Friday, 29 March 2013
makin + mcdonald family
Last weekend I was invited to spend the morning with Jody and her gorgeous, welcoming family. You can see a little preview over here.
Thursday, 28 March 2013
hello holidays
The first day. Spent at home. ALL DAY. I cannot remember the last day that was spent at home in its entirety. Nowhere to be. At least until the kids went to bed anyway, then I could duck over to the shops - alone! - for a handful of essential supplies for another FULL DAY at home tomorrow. My heart is full.
A little reminder, tomorrow is the annual Good Friday Appeal. We've had a trip to the beautiful Royal Children's Hospital in the last twelve months. Thankfully our visit was fleeting, leaving with a sigh of relief, a positive diagnosis and a happy, healthy child. Many, many families are not so lucky and their daily lives are harder than most of us can imagine. If you are able, please give generously - as little or as much as you can.
Happy Easter, friends. Please be safe and take care on the roads, wherever you are travelling, near or far xx
*Cute little story to go with that last photo over here. While you're there, feel free to like me. You know I'm ace. You also know I love sarcasm.
*AND thankyou so much for all your lovely words of support on my last post - here, at Em's and on instagram. You're SO wonderful x
Monday, 25 March 2013
cool
After a few rubbish weeks, the Gods have just handed me a good one. A great one even. Kids are pretty much back to normal after lots of rest, modern medicine and shovelling vitamins into them, I had a few more days with my sister and nephew before sending them home (sad face), had some shockingly wonderful news that I look forward to sharing with you soon, I booked two wonderful family sessions that I can't wait to shoot (and share), had my photos lined up alongside Tim and Claire. Yes you read that correctly. YES! AND - as if that wasn't enough - I claimed my status as the cat's pyjamas tonight by guest posting at THE BEETLE SHACK. Did you know I was that cool? No? Me neither! Just call me Gob. Master of Illusions..
So! The beautiful Em went a bit overboard believing me to be some kind of kid crafting genius, which I'm fairly certain is not the case. Smoke and mirrors, peeps. The last couple of images I used in the guest post were the latest bit of crafting I have done recently, and I thought I would do a quick tutorial - because it really is a quick exercise. A bit of a cut and paste, if you will.
To quote.. er.. myself.. put your creative skills together with theirs to highlight the creations that mean the most to you. Ruby loves to chop up different shaped pieces of paper and card and then make them into a picture. Perhaps Mister Maker inspired. She does it often and while some are quite abstract, others are pure genius. Like this house she made. Our house.
Now our house actually looks nothing like this. We don't have a long winding path to the front door, nor do we have a chimney. She's never seen the aerial on our roof but we have a pretty good view of our neighbours' roof which did the job. She drew all her house pieces - windows, door, chimney, smoke billowing from chimney, house base, roof, aerial. Then cut them out and assembled with her trusty glue stick. I knew it was fabulous as I watched her build the house. I still remember her pasting the house together, then moving back to stare at it. Then she declared 'it needs a path!'. It hung on our inspiration wire for quite a few months, all the while knowing exactly what I wanted to do with it. Then Em emailed me and it gave me the kick up the bum I needed to get it in a frame.
Ruby is at an age that if I would like her to draw something specific for me, 95% of the time she will happily oblige. If this is something you think you'd like on your wall and your small is eager to please, simply ask them!
How to ::
:: ask your small to draw their house. Of course give them free reign to come up with whatever they perceive their home to look like.
:: if necessary, retrace their lines if you feel they need to stand out more (I did this).
:: carefully cut out your child's masterpiece and keep in a safe place while you get on with the rest.
:: choose your backing for your frame - I used a piece of deep grey linen - and use double sided tape to attach to the backing board. I find it best to cut your backing fabric piece bigger than the board, stick it on, then trim the edges. Much easier than trying to match up the corners of a perfect rectangle without catching the fabric on the tape and sticking it in the wrong spot..
:: use the double sided tape to stick your white matting on top. This eliminates all error if you were trying to leave the matting loose (as it would normally be) and tried to measure, or guesstimate where your artwork should ultimately end up.
:: trace and cut out your letters. If you like a specific font, simply print out your words in the font and size you like, cut them out and transfer onto your chosen felt, backwards. Yes - if you do it backwards the marker you use (whether it's a proper sewing marker or otherwise) will be hidden on the under side of the felt once you've cut it out and glued it down. If you're lazy like me, just freehand it a fraction larger than you would like and then you can cut your letters out on the very inside of the marker lines. And if you're really lazy, or choose a dark coloured felt like my last two words, you have no choice but to freehand it with the scissors unless you have a fancy white marker - which I don't.
