Leap Of Faith

This year I've taken a leap of faith and ventured in to the world of print advertising for my iheartcharlie Etsy store. As part of my involvement with the Western Australian Etsy Street Team I've shared in a full page advertisement in Peppermint Magazine with some of my fellow teamies. 

 

That's my journal on the right hand side of the page. 

We've included a coupon code for Peppermint readers (it's under the pink rectangle at the top of the page, but you'll have to buy the magazine to see what it says!). For those of you who can't purchase the issue at a news agency Peppermint Magazine is also available on Digital download. If you've never read this magazine before it's definitely worth a read. 

It was so exciting to buy my copy yesterday and see my shop in there. Now I'll just have to sit back and see what comes of it. 

A very BIG THANK YOU to a fellow team mate Nicole from Tall Rabbit for her expert design skill in creating the ad for us.

Goosey

Yep it's a goose

This is Goosey, she's the latest addition to our household. 

She arrived for an extended visit yesterday and if she fits in she'll stay 

and perhaps we'll give her a slightly more original name !

But in the mean time she's gradually getting used to us and 

her new surrounds. Our doggies are still trying to work out who 

she is, but I'm sure in time they'll all be good friends.

I heart Panda's

today I've been watching Panda Cam

It's totally addictive, they're such happy creatures. These pictures are from Panda Cam 1 and feature toddlers Yaoman and Shenbing at the Bifengxia Panda Reserve in Ya'an China.

 

it would have to be one of the cutest things I've seen in a long time. You have to check it out for yourself. 

I heart Panda's and Panda Cam xxx

 

A Little Excited

I have to say, today I am a little excited. I've spent most of the day photographing and listing items in my very own web shop hosted on Big Cartel. And.... I now have my own domain name www.iheartcharlie.com.au

I've only listed a few items but I'm so excited that I have to share it with you

yet another step towards the iheartcharlie empire.
and now I'm off to list some more items :0)

A Year of Good Things 5/366

Well so far I haven't been doing such a great job of posting everyday and maybe  I need to let myself a little bit off the hook on that one. As long as I keep you updated then it's ok to be a day late with a post. So every now and again you'll get a double whammy of 'good' on one day, that is as long as you don't miss me too much if I miss a day...... but I'm sure you'll be fine! 

5/366

"what no photo" you say in utter astonishment, "not even a dodgy one!" Well day 5's good thing is a little different, it's quite simply that after a long day at work I turned the computer off and gave my best friend my full attention last night. Normally I sit on the sofa with my laptop beside me scanning the internet and my emails. On the nights I'm not sewing I'll check on facebook countless times, hang out in the etsy forums, check my email, and in the last week update my blog. That's fantastic when I'm home alone cause with all my online friends I'm never lonely, but not so great when my best friend is home and he's trying to talk and I'm trying to type!! So last night, I sensed that my friend needed a little more than my attention in between forum comments and websites, so I briefly checked cyberspace when I got home and then I turned the computer off and spent some quality time with my friend.

I cooked us a really tasty meal and then we watched a documentary on SBS and had a lively but agreeable discussion about it.

So not only was this a good thing for my friend but it was also a good thing for me.

Berry Smoothie

Can't say that I managed to achieve much today, it was too hot but in an attempt to cool down I created this delicious Berry Mango smoothie.

Here's what's in it: frozen mango cheek, frozen mixed berries, orange and passion fruit juice, coconut water and a dash of sparkling mineral water. All thrown into a jug and whizzed up with a stick mixer. It did the trick it cooled us down, but now writing this I'm fantasizing about it and may have to head to the kitchen to make another one.

A Year of Good Things

I've decided to be a 'Do-Gooder' and join Pip Lincolne from Meet Me at Mikes in  her 'Year of Good Things' project.

Here's what it's all about

"Every day of this year, do a Good Thing. It might be something good for yourself. It might be something good for your pet. It might be something good for a stranger, or your boyfriend or your wife or your child. It might be something good for your friend or the mailman or a neighbour or the lady at the bank. It's up to YOU.

The great thing about this project is that you already do a Good Thing every day for someone. I know that you do! We're just trying to slow things up a bit and take notice of the things you do."

You can even do a good thing for your local community or even the environment. Once you've noted your good thing you can document it on your blog, facebook page, your iphone, or even just your personal journal it's up to you. Pip explains it a bit better here

Pip is 11 days up on me on this project, but better late than never ... I'll start today.

