we all live in a...

...Yellow Submarine!
I thought I'd try to persuade you all to take a look at the Yellow Submarine film if you haven't already. It has been a staple source of inspiration for me since I discovered it in high-school hmm... 15 years ago! Yes I admit I am a bit of a Beatles freak - well a BIG bit of a Beatles freak - but what's not to love?!
You can view several minutes of the film here (just a taste!), and I highly recommend you check it out if you haven't already - brilliant. If you are wondering, the amazing artwork can be attributed to one Mister Heinz Edelmann. I hope this gets your creative energy flowing :)
Woohoo it's Friday - happy weekend!

red foxy

Oh I think I'm in love! I recently visited Petit Reve, the Etsy shop of the lovely and talented Sarah Anderson, and totally fell for this little guy. Red Foxy (he's a brooch) just had to be mine so I snapped him up quick smart! He arrived super-quickly all the way from the U.S.A and into my post box today - yippee! I can't wait to wear him all around the place. You can view Sarah's Etsy shop here and her blog here. Thanks Sarah!

duckies

I had some time yesterday to do what I love best - creating patterns! I got the inspiration for this one whilst watching the wild ducks at the flower farm last week - hanging out around the dam doing all the things that duckies do - swimming, grooming, nibbling at the grass, getting all sleepy in the sunshine! I really enjoyed creating this one - ducks have such a lovely shape to work with. I'm thinking I might include some ducky designs in my next range of greeting cards, they're just so fun :)

sir trotalot

Meet Sir Trotalot - he likes to ride about all day on his trusty steed, looking important in his shiny armor. I haven't had a lot of time to just draw what takes my fancy lately but I was determined to squeeze in at least one illustration this week! So here it is... I don't really know what inspired me to draw Sir Trotalot, he just kinda... happened!

animus

Animus is a beautiful book that is written and illustrated by Seonna Hong, a favourite of mine. Here are a few pics of some of the amazing illustrations, but they really don't do the book justice - I highly recommend you get your hands on a copy in order to fully appreciate the beauty of this book. You can get a copy here. Some of the pages also have pop-ups and moving parts - how fun!

ice cream dreams

Tonight I have a BAD craving for ice cream, but alas, I have none! So I thought I'd draw some... I did this quick doodle hoping that if I took my ice cream thoughts out of my head and put them in a picture I would get over it. Didn't work, I'd still kill for an ice cream right now! :)

latest Super Food Ideas illo

Happy weekend everyone! Have you got anything nice planned? I'm looking forward to a few things this weekend - catching up with my family, a bit of illustrating time, and we are finally getting our chook-house built woohoo! My cousins are coming up tomorrow to get the project started. It's very exciting, I can't wait! The first step towards my dream of owning some chickens is actually going to happen. I'll post some pics soon.
I thought I'd share with you today an illustration I did for the latest issue of Super Food Ideas magazine. I've been illustrating regularly for the mag for a year now, and some of the briefs really allow me to have a bit of fun... this was one of them!

1967 Home Beautiful

Yes, it DID cost only 25c! There is an ad in the magazine promoting a 12 month subscription for only $2. Wow.

I think this room is just so completely sexy... Yum!

These lights are priced from $7.05... I'd take ten! SO pretty.

Ah - 60's food styling... my goodness. I just love that little reindeer.

A Christmas shopping guide. I adore the little doll on the right.

Several years ago a friend gave me about a dozen Australian Home Beautiful magazines dating from the late 50s to the late 60s. What a score! They are very, very precious to me. I thought I'd share a few images from the December 1967 issue with you today. It's full of total gems, it was hard to pick out just a few. I will definitely share with you all some images from the other editions in the near future... Enjoy!

jam session

How was your weekend? I hope you had some time to relax and do things you really enjoy!
I didn't get very far with my planned sewing session... I started a dress for miss foxy doll, but there's still a way to go with it yet. I did however make some jam - one of the things I really love to do is make jams and preserves, I find it so relaxing and at the end of all your hard work you are rewarded with jars of delicious goodies to keep and give to friends. This jam is extra-special because I grew all the strawberries and raspberries myself!
The picture at the top is a plate of my home-grown berries, freshly picked and ready for freezing. The pic at the bottom is of a few jars of my home-made strawberry jam... I can't wait to bake some scones and smother them in this yummy stuff!

hello dolly!

Happy weekend everyone! Ah - for the first time in a while I don't have any pressing deadlines this weekend so I'm going to take time to do some things I've been missing, like cooking, sewing, and maybe even some crochet! I designed and started making this foxy little lass months ago... then things got so busy I had to put her aside. I think this weekend I'll work on a dress and maybe some shoes for her. I don't have a sewing machine so she's been stitched completely by hand... just me, a needle and thread and thousands of little tiny stitches! It's very therapeutic - sitting and stitching with a nice cup of tea... or maybe a dry martini in the late afternoon! I'll keep you posted on her progress.

zuper zucchinis

We grow a lot of our own organic fruit and veggies, and this Summer I've tried growing a different variety of Zucchini - it's a Lebanese Zucchini. They are SUPER DUPER sweet and tender, I just love them!
And look at the delicate, subtle colours and patterns on their skin - so pretty. They're hard to get in shops as their skin marks and scratches very easily, making them unsuitable for rough-handling and packing. As per usual, they've grown like crazy up in the back yard and we have an abundance of these lovely, sweet, tasty babies! I let the two in the picture grow rather large (about 2kg each!) and they are destined to be Curried Zucchini Soup (mmm SO GOOD), Zucchini Slice, Zucchini Fritters and even a Zucchini Chocolate Cake! Hopefully our freezer will be well-stocked with tasty dinners for a while.

etsy treats

It has been a long time since I bought something nice for myself, but this week I just couldn't resist this totally gorgeous wallet I found on Etsy at The Spotted Barn's shop. Christie from The Spotted Barn makes some very lovely snap wallets, clutch wallets and passport holders out of a range of super-awesome fabrics, all with a beautifully contrasting inside lining. And it came tied up nicely in string with a cute little tag. I'm very impressed with the excellent craftsmanship and quality of my little birdy wallet. I can't wait to take it shopping!

the wonderful house

Happy weekend everybody! Today I thought I'd share with you a few images from one of my favourite picture books - a classic that many of you will know - 'The Wonderful House' by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by the amazing J.P. Miller. I just love the combination of the quirky, imaginative (and at times just plain silly) words with the incredible artwork of J.P. Miller. How fabulous is that tabby cat?! Definitely a book that will keep inspiring me for years to come!

meet chicken and chooken

When we moved into our lovely house a bit over two years ago, we inherited these little ladies - Chicken and Chooken are rather delightful little friends. They sit under a pom-pom shaped box hedge and make me smile every time I walk past! Hopefully we will have some REAL chickens very soon, as my cousins have a belated wedding gift for us... a chook shed - yay! With some luck it will be ready within a few weeks and my long-time dream of having our very own chooks will soon be realised :)