Wednesday, November 30, 2011

{annual open studio}

 Live Large

Open Studio & End of Year Celebration

Please join me for a glass of bubbles, a peak into my new studio and some creative Christmas shopping.

Wednesday 14th December 2011
4 – 9pm

Featuring Special Guests
Camille Condon {CurlyPops}
Jaylene Juanita {Finki Handmade}

Prints, Cards, Jewellery, Stationary, Clothes, Original Artworks, Cushions & More
 
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Last year was the inaugural open studio and now I've decided to make it an annual event.  It's a great opportunity to celebrate the end of the year, get together for a glass of bubbles, have a peak into my studio and creative process, and do a little Christmas shopping if you feel so inclined.

If you'd like to come along please email me at tinniegirl/at/optusnet.com.au and I'll send you my street address.  

All welcome.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

{adventures in self-portraiture part III}

Park bench

Jump I

Jump III

Jump

I'm still getting the hang of this self-portraiture business, but I tell you it is SO much fun.  I love it.

Monday, November 28, 2011

{lockets}

Finkigirl lockets

I finally managed to pop the lockets in the shop.  I am still absolutely smitten with these particular creations and hope you will be too.  They're in seriously limited supply until next year so if you're keen grab one while you can.

They'll also be making their debut, along with all the other {finkigirl} range, and my prints, cards and affirmation packs, at the Made n' Thornbury twilight market, 99 Leinster Grove Thornbury, this coming Friday.  More details here.

I'm really excited to be getting back to focusing on my creative work.  It's been a long drought this year and it feels so good to be coming full circle back to where my heart is.

I've also got my annual open studio coming up in a couple of weeks.  More details coming on that one.

Have a great day peeps!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

{sunday snipppets}

Walking

Playing with paper

Family Lunch

Monday Lunch Prep

Playing along?  Pop your link below.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

{adventures in self portraiture - part II}

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Yay for the weekend.  I've got studio plans and a dinner date with a good mate on Saturday night.  Hoping to get all the amazing new goodies into the shop too.

What have you got planned?

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

{adventures in self-portraiture - part I}

A month or so ago I signed up for Vivienne McMaster's You Are Your Own Muse e-course.  In amidst all the everyday busyness I was struggling to find time to get to class and I actually wondered if I was going to make it at all.  Then I was visiting Danielle's blog and saw this incredible self-portrait that she took, and I knew I just had to find a way to prioritise the class.

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And I'm so glad I did.  I can't recommend YAYOM highly enough.  It's playful, adventurous and full of great prompts and information.  In fact I think it is one of the best e-courses I've taken in terms of content and style of delivery.  Not to mention that Vivienne herself has an absolute gift for engaging people in the online environment.  I think she is truly doing her most important creative work.

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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

{coming attractions}

{finkigirl} lockets

I thought that the rings and pendants were my favourites of the new {finkigirl} collection.  That was until I saw the lockets!  These will be in the shop by the end of this week.  Get in quick if you want one.  We have extremely limited stock until next year.

In other shop news I'm extremely pleased that we've been able to reduce the prices on the earrings and bracelets.  They now retail at $30 for earrings and $35 for bracelets.
I'm totally getting to understand what it must be like for others who make their own wearable creations.  It is truly thrilling to put on an outfit and then choose a piece of my own jewellery to wear with it.

Oops, forgot to say they are also available in store now at Olive Grove!
 
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On a totally different topic, there's a fantastic giveaway for Melbourne peeps going on over at Eat and Be Merry, For Tomorrow We Diet.  You can win a dinner for 2 to the value of $300.  I soooo want to win this one.

I've got another fun giveaway coming up soon too.  Stay tuned.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

{sunday snippets: a list}


Don't ask!  It's all pear shaped over here just at the minute.  I don't mean to keep disappearing and hope I'll be back to my usual tricks soon.  Life sure can be topsy-turvy sometimes hey?

If you're sharing your {sunday snippets} pop your link below.  If you have no pictures maybe you'd like to make your own list over here and link it below.



Oh, and I'm doing some noticing over at Your Heart Makes a Difference.  Would love you to stop by.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

{sunday snippets}

I did actually post this last night, but blogger decided to play tricks on me! So it's {sunday snippets} on a Monday and a giveaway winner. Thanks Trudi for the heads up.

Love Colour

Plein Air

Choosing Colours

Studio shot 131111

I'm all about the painting at the moment.  Can't get enough of it.  It's wonderful. 

What did your weekend look like?  Pop your link below if you're joining in.



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Prize Pack

I drew the winner of the giveaway today.  The very lovely and lucky Jennie of Mrs Beckinsale is the winner of a copy of Make Hey and a fat quarter of Go Granny. {huge thanks again to Pip and Cam for the generous giveaway}.  Jennie, shoot me an email with your address so I can get your goodies to you.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

{i want you, i need you}

Betsy Mark II

Betsy Mark II, please be mine!

Did you know you can win one of these beauties and copies of all of Pip's books over at Meet Me at Mikes.  What a seriously awesome giveaway huh?  Or check out Jelly Bean Bikes and build your own ride!

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I'm going to leave my giveaway open for one more day too.  If you haven't left a comment to win a copy of Make Hey by Pip Lincolne and a fat quarter of fabulous Go Granny by CurlyPops hop-skip to this post here.

