The Red Flowers

When I was a little girl we had a huge 10 acre field behind our house. I spent a lot of my childhood there. It was wonderful. I would get up in the morning, at the break of dawn, (which my daughter now does, and it drives me crazy, just like, I am sure, it did my own mother! ) and I would venture out into my very own private world.

It consisted of high grass, a creek, huge gum trees, pine trees to climb and native shrubs, a big rock pile which usually had a cubby built within its formation, big logs and two ex racing horses, who became pretend unicorns that came from the land beyond the rainbow. 

And in spring the entire field was covered in these red, white and occasional burgundy flowers.

 I absolutely love them. They always make me feel like home. 

The paddock is gone now. It was transformed into a housing estate, at a time when I was moving from child into adult. It somehow felt like the passage of youth. I spent many days cursing that big yellow bulldozer, and crying about my childhood, ending so abruptly and in such a cruel way. That my playground, of childhood dreams and fantasies, of fairyland, flying kites whilst lying in waist high grass, making tunnels and creating adventures with the neighbourhood children. Of sneaking out at night, while the rest of the world was sleeping, to lay in the grass, feeling the soft wind blowing, the gentle warmth of darkness and stare up at the universe, overwhelmed with the feeling of love for the earth. It used to fill my soul and make me shed tears of wonderment and joy, and it was coming to an end.

That is why I love them so much. The memories of my childhood. So rich, colourful and bright.  Never, ever forgotten.

Make A Newborn Nest Photography Prop

I noticed on a Facebook forum/group which I am a part of, that some members were looking at buying a newborn photography prop that is like a little nest.
I have actually seen a few in photographs that people have taken and some are really sweet!
Instead of paying $100 for one, I am going to show you how to make one. The best thing about it is that it really is very easy to do, I made mine in less than an hour, and It can be totally free!

When it comes to photography fashion ( yes, it even happens in photo-world ) it can change in the blink of an eye and you will have spent a fortune on props that in a few years time, and with only a small amount of use, are no longer your or your clients prop of choice. Making your own is sensible, AND you can take pride in the fact that your images are entirely yours, right down to the details!

Right let's get started.

The first thing you will need is your branches. I used off cut vines from the local vineyard. They are long, very flexible and pretty interesting too. Most useful is the lack of pokey and thorny bits, you don't want any of those with little babies!

I would suggest that if you cannot access prunnings from vines, use willow branches. The look of the nest will be different, but no less useful and sweet.
Just make sure that you are creating your nest straight after you get your material, because the wood will loose it's flexibility quickly. If that happens, you may as well throw the branches out and start again.

Some scissors and something to tie the ends together at the start are also needed. I just used some wool I had lying around. You only need a little bit, so don't spend any money on something fancy!

Take a good, long piece of your vine and shape it into a circle. Tie the ends together.

The size of your nest will depend on the size of these initial circles. If this is being used as a newborn photography prop, make sure it's large enough to fit a baby!

Repeat this 3 times till you have a little stack of them. Try to make them a similar size.

Gather the three rounds together and take a new, long branch/vine and wrap it around the three circles. You can use your shorter branches further down the track.

You will need to go over and under the circles, weaving it tighter as you go. I did not tie anything together because I was using vines. You may need to do this if using willow. If you do need to, make sure it is tucked in and hidden, and most importantly, NOT sharp!

Tuck your ends between the other branches. As you build up the nest, the weaving and sticking ends in will become easier and easier. If using willow, you may find it a little quicker if you take four or five branches together and weave. ( just make sure you have removed the leaves first! ) A willow nest will have an entirely different feel and look to this vine one.

Keep building on the weave. 

It doesn't matter if some of the branches are not perfect. Real nests are like that too!

Keep working at it until you feel you are happy with the size.

Your all done!

Now, as an option, you may like to make a couple more and stack them, using wire to tie them together and make them safe. This way you could use them as a toddler nest as well, and the child could sit within, peeking out. It's up to you!

You can also vary the look by how loose or tight you weave. It really is entirely up to your own personal taste and the material you are using.

As I don't take on much work as a newborn photographer, I can only show you the nests with a pillow and blanket in the middle. One day I will update this and add a real baby in my nest!

Have fun! Don't get scared that you can't make one! 

Give it a go and feel proud of yourself for creating it! 

Vintage child

I adore this child. I love how black and white, (or should I say, aged and white ) tells so much more of a story than colour ever could. 

A little bit of soul to help me breathe.

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” 

― Oscar Wilde

Fire Pit.

We have been working on the fire pit area lately. 

Finally we have finished! here it is!

This is the start of it!

 These are the seats we made!

 The view from the balcony of the summer house/studio.

Between the trees...

 It's all done! 

Reflections

Every person is unique, and all it takes is a simple smile and a kind word to suddenly close the distance. A small and genuine effort to extend yourself, even when it is difficult and takes you out of your comfort zone.  
Kindness is one of the most affordable things one can accumulate. It's richness is everlasting, fulfilling and can make us blossom and grow. You don't need to have a religion or belief system to understand this most fundamental and basic action of human spirit.

Sometimes I think I am too forthright and bombastic with my approach. I am not always gentle with the way I say things. I just blurt it all out without considering how it may come across to another person. 

Something to work on. Always something to work on.

To become softer, kinder and gentler.

Things my soft, sweet and spiky roses can teach me.

The Studio Part 1

For quite a few months my husband and i have been hard at work, building our little studio, at the bottom half of our garden.  When we built our home, 12 years ago, we could only afford the bare minimum. So, instead of lots of small rooms, we chose to have big living rooms and forgo a fourth bedroom. I love our house, as it is a tudor and I always wanted a roof with high peaks!

But, as friends come to visit, I get more regular work as a photographer and our children grow, we found we need a little extra living space!  It still has a way to go, and I don't see us finishing within the next month or more. BUT I thought I would share our little ( BIG ) project; The wooden "china" house. ( since I imported it from there! ) 

Getting the base flooring in first.

the walls go up very very quickly. Almost like a lego kit!

Windows and doors in!

Starting to paint. Oh my goodness, the amount of paint I have gone through!!

Middle truss up!

Beams going in...

First part of the roof going on! I had to paint the underside first, because it would be quite hard to 

do after it was put up, without getting paint everywhere on the floor!

Getting there!

We have had to add treatment to the timber.

In Australia we get white ants, and they could devour the entire house within a month!

 Painting, painting... argh!!!

My girl, looking out! 

Glass panes are in!

And tiling the roof! This is actually relatively easy, just time consuming and messy!

All tidy inside, and painted!

 Installing our little kitchenette...

Because it is supposed to be a "simple" studio, we chose to use large tiles for the bench tops. This was so much cheaper and I think they look nice! A little kitchen will be useful, especially when 

I use the space for photography.

The little post and rail is up. You will just have to watch this space for the rest of our build!