Red Dog and Jude

Oh Crappy Dayzzzz....

2012-01-23T14:30:00.005+11:00

One word to describe this week? Nuisance.

1. Trying to co-ordinate dropping off the car to panel beaters (to repair the hail damage) when:
- it's half an hours drive away from our new house
- you have not organised a hire car (too expensive!)
- taxi ride home is far too expensive
- you don't know anyone in your new town to ask for help
- you have to take the baby car seat with you once you leave the car behind
- your baby pram doesn't fold down to fit neatly on public transport
- you have a toddler with you!

2. Living without the car for two weeks while it goes to the panel beater AND hail damage repair specialist!

3. Organising to have all cards and drivers licence replaced after stupidly loosing my wallet on the weekend:
- Need new drivers licence but need to get it issued in a new state since our move (neither state wants to take ownership of re-issuing it)
- have only just moved so have nothing listed with our new address here yet, so can't get new licence until I can prove where I live!
- having no access to any money while the cards are being replaced (well, thanks to hubby I can get by for a bit!...)

BUT IT'S ALL SUCH A NUISANCE!

So why the picture of the busy bees? It's my daughters new favourite sound - the buzzing of bees. She does the cutest little hand movements showing how the bees buzz about, while making the sweet buzzing noises! She see's them everywhere now and it always makes me smile!

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Happy Easter!

2012-01-12T13:42:00.004+11:00

A copy of my latest book has just arrived in the mail! It's my second project with Scholastic Australia.

In case you can't tell it's a colouring activity book for Easter! I had a ball doing this one and can't wait to grab some extra copies for the nieces and nephews!

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Out and About

2012-01-09T09:38:00.005+11:00

This weekend we finally had the chance to get out and about around the Canberra region. A trip through the mountains lead us back along the Hume Highway where we stopped in at the Rollinin Cafe in Bowning. What a great find! It was a beautiful bark hut set on a farm, with loads of friendly animals for Jade to enjoy. The food was great and the staff so friendly.

I forgot to get a photo of the front of the cafe, so I found one here.
Here's a few I took:

(Jade in the cute little dress my Mum made for her!)

I also picked up some old coffee tins they were selling off. I plan to cover the body of them with fabric and to use them in my studio for storage. They had so many tins! I bought 12 in the end! Can't wait to find the right fabrics to cover them in....oh yeah, and the TIME to do it!

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Bring on 2012

2012-01-05T12:56:00.004+11:00

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2012 is a fabulous year for us all. I have no idea what to expect of it actually, except that it's going to be a busy one for us (nothing new there!)

Today I finally updated my blogger profile from Bendigo to Canberra. It still makes me a little sad as we left behind so many great people and our beautiful house, but I am still excited about the potential the Canberra area has to offer us. In just over a week we are moving to a small country town about half an hour from here, and I am so excited about it. Not that I don't love Canberra (it really is a beautiful city) but I miss the small town stuff and I am itching to get out and meet some people! I hope we can find a play group or something. I miss our Mums Group already.

We had a crazy busy Christmas and New Year period, and managed to get caught up in the freakish hail storm that hit Melbourne on Christmas day.

Our car was damaged by the giant hail stones, and it will need a new windscreen and some panel beating!

I am still flat out with some new projects on the go and it amazes how I squeeze everything in some times! (A big thank you to my gorgeous husband who took some time off from his brand new job so that he could babysit our little one and I could get some serious work done for a few days!) I have two projects on the go with the one publisher at the moment and one of them is particularly exciting, but has to remain top secret for a while as we develop it.

Well, too many words and not enough pictures in this post so I will just sign off for now. More news soon x

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Another New Book!

2011-12-15T07:46:00.003+11:00

Here's a glimpse at another new book I have illustrated that's due for release in February 2012. It's my first book with Scholastic Australia and they have been brilliant to work with. We already have several more projects lined up together.

The text for this book is a collection of songs by the well known Australian children's entertainer Peter Combe.

I am so thrilled with how this one has come up, and the printed colours are just stunning. I wish I could show you more, but we'll have to wait until next year.
Here is a tiny peek at a couple of my favourite illustrations.

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Farewell Bendigo!

2011-12-11T13:46:00.005+11:00

Here's a legitimate excuse for not blogging for a while - we have just moved to Canberra on Friday! It's all happened so quickly that we have barely had a chance to catch our breath. (Sorry to any friends just finding this out now!)

It's been on the cards for quite a while, but Raymond J got a job offer and was due to start in mid January. Then his new work called up to see if he could start asap, so he gave two weeks notice to his old job. This left us the two weeks to find somewhere to live in Canberra and get our Bendigo house on the market! Raymond J's last work day was Thursday, we moved on Friday, and he starts his new job on Monday! Phew....as I said - no time to catch our breath. Throw in my current freelance project deadlines in to that mix and it's been a pretty tough few weeks!

We would not have been able to pull it off without the help of both sets of our wonderful parents who pitched in to get the Bendigo house up to scratch (living with us for almost the two weeks!), then helped pack boxes, then joined the car/truck convoy for the 7 hour drive to Canberra! Unbelievable!

Anyone who has been a keen follower of this blog will know how much I loved our house in Bendigo, so it was particularly hard to drive away from - not to mention our fabulous Mothers Group (who gave us a wonderful last minute send off!)...and our swimming group, and our poor neighbours who will only just have seen the "for sale" sign go up on our property on Friday and we were already gone! (Managed to sneak them a Christmas card on the way out!)

So it's a new start for us here in Canberra. We are lucky enough to have some friends here that we visited about 3 months ago, but otherwise Canberra is all new for us. I'll try to share some of it with you here as it's a beautiful city. So scenic. Anyway, I have a mountain of work to catch up on and am surrounded by unpacked boxes, so more news soon.

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Ta-Dah! My latest books.

2011-11-27T13:48:00.002+11:00

My new books have arrived! Looks like they will be out in stores just in time for Christmas! Yippee! I am really happy with how the colours have come up (sorry for slightly dodgy photos.)
The main characters are on a little ribbon and you move them onto each page as part of an interactive play element to the books. Cute huh?!

So far the only place I have spotted them is online here. Mum says she's already seen them out in the shops so I'll have to keep an eye out!

Another of my new books from different publisher has also arrived and I hope to get organised enough to share that with in the next few days! There's so much going on at the moment that I still have more exciting news to update you with too, so stay tuned!
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Illustration techniques

2011-11-11T11:50:00.007+11:00

I've had a helper this week. It's startling how natural she looks!

Despite the odd interruption it's been quite a productive week.
On the book front we are still working through the final look of the main character. The first drawings were too young for the age group, then next batch of reworked sketches were still too "cute" looking, but this latest batch look much more fun and age appropriate so I am just waiting on feedback from the publisher before going to the next stage. I love all the back and forth of working with publishers. Sometimes you nail it all fist go and other times you get pushed in a different direction, but I always find it makes the final result so much better.

So I this week I have swapped projects and moved onto a home decor based job that has been ongoing for a while. I've had a lot of fun trying out new techniques and styles.
This latest look is a variation on the "live trace" approach I applied to some characters that I shared with you in this post.

First of all, I painted up a few different textures using the side edges of some thick cardboard dipped in paint and stamped onto paper.

I then scanned the page into the computer and using the "live trace" function again in Illustrator I was able to turn the art into vector based shapes that could then easily be coloured and applied to images.

You can layer it up to create pattern and texture, or use various masks to fill shapes.

By simply applying it over the top of this image it's helped to create a bit of added interest.

Or by masking it into various shapes and colours you can get a lovely textured feel to an image.

Lots of fun!

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"I don't know how she does it"

2011-11-02T20:23:00.012+11:00

I am sure we all have our "I don't know how she does it" moments, but let me share mine with you now.

First of all, the good news is that I sent off all my page layout roughs for my latest book on time!

But in order for this achievement to eventuate, so did the following:

1. Baby has climbing accident while I am 2 metres from her, checking emails on my laptop.

Look at that bump! I felt sick all week about this one. (She was fine!)

2. Travel around 400km to babysitters (parents) so that I can have a few days in a row to get some work done to meet my deadline!

3. Back in time for swimming lessons, but no time to unpack or tidy up!

Not normally a problem except that we are hosting Mothers Group here the next day!

4. Thanks to the magic of television (controversial baby sitter in this house from time to time!) I manage to clean the entire house on the morning of our Mothers Group hosting.

Had lovely afternoon and managed to create the illusion that our house is always this glorious!

5. Wake up the next morning to discover baby has developed Chicken Pox!

Phone calls to each of the Mums who attended Mothers Group warning of potential plague!

6. At least I found time to buy a great new book:

If only I could find the time to read it!

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How did I not know about this?

2011-10-20T09:56:00.004+11:00

This just shows me how little time I have had to explore my usual blog reads and magazines because somewhere along the lines I have missed this beautiful magazine.

Anyone who is a bit crafty would love this magazine. Not only is it full of great things to do, but it's actually an interesting read and hooks you up with some great new blogs that I was not aware of....and probably wont have time to read!!

Anyway, it appears that most of the back copies have sold out, but I have to get my hands on the latest copy soon! Check out the website if you have some time!
(Thanks Jo for putting me onto this!)

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Rough Secrets

2011-10-17T09:48:00.007+11:00

Another busy weekend has passed where I managed to get stuck into the roughs for my latest book. Of course I can't show you anything here, but I did want to share a little more about my processes.
When it comes to roughs I don't use traditional sketch paper (cartridge paper). I prefer to use Bank Paper.

It's a light 45gsm weight which means that I can trace with it really well. This is important to me because I very rarely use an eraser! Instead I usually do a series of really rough loose sketches to get a feel for a pose or a character. Then I pick one that's getting close and I trace it off with a bit more detail. If somethings not right about it, then I trace it off again making any required alterations. This process continues over and over until I get the final look I am after.

Unfortunately this often results in the use of HEAPS of paper. These are all the roughs for just for one book!

If the character is used throughout the book then I need to draw it in various poses to get a feel for how it will look and to make sure that I can comfortably redraw it to maintain consistency in the book. I really enjoy this part. Here's how I tackled a project from last year. Of course I don't always get it right first time. Sometimes there's a bit of back and forth to create something that suits every one's vision for the book.

So this is the process I am enjoying at the moment. This current book is based on one central character so I have sent off a page of various poses to the publisher illustrating the look and feel I am going for, and I will await some feedback before getting to much further down the track. Such fun!
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Inspiration

2011-10-10T16:08:00.006+11:00

Today I finally had a chance to check over the new book project.

For me the worst part about the process is the legal stuff - the contracts. This one is a 15 pager full of all the legal guff that requires me to send them off to an assessment service for interpretation before I sign them! I use the ASA Contract Assessment Service for all my contracts. You need to be a member to use it, but it's been well worth it for me. Anyway, this one's all sorted and I just need them to send me a couple of hard copies for the final signatures.

Before I start sketching I usually spend some time researching the main topic and theme of the book, along with gathering ideas for how I would like the characters to look. I really enjoy this stage as I love seeing how other artists and illustrators may have tackled similar themes or characters.

Another great bonus is that this research phase usually results in the discovery of a new illustrator or artist that really inspires me. I thought I'd share the latest one with you today.

I obviously don't know much about her, but her name is Coralie Saudo and she has a beautifully designed blog here.

I just love her use of colour. I'd love to pick up some copies of her books - especially as they are in french!! Too cute! Check out her blog if you get the time.
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My Creative Space Today

2011-10-09T17:48:00.006+11:00

I am working on a non-book project at the moment, with what is either the best OR worst brief you can get! It's one of those "do whatever you like" briefs. Initially these are exciting but when you actually sit down to start it's almost overwhelming.

Where DO you start when you can do absolutely anything?! Oh, and the footnote is that it has to be really unique - unlike anything seen out there...including my own usual style of working! Yep - overwhelming!

I find the best thing to do in these situations is to just make a start. I usually get out my favourite books and start to gather a collection of things that inspire me and make me want to pick up a pencil and draw.

A few years ago a developed a bit of cheats technique to create the hand painted look without learning Photoshop. Even though I am more comfortable with Photoshop now, I quite like the final look that this technique results in and it remains vector artwork too.

Basically I break down all the parts of the image into movable pieces and what I think will become individual colours. I then hand paint them in a dark colour. The focus is on creating the feel of brush strokes.

