Yummy Food

Just some of my fave, crave, raves…

Doodling Along

I have little to say, but that is because my brain is doing a whole lotta thinking.


Here are some of my journal doodlings…

And here is something I am going to further develop. Not sure what I'll ultimately do with it though…

Yummy Food

What are you reading?
Mansfield Park — Jane Austen


Who totally rocks?
Countess of Abbingdon (aka Lara Croft)


What do you wish to watch?
The House of Elliot (British TV series)

Ideas on the Brew

Today's sketch book doodlings — 3 ideas:

1. a doll
2. bed spread and pillow
3. hipster pants

Finding My Way

I have added a piece of work to the Red Bubble online shop. It is called Heart Beat of the City and is available as:

• greeting card
• matted print
• laminated print
• mounted print
• canvas print
• framed print
• poster

The past few days I have been on a creative timeout. The artistic juices have not been flowing and I was getting confused. Let's just say the inner doubting voice was having too much sway.

It helps though, to sit down with a friend, drink a cup of tea, and talk about it. Which is precisely what I did this morning. After some encouraging words and advice, I returned home to find my creative drive starting to reboot itself.

My ideas are starting to flow again and I don't feel quite so lost. Thank you Ann Marie!

What am I reading?

Dracula — Bram Stoker.

What have I borrowed from the library?

Stupid Sock Creatures — John Murphy

The Mary Frances Sewing Book — Jane Eayre Fryer

Sock and Glove — Miyako Kanamori

Wee Wonderfuls — Hillary Lang

Creative Flatline

Dibble Dabble

I am dabbling with lots of different things at the moment. I am illustrating, reading, listening to music, reading blogs, crocheting. What else?
I recently finished reading Northanger Abbey, and am now half way through Cold Comfort Farm.
Tonight I began a food crochet project — making cookies.

The first cookie

Whoops! Look at the time. I gotta go and drink my tea before it gets cold.

A Rosy Blur

This afternoon I doodled in Photoshop with the below illustration. Then I added different motion blur effects, just to watch what happens. There are some Dr Who like effects happening, I think.

Victorian Dream House

The Girl Was Bored

Happy Valentines Day

I Just Love…

… the smell of a new book in the morning.

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, and I was rather compelled to visit a bookshop. After having watched The Jane Austen Book Club last week, I was intent on reading Northanger Abbey.


I stepped into Dymocks and headed straight for the Classics. Luckily I found one copy of Northanger Abbey, and (bless my stars) Cold Comfort Farm.


Cold Comfort Farm was written by Stella Gibbons, and first published in 1932. It was only quite recently that I heard about Cold Comfort Farm. First learning that it was a film, then even better news — it was a film based on a book.


So here's to broadening my horizons.


What are you reading? Or, intending to read?

Sunday Writing

I was at a loose end, and wanted to get the brain moving. So I tried my hand at ten minute creative writing…

As the door opened, the thick atmosphere of the shop was flooded with fresh air and filtered light from the outside arcade.

Two women stepped through the old archway, and into the ancient shop.

Each silently assessed their surroundings, not wanting to speak for fear of breaking the magic that had once smelt so strongly of childhood.

The shop had once been their home — on days off from school and holidays. This shop was sanctuary from teachers, bullies and the sometime upsets of growing up.

Elsie, the first to step through the door, tapped her sister’s shoulder and pointed to a dressmaker’s mannequin. “Do you remember?”

Vera graced the floor and stood in front of the mannequin. “It’s like it was just yesterday. Grandma would let us dress her up with scrap fabrics, feathers and buttons. Anything that she had on hand.”

Elsie touched an old label at the neck of the mannequin; on which faded words could be just made out — Tallulah. Elsie smiled, “I remember naming her.”

Vera’s eyes shot around the dimly lit shop, “There was another. I’m sure of it.”

Elsie nodded and glanced around the shop, also trying to find the mannequin. “Didn’t you name her Olive?”

Vera headed toward the back of the shop toward another closed door. “She may be back here.”

To be continued… Maybe.

Who Wouldn't Want This Kitchen?

“It's Complicated” is a fantastic film — funny, well acted story. With quaint settings you'd simply yearn for — such as this kitchen.

Inspiration Friday

Can you guess today's inspiration theme?

Valentine in the City

Get This Into You

Happy-happy! Joy-joy! Yesterday I received the two crochet books that I had ordered. I look forward to selecting my first crochet food project.

