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You’ll have to bear with me as my spongy over-sugared brain takes its time to re-connect with my fingertips and goes through post-holiday typing on a keyboard rehabilitation. HI! Hope you all had a nice Christmas. We’ve spent the last week and a bit back up the coast with Mr You’s family; eating, getting lazy, eating some more, reading, fishing, did I mention eating? Just before Christmas we were bestowed with another God-baby (one of Mr You’s nephews). This time last year we were given our very first God-baby, now we have 3 all in the space of a year! (actually Mr You has 4). How God-Fertile are we?! (must be all those times I went to church... I've been at least twice now) We had a sweet quiet-ish Christmas, played with the niece and nephews and were privileged to some full-on 70’s style psychodelic acid-trip sunsets across the river. I can’t remember what else we did… caught up on some reading, made some earrings and necklaces with Mr You’s mum (she’s just discovered beading and is obsessed). Mr You tinkered on the mandolin that I got him for Christmas. (He gave me a handmade gift voucher for a generous shopping spree on Etsy – weeeeeeeeeee. I haven’t started yet, but can’t wait to get stuck in.) Ah, I’m really out of practice and I’m drivelling boring old crap now, I’ll just show you some photos instead.    On the long drive back home yesterday we marvelled at how beautiful phrases such as “Hexam bypass” and “Kempsy bypass” sound, while clogged in traffic waiting to get through the traffic lights on the highway at Kempsy and over the weird bridge at Hexam. We were so overcome by the loveliness of these phrases Mr You wanted to wind down the window and shout them out to share them with the locals… luckily he refrained. We did go off the highway to find some lunch in one of the towns that has already been bypassed. And this is what we found…  We ended up eating a meat pie on a table next to some bins outside of the bakery (because I wanted to support the local business instead out eating at the Mobil service station diner), and just as I was about to order the lady behind the counter scowled at me when I smiled at her. I know a highway bypass usually devastates the economy of small towns, but is it any wonder? Seriously she scowled at me! She dipped her chin, pursed her lips and squinted her eyes right at me. Isn’t bypass such a pretty word?
Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Cool Yule... Choose a well-wish that suits you best and take it along with you! I'm taking a bit of a break and will see you again soon after the season of merriment. Have a wonderful time. Take care, big happy wishes to you all .xx.
I really want to post, but I can’t think of anything to say… I was going to attempt the 5 secrets thing (expressed so well here and here), but I can’t even think of 5 secrets I’m willing to share with the world. So maybe a few tid-bits will suffice: 1. I am not obsessive compulsive but I do have my moments. I can’t hang clothes on the line unless the colour of the pegs match. They don’t have to match the article of clothing, just each other. So 2 white pegs, 2 pink pegs, or 2 blue pegs, you get the gist. I’ve often contemplated going monochrome in my peg collection to cut down the amount of time it takes me to rummage through the peg bag to find the perfect pair, but that would take all the fun out of it. 2. The by-line on my header up there is still true. I can’t knit. Eeeek. I know I’m most ashamed to admit this as I fear a backlash from the mass of knitters out there. My Granny taught both my sister and I how to knit, but mine always ended up all tight and stuck on the needle with my hands in cramps. Then when I wanted to join Brownies my Mum told me they made you knit a square as your entrance exam so therefore I wouldn’t be able to join. I still to this day don’t know if that was true or if the cost of joining (or the uniform) was too expensive for her and just fibbed to stop me joining. 3. I’m allergic to wool (another one I fear admitting for the risk of being kicked off the internet all together). I break out in hives. So I have to wear wool over something else so it doesn’t touch my skin, or switch to acrylic. Even as a baby I couldn’t lie on the soft lambs wool baby rug. When I told a friend this she nearly cried. 4. Ummm, well you already know how no-one knows about my blog (only Mr You). Yep, nobody I know in real life. Well… due to this I’ve created an identity problem for myself. I have started a new site for my new endeavours under my real name which links to my Etsy store, this is what I have recently shared with friends and family. When they ask me how I came up with the name flossy-particles I just make up some crap about things being pretty and flossy, as I still want to protect my blog and keep it secret. But I have a mortal fear that one day someone will do a search or something, find my blog and oust it to everyone else. 5. Because of this if you buy something from my Etsy store you’ll get an email signed with my real name (which is not mentioned anywhere on this blog). It delights me that even though this happens, people still reply to me as Flossy or Alice! I LOVE that! ...and want to thank-you for it.
