Cont'd...

...finally...

2009-07-11T22:42:00.000-07:00

Not sure if its the cold weather, but other than a brief look at facebook, I have been avoiding the computer room. We have since acquired a new heater and its making a huge difference...its gone from 11 degrees an hour ago, to 18 now.

Probably the other reason is life seems a bit hectic lately. Due to a staff shortage at work I'm doing shifts all over the place and most weekends I've had off have been full up. We've had some great family get-togethers. Here are some photos from 2 out of about 5 or so get-togethers in the last couple of months..

My brothers...

Jon's brothers... Bohdi's first birthday...

We have certainly kept to one of our main reason's for moving, which was seeing family more.

Here are some random photos as always..

Taken today.. Everyone says how big Bain is getting, even Mum's from school who only haven't seen him for 2 weeks said he'd shot up, think he'll over take me in the next few years..

Rugged up for a kick of the soccer ball..

Oodle...

Cheers...

...so slack...

2009-05-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sure theres only 2 people, at most, that actually read this thing, but for their benefit, I'm here to freshen up...

There's a been a little bit happening around the place. I've been keeping up with my 2nd go at Project 365 but no new crafty things happening. My spare room is in shambles so that'll have to come first. If anyone has been to my house, you'll have been aware of the green shade clothe that enclosed our little back deck area. It served a purpose - keeping mozzies and flies out - but was well expired. So off it came!!

When the sun is out, its drenched in sunlight, which is great this time of year. You can also see my 2 new chairs - well 2nd-hand...vintage!!! They are so comfy.

Its a perfect spot to have a tea - out of my new teapot, special thanks to Karen.

We have also had Easter,we had a lovely time up at Melbourne with the Yates' and SIL's - great shopping/kid free time!!! There was also a wedding - Jon's cousin, he was groomsman. They had the ceremony at a bluff near Aireys inlet, which was beautiful, perfect spot (except a little rain) and then inland for the reception. I was photographer, and they will appear soon on my photography blog - right after I post the other wedding I photographed late last year. Our nephew turned 5 and Bain had a great time at the bowling party - where he got 2nd place

Bain and Emmy, what a cute pair of spideys..

til next time...

what have i been up to...

2009-03-23T02:28:00.000-07:00

Life has been crazy actually, good stuff and very bad stuff happening. But due to my lack of blogging, I have a heap of good stuff...

I was rather fortunate and very excited when I was able to snap some picks of an infamous car here in Ballarat - The Chandelier Mobile, with pink shop in background!!

I've wanted to share this with the world since I first spotted it. This shop is close to Jon's store. What you can't see, in the same fabulous paint job on the side on the car, is the writing on the shop window advertising for cheap LPG car conversions. The chandelier on top of the car is actually wired up to light up. In the shop is every style, size chandelier you could ever want, including one which would barely fit in an average sized bathroom, its huge.

A couple of weeks ago Carly and myself took ourselves off to Stitches and Craft show in Melbourne. We had a great time. there was a lot of your more tradition crafts, but our favourite was 'The Incubator' which featured "the freshest indie craters...the best Australian contemporary craft and design.." - basically all the stuff we love from the bloggers we read and Etsy sites. One of the highlights for me was visiting the Ink & Spindle stall,

where we both purchased some little scrap/sample bundles of their fabrics. I was able to meet and chat with my fave blogger/designers Lara from Kirin Notebook. They were such a friendly, down to earth bunch. We also went to a talk by one of the girls, Bianca, on Home-based craft businesses, which as excellent. I will post some more stuff later on our purchases. Any who.. here are some (mobile phone) photos from the day, there were these little displays dotted around the place... enjoy...

The weird and wonderful green bits and pieces are crocheted..

Paper Babushka dolls...

yes its knitted...

With these pictures in mind, I decided it was time to purchase a little point-and-click camera, that could live in my handbag. Its a little 8meg Olympus and I'm loving it! It is a bit to get use to.. the delay from pressing the button to when it actually snaps is the worst, but it has other features like over and under exposure which I will use a lot.

One little, but fairly labour intensive project I did recently was a Moopy Bunny softie, from the 'More Softies' book. A good friend needed one and I hate following patterns, so this was a real labour of love. Softies look easy. But I am quite happy with the finished result and I would do another, now I know the tricks involved. I used some new fabric, some old, some recycled and the body is fabric purchased from Lara (from Ink & Spindle, mentioned above)

Catch ya on the flip side..

all is....good

2009-03-02T21:49:00.002-08:00

Except for the 100km wind. I am a little worried, as anyone who has visted me would know, of the native trees that dot my fence line. I was watching one of the bigger ones before and the main trunk was moving. I guess it could be a lot worse, Bain's school was open, and no fires!

Bain had his first school sports day on Monday. I wasn't sure about the protocol and taking photos, so I only had my phone. Turns out it was no big deal. He 's a bit hard to see, specially with their big, blue school hats - that is Bain is the green T.

I guess this is like an early high jump, they jump on the spot to see who can get the shortest rod thing hanging down.

and hurdles, Bain didn't knock any!! (Bain in the outside lane)

Although he wasn't a super athlete, he did quite well, I guess you'd say he was average for the group- not the quickest or highest or best thrower, but not at the other end either. He had a great time and wanted sports day again on the Tuesday.

Photos from Eastern Beach, a quick Geelong trip on Saturday- just the 3 of us. We did a flying visit of Packo Fest, which is a street festival for Packington street. It was winding up by the time we got there, but I'll definately be there next year. Although you'd have to enjoy food, and more so, food of the world to really enjoy it.

...and Bain's Darth Vader (airbrush) tattoo from eastern beach. We had fun just wondering around without a plan.

In other news...
My cherry tomatoes have gone nuts!! I collected both of these on the same day, and there coming thick and fast... and they're delicious, so tasty and sweet.

And I've started my Project 365 #2 for those who are interested - I'm already a week in!

randomness...

2009-02-15T15:37:00.001-08:00

Firstly I thought I'd share some random photos off my phone. I've been clicking here and there around Ballarat - while walking to work etc., and other things.. Theres something about the simpleness of a phone cam that I enjoy, although its restrictive so you do have to think..

love a bit of lens flare...

Floating paper towel at servo -

...jon said I was nuts too...

Clinton and Sarah's dog Rosco

Bain is enjoying school and is always eager to get there, especially after the weekend. Although I think having Wednesdays off has helped him to not be so overwhelmed. He had a casual day Friday to raise money for the Bushfire Appeal and really enjoyed showing off his new Spiderman hoodie. It zips up into a spiderman mask.

I am considering starting up my Project 365 again as, other than the above, I haven't been taking many photos. I look back on that time and realise how enjoyable it was. And now I have more time, it should be easier.. maybe.

Cheers for now.

the nightmare in victoria.........

2009-02-12T16:20:00.000-08:00

My family is healthy, I have all of my "stuff". As the smoke haze reaches Ballarat today, I will be thinking of all those who have lost in the Victorian Bushfires.

I am also thinking of all those who are helping and how proud I am to be Australian - the money that has been raised is utterly amazing, the volunteers helping feed, cloth, house those in need, everyone helping the animals.... but moreso those who battled the blazes and who continue to... I came across this video and thought it conveyed my message better than I could...

our big first day...

2009-02-04T21:50:00.000-08:00

First Day of School

I say "our" because its a huge day not only for Bain, but for all three of us. So the day started out fairly cruisey with breakfast, then a little rush towards the end only to end up quite early at school.

