Recreating Locations

Last night, we saw out 2012 by watching Moonrise Kingdom.  I absolutely loved it.

Today, we saw in 2013 by driving over to the Isle of Portland - it's about as close as you could get to New Penzance Island in the UK... with its stripey lighthouse and secret coves.

Wish we'd brought a record player though.



*map of Portland from here.

*stills from Moonrise Kingdom from here and here.

Bits and Pieces

I suspect that posting pictures on here from my Instagram feed might be a bit lazy, but as my blogging mojo has temporarily left the building, I shall anyway...

Couldn't help but be charmed by Nelly's artistic work with her crudités

I let Isla loose on my mush with a box of face paints.
Coincidentally, later on that evening, the film of Frida Kahlo was on the telly.  It was very enjoyable.

I was the lucky recipient of this charmingly odd pig/pug linocut by the talented David Ryan Robinson

Lastly, I can't stop thinking about this lovely beard.

Pink & Yellow

I remember finding pink and yellow such a yucky colour combination when I was little. Now I find myself seeking it out. If only "true" pink glass wasn't so very very expensive (it's made with gold!) I'd use it all the time.

I bought these bookshelves today. They're very tatty, but I couldn't resist the pigeon holes. How silly.

We are enjoying reading these books - a guilty pleasure.

Last weekend we watched Arrietty which was shown as part of the Bridport Film Festival - From Page to Screen. It was glorious. I want to watch it again and again and again.

P.S. Thanks for the nice words about my Spring/Autumn panels. You're all lovely.

Exhibition

I've just finished and delivered a number of pieces for the Rostra and Rooksmoor Gallery in Bath as part of their All Wrapped Up exhibition.

I've included a new design, Crofter's Cottage, which was inspired by a recent re-watching of one of our favourite family films, "Ring of Bright Water".  If you haven't seen it, I recommend it, although it is a rather more tame version of the true story of Gavin Maxwell, his otters and his time at Sandaig (a remote part of the Scottish mainland).  The trailer below does not really capture the charm of the film (largely due to the awful voiceover man)

The cottage in which he lives is a derelict but idyllic Crofter's Cottage.  Typically, they are single-story, whitewashed dwellings with a tiled roof, like this one.

My version is a re-working of my original Woodcutter's Cottage.   Having spent a bit of time researching crofter's dwellings, I'm rather tempted by the idea of staying in one for a long weekend.  Tucked up by the fire on a sofa a bit like this one...

The exhibition also features Rebecca Coles incredible papercut butterflies,  Emily Lawlor's gorgeous mosaics and Claire Halifax's silkscreen cityscape prints.  Go and see if you're in the area!

Pop pop

We were so excited to find 2 of these on the market last week.

They're called Pop Pop boats, and they work just like the one

Sosuke and Ponyo travel on in our film of the moment.

A candle-powered boat.

Nothing more fun than seeing them whizz around, puttering away.

Even the packaging is a little bit fab.

I Heart Amazon + Last Chance Saloon

Apologies to the other Flora (who is very kind and lovely and not some freakish Coraline version of me with buttons for eyes...did I mention I saw the film recently ;o) for STILL not having done her tag. It's coming, honestly! But I want to spend a bit of time on it rather than a hastily done post (erm, like this one).

Anyway, in the meantime, look at the lovely things I have bought from Amazon!

This DVD which is some serious eye-candy...I bought it on the pretext that it was for the girls...of course, it's just for me really. The 1922 Cinderella is STUNNING (beautiful and a little bit creepy, just the way I like it!)



And I got This Book for Mike for Father's Day (he's a big fan of the grotesque and burlesque...well, he would be in his line of work). Again, some incredible images, taken with a lot of warmth and humour.



Oh, yes, and I got this card from Etsy to send to some friends who have just given birth to their first baby - a girl. A very sweet sentiment I thought:




OK - this is your last chance to enter my Giveaway! Just click on the link and leave your name and a comment. Easy!

A Magical Garden

Let me show you something rather wonderful. In an allotment, tucked away behind a barbed wire fence and some nettles, is a little corner of delights. Amongst orderly rows of cabbages, makeshift sheds and tangled runner beans legging it up bamboo wigwams, somebody has created the loveliest garden you can imagine. Rambling Roses form lopsided arches, Red-Hot Pokers vie for attention with Oriental Poppies and Salvias gracefully sway their purple heads.



As we walk home from school we are treated to a daily glimpse of this secret garden...I pointed it out to Nelly the other day, and when she saw it she gasped and said "Mummy, it's just like the garden in Coraline!" (which if you haven't seen yet, you absolutely should - even if you don't have kids)

We'll just have to keep a look out for The Other Mother...

Don't forget, there's still plenty of time to enter my Giveaway - it's open to regular listeners and first-time callers alike, so do leave a comment here if you want to go in the hat.