worry

My Illustration Friday attempt for worry.

It was suppose to look as thought he was pushing his fingers inside his skull... I guess I'm not that gory.

looky looky

Look what arrived for me in the post yesterday! It's a card from Emma of Benconservato, with one of her foxy fellows on the front. Lucky me :)

I entered the draw to win one of her prints... didn't win, but because she's so nice she sent out consolation prizes. How cool is that!? Anyway, I'm rather pleased. Yes, yes, pleased as punch. I'm going to stick him up on my wall (and also use him as an example of the card stock and print quality I want when I have cards made one day - he's fancy). Thanks Emma!

sweet elephant

This is: something I got, but still haven't used.

This is the first and only teapot I've ever had. I bought it for myself for Christmas (hehehe), he came with two little cups which both have feet. I think it's adorable, however, I still haven't used him. My excuse is that I don't have any friends I can invite around for tea yet. I suppose I could use him for myself, and I probably should, but a teabag in a mug is just much quicker and more convenient I guess.

We have had our friends from Sydney come to visit, but I completely forgot to use him then too, (I was most likely too pre-occupied making jugs of icy sangria). He was still all packed up in his original box, tucked away in the cupboard, so I kept forgetting about him altogether. But last weekend I had a frenzied house re-decorating spree, I dug him out and now, despite still having never been used to serve tea, at least he has found some sort of use: to beautify the shelf in our dining room!
Hopefully having him there everyday will remind me to use him next time I get the chance.

p.s. I'm so glad so many of you liked the topic :) I'm off to check out all your posts now!

this is, topic

I'm so excited to have been asked to be the one who comes up with the topic for "this is" this week.

So the topic will be...
This is: something I got, but still haven't used.

It can be anything from nice soap a friend gave you 3 Christmases ago, to a new recipe ingredient you still haven't worked out how to cook, or a snazzy pair of shoes you promised yourself faithfully (as you were guiltily swiping your credit card) you'd wear every single day.

I thought this would be a good way of reminding ourselves to use those things we always intended to... So go forage! You'll probably be surprised at what you find (I once found an old Birthday card with an 8 year old gift voucher in it. Can you believe the store still let me use it!)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.


If you're not sure what "this is" is, it's a fun little weekly activity started up by Three Buttons, that anyone can get involved in... You can find out more here.

f*%k

I've just made the hugest stuff-up in one of my jobs. A silly tiny mistake that could have gigantic repercussions. Nothing I can do now... just brace and wait till tomorrow morning...

eeeeep. I feel terrible.

sleepless night ahead...


UPDATE: (9.10am Wednesday)... Thankfully my mistake was stopped along the line before it got out into the world. PHEW. That was a close one... I had trouble sleeping, what with all the sums racing through my head of how many thousands of dollars I'd have had to fork out to rectify the problem. I'm still breathless at the thought of it all.

A-ny-way it's aaaaalll okay. Breath. Thanks for all your supportive comments. It's nice to have some team-mates to back you up when things crash and burn.

how i recycle

This is: how I recycle.

You can't tell me you've never made a bed out of milk creates, or shelves out of bricks and planks at some stage in your life. I certainly did. Being a stone poor student wasn't all bad, it was a time when I learnt how to be resourceful, and how to 'womble'. (On council clean-up days, people chuck stuff out, stuff too big to fit in the bin, they pile it all up on the path outside and the council trucks come along and take it all to the tip. But if you get there before the trucks you can pick up some amazing stuff... that's called wombling).

Anyway, I've given back all the milkcreates, and have a real bookshelf now, but I realise I still re-use heaps of stuff around the house. I use the boxes from tea and soap to keep make-up, hairbands and clips, creams and stuff all organised and tidy inside my drawers. I use old food jars to keep zippers and pins, I use old cotton tip boxes to keep jewellery making supplies together... and old film canisters as travel containers to hold small amounts of shampoo, face cream, washing powder, etc. They're very handy when you're traveling actually. It may not be very glamourous looking, but who really cares.

We have also used freecycle to get rid of loads of unwanted stuff before we moved house; old printers, phones, books, chairs. You list something you're getting rid of, people search the listings and email you if they want what you've got, then they come and pick it up, take it to a new home and extend the life of some perfectly good thing that would have otherwise ended up as landfill.
Keep it in mind, it's a fantastic resource, and they're everywhere. www.freecycle.org.

Of course we do all the usual stuff too... recycling, food scraps and green waste, grey water on the garden, fabric shopping bags, etc.

pikapackage

How long has it been since you've reached into a lucky-dip box? I used to love those. Well I've just received my first lucky-dip prize in years!

It's a PikaPackage. Amy from Pikaland has been gathering together the most giant stash of goodies from various artists and illustrators from all over the place, bunched them all up, and divided them into packages that you can buy. (And there's going to be new packages every couple of months). I got one, and this is it...

In mine I got a copy of the PikaPackage zine, a sweet thank-you card from Amy, the most elegant letter pressed card from 12fifteen Paper Goods, a very cool retro style nautical art print from Lab Partners, matrioschka patterned gift wrap from Enna Online, and the most kick-arsely gorgeous zine by Stuart Kolakovic!

Now I'm a happy camper :)

electricity

My Illustration Friday attempt for electricity.

