Christmas Advent

Advent has begun! I made this custom advent calender for a customer in my shop and loved it so much I decided to make one for everyone to share! Each day I am putting some candy canes and chocolates in the pocket for children who come into the shop (age is negotiable!).

And while I was doing that, I also created my Christmas windows! I love the reindeer I bought on eBay on the right-hand window. They are so cute! Every night the fairy lights come on inside Santa's house as well as on the 1960s tree on the left-hand side. If you happen to be in Flemington one evening, pop down to Pin Oak crescent to see them aglow.

I Love Camping

House of Dreaming - Arena Theatre Company

Wow! What an amazing experience House of Dreaming was. This is a theatre experience by Arena Theatre Company that should not be missed (although it has finished, so I guess that makes seeing it tricky). But if they do a return season - you MUST take the children. My five year old LOVED it. As did my dad and daughter, so just goes to show that this experience transcends ages. Here are some pics - a bit dodgy as we were not allowed to take any pics with flash, but gives you some idea nevertheless.

Today We Have No Plans Launch

On Sunday we popped into Readings in Hawthorn to help celebrate with Jane Godwin and Anna Walker the launch of their new picture book Today We Have No Plans.
Oh, to have no plans! It's a dream in our family, where we all have too many obligations and not enough time!
This book explores the moments in a family's life, when you just have the time to watch a bug crawl across a leaf, swing make a cake or sit and read. It's a beautiful book in rhyme (which Jane does expertly) and the beautiful illustrations document the busy times with a buzz of colour and the still and lovely quiet moments with lots of glorious water-colour washed space and simple images.
This book is a must have for all families (and it has a fancy padded cover!).
Here are some pics from the launch and the internals of the book:

Spotlight Cupcakes

You don't have to use glue and scissors to be crafty! We followed the latest Spotlight brochure and bought some cupcake making bits and pieces to practise making our Halloween treats.

These guys are Mummies (each with an individual expression), but you can make Frankenstein, Bloody Eyeball or anything you like, really.

The fondant got a bit sticky so I found kneading it on a plastic surface much easier. Also see if you can colour the fondant yourself and just get a white tub - it's quite expensive when you add up all the colours you need to use!

Incinerator Gallery Workshops

The Incinerator Gallery in Moonee Ponds (on Holmes Rd - the continuation of Puckle St) is one of the best spaces in this region. They also attract the creme de la creme of the art world in some completely inspiring exhibitions which the team at the Incinerator work tirelessly to ensure they reach us in the West.
The current exhibit is from the National Gallery of Australia and is the travelling Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn Gift.
The exhibition comes in suitcases titled 'Form, Space and Design' and 'Myths and Rituals'.
We coordinated a workshop for children that incorporated these ideas into a sculpture exploration. It was a dream! The children also got to touch the art (part of the appeal and feature of this particular exhibition) and I think everyone really got a sense of working in this three-dimensional medium with some fantastic found objects from Reverse Recycle in Bayswater.
here are some pics of the two weeks:

ArtPlay Carlton Library Event

What a marvellous, colourful and fun day at the Carlton Library for the ArtPlay decorate the tree event. Some pics from the afternoon . . .

Carlton Library Craft Event

THE ARTPLAY TEAM NEED A HAND


DECORATING THEIR LOVELY WOODEN TREE!

Join us at the Carlton Library on Saturday 15 September between

1pm and 4pm to help decorate the tree with lovely, fluffy pom pom flowers
and colourful paper birds. Then grab a book and enjoy a good read beneath
its beautiful branches. A fun and crafty activity for children and adults.


FREE
WORKSHOP
facilitated by Katie Evans,
ArtPlay artist and author of Little Things for Busy Hands.

Free workshop

Sunday 15 September between 1-4pm

Carlton Library

667 Rathdowne Street Carlton

ArtPlay - more pics from the exhibition

The Bestiary letters in action!