This beautiful installation was created by Finnish artist Johnna Pohjalainen. What a brilliant idea!

Jonna Pohjalainen worked this summer at the Environmental Art workshop of the Open Air Art Museum in Pedvale. This fine documentation of her work “Colour Pencils” shows us how the work is connected with its surroundings and how it changes during different weather conditions and times of the day.

Without sun there are no colours and life!

I’ve always loved coloured pencils – to use, and to look at. I display them where I can see them every day because they make me happy.

If only I had my own oversized installation in my garden!

A big thank you to another talented artist, Definatalie, for posting about this today (and for always gracing my RSS reader with inspiring Friday Fance!)

• Art , Cool stuff
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Happy Mothers Day to my mum, and all the other mums & moms out there!

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Photograph by Hey rabbbit ♥

Rachel Denbow from Smile and Wave asked her readers these questions last month, and I thought it might be nice to share them here as well.

1. When do you feel happiest?

2. How do you take care of yourself?

3. Are you internally (by yourself) or externally (by others) motivated?

4. What do you do for fun?

5. What intimidates you?

6. What is something you’re proud of?

7. Finish this sentence. I never _____________.

8. Favorite vacation spot.

9. Today is a (rate from 1 – 10).

10. Finish this sentence: If you knew me really well you’d know

Share your answers in the comments! I’ll come back later and share mine too.

• Life
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Don’t forget – this Sunday is Mothers Day!

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably left things to the last minute. That’s why I thought some of you might appreciate this sweet little downloadable card created by Erin of Perfect Sentiment!

Those of us who still speak the Queen’s English will have to get a little creative with the “O” in “Mom”, but it’s a small price to pay for a cute little freebie.

Go and tell Erin how fantastic she is for sharing!

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I’m waiting for the day that somebody offers to film me in high definition, as I leap for an airborne cupcake in open-mouthed slow motion.

What? Why is it okay for dogs and not for me?

• Cool stuff , Funny Stuff , Videos
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Little blog;

I have a confession. I haven’t always been faithful, and sometimes when I intend to sit down and write you a post I write it in my paper journal instead.

It’s not you…

… I just really love glue sticks, paper and washi tape.

Elsie and Rachel from Red Velvet Girls are running the most incredible art journaling class right now, and I am so happy that I decided to sign up for it. I’m feeling so inspired to create again after a fairly lengthy case of “the blahs”.

The other class participants are all so supportive and encouraging, and I’m picking up little gems of inspiration whenever I look at everyone’s work. I love this stuff.

I promise to try and find some more balance, because I really do love my blog.

It must be true, I wrote it in my journal <3

• Art , Paper Journaling
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Dear April;
Are you sure that was thirty days? I would like to request a recount.
.

Dear readers;
I didn’t mean to neglect you for a month, and I’m sorry. Maybe you could start a support group?
.

Dear members of the Victims of Elizabeth’s Neglect Support Group;
May I nominate Exercise and Laundry for the position of Secretary?
.

Dear May;
Don’t feel the need to upstage April. You can take a backseat this year.
.

Dear Regina Spektor;
You are sweet and talented and powerful. Hearing you play last night was such a privilege.
.

Dear random St Kilda fortune teller;
Thank you for talking me into that reading, and for telling me everything I wanted to hear.
.

Dear Tim;
Last night’s date was pretty special, don’t you think?
.

Dear Harry;
I will never understand how your brain works, but you are my most favourite dog.  Also, you will be having a bath as soon as I publish this post, just a little heads up.
.

Dear Autumn;
I’m so glad you’re here. I will live in leggings, dresses and cardigans until October.
.

I really am sorry for not checking in here for the past 4 weeks. I’ve been throwing myself into other areas of my life lately, but I miss writing here. More than that, I miss your comments!

So what did I miss?

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Only a couple of hours until my five-day weekend!

It would be dishonest of me to suggest that I am focused on my work today. Instead, I have decided to simply file this one under “not productive” and stop fighting it! My biggest achievement was organising morning tea for my colleagues (and toasting about 50 hot cross buns) and I don’t want to run the risk of overdoing things.

