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 "eye-spy something soothing". I've had urchy flu this week. Urck. But lucky for me it's coincided with the most Summer-like weather. We're not even out of Winter yet, and it already feels like late Spring. So to sooth myself while feeling urchy, I've been perching myself in the warm sunshine on the back deck with a cup of tea. Sitting quietly with my eyes closed, feeling my muscles melt, and my skin unclench. The sunshine is that perfect level, not too hot to feel burny, just warm and relaxing. It's so warm I can smell jasmin in the air, and the birds are in full sing-song. It's been very soothing come to think of it. Aaaaaaaaaahh. :)  (Thanks to Aussie Waffler for this week's theme.)
Invitations:By far the most fun I've had so far has been creating the invitations.  Featuring an illustration of us (to be) on the front....  Map on the back...  All the info on the inside...  With individual petals featuring extra information (customisable to each guest, e.g. "children" for those who have them), which fan out, like a flower blooming...  Invitations, done and sent...check!
 This is the other commission I mentioned. My bloggy friend Molly (who has commissioned a picture from me before for her best friend), asked me to do a painting for her and her husband's anniversary. Another nature loving couple, she sent me loads and loads of wonderful photo's of them (with their dogs) enjoying sunny days at beautiful foresty creeks. She wrote about their story together, and of all of her husband's wonderful qualities. Something I love about doing these commissions, which I've recently realised was the same thing I loved about doing wedding photography, is the privilege of being privy (for a moment in time) to these people's love for each other. Our celebrant-to-be was telling me that she is amazed at how thick and tangible a couples love is at the moment they are being married, and I know what she means. I feel honoured to be allowed in to this, and experience it in these distant yet intimate ways. Does that sound pervy? It's not meant to. Honest, heeeee. Any-hoo... there's something about this one that sings to me. I like the way it turned out. Again with a future tree (a combinations of the colours they're wearing), the symbolism of a long, clear, winding creek, and words in the little boats wake, chosen by Molly herself: "Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what it was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but in living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now."
 I had 3 commissions last month. One was for us, for our wedding invitations (I'll show you those next week), and the other two were for anniversaries for some lovely couples. Actually the 2 couples, while a world apart in location, actually seemed very similar. Both described themselves as spending lots of time in nature, kayaking on creeks and rivers, both girls love poetry. This commission was actually for a very dear friend of mine. I've known here for years. She commissioned a picture to celebrate their anniversary. Her brief asked to represent that they were together as a couple for a year when they were just out of school. Went their separate ways for many years, and are now celebrating being back together as a couple for the past 6 years. She asked that it show their extensive travels, and their current lives settled together with their cat, and their hopes to have children soon. Like a botanist, I represented all of the countries they have travelled to together with fauna. I asked her to send photo's of distinctive plants and trees from all of the places they've been. Their past was represented with what I called "heart ribbons", which later pops up as a combined ribbon in the stream in the future. The colour of it a mix of both of theirs. Their future family. The colourful tree in the foreground a representation of the colurful, abundant future they are bound to have together. I loved painting it. But for some reason, maybe it's because I've never had to look at her as parts before, I had such trouble capturing her. I got him, and I got close to her in the end, but it was still the hardest part. Apparently when she gave it to her partner for their anniversary, he looked, then squeaked "But that's us! How did we get in there?". Hehehehe, I love that too!
 We have returned from our time at the eco wellness retreat, and it was lovely. Nestled deep in the Blue Mountains, the lodge was small, surrounded by bush and a long way from anywhere. We spent the first afternoon resting in our room. Mr You made use of being able to stretch out in the king sized bed, and caught up on some sleep. I sat in a chair in the sun and flipped aimlessly through magazines. The caretaker made all the meals, healthy and hearty, and we ate on large tables shared with the other guests. The water we drank was from a nearby spring.  The next day we each had a wonderful massage, discovered lots of beauty (and a prayer) on a bushwalk, reached an escarpment over a giant valley and I let out a soul-satisfying "coo-eee" from the cliff-top (hehehehe, how long has it been since you've done that? It's so fun), then returned in time for me to enjoy the best facial I've ever had in my life.  We ventured to a nearby town for dinner by an open fireplace, and had an unforgettable hot chocolate. The last day we drove to the town where Mr You's Grandparents met and married, and explored the ruins of the old steel works.  The only thing that could have made it better would have been a big bathtub. But, I guess it is an eco retreat. Saturday night and Sunday were back in Sydney, checking out the museum, lying in the sun in parks, catching up with friends, and taking photo's of my good friend's very first baby-bump. It was lovely. And I feel rested and ready for what comes next. :)
We've just returned from a few days of intensive wedding planning at Mr You's parent's place. Lots of mini family meetings, crossing off lists of who has what, and where we can borrow more from. Meetings with caterers, and stuff. And general garden and house work in preparation. (There's still lots of flood damage to be repaired in the gardens). And even more lists were made. But the more we do, the clearer it all gets. The more real and tangible it starts to feel. It was a big weekend, but it was good. rewarding, fruitful. But after all that we are well and truly ready for the next few days... A few months back Mr You somehow won us a few nights in a "Wellness Eco Retreat"!!!!!! We go tomorrow!!! Flying south, renting a car (part of the prize, along with a hamper of goodies) and head to the hills for some serious rest and wellness-getting. It couldn't have come at a better time. Mr You has been working his deriere off over the past few months, flying to a different city each week, working from before I wake, to after I go to bed, and we've hardly seen each other. It was really hard on him, he almost burnt out completely, but is was also emotionally hard on me, left to plan this wedding think on my own. But, this week marks the end of his busy work period, and we can finally go somewhere, snuggle up, and reconnect. Perfect timing, let me tell you. Ahhhhh. Did I mention how much I'm looking forward to this??? SO SO SO MUCH!!!! See you next week, when we are both massaged, facialized, and well slept. General wellness galore.