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And just in case you missed my HUGE news Finki and I launched something ENORMOUSLY EXCITING on Tuesday.  You can read all about it right here

Thanks so much to everyone for the amazing support and interest already.  It's been so gratifying and totally affirms a major life decision I made last week {more on that very soon}.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

{introducing finkigirl}

At last the time has come to fill you in on my super-secret-squirrel business.  I am bursting with pride, hope, gratitude, amazement and so much more.  It is with enormously great pleasure that I introduce you to {finkigirl}, a collaboration between myself and Jay of Finki Handmade.

poster 4 work

This collaboration has been in the making since April.  I was fortunate to spend an amazing weekend with Jay at one of the Flora Bowley retreats in Australia earlier this year {more on that here and here if you’re interested}.

pendant collage

As well as spending our days immersed in painting we spent our evenings talking about business, about dreams for the future and tentatively about the idea of working on something together.  I’ve watched Jay’s journey over the years and long admired her courage and commitment to building a creative life and business.  When I thought about collaboration, as I have been for a number of years, she was always one of the people that I wanted to connect with.  We left the retreat with some very early ideas on how we might work together. 

bracelets batch

Then as it does, life got crazy.  House moves, job losses, health stuff followed by one of the worst creative blocks I’ve ever had.  My creative life came to a complete standstill.  It was all so yuk.  

RP Combo AoL

One afternoon I was riding home from work and I realised how stuck I was.  I realised the ways in which I was holding myself back.  Most importantly I realised the opportunities that were out there waiting for me to grab them.  And so I did!  And out of that {finkigirl} was born!

EB Combo Grow

My Etsy shop is now open and full of gorgeous {finkigirl} goodies.  Please head on over and take a look.  This is just the beginning of something that is going to be absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to keep sharing it with you as it evolves.

ring collage

You can also see the full range at Olive Grove Studios, 159 Sydney Rd, Brunswick.

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PS.  It’s not too late to put your name down for the giveaway of awesomeness.  I’ll draw in winner on Thursday.

Monday, November 7, 2011

{a teaser}

Teaser

Oh boy am I excited!  I am almost ready to spill the beans on the super-secret squirrel business I've been telling you about.

Tomorrow peeps.  Yep, tomorrow.

Happy, happy, happy dance!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

{sunday snippets}

Back to it

Garden Work

Bottle collection

Studio Shot 061111

How has your weekend looked?

If you're new to these parts sunday snippets is a weekly post for you to join in with.  Take some photos of your weekend and post them to your blog each Sunday.  Pop your link below and link back to this post on your blog.

I let the photos speak for themselves and leave the words out, but you can choose whatever way works for you.  Car for example never likes to be without her words. 

Look forward to seeing what you've been up to.


PS. The giveaway of awesomess is still up for grabs. Sign up here.

Friday, November 4, 2011

{the awesomeness that is CurlyPops and Meet Me at Mikes}

Wow, what a time it's been!  So much goodness happening over here and I'm bursting at the seams to share.  Alas, the time is not quite here.  Yet.  You'll have to wait just a little longer for all my news, including a major leap, the big reveal on my super-secret squirrel business and the launch of another very exciting collaboration coming next year.  I am running as fast as I can and I still can't keep up.

For now I am truly excited to finally announce the kick-ass giveaway that I've been banging on about for weeks, and that CurlyPops alluded to in her sneaky post last week.



The lovely and generous Pip of Meet Me at Mikes has kindly given me a copy of her newest book Make Hey to giveaway to one lucky visitor.  Most of you probably already know Pip and Meet Me at Mikes, but if you don't, hop-skip-quick and check out her blog and crafty goodness.  I could go on and on about Pip and what she has done for the creative community and how much I admire what she has achieved as a creative business woman.  I could also wax lyrical about how awesome this new book is and how it makes even me want to sew {and anyone who spends any time with me knows I don't like to sew}. 

I could also tell you how I sometimes feel green with envy when I see her doing her thing.  It's a hard thing to say out in the open but it's true.  We all feel it.  We all make assumptions and judgements about others, their lives, their achievements.  We're all prone to attacks from the green eyed monster {mostly out of fear I think}.  This year as you know I'm challenging myself to be different.  Instead of being envious I'm celebrating the success of awesome creative people.  Instead of harbouring a secret fear that there's only so much success to go around I'm remembering that there's room for all of us in this creative world and that seeing others being successful is a great reminder that it's possible for me too.  I'm also being honest, saying it and owning it, instead of pretending.

But back to Pip.  It was in part thanks to Pip {and Kelly Rae Roberts} that I started blogging.  I can't even remember anymore how it all came to be but I know that they were the blogs I was reading for a while before I decided to dive in and start my own.  From there it's been a journey of self discovery, becoming an artist, finding a community and so much more.  And then of course there's CurlyPops.  No Pip = No Blog = No Crafty Community = No CurlyPops!  And that's just unfathomable.

There's a story about me and CurlyPops and how our friendship was meant to be over here if you want to read it.  My crafty-partner-in-crime and so very much more.  She's incredibly talented, enormously brave and one of the most generous friends I've ever known.  I've loved sharing our creative journeys over the past few years and I'm blown away by what she has achieved.


So what better combination than a copy of Make Hey teamed up with a fat quarter of Go Granny - the awesome new fabric designed by CurlyPops and printed right here in Melbourne.  Just think of the gorgeousness you'll be able to make!

If you would like to win your very own copy of Make Hey and a fat quarter of gorgeous Go Granny fabric just leave a comment.  Make sure I'm able to contact you via your comment if you're the super duper lucky winner.  I'll draw a winner sometime in the next week.

{thanks Pip and Cam for your huge generosity - for the giveaway and generally}

Happy weekend peeps!

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Thanks for the fantastic response to my call out to build a Blogtoberfest team.  I'll be in touch with everyone who put their hand up as soon as I can.  Just letting you know it might be a few weeks.