i have a thing for wallpaper

especially one that you can colour in!

it's the joy of childhood mixed with a grown up love.

i would like (want) some.

one day when i get my own house:

random person: "what are you up to?"

me: "oh, just colouring in my walls."

get it here

sneeze indeed

yes it's been a while since i've posted.

not due to slackness, lack of thoughts, or being too busy.

the truth is i sneezed.

more truth is that i sneezed and hurt my back (badly).

but thankfully i didn't break a rib or dislocate anything.

(which i have learnt – due to recent events – is entirely possible).

so have spent the later part of last week lying on my back, drugged up to my eyeballs (legal doctor medication of course).

the kind of medication which upsets my stomach.

i won't go into detail but the only thing i could bear to stomach for a few days was ice-cream.

don't ask me why, it just was.

feeling much better now though.

back at work.

can move 'properly' again.

can kind of eat.

smiles.

pic via here

sheepish bag

i have by far the coolest 'gym' bag.

lovingly made by my darling sister christine from my specifications of

"oh i love that sheep fabric, it needs to be big enough for my running shoes and clothes, and red lining pleeeeeaase".

she came up with the design/pattern herself and sewed it to perfection!

it even has a 'phone' pocket – which i admit i use for my gym membership card and my earphones (or my watch when i'm at the beach).

i love it and lug it around with me everywhere.

it see's my gym gear, work lunches, beach towel, water bottles, shopping, market groceries, paperwork – pretty much everything.

thanks again sisel.

xxx

blind dog events

this was a great little job i recently designed at work.

(logo, banner and business cards)

the client is a new events management company in perth.

the brief was to portray them as a young and fun company for anyone who wants something different but doesn’t know what/who/how.

the illustration is based on esther's own dog – who is indeed blind and has a bent ear from running into a wall.

the scattered paw prints are a bit of a pun because the blind dog's not really sure where it's going.

i have a thing for design experiments

this is fantastic!

look at what this guy does to simple flyers and notices.

i love when i 'stumble' upon gems like this.

being a designer myself i understanding the frustration of 'bad design'.

(a term that in my case could be loosely translated into picking to pieces every design, sign, flyer, logo, website, etc. i see).

cardon copy's mission statement:

cardon copy, takes the vernacular of self-distributed fliers and tear-offs we have all seen in our neighborhoods. it involves hijacking these unconsidered fliers and redesigning them, over powering their message with a new visual language. i then replace the original with the redesign in its authentic environment.

check it out it's worth a look! www.cardoncopy.com

friday funny

just a bit of silliness for your weekend.

this is one of my favourite funny clips ever.

i have a thing for terrariums

they are like a little world in a 'jar' for mini creatures such as fairies.

(yes i know i'm too old to believe in that stuff).

it's living which is so amazing.

if i had the time or the gumption i would make one.

maybe one day...

how adorable is this one though.

it's in a teapot!

(one of my little obsessions)

pic via here

edge

here's another dig into the mandy archives.

a design for trent's (one of my million cousins) building business.

(logo & business cards)

it's pretty self explanatory...

the edge in the name – the edge in the design.

simple but (hopefully) effective.

ljh photography

a while back i created a bit of a 'brand' for luke hesketh photography.

an amazing photographer!!!

the business card shown above is centred around the idea of the 3x2 ratio of photo prints.

I added the white border to enhance the photo print feel.

he photographed my brother's wedding a year or so ago.

i heart this photo.

how adorable is my sister in law katie.

she now has a 'bump' – due in january.

i'm going to be an aunty again!!!!!

pic via here

how cute is my hoot!

they think i'm the creative one in our family!

look what mum designed and made and sent over to me.

it's a gorgeous little owl soft toy.

made from my old knitted scarf which was way too large and cumbersome to wear.

(i think she got four owls out of it. big scarf!)

he even has a little name tag 'hoot'.

i just love him.

time flies

it's official – i've been 'gone' for a year!

this time last year i was driving across the great (and rather dry and flat) expanse of australia, moving my life from launceston tasmania to perth western australia.

makes me feel a little homesick.

but on the plus side, check out the weather forecast for the next 7 days.

hmmm... i think perth is winning that one.

hello beach this weekend!

weather via here

cake for lunch

yes it's true.

yesterday i ate cake for lunch.

i can't say i regret it apart from having a pretty bad sugar high (then low) afterwards.

that of course had to be balanced by a savoury spinach and ricotta pastry.

so did i eat cake for lunch? i'm going with yes.

will i do it again? probably not in a hurry.

but hey try it sometime.

thanks mel and chaz for taking me.

We went to a GORGEOUS little cafe in leederville, the walls lined with music posters and the ceiling full of paper lamps. v cute!

it's tragic

just a few snaps from sj's op-shop ball on the weekend.

it was a LOT of fun.

mel (my house mate) even had her bra showing out of a backless dress.

NOICE!

but tim takes the cake for me with his bimbo's on the lake jumper.

mel managed to score it, since tim is her brother.

now i'm trying to steal it of her.

share house – share jumper.

warming the house up

mel and i (finally) decided on a date to have a house warming.

YAY.

i've always wanted to have my own housewarming...

wait for it...

because...

i wanted to use one of my 3am ideas (this one dates back about 2 years),

of having a graphic of a little house with a flame on it.

sad but true.

hmmm, now i have to do things like cater for it etc.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkk.

we all know how much i hate the kitchen.

at least i have mel.

new hope

i had a great saturday night at the new hope wine & cheese 'gala'.

wine & cheese being two of my favourite things, but more importantly the night was a fundraiser for the new hope orphanage in west timor that friends in my church are involved in.

also got an update on the wings to work 09 trip and a great night of laughs.

i would love to go on the next trip!

it sounds like such an amazing and rewarding experience.

the wings to work 09 logo by yours truly.

little red clog

little 'brand' i designed for my darling sister's blog.

check it out here

litoria garden

a wine bottle design i did a while ago for my uncle chris.

he lives out in the st leonards hills just out of launceston and has the most FANTASTIC garden.

including a little vineyard as well.

litoria is a species of frog that thrive there.