3 Mosaic Crosses

As promised i'm posting a pic of the crosses i'm busy with. This pic was taken after the grouting was done. In the mean time i've also painted them white. There are some final touches that need to be done. Currently though my art work has been put on ice because of the move. 

This December is beyond hectic for me. Fortunately after this week i'll take a break for a couple of days over Christmas just to get my breath back and catch up on some much needed sleep. And for a couple of days i really do not want to be thinking of lists. It's funny how certain personalities (the organising types) go totally nuts with making lists. I do consider myself an organiser and in times when things start getting chaotic for me i tend to makes lists which take up more time than actually getting things done. Why is that? I've got a theory that lists make me feel more planned and in control. So this must make me a bit of a control freak. What i have been wondering is how people who are not organisers get the job done? Are they more relaxed or do they break down under the pressure the moment everything needs to be done? Or do they just not care?

One thing i have realised though is that moving is not fun. I used to enjoy it but i think that must have been because most of the work was not up to me. Now i have true sympathy with my mother. My other half commented the other day that he would rather us buy the place than move again. I on the other hand think that a moving company is the way to go. But as far as i know they still don't pack things. Just move it. Either way, any help will be a big help!

Dreams of decor

I find myself really interested these days in decor that focus on libraries, home offices and kitchens. Might this be because i love books, cooking and baking and also am dreaming of a home based business? Quite possible! Another reason must be because of the move. I've dreamed of having my own library for years. Actually the library dream has evolved  into a bookshop/coffee lounge idea. Another dream is having an art studio. From next year i think i'll have a art studio/library/study in the spare bedroom. It's a small beginning but an exciting one. Now about the kitchen interest.... well i suspect it's because i've been discovering my inner chef. Ok, apprentice chef. Personally i think that anything created is art.  Don't you agree? Whether it be cooking, crafting, writing or photography, it all comes back to art doesn't it? Isn't it wonderful to have such a variety of art forms? Go visit http://freshome.com for some fresh ideas on decor and the latest trends.

On the Move!

Luna has been having a ball of a time with the boxes i'm using for my move. Every box needs to be inspected, sniffed and approved. My curious cat i think is finding the move rather interesting. Ever wondered what on earth must a cat be thinking? A couple of days ago she decided to take a look at an empty glass cabinet. No, nothing broke! But it was funny seeing my cat in the cupboard. This will be her first move and i hope it all goes well. I've heard that you must keep the kitty indoors for a couple of days so that she can get used to the new home first. She'll be going to the kennels and when she comes back, we'll be in a new apartment! Much the same really except that this one is double the size of the previous one. Oh! All the excitement!

I must be one of the few people in the world who loves to move. I admit it is very tiring but it is also very exciting preparing for a new place, dreaming about what i'm going to put where, looking forward to more space... Ai! It's going to be wonderful even if i'm going to be half dead by the time the unpacking needs to be done.

Interesting though (or should i say typical?) i've hoarded a lot of things since i've moved into my current flat of almost 4 years. It's amazing what i have gathered. The amount of things! What's even stranger is that i don't really want to get rid of anything. Yes, i came across diaries i used in school years ago...but do i want to throw it away? It was nice looking at the again... and i feel a bit sentimental. On the other hand i'll probably only look at them every time we move! 

Hey! It makes the move fun OK!!! Remembering and laughing. 

Wish me luck with the packing because it's not for the faint of heart!

Sunsets

I often stand in awe of the beauty of clouds and the sky overall. Personally i believe that God has made each unique sunset for us. Trouble is, so many of us miss it. And it's a once in a lifetime experience you know! That moment you'll never have over again. So I took some pictures to try and capture the beauty of it. The colours where truly fantastic.

It has been cloudy and rainy this week. Yesterday afternoon we had quite a bit of drizzle and early this morning i woke up with the sound of rain. Wonderful! But days like these i really long for my bed! Or sitting on a comfy couch on the balcony under a duvet with some Milo! Or White Hot Chocolate of course! Lol! Luxury to me is found in the little experiences. 

Funny isn't it? That when remembering something it most probably is of a fond experience. Have you ever had a fond memory of something you bought? As in, you are smiling remembering how you bought that certain dvd? Highly unlikely i think! But then this is my personal experience. 

Every morning i read daily mails from Max Lucado. A special piece this morning touched my heart. It was about rediscovering amazement. Meaning, seeing miracles in things we take for granted. For example the ocean, the sky, how wonderfully we're made... Things that have become regular to us, is in fact a display of the magnificence of our Creator God. Makes one think! What miracles are you seeing that you've been missing?

