lovely links...

The summer weather has definitely arrived these past couple of weeks, plenty of hot, humid days - I don't mind hot days - much - but I survive much better when overnight/early morning is still nice & cool. Can't complain too much, as we've had some mild weather too. And some cool rainy weather - it really can't make up it's mind lately.

Anyway, a pretty random collection of links this month, to while away a bit of boxing day...

Going to start with some cuteness - this little dog & then there's darcy...

Kathryn finished her year-long self portrait project.

Some sweet treats (not that most of us need any extra this time of year): ginger molasses cookies, Polish vanilla custard slice, coffee roasted almond dark chocolate bark, passionfruit curd cake.

A sunny day in London.

New York in black & white.

Discovering some bits of our country, through someone else's eyes (plus those pancakes sound pretty good).

Wonder if any of these punctuation marks will catch on?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A selection of beautiful images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

lovely links...

Life feels like it has been very busy lately - work & market preparation & appointments & such. I will start sharing some Brisbane posts soon, just been getting my head around what to post & which photos - we took so many. Which is awesome, but kind of daunting...

Speaking of travel, I've been admiring some European adventures - autumn in Paris, London from above, a Literary Guide to Oxford, coastal Dubrovnik & beautiful Munich.

Some time-travelling fiction... & who else could it be when speaking of time-travel...

The end of summer, an interesting comic, an invisible bike helmet, about a family.

Always chasing the glorious sunlight 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Something different this month, some delicious looking savoury recipes: mushroom ragout on oven baked toast, a tomato tart, mushroom burgers with Asian slaw, a frittata sandwich & a mushroom tartine.

A few recent additions to my playlist - this, this & this.

& just because - go little mouse, go!

lovely links...

The blossoms are mostly gone, but there are still plenty of signs of spring around - new growth, honeysuckle, baby birds, weather that is up, down & blowing us away...

Lovely, romantic photos of people in love...elegance amongst the blossoms, good humour by the beach, fun with a bicycle, a magical Uluru elopement and joy by the river.

What would you choose to learn?

An interesting talk, a garden in Stockholm, some beautiful spring blossoms, gorgeous portraits.

Beautiful black & white photography 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Some scrumptious coffee recipes I'd love to make (or just eat, if anyone else feels like baking?): Espresso Cheesecake Brownies, Vanilla Bean & Espresso Spelt Scones, Frozen Mocha Cake, Cappuccino Swirl Snickerdoodles (such a strange/awesome name for a biscuit) & Cafe Mocha Cupcakes.

& just for fun, some definitions of love from literature.

+ a little video about our local library, featuring yours truly (briefly) :)

lovely links...

It's my birthday today and although I'm not getting cake & presents (if I'm getting any - everyone has been very sneaky this year) until tomorrow, I have been promised pancakes :)

Stunning New Zealand mountains, majestic New York part 1 | part 2, breath-taking African mornings, afternoons & nights, the ever dreamy Paris (& one more, because I couldn't choose between them).

Take some time to smell the roses, embrace the power of the meaningless, make it work.

Some superb landscapes 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

A few tea-infused recipes I'd love to try: Black Tea Cake with Honey Icing, Earl Grey & Poppyseed Muffins, Earl Grey Dark Chocolate Cupcakes & another Black Tea Cake with blackberry lime jam & honey whipped cream.

The beauty of the everyday: greenery, people, spring, bringing a touch of nature inside.

Also this song, this song, another & this one too.

lovely links...

More rainy days, interspersed with a smattering of lovely, mild, sunny days & a few frosty mornings. The rain is good for the garden & the farmers - it's also one of my favourite sounds the fall asleep to.

A beautiful farmer's market in Telluride & a market on Granville Island.

Some surreal self-portraits, a cold & frosty morning. Beautiful weddings elegant, colourful & in the mountains. A beautiful dress with a beautiful story.

Some gorgeous portraits 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Elsie & Emma recently celebrated six years of blogging at A Beautiful Mess - they blog about recipes, craft, life, all sorts of good things. Love this scarf tutorial, this one too & a super cute stamp.

It is perfect baking weather - time for some cake perhaps? Like Spelt Flour Carrot, Pear & Almond, Rhubarb Vanilla or Honey, Pear & Pistachio.....they all have fruit in them, so they are almost health food ;)

& not new, but still totally awesome.

lovely links...

Even wetter & colder than my last links post, we have had a very wintry, rainy start to winter. Thankfully it didn't rain on market day, so we're doing our best to enjoy it...

Very much enjoying Rosa's 100 days of Summer - this, this & this, with many more to come (she's only up to day twenty-two & I had trouble only picking three).

There are so many wonderful places - visiting Seattle looks like fun (especially Pike Place Market), hiking in Arkansas, or walking around Gothenburg.

Some beautifully foggy photographs 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

A beautiful Scottish wedding (check out the bride's shoes), a lovely Melbourne wedding & an atmospheric Lake District wedding.