Then I streamline the shapes (live trace) them in Illustrator, so that they become a series of textured shapes - a bit like this.

Then I colour and layer them up into one final image that looks hand painted.

Yeah, I know it's not exactly a totally new and "never been done before", AND I could just hand paint the whole image and scan it, but I enjoy the final result I get from working this way.
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Melbourne town

2011-10-03T10:00:00.004+11:00

Another week away! This time we were in Melbourne. Raymond J had a business trip to Melbourne so it was a great chance for us to tag along.
Most of the week was spent catching up with friends and relies, but we made time to explore the lane ways and shops that Melbourne is so famous for.

We were lucky enough to stay right in the heart of town. Check out this view from our apartment window!

It was lovely to get a big city fix again, but it so good to be home.

I also managed to squeeze in another meeting with a potential new publisher which is always exciting. I have so much work on at the moment that it's time to get stuck into things again.

I caught up with another friend who challenged me about not blogging enough of late and I mentioned that I was not sure that I had much to share. It's always tough being busy with projects that I can't share with you until production is complete, but then she reminded me that sometimes it's the processes and inspiration behind creativity that can be so interesting. I'd have to agree with this so I hope to share as much as I can with you over the coming weeks.

But today is a bit of a boring a domestic day to get ready for a productive work week. This house just feels so cluttered. I'm a bit of a messy person, but when it comes to my work environment, I need organisation. Is anyone else like this? It's one of the challenges of working at home. We all dream of our own studio spaces, but for now it's the kitchen table! Anyway, i am procrastinating now..... there's work to be done!
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For you Allison!

2011-09-22T08:40:00.010+10:00

Another crazy, busy month has flown by with no time for blogging (as I seem to be so often reminded these days.....ALLISON!)

So, the first birthday went off without a hitch - except that I learned the hard way that it's best to wash all felts BEFORE using them on lovely delicate little dresses - yep, all the dye ran and stained Jades little party dress after the first wash. It's now ruined, but at least it was AFTER the party! Funnily enough I don't seem to have any pics of her in it though! Raymond J and I are pretty hopeless at the taking pictures thing! Yes, even for such big events, but that's why we rely on all the relies to take them.

She's also WALKING now! I just can't get used to see our little baby walking about the house. It's gorgeous though. She is, of course, now into EVERYTHING!

We've also been on holidays since my last post. Two lovely weeks driving up through Canberra, across to the NSW coast, and onto Sydney for a few days.
One hightlight for me was visiting the Handmade shop in Canberra.

I picked up a copy of their book in store (the middle one!).
The sewing book was a gift (can't wait to get some time make some stuff out of it...maybe next year!!?) and I picked up the studio book along the way too! Some inspiring stuff in there!

The second highlight was staying with friends in Sydney (ALLISON!!!) and visiting Taronga Zoo in Sydney. I just love it there. It has the best views of Sydney.

I was also lucky enough to drop in on the publisher Scholastic Australia, who I have been working with lately. It's funny how you do everything via emails these days, often without ever meeting in person. It was so great to put some faces to the names and to get a bit of a sneak peek at some of the new projects they have lined up for me. SO EXCITING!

I also got to get a look at the first digital proof of my latest book with them.

Obviously I still can't show you yet, and it's just a proof at this stage, but it just looks awesome and I am so proud of it. I also managed to squeeze in an activity/colouring book with them before I left for our trip and I can't wait to get some copies to play with!

Oooh, I almost forgot to tell you about my new birthday pressie. It was my birthday 3 days after Jades and it was a big milestone one this year. My gorgeous husband has a bit of a tendency to go overboard with the pressie thing and this year was no exception. Well, no complaining here, but this one is HUGE! Check it out.

I was a little unsure what it was at first. I thought it was a new monitor for my computer, but it's the latest in Wacom offerings called Cintiq. You basically draw directly onto the screen with the pen! This could change the way I work forever! I'm a bit of a traditionalist and have always seen the computer as just another tool in the paintbox. I love the hands on sketching and usually scan things into the computer to play around with as the final art process. This allows me to sketch directly into the computer.

This both excites and terrifies me. I get frustrated enough when updates and upgrades change the look and layout of programs, because it slows me down at first. I just want to get on with things.

I am pretty quick with my graphics skills, and all the shortcuts and tricks are all second nature to me now. It's quite tough to stop and force yourself to take a step back to change the way you work. I am sure that it will be invaluable in the long run, but I'm not sure I will have the time to retrain! I have so many new projects lined up between now and Christmas, it will be interesting to see how I go! But it's such a beautiful piece of equipment that I can't let it just gather dust! Has anyone else out there had a play with this technology yet? I'd be very curious to hear any tips or advice!

Wow, sorry for the long waffly post! I'd better stick to shorter more regular posts now! Oh and a quick thank you to Princess Jade for dancing her way through Sesame Street and Playschool while I wrote this! x
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I'm on a roll!

2011-08-18T08:06:00.007+10:00

Now I've started there's no stopping me! I finished the crocodile applique but the t-shirt is already too small, so I've taken lots of pics as it may be her one and only wear for this one!

Luckily this alerted me to the fact that the green t-shirt would also be too small, so I had to find a different base for the rabbit applique. I think it's come up pretty well on the stripes actually!

All this sewing has inspired me to get a bit more creative for her first birthday THIS COMING SUNDAY! (How quickly did that first year go?!) I've had some trouble finding a cute little party dress that's not an outrageous price, and then I remembered this little hand-me-down dress that I had put aside.

The funny thing is that she currently only has one pair of shoes and they are red, so I've taken up the challenge to find a way to bring some red into this dress. It's resulted in an unusual colour combination that I might not have thought to put together but I'm really liking it!

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My Creative Space

2011-08-11T07:52:00.006+10:00

I set up the sewing machine this week ready to finish off these appliques, but it seems I've lost the electric cord for it! (Must be out in the shed somewhere!) So I had to resort to hand stitching! I'd have to say I really enjoyed it, and I think it's really adding to the finished appeal.

I guess I am half way through with only one finished so far, but it looks great. She's growing so fast that it wont fit her for long, but that's OK. We can enjoy it while we can.

Get inspired by more Creative Spaces here.
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My Creative Space Today

2011-08-05T16:38:00.003+10:00

Today I finally made some time for a little crafting.

I hope to finish them off over the next few nights when the baby is asleep.

For my Mum!

2011-07-25T08:18:00.005+10:00

My Mum has been complaining that I am not blogging enough, but if truth be told I'm not sure I have that much to tell you! I've been really busy with new projects, but I can't share any of them with you yet!

So here's a reject from one of them just to tease you with!

I've also been trying to make some time to do some craft projects, but so far this felt applique idea for a pink stripey top remains incomplete....

....and the knitting has stalled!

But the most important job is going wonderfully well with this beautiful little girl taking up most of my time. She's ALMOST walking now and loves playing with EVERYTHING.

I wish I had time to paint this little box.

I've always wanted to paint up a cubby house! Oh, and yeah...that box DOES mean that we bought a new dishwasher! Phewww...here's hoping it buys me a bit more time?!

So...off to swimming lessons today, library and mothers group tomorrow...visit from grandma on Wednesday....and more! Have a busy (but great) week! x

End of an era

2011-06-17T08:22:00.004+10:00

My maternity leave is drawing to a close now, so Jade and I travelled to Melbourne yesterday to officially resign from my full-time job in person.

It was a really weird feeling being back in a world that seems a lifetime away from where I am now, but it just strengthened the feeling that I am in the right place!

So now I am now a full-time Mum looking after this delightful little bundle of joy!

Of course I will be keeping up the freelance work. Being creative is such a fundamental part of who I am that I need to keep myself challenged in this area whenever I can.

My list of next projects is quickly building up. I've already taken on a new project with my old work (!), I have some more school readers lined up, and next week I am meeting with the publisher of the book I have just finished, to see what our next project might be.

But today we are off to the library. (I love that she loves books already!)Then it's lunch with the wonderful Raymond J. And then ... a reality check - housework and grocery shopping.... (oh the glamour of it all)and I've never been happier!

2011-05-26T08:33:00.003+10:00

Part of my excuse for such a long gap in blogging recently has been the fact that after five loyal years of service, my computer packed it in! Luckily I am pretty good at backing up my files, and of course I was clever enough to marry my IT man, who managed to rescue the hard drive, so no real damage done (except to the bank balance!)

My beautiful new replacement has arrived and I also used this opportunity to upgrade all my software. So no excuses now! (Ooooh, I heard a few of you gasp! No. I am not a Mac user!)

On the Creative front it's been a steady flow of projects. Two new board books are done and dusted and I have my big 24 page book due next week. I am really enjoying this project and am just colouring everything up at the moment (my favourite part).

I find it really helps to pin up the pages on a wall so that I can make sure there's a good mix and flow to the pages.

The next two projects are lined up to follow and will take me back to some product design again, so am keeping pretty busy.

Craft stuff? Well Needless to say I've not had the time for much crafting, but I did manage to find some more felt colours for that coat I want to decorate and found these cute flowers that I hope to find a place for on the coat.

Oh, and I am thinking of cheating a bit with a couple of Jade's tops and found these cute iron on appliques!

Yeah, I know....."blasphemy" I hear all you crafters yelling, but there's only so many hours in a day!
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We are still here!

2011-05-20T20:23:00.003+10:00

This beautiful image is courtesy of Lisa Nankervis Photography. We were lucky enough to have Lisa come to our home to take some gorgeous snaps of Jade in her room. Lisa did such a great job that we are having a hard time choosing which ones to get framed. So cute! Thank you Lisa.

I am in love

2011-03-29T21:10:00.002+11:00

I want these stickers SOOOOOO badly! Check out the full range here.
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Foxy felts

2011-03-26T16:31:00.003+11:00

I am loving foxes at the moment! I know I will need to simplify these shapes a bit but am thinking of this as an applique on the back hood section of the coat. I know the woodlands theme has been done to death, but I am thinking maybe a garden theme instead. I think I'll need to find some nice fox coloured felt! Hhhhmmm, there's something I never thought I'd say!
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Ok. So here's the plan

2011-03-25T09:43:00.002+11:00

One very plain little winter coat just crying out to be decorated! I'm thinking applique, trims, coloured buttons, ribbons....Must get sketching.

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Creative Juices

2011-03-22T20:22:00.006+11:00

I am sure that you are getting sick of me posting images of Jade supervising me at work, but my proposed layout for the new book has been approved and I am now getting stuck into some serious roughs. This book is so much fun. I have been lucky enough to enjoy complete freedom to interpret the text however I like, so I am loving it.

Now enough of the book talk. In other news.....I visited the most amazing fabric shop in Ballarat last week. I was slightly concerned it was going to be a bit traditional as it's called the Ballarat Patchwork Shop, but to my delight it was full of inspiration.

The colour and selection was so overwhelming that I could not decide where to start or what to buy. So many ideas started swimming through my head. I just wanted to grab a sketch book and start creating.

Despite this, all I came home with was a small selection of felt squares and a couple of trims, and I have no idea what I will do with them!

I am determined to return to the store with some designs and projects in mind next time. I am thinking about some great waterproof fabrics they had there, and I'd love to do a rain coat for Jade. Anyway, check out their website for a taste of what they have available.

I MUST make some time to get back to some sewing.

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A baby ate my homework

2011-03-04T20:56:00.002+11:00

Even though Jade chewed a few of my roughs, I have managed to finish the first of the two books I was working on, and sent in all first roughs for the second book (with the same publisher.) I have even started planning for my next book project with a different publisher that is due for completion in June.

Of course it's not all work and no play around here. I've become a bit of a coffee and cake addict.....hhhmmmm will consider working on losing some of my excess baby fat NEXT week!

A day at the office

2011-02-10T19:44:00.003+11:00

Ah, this is what it's all about. Sitting on the floor with my beautiful little girl doing a bit of work. I've almost completed all of the roughs for one of the books I'm currently working on, and so far they have gone down very well. It's always a bit nerve racking sending in the first batch of images to a new client, but very motivating when they love them!

Of course I can't show you any sneak peeks so here's a pic of Jade instead!

Oooh I've just realised she's wearing YELLOW! What's going on there?!

Something out of character

2011-02-01T11:06:00.009+11:00

Anyone who knows me well would know that I have a strong dislike for the colour yellow! I find it the hardest colour to work with and I avoid using it in my designs when ever possible!

