McKinlay Mosaic Day

Recently I spent a day down at the Crafty Old School House at McKinlay.  Small on population, but big on culture, McKinlay has a group of ladies who are continually pushing their artistic boundaries and had been keen to do mosaics for a while.  I had the honour of being their tutor for the day. 

... and here's where the action took place - so quaint -

 and it really IS an old schoolhouse - see the blackboard behind me ...

Everyone had their own projects and were off to a great start ...

... lots of creativity and individual ideas - we just won't mention the anguish cutting tiles can cause when you're learning ...

the schoolhouse was a hive of activity ... tennis was going on next door for the kids ... the ladies were working on everything from pots, photo frames, door stops, pavers and moonstones.  Look at that pumpkin!  One of the ladies brought it in to share with anyone who wanted to take some home ...  what is IN the soil down here... ?

... the exciting part for me is always the grouting - look at how fabulous everyone's pieces turned out!  Well done girls x  Would love to see more pictures when you have time... Email them to me and I can add them to this post :-)

Caroline's picture frame ... ready to grout!

et voila!

Jo's pot - gorgeous ...

Fiona's Trivet ... great colours !

Lilly and Eliza's finished miniatures all planted out with lentils!

Wendy's hat rack ♥

... never one to miss a 'shabby chic' photo moment ... i couldn't resist snapping Nevenka's amazingly beautiful roses at the pub later that day/night...

... aah, the McKinlay pub - forever famous as the pub in the Crocodile Dundee movie!  A must see for your next trip to McKinlay ...

It was a great day - thank you to all who came.  So glad you enjoyed it and hope you do lots more now you have cutting and grouting techniques sorted!


~ bloom where you are planted ~

exquisite photography ~ Lupen Grainne

Lupen's store on Etsy was formerly known as Honeytree... her work is still as lovely as ever ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ truly inspirational ~

... inspiration Wednesday ...

... some of the things inspiring me this week ...

Pierre ... the French painter

French metal tin paintbox

Original art collage

Vintage wallpaper

... i am just loving Vintage wallpaper right now ... and thinking lots of collages coming up!


~ always look for inspiration ~

moet ...

... last year I won a tiny bottle of Moet.  I've noticed (from Pinterest) that Scarlett Johanssen is Moet's current 'it' girl and from further investigation (via google) it would seem Moet has a royal warrant to supply Queen Elizabeth with champagne.  very nice ...

I still have my Moet in the fridge, (yes, I can't believe it either...) but after seeing these pictures am considering  it might have some great health and mental benefits for me... what do you think?

... yes, I'm thinking that  too Scarlett ... I'll keep the lid and and make a new ring for myself! what a  fantastic idea  xx

 

... perhaps enjoy a drop in the garden??? 

... looks like it's good for your diet too with strawberries ... yum! 

... goody - goes well with cupcakes too I see ...

... and this looks like a pretty good after effect ...

What AM i waiting for??? Throw on my favourite frock, a bit of lippy and pop the cork!  ... shall report back when my bottle is empty and let you know how i fared ...  nighty night x ;-) 

{have you ever had Moet?   do tell ...}

~ moet madness ~

slow and steady ... whatever ...

this week, our internet has been slow ... super slow...  i'm trying to get us upgraded to a faster plan and hopefully will do so in the next 2 months.  i'm still getting things done, but am a bit 'over' waiting for things to load.

...  i mean really,  how can i possibly keep up with my cyber-friends on Pinterest, Facebook, Etsy, Madeit, shop on Ebay - not to mention read any of my favourite blogs at this snail's pace?  I'm generally the kind of person who gets impatient just waiting in line to buy groceries ... yep. 

Regardless,  I have endured the slow uploading just so I can  show you some of my favourites.

... sympathetic comments will be most welcome ...

{ps.  my Etsy and Madeit stores will be on vacation for a day or 2 while I  head off tomorrow afternoon to teach a mosaic class on Saturday.  see you all when I get back and hopefully with a LOT faster internet!}

delft fabric

sea urchin

Ms Fox

vintage wallpaper

fine art print

... sorry girls ... this is mine :-)

Fabric Ring

San Francisco lunchbag

~ happy Friday  ~

... my spectacular Tabia Bui

... besides finishing a commission piece and 2 other mosaic works on the weekend, i wanted to show you our fabulous Tabia Bui tree that's flowering at the moment.  It's just so amazing that I can even grow one of these trees out here and I LOVE it !!!  I originally planted it so the rooms along the southern side of the house would see something pretty when they looked out the window in winter and ~ voila ~ ... it grew! 

... now i just have to get the little 'Bow Park Creeper ' {we call it that anyway} to crawl along the back fence as well.  You can just see it to the left of our 'not so stunning satellite tv dish'.  It's got a tiny red flower, but when it gets going it becomes thick and weed like which will be spectacular...  come back in a couple of years and i'll post it's progress too!

...WOW! factor ...

another close up

you're lucky i'm stopping at just 3 pictures ;-)

our beautiful Molly - the poddy calf who is completely adorable ...

my latest pot ... made with Vintage Spode Tiles ...

commission piece - for a different Mollie...

... new welcome sign for my Etsy store ...

~ notice beautiful things every day  ~