 Yesterday marked the beginning of the over-eating season. We had our Christmas lunch get-together at Mum's house; just Sister Sparkle, her man, me, Mr You, Mum and my step dad. It's been a few years since we've had a Christmas celebration all together (as Sister Sparkle was travelling around the country), just us without loads of other relatives and friends. It was special, and Mum really went all out on the lunch part. We spent all day there, eating and laughing, opening gifts and playing board games. I savoured it as it's rare these days, and Sister Sparkle is setting off to travel around the country again next year (in the opposite direction this time), so it's likely we won't be doing this again for another few years. It came at the end of a fruitful week for me. I did a really cute portrait photoshoot of some children and their puppy, lined up a months worth of work in January making a website for an author (meaning I don't have to go find a real job for a while yet), made a few Chrissy presents including a button brooch for Sister Sparkle and cushions for Mum, squeezed in some Christmas shopping, and spent a fair bit of time at the ever-growing queue outside the post office (yes it's so long at the moment that it trails outside and up the street a bit). I had an order placed for a bag, and spent some time finishing an order for a painting from the markets last week. Actually that's a cute story... At the markets last weekend a mum let her little girl choose any one of my paintings to buy, the little girl ummed and arhed about which one she liked best. She really wanted a dark purple background so I told her I could paint something especially for her on purple, and she could choose whatever she wanted the painting to be of. There were princesses and pirates, and mermaids and unicorns, a wizard and owl, and in the end she decided what she really wanted was a treasure chest! (with rubies and emeralds inside). How cute is that?! I was kind of impressed actually that she chose something unique and unusual. It reminded me of a time I was face painting at a community fete once. A little boy sat infront of me and asked me to paint his face like the back of a bus! (I dont know if he'd overheard someone use an insult at one time like "That woman has a face like the back of a bus"). Either way that's all he wanted. So I put my brain into gear and painted his face like the back of a bus, along with people in the back window and a number plate and big tyres. He was delighted. How cool is that? Curious aren't they, those cute little people with strong personalities? 
 Rainbow lorikeets have taken up residence in our neighbours back yard.
Ooooo, lil kim tagged me! I’ve never been officially tagged before, how exciting (well for me that is, you may find it long-winded and boring). But what the hell, here goes… 4 jobs I have had:- My first job ever was selling entry tickets at the Museum of Fire - While at uni I had a very cool job working for a ceramic artist, helping to make her market range of items while she concentrated on her gallery items. I would make plates, platters and bowls out of clay, she would draw her art on the fired ones, and then I would take them home and paint the glazes on them. It paid terribly, but was a wonderful job. - On the side I did the odd face painting at fetes, and hair wraps at markets. - At the job I just left I was a Senior Web Producer (which is a wanky way of saying I was a project manager at a web design company who had been there long enough to become senior) 4 movies I could watch over and over:Mr You and I are hopeless when it comes to movies, we hardly ever go and see them and we don’t have a DVD player. The movies I watch over and over again are old videos taped off the TV that are all about 15 years old. But if I could watch a movie over and over again I’d choose: - Lost in Translation - Frida - Amalie - okay, for the last one I’m going to be brave and be honest… Dirty Dancing (eeek blush – lost some cred there didn’t I?). My sister and I watched our video of this soooo many times when we were young that her pink dress in the last scene is now white. We can recite almost the entire thing, And I remember not having any idea what “knocked-up” meant and I thought she’d just fallen up the stairs and hurt herself. We have the same nostalgic obsession with Mystic Pizza too. (oh dear, so much credibility just crumbled away into dust). 4 places I have lived (apart from where I am now):- Townsville, far north Queensland - tropical (I spent my childhood years there, and now associate my childhood with wonderful warm tropical memories) - The Blue Mountains, west of Sydney NSW - bushy (I spent my early teen years there, then came back later when I moved out of home) - Penrith, western suburbs – suburban hell (horrible place where at the time everyone my age wore tracksuits and sneakers and were only interested in cars and footy, and I was abused each afternoon on my way home for looking different to them) - Various suburbs in the inner west area of Sydney (As soon as I finished school I moved to the city and went to uni – ahhh. I love it here, different cultures, an array of foods, and houses that come from another time) 4 TV shows I love:- Buffy (yes I’m one of those) - Northern Exposure (It’s been a lifetime since I’ve seen this show, but I remember it with great fondness) - You’re going to laugh at this one… Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (the US version, we lost it to the Australian counterpart though, which was soooo bad it only lasted 2 shows before it was axed. Just the intro music used to make me clap and cheer with excitement. I’ve never had a custom ringtone on my phone, but that very nearly made it) - um…. None of those shows are on TV anymore, I’m trying to think of one that is…. Nope, I can’t think of one, so I’ll end with Pokemon. I LOVED Pokemon. 4 places I have been for a vacation:- All the capital cities in Australia, except Darwin and Hobart - Fiji - Portugal (and a fair few other countries in EU) - Ireland (and the UK) 4 websites I visit daily:- my blog - craftzine- indie quarter- five and a half4 favourite foods:- vegetables - tomato - cashews - cake 4 places I would rather be:- Turkey - Morocco - walking along a beach - on a boat floating in calm water on a sunny day 4 people I am tagging:This meme has been doing the rounds for a while (although I’ve never done it before), but I’m trying to think of others who haven’t either…. apologies if you have already. I hereby tag: - Danielle- Robin- Jen from IslandArts- And since she’s on a roll: Faun
 Yesterday my Sister Sparkle and I set up my first ever market stall. I had spent many many hours everyday last week working on a range of childrens paintings especially for this day. There were pirates and mermaids and unicons, princesses, a wizard and a few trees - sweet folk from the lands of myth. I also had some Christmas tags and cards, some hairbands, and Sister Sparkle made some earrings and two little bags. Our stall looked colourful and inviting, even if I do say so myself. The market itself was small but very sweet. I was happy that it was indoors as I didn't have to worry about things blowing over or melting in the sun. I expected there to be lots of handmade stuff at the market, but over half of it was party-plan glitzy jewellery, tupperwear and avon make-up, so I had lots of people questioning if I had made the art myself. (We don't have anything like Renegade Craft Fair here in Sydney, which is rather depressing. I've recently been wondering what it would take to set one up). Anyway, we had good fun at the market. I really enjoyed it. I got some lovely feedback and had lots of good chats. I think wearing my vintage dress was actually a very clever idea, lots of people complimented me on it, which opened up a line of conversation. :D I didn't sell as much as I expected, but the other stall holders told me we were up against a big Carols by Candlelight festival that was on nearby, so the crowds were down. This particular market is only on twice a year, so I may have to look around for others. The good thing was it was small and quaint, I didn't need insurance, it gave me a good taste of what it would be like to do it more often, and things I would need to consider next time. I'm going to research postage costs this week, and then consider putting a few smaller pieces on Etsy. I'll keep you posted.