Then along came this great big clock!

Check out the size of it!

Something about it just struck me as exactly what we needed to add to the nursery! I guess it's like a great big sun brightening up the room! We found it at the wonderful Mill Markets on a recent trip to Daylesford.

It's a lovely feature on such a large wall. I still need to get some shelving for the other end of this wall. I am thinking box shelves above this chair area.

I have managed to get a few more things up on the walls, but I still have some fabulous prints to frame and set up. Oh, and of course there's still the curtains! I don't know what do about them, but I am thinking something simple as the room is already so busy! I also need to get the rest of the lanterns hung up, but I am loving how everything is coming together!

And here's the gorgeous girl herself, lounging about in the cushion that I made her.

Hasn't she grown!

Happy New Year

2011-01-11T08:11:00.004+11:00

Welcome to a brand New Year. Time has escaped me yet again with several planned blog posts left incomplete, but I have finally managed to steal a few minutes to touch base with you all again.

We had a magical time sharing Jade's first Christmas with the whole family and even managed to get in her first holiday to the beach!

The New Year brings some exciting new book projects for me with some new publishers, which is always so exciting for me. Of course Jade will dictate how much time I can spend on them as she is always my priority, but yesterday I managed to make a great start on things as she happily played on the floor next to me! I must admit it's nice to be sketching again.

As time goes by

2010-12-01T14:25:00.006+11:00

There's so much going on at this time of year and throwing a baby into the mix just makes it so much more exciting!

CREATIVITY:
I am loving being a Mum and I am not actively seeking to get back to work yet, but I have been really excited by a couple of lovely opportunities that have cropped up. Fortunately I have managed to postpone the projects until next year, but it's great to have the time to mull over the briefs now and think about how I can approach them when the time comes.

ON MY COFFEE TABLE:
Not that I have any time to get through a full article, but I am LOVING flicking through this collection of magazines.

Little One Baby has become a bit of a favourite and I'd love to get Jade's nursery featured in there one day - if I ever finish it!

One thing that particularly caught my eye in the latest edition is this skirt.

I hope to find a pattern for something similar and see if my Mum might make me a couple for Christmas. I'm not normally a skirt wearer but I like that this is a long one down to the ankles.

BABY STUFF:
I've finally joined the local Mother's Group and we've met a couple of times in the last few weeks. So far they are a great group and I hope it eventuates into one of those good groups who stick together. I am so keen to meet some locals and get involved in the community.

Jade is starting to sleep through the night a bit now, and it's got me thinking about getting her into a better routine for her daytime naps. Then again as long as she's sleeping at night then I figure we are pretty lucky!

I am looking forward to getting the Christmas tree set up soon, and I guess I'd better think about making a start on the pressies. I am a notorious last minute shopper, but I don't think I can get away with it this year!

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Out and about

2010-11-25T10:56:00.004+11:00

A couple of weeks ago we ventured out of Bendigo for the weekend to attend an exhibition in Melbourne. It was Jades first big weekend away and traveling in the car. She did very well and it has given us the confidence to get out and about a bit more with her.

The exhibition was the graduation work of students completing a three year part time course in textile design out at Box Hill. The work included some stunning pieces by my very clever sister. I found it hard to edit the images so I've just included them all!

I'd love to hang these mobiles in my house, but I think I'm going to have to fight for them as I'm not the only one who wants them!

Look at the detail!

These are also part of her collection. The door is my favourite... oh and the gate!

Love this splash of colour in the butterfly.

I can't wait to see what you do next Jo and I'd love to get you do create some work for Jade's nursery. I bet I'm not the only one who'd love to commission your work! Good luck with whatever comes next for you. x

Beautiful gifts

2010-11-08T14:13:00.005+11:00

Two weeks before we told our parents we were expecting a baby, my Mum finalised a trip to Europe with her sister. It turned out that the trip would take place two weeks after our due date. Poor Mum! So two weeks after Jade arrived, Nanna was off to Europe! I know it was tough for her to be away with a new baby in the family, but she called us every week and found some gorgeous gifts for Jade in my favourite city - PARIS!

She knows my taste so well! I can't wait to frame some of these cards for the nursery wall. The round cards are by an illustrator called Anne-Isabelle Le Touze and the post cards are by an illustrator called Corinne Bittler. I LOVE Corrinne's art. Mum could not decide which cards to buy so she bought the whole range! I just love them!

I can't wait for her to fit into these! I wish they made grown up sizes in tshirts - I'd wear them for sure! In the meantime I might frame them or hang them on display in her nursery!

Check out this bag and the cute little toys! What a lucky girl!

And I could not resist adding a Jade pic to sign off with - too cute, hey?

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Catching up

2010-10-25T17:01:00.003+11:00

I am typing this with one hand as our gorgeous girl sleeps on my lap. It's too easy to spend the hours just gazing at her. She is so amazing and I can barely believe that she is real, and that she is ours!

When I was pregnant everyone tried to warn me that during the first few weeks and months your time will be so consumed by caring for your baby that even brushing your teeth or having a shower is quite an achievement each day. I thought this must be an exaggeration but it's just so true! Any time that I do get I'm under pressure to SLEEP!

It's been 9 weeks now and I am just starting to feel more like my old self (partly thanks to longer sleep periods at night now.). This means feeling more confident about getting out of the house and more motivated to catch up on some of the things I've been neglecting.

So, we have finally organised some thank you cards for everyone who sent us gifts and cards following the birth. I wish I had time to design the cards, but I thought these were quite a nice simple design to get the job done!

Now the next challenge will be to actually write them up AND get them in the post!
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Already 3 weeks old!

2010-09-14T12:51:00.005+10:00

I promise not to turn this blog into a photo fest of images of our gorgeous new little girl, but I just had to share this cute pic! (Taken before I had anything PINK to smother her in! I can't believe I've become a PINK lover!! Must be the hormones.)

A quick thank you to everyone for your best wishes on the safe arrival of Jade. We are still settling into our new life and I am recovering well following a VERY long labour and eventual Cesarean delivery.

No doubt things will be a bit quiet on the blog front while we focus all of our energy into our beautiful baby, but I hope to keep things ticking along here whenever I get the chance. I still have her room to finish off and some artworks to create!
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A Little Ray of Sunshine

2010-08-21T16:21:00.008+10:00

Raymond J (husband) posting on Danielle's behalf to welcome our new edition to our family.

Introducing Jade Amelie born 10am this morning, 8lbs 5 oz.

Danielle had to stay in the hospital for precautionary reasons but I thought that I would take the opportunity to welcome our beautiful daughter to the world.

Our lives will never be the same

RJ

As good as it gets today

2010-08-18T10:11:00.004+10:00

I needed to get out of the house yesterday, so we went out for dinner to my favourite Thai restaurant. The green curry chicken is amazing....

But I paid for it a bit over night with my first experience of what I guess is Braxton Hicks. The pain was so random that I did not get much sleep, so it's another quiet couch day today.

I think the nursery will have to be finished off AFTER the baby arrives...hopefully soon!

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Nursery update

2010-08-15T16:36:00.003+10:00

I've packed up the sewing for a bit, but not before finishing off a few more half started projects.

I wanted to create these bags to hang off this gorgeous "MOOSE" wall hook feature that we picked up in IKEA some months ago! It's one of my favourite features in the room and we finally attached it to the wall. We've also added a blackboard feature underneath the MOOSE which is just crying out for some scribbling!

I'm also keen to add more grey and orange to the room, and this has been helped by a beautiful gift of a brand new pram from my husbands parents. Oooh and check out the cushion that I made for the rocking chair. It's backed with the orange spot fabric I used for the drawstring crocodile bag, so it's kinda cute!

You can see that I STILL don't know what to do with the windows! Curtains? Blinds? Wooden or coloured venetians?

We've also finally hung the lantern in this room, but I have about another 4 to hang at different levels around it to create a cluster.

This week I want to focus on getting some things hung up on the walls. My lovely husband offered to pick up a blank canvas for me that I've been meaning to create for above the cot. I asked him to get something about the size of two A3's joined together and check out the ridiculous size that the shop assistant sent him home with! (Below, right image!)

I'm torn between daunted and up for the challenge to have a go at one this size! I've never done one before, but maybe if this is my focus this week it might take my mind off counting down the days to our baby's arrival!!?

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39 Weeks.....and counting.

2010-08-13T08:51:00.004+10:00

Forgive the headless image, but I just wanted to share another belly pic! This was taken last week. Yes, I managed to get out of the house to celebrate the 12 month anniversary of our big "tree change" from city to country life!

We treated ourselves to lunch in Echuca - something we did 12 months ago to celebrate the actual move, so it was amazing to think that a year had already passed us by.

It's been an incredible 12 months, and we have not regretted our move for a single moment. Raymond J has landed a local job now and finishes up in the city on Friday next week (the due date for our baby's arrival!) I know that the chances are we will go past this date, but it's slightly nervous timing for us both!

At least he doesn't start the new job until late September so it will be lovely to have some home time together when the baby arrives. We will finally get the chance to become "locals" after a full year of us both continuing to work in Melbourne.
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My Creative Space

2010-08-12T08:55:00.004+10:00

TA DA! Finished (slightly wobbly) cloth book! I was starting to worry that I would never finish this off after all the hard work of creating the pages, so I spent most of yesterday trying to solve the construction issues!

I still want to hand paint a title on this cover (went with the cat as I already had some sketches drawn up).

Um...too lazy to come up with a new character for the back I opted for some text! (Cheating I know!)

Here's a bit of sneak peek at the construction process!

Don't forget to check out other creative spaces over at Kootoyoo today.
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Desperate times call for desperate measures!

2010-08-06T13:45:00.004+10:00

Um....these were packed in our hospital bag for an emergency energy boost during labour, but how on earth is a 38 weeks pregnant woman supposed to resist raiding the bag when it comes to chocolate!

Well, it's actually a guilt free raid as I feel like I have earned it today! So far I've managed to do the following:

- get out of my pyjamas and into some "proper" clothes (first time this week!)
- weeded the garden (small section!) I've no idea what's going on there - I have no interest in gardening....but the sun was out...the dog was enjoying being outside - so we extended it a bit!
- two loads of washing (only hung out one on the line though - I've run out of puff!)
- dusted the house.
- rearranged the shelving in our bedroom.
- scrubbed the bath.
- cleaned the bathroom.
- vacuumed the house.

Of course I've run out of steam now, but my next goal will be to leave the house for the first time in a week. We might go out for breakfast tomorrow morning - what a great excuse!

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My Creative Space

2010-08-05T08:10:00.003+10:00

I've taken a bit of a break from sewing to think about the nursery again. I want to do a large hand painted illustration to feature in the room so have started on some sketches.

Then I remembered this nifty toolbox that I wanted to paint so I decided to play around with applying some ideas to this little box.

I'm not sure which colourway or design to go with, but I hope to make a start on it today! I hope your day is full of fun and creativity too.

If you need some inspiration, check out some more great Creative Spaces here at Kootoyoo.

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2010-08-03T14:22:00.004+10:00

I am suddenly HUGE and finding it tougher to move around. The baby is so active, and my tummy is so tight! I have officially adopted that pregnant waddle and am reluctant to be seen in public!

I've also become really tired of late and have had a few couch days of just chilling out with some knitting and trashy TV. I have not been alone though, with our our dog Roxy becoming such a sook of late! I don't know if she's sensing some changes on the way, or changes in my behavior? I don't know, but she's become my body guard of late! I just need to teach her to use the phone in case things kick off when no-ones around!!

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My Creative Space

2010-07-29T08:55:00.002+10:00

A quick thank you for all your words of encouragement! It's quite motivating and inspires me to try to get things finished off.

I've managed to complete three double page spreads now, but I think I just need one more page. The rabbit is my new favourite, but maybe I need a cat character or something to complete the series? I also need some front and back pages. Of course, I still have no idea how I'll sew it all together, but I'm sure when the time comes I'll work it out!

I have a few more half finished projects featuring these characters which I will try to finish off today, but next week I think I'll move to some painting and illustration work to go up in the nursery. What a luxury to have the time (for a little bit longer anyway!)
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A belly pic!

2010-07-26T11:04:00.003+10:00

I've had a few requests for some BELLY pics and have been meaning to get one up here for a while. This is a few weeks ago and I'm already bigger than this now!