His teacher Mrs Campbell is lovely and we put all our things away. He settled on a table with one of his kinder mates Liam (pictured) and happily drew away.

We said our goodbyes and it was no big deal to him. He had been so excited and waited so long for school, so it was no surprise that he was so keen. I didn't cry, perhaps as I had to rush off to work - my boss had already let me be half hour late. I did feel a little anxious most of the morning.

He ate all his fruit and chicken sandwich, and his small piece of our banana-carrot cake. I figured a little piece, homemade and with fruit/veg in it wouldn't be classed as junk. He did send home his crackers - water crackers - as I was trying a salt reduced dry bikkie, it didn't work.

All in all, a GREAT day. He was happy, his teacher said he listened well, she even took his photo with a great big - non cheeky - smile, half her luck. And the most important thing is that he wants to go back tomorrow!!

Thanks heaps for everyones well wishes!!!

our mini-holiday

2009-01-26T02:09:00.000-08:00

We decided, that with school drawing closer, we should take off for a few days. We'd be wanting to stay with Jon's cousins in Torquay for a while. We had a yummy meal at the restaurant - Front Beach - where his other cousin Ben is head chef, we visited Torquay market - which was excellent, spend time at the beach and just hanging out. We finished up with a night in Geelong, tea at my favourite Wharf Shed and a day at Point Lonsdale rockpools with bro and Mum. We only had four days away, but with the sun, beach, eating out/takeaway, ice creams - it felt like a real break. So heres a slide show.

2008 year in review

2009-01-02T21:15:00.001-08:00

here we go again... doesn't seem like that long ago I was doing the 07' version...

Anyway - here are my standouts and points of interest for 2008.. hope you've got a spare 10 mins...

Standout Music
Albums...

Kings of Leon - Only by the Night
Really enjoying this album, mush more than Because of the Times, this seems more rock. Would have loved to see them live, oh well.

Ting Tings - We started Nothing
A recent favourite, but I'm loving it! Will be listening to it all summer and more. Bain sings to himself 'I ain't faking, I ain't faking it, shut up and let me go - ah!'.
Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All his Friends
Really enjoyed the next installment by Coldplay, we listened to this a fair bit at the winery, good memories for good music.
...and my album of the year....
The Presets - Apocalypso
What a great album! No wonder it won Aria album of the year and Triple J album of the year, well deserved, will be listening to this for a while yet, Bain loves it to, think he has pretty good taste actually.

bits and pieces

Kayne West Love Lockdown - really like this song, I like a bit of his music just can't listen to an entire album.
Ladyhawke Paris is burning - my criteria for listening to an album is at least 2 songs I really enjoy, I love this but again not enough for an album, great song though.
MGMT Electric Feel

favourites as of the end of 08' but getting big into 09'
Empire of the Sun - I'm loving Walking on a Dream, great summer song - have a listen...

Laura Marling - a Joni Mitchell thing going on, so I'm drawn in, quirky, easy, pretty, eery...

Live..
Sadly, Big Day Out was the only concert I attended this year. Although I HATE HATE HATE the new venue (dusty, no grass, NO grand stands), I absolutely loved seeing Bjork. I have loved and adored her for so long, it was surreal to see her in the flesh and she didn't disappoint! Then Rage Against The Machine come out - wow! What a awesome show, so powerful and political, even Zach and the band were pleased to hear we'd voted John Howard out.
Other really good acts were Silverchair, Faker and Grinspoon.

Standout Movies
well, I hardly watched anything but i did enjoy..

Dark Knight
WallE
Iron Man
and yes, I enjoyed Step Brothers.

Standout TV shows
The Office (US version) - always hilarious and always leaves me wanting more, although I wish Holly was still around...
..not much else..

Standout websites
Kirin Notebook - a Melbourne based designer, into crafts, design/prints her own fabrics, recently started own printing business with 2 other friends. I absolutely love her designs and find her blog very interesting as its what I'm into at the moment. She also gives great address to fellow crafters, is very down to earth and a sense of humour.

Kaz was Here - Sister-in-laws blog. Always great to catch up with family, see all of her endeavours happening, I always know whats going on with these guys, love seeing pics of my niece and nephew.

Etsy - always a fave, slowed a little due to US dollar, still love it for inspiration.

FAIL blog - I discovered this during the year (thanks to Kirin notebook actually) Its basically stuff that has "failed", eg. this kids coat hook, bad labelling, Youtube vids etc. Its just plain funny, no real point.

Cute Overload - Bain and I love a good funny cat video, so this site is quite entertaining for us.Who doesn't love a cute puppy photo or a video of a Rottweiler puppy with hiccups...??.

Standout Events (personal)

Completing Project 365. It got the better of me a few times, but I'm glad i kept going, thinking about starting again as I realise how little photography work i have done since.
Felicity and Glenns Wedding - although it would have been nice to not have Bain in hospital, but great day and good photos if I do say so myself.(will post them soon)
My 30th Weekend - Not just the party but the entire weekend, tea out with Jon's sissy's, picnic in the park with my fam on sunday - great to have all the family around

Jon's 30th Weekend - Loved having Karen and the kids here on the Friday night, then the party - easy with pizza tea and good company. Guitar Hero was entertaining all weekend.

Bain playing the donkey in his kinder Nativity play! He had refused to do it in rehearsals and then on the day - he just decided to be the donkey!!
and MOVING TO BALLARAT - majorly standout event, didn't start well with taking 2 months to find a house - but worth the wait, our house is just perfect for us. Bain made the transition to kinder here well and is so excited about school, luckily lots of his friends are going there too. 50cent profita rolls. Always stuff happening. Close to family - and its actually worked, we see Geelong/Surfcoast crew heaps! **It makes it even better when friends and family make the effort to come visit - so thanks to all that have!

Favourite Photos

...and lastly...

with that over with - I will now follow on from my SIL and others by choosing a word for 2009...

Looking forward, not lingering in the past, giving myself goals, developing myself, moving my family forwards in life, progressing in life - all in many ways - mentally, financially, physically, creatively...

christmas 08'

2008-12-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

...was.... fun, busy, tiring, enjoyable, filling (from so much yummy food)...

I always love giving so I really enjoy Christmas, but I had been working fairly hard on the dollhouse... and at work, the doll house had consumed my mental and physical energy for so long leading up to Christmas, it was a huge release when I had it completed. It has gone to a good place with my Niece, who seemed completely overwhelmed by it! I was so happy with how it turned out, and keeping with tradition, I was still working on it around midnight of Christmas eve.

Here are some pictures, and some reminders of post reno's. Followed by lots and lots of pictures of Christmas day - hey I'm a photographer, thats what I do!

outside old and then new....

...with a great reno'ed door...

downstairs old...

downstairs new.... featuring my old furniture with new paint and cushions, new curtains (I had perspex windows but all were lost), lino cleaned up a treat...

upstairs old....

upstairs new.... featuring the bed Dad made, couch that goes with other furniture and new carpet of course..

Christmas morning at our place

Bain had already been given a bike from us earlier... Santa gave him a big tub of lego, a few transformers, Diamondhead, water pistol, light saber, new headphones for MP3 and some little stocking stuffers

First stop - my brothers before we head to lunch with jon's family...

and lunch with Jon's family....

Bain recieved some great stuff from his Uncles, aunts, nannas, grandmas, and cousins - a sleeping bag, rocket thing, pogo stick, books, kite, hummer and remote control car... he's a very happy and lucky boy!

Soon to come - my year in reveiw...

the silly season...

