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No need for a code, just go straight to my Society 6 Page. Includes laptop skins, ipad cases, shower curtains, art prints and more.

New Clocks and free shipping weekend

I totally forgot to update that my designs on Society 6 are now available as clocks. Each clock has the option for black, white or natural frame colour, and for black or white hands. And there's free worldwide shipping if you use this link until Sunday at Midnight Pacific Time.
*Offer excludes Framed Art Prints, Stretched Canvases and Throw Pillows with insert.

I think this is going to involve some updating because a lot my my pattern make it hard to read the clock, so I rummaged through my old sketchbooks for some pieces that would better suit a round face and decided this Fjorn pattern (above) was perfect for the job, with a few edits to make it more circular. I love it in clock format, but it also looks good on the other products too. It is also comes in a red on white option.

Now I'd better get back to updating the clock section for all my previous designs to they will work better. I'm thinking single colours may be the way to go initially.

Mirka Janeckova

I felt the need for some wintery white and the jewellery of Mirka Janeckova seemed perfect. Then I saw her White Drawings and had to show 3 of them as well, they are very striking and I actually thought they were inverted photos of actual jewellery when I first looked.

More free shipping on Society 6

Another free shipping deal on most Cally Creates Society 6 products including iPhone/iPad skins and cases, from now through Monday (cyber Monday for those of you that call it that).

New sizes/style of Cally Creates bags

Over at Society 6 my they have introduced a new style of Tote bag, and the option of larger sizes so my designs are now printed right to the edges, so much nicer! If you are tempted to buy one this is a good time as there is free shipping on them (and on several other of my products) through Sunday the 27th of October.

Summer Solstice 2012

Sun setting at 10.30 on the Summer Solstice.

Sun setting at 10pm a day later.

The Soltice sunset was quite impressive, for about 15 minutes! I love the way you can see the pale blue and faded mint sky behind the more dramatic gold dusted rain clouds. I was hoping to get a nice shot at midnight since the previous night had looked bloody gorgeous (but could I find my camera? Nope). Sadly it was a bit too cloudy for a good photo at midnight but there were some lovely red hues in the north sky over Edinburgh.

Minerals - grey, gold, black, silver

Galena with Chalcopyrite, Sphalerite and Quartz
See many more photo's and details here on Mineral Classics


Metastibnite via Mineral Classics


Pyrrhotite on Galena from Russia via Mineral Classics


Sphalerite on Chalcopyrite via Surrey Minerals


Pyrite in Slate via The San Francisco Gem & Mineral Society

Pyrite via Mindat


Stibnitewith Barite via irocks


Skutterudite via irocks

Cactus Beetroot Cranberry

The flowers are nearly finished on the Christmas Cactus, they always brings such a great splash of neon pink over Christmas and this year they were especially abundant (having been scant after major pruning 2yrs earlier).

Another intense pink that lasts all through winter is of course beetroot. All that colour hints at it's high beta carotene content. When eaten regularly it's liver cleansing abilities are ideal for those of you who had more than the occasional tipple during the party season. My usual Summer salad of beetroot, pear and feta got a seasonal boost with fresh cranberries. Also good for your liver and packed with phytonutrients and antioxidants.

Not that my liver has suffered in any way, I barely drink at all, but I do like to dribble Tawny Port onto things around Christmas time so I can pretend they are trifle so I'm sure my liver is happy to have a pink boost to help cleanse it. Hopefully by next year my Cranberry plant will have settled in enough to produce an edible harvest so I won't need to depend on shops at all.

Photographer Emmanuel Coupé

Emmanuel Coupé - Elgol, Isle of Skye, Scotland. Photo SC9376


Emmanuel Coupé - Lochan Urr, Glen Etive, Glencoe, Highlands, Scotland. SC9887


Emmanuel Coupé - Loch Tulla, Glencoe, Highlands, Scotland. Photo SC1077

It's been too long since I went camping in North/North West of Scotland so I thought I'd take a virtual tour courtesy of the wonderful photography of Emmanuel Coupé. His photographs from Scotland, and around the world make me long to travel, but also help satisfy my urge. They are available to buy as Archival quality prints.


Emmanuel Coupé - Quiraing, Isle of Skye, Scotland. Photo SC8633


Emmanuel Coupé - Elgol, Isle of Skye, Scotland. Photo SC5306

Brooches that look like rocks and minerals

David Choi - Brooch via Crafthaus


Isabel Dammermann - Perpetua Brooches

I've been dipping into some of my old posts to enlarge the photo's in them and came across the original Brooches that look like rocks and minerals post in 2008 and decided it was time for another set.


Anna Wallis - 'Silver Crystal' Brooch via Velvet da Vinci Gallery


Amy Tavern - Fabricated Memory: Jewelry Box 1980 via Velvet da Vinci Gallery


Hanna Liljenberg: Brooch via Klimt02
Looks like a piece of Hubnerite


Sofia Björkman - Blackened Brilliance series 2010-'11 via Klimt02


Sofia Björkman - Blackened Brilliance series 2010-'11 via Klimt02
Has echoes of this Goethite over Quartz on this page.


Anna Wallis - 'Drip' Brooch via Velvet da Vinci Gallery

Sculpted clothing - The T/Shirt Issue

Most beautiful Wolf sculptural clothing by Mashallah.Design

These are from The T/Shirt Issue page of Digital Portraits.
The T/Shirt Issue blog has even more wonderfully sculpted geometric pieces:





Here's what they say about themselves...
"The T-shirt Issue is an interdisciplinary collective that combines fashion, design and technology into unique basic apparel, ranging from daily wearables to conceptual installations.