We're focusing on eating extra healthy for the next three weeks at least, so some (reasonably) healthy recipes that look interesting: Vanilla Chia Pudding, Winter Greens + Crispy Quiona Salad, Lazy Girl's Zucchini Pasta, Chewy Granola Bars.

& the lovely Kellie from 74 Lime Lane featured my jewellery over on her blog.

lovely links

 We've been having some lovely rain - the perfect weather for hot tea & catching up on some reading...

Looking forward to seeing the photos from Jess & Nick's trip, Natasha has me dreaming of Paris & Meredith has me dreaming of San Francisco pt1 | pt2...

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Alice - I love her photography & these gorgeous portraits are a great example.

plus more gorgeousness, with a red VW bus, a wedding at a stunning location & then there are some stylish ladies.

Some beautiful autumn colour over on everyday miracles & also at 74 lime Lane. Also here & here.

So much delicious looking food on my pinboard - would especially like to try Honey & Pear muffins, as well as Honey Chocolate Chunk cookies.

Also some beautiful, abandoned places & the champion's crown

lovely links...

Still getting used to when the light is good, now that daylight savings has ended - I'll be starting week two of my project soon. I am vaguely dissatisfied with the title for these posts (although it is accurate), but I'm yet to come up with anything else, so I'll just get on with the good stuff...

Lots of gorgeous recipes making me hungry - from skillet baked choc chip cookies, to chewy granola bars, to fancy grilled cheese. Not forgetting carrot cake with honey cream cheese icing or berry curd (with scones!)

Big congrats to Katrina & Chris (plus, how cute is the video they made to announce their news?)

Hopefully I'll find the time to try shrinking myself (only photographically of course)

The Lake District  looks beautiful (but cold!).

I'm enjoying the beginning of Autumn with it's cool mornings & mild days, but it's nice to see pretty spring flowers (also here) + a mint bicycle.

It was Mum's birthday at the beginning of the month - I think she liked her presents  :)

lovely links...

 Another collection of blog posts that have recently caught my eye, there are lots of wonderful things out there...

Dreaming of far away places - of Paris from Above, of Berlin, of Autumn in Munich, of Paris again.

Gorgeous portraits in vintage, in the snow, & behind the scenes.

A big project in need of a little help.

Happy Birthday to Rosa :)

I've mentioned Kathryn's blog fairly often here - our sister Amy is blogging now too. She's all about fashion, beautiful things & glitter (& she has pretty good taste).

& some cuteness to finish up - Joy's adorable little girl & one of Sara's gorgeous cats.

lovely links...

Just thought I'd share a selection of blog posts I've read/looked at/drooled over recently. Plus a few photos - out-takes from my mornings project...

I love Cindy's photography - these portraits are a gorgeous example. Speaking of portraits, how lovely is this engagement shoot on Kinsey's blog.

A Beautiful Mess is always an inspiring place to visit - recently I'm loving these scarves & this cute shoe make-over. Also inspiring - a feature on some gorgeous ceramics, some colourful artwork & gorgeous jewellery.

I've been loving Joy's honey mustard dressing on pretty much any sort of salad - it even keeps well in the fridge if you make a big batch. Totally tempted by apple walnut cakes & espresso chocolate kisses (chocolate, coffee & shortbread! no other explanation needed).

Some interesting thoughts on not getting too caught up in the 'rules' of art.

Just because they're beautiful & cute cats need no reasons at all :)

drawing some inspiration { part 2 }

& here is the continuation of the 'journey' (for lack of a better term) of some of my first batch of scratch-foam texture pieces.

Rather than repeat everything I wrote here (it really won't take you long to go read it, promise), I'll just say that each mosaic shows part of a zentangle, the texture inspired by the pattern, an un-fired piece & the fired, tumbled & patina-ed result. Actually in this case pieces - what will be (once I finish them) a pendant & earrings.

This last one is just because I rather liked the photos of the pieces with the texture they were created with...so I made another mosaic, lol.

drawing some inspiration { part 1 }

I thought it would be fun to share the 'journey' (for lack of a better term) of some of my first batch of scratch-foam texture pieces.

The designs (almost) all started life as part of my zentangles - something which I've been playing around with for quite a while. While they're not necessarily direct transfers from drawing to foam, the textures are very inspired by some of the patterns I've drawn.

In each mosaic I've tried to show a section of zentangle which inspired each texture - I actually drew most of these free-hand, which is why they don't match exactly. Plus the texture used for each piece (scratch-foam is extremely difficult to photograph properly, in case you were wondering), as well as each piece before firing & after the application of a patina.

This last one is somewhat of an exception, as I re-drew the mandala (to make it the right size) & then transferred it directly to the scratch-foam. The two pieces are also an example of how I like to use different pieces of my textures, to create different looks.

stay tuned for part 2...