Handmade Christmas

My determination that this would be a handmade Christmas has made these last two weeks completely crazy! 

 

I have.....

 

• made pom-poms (and a huge mess) with my daughter's Year 1 class
• gritted my teeth as I knitting a slouchy beanie (one of three) in West Coast Eagles' colours for Mr D 
• bought some gorgeous handmade gifts from the Denmark Art Markets where my friends Laraine and Suki have a colourful stall filled with gorgeous garments and accessories they have made themselves - clever girls!
• crocheted seven Granny Stars for my seven 'star' students at work
• lunched with my knitting group at the (not so) Healthy Buddha (but it was very yummy)
• crocheted a pressie for my Mum - shhhh!
• cooked up a barrel load of tomato relish for more pressies
• won a brilliant giveaway from here
• waved to Santa at our street party
• consoled my uncontrollably sobbing Year 1 daughter as she farewelled her teacher, Mr D, on his last day
• had a little cry of my own on viewing the creatively poignant video he made of our children
• gone to dinner with my workmates where there was much cackling and Making Of Plans
• gone to G's Christmas outing with his work colleagues

and finally

• painted a last minute Name Painting order at the same time as trying to pack the car.

 

For, you see, we are off to the big bad city for our Christmas with my family.

 

Yee haw!!

 

Wishing you lots of joy and laughter these holidays, and an absolutely brilliant and productive New Year!

 

And take care!!
 

Sam xx

A day away

We had a brilliant day, yesterday. Just us; just our little family, out and about and exploring some stunning places nearby.

 

We walked along the beach in the rain, we clambered over rocks, we dried out when the sun re-emerged, we ate our picnic lunch and then went for a swim before it got cold again.

And when we arrived home, we washed off the sand, changed into warm and comfy dag-around-the-house-clothes, and snuggled together on the couch.

Refreshed, re-energised, reconnected.


A great day? I'll say!


I hope you all had a lovely weekend, too.

xx

Big Hearted Business Virtual Conference 2013

Latest wip - Lowlands Beach 40cm x 40cm

 

Have any of you heard of Big Hearted Business?

 

Big Hearted Business is the brainchild of musician Clare Bowditch (clever, clever lady!) and was established not so long ago with the intent to help creative people learn about business "in ways that make sense".

 

BHB have produced some wonderful podcasts that are available on their site - talks given by successful creative types sharing their stories and artistic career advice.

 

They even had a BHB Conference in March this year with more presentations by successful creative business types (more clever, clever people!), and happily, they filmed it all and recently released it as a Virtual Conference for paid subscribers.

 

And, oh, how marvellously fabulous it all is!

 

I listen as I paint. There are videos, too.

 

It's like having my own private cheer squad in the room. Hooray!

 

 

 

Do you listen to podcasts?

Can you recommend some good ones?

I'd love to hear.

 

 

Have a brilliant weekend.

 

xxx

 

 

Beanie Boys

I think the boys liked their Christmas beanies*.

What do you reckon?

Pattern found here (how I love ravelry.com!)


xx

*Early Christmas pressie giving - their family is heading to Europe on Friday.

@samanthadennisonartist

 

Albany has no commercial gallery. So to have my paintings on display and for sale at the Albany Visitor Centre is a Very Good Thing. They went up yesterday. Hooray!

 

 

To celebrate this step towards my dream life as a professional artist, I have decided to change a few things.



One of these changes is to my instagram name - a clarification and declaration - to @samanthadennisonartist.

 

Labelling myself as an Artist does not come easily. For many, many years I have been a Teacher, and I still am, with the work I do as the Education Facilitator to a group of determined young mummies one day a week. But with painting taking up more of my creative time, and with my painting now in a public arena, it seems a good idea to make it more official.

 

I am a Teacher. I am also an Artist.

 

My family tell me it was always so.

 

Life is good.

Scary, too.

 

xxx

 

 

Thanks, Robert, for the saying.

I'm choosing not to change my blog name yet, but I will be changing a couple of other things about it soon.

I have also changed my Facebook address to coincide: facebook.com/samanthadennisonartist

I like to knit, too. Obviously.

These last two weeks - November 24

 

 

1. I finished some Christmas presents - two knitted boy beanies, and three crocheted cotton washcloths inspired by onecraftymumma's dishcloth swap;
2. We had visits from three cheeky frogs who found themselves in a supposed Shangrila, aka our girls' toilet. So ensued the 'frog check' routine, which soon lost its charm, especially at 3am. 
3. I finished another painting, "Mistaken Island";
4. Miss M's soccer wind-up was held on a magic day at Frenchman's Bay - heaps and heaps of kids of different ages, all playing together and helping each other in the water - truly awesome.
5. I finally got a much needed haircut;
6. The blue tutu-ed twins experienced their first ever concert week of dance extravaganza rehearsals and performances - all 3 and 1/2 hours of it - with great energy, excitement and success (not to mention relief on Mummy's part), and;
7. I had two of my paintings accepted for display and sale at the Albany Visitor Centre. Yay!

Busy, busy. As ever.

Life is good. Hope all is well with you.

xxx

Meghan Dress

I'm getting closer in my 'perfect-summer-dress-for-me' search - I have finished my first Meghan Dress - yay!

Designed by Sis Boom, the pattern has been around for a while. It is, as many have reviewed, easy to follow and easy to sew. I even lined mine, a technique I haven't tried before.

I also seem to be getting closer to the 'perfect-fabric-for-me', but once again, I have selected a fabric print with too much tonal contrast, when I should really work with more of a solid.

Even so, I'll sew this pattern again, for sure!

xx