hello ... long overdue blog post ♥

hello to all of my blog friends out there.

it has been far too long since i blogged here and for that i sincerely apologise.

so much has happened over the past couple of months my head is spinning.....and therefore you are in for a seriously LONG blog post. lots of "show and tell" to get through !!!

ready...

• one....Balingup Small Farm Field Day market stall
• two....prioritising one's health 
• three....Denmark Art Markets on the Easter Weekend
• four....Walpole Market with the Peaceful Bay Beanie Co.
• five...Easter with friends and family at home
• six....enjoying being a Mum to my teenage boys while they are home from school/uni.
• seven....soldering art charms for orders
• eight....Basketball Road Trip to Perth
• nine....making more greeting cards for "le papier"
• ten....countdown to our Bali break
• eleven....painting "Flora Style" in studio
• twelve....family time, via skype:) and a splash of paint
• thirteen....my baby girl has Bieber Fever!!
• fourteen....road trip on Mothers Day (taking myself to the children !!!)
• fifteen....packing my holiday bags and squeeze in a bit of painting
• sixteen....my lucky number...off to Bali now......
• seventeen....home sweet home full of inspiration (and dexter dvd's)
• eighteen....painting overload and joint exhibition??...whoop whoop!!

had enough yet ????? 

don't worry...i will try not to RAMBLE...

ONE

i headed off to the Balingup Small Farm Field Day feeling very unwell, but decided to push myself to honour the commitments i have made to myself as part of my new creative business journey. a dear friend from Walpole accompanied me and without her i probably would have "pulled the pin". what seemed like a big weekend became far easier to deal with once i was surrounded by good friends and lots of support. fun was had setting up the gazebo for my stall on Friday night using the headlights of my car to see !! there were some fantastic exhibitors from the great garden sculptures, the french bakery, local artisians to the children's toys and gifts on Saturday and I met up with the lovely ladies from Henry and Hope with whom i shared some great conversation. it was sooo great to connect with MORE like -minded creative people.....topped off by an amazing steak and chips at the local pub on Saturday night for dinner and my friend sharing the long drive home...the weekend was all good. a great kick start to the market stall success i am hoping for.

TWO

so, i have mentioned that since blogging last i have been unwell. everything has caught up with me. my iron levels have bottomed out, i have had Ross River Virus and i have been struggling with "letting go" of my beautiful teenage sons as they venture from home and into the big wide world. it has been very hard to remain positive when at times i have not even had the energy to get out of bed in the morning. but with the help of my husband, my doctor and a very supportive group of family and friends i have tried to remain positive. i kept reminding myself that so many people in the world have much bigger issues to deal with on a daily basis. i told myself to be kind to myself and gently accept that i would have to pace myself through the tasks in front of me and that rather than not honour the commitments i had made to my business, myself and my children, i needed to move forward....but SLOWLY.

THREE

it was with great trepidation that i took part in the Denmark Art Markets. once again i was accompanied by a very close friend who helped me set up and hung out with me for moral support. this market draws a huge crowd and i was nervous about "exposing myself" to a wider audience. i am SO GLAD that i did. all the questions i had lurking in my mind like "will anyone buy my goods?" " will people like the products i am selling?" etc. etc. were silenced when i was surrounded with support for my wares and lots of positive feedback 

(oh, and lots of sales too!!) JOY......was found.

FOUR

the very next day i had a stall at the Walpole Easter Market with my gorgeous friend Jo from the Peaceful bay Beanie Co. spending this day chatting and hanging out with her made me realise just how much i have missed her since she moved from Nornalup to now reside close to the "big city" lights of Perth. 

i miss you Jo xo

FIVE

 at the end of those two busy days on the Easter weekend i was so very grateful to come home to family and friends who were staying with us for the holiday. 10 adults and 6 kids hung out over the weekend and our home was filled with laughter, good food, music, great coffee, possums, wine and sharing of stories :) thank you universe for the best family and friends a girl could ask for.

our home where we hung out together at Easter time :)

SIX

having my two boys home over the holiday break was a "warm and fuzzy" time for me. my boys give the best hugs, make a mean basil and tomato bruschetta and never cease to amaze me. their constant laughter, love for each other and devotion to their "little sister" is such a joy.

 truly special times xo

SEVEN

soldering art charms is so much fun, especially with my NEW soldering iron. my lovely husband has made me a stand for my tweezers so that now when i solder on the jump rings to complete the necklaces i can work alone.....i am really not sure if this was to help me or ensure he gets out of having to juggle tiny jump rings in his big man hands whilst i repeatedly say " it's not in the middle...you moved it again...can you help me with the jump rings today ????" 

what do you think.....helping me out or helping himself ??? 

i say the latter...what a patient man he has been !!!!