:: do a mock up of the final piece - i.e. lay your picture and words out where you want them.
:: when you're happy with what you see, get a little area prepped and covered to use your adhesive spray - that stuff is SERIOUSLY STICKY! (You can find this at Spotlight, or any craft store - it looks like a can of hairspray.)
:: stick your house down first, then do one letter at a time until you're finished (alternatively, use double sided tape again on your house, and spray adhesive for the letters). Doing one letter at a time will allow you to keep your layout and spacing, especially if it's a tight fit, like mine.
:: clean your glass before you fit your frame back together.
:: stand back and marvel at you and your small's handiwork.
Without realising at the time, I actually chose colours in the framing that are in our house. We have a lot of charcoal inside and out, and we have walls in a few rooms painted the vivid teal and darkest navy. How subconsciously fitting!
So, with a few simple supplies, it's easy to turn your kids' drawings into some really lovely, proper artwork. Make sure you let me know if you give this a try!
Thankyou Em - what a treat it was to work on this little project and receive your bubbly emails along the way. This beautiful blogging community has given me great confidence in what I do - personally and professionally xx
Guest post at The Beetle Shack was inspired by my original post of The Pillow
*If you had trouble with the links at the very end of the guest post - here they are again..
The inspiration wire is an idea created by uber talent, Soulemama, as shown in her book The Creative Family. We have two - one is a curtain line from Ikea which is one of my most favourite things in our home, and the other is in our playroom - a simple piece of string attached to the wall with pins.
So! The beautiful Em went a bit overboard believing me to be some kind of kid crafting genius, which I'm fairly certain is not the case. Smoke and mirrors, peeps. The last couple of images I used in the guest post were the latest bit of crafting I have done recently, and I thought I would do a quick tutorial - because it really is a quick exercise. A bit of a cut and paste, if you will.
To quote.. er.. myself.. put your creative skills together with theirs to highlight the creations that mean the most to you. Ruby loves to chop up different shaped pieces of paper and card and then make them into a picture. Perhaps Mister Maker inspired. She does it often and while some are quite abstract, others are pure genius. Like this house she made. Our house.
Now our house actually looks nothing like this. We don't have a long winding path to the front door, nor do we have a chimney. She's never seen the aerial on our roof but we have a pretty good view of our neighbours' roof which did the job. She drew all her house pieces - windows, door, chimney, smoke billowing from chimney, house base, roof, aerial. Then cut them out and assembled with her trusty glue stick. I knew it was fabulous as I watched her build the house. I still remember her pasting the house together, then moving back to stare at it. Then she declared 'it needs a path!'. It hung on our inspiration wire for quite a few months, all the while knowing exactly what I wanted to do with it. Then Em emailed me and it gave me the kick up the bum I needed to get it in a frame.
Ruby is at an age that if I would like her to draw something specific for me, 95% of the time she will happily oblige. If this is something you think you'd like on your wall and your small is eager to please, simply ask them!
How to ::
:: ask your small to draw their house. Of course give them free reign to come up with whatever they perceive their home to look like.
:: if necessary, retrace their lines if you feel they need to stand out more (I did this).
:: carefully cut out your child's masterpiece and keep in a safe place while you get on with the rest.
:: choose your backing for your frame - I used a piece of deep grey linen - and use double sided tape to attach to the backing board. I find it best to cut your backing fabric piece bigger than the board, stick it on, then trim the edges. Much easier than trying to match up the corners of a perfect rectangle without catching the fabric on the tape and sticking it in the wrong spot..
:: use the double sided tape to stick your white matting on top. This eliminates all error if you were trying to leave the matting loose (as it would normally be) and tried to measure, or guesstimate where your artwork should ultimately end up.
:: trace and cut out your letters. If you like a specific font, simply print out your words in the font and size you like, cut them out and transfer onto your chosen felt, backwards. Yes - if you do it backwards the marker you use (whether it's a proper sewing marker or otherwise) will be hidden on the under side of the felt once you've cut it out and glued it down. If you're lazy like me, just freehand it a fraction larger than you would like and then you can cut your letters out on the very inside of the marker lines. And if you're really lazy, or choose a dark coloured felt like my last two words, you have no choice but to freehand it with the scissors unless you have a fancy white marker - which I don't.
:: do a mock up of the final piece - i.e. lay your picture and words out where you want them.