With only about 4 weeks to go, I'm starting to feel the effects of the late stages of pregnancy! I'm not wanting to venture too far from the house and my sleep pattern is already broken up with endless loo stops, painful leg cramps and aching hips! All part of the training for all of those sleepless nights ahead (and all worth if of course!!). The little flutterings of movement have become strong kicks, and my internal organs seem to be getting a bit of a bruising these days.

The nursery is coming along well, our bags are packed for the hospital and we seem to have most things organised should the baby decide on an early entry into this world....oh, except for the baby seat fitted in the car, a mattress for the cot, a change mat for the change table, the pram....so much STUFF for such a small little thing!

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My Creative Space

2010-07-22T13:35:00.002+10:00

I got a little distracted away from the book project this week to see how this dog character would adapt into a different product. I've been working on some projects from this great basic book, and pushing the designs a little further.

This is my interpretation of the rattle. I had to put x3 bells in it as the stuffing really muffled the noise of the bell, but I think it's turned out quite cute!
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My Creative Space

2010-07-14T19:22:00.004+10:00

After yesterdays fruitful afternoon of ideas, I decided to start these characters off in a small cloth book.

I made some templates of each of the character shapes, so that I can apply them to other things later.

I love my old Elna sewing machine. It's just been serviced and it sews like a dream. Basic, but that's just how I like it thanks very much! It's been so long since I've sewn that I almost forgot how to thread it up and adjust things like the tension!

It didn't take long for it to feel like old times, and I was soon zig zag stitching with the best of them!!

I'm looking forward to starting on the Bunny, and the Crocodile pages next. Of course, I have not quite figured out the logistics of stitching all the pages together yet, but will deal with that one later!

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Character ideas

2010-07-13T16:48:00.003+10:00

I've had to resist the urge to just dive into the sewing, as I also want to add some detail and characters to things. So I made myself sit down and do some sketching. Before I knew it I was "in the mode"! What a lovely afternoon!

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My Creative Space

2010-07-08T10:28:00.005+10:00

Now that I am a woman of leisure (well for a few more weeks until the baby arrives!) I thought it was a great chance to participate in some activities with fellow bloggers.

So I'm starting things off here at Kootoyoo where there are some very clever people sharing their creative spaces.

Here's what's been on our dining table of late!

My studio space has been converted into the baby's nursery, so I've had to find space elsewhere to keep the creativity flowing!

I haven't sewn for years, so I'm cheating a bit and decorating some plain tees and bodysuits that I bought for the baby.

The whole piece is hand sewn, as it's obviously a finished garment and a bit tough to guide under a sewing machine. While it's been very time consuming it's also very relaxing.

I just need some blue in there somewhere now.

The big challenge is to finish it off before starting the next piece! Too many ideas!

There's knitting to finish, rugs, bibs and cushions to be sewn, and I still want to paint some illustrations to decorate the walls of the nursery!.....SO MUCH TO DO...and loving it!

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Commence the nesting!

2010-07-07T10:19:00.005+10:00

We are now 33 weeks into the pregnancy and somehow I still can't take in that we will have a baby in this house in a little while. It's just too exciting.

Time just races by and I have now officially finished work. While it was with mixed emotions that I headed off on maternity leave, I'd have to say that deep down I'm quite relieved in the end! The travel was getting too much and the exhaustion has set in. I've been sleeping 10 -12 hrs a night (with several loo stops of course!) but my body is really demanding some rest time!

Having said that, I've just enjoyed a week of family staying over which meant we could finally get some furniture moved into the nursery! Here's the progress so far:

I still have to work out what to do with that window that you can see above the shelving. I assume it was meant to have a stain glass window in it at some point but the previous owners never finished it. It opens into the living room/kitchen, and I'm thinking of adding some shutters...or creating a diorama, or simply some curtains!

Funnily enough, there's more red in here than I planned, but I love it, so am going with the flow on this one!

Even the feature wall has come up well with the contrasting red in front of it! I have started buying the nappies, creams, wipes etc etc and I can't believe how much STUFF babies need! It was really odd buying my first pack of nappies!

We've picked up a second hand cot, and I am still avoiding the whole pram buying thing! It's just too overwhelming. I've no idea where to start with this - there's just too many options out there and how are you meant to know what you'll need when you've never used one!!

My wonderful work colleagues helped to start things off on the clothing and toy front, so we can now build on that.

I'm not sure when things will start to feel real for me! The baby is certainly active enough to be a constant reminder, but somehow I still can't take it all in! I guess I have several weeks now to just focus on the nesting instinct and to enjoy the build up to such a life changing moment!

I've also given in to the crafting bug, so lots to share in the coming days!
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MY LATEST BOOKS!

2010-06-27T18:43:00.003+10:00

Friday was an annual leave day for me, which gave me the opportunity to have a wonderful lunch with the ladies I worked on my latest book series with. We met at this lovely pub on a wet and wintry afternoon. It was so lovely and cosy!

I was thrilled to be presented with a full set of books for my collection. These are for the educational market as they form a teaching program assisting young children who are learning to read.

They've come up beautifully, and it was a great chance for me to do some human characters. Their names are Pip & and Tim, and the Cat and Dog are Tip & Sam. I'm really happy with them and I think they suit the age group.

This was such a big project to take on while working full time. There's x20 books in the series and x6 illustrations per book!

Our time lines were VERY tight and coincided with the first trimester of this pregnancy, when I was feeling pretty rough!

I managed to get another illustrator to help me finish of the last couple of books, and somehow it all came together in the end. It's very satisfying.

This is an independent project published through Learning Logic. What excited me about this opportunity was the chance to create some contemporary readers for the school market. Many of the readers in schools still seem to be so old fashioned and traditional. I hope kids get a bit of a kick out of something a bit more up to date!

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Cry Baby

2010-06-18T09:11:00.003+10:00

Can I blame pregnancy hormones for cry baby sessions of late? Let me explain:

5 irrational reasons to cry at work yesterday:

1. Work colleague 1: " You look tired are you OK?"
ME: "Yes just tired". Commence tears.

2. Work colleague 2: " Here - you look like you need this"...hands me chocolate.
ME: Commence tears.

3. Later in the day. Colleague 3: "You look a bit rough today, maybe you should go home early".
ME: Commence tears.

4. Finally get into car for home time.
ME: Cry with relief and don't have to hold back!

5. Pick up husband in city. He's so concerned about how I'm feeling that it makes me cry! (He's so lovely!)

Needless to say was absolutely exhausted yesterday. Slept for 11 hours last night and my morning starts off like this:

1. Cried because yesterdays storm blew all the washing off the line, and it needs to be re-washed.
2. Cried because there's no wood at the back door to keep the fire going.
3. Cried because I can't find 2 pairs of jeans I took away with me last weekend when visiting my parents (no they're not there either!)
4. Cried because there's dishes in the sink that need my attention (of course I will ignore them!)

I think I just need to go back to bed. Thankfully I have an annual leave day today, and am heading off to Daylesford this weekend for a girlie weekend. I hope I'm better company than I've been the last couple of days! Could be just what I need!

Now after all those those tears there are still some things that can make me smile. I love where we live! Check out these early morning shots of our property.

Enjoy your weekend!
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Progress all 'round

2010-06-16T17:05:00.005+10:00

We've just had a wonderful long weekend visiting family up in North East Victoria. It was very relaxing and Mum helped me finish off and sew up the cardie I started a few months ago!

Cute huh? It still needs some buttons, but I wanted to see if I can get some wooden ones. She also tried to teach me to crochet, but let's just say I should stick with the knitting!!

In the meantime my husband's wonderful parents spent the weekend at our house finishing off the painting! Now that's dedication! We decided to go with the Aqua after all.

Thanks for your comments and feedback. I think it balances nicely with the grey. Can't wait to start the decorating.

The floors are also done! Looks great doesn't it.

It obviously just finishes things off. We also picked up some second hand baby stuff from some friends on the weekend, so things are starting to take shape.

Here's a few more brand new arrivals!

I bought a mix of fabrics after discovering this great on-line etsy store! I have no idea what I'll do with it, but I was just drawn to the colours.

I've also decided on a finishing up date for work - only two weeks away now, so that takes me up to the end of this month, and 8 weeks out from our due date. I'm starting to really feel the effects of all the travel to Melbourne every week and am getting pretty tired (and crabby) these days!

Funnily enough, last week at my Monday night swimming classes (for preggers chicks) I overheard a conversation between two Mums finishing up work 3 weeks before their due date. They were a little worried about what on earth they are going to do with themselves for those weeks! It made me smile. I can't wait to slow down and spend those wonderful weeks preparing myself and our home for our exiting new arrival.

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Does this help?

2010-06-07T20:17:00.002+10:00

I needed to see these colours with some of the accessories I've already bought for the room. The floor will be wooden floor boards and this mat is actually quite small, but the wall colour is working better with this mix of colour next to it.

The only other temptation at the moment is to maybe go a darker grey?

I'm not sold on this. I've always wanted a bright nursery and I think the first image certainly reflects that!! It's growing on me!
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TA DA!....well almost!

2010-06-07T07:36:00.007+10:00

Introducing the beautiful final colour chosen for our feature wall! It's gorgeous in the paint tin....

...then the REAL work begins....

...then the nerves set in....

...am slightly uneasy about it used on such a large scale. But then it's only one wall. The two next to it are in a soft grey and the fourth wall is stone. I am hoping the colour will go slightly darker on the second coat - it's brighter than I thought it would end up. It's hard to judge though as the look and feel will change as the floor goes down and all the furniture and decoration gets added.

Then again....if I'm going to change my mind this is the week to decide! Ooohhhh, what to do! Any thoughts?
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Baby Blankets

2010-05-31T18:46:00.004+10:00

I told you she was clever! My mum has finished a couple of blankets for the new baby. I'd like to learn to crochet actually! Must get her to give me a lesson.

I just love the colours.....hhhhmmm that reminds me. Only three days left to decide on wall colours for the nursery! Eeeek! Lucky I work better under pressure, hey?!

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Photo Fest

2010-05-23T17:46:00.010+10:00

I met up with my sister in the city (Melbourne) on Saturday morning for a wander through the lane ways. It's been AGES since I've done that and we had a lovely morning.

We came across a lovely collection of cup cake decoration kits. Yet another reason I have to learn to bake! There's plenty more to choose from on their website here.

I was stopped in my tracks by this stunning store called Bison Australia and their website makes me want to work there! Check it out here. Of course all I could think about was applying some of these lovely colours to the nursery.

I'm loving the orange actually. I wonder if I have the courage to use it on one of the nursery walls.

I did manage to pick up a few extra items for the nursery that fit nicely into the colour scheme.

I'll frame the set of four greeting cards I picked up. The blanket was on special. And I have no idea what I'll make with the fabric! I just loved the print, and the colours fitted the nursery theme!

Now I know you wont quite believe this, but this beautiful new table is also destined for the nursery!....um and it gets worse. I intend it to be the change table!

I just wanted something that we'd use again long after the need to change nappies!

Here's a bit of a close up view. I PROMISE to make a special cover to protect the surface, and I'll take extra care of it! We also picked up three lovely stools that we've been needing for the kitchen bench too. I promise they will STAY in the kitchen.

So, with all this talk of nursery stuff, I'm starting to feel we are running out of time to get things underway. We're heading into a REALLY busy period of having something on almost every weekend now for the next 4-5 weekends, so today it was time to make some progress.

The cupboards had to come out as they are too close to the door - and, well let's face it - they're pretty ugly! There was so much "stuff" to pack up and we managed to move it all out into the the newly renovated shed!)

We converted what used to be a horse stable into a storage shed and moved all of our old cupboards into it for safe storage. The amazing thing about this is that my husband somehow managed to do all of the heavy lifting on his own!! He somehow managed to works some magic with a wonderful trolley that he invested in from Bunnings - worth every cent I'd say.

So, we still need to pull up the carpet, but we may have some visitors in the coming weeks so we'd better leave the bed in until the last minute.

We've ordered some floor boards that should be ready to be installed within a couple of weeks, but I really wanted to paint first.

Hhhhmmmm, I'd better make some decisions on some colours!
Is it rude to ask our visitors to pick up a paint brush and give us a hand?!!

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First belly teaser!

2010-05-19T18:45:00.006+10:00

Just wanted to share a bit of a peek at my little tummy! See how it pops out over the top of the book? Makes me smile as glance down to follow the pattern I am knitting.

