and there's 12 episodes in all.

You can view the rest of the episodes here

"Down the dark dark stairs, there is a dark dark 

cellar, in the dark dark cellar, three skeletons live..."   

Images found via Open Library

Books available through Amazon

Chris Silas Neal

I really love the beautiful simplicity of these works

by commercial illustrator and artist Chris Silas Neal.

find more work here ↓ at

The Studio of CHRIS SILAS NEAL

The Online Market

I did a lot of Christmas shopping online this year... mostly at
Etsy (for handmade and vintage) and Amazon (for books)↓

If you still need to find a few gifts, Amazon offers super-fast shipping 

(you can still make it!) and you won't have to combat the crowds.

It seems that Santa is going shopping there too this year.  I believe 

that he may be bringing Ari one of these wonderful pop-up books...

(click on images to view details)

We love, love, love the ones we already have.

And they are so brilliantly constructed
...sure to become Modern Classics.

Last year, I was often in and out of this little shop, so most
of the presents I gifted were local, sustainable and handmade.

And the previous year I handmade almost every gift I gave. 

So in keeping with tradition, this year I'm also giving homemade 

jams, chutneys, pickles, sauces, fruit pastes and biscuits.

We've had an abundance of fruit in the garden, so the pantry is a well 

stocked little store at the moment. And I love making festive baked goods. 

If you fancy making some home baked goodies yourself, 

this gingerbread recipe NEVER FAILS to delight the taste buds.

And here's a wonderfully easy recipe for Apple and Pear Jam. Enjoy xo

The Old Time 'Christmas' Market

It was a terribly hot and windy sort of day on Saturday.

By Midday I had had quite enough of being blown about

and getting sunburnt, so we packed up 'the show' and 

wandered around the market. There were so many stalls!

Here's some pics of my 'Raised by the Wolves' stall:-

Wandering around we found some wonderful stuffers for 

Ari's stocking and a few nice old hardcover Dr Seuss books 

which we don't have (we have a fairly extensive library of 

Dr Seuss). I found a beautiful blue felted wool trilby and 

some wonderful plants. But the find of the day was a large

and pristine hardcover edition of 'The Magic Faraway Tree'.

We've just finished reading The first of the 'Faraway Tree'

series, The Enchanted Wood, and although I have a few 

beautiful old junior novel editions of this series, the larger

picture book versions, with their many colourful illustrations, 

are a far more captivating read for a six year old I think.

C is for Collage

I am in love with these wonderful prints by Sir Peter Blake...

...if you're feeling wealthy, 

the complete set is available here

...for £25,000,

alternatively, you can purchase
a copy of the book from Amazon

...for around £10. 

I think it would make a wonderful Christmas gift,
it's definitely been on my wish list for a while. x