We couldn’t have that.

So instead of doing work, here are some photos of my workplace through the lens of Hipstamatic.

Lens: John S
Film: Float
Flash: Off

• Life , Photo Posts
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“Oranges (If She Only Had a Recipe for Happiness)” by MFayre

Can you believe it’s nearly the end of March?

2010 is flying, and it’s almost left me behind once or twice. Only three months ago we welcomed in the new year, and casually discussed the idea of saving more money and finding a cheaper place to rent.

Two weeks later we’d signed a new lease, packed up, moved in, bought furniture, hosted guests, calmed the overwhelmed dog, and found our feet in a brand new part of town; all the while being stretched to the max in our fulltime jobs.

It’s been very rewarding, but utterly exhausting. Last weekend was blissfully unremarkable – no appointments, no guests, no deadlines. I made bread and cupcakes in my funny little kitchen, Tim slept in and reacquainted himself with the couch, we played a board game by candlelight during Earth Hour and spent some time hanging out with the four-legged fur creature.

Those two days stretched out to four somehow, and energised me enough to finish off a few little things around the house that were previously too overwhelming to think about.

“Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s made me realise just how precious my downtime is, and how important it is to just take the phone off the hook once in a while. It gave Tim and I a chance to just enjoy each others company without watching the clock. I’m all about simple pleasures like that.

Next weekend will be 5 days long, thanks to Good Friday and a couple of extra days tacked onto the other side. I plan to schedule as little of it as possible, and cross my fingers for cold and rainy weather. All I want to do is hang out in my pretty new house, read, write and draw.

(Hey Tim, you’re invited! x)

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Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.

I almost apologised for this image-heavy post, but it wouldn’t have been very sincere!

There is no way to describe how incredible it feels to float above the clouds in a little basket, watching the sun creep up over the mountains and seeing the world wake up. It’s so smooth and gentle, and very serene.

All I can do is show you my pictures. I hope everyone reading this has the chance to do it someday.

(This is just a small selection of the photos I took yesterday!)

Unfortunately the company we flew with placed surprise restrictions on what could be carried on board, and I found myself having to leave most of my camera gear behind. It was really disappointing to have researched my shots so well in advance, only to be told that I couldn’t take a shoulder bag. Put it on your website guys, you list every other piece of information there.

Otherwise it was a brilliant experience. If you think you might find yourself in a similar situation I recommend asking plenty of questions ahead of time and consider getting it in writing. It’s a lot of money, and if photography is your thing you really want to get it right. 5am isn’t the time to be working on your Plan B!

It wasn’t a great way to begin the morning, but I managed to put it behind me and focus on enjoying the experience. Balloon Sunrise ticked every other box, and the Yarra Valley is truly beautiful from the sky.

Thank you Tim for organising this for my birthday!

• 101 in 1001 , Life , Melbourne
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Birthday festivities continued to roll on this weekend, thanks to my lovely friends April & Joe.

I’ve never had to match my accessories to my wings and tiara before!

Dinner was incredible, and topped off with – get this – a cheesecake icecream cake. Two of my favourite things put together! With butterflies!

And wings!

I am so spoiled. Thank God my friends don’t require me to act my age…

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Roses from Mum & Dad

Belgian Chocolate and Red Velvet cupcakes, from the incredible Little Cupcakes on Degraves St

KitchenAid Artisan, in Almond Cream

“Diamonds by the Yard” necklace from Tiffany, by Elsa Peretti

Soft leather handbag by Kate Spade, from Tim’s parents

Beautiful Georg Jensen cheese board and knife

Laguiole cheese knives (ok everyone, I think I’m equipped to eat cheese now!)

A six-course banquet at Flower Drum, a hand-carved swan (with a sparkler), and a bunch of strangers singing me Happy Birthday!

And weather-permitting, this is what I’ll be doing tomorrow morning:

I am feeling very lucky, and very spoiled.

I was given lots of other little bits and pieces as well. Shoe clips, an evening bag, a little bottle of Chanel Cristalle and some sparkly jewellery. My parents also sent me a few pieces of furniture that we needed. Is it sad that I was most excited about finally having a pantry?

