Browsing through a local antique store I came across a box of old lace trim and ribbons at ten cents a piece. What a find! These will be perfect additions to my collages. They look like samples from an old sales folder. I got a bit excited and I bought a bag full! I like the fact that many already look a little aged and distressed. Now to make something…

Late last year I purchased four small boxes of glass negatives on ebay, almost sixty slides in total. I was beside myself with excitement when they arrived and I stayed up late into the night scanning them in to uncover their mystery contents. I wasn’t sure what to expect and it was such a thrill to see the images appear. The bounty included images of children playing with toys, and bush walks in the rainforest (the Dandenongs?). So rich in history and like a puzzle to piece together. This one of two little girls playing in the sand with an old teapot is one of my favourites.

OK, so to a true ‘coffee geek‘ this would be all wrong. But it’s just the way I like it including the addition of some extra indulgence (currently sipping ‘Swoon’). I admit, my ‘milk frothing’ abilities still need a little fine tuning and my coffee ‘art’ is a bit skewiff. But hey, give me a break and let me have my espresso fun!

It’s raining here and I am taking a little moment to ponder my next move. The whirlwind that is Eloise has a cold so has been particularly clingy (read: whingey) this morning, so while she has her nap I am just kicking back sneaking in some ‘me’ time.

As an aside, years ago I added some coffee cup rings to a project I was working on with a cafe/coffee theme, but the client thought it ‘devalued the product’ so I had to remove them. I am just not good at ‘clean’ and simple!! That’s the beauty of this little place…I can ‘devalue my product’ as much as I want!

Ahhhh!! The silence is broken! ‘Me time’ over…

One of the things I want to do here, is share my collection of vintage photographs and ephemera with people who might appreciate their worth. I want others to value their importance in our cultural history and see the magic I see when I look at them. Often these items are filled with history. Stories involving humour, heartache and love. It sounds clich?d but they really are like a window into another era and open up the imagination. I look at them and wonder what the people were like, what their lives were about. Often the backdrops are breathtakingly beautiful and the costumes worn are elaborate and with fine detail, unlike clothes of today. Sometimes it’s something as simple as the look in someone’s eye or a phrase on the back of a postcard. I often use these items as a basis for something creative (NB: I always keep the original preserved).
It seems such a shame to keep these beauties hidden away and I am hoping some of you may enjoy them as much as I do! So here is the first instalment!

Featured Gem 1
Real Photo Postcard

‘The Bee, The Sailor,
The Clown and The Gypsy’

Date: Unspecified
People pictured: Unidentified
Postcard Back: Blank

Notes: I have a passion for collecting photographs of people in fancy dress. Often the costumes are incredibly ellaborate and sometimes the images are quite humorous. I wonder what kind of event these people were going to (if any!). What was their relationship to one another. I imagine what fun they must have had getting dressed up. The lovely thing about some of these fancy dress images is that they are usually of people having fun, having the time of their life. Would any events on this night change the course of their lives?

I like the fact that the girl dressed as a bee (well I think she is a bee??) is slightly blurred, as if she is ‘buzzing’ !

…after all these years of talking about it and procrastinating!

I’m hoping this evolves into something wonderful where I can share artwork, craft, ideas, daily tidbits, things I admire etc. Maybe I will find an appreciative audience, even if it is only my Mum! (Sorry Mum, you know I didn’t mean it like that! You know you’re very important!)

I am certainly enjoying it so far, and am already feeling those creative fires cranking up. I also hope to get involved with swaps and maybe even host a few creative challenges of my own!

I think I have stagefright! It will take me a little while to relax and warm up. I used to enjoy writing so here’s hoping my skills will improve over time and the rust will dissolve. Actually I have been stuck in ’email speak’ for so many years that I am finding it hard not to pepper my prose with too many smiley faces and ‘winks’. Now THAT will be a challenge. I think I also have to cut back on the exclaimation marks!!!! (read: delete 3 exclaimation marks here)

So there we go….Post No.1! Lets see where this online adventure takes me…