Close up in brown tones

My parents bought me a proper camera and close up lens (60mm Macro lens) so I've been enjoying getting up close to with around the house. So keen for warm weather and garden delights to get amongst though I'll still need my trusty old compact for wider angle shots.

Free shipping weekend includes new designs

Another Free Shipping weekend on Cally Creates products* including these new fishing net iphone cases and skins when you use this link - offer expires January 12, 2014 at Midnight Pacific Time. *Offer excludes Framed Art Prints, Stretched Canvases and Throw Pillows with insert.

I was yearning for a beach visit but in lieu of that I started looking through old photos and thought these would make nice cards, prints and phone skins. Sadly they aren't large enough to make bigger items but they satisfied my beachy cravings.

Zander Olson - Tree, Line

Zander Olson - Tree, Line - Untitled 2008

Zander Olson - Tree, Line - No Mans Land 2004

These are great aren't they. Zander Olson says: ‘This is an ongoing series of constructed photographs rooted in the forest. These works, carried out in Surrey, Hampshire and Wales,involve site specific interventions in the landscape, ‘wrapping’ trees with white material to construct a visual relationship between tree, not-tree and the line of horizon according to the camera’s viewpoint.’

Brooches that look like rocks & minerals

Maria Lóbez: Brooch, L'invisible 1 2008
Silver, methacrylate (via Klimt02)

Marielle Ledoux: Brooch, Untitled 2008
Rubber (via Klimt02)


Célio Braga: Brooch, Untitled 2007 (via Klimt02)
Textile, felt, glass, hair
Looks like it's covered in Boulangerite crystals.


Yu-Chun Chen: Brooch, Flowerness of the bird II 2007
Iron, paint, horn, steel (via Klimt02)


Flora Vagi: Necklace, Untitled 2007
Wood, silk (via Klimt02)

Update: I thought I should include some real minerals too...

Ferberite from Bolivia via Mineral Classics


Ferberite (rare doubley terminated twin) on matrix from Bolivia via Mineral Classics

Faces on brooches

Constantinos Kyriacou: Brooch, 2008


Inês Almeida: Brooch- Diálogos e monólogos 2 2004-2005
Wood, silver and coins (via Klimt02)


Fabrizio Tridenti: Brooch- F. Guelfi 2007 (via Klimt02)
Plastic, oxidized silver, paper, electric wire


Bettina Speckner: Brooches, 2007+2004


Eija Mustonen: Brooch (via Hibernate)

Blue stays, red fades to pink

LA has an abundance of blue walls changing tone with the passing of the day. If we'd had time I'd have loved to do a series of the same walls over the course of a day to see how much those blues change.

Old blue dairy window 1

This is my idea of perfection. I could spend (I DO spend) hours photographing flaky blue paint.

Sheds & National Work from Home Day (UK)

Just accidentally deleted most of the images and links for this post! Here's what is left...


Ukrainian architecture found via microscopic

What an amazing building, I'd like that as a home office. Here in the UK it's National Work from Home Day today which I discovered this when browsing the great blog Shedworking. I've been wanting to use waste pallets in the rebuild of my mobile home as well as for fencing and I've spent months trying to find examples. I was very pleased when I strayed upon Shedworking (I'm a true shed lover) and lo and behold, they had this post about a pallet built temporary shelter for refugees but it can be adapted for permanent use.

If I lived anywhere else I would have been testing all my house plans by building sheds (goodness knows I can never have enough storage space) but wooden sheds are now forbidden where I live, we are only allowed to put up metal ones, though luckily a wood one was already in place when I bought the house (and a metal one, I love having 2 sheds) and the rules only apply to new additions.

On the subject of sheds (and work), I was watching The Apprentice last night. What has the Apprentice got to do with sheds you ask? Well, according to this post on Shedblog (yes, another shed blog) contestants Michael and Lindi were carrying on in a shed in the garden of the house this year before Lindi was fired. UK readers probably already knew, but that is quite literally the only piece of gossip I have heard in months. If I got a man into my shed there'd be no nooky, I'd have him fixing a cross-brace to the back wall because the shed is slowly but surely tipping sideways on the sloped ground!

