more more and more paper

as i constantly mention,  i love colour and i love paper.
i recently acquired some wallpaper samples in the most amazing colours and designs.

they are the most fabulous papers that, although i want to use them in artwork, i can't bear to cut them up as they are so special and delicious.  is anyone else like that?

a little aside story .......

before i started selling my own cards i always had a huge stash of cards in an attractive box so i always had an appropriate card to hand for whenever i needed one.  my challenge with having this stash of cards was that when i needed to choose one i would question whether the recipient was worthy of the card.  seriously.  mostly i would say - no - i don't think they are worthy and that divine card would be sent back to the stash.   so, now that i am selling my cards and prints of my designs i get a lot of comments from people saying that they like to keep a stash of special cards so, like me, they always have cards to hand.  well i told a customer one day of my feelings that my recipients were often not worthy, and this person said they were exactly the same in parting with their card stash. yay.  i now mention it alot and guess what ......there are lots of card crazies out there that hate parting with their fantastic cards.  lots. love it.  although not good for business if you sell cards like me is it.


anyway, back to wallpaper ....... here is a selection of some of the samples i obtained from this most fantastic wallpaper outlet.

paper paper and more more paper

this may seem a bit odd to those that love art, craft and colour (as I do), but my first visit to a scrapbooking shop was just a year ago.

when i entered i had such an overwhelming feeling of bliss that i thought was going to hyperventilate.  it was the papers. the designs on the papers.  the colours on the papers. the papers. all i could think of was how long have these shops been around and why didn't i know about them sooner (still don't know the answers) it was a revelation to me.   i had been into paper shops that sold A4 sheets for invitations and those beautiful japanese papers, but never anything with such an array of colour and design.  I now am obsessed and have a stash of hundreds of sheets.

having such beautiful papers also causes a challenge when I go to use some in my art.  i worry that if i use up the sheet and can't replace it then what will i do as i so love every (well almost every) sheet.  i am the same with cards.  i go through my stash of cards in search of the right one for the right person, then ponder as to whether the intended recipient is worthy of the card.  Usually the answer is no, so the card is replaced and my stash of exceptional cards remains intact.  honestly, i can't believe i do that. i really must get over myself.

here are some that i bought recently.  the papers in the last photo below were from a stall at The Olive Tree Market, the lovely stallholder imports beautiful wrapping papers from india.  i don't think she had a card so i can't tell you who she is, but i will ask her for one at the next market and update this post with her details.

just remembered that i also recently bought a heap of wallpaper samples. amazing.  i will get them out and photograph them.  they are too stunning for words, and will cause a huge dilema for me when i go to use them. if i ever use them.

i won a floor rug .. a glorious floor rug ........ yippeee

i am very very very excited. 

i received an email today telling me that I won a floor rug in a facebook competition from The Rug Collection.  the most beautiful stylish rugs you have ever seen. the best part is that i can choose which one i want.  it's the best part, but also the hardest part as they are all so magnificent.  but i thing i have narrowed it down to the ones below - photos of which I have taken from their website.

 

Do you have a  favourite?? 

I think I am leaning towards the last one as it would hide the red wine spills better.

"knitting with dog hair" ... yes, yes, you did read correctly

i found this book in a second-hand store and had to grab it before some other pathetic dog obsessed person did.  it is just too funny isn't it? it is a serious book though - with actual patterns and advice. really.

don't you just love those tag lines .... 'stop vacuuming and start knitting'.  

i have a small problem though.  she has descriptions of the hair/fur of each dog breed and apparently my cross Ridgeback does not have a suitable coat for 'spinning'.  heart broken.   all is not lost though - perhaps i could pass my pooch's fur to other dog fur knitters, her advice to me is '....not suitable for spinning, but it would add a sprinkle of distinction to less courageous fibers'. that's my girl - distinctive.

gosh, it gets better. i just read the introduction - it starts .... 'when we began "knitting with dog hair" most people thought we were a few puppies short of a litter'.  hee hee.

wouldn't you love to meet Kendal Crolius and Anne Black Montgomery the two kooky people that thought this would be a great idea for a book?  i certainly would - i think they'd be my kind of people.

please feel free to contact me for information on the suitability of your dogs coat for spinning and knitting and i will consult the book for you. bliss.

introducing ....... WILLOW

for so long i have wanted to give my glorious girls names, but other more pressing items delayed that from happening.  finally i realised that i owe it to the gorgeous creatures to name them properly so i have asked my facebook friends for suggestions.  

so, without further ado i would like to introduce WILLOW .......

i'm back ..... bet you didn't even know I was gone ... hee he.

back from a wonderful holiday and finally over the jet lag. 

our travels took us to .......

amsterdam

ireland

malaysia

 

.... and a great time was had by all!

new glorious frames for my girls

last month i finally managed to track down some glorious frames to put my girls in.  the previous frames not only weren't gorgeous enough, i also could no longer access them.  so here are my new frames in all their glorious-ness at my last market.