EIGHT

i accompanied my youngest son as his team manager for a weekend Basketball trip/competition in Perth. it was SO MUCH FUN. i was Mum to a whole gaggle of teens and they were a constant source of entertainment. they played well. they slept well. they sang on the bus trip and they enjoyed having each other to hang out with. so blessed to spend the weekend with some amazing kids and adults..thanks guys.

NINE

greeting card overload. after almost selling out at the recent markets it was time to print, stick, ink, tape and package greeting cards to bring my stock levels back up. take a peek at the photo below that shows some of the studio chaos during this time....

TEN

organising kids itineraries, travel documents, food shopping, medical needs, travel insurance, changing money, sun screen, ear plugs, digging to the back of the cupboard for the swimming togs, getting someone to cover my netball coaching role and tidying up the house in readiness for a holiday "break away" with my husband and four great friends to Bali soon....counting down the sleeps.

ELEVEN

because my head has been so full of business and obligations lately i decided to take a slice of "creative time out". i have just made a few backgrounds ready to layer up all "flora" style once i am home from my holiday...i cranked up the stereo and got messy...yay.

TWELVE

our family has finally discovered skype. what a revolution. now when we chat to the boys (one at boarding school for year eleven and twelve and one away at university) we can see their smiling faces...makes it easier to handle; seeing them smiling :)

i also managed to splash just a little more paint on canvas as i walked past them in the studio each day.

you smile=i smile

THIRTEEN

it's official. my 12 year old daughter has BIEBER FEVER. she is off on a 5 hour road trip with two of her besties and one dedicated mum to his concert in Perth.

purple jeans. check. justin bieber t-shirt. check. pre-teen innocence. check.

please don't change too much :)

FOURTEEN

i awoke on Mothers Day to no children. for the first time in 18 years. one guy 5 hours away at university. one guy 1.5 hours away playing football. on girl recovering (5 hours away) from her first music concert - the Bieberfest!!!

decided to take myself to the closest child. in the car and off we go to the football. i need a hug from at least one of them...it was the best hug i have had in a long time and he played a fantastic game of football that day!! i also enjoyed long distance phone conversations and laughter with them all.

i am learning that being a great Mum can mean letting go. 

allowing your children as young adults to find their own voice. 

i have given them two gifts in this lifetime, the first is roots and the second is wings.

FIFTEEN

everything is packed for our holiday...

i will just add a little bit of paint to that canvas as i pass the studio.....there, that feels GOOD. 

SIXTEEN

my favourite number.

on a plane to Bali. 7 days of banana pancakes, beautiful locals, massages poolside, sharing with friends, temples, cocktails, nasi goreng, coastal road trips, sunsets, markets, beach walks, pool bars, bartering, scooters, day spa indulgence at 

prana spa 

i ♥ bali

SEVENTEEN

home sweet home and full of inspiration. so much culture, ritual, colour on the island of bali. below are some photos i share with you from our trip...

 EIGHTEEN

so, since i have been home from holidays i have encountered an inspiration overload.

the colours, textures and sights of bali have definitely fed my creative soul. below are some examples of the layers i have been building up on my canvases this week. i am going to stop for a while and look at them before i add the next layer...i wonder what mystery awaits. i am looking forward to getting out the paint for the next layer already !!! i must learn to be patient.....with time comes a little more perspective. i suppose that could be said about many things hey. life. painting. love. friendship. growth.

i hope you enjoy these images. stay tuned to see how they evolve ...

and finally...i am looking at taking part in my very first joint exhibition in October...details to follow soon xo

i know i felt more than a tad overwhelmed over the last couple of months, but i have also began to see things a little clearer over this past week of "slow down" time and reflected on the lessons i have learnt over this time.....