Ongoing Art Projects

 

As i've mentioned previously, i have some ongoing art projects. The above picture shows my project for our Mosaic and Pewter session. It is not 100% finished since i still need to grout the sides properly and also paint the back and inside. I am however unsure as to what colour i must paint. White or Grey? I feel white is the better option since there is plenty of grey and white just looks cleaner. 

Other than this project i'm also busy with mosaic crosses that have been occupying my shelf space for far to long. Not only do i need to finish the mosaic on them, but also of course the grout and paint part. The one cross i made a pewter center for and will be using the same technique as with the mirror frame above. The tricky part is to level the grout with the tiles where the pewter must come. It's not that easy and it's really messy. But keeping the end product in mind keeps me excited about the project. 

What i've also discovered with the frames i'm busy with is glass cutting. Currently whenever i need glass or mirrors to be cut i go to the glass department of Jimnettes Art Store. I've read up on glass cutting and even watched a short video on how to do it, what tools are needed and so on. I must admit that glass art is still foreign to me and somewhat scary. The beautiful lead glass lampshades, windows etc always has me in awe and perhaps someday i will also familiarize myself with this art form. At the moment though i can't see us doing it at a Kreado session. So for now we'll do the glass painting and glass frosting which is an easy enough project for an art session.

Greenery

I'm trying my hand at growing plants these days. Or should i rather say keeping them alive? A couple of years ago this was not possible at all since my dear Luna loved to eat anything that looked green. I actually tried to have a bit of a grassy patch for her in a pot on my balcony but it ended up as her loo! So that didn't last long. When i did finally let her roam around outside on her own and she grew up so much that she's not interested in anything else but sleep... well only then could i bring in plants again and enjoy them. I've had a couple of mishaps but not many. The picture above is of the ficus in my bathroom. The green against the white really makes a statement. I also got an office plant which gives me some privacy and i love it for that. Was quite a mission to figure out the office plant though because it is a mixed bowl containing 4 different plants. Now to my thinking these 4 plants will like a similar climate and handling. Alas! One did not make it. But the other 3 adapted well to office life and i've figured out how much water i need to give it. Indeed, i'm enjoying plants so much these days that i'm looking forward to starting my own little vegetable garden in pots and adding more plants to my new flat. Gardening does pass as a craft doesn't it?

Kreado - Mosaic and Pewter

So as promised here is one of beautiful pewter and mosaic mirrors we made on Saturday. As you can see, we were sitting under the trees busy with our art work. This particular frame was done by Karen van Sckalkwyk who for the first time finished on time! Well done Karen! I consider Karen and her friend Merle regulars of Kreado since they've been there four times or more. It's lovely having regulars because they also help the other first timers. This is especially needed with a large group of people. Since i'm organising Kreado on my own these days i've considered limiting the numbers to 15. That's a steep number by itself but as i've seen with a previous pewter session it was possible. As long as some friends / regulars are available to help me out. And of course the help of my love when we are setting up before the people arrive is so much appreciated.
This past Saturday there were 4 people that joined me for the session. Like i said yesterday, this was the perfect amount to be able to finish the project. Last night at home i also did some mosaic work and pewter and will post the final result soon. It's wonderful to do crafting! In my mind it's totally therapeutic.

Décor Infatuation

Our Mosaic and Pewter Kreado session was a huge success. There weren't that many people but i am really glad for this. Doing to different techniques can be daunting for first timers especially with a time limit of 3 hours. Well they proved to me it is indeed possible. Well within 4 hours at least. I'll post a pic of this Kreado session tomorrow. Of course, i was inspired to do my own art work again and i am also busy with a mirror frame that will have pewter leaves on it. I've already planned to do a session next year that involves 'pewtering' an entire cross and then painting it with glass paint.

The above art work i found while browsing some links that Martha Stewart posted. It's the art work of Julie Legg. As far as i can gather she's a photographer who does fine art with photography. Beautiful works of nature and her new venture of landscapes is mostly her focus. I also came across a very handy blog with the name
"The Inspired Room". There are truly such interesting things to find on the web. But i must admit i would never have known if it wasn't for my RSS Feed, Feedly. One of Firefox's many extra features.The reason for me being interested in "The Inspired Room" is mostly because of my endless search for beautiful décor ideas. You see i'm moving end of December and i am so excited to have a bigger place to decorate and try new ideas out on that i can't help but drown myself in décor blogs. So go have a look!

In love with books

I grew up with books. There's nothing quite like discovering a great book and world to lose yourself in. I remember during school when i was reading a wonderful book i couldn't wait to get home in the afternoon to read until the early hours of the morning on my bed. It was great times for me. These days it is a struggle to sit down and drown myself in a book. It's more like a true leisure activity that seldom happens. I do confess that i also love to read in the bath. Until the water gets cold. And nowadays bathing is my reading time. Currently, and i'm ashamed to say this, i'm still busy reading 'The Girl who played with Fire' by Stieg Larson. I started reading the book last year but i seem to struggle finishing it. Why? Isn't it a compelling read? No not at all, in fact i find it very entertaining. I love the 'Whodoneit?' stories. It's all a matter of time and priorities. During my school years i had plenty of time to read 6 books in 2 weeks. My life now doesn't afford me that though. In retrospect i do think that i would have been a good librarian. But for now I'm still busy with it and i'm planning to take a bath soon to finish it!