.... love love love them.

when did needlepoint get so funky and fabulous??

can anyone tell me??  

just look at these cushions. i first saw these on the always fabulous Cafe Cartolina blog.  the very talented designer is Emily Peacock.  but it gets better .... she sells kits on etsy.

aren't they divine .... almost makes me want to attempt to try needlepoint again.  well, maybe not.  my first and last attempt was quite a disaster. plus it would be a big time commitment to complete one of these beauties. but i do do do love them.  Oh oh oh, just a thought, maybe she could design one that says BLISS... that would be - well, bliss!

inspiration - weekly??

my first attempt at doing a weekly post dedicated to something (inspiring short sharp quotes) has almost fallen by the way-side ... quick save tonight might just fix it ... hmm.

one of my favourite ever saying is below. an oldie, and definitely a greatie.  i think it is one of my favourite ever saying because i neglected the whispers in my head for far too long, then when i decided to finally listen to them i realised that life will give you what you want when you really want something.  i had a card with this saying on it on the wall in front of me for years, reminding me that it is never too late .... never.

i actually made this for a card to send to my nephew.  he ignored the whispers in his head for too long also.  he finally acted on them without initial success.  he knew what he wanted so persevered and pestered and fought and believed, until the door was opened for him, and now he is blooming and blossoming and just lovin every minute of his life. i told him that he is my absolute role model for perseverance.  it is no coincidence that he is doing so well in his chosen field because it is his passion and he was meant to be what he is becoming.   isn't life amazing?

quick & quirky quote

don't know about you, but i love an inspiring quote.  preferably quick and quirky.  something punchy and to the point.  a little lift for the spirit.  something to change the way you think.  

so i thought i would do a weekly spot of inspiration on my blog.... and here's the first one :

isn't that great????  i just love it.  Masahide was a 17th century Buddhist, which makes me love it even more.

want to share your favourite quote?

the most exciting news

a gorgeous customer that visited my stall at a recent market, has commissioned me to do two of my whimsical girly paintings of her very very pretty cherubic daughters. 

i am thrilled thrilled thrilled  ..... !

interestingly, the market i met her at was the worst for sales (and cold weather), that i have ever participated in and i was quite disappointed on the day.  yet it has turned out to be a great market for me financially; plus i have also now met this great girl and her gorgeous children and have been given this great opportunity.

isn't life great that you just never know what is going to happen tomorrow .... let's expect the best and who knows, it may just be delivered.  

What's the best thing that's happened to you this week?

boo hoo ... Lilly has left the building

throw the ball ... throw the ball .... come on... throw.the.ball ..... come onnnnnn .... 

we have been minding our doggy friend Lilly for awhile ....she's the black pooch - the brown one is our Finn Macool. 

Lil is a true multiple personality dog. at the park - full-on, leader of the pack, don't mess with me.  she walks in the door at home and is a submissive, please-please-please-cuddle-me kinda dog.  hilarious. 

i love dogs!

The Divine Miss Emily

i have the most dee-vine wee niece ever made.  glorious she is.  anyway she recently turned one so i made her a personalised bunting painting. here it is. i quite like it.

its layer upon layer upon layer (remember those sara lea ads, or is it only me that is so old??) of vintage and new papers, and paint that has been painted on, rolled on, stamped on and dripped on. 

layer 'pon layer 'pon layer ....

i thought it turned out so well i'd put the design up in my Blissful Bunting shop in case someone else would like one for their wee one.  you can see it here.

