new artwork – 'home’

Here’s my latest little illustration, called ‘Home’. If you read my recent post from Saturday, you would’ve heard me talk about how we are due to move out of the place we’ve been in for the last gazillion years, and into a new house by September – also when our first baby is due to arrive!

So, I created this artwork as a way to hone in on the special kind of heart-space I want to create and experience in our new family home.

‘Home’. Metallic pens, pen, permanent marker and watercolour on paper. May 2011

Over the last few days I’ve started to really think clearly about the kind of ‘home’ I want to create, live in and share with my family. To me, it doesn’t really matter what shape it takes on the outside (although a garden, wood, spaciousness and lots of nature would be lovely!); I just want to make sure that the space we create in our home is from the heart ♥.

As you can see, the front door is huge and open and there's love shining out in all directions. More than anything, it’s an artwork tapping into the felt sense of 'Home' beyond the physical dwelling, and into a place in my heart where I feel safe, secure, loved and able to provide and share joyous times with those I love. Once that’s sorted, everything else falls into place. And I’m happy :)

This is the part that is in my prayers and wishes and dreams for our future.

Now available as an archival print in my madeit and etsy stores

C xx

greeting cards are coming! yippeeee!

For ages I’ve been wanting to do greeting cards using my artworks, but I just never got around to it for one reason or another.

 

This week I sent off a bunch of emails to eco-printing suppliers to get some prices … then suddenly this morning I realised – Ummm … can’t you just print them yourself?

Well, yes I can!

Here’s a few cards I mocked up this morning. I’ve printed them onto this delicious hammer textured archival art paper I bought recently, which is made using 100% wind power and post-consumer recycled paper waste. I think they’ve come up really beautifully, and the beauty of printing them myself is I’m only using the paper and ink I need, rather than printing a massive run that might sit in a box for months, unused. YAY! Print to order – works better in my books.

On the back of each card I’ve got a blurb of what the card artwork is about and what the inspiration was behind its creation. Once I receive some yummy natural brown recycled envelopes in the post this week, I’ll be popping some cards into my madeit and etsy stores for $4.50 a pop. We’ll see how they go!

Chrissy x

baby bump progress, life + we’ve got a name!

Things are getting pretty exciting in my neck of the woods. The cooler weather has arrived, heralding my favourite part of the year, and I’ve been spending it with trips to the beach, visits to the ultrasound clinic, a blessed change in my work shifts, walks in the wilderness, banoffi pie, beautiful friends and family … and the gorgeous little baby growing steadily inside my tummy.

  

This week I’m 25 weeks along and by now, hubby and I have settled on a name we both LOVE for our little boy …

Max Bear Cranitch

It’s not for everyone - People either love it or think we’re a pair of hippy weirdos, but we don’t care. He’s our baby and we get to choose – so up ya bum prudes! Tee hee! Jeffy (hubby) was called ‘Smiley Bear’ as a kid, and we both love the symbolism of Bears – proud, strong, courageous – and enjoyers of sleep! So it’s got meaning to us and it already feels fitting.

As a result, our Max Bear has been receiving a gift or thousand from his loving family and friends …

A generous friend of mine from the UK sent me over this teddy bear wearing an ‘expect a miracle’ t-shirt before she even knew we were calling him Bear for his middle name (*insert twilight zone music here) … and once we’d decided on his name, I celebrated by trawling through etsy and finding this gorgeous little hand-stitched mini cream bear from HeArt Toys. Isn’t he gorgeous?!

He’s also received a special painting I created just for him when I found out he was a boy, called ‘Because I Love You This Much’, along with bear shirts, a fluffy bear one piece suit, bear booties and a whole lot more. I think he’s very well loved already!

It’s really getting exciting now, knowing that in 15 weeks time (or thereabouts) I’ll get to meet our little Maxie Bear. During our scan this week I got to see a close-up of his beautiful little face while he yaaaaawned away and moved about. It brought tears to my eyes – I’m just so proud and humbled by such a beautiful being, who chooses me as his Mummy. Can you make out his face below? He’s facing kind of 3/4 of the way to the front, with his right eye under the ‘e’ in the word ‘face’, and his little hands curled up under his chin. Awww!

I gotta admit though, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Due to a work accident last year, Hubby has been out of work for the whole pregnancy until only the last couple of weeks, where he’s started some casual work. It’s been pretty rough, as his injuries have meant that his prior training and experience have been made pretty much redundant, so it’s been a struggle finding work he can do now.

