Weekend wonderland

It has been a simply lovely weekend!

The week that has just past had its moments - both my fella and I went to funerals, some of my clients at work were quite sick. I felt that I was not getting enough sleep. We also had a house inspection so there was mad cleaning to be done. All we have to do is clean the fans though, so we passed the inspection with flying colours. But all told, there was too much going on in the week for me to take time to smell the roses (and coffee and freshly baked cakes...).

So for the weekend, we took it easy. Friends from down south came to visit. They are in a band, and had two gigs in Darwin. It has been a while since I've done anything out on the town, and seeing friends play some energetic live shows was great. It was also a joy to hang out and encourage each other. Plus, lots of swimming in the pool - there is nothing like a dip at 1 a.m. Check out what they are doing here http://www.skippinggirlvinegar.com/ They too have a thing for owls, much to my delight. My plan is to craft them a stuffie to arrive in owlie post this week.

I also enjoyed the local Saturday morning markets - a local busking, lots of organic bananas, hot laksa, tropical flowers such as these. My favourite snack would have to be a veggie samosa, thin pastry, hot potato and curry powder filling, a little bit of grease. Washed down with a fresh juice, perhaps mango, lime and honey. At this time of year, there are three local markets over two days. The famous local markets will start again in the next two weeks as the dry season hits. There is little better than sitting on Mindil beach eating a steamy dinner with friends as the sun sets over the ocean. Wow, Darwin is amazing!

Now it's off to church. Then SYTYCD and some sewing. I've found a great blog which has tips for fabric Easter eggs. http://www.retro-mama.blogspot.com/ This will be my project for tonight while cheering for some amazing dancers. The plan I have is to send off boxes of these eggs as substitutes for chocolate this week. It is perhaps a little too ambitious, but you never know.

Owlie, owlie, owlie, owl

Lots of sewing, lots of owls. I've just finished the third owl stuffie and am becoming more confident in my stuffie abilities. I love the character that their faces have, and that a very different owl can result from a combination of fabric prints and colours. Two of them are headed overseas. Another will find it's home in the Parkes's place (as mentioned previously). I'm contemplating making a few more, perhaps a gifties for siblings. I have a sister or two who may appreciate an owl for a stuffie.

What is it about owls that is so appealing? That they tend to be reclusive and evasive? That they command power and respect? They they feature in Harry Potter? Owls are generally loved by many craftsters and artists. They appear on many prints and fabric items. I have the most loveliest teeshirt with a wise owl on it, and I wear it with pride.

Collaging until my fingers stick together...

I have been under the pump creating two postcards tonight. Both of which were swaps and need to be sent today. Unfortunately there are late, but only just. I don't like sending things out late though...

The scope was to create two handmade, collage postcards that are okay to send envelop free in the mail. I find this is a challenge with collages due to their tacky nature and the tiny pieces. None the less, they may survive. I've also printed off a copy of each to have following just in case all the bits get caught in other mail and ruin the post.

My first swap recipient is a woman from the US who just happens to like owls! So thrilled by this. I have created another image similar to the blog header, although this owl is less bashful and more a dancing owl. His skinny little legs make him look like he could be taking off to a chicken dance. The background is from a catalogue of northern Australian aboriginal art. I've been contemplating putting the Rudd bonus towards some art. Thus I've been visiting a few galleries to get ideas of what art is available and what interests me. Art could be a good investment in these hard financial times...

The second postcard is more of a wistful girl. She is quite young, loving hearts and horses (I think all girls go through these phases). Her hair is quite chic though. I've not collaged people for a long time. When I was in year 10 at school I collaged a self-portrait but have not done one since. I feel collaging wistful, whimsical girls could become my newest favourite collage subject.

Enjoy the images. Get out the glue. Scatter minuscule pieces of paper all over the floor (if only I had a cleaner...). Put on a movie in the background. Collage, craft and create.

As I feared, it has not been easy to regularly update this random blog. I have not written an entry for the past month. Terrible!

So what has been inspiring me?

Inspiration has been solidly based around swaps. I've got a serious case of all things owlie at the moment, and have been creating stuffies. For the unindoctrinated (this was me just a few months ago), a stuffie is simple a toy made from fabric and filled with stuffing. They can be just about anything and are not just for children. I've been drafting patterns for owls and then creating them. I've used a variety of owl images to get me going, including the patterns from a handbag that is simply printed with black and white owls, images from magazines of people's owl collections (I must get me one of those), and anatomical drawings from the net. I was also send a cute, squishy owl in a swap from Queensland. It is green and polka dotty! It is lovely. Pictures and patterns will be displayed soon.

The first owl I made did not work at all. I think it can be transformed into a fish and salvaged (many thanks go to my hubbie for this tip - I was happy to throw it out). It was disappointing, but has a bright, oceanic future. The next owl was made with a caramel brown paisley fabric and is simply too lovely to give away. It was placed by my hubbie on our bed! It must be cute. He also has ideas that it will make a good plane pillow next time we fly. I just need to finish its wings so it can fly... After these two attempts, I have completed an owl to send and swap, and will put it in the mail tomorrow. Owl post headed for Germany. I have another owl stuffie to make to fulfill a swap obligation, and am yet to decide his colouring.

I've been looking at lots of our photos lately too, and have found inspiration from these. A local shop has cheap prints at the moment, and we have a few thousand photos to develop. Particularly, I've felt nostalgic about my holiday to France in 2007. The "I heart France" tee-shirt I'm wearing has also contributed! So I've created a Parisian postcard swap. Click on the icon to view details... Join up if you will.

I swap with Swap-bot!

My hubbie is away at the moment, and I've been doing lots of reading in his absence. I joined the library last weekend! It was so satisfying to be given my new card. I'm not sure why I waited for more than twelve months to join since moving to this area. I love libraries... The chaos of books shoved onto shelves by readers out of order, the anticipation of a good find, rediscovering favourite reads, not feeling guilty if I don't finish a book when it doesn't grab me. For February, the library had "surprise" romance books for borrowing. They were wrapped in heart gift wrapping and could be opened once borrowed. I chickened out in fear I would get a Mills & Boon. Maybe they will have them when I return the books on the weekend...

Postcards & a Tipple...

While watching the Australian Open tonight, I crafted two postcards. The idea behind the cards was to depict a cocktail and provide the recipe for it. I used two of my favourite drinks - a White Lady and a Chambord Blush - and combined them with a Sumo wrestling program.

Flapping Flamingos! Swap in action...

I'm currently co-ordinating a Swap-bot swap, where the intention is to create a flamingo themed postcard. My sister -in-law Laura has a thing for flamingos. Also my sister Suke has an enchanting cameo-style ring featuring a flamingo. Along with my current fancy for birds, it seamed logical to host a flamingo swap. Just follow the link by clicking on the icon below the image to view and participate. So far it is six swappers and counting! Hurrah! Happy days...

I swap with Swap-bot!

Peacocks and Postcards...

One swap I've recently been involved with has been "where art and mail collide". The idea is to create a postcard from recycled materials that is not just a created image, but art. The swap co-odinator is very keen on mail art and has established a number of groups around it as a consequence. My created image was inspired by some peacock themed bookmarks I've been crafting lately, and also the beautiful images of Florence Broadhurst's wallpaper. Peacocks are opulent and mysterious. And I love the idea of such large birds in trees!