 On Friday my letterbox showed great kindness in delivering this wonderful new print to me. This is a lovely print titled "My Quiet Forest", by the amazing Ashley from Kitty Genius. I've been coveting her works for ages and finally decided on one recently. The canvas paper stuff it's printed on is really very cool; making the print feel very fancy, excellent quality, and giving me the feeling of having just nabbed a fantastic bargain! Check out her sweet blog here, and her Etsy store here.
 You know the little "you complete me" hand gesture that Dr Evil does to Mini Me? Well I've been slinging one of those across the room at my new vintage dress every few minutes. I heart my new vintage dress. heart. heart. heart. Oh boy am I in trouble. A little shop has opened up right near the post office, it's filled with wonderful unique vintage wonders. And I'm in trouble. This little dress (hand tailored original 50's number in spectacular condition) fit me like a glove. Well it would fit as though I was poured into it if I had those big pointy 50's knockers, but it still looked good enough for me to be overwhelmed with that "MUST HAVE NOW" sensation. Guess what I'll be wearing to the markets tomorrow? Speaking of markets, I'm pretty much organised, I just have that icky task of pricing things today (arhg shudder), and working out some interesting display tactics. Oh, and flouncing around in my new dress. hee.
 My Illustration Friday attempt for " might". I'm still painting little canvases like a mad woman, getting ready for my very first market stall this Saturday. This little set is for the markets, but also for "might". After the markets, any leftover stock (that don't get turned into Christmas presents) will be available in my Etsy Store.
Oh Boy, I'm soooo busy. A week to make enough stuff to fill a market stand is not very long. I knew this when i accepted the gig, but as each day ticks by it becomes truer and truer. I'm having great fun though! I'm up to my armpits in mermaids and pirates and unicorns and wizards and all folk a "little bit myth". My computer is sulking because I haven't been playing with it. Out of protest it has destroyed it's own network port and I'm having to sneak moments on Mr You's computer to get to the interweb. Luckily this week it's all up to the paints and brushes. I'll take more photo's later, but here's a sneak peak so far...  
Sorry, I won't be illustrating 'invention' for Illustration Friday this week. I just found out after lunch yesterday that I've managed to get a stall at a small craft market next weekend (not this one, the next one). It's great news, I'm so excited! It's exactly what I need right now, some focus and to feel a sense of purpose. But, it's also sent me into a wee spin as I don't have anywhere near enough stuff to fill a market stall. So, I'm about to knuckle down and get busy. Really busy. The market is at a school, so I'm planing on doing a whole range of items for kids specifically for the market. I'm thinking cute simple paintings, wall hangings, some more hairbands and clips. A couple of cushions too if I get time (I think I'll be pushing a bit there). I've got exactly one week. tick tick tick...
I've added a few new things to my Etsy Store: a couple of cushion covers and two bags which some of you may feel are somewhat familiar. Well I'm not surprised, I made both of those bags aaaaages ago, they've been stashed away in one of my fabric boxes all this time. You can chart their progress from the very beginning, starting here, then moving onto here, and more here. Now finally, aged to a perfect bouquet, they've made it to see the light of the world and are now up in the store. The cushions are fresh though, I only made those in the past week. www.flossyparticles.etsy.com
A question for you... Lets say, hypothetically, that you wanted to buy a print of an illustration online (not mine, just one in general), would you prefer to pay a little more to have a fully archival giclee quality print? Or would you rather spend less and get a non-archival print? please help...
