taa daa with sparkles!

So, it's been all go.. the last week of work, the gearing up to Christmas....

Last weekend the results of my styling for our Christmas giftguide came out in the Good Weekend magazine as you may have seen (if in Australia). I also put my first gif together (using layers in photoshop) to use on the ipad version of our magazine. I did actually weave real fairy lights carefully through each set up, but in the end the twinkles were created in photoshop (based on the photographed ones). I'm a sucker for colour coding and these setups were 'fun' to put together. I try to do a sort of mood board - but eventually all the items just need to be unpacked and assembled on the day. Working out the scale of objects next to each other can be tricky... i appear to also like things with faces...

RED from left: Kid O squirrel pull toy, $30, tigertribe.com.au. Pencil case, $25, outliving.com.au. Pencils (the Anime Art Fantasy Kit), $20, faber-castell.com.au. Slim pocket notebooks, $10 each, outliving.com.au. Gear4 “Angry Birds” speaker, $149, thegoodguys.com.au. Vase, $30, larkmade.com.au. Antonio rainbow bracelets, $129 each, top3.com.au. Cake stand, $39, emeraldandella.com.au. Gift seeds, $10 (bag not included), worldvision.com.au/gifts. Gymkhana book box, $13, larkmade.com.au. Treehorn Design chopping board, $50, stateofgreen.com.au. Pizza cutter, $10, myer.com.au. Areaware “Micro Cubebot”, $15, www.thelittlehomewarescompany.com.au. Lotus grill, $299, zimba.com.au. Maxwell & Williams bird vegie peeler, $13, myer.com.au. Acme Studios “Blobnik” eye case, $55, top3.com.au. Tea cosy owl, $30, and Curve teapot, $42, both t2tea.com. Hookey board with rings, $40, thesupercool.com. Guess “Magnum” watch, $259, (02) 8543 4665. Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals book, $50, penguin.com.au. Moroccan teapot $98, and glasses, $18 each, both t2tea.com. Snowman’s Baubles chocolates, $14, kokoblack.com. Belvedere vodka, $65, 1300 136 590.
Deer decoration, $80, papierdamour.com.au. Maxwell & Williams mouse cheese grater, $15, myer.com.au. Coral Teshvikiye Turkish towel, $60, larkmade.com.au.

PINK from top left: Snowflake, $20, rudolphs-christmasshop.com.au. Tea towel, $25, theminimalist.com.au. Step bookshelf, $199, zanui.com.au. Christmas tree, $10, typo.com.au. Finch ornaments, $25 for 24, outliving.com.au. Lady Gaga Fame fragrance set, $75, myer.com.au. Tala pie bird, $11, larkmade.com.au. Newbies wall planes, $30 for six, shop.until.com.au. Teacup baking mould, $20 for two, larkmade.com.au. Recipe box, $20, typo.com.au. Hook, $20 for three, thesupercool.com. “Wayfarer” bikini, $230, zimmermannwear.com. PeepToe “Miss Moonlight” shoes, $259, myer.com.au. Kate Spade wristlet, $160, papierdamour.com.au. Gosh Capaz styluses, $30 each, iworldonline.com.au. Veuve Clicquot NV sparkling rosé, $109 (with gift bag, left), vintagecellars.com.au. “Milly” sunglasses, $199, gormanshop.com.au. Finnish geometric sack, $40, thesupercool.com. Baubles, $2.50 for six, ikea.com.au. Vaio Duo 11 laptop, $1499, sony.com.au. Coco Chanel book, $130, papierdamour.com.au. Ceramic rollerskate doorstop, $180, papierdamour.com.au. Reusable coffee cup, $30, stateofgreen.com.au. Keyboard magnets, $15 for five, (03) 9793 2662. Cushion cover (flat), $50, thesupercool.com.