My current plan, for when I'm well enough to tackle things again, is to build a dog house for Lucy to stay cool in on hot days, a hedgehog house (he/she currently has a little leafy corner but it's not weatherproof) and some birdhouses... all with different types of green roof. Here is a link to another black lab called Lucy sitting outside her green roof dog house.


Sustainable Pet: Heart cat house (found via groovygreen)


Sustainable Pet: Birdhouse, bluebird

This will be my way of experimenting what will grow well because I really hope, one day, to have a green roof on my house extension. That is a very long way off, but it seems a good idea to start getting some practice with the plants now to see what survives best where I live.

I'm planning 3 tests. One with grasses, one with succulents and one with mosses. I suspect a combination of mosses and succulents will best suit the final roof, given that parts are in the shade (mosses) and the rest is nearly full sun. I like grass roofs, but I think it would cause too much trouble with the neighbours if it got straggly and I wouldn't be up there cutting it, though perhaps a loan of a rabbit would work.


Gallie Craig Coffee Shop, Drummore, Scotland.
Architect: IB McFadzean

I started the experiment a few years ago by putting broken bits of succulents on the nearly flat garage roof that backs onto my garden. The rain washed a lot of them away (it's not my garage so I can't build a retaining lip on it) but there was moss up there already and it held some in place. They are now doing quite well, though a lot is lost due to birds always pulling out the moss. On a proper green roof the succulents would have something to root into so I could pre-grow areas before putting them on the roof. Blimey, I didn't expect to witter on so much, but I never get to talk about my building passions these days with everything on hold.

Spring is really here!

LA pictures above and below, Mr P has my camera so I've not been able to take any of the fine things around here this week but let me tell you, Spring is really here!

We've had two days of proper hot sun, and suddenly hundreds of shrubs and trees have burst into green growth. The path which, one week ago, was just bare branches and low winter grass is suddenly alive with birds, and insects. The grass, nettles and wildflowers have grown at what seems like miracle speed and the bushes that were light and airy are suddenly all lush and creating their lovely shadow filled covered pathway once again.

It's quite astonishing. Last week the lilac was just tight buds. This week it has leaves AND 3 inch long flower stems almost ready to open. I can hardly believe it. Wonderful. No more thermal long johns under my trousers, no jackets, no jumpers. I was out with a little vest top on doing yoga in the garden, with Lucy and the cat sleeping in the shade beside me.

Welcome home Spring, we've missed you.

Paul Beelen - jewellery

Paul Beelen: Brooch - Untitled 2006. Maple, amethyst, white pearl


Paul Beelen: Brooch - Untitled 2006. Maple, crystal

There is something deeply satisfying about whittling away at a piece of wood, letting the form reveal itself as you work. I think that's what attracts me to the sculptural wooden jewellery of Paul Beelen found via Klimt02. I'll add my wood carvings to the list of 'things I really must photograph and show on my blog one day'.


Paul Beelen: Ring - Untitled 2006. Maple, malachite


Paul Beelen: Ring - Untitled 2006. Maple, jasper

These people mean business...

One of a multitude of signs they had on this small parking area.




I'd love to write these around my garden where the kids keep breaking through and killing my plants. Instead of writing 'you will be towed!' I'd like to write 'You will be eaten!'. And maybe have some monstrous teeth drawn top and bottom of the sign :0)

White on grey, house numbers

Pale blue & white

So many lovely blues in the LA light.

Foliage and a fish

Old wood

Beautifully weather worn old wood.

My trip - clue No. 2b

Lisa Jones

Lisa Jones: Angell Wings, 2007
felt, silicone, thread



Lisa Jones: Part of the Symbiosis Chair series
Left - Butterfly Chair 2005 , wood, steel, silicone
Right - Venus Chair 2006, wood, steel.

Lisa's work has been consistently gorgeous and distinctive over the last few years. People always ask"what would you buy if you had a million pounds?", I'd buy Lisa's entire Symbiosis series and all her felt work to put in my salvaged wood beach hut. I say hut, it would be bigger than a hut, with room for you all to visit and create. It's nice to dream.