Steampunked Theatre

I've just finished a season of performing in Jesus Christ Superstar with South Canterbury Drama League. What a powerful rock musical. Although it is hugely time consuming and takes a power of energy, I really love doing musicals. We had a fantastic cast and crew. Great memories.

This show was really unique as we were dressed in steampunk style. If you don't know what that means, it is a retro-futuristic Victorian fashion that is gaining popularity. In fact, the Steampunk capital is one hour south of here!

I made my costume, and a number of the others too. Poor old sewing machine had to get a service it was so exhausted. But I'm not complaining. It was the perfect style to get creative with!

So now I'm home again at nights.

What to do next....

A girl and a horse

This is a recent commission for a friend of a friend and her horse. It's the first horse I've drawn...EVER...as I myself am not drawn to horses!

You might understand if you knew that I had a traumatic experience on (or more accurately 'off') a very grumpy pony when I was young. I also was subjected to many, many weekends at pony club, gymkhanas, competitive events, camps, A&P shows etc with three horse-mad sisters and I was the miserable bored sibling who sat in the car waiting and doodling.

A few months back my brother David organised a family horse trek. I was a pretty reluctant starter but I must say it was a really fun experience, especially since we were trekking around the beautiful shores of Lake Tekapo. It may have even changed my attitude about horses....

a little...

The Laundry Room

Since we converted half of the double garage to an extra bedroom, the laundry has become a busy thoroughfare with three outdoor entrances into the room. That's made me more conscious of the laundry's decor. 

I painted the walls in a fresh white and found a new laundry hamper. Recently I've been on the lookout for an aesthetically pleasing solution for the laundry products piled on the tub shelf.

 

I found this fabulous wire shelf from Femme de Brocante recently and it fits the bill perfectly. Yes, I could not resist taking the opportunity to coordinate the products - love Ecostore. 

This quilt is a Nancy Halvorsen design from Cottage Charms. I made it when I first bought the house.

Snowman Domino Ornaments

Excuses...excuses...excuses...! I have plenty as to why I haven't been keeping up with my blogging lately! I have started two new contract jobs and I'm into the last two weeks of rehearsing for Jesus Christ Superstar so my spare time is limited to say the least.

Not that I've stopped planning for the Gingerbread Christmas House - there are only 16 WEEKS until CHRISTMAS (which means about half that before I need to start decorating). The house will be open for a week this year and it will be the best yet I hope!

I've got a few projects on the go. This one has worked out really well. It uses old dominos as the base and I've upcycled them into an ornament. The idea comes from here:
http://joyfuljohnsons.blogspot.co.nz/2010/12/domino-christmas-ornaments.html.

The picture below shows the original and completed domino. I was lucky enough to find some thick vintage dominos on Trade Me in great condition. The artwork is done on the plain back side.

Firstly I used Versamark Ink in clear to stamp the clean dry domino, then sprinkled a royal blue embossing powder. Due to the domino's surface I found I needed to brush off excess powder with a fine paintbrush. I then heated the surface with a heat gun. The colouring is with Copics B93, 95 and 97. I added a little Glossy Accents to the snow for extra effect.

The stamps are Stampin' Up 'It's Snow Time'. The images don't quite fit on the domino but I'm happy all the same as it was a pretty fiddly size to be working with. To finish, I attached ribbon with ribbon sticky tape around the edge and added a bow and bell. All ready for the Snowmen Tree!

The Bird(less) Cage

I love any decor that reflects houses - saltbox houses, lighthouses, shadow boxes, birdcages... last week I found this fabulous aged birdcage in the homewares shop in Hornby Dressmart. It was a one off and had been reduced twice. I'm talking bargain bonus here so why hadn't it been snapped up? Must have been waiting for me!

This was my plan from the get-go, to fill it with candles and use it for my Christmas home decorating, however it is an authentic cage (the kids and cats were most disappointed we weren't actually going to get a bird). I found the candles on clearance too in Timaru this week at $5 each. So... I admit to having a slightly impatient personality and with Christmas still five months away I've made room for it already. I'm really loving the completed look. What do you think?

Oscar and Puss

 I am really eager to get back illustrating (and typing with two hands!). Even though I am left handed I have soon realised you still use your non dominant hand for, well pretty much everything! Until I get out of a sling I am a one armed mad woman. Arrggh. Frustrating.

These are some illustrations I did recently. It was a commission from my workmate Juanita who has a Dalmatian called Oscar and a tabby cat called CJ Puss Puss. I didn't understand her request as clearly as I should have when she said she wanted a picture of her, hubby the dog and cat going for a walk.

So this was my first interpretation....

And then when I 'got the picture' about what she really wanted, I reworked the idea into a bigger picture with the cat too. Isn't that hilarious? The cat walks too, minus a lead!

To tell you the truth, I was quite happy to keep the first edit myself, as I am always selling my work, and I really liked how the dog worked out. Such a beautiful breed - he was fun to draw!

Shoulder Op

Things are very quiet for me at the moment. I'm nine days post major shoulder surgery and it's not much fun. I had only a week's notice that my name was on the surgery list so was busy getting life organised, including relief for my teaching. Eight weeks off - and I'm not allowed to do anything!

The surgery day was ok, except I had major reservations at the last minute as I walked into theatre and saw a dozen staff! And when they told me it would take two hours...I felt pretty anxious at that point. A nerve blocker went into my neck which was a weird sensation but prevented any pain for the first 24 hours.

My time is hospital recovering was longer than anticipated as I unfortunately reacted to three different painkillers. I was nauseous, faint and had crazy low blood pressure, and to add to the fun, delirious on the drugs. From day 5 I had to go on just with panadol which hasn't been easy, especially sleeping.

So I'm back home and trying to stay still (not what I do best!). I've got loads of books to read which will be good. My plans to do some art will be on hold for a while I think. I didn't know how knocked back I'd feel after surgery... which is just as well as I may have opted out if I did!