A Friday Find

Today I re-discovered New Zealand designer Sarah Maxey! A super talented all rounder, Sarah designs for all kinds of print media and publishing, including some super cute stationary items like these quirky greeting cards that I've had knocking around in my files of goodies for ages!

Check out more of her work here.

Cup Cup Cuppa Cakes

Oh my goodness I am completely beside myself with excitement, I have found the Woman's Day periodic table for cupcakes! You just click on each cell in the table to unveil a recipe for the most scrumptious looking cupcakes I've ever seen - rocky road, peach melba, apple, blushing grapefruit, brownie, icecream, chocolate surprise... yum yum yum yum... get baking!

Thomas Paul for Duralee

I was lucky enough to snap up some large sample pieces of the super Thomas Paul fabrics, supplied through Duralee Textiles. I love the simple, bold, happy prints and colours, and they have cutesy animals and birds in these two designs - my favourites. I'm going to frame some of them as artworks... Project!

Undie Undies!

I want some undie undies! Get some here from Lucha Workshop at Etsy!

Mod Mod Mod

My favourite website at the moment is Modcloth, online supplier of Mod, Retro, Indie & Vintage style clothing. I love love love the super 'lookbook' section that they put together each week, it's so inspiring! Now I just gotta get the money together to produce these looks... Check it out!

The Best Medicine

Ahh, nothing beats a bit of homesickness then three kiwi gals having a good old chin wag and a wine (or three!) whilst enjoying a gorgeous Perth sunset at the beach. It's always the little things that make a so so day, a brilliant day :)

Book I'm Lovin' - MaryKate & Ashley Olsen 'Influence'

Ok so I can feel you cringing already as you read this heading, and I did too when I first saw this book, but once I started reading I must say I was totally surprised, it's a great read!

What you don't realise from looking at the cover is that it is filled with fantastic, insightful interviews by the twins of famous and not so famous designers in all genres - fashion, interiors, photography, artisitic, exhibitions and more. It is more about the people that inspire them, and only a small part about themselves. The bonus is that there are pages and pages of lovely glossy photos, sketches, drawings, candid letters and personal quotes.

It doesn't matter that the designers featured are generally the creme de la creme of the design world, the interviews give you insights into their often humble beginnings and stories of starting out in their fields, and I'm all for that!

Etsy Bunny

Yay for Etsy - I came across this wee bunny sketch, so simple, so sweet, I want to take him home and put him on my wall. CUTE as a bunny button!

NYPL

I have discovered a fantastic resource that I think all creative brains should know about! I followed a link from the Design By the Book feature on Designsponge, which took me to the online digital image catalogues of the New York Public Library website. If you are just cruising on the net, in need of some inspiration in any shape or form, or undertaking specific research on a topic, these catalogues are super brilliant, check it all out here!

Up & Coming: Belinda Coppin

I would like to share a little bit about up and coming fashion designer and recent design graduate Belinda Coppin.

I was lucky enough to catch her collection on show in Wellington at the end of last year, where she was named as top Massey fashion design student, and nominee for the supreme Zonta award. What a super cool aesthetic, I want those pants!

Her presentation, from garment construction, cut, style and fit, photography and marketing were first class. She is one to keep an eye on in the future - watch this space!

To read more about her award click here.

Gone Ghosting in Freo

Like a lot of things in life, I sit on the fence when it comes to believing in ghosts and spirits and so on, I suppose as there isn't hard evidence either way, I'll always believe in the possibility of their existence - so it MAY just be my vivid imagination that tells me I caught one in my camera last night, or maybe not?

We went on a night tour at Fremantle Prison (highly recommend it, was super fantastic) where I spent the entire hour and a half shuffling around with my legs crossed so as not to wet myself in terror (I am a bit of a chicken, yet love an adrenalin pumped experience, which I thought this was). I found myself willing some kind of a ghostly blob to appear in my camera, and I think I got my wish, even if it is just light reflection...!

(The 'ghost' in question is looking out of the bottom of the top left window- hmmm the more I look at this the more I think maybe my imagination is getting pretty clever huh?)

Doodlin'

Just a little girl on a bike, drawn just cos'.

Frenzied... Thursday!?

Oh dear! This morning I found out that a store/gallery in Wellington is interested in selling my bird sketches, and they want to view a full portfolio and need a pricing structure. This is super news, but I don't even know where to start when working out how much my drawings would cost! So I'm in a bit of a flap now... this has gone very quickly from being a dream to maybe (don't want to jinx it) being a reality, so I just need to catch my breath!

Class Act Glam Style

This is the stunner of an 80's dress that I found at an op-shop last week, complete with shoulder pads, drop waistline and tiered, ruffled skirt. I ended up looking like a purple-people-eating-polyester sack dress wearing freak, but I thought it was perfect for the 50th birthday we went to over the weekend, seeing as the theme was 'Summer Glam'!

And yes, that is beer down the front of my dress... ' Oh Nikki, you're a class act, really!'

On The Way To Greenhead...

I wanted to share a couple of pics I took through the car window, whizzing by at 110kmph, (even though I wasn't driving, I thought I did pretty well!), on the way to Greenhead over the weekend. I certainly wasn't trying to be artsy like wee Sarah of Bobbyrobin, there just wasn't really anywhere to stop for me to take photos, so I had to make do with my head out the window like a dog!

I am super obsessed with wind turbines - the sight of them makes the hairs on the back of my neck prickle, but in a good way, I think it's the sheer power and magnificance of them, and I love the way they look when sillhouetted against the horizon.

We drove through a part of Yanchep National Park, where two weeks earlier there had been a wild fire. The blackened, shrivelled tree corpses are all you could see either side of the road for a good 5 minutes drive, they stretched right out to the horizon, and the burning smell filled the van, it was super spooky.

Once we had left 'the dead zone' we started to pass masses of trees that had been scorched by the heat of the fire, and turned a beautiful amber colour, this photo doesn't really convey how brilliant the colour contrast was of the amber leaves against the blue sky.

*Sigh*, Mother Nature you are a clever thing!