Painting Art & Screen Printing Party

 This Painting and Printing Party was an experiment, however I must say I am very impressed with how it turned out.  We had a lovely time, and accomplished some art to be proud of with a story to tell.

As a starting point for the large canvasses I made two mood boards. One featured current pastels and the other focused on Fall and Winter colours for 2013. 

Whilst the paintings were collaborations from everyone present, there were two art works in particular that became our main inspiration:

one by Jen Ramos and another by Ali McNabney-Stevens.

Mood Board for one of the paintings
2013 Colours

In addition to the paintings, we made some beautiful prints as well. 

Tahli of Tahli Shepherd Design created two designs

 for a screen that I had professionally made for the night.

There was lots to do....

so while some were working on the paintings, 

others got started on their screen printing.

 To stick to the mood boards 

I mixed up a pastel coral colour.

It looked lovely on the linen tea towels. 

The mood boards ended up being a bigger influence than I originally thought, however it all seemed to come together just fine.

 I love to get influence from anywhere that makes me take a second look,

like this shop window around the corner from my house.

It is a lovely mix of colours and a great example of what I was thinking of.

A culmination of 11 efforts from the night.

"Pastel Influenced"
(size 150 x 75 cm)

"2013 Colour"
(Size 120 x 90 cm)

The tea towel print was a big hit too.

Perhaps some early Mother's Day gifts.

Terrariums are back

Terrariums are back.....

 and are more expensive than I ever imagined they would be?

I recently walked by the florist at the back of Myer in the City.  The amazing terrariums caught my eye so I went to see how much they were.

$300-$450 each!  

What?

I could buy flowers for a year with that!!!

So I started to search my house for things I could use to make my own.

I managed to make one for only $10!

This was my Easter display last year.

  I bought moss to surround my orchid,

 then I added this cute little Bambi from the kids toy farm.

Unfortunately,

 I have no idea where the Bambi is now

 since I think the kids reclaimed for their farm, and then lost it again.

 But I still have the moss,

even though it has suffered some serious neglect since last Easter.

I have been advised that it can bounce back with proper care?

So I will give it a go.

Fortunately I remembered I had this huge, glass, hurricane type candle vase.

I also found these lovely grey stones the kids and I collected on a recent camping trip to Cape Paterson.  I used them to fill in space

 since I didn't really want to see the dirt.

 All I needed now was a proper terrarium style plant.

I went to an amazing Florist up on Brunswick street

called Flowers Vasette

http://flowersvasette.com.au

They seemed to have everything there,

 so I told them what I was making and they showed my some options.

I chose the vibrant yellow green plant to contrast well with my now...

 brown moss.

The plant cost me 

$10

Now what else can I add????

In my bathroom some magic has been happening.

I always pick branches from my Fica tree in the front yard

and put them in vases of water with fake tulips.

(more about that another time)

But I recently noticed the branches have been growing their own roots.

The same thing happened with some succulents I had in mini vases.

Awesome...

2 more Free plants!

So I decided to plant them in my new

terrarium as an experiment.

So far so good.
It is actually growing in there.
I see some new leaves!!

 I still can't find the little Bambi, which would have looked so cute.

Instead I found these little red mushrooms in my kitchen junk draw.

I have no idea where they came from,

perhaps a cupcake or something?

 I will use them to add a touch of colour and fun to the end result.

So now

 for only $10

I have a lovely new terrarium to enjoy until they go out of fashion again.

;-)

 This one looks great in my bathroom

Oh yeah,

the lid didn't come with the vase,

 but the store where I got the vase closed last year

 and they were giving away bits and pieces they couldn't sell.

This lid was part of something else that must have broken, so I took it home hoping I could use it for something....

so glad I did now because it will be easier to keep this terrarium alive with a lid on top.

Neon String Wrapped Light

 I have seen lots of wrapped cord light fittings and thought I would give it a try with this lovely

 neon string.  I simply used double sided tape to hold the string in place.

 Works great...now where to hang it?

I just made this for a bit of fun, so I don't want to make it a permanent fixture.  I think hanging it over the corner of this mirror in my dressing room will work well for now.

Neon string .....
double sided tape....
endless possibilities.

Swing.... and Colour it Fun!

Every morning our family is in a rush to get out the door.

Half of the time I am the only one ready, 

and the other half the kids are the only ones ready.

I thought...

wouldn't it be great if I had a fun swing or something out the front

 to keep them occupied for just a few minutes,

 while I do all the last checks before leaving the house.

My little DIY shed had some pieces of wood I cut to size,

and I found a sturdy Cobalt blue wrapped wire I salvaged from one of our recent renovations.

At the time I really had no idea what I would do with it,

but it came in handy for making this little swing for the kids.

I taped up the wood to leave the edges exposed,

then spray painted it with a fluro pink/orange like colour.

SUCCESS!!! 

They Love It!!

 I get a few extra minutes in the morning

to double check I haven't forgotten anything.

The funny thing is, as I was making this I thought the colours were a bit odd for a swing, but somehow still worked together and felt modern.

It only took a minute to look around the house

 and see why I was so attracted

 to this beautiful colour combination of bright neons and blues,

 old and new.

New

Old

Far

Near

An old gift from the
OPRAH SHOW

 My work shop

Yes...
even these real vintage tags on my old suitcases...
have my favourite current colours!!
Go Qantas!!!

And without a doubt....
My favourite magazine's new cover even has this colour combo.
Love it!

Note:

I just met Pop and Scott today who run a workshop up in Northcote.

Pop & Scott make the most amazing swings that they sell through their website at Pop and Scott!!

http://popandscott.com/shop/

I am pretty sure I saw one of their swings somewhere and that is where I got the idea to make one for the kids.

Their workshop is so cool and casual and worth checking out it you love to make things!

They are also planning on doing classes to make their lovely swings here in Melbourne.