• trust your inner voice.
• know your limits.
• spend time with those you love.
• eat well.
• immerse youself in goodness.
• let yourself be scared.
• embrace positive thoughts.
• bake cakes.
• set those you love free.
• be yourself.
• dream big.
• trust.
• eat chocolate chip biscuts and banana pancakes.
• listen.
• be grateful.

love from leanne ♥

bad blogger ...

hi all
i am sorry i have been such a bad blogger.
i have been quite unwell for a few weeks, then jumped on a plane to bali and just got back home yesterday.
i promise i will be blogging again by the end of the weekend.
stay tuned xo

off to balingup ... "le papier" market stall

hi all

i have just finished packing up the car to head to the 

Balingup Small Farm Field Day with my "le papier" stall. 

i am super excited about this one as it will be a big day out and i am taking a friend along with me to share the experience. i also have other friends from the Peaceful Bay Beanie Co. exhibiting there so it will be awesome to catch up with them. we are all staying together in a little cottage on the outskirts of town....can't wait.

i have posted some photos that show you some of the new art charms i made this week in their groovy packaging. i have been using the scraps of collage/scrapbooking papers left over from card making, collage and scrappin' to make up these little packages to put my art charms in ready for sale, then running them through my little mini sewing machine with a nice piece of contrasting paper to add a little contrast.

i am looking forward to telling you all about it upon my return. 

then begins the countdown the the great BIG 

Denmark Art's Easter Market 

on Saturday 23rd April 2011.....yippee.

"bloom true" with flora bowley ...

ok, so it has taken me a week or so to come down from the natural high i was on after attending the recent "bloom true" intuitive painting adventure in the Dwellingup bush camp know as Nanga Brook. this workshop was led by the one and only flora bowley from Portland, Oregon in the US. i suggest you pop over to her website to check out her bio. and inspiring work at www.florasbowley.com 

flora is a well known artist who has been painting for 16 years and has only recently started teaching classes....what can i say except that i am pretty darn sure she has found her "true" calling. it was such a gift getting to spend three glorious days under her gentle guidance (both in painting and simple yoga practice) and a complete bonus getting to spend time with her and the other 8 ladies in attendance. i managed to make some great new friends who, like me, are driven by creativity.  a special thanks needs to go out to the amazing donna from "donna heart" who invited flora to australia and facilitated this workshop. she is one woman who truly believes in the power of "ask and you shall receive"..... 

sue, flora, jayne, me, dixie, michelle, sarmarie, debbi and donna
pictured with flora's two completed works...we actually all match !!

in flora's workshop she encourages her students to let go of expectations and accept that there are no mistakes! nice one hey. her philosophy is very much focused on the "process" instead of the final product ... sooooo liberating. what could be better than listening to some groovy music and just gettin' messy with the paint right !!! ABSOLUTELY. she encourages us to build up colour value and volume by working in layers on our canvases, letting each layer dry off before adding another. i have posted below one of my paintings showing how the work evolved over the three days. looking back it this now i realise how much i learnt from my three days in "the bush" and from the wonderful flora - 

have i already mentioned how serene yet funky this amazing american chickie was? 

ok, enough with the ranting, i think you get the picture ;)

the four stages of "wonder"

and here is a picture of the finished piece i created entitled "wonder" 

(as shown smaller above)

wonder

and here are some amazing pictures taken during our workshop showing just how awesome the setting was and how many different ideas came from the power of just "going with the flow" and letting ourselves spill out onto the canvas by exploring with colour, volume and pattern ...

sarmarie

michelle

sue

donna

me :)

debbi

dixie

jayne

flora

as you can see, it was a truly awesome weekend...

i am so very grateful for all that we shared...

truly inspirational...

thank you to the amazing flora bowley and her generous spirit...

and to the fabulous and fantastic "nanga 8" - as we now call ourselves - you rock xo

cards, cards and more cards ...

hi all.
i have had a fantastic weekend getting the production line happening and creating another 90 cards ready for the three markets i am attending in april (see post dated 27th Feb. 2011 for details of these markets) ... i had so much fun printing/sticking, labelling and packaging. most of the designs are the "old favourites" but i have created three new designs using my camelia photographs taken back last year when i was doing the blogging your way online class with the amazing holly becker and lesley shewring (see post dated 1st Oct. 2010)

i have taken these photos and hand stamped a couple of beautiful images/words over them to create some pretty sweet looking cards ... let's hope the customers like them as much as i do !! let me know what you think ... 

necklace heaven ...

well ... i have been really busy soldering away. 

over the last 10 days i have managed to pump out several new designs for my art charms that i will be selling at the markets in Denmark, Walpole and Balingup between now 

and the end of April. 

i have made the charms in three different sizes 

(1" square, 1.5" square and 1" wide x 3" long) 

so there should be something to suit everyone !!! 