Bliss.

bouncing off the walls with cupcakes

yesterday i minded my friend's two young daughters for a few hours.  so we made cupcakes and easter cards and generally had a heap of fun whilst making lots and lots of mess.  it was great.  along with the mess were three dogs (mine and her two), trying to get a part of the action. hilarious.

i think the girls ate more icing than went onto the cupcakes and i thought for sure that by the time their mum arrived home, they would certainly be bouncing off  the walls from the food colouring and far far far too much sugar.  but they managed to keep it together.  i did suggest to them that when their mum walks through the door that they should start bouncing off the walls for a laugh, but we forgot to do it.  drat.

below is the outcome of far too much food colouring, but lots of fun and sprinkles!

they certainly don't match up to the bliss that is contained within Couture Cupcake Creations, but they were dee-licious! you really should look at the lovely Laura's creations, they are too amazing for words ..... and she won an award at the Royal Easter Show.  big yay to Laura.

woo hoo :: very very excited

i had a very very very exciting weekend, yes i did.

i sold my first print on-line.

woo-hoo.

it was a print of this gorgeous creature on made it.

totally chuffed with myself as i've only really just started selling on-line. i know it is a very small step, but lots of small steps will eventually turn into giant ones - won't they?  and you've got to start somewhere don't you now?  bliss

i also spent the weekend obsessing about leon russell, you know that sexy rock god from the late seventies (i know, i know i'm really old)?  he's touring australia next week for the byron bay blues festival and i have tickets to see him in sydney.  he no longer looks the rock god (believe me on that one), but i'm hoping he still sounds great.  he just released a cd with elton john called 'the union'.  love love love that album, think i played it about 20 times over the weekend and every listen it just got better. am even listening to it now.  obsessed.  my husband is a little over it.

Leon Live album.  www.leonrussellrecords.com

the drop in .....

yesterday an old work colleague drop in unannounced.  she isn't old. perhaps i should have said ex-work colleague.  she has just left the same company this week after ten years there.  i was there 7 years until last september.  

as a little side story here .... my husband grew up in ireland where people just walk in the door unannounced at any time of the day or night (they still do this to this day, i have witnessed it many many many times).  he thinks its great and he can't understand why i won't let him ever do that to people here unless they are irish.  not sure that i could cope living where people just called in unannounced on a daily basis, as i am just a tad vain and really don't want people to see me in my daggy clothes with my hair standing on end.  but that's just me. i suppose i don't want to feel the pressure to have to always look presentable in my own home, when i might feel like crap and just want to hang out in my old tracky daks.  although i am really glad that my friend dropped in, it was great to see her and i really enjoyed our chat.

anyway she asked me what i had been doing and so i told her about my new found love affair with art and showed her some prints of 'my girls'. if only i'd have known her reaction would have been priceless, i'd have filmed her.  she loved my girls and kept asking me if i'd 'really really painted these' - so i had to show her the originals.  too funny! then she berated me for spending so many years in my marketing job, when i should have been painting. so wonderful for my confidence.  bliss.

you know, it is little moments like that that propel you to the next part of your journey.  that confirm to you that what you are doing is right for you. that boost your self esteem and confidence and make you go yay to me - I CAN DO THIS!!  am really really pleased she dropped by, even if i did look like a mess and she looked really cool and had newly 'done' hair.

you know what i say ........

Is it Christmas in April??? My ABCD Meetup Stash...

last night at the ABCD Meetup was just great. i met so many wonderful and talented and fearless girls, i was in awe of so many of them.  makes me realise that i can make a living from my art.  

and i got such great and needed information that will save me hours and hours of research.  thank you so much.

..... and the stash from the goodie bags. wowee.  such beautiful and creative things, check out the photo .....

bliss.

ABCD Meetup .... very excited

tomorrow night i'm heading to Rozelle for my first social outing with some unknown, like-minded, creative, fabulous girls.  very excited.  

two great girls - Steph from Bondville and Lisa from The Red Thread have organised a MeetUp.  and it's a meetup with a great name - ABCD : artists, bloggers, crafters, designers.  Perfect.  A big thank you to them for giving people (mainly girls I suppose) an opportunity to meet like-minded people in a great social environment.  

this is not the first ABCD Meetup, just mine. and there are goodie bags. and wine.

very exited. 

bliss

Phew ... panic over and totally unnecessary

why oh why do i panic and stress.  had a great day at my first market.  the weather was overcast and a bit blowy (my stock was flying around at times) and there was rain in the afternoon.  but it was great. i received so much encouragement and so many oohs and ahhs to fill me up with confidence and make it worthwhile.

i was really happy with my sales for my very first market. and a quiet market, as it is a very new market.  my friend in the stall next to me had the worst market in TEN years, so i figure in a busier market i will do really well. 

the setting is just beautiful.  and there were sheep in a field just behind me.  yay.  love sheep.  it is in an old heritage listed farm, so there are beautiful old farm outbuildings with rusted roofs and falling down fences.  just great.  

here are some photos of my stall and the farm.....

my next market is sunday 3rd april (yes next weekend) at Heritage Craft Fair at St Ives.  really excited about this one.  

bliss.