 blue from left: Clic and Go painting accessories, $5, faber-castell.com.au. Newbies wooden butterflies, $20 for three, shop.until.com.au. Alta Linea wine accessories box, $50, davidjones.com.au. Air Bag leather backpack, $225, mywalitqvb.com.au. Snoop “Lucky Boy Sunday” knitted toy, $65, hellopolly.com.au. Small sack, $44, theminimalist.com.au. Silver Christmas tree, $10, typo.com.au. Finch ornaments, $25 for 24, outliving.com.au. Evening Frame bag, $140, mywalitqvb.com.au. Newbies jewellery tree, $30, www.thelittlehomewarescompany.com.au. Flag necklace, $80, polli.com.au. iShower Bluetooth shower speaker, $150, iworldonline.com.au. Cube magnets, $35 for 12, thesupercool.com. Circular wooden ring, $30, polli.com.au. Noise-cancelling headphones, $249, flight001.com.au. Elk hat, $45, elk.net.au. Small storage box, $10, and gift tags, $7 for 10, typo.com.au. White vs Black cushion, $99, theminimalist.
com.au. “Julian” sunglasses, $339, isson.com.au. The Butler wooden organiser, $215, stateofgreen.com.au. Shakespeare pouch, $18, and jewellery roll, $36, both flight001.com.au. Nautica watch, $229, (02) 8543 4665. “Nutcracker candle, $20, stateofgreen.com.au. Diana Mini F+ camera, $150, lomography.com.au. Toy figures (part of beach villa set), $60, tigertribe.com.au. Hex iPhone cover, $49, flight001.com.au. Speck iGuy iPad holder, $50, iworldonline.com.au. iPad3, $498, apple.com.au. Edward shoes, $170, thehorse.com.au. Paintchip table runner, $25, thesupercool.com.

green from top left: Hot-air balloons, $65 for medium, $29 for small, thesupercool.com. Step bookshelf, $199, zanui.com.au. Metal hook, $20 for three, thesupercool.com. Large tree, $75, small tree, $20 for nine, outliving.com.au. Wood cuff, $132, manthelabel.com. Woodlands owl, $20 for eight, outliving.com.au. Neon iPad sleeve, $225, papierdamour.com.au. Melamine teapot thermos, $20, larkmade.com.au. Robot money box, $20, coolthings.
com.au. White-and-lime “Mars” necklace, $110, manthelabel.com. Paintchip placemat, $22, thesupercool.com. Storage box, $10 for small, typo.com.au. White-and-clear “3 Stars” necklace, $99, manthelabel.com. Gummy Bear night light, $45, thesupercool.com. Ikat cushion, $79, tabletonic.com.au. Woodlands rabbits, $20 for eight, outliving.com.au.  Crochet bowl, $120, theminimalist. com.au. Miss Shop neon hardcase clutch, $40, myer.com.au. Salad servers, $13, outliving.com.au. Space alien clock, $30, coolthings.com.au.  Tunisian cotton towel, $65, tabletonic.com.au. Arcade  pinball gaming dock for  iPad, $80, iworldonline.com.au.  iPad3, $498, apple.com.au. Kate Spade “Brightspot” bag, $290, papierdamour.com.au.  Kid O memory game, $70, tigertribe.com.au.

Photography copyright Geoff Boccalatte

Now back to the rearrangement of the entire house - complete with painting..

People in glass houses?

Last weekend I had a little craft punk at the Powerhouse museum.

It was a 2 hour workshop with Amy from petitie green - be sure to check out her amazing work here..

Amy explained everything we needed to know about creating our terrariums
(something i had been wanting to do for aaaaaaaaages!)

selecting our figures .... we made up our stories

 and placed our stones.

we prepared the soil...

we selected our plantings.. we positioned everything so carefully. we congratulated ourselves

we admired others

 THEN i didn't take a final photo

as i wanted the lighting to be 'just so'

THEN i packed it into a shoe box.

THEN i caught the bus.

THEN it fell off my seat.

THEN i was a little annoyed.

THEN i took all the pieces out and cleaned them.

It was an opportunity for a slight face lift.

THEN i took a photo with nice lighting, just so.

colour coded christmas..