2008-12-15T16:35:00.000-08:00

Wow, Christmas is just around the corner. I'm fairly busy at the moment, as most people are, but with all good things - a quick but very enjoyable visit from my Dad - great time spent in Geelong with the bros, work chrissy do, last day of kinder today - and a Nativity concert last week - which featured a cute little donkey named Bain!!! (so very proud..photos to come as he told me and kinder teachers he wasn't going to do it - so I wasn't ready), trip to Cohuna for a Xmas with Jon's Dad and rest of the Martin/Yates gang - awesome fun ahead!, and then it'll pretty much be Christmas... I also have to complete the renovations on my old doll house, for my neice Georgia, for her christmas present. Dad gave me a hand while he was down - BIG THANKS TO DAD. He also has made a bed for it (after photos to come).

I made mini cupcakes for last day of kinder, which they'll be having a little party and Santa visit. So cute I had to take some pics and share...

Before photos of Doll House - just a little bit of work...

inside down stairs

inside upstairs

Bain helper..??..

Some snappies of a bike ride - Bain's early Christmas present - new bike!

Cheers and have a happy Christmas...

i've had 'work' done...

2008-10-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

I present my new look blog!

Thanks to yet another cool blog trick from SIL Karen, I have this happy new layout. Theres a link on the left hand side, 'cutest blog ever'. Theres lots of free backgrounds to choose from and other blog secrets. I did really want to create my own background, but even after I thought I followed their directions, it looked all wrong. But I am really happy with this look and, as always, I still customized my header, and now have a 'signature' at the end of each post(another one of their tricks).

Onto other things...

Here is a phone camera photo series of a bike ride around the block...

The mosaic house...

These seed pods are like snow at the moment, amazing on a windy day too as they fly around..

This is on one side of our house..

This is the front of our house, our front fence..

Talk soon...

life in ballarat

2008-10-27T01:46:00.000-07:00

...is good...

I have now worked 3 shifts at Store and think I am really going to enjoy it. The boss is great, she is friendly and funny. I always enjoy working alongside my boss. The main issue I have, is where do I use my staff discount first. I'm eying off some new cannisters for coffee sugar etc - but not sure whether to go for enamel tin which are timeless, or modern cannisters. I also like there array of magazine holders - weaved, leather, fabric - as I was given a stack of my fave mag 'real livivng' and they don't get tossed! I love all the kitchen gadgets. I'm also considering decking out my pantry as I'm sick of twisted up bags of stuff and stale biscuits. And I do envy Karen SIL beautifully organised tupperware collection. Hmm.??..?.

So here are some photos. Leia Martin blog is so neglected, will have to think up some stuff to put on there soon.

We have lots of dandelions through out of lawn, hard to be annoyed but such a pretty thing...

Clinton put me onto these 50 cent mini profita rolls - they are delicious!! They are a perfect little treat - 2 bites, you just have to say no to number 2 and 3...

**I guarantee to have some waiting for anyone who comes to visit me here in Ballarat.

Next, the war waging in our backyard.... Lucy Vs The Wattle-Bird

I'm trying the get a picture of just how fearless this bird is. The best I could, red circling the bird...

It has no issues with Oodle or the dogs, and will happily swoop Lucy if she is sitting at my feet. They are both as stubborn as eachother, neither will give up! Lucky Lucy isn't that serious about catching it, think she enjoys it.

Cheers...

may i help you....

2008-10-22T15:15:00.000-07:00

Today I start my new job, as a retail sales assistant at a shop called "store". Its actually titled a storage superstore. Its basically every type of storage device plus other stuff like kitchen gadgets, stationary etc. It was started by the same guys that originally created Officeworks, which was later sold off to coles/myer. They're mainly across Melbourne and they're a very stylish store and if you're excited by all manner of containers, and the organisation they bring, then you'd really like it. Check out their website to see what they're about. I'm doing 3 x 5 hour shifts, which we'll be a nice start until Bain starts school next year.
And yes we're loving Ballarat! Its not so cold, and we have increasingly, beautiful sunny days. Jon is very busy getting the stores running properly, but we still have time to take Bain for bike rides around a little lake at the end of our street and knick off to Torquay for his 2nd cousins little boy, Kane's, first birthday - and it was just over an hour drive!!! Our neighbours are very nice and let me know if I keep driving up the road at end of our street, I get to the state forest(like 3mins drive) and can let the dogs run free.
Bain is enjoying his new kinder and making lots of friends, who most will be going to the same school next year. One of the Mum's wants to organise a play day with all the kids starting school together. They're a friendly bunch. Bain also does a day in a care, at the uni childcare centre - got to love a non-for-profit centre!! He started here before kinder was organised and he seems happy to do it aswell. Figure after a term off he could do with a catch up. We saw one of his friends at the supermarket last night, they were so excited to see eachother.
I really love the house we're in. We spend heaps of time outside, specially the front area where it gets sun nearly all day. We enjoy watching Lucy, our black and white cat get swooped by the wattle birds that live in our big native trees. They are so fearless, but don't seemed bothered by the dogs or us, if Lucy is sitting at my feet they'd still go her. Its great area for playing too. Bain is learning frisbee after watching his Poppy play it on my b'day weekend. He is getting pretty good.
Another thing about Ballarat before I go, is its large amount of Op-shops and recycled clothing shops. I hear there is a tour you can do. I'm looking forward to exploring them.

Cheers for now...

hello there... long time no post..

2008-10-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

I'm back.. sort of. .I'm at the library as I just couldn't wait. Here are some pics of interest...

Goodbye Proton. Most of you will know about my stupid, stupid first week of driving in Ballarat. Lost and not paying attention lead to this below. Thankfully no one was hurt!!!!!

It was written off but has now been replaced by a purple Barina. Its quite daggy - but Jon's tried to cool it up with stickers. Not sure if its working.

Here is the A to Z project - starting in Ky but finished in Ballarat.

Think I'll be saying goodbye to photo-project due to lack of interest. But wanted to share the work I had done.

My $2 garage sale couch - mmm brown velvet....

And presenting my new shabby-chic deck couch. Perfect for our little enclosed deck area....

...we enjoy using it for sunny Sunday morning reading the paper with a cuppa...

some pics of new house, more to come...

driveway/entrance - we're on a low lying block.

side door which is really our front door.

front veranda, due to high fences around entire fence line, we have a completely private yard, around whole house.

Bain did a free Bunning's kids activity of planting herb seedlings, so we've extended on and put in lettuces, cherry tomatoes and spring onions. Bain loves watering them.

...no net..

2008-09-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

new posts coming soon ... no net yet....

final days at ky....

2008-08-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

Final visual dedication to our house. Having a quick break from packing to bring you a final post from Ky. Who knows where I'll be posting from next.

another Etsy artist...

2008-08-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

I've been seeing these wall decals around for a while now. There such a great and easy decorating idea. Pretty much a big sticker, but fully removable and they don't damage walls, as a renter I see there potential. ShaNickers is currently a feature artists on Etsy and one of the first artist producing these decals with a great array of designs and at a very reasonable price. Of course I was drawn by the branch and bird design.

But then this monkey caught my eye. What a great design for a child's room.

A different colour makes it work with the wall colour.

...and she does dragonflies... girl after my heart...

There is also a few of her decals available as chalkboards, what a great idea.

These designs range between $30 and $80 for a larger one like the tree loosing its leaves which is 1.6 metres high. They could easily transform a room yet a whole lot easier than painted on such a design as you just remove it. Visit her site for more designs and information.

