spring flowers

Just a peek at what's on my work table. 

These pretty little flower heads are sitting there, 

each awaiting their turn to be stitched up!

I've been quite busy in my studio this week and I've 

been listening to a lot of Tom Waits whilst I work.

I never tire of listening to his sweet music.

It has been so very, very cold and grey here lately.

One would scarcely believe that nice weather is on

it's way, and yet today, the blossom trees are in full 

bloom and the bulbs are already beginning to flower 

...I guess, as Tom says (courtesy of Garth)

 you can never hold back Spring.

I've been pinning lots of lovely new things too.

The nights have been too cold to do much other 

than sit by the fire and read, stitch or pin things! 

Why don't you take a looksy... xox

Snippets

We've had the Flu. Ari's been home all week. In bed. Mostly.

Watching movies, reading books, drawing pictures, practising

his writing. Sleeping and keeping warm. It's been pretty cold.

We had a couple of beautiful sunny weeks this Winter but it's

 quite dismal now. Still, leaves are budding, bulbs are showing,

and blossom is blooming on the fruit trees. Spring is not so far. 

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!

Trommpo

Beautiful origami inspired designs from Uruguay-based 

kid's label Trommpo.  Their website is wonderful too!

Bobo Choses

I love the designs of Spanish label Bobo Choses

Their Summer range is currently on sale..... great 

for those of us heading towards warmer weather! 

Surprise!

Sometimes I open my sketchbook and find this...

...steam trains, totem poles and flying machines. ♥


'I Love Mummy' drawing by Ari aged six

here comes the sun

 I couldn't resist purchasing this lovely thing today... 

It's a 1940s romper/2 pce swimsuit by Catalina. 

The tag reads- 'styled for the stars of Hollywood'. 

Ooh la la!!! 

I can't wait to wear it to the beach this Summer...

the weather's already warming up. Almost Springtime!

There's a cute pattern here to sew your own vintage style 

2 pce suit if you're interested.  It would look lovely in floral.

Pop Pop Portraits

A lovely little letter arrived in the mail for me this week and

it was written on the back of these super sweet illustrations...

The work of the very talented Helena Randall.

I have known Helena for many, many years and have watched her 

work develop and change, as she has explored different styles and 

mediums. Her art has a wonderful sense of fun and whimsy about it

and her colour choice and line work are just exquisite.

With Pop Pop Portraits Helena has given the art of portraiture a
new and contemporary twist, creating custom portraits of clients 

(and often their pets or kids) in her own unique style of illustration.

Her work was recently featured in Frankie Magazine.  So exciting!

But, as far as creative talents go, portraiture is just the tip of the iceberg

for this clever lady!  I can't wait to see what future projects lie ahead...

You can visit her blog/s here or take a peek at her shop here.

xoxox

project bunny girl

Super cute PDF bunny pattern from 

the ever whimsical Lieschen Muller 

Чебура́шка!

Also known as Cheburashka or Topple in English Translations.

Here's an episode. It's in two parts.

At the start, the crocodile is singing about what a great

pity it is, that birthdays only happen once a year.

one...

two...

I love the strangeness of these old claymation films and would love 

to have a go at making one of my own.  The colours in this one are 

particularly lovely I think and the characters and sets are very cute! 

It would be a fantastic holiday project to work on with older kids...

Jess Quinn

A rather lovely new watercolour by Jess Quinn.

I do so love her work and blog.

read a little about my winter days here

Collage LOVE

While selecting artwork to include in my portfolio, I sifted through a 

vast collection of artworks, sketchbooks and inspiration, that I've held 

onto.  Some of it dated back to my own childhood.  It was so lovely to 

be able to look back and see how my art has developed over my life. 

© Mama and Ari ;)

I've been archiving Ari's artwork too. He's an avid artist, so there's a lot!

Ari and I made this collage back in 2009 and it's one of my favourites.

He really loves that we have kept his works and enjoys looking at them.

And he knows, that we think they are too precious to throw away... xox

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).

a winter wedding

We've just returned from a mid-winter hiatus in Van Diemens Land,

where we attended a wonderful wedding in a lovely winter garden.

It was a really lovely wedding.  All homegrown and handmade.

Guests were asked to bring plates of food rather than gifts and a 

most delectable feast of homemade goodies was bestowed upon 

tables decorated with vintage cloths, tea cup candles and jars of

 dried hydrangea flowers, gathered from the garden last summer
and arranged with brilliant bursts of turquoise peacock feathers.

The pegola had been purpose-built for the occasion by the groom and 

hand-stitched bunting, lovingly crafted (from old books, blankets and

sheets) by the bride and her mother-in-law, was strewn from it's eaves.

The bridal bouquets were made from old buttons and the couple's 

garden was dotted with lace and coloured hand-crocheted flowers.

The bridesmaid dyed her hair turquoise to match the colour theme. 

I had the pleasure of creating the bride's elaborate hairpiece...

my past occupation being costumery and theatrical millinery. 

An Opera Singer... the bride treated us all to a surprise performance 

mid-ceremony when she sang a beautiful love song to the groom and

during the reception a mother/daughter duo belted out old time tunes 

 on a most whimsical hand-crafted electric piano and an old washboard.

Ari, J and I danced up a storm in the beautifully decorated hallway. 

It was one beautiful day in one very beautiful corner of the world.
You can take a closer peek at the hairpiece on my other blog. xox

Little Ari

This photo was taken in 2009, in the lane way outside 

'Our Little-Big House' in the city (as Ari used to call it).

A Little-r Ari in his winter woolies. So cute and

how cute are those bunny mitts?!  Too small now :'(

I drew this picture in 2008 of Ari and his best friend Henri,

(who was one of my earliest toy creation).  I recently uploaded it

to my online portfolio of Art and Illustration... take a peek↓

Another World Recordings