Playing catch up :-) Spring is just around the corner and I am looking forward to seeing what our garden will surprise us with – in the mean time, a quick zip around the garden with my camera has yielded these lovely bits of colour:

The girls and I really do adore this old house :-) In fact, they recently told me that “This is the best house we’ve ever lived in Mum!” (this is the third home they have experienced), so I think that is a great sign that we’re all settled in. Thank you for the lovely wishes on the new job too! I’m really enjoying it. I work with a team of kind, passionate, and very clever people – I’m sure I will be learning a lot from them.

Wishing you a very happy weekend!

{Stunning papercut illustration by Naomi Shiek}

Some of you may not know that I also have a twitter account over here. I use twitter mainly to share links to lots of wonderful things that I have found across the websphere or to share a great link someone else has discovered.

I realise that some of you do not use twitter and have no intention to start using it (I admit . . . it can be a real time-waster!), so I’ll do a regular post here on One Red Robin providing a quick list of the craft/art/design-related links I’ve tweeted recently so that non-twitizens can also share in the internet goodness :-)

Craft/art/design-related links I’ve tweeted in the last 7 days:

• Been waiting to try Spoonflower? Here’s your chance: Free Swatch Day starts Thursday: http://bit.ly/ci9hlc

• Swoon! RT @thelongthread Alicia Paulson’s Craft Room Makeover: http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/posie_gets_cozy/2010/08/my-new-room.html

• Like (and so easy)!! RT @craft How-To: Sew a Gathered Scarf with Elastic Thread: http://bit.ly/bfMbVC

• Cute round-up of crafty ‘staches on @LarkCrafts http://bit.ly/cRP36f

• Wow! Amazing paper illustrations by Yulia Brodskaya http://abduzeedo.com/astonishing-paper-illustration-yulia-brodskaya (via @GuyKawasaki)

• So good RT @MimiKirchner Man with no tattoos or moustache- http://mimikirchner.com/blog/archives/2010/08/man-doll-no-tattoos/

• RT @carlasdeleon Photo: love these bookmarks! via nrrrdcakkke, dailystendhalnitesaudade) http://tumblr.com/xoagfzf0m

• RT @pikaland How to make your own lightbox for taking pics! http://tinyurl.com/yghb2y4 from @thehouseofmouse. great tips!

• Stunning, must-see papercut artwork from artist Naomi Shiek http://bit.ly/crZCCy (via @pikaland)

• Have you seen Heidi Kenney’s new fabric from @spoonflower? Too awesome for words! http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=2798

• A book I was in last year will go metric for Aussies :-) “One Metre Wonders” to be published by Penguin http://bit.ly/d86aPm

• Gorgeous mini deer & toadstool terrarium by @ittibittipretty! http://www.etsy.com/listing/49048587/miniature-deer-and-toadstool-terrarium

Hope you enjoy these links!

It’s time to announce the winner of the Craft Hope: Handmade Crafts for a Cause book! Firstly, thank you for all the wonderful comments left on this post. I encourage you to read each one if you haven’t already. There are some fantastic ideas in there about how we can craft for a cause that is close to our heart. A single person CAN make a difference in someone else’s life – sounds cliché but it’s true! Some of the stories are also very touching – thank you for sharing them with us!

And now to the winner . . . Random Number Generator has picked: Comment #38!!

Congratulations Thouraya!! I will be in contact with you soon! Thank you to all who left comments – I hope you’ll consider buying a copy of the book from your favourite book seller. As mentioned previously, $1 from every book sold will go to Global Impact.

Thanks to Jade Sims and Lark Crafts for the opportunity to be involved in this awesome book. Check out the Designer Spotlight for more information on the designers who have contributed projects.

I managed to squeeze in some sewing time over the weekend and this little fella is almost done – just a few minor tweaks and hand-sewn details needed:

Here he is taking advantage of the lovely breaks of sunshine that Melbourne had over the weekend:

Hopefully you’ll be able to make him yourself early next year when the pattern is published:-)

I started a new job last week, after just over 12 years spent at my previous job! I’m really enjoying it – the people are fantastic and the new office is an enjoyable place to work in (fancy-schmancy coffee machine and cafe-style office kitchen for the win!). The only real change in my routine are longer office hours – I’m learning to juggle things better and obviously time with my girls takes precedence when I get home, so blog posts may be a little sparse for a while and it may take me longer than usual to reply to emails or respond to comments :-)

I’ve got another giveaway lined up for all you wonderful readers next week, sponsored by Mooo! More details soon!