*And thanks for the lovely comments regarding my last post!!!!!

a visual tribute to our house

2008-08-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

With our re-location to Balllarat drawing nearer, we say goodbye to another house and head for our next home.
To quote a sexy and clever man - John Butler (and I'm sure a few others) - "..And i say Home..Home is where the heart is...yeah Home"
I'm a true believer that a home is what you make of it and has really nothing to do with the physical structure. However, you have to feel something towards your environment you've spent so long in, so here are a few new photos of my yard and a montage featuring colours of a few of the feature walls and lime green kitchen cupboards...

We will miss all those yummy apricots...

We will miss the golden elms shade in the summer...

I have a love/hate relationshp withe the array of weeds in our yard...

a visual tribute to our beatiful Golden Elm..

more holiday stuff...

2008-06-16T03:43:00.000-07:00

More holiday photos.
Featured is Jon swimming and trying to body board.
Then some photos froma trip to Coff harbour to their Pet porpoise Pool. Its a very interactive dolphin and seal park, very conservations based. There were lots of animal being rehabilitated, like some very cute sea turtles. As part of the show Bain got to brush dolphins teeth, Jan and I had to hold a feeding pole for the dolphins to jump up at. It was amazing to see that the dolphins seemed to genuinely have a bond with the trainers, something that I think gets missed at a bigger park like seaworld. This was very up close. Anyway..
Also some pics of the Rainbow Lorikeets on the front deck of my folks house, Bain named one Chirpie - he was feeding him from his hand, also pics from cruising along the beach in Dads little 4WD Suzi, with the top down, very cool!!
So enjoy..

our holiday

2008-06-10T23:45:00.001-07:00

Heres a slide show of some of our current holiday visiting my folks at Iluka, Northern NSW. Weather hasn't been all sunshine, only the odd day, but still not cold and still nice enough for beach play. I'm silly enough to go in the water mainly to do a bit bit of snorkeling. Also enjoying eating 'last night caught' prawns, yummy avocados off the trees at my folks house.
...I just love the coast..

Our first etsy sale!!!!

2008-05-13T00:21:00.000-07:00

"2 items sold"
I thought it was a mistake at first, but I am so very excited to announce that we finally made a sale on Etsy!! It took a while, but with about 200,000 listings in the "art" category alone, its pretty good and its fairly easy money, seeings as the work was done for the exhibition anyway. The two pieces featured Carly's cute Gocco print (its a special home screen printing device nicknamed "Gocco") of the Hillshoist clothesline.

Its just great to get some feedback and something concrete that its worth having them for sale. And, fingers crossed, it gets the ball rolling.

and in other news...

I hope everyone is enjoying the colours of Autumn at the moment. I know it may sound a little dorky/corny to some, but I find it quite beautiful - and thought I'd share some pics from my own backyard which is a mass of yellow, mainly on the ground now.

Melbourne Trip #1 out of 3

2008-04-23T01:10:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been clocking up the km's and have made a few trips down to capital city. Firstly, is pictured, was a sleepover at one of my best and longest friends Karyn. Next was a foot check up at the Royal Children's for Bain - foot is perfect as it could possibly be, all things considered, so yearly check-ups!! Yay!!! This is pretty big for Jon and I, that is the news we've been waiting to hear since he was born.

First bath
First plaster - 1 day old.

The last, but not the least, was for Harrys 4th birthday - our nephew and not only a cousin for Bain but a good mate. We always enjoy a good catch up with Jon's family, we're always made to feel very welcome whenever we crash on Karen's doorstep.

Karyn had 2 things in mind for when I visited - the footy - she is a bulldogs member. And dinner out at De Los Santos - a highly recommended Spanish restaurant in Brunswick st.
This was the first AFL match I've been too. At the MCG which I guess is THE place to experience my first. Despite my anti-footy nature I actually enjoyed myself. Great atmosphere, and great to be right there - I think thats what its all about really, not sitting on the couch. We also experienced a rude and obnoxious punter, which just added to the day. Karyn didn't take any crap!!

When we had finished our beautiful meal and had a couple Sangrias, we then walked along Brunswick street. So on Sunday, we decided that we'd re-visit. Highlights was visiting the Alannah Hill factory outlet. Great Melbourne designer, very eclectic and feminine. The bit that excited me, wasn't really her beautiful dresses etc, you could buy for $80 or so rather than $400 or so, but the area where you could buy her material and trimmings buy the metre. Lots of great fabrics and lace. But the whole street is wonderful, with an arrear of great cafes, interesting jewelery and homewares. Its my type of place for window shopping.
Another interesting site, was a the walls of graffiti when we parked the car. Had to snap some of my favourtites.

I'm loving all the stencil art thats around now...

and sticker art..

And the weekend also featured one lovable pooch named Lola. Karyn's little furry friend and I become great mates as I would happily pat and pat her, especially Sunday morning up on the bed. Such a friendly, happy dog with loads of personality.

cooking with bain...

2008-04-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

One thing about children is they make you appreciate the simple things, they make you stop and have a bit of fun. Bain and I enjoyed making mud pies a couple weeks ago... on a lovely sunny day.

Followed by some real cooking... cupcakes, with Bain's favourite coloured icing - green! Bain loves helping in the kitchen and I like to have some home made goodies from time to time. And what a photo op - on my cake stand - they looked a picture.

stormy night

2008-03-31T03:43:00.001-07:00

We had a spectacular storm the other night here in Ky. Of course, I ran and grabbed the camera. I have never photographed lightening before.

There was lots of sheet lightening

which doesn't make for a great a pic but I persevered and ended up with a few good shots of fork lightening, which, by the way, is extremely hard to photograph. The storm started miles away and I watched it over my back fence, until it passed through Ky. At that time I saw lightening forks over my head... thats when I tucked under cover. But it kept moving away from us, which is when I took most of the photos below. There blurry as I didn't really feel like standing out in a lightening storm with a tripod....

Etsy feature.. yumiyumi

2008-03-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

As mentioned, I plan to do a feature on a favourtite Etsy seller from time to time and I haven't been doing anything exciting to show you. As the other seller was a more comical, less serious type of work I thought I'd feature this wonderful artist - Aline *Yumi* Yamada. She is a fine artist and illustrator originally from Brazil and currently living in Ohio, USA.

One great thing about Etsy is the affordable artwork. Obviously studying art for 3 years, I appreciate having art and having it around, as have my parents often collecting interesting prints from markets while on holidays. Art can often be an expensive thing, but at Etsy you can find an array of great work at very good prices. I guess because there is little cost involved with selling on Etsy, artists can keep there prices low.

Yumi's work is quite interesting, it does have a feminine feel. Most of the works are a "Giclee print of an original illustration done in combination with pencil, ink, watercolor then digitally tweaked". Most of them are 8.5 x 11 inch (although she is happy for queries of any size) and sell for $20US. They also come in different colour combinations, for example,
red pink

or blues and purples

I think there is a definite gum tree influence here...

There is a real delicate feel to this style of her work..

But she also has these more bold designs

yumiyumi has a great series of owls and 'berry monsters', as she calls them. I think they would be great decorating a young girls room, something a bit different..

and she has even more styles in her shop. She has had very successful sales and reached her 1000th sale in early February after only 8 months.

Anyway, enjoy this beautiful art and go buy some if you really like it.