Knitting has been a wonderful way to help me slow down and relax. It's quite therapeutic and not too much of a brain strain either!

I'm still feeling really well, but am starting to get tired a little more easily these days. I am still working full time and traveling into Melbourne two days a week, and I'd have to admit that I'm virtually going straight to bed as soon as we get home - at around 7pm! (Mind you, we leave home at 5:30am, so it's a long day at the best of times!)

It's the kind of tired that leaves me so shattered I can barely hold myself up to sit in a chair. It's quite a bizarre feeling. I'm sleeping really well too! It's been great to give in to things when your body just screams at you to take things easy, rest or slow down. I realise now how much we normally just push our bodies to the limits and ignore any warning signs to slow down or take it easy. Now I am loving just giving in to it and giving myself permission to just put the feet up whenever I can.

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Reality Check - WEEK 26

2010-05-17T06:31:00.004+10:00

We are now part way through week 26 in the pregnancy and I’ve had a bit of a reality check! I’ve been in denial about the actual birth process and not sure whether to just ignore it and take my chances, or if I should do all the research I can to try to prepare myself!

Well I was getting some wood from the woodshed for our fire recently, when I picked the wrong piece of wood from the stack. It caused a mini avalanche from the higher stacking which resulted in a large block falling from above my head right onto the top of my foot.

It hurt so much that I was not sure if I was going to be sick or pass out. I did manage to get back to the safety of my couch though where I recovered pretty quickly.

Naturally this got me thinking about how on earth I am going to have a baby if I can’t even cope with an injury pain!

So I decided it was time to hit the books!

Having skim read them all, here's my conclusion:
It’s really difficult to prepare for something that you just can’t comprehend! I can’t help feeling that all this advice and preparation is all well and good for your second child, but it’s hard to take it in for the first go at this!

So I will continue to focus on keeping fit and healthy and enjoying the increased movement and kicking of our lovely little baby. We have a Friday night ritual where we tuck up in bed together and my husband reads aloud (from this book) the corresponding week of pregnancy that we are up to. It tells us what’s happening this week with the development of both baby and me. It’s been a lovely way for us to enjoy the milestone of each week closer to meeting our baby.

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2010-05-15T18:17:00.004+10:00

I had a lovely "Mother-to-be" day for Mothers Day last weekend and got some extra smiles from people when I wore this lovely gift out to our cafe lunch! We are around the 6 month mark now and it made me feel extra special!

I visited the Craft Alive show in Bendigo today and as expected it was a bit too traditional and nana-ish for me. Having said that, now that I've done my colour board for the nursery I see things everywhere in the colour palette I like!

I seem to have a thing for ribbons and ric rac at the moment! I also loved these cute animal cookie cutters. They hand made in Australia by a Ballarat based business called BISK-ART. Can't wait to try them out (um...of course I have to learn how to bake first!)

These lovely books arrived in the post and prompted another visit to the Bendigo Woolen mill to top up some supplies. I've never crocheted before, but if I'm ever going to start then these books have inspired me. I know I should finish my current project before taking on another, but I've almost finished knitting the cardie, and I need my expert Mothers' help to finish it off (with the neck band and sewing it all together!)

Ok - so time for a nursery update. The rocking chair and the lamp have now arrived and last weekend we visited IKEA for some inspiration. I fell in love with this cool Moose! You attach it to the wall an hang things from it! I just love it. We also picked up a great floor rug but I could not find an image to share with you.

We finished weather-proofing the shed today (well, I say WE but of course I mean my husband!) and we are now ready to start moving things out of the spare room! (I've had to cram some of my crafty things into a corner in our bedroom for now.) Hopefully we can clear the room for next weekend, and then we have some cupboards to pull out, and carpet to rip up...(again, of course, when I say WE I mean my husband!)

I can't wait to get some colour on the walls, so hopefully I can start to share some of the BEFORE shots of the room as we progress into the transformation!
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Early beginnings

2010-05-02T17:55:00.005+10:00

Mood board time! I ducked into town today to grab a few things to get my mood boards underway. Bunnings was a great start, where I picked up some great colour chips to inspire me, along with some lovely test colour paint.

I tested the paint colours on some canvas board to get an idea of how they come up on a reasonably large area. Once we get going in the spare room I'll prop them up in there to see how the light effects them. I've already decided that the red will only be highlight colour in decorative elements in the room, but some of the other colours show some potential to make it onto the walls. (Not sure about going the all white walls I had first planned).

I also dropped by Spotlight where a found a gorgeous mix of buttons and ribbons.

Check out the before and after shot below and note with envy my brand new hot glue gun! I've always wanted one, but wasn't quite sure why - UNTIL I used it! What fun!! I'm now desperate to find something else to glue! (Sorry about the image quality.)

We've also started to make our first purchases for the nursery.
So far we’ve managed to order THIS fabulous chair!

I just could not stop thinking about since seeing it on line, and we found this store in Melbourne that had a sample one for us to check out. We had to place an order for it and it should arrive in a few weeks. I’m really excited about it - although it’s kind of amusing that our first baby purchase is more about me than the baby!

I’ve also tracked down a cheaper alternative to that Japanese lantern I fell in love with, when I spotted the above image in the latest Real Living magazine! The store is called Papier D'Amour and you must check out the lovely blog, unless you're lucky enough to live in Sydney where you can just visit the store! I could not find the lanterns in the online shop, so I rang the Sydney store and ordered a mix of colours and sizes for the room. The staff were fantastically helpful and were so quick to help me that the lanterns have already arrived on my doorstep! They're perfect, but I could not get a good photo of them to share with you. I'm also seriously loving the use of grey.....hhmmm...something to think about.

I also fell in love with this cute lamp following a comment from Fi regarding Aero designs! ( I still can’t find the tree though, so I may have to visit the store...although I'm a little over the tree trend....AND OWLS!)

Now just to put a bit of a cap on the spending (and in some small way try to justify the decadent purchase of the rocking chair!) we've decided not to give into our every whim, and have left this cot that we've had our eye on, in the store!

Instead we've accepted a very generous offer from one of our friends to borrow a cot. I’m very pleased with this as we really want the room to be a mix of old and new. Someone PLEASE remind me of this if things are getting too co-ordinated and designy! I’d rather it was eclectic and fun - just like the mood board.

I'd like to do a FABRIC mood board too, to get some texture happening and to give me some direction to my crafting urges! So much to do!

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Going back to my roots

2010-04-26T17:03:00.005+10:00

We had a lovely weekend staying with my sister and her family on the weekend. She's the sewer in the family and when I wound up my craft market days I passed on all my leftover materials to my sister.

It turns out that she's kept most of it and these boxes are filled with some of the memories.

This stuff dates back to the very early days of Red Dog and Jude - over 10 years ago now!

The boxes are full of cut shapes and bits and pieces to create some of the things I used to make and sell at the markets.

I managed to find a few snaps of some the things that I used to sell. The tool boxes are hand painted and I used to cut the bunny rug shapes, bind them with a simple overlocked edge, and hand paint the detail. I had some cloth labels made up to finish things off!

I used to sell stacks of the Bunny Rugs and I've been thinking about making some for the new baby, with some fresh new designs.

There's quite a few blank ones in the boxes, that are all ready to go. I just have to come up with some fresh new designs, so that's my next project over the coming weeks.

While looking for some market photos, I came across this box of inspiration from many years ago, so I hope to find some ideas for the nursery.

This old colour palette is a great start and I like the touch of grey in this!We should be ready to paint the nursery walls in the next couple of weeks, so we'll have to make some decisions soon!

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NURSERY IDEAS

2010-04-19T06:57:00.011+10:00

We're starting to gather a few ideas for the nursery now, and I plan to do some mood and colour boards to help inspire us as we get closer to making a bit of a start.

We only have a two bedroom home and we are just organising a secure shed to be able to move everything out of the "spare room" into storage for a while!....it may be a case of BYO tent or caravan for visitors for a while! Although I am assured that NO-0NE will want to stay in the same house as a new born anyway, so I believe we have some time to work out some alternative arrangements!

Just a quick note that I have exhausted all avenues to find where I sourced some of the images, but with no luck, so please enjoy them for their colour and inspiration references that originally drew me to them!

So let me just start by saying that all of the lovely prints are by a very talented duo of Australian artists Nicholas and Mara Girling. Check out their PRINT SPACE blog for all details.
I think I'll have to stock up on some of their prints!

1. I just loved the 3D feel of this arrangement - a bit like a scene or set from a play. This interests me and I like the thought of doing something like this on one of the walls. And how gorgeous is that blue wall with the contrasting red!

2. I've always loved little multi box shelving and would like to do something like this on another wall! Check out the Purl Bee website and blog for heaps more inspirational colour use....oh and of course their craft stuff!

3. Easy access to books is a must - even if it's a little while before they're in full use! I love the idea of some shelving that presents the books facing front on rather than just seeing the spines. Then you can update and change the selection when ever you need to refresh them! It's a great way to add colour to a room too!

4. How cool are the white shelves with the coloured insides?! Could be some ideas in this too! I also love that orange bean bag in the corner. Check out the full tour of this house here are Bloesem Kids.

5. I've had my eye on this light cover for some time, but just can't bring myself to pay the money for it! I think I might try to find some plain white rice paper light covers to decorate myself! But you MUST check out the beautiful French website Ocechou where I found this! I want just about everything on this site!

6. Speaking of forking out money, here's a rather decadent item I have fallen in love with! I've been wanting a rocking chair (for those late night feeds and wake up calls!) but never imagined there might be something quite as luxurious as this out there! We've found this store in Melbourne who stock them, so we may have to find an excuse to go and test drive one!

7. This is another Bloesem house tour and I'm interested in the idea of lots of frames all cluttered together in one space, but not necessarily framing images!

Oooh, I almost forgot the mention the Atelier cards in the bottom left corner of the middle group of images! I regularly visit their site for great colour inspiration!

My next step is to start to find some paint colour chips, along with some fabrics and textures to fill out my mood boards a little.

Have a great week!

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Special arrival!

2010-04-11T19:13:00.003+10:00

Well, I've been taking things a bit easy of late, so there's not been much to blog about....UNTIL.....

...this lovely surprise box turned up this week!

It's full of copies of my latest book! How exciting. I can't reveal too much more just yet, as it's not released until next month, but here's a bit more of a peek if you're curious. I'm really pleased with how it's come together and I can't wait to share some inside pages with you.

As for the craft projects? Well, I've stalled a bit now as I have not had the chance to get any new wool colours to finish of the cardie. I might have to just keep it two colours after all.

I've also passed on the beautiful cotton colours to the real expert (my Mum!) who's going to crochet a lovely baby blanket for us. I've been feeling really well of late and my appetite is back with a vengeance - just in time of lots of chocolate over Easter!

We've also started our plans for transforming our spare room in to the new nursery, so I look forward to sharing the processes with you.

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Can't just let it be!

2010-03-08T16:01:00.007+11:00

The idea of taking up knitting was to find something to do that did not involve my creative input! You know, just relax, follow the pattern and get the result. Simple stripe with lovely wooden buttons was the plan.

Well after finishing the back, two front panels and one sleeve, I just could not resist! The cardie was a bit to simple for my taste!

Not sure if I'll follow it through, but I thought a couple of changes might create a bit more interest.

Also true to my form, I am already thinking about the next project before finishing what I've started! This long weekend was a great opportunity to make my first visit to the Bendigo Woollen Mills. I was expecting some "Nana" style wools, and while this is mostly true, I did find something that has totally inspired me to consider my next project! Check out these beautiful colours.

Colour is perhaps the most important design element to me and as soon as I spotted this combination I just had to buy them! There's some great old fashioned skills that are making a come back, and I really think it's the colour choices that can bring them into the modern world.

I have NO IDEA what to do with them, and they're actually cotton (not wool) so I'll need to do some research to get some ideas. I'm thinking of trying crochet....I know, I know - ONE thing at a time!

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Confessions of a work-a-holic

2010-02-28T13:54:00.008+11:00

Introducing my rediscovered method for "slowing down" and relaxing! I've taken up knitting (after about a 20 year break from it!) This follows Doctors orders to "learn to take it easy" and rest! Nothing to worry about, we are just FINALLY having a baby this year!

So, needless to say we've been a bit pre-occupied over the last few months and have been keeping a bit of a low profile to get through the first trimester.

