Excuses

I am not even going to start with the excuses of why the blog has lay dormant for so long. Just one word maybe...BUSY.

I'm still very involved with Christchurch City Chorus and Sweet Adelines. We are competing in Hawaii in November 2013. Over the last 9 months I've also been singing lead in a new quartet so twice as many rehearsals as normal, and a lot of travelling. I've gone through 15 000 km since Christmas. Yikes.

There are some changes afoot in my life. I've decided to follow my passions and take them to the next level. Exciting times! More soon...

Last weekend I had some artworks in an exhibition. They all sold well so I was very happy about that. I've also got a few commissions as a result. Here is one of my illustrations. I called it 'Sorry'.

A corner of the room

A little decorating done recently...

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?