I remembered that I did something good yesterday so today will be more than one Good Thing

Day 1: 1/366

Wednesday 11th January

After the recent fires in my town the Local Shire and SouthWest Catchments Group put together a brochure to educate people how to help our coastal vegetation recover form the fire. I work at a local resort and after discovering the brochure at the Shire Offices I thought it would be a great to have it available to help educate the tourists at this busy time of year. My sister kindly acquired some for me and yesterday I put them on display at the front of our brochure stand. so although a small thing it's a good thing as it's my part towards helping with recovery

So day 1 was good for the environment


Day 2: 2/366

Thursday 12th January 

When I got home from work I made my best friend and myself a yummy Nespresso 

That one was good for our taste buds and our tummies, and my friend really enjoyed it. We sat on the front porch pondering life while enjoying the wonders of Nespresso


and as a bonus good thing for the day........


Good thing 2.5/366

Today I left the lights off........ all day!!

It was a quiet day in the office so no one was ever really going to notice and it's actually quite light in there. It was my contribution to reducing our carbon foot print for the day...... and that's definitely a good thing

Mmmm wonder what 'Good Thing' I'll do tomorrow

Happy 2012

I know I'm a little late, but I've been having issues dealing with the fact that the new year is not only upon us but also past us ! And I'm sure I'm not the only one whose head is spinning wondering where 2011 went. So as a belated welcome to the New Year I thought I'd share with you my favourite photo from 2011

 and I'm guessing that it's absolutely no shock to you all that it's a photo of Charlie, but perhaps the most candid photo I've taken of her since she was a puppy.

In looking back on the year that was there are a couple of stand out moments......

#1- it was the year that our dear sweet Tootsie chose to move on from this world.

just 3 weeks short of her 15th birthday it was time to let her go. We miss our girl but we're so happy and thankful for all the wonderful years with her and the love that she gave us. 

#2 - Montage Collective was born and with my iheartcharlie label I had the opportunity along with some very crafty and talented friends to delight Perth shoppers with our wonderful creations, in a series of 'pop up' shops

these are some of my crafty creations on display in the first Montage 'Pop Up' shop in Fremantle.

#3 - I finally decided to join the rest of the world and get an iphone and now have absolutely no idea how I ever managed to live without it or the hipstamatic app.   

 

 And no surprises as to who my screen saver is ........

#4 - I had my very first 'iheartcharlie' stall at a market. Just prior to Christmas I was at the Margaret River Handmade market and had a great day for someone who is  very much learning about selling her wares in a market environment. Here's a couple of dodgy photos I took of my stall. I was a little nervous on the day and appear to have left all photographic skills at home, but they give you an idea of how I presented iheartcharlie to the market shoppers

and last but not least

#5 - At the end of November  along with the  rest of Margaret River I experienced the very real threat of losing my home to a bushfire. The fire came within  5km of the town site which was thank fully  saved by a wind change and some very savvy fire fighting. The true heroes of those days were the many volunteer and professional fire fighters. And while some families out on the coast did lose their homes and part of our coastline was decimated no human lives were lost.

 These photos are of the view from my work, looking west, at lunch time on Wednesday 23rd November the first day of the fire. I've recently learnt that when these pictures were taken 11 homes had already been lost

The coast line looks barren at the moment but some late rains have brought with them the start of the rejuvenation. It’s sad to see it now but with time the scars of the fires will be replaced with the lush green that our region is so well known for

 this photo is only a glimpse of the devastation. To the right at the back the once green River Mouth bush looks like a barren waste land, in the middle just jutting above the river line is what remains of the historic Wallcliffe House. Once home to the Bussell family it was one of the original homesteads in the area, it is now a burnt out shell. And to the right of where this picture was taken is where the homes were lost on the first morning. The fire skipped and jumped there are areas that are now barren and others that were spared.

And onward into 2012 we go...... after a year of good, bad and sad I'm looking forward to seeing what this year has to offer. 

So a happy belated New Year here's hoping that 2012 will be an exciting and rewarding year for us all. 

 

Old School Crafting

Remember the days before you were allowed near a sewing machine? If you are like me and have been crafting since you were a little person there would have been a time when you picked up a needle and thread to sew a dolls outfit because your mums sewing machine was off limits. Each item would have been painstakingly stitched until it became Barbie’s favourite outfit or a new set of shorts for your favourite teddy bear!! There of course was a time when this was the way that most households made their clothes, needle and thread. A few days ago I left the sewing machine switched off and returned to these roots. Inspired by a discussion with a friend about ‘Old School Crafting” this is what I came up with

This clutch purse is totally hand sewn, yes folks as mentioned before the sewing machine was unplugged and neglected for this one. The flap is decorative only and is attached to the front of the clutch.