How bizarre is it when static electricity makes your hair stand on end?
It's the strangest feeling.  (inspired by baby Simone's first scientific experiment)


Warm welcome to anyone visiting for the first time from the Illustration Friday blog. How do you do :)

When I started doing IF I remember reading one of Penelope's comments about how she hoped it would help people improve their skills and build a portfolio. Well, I'm here to say it totally works! I love the way Brianna added links in the post to some of my very first illo's to demonstrate how much room there was for improvement. (heee)

I still love IF now as much as I did when I first began. In fact I think it may be one of my very favourite things ever. Big cheers to the IF founders: Penelope and Brianna!

molly's commission

A little while ago Molly contacted me with the request of an illustration, a gift to her friend, a friend so dear they know each other as sisters. The illustration was to mark the event of Kelly's first pregnancy, and was to be given as a gift from Molly at the baby shower.

I'm learning that when you're asked to do a commission it's always significant. It's never just "paint how we spend Sundays", it always seems to entail capturing the entire character of a person and the relationships surrounding them. When I'm first asked to do a commission it's fair to say I feel daunted by the task, but then incredibly honoured that someone I barely know has entrusted me with such faith. Upon reflection, I love it.

This, again, was one of those times.

I became privy to wedding photographs, blog posts, favourite flowers and colours, family trees and histories, pets, and tales of the strongest friendship I've ever encountered... plus the emotions of expecting your first child. I guess my part is to re-tell that story, in a form that can be hung on a wall, immediately identified and read by others. In a way that can both capture time and evolve to mean news things as time passes.

Of course I love getting feedback, especially when I can't be there to judge the response in person. Molly wrote me an email, but also the most beautiful post about what she can see in the painting (she has a magical way with words), plus photo's of how she had it framed. Then Kelly herself wrote a comment for Molly:

"...I cannot thank you enough for this beautiful gift. And I'll probably cry everytime I look at it. I can't wait to show Baby the painting and explain every intricate detail to him. Show him what family is and how much he is loved and wanted."

...a perfect example of how a mother keeps nothing for herself, she shares and gives everything, as her whole being becomes all about what she can give to her child. And unexpectedly the painting took on another meaning again.

Now my part of the relationship has ended, the painting is no longer mine... it has found it's fate, and becomes another ribbon of bonding between those within it.


Thank-you Molly. I'm so glad both you and Kelly liked it. Wishing you the very best for the arrival of baby boy.
It's been an honour.

restocked

Susan from Artstream Studios has just restocked my little section of their online store. There you can buy original illustrations for very affordable prices ;)

Communication is still one of my most loved illos (as you can probably tell by the birds from it being the main element of my blog design). Plus there's still one paper-cut illo available, along with "Looking for love", "Sometime Soon" among others.
Click on the banner image above to be transported there thusly.

Thank-you Susan :)

))face

With little under a month until our twelfth anniversary together, there’s been a concerning development…

Mr You : You've got to know that after this much time together, when I call you bumface it's meant as a term of endearment... Are you making us a cup of tea?
Me : No
Mr You : Do you want one, Bum?


hmm.

mothers day reminders

This is: what reminds me of my mum"

This may come out sounding wrong, but the plump-spongy veins in the backs of my hands remind me of my mum. Not in a bad way... My sister was the lucky one who inherited our mum's beautiful shiny soft olive skin, I got my dad's fair dry skin, but I did get those plump veins from my mum. They may not be incredibly beautiful, but I like them, they remind me of my mum. Something I share with her.

Nurses with needles love us.

Happy Mothers Day Mum .xxxxxx.

Curvy

This is my exciting news... I'm published! In Curvy no less! I'm trying to play it cool and be humble, but right now I'm dancing about waving various innocent objects above my head :)

Each year YEN brings you an exhibition and book featuring 100 of the most exciting female graphic designers and illustrators from over 20 countries around the world!

I was informed I got in a few months back but I didn't quite believe it, and it wasn't till I got my hot little hands on it a few days ago (in Sydney) that it sunk in. I didn't make it into the exhibition but I'm really really thrilled to be in the book. I've been getting the Curvy Annual for the past few years, I adore it, and I must say it's release is something I really look forward to each year.

The illo of mine that was included was this one.

The only problem is that they printed my "real name" instead of flossy-p, which would have made much more sense seeing as that's the name I sign all my work with (and was what I requested). I don't know what it is, I just seem to have bad luck with my name being printed (it was mixed up in Mix Tape too). I'm a bit bummed about this because I feel like I've spent years building up my "brand" (as it were) and this publicity, a big deal for me, has de-railed that. Anyway, I have to just think quick and make the best of it. I'm starting to reveal my real self over at my portfolio site so that people don't get completely confused and thrown off the trail.

Anyway, enough about that. Back to merrily waving things in the air.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

If you want a Curvy 5 book, you can buy copies in most art gallery shops and arty bookshops in Australia, or online here.

I'll be making prints of this illo shortly. I'll announce when they are going to be in my store.

away and back again

I forgot to mention I was going away for an extended-either-end weekend, but I'm back again now. We've been in Adelaide visiting dear friends and meeting their new baby, then we had a stop over in Sydney last night to see more friends and my sister. Needless to say it was great.

I've returned to some really nice comments and an inbox of nice emails too, and I'm looking forward to catching up and replying.

I've got some exciting news to share too, all in good time. Right now I'm going to go curl up on the couch with some toast and tea and settle back in.

Cheery oh.

wrinkles

My Illustration Friday attempt for wrinkles.

Sparked by the primitive theme last week, I'm still making my way through the painted faces of the Mount Hagen festival in Papua New Guinea.