All images are copyright of Aline Yamada and were used here with Aline's permission.

no LIME just Leia

2008-03-11T18:49:00.001-07:00

LIME has now become Leia Martin Photo Graphics - decided a revamp was needed. Not convinced of the LIME name anyway. I have a new template which is simpler and suits my work, helps frame my photographs. Please go take a look.
Cheers

Earth Hour

2008-03-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

8pm - March 29th

Mark it on the calender, put it in your phone diary
On March 29th at 8 o'clock
turn off all your lights!!!
This is
Earth Hour

"On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking
48,000 cars off the road for a year.

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement"
From the Earth Hour website.

If you've ever felt like doing something about climate change, or even felt like you're a speck on the problem, then this event is for you. And this year its not only going national including all major cities, its going global with many cities already signed up. If your interested, go register and have a look at the website. And if you didn't hit play above, I encourage you to watch as its quite inspiring.

Grand Opening...

2008-02-24T14:39:00.001-08:00

Presenting...

our new on-line store.....

carlyandleia.etsy.com

For people who haven't heard me preaching the word of Etsy, it is a wonderful on-line store where only handmade, vintage (over 20 years old) and some supplies are sold. Think ebay but with handmade. And it is huge, gaining more and more followers, continually featuring in articles relating to the on-line shopping movement and the huge craft/handmade movement that is occurring globally. There is everything from art, quilting, jewellery, clothing, skincare, the list is endless. It is American based, so all prices are listed in US, but our dollar is pretty strong so only a few dollars different. Most people use paypal for purchasing. It also acts as a learning tool for selling your art/craft, and they encourage mentoring from the more successful sellers. Your shop cost nothing, and each listing is only 20c for 4 months, including all images etc. They do take 3.5% of the selling price. Pretty good deal really.

Carly and I have long been followers, and thought it would be ideal to try and sell some of the works from our recent exhibition. We also plan, depending on the success, to continue making our fabric panels, but try to expand and make new products. At the moment we have 9 items listed and will continue to add more each week.

I thought I would also begin featuring some really talented people from Etsy here weekly. I'm starting today with a store called Kezzaroo, whose tagline is 'taking over the world one felt person at a time'. I made my 2nd etsy purchase from her, when I saw this little felt guy.

I thought this would be perfect for Jon, who is a huge Anchorman fan, and wasn't just another figurine type movie memorabilia, that he already has lots of. Kerrie, who makes them, was wonderful to deal with. She had actually ran out, very close to xmas, and quickly got to sewing me another one. It came in the mail, very quickly from Scotland, with a little badge featuring a photo of her 'Princess Leia' felt plush. She said when she saw my name she had to give it to me. There was also a cute note and an extra little badge and business card promoting a friends site.
She does other weird and wackie felt people... a few other crafts do..

Axel Rose, Mr T and and Paul from KISS
(featured in her store at the moment)

I guess unlike ebay, people on Etsy are selling their art and therefore aren't out to 'make a buck' moreso make a living from something they enjoy doing. I hope when you are all there visiting our site (he he), you take a moment to have a look around...

I've been tagged!

2008-02-21T02:35:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged by Karen, my sissy in law.
Here goes...
A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog

10 years ago: Think I was working at McDonalds in Bendigo after 'deferring' uni. Jon and I started living together.

5 Things on my to-do-list today:
Be warned - I'm having a deliberately lazy day...
1. sleep in - done
2. take forever to drink my coffee - done
3. get house tidy for drinks tonight
4. try to get some listings in Carly and my Etsy shop (to be announced)
5. get some photos up-loaded on project 365 blog.

What I would do if I was suddenly a billionaire:
Employ a full-time chef and housekeeping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Buy myself at least two houses - Torquay and Illuka one would need to be a farm or few acres, maybe a inner city Melbourne apartment.
Buy all family members a house or pay off their mortgage.
Buy myself and all my family and friends hybrid cars (sorry if they're gutless)
Buy a vineyard and the cellar door would double as my photography gallery.
Set myself up with an awesome camera and fully deck myself out for digital printing.
Start fulfilling all my overseas goals.
.....list could go on forever.........

Three of my bad habits:
1.drinking too much caffeine via coffee and coke
2.not exercising
3.not being tidy

Three places I have lived:
Geelong
Bendigo
Barham

5 jobs that I have had:
McDonalds - check out
Safeway - check out
Waitress
Video Clerk
Cellar door assistant

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I collect vintage tea cups and saucers.
2. I absolutely love David Attenborough nature docos - think he may be directly responsible for my passion for animals and nature, how could he not inspire with his own passion?? I have recently acquired his box dvd set - 'The Life Collection' - which features all his nature documentaries - 20 dvds, over 40 hours worth and if I could only watch one thing for the rest of my life - it would be this!
3. I wish I had an opportunity to dress up as Princess Leia from Star Wars when she has the bun hair-do and white draping gown, and I'd have the have the blaster in hand too.... maybe at my 30th...??..
4. I have on layby at work a 5 litre port barrel. Jon constantly asks 'Why does anyone need 5 litres of port'.. my reply 'Why not?'.....hey. it could be a 20 litre one...
5. Like karen - I also harbour feelings to be a singing and dancer....

I tag -Nikki, Dean, and Jan
although these 3 don't really use their blogs for person stuff, but think a little 'Meet the Author' wouldn't hurt...

big day out.. not just a clever pun..

2008-02-14T00:45:00.001-08:00

Thought I'd tell you all how awesome Big Day Out was. My goodness! Although its a big year with weddings, babies and 30th's, this would surely be a highlight of my year, and I would assume show up in my 08' review. The day didn't start well, I'll get the whining out of the way, parking took longer than expected. Hate the new venue, all dirt and concrete, no grandstands to kick back in.
Luckily there was good music and good company! My good friend Karyn and I hung out most of the day, with her good friend Shae. And must admit, felt like I was 19 again. Specially with the line-up including Regurgitatoir, Grinspoon and Silverchair. Felt like the 90's. They were all fantastic, Daniel johns is such a funny bugger, in a bizarre, eccentric kind of way. Gurge' didn't disappoint with many oldies, as with Grinners'. Faker were also great.
But the absolute standouts were Rage and Bjork without a doubt. She made the day for me. I have loved her for so long, it was surreal to see her in the flesh. Words can't really describe the sensation. Seeing your idol of over 10 years, someone who continually amazes you with their talent. I know not everyone appreciates her musical stylings, but for me, it was magical. And then Rage Against the Machine came on. You have to love some angry, politically charged music. On one hand you have John Butler and on the other you have Rage! Both Bjork and Rage had comments regarding our former Prime Minister, Rage even applauded us for getting rid of him. Funny that a band from the other side of the globe is so aware of our government. Anyway, they rocked out! Zach hardly stood still and the crowd followed. Only disappointing thing was when they stopped playing, walked off, until the dickheads sitting on top on the bar roof got down, helped that they had a few thousand people booing them!
All in all a great day, think I'm getting too old and with sucky venue it may be my last year..??.. maybe A Day On the Green is more my speed...
So I have some visuals to share, so enjoy...

Dirty feet everywhere...

Harri Kirchner food...perfect for vegetarian... doesn't look real good though

We believe that the Sombrero should be outlawed from BDO. Great for the wearer, sucks for everyone around them...

crowds, crowds...

..as the sunsets, Bjork plays..

Hard to see, but this is white confetti being shot into the sky for her last song, not just one bang, it keeps going so the sky is filled with white...

...And....
One of my new favourite things is magnet sheets that can be feed through printer. Going back to Christmas, I made these sets of magnets as part of my families present. Using 6 x 4" cut into the 6 squares. I have also done simple photos ones, quite effective really.

