It's a Boy!

On Tuesday evening my dear sister gave birth to a little boy. His name is Wil. The proud parents have taken him home today. I'm already loving being an Aunty! 

Congratulations Emma and Heath and welcome baby Wil.

Fruits of Eve Mini - sneak peek

I love mini versions of things ... soon Fruits of Eve will also have a mini version too!

A Flight of Butterflies

"Hoping to see the spring violets, I walked out into the fields. The wind had died down and I could hear nothing but the sound of bees. I began to make a poem in the warm sleepy atmosphere, when down the hill where dandelions were blooming came a group of girls.

One was dressed in dark violet; another in patterns of red, blue and yellow; still others wore white, black, brown, pink, navy or green. They were coloured as exquisitely as flowers in the field. They came closer and danced in a flock under a blossom.

As I drank another cup of sake, they came and said,'You are watching the flowers all alone! Do come where we are dancing. We thought we were the only ones who delight in the flowers of spring. We are pleased to know you enjoy them too....'"

Yesterday Nadine let me borrow a much cherished book of hers called "A Flight of Butterflies", one thousand kinds of butterflies by Kanzanka Sekka originally published in Japan 1904. Part of the preface by Yoshi Zo is quoted above. It's a beautiful facsimile of the original and is printed and bound in the original Japanese album style.

Within, every page is an oasis.....What scents of perfume waft up to colour the subtle senses?...What string is beginning to hum along its length into the distance? The symbol of the butterfly keeps lighting ever so gently upon my shoulder...let me not move too awkwardly, disturbing its fragile heart.

It's Raining! It's Pouring!

(side of the house, view from lounge room window)

(next door's backyard, view from my bedroom window)

"It's raining! It's pouring!
The old man is snoring.
He went to bed
and he bumped his head
and he didn't get up in the morning."

(Yikes! the poor old man.)

My sister and I used to sing this nursery rhyme when we were little.

It is definitely wet today! Lucky the house is on stilts.

Miniature Collection - three painting by Caroline Gaedechens

Patience...the Buddha said, "the reward for patience is patience"....and these gorgeous little paintings have been waiting for their frames very patiently indeed. After much sewing and selling of toys I had saved enough to take them to Peter, my framer, for the deluxe treatment.

These little miniature painting by Caroline Gaedechens are little jewels and like all jewels they should be lovingly protected in a special jewel box. That was the image I had in mind for framing these treasures. I'm not shy when it comes to the rich colours of black and gold and was more than happy to be extravagant when it came to incorporating them into the framing. While the photos above can't do them justice, Peter mentioned how every now and then a framer feels great reluctance to hand back the artwork...such it was on this occasion he confessed. I can't say I blame him either. I'm thrilled to sneak little glimpses into their world as I pass them through out the day.

Caroline has titled them: Little Soul, Princess and Little Bird of Paradise (from left to right). Little Bird of Paradise as a print is now available in her Etsy shop - I highly recommend her work to you.

(click on the images above for a closer look)

Craft Australia - new web address

A little shout out to Belinda J. at Craft Australia who reads my blog. Hello!! I've had some arts writing published in 716 on their site in the past. So it was very kind of Belinda to write to let me know Craft Australia has a new website address. I'm happy to pass it along and suggest you pop over and have a look and maybe even subscribe to their newsletter :-)

Craft....Australia...What could be better?!

Flying Star Toys in iMart Design Book

I was a bit of a star this week at the local post office.

When they gave me a package from my post box, recognising the cover, I opened it to showed them the book inside - a double page about Flying Star Toys in a Chinese design book! What a surprise to see their faces light up in admiration. Most of the exhibitions and publicity involving Flying Star Toys happens so remotely I don't think much about it. So it was nice to feel the excitement of the lovely ladies at Sandgate post office. To me, they're a part of it too, because they take care of my parcels at the beginning of their journey out into the world.

The book, put out by Affalog is almost entirely in Chinese so I couldn't read it. However, I liked the traditional stitched binding and enjoyed looking at the work of fellow toy and craft artists in this beautifully finished publication. It seems the craft design bug has really caught on in China too! With iMART being a big (going by the pictures in the book) craft design event and association in China.

What a treat to be a part of it!

Friends at the Bisbane Craft and Stitches Show

Yesterday Mum and I went to the Brisbane Craft and Stitches show which us gals in the family usually do together but with little sister due with her first baby in only two weeks she was staying off her feet :) This year the Living Creatively people have taken on the show and have injected a little modern craft style into the event. The incubator section was particularly good with lots of great stands featuring up and coming craft designers. Among them were a few friends and a new friend.

In the above picture you can see a slice of Ellie's stand of Red Seed Studio wares. Screen printed and sewn by hand, Ellie working together with her husband Sam, use only natural, organic, and reclaimed fabrics to create modern textiles, homewares, clothing and accessories.

Below is a picture of the delightful stand of new friend Christina of Old Yarns - reclaimed linens. You can read more about these beautiful vintage textiles on her blog The Bowerbird Stories. Christina has an obvious love of the fine hand and classic appeal of her collection of wonderful reclaimed vintage pieces.

Two friends at the show I unfortunately didn't get to chat to was Kelly of Peppermint magazine, who was busy selling subscriptions for her delightful girly, crafty and green magazine - sorry to have missed you! And also Thea of Thea and Sami - who had a gorgeous stand as well. I particularly like their screen printed fabric made into dresses. Thea was giving classes at the time - I hope she had a great show too.