1" square art charms

all of the art charms feature scanned images of my original collage work and in fact some of them even have tiny little original collages going on inside them ... 

the inspiration just kept coming.

 if anyone would like to order an art charm please 
feel free to e-mail me. 

the 1" square are $14 each, 

the 1.5" square are $18 each 

the 1" x 3" are $18 each  

(you can identify them by telling me where they are located 

on the grid pictured)

yummy new rubber stamps ...

recently, i was lucky enough to buy some new supplies from the delightful girls over at Destination Art ... 

i have been soooooo inspired by the latest range of rubber stamps and matching die cuts from Paper Artsy 

and guess what ?? 

the Destination Art team stock their goodies. 

so, i decided to treat myself.

this is the stamp set i purchased is from their "hot picks" range HP1004EZ. 

i decided to use the beautiful birdcage stamp with the co-ordinating die cut shown below.

once i had cut the birdcage out using the metal die in my cuttlebug machine, i inked the stamp up with stazon black ink (so that i could colour the birdcages to suit the cards i was making). as you will see below by the three samples i have posted, they turned out a treat ! i have stamped up several more and hope to have a lovely range of "birdcage" cards in a whole rainbow of colours soon.....

coincidence or something more ???

so, i was reading a very inspiring blog post the other week posted by the one and only kelly rae roberts and was feeling very envious of the amazing artistic community in and around portland in the united states. i serioulsy felt like i wanted to jump on a plane and get me some of that artistic goodness....clearly delusional.

so then, i met up with a friend this week that i had first met 7 years ago at a workshop here in Western Australia. she and i live a long way apart and met through a mutual friend. i really warmed to her when i met her all those years ago and was so thrilled to re-connect with her of late. i have watched her and several other amazinly talented artists from the sidelines for 6 years whilst we ran a business and nurtured our children towards adolesence. i met up with her again last september and we pledged to keep in touch. over coffee 4 days ago she handed me some info. on a workshop that she had just enrolled in and that she thought i might be intersted in. GET OUT OF HERE ... it was the "bloom true" workshop being run by the very talented flora bowley, the exact same artist, from Portland, who's very workshop experience i was drooling over on kelly rae's blog post. AND the local (West Australian) point of contact for registrations is the amazing donna jensen who i met online during kelly rae's "flying lessons" e-course which i participated in last year. donna lives in Western Australia too and she posted encouraging words on my blog when i was first starting out, which really meant alot to me...

everything is just falling into place.

• i get to meet donna in the flesh ... (instead of just through cyber space) 
• i get to hang out with the amazing, warm and friendly debbi baker
• i get to paint with flora bowley ... stop it !!! you should seriously check out her website !

it just goes to show; that if we find the time to trust in letting go and believe in ourselves just a little bit, if we make the step to re-connect with those creative soul mates we have out there and if we take the time to assess where we are headed on our own personal journey ... good things happen.
i can't wait to share some photos with you in late march once i have completed the workshop !

art prints

last saturday i had my first market stall at the walpole markets in my home town. at that market i launched for sale my art prints (which i love). over the last few months i have had endured a steep learning curve in respect to archival quality ink and paper, formatting prints ready for printing and getting the colours "just right".
i must admit i wanted to "pinch myself" to see if they were real once i saw them all packaged up and looking so professional!! i have posted some images below as a "snapshot" of some prints i currently have available.

dress up

dress up 3

desire trio

the lighthouse

i am so looking forward to walpole and denmark eater 2011 markets !!!
thank you to all of my friends, family and new customers who have proved to be such a huge support over the past few months whilst i have been playing around trying to get them ready for sale...your input has been invaluable xo

my first market stall !!!

YAY...le papier has finally made it onto the market scene in 2011.

i had my first stall on saturday and it was SO MUCH FUN.