2007 Year In Review - Music, Movies, this and that..

2008-01-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

Not sure if its lame or interesting... but decided to do a look back over the year...

Standout Music:
~ John Butler Trio - Loved the new album 'Grand National', Better would be the standout track, what a motto for life!!! And even better was the gig I attended in Melbourne, at Festival Hall. He managed to make a real connection and moved me to make huge changes in my life.
~ Xavier Rudd - Coincidentally, the another gig I managed to get myself along too, but the new album 'White Moth' blew me away. Very intimate gig at Geelong and one of the best live music acts I've seen, specially as it was one bloke for most of the show.
~ Red Hot Chili Peppers - Another great gig teamed with a great album!! Open air gig, grassy hill , on a beautiful Melbourne evening at the Music Bowl and loving each and every song! Awesome all the way, still rockin' after all these years... nice to grow old with a band.
~ Angus and Julia Stone - The new love of my life. 'A Book Like this' was there first album and when I discovered them when Triple J featured it. Her hauntingly, high, quirky voice, teamed with his laid back, smokie voice makes for a album thats easy listening from start to finish.
~ Foo Fighters - New album 'Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace'. Still loving these guys after all these years. Standout tracks, 'Pretender' is awesome no matter how many times I've heard it, and 'Stranger Things Have Happened' is next pick.
Honourable Mentions -
~ Silverchair - 'Young Modern', these guys just get better and better.
~ Jose Gonzalez - Jon and I discovered him this year, easy listening, beautiful music. New album 'In Our Nature' ,made it all the more easy to access his music.
~ U.N.K.L.E - 'Burn my Shadow' in particular, but the album 'War Stories' was also great and look fwd to seeing them at Big Day Out.
~ Bjork - New album 'Volta' was another fine listen, always intriguing and again, looking fwd to BDO and my first live experience with an artist I've loved forever!!!

Standout Movies:
- in no particular order due to my viewing habits and range of genre this would be impossible
- 2007 being the year I first viewed them,
~ Pans Labyrinth - Dark and twisted, easily a standout
~ Little Miss Sunshine - twisted in the opposite way, Steve Carell at his best.
~ The Prestige - Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman make for a great movie.
~ An Inconvenient Truth - Such an important movie of our time. Made the issues of global warming understandable for the average person and put the issue in our faces, made us sit up and realise what we're doing to the planet.
~ Stranger Than Fiction - Wow.. Will Ferrell. Interesting and quirky.. and leads into the next fave movie..
~ Blades Of Glory - This was funny! And I really wasn't a fan of Will Ferrell so maybe I will give him a bit of credit....
~ Shut-up and Sing - Not a fan of the Dixie Chicks, but was interested this doco about such a rough point for them. Interesting to see how quickly the country music scene turned their backs of one of their own.
~ Sicko - When you see how bad the US health system is you'll never complain about Medicare again!
~ The Simpson's Movie - Surprisingly entertaining and hilarious.
~ Knocked Up - Laughed so much, I cried. Funniest movie of the year!
~ Superbad - Funny as. Newer and better American pie. (although all I could think was George Michael...)
~ Pirates 3 - Loved the final installment, loved Captain jack going mad, loved the darker elements, loved Elizabeth Swan as a captain with an Asian flair, loved Calypso, loved it!

Standout News/Event:
~ Rudd winning the election, finally Howard is gone and we can start moving in a new direction, where the environment is more of a priority.
~ Japanese whaling again, what, do they think there like cows or something...???... Humpbacks were on the brink of extinction 40 years ago when whaling was legal... 40 years is not that long ago.

Standout Personal events:
~ Common Threads project - Opened up my creativity to a new level... can more confidently call myself an artists... big thanks to my good friend Carly for motivating and inspiring me.
~ Wardrobe Re-fashion - Started a personal movement towards living a more conscious existence.
~ Moving to Ky/Working/Bain at daycare - Enjoying our new lives, in a great little town, enjoying working for great people and in a interesting industry of wine and tourism. Bain loving daycare and us as parents appreciating the many benefits.

My top 10 project 365 photographs:
This was an exciting and challenging project to take on and the personal growth as an artists is still occurring. Even simply learning more about my camera.

High Hopes For 2008:
~ Bain starting kinder - wow how the time goes.
~ Big Day Out - haven't been for a few years, very excited, hope I'm still up to it!
~ Felicity's Wedding - so happy for her and Glenn, what an exciting time, and me doing photos for them makes it even more special.
~ 30th Birthdays - bring on the year of party's - celebrate it people!!!

coming soon..

2008-01-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

new stuff coming soon...

countdown to exhibition

2007-11-11T14:13:00.001-08:00

Not long now until our exhibition. Won't be doing much with the blogs over next couple of weeks, except the Common Thread blog. So thought I better do a post while I wasn't so busy...

Start with sharing some examples of what will be happening with my work for the exhibition...
We decided to put all our images onto fabric pieces. Some of my photos will be straight transfers while others will be stylized and made into more design elements... such as...

Here's photos of foliage that have been stylized used my best buddy Photoshop. By isolating part of a photo you can create this stamp or 'brush' as there technically known. Its then stored and can be used over and over, different sizes and colours... perfect for creating different works from the one photos, as I plan to do.

Heres a little slide show of some bubbles Bain and I, plus Tala ( who LOVES chasing bubbles) , had fun with. Such simple pleasure...

blog action day

2007-10-15T03:12:00.001-07:00

I recently went to a John Butler Trio concert and came away changed. He planted a seed in my heart and mind that night which didn't come from his amazing music, it had reached me long ago, but the words he spoke when the guitar had stopped. Anyone who listens to John Butler's music or knows anything about him, would know that he is a true lover of our world, more in a take very little and give a lot sort of way, and is committed to many causes, the environment being a major priority for him.
At the concert he spoke about staying silent on issues and not coming forward, and that silence is just a bad as the negativeness and wrong doers in the world.
Hows does this relate to blog action day.???
I'm screaming out on the inside yet nothing is coming out of my mouth. I think most people who know me and spend time with me realise that I do fight for a cause.. to a certain extent... and I do care for the environment, I do try and get my point across.. but only if the issue arises first. I want to try and change that. I want to get people discussing these important issues and helping people to realise just how crucial issues like reducing our carbon emissions are. Blog Action Day is just the beginning for me.
So whats my contribution to this issue, on this day....
It is putting my views across in the hope that someone who hasn't really given these issues much thought, may think seriously, that people who aren't educated about these issues, get educated, and people who aren't doing anything to cut their carbon emissions, starts doing even the smallest things.
I think we all need to really get educated on the issues at hand, including myself. We need to understand whats happening to our planet, that our contribution to global warming isn't a hoax or a swindle, that it is science!! Al Gore's documentary 'An inconvenient truth' should be viewed by everyone, it should be viewed in schools. If you go down the path of believing the skeptics, than visit the WWF(World Wildlife Fund) link which has a lists of points that these skeptics make and scientific proof that crushes them all. The simple fact is that you don't even need to be a scientist to see that the planet is warming. I live in country Victoria and I know, as do many around me, that the winters are getting shorter, they are just not as cold and wet as they once were, we are in a record dought... which leads into the issue of whether it really is a drought or is this just the weather now... the summers are hotter and drier and longer!! And if we don't make serious attempts to change our ways, as individuals, as parents, as communities, as businesses, as Australians and as part of a global community, our children and their children will live with disastrous consequences too many too list. I think we are dealing with enough now, but it is only going to get worse is the temperature of the globe increases anymore. If you want to read specifically about this, the WWF commissioned a report by a former CSIRO climate scientist about a 3 degree increase in Australia and what affect this would have. If this doesn't scare you into acting, I'm not sure what will. But if you have children, consider it for them, consider what you're leaving behind.
So what can YOU do thats not tying yourself to a tree or handing over lots of money for a hyprid car; heres just a few...
- as your light bulbs blow replace it with a fluro globe...
- vote in the upcoming election for the party with the best environmental plan
- re-use your grey water... it reduces waste and pollution
- buy as many fruit and vegetables as you can that are grown locally, do you really want to eat an apple thats flown in from America not to mention the carbons given off form the plane, or one thats grown here in the country but a hard working Aussie farmer...
- use the microwave more...four minutes in the microwave uses 22g of CO2 as opposed to 385g for your oven
- only boil the amount of water you need to make your cuppa, not the whole jug
- don't print things onto paper that aren't absolutely necessary, it just creates more waste, uses unnecessary paper, just take a sec and read it on the screen...
- Pay that little bit extra on your electricity bill and chose green power...
- Eat less meat, even just one meat free meal a week. A plant-based diet generally requires less land, energy, and other resources. Crop-based food requires an average of 0.78 global hectares per ton of food, compared to 2.1 global hectares required to produce one ton of animal-based food.
- Don't buy products that have unnecessary packing, like double wrapped items, needed more energy to make the packaging and more waste. Eg, Lipton squeezable teabags, are in a little individual cover, then in the box and then in plastic, normal teabag have one less layer, tea leaves have even less packaging... Try to buy a unprocessed, unpackaged version where possible.
- Put another bin beside your normal one thats used for recyclables, research shows that households that use this method recycle significantly more than those who don't.