This week Gwen from Muddy Yellow Dog shared photos of her bedroom circa 1980’s, and shared her idolisation of Martha Stewart, even back then! Soon after marvelling at the fact she even has photos of her childhood room, I felt a wave of embarrassment about my bedroom, and how unsophisticated it was compared to hers. Instead of the pretty wallpaper and Esprit ad that her room had, mine was plastered in posters of boys. Yep, there must have been at least 80 hot sultry boy eyeballs leering at me as I slept each night. Then, as she confessed to me that she too had a poster or two (out of shot), I recalled that my hot-boy poster phase was in fact later, not until the early 90’s. It was then that I remembered in the 80’s, before I was into hot boys, I was into… well, pretty ones. Boy George actually. In a big way! HEY – it was the 80’s okay! (And I was young; pre-teen). Again there must have been 80 eyeballs, but these ones were colourful, pretty, and immaculately made-up. I remember one of my favourite past-times was borrowing my mums eye shadow and copying Georgies various eye make-up art on my own wee lids. It was masterful I tell you. The way they got those multi-coloured rainbow blends was just genius. (Sometimes I even put a skirt on my head like a headband and pretended to have long colourful hair like his too).  Each poster presented a new rainbow to try, some even topped it off with the ever popular (in the day) blue mascara! Santa delivered my very own mega-spectrum eye shadow kit one year, plus there was blush so a whole new world opened up. Oh the joy! Now, when I read people’s bios, you know the ones that say things like, “I’ve been drawing for as long as I could hold a pencil”, I always feel a little lost. I have trouble writing a bio for myself that sounds as passionate and “meant to be” as those. Do you think “Since the first moment I saw Boy George’s eye shadow I knew I wanted to be an artist” makes the cut? Or how about “I’ve been creating art from the moment I could clutch an eye shadow applicator doobawacky in my tiny hand”? I’m not sure what Martha would have to say about all of this, but I guess you could say Boy George was my muse. So, while he’s out there somewhere picking up trash off the streets, he can relish in the fact that one little girl was so moved by his rainbow eyes that she’s now all grown up and has even quit her job to chase the dream… Ah, red, gold and green, red gold and gree-ee-ee-een! (pff, sorry)
Sorry, no illo yet (thought I should be direct and up front about that). Diane, the winner, came up with some great ideas for me to illustrate. At first she mentioned a few things that make her happy: "cozy, vintage, cottage, gingham, nature", which I thought was a nice way to think about it. Actually reading all of those words in succession really sums up her lovely illustration style to a T! Then she posted a fantastic photo of her 3 boys, and since she went to all the trouble of rummaging through the attic to find it (and the fact that it's a great photo of her very cute boys), I decided almost immediately that I would use the photo as the inspiration for the illo. The process for me is that it usually takes me a few days of milling an idea through my head: thinking about what feelings the idea evokes, trying to think of ways to represent it, and waiting for a visual of it to appear in my foggy brain. Believe it or not this can take up to 4 days. I have a rule that I never look at other IF entries until I have something drawn, I do this because 1. I don't want to loose my idea or get it mixed up with something else I've seen, 2. If I see something else similar I don't that feeling like I've copied, even though I haven't, and 3. If I see really kick-ass illos, I'll be discouraged about doing one myself. Anyway, once I start to see the idea in my head, I'll start sketching a few things out, working on composition and poses etc. Sometimes I'll take photo's of myself in a pose and draw (or sometimes trace) from that, This means that there is a whole collection of really really odd photos of myself hugging shoe boxes and stuff like that. I have a fear that one day they'll be leaked, and will end up in a trashy magazine under a headline that reads "New Psychosis Revealed!" Once I have a sketch that I like I transfer it to my good paper, clean up the pencil lines and sometimes I make a few changes at this point. At this point I try to go away for a little while and think through some colour ideas. Then I come back and paint. So where am I up to in this process? The beginning, hee. I'm still thinking through ideas, I'll do some sketches today, and If all goes well I'm hoping to fall into a roll and do the whole thing! Wish me luck! (I'm a bit nervous) Also, thanks to Faun from the Red Button Tree for her cool advice, I'll be starting up a list for my Etsy store. So if you would like to be notified via email each time I add anything new to the store, you can be! (I'll let you know here as well). I'm on my way over to my Etsy Store now to add details of how to do this at the top of my shop, so head over there if you're interested. Later alligator!
Tonight was the night that the Thanksgiving Illustration raffle was drawn. Here's a summary of the events as they unfolded... And the nominees are...  It's very sophisticated technology as you can see. All entries folded up, in the bowl and being mixed with a chopstick, (not being hexed by a magic wand as it may appear).  Just to be sure my lovely skellington assistant stirs once again using his own slightly more vigorous methods.  Our breaths are bated as the drumroll sounds and the winning name is selected...  And the winner is....Diane Duda!! YAAAAAY!  Congratulations to Diane of Dudadaze! You get to choose a topic for your Thanksgiving illustration (drawn by me). What'll it be? Feel free to be as descriptive as you please. I am at your very whim :D Thank-you again to all the lovely talented nominees. This has been so much fun so far, I might have to make an event of this each time another country celebrates a holiday that we don't. (heh)
 It amazes me every week how The Artists Way knows exactly what I'm thinking about. How does it do that? Are we all that predictable? I open the new chapter and immediately, usually on the first page, it lists things I've only just started worrying about in the last day or two, it magically quotes conversations I've had in my head, and by the end of the chapter I feel better. Yesterday I started the week with a new chapter of the Artists way, and then, instead of sitting down to start work on something, I grabbed my camera and went for a walk. It was so freeing, breaking my own routine. (ooo, I know, I'm so bad! hee) I took photo's of flowers in peoples gardens, and pretty tiles on steps, and roof lines, and noticed a few lovely red letterboxes. I decided when I have a house of my own I too would like a bold red letterbox! ______________________________ On Sunday I was suppose to go to a Childrens Book Illustration workshop, but it was cancelled because there weren't enough people interested. Can you believe it?!! I was so disappointed. Anyway, tomorrow I'm off to a half day conference for small craft businesses about selling craft online. That's pretty specific, hey? Anyway, not sure what to expect, but today I'll be making up some business cards just in case. ______________________________ I'm still really excited about the illo competition, I can't wait to start! Thanks for the entries so far, keep 'em coming! In the meantime I've added a few more small things to my ETSY Store; some hairbands and a couple of really cute retro Salt & Pepper brooches. 
