An Impatient Heart, a Pencil and some Watercolour

This week is a bit of a whirlwind.  

So I've taken to my old routine of working in my studio late into the wee hours again.  

Those blissful hours when everyone is asleep and all is quiet. 

 I sleep less and I don't watch television - that is what frees up my time when days become hectic.  

If I don't make time to do something creative everyday - music, mixed media, writing, whatever -  it feels like I haven't eaten for days.  I become grumpy.  I feel caged.

It is a hunger that never goes away.  

At best, it only fades temporarily after some creative time.

So I've been looking forward to doing this week-long online illustration workshop with the uber-talented Danielle Donaldson for months now.  It started on Monday.  

And it is the ideal accompaniment to another online workshop I'm currently doing called 

"Writing Storybooks for Children".  

In this week's course, Danielle gives guidance on how to develop your own characters 

and then illustrate them.

You absolutely have to see Danielle's work!  Click here - danielledonaldson.com

I was so thrilled that the first thing we had to do in the workshop was to make our own "storybook" out of watercolour paper.  I'm a bookmaker, so I jumped at the opportunity!  

And then I started playing around with ideas for little characters based on Danielle's wonderfully inspiring class notes and videos.  

This little one reminded me that everything happens for a reason.  

I get frustrated with having to scratch around for little nuggets of time 

to make the creative stuff happen and grow small dreams into big reality. 

 "All in good Time",  she knowingly says - while she carries a tiny potted plant on her head.  

She knows about nurturing new growth.

My impatient heart needed reminding.

Go to jeanneoliver.ning.com to read more about this online course 

and other wonderful and inspiring offerings. 

Danielle's workshop was live this week, but you can enrol anytime plus you get lifetime access.

A Midsummer Gypsy Camp

The other weekend, the 3 of us decided on an impromptu picnic, following the discovery that our new daybed was lightweight enough to carry anywhere.  It opened up so many possibilities..!  It meant that we were able to lounge in places never possible before! Throw in 2 hammocks that we've hauled all the way from Brazil - which had also been lying in waiting for a number of years - and we were ready to set up a real little gypsy camp.  

We loaded everything - food, hammocks, camera, books, journal, bunting, pinwheel flowers, throws, toys - onto the daybed and our caravan promptly proceeded across our lawn down to a patch of trees next to a froggy pond.  Our 4-year old proudly soldiering on, holding the one leg of the daybed up, doing her bit to help the trek along.

Then proceeded the setting up of camp under the shadiest patches, where after we unpacked our lunch made up of bits and bobs that were foraged from the fridge.  Needless to say, the daybed and 2 hammocks were thoroughly utilised after lunch.

  

Clouds were slowly building up but we stuck through 3 light lashings of rain.  We were not to be deterred by the odd drop-in-the face.  Weathered gypsies were we - so we stayed put - enjoying the cool cloudiness that had set in.  Then, just before sunset, thunder struck and the rains poured down.

We threw everything we couldn't carry underneath the daybed and abandoned camp.  Grabbing only the essentials, we covered ourselves and the 4-year old with a large lime green plastic table cloth and ran the 150m to our house, laughing hysterically.  The neighbours must have thought that we had one too many - seeing the lime green thing with 4 legs bobbing about like a drunken caterpillar on the lawn.

By the time we had reached our front door we were drenched. We looked back towards our little camp and saw an incredible sight.  The shower had subsided, the sky had turned luminous and across it spanned the clearest most saturated 180 degree double rainbow I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. We just stood there and gazed in awe.

Japanese Inspired Blinds - a DIY experiment

Magical texture and colour of handmade paper illuminated by sunlight

There has been some fervent creative experimentation with 
2 projects in the making
this past weekend at 
Maison Majorelle.  

The summer sun can be very, very hot and unforgiving here 
in the southern hemisphere 
and the glare makes it really uncomfortable in my studio in the mornings right now.  But when autumn comes, the sun moves and the light and the 
view is glorious throughout winter because we have very 
few rainy days then.  

