Christmas LoveMugs

My friend Henriette is launching herself into the cybermarket with a aplomb. 

These beautiful his & her (or me & you) mugs are going on sale in time for the season of giving - go and have a look here!

An angel in my garden

Cor-blimey - my posts are becoming rarer than some species on the red list. 

The good news is that as the virtual world stands still in the real world things are a happenin. For years I've wanted a birdbath but never found the one I wanted until recently when I passed William on Heritage Square in Cape Town and saw her! 

Ironically William has been there for years and it's just round the corner from where I work, and I've always loved his angels but she is something special - and now she's in my garden casting her serene gaze over all. My haven feels a little richer for her. Happy Monday.

Williams business card

Talking Tree

I came across this wonderful site today Check it out!

A screen shot from Talking-tree.com

A project set in motion by eos magazine; watch the making of this site and the idea behind it here.

Everything Has To Start Somewhere

From a scribble to a scan take a closer look even closer stop and take a deep breath 

sit back and enjoy.

Have a good one.

DoJo's & Daisies

It's weekend again and I haven't posted once this week yet! Weekends for me means quality time spent with the family and that can result in some strange combinations.

Hermanus Karate Do-Jo

Take last weekend for example. The kids wanted to train with a visiting karate guru in Hermanus (which is 2 hrs drive for a 1hr session) you do the math. 

Onrus daisies

 

The perfect solution is to make a weekend of it, which we did - at Onrus (a coastal town just down the road).

Happiness all round.

The Postman rings twice

Freshly Found's postcard

The ever inspiring Denise was another local blogger who took part in the swap. I love the idea of a 'swatch' postcard.

Have stamp - Will travel

I finally came up with some garden humour for my part in the postcard swap and it's winging it's way accross Cape Town as we speak.

Look What I Got

My own beautiful postcard print by Jesse arrived yesterday! Thank you.

Still Thinking...

In my searches I came across this wonderfully witty postcard from a series of four postcards created by Eve Duhamel for the Frontroom creative space and gallery in Cambridge, UK.

Need I say more?

Postcard Swap

 Jesse's postcards being rolled out - I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on mine.

One of my favourite creative bloggers Jesse is doing a postcard swap and I've joined in the frenzy. Since then I've been racking my brain for a suitably brilliant idea - Everything Jesse does looks beautiful (no pressure ofcourse).

I Have New Neighbours

It's not everyday you see peahens strutting their stuff in suburbia! Lucky me, these four ladies and an elusive gentleman drop in on our little corner everyday.

Can Too!

School projects certainly aren't what they used to be. They are waayy cooler!

This weekend my daughter had to build a robot, but dad was away - so mother & daughter set to work. (I feel hopelessly inadequate compared to "the man who can").

Plan A:
She originally wanted to build out of wood - but my carpentry skills are limited.

Plan B:
Check out the recycling bag.

This is what she came out with:

• 2 x bottle tops
• 2 x cooldrink cans
• 2 x toothpaste boxes
• 2 x cigarette boxes

Who knew my buying habits were symmetrical.
I found an old glue gun and rummaging in the left over paint box delivered some spray-paint.

Then I followed detailed instructions;
stick these together - here, no here; he must be red, but his shoes must be black; he needs an aerial...a smile...and oh a name...can you cut these out?

My only legacy - the fingers and the smile (a bit like in my daughter)

Ssh...Can You Hear It...

We just spent a lovely weekend away from city white noise.



In Namakwaland sound really comes to life.



Laughter the only familiar interruption.

How I wish this was my story

During my daily fffound browse I came across this post "Midnight in the Garden of Type and Image"
One of the many lovely designs shown at Brand New

Pimp My Chair

Quite by chance while looking for the kind of chair I'd ideally like for the job (budget might dictate otherwise). I came across not only 'the chair' but this great d.i.y. tutorial post of how to achieve my aim. Two birds in one stone, thank you Poetic Home. I've decided this is what I'd like to do with my Shine Shine fabric that I bought and the Threadcount pop-up shop. (I'm always over ambitious but you have to admit it would make a seriously funky addition to my space and now I have instructions and a good visual example)

Inspired by the posts before & after shot I've taken the liberty of cutting & pasting the shine shine fabric on their beautiful shot for inspiration - being better at photoshop than at upholstering. (I sincerely hope I've not caused offense)

Saltriver second hand shops here I come!

A Time For Everything

Happiness and a new potplant

Every morning I sit on my deck and soak up my garden. Saterday was no different, except that it was a perfect sunny winters morning and I had nowhere to go, so I did a bit of stocktaking.


Whilst my lettuces are going to seed
and the chives are floppy
The coriander is making a last stand
but the English Basil is past it's best
My Thyme and Origanum are maintaining nicely,
the rocket is still rocketing,
and my little tomatoes are growing up a storm.

The bulbs I planted are pushing through,
My Butterfly bushes are slowly saying good buy
but the Ribbon bush is coming out in full swing
and next to my lovely constant lavender
it makes for a beautiful sight.