We are fascinated by the triangular polygon, a geometric shape we see as the basic unit of digital substance and wearable form. All our products are made in a new digital environment that allows us to reconstruct every piece of clothing from the core to any degree of complexity. With this new approach we establish a new dimension in which 2D, 3D and the space in between is reconsidered and experimented with.

In doing so, we stir triangular shapes and fine fabrics into basic apparel that subtly exposes its digital descent. As the possibilities in polygonal shaping are unlimited, we also engage in the conception of extensive art pieces to shed a light on the extremities. Our ultimate mission is to lift the hurdle between possible and impossible and redefine the aesthetics of all things jersey."

Cally Creates - Cushion/Pillow covers

Seaweed Fronds Cushion Covers - €19.99

Sketch <9090> retro Cushion Covers - €19.99,

I've been so busy trying to get Christmas presents sorted that I forgot to list some new cushion covers in my Envelop shop. Bit daft of me because they won't be shipping new orders until 7th January.

I really need to go to bed but I have to stay up because my belly has still not managed to comprehend, never mind digest, all that I have eaten since this afternoon. I was planning to just make a simple Jerusalem artichoke soup, a great Winter favourite of mine. But one thing led to another and I found myself steaming carrots, cauliflower and beetroot on top of the soup. Surely that should be enough, but I got impatient waiting and decided to make a salad to tide me over - but it turned out HUGE filled with Beetroot, Pomegranate, Cranberries, Pears, Jerusalem Artichokes, Feta. It was so tasty I ate the whole thing. Problem was, the soup turned out just as tasty and I couldn't stop eating it either and I loved every tasty mouthful.

Wim Delvoye - Carved Tyres

Wim Delvoye - Untitled (Car Tyre) - 2007 - H 81.5 x 19 cm - Hand carved car tyres


Wim Delvoye - Untitled (Car Tyre) - 2009 - H 122 x 38 cm - Hand carved car tyre

Wonderful hand carved tyres by Belgian artist Wim Delvoye. Although started in 2007 I'm only just discovering these now and love them, there are lots more to see here. They have similar qualities to the work of Cal Lane who I first blogged about here. Here is one of her pieces I've not show already.


Cal Lane - laser cut car door via Artboom.

Wim has some really large works such as his steel Towers. And smaller ones can be seen on his Scale models section. I'd seen some of his earlier pieces before but didn't know who they were by, like this huge 2002 piece Caterpillar #5:

Wim Delvoye - Caterpillar #5 - 2002 - 350 x 900 x 300 cm
Laser-cut corten steel - Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

After the Storm came the snow

Snow last December.

Thursday's storm was pretty full on and the house felt a bit like a cardboard box because we could see the walls wobbling in and out with the gusts. The joys of mobile homes, but we were luck not to be one of the 50,000 people who lost their electricity supply. Apparently more stormy weather is due in a few days but for now things are calm and I awoke to a beautiful inch or two of snow. It's not deep but I suspect it is quite wet snow because it manage to crumple my Skimmia Japonica, which was only just recovering from last year's snow damage. Other than that most things have been pruned or supported so as to resist all but the heaviest of snows

Inspired by the black trees in snow I put together a little selection of black and white niceness, a fantasy Christmas wishlist:



1. Duncan Shott Magnetic Cloud Keyholder £20
2. Sagemcom Sixty Retro Style Digital Cordless Telephone approx £90
3 & 4. Sanna Annuka for Marimekko
5. Nordic Knit Booties (can't find a source for these)
6. One of my own cushion covers approx £17.

Cally Creates - Cushion/Pillow covers

Cushion/Pillow covers available in 3 sizes from €19.99 with free worldwide shipping

I couldn't sleep one night last week so I finally followed through on some projects that have been hanging in the air for years. Like getting my college textiles properly scanned and adapted for digital printing. It's one of those things I keep starting but then abandon because I don't really like editing them on the computer, it seems to take too long so I always abandon the process halfway when the house, garden, family or my stomach make more pressing demands. But a sleepless night and howling winds helped me get back on track and finish preparing some for upload.

The first items available for purchase are these 100% cotton cushion/pillow covers and a 4 napkins (not shown). Since the designs are from my college days in the early 90's I'm calling this collection 'Revived'. The name seems a little ironic given that this is me accepting that I am just not well enough to hand print my own work any more. It's taken a good long while to come to terms with that but now that I have I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest and I can start getting work out there again, albeit old work - but I think a lot of my old designs are very suited to modern tastes, which was not the case at the time I designed them. Maybe my habit of keeping every-little-thing isn't all bad after all.

Of course, nothing beats the feeling of making something from scratch - it's what I truly love to do, but since that isn't an option I feel OK about going digital for a while. And it's giving me an excuse to unearth old designs again, which is always immensely good fun. It feels like Christmas every time I open a folder or folio.

Other designs, colours and items are awaiting approval (there seem to be technical glitches) so watch this space to find out when more are added, it most definitely won't be all black and white - You know how much I love colour. I'll try and rework a few designs each month if I can.

You can also buy some of my repeat patterns as fabric from Spoonflower. This one is Collioure fabric in Black and white (colours available too) which you can purchase as swatches, fat quarters and by the yard in several colourways and fabrics including Organic Cotton Knit. $5 a swatch $11 per Fat Quarter.


Collioure fabric in Black and white