Sunday four

One Tom frequently points out that I’m a hoarder – I don’t disagree but I regularly have clean outs and give things to the op-shop and know when something will be useful. Case in point; last weekend I dragged out my big bag of parrifin wax (that I’ve had since art school, ten years ago) and made these teacup candles.

Teacup candles are beautiful because when they burn down the teacup glows. The perfect gift too; once the candle has melted away you’ve still got a cup.

Two This weekend I signed a new edition of nine prints, which have been unnamed for about three weeks and would still be that way if Helen hadn’t helped out with some poetic text. You can see the edition – ‘First Flutter’ here. And here’s a close up; I hand sewed and drew on nine prints over and over – the repitition is part of what I love so much about printmaking.

Three I think one of the best things about meeting new people is learning about new music. Flatting was always a great opportunity to add to my musical knowledge; today I have Facebook recommendations and texting friends.

I’ve recently rediscovered Dusty Springfield again and am currently obsessed with this song. Great Shirley Bassey qualities. I also recommend Richard Hawley Baby I’m your Light (that I can’t find on YouTube) and The Puppini Sisters doing Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights.

Four I’ve never been much of a fan of stuffed animals and girls with them all over their beds always seemed to scream “bunny boiler” to me. But since meeting crafty friends I’ve gained a new appreciation for the homemade stuffed animal; particularly Helen’s Donnie Darko rabbits. And these.

 

 

Meme

I got tagged for a meme by Megan at Frou Frou Frippery. here are my answers… yawn.

What is your current obsession? Blousy flowers, making A-line skirts and op-shopping – pretty much my obsessions from age 23 on.

What is your weirdest obsession? Death. Not in a morbid way – I’m just fascinated by what happens after life, the ceremony of funerals and loss.

What are you wearing today? Grey cardigan, a pink t-shirt with gay lions on it, a chalky digits fundraiser brooch to raise money for the South Island robin, knee-length denim skirt, black trousers and knee-high stockings. Shoes are kicked off.

What’s for dinner? No idea – we’ve only just made it to lunch.

What would you eat for your last meal? Fruit crumble – maybe feijoa, pear and rhubarb finished off with a glass of Chateaux nurf de pas.

What’s the last thing you bought? The weeks vegetables at the fruit and vege stall outside Greytown.

What are you listening to right now? The sound of silence. Not the Simon and Garfunkel song; actual silence.

What do you think of the person who tagged you? I hardly know Megan and have never met her but she writes a great blog and lives in Oamaru – both good things.

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?

Donate NZ

Do you have a spare overhead projector lying around? How about light switches or a Mac laptop? I’ve recently discovered Donate NZ a really cool website where you can donate goods or time to community and charitable organisations as they request it. The ‘wishes’ of organisations are random to say the least, which makes it compelling reading and I think more likely that people will browse and give.

Check it out – the idea of fufilling someone’s wish is very seductive. I’m currently considering whether I could realistically offer writing skills to a Wellington organisation.

And as always, let me know if you do donate.

Sunday five

Inspired by one of my clients, and wanting to get out of my website rut, here’s five great new sites I’ve found lately; perfect for Sunday afternoon surfing.

Hybrid Botanical Stylist is the kind of florist dreams are made of, where posies can be ordered in vintage teacups, china and glass. I have no idea if they deliver outside the Auckland area but their website is perfect even if they don’t.

Make chores easy with Chore Buster, a free programme that lets you set a fair schedule of chores for everyone in your house. Chore Buster will even  email the schedule to you daily or weekly.

Strangely Familiar tea parties. A genius idea; hire all the retro crockery you need for the perfect tea party with friends. This service comes complete with catering too. Essentially, send an email, call up some friends and the perfect tea party comes to you – a very nice birthday idea even if you do have all the vintage teacups in the world at home.

My love for you is a stampede of horses is a great art and illustration blog that is fantastic for some visual inspiration. It’s updated regularly and is features the kind of imagery often seen in Frankie magazine.

 Double Takes is the design equivilant of the blog above for fans of typography, cute consumer products, photography and good ideas.

Papercut

When you love works on paper a papercut becomes an attractive option. In fact, I’d pay good money for  paper cut these days.

Paper cuts are the art of cut paper made by incredibly patient people who are good with craft knives. So, not me. The paper cut on the right is a map of London in blue. Prehaps I could make one of Featherston?

Here’s some other paper cuts that I’m fond of: at Solander Gallery and Suite.