Did you know that ‘empurpled‘ is an actual word? An adjective? Apparently it means “excessively elaborate or showily expressed“. I’ve never thought of purple in that way – I actually think it’s a colour that brings a sense of peace, warmth, and joy. But maybe that’s just me :-)

Shades of purple that caught my attention this week:

From top to bottom:
1. Photo by photographer Anna Williams
2. “Field of Purple” by Outre/Brian Kroll
3. One of my favourite cakes – Ube-Macapuno cake (purple yam and coconut). Photo by me :-)
4. A small portion of a an amazing collage by artist Seiko Kato (found via It’s Nice That). You really need to click on over here and click on the photo. It will show you the whole artwork and then close-ups of different parts. Remember that this is a collage so every piece has been cut out and pasted on. Amazing, right?!

Don’t forget to leave a comment on this previous post if you’d like to be in the running to win a copy of the Craft Hope book!

Finally, something crafty to show you! The making-mojo has slowly been returning. Also, external deadlines are a great motivator :-)

Little man in progress for an upcoming magazine project:

And Ze Bun-buns waiting to be put together:

More creative spaces to see over here.

And don’t forget to leave a comment on the previous post if you’d like to be in the running to win a copy of the Craft Hope book!

I’m so happy and excited that this book is finally out!!! Some of you may already know about Craft Hope but if you haven’t heard of it before, Craft Hope (the blog) was borne out of Jade Sims’ desire to combine her love of crafting and her desire to spread hope to those who have lost hope.

A few years ago, she started the blog and asked crafters to first contribute pillow-case dresses for girls at a children’s shelter, and then handmade dolls for children at an orphanage. The response was massive! And since that time, she has coordinated a number of craft projects, which all go to benefit a charitable cause.

The beauty of the Craft Hope book is that it not only provides patterns for a diverse range of easy projects, but that each project is paired with charitable causes. This means you can take the initiative and be involved in a number of charities year-round, or even co-ordinate efforts in your location.

I was really privileged to be able to contribute 3 easy projects to this book: the Ruby doll, patchwork scarves for adults and kids, and sock monkeys (the hands you see in the photos belong to my 4-year-old, who was eager to help):

The book itself has been beautifully put together. Also, $1 from the sale of every book is donated to Global Impact.

Here are all of the other designers who have contributed to the book: Stefani Austin, Ellie Beck, Amanda Carestio, Christina Carleton, Lisa Cox, Maya Donenfeld, Malka Dubrawsky, Molly Dunham, Celine Dupuy, Cathie Filian, Wendi Gratz, Betsy Greer, Jenny B. Harris, Vickie Howell, Rebecca Ittner, Rebeka Lambert, Kathy Mack, Kaari Meng, Manda McGrory, Aimee Ray, Eren Hays San Pedro, Amanda Blake Soule, Blair Stocker, Amanda Swan, Beth Sweet, Susan Wasinger, Dana Willard, Rebekah Williams and Geninne D. Zlatis!

You can follow Craft Hope on Facebook too; read an interview with Jade Sims over on Lark Crafts; and keep up-to-date on giveaways and designer interviews over at Craft Hope’s Month of Hope.

And speaking of giveaways . . .  I’ve got a copy to giveaway to a lucky reader!!! To be in the running to win a copy, please leave a comment on this post, answering the following question: “If you could craft anything for a good cause, what would it be and for what cause?”

Please leave your answer by midnight, Sunday 22nd August (Australian Eastern Standard Time) and I will draw a winner on Monday. This giveaway is open to all readers (Australian and International).

The Craft Hope book was released a few weeks ago and is now available at book sellers worldwide (online and bricks-n-mortar).

I love colour and the ‘colourful‘ . I don’t think I could ever survive in a monochromatic world. Imagine if the world was simply just black and white . . . bleh – thank God it is nothing like that at all!

I’m going to start posting “Colour Me Happy” posts on Fridays. Simply, they are a round-up of some of my favourite images (artwork, illustrations, softies, photos, etc) that I have come across over the week, which are full of colour or perhaps that centre around a specific colour like, green, blue, yellow, etc – it depends where my web travels take me, I guess :-)

So here is my first Colour-Me-Happy installment:

From top to bottom:
1. “Rainbow Palace” by Matt Lyon
2. “Mr Lion” by Happy Doodle Land
3. Handmade softies and photo by Hien
4. Paper sculpture by Sara Escamilla on the cover of the new Juxtapoz Handmade magazine
5.“Pastels” by Ada-a-Adriana

Please feel free to play along! If you do, make sure you include your link in the comments section so I can go and visit your colourful post too!

