Creative Life Round Up

Hi there! My creative-life-round-up posts are just a round up of random creativity that's happening in my world at the moment. 

Christmas is a-coming! I have just finished this little elf for a special little niece in my life. Her mama has extremely good taste and loves all the same fabrics and colours I do, so basically I made this with her in mind! I got the pattern from Wee Wonderfuls. 

I chose to make the elf on the left, and I used real wool felt for the felt components. Real wool felt is SO much better than the acrylic stuff.

Aren't they just so cute!? I really would like to get this animal pattern and make each of these cute little animals too! They are smoochalicious!! 

Food. Food is always happening here, and no, it's not always this pretty! This was for the girls' birthdays not too long ago. Right now I'm starting my Christmas cooking. My first project was shortbread cookies which I just burned. *Cry*

The husband-man and I recently took a trip... BY OURSELVES... no kids!!! Into Melbs. (Melbourne.) We saw a show, had some dinner, strolled around the streets, saw a couple of celebs, and basically felt like teenagers again. We went on our first dates as youngsters together into the city, so it felt strange to be walking around there for fun again together post having children. We don't often do things without the kids, but I could really get used to more of these outings! I like some of the creative laneways that are covered in art. Should've taken more photos!

Here's a landscape painting I started that is really not my style but was compelled to do it from a photo I took when out walking the dog. I have to say it's quite refreshing trying out a different style and I'm happy with where this small painting is heading. 

And another painting I've started! I had an image in my head of a pegasus painting, it's not turning out quite how I imagined, but I'm happy with it all the same. Maybe I'll have to keep painting pegasus paintings until I get it right!? A whole series perhaps??

And here's a terrarium I made for a good friend!

Hope you enjoyed my latest creative life round up. 

Jules :)

Happenings...

Hello! My book project is nearly done, so I will be back babbling on here again in no time. I am dreaming up lots of outdoor crafty projects, as I want to get outside and away from the computer now that the weather is warming up. I'm thinking mosaics! And cement! I have caught the cementing bug :)

We have mostly an Australian native garden here but I still manage to find some colour for a vase

Spring has arrived in the land down under and it is a sight for sore eyes. I think the winter just gone was the coldest ever, or maybe it's just that I'm getting older? I'm not built for the cold.

Another reason for getting outside more is this little guy:

Meet Archie! The cheeky fluff- ball bundle of mayhem! Our newest family member.

And in honour of our not-too-long-ago-passed previous fur babies, I have finally made them memorial stones for their graves in the backyard. That was a project I'd been meaning to do for a long time. I have made it into a tutorial too, as I couldn't find instructions online specifically for what I wanted, so stay tuned for that one.

Another thing that's been taking up a lot of my time is cooking. Miss 6 has been put on a special diet by her integrative doctor which is similar to the paleo/ gaps way of eating. I'd go into why, but don't really want to get into finer details but I will say that I think functional/ integrative medicine is the way of the future! I'm doing the diet too as I just feel so much better when I eat this way. I do it mainly to tackle some niggling health issues that I have. I always believe in addressing the root cause of issues and asking the question "why?" Because I'm never satisfied with "it just is." :)

The authors healed ailments such as eczema and OCD through diet, and this just fascinates me no end.

My favourite cook book at the moment Life Changing Food

Mmmm veggie seaweed crackers and baba ganoush- from the book

Gluten free sausage rolls with homemade tomato sauce (both in the book) with a side serve of steamed cabbage and kombucha

I just wish I could eat this way and not have to make all of it. And the dishes are mountainous! I've started asking the kids to help me with washing up, and they can earn a bit of pocket money on the side.

So combined with puppy mayhem (it's like having a baby again!), masses of cooking, and the kids book I've been working on, things got a little crazy busy. I'm looking forward to chilling out a bit more in the warmer weather and focussing on what's important, and not trying to do everything and be everything to everyone. I think as mama's or even women we can easily get stuck in that trap, until we realise we must do some tweaking for everyone's sanity and ease back on some things. Hence the break from the blog. And I decided, that was OK.

Here's another little snippet from the book:

This dog is quite small within the illustration I did for this page, but I'm interested in enlarging parts I've done so I can see individual line marks and colours. I love seeing brush stories and paint marks.

I'm at the stage now where I'm touching up and editing images, so... nearly there.

Catch you soon,

Jules :)

Creative Life Round Up

This post is one of those bits-n-pieces blog posts. Here's me and my girls before a recent outing :)

Did you know it took about 30 photos to get a decent one!? Kids! They get a camera lens in front of them and they go silly.

My girls made me some flowers for Mother's Day this year.. I'm happy they won't be dying any time soon!

Something I'm working on at the moment (one of the many hundreds of things) is a mixed media painting for the MATS online illustration class I'm taking. (Read about my journey so far here.) The first task was that I had to gather some bits and pieces before I started the artwork. 

As it happens, my eldest is currently doing mixed media art in her art enrichment program at school (a program where kids showing talent get to do extra specialised art classes- she's so excited she got to go!). She had a sick day last week and we did mixed media art together in the studio. I have to be careful not to make sick days too much fun! (The iPad is definitely off limits.)

