hand dyed eggs

Today was the party of yet another creative South-Coastie... and to team with the theme of the season, we were treated to hand-dying eggs, Latvian style. (Thanks Ed)

Two methods were on offer... the simple dip and dye (with assorted pattern-making paraphernalia) and the more exotic onion skin wrap.


My three year old and I tried the dip and dye method, which was great for a small person, but equally great fun for grown ups - with a glass of champagne of course... (Thanks Shockin)


The longer the eggs were left in the dye solution, the deeper the colour - some really lovely effects here, don't you think? Mark Rothko, eat your heart out! (Thanks Chris)

The onion wrap versions looked so pretty, but you'll have to wait until later to see the final outcome of those little packages!



Happy Easter dear readers, hope your holiday is relaxing, safe and most importantly, crafty!

my seaside...

More creative goodness from my stretch of the coast... This time its ace local photographer John Skuja, who runs the blog Devocean. If you're after some surf/beach/salt water pool eye candy, then head on over - it's bookmark-worthy I promise!

All these shots are from my various local beaches - I feel very fortunate to live in paradise! The last one is of my favourite pool - swimming here with goggles in summer, you'll see you're sharing the water with a gazillion little fish! So cute...

hmmm now where are my togs...

the design files rocks

Just on case you didn't already know, the Design Files blog has the best giveaways on the web... go look at them today!!

I received this beautiful package in the post the other day - courtesy of tdf, K.W. Doggett Fine Paper and Ortolan. The beautiful Rives paper was transformed into a schmicko writing set, illustrated by the amazing Kat Macleod and Narelle Bewer (from Ortolan).

Sigh

Guess I'll be writing some thank you notes now...

renovating part eight... black floors-a-go-go

The time is approaching... the little fernickety details are getting ticked off... the house is getting cleaner... AND THE FLOORS ARE PAINTED! Yay!

Remember what it used to look like??

This is such a huge milestone, and it feels great to have it done. The mental and physical exhaustion that has set in and been a constant companion for Mr Fixit and I for the last six weeks is starting to shift, and it feels fantastic.

The kitchen is all ready for new cupboards... just got to save up for that little investment. It'll be camping style for a little while yet.

And here's our new (old) vanity. It was meant for our old house, but we decided to move before we had the chance to install it... It suits the new place - a bit of the old mixed with some new - what do you think?

jewel colours

Down here in the ol' southern hemisphere, winter is creeping towards us, slowly... and I'm starting to think about colours to keep me warm and happy...


The greyness that comes with winter is occasionally balanced by those sparkling crystal clear days, when the powder blue skies seem to shine and life is simple...

images: me, the Sartorialist at Gucci, Glen Proebstel

the meadow of fairies

There's a place not far from me called Fairy Meadow... It's got the kookiest mix of old red brick, European immigrant kitch, modernist industrial architecture and good old Aussie car yard glam. And some of the best garages you're going to see on the Coal Coast.

And my camera ran out of batteries just as I got to the house with the faux log concrete fence... Will have to post that little gem for you soon...

What's your favourite red brick estate?

crochet queen

So I'm still crocheting, trying to get that monotonal granny rug finished before winter... I figure it'll look beautiful draped over my couch on the black floor...

In the meantime, while I'm down with tonsillitis, (boring!) not much is happening in reno-land, so I'm posting some recent discoveries. I've found two more gorgeous crafty ladies... these crocheted lovelies are by Renilde from AtSwim-Two-Birds. Amazingly, she also embroiders, and when I say embroiders, I really mean she creates delicate artworks with thread...


And she makes mobiles. What a creative dynamo... And she lives in Antwerp... *sigh*

Of course, I found Renilde via this lovely blog, made by a sweet and talented jeweller from the Netherlands... What is it about living in northern Europe?

Looking at these pretty things has made me feel much better, I hope you enjoyed them too!

renovating part seven... details, details

Why doesn't this surprise me? Mr Fixit is a whizz when it comes to carpet laying... The one thing I could do was supply my ever-trusty Estwing hammer. This beauty has been with me since my set dressing days (nigh on 20 years... geez is that really true??) and it hammers in any kind of nail, tack, or fixing like a dream. It even rings with a glorious kind of fairy bell sound when struck...

This could possibly be the most boring carpet ever... however, it was chosen to join up with the painted black floor, and was the closest to black I could find. It also cost about $15/meter... which was really the deciding factor, let's face it! Plus, how great does it look with orange?

Tools o' the trade.
Finito! At this point in the proceedings, I lay myself down to test out the softness factor... Hmm pretty good for yoga! Actually, I've picked up the virus my son had last week, so was feeling pretty ho-hum by the end of today. Children are so generous with their germs...


I know the edges look a bit wobbly, but I swear that's because of the dodgy painting. Promise! The edges will also be covered by some trusty skirting boards, once they have dried. As will the old opening into the living room... remember those lovely faux bricks??

So, we've just got to hang on in there until 16 April, the deadline we've given ourselves for moving... Our neighbour across the road actually laughed at me when I told him... he OBVIOUSLY doesn't have a Mr Fixit bone in his body!!

Paris vs NYC

Isn't the web just chock full o' goodness sometimes? I found this fab blog the other day and couldn't wait to share it. Paris I've been to, but New York I've yet to visit... but boy howdy am I keen!

Several friends have made the long trek to this food/music/design/art/fashion/whatever-you're-into mecca, usually staying in an apartment for a couple of weeks.

I love this crazy visual jousting by Vahram Muratyan, such clever little comments.

This could be my favourite so far...

You can even buy these here... I know, great huh?

But how do you choose...?

hottie!

Down here in the southern hemisphere, winter is a-coming!! And can you think of a more beeeyooootiful way to keep warm than a nice piping hot water bottle, covered of course in a snuggly hand-knitted cover?

Thanks to an ever thoughtful friend, this came to me just in time...