We don’t have Thanksgiving here in Australia. In fact I don’t even really know what it is. I assume it’s an event where it’s traditional to gather up loved ones and share your thanks and gratitude over a yummy meal. I know it involves pumpkin pie, and although I have never tasted pumpkin pie, (I’m not even sure if it’s sweet or savoury), I have a feeling I would like it very much. This weeks Illustration Friday theme is, you guessed it, Thanksgiving. I’ve always liked the idea of Thanksgiving, but I don’t have any clue how I would illustrate something I have no real concept of. This brings me to the bit that follows on from my previous post… As my way of showing you my thanks and gratitude for your company and always being so kind to me (and persevering with my whinging), instead of doing an illustration for IF, this week I’m going to do one especially for one of you! Here’s how it will work:- If you’re interested, please leave a comment on this post. “Count me in” or something like that will do.
- At 9pm on Wednesday night (my time/Sydney), I will put all the names of those who have commented, into an empty fruit bowl and ask my delightful assistant to draw one out randomly (without peeking).
- I’ll post who the winner is on Wednesday night and try to contact them via email.
What does the winner win?- The winner will be able to select a topic for me to attempt an illustration of (e.g. you could send a photo for me to attempt a portrait of you or a loved one, or describe what your thanksgiving is like, or describe a favourite possession and I’ll attempt an imaginary still life, etc).
- I will post the illo here for you all to see, AND mail the original illustration to the winner so they can keep it for their very own. A gift from me to you.
(note: it usually takes me a few days to come up with an illustration, so I’ll keep you posted on the progress as it goes.) Hope that doesn’t seem conceited, it’s meant as a gesture of thanks. I’ve never done anything like this before, it’ll be a challenge, but I’m really excited about this!!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
I’m sick of feeling like I whinge about myself all the time. I know I know, it’s a hard habit to break. Anyway, as an exercise I’m not going to tell you about what I haven’t done, or what I want to be doing, instead I’m going to report to you about what I did last week. Ummm… On Monday, after reading this excellent generous advice, I designed some snazzy looking product sheets for my Christmas tags, with all the specs and even photo’s. I got them printed out on nice paper and on Tuesday posted them to Mr You’s sister, (who offered to approach a few shops in her town with them). Also on Tuesday I researched registering a business name. I made an invoice template, and sent an invoice for a flyer I designed last month. I also did some domestic stuff: grocery shopping etc. Having sent out the product sheet with a URL on it, I figured I had about 2 days to get a site onto the URL before anyone was likely to look at it. So… Wednesday I rubbed some sticks together and built a very basic temporary site. Don’t get excited, there’s hardly anything there yet, it’s a temporary placeholder until the real one can be built. I’ll share the link soon. Thursday: illustration day. Made a few more Santa tags. Made a yummy dinner for a friend who came to tea. Friday: Made a cute Christmas gift for a friend. Tidied up my Etsy store (a few images and things had disappeared since the update), and walked up to the local village to post some things. Saturday was a good “weekend” kind of day. Coffee in a café, visiting our god daughter (Oh My God she is the cutest little person I’ve ever met. Do you know if you kiss her on the forehead she says “thanks!” Every. Single. Time.) Had Malaysian laksa with Mr You and saw the Borat movie with a bunch of friends. Today, Mr You earned his weight in chocolate biscuits after being brilliant yet again. Again he calmed me down and said all the right things after my “end of another week and I still don’t have anything done” –weekly freak-out. And this time I had glued my fingers in a bad Araldite incident, so he really earned all that imaginary chocolate! So… Hence the exercise in listing what I HAVE done. You know, (and here I go whinging about myself again) I think I’m spending too much time alone with my own projects, and end up thinking about myself, and my own projects waaaay too much. I feel like I’m losing my sense of generosity and community. I feel stuck in this place of trying to make things to sell (which is my main aim at the moment because I’m not earning any money): Not spending enough time exploring my own creative urges, and Not exercising enough generosity towards others. I’d love to do something for others to get me back into the right spirit. A swap, or a competition or … …I know! (see next post for details - weeeeeee)
 My Illustration Friday attempt for " clear". Ever wanted to send someone in to push all the crap out of your head? To clear out your mind, free up some space and get some peace? I have.
I’m allowed to read again this week (according to the Artists Way), so I’ve just realised that I’ve spent all week reading other people posts and have completely forgotten to post anything in return. Umm.. what can I tell you???? Oh, okay…. So don’t you hate it when a product that you’re faithful to isn’t in stock when you need it? It always happens to me. I went to get hair dye the other day and my colour wasn’t there. Havana Chocolate is the one I prefer, do I need to explain why? Chocolate! Mmmmmm. I know it doesn’t taste like chocolate, and in fact you shouldn’t attempt to taste it – it says so on the box. But for a little while I get to pretend I’m all Cleopatra-esque bathing in milk and honey and smearing melted chocolate into my hair. Okay so there’s no milk and no honey and the chocolate is a potent mix of smelly chemicals, but a girl can dream. The up side of this is that you’re forced to try new products and sometimes discover a gem of a product. With this in mind I willingly chose a different product when I went to re-stock my facial cleanser recently. I usually get a tube of creamy cleanser with little pink micro-beads that I use when I’m in the shower. But there on the shelf next to it was the same shaped tube, but this new cleanser was called “Vital”, then in small letters underneath it said “for mature skin”. “I wonder what they define as mature?” I thought to myself while considering both products. “I AM 30 now. Does ‘mature’ come right after ‘young’, or is there something in-between like middle-aged? Well if this product is made for 50 year old skin then it must be uber-intense, and if I start using it now, get in early, I bet I’ll end up slowing down the aging clock, maybe even reversing it!” Thinking I’d devised a plan that no other woman on Earth had yet considered, I put the cute little pink micro-beads back on the shelf and bought “Vital – for mature skin”. It only took one time using it for me to realise that their definition of ‘mature’ is old lady. We’re talking 76+. The only uber-intense thing about it was the pungent sickly-sweet old-nana fake-rose perfume. And there was no cleaning power, no oil removing, no pore cleansing, and no micro-bead exfoliation. In fact the whole experience was more like a bunch of old roses gently weeping creamy tears onto my face, sorrowful that all they can do is make you smell like an old lady. Of course I’m making myself persist until every last drop has been used up. A punishment to that part of my brain that, as a cruel prank, somehow tricked my rational thought into choosing this product over my pink-beaded faithful favourite.
