new camera: panasonic lumix GF1 and 20mm pancake lens

since going digital i've always had point and shoot cameras. all well and good but lately i've been feeling increasingly nostalgic for bokeh and twisty lenses and SLR. i'd go back to using my pentax K1000, art foundation camera, but it's one hell of a big fella and not sure i've got the discipline (or still enough kiddos!) to be that sparing with the number of shots i take.  having seen the beautiful images captured by jodi using her panasonic lumix GF1 (and 20mm pancake lens) i decided that was the combo for me. after much research on t'internet,  ebay watching and failed auction sniping the GF1 (and pancake lens) is finally MINE. so far i've just been noodling about taking photos of the washing line, my feet, the instruction manual and my loves. here are a few shots...

can't wait to get to know the camera better, it's coming on holiday with us next week, hopefully i'll return with some interesting pictures. now i just need to claw myself back into the black, limited edition screen print anyone?

21/52

we're off on holiday for a week tomorrow so i'm doing my 21/52 post early.

wee baby j - it's my party (kinda) and i'll cry if i want to... wee j's best pal big g is also his twin. big g's lovely mama and papa threw a party to celebrate big g's (and wee j's) first birthday. we had a great time but wee j was a bit alarmed by the squeaky balloon carrying forfeit during pass-the-parcel. 
o-o - i am a forest queen. 
last week i liked tall towers.
i'm taking part in the 52 project, you can see all my 52 posts here.

laser beam eyes

big printer still kaput. trying to set up new wi-fi (fancy) printer. after reading the instruction booklet with my laser beam eyes i discover i need to update my elderly mac's clockwork operating system before i can continue. UG! think i'm gonna be late submitting my homework again this month...

sketchbook monday

for music, sad is good.
'grown ups have tea and haircuts' kid at a playgroup

a beautiful piggy pink

my friend jo fonzarelli of hanover, wanted to know how we made our fellas (and percy the pig). here are my tips for making and decorating junk sculptures...

• fix items together into desired creature using glue gun / staples / masking tape / super glue (i find that PVA doesn't work for this)
• dilute some PVA glue with a little water. using a paintbrush apply the diluted glue to the sculpture and then cover in thin paper (or paper kitchen towels). brush diluted glue over the top of the paper. allow to dry completely. the paper layer makes the sculpture sturdier and gives a good surface for painting.
• when decorating the sculpture add a little PVA glue to the paint, it makes it adhere to the surface better and dry quicker.

20/52

wee baby j - 'ok mum, you've got your photo, now get. this. ridiculous. hat. off!' (other birthday crowns here)
o-o - looking tiny but feeling like a big boy in bodiam castle
last week i liked these jumping beans.
i'm taking part in the 52 project, you can see all my 52 posts here.

shiner

o-o sporting three blue eyes after a game of 'babies' at nursery yesterday. yikes!

abandon hope all ye who enter here...

and don't be fooled by those orange and green crocodile socks. we have to two pairs in two different sizes and there's one missing from each pair.

folksy front page

really happy to see my shipping forecast print featured on the folksy front page. many thanks to more tea vicar who curated the everything stops for tea pinterest board.

one...

our lovely bundle, wee baby j, is one. i cannot bear the fact that they grow up so quickly. i. can. not. bear. it. here is a pensive wee j wearing, for a few moments at least, his birthday crown*.

and here he is showcasing his new, perfect and very sharp teeth. 

this means of course that o-o has been a big bro for a whole year, he's doing a great job.

we made some cakes in preparation for wee baby j's big day. o-o was in charge of decorating them; (jelly) tot sweets for our sweet tot.

 *now officially a family tradition. here're o-o's second and third birthday crowns.

sketchbook monday

stripes... a zebra pulling a carriage, a paper bag from a sweet-shop and a sketch for a strong man's mustache.