So I guess being thirty isn’t so bad, so far. Please cross your eyeballs that we have good weather tomorrow morning! If all goes well we’ll be sailing over the Yarra Valley at sunrise, followed by breakfast at Balgownie Estate winery.

Of course, my friend Sally anticipated that all this attention might go to my head, so she did her best to find me a present that would drag me back down to Earth. I am so lucky to have a friend to remind me that the clock is ticking!

I’m sure this present had something to do with my 101 List, and that it wasn’t purely sadistic. She’s been such a champion where my list is concerned, and we’re celebrating my 30th properly in June when she joins me for a trip to the (remaining) 12 Apostles.

And now we’re off to our friends’ place for another birthday dinner. I have been promised a ridiculous birthday hat, so perhaps I should leave the camera at home!

• 101 in 1001 , Family , Friends , Life
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Look at the smug expression on that girl’s face.

She has no pain in her hips, she’s never had a filling and doesn’t need to drop her teeth in a glass of water each night. There are no cavernous wrinkles in her forehead, she doesn’t know which aisle to find the prunes in, and she doesn’t even know whether Ridge is married to Brooke or Taylor these days.

I’m sorry, is she too good for Bold and the Beautiful?

In a few minutes that girl will go to bed, and when she wakes up she will be thirty. Her bones will creak and her hair will be grey and she’s probably going to find herself with a dozen or so cats that will need to be fed. She will smell constantly of talcum powder and Dencorub, and every word that ends in an “S” will be followed by the high-pitched whistle of her dentures. All of a sudden she’ll be planning her crossword puzzle sessions around that show with the pedi-egg demonstrations and she will have a favourite reclining chair that always makes her sleepy.

That last part sounds pretty good, actually.

Perhaps the girl in that photo will just catch the tram to work as usual tomorrow, go for a run in the afternoon, and then open her presents. And maybe a cute boy will order Indian takeaway and snuggle up on the couch with her and tell her that she doesn’t look a day over twenty-nine.

I guess she shouldn’t rule that out.

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I’ve just discovered these beautiful handmade books by Natalie Stopka, and didn’t think it was fair to keep them to myself. I love all the work that goes into this style of binding, and wish I had the skill and patience to do it myself!

Natalie is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, and makes beautiful sketchbooks and journals using vintage handkerchiefs, fabric and embroidery stitching. No two books are ever the same, and she also welcomes custom orders on her Etsy shop Natalie As Is. I was surprised to find that her prices are very reasonable.

Photographs of her works-in-progress can also be found at her flickr site.

And, as further proof that the Universe distributes talent unequitably, she just happens to be a beautiful portrait artist as well.

I would love to own one of her beautiful books, and be able to fill it with sketches like these!

You can see more of Natalie’s work at her portfolio site, www.nataliestopka.com.

Thanks to Paper Crave for this discovery!

• Art , Cool stuff , Online Shopping , Paper Journaling
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Words can’t describe how much I love these magnets from Jailbreak Toys. There seems to be so much out there for iPhone tragics like me, but they’re not all as functional as these!

Whatever you want to do… There’s an app for that. That’s right. Whether you want to buy movie tickets, read the news, write a review, pay a tip, catch a taxi, or even train your dog, there’s an app for that. But what if you want to hang a photo on the fridge? Or leave a note on the microwave? Or save that Chinese take-out menu in a place where you can’t lose it? When it came to certain old-school tasks, the apps were coming up short. A little reverse innovation was needed. Well, good news, everyone… Now there’s an app for that, too.

Introducing the App Magnets by the Jailbreak Collective! In order to bring the magic of the iPhone into the third dimension, we asked an artist to reach into the iPhone home screen and literally pluck out the apps. Then we added a little magnetism. And best of all, we mass produced them so now you too can own your very own set of 3-D App Magnets!

My only complaint is that they don’t seem to ship outside of the US. Please consult your calendar app, Jailbreak – you appear to be stuck in 2003.

Spotted at Design Fetish.

• Cool stuff , iPhone
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