 After looking through loads of "smoke" illustrations last week, I felt a strong need to get out and get some fresh air into my lungs. Mr You has been working on the North side of the city, so I met him after work on Friday and we walked back across the Sydney Harbour Bridge together. It felt good to get out into the sea breeze and soak in some late afternoon sunbeams. We detoured via a night market, and sat on the grass and ate delicious Turkish gozleme with our fingers. It felt good to get away from myself for a while. We talked about how this time for me was never meant to have anything to do with making money or feeling success. It was only ever intended to be some time-out to enjoy some creative play. An experiment. A time to chill out, unwind and rebuild some soul. It's hard, when you're so excited about something, to be casual and relaxed about it. You'll have to bare with me for a while as I try to get this to sink in. I thank-you for your interest, support and kindness.
 My Illustration Friday attempt for " smoke". The idea of burning a love letter (or anything for that matter) seems to me to be a conscious recognition of an end. Letting go of something that once meant so much, surrendering it to the smoke to carry it away into the ether. Like a spirit, gracefully removing the old to make room for the new. Unrelated to my illustration, but interesting all the same: In an interview with Bono on tv this week, he told a poetic story (that someone had told him), about the old library in Sarajevo holding some of the worlds most ancient books, being bombed during the Bosnian war. The building was lost. For days after, historically important, ancient, precious, ashen words floated down from the sky, and spread around the city.
I thought I'd share with you a letter I wrote today to a friend, a fellow project manager from my old job...Dear Nelle, Thanks for your email, I must confess it made me quite teary. Lately (this last week especially) I've been missing everyone very much. I think getting back from my little holiday last week made me feel like the holiday is over, and now I'm out on my own. I'm actually not coming back to work. The realisation has soaked down into another layer. I've been distracting myself and keeping busy; playing music (which reminds me, I need to get new music), staying active, settling into a routine of sorts. Still, I miss the banter and the laughter at work and the stimulation that those provide. Surrendering to how organic this new process is has been proving quite a challenge. My lists and drawn up plans are all sliding away (no matter how tightly I grip), as I learn that I neglected to assign enough time to the 'research and development' phase. Six weeks can you believe?! By now I was suppose to have my 3 sites up and rolling (update photo site, create portfolio site, and an online store) and a whole stack of business cards to flick about. I envisaged knuckling down and getting these up straight away, leaving me time to concentrate on the creative “making things” side of it all. I should have known better. On the rare occasions that I was able to plan, design, write copy and build 3 sites in a few weeks, it has only been due to the small army of ants waiting in the wings. Antless, I’m proving to be a slow fastidious designer, a procrastinating copywriter and a frustrated project manager. The programmer is still to be seen! The “making things” plan has slowed right down. I’ve finished a range of Christmas tags and a few small brooches, and there’s a small pile of other stuff poised, halted, waiting at around 85% complete. It doesn't feel anywhere near enough. Due to this under-whelming (and in a way overwhelming) achievement I’ve been apprehensive about contacting people. I feel like after 6 weeks I should have SO much more to show for myself. Then, something happened to help pull my head into gear. Someone asked me how I’m enjoying life at home. My immediate response was “Frustrating! I’m not getting enough done. It’s all taking too long.” “Whoah! Chill out” They replied. It shocked me. I realised that although I am frustrated it’s the frustration that’s overwhelming me, not all of the tasks that are incomplete. If I push that aside I’m actually feeling relaxed, replenished, rewarded, very happy and incredibly privileged to be having this time. This is such a rare opportunity, and I’m spoiling it by making it feel hard instead of enjoying the flow and the process. Why is it that nice feelings so often go un-noticed, bullied away by the yucky feelings? Like I said, remaining aware and kind is proving a challenge. I’m up to week 4 of the Artisits Way (I missed 2 weeks while I was away). It’s the week of reading deprivation and it’s hard. The most difficult part of this is not reading blogs; my only source of company and companionship at the moment. I’m not doing very well, but I’m tryng. I think the main aim of this exercise is to empty your mind of those things that fill it up creating mind clutter, the sitting and procrastinating that stops you from doing. So I’ve been staying away from the computer as much as I can, keeping active this week. Activity, activity, activity. The symptom of doing this is my own thoughts filling the void, my busy busy thoughts keeping me awake at night. I’ve learnt that I’m lacking an off switch. When I was working, I was very good at casting off the work day on my way home, by the time I got home work was left behind. I need to discover a way to do that here too. I’m looking forward to next week when I can read myself to sleep again and drown out my ever-buzzing mind. ... it continues, but you get the jist. That'll do.
