Beauty in Nature for Inspiration

Recently we made a visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne. Which are all Australian native and award winning for their landscape design. 

I have been feeling uninspired lately and in a bit of a rut, and I always find it helps to just get out there and see new things to bring that inspiration back. This visit worked a treat. Just seeing the foliage and landscape shapes and colours was enough to bring back the awe I have for nature, and it sparked some inspiration and motivation up again in me. 

Continuing with the inspiration from nature theme, I completed a mini painting loosely based on this image from David Attenborough's book Amazing Rare Things. I love the leaf shapes in the original illustration which was painted c1725. This painting I did was more of a study, or "sketch painting" as I like to call them. Something I start with no pressure on myself to complete something for sale or display, and just for the enjoyment of it. I was playing around with colour and texture. I upcycled a frame for it and it is now hanging in our downstairs toilet, which has green walls that the image looks quite good against. 

I am still working on a piece that I will be giving away (!!) soon, but I hit a block with it. If you are the creative type, you will know what I mean! It needs something, but I'm not sure what. I will have to put my efforts into that very soon, sometimes if I just start to work on it the solution will come about naturally. Stay tuned for that one!

Food & Our Way of Eating

Hello!
Thought I'd make a post about what I generally do with a lot of my time. Spend it in the kitchen! I don't really like it, and resent it at times... but I do have a passion for learning about health, food and nutrition, and so that equates to a bit of time preparing food in the kitchen to put it all into practise. We try to eat organic to as much as we can afford (and organics are scarce in this country town) and as additive free as possible. We don't eat a lot of meat, as organic is expensive so I do try to make it stretch when I get it. I can get two nights meals out of 500g of mince. We drink almond milk instead of cows milk. I try to sneak as many veg into my girls' meals as I can. Last week I substituted a layer of pasta in our lasagne with cabbage leaves. I got away with it too! And the sauce was chock full of celery, carrots, mushrooms and zucchini. My girls aren't scared of anything green (who would be when your Mum serves you up green smoothies!?) and so I have also discovered a layer of spinach on their spelt based pizza's gets gobbled up too. We also try to be wheat free. I give veg as snacks while they're being hypnotised by the TV. I put spinach in their choc smoothies! We grow a veggie garden. They love it all. Well.. most of it ;) I just never give up with them. If they don't like something I keep serving it until they do like it!

Here are the cheeky chickens eating spelt pancakes with organic blueberries, coconut cream & maple syrup. This was a treat breakky! :)

Most of the time I use my trusty thermomix and Quirky Jo's website as my recipe book. She really has changed the way we eat. Thanks to my thermie I make a lot of things from scratch including sauces, ice creams, ground nuts & seeds for meals & flours and a range of homemade cakes, muffins, snacks and meals in a quarter of the time it would take me to do it without a thermomix. And let's be honest, I just wouldn't do most of that if I had to do it from scratch. As much as I love to eat additive free foods, I don't want to spend all my time in the kitchen. And if I have to make something that requires a bit of skill, it usually fails! But I am getting better! And whilst I don't really love all the work that preparing healthy food takes, there is a satisfaction that comes with sitting down to a homemade fancy and healthy meal that everyone loves. Makes me feel like I am looking after my family.

So here's a sneak peak into my fridge.. I swear I didn't rearrange anything for this shot, this is just a general everyday shot of my fridge contents. It's very personal! We have soaked almonds at the top for making almond milk (Reason for soaking), there's bone broth in a glass that I make from our left over chicken carcasses, nuts, seeds, fruit & veg, a gluten & sugar free carrot cake in the middle made from our own home grown carrots.. organic milk for tea & coffee, tahini for calcium, whey that I extracted from yoghurt to make kvass (in next photo)... and a bit of scunge!! See told you I didn't do anything in there before I took the photo!

Here's my kvass. This is the first time I have made this. It's a fermented beetroot drink I made this morning which took me all of five minutes to make. If the kids like this I will have to make it more often. Lovely colour! It'll take two days to ferment apparently then it'll be ready for the fridge. 