:: when you're happy with what you see, get a little area prepped and covered to use your adhesive spray - that stuff is SERIOUSLY STICKY! (You can find this at Spotlight, or any craft store - it looks like a can of hairspray.)
:: stick your house down first, then do one letter at a time until you're finished (alternatively, use double sided tape again on your house, and spray adhesive for the letters). Doing one letter at a time will allow you to keep your layout and spacing, especially if it's a tight fit, like mine.
:: clean your glass before you fit your frame back together.
:: stand back and marvel at you and your small's handiwork.
Without realising at the time, I actually chose colours in the framing that are in our house. We have a lot of charcoal inside and out, and we have walls in a few rooms painted the vivid teal and darkest navy. How subconsciously fitting!
So, with a few simple supplies, it's easy to turn your kids' drawings into some really lovely, proper artwork. Make sure you let me know if you give this a try!
Thankyou Em - what a treat it was to work on this little project and receive your bubbly emails along the way. This beautiful blogging community has given me great confidence in what I do - personally and professionally xx
Guest post at The Beetle Shack was inspired by my original post of The Pillow
*If you had trouble with the links at the very end of the guest post - here they are again..
The inspiration wire is an idea created by uber talent, Soulemama, as shown in her book The Creative Family. We have two - one is a curtain line from Ikea which is one of my most favourite things in our home, and the other is in our playroom - a simple piece of string attached to the wall with pins.
Sunday, 24 March 2013
weekend love {the old husband birthday edition}
Well, weekend love - why so long between visits? No time to blog and then think by Wednesday it's a little lame to be blogging about last weekend when you're almost at the next one? Me too!
I really had the most WONDERFUL weekend. I spent Saturday morning capturing Jody's beautiful family both before and during a sweet little party for both birthday girls in the household, feeling far more like a guest at the party than the photographer who was meant to be capturing it. Thankyou for such a beautiful morning, my friend xx
Saturday afternoon was slow and easy, doors wide open and a beautiful breeze blowing through the house, baking late in the afternoon and tucking the kids into bed nice and early, enjoying some stellar tele (no pun intended) while wrapping the birthday boy's goodies (none of which have to be returned - some kind of miracle!).
Today has been wonderfully slow (again!) and seriously enjoyable. Some early editing and steaming cuppas in quick succession, a celebratory birthday breaky once the master of the house had risen. Lunch with the in-laws - who actually brought the lunch with them! - followed by the scrummiest dessert I've had in a long time. Donna Hay's coffee meringue brownie (Issue 59, 10th birthday edition - sorry, she hasn't published this beauty on her website!) teamed with Nigella's one step no churn coffee ice cream. Oh sweet coffee heaven! The boy asked for a chocolate cake. He loves brownies and coffee. I made the executive decision that this combo would be way better than a boring old chocolate cake. He was suitably impressed.
So did you consume a ridiculous amount of calories this weekend too..? Do tell.
*I first saw Nigella make this ice cream on her latest series Nigellissima, and distinctly remember her saying she whipped the ice cream mixture for about 10 minutes.. perhaps (and highly probable) my memory fails me but it took less than TWO minutes! The recipe calls for instant espresso powder. I wasn't impressed with buying a jar of instant anything that would take up space in my newly sorted pantry, just for four tablespoons of the stuff (single recipe calls for two tablespoons, I did a double batch). I popped open a couple of coffee pods and was satisfied with the result in all it's dark speckled glory.
12/52
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013
Ruby :: 'spell it for me mum, and I'll write it'.. every day.. every spare minute she has.. EVERY spare minute..
Cole :: ruby had her dancing shoes on so he thought he should have some too
Eliot :: CO-ORN!!
Friday, 22 March 2013
this week
This week there have been moments of spare time and motivation. Unfortunately these moments couldn't manage to get themselves on the same schedule. So I've been catching up on The Block (woop woop Phil & Amity!), Revenge, Private Practice and staying up really late bawling my eyes out with Parenthood.
I'm so glad today is Friday and the weekend is here. I get to spend time with a beautiful friend tomorrow and put my work shoes on in the very same outing, I'll be doing some baking for the old birthday boy, hosting a celebratory lunch where I only have to supply dessert, and helping my little craft guru create an Easter bonnet in preparation for the big parade next week, on her last day of term (yesssssss).
So what are your plans? Are you as happy as me that end of term is here already? Were you as rapt as I was that Phil & Amity won The Block Allstars? Any birthdays in your household this weekend too? Ever had to make an Easter bonnet? Enough questions for you?