Thank-you all, it is so so nice to get so much encouragement and well wishes. Well, the illustration voting was, in a nutshell, widely spread. One vote for almost all of the illos in my folder (and some that aren't even in there anymore), 'farm', 'opposites' and 'quiet' each got 2 votes, so they're in the lead. It was good to get an idea, so again, thank-you. I might pre-print 3 to start off with, and then take orders for particular ones aswell. (This won't happen until next week at least). I did finish these button brooches today (or as I like to call them "a crafty girls corsage"). Sorry for tooting my own trumpet but I really love them. I should start wearing some of the stuff I make (good advertising, well, if I left the house that is), but I'm just so excited about selling stuff on Etsy right now that there's no time for hoarding or getting all clingy. So tomorrow these babies will head over to Etsy to keep my gift tags company.  Also, I'm trying to work out an average wrist measurement. Mine is a pissy 5 and a half inches so I'm not a good guide. So far I've measured a 6 inch and a 6 and a half inch. How big are yours? (WRISTS silly! This is no frat-house slumber party you know!)
You know the irony of what I am hereby naming the “Etsy header syndrome”? (otherwise known as the “I am going to set up an Etsy store one day, I just have to find time to make a heading banner first” excuse)… Anyway, like I was saying, the irony of it is that I reckon about 70% of Etsy stores operate perfectly well without a heading banner. Yes, that’s right, you don’t HAVE to have one at all. That didn’t stop me from suffering E.H.S. (Etsy header syndrome) badly. But I’d like to declare, here in front of you all, that I am now reformed! www.flossyparticles.etsy.comHooray!!!!! It almost didn’t happen, as I was reading through all the Terms & Conditions thismorning, I discovered that this coming weekend Etsy are launching a big upgrade, which means that all Etsy heading banners will now need to change size. (Among other really great things like being able to categorize the items in your stores, etc). YES, change size! Right after I’d finished my design! Can you believe it? The old E.H.S. voice in my head whispered “Oh well, I’ll just have to wait another week”. Then my new sober self gave it a swift slap and kept on filling in those registration fields. So my Etsy store is now up. It’s, um, a little undernourished, meaning there’s not much in there right now, but I’m working on it.  I did want to get it up now though because the Christmas tags are in store, and for people overseas who may want some, I recommend getting them shipped before December starts (or even sooner), so they get there in time for Christmas. I won’t be telling my friends and family about my Etsy store just yet. Why? Well after 6 weeks of me not working I’m sure they’d be pretty damn under-whelmed with the whole 2 items I’ve managed to make. So I’ll wait till I’ve filled it out a bit more before doing the launch to them.  I have made more, it’s just that I’m about 75% of the way through the rest of the stuff. I’m aiming to get a few more things up each week. In the next couple of weeks you can expect to see some bracelets (like the one pictured) and other pretty accessories. I’d love to say a stack of bags will be available too, but they take much longer to make, so they’ll come a bit later. I’ll also be making giclee prints of some of my illos. I’m now taking suggestions of which ones I should make. Here’s a link to remind you of which ones are on offer. Please let me know your opinion of which ones you think people are more likely to want. Anyway, click on this E.H.S. banner and go check out my long awaited Etsy store! (phew) 
There’s a place only a few blocks from where we live, I’m not sure how to describe it. Unbelievable? Surreal? Amazing? I guess it’s and antique shop, but it’s not your normal crystal goblets, dressers and old paintings. The stuff in this place is huge. I don’t know, think of the sculptures you’d see in the Louvre, or the furniture you’d see in the Palace of Versailles, or the fountains you’d see in a royal garden… it’s all there. All of the stuff in this place is giant and very very old looking, oversized and opulent. Mr You and I went there for a poke about today for the first time.  The actual building seemed just as old and decrepit; no structure or display, broken floor tiles, mismatched scraps of carpet, cardboard boxes lying in the middle of walkways left to be stepped over. Rooms here that opened into hallways or stairways there in a maze-like layout. The stuff on display crammed in and discarded, dusty and piled on top of each other. Un-hung chandeliers left lying down the steps, marble sculptures and gilded mirrors propped on top of ornate upholstered dining chairs.  Everything in there seemed European, with fireplace mantles that were ornate and much taller than me. Marble statues in every corner crammed in between heavy four poster beds and royalty length dining suits, under stained glass lights. The prices were high. A $16,500 antique French dining table, $2,000 gold framed mirror, $3,500 marble bust. The sculpture garden out the back was jammed full of garden sculptures and fountains, and out here there was an interesting mix of European and Asian pieces. You couldn’t help but feel a little haunted; a feeling like they all came to life at night and shared stories from distant places after dark.  Outside next to the building was another array of outdoor articles. Heavy ornate garden gates, more sculptures and so many giant important looking urns. Still left neglected and unguarded (no fences, the only security was the fact that each item was far to heavy to be lifted without a forklift). A ute left abandoned amongst it all; a victim of an item too heavy, or it could have simply become lost inside the jungle of mythological beasties longing for company more modern than themselves. I think the one photo I have of this place, that sums it up more than any other is the one of the brick below. Can’t you see? Look, see the brick, on top of the old broom, resting on the antique model boat, on the custom built trailer, next to the cannon! 