We've come a long way in the last few years with our diet and lifestyle changes. I felt overwhelmed with what I started to read about in the past but I have made changes slowly, and one by one. And little changes over the years all add up to a completely different way of life. Some of the changes we have made have been removing our microwave & swapping all our teflon cookware for stainless steel. We've ditched so called healthy vegetable oils with coconut oil, butter and ghee. We've also ditched white sugar, boxed cereals (regardless of whether they are 'healthy') & wheat. We've switched from normal salt to himalayan salt. We eat more fruit and veg. I've learnt a lot. And there's still so much more I want to do! 

So there you have it, a little personal snippet into our lives, our tummies & something I am passionate about. Might have to go and eat now, I've made myself hungry...

The Paper Mache Tree Project: Progress Shots

The paper mache tree project was on hold for a while. My plans got messed around a bit when I put the husband onto learning about EMF's, as our meter box (including the smart meter) is located right outside the kids' bedroom. He started researching, didn't like what he was reading, bought an EMF reading device and decided that we are either moving the meter box, or moving them to a different room. Total tree & mural plan stuff up! We'll get a quote for the relocation of the meter box, and in all the discussion of possibly changing their room I completely lost motivation to keep working on the tree. But, I decided yesterday that there is still quite a bit of work I can do on it anyway, and it will still be able to be moved at this stage if needed. 

So, we cracked out the flour and water and had a fun messy old time! This Mamma ain't really scared of a fun mess! And it was only flour and water, so it washes out of everything, it's non toxic, and easy to clean up. And some of my gluten free health nut friends would say this is a much better use for this gluggy grain! The kids were repeating "gloopy- glue, gloopy- glue", as they were working. Not much work was being done, just a lot of squishing and squelching around with the mixture! My working process for this is to wait until they get bored, then carry on with productive work when I've kicked them outside covered in glue.

I think I'll need one more paper macheing session and then that part of the project will be complete. I have renewed motivation to keep working on the tree, and motivation to work this room situation out soon. I would really love to keep the kids in their current room, it's such a great size, and we had a pretty chandelier light installed there too. It's coming along, yeah? :) I am so excited!

Update: This project is now finished! You can view the first post about this tree here, or view the finished tree in this blog post.

Jules :)

In Art & Life...

Hello, it's been a while... again! I do so much wish to get back into blogging more, but it will take me a bit of time to get some more time as my little kiddies grow. Little Miss Isla has been having trouble separating from me at kinder, and so I have been hanging around there playing with three year olds. So my plan of her starting kinder and me getting a bit more art time hasn't really panned out just yet. But we'll get there, I am not worried :) I have waited five and a half years! What's a little more?

Here's a little peek at some art I have done recently. I did post these on my facebook page recently, but I know everyone's not on it so I will post piccies here too. The top one is called "Startled", and it's pencil and acrylic on paper. The second one is a painting I started recently at the Warragul Arts Market. I am happy with what I've done so far, but the momentum kind of slowed for me and I need to take some time to look at it and figure out where I'm going with this. I like to follow a natural path with my work, and if it feels forced, well, it's just going to look forced and unnatural. I like how these guys are so content and relaxed. They are happy with themselves, to just 'be'. There's no need for chit-chat; their meditative stroll & their thoughts are all that is needed.

In other areas of my life I've recently been thinking about how I can save money... OP SHOPPING!!! I need a few new clothes and I'm trying to find cheap items that I can upcycle myself. I have been on the look out for a jacket, as winter is coming up, and SCORE!! I found one, so happy. But first, here's a skirt that was too small, so I pulled off the original waistband and sewed on a stretchy one. Done! Easy.

Here are some items I've picked up op shopping.. the top left has some serious ruffles going on that accentuates my pin head, so I will just tuck and hand stitch bits down until it looks better. The two square bits were fabric I found, I soooo love the yellow fabric there, what a find! The green top on the top right needs whizzing in at the sides, that will be quick. The top under it fits ok except for the tight waistband. I will take that off and make it a bit bigger before sewing it back on. The retro-y dress in the middle needs a neckline and sleeve update, the other top at the bottom left needs nothing done and the scarf will go in my studio square scarves collection, and one day I will start sewing them all together to make a curtain for somewhere in the house. 

And this jacket!!! It's all wool! $8. And in one of my favourite colours :) I got eager and started messing around with it before I took the photos.. so here it's already been pinned in, and shoulder pads have been removed. It was really square with no shape, and a tad big. 

