What could I possibly want with that pile of old books? Books and ephemera are often disregarded and thrown away, lost forever and considered of no value.  Me? I like nothing more than a foxed piece of old paper! As a collector, book addict, and a Book Designer by trade, I would never suggest destroying a gorgeous old book to use the artwork inside…

…but, if on your thrifting travels you discover a book that is damaged beyond repair, tattered, torn and missing pages, broken spines, showing years of love…then go ahead and salvage what you can!  Inside these old books you may discover glorious coloured plates or whimsical black and white line art, just perfect for framing and at a fraction of the cost of a modern day fine art print.

Although often incomplete and in the worst condition, antique and vintage children’s books deliver the most enchanting imagery. The photograph above shows a wonderful coloured plate from an old tattered 1962 reprint of May Gibbs ‘Snugglepot and Cuddlepie’. I am actually reading this book to Eloise at the moment before bed each night and she is enthralled!

Among my favourites for black and white line art are old annuals and bound magazine volumes such as ‘The Girl’s Own Annual’. Sometimes the cover alone is a visual treat ‘The Empire Annual for Australian Girls’ pictured above is just gorgeous.

(Note: ‘OFifteen mag unfortunately folded and this was my next article to be posted. I am thinking I might do a regular ‘Thrifty Thursday’ on here. Any excuse to go op shopping right?)

Featured Gem 17
Real Photo Postcard

‘Fairy Royalty’

Date: Unspecified
People: Unidentified
Studio: Unspecified
Postcard Back: Blank

Notes: Ths photograph isn’t giving away its secrets. I don’t know a lot about this image…who are they? Where are they? When was it? This image really is something special and tells a story none the less. I adore the girl’s headpiece with the flowery tendrils. Such magical costumes and such a perfect pose. I also like the tree, shadows and vines on the building in the background.

Last week I treated myself and flew up to Canberra for the opening of an exhibition called cut.paste at the ANCA Gallery. I’ve got two A3 digital collage fine art prints on display, and it was exciting to be included alongside such a talented bunch of collage artists. I also reworked my zine concept and have a few ‘cut.paste’ limited editions available at the gallery for purchase. It was lots of fun! If anyone wants to go along and see the exhibition, it’s on for another week. The programme/catalogue (above) is also in the style of a zine and was compiled by the lovely and talented Narelle Phillips (who really should have her own blog!).

Above is one of my collages, ‘Tiny Town’. I had it printed on some lovely Hahnemuhle Torchon paper and I am so pleased with how it turned out. Look below! There are my two prints on the left, hanging next to some gorgeous pieces by Rebecca Hanrahan and Elizabeth Faul.

It was an absolute treat to escape from the little ones for a brief stint (Yes, an entire night of uninterrupted sleep, late checkout and a scrummy breakfast! Whoooop!) . After the opening, Narelle and I headed off to the ‘Parlour Wine Room‘ for the most delicious tapas style feast! The day after, I managed to do the touristy thing and do some of the major galleries. Unfortunately the soft sculpture show had ended the week prior at the National Gallery, but there was a great little exhibition called ‘Reinventions: Sculpture and Assemblage’ which is on until mid September and features work by artists such as Rosalie Gascoigne and Robert Klippel. I followed that up by my first visit to The National Portrait Gallery to see the Vanity Fair  Portraits show. It was fabulous!

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I then decided I was on a roll (ignoring my tired feet!) and visited the National Museum of Australia for the first time, where I thoroughly enjoyed the revolving ‘Circa‘, seeing so many treasures from our past first hand and reading so many fascinating and intriguing individual stories.

Ahhhh what fun. I was so inspired by the time I flew home!

Hey! First post for the…err…ummm *cough* year??

I thought I might sneak back into the blogosphere while noone was looking. I’m not 100% sure what’s going to happen here yet….but let’s just go with it and see!

Thought I’d ease myself back in with a little op shopping loot!

I have been hoarding a lot of clothes for the girls. These are a few of my favourites….Oilily winter dress, ‘See Saw’ Marino woollen jacket, Fred Bare dress.

And as usual I couldn’t resist a few lovely little vessels…

…or for some reason this wool. I’ve also collected a few vintage knitting and crochet books and patterns lately…now if only I knew a) how to knit or crochet and b) had the time to learn! Knitting/crochet lessons for Photoshop/digital collage tutorials anyone?

Life’s much more hectic with two than I ever imagined. Trying to balance work and family and have some ‘me’ time in between sometimes feels impossible. So many things I want to do. Not enough time. Isn’t that always the way?

The girls are just lovely! Eloise is such a delight and so funny… a 24/7 stage show. Pantomime and song and dance non stop here lately. She’s big on audience participation! She’s also all abuzz with the idea of starting school next year. School!?? How can that be possible? And little Caitlin…the words are starting to flow and she’s growing into such a sparkly treasure who loves to snuggle. Although she’s only 18months, she’s trying really hard to be four and Eloise is gladly teaching her the ropes. Trouble! But oh so delicious!

Phew that wasn’t so hard! I can’t believe I have procrastinated and put off posting for 8 months!!

I need to dust off the cobwebs, have a Spring mid Winter clean up and start those posts flowing more frequently. I have a truckload of rescued treasures and stuff that I need to photograph and scan. Lots of books, photos and websites and fun things to share. And a few exciting projects in the works which I will divulge details of soon! Maybe even a little bit of creating!!

I’ll try not to leave it so long….honest!!