It was a quiet market for me this month, but I really enjoyed meeting the new people who came along to have a look at my little stall, and of course enjoyed seeing my regular visitors.  Many thanks to all of you who stopped by and said hello!

I won’t be at the next Handmade Expo in October, but I’ll be there in November and December – perfect timing for those wanting to grab some Christmas presents!

Me with my newest painting at The Handmade Expo

I’m now enjoying a break from my day job (school holidays!) so I intend to get lots of painting done!  I’m working on a couple of commissioned paintings, so I’ll keep you up to date with the progress of them.

P.S. I’m wearing my brand new Kellie Christie necklace in this pic – I can never resist going and spending my profits at other people’s stalls when I’m at The Handmade Expo (even on days like yesterday when the profits are non-existent)!

Tweet This Post

The weekend just past was super-busy for me.  I had a stall at The Handmade Expo, which was great fun as always.  We had a great turn out this month with people out and about voting.  A big thank you to all those who stopped by my little stall!  After the Expo we visited family and then the next day attended a birthday party.

With a weekend like that, I was very pleased to be able to get a few evenings to myself to get some painting done!  Of course, sleep is overrated

Tweet This Post

Here’s my latest creation – I’ve titled it “Midnight Meeting”:

Midnight Meeting

I’m looking forward to this Saturday’s Handmade Expo, where I will have my original art, keepsake boxes, jewellery and cards for sale, including some owl-inspired pieces.  Brand new to the market will be my wearable art rings, featuring prints of some of my most popular paintings.

I’ve still got a week to make new pendants and rings – are there any designs you’d just love to see on one of my jewellery pieces?  Let me know and I’ll make sure I have them there.

Hope to see you there – stop by and say hello!

Tweet This Post

Me with my keepsake boxes, pendants and cards

Yesterday I spent my morning at The Handmade Expo, at the Ipswich Turf Club.

After a bit of a shaky start (I am prone to stressing out at the best of times, and a mix-up over where to set up had me freaking out just a bit) – I had a great day!

It was definitely a better venue to sell than the Suitcase Rummage was – people were expecting higher quality items.  I sold quite a lot of pendants, some cards and a couple of keepsake boxes.

Keepsake boxes, pendants and cards

The best thing about the Handmade Expo was all the lovely people I met.  I really enjoyed being able to meet the people buying my work and hearing their comments.  It also gave me a good idea of which styles were popular.  One lovely lady who purchased two of my paintings at The Coffee Club Springfield popped in to meet me, which was wonderful.  A huge thank you to all those who stopped by and said hello

Original Artwork

The Handmade Expo is held every month at the Ipswich Turf Club.  While I won’t be able to make the May market (I will be participating in Padua College’s Artscape Exhibition), I will be at the June Market on Saturday 26th June.  I’m hoping to make it a regular event!

Tweet This Post

I wanted to have another go at creating a painting using these colours, and this is what I came up with:

It reminds me of the shrubs they have around my school which drop white flowers in a carpet all over the ground.  The branch of the tree is actually painted in navy watercolour paint although it looks pretty close to black.

Tweet This Post

Yesterday, a friend of mine mentioned she had seen a painting that looked very much like one of mine in the free newspaper given out on trains, MX.  She gave me a copy, and Lo and Behold, it was my painting:

I’m not mentioned by name, but that is definitely my painting “Reach”.  Even though it’s only a free newspaper, I was thrilled to see my painting there!  I’m also really happy that my style is distinctive enough for someone to be able to tell it’s one of my paintings even though my name isn’t on it.

Tweet This Post

The grass is knee high.  There is a huge vine choking *everything*.  The insects are out and about and LOVING it.  It’s not going to last though, because I’m determined to get out there today and tomorrow and tidy it up!

Until then, let’s celebrate the beauty of the rainforest with these wonderful Etsy finds:

My first rainforest favourite is this ‘Rain Forest Rivers’ bracelet by Karmelidesigns.  I love the combination of earthy greens, coppers and blues.  It features a  Pietersite nugget, rhyolite, yellow citrine, deep blue dumortierite, and small black onyx beads, a few antiqued copper spacers, and a stylish toggle clasp.