Her work so far. This is a background she made and she wants to draw and paint a portrait of me over the top. 

Now for some creativity in the kitchen. Last week one of the mornings I was up super early making seed balls (my own recipe), banana bread breakfast muffins, peeling a pomegranate, popping out our homemade fruit juice gummy lollies and picking oranges from the backyard. And incase all that makes you feel guilty, that is definitely not a standard morning. I do try to get up earlier usually to squeeze in an extra hour or so tasks before the kids rise, but many days I keep hitting that snooze button until the very last minute!

These seed balls I made up was from frustration of never having the ingredients for particular bliss ball recipes. This one is totally customisable to what I have in the pantry, and is nut free so school safe. And yummy :) I just have to be careful not to snack on them all day.

I hope you enjoyed that round up. I'll be back soon with more fun stuff for you.

Jules :)

Happy Easter! Creativity in The Madden Household

This Easter we decided to get all creative with a craft project that saw us painting wooden eggs, baking bunny cookies and making an Easter themed table centrepiece. 

Here are our gluten, dairy, grain & refined sugar free (but delicious) bunny cookies. Our bunny cookie cutter was from the gorgeous toy shop Epoche, and we used this recipe to make the bunnies.

I didn't spend more than $10 putting this centrepiece together. The table "runner" is actually a scarf. The greenery is from the garden in jars with scrap book paper and tied around with pink string.

I asked Miss S for a few bunnies from her collection, and used some decorative ceramic pieces and other bits and pieces from my collection.

There are some little pink decorative pebbles that I already had in my craft supply stash. And the pom pom seemed to ask to be put in the mix :)

The decorative hanging eggs were from the dollar store. I love mixing in cheap things, with nicer pieces.

Happy family memories in the making...

Here is the Easter craft component: wooden eggs that we painted. We bought the plain wooden eggs from Winterwood Toys (which is a felt & craft supply store). They took us 3-4 painting sessions to complete. When we'd finished painting them we added some glue and glitter. We love using glitter in our craft projects!

The painted eggs looked right at home when they joined our table centrepiece.

Then, because I had used some candy covered chocolate eggs in the display, it was just a little too tempting for the kids! (I didn't tell them, as I was hoping they wouldn't realise. These kids can sniff out sugar a mile away!)

Lots of bunnies to play with...

Which egg to eat? So hard to choose!

In the afternoon the sun started streaming through the windows & the table display putting beautiful light through the decorations so I just had to take some more photos. Can you spot the tiny opportunistic spider on it's web!? Our display is living!

So that wraps up our creative Easter.

I hope you have a lovely, creative & safe Easter with friends & family.

Jules :)

Thanks to Arhaus for suggesting I come up with a creative table setting. I loved the idea so I did it!

Local Food, Eating & Living

I seem to go through stages. I go through stages in my studio; sometimes I'm painting a lot, then sometimes I'm obsessively making jewellery.

But aside from the creative side of my life, in normal life at the moment I'm in a bit of a stage where I'm being really mindful of the waste this household produces, where my food is coming from, trying to source local food, thinking about reducing time and effort in the garden, and growing some of our own food. (Doesn't help that it really hasn't properly rained for ages, and the forecast shows no rain for at least a week!) I even borrowed a book from the library on raising pigs for food. I would like to think we could do it, but it seems this idea is a little too traumatic for Miss 5. (I can just imagine her now, crying her eyes out whilst savouring a crispy piece of bacon at the same time...)

But first I'll try and focus on growing some veg. We've got the space but I just need to make it a priority. I like to buy organic, and we all know that can get a little crazy-expensive. But I have been scouring the neighbourhood for roadside food; after all, we do live in a farming area.

This roadside stall was a treat. Not only is the produce not treated with sprays, but it's so visually pleasing as well. So cute! The kids had a great time putting money in the tin and then proceeded to hide the veggies in all odd places in the car as a joke on me. Yes, I had cucumbers in my car bin! Lucky it was empty.

I found apples around the corner from me for SO cheap. And I found a Jackie French book in the local op shop. (I had a self sufficiency book from her but lent it to someone and can't remember who.) I love her way of thinking. As a weirdo thinker myself I love reading from other people who question the system. She doesn't believe in digging up the soil, that weeds are a bad thing, or that we can't eat guinea pigs. (Um, I won't be doing that last one but love her opportunistic view!) So I'm rethinking parts of the garden, especially when it comes to removing weeds. Rather than spraying them, can I plant something in their place to crowd them out? For instance, down the sides of the driveway. Otherwise they are great for mulch, compost for soil food, or you just need to mulch more to smother them.

And this is a friend's roadside stall. Lovely tasty tasty colourful tomatoes that didn't last long at all! You can tell she's an Op Shopper. Probably clearing out all the good finds before I get there ;)

I also found two items in my severely neglected garden beds.

We also went berry picking yesterday at our local organic berry farm and stocked up on berries. We spent a bit, but they are cheap in the long run and I won't have to buy any for a while.

