tsk tsk

happy weekend

I have so much to show and tell. New canvas paintings, softies paper illustrations and cards. But for now I'll just show the cards. I'll be restocking the shop in a week or two.
I'm in my dressing gown, sipping a morning coffee, watching Miss M dance to playground radio, Mr A make a musical instrument our of shells and string and Mr N reading the paper online. We are also preparing ourselves to go to Ikea today. It always seems to turn out to be a bigger shop than I anticipate. Last time I went, I vowed never to go by myself again.

Apart from that, hopefully a quiet weekend here finishing my projects and catching up with friends.

Enjoy your weekend.

on my desk

have joined 'on my desk this wednesday' as seen through a few blogs and I think it might have started here.(?)

I love this work day. I am always so eager to take the kids to school/daycare and hide myself in the studio.

I'm working on new artwork. Some of which is for an up and coming exhibition in May in Adelaide.  Apart from that, not a lot to say, just boringly busy, so I will get back to it!

paper dolls on a slow sunday

What I thought was a bit of jet-lag I think is actually a virus. This week has seen me in bed most nights around 7.30pm. Last night I made it to 9.20pm (Saturday party girl that I am). Miss M, who actually is a party girl, was playing quietly in her room, and became a little miffed to discover that everyone had gone to sleep before her. So she came in to tuck both Mr N and I in bed. She is frustrating and funny at the same time.

It has been a slow day, but whilst the kids were at the park this morning kicking around a ball, I did manage to start some new illustrations.

holidays continue

School holidays that is. Yep, hanging out with the kids. I have a bucket load of work and commissions on my desk that need attending to, but I just can't seem to start any at the moment. The kids have been playing so well together, but they still want me to help with this and that. I am so loving being back with them, but it is just too hard to concentrate on work stuff even though I am hanging out for a bit of creative me time.

So I decided to play around with some shapes and colours. No pressure type work. Just pure play.These might end up being postcards for Etsy. I haven't been paying that side of things much attention this year.

And when the kids aren't looking, I'm sneaking one of these each day. Pierre Herme macarons. A must stop food shop if in Paris. They are heavenly.
Mine have been slightly ruffled in transport, but I have no doubts that I will be eating every crumb!

Sproutdesign fabrics

I can finally tell you about a new textile design project for sproutdesign. A group of us have been asked to design fabric for children.  Seven of us are involved and it is still all very much in the early stages but you can see more over at Kristen, Bianca and Lara's blogs too if you are wondering a little more about who is involved. Here is a snippet of the designs so far.

This is my submission that was selected called Critter friends. As you can see colour-ways are still be finalised.
Blue and green::

Blue and mustard::

coffee and blue::

The process still has a way to go but the official launch will be at the Life in Style trade show in Melbourne later this year. 

highlights

If I don’t write this post now, it will never get written. I keep on thinking about so much of the trip, but as each hour drifts by, I am starting to think more about things here at home. Milk, bread, dry-cleaning, work, washing.

We arrived home this morning. Everything in tact. All that now awaits is for the kids to come back from their holiday. Tomorrow I will see them and by then hopefully I will have readjusted to ‘downunder’ time.

So I’m going to keep this simple. In no particular order……

Orla Kiely, Paris

We took the Met to the Montmartre to do some sightseeing. Here in this district you can shop for fabric too. Catch the Met to Anvers station and head slightly north to the Marche Saint Pierre. I was told that the shop, Dreyfus was the best and as much as it had a good selection, I didn’t buy anything. What was there wasn’t anything that I couldn’t buy here and the thought of packing it into the suitcase was all too hard!! OK shops, but no wow factor. I forgot to write down the name of the street where the Orla Kiely shop was, and I knew that trying to find it was going to be like finding  a needle in a haystack.  I asked a few shop attendants, but they looked at me like I was an alien from another planet. Then, just as we were walking along the Boulevard de Clichy, I spied the famous Orla Kiely petal design on a shopping bag. I practically pounced on the poor girl who was carrying it. I had no idea if she spoke English as I rattled out my enthusiasm and eagerness at 100km per hour. But she understood my dilemma, it was her boyfriend that thought I was a crazy Australian! Anyhow, we walked up the hill and I was in heaven. So many beautiful things.