Matching perfectly with this bracelet is this beautiful Tropical Rainforest Necklace by Aquasphere.  It also features the earthy beauty of rhyolite.  This volcanic stone’s mossy greens, browns and grays are a perfect match to the rainforest.

Of course, once you’re decked out in rainforesty-goodness for your neck and wrist, you need to have something pretty for your ears as well!  I just love these Rainforest Blossom Bouquet Earrings by Eighthnote.  The flowers are pretty and feminine, and I love the way they hang together.  The shades of green and blue are perfect for the rainforest and look beautiful together.

Long before I had ever heard of Etsy, I was posting my artwork on deviantART.  I love the support other artists give with their comments, and am inspired by the work of the wonderful artists who also submit their art to the website.  One of my favourite artists from deviantART is Angela Vandendogard.  I’ve admired her work for years and was delighted when I came across her store on Etsy, Jellybeans.  This print titled Rainforest is a great example of her beautiful, whimsical style:

I hope you all enjoyed this little trek through the rainforest – hopefully by the next time I post, my garden will be looking less like a jungle and more like a garden again!

UPDATE:

I think the rest of the garden will have to wait until after bin day.

Tweet This Post

Yesterday I presented a talk and tutorial to the lovely ladies of the Springfield Lakes Art Group.  I demonstrated some of my watercolour techniques to them, and talked a little about my keepsake boxes and promoting art with Etsy.  I was really nervous but had a great time.

This is the painting I did as part of my demonstration:

Today I  finished and delivered the commissioned piece I was working on for a dear friend of mine.  It was very satisfying to see it finally hanging on the wall:

As one door closes, another opens they say – well, as I completed this commission, I received a new one – a customer wants a personalised painting similar to a painting I sold titled “When it is Dark Enough”.  I look forward to the challenge of creating a piece she’ll enjoy!

I finished two other watercolours this weekend too, titled Poppy Field and Winter’s End.  I also started work on two acrylic paintings which I hope to include in the upcoming Abundance exhibition.

I got a print done of my Sunset Storm painting for a customer in the US, and at the same time did some 4″ x 6″ prints of various paintings to make into cards.  I also put in an order for some new business cards from Moo.

As you can see, I got a LOT done this weekend – I didn’t get any housework at all done besides cooking dinner tonight, so I owe it all to my wonderful husband that I got so much arty stuff done

Tweet This Post

We’ve had a bit of a rainy week this week (in fact it is raining as I write this!), so I thought I’d do a rain themed Saturday Selections of my favourite items from around Etsy.

First up is this awesome stainless steel raindrop necklace with brain contours titled ‘bRain‘ by Morphologica.  Perfect for a geek girl like me!

My next rainy-day favourite is this cute set of “Rainy Day, Time to Play” gift cards from Red Letter Studio.  They would make lovely gift cards for a rainy day, or someone who’s young (or young at heart!) and loves to play in the rain:

I just *love* this print by Kathy Panton entitled simply “Rain”.  I love the mix of colours and the way the paint seems to flow across the paper.  I sat and stared at this one for a while!  It’s easy to see why it made Etsy’s front page.

Finally, I’d like to include this print entitled “Kiss Under the Rain” by Afremov Art.  I’ve admired this artist for a while on Deviantart, and only just found him on Etsy.  The way he uses light and colour is so unique and beautiful!

Hope you all have a great week, and remember how good the rain is for the garden (and the farmers!), if not for getting the washing dry.

Prefer the sunshine to the rain?  Check out my latest post on Handmade Spark, Tropical Holiday.

Tweet This Post

The site is designed for sellers and buyers to connect.  Through the blog sellers wil learn about marketing, blogging, how tos, and much more.  Buyers will find new shops and items through the handmade features posted by me and a group of writers.  Handmade Spark is also a directory where sellers can submit their links, like Twitter, Facebook , and blogs.

I’m really excited to be involved, and I hope I can bring a little something different to the website as I’m so far the only Aussie writer.

My first post is about ACEOs.  I was inspired by the fact that I made my own first batch of ACEOs this weekend.  I love the way they look on the little easel!  If you’d like to find out more about ACEOs, you can read my post on Handmade Spark.

In other news, my painting Two Hearts, One Love has been featured on a Valentine’s Day post at Calico & Co., the Indie & Handmade Blog.  There are lots of other pretty things there too!

Tweet This Post