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

sharing my favourites...

well, i thought it was about time to "get back to my roots" and share with you all five of my all time favourite WOOD MOUNTED rubber stamps. these stamps are glorious to use on hand-made greeting cards for your family and friends. i have stamped them up for you to see, just using black ink on paper so you get to see the true images and then i have popped them in a list below with quick links directly to them online so you can jump right in and order yourself some. happy shopping ( and stamping !!! )

1. "Change" Quote Wood Mounted Rubber Stamp tim holtz

2.  "Every Step" Rubber Art Stamp paperbag studios

3.  "Dress Up" Rubber Art Stamp paperbag studios

4.  "Robin Script Heart" Christine Adolph Collection  stampington and co.

5.  "Buttons & Lace"  stampington and co.

if anyone decides to try any of these stamps on your projects, please send me and e-mail and let me know. i would love to feature some of the cards that have incorporated the use of my favourite stamps in a future blog post. thank you x

"mood board" fun

as i previously mentioned, i am currently taking an online course entitled "blogging your way" through decor8. one of the projects was for us (as bloggers) to make a mood board to illustrate the "feel" we would like to display on our blogs. i have incorporated some square photos i took in my own garden, one of my soldered pendants, a greeting card from my latest collection, some of my mini business cards which have my collage images on them, my favourite necklace from an amazing fellow aussie cat hammill and some magazine shots of home decor which i love. i must say, this was a fun project and i am really happy with the visual appeal of the project...what a fun way to spend the morning.

now back to the washing line !!

short and sweet

my first photgraphy post !!!

hello everyone...i am super-excited to share with you just ONE of the 254 shots i have taken this afternoon in my garden and at home. i am currently taking an online course entitled "blogging your way" led by the amazing holly becker and from decor8 and the delightful leslie shewring from a creative mint. leslie has offered us some photo editing tips and i have spent the afternoon playing....once all of the housework was done (obviously). don't you just love slow cookers, having dinner cooking away whilst i get creative is such a godsend....anyway i am off to pack my bags again - this time off to music camp with my daughter and her schoolfriends, should be a fun-filled, jam-packed week :)
i hope you like my beautiful camelia flowers as much as i do x

upmarket update

WELL...........upmarket was indeed inspirational.
but my camera did not make it out of my bag.............arrrrgh.

 i was so into enjoying the moment, snaffling up beautiful homemade wares, eating yummy food, drinking great coffee, chatting with a good friend and checking out stall set-ups for when i hopefully get my own space there.  you can check out the great upmarket website to see the goodies or just take my word for it.....upmarket rocks. xxx

• i am now lusting after the entire new pastel range from

          eucalypt homewares

i especially like the way all of the pastel colour combinations work together and when you FEEL these pieces that have a lovely matt exterior which is so beautifully tactile. a great contrast to their shing, smooth inside surface.

• i need to live in the little design horse shop 

everthing here is a treat for the eyes......i must admit that i own one of the amazing lamps and am suggesting to my family that i may need another one for christmas !

• i was inspired by the presentation of the jewellery from 

white square

• i totally loved the katy jane designs stand
• i purchased a beautiful hand-felted piece from the amazing pauline franklyn
• i loved the beautiful owls at the mokoh stall
• i have added a handcrafted print from beau est mien

 please check out the links to all of  these sites....

i promise you will not be dissapointed x

studio makeover

don't you just LOVE looking at other peoples studio's. i know i do.
so, i have decided to share a couple of (not very well lit ) photos of my studio this week before i get new desks/shelves/pin up boards happening.

i won't be getting it all done at once but every little bit will help in the organisation of it all. it must be the virgo in me........i seriously need to whip this room into order !!!

road trip...........

well tomorrow morning i am off on a road trip. taking myself to the people. hahahaha.
i am heading to the fantabulous perth upmarket........checking out stall set up ideas and soaking up lots of creative vibes. see you all next week with some "snapshots" x

it's official !!!

 here are the images of my fantabulous new business cards and mini cards from moo . they are definately as cool as i thought they would be. each card has MY artwork and collage work on the front and my details on the back....they make me feel very happy (i am doing a little "happy dance" as we speak)

i have been handing them out with reckless abandon for the past three days and finally got the time to take some shots to post here on my blog. if you purchase one of my pieces at the upcoming walpole or denmark summer markets you can score one to keep :) or just ask me for one and i promise i will let you take one home.....

busyness and business

...........this morning i awoke feeling a little overwhelmed about how i was going to fit everything in this week. i planned a day catching up on studio work before heading of to "paid work" for the next two days. then i got a phone called saying "help", can you please come into work today !!! so i dropped everthing and off i went...........on the way to work i dropped into the post office and GUESS what was waiting there ????
my new business and mini cards and THEY ARE AWESOME. they are from moo and they rock. i will post some photos of them in the next couple of days (my daughter has pinched my camera tonight) i love the quality of them and the colours are awesome. thank you to some of my  "flying lessons" classmates who shared their resources so willingly during the recent e-course i took part in with kelly rae roberts
can't wait to show you all..........overwhelm be gone.

take one collage .........

after finishing work on my august collage series i scanned all of my work and had a play with the scanned images. i created some great collage sheets of my own for putting into glass slides, then i got out my trusty soldering iron and my "lead-free" solder and made these beautiful slides for necklaces for my new august pastel range. check them out !

august has never looked so good.

inspiration at home

it is TRUE that inspiration for art can be drawn from anywhere. this is a shot i took outside my studio window a few months ago when there was a fire in the distance. combine this with a beautiful sunset and there you have it.....such stillness and beauty at home - a moment of tranquility amongst our busy days.