I've finally had a whole day to concentrate on wedding stuff. Finally. And there's been actual progress! I may be suffering from a worrisome, thick, unmoving, layer of envelope glue coating my tongue, but I've finally got the invitations ready to post! Again, couldn't just buy some, no I had to make them myself. But I'm so pleased with the results. EEEeee, this is the bit that has been most fun for me so far. Once they are all posted and out there, I'll share here. Promise. In other news... My knitting lady rang today saying my capelet is ready to pick up! Okay rewind>>> So, our wedding is of the garden variety, during the evening it may get little cool. So I wanted something to wear to keep me warm. Something elegant, not too nanna, but not too glam either. Something with a vintage twist... I came up with the idea of having a fluffy angora capelet. Sounds gorgeous in theory, but what I was to soon learn is that angora is hardly made at all anymore, and when it is, it is VERY expensive (it comes from bunnies, did you know?). I tried for weeks and weeks to find wool that would have a similar look, in just the right colour. Impossible task it was. Impossible. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that I'm allergic to most sheep/goat wool. Just when I was about to give up, I made the most incredible discovery. A lady on Etsy unravels old jumpers into balls of wool ready to re-knit into something new! She had coincidentally just listed the PERFECT coloured angora wool, and lots of it. I couldn't believe my luck! The wool arrived, and although the colour wasn't the same as it was in the pics (it never is), it was still nice, and it is SO soft and fluffy. I adore it. (Plus we have a little bit of a recycled thing happening for our wedding, so it fits in perfectly with that too).That done, my next task was to find the perfect knitting pattern. A few weeks of intensive internet browsing, and another lucky find... job done. Next time I was at the local craft markets I approached the knitting lady and asked if she would be willing for me to commission her to create the "creation". She agreed, charged me $40 (I paid her more though) and she was off. She's lovely, and we've become friendly in the process. The next week I was dying my own buttons. (Seeeeee!? I can't just buy something, I have to make life complex for myself).Anyway, the moral of the story, is that it's ready, and tomorrow I get to go pick it up! YAY for progress! Here's a sneak peek at the wool and the pattern:  From this point on you'll have to bare with me as this blog becomes more and more wedding focussed. As do I.
Why Creativity Can Sometimes Be a Curse:I'm having such a hard time finding time to blog at the moment. There's just too much going on. I must admit some of it is self-imposed. You see, being a creative type is good and all that... until... you have to plan a wedding. I'm just finding that I can't select anything from a shop, or out of a catalogue, or from a photo. It just seems too normal or something. I can't seem to stop myself "mixing-it-up". Taking something that's there and changing it into something else, so it's a little more unique, a touch more creative, and... get ready for it... "bespoke". BAhahaha. I just can't look at something without seeing how much better it could be with a little bit of this, or less of that.... Hell yeah, I might hear you cry, and yes, I'd agree, except I'm trying to do it all on a small budget (without making it look like it). It'd be fine if I came up with the ideas, then passed the plans over to a professional to fulfill, but I don't have that luxury. So I'm master-crafting myself silly. Taking up all my time on basic things that could be solved with one quick trip to the shops... in theory. No I can't just buy a pair of earrings. No no no, I have to spent 4 weeks finding just the right pair of old vintage ones, then when I get them I have to pull them apart, get someone else to make me a bit more to complement, then organise for a jeweller to put them all back together. And do it all for under $50. All this has so far taken a couple of months. If I had $200 to spare on a pair of earrings I could have easily handed them over to the first jeweller I went to, and saved myself an extra 3 weeks of searching and deciding what to do. For earrings! I know! I told you, it's a curse... sometimes. Anyway, it's frustrating, but it's also heaps of FUN. I just wish I had a little more time. My wedding craft list is becoming unruly. - - - Now, it's rude to winge, then leave you with nothing lovely to even look at. So here are some pretty pics I've collected. No theme in particular. But that's appropriate this week, it matches my ever increasing, only 2 months to go, totally scattered frame of mind. (Which is also my excuse for not remembering where I got these images. Sorry, and thank-you to the owners). Anyway Enjoy! :     (This last image is from the amazing Rebecca Thuss site).
"eye-spy a collection". I have shown you all my collections before. The blue painted porcelain, the village store tins, and the vintage glass collection. So this time I thought I'd share another collection that lives with us... Mr You has a couple of collections going, one being interesting instruments. It's fairly newish, and he's discerning, so our house isn't filled with bits of broken stuff that isn't playable. I think one day when we have a house of our own, he'd like a whole wall where he can display them all. They're mostly string instruments, but there's a couple of odd Asian wind instruments now too. There's the obligatory guitars of a few varieties, a mandolin, a banjo... Then last year his Dad found a type of Italian mandolin that we think is about 100 years old. He recently had it restored, and it's beautiful. At Christmas I bought him an Appalachian Dulcimer (as a combined Christmas/engagement gift). He loves it! It's so beautiful just as an object in itself, with it's heart shaped holes. But it has a really lovely sound too. To play it you lay it across your lap facing up, and either hammer or slide the strings. It's WAY cool.  I think next he might have his eye on an Indian sitar next. :) This weeks theme from Liesl of Hoppo Bumbo. (p.s. GOSH a whole week slipped by between posts then. Where did that week go?)
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