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

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

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.

field journal

Entry Six: Summer at the Seaside

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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.

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

field journal

Entry Five:  Summer in our garden

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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.

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

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

↓

oven roasted tomatoes

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

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

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....

I love this cute hand made wreath from Bloesem Kids

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

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!

sweet and simple christmas ideas

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

1.trees  2.village  3.snowflakes  4.garland  5.ornament

...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

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