Ahhh yes, as time marches on - there have been some festive crafts.

There was the hand carved deer stamp (using my very nice
Japanese rubber, which i have from last trip, although the white stuff works well too).

It was fun experimenting with various colours, and even
just a humble spot worked well. Then I scanned a black

print in and whipped up a jpeg to upload to vistaprint.

I used hand drawn type (on the computer using click + drag,
pen tool method). Voila! they came up rather nice. Using vistaprint
you basically just pay for upload + delivery - which makes having your
own designs very affordable. 

Then it was back to the carving...

and this time i pressed it into DAS air drying clay. I lightly sanded
them and tried out various colours and ribbons.. Although after all that -
simple is best me thinks..

Then there was the fimo moment.. I had purchased fimo 'effects'.

the white has a slight glitter, the yellow and green transparent.
perhaps you are meant to mix them? I didn't. I sliced off
bits of bead as i went since 'geos' are so right now - and let's face it, sometimes i like a trend..

I found a moment one night to thread them up.. and hello! colour pops.

Back to work..

After the fun times of last weekend away - and the not so extra 2.5 hrs it took to get home - it was back to work. This week was Christmas gift guide time! I had sourced product to style 4 shots.

There was a lot of stuff to unpack, style, and repack!

18 boxes full, in fact.

It'll be out in Good Weekend on Dec 8.

will show you how it turned out then...

Are you thinking "Christmas" yet?

Brisbane part 2...

After catching a British black comedy at the Brisbane film festival,
and waking up to a reviving Sunday morning yoga class in West End - we headed to Southbank..

(above) bit of urban art..

view looking back to Brisbane city from Southbank
(taken a couple of years ago)

view of State Library (taken a couple of years ago)

we had a quick wander around the State Library to catch a printmaking exhibition by Ron McBurnie

detail

detail

As seen while lunching at the Collector's cafe.

While GOMA are preparing for their next major exhibition I did discover - thanks to Shelbyville

the Artisan  gallery, which has a fab shop too.

But we were there to check out the Steampunk ...

I do love a few cogs and stuff..

2 and a half days in Brissy - a blur of funtimes...!

Brisbane part 1

Landing late Thursday night - i was ready to set out to see the Brisbane sights last Friday.

First on Shelbyville (my trusty tour guide's) list was the atmospheric Outerspace.

Perfect for brunch the converted church was a lovely space for a chat and the accompanying toddler.

The haloumi, avocado, beetroot salad set us up for the day..

We wandered around Fortitude Valley..

which was colourful and varied..

After walking around in 34 degree heat we collapsed

in Winn Lane for an iced apple + mint juice whilst admiring perhaps the worlds' smallest bookshop?

During my visit with Shelbyville i also discovered The Burrow,

would've been quite happy to be a local and try out the new beer garden..

But was content to check out the vibe and admire the cool interior - complete with blackboard art.

And try a local brew - best to keep up fluids - when in tropics.

Next morning.. it was under 8's cricket - to watch the nephew play.

There was clapping here.

The only bit i understood was how 'cool' it was when the mobile slushie

van turned up with ice ginger beer.

Duty done - sister and i headed off round the corner to Woolloongabba.. for brunch.

At this point there was a massive storm - but my phone cut out, so no incredible images
of black sky, lightening and tropical downpour. Just cute oasis where more haloumi + avocado was consumed.

When the storm stopped we headed to Woollongabba antique Centre

Quite liked this cat...

Could've started a collection with this jug...

Was tempted by these yellow beads - but thought the 3 looked perfect together..

There was something about these guys that appealed to me.. wasn't sure the rabbit

would fit in my case though..

OH! my Nan had this guy to store her flour in, I have the mini ones that match.

A toast rack - of course!

Really liked this pen holder - but had this thought: spend half my time getting rid of stuff, the other half - making and accumulating it. Sound familiar?

Then it was back to Bullimba... love this old church - recently renovated.

capsule wardrobe going well at this point...