The Week That Was #4

It's raining, it's pouring!!!!  Yes The Week That Was is so memorable this week, because it is bucketing down and all of my plants are getting a lovely drink. Not so good for iffy car drivers though, I saw three accidents on my way to work yesterday morning :(

This week's garden photos are mainly about new starters.  While it is great to finally have some veg that is almost ready to pick and eat, I also need to get the next crop under way, so here are some of my new babies.

#1 These are white cucumbers and the frame they are starting to climb was hand made (cant you tell)  It was great to be able to wonder around the back yard and pick up the sticks from the two trees that are the bane of my back yard existence...always dropping leaves and sticks everywhere.

#2 Little baby cucumber

#3 The kids and I buried some potatoes in the front garden, just for fun and of the tree, two have come up over the last two days of rain.

#4 A friend gave me some Butternut pumpkin seeds awhile back and these are the first seedlings.

On the home front, it might not look too thrilling but the liquid in the spray bottle is Lemon Vinegar and it is a brilliant all purpose cleaner.  I have always heard that vinegar is a great effective and cheap cleaning product, but I don't like the smell of it.  I found this recipe on the  Down to Earth Forum.  It is as simple as putting the peel from a couple of lemons in a screw top jar and filling the jar with white vinegar.  The hard part is leaving it for two weeks before you strain the peel out and get cleaning with it.  I did the kitchen today and it worked a treat.  I also used a home made crocheted cloth.

I am also still crocheting more face cloths.  These ones are made from 8ply Creme de la Creme cotton.  I am thinking of making some soap and giving face cloth and soap as Mothers Day presents.

Creatively, I have done the happy dance a couple of times this week with new and exciting things happening with Sugarbird images.

I have just opened a shop at REDBUBBLE which will offer my images on clothing, cards and a range of other things.  This is the only image in my shop at the moment, but I will be adding lots more in the near future.

I also release my first range of prints on facebook this week and was completely blown away by the response.

And finally, I picked up the colour pencils again this week, after about a month of black and white line markers.  This was a special order for the lovely Julie at Aromatique Essentials

She wanted an image based on her logo, but slightly different.  I really enjoyed getting back to colour.

And that was The Week That Was with me and Sugarbird.  I hope you had a good week this week and have a good week next week <3

And the Winner is........

Yes people, it is time to announce the Hoot Hoot Giveaway Winner......once I have thanked you all for entering and for all of you lovely comments - thank you so very much!!!!  

And the Winner is........

Congratulations Linda!!!!!  Could you please contact me so we can arrange delivery.

If you could PM me on facebook at www.facebook.com/sugarbirdart, that would be great!!

Prints, Prints, Prints

I am doing the happy dance quite a bit lately because there are so many exciting (to me anyway) things happening

This week's happy dance is because I have just introduced my first Sugarbird prints.  I have been having so much fun with my black and white drawings and I really wanted to sell them, but as they take so long to do,  I thought prints would be a better way to go

I put the first four on my facebook page last night and the response was overwhelming.  I was so thrilled!!

Here is what is on offer so far, with more to come.....

Here is my special introductory offer available on Sugarbirds facebook page.....

Until next Tuesday night you can purchase a single print for only $8.00 (plus $1.80 postage within Aus) RRP will be $10.00 after that time.

Purchase more than one print (any assortment of prints) in one transaction and postage will be free within Aus.

The Week That Was #3

I have had another fulfilling and busy week this week, both at home and creatively.

I announced a giveaway earlier in the week to celebrate 7,000 pageviews on my blog and 700 likes on my facebook page and I was so overwhelmed by the response.  I think there were about 20 entries in the first few hours.  You people are so wonderful.  The giveaway closes Thursday night so if you haven't entered please click here to do so. 





The other exciting creative news this week is that I sent another sheet of images off to the lovely Amanda at Jandy Moon Jewellery Creations.  She turns them into the most wonderful Glass Tile Pendants.  So if you would like a little piece of Sugarbird art to wear, pop over and see her.  She is also, very generously offering them at an introductory price at the moment and having a giveaway of one!!

Even though it has been rather hot here this week, the garden is surviving rather well.  But it does need quite a bit of watering.

