Painting in front of the fire

A lovely way to spend the day now that the colder temperatures have well and truly arrived. (And the perfect opportunity to catch up on some bad day-time TV!)

Painting Hakea

This design was a little tricky due to the blossom spikes being lighter in colour than their globe shaped base. I think I will tackle it again next year using masking fluid to create the blossoms more effectively. Hakea Laurina is such an interesting plant it deserves another try!

Old wares, good finds

I love to explore country Old Wares and Op shops every now and then, and one of my favourites is in the little town of Elmore, located between Bendigo and Echuca in northern Victoria, and not far from home. Sunday's stash included a few embroidered table linens, an embroidery pattern book from the 1930's and a beautiful (and very textile-y) Mason's Sampler pattern cake plate. 

50's tablecloths hanging in the old butcher shop.

Bird's the word

Birds from around the world casually strut across this mono print design.

Autumn in the garden

Time to start raking up those leaves this weekend....

Blue & White, Old & New

The classic combination of blue on white has remained enduringly popular in the design of porcelain ever since the first Chinese vessels decorated with Cobalt blue were imported into Europe in the 16th century by Portuguese traders.

This strikingly modern dinnerware collection named Fable was designed in collaboration with London based German designer Karolin Schnoor and the master artisans at Royal Doulton.

The entire Fable collection can be viewed on the Royal Doulton website.

Another blue and white porcelain collection which recently caught my eye was first designed in the 1950's but has recently been reissued by the Swedish ceramics company Rorstrand.

Mon Amie was created by on a rainy midsummer's eve by Swedish textile and ceramic designer Marianne Westman in 1952, and has since become one of Rorstrand's best selling designs.

Marianne joined Rorstrand in 1950 immediately after graduating from the University of Arts, Crafts & Design in Stockholm, and she collaborated closely with the company for more than twenty years.

You can view more of Marianne Westman's wonderful mid century ceramic and textile designs at the Hus and Hem website. 

What's for dinner?

A variety of mushrooms and toadstools in a not so edible colour palette!

Curiouser and curiouser

These rather mysterious and whimsical ceramics from Anthropologie are adapted from the paintings of the talented New Orleans artist Rebecca Rebouche. I wonder if these would survive the long journey to Australia intact?

 The medallion shaped dinnerware collection is named Curious Deciduous, and I would love to see a few plates displayed on my kitchen wall.

To view more of Rebecca Rebouche's beautiful artwork you can visit:

Rebecca's Blog

Website

Etsy store

Monday mono-print

The mono-print technique can be such an unpredictable medium but it always brings a smile to my face.

Deep in the forest

A textile design featuring my favourite motif. I'm pretty sure my tree drawings haven't changed all that much since early primary school!

Potted Vintage

My Nana was very keen on the humble geranium so I have inherited quite a few plants in a variety of colours. This photo-shoot from the UK magazine Country Homes & Interiors shows just how lovely the geranium can be when potted up into vintage containers. 

Visit the House to Home website here.