new cards :: quirky quotes

here are some new cards for the market this weekend.

.... and ... a big and ... at last weekend's market a lovely woman commissioned me to create some personalised cards for her real estate agency.  they are *congratulations on your new home* type cards with her name on them.  great idea i thought.  

if you'd like personalised cards please get in touch as i'd love to create some for you.  having said that, i am not a graphic designer but can use some of my funky backgrounds and add some funky text to it.

 

in pursuit if a blissful studio

i so love books. can't get enough of them. mainly non-fiction though.

i recently bought an android tablet so i can carry a library of books around with me.  loving the download.

but when i buy art books or decorating books, or books with pretty pictures i still really like to look at them in hard copy. not sure why. i can do mags on the tablet, but books are a little different for me. i am sure this will change though.

my latest book obsession is this ....

 ... from the people that publish WHERE WOMEN CREATE magazine and books.  

me oh my, the studios that some lucky ducks get to work from. i have no idea how they do it.  how they keep them so tidy and looking so divine (perhaps they don't and they all had a big tidy blitz before the photographer arrived ...hmm can't fool us).  i want to move in to so many of them and live there. such inspiration.  i particularly am crazy about the studios that use all sorts of vintage goodies and furniture to store and display.

here are some pages of total gorgeousness ...

 this is my favourite of the studios in the book. it looks like a vintage conservatory doesn't it?

 i so love the shelving. at first i thought it was some kind of vintage wall cupboard (which it may be), but on closer inspection it looks like it is a back piece of timber, funky brackets and shelves with rails so things don't fall off.  love it, and don't think it wouldbe too difficult to make one.

 more shelving with rails

like this room although it is a little too organised and neat for me, and I think I'd need lighter walls, but I did like the dimensions.  check out the legs on that desk ... me oh my...

i am so inspired to decorate my studio, and have all the vintage bits i would need as i have been collecting for years. but i have a small work room and far too much stuff and every time i decide to start I get so overwhelmed when i realise all that has to be done that I decide to have a cup of tea and think about it (or buy some more organisational books like this one), and then nothing gets done.   

but I know this book will inspire and motivate.  yes it will.

quick & quirky quote no. 6

quick & quirky quote no. 3

this is one of my most favourite quotes. 

it is a reminder to me to follow my dreams no matter what they are ... no matter how old i am ..... no matter where i am ..... no matter how i am feeling.  and that i really can achieve whatever i want with hard work and imagination. bliss.

quick & quirky quote no 2

back here I thought I'd start a quick & quirky quote of the week that may or may not include some of my artwork, but it didn't really get too far .... i think life got in the way.

let's try again shall we ...

courses and classes

i am crazy for doing courses at the moment. 

i've just finished the most amazing course for creative businesses called 'Hello Soul Hello Business' - how to have a business with soul.  loved it loved it loved it.  met some great women from all around the world, and  I seriously could not recommend this course more. it so exceeded my expectations ... i think it exceeded them by a thousand per cent if that is possible.  having said that there was a lot of content and a lot of homework, and it was really easy to get behind (which I and others did regularly so much so that they added an extra week long break in the middle of the course so everyone could catch up). they covered so much more than i expected and i learnt so much more than i thought i would ever need to know.  the course was created by two highly experienced women that I totally and utterly admire - kelly rae roberts and beth nicholls .  so worth considering this course if you run your own business. love love loved it.

typical me thought I would be able to manage and juggle far too much, and then drop half of it. when I registered for the HSHB course, i also thought i'd register for the Flora Bowley course True Bloom and do the two together.  clueless.  then again that's maybe being a little tough on myself .... i really didn't expect the HSHB course to be as in depth and time consuming as it was. so i did two classes only of true bloom and that's it.  fortunately you can access the classes for 6 months so that is my next little adventure.

there's more ..... this sunday i will be at a 5 hour art journalling course run by donna downie .  so excited i could ... well not sure what i could do but i'm sure you get the idea.  it's going to be great!!

reversed canvas

look at these .... just look at them.  i can't believe how simple yet amazingly fantastic they are.  they are just a reversed canvas.  think of all the possibilities and all the sizes ... and all the colours!  wowee my brain is in overdrive.  and how easy would they be to make????

I found them, along with lots of other goodness, over here.

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.

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?