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!