how to make a toucan??

I promised to make my mother a bird.... and she asked for a toucan. A toucan!
Have you seen what those birds look like?? They are truely amazing - but how the bloody hell do you make one?

I have started on some research. I found lots of beautiful images on google but I like this one best...

I also like these two...

Its amazing how they blend into the tropical forests. I found some excellent info on Toucans at this site. Did you know that their beaks are hollow and can grow up to 45cms in length? Amazing.

Here I am on the kitchen floor starting to work out the pattern. Planning on making the beak hollow and stiffened with lots of interfacing. Should be done by Christmas I reckon!  

I'm so far behind on all my birds. When people ask me for one, I quite seriously tell them there is a 12 week wait! But yesterday I made 4 birds - and they are now just awaiting legs and feet. And a leg ring label. And and and...

remembering summer 2009 ....

it feels a bit like summer right about now....
the washing was hung on the line by 8am and was bone dry by 9am,
the strawberry plants are hanging heaving with little strawberries not-yet-ripe,
and the grass is going brown already....

In the summer of 2009 we had an amazing holiday up the coast around the Bellingen district ☀

We drank champagne, floated in the river, played bocce on the rolling green fields and flew a mean kite in strong onshore winds. It was magic!

We were very clever with the Holga when we took this. A fancy double exposure done in-camera ( okay, okay - and a tiny bit of digital editing after it was scanned... )

we'd both go back to that day in a second. It really was magic ♥♥

secret birds I have not shown you....

These little guys have winged their way down to Pulp Creative Paper.
Maybe they are still there for sale... maybe they are all gone? Either way - they are very cute!

The flippy winged wren at the top has a cute frilled chest, the middle black and white sparrow is made from patchworked fabrics and the floppy tailed wren above has a double sided tail that also stands straight up and is leather on one side and wool felt on the other... Fancy!!

I really must get cracking and make some more...

I also have some mice. But I'll show you those later on in the week....

listing on madeit.com.au

I decided to list my pendants on madeit. Although I must say that that the photo's don't look so crash hot - I will have to re- photograph them :( 

Maybe they will sell? 

Maybe I should list them on etsy instead? 

I'll give them a couple of weeks I think...

birdie pendants

I like clay. I'm not very good at using it, but I like it!

I've tried porcelain with not alot of luck (very tricky stuff and wasn't so sure about the firing. How do they get it so white?). I've tried earthenware clay. Now i'm playing with Paper Clay (which is just like earthenware but has some paper pulp mixed through it)

I've also discovered oxides! My favourite is magnesium oxide. You paint it on, wipe it off leaving it in the lines etc, fire it and voila - instant loveliness!

These are some bird pendants I made. I'm really happy with how they turned out. Think I might list them on etsy. Or maybe madeit? I'm thinking $15 each...

Holiday activity...

I finally finished my crochet-ed blanket! I have been looking at this incomplete blanket for YEARS and on account of it being freezing in Sydney this winter, I decided it was high time I finished it.

Okay, okay - so its not very big but I genuinely ran out of wool and I can't find it in Spotlight anymore. Thank God really! I couldn't bear to do anymore.

But I think it looks quite good, and its actually quite warm. Here it is on my wicker chair, on the moss covered patio.

I have also been playing with the fancy school DSLR and took this pretty picture of some camelia's from the front garden in the kitchen when - shock horror - the sun was shining in through the windows

We have also been to the Paddington Reservoir. Have you been there? It is amazing. It is like a hanging garden hidden in Sydney on Oxford St. Bliss! Go there with a picnic - how nice!

(me at the Reservoir)

(see! Beautiful!)