Enjoying a sunny day.

sitting on the grass under the Eiffel tower after a long walk from the Saint Germain des pres, along the Champs Elysees, then eating a long lunch at a really lovely find called, Oscar.

Milk Magazine

Fantastic and inspirational magazine about children’s décor, design etc. In French, but the photos are well worth the purchase if you don’t speak the language.

The range of children’s boutiques in Paris.

Some of which amazed me with their shop styling, use of space and products. A few that stood out and are well worth the look alone are:

Bonton. (the website doesn’t do this store justice)

Serendipity (could have easily bought a few things, but resisted the temptation....are you reading this Mr N ?)

Bonpoint  (luxury. This store wraps around it’s own private garden. I didn’t look at the prices of the clothes. If I had bought anything from this shop, I would have to wrap my kids up in plastic so they wouldn’t stain the clothes)

Le Bon Marche.

Lovely department store. The top floor sells fabrics, threads, buttons etc, but I  have to say the range was limited and expensive. The stationery section is great  and also they have a wonderful range of handmade Japanese papers. I bought just three types but making that decision as to which three was very difficult. I kept them well rolled all the way home, carried them on the aircraft without a hitch until back home, when the roll fell out of the airport trolley and under the back wheel. They have survived, with only minor creases! Bugger.

Meeting some lovely people.

The first day in Paris I strolled up to Junkudo. Most people would think this a strange thing to do. Aussie girl looks for Japanese book store in Paris!!! (honestly it would have been cheaper to go to Sydney) Whilst there, I started chatting to two lovely ladies. Well I spoke to Nathalie, as she spoke English, the other woman, Christine and I conversed through sign language and the word crochet was understood! It doesn’t matter what language you speak, because the love of Japanese craft magazines is universal. We exchanged emails, blogs (Nathalie start a blog please) and websites. One Christine mentioned is Japanese Couture Addict. Well worth the look.
On the Saturday, we did some more Met hopping (and walking) to meet Erika. She had come to Paris for the weekend to be apart of a private market with some crafters and friends. It was such a blast meeting her.  She sews and prints great stuff, and I could have easily done half my kids’ shopping here at this market if it had been at the beginning of my trip.

Ok, well this is getting to be longer than I imagined. I think I will continue writing some more another day. I need to keep my eyes open just now for a few more hours, then I can tuck myself into bed.

There is no place like home, there is no place like home...

I could tell you about the chocolates and macaroons, the people, (including bloggers I have met), the little streets full of life and love, the food....but..no! I just don't know how to put 4 days of Paris into a few words here on a blog. Not now....maybe later when I am home and can reflect. And as much as I have enjoyed my stay here, I am ready to go home to my children, to my Aussie life.

walking home tonight from a superb meal, Mr N spied a young girl with dark curly hair about 4 or 5 years of age, and I wanted so much to hold and see our little girl!! .....and boy! Such a mum that I am!!

And this photo? Well this is as close as I got to inside the Louvre.There are so many beautiful things to see here, most of which are free!!

PS. remind me to let you know about the Orla Kiely shop! oooolaaa laaa
!

i'm still walking

yes, walking and  walking again. My feet are sore so I am taking some hotel time to rest. So far my internet time has been limited, not to mention the hours in the day, hence my absence.

I have arrived in Paris after spending a day in Brussels and a day in Brugge. There is so much to show and tell. Too much for here right now. Traveling and sightseeing alone has been quite an experience with both its ups and downs. eg ups would be shopping without a husband in tow; not being seen as a tourist and being propositioned by good looking men; downs would be not sharing all the things I see and hear; having a strong man lift my bag onto the train and being propositioned by seedy men!
Have found some great shops with lovely crafty things and will share all these details once I get home. I'm not wanting to be stuck in front of this computer for too long.