Being arty and crafty

Last year we had a Kreado session with fabric paint. And as usual the Kreado session inspired me to really try out the craft. I was inspired with ideas of gifts and designs. This is what always happens after a Kreado session. A funny thing happened when i was thinking of designs for my wedding invitations. Because of the various crafts i know about i ended up being confused and stressed out on what design to use. It's easy when you are making a gift for someone or just crafting for the enjoyment thereof. But when it comes to wedding invitations it's a different matter. It's a decision involving colours, shapes, font formats, wording and a theme. Another factor that made it more difficult for me is that i saw various examples of made wedding invitations. For some reason though they all started looking the same for me. One big blur of stiff looking wedding stationary. Me and my friends however are the crafty types who like putting some personal touches to our weddings / special events. To buy a card when you are a arty or crafty person is not the thing to do! I must admit making Christmas cards myself last year ended up being a bigger task than i expected. But the wedding invitations had a deadline. Our group of friends however have established a special tradition of taking a day and making invitation together. It turns into a type of Kreado session for a day. We have great conversations while being arty and the task gets done! So with the help of my faithful friends we managed to make the cards within a day. It was hard work but so worth it.

The endless art of Mosaic

Recently i came across this picture of mosaic with wood. It intrigued me as all mosaic arts do since i can associate with it and i'm always looking for new ideas. Kreado turned two last month and from these two years of Kreado sessions it became clear that mosaic is definitely a winner project. I started Kreado with a mosaic session and have repeated it a number of times these last two years. Always trying to atleast make it a bit different with the different wooden projects available. But from experience it seems doing mosaic on a wooden cross is a favourite. I love watching people do the arts and crafts because each one has their own unique style. Some are more spontaneous where as others are more organised, precise and look for patterns. And what always tickles me is the ladies who come to Kreado saying they are not creative! Lol! If you have a right-brain you are creative. You are just out of practice. They always surprise themselves with their lovely creations. I measure the success of Kreado purely on the people. Did they enjoy themselves? And if they did, well then i'm happy. 

Next weekend we'll be making mosaic mirrors with pewter in between. Pewter seems to be another winner at Kreado. The last couple of months i've been wondering how i can jazz up the sessions without repeating the same types of crafts over and over. So now i'm mixing them. The first mixture is going to be pewter and mosaic. And this will also be our last session of the year so i would like to end 2010 with a truly enjoyable creative morning.

Pretty flowers

Chocolates or flowers? These are the two options girls have as gifts from their better halves. I know for sure that i am not a chocolate person. I have a preference to fudge, caramel and strawberries. But chocolate? Nope. White chocolate maybe. Definitely White Hot Chocolate. But i consider myself a critic in this because i have tried out a number of White Hot Chocolates and only 2 places that i know of make the perfect one that is to my taste. So since i'm not really a chocolate person i consider myself more a flower person. Down side to this is that flowers just don't last very long! But aren't they lovely in your home when they are in full bloom? The pic of the flowers i'm posting is an example of my wedding flowers. I love Gerberas and think that they are some of the happiest flowers around. Mix them with lovely Lithianthus flowers and you have a winner? What do you think? I see that a favourite blogger of mine is also having flower moods these days. Her name is Shannon Fricke. Go have a look and enjoy!

How much is that doggie in the window?

I love animals. And for some reason photos of any animal is always beautiful to me. Wait! Sharks are scary things so i'm not to fond of pics of them. But you have to have respect for an animal like that. Yesterday i came across some doggy pics that made me long for a dog. Growing up we always had pets. Always one large dog and one small dog and a cat. Living in an apartment unfortunately does not allow for any dogs. And besides, i think it's rather cruel towards the animal. But that doesn't make me miss a dog of my own any less. Luna is a sweetie but there are times that i remember the dogs we used to have. This reminds me of Marley and Me. Ever watched the movie? Did you also cry your eyes out? With all animal movies i have the tendency to start bawling. Perhaps it's because they are the definition of loyalty, friendship and trusting. No matter what. I think us humans can definitely learn a thing or two from the animal kingdom. And to think there are people out there who abuse them! Every now and again i receive newsletters from Wetnose and it's so sad the stories they have to tell. So have some heart and treasure your pet and all other animals. They are after all made by the same One that made us.