So I've started knitting a baby cardigan from the Debbie Bliss collections. I am very rusty, but it's all slowly coming back!

I am even tempted to have a go a sewing again....it's only been about 6 years since I did the sewing thing!

I also hope to have a bit more time to get back to blogging again now as I am no longer taking on freelance projects. I've finished my last batch of books, thanks to some help from a fellow blogging/illustrator friend - you know who you are....(thanks again!).

This lovely surprised arrived in the post this week - it's the UK versions of my I'm glad series of books. I'm not sure if I knew they were doing Uk versions or not (it's been a while since I read the contracts!) but it's very exciting!!

So here's to blogging, crafting and getting my life balance back.

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HAPPY 2010

2010-01-31T17:11:00.003+11:00

Ok, so an embarrassing amount of time has gone by since my last post, but this is just a quick update to let you know that I am still here! We've crammed so much into the last few weeks that I don't know where to start to update you!

So for now, I'll just have to leave you hanging until I can get some time to give you some details.

Here's a pic that sums up how we passed the holiday period - a few glorious weeks at the beach on the NSW Saphire Coast (Merimbula, Tathra....etc!)

More goss soon! x

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Christmas Wishes 2009!

2009-12-20T14:24:00.004+11:00

Well this is my first totally free weekend for what feels like several months and it's been lovely! We managed to complete most of the Christmas shopping, and I even found time to whip up this chocolate slice!

We're off to a BBQ with some neighbours tonight so I thought we'd better not rock up empty handed! We are very lucky to have met so many new people in the area within a few short months of us being here. It's so different to all the years of city living and not knowing anyone in our street!

I found these illustrations from my last years Christmas illustration ideas, (yeah, I know I'm lazy!) but I thought I'd better send some Christmas wishes today, as I know I wont get time next week.

We're off on a beach holiday next weekend and plan to take our laptops, so I hope to get in a few blog posts before we get back.

Stay safe everyone and I hope that this years fire season is a very quiet one. x
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Studio Dreaming

2009-12-09T19:56:00.003+11:00

Since moving into our new home in the country we have been laying low a bit and just letting ourselves dream of all the crazy and wonderful things we can do here. One of those big dreams is to build a studio where I can spread out and be creative!

I started to collect some images that inspire me, and there are so many gorgeous stone dwellings around here that I can't seem to get this style out of my head. Here's some local pics of the kind of thing I had in mind....um perhaps a little smaller?

I little bit of photoshop magic and this is where we were thinking of building it - on the other side of the dam.

Of course it needs some big windows along the side,and lots of plantings, and maybe a big decking, and....well I can dream can't I?!

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Proof of print

2009-12-07T07:16:00.004+11:00

The print proofs have arrived for my latest book. I'm really excited about this one as it's the first hand painted illustrations I have done for the book industry. It's come up really well, and I can't wait to see it all made up as a final hard cover book!

Here's an annoying sneak peek to tease you with!

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Keeping it local

2009-11-28T16:53:00.004+11:00

Ducked into town this morning to pick up a few things and could not resist dropping into my favourite Bendigo store - Bob.

Of course I should have known that would result in us spending money, but who could resist these.

The booklet is x12 gorgeous prints by Suzy Ultman which I plan to frame and hang around the house...

The box is for these cool Creature Lights...

with cute felt characters...

...that inspired us to put up this:

Is it too early to get the Christmas tree out? I just figured if we did not do it today it wouldn't happen! We started on the Christmas shopping too, as I am a notorious Christmas Eve shopper. I wont have time this year to leave it that late as we are having Christmas away this year.

Anyway, must dash - more books and illustration stuff awaiting....at least x20 illustrations still left to do before Christmas! (Where's the motivation? - Christmas holidays at the beach!!Yippee!!...um, yep that is my brand new boogie board under the tree there - waiting to be wrapped and ripped opened again on Christmas day!)

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I'M BACK

2009-11-22T09:54:00.004+11:00

I did not even get the chance to remind you I was going, but I am now back from a business trip to China! As part of my "Real Job" requirements, we started off at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, then worked our way up the coastline to Shanghai. 8 cities in 16 days made for a pretty full itinerary, but it really was a fabulous trip this year, and I managed to stay well for the whole trip this time!

We had the last weekend off, where we were able to do some sightseeing and headed off to Beijing to walk the Great Wall.

We had not counted on the snow (only packing summer gear) so we had to buy winter woolies!

It was absolutely stunning and beyond anything I could have imagined!... and colder than anything I could have imagined!

Of course I missed my husband terribly, but I managed to work out buying a local simcard for the phone so that we could make international calls really cheaply! (Last year my mobile phone bill was nearly $500 during my time away!!)

There's no rest for the wicked, heading straight back to work last week, and getting stuck back into my new series of books this weekend! I still feel like I could sleep for a week, but the thought of Christmas holidays on the horizon will keep me going.

I'm expecting the proofs from my last book to arrive next week, and it's due to be released in May next year, so that's pretty exciting too.

So, things are back to "normal" in my over-busy life!

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BY MY BEDSIDE

2009-10-26T07:15:00.000+11:00

Decided to participate in this when I spotted it here. It's all about sharing what's on your beside table. Well, you can see that I don't really have a bedside table as the bed is pushed right up against the wall.

That's my favourite Terance Conran linen we received for our wedding, and I still love it! Needs updating now, but it's such beautiful quality that it's still like new.

Anyway, no bedside tables, but what I do have is these really cute little nooks where I tend to stack up lots of reading material..... and what's a nook, without nick knacks?!

Raymond J has bought me a copy of Into the Wild to read during my China trip (I loved the movie, and have the sound track too!)

This soft toy dates back to my days of working for a plush toy company where I had the great privilege to work with this talented artist to create this gorgeous plush toy. It's always been a bit of a favourite of mine. Her name is Ruby Red Shoes.

I thought I'd finish up with a sneak peek at the view from the bed. Of course the dog is not normally allowed on the bed, but it makes a cute photo!

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FUN IN THE SUN

2009-10-25T17:23:00.006+11:00

I am off to China at the end of this week (as part of my full time job)so this is the last weekend I will get to spend with my husband until mid November! With my freelance work keeping me busy during all my spare time, I would confess that Raymond J has been a bit neglected of late, so I promised him a full day off together this weekend. (....um, yep, only one!)

The beautiful weather enticed us outdoors where we found a local market in Chewton (near Castlemaine. We picked up some yummy organic bread, some fresh fruit and some spices.

This collection inspired us to picnic in the beautiful Castlemaine Botanic Gardens. It was lovely to have a day out with the family!

The rest of the weekend was spent with more REJECTED characters! But they are coming along nicely. Makes these look a bit wrong now!

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On my desk...or in the BIN!

2009-10-23T07:09:00.003+11:00

Character development would have to be one of my favourite stages of book illustration. I love creating different poses and drawings to help work out personality and the final look of the character. I also love getting input from the team you are in development with as it always seems to challenge you to push your work to the next level.

Having said that, here are some REJECTS that never made the cut!

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No rest for the wicked!

2009-10-11T18:24:00.004+11:00

Phew, another busy weekend almost done. It was lovely to have the weekend at home where I managed to:

Work on some characters for my next book project.

Help my husband start our veggie patch.

With some help from the dog with no eyes! (Long overdue for a haircut!)

I even managed to find some time to bake a banana cake!

...not to mention the housework, laundry...oh, and accidentally getting my hair cut as short as PINK's latest cut! No pics of that - I'm still recovering!!! (But I do love it!)

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ILLUSTRATIONS FINISHED = FREE WEEKEND

2009-10-04T20:19:00.005+11:00

This is my last free weekend for a bit as I get ready to take on the next batch of new books, so we thought we'd better get out of the house and explore local while we can. Here's a visual summary...

Check out the BLOG HERE, but visit the store if you can!

....Paumes, Mixtape, Pepper mint....
...where pages like this...

....inspire me to want to do something about this....

I really need a studio!
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ON MY DESK

2009-09-22T07:48:00.004+10:00

Well, so much for blogging more often! I guess I just have to accept that I really can't do everything! Excuse the mess, but I thought I'd share some evidence of why I've been too busy to blog!

I'm in the thick of things with the final artwork for my latest book. I've spent a lot of time fussing over the best paint to use, as well as the best colour mixes. It's been wonderful to get back to some hand painted work and it's coming together nicely.

I also have my next book project lined up and am really excited to be working with these ladies in particular! Obviously I can't say too much, but I am already looking forward to starting some new books.

Anyway...must go - lots to do!

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Nothing ever goes to plan!

2009-09-06T12:06:00.007+10:00

I woke today all pumped up and ready to start the final, hand painted, artwork for my new book. I planned to share a quick post of where this is all up to, when I discovered that my blog had been bombarded with random comments - IN CHINESE! Just when you start to get comfortable with the whole computer world something always seems to bring you down a peg or two.

So I have spent the entire morning checking through my backlog of posts to delete the random spam comments. (I think/hope I got them all!)

It turned out to be a walk down memory lane! I guess that's the amazing thing about blogging. I've never really bothered to check back through my own posts, (I mean why would you?!)but it really is a bit like journal reading.

I feel that my blog has changed a lot since returning to full time work, and I need to make more time for it - I forgot how much I enjoy it!

So here's a few things from previous posts that I hope to get back to sharing in future posts:

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: what a great way to get an inspirational break away from current projects)...here's a few topics I had particular fun with:

STITCH

CLANDESTINE

SEED

INSPIRATION MONDAYS: I miss this! I have continued to collect things to share with you (and have at least a years worth backed up to get into a format to share with you!)

...Life Drawing....I intended to get back to regular classes this year, but it just didn't happen - if I can find some local classes it might give me a chance to meet some people in the area, as we still don't really know anyone here!

DESIGN PROCESSES: you know - sharing the processes I go through in various projects....I have been documenting the processes of my current new books to share with you once they get into publication. I have always found that sort of thing interesting in other peoples blogs. This post was an exceptionally long version of what I mean!

...writing....goes without saying really, but it's still on the cards....more house stuff - I need to bring some colour and craft into this house!

...never a dull moment, hey?!

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Pancakes at dawn

2009-09-02T07:40:00.003+10:00

The problem with getting up at 5am a couple of times a week is that it becomes a hard habit to break. Especially when my husband still has to do it 5 times a week! So what do you do in the wee hours of the morning until the sun comes up? Make pancakes of course!

I am not renowned for my cooking skills, but following pressure from my girlfriends to invest in the cooking bible (as it's been dubbed) I decided to give it a go! Not bad for a first attempt, hey?!

PS Dear gorgeous husband - I promise I have saved enough batter to share some with you tonight! x

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Sourcing inspiration!

2009-09-01T20:40:00.008+10:00

In the excitement of notifying everyone of our change of address, I came across some old subscriptions of this magazine:

It reviews latest publications (and new releases) within the Australian Children's Book market. I promptly re-subscribed, and then accidentally subscribed to this one too!

It's the journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia, and also reviews what's happening in the children's publishing industry. Ok, so it may be a bit of a double up, but at least I'll be informed! I hope it can guide my reading choices as I continue to formulate some of my own stories and ideas.

I also can't seem to resist buying this magazine, as a peek into the children's product industry into Australia, but for the last few years, it has disappointed me. And yet, I still continue to buy it in the hope that there might be one little spark of inspiration.

I was just about to give up on finding anything worth sharing,and then I discovered this: COT COUTURE

It's a beautiful new store in South Australia with some fresh and modern decor for kids rooms. Check out the Cot Couture website for full details of how you can order your quilts to be made up from fabrics you select from the range. There's even embroidery embellishments to choose from! Clever stuff. They have a blog too, which features some new in house fabric designs, so check it out when you can.

Thank you all on your encouraging words on our house! I hope to share more pics as we settle in and find a place for everything. I need to bring more colour into the house, so will share our experiments as we go! We have grand plans for some mosaics, some canvases and the best chicken house you'll ever see (for outside of course!).....one day!

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Holiday Bliss

2009-08-23T16:03:00.006+10:00

Well, I am sadly nearing the end of two blissful weeks of holiday. I feel so relaxed and content, yet a little remorseful (or fearful!) of how long I can maintain it! It's so easy to get caught up with the craziness of daily commitments.

It's been wonderful have some time to explore the local library, where I found these gems.