We also get lamb from a friend and eggs from another friend (or when she runs out we drive 15 mins up the road to another organic egg farm and buy their seconds.)

It's extra work, but it's so satisfying knowing that you're supporting local people, and I know that our berries have come from up the road and not all the way from Chile. (Seriously!? I was buying frozen organic berries from Chile!)

And as usual I'm still cooking. My latest food goal is to remove all vegetable oils from our diets. It's difficult, but when you make your own snacks and food from scratch it's easier. 

I have broth on the stove using a lamb bone from my friend. I have made current & oat cookies sweetened with applesauce made from the apples I got from the lady around the corner (there's a place vegetable oil creeps in to the diet- it's in dried fruit). And last night we ate free range local pork sausages (Miss 5 was quite happy to eat a pig she hadn't met!). They were really yummy. And I could recognise all the ingredients. No numbers!

(I also made goats milk yoghurt which is fermenting on my bench right now, and mango- yogurt popsicles last night (using these moulds). Dates, mango and goats yoghurt. They are quite yummy if I do say so myself.)

Do you try to source any local food?

Now I'm back in the studio today- in jewellery making mode, now that all my cooking is done for the morning.

Jules :)

Big Magic & Other Happenings

I'm reading "Big Magic" at the moment by Elizabeth Gilbert. I'm devouring it, actually. I am really loving it. 

Big Magic (affiliate link)

My Art Jam buddy a while ago pointed me in the direction of this Ted Talk by Elizabeth Gilbert. I love her theory that inspiration is it's own entity; you don't merely think of ideas, but they come to you in some sort of wispy magical way. I love this theory. It certainly takes the responsibility off you if you have no current inspiration or ideas... it's the universe's fault!! ;)

Now at the start of the book it talks about loosing your fear and getting started with your creative life (whatever that may be), so I began to think that this book wasn't for me as I am already living the creative life. I've already overcome some of that fear and stepped out into the land of "Oh my gosh, you're going to make a living from art!?" (Insert patronising laughter here!) But I kept reading through the beginning, and I really enjoyed where the book took me. Of course, not everything in a book is going to resonate with you; but a lot of it did. Most of it actually. Creative people seem to all share the same mental obstacles in varying degrees so the anecdotes are totally relatable and enjoyable to read. It makes you feel part of a secret creative community, where you're not alone, you share these trials and tribulations with other people that are burdened with this desire to be creative and put it out there into the world and live on a constant emotional roller coaster. 

I find it is an emotional roller coaster. I can feel elated as a current project is looking great, I have a really positive feeling about it, and I'm on a roll. But the next paint stroke can leave me feeling like I should probably quit doing art forever. Curse this damn desire to create things! But I keep coming back to it, and Gilbert embraces this whole process and overall, even with the trials and tribulations,  enjoys it. 

So, I've nearly finished the book. I'm interested to see what the end holds. I hope she talks about too many ideas, which is a serious problem I have! I can emerge from a shower with 6+ ideas and wondering which one I'll choose, and why the 'Big Magic' is sending me so much information, and why it can't just give me a break for a bit so I can actually finish a project before getting all excited and giddy about the next one. (Maybe I can personally write to her and ask her to write about that conundrum!)

I just want to end by saying the most memorable and helpful part about the book so far has been the "Done is better than good" section. I LOVE this quote. I often feel paralysed by thoughts like, "What if I ruin this painting?", "It's never going to turn out how I envisage", or: "Other artists such as [blah blah blah] are better than me and I should just quit. (Or retreat from the public eye, at least.)" So I procrastinate. I put paintings aside for months to gather dust while I try to start something that will work. (Then that new one will end up in a dusty pile, too.)

But done IS better than good! What use is a 'good' painting if it's never 'done'? As soon as I read this chapter I literally tossed the book aside and pulled down a painting I'd been working on and got right into it. 

I'd love to hear from you if you're a creative, or aspiring creative and have read the book.

Talking about working on too many projects, I am working on two paintings, plus I have a few sculpture ideas. I also need to start working on a couple of commissions I have.

Here's a late night progress shot form my studio.

And because it is pretty, and because I recently blogged about awesome 2016 calendars, I will show you the Taproot Calendar I recently purchased. Artwork is by Phoebe Wahl, who I'd love to meet one day and give her a big cuddle for bring so much beautiful awesomeness into the world. She's amazing.

And meanwhile, we're still living our lives. I like the "Natural Earth Mama" thing and it's not something that happens naturally all the time. I have to work at switching the TV off and living the way that makes you happy and feeds your soul. (The kids are watching a movie as I type.) But we did go berry picking yesterday at a local organic berry farm. We had 'picker's passes' which meant we could eat whilst we also picked a bucket of berries to take home. The kids really loved it and Miss 5 pretended we were trapped, as the vines are all netted in. Miss 7 had wide, open eyes when eating each berry, as you never know how sweet each and every one is going to be. She requested we go back there "one thousand more times". Of course, sweetheart. ;)

Ps. I am getting a photographer this year so am looking forward to stocking my Etsy shop with lots of goodies!

Jules :)

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