On top of that, the house we’ve been living in owned by Jeff’s generous Dad is going up for sale in September – when Maxie is due – so we’re going to have to move house within the close vicinity of me giving birth. Eek! Breathe, Chrissy, breathe and trust …

It’s not all bad though – we’ve got a huge amount of love between us and with our family and friends, and we’d never get thrown out in the cold. Jeffy has applied for a fantastic traineeship this week with a company that can train him up in computer-based drafting in the telecommunications field, so please do send your positive prayers and thoughts our way for this great job opportunity to come through for us. God knows we’re both ready to feel good and a bit more financially prepared with the circumstances our beautiful son is born into and we want to give him the best that we possibly can.

Anyway, I’m off to the farmers markets this morning to get some fresh food goodies, so I wish you a beautiful weekend ahead!

All my love,

Chrissy (+ Maxie Bear!)

my new artwork needs your opinion

Last night I was sitting under the covers, trying to warm up while I watched Oprah’s third-last episode and attempted to draw while my cat constantly harangued me for warmth. Just before bed-time, I finished this new artwork which I’ve called, ‘To Me, You Shine’ … but I’m having a hard time deciding which way is up!

Can you help?

         

Option One                                         Option Two

Which one do you think works better? I really like elements of both … maybe with this one I can give people the option of which way they’d like it to be hung when I offer it as a print?

Decisions, decisions! I’d love your feedback/ideas.

♥ Chrissy

a little note for you

To all my new friends and old ...Thank You so much for supporting my work and for visiting me here on my lil’ old blog.
Making art for people who enjoy it really makes what I do feel so worthwhile. So thanks for being a part of my favourite things!

I wish you an awesome rest-of-your-week :)

C xx

poke 'em in the eye candy!

 

Shazam! Kapow! Quite possibly my favourite treasury so far ... so much fun to curate!

Click on the pic to view x

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mini milestones

As much as I LOVE what I do, one of the hardest things as an artist is finding creative ways to get your art seen by the public. There’s such a fine line between proudly sharing your work and spamming! And it’s damn hard work promoting yourself (and at times, believing in yourself and the value of your work).

I often worry about how I come across when I promote my work, because let’s face it - someone could be the most amazing artist in the world, but if all their paintings are stacked behind the lounge in a box, or in an online shop they barely keep up to date, it’s pretty much guaranteed it’d be difficult to gain exposure. And I’ve been told soooo many times it’s about exposure. But to me, self promotion also needs to maintain integrity and honesty.

So this morning I woke up and found I’d reached a mini milestone. Every morning when I hop on the computer to check my emails, I have a flick through the daily ‘Etsy Finds’ email for pretty things that tickle my fancy, and this morning I gave a little (big) ‘SQUEEEE’ of delight to see one of my little artworks featured in today’s Treasury Curators section (top left pic).

Yes, I know it’s a little picture, but I’ve been musing for a while now about having my work featured somewhere on Etsy to help give my relatively new shop a little boost … especially now I’ve got a baby on the way and pretty soon, I won’t be able to devote as much time to my arty business as I’ve had in the past.

So thank you Etsy for finding my little needle in the haystack and gently poking people in the eye candy for me!!

To celebrate, for the rest of today until midnight EST tonight (22nd May 2011), I’m offering buy any A4 art print, get any open edition print free in my store. Just leave me a comment in the messages section when you check out, telling me which art print you’d like as your freebie.

Love C x

sneak peek - new arty product

A sneaky peek of my new little arty product … will flaunt some better pics soon …

saturday morning visual feast

I can’t think of a better way to start my weekend than by boggling over a beautiful collection of gorgeous, floaty, whimsical artworks that make my heart soar.
Click on the picture for a better look at these beautiful artworks + artists’ shops xx

new artwork – so far untitled

Paint pen, watercolour, shimmer watercolours, marker and metallic pen on paper. May 2011

So I just finished this piece last night while vaguely watching the MasterChef master class on TV (I’m a little bit addicted to cooking shows, although I always feel hungry when I watch them!). Usually the names of my artworks come really easily to me, as if they have their own voice and practically name themselves, often teaching me something in the process.

But for the life of me, I can’t think of a name for this one, I can only connect to the feeling behind it. Maybe I’m not conscious of it's lesson yet.

