I'm going to start writing again - Shock, Horror Etc.

So it's been nearly six months since I wrote my last blog.  The irony is that heaps has happened in that time, so I really have no excuse for updating it except for pure laziness.  I think my desire to write is tied in with my enrolment at university.  Maybe because while I'm at uni it seems like more fun to write blog posts and when I'm not at uni the rest of life and sleep is more exciting :P

So quick update on the last six months!

In December we went to go see Muse in concert - it was amazing.  As expected they totally rocked my socks off and the show was just way too exciting.

At the end of December my BFF's little son turned one! She had a lovely 'woodland' themed party for him and it was very sweet to see all the little ones playing together.  The cake was omg amazing (visually since I couldn't eat it :P):

And I finally got to give Cameron the quilt I'd been working on since *thinks* October.  I did a quilting class for four hours every two weeks - great fun and a really good starting point for a complete newbie to the sewing machine!

In January, where I live in Queensland was hit by the floods.  It was a pretty scary time for us because we can see the river from where we live.  But we were really, really lucky to avoid the flooding - by only about 20cm!  If the river had reached the height they were predicting, we probably wouldn't even be living at home still :(  It was really positive to see Queensland pull together and be really supportive of each other in a crisis - makes me proud to be an Aussie :D

Also in January we went on a trip to Melbourne!  I'd never been to Melbourne but always wanted to and let me tell you, I was not disappointed.  I love how eclectic it is as a city - it has something for everyone, which makes it really interesting to visit.  I couldn't live there, but it's definitely a great place to spend a week in.

View from Eureka Tower, Southbank.

I'd also made the decision two weeks before we went to Melbourne to say bye bye to all animal products.  Yes, I am now a vegan (superpowers pending).  So it seemed quite fitting to spend our time in Melbourne with our vegan friends: Phil and his gf Amy.  I have seriously never been so well fed in my entire life - the food was amazing, vegan and just.. omg amazing.  

I'll cover some of the vegan stuff in another post (as well as updating some of my blog roll!).  For now more photos of Melbourne!

Trams!  Really funky way to get around!

 R.M Williams building in the middle of Melbourne Central (shopping centre).

Oh no! It's a giant bird attacking a village! (Relax, it's just a model tudor village :P)

Dinosaurs @ the Melbourne Museum

OMG! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!

Projects on the go in 2011:

- Learning the in's and out's of veganism, nutrition, cooking and the art of a smoking hot bod.

- Writing a business plan to buy a new business mid next year!

- Going to uni and continue to be awesome

- Learning to sew clothes and look at creating some upcycled pieces (inspired by Tweal blog)

- Creating a line of party decorations and giftware

- Researching homeschooling and alternative curriculums

So this year a lot of my writing with focus on those things as I come across them and as I learn more (of course in amongst the usual day-to-day crap I do that I feel the urge to write about!).  Now off to obsessively download apps for my Iphone before taking a walk through the Toowong cemetery! xx

The Week That Was - 23 to 29 August

Wow, I have been soooo very busy this week.  Yet again I skipped class to do work (and possibly to have fun, but details details).  I had my first 'Intro to Visual Communication' assignment due on Friday and I think I did okay!  It was a 2 minute video pitch and I found it really odd that I was one of the only people I saw that actually picked up a video camera?  Apparently there was a loophole that as long as you used a video editing software you could use still images.  Some video project huh?

After my hand-in I treated myself to a grocery shop and a boost smoothie (picture above).  OMG banana buzz how I love thee :D  I also love the pasta bake I made with our new oven - ooooooh yeah!

So despite how busy I was it didn't stop me doing two things:
1. Oogling craft books.. found this great book about making felt toys.

 

DO WANT TO MAKE THESE! So cute :D
And 2:  Watching Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World with Patrick

This movie was seriously AWESOME!  Maybe it's cause I'm you know part of the generation of Nintendo and Sega at it's finest - but also exposed to the arcade games and Atari by my parents.  I just absolutely adore the stylistic choices in this movie, and the music/sound is freaking incredible.  I was seriously blown away the entire movie and I'm dying to see it again - watching it in cinema is quite the experience! (Note: Dear Boyfriend, stop reading here thanks! xx) FYI I think I have the biggest crush on Brandon Routh (he's the second last guy in that pic).  So freaking hot, plus the first time you see him he's playing a guitar!  Ignore that he's a jerk - he's practically my dream boyfriend.  Did I mention he's freaking hot?

(Note: Boyfriend can read from here onwards!! xx)

Last but only due to timelines (I did this today!), I've been starting work on my storyboard for film class.  

I'm working with this other guy, on a story about a kid trying to buy alcohol from a liquor store (he's underage) in a spaghetti western style - so lots of dramatic close ups and gunshot sounds lol.  Think the stand-off scene in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly; then you've got the right idea.  So today was background day!!

I put in that last picture so you can appreciate that I am literally working off tiny crappy little scribbles to make these.  Apparently the 2 years I spent doing interior design taught me something about scale and perspective drawings - yay!  These are just my drafts, so I can run something visual past my partner and then make the final pictures (that's why there's no people).  Also people aren't exactly my strength as you can see by my amazing stick people in the picture above.

And that wraps up this week!  Now to do some cleaning and dig out my neglected German book from my epic paperwork pile.  Eek! xx

My Crazy Craft Obsession

I have always wanted to be good at one craft thing.  My first blog was about knitting - which is one of the crafts that my mother is absolutely fantastic at - alas (Update!) I have to tell you my knitting adventure was a complete failure.  Thankfully my lovely mum is almost finished the scarf for Justin so he at least HAS one!

So I'm moving onto sewing and felt craft!  For as long as I can remember I've looked with utter confusion at the piles of fabrics; with complete wonder at clothes/toys/furnishings made by this contraption called a sewing machine.  Last Saturday I bit the bullet, stole my mum's sewing machine and hit the fabric stores/bookstores/craft blogs - here are the results!

My modest little fabric pile - augh I could have bought so much more!  Poor store assistants, I sucked them dry for information on the differences between the fabrics - but hell I spent enough!  The top three are all 100% cotton, I'm hoping to make a little quilt from the yellow ones and maybe a skirt from the red stripy one.   The pink fabric is for a secret project, so shhh.  I also got a teal one and a grey stretch blend to make dress pants.

My not-so-modest felt pile.  These are mixture of different felt materials.. I seem to have this love for the material, probably stemming back to making little toys with it when I was in primary school :3  It's so cheap and versatile; I'm particularly interested in making felt appliques to go onto things.  I'm already pretty handy with hand-sewing it's just the sewing machine I have to master!

I <3 Buttons so so so much!  I had to buy these cute mix packs, more buttons then you can poke a stick at!  Here we also see half of the pretty thread colours I bought to make my fabrics.

Finally, this is the book I bought from Borders.  It was fairly exxy @ $55 but it's one hell of a chunky book!  It goes into a lot of detail about different sewing techniques and is a really great starting point for a nubcake like me.  But in saying that there isn't much in it for exciting 'projects' which is why I want another half a dozen books already haha.