19/52

wee baby j - halo. my just-woken-up bundle.
o-o - in his game the animals in the zoo had turned the tables on their captor.
last week i liked this al fresco bath, this blast from the past and the chiaroscuro in this shot (found via belinda!)
i'm taking part in the 52 project, you can see all my 52 posts here.

everything in the garden is lovely

linking up with the fab mammasaurus. thought you might like to see our patio transformation, it's from ages ago but i've just realised i haven't shared it here before. 

when we moved into the house the patio looked like a giant, soggy and rather miserable kim's game set-up (photo taken from the estate agent's spec hence lo-res)... 

we were very lucky that my mega, multi-talented bro very kindly agreed to transform the space. he is a legend. by way of payment i provided him with a regular supply of chocolate mallow treats and brews.

here is the completed patio. we have since removed the planter on wheels (on the right) as it was taking up a lot of space that is required by o-o for woodlice safaris, harassing snails, banging of sticks on watering cans and mud puddle creation.

here be other garden-y stuff.

red handed

yesterday was an epic day, don't know why as we didn't do much, just the usual noodling about. over breakfast i made a pig out of some recycling box items, using my new glue gun (satisfying to have the right tool for a job). it was o-o's idea although he kinda left me hanging at the mummy's-got-gluey-hands-and-there's-pva-and-ripped-up-paper-all-over-the-place-and-wee-baby-j's-crying stage, thanks son. he assures me he is keen to assist with the painting by mixing a nice piggy pink like topsy and tim in 'topsy and tim and the school play'. then, with the porcine junk sculpture drying amongst the chaos i clumsily smashed a glass, always stressful, especially with barefoot o-o bossily supervising the clean up. having swept up the multiple tiny shards of glass i left o-o unattended while i fed wee baby j only to return to find he had discovered a red ink pad...

the afternoon concluded with a trip out to the library on the micro scooter, narrowly avoiding pedestrians and having several dramatic falls (him) en route. why i oughta. but like this banner (need!) says...

he might be a stubborn, cheeky, mischief-making scamp but that kid comes out with constant gems like this... 

and i love him much. what a little pyip.

sketchbook monday

sugar spoons, glam rockers label, a list of favourite words and a description of extreme cold... at -40 degrees exhaled breath crystallises and falls to the ground with a gentle tinkle the yakuts call the whisper of the stars.

18/52

wee baby j - he loves that hoover.
o-o - hot and sweaty after a day running around in the sun at nursery. very much enjoying my new iced lolly flavour innovation*.
last week this swinging silliness caught my eye and this gave me eyelash envy.
i'm taking part in the 52 project, you can see all my 52 posts here.
* whizz 2 over ripe bananas, some plain yoghurt and maple syrup in blender. make into lollies using zoku pop maker. 

if you sprinkle when you tinkle...

on thursday while o-o was playing an epic game of 'babies' at nursery with l-man, and wee baby j was taking a well earned nap, i saw a window of opportunity for a spot of printmaking. i have learnt from bitter experience to ALWAYS change into my printmaking jeans before getting to work in the studio, otherwise, before you know it you have an entire wardrobe of paint splattered printmaking clothes. i rather like the inky daubs on the denim, abstract art!

while i was working i saw many fab potential photos but alas, the lack of an extra pair of hands meant i could not snap them. here's my screen washout  bathtub. i love the juxtaposition of items representing my two roles here; printmaking paraphernalia and a big ol' bag of bath toys...

i printed the 'if you sprinkle when you tinkle' print in three colours; blue...

(almost) black...

and to match the grout in the bathrooms of all those people who, like us, have white metro tiles and grey grout, a nice shade of grey.

 here's a close up of the print in grey...

and here it is framed in an ikea ribba frame...

and again with the bathroom triffid which seems very happy in my care and has produced lots of new leaves and several shoots since it's been living with us.

you can buy the prints in my etsy and folksy shops. i think they'd make a nice present for a mother of boys (solidarity!), a woman in a male dominated household or the careless wee-er in your life (father's day's coming up).

cat-boy

o-o as cat-boy.