Note Cards

My wonderful friend Chris who has a heart as big as the ocean and a laugh that is ridiculously infectious is getting married! Tomorrow! As part of his wedding present I made him (and wife-to-be, Jen) some little sets of notecards. I figured that weddings generally require a lot of 'thank yous' after the formal part of it is all said and done, so hopefully some little cards will come in handy for them!
Joshua and I will also be getting in some wedding planning of our own while we're back in my hometown for the weekend, as well as celebrating a friends birthday and seeing my family! Busy times.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Pools and Picnics

It was miles too hot yesterday to do anything too wild. We ditched our plans for the city (trains are never my favourite, but least of all in temperatures over 30 degrees) and went to the pool instead for a quick splash about. A much more favourable option to sweltering on public transport and having to avoid people with southern cross tattoos and Australian flags temporarily applied all over their person. We then slothed about at home for most of the afternoon, did some groceries, watched some of our 'programs' and went on a little picnic in the evening. We snacked on sandwiches and teeny-tiny cheesecake bites. All very civilised and pleasant, all of my favourite things about being Australian! Hip hip!

Australia!

Happy Australia Day to you, wherever you might be! I think it's pretty nice to celebrate our fine country with a day that mostly denotes laziness - we couldn't quite come up with something fancy (a'la Thanksgiving for our American friends) so we just went for a blanket celebratory day. Nice one!
We're thinking we'll head into the city for some art gazing and some shopping and later on a little Hottest 100 picnic in the evening. Shaping up to be quite the pleasant day!
Hope your day is lovely! x

Tune Tuesday

Tomorrow is Australia Day, which of course means Triple J's Hottest 100 Countdown. I'm hoping some songs from The Drums make it into the countdown. Hands down, my favourite band of the year - I've listened to their album too many times to count and they were easily the best live show I saw in 2010. I also started cutting Joshua's hair a little more angular and encouraging some rolled jeans and sneakers. Brooklyn knows best.

Art 4 Heart

The amazing Beth-Emily and Kelly Smith have put together an art auction to raise some monies for those affected by the Queensland floods. Round One finishes today at 5pm, so head over and check out the original art that's on offer. Art 4 Heart Round 2 starts tomorrow (January 23) with more artists and what will most certainly be some incredible art. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for something wonderful from Sarah McNeil or Kat McLeod. You can head straight to the website for all the details.

Typical

She & Him - Don't Look Back from Merge Records on Vimeo.

She and Him are back with a new video clip. All of the mid-century furniture and styling for the clip make it even more enjoyable to watch - something I didn't really think possible if it already involved Zooey Deschanel. It premiered on Design Sponge on Wednesday and without a doubt will be doing the internet rounds for the next little while. It's made me want more opaque glass vases and a turquoise television.

Sailor

Our friend Huw decided on a whim a couple of weeks ago that he needs a tattoo. I've been given the honour of drawing it for him. He originally insisted that it be a sailor smoking a pipe. This has since grown to be a sailor smoking a pipe sitting on a crate, with an anchor tattoo on his bicep.
I have a feeling that in time it could grow into a full sleeve. '...A sailor smoking a pipe on a crate, sitting on a jetty that extends into the water and underneath that there is a mermaid and a treasure chest...'
At any rate, we're starting relatively simple, though it's proving to be a little tougher than I had imagined. It's hard to draw a sailor without it looking like Popeye!

Wishi-Washi

I've been working away on some invitations and paper goods, and finally initiated myself into the Japanese tape phenomenon. I didn't think I'd be quite so impressed, but it's wonderful! So many colours and patterns, gosh! I've since ordered a whole bundle more from here. All the possibilities!

Tune Tuesday

My mum messaged me in the wee hours of this morning saying she'd just heard a song that reminded her of me, and 'oh, whatever happened to Tune Tuesday?'. I felt guilted into bringing it back. At least for this week anyway. I will never stop feeling repulsed by Justin Hawkins in lycra, yet there's something about The Darkness that make almost every member of my family squeal and kitchen-dance. It's a sight to behold. Happy Tune Tuesday!

Feeling Krafty

I'm on the prowl for kraft envelopes. Trying to be organised and thinking ahead, I am! I'd love for all our wedding related correspondence to be consistently themed - no boring white envelopes for me, please! I've been cruising Etsy looking for a bulk pack of the perfect weight, perfect feel and perfect sized envelopes, but keep getting distracted by all the other lovely things crafty people are selling through their stores!