Also I managed to finish making the felty sandwich for Gwen. The pattern for this project is provided by Myrtle & Eunice, which you can check out by following this link — You Must Be Starving. This is such a fun and easy project. I would even recommend it to the novice sewer. The end result looks so delicious, that you will want to go and make yourself a real salad sandwich to sink your teeth into.

My Creative Space...

The past week has been filled with some crafty endeavors. Including making a paper butterfly, love heart badges, and a felt sandwich.

Love Hearts

Paper butterfly

Felt sandwich — Work in progress

Giving recognition where it is due, the following inspired the above mentioned sparks of creativity:

• The ever inspirational Melissa Goodsell showed how easy it is working with Sculpey and cookie cutters with her blog entry — http://melissagoodsell.typepad.com/day_to_day/2011/02/hip-hip-hooray-for-valentines-day-2.html
• Tania (Myrtle and Eunice) was also kind enough to share her felty sandwich tutorial with her adoring fans. So I have been, ever so loosely, following her instructions on making this sandwich. Once completed it will go with my daughter's tea set. Follow this link to reach the tutorial — http://www.myrtleandeunice.com/2009/11/you-must-be-starving-tutorial.html

What am I reading?
Handmade Nation by Faythe Levine & Cortney Heimerl


What am I browsing through?
Meet Me At Mikes by Pip Lincolne
Sew La Tea Do by Pip Lincolne


What am I excitedly anticipating?
Tasty Crochet by  Rose Langlitz
Yummi ‘Gurumi by Christian Hayden & Mariarosa Sala


What am I crazy about?
Roller skating (I have just watched Whip It. Twice!)
Pineapples
Pancakes with lemon juice and sugar


Check out other wonderful creative spaces over at Kootoyoo — http://www.kootoyoo.com/2011/02/my-creative-space-3.html

Inspiration Friday

Today's inspiration is quite a mixed bag:

• Pink
• Red
• Red shoes
• Cherries
• Blossoms
• Pecan pie
• Rockabilly
• Roller skates
• Cupcakes
• Diner waitress
• Rocksteady

What does this visual theme say about me? Girlie, with a slight taste of cheekiness. I suppose though that would describe anyone. Everyone has a different side to themselves.

What inspires you this week?

It's All About YOU

Sometimes you wonder about the beauty and care products that you buy at the shop. Is that cream really doing it's job? Or is it responsible for my skin drying out even further? Perhaps you've notice how a cream which claims to be all natural seems to list an incredible number of unnatural ingredients? How can that be? What are the side effects to those unnatural ingredients? And, is there an honest to goodness alternative?

A friend of mine, Ann Marie, is championing a new line of body care products simply known as YOU Body Care.  The YOU line of body care has resulted from years of research and experience. The creator of YOU Body Care has been dedicated in creating a product that is perfectly natural and healthy. In a nutshell, YOU Body Care guarantee to have:

• NO petrochemicals
• NO Parabens
• NO SLS
• NOT tested on animals

Check out the YOU Body Care website: www.youbodycare.com

Share the care: If you know anyone interested in making the switch to natural body products, please share the love and encourage them to visit the YOU Body Care website. 

Inspiration

It's a slow day, even a slow week for inspiration. Maybe it's the weather (not good with serious heat). Perhaps it's just… Gosh! I just don't know.


So I have been swinging by other blogging crafters and artists hoping to find that flash. You know what flash I'm talking about. Not the flasher sort. But more of a Flash Gordon (think of the 1980 De Laurentiis film) spark. But nothing is happening.


However buoyed on by Kellie over at 74 Lime Lane, I remember a display at my local library. It is of a collection of artist's books.


Do you know what an artist's book is? These are limited run books made with much more of a handmade approach than commercially produced books. These books will be filled with artistic works. The books themselves are regarded as a work of art.


If you run a Google search on artist's books you will find hundreds of varied examples of this very thing. Below are a few examples that I found interesting.

Artist: Noriko Ambe

Artist: Bruce Petty

Artist: Pamela Moore

Artist: Maryanne Riker

Artist: Barbara Thomas

Artist: Judith Hoffman

Artist: Samantha Huang

Artist: David Lusk

Artist: Keith Valentine

Artist: Claire Van Vliet

Artist: Sarah Christianson

Days Like This…

Just Dance