#1 The Lebanese cucumbers are starting to actually look like cucumbers and it looks like we will have a lot of them.

#2 This is the second lot of capsicums we have had of this little bush and if they are anything like the first lot, they will be nice and sweet.

#3 Did you know that if you replant spring onions after you cut the tops off, they sprout again?  I didn't until a friend told me.  This is my attempt so far and they are looking rather good.  

#4 The little plant on the left is actually an avocado seedling.  I simply buried a seed in the pot awhile back and forgot about it.  I noticed this last weekend.  It will be interesting to see how it goes.

I really enjoyed drawing the owl for the giveaway because it was only A5 in size and so delicate, but Floral Friend (above) was my favourite creation this week.  The image is A4 in size a chock full of detail.  It took a couple of days to complete (and a couple of hand cramps)  but it was well worth the time and effort.

I also did a spot of shopping this week, and if you know me at all you will know that I hate and detest shopping with a passion.  But this shopping expedition had me skipping out the door with joy and anticipation (well, I didn't really skip, but you get the picture.)  About three times a year I wonder through the isles of Reverse Garbage .  If you live in Brisbane and haven't been, you really should check it out.  Their blurb says that they "collect high quality industrial discard"  which to me means that they have some really funky and interesting stuff, that would otherwise end up in landfill.  I get some really great products at brilliant prices and do my little bit to help the environment.  This weeks haul consists of paper, cardboard, matt board, envelopes and containers.  All of which I will put to good use.

Hoot Hoot it's Giveaway time again

Yes I am having another giveaway - want to know why?

  Well this is the equation.

7,000 pageviews + 700 likes = Giveaway

Thanks to you lovely people I have had over 7,000 pageviews on my blog and over 700 likes on my facebook page, so as a thank you to you all, I am giving you a chance to win this original A5 drawing.

Hoot Hoot would love to be winging his way to you place so here is what you need to do to be in with a chance to win him ......it's really simple.

Just leave a comment on this post between now and next Thursday night QLD time 24/01/2013.

At that time I will randomly select one winner.

This giveaway is open worldwide and I would love for you to share it around - the more the merrier :)

Floral Friend

I am still really enjoying playing with my fine line markers and seeing just how many patterns and details I can fit into each drawing.  This is the latest one that I finished last night and it is called Floral Friend.

 Once the design is done I start working one the lines

And then I can start working on the details.

Fun fun fun 

And here is the finished drawing and it is about now that I already have the next design in my head and I am itching to get it started :)

The Week That Was #2

Firstly this week, my thoughts go out to all the people down south suffering with the bush fires and the heat and to all of the brave fire fighters and other emergency services doing battle with the fires.

The big news this week is the release of Sugarbird Glass Tile Pendants.  I am so excited!

I have been collaborating with the lovely Amanda from Jandy Moon Creations and she now exclusively has them for sale.  I would love for you to pop over to her facebook page or website to have a look.  She has them at a special introductory price at the moment and is also holding a pendant giveaway!!

I am still slowly implementing changes around our home to make life simpler and a bit more self sustaining.

The garden is still growing well.

#1 If you look VERY closely between the stem and flower you can see that I now have baby cucumbers.  We have counted around 20 so far, so I am browsing the net for tasty Bread and Butter Pickle recipes.

#2 Our Cherry tomatoes are still fruiting nicely

#3 I planted 4 rock melon seedlings earlier this week.  Two became dinner for the snails, one perished in the heat and in desperation I gave this little guy hos own green house to protect him.  He seems to really like it, so there is hope that some time down the track we will have some fruit from him.

4. This is variegated Society Garlic, you can apparently eat the flowers (haven't tried it yet) and it flowers a lot so adds some nice colour to the garden (thanks for this one Mum)

Not a huge lot of extra stuff has been happening in the kitchen, it has been too hot.  But I have managed to make my first loaves of foccaccia bread.  They were herb and garlic and the parsley and oregano came out of our garden.  The loaves didn't last long, so I suppose they were a success.

