vienna

the lonely planet describes vienna as the "wedding cake of europe". the thought of that makes me cringe, it really doesn't do this breathtaking city justice.










next time you're in vienna spare an hour for the butterfly house, it's divine and the tranquil surroundings are a very relaxing way to end the day.

random musings

i went to the launch of the queensland festival of photography last night and opening of the annie hogan exhibition at mob. the exhibition is quite good although some of it is poorly framed, not so good for photographic work.

we went antique shopping on the weekend and mum bought me this gorgeous cabinet for my birthday later in the month. i love it so much and it has solved some of the major storage issues at our place.


her birthday is 2 days before mine so i've made her these cushions for her couch. they'll look much better at her place, for one thing her cushions are bigger so they won't look all floppy like they do on my little cushions and her couch is a beautiful shade of blue.


this guy landed on little L the other weekend (that's good luck right?), he/she has inspired a future project to add to the millions I have jotted down in my notebook.


and finally, this is what the sky looks like at the moment just before 6pm in Brisbane (view from our balcony). it only lasts for about 5 minutes but if you catch it you'll witness the most amazing contrast of blue and orange.

better late than never right?

I know easter has well and truly passed by now but i've been a bit busy and just wanted to share a couple of things ...

mum's hot cross buns which also doubled as a birthday cake for my wonderful man.




mmmm... they were good


the easter chicks went down well, little L even wore the brooch I made for easter last year


yeah, there was big love for them, i think she may be pretending her little brother or sister due in november came out of the egg.

one night in munich

the view from our window


my first visit to munich was all about a beautiful city, its galleries and irresistible food markets. this time it ws all about oktoberfest.

happy easter

sharing

this is a sharing post as opposed to a showing post because although i have been working on easter creations they're not ready to post about yet.

so, i'd like to share the following:

- this review about the Pricked: Extreme Embroidery exhibition in New York also featured on the Craft blog

- this detail of a fountain in Vienna which reminds me of the way my sisters and i used to fight when we were kids


- Sophie Calle who had the best work by far at the Venice Biennale. I first experienced her work in 2000 in a gallery in Munich and have never forgotten it. Not only is she a brilliant photographer but i love the voyeuristic feeling of experiencing one of her bodies of work. I have 3 of her published works which i'll post about some other time.

tagged

I've been tagged by Vi who has the sweetest blog. So the rules of being tagged are:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share seven facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

so my 7 facts:

1. My friend and I went to Girl Guides when we were kids but because it was a little uncool at the time we referred to it as 'swimming club' in front of our other friends.

2. During the day I work for a contemporary visual arts magazine.

3. I'm a vegetarian although I do eat fish. Sometimes people get offended if I say I'm a vegetarian but I eat fish so instead I say I don't eat red meat or chicken, of course when I say it that way the response I get is "Oh, you're a vegetarian".

4. I have a wonderful partner who I've been with for 8 years next month :)

5. I grew up on the Gold Coast.

6. I have 2 sisters.

7. I bought a hoola hoop last summer and still love it.

I think tagging 7 people is a little much but here are a few picked randomly from the ridiculous amount of blogs I read:

one girl
udder
feeling stitchy
octavine illustration

berlin graffiti

from the east wall








from random locations throughout berlin

if there were 9 days in a week

in case you were wondering why little posts pop up randomly of cities in europe it's because those are the days when i have nothing exciting to blog about and so i share my photos from the trip we took few months ago. actually, we prefer to refer to it as an epic rather than a trip. fortunately today i have a few things to blab about.

like how easy it was to make this wrap skirt from craft 6. this is the first item of clothing i've ever made and i have to say it was fool proof, seriously my nieces could do it.


i thought it might turn out a little unco, lopsided or bulky in some parts but it's perfect. and it feels so nice on. yep, even though it's a gift for C i just had to try it on.


now i just need an eighth day in the week to make one for me.

in other people's news i now have 72 feeds on my bloglines. craaazy!! but i feel like i can't cull any because what if one day someone writes about something so amazing that it inspires something within me. if i could take my computer to bed to read i would. can anyone else relate to this?

it also occurred to me this week that all i seem to make lately are gifts for upcoming birthdays, easter, whatever and i need to focus my energy on what i really love, what is distinctive, what will eventually set me apart. the only problem is the thing i love is probably the most time consuming creative thing i do. where's that ninth day?

i'm also considering getting a gocco printing machine thingy (yeah, clearly i don't know enough to jump in and buy one yet so if anyone has any tips on this one let me know). i just feel it would make life a little easier for some projects, like cards, and give me a bit of instant creative satisfaction. think i'll sleep on it for a week then decide, maybe even do a little research.

finally this arrived from here. i love the simplicity of it. what a great concept.

ooh, also i'm going to the queensland ballet production of a midsummer night's dream tonight, yay!

blue dog

someone got a little excited last night when he stumbled across this basinet


yes, blue dog, it's all yours so go ahead


sure does look cozy


yes, you can stay there till the party, you're gonna need all the sleep you can get!