- Educate yourself... and others....

This issue can be overwhelming, but small steps - any steps - are the key, but the time to act is now, as time is running out. Maybe not for you or me, but for future generations, as cliched as that sounds, I want Bain to be able to have a more certain future....

blog action day

2007-10-10T23:05:00.000-07:00

Whats this? Click on the icon above for more info...
but essentially its about using your blog to promote all and any issues relating to our environment on October 15th. The idea is that there a millions of blogs and blog readers and it would surely make an impact if we all got together and spoke about such a crucial issue, on the same day!!! I will be using all 3 blogs, using photos on LIME and project 365 and an article on here, all linked up of course.
So stayed tuned for my posts and if you have a blog please think about joining in! It can be simple like using chemical free cleaners or how the drought is affecting you and what you're doing to change your water usage. Anything at all!!!

Need inspiring.. what this Madonna clip, from live earth...

oops.. i made a cushion cover...

2007-09-23T21:06:00.001-07:00

Cushion covers really should have been on my list of projects to do, as I've had the inserts for ages. Finally found the perfect material, something to blend in the wine coloured couches, the beige throws (not pictured, in the wash) and something that would brighten the while look up - upon Jon's request. So both of us thought this fabric was perfect (yes Jon approved of the pink) and it was cheap and is steady. I fell in love with the design, and think I'll have to go back for some more...

buzzy, busy, bees...

2007-09-14T06:10:00.001-07:00

We love honey here in the Martin house and anyone who knows my dad understands where I get it from. So as much as I hate a bee sting, I fully respect bees and let them go about their business, and encourage Bain to do and feel the same. We both had fun when i decided to photograph them on our tree. He was my spotter!

Up close its easy to see them collecting...

This little fella has been busy, look at the amount he has on it...

Couple of my projects completed..

2007-09-11T05:51:00.000-07:00

Here is the bag that I made!!! Its not perfect by any means, but it is very authentically hand made, home made, australian made, non-sweatshop labour made and I've used nearly all recycled materials - including the vintage ties. The exception is the cotton to sew it all together.. and the panel of material in the above photo, which I designed and printed myself!! And I forgot to photograph, before giving to my good friend karyn, was the patchwork on the bottom panel. Made up of little squares of the ties and brown cord.

This is on the other side panel

Little flower thingy...

Button clasp... yes recycled button...

Hard to see, but theres a little pocket inside...

This was a great project and I really enjoyed doing it. It was quite tricky and not at all easy, needed a lot of thought, and a little bit of un-picking here and there. I'm pretty sure Karyn liked it, loved the browns and was thrilled at the re-cycle factor.

The secret project, which was a picture of my niece Emmy. I used this pic of her

And turned her into a pretty fairy.

I then used it for her 1st birthday card and gave a copy to her mum.

and the birthday present...

2007-09-01T07:13:00.001-07:00

bain's 4th birthday at the zoo

2007-08-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

whats new pussycat..

2007-08-16T05:01:00.001-07:00

Not a lot happening, but a few bits and pieces.

Firstly, my friend Carly and I have a name and a blog for our upcoming exhibition/project... Common Thread although there isn't much on the blog right now, but should start to take off soon.

And I haven't resigned to Wardrobe Re-fashion. I decided that I was doing the main part... by re-cycling/refashioning etc. anyway, and just not keeping up with the blog side of it. I feel happy that I'm making better choices and that I am doing my part to help the main issues behind the Wardrobe Re-fashion concept. I have purchased some new clothes since ending my pledge but I will be keeping this minimal and try to buy from companies that are clearly against sweat shop labour.

I have other projects on the go and feel by sharing them here, some of them actually may get finished... that - and Jon refuses to allow anything else to happen until these are completed. Here are the big 5 on my hitlist, in no particular order..
#1.. my table

Picked this character up from a garage sale... ages ago... and loved it at first sight. It needs some careful sanding, to get it nice and smooth so that I can just wax it, leave it quite plain looking.
#2... re-cycled, handmade bag for a friends b'day

I'm using some old 'vintage' ties, which have been unpicked, and I will use the fabric to do a sort-of patchwork look. Its very vague sounding but when I post pics of the final product it'll all make sense.
#3... wedding album

Need to compose a virtual wedding album, that my friend will then print up and it will become an actual wedding album. It involves lots of montages and ordering so that the album tells the story of the day.
#4... catalogue of my work
Sort-of like a folio, but differently composed... I want to print up a catalogue of my photographs. This can then be used to show people my works, for example, if I was to approach a cafe or a business that would like to have some prints up, to not only sell but decorate their business. They could look at the catalogue and choose ones that suited their business and decor. I guess its a step towards selling my work.
#5... secret project... can't be revealed just yet due to certain people that frequent my blog. This one has a real finish date to it, which is Thursday next week.

And one more thing to share, that I'm VERY excited about...I have ordered business cards!! I have had that question 'Do you have a card' a few times and found a great on-line company called MOO that allow you to get a pack of 100 cards that can have a different photo on the back of each one. It such a good deal, even thought they're coming in from the UK. They also make your photos/designs into little stickers, so of course, I have ordered them too. And yes you all can have a card and sticker, if you're good!

bain's bike ride

2007-07-30T00:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a little home movie that Jon did of Bain riding his bike. Bit cute, bit fun.. Stayed tuned for more.. Jons getting as bit carried away (thanks Dean).

me.. an artist..??..

2007-07-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

*Warning: Long post below...sorry...

