Paints and Pretties On Canvas..

Miss Tamar's little friend- Miss A is having a birthday tomorrow - The Big' 8' - 

Not having a lot of cash, but a lot of crafty bits and pieces and some canvas' laying around, I thought I would create a little something for Miss A's bedroom.. 

Unsure of what she liked, and already completing a fairy themed canvas recently.. I thought I would opt for a bit of a challenge -Probably NOT the best idea if you are limited with resources or time in case things don't go to plan.. (which is usually the case for me).. However.. Everything went smoothly for a change, and I had so much fun playing with my paints and pretties..

So here is it - *drum roll* - 

 A mixed media artwork :)

Warm Apple Pie...

Over the past few weeks, the weather has been turning from beautiful Autumn days to very cool ones as we are heading into Winter..  Today it has been raining, and the sky is a gloomy grey -  

On days like today usually curling up on the lounge under a toasty warm blanket and a good book are appealing,  the endless cups of steamy hot coffee, and my fleecy lined boots to keep my tootsies warm.. 

But today  wasn't a good book curling, steamy hot coffee, and fleecy lined boots kinda day - Instead I baked!

 :) (Stealing warmth from the oven) as the delicious aroma of Home made Apple Pie filled my house..

 As the apple and cinnamon smells swim their way into my nostrils, my mouth begins to water..

Mmm Delish!

I found the recipe at www.taste.com.au - An amazing website filled with Recipes galore..It is one of my online bible sites (In other words- One I can't go without!) - I simply print out the recipes I need and put them into my recipe book..

I definitely will be making this one again! Doesn't it look divine ~!?

Number 1: Merlot Moment..

If you can picture a room.. And it could be anywhere in the world.. 

And this room was your sanctuary away from the world when you need some time out away from it all.. Where would you go!? And what would you  see..  

For me, my room is a safe haven.. A room that I would like to bring to life through artistic expression.. 

Through a series of drawings I would like to call 'The Room With A View' Series

The first Instalment is called 'Merlot Moment'

In this first drawing I am sharing a bottle of Merlot with someone.  He has always been there for me to talk to about things going on in my life, as I am for him. My confidant'e, counsellor, advisor and most of all my friend. This drawing is dedicated to him as a way to pay homage to his 'everything'.

 A way to say Thank you. 

'My Little Pony' Cake

Wanting to try my hand a cake decorating, I put my hand up to make Miss K's 9th Birthday cake (Last year). I had made and decorated my own little kitten's birthday cakes but wanted to outsource.. So I did! :)

I brought a chocolate slab from one of my local bakeries 'Mrs. Macs' at Brassall who were kind enough to do me up a slab (- and they did a great job too) 

Miss K absolutely loved horses and thinking the best kind to have - colour choice wise, was the 'My Little Pony's' Range.. Miss K loved unicorns and pegasus.. so if you roll them all into one - you get a pony that resembles Heart-throb Pony.. 

This version of 'heart throb' I thought was beautiful!

             

'My Little Pony' Birthday Cake Made For Miss K's 9th Birthday..

I free hand drew a picture of heart throb that I printed off the internet. Then I  pinpricked the cake through the pattern I drew to get the overall shape. Which I then cut it out with a sharp knife. I then iced the cake all over with pretty pink icing.

I made three batches of Marshmallow Fondant using this recipe - http://candy.about.com/od/fondantcandyrecipes/r/mm_fondant.htm

It's not all that difficult to do, and sweet to eat.. I'm only a little bit partial to sweet things, I prefer chocolate to lollies :)

Making my batches of Marshmallow Fondant and colouring them - purple,light pink and dark pink - it was time to get rolling.. the best way I knew how to do the outlines and achieve shapes.

I used pink royal icing to pipe around the outside to finish the edges, and piped swirling patterns on the pony rump with Miss K's name. I also piped the eye as it needed finer detail with the lashes and such.

After three days work - She was finished! I was pretty pleased with the end result! But most of all, I had SOOOOOOOOOOO much fun creating this cake. Needless to say - The birthday girl was very happy.

Cutest Blog..

I just wanted to say a HUGE Thank you to 'The Cutest Blog On The Block' for sharing all of your free backgrounds and banners.. and of course little tips on how to use them for freshies like me! I have now made my blog really pretty :) 

If you're after some new ideas on how to spruce up your blog - go to http://thecutestblogontheblock.com/ and you're sure to find something to suit you!

Crafty With Canvas'

What to get a 10 year old girl for her birthday!?

While visiting my bestie Miss M and her daughter Miss K recently, the topic of conversation and imaginary play for Miss Tamar and Miss K was adventures in the garden - Searching high and searching low for the magical fairies that lived there.. This garden in question would have been a definite haven of mine as a child as it is overgrown with fish bone ferns, and coloured daisies.. Australian weeping bottlebrush tree bursting with brightly coloured blooms and hearing the rainbow lorikeets trill as they guzzle down the nectar.. Coloured butterflies dance along the flower heads gathering their liquid gold as they flutter by.. the soft brown earth between your toes feeling exquisite.. 

The fairy realm holds such a magical place in little girl's hearts, a place of excitement and enchantment.. The very idea of perhaps catching a little glimpse of a fairy ring or fairy house is truly motivating.. and the two girls - every day searched and searched.. the excitement in their voices when telling us their stories of what they have seen and heard in the garden was very warming.. With a birthday coming up for Miss K, I decided to make her  a Personalised Name Canvas for her to hang up in her bedroom.. 

And This is what I came up with!

I know that black isn't a great colour for little girls - But I thought it would make all the other colours really POP off the canvas.. I used scrapping paper for the letters which were hand-cut, and chipboard letters for the 'Let the fairy in you fly' quote which I got from www.scrapbook.com - A wonderful place to source some really beautiful words!! I have used this website for many years for many projects! So you should check it out if you are in need of some inspiration!

I painted the chipboard letters with acrylic paint, and once dry, then re-painted over them using clear glitter paint.. I LOVE GLITTER! :) Just incase you didn't know.. Something about it just makes me happy. A kind of reminder in the daily grind of sparkly pretty things and happiness.. 'All that glitters..' :)

The larger butterfly is painted the same way.. Paper flowers with scrapping jewels for the centre, I have also accentuated some letters with these. I have added some pretty buttons to some letters and the larger butterfly.. 

The other butterflies I picked up from my local crazy bargains store for a steal at $2.00 with some other little garden friends (caterpillar, worm, and lady-beetle) - I chose paper to match the colour scheme, and glued the shapes to the paper. Once stuck, I hand cut around them and then used my trusty nail file to shape the excess perfectly smooth. I love this method - so easy and flawless! (Thanks to my mum for sharing that tip)

My little fairy - I assembled her from many different pieces of scrappy paper - Found her black and sepia toned image online and replicated it.. Using my own version of colours, gave her stripy stockings, and gave her a big smile..And placing a little button in her hair too! Ain't she sweet..!?

I recently made a few little canvas' for Baby Lewis and Baby Matilda for their nursery's. 

Baby Lewis - 'We made a wish.. And you came true!'

Baby Matilda - 'Cute As A Button' - I LOVE the pretty pinks
and greens together.

Miss Tamar and I made this one together -
For her own bedroom!  Miss Tamar cut out her own letter
Didn't she do a great job!?

My hubby and the girls gave me some new blank canvas' for my birthday -I am throwing around some ideas and can't wait to share them.. Just remember - I am a freshie..just tapping into what I was blessed with - A passion for creativity and one that needs to be polished and perfected.. :)

BRING IT ON!