To make it easier, it has no lining. Which is ok, I guess you wear jackets over long sleeve tops anyway.  I have started safety pinning it in at the seams, to give it a more fitted look. I will straight sew these seams before overlocking, so I can unpick if needed and make sure I'm happy with the new seams before I commit. I'm up for a challenge!

So I'm proud that I have been finding some cheaper and environmentally friendly ways of updating my wardrobe. And even though I'm not looking forward to cold weather, I am starting to look forward to layers of clothes, warm comfort foods, cuddles with my kiddies, and watching them stomp about in gumboots, raincoats & beanies. :)

Tutorial: Lined Drawstring Bag

In a rushed night-before-it-was-needed effort I made a library bag for Miss Isla. I scoured the net for something that would save me as much time as possible. I found a great tutorial that I would love to credit, but now I can't find the link! I made a few changes to the tutorial to make it easier & even quicker. In the end I spent more time ironing on pretty Sukie transfers than I did making the bag! Seriously, this is the quickest sewing project I've ever done! So I just had to share.

You will need fabric and some sort of tape or ribbon for the drawstring. Amounts depend on the chosen dimension of your bag.

First of all you need to decide the finished dimensions of your bag. I made a little card holder bag for this tute, which was 12 x 17.5cm. Make sure you add a bit of length so that the drawstring will close nicely without squashing your contents; particularly important if making a library bag. I made Miss Isla's bag 34 x 44cm. Cut a piece of card or paper the finished size of your bag.

Now lay your template on your fabric. You need to cut four times the size of your template (just flip the template around on your fabric), with a seam allowance all around the edge. I've gone for 1cm. Make any markings for cutting on the wrong side of your fabric. 

Once cut out, fold lengthwise, right sides together. (So sides together.) Mark the centre on the side and then 1.5cm on either side of the centre. 

Now sew all around the open edges, leaving that 3cm gap open.

Clip your corners..

Use that small hole to turn the fabric right side out. If you're making a library bag, you might want to make the gap say, 4cm for ease. Make sure all your corners are poked out nicely. I use whatever I can grab, a knitting needle or the end of a paintbrush...

Now push & fold one of the ends into the other side. It does not matter which one. 

Sew all around the top of the bag, a 1.5- 2cm seam is sufficient. 

Thread your chosen tape right through using a safety pin, cut evenly and knot together the ends.

You are SO done. Admire your work! How easy was that!?

Into the playroom you go!

This is my first tutorial. I would love your feedback.

Holiday to Inverloch

Recently went on a beachy holiday to Inverloch (Victoria, Australia). Here are my angels enjoying the view.

I got so inspired by the shapes of the seaweed. The variations of colours and shapes... even in this one piece, which was my favourite type, the variations in shape within the one variety were beautiful. Some of them looked as though they had been pieced together. I have had people mention that these kind of shapes remind them of my work, so it's no wonder I am drawn to them!

Look at the contrast between these two rocks that nature has conveniently (for photo taking purposes) placed together :) And the colours, gasp!

The texture in the seaweed..

In the shell museum..

And some more shape & textural inspiration in the trees. 

So inspiring! 

We went away with some friends (my art jam friend & her husband & kids to be exact) and during the evenings we somehow managed to find time to do a bit of art. Here's my take of a mermaid that the girls were drawing while were away. Kids drawings have to be another fantastic form of inspiration for me. And seaweed, of course :)

Shop Update

I have been updating my shop. Fun! Here are some new goodies you can find in there.. some birdy brooches, which always do well at the markets.. head over to my shop if you'd like to see some different pics of these.

And I am starting to get some prints back into my shop. They are my favourite to get out there! I mentioned this one recently on my facebook page. I painted it to ring in the New Year, as gratitude is a feeling I am going to try and be more conscious of this year. I really am grateful for all that is in my life, and I am going to try to be grateful of the lessons I can learn through difficult times. After all, how can we really be appreciative of the wonderful things in life if we never experience the pitfalls? The happiness paradox I think this is called.
I am hoping to put one of these prints up on the wall somewhere so that I can be reminded to be grateful. I hesitate to call it a new years resolution, as these never stick for me.. I need something a little more sustainable!