Air mail envelopes from mishiko79
Thank you cards by WhitneyRaesPaperShop

Baby Thank You Notes by Graciegirlnotes

If you've any suggestions on places to find what I have in mind, I'd be super appreciative!
Happy Monday x

Good Eggs

Amy Borrell sure is one super talented water-colouring lady. Her latest print available in her shop makes my pastel loving heart sing! All those lovely little eggs, so sweet! Visit her blog Cake with Giants, or head straight to her shop!

Dana Tanamachi

Custom Chalk Letterer. Pretty awesome job title hey? Dana Tanamachi makes incredible chalk installations. I spotted her stuff a little while back, but there is a juicy piece on her work over on 100 Layer Cake that has made me fall in love with her all over again. She's also currently working at Louise Fili Ltd, home of other wunderkinds like Jessica Hische. There must be something in the water over there.

Desiron Chalk Art from Dana Tanamachi on Vimeo.

Lipton Green Tea and White Tea

This video made me want to go and buy tea bags, pronto. I've recently gone off coffee (isn't that strange?) and my recent beverage of choice has been tea.


LIPTON - Green Tea & White Tea from Yoann Lemoine on Vimeo.

Yoann Lemoine, the clever cookie who directed this little video (with no green screens, mind you) has a whole heap of other delicious work over at her site. So pretty!

Christmas Rewound

I realised I've been so slack with the blogging lately that I didn't even share about Christmas and some of the lovely things I was blessed with this year! My favourite part of the Christmas celebrations was having my Joshua spend it with my family. I had assumed that my shiny ring was my Christmas present, and having already sharked my retro radio almost a month before, there was really no way I was anticipating further gifts. He picked me up from work on Christmas Eve with some chocolates in the glove box, saying "Sorry it's a little bit lame, I just wanted you to have something for Christmas. Oh, and I ate some of them too. Sorry." Christmas morning came and he had managed to sneak in a little present. A super sweet 1920's musical jewellery box - housing the missing chocolates. Gosh, he's a good sort!

My aunty gave me this teapot which I simultaneously love and feel slightly scared of. You have to remove the rabbits head to put the tea inside, and she pours it out of her hand. Awesome!

And in keeping with the bunny themes, Joshua's sister Erin gave me a notebook from Rebound Books of Bunnies' ABC. The illustrations are divine, and because it already feels well loved it doesn't feel like the type of notebook I have to be particularly precious about. That's always nice!

My lovely mum gave Joshua and I a picnic basket too, but made sure to pop some extra goodies in there to make it that little bit special - like the glass painted salt and pepper shakers that remind me of being 10, and country themed mugs, and a very tasteful fleecy picnic blanket. Thanks, Jules!
How were your collective Christmases? Hard to believe it's already been several weeks!

Best Ever from The Storybook Rabbit

When Joshua and I got engaged last month, I wanted to tell most people in person. I bumped into Kelly the night after it happened and blurted it out - really, quite rudely and at inappropriate decibels for the restaurant. She came into work the next day with a present, and said "I made this for you the other day, I must have known something was in the air!"

Isn't it downright adorable? I'm still trying to find the perfect place to hang it on display...
Lucky duck Kelly is currently holidaying in Germany for the whole month (jealous!) but when she gets back in February you'd best be snapping up some of her treasures from her store. I can personally vouch for the warm and fuzzy feelings that her lovely illustrations bring. Look, our names are in the tree! Naaaww.

Northern Holidays

We're back from our little holiday up north! Port Macquarie wasn't as sunny as it usually is, though the overcast days meant a little more chance of my skin surviving the sun exposure. I debuted the one-piece swimsuit and decided that I don't mind a bit of splash in the pool!
We stayed at my favourite pink hotel, which neighbours with a building painted turquoise. When I'm floating about in the pool there it makes me feel like I'm a little bit closer to sunny Cuba.
The boys went fishing, we all went shopping, and I managed to come home with a dress, hat and 2 new pairs of shoes. I can't say I feel particularly well rested after our stint away - but it was some super nice family time and I managed to get a few things under way for planning the year ahead! Busy times!

Start Today

Happy New Year to you! It's always an exciting feeling, the start of a fresh year. I for one am super excited about 2011 - promising lots of fun things!
I've long given up on the whole resolution thing, but over the last little while I've decided instead to make a more concerted effort to 'get cracking' as such - a little less planning and a little more doing.
Last year I posted this and I think I managed to tick off all of my activities. We're heading away today on a holiday for a few days up north - I've packed a couple of books, I'm taking some papers and paints, and I plan on doing a lot of planning and getting organised for the year ahead. Start today!
Any grand plans for yourselves?
Be back in a few days!