missing in action

This week has been a blur. I like to be able to blog at least every second day, but I just haven't managed it this week. There are lots of exciting things happening at the Red Thread and I'm running as fast as I can to keep up with it... and life as well.
The photo above is one which I'll use on my new website.

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Fabulous Flickr Find

These fabulous photos are from dede au chateau's Flickr photostream. The creations are made from papier mache and are whimsical, colourful and so much fun. I particularly enjoyed the glimpse into the artist's sketchbook. You can see more of the collection here.

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I *heart* Fridays: I *heart* eggs

Image source: marthastewart.com

Eggs are pretty close to perfect. The name of the company I created over 10 years ago for my graphic design work is 'egg star'. I chose the word egg because an egg is such a great example of design perfection. Eggs are strong yet fragile, the beginning of life, a wonderful package, and the sort of shape that makes me want to cradle them in my hands. The colours are glorious and range from creams, whites and soft browns, to pale blues, and the rich dark blue/green of emu eggs. I also love the way the word 'egg' looks when written.

I have recently started to paint goose eggs and I'm going to make Christmas decorations out of them. I'm thinking about adding them to the Red Thread creations available on my website. I have dyed them with natural dyes and I'm loving the soft watery and earthy palettes I've achieved. I'm working on getting the right tone of barely-there aqua at the moment as well as painting directly on to un-dyed eggs for a very subtle effect. My designs are similar to the nature-inspired illustrations on my SushiBird Tiles, which are based on Japanese motifs, and also have some reference to Scandinavian design... a somewhat eclectic series of inspirations!

some of my decorated eggs

I am also working on more detailed designs on glorious big ostrich eggs. They really are a joy to work on - I *heart* eggs!

And of course I love eating them too...mmmm... nature's most perfect package contains it's most perfect food. Eggs offer endless culinary opportunities, but a simple soft boiled egg is a treat all on its own. Bill Grainger is known as the egg master - here's his recipe for scrambled eggs. Our three chickens in our little back garden give us delicious organic free range eggs. What could be better?

Happy Friday!

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Sneak Peek

I'm still working on my new website and hope to have it up and running with all the new products in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek of my new range of Vintage Storybook Tiles.

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another year

This is my birthday week - another year has passed in a flash. I've never had a thing about birthdays or age, but I think this year maybe I do. I feel like there is so much that I want to do, see, learn and accomplish and the days and weeks and years are just flying by. It's especially true when you have a little person in your life who grows and changes literally every day. Roxy celebrates every month that she is closer to being 5: "Am I still four and a half mum?" she asks. Today I said "No, you are four and three quarters now". I can't think of many things that would excite her more. Except perhaps if I told her she could have lollies instead of dinner tonight. In total contrast, right up until the day of my birthday I'll be thinking that I am the age I turned last year.

That's me on the right in the mauve jumper and the yellow crepe paper hat, both of which were made by my mum.
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