My eyes are tired. I've been glued to the computer alllll week long. After our time away last week I relaised that this is week 5 of me not being at work anymore. FAR OUT! According to my schedule I should have had sooo much more stuff completed by now. It really tipped me into a frenzy like state. So I sat and plugged away at my list. I really wanted to get stuff set-up, get it out of the way, and leave me free to concentrate on painting and sewing. Up till now I've been doing little bits of everything and although things are slowly coming along, the feeling of not having anything finished is not a nice one. I started designing description tags to send out with my Christmas tags (on sale next week - eeek. There I've said it, I'm committed to it now). But once I started those I thought it would be better to design business cards instead and cleverly combine the two. But once I started that I relaised that I can't just jump into a design, I need to plan it out more, so I started with some brand design, then designing my dream portfolio site, then a blog redesign to match, then back to the business cards, then an etsy header (still to set up an etsy store mind you), then back to the portfolio design again... arghhhhh. Anyway, I'm only just now feeling like the designs are rounding into something I'm happy with. Actually getting them coded into an online site will be a WHOLE other matter altogether, so don't hold your breath. I'm tired, I need sleep. Catch you later.
 I’ve written about it before, but I would challenge anyone not to adore spending time at Mr You’s parents house. Surrounded by a continuous veranda under a bull nose iron awning, standing proudly at the end of a track perched on the edge of the river. The river is very wide where they are, and it’s close to the ocean so the water is tidal. Surrounded by sugar cane fields and the ponds of a prawn farm, the views from every aspect offer something new and beautiful. The river laps at the edge of their front garden, bright birds roost in the trees, and green tree frogs sing out in chorus in the evenings. Yep, it’s pretty hard to take. I watched a cane fire burn on the far side of the river one night. One day Mr You's dad took us on a little boat trip down a beautiful quiet channel that comes off the main river. We ended up tying the boat up on a jetty at an old pub where we stopped for lunch and a cold beer.  Our visit coincided with the local arts festival so we spent lots of time in town watching performers and live music, and we took Mr You’s nephews to the parade night. We spent lots of time playing with the kids and cuddling the babies, there seems to be so many of them now; all the nephews and one niece.  I dreamily circled houses for sale in the local paper and wondered if I could cope living so far away from a city. …and as wonderful as this all sounds, you know, I’m still not sure I could cope. Yet. For the time being I’ll cross my fingers and hope Mr You’s parents never ever move house. The journey home via the main highway wasn’t anywhere near as pretty as on the way there. We stopped overnight to break up the long road trip and got home last night, a bit exhausted from all the driving. Anyway, that’s it, now I’m back into it… my mountain of projects and tasks.
 Hi! I'm back. How are you? Well I've got lots of photo's to show you of our trip up north (I'll break it into a few posts though). We went to visit Mr You's family and to claim Mr You's nephew as our new God Son. Mr You's family live on the coast but this time we drove inland through the country side and took a couple of days doing it. We stopped often at quaint little country towns, and moseyed through craft shops and second hand stores finding serious bargains along the way. The journey was amazing, watching the scenery change gradually before our eyes as it grew to include enormous skies and wide wide open spaces. The colours faded into dry earthy tones and the textures became brittle as we headed west. And there were surprises; a vivid rainbow, a firey sunset, a gushing waterfall... A train joined us along part of the journey through the soft winding hills. Like a peaceful whale-like companion it would appear around a bend or from behind a hill, then dip away into a valley for a while. So many different coloured carriages linked together, and so very long that it's front and end disappeared into the horizon and weren't able to be seen.  That wasn't the only wildlife along the way. I've never seen so many varied creatures on one drive. Apart from the cows, sheep and horses that you expect to see in country paddocks, there was a kangaroo nibbling on grass in someone's unfenced back yard, a pair of rock wallabies in the mountains, so many slow tortoises trying to cross the roads (some had survived, others hadn't), a huge echidna munching on something by the side of the road, and a wombat too. Cockatoos, hawks and crows swirled above, there was a shiny bright beetle on a mossy tree and thousands of flying ants that ended up smeared across our windscreen. (if any of you from OS ever come to visit, we’ll definitely take that drive) Slowly the soil darkened and the grass moistened into a lush vivid green. Trees left untouched in their natural state showed us how huge and grand they are supposed to be, and the rivers began to weave playfully around us as we headed back towards the coast. On the last leg on the journey, just before arriving at our destination, Mr You took us one last scenic loop, crossing a bridge over a river, then crossing back over further down the road, on a drive on ferry. As the fields of sugar cane parted, and I caught my first glimpse of Mr You's parents house at the end of the track, a wave of familiarity drifted over me, and part 2 of our little trip began. More photo's here, and more coming tomorrow. 
 I've been a bit quiet here this week, I've been keeping myself busy in production mode. But today we're leaving to go on a little trip to see Mr You's family up North. We're going to drive inland this time, see a bit of the countryside and take a few days to get there. I'll be back in a bit over a week. I'm taking a few projects with me, hoping that (after some quality cutting and pasting time) there'll be whole stack of these Christmas tags ready for selling when I get back. Have a nice week everyone. I'll see you soon.
 My Illustration Friday attempt for " smitten". 
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