The feeling I get from it is that the eight-looking feature in the middle is surrounded by a mixture of dreams, tasks, responsibilities, thoughts and ideas … while there’s also an undercurrent of harmony, vibrancy, capability and living from the heart vibrating amongst it all. It feels like life – sometimes things are busy, but there’s always an element of pure peace underneath it all when we only take a moment to tap into it. There’s undercurrents and overcurrents (not a word, I know), weaving in and out and there’s definitely flow and movement.

This is how this artwork feels to me. But I think a massive paragraph is a little too big for a title! I don’t like to name it until it feels right, because it doesn’t feel honest to title it as something it’s not. Maybe it’ll come to me later.

Just thought I’d share it in the meantime.

C xx

** May 16 amendment – Thanks to Erica over on my facebook page, this artwork now has a name. It’s ‘Time’. So simple, I love it! Prints now available in my online shop

MEGA FABRIC JEWELLERY SALE

My MEGA FABRIC JEWELLERY SALE has just gone live over on my My Nostalgic Feeling store. Be quick to snap up a bargain – all reduced to at least 50% off. Loads of hand-made vintage fabric goodies are available from $4.

Have fun!

xx

maaaassive closing down sale on handmade fabric jewellery

This Thursday 12th May I’m having a MASSIVE CLOSING DOWN SALE on my fabric jewellery range. With a bub on the way, I’m feeling the need to make room in my life while I focus on my art and becoming a Mummy!

So come over to my fabric jewellery page on facebook tomorrow night at 6pm and snap yourself up some bargains. Everything will be priced $15 and under, some as low as $4!

All handmade. All unique. All beautiful quality. All cheap as chips! YAY!

C xx

market day

Yesterday I attended my first market of the year out on the deck of the lovely Bleeding Heart Gallery. Since I’ve hit the second trimester of my pregnancy I’ve finally felt up to getting out and about again, but I needed to find new ways to set up my stall so I didn’t have to lug around my  usual overflowing car-load of heavy market props etc.

 

Thanks to the help, generosity and muscles of the lovely Cathy from Angelwing Jewellery, and a bit of pre-planning and creative problem solving in the new props department, our shared stall ended up looking a treat … and I didn’t even have to lift or lug anything heavy. Bless you and your fit StairMaster legs Cathy!

In the weeks leading up to the markets, I managed to find a couple of lightweight, de-mountable pine shoe-racks which made the perfect little stand for my art prints, framed pieces and originals. I’d also been dying to try out my new little wooden clothes line to peg up and display my art prints, so I let out a little squee of delight yesterday to see it worked a treat!

Isn’t it beautiful?! Such an easy and effective way to showcase my arty pieces. And even better that it was donated to me by the lovely Michelle from Nook! Thanks Michelle – it was put to great use!

Everything I bought along fit into one of those granny trolleys you see old people walk around with – they may look out-dated, but darn they’re useful! I wish I’d taken a photo – you would’ve been so proud of me, seeing it all tightly packed up like a winning match of Tetris. It was even small enough to catch the bus to the markets! YAY!

Anyhow, here’s a pic of me (left) and the lovely, muscle-fatigued Cathy. She looks like she’s saying “I’m gonna kill yoooou for putting this photo up on your blog” … but no matter what she says, I think she still looks beautiful, so it’s staying here. Plus, it’s a great cleavage shot. Tee hee! (Now she’s really gonna kill me!)

Honestly though, Cathy makes the most beautiful, heart-felt sterling silver jewellery. When I first came across Cathy’s work I felt an overwhelming sense of purity and beauty emanating from her work. I’ve felt that kind of inner movement loads of times from art before, but never jewellery; so I contacted her to let her know, and low and behold, now we’re great friends! YAY!

So as you can imagine, like any obsessed groupie, by the end of the day I had my second pair of gorgeous fluffy sterling silver cloud earrings (bottom middle). It amazes me how she makes every single piece with a tiny-weeny hand saw, yet they turn out so soft, smooth and beautiful. And everyone needs two pairs of cloud earrings, right?

Gotta love having talented friends! I’m very blessed in that department.

Speaking of talented friends, I had some time to amble around to catch up with my new and old market peeps during the day yesterday. As usual, Mel’s Kimono Reincarnate stall looked stunning with her beautiful recycled kimono jewellery and resin pendants. Mel has helped me out loads of time in the past with photography tips and exhibitions and stuff, and her generosity is only surpassed by her meticulous jewellery making skills. You’ll find not one bubble is this resin jewellery, my friends!

Also, I finally got to put a face to a name when I met Jess from Epheriell designs / Bespoke Magazine. Jess’ work is rad. And so is she. That is all.