Remember how I mentioned those delicious ricotta hotcakes I had at Bills in Sydney a few posts ago? Well, they have been stuck in my head ever since. I finally googled them and found the recipe – yipee, thanks Internet :-)

I made a batch on Sunday morning and followed the recipe here. I decided to use only 3 eggs instead of 4 and I skipped making the honeycomb butter (only because I would have to refrigerate it overnight and I couldn’t wait that long!). Instead I caramelised sliced bananas (using brown sugar), cut up some strawberries, and drenched it in maple syrup :-)

They are sooooo delicious! I love how light and fluffy they are (I’m not a fan of dense, heavy pancakes). You do need to keep an eye on them though as they cook pretty quickly and they burn easily. The recipe actually makes a large batch, which is great because it means I’ve got breakfast sorted everyday this week!

I’ve been bringing my own breakfast and lunch to work for 4 out of 5 days every week for the last month (1 day a week is my treat day :-)). I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal but this is from a girl who has basically been buying her breakfast and lunch every weekday since she started working – just over 12 years ago! Also . . . I really dislike cooking . . .

But funnily enough, I am actually enjoying it! It just means a little more planning, a little more cooking on the weekend, and preparing the night before. The upsides are, of course, money saved, much less packaging, less food waste, and an unexpected benefit – time to catch up with colleagues in the office kitchen while we all wait for our turn at the microwave or sandwich press :-)

Have you seen Pip’s Project Yellow Box? I never had one of those growing up but I’ll definitely be trying some of the recipes she shares, and perhaps gather my own little yellow box of easy recipes for weekday breakfasts and lunches :-)

I had a few kid-free hours this afternoon so I went to the city and spent them at the National Gallery of Victoria. I’ve been meaning to visit the NGV for ages and when I found out that they currently have a European Masters exhibition on, it didn’t take much convincing at all :-)

I remember sitting in the school library when I was around 7 years old, flicking through an Art book of some kind and stumbling upon Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party“. I was instantly enthralled. I had never seen anything like it! Happy, warm, animated, colourful, intimate, fun. It was one of a number of things at that age that really inspired me to spend more time being creative – to draw more, to paint more, to imagine more.

{“Luncheon of the Boating Party” by Pierre Auguste Renoir}

So I can’t really express how much of a thrill it was to see Renoir’s work in person!!! It was certainly overwhelming. And amazing. To be able to see the actual brush strokes! Wow. It was also wonderful to see the work of Monet, Picasso, van Gogh and Degas up close. I could have marveled at some of those paintings for a long time if I had not been reminded that it was almost closing time!

I made my way up to the 2nd level to view some of the free exhibitions. The Lace in Fashion exhibition was so impressive – I can’t even wrap my head around how such intricate designs can be made by hand. Definitely worth a look. And I was equally floored by the European Collection (17th-18th Century) – the massive paintings were awe-inspiring and I discovered a few new favorites: portraits by Joshua Reynolds and mythical scenes by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Some of the paintings were just like photographs. So stunning. I exited the NGV with so much more respect for the artists than when I had entered.

{“Lady Harrington” by Sir Joshua Reynolds}

{“The Banquet of Cleopatra” by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo}

It is a wonderful experience to see these works in person so I would definitely recommend going to the exhibitions if you get the chance. I’m hoping that one day I’ll get to see some of my other favourite pieces in person overseas :-) (Apologies for no photos of my own – I didn’t have access to a camera this weekend – looking forward to getting one of my very own soon!)

The European Masters: Stadel Museum 19th-20th Century continues at the NGV until 10th October.

You know when you’ve got a spare five minutes so you sit down and pick up from where you left off on one of your favourite blogs, and you click a link, which leads to another link, and then another link, and then another? And before you know it, almost half an hour has passed you by?

This is what happened when I stumbled upon the work of two very talented Aussie female artists. And I knew instantly that I had to share their work with you!

The first is Anna-Wili Highfield. Her “paper sculptures are created from archival cotton paper, that is painted, then torn and sewn together, to create the figure of an animal.”

{image credits: All images above belong to Anna-Wili Highfield}

Aren’t they simply stunning?! I am particularly enchanted with that Barn Owl :-) She also creates copper pipe sculptures. Find more of her work here.

I am also smitten with the work of Melanie Matthews, who is a Melbourne-based freelance illustrator. How adorable is this postcard?!

{image credits: Melanie Matthews}

I understand that her website is still under construction but you can view a sample of her work here, and I also found a blog of her cartoon drawings here. I would certainly be lining up to buy any book that she illustrates :-)

Hope you enjoy these too!