Belgium

I awoke this morning very early to the sound of someone’s suitcase being dragged along the paved square in front of out hotel. We arrived in Brussels last night very late. The train was delayed on route sadly due to someone taking their life on the tracks. An unfortunate incident that happens all over the world each day I guess. Something else that is also universally common are the crazy skills of taxi drivers. Talk about taking your life in your own hands.

Our Sunday in Amsterdam passed very quickly. We walked more around the streets, cruised the canals on a tour, bought a beautiful print from some artist’s markets called art plein spui. Quite a small, market with only a dozen or so stalls, but the quality of the works was worth the diversion. I had a lovely conversation with artist, Marjan Smit about her drypoint prints. We decided to buy one of the small works called Eigen Drunk.
The market is open on Sundays from 10am-6pm, March to December.
By the time we found a warm and cosy place to have a late lunch, we realised that it was time to get our bags, head for the train station and farewell the city. We noted that there is a great variety of restaurants to choose from. Including, Indonesian (being an ex colony of  this region) and also Argentinean cuisine. So if you love your meet you won’t have trouble finding somewhere to eat. I was surprised not to see more seafood focused restaurants. Not that I eat a lot of seafood myself, but given Amsterdam’s accessibility to the seas I thought there would be perhaps be more on the fish scene. The bakeries were good, and I have no doubt they will continue to impress our tastebuds as we venture south.

So my day ahead awaits. Weather today is meant to be lousy, but I am prepared. Today is my first day on my own. Mr N and his work colleague have already left for the conference here in Brussels. They are setting up for a poster presentation and a big day of networking I guess. I have a list of shops, and places of interest to visit and may head to Brugge tomorrow.

I’m missing the kids terribly and have often had a tear or two in my eye when thinking about them. I know however that the week will fly by, and before long we will be on our way back home.

I could live in this city

Saturday 29th March

We have arrived in Amsterdam. The hotel room is musty so I have opened the window to let the fresh air inside. Trams and cars whiz by very noisily. Mr N is ‘resting’ his eyes whilst I force mine to stay awake.

I am writing this at a local time of 5.11pm. Australian time it is really 2.11am. I feel like I am on a sleep deprived, over walked, over stimulated, slightly over eaten and fuelled up zombie tour.

What an amazingly beautiful city. Everything I thought it would be, plus more. The city to us seems, relaxed and easy going….and CLEAN! Hello, only one dog poo on our walk through the streets! Compared to my last visit to Europe (well Italy) where walking on the pavement was an extremely risky part of the day!

We arrived just after 6.30am this morning, checked into the hotel, but couldn’t have the room until after 2 this afternoon. So the entire day has been spent walking the streets. We walked with a tour group which was great and I have to say a new experience for me…we are usually a ‘do it yourself tourist’. However I figure that because we have such a short amount of time here, we need a little assistance.

A very cheap, relaxed tour guide, by the name of Shaun, led us around many different parts of the city , some touristy, some not. We have walked and walked and walked. Weaved ourselves throughout the streets, stopping only for food and alcohol. Watching the tourists and locals crowd the streets. Veered ourselves around the extraordinary amount of bicycles. Inhaled the “unique smell” of the local coffee shops, felt the icy winds on our finger tips and cheeks, eaten piping hot chips, freshly cooked soup, waffles and finally finished the day with 3 or more shots of some distinctly local brew from Wynand Fockink.

My tiredness feels like I am not making sense. I need a shower and some dinner. If I can just hang out for another 3 hours I will be fine. Don’t fall asleep, don’t fall asleep. I’ll write more soon when I cam more coherent.

Sunday 30th March

I fell asleep. Didn’t make it to dinner, but I now feel ready for the day ahead. Sunday in Amsterdam awaits before our train departs this evening to Brussels.