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The Craft Room

14 April 2010

Part 2 of my Notebook news.

Notebook: magazine is starting a series of courses in Sydney called The Craft Room, and I'm excited to be one of the course teachers. I'll be teaching the two hand-printing techniques that appear in this month's issue of Notebook: leaf-printing and printing with hand-carved stamps.


Images of my projects: Notebook
The styling by Mescha Martin and photography of Andrew Lehmann are so lovely.


I'll have lots of reference materials for colour and design, and the class will be suitable for anyone regardless of how much artistic ability you think you don't have! You can achieve some fantastic results with leaf printing and simple rubber stamping, and it's a lot of fun. We'll be printing journals, cards/stationery sets, gift tags, and possibly some other bits and pieces. At the moment there is only one class for hand printing, on Saturday 1st May, so come and join me!

The other courses include sewing (beginner and intermediate), cake decorating, softie making, crochet, embroidery and knitting, with more to come. I'll profile some of the lovely talented ladies who'll be teaching the classes over the next couple of weeks.

I've already signed up for the crochet class with Sarah London... if you're a regular visitor here you'll know how much I love crocheted things and how much I want to be able to master the craft. I'm very excited. I know I could probably learn from a book - and I have bought a few that sit idle on my bookshelf - but where's the fun in that? I love the idea of taking an afternoon out just for me and spending it in a lovely environment with new people, and actually walking away having mastered a new skill.

If you'd like to find out more, check out the timetable and class details. When you click on a class from the list the teacher's photo and a bit about them will come up.

I think it's a wonderful initiative on the part of Notebook. The classes are to be held in Notebook's brand new studios in Alexandria and promise to be fun and a lovely day crafting with like-minded people. Everything will be provided including refreshments, so all you have to do is turn up.

I'd like to give a big shout out to Corrie who has organised The Craft Room. She's such a lovely person and is an absolute dynamo.
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Craft tutorials in Notebook magazine

I've been waiting to tell you about this for a while now, and as the May issue of Notebook hit the stands today I don't have to wait any longer.


I was thrilled to be invited to provide a couple of projects for Notebook's create section, which was a lot of fun. The first tutorial is for leaf-printed cushions, and is a step by step guide to both the printing of the fabric and making the cushions. The second project is hand carving stamps and printing onto journals. You can see an enlargement of the first spread here.

But that's not all.... stay tuned for my next post for more news....
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One more cushion

13 April 2010

I'm sensing a bit of a cushion series beginning to happen... but for now I want to share this gorgeous one. I just love the combination of the vintage fabric with the screen print of the illustrated clothes peg.

Image: Coucou Salut

Find this one and more by Coucou Salut on Etsy.


Found via Poppytalk.

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What is it about cushions?

12 April 2010

I saw an ad for Target on TV recently and the scenario was a young couple setting up home together and furnishing it with Target homewares. A whole heap of cushions are piled onto the bed, and at the end of the commercial the woman adds one more to the collection...

When I was in Ikea browsing and purchasing their fabulous fabric with a friend I asked her what she was going to do with her new stash. She replied "Oh, I don't know. I'll probably make cushions"...

The other week we went to see some stand up comedy and one of the comics made reference to the growing number of cushions his girlfriend seems to sneak into their apartment. That made me laugh out loud, because it's a running joke around here too. I am a bit obsessed with them. Stuart is always commenting on the number of cushions on our bed and lounges, and how often I change or add to them. Are you the same?

What is it with women and cushions?!

For me it's an instant budget makeover for a room. Our bedroom is very minimal in colour - I just can't seem to go past a white doona cover - so I change it up with the cushion covers. I'm desperate to get rid of our lounges, so in the meantime I try to disguise something I hate with cushions in lots of patterns and colours that I love. (I've contemplated making covers for the lounges - a 3 seater, 2 seater and an armchair - but the amount of time and effort and the cost of the fabric makes me lose all interest.)

Today I'm loving these cushions made from vintage fabric, from Plonka Home on Etsy. I'd love to have a jumble of them, maybe mixed up with a few of these, on a big couch in my favourite colour: soft vintage aqua/turquoise. Mmmm, nice!



So what do you think about the cushion thing? Are you with me?
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Sleepers :: Olivia Martin-McGuire

09 April 2010

Olivia Martin-McGuire's exhibition titled 'Sleepers' is on until Sunday at the Australian Centre for Photography. The almost uncomfortably intimate photos capture her subjects at their most pure and most vulnerable. Olivia has travelled the world capturing people as they sleep, although this series was shot in her studio with her Hasselblad camera strapped to the ceiling.


Olivia's portfolio also contains these lovely portraits.

All images: Olivia Martin-McGuire
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