I can't believe I've never read Treasure Island! I really should make more time for reading - especially as I develop my own ideas and stories!

I have also managed to get all my first roughs and concepts sent off for my new book. Here's a peek at an early rejected idea!

I wonder if it had anything to do with my unnatural use of yellow! I find it such a hard colour to use!....alright - if truth be known I hate yellow! (It's a long story!)

But the good news it that it's my birthday tomorrow so I get the day off! (How convenient!) So I get an extra day to psych myself up to get back into the real world. Over the weekend we had a bit of a gathering to celebrate, which also doubled as a house warming! It was a great excuse to get the house into shape, and take a few pics to share as promised!

We had a magical day of too much food, lovely gifts and wonderful company. Thank you to everyone who made the effort to travel out to the country side to help transform our house into our HOME!

Think of me at 5am (or 2 hours later when the rest of you normal folk are getting out of bed) on Tuesday morning as I drive two and half hours (one way!) to get back into the daily grind! (Thank goodness for technology and the ability to work from home three days a week!!!)

P.S I have also found some time to update my links, so have a browse if you get the chance....oh, and I have updated my profile at my "anonymous" husband's "gentle" request!

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LIVING THE DREAM

2009-08-13T16:20:00.007+10:00

Wow - time has really escaped me! We have had so much on in the last few weeks that I have just had to ignore the blog for a bit.

So here's the catch up:

I have been working on my brand new book amidst all the craziness of moving house! (More on that later!)

The publisher does not want computer generated artwork, so I'm back painting again! I've really missed the hands on thrill of creating artwork with materials other than the computer! There's no doubt that I am quicker on the computer, and it's funny how you get used to being able to fix "mistakes" on the computer, but there's something about hand generated artwork that does make you want to share it!

I have completed a couple of concept illustrations so that the publisher can include this book in their new catalogue. It's been a great way for me to really work out the final look and colours of the book, and to establish the final technique that I will use.

I need to have all first rough concepts to the publisher by Monday of next week, and then all final artwork to them by the 1st of October, so this should keep me pretty busy!

Some of you may already be aware that I am a bit of a work-a-holic who can't say NO to projects, so true to my form, I also have a couple of other opportunies in the pipelines. One of them is with another new publisher which will involve illustrating a series of readers for young children just learning to read, and the other is the potential to work with an author (I have previously worked with) on her new book.

And yes I am still working fulltime too! I am currently on two weeks holiday as we have just moved into our brand new country house. I will be working two days a week in the office and three days from home, as my work place is now 2 and a half hours away!
Click on the link below if you want a few more details on our big move!

So - WE SOLD THE HOUSE! We had already decided to move on the weekend anyway, but it's a real relief to have sold the Melbourne house!

We are just in awe of our new place and really feel like we are living the dream. We are still upacking boxes so I will share some inside shots next week (hopefully we will have unpacked by then!)

Needless to say Roxy loves it here as much as we do! She just wants to spend all of her time outside. We've had a few really cold mornings already, but it doesn't stop her getting out amongst the frost!

She sure didn't appreciate being left behind though when it came time to test the boat! Notice there are no oars, (that's a plank of wood!)and the bottom was full of baby red back spiders - so I was very happy to be the photographer on this occasion!

Check out the size of the yabbies in the dam!!....hhhhhmmm, does anyone have any good recipe ideas for us?!

Just because our lives are not complicated enough...

2009-07-20T19:33:00.004+10:00

We have just extended our family! Introducing Roxy!

She's a 16 week old standard poodle puppy and she's just gorgeous! While we have been thinking about it for some time, it all happened a bit spontaneously in the end (typical of us!)- we made the mistake of "just going to have a look", but who could resist her!?

Well, we figure if you are going to live in the country, then you have to have a dog, right?! And what better way to give the neighbours something to talk about than having a poodle on the property!

Speaking of the property, we have spent every weekend there and just adore it! We can't wait to be there full time and we hope to make this happen in the next month or so. It's been bloody cold though, so this little wood heap is already rapidly diminishing!

On the book front, I have received the contract and the full brief (including text) and am ready to get stuck into things. I have to have the first couple of pages completed in the next two weeks for marketing purposes!

So it's busy, busy, busy - as usual!

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CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!

2009-07-03T06:17:00.006+10:00

Last night was cause for celebration! I got the book project! I am sooooo excited. I REALLY wanted this one! I will know more details next week, but I am still buzzing with the news. Last night we headed over to Brunetti in Carlton to celebrate. (Any excuse!) They have the most amazing treats to choose from, and it's always tough to know what to choose!

I'll write some more detail on what I submitted when I get the chance.

I have also been meaning to update you on our fabulous new house. It's just magical, and we have started to explore the local area a bit.

We found this fabulous shop/gallery space called Bob that I am sure will be a regular spot for me to visit.

I found this great photo on this website where there's an interview with the lovely store owner Sonia. There are also some more great photos on this site, so go check it out if you get the chance.

Ray could not stop thinking about the gorgeous sheep featured on the front table, so I bought him one via the online shop and it's already arrived! Sooooo cute! It's a little house warming gift for him!

My sweet husband then surprised me by finding these gorgeous gumboots (Wellies!) on line for my house warming gift! I can't wait for them to arrive.
How decadent that they are coming all the way from the UK, just so I can splosh about on our new property in style! I swear we will be the talk of the town! "Those weird city folk!"

If only we could sell our Melbourne home then the week would be complete! Oh well, am enjoying having a holiday house for while! We are heading up there again this weekend, so will try to take some more pics to share! (The kangaroos seem to love it more than us! I've never seen so many in one spot!) Will try to snap a photo!

Am working from home today - I love these days as I always get so much done, but best of all, I don't have to battle through all that traffic!

Anyway, enjoy your weekend, whatever you have planned!

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Made me smile!

2009-06-25T19:58:00.002+10:00

Have you ever seen anything cuter?!! Stumbled on this during my research for my book stuff! Check out the flicker site from hippoPAPPA + mum for more amazing creations!....Hhhhhmmmmm, am suddenly hungry!

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Work in progress

2009-06-14T18:24:00.002+10:00

Thank you to everyone who passed on their best wishes on the news of our big move. It's exciting stuff!

But, now it's back to earth for a little while....
Today I got serious about making a start on the new book brief I have been given. I wanted to share a bit more detail about this process, and thought I'd start at the beginning!

Click the below link to get all of the details.

So, how did this all come about? This particular publisher contacted me via email. I have not worked with them before, but they had seen my page on The Style File website and contacted me directly.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am not the only illustrator working on this brief, but obviously only one of us will be selected to follow it through to publication.

As, always, the first place I start with this sort of project, is to RESEARCH. I checked out the publishers website to see the type of books they have already published, but I also wanted to get an idea of range of authors and illustrators they already publish. Obviously they have some great talents already on their books, but this has actually given me more confidence to understand that they must be looking for something totally new and different to what they had done before -OBVIOUSLY!

The next stage of my research was to hit the book stores and check out what has already been done on this topic or theme. When I read the brief I was initially not convinced that it had not already been done before, but I was surprised to see that no-one had in fact taken the proposed angle on this theme before. I often read about looking for "gaps in the market" and this was a bit of a lesson for me that there are still new ways of approaching things!

Part of this brief included mentioning 4 illustrators who they wanted us to check out for an idea of the approach they would like us to take, so obviously I also spent some time looking through some of their work.

As funny as it sounds, I then just let things mull over in my brain for a few days - and then hit the bookstores again! This time looking for things to inspire some of the ideas I have for where to start on this project.

So, today it was time to just get stuck into it. I surrounded myself with illustrations and books of some of my favourite illustrators to get me in the mood to start drawing, and once I started, I could not stop! I am already loving this project. I have so many ideas, that I actually wish it was a done deal for me so that I could run them past the publisher to get some direction on which way to go with it!

In the absence of this luxury, I just ploughed through a few different approaches, and will look at them again with fresh eyes later in the week - in the hope of getting a clearer perspective on which idea will be the strongest approach to present.

I have until the end of this month to present my ideas, and I'd have to say I wish I could work on it all week (and not go into my full time job!) As much as I love my job, I am feeling really inspired to just focus on this new project! Regardless of whether I get the chance to see this job through to the end, it's already reminded me of how strongly I NEED to get more active in this arena!

I'll try to keep you posted on my progress!

That "other" BIG announcement!

2009-06-08T11:59:00.014+10:00

Does this make you want to just pack up and get away from it all? It just feels like a holiday spot doesn't it? Well it did for us - so much so, that we bought it! This is the bathroom in our BRAND NEW HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY!

Ahhhhh! So this is what has been complicating our lives (in a good way) of late!!
Click the link below if you want to know more!

We have decided on a treechange and have bought this gorgeous 18 acre property in the country! It's in central Victoria and as you can see it's a lovely little stonehouse built by the previous owners. This is our dam/lake!

It was a dream we thought was in a 10 year plan for us, but when it came down to it we weren't really sure what we were waiting for! We decided to just have a bit of a browse on the internet to see what you can get for your money - we did not even know where we wanted to move to! Three weeks later we stumbled across a gorgeous "it doesn't hurt to have a look" property and two weeks later it was ours!!! This was all 6 months ago! The long settlement has allowed us to finish off the little things in our house - which turned into a 5 month project! So our Melbourne house has been on the market for just 4 weeks, and we pick up the keys to our new place in 2 weeks! FINALLY!!! Here's our driveway:

It's all part of a plan to SLOW DOWN a bit and to do the things we have always dreamed of NOW! For me that's more art and craft stuff, along with writing and illustrating my own books. We will build a new little studio for me to make this happen in! For Ray it will be about permaculture and gardening, and for BOTH of us it's all about self-sufficiency and a healthier lifestyle! I grew up in a small country town, so I have some idea what we are in for but my brave husband has always lived in the city so it will be a huge adventure for both of us!

No doubt I will give you some more detail over the coming weeks, but it will be a bit of a weekender for a bit until we sell our Melbourne home, or at least rent it out if it comes down to that!

....THERE'S MORE:
One more exciting piece of news it that I have just been approached by a brand new independent Australian Publisher to consider a new kids book opportunity! I am very excited and despite my plan not to take on new freelance projects for a while, this opportunity just can not be ignored! My motto has always been "to go where opportunities present themselves" and it's always worked for me!

So I am one of a handful of illustrators that have been invited to respond to a short brief set by the publisher to help them narrow their search for an illustrator. The brief is right up my alley, so to speak, and could be a great chance for me to get published in what I call my "True" illustration style.

So while it's a relaxing day at home today, it's also a chance for me to start working on some ideas for this brief. I hope to be able to share what I submit, a little later on. I will write in more detail about how this all came about when I have some more time, as I hope it will help other budding illustrators.....

So for now, I need to get back to the sketchbooks and try not to be too distracted by the excitement that awaits us in just two weeks!

Some inspiration

2009-05-08T06:17:00.007+10:00

So what has been keeping me from blogging for the last few weeks?! Total exhaustion! I can't reveal everything that has been going on behind the scenes - YET (and NO - I'M NOT PREGNANT....so can we just move on from that constant assumption!)But the good news is that most of the hard stuff is behind me now.

We are in the middle of our busiest period at work right now, and I have just finished that "Boy Book" I was working on during my freelance hours. (I've had to say no to the next one at this stage as there's just too much going on at the moment!)

So despite all of the hard yards of late, I have managed to find some time for some small pleasures from the wonderful world of books!

First of all I have just discovered this wonderful book series.

It's hard to ignore as it seems to dominate every book store at the moment! I am onto the third one at this stage and it's been wonderful to devour every page like I used to when I was still at school. That's what reading is all about! Thrilling over every word - not forcing myself to finish something because I "should".

Then there's this beautiful indulgence. As soon as I held this stunning book in my hands, I HAD to have it!

Cover design: Jan von Holleben - Dreams of Flying.

It's a book about designing for children and covers areas from playground design, to toys, books and rooms. It's a wonderful resource, complete with websites and blog contacts. There are also some familiar talents in this collection, and here's a bit of a teaser for you:

Nume - Design for children

Atelier Mijnes

Herzensart - I particularly love their paper craft!

Patric Sandri

There's a mix of things on this page but many can be found here at Coq en Pate (those clever French again!)