So I was looking for a solution to cover my studio windows.  Something that would be lightweight, translucent and budget friendly because it would be temporary.  And then the idea of a traditional Japanese paper screen came up.  It might be quite unconventional here in the West, but they've been utilising paper beautifully for centuries, so why not?  This led me to think of the possibility of paper blinds that could be rolled up in the afternoons during summer, and removed entirely during winter without having to cover up or remove any holes or brackets. 

There is a shop in our area that sells a huge variety of the most exquisite handmade papers - see their website here.  Their papers are imported from Thailand, India and China, with recycled mulberry paper products being manufactured on the premises. So I picked up a variety of colours and textures for the project.  I also included a beautiful sheet of Egyptian Art on Papyrus from Cairo that I received as a gift from my brother and cute cotton candy paper that I brought back from Malaysia last year.  

Pasting the paper together so that one large sheet of paper "fabric" is created.

Love the result!  They're light, translucent, 

full of happy colour and texture and easily removable.

Best of all: When the blinds have served their purpose, 

I will recycle them into paper for bookmaking and collage papers for visual journaling.

I'll tell you more about the other project in another post!

Here's a tutorial on how the blinds were made:

1. After taking the measurements of the windows, I made a large sheet of paper "fabric" - larger than the surface of the 3 windows together by laying the sheets down on the floor and gluing the sides together with pva glue.
2. Once the glue was dry, I cut strips from all 4 sides of the paper "fabric" and glued them down again on the opposite sides.  This is optional! I did it because I wanted a more distinct patchwork effect.
3. I measured and cut 3 blinds from the "fabric" - adding extra length to allow for wrapping around wooden slats at the tops and bottoms of the blinds.
4. I measured and cut 3 x 2,5mm balsa wood slats for the top ends of the blinds, and 3 x 8mm dowel sticks for the bottoms. Then I glued them to the screens so that the "fabric" overlapped the wooden inserts on both sides - also adjusting the overlaps so that the screens would fit the length of window.
5. I  used brass thumb tacks to fasten the screens to the wooden window frame.  I also added cotton string to the tacks in the middle. This is to keep the blind in place, once it is rolled away.

Notes on improving the design - as the blinds are still a work in progress:
- for waterproofing in case of rain - a layer of clear lacquer spray or something similar, followed by a couple of layers of gel medium or mod podge;
- for tearing in case of wind - 3 cm wide washi tape in a complementary colour or design to strengthen the sides of the blinds.

A Rustic Centrepiece for Valentine's .....or Anyday

Here at Maison Majorelle, we have a birthday celebration and Valentine's Day in the same week.  

So we mix the two up a bit.  

Valentine's has grown into a very viable commercial celebration, which is great for business after the post-Christmas/New Years' slump in sales. 

But being present in the moment, to me, includes celebrating something everyday anyway.

So for us, Valentine's Day isn't just for lovers, but a way to celebrate the love we feel for each other, our daughter, for family, for friends. 

And this year, I'd like to stick to "handmade" as much as I can when it comes to gifts and celebrations.

So our celebratory table is very rustic - created from a couple of things we have in the house.

So simple that my 4 year old daughter is able to help with the preparation. 

And a great opportunity for creative collaboration with her.

This is what we used:

You need pine cones, a string of battery operated fairy lights, jars or drinking glasses with tea lights inside.  Add any other candles you have on hand.
Always stick to white candles for a fresh and classic feel.

Angeli goes pine cone hunting

Very proud that she was able to find a basket load full!

Here's how:

Step 1: Angeli distributed the pine cones all along the centre of the table - I tweaked it a bit once she was done.

Step 2: Place your candles randomly in-between the cones.

Step 3: Arrange your string lights from one end to the other so that it curls around and under the candles and pine cones.  Hide the little battery pack under some tree bark or a pine cone. 

Step 4: Add some white napkins, red wine, glorious food, great company and you're set! 

Speaking about the small things: 

It was very exciting for Angeli when I asked her to switch on the fairy lights once the set-up was done.  

And when the candles were lit, her little eyes sparkled even more!

Voila! Centrepiece done!

Don't forget dessert!
A selection of berries changes any dessert into something luscious and celebratory

Perfect end to a perfect evening