The fynbos beds are a mixed success
I'm losing my King Protea (again)
But the red Leukadendums are blazing away.
and the Confetti bushes are looking lush and green
I can't wait for the show

The Restios are bouncing back after a radical trim (a little misunderstanding)
The White wild dagga is about to burst at a heady 5 feet
The Rosemary bushes are filling the nasty gaps quite nicely
and I'm waiting for the Agapanthus too join the blue party
The Perennial Basil is making up for it's English cousin
and my little Bay tree is now taller than me.

The Pelargoniums need cutting back
whilst the daisies need to be replaced with new cuttings
All the Sweetpeas have come up
and last but not least the grass is finally actually looking like a lawn
and is actually greener on my side!

My dog is doing his morning rounds
and my cats are curled up in the sunny spots.

All is as is should be and not a bad mornings work if you ask me.

Hekel-stekel

My dear friend and colleague Henriette from tjou-tjou crochets for the love of it. Here in Cape Town winter has set in and she duly rose to the occasion with this little set. It really suits her colouring too. Have a warm long weekend.

The seed of an idea.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds: Started in Mansfield, Missouri by 17 year-old Jere Gettle in 1998.

I have always been very taken with the idea of heirloom seed - something that is as nature intended. Something that carries within it part of our human history. I came across this post on Design Sponge that got me excited all over again. I would love to buy my seeds like this, wouldn't you?

The devil's in my garden!

And I find it irressistable - just look at that wicked colour!

Leucadendron Saglignon (Red Devil)

One of the survivors who made it through the last year of neglect is blazing with delicious colour at the moment. It's autumn in the Cape and the fynbos is looking good! This has to be my favourite time plantwise. The drab browns of a south easter summer are replaced by rich, dusty, green greys and silvers with blazing bits of colour inbetween. Yum.

Small things

As I've said before - this year I'm stopping to smell the roses (although in my case it's the plants that made it through last year - the roses didn't ). It's been school holidays and I've been frantically busy trying to fix everything I didn't last year, but I pulled myself up short just as I felt that drowning emotion and spent some time just to enjoy...


magical cookies made by my beautiful daughter (all by herself)...


a family walk on grandad's beach at Yzerfontein...


beautiful small pieces of blue...


some of my new babies - sweetpeas and coriander...


and last but not least the replacement for my roses - if you can't beat them join them is my motto. Although if I'm entirely honest I haven't completely given up on the roses, but I need to find the perfect spot and in my garden that's the hard part.

After last year, any reputation I had as a gardener lies in ruins - literary and I have the deathlist to prove it. This year I'm turning over a new leaf so to speak, and I've been hard at work trying transforming my little garden graveyard.
So...
To all the plants I've loved before....(sung too Julio Eglesias)
I'm going to replace you all if it kills me.

The Art of Recycling

After a very busy week I nipped on to ffffound for a quick look see this morning and found Andrea Myers' take on 'second hand clothing'.



How beautiful are these sculptures! May your weekend be inspired too.

Sunshine and Happiness

This weekends weather is looking good - have a great one.

I'm perfect for a day

Dietes Bicolour

Now what could be better than that. If only I could live up to my garden.

Threadcount Pop-up Shop

Shaky-shaky left my blog deprived so I just had to revisit the delicious fabrics from Threadcount. Lucky me, the pop-up shop is just a stones throw from my work.

The festive BoKaap entrance to the Threadcount Pop Up Shop at 45 Upper Leeuwen Street in the BoKaap (click here for directions).

Armed and dangerous (that means with camera) Ooh-lala here I come.

Below are some pics I took whilst trying to pick a length for a chair cushion for my study.

Descisions: Fabricnation


Descisions: Twine Fabric


Descisions: Skinny LaMinx


Descisions: Lula Fabrics

All beautiful, but I finally managed to make up my mind!

Julie Juu from Shine Shine rocks!

If you can do yourself a favour and drop-in, the shop is open until 6 March. I'll keep you posted on the cushion making.

Shaken H

Sensitive viewers might want to avoid this post.


This is what I mean by pics that look more like overprints than anything else. Trying for the best pics at the Indaba meant I avoided using my flash because it just kills mood. Instead I went for longer exposures. I came, I tried to have a steady hand - I shook instead. Too much coffee ya think?

I apologise for any visual inconvenience and emotional distress caused and will try and address my shaky,shaky.

H

The world is full of good people

I met so many people at the Design Indaba, which only added to my enjoyment of the conference. Nice people, interesting and good people. People I haven't seen for years. I bumped into Kat - one of my favourite bloggers and Tracy from the Threadcount Collective amongst many others.

An impromto pic taken (of all places) - in the pub during a break between speakers.

I also shared a coffee break (yes in the pub) with Alexander Hart and Corinne from Spread the love, and like with all of us, there's a story behind their hearts. One lovely bit of detail is that the 'wings' are made from offcuts given by Ebony & Ivory Ribbons - makers of the most mouth wateringly beautiful ribbon you have ever.

The only one of my pics from the Ebony & Ivory stand that doesn't look like an overprint.

It's good to be back in my garden

The magical view from my deck the night before friday.