This is the back

and these are some detail shots. I’ve used my favourite cotton floral for the lining and the outside fabric is a cotton canvas.
Inspired? take the challenge and sew something entirely by hand. I’d love to hear about your results

Lunar Madness

It's been a weird week in my world... it started last Sunday with an encounter with a Kangaroo on the back roads of Margaret River. The poor Roo came off second best and this is what happened to my car

I can fix my car but I can't fix the poor Roo and it left me feeling very sad. There's been all sorts of random things going wrong this week which has left me wondering if the full moon has been playing a part. I've checked the lunar charts and it should be over in the next few days!!
In the mean time while my car is off getting repaired I've got a new toy to play with.

My new Epson R800 printer... I can't wait to start creating some goodies to sell with this baby.


Oh and the repair bill for my car you ask.... $3900 (Au) just as well I've got insurance. And it did such a good job of protecting us that I'll be hanging on to it. But maybe adding a Roo bar just in case!!

More Montage Press

With just over a week left Montage has received more press coverage. This time in the local Fremantle paper

 

Pretty Things

Yesterday I called in to an op shop with my sister and found an amazing stash of doilies. Here's what I found

 

this one is my favourite

mmm what shall I do with them????

 

Montage Press

The Montage Collective pop up shop in Fremantle is open for business and was featured in todays edition of Habitat in The West Australian.

If you are in the area pop in and see it for yourself

Montage

iheartcharlie will be appearing alongside 11 other wonderful designers at a pop up shop in Fremantle, Western Australia from the 8th  February.

Blast from the Past

This evening I was looking through some slides of some of my old textile work from the 1990's and I came across these 2 slides. They are a little bit of Western Australian History courtesy of my Dad's camera lens in the 1960's

 For those who've never seen it and those who just can't place it. This is the Barracks Arch at the top of St Georges Terrace in Perth,  in all of it's pre-freeway glory. Only the arch itself now remains as the rest of the building was demolished in 1966 to make way for the Mitchell Freeway.

I've always loved these 2 slides, even as a child I was fascinated with them and always a little disappointed that so much this lovely old building was destroyed in order to build the freeway.The arch has always looked a little lonely standing there on it's own....

MOTL Team Challenge

This week I took part in my first ever Made on the Left team challenge on Etsy

There was a choice of 3 themes for the challenge Vintage Camera, Arrows and Honey Bees. I went with the first theme and here's what I came up with.

It's aptly named the Vintage Camera in Training camera pouch

the writing on the flap is hand embroidered. I haven't embroidered for a few years and I'm please at how well I did  it

The 'Lomo' inspired drawing on the reverse side of the pouch is machine drawn.

It's fully lined and has an inner layer of wadding for added protection.

This cute little pouch is now available in my Etsy shop.

 For more info about 'Made on the Left 'check out their blog

http://madeontheleft.blogspot.com

Beach Baby

One of Charlie's favourite things it to hang out at the beach with her best friend Ruby. Yesterday my sister and I took advantage of some finer weather  and took Charlie and Ruby to the dog beach. Some of my best photos are of Charlie at the beach. Here's a few snapshots from yesterday's outing.

I love that she always looks so happy when she's there

There's nothing like the sand between your toes and on your nose,

 something to explore,

somewhere to dig,

and a friend to share the fun with

Black and White

Time to share some of my black and white designs which have been an ongoing body of work over the last 15yrs. One of my fascinations is with pattern and my black and white designs were born out of a time when I did not have the physical space to be creative so they were developed in A5 & A6 visual journals. I have several journals full of them and over time I was able to upscale to canvases.   I hope one day to translate some of these designs to fabrics.


These are a few of the ones that made it to canvas in 2005.

  This one is titled "Beach Party" it was one of my entries for the 2005 Margaret River Rotary Art Exhibition

 untitled 1 2005

untitled 2 2005

untitled 3 2005

All of these designs have been drawn freehand and the concentration that each one takes can be very therapeutic.  "Beach Party" takes pride of place in my living room along side my other entry for the same exhibition. I hope to share that with you too some time soon