A cute rodent?

Last night a friend told me that she's decided it's time for Christmas music. And my goodness why haven't i thought of that yet? The season to celebrate the birth of Christ is upon us and my Christmas music isn't out yet. This is terrible of me! Especially if you think that we're seeing Christmas decorations in all the shopping centres already and also i'm helping a bit with the planning of our church's Christmas Carol service which is in less than 3 weeks. So tonight is the night i'm taking out Josh Groban, Kenny G, Marriah Carrey, Andrea Bocelli and Michael W. Smith. Christmas here we come! 

This year has truly been flying past with the speed of light. On the one hand i'm excited for the future but on the other hand i'm scared that time is moving so quickly. Do you know what i mean?

Today's pic i found on the blog of Ellen van Deelen and her photography of cute rats. Who would have thought the rodent that makes us squeal with fright can look so cute? And cuddly if i may say so.

Also yesterday i read an interesting blog about writing blogs. The question was, if you stand on a podium in front of 100 000 people, what would you say? If you come up with that answer, write about it! Makes one think doesn't it?

A lovely Tuesday and some Martha Stewart

Since i love pets and all things equally cute i decided to post this picture today from Martha Stewart's site. Since i discovered her a couple of weeks ago her website is one of my favourite places to visit. It is huge! I swear she's plotting to take over the world. She's definitely the queen of all household things and then some. My only question is where on earth does she get the time for everything? Perhaps if you are as organised as she is, it is possible? I do think i am more organised than the rest but my goodness, this woman is on a whole different level. Why have i only discovered her now? Since she's been in the industry for years? Well i must admit that i was probably judgemental. Since hearing some bad publicity i was just not interested. Then earlier this year i bought the Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. You see i'm organising my wedding and i went totally nuts on wedding magazines. That's a post for another day though. I was however so impressed with her magazine and the handy tips that i went online to look for more ideas on her website. And that is how the cookie crumbled. I dare you to go have a look and enjoy the wide variety of ideas and things to try out. Cooking, gardening, arts and crafts, décor, sewing, pets, weddings! You name it, she's got it. 
Enjoy!

A relaxing weekend

This weekend was one of ultimate relaxation. And what is my definition of relaxation you might ask? Well, spending most of the weekend lazing around at home watching various movies. The perfect weekend! Also last night we had a thunderstorm. Not much rain but the lightning display was amazing. The picture above is of the clouds just before the storm. Poor Luna was out during the storm and couldn't be found anywhere since she was in hiding. We did find her after the storm though and she seemed to be feeling rather sorry for herself having to live through such terror. 

My art this weekend consisted of making leaf stencils for the glass jars i intend to frost. Since there's about 40 jars i've decided to do a number of stencils on disifix first and then when that's done, stick them to a number of jars and frost all of them. I'm planning to also paint some detail with liquid lead on the jars. Will defnitely post the final products here. Enjoy your Monday everyone!

Introducing Luna

It's almost weekend here in sunny Pretoria.  Ok, i say sunny but today the sun is struggling. There's quite a bit of cloud around and we are hoping for rain. In today's post i would like to introduce my cat Luna. You will be hearing a bit about her every now and again as she keeps on entertaining me with her antics. I suspect she thinks of herself more as human than feline. Spending most of her time sleeping of course on her back. And her favourite place to sleep is right next to me on the bed. She is quite the spoiled kitty. A couple of weeks ago i came across some cartoons on YouTube of Simon's Cat. So for all you cat lovers, go have a look and a good laugh at the antics of Simon's Cat.

Rainy Evenings, Inspiration and Luna

After some long and thoughtful weeks the idea of a blog has been swimming around in my mind for a while now. Last night we had our first thunderstorms and rain here in Pretoria which inspired me today to take the plunge today and finally get on with my idea of the blog. Do i perhaps have sleep deprivation today? With thunderstorms raging around a block of flats situated on a little rocky hill, things were far from silent during the long dark hours of the night. Not to mention that my feline friend named Luna was running around in fright from the thunder and lightning. She's a very sensitive and nervous kitty. 
As for arts and crafts today... a craving has been plaguing me for the last couple of day to finish of certain craft projects that have been staring at me from their respective storage places for some time now. You know how it is! You start out with a new project with such enthusiasm and then life interrupts. My solution to this is to keep my crafts short and sweet. Little quantities at a time.  For example, i busy doing mosaics on 2 smallish crosses. Also a project that will be ongoing for some months still is frosting glass jars. I must admit, i have trouble focusing on one task for a long period. Especially if it's not within my field of interest. But reading about marvelous craft ideas... well i would love to go out and buy all the possible things i can get from our closest art shop. Try out the wonderful things i've read about.  Hope you enjoy this blog as i share some of my interests with you.