Salon de Elfi Berlin - by Verena Schaetzlein.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

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READING AND WRITING: BACK TO BASICS

2009-04-13T17:33:00.007+10:00

Now just because I know it may be a while before I can blog again, I'm going to take advantage of the time I have today to keep chatting!

Click on the link below if you are interested in reading about where things are up to with my writing pursuits!

I wanted to let you know that I have not given up on the writing stuff....well, not that I've written much of late - there really is only so much you can fit into the hours you have available!! But my point is, that the re-occurring advice that keeps cropping up if you want to be a better writer is to read more! So despite my previous confessions that I was at peace with my inability to read "grown up books" I have decided to work harder to understand the type of "grown up" books that I might actually enjoy. (Not that I want to write for growns ups or anything, but I do think it all helps develop an understanding of the craft of story telling!)

I am always overwhelmed in book shops and libraries because I am not really sure of the type of books I like to read. I am much more at home in the kids sections!

So I have decided to be a bit more analytical about why I may, or may not enjoy a particular book in the hope that I might start to narrow the field on the type of books I like. I'd welcome any recommendations if anyone would like to help steer me in the direction of some great reads!

So, to kick things off, here's a summary of my attempts this year to date:
I finished only ONE of these below books this year, and have stalled at the half way point on the other two.

It's actually the first one "John the Revelater" that I finished! I enjoyed the way this author writes. It's a thought provoking style that does not always spell things out to you, but allows you to think and interpret some things for yourself. While the story does not necessarily power along, it always kept me turning the pages which is a big plus for me! Oddly enough though, I did not love this book and am not sure I would recommend it to anyone.

As for the other two, I started off enjoying both of these, but by the halfway point I had worked out the pattern of their story telling and just wanted them both to get on with it. I know that "Eat Pray Love" is a best seller (and that they are making a movie out of it) but I just find it a frustrating read! It seemed to become quite repetitive. I might just start to skim read through the next few chapters in an attempt to get through them both - if I can be bothered.

This wont be any time soon though as I had a moment of weakness today and bought this great book by the very funny and talented Paul Jennings.

If you've never read anything by Paul Jennings then I highly recommend you try one. It's laugh-out-loud funny stuff! This book is a collection of his short stories, and he is a master of his craft!

If anyway has any books they'd like to recommend I'd love to give them a try. This is the last "Grown up" Book that I read AND I LOVED!

I enjoyed the way this author put words together and weaved the story. It's thought provoking and encourages discussion and analysis when you finish it!....(interesting?! I would not have thought this was something that I would want from a book!?)

Apologies if this has been a boring post, but I do feel it's helped a bit. Thanks for listening!....um....that is "reading"!

THE LUXURY OF TIME

2009-04-13T16:31:00.007+10:00

Well obviously I've not had much time to blog of late! Things are really busy at work, and I have just finished off all of my books in time to take on another one! This will also be part of an established series, but is targeted at boys. I find this series a bit more challenging as I don't do these ones too often. It will involve me working in a style that does not come naturally to me (perspective and shading!) but it also allows me to use my own imagination a bit more than the girls series that I work on.

So - with everything that's been going on, we took time out to enjoy the four days of Easter by staying at home! Well, not literally! We did venture out to the movies, the shops, cafes etc!

On Saturday we explored Brunswick St in Melbourne. I used to be a local there, and while we eat out there quite a bit, it has been ages since we explored the shops.

I just have to share this fabulous colouring book I bought! Of course it's FRENCH! I seem to have an eye for all things French!

They also had these two to choose from...

and I love the sketchiness of this one!

I picked them up from Wilkins and Kent on Brunswick St and if you have not been to this shop I highly recommend it. Their website does not do the store justice!

Of course I could not resist the urge to find out a bit more about this French stuff, so I found this great website which features a full selection of these beautiful colouring books, along with even more great products, such as these beautiful tins.

The website features work by some very talented illustrators, and includes links to their websites where available.

We also went to see this great NEW RELEASE animation from Oscar Winning Australian Adam Elliot.

It's a wonderful movie on so many levels. The story is original, the characters unique, and the attention to detail is intriguing. I highly recommend checking it out if you get the chance.

I also want to talk books and writing with you, but fear this post is becoming an overload!I might create a new post for that discussion! I hope you have all had a great long weekend, and enjoy your (short)week ahead!

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INSPIRATION MONDAY!!!

2009-03-23T19:52:00.007+11:00

REMEMBER THIS SEGMENT?! It used to be a regular for me (until my life just seemed to get too busy) but I have continued to collect things that inspire me, and I hope to start sharing them again here. I can't guarantee that I can keep this up every week, but when I found this website I just HAD to share it:

EBULOBO:
What is it about the French and their flair for kids design?! I have just discovered this wonderful collection of children's toys from Ebulobo. You must visit their website to see the full range, as well as some videos of their products at a Paris Fair.

This is the type of product that makes me wish I had designed it!

....and now that I have started I can't leave you with just one inspiration, so I have dug up some more French stuff!

DELPHINE DURAND
No doubt many of you are already familiar with this fabulous french illustrator, but I just wanted to share all the colour and fun of her new book. She has a gorgeous blog that reveals her extraordinary talent in more detail, and it's well worth a visit.

POISSON BULLE:
I stumbled across a wonderful website called Poisson Bulle. Now my French is pretty rusty, but from what I can work out it's a site selling children's decor products designed by a variety of very clever illustrators! The website has links to each of the illustrators sites, so if you get time to explore it properly there are some real gems to be found!

I hope this inspires you into another creative week! Enjoy.

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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!

2009-03-10T20:25:00.006+11:00

I have just realised that today is my 12 month anniversary of being in what I still call my "NEW" job! I am finally really comfortable in my role and am feeling like I am making a real contribution to their product program. I am thriving on being able to follow the entire product process from concept to store, which is something that I missed when I was purely freelancing.

Having said that, I am also pleased that I have managed to keep up the freelance contacts (despite sometimes taking on too much!). I have met some great people and I just love the variety of working across several industries.

So - the freelance stuff is still keeping me pretty busy and I have managed to complete the x20 odd illustrations for the latest book I am working on. I'll need to start a new one this week, but it's only about x10 illustrations so hopefully can get through it a little quicker than the last batch.

We have a major trade show coming up with my full time job soon, so it's "all go" these days!

In the absence of being able to share what I am currently working on, I have delved back into the archives and rustled up some pics to share (as I still have this belief that people wont read a post without pictures to look at!) Enjoy.

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SURVIVED TO TELL THE TALE

2009-03-02T20:32:00.002+11:00

I finally get a night off and I don't know what to do with myself! I am so used to coming home and working that I basically panicked about what to do with my free time. I wanted to totally rest and recuperate a bit, but then felt pressured to "DO" something.

So I came up with this quick "next appointment" card! It does follow me facing one of my biggest fears AGAIN this afternoon, with my final visit to the dentist (to complete a root canal procedure!) EEEeeeek! It got me thinking how cool it would be for dentists to have a more "friendly" image for kids! (And some of us grown ups!)

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REMEMBERING THE PASSION

2009-02-22T19:53:00.002+11:00

I seem to have been drawing lots of cars lately, so I found this baby tee design from one of last years projects to share with you. Am getting towards the tail end of my freelance projects but it's been tough going this time. It's hard to fit everything in when you work full-time as well!

But somewhere along the line I have managed to read through the entire program for the e-course in creating a kids a book that I have subscribed to. I just could not resist racing through all of the pages, but I did ignore the exercises! I now need to go back through it and get actively involved. I opted for option of the course that just allowed me to access the program notes. If I want to get some feedback on my work and the exercises I will need to pay more for this service - but from what I've read I think I'd like to do that.

I think I may have mentioned that when I left I school I could not decide whether to follow writing or illustration. Even though I chose drawing, I still continued to write and explore this industry. Strangely enough, now that I am finally getting an handle on my illustration work, I realise that it's been at the expense of my writing. Ironically, I now have the skill base to actually be taken seriously in the illustration domain, yet have not attempted a story in some time. I guess that's what this course is about for me. It's been a way for me to get back in touch with the passion that I once had and am realising I really miss.

Another reality check that I have had is that most of the illustration work I have been doing on a full-time basis has been product based. It's all about looking good at retail so that someone will pick it up and buy it. Now I need to get back to imagery that communicates, tells a story and expresses personality - even without words. Again, I used to naturally work this way, and really miss it.

One last realisation is that I used to read a lot more! Somewhere along the line I felt the pressure that I should be reading "grown up" books. The problem with this is that I am a fussy reader and have started so many that I never read past the first 2-3 chapters. Most of my book shelves are filled with the likes of Roald Dahl and J.K. Rowling - along with a stunning collection of kids books that I am particularly proud of (but needs updating!) I realise now that there's nothing wrong with reading junior or kids stuff. In fact, the notes I have been reading have been encouraging me to immerse myself in these books.

So here's to re-kindling the passion, and remembering that it's never too late to chase your dreams.

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HAND MADE HELPS OUT

2009-02-15T16:40:00.006+11:00

I have been unsure how to tackle a post about the horrific week that has unfolded around Victoria with the Bushfires, until I heard about this great etsy fundraising project for the victims. There are some great and easy ways to get involved and help out, so check it out if you can.

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STILL HERE AND WORKING HARD

2009-02-08T19:56:00.003+11:00

No time for dreaming these last couple of weeks! Thanks for your comments of support for re-kindling my writing, but reality has set in a bit lately. I have 3 big new book illustration projects on the go, and my full time job has been pretty demanding too!

Amidst the hefty work load, the notes for my e-course have arrived (Create a Kids Book) and it’s pretty distracting! I am itching to work through some of the exercises but I pretty tired just keeping up with everything at the moment.

One of the book projects I am currently working on is really taking me out of my comfort zone, (which I love) but it’s all consuming! I'll leave you with a peek at some of the illustrations I created the last time I worked on this series. (Yes that is uncharacteristic photoshop work from me!)

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The Dream Begins

2009-01-20T07:07:00.003+11:00

To kick start my writing again, I have shouted myself this newly discovered guidelines reference. I have opted for the cheaper document version at this stage, and can always follow up with assessment services later if I want to.

I have also delved back into my collection of reference books on this subject (some of these date back more than 15 years! I have been harbouring this dream for so long!)

The first thing that has struck me is how much of the advice and reference is relevant to the creative process in general.

This fabulous book by another of our great authors Libby Gleeson (Published by Hale and Iremonger Australia 1999) tracks the creative processes that she went through while writing one of her books. So much of what she writes is relevant to us illustrators as well.

I noticed I even got this copy signed! I have attended so many seminars and courses on this topic over the years that it’s these words of wisdom from
this book that have struck a chord with me:

Published by Penguin Books Australia (1992), Written by Eleanor Nilsson about the discipline of writing:

“First we start writing then we get the ideas. That is the most important piece of advice I or anyone else can give you. We learn to write by writing not thinking about writing….Remember the world is full of people who mean to write “one day”: people who are waiting for either the time or the inspiration or both. But the way to get inspiration is to sit at your desk – and write.”

Can't argue with that!

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Quiet contemplation

2009-01-13T19:54:00.003+11:00

I have been playing with some new markers and sketches lately, as I hope to get more "hands on" this year. I have relied on my computer skills for so long that I need to get back to basics this year. This will include a return to life drawing on a more permanent basis!

This was a Christmas pressie from my parents and it holds more significance that you might think. Way back when I was still in primary school I attended a special "Writers Camp" for country kids, and Graeme Base was our guest speaker, having just published his first ever book featured below:

I still have the original sketches he did for me back then, and have had several books of his signed over the years!

Reading his life story has reminded me how much I once loved writing. When I first left school I could not decide whether to pursue art or writing and ended up being offered University placements in both disciplines. I chose art, but always kept sketch books of notes and ideas for stories dating back many years. I seem to have slowed up of late, but over the break I opened that drawer and contemplated this collection of notebooks.

I think that this year it's high time I brought some of these pages to life. I am quite shy of my writing and am thinking about doing a short course to get my confidence up again, but either way, it's time to dust off the pages and get stuck in. Here's to a year of fulfilling dreams.

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CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER

2008-12-31T15:25:00.006+11:00

Congratualtions to our fabulous friends Bridget and Marty on the birth of their beautiful baby boy! We can't wait to meet him. What a way to welcome in the New Year! Best wishes to everyone on this New Years Eve and may all your dreams come true in 2009!

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