My friend Carly, who is currently doing honours in printmaking, asked me a while ago if I would like to apply to collaborate with her for an exhibition in Bendigo. I said yeah sure and didn't really think much of it. Well that is til about 2 weeks ago when she emailed through the proposal for me to check, and added that she had left it til last minute (which I was exactly the same at uni) so it needed to be in TODAY. I also needed to add my artist CV (i did one at uni like 4 -5 years ago and thats it!) and a few of my works. Long story short.. and a weeks or so of waiting... we finally found out that we had been chosen.
The overall project is called 'Test Match' and will be run in Allan's Walk - Artist Run Space during November. Basically, there were four spots and we were chosen for one. Why 'Test Match'?, well it involves two artist, one being based in bendigo/central vic..Carly.. and inviting another artist.. being me.. to collaborate on works during a seven day period. We get $1000 as our fee, plus promotional material, a writer and photographer to document the 7 days. Its quite exciting and nerve racking all at the same time. Its all explained a lot better on the Allans Walk Website. Thought I'd also share the pics that I submitted with our proposals.

So what will we be doing? The vague idea revolves around rural woman and their domestic environment. The photos above are a perfect example. We will also explore being an artist in a rural community, and the divide between fine art and domestic art (like quilting, knitting, scrap booking, various craft etc). Firstly, we will start up a blog dedicated to the project, once we have a name. The blog will be used to up-load our works, being photos and prints which document our daily lives and environment, then use each others works to create new works. All of which will explore two rural woman's domestic spaces, which are both quite different. Me being a housewife, who works, has a child and hasn't really explored art since finishing uni, until recently starting my blog/on-line galleries. And Carly living in a share house, doing her honours at uni, working, and being involved in the art community and continually developing her career through various exhibitions. These collaborations will be pushed further during the Test Match, resulting in an installation piece.

Its quite exciting and I'm looking forward to it all, although the fact I haven't done anything like this since uni, makes me rather nervous. So stayed tuned for a link to our blog.

Another re-fashion..

2007-07-11T21:17:00.001-07:00

Above is my latest project for Wardrobe Re-fashion.- boring brown top into something a little more me.
I designed the little motif and printed it onto computer t-shirt transfer paper. The white material was also recycled from another ill-fitting top, and then I added some free-sewing to create the little foliage bits.
The green pants above were the homemade ones I showed a while ago, but I dripped a little bleach onto the them near the knee. I appliqued a flower from the black/white material over the stain.. thats a wardrobe re-fashion trick!! I have a few other projects on the go, hopefully I can share them with you soon.
Your probably wondering what the little graphic is about below... its from the wardrobe re-fashion site and its very similar to your Monopoly board game 'get out of jail free' card. This can be used when you have a special do or a fantastic sale where you just have to break the rules of your pledge. You only get to use it once!
Jan(step-mum) and I were shopping just before Clinton's(bro) big 30th birthday party and I was a little disappointed about what I had to wear. Jan decided to buy me a new dress that she absolutely loved ( and so did I). She insisted that she would buy it for me, therefore I wasn't breaking any rules. But I decided to fess up, hence the card.

My 2 month pledge will be up at the end of the month but I actually think I will sign up again, but for longer, perhaps the 4 month. Although I have done a few things, I have so many re-fashioning ideas and really enjoy the blog community involved. There are some very creative people out there. But we'll see...
Cheers

i've returned...

2007-07-03T23:51:00.001-07:00

Spent a week away, and I've been finding it hard to settle back into routine. I've been sick for a few days so that hasn't helped. I did catch up with my family while away and wanted to share a couple of my fave pics.

The main reason we were away, it was my brothers 30th birthday... seen here with a little montage of Bain having a great time. This has been borrowed from my project 365, which also suffered while I was away...

attack of the robots...

2007-06-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

Our good friend and awesome animator Dean, 'mocked' (he's term not mine...) up this little robot using one of my photos. I think its great. We were looking at work using a similar idea and I'm really happy he could look at my pics and see an idea like this. Although he's a busy man, I can't wait to see more of these and have given him full permission to use any of my images. See more of Deans work on his blog.

My first Refashion..

2007-06-17T20:57:00.001-07:00

I was asked to update, and seeings as I'll be away for a week, I'm here. Thought I show off my first re-fashioned item... a hat that I got for 25c and added a couple of little skulls to it.

Not the biggest sewing achievement, but I have been working a lot more than usual. So thats my excuse. Below is a couple of items that I completed before starting my pledge. Some of you would have seen the skull motif, here it is on the hoodie. Also, my 2nd pair of 'lounge' pants.

Thought I would also add "Jon (my hubby) as a Southpark character" for those of you who know him.Try it yourself, its a lot of fun.

I need your help

2007-06-05T01:07:00.000-07:00

Hi to anyone reading.
I need your help...
I need some ideas for my Project 365 (a photo everyday). I need some suggestions for a mini-challenge theme. It will last for a week, well Monday to Friday, so it'll be 5 images. Any ideas will be appreciated.

Wardrobe Refashion

2007-05-30T23:17:00.000-07:00

Its official!
Well I actually start tomorrow..June 1, but I singed up as a guest writer for the Wardrobe Refashion website and did my little intro. Go have a look, its quite interesting. There's girls starting in my group from all over Australia, all over the US like New York, Philadelphia, as well as from England, Japan and New Zealand, to name a few....

Its not too late to sign up, open til the 10th

Dali Lama touring..

2007-05-28T00:45:00.001-07:00

I'm very excited, I'll be going to one of the free talks by the Dali Lama, when he's in Australia next month. I'll of course be blogging it afterwards but couldn't resist adding this pic which is featured on the official website.

Sunday Fun

2007-05-28T00:22:00.001-07:00

Here's some photos taken on the weekend. I don't think there will be many more days like this, out in the sun on the grass. There's a few more pics on LIME

Bain decided he might like to have a go taking photos, I think he has potential...perhaps a 3rd generation photographer in the making...

Count down...

2007-05-21T04:29:00.000-07:00

As another day ends I will begin the 10 day count down til I start Wardrobe Refashion. I cannot but any new clothes for two months. Needless to say I bought something new today, although this is a rare occasion anyway, but I have also made my first pair of 'lounge' pants. Yes, I have sewn! As I'm not really a trackie pants person, when I saw a few of these on the Refashion website, I thought they were great. Haven't found any good fabric to re-cycle so I had to buy some, although the black and white trim is fabric from the op-shop/thrift shop. I didn't use a pattern either, so I must have some sewing knowledge.

And I love them.. can't wait to make more.

Here's a pic of my cat who can always suss out a warm spot to sleep.

T-Shirt designs

2007-05-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

My partner and I have been making our own printed shirts. While he's gone for more funny/movie quote/character T's, I've been designing little motifs. We've been using computer transfer paper.

This one went on a hoodie jumper and the buddha, below, went on a long sleeve t, which I grabbed from the Op Shop. It leads me into another project I'm going to start, called ReFashion. You have to pledge that for a period of time, like 2 months, 4, or 6, you won't buy any new clothes. You have to either recycle.. like from an Op Shop or old clothes, or make your own. Its to do with sweat shops and anti-consumerism, but more on that in another post.

I also like the idea of using my photographs, like of the buddha statue, in my T designs. I'd really like to screen print as well, but this is fun enough for the moment. I can't imagine either of us buying T's like this now.

Yes another one...

2007-05-07T04:04:00.000-07:00

I'm finding that I'd like to have a blog for other stuff. I want LIME photo graphics to be more about photos, therefore more simple and project 365 is its own anyway. This can be used for other un-related stuff. This had come about as I wouldn't mind posting other things I'm doing. Maybe its too much, we'll see...