I received so much positive feedback, handed out lots of business cards, practiced setting up my stall and sold some goodies in the meantime (bonus).

cards, magnets, pendants and more ...



i just love the energy that comes with being part of the market scene.

catching up with locals is always fun and chatting with the visitors to our wonderful community in such a relaxed environment amongst the trees is always a treat. it was also so humbling to have other local stall holders come and check out my stall and make me feel so very welcome.

art prints ...

seeing all of my art on sale gave me a great "warm fuzzy" feeling. 
the colours, packaging and stall display turned out exactly as i hoped and it was such a fantastic experience. my family helped set up the gazebo and hang up some of my original collages which saved me heaps of set up time : thanks family, you rock xo

display ideas for my market stall...

hello all. i am so very sorry that it has been a month since my last post. we have had a few hiccups here over the last three weeks but i am finally back in business....YAY !
now : i really need your help. I would love some feedback.
i am starting to package my soldered necklaces ready for sale at next years' summer markets. i have packaged some up today and set up some display ideas. continuing with the le papier theme i decided to incorporate some old books into the display by attaching the glass necklace slides to them so that people can peek at the different styles.
here are some photos i took today....

• what do you think?
• do you like the way this is displayed?
• do you have any ideas about how i could display them differently?

i thought of running a "string line" across my stall to peg the slides onto but feel they may be lost just floating around in the open.

i would love some feedback.

please post your comment and let me know what you think.

THANK YOU :)

embellished garden tin

 open the door on this beautiful painted and decorated tin and have a

sneek peek at what can be found inside...

 i had SO MUCH fun lining and decorating this garden themed tin and was really inspired by the verse i pasted inside about a bird and her baby.....as spring is upon us i thought i would take this opportunity to share these pictures with you. i started out by painting the tin in a lovely garden green and sanding it back to give it that "worn vintage" style.

then the real fun began.

i especially loved finding papers and embellishments to pop inside each of the

12 little screw top round tins....JOY. 

i love spring...

dreams really do come true ...

i am writing this post as i have had an incredibly frustrating couple of weeks trying to get my computer and internet problems sorted out as well as being ill with a nasty cold. i am sorry that i have no new goodies to show you, but i thought i would share these photos that i took in my back yard a little while ago. i have a dear friend who shared with me a dream she had a few years ago about me living on a block of land in the country and having my own peacocks...i excitedly explained to her that whilst we were busy renovating our home on 20 acres, alas, there were to be no peacocks. with the busy schedule my family has to attend to for work/sport/study commitments unfortunately having pets would not currently be an option. SO imagine my surprise one fine morning when i glanced out the window of my home to find this beautiful creature wandering around my yard. it JUST TURNED UP on my doorstep...literally! i thought i was seeing things, especially after my friend's dream. it turns out that this darling belonged to a neighbour who lives over a kilometre away and we soon got her settled back home. but not before some moments of amazement and disbelief on my behalf....

it suppose it just goes to show - dreams really do come true !!

x

remember paper doll dresses ?

remember those great "paper dolls" we used to have that had the cute clothes with the little tabs we just tucked over the shoulders of the dolls to give them a new look....i just LOVED them when i was little !!!
well, they were the source of the inspiration behind my latest set of four collage works entiltled "dress up".
i have posted a picture of one of the completed collages below and i have to say i had lots of fun creating them. whilst i was working away my mind kept drifting back to the days when play time was seemingly endless ..... aaaah, those were the days ...

i have a little secret to tell you about how these collages were created; if you take a peek at one of my previous posts entitled rainy tuesday you will see that i have used the "august pastel collage" pieces as the base for the "dress up" series. i just love the fact that i have scanned and used the original pastel collages for my art prints/pendants and cards and now i can take them to a whole new level by creating a second series over the top of the original work. transforming the original pastels into these cute dresses was a real treat, i was so absorbed whilst playing with the delicate pastel colours and especially enjoyed incorporating the old sewing pattern paper. i just LOVE getting my hands dirty.
what do you think about this concept? let me know if you like them........x

camelia colour story

i have been having so much fun with editing my photos in photoshop and with picnik online that i have decided to share with you today some of my beautiful pink themed shots.

thank you so very much to the lovely leslie shewring over at the blogging your way e-course for sharing her photo editing tips and secrets, she truly is such a gem x

i hope you enjoy these shots as much as i do. i just love the romantic feel that they convey.
i am doing "little happy dances" right now at how pretty they look on my blog !
have a fantastic weekend x