block

I saw this video yesterday on the Wren Handmade blog and just had to share it. The skill involved in making these wooden printing blocks is obvious and even more awe inspiring when you see them in person, I have a small collection that I treasure.
But to see the process and watch the printing, well that is just magic! I know many of you will be just as excited as me to see the method, though its fascinating if you print or not.

pond life

Do you remember last year when we put in our new pond? Its not quite a year yet but it has settled in really well and this warm growing season seems to have seasoned it. The fish are thriving and yesterday I was buzzed by a large dragonfly drinking from the surface, it was like a mini waterbombing helicopter zooming up and down and doing little manouevres in the air. Last week I saw a water spider walk blithely across the pond surface, how clever! A local wattle bird thinks we installed it for his use, he has taken to having his weekly bath, five quick plunges, in its waters.

I love that we have created a little ecosystem in our garden by being organic and growing lots of flowering plants, and also by having water around the place. Five years ago when we moved here this garden was patchy lawn, with a cement path and a huge hills hoist in the very middle of the garden. There wasn't much nature back then except snails and ants.

As well as the pond we have a few actual bird baths, really important in this hot weather, and every week we have regular groups coming through in noisy gangs - bulbuls, silver eyes, New Holland honeyeaters, a stately pigeon couple and more, I once counted 11 different species of bird in the garden. We even had a kingfisher visit late last year, he sat in a tree for a while and looked down on our pond. We counted our goldfish after the kingfisher left but they were all there! Not bad for the inner city, though we are lucky enough to back on to a tidal canal and narrow bush corridor.

If you don't have water in the garden I can't recommend it more. Even something as simple as a shallow pot will bring you new visitors. I've made them with wide shallow plant pots (without holes!) and with a large rock or gravel at the bottom so the birds can stand. Remember to put them amongst foliage to give the little birds some protection and also somewhere to wait their turn and heckle!

Last night Mr F called me out into the warm night air and we stood in silence listening to a new sound, the bop....bop....bop....bop.... conversation between two frogs, calling to each other across the garden. Both were sitting in water pots at ground level and I managed to capture this portrait, I think its Mr Frog, isn't he beautiful?

Do you have any favourite visitors?

my creative space - birthday girl

Its commonly agreed in my family that my prominent craft gene was inherited from my Dad and my maternal grandmother. My brother and sister missed out, they aren't compelled like me to always be making stuff. And while all my kids have the artistic gene it is Miss A who has been stockpiling buttons, beads and pretty paper since she was tiny, making them into pictures, sculptures, dolls clothes, necklaces etc. She has it bad!
My beautiful niece, who turns 9 on Sunday, is also a maker. She rises early to craft cardboard castles, chocolate cake and dressups. She has the bug. Sadly she doesn't live close enough that I can craft with her, so I thought the next best thing would be a sewing/knitting kit made with love, in a little lined pouch/bag whipped up in the 40 degree heat we've been having round here. Made with a postal deadline I didn't get a great picture of it, but you get the idea. It is finished with my first machine buttonhole on the newish Janome. Yay! I feel a bit like a craft pusher but I know she'll love it and I can't wait to see what she makes.

Do you have the crafty gene? Who did you inherit it from and have you passed it on?!

Check out the craftiest kids around at Kirsty's.