I am also having a go at making lemon vinegar for cleaning.  It seems straight forward.  Lemon peel in vinegar, leave it for two weeks, stain the peel out and then mix 50/50 with water.  I will let you know how well it works in about two weeks :)

And creatively, I am still in love with my black fine line markers.  I think I am challenging myself to see how small I can get the details.  Needless to say, if I work on these drawings for too long, I do get a cramp in my hand.

I am hoping to get these images onto t-shirts and in print form once I master photoshop (so it could take a while)  

This is the latest drawing I have started, I am not sure where it is going from here, but it will be fun to see what develops.

I hope you have had a fulfilling and happy week xxx

Granny Squares anyone?

What do you do when you don't have enough hours in the day as it is???  You start a new and completely different project - well I do anyway!!!

  I love crocheting, so when Becci on the Down to Earth Forum announced a granny square project, I joined in and trawled through my stash of wool.  I did a granny square blanket when I was about 12 years old and I remember the lovely time my Mum spend with me on it, teaching me how to crochet.  I still have the rug :)  

While I was making this first basic square, my almost 10 year old wondered over and asked me what I was doing.  After I explained it to her, she asked me if I would teach her to crochet!!!  It is often the small moments that make being a parent a wonderful experience.  So we will be starting tomorrow.  I only hope that the experience is as lovely for her as it was for me with my Mum.

Secret project revealed

THE SECRET IS OUT!!  AND I AM SO EXCITED!!!!
One of the two secret projects I have been working on has been released!  

I have had the pleasure of working with the lovely and talented Amanda from Jandy Moon Creations, so that she can exclusively bring you............Sugarbird Glass Tile Pendants.

And to celebrate their release, not only is Amanda offering them at an introductory price, she is also holding a giveaway where you could win one.  All you need to do to participate in the giveaway or purchase a pendant is to head over to Jandy Moon Creation's facebook page or website.

There will be more images released over time so keep an eye out for them also in the near future.

The Week That Was

It is nice that life is getting back to normal after a brilliant Christmas.  It was back to work this week, but I wasn't too thrilled when I opened my emails and found 107 of them!  It was also a rather strange week as both kids were away in NSW staying with their grandparents.  It was the first time in 11 years that I was childless.  I missed them, but oh it was lovely!  I only did one load of washing all week, the bathroom only needed cleaning once and the grocery shopping was rather cheaper than normal.  They are back tomorrow and I can't wait to see them :)

On the home front we have been catching up on little jobs around the house and I tried my hand at bread making.  I really enjoyed the process and the end result was so yummy.  I suspect I will be making some more very soon. 

The balcony veggie garden is still thriving.  The cucumbers especially are going gang busters and we have really really little cucumbers developing well.  Today I planted some more tomatoes, capsicum and rock melons.

I have also been crocheting up a storm and making cleaning cloths and face washers, thanks to Rhonda's Down To Earth blog.  I also got her fabulous book for Christmas, and it is just brilliant!

My work space has been getting a HUGE tidy up and it is almost back to normal.  It is all about more storage space - you can never have enough.

 And then of course there has been the drawing.  I picked up my favourite 0.2 fine line marker and have been having fun with detailed designs.  The really exciting thing for me is that these will be available as prints in the next couple of weeks.  I am also working on 2 secret projects with 2 lovely ladies that I will let you know about once they are all done - very exciting for me and all I will let you know now it that some of my artwork will be available in new and wonderful forms, hehehe

Black Bird

Once I had finished my Christmas orders I put the colour pencils down for a while and reverted back to black on white.  I though about some simple designs that don't to hours to do, just for the fun of it......but with all things I do lately I got caught up in the detail and how much of it I could fit into each drawing.  I must say that I am really happy with the results and my brain is just buzzing with where I can take it from here... 

 

This was the first drawing that stated out so simple and then took on a life of its own.

 And then of course, because I enjoyed making the first one so much I just had to keep going.  This is the start of the second bird I did.  I really like the tail on this one. 

Once the outlines were done it was the onto all of the details in the flowers.  I used a 0.2 fine line marker.

The bird's body is a series of dashes and the wing is a multi layered flower.

And this is the finished LOVE BIRD.  I am hoping to have it available on a t-shirt in the not too distant future.  I am thinking maybe flowered elephants next...any other suggestions?