Ooh, ooh, … And Simmone from Your Organ Grinder – Oh how I love her work! She hand-makes organs and body parts from felt, which sounds gruesome in theory, but the way they are so lovingly made and her soft, gentle style just makes them oh-so-beautiful and endearing. And the colours?! Oh my! The jars up the top are full of brains!! So, so original and cool.

  

This woman I only met on the day – a poor unsuspecting customer I pounced on to take some photos of her amazing vintage top. Whoa, look at it! I love the colour combination of intense frog-green with cobalt- blue, off centred button features. And fabric under the side flaps?!?! (pretty sure that’s not the technical name, but it’ll have to do for now) … You had me at Hello!

 

(I’m almost finished now) … Here’s a lovely little hand-made plate I snapped up from Kim Aitken, ceramic artist. She stocks her work regularly at the Bleeding Heart Gallery Shop and at only $6 a pop, I knew this lovely granny-inspired little feature would look beautiful somewhere in my house. I just have no idea where yet, but I’m sure I’ll find a special spot for it.

Anyhoo, by the end of the day I was feeling pretty exhausted, but I’ll take any opportunity to get my growing baby bump into a picture, so I waddled over to Cathy for a shot together in front of our stall.

By the way, if you’re still here after all that rambling, I think we can officially call each other friends. Only a friend can listen to me waffle on for that long without walking off or losing consciousness.

Love C xx

freaken awesome things …

Season print by Yellena

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Ceramic eco-friendly travel mug by Yevgenia

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Birdcage by Yann Pendaries

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Wood rabbit Figure by Remixed Vintage

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precipice no.2.2 by Crystall Jackson

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krumasca . print by madusawolf

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Whoa Mumma! Yummo!

C xx

meet me at mark-ets

Whatcha up to this Friday?

If you’re around Brissie City between 10am and 4pm THIS FRIDAY, pop over to the NEW Bleeding Heart City Markets to see me!

I’ll be there with a bunch of brand spankin’ new art prints and showing off my rad new art print display – a vintage wooden children's clothes line! Yippee!

This is my first market for the year, so I’m really looking forward to getting out and about and chatting with new and old peeps. I’ll be sharing a stall with the lovely and most-talented Cathy from Angelwing Jewellery and there'll be gazillion other local artisans with their unique wares, so come along for a great day!

Hope to see you there!

C xx

new artwork – where unicorns live

‘Where Unicorns Live’. Pen, watercolour, shimmer watercolours + crayon on paper. 2011

Pssst! I've got a secret.

Unicorns are real and I know where they live.
It's a place you can only get to through your imagination, in a faraway land where all dreams and fairytales are made.
This is where all the elves and faeries and unicorns and amazing treasures exist - alive and well and thriving in an ethereal, beautiful bounty-land way up in the sky.
If you close your eyes and relax and imagine, you just might find it too.
***
Prints available here

competition winners

I woke up at 5 am all excited about drawing my giveaway celebration this morning!

Before I share the winners, I’d like to extend a huge Thank You to all those who entered my giveaway and left such beautiful comments for us and our little growing baby boy! I am forever appreciative for the kindness and support offered by my trusty old peeps and lots of new friends I’ve met via the interwebs.

Anyway, as promised, there were three prize draws and from over 40 entries in the bowl …

1st prize goes to Alex from Luna Bloom! Alex, you’ve won your choice of any Open Edition Art Print from my Online Store, valued at $25. A double congratulations to Alex, who has a baby on the way too!

2nd prize goes to little Scarlett Lucadou-Wells and her Mummy Leah, who incidentally guessed that our baby would be a boy. Great, pipped at my own game by an under 5er – I thought bub was a girl! Children’s intuition hey?! Scarlett, you’ve won a 25% off voucher to use in my etsy store (valid for one year) PLUS one of my new original art sticker sets. Just don’t stick ‘em on your cat.

… (YAY! Feeling a bit like Santa here!) …

And lastly, 3rd prize goes to Lauren Snyder! Lauren is an artist as well and has an etsy store full of collagey awesomeness, so pop over for a looksy sometime. Lauren, you’ve won a copy of the newly released, beautiful EP by Preston Pierce, complete with original cover artwork by me!

Again, a huge Thank You to all those who entered! For those of you who missed out on a prize this time, I’m offering 20% off in my etsy store for the rest of this weekend … just quote YAYSALE20 upon check out.

C xox

P.s. Thanks for all your boy’s name suggestions too – Hubby and I think we’ve settled on one we love!