Pierced Beauty

Self Love & Taking responsibility

2012-01-28T17:06:00.001+13:00

I haven't managed to do many creative things so far this year. Instead I have been focusing on myself - becoming healthier, becoming fitter but most importantly learning to love myself. A few days into January I decided I needed to spend this month on just me. No blogging, no business planning, no commitments to anyone other than myself. I needed to get into a routine and prepare myself for all of the changes I'm going to make this year. I knew that it wouldn't be possible if I wasn't in the best mental and physical state.

It began when I bought a few of Gala Darling's 'Love & Sequins' chapters. At the time I could feel that I was starting to fall into the black pit of depression again and I knew I had to stop it from getting any worse. I have managed to pull myself out before but it never lasts for long, and after nine years of being at one extreme or the other, I needed to try something different. As it happened, it seemed that the planets had aligned or something because I read later on that day that Gala Darling was having a half price sale on her Love & Sequins book. I really believe it was meant to be, so of course I bought a few chapters. I read through the PDF's and listened to her MP3's and then it seemed as obvious as the nose on my face.

"...you have to start taking responsibility for your life. 100% responsibility."

You might say, 'well DUH.' But think about it; how often do you blame the person driving really slowly in front of you for you getting angry or irritated? Yes they might be driving slowly but you are responsible for how you react to it. They aren't telling you to loose your temper.

Realising this is what started my journey towards self love.

"Finding happiness is a life long mission. One I plan on enjoying and experiencing..."

I started to look at everything in my life as it was at that point: my mental health, my physical health, my relationships (positive & negative), my current job, my dreams and my future plans. I then started being brutally honest with myself, something that is very hard to do if it's done right. We spend our whole lives denying ourselves what is best for us because it's easier than changing - 'one more day of smoking won't kill me, another 6 months at my job won't hurt, staying 'friends' with that one person who keeps bringing you down'. I looked at e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g and by the end I was totally drained but I had clarification.

From there I started working on what needed to change - to start with my health and fitness. So I joined a gym and have already lost 5kg (11lbs) which I am ecstatic about. I am doing so much more physical activity during the weekends (rock climbing, bush walks) and I'm going to the gym 3-4 times a week before work (so I'm getting up at 5:10am) as well as changing my eating habits. My weekends, weeknights and everything in between is so full now but I feel great about it.

Here I am with my first free Saturday so far this year and I felt it was time to start sharing what I have been working on and how far I have already come. It makes me so excited to think that I can do this, that I can do anything I want to.

"A place to dream, feel safe. To feel comfortable and loved"

I will be sharing more about my journey in weeks to come, as well as re-branding, re-designing and working on everything in between. I am hoping to be able to launch my new blog within the next 6 weeks so there is lots for me to do behind the scenes.

P.S. If you are interested in following my progress with fitness, pop over to my tumblr that I have transformed into my platform for sharing motivation and tracking my changes.

Rhiannon xxx

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

2012-01-26T16:57:00.004+13:00

A big warm hello all you lovely readers! I know I have been missing in action recently but good things are going to come from it, I promise. I am actually looking at moving this blog to another host. After having countless problems with blogspot recently (and still no solution in sight), I have decided that its time to move, re-vamp and re-brand. I'm currently looking into Squarespace and would love to get some feedback from bloggers who currently use this or have in the past. You can flick me an email at rhiannon.e.stone [at] gmail [dot] com or leave a comment below. I am keen to do a lot of research before I take this jump and would love to hear your thoughts on any other recommended platforms too.

In the meantime I wanted to share this video with you. A wonderful friend of mine, Leanne Choi, sent me this short animation clip today that I can only describe as a book lovers dream come true. It has won countless awards and has even been made into an ipad application! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (I think I'm going to watch it again now tehehe)

Rhiannon xxx

I love New Zealand

2012-01-11T23:21:00.001+13:00

A traditional Kiwi Christmas is cooked on a BBQ at the beach (or backyard), jandles are acceptable footwear for pretty much everywhere (in fact going barefoot is perfectly adequate as well), our self appointed nickname is after our native flightless bird and we invented bungee jumping. Plus when half of the country looks like it does in the Lord of the Rings, what isn't to love?

Let me take you on a little photo journey to my new favourite place- Wairere Falls. Dan and I stumbled upon it when we went down to Te Aroha over the Christmas break. The whole trek felt incredibly magical, like being in another world. I can't wait to go back next time and do the full 4-5 hour return hike to the summit.

While I'm on the subject, here are 8 fun and interesting facts about New Zealand
Y We are home to the biggest insect in the world.
Y Stuff like this happens from time to time.
Y 90 Mile beach (far north of the north island) is actually only 55 miles long.
Y We are home to one of the most breathtaking natural attractions in the world (it's still gorgeous when it's about to rain).
Y Prostitution, soliciting, and brothel keeping is legal.
Y We have among the slowest Internet connection in the developed (and some parts of the developing) world.
Y Auckland has the largest number of boats per capita of any city in the world.
Y Sir Edmund Hillary was a Kiwi man and the first person in the world to reach the top of Mt Everest in 1953.

What do you love about where you live?

Rhiannon xxx

2011 reflection

2012-01-07T15:51:00.000+13:00

I like to do these posts a few days into Jan because it gives me time to enjoy the holiday's with my family and spend time reflecting on the past year. Overall 2011 was an up and down year; some mega highs, and some bad lows but never-the-less I have accomplished projects and goals that I am really proud of.

2011 accomplishments:
Y Passed my final driving licence test
Y Finished the 365 Project
Y Improved my blog
Y Read more - I didn't reach 12 books this year but having this goal did make me read more than usual.
Y Passed my Certificate course at TLC - you can see more about my journey here.
Y Adopted 2 homeless and abandoned kittens to join our family
Y Took part in Natty's 'In The Sun' e-course
Y Bought ad spaces on other blogs that have a similar demographic (hi all you new readers!)
Y Dyed my hair different colours - here, here, here, here
Y Bought my first polaroid camera
Y Took numerous e-courses - although I need to go back and finish some of them
Y Learnt about 2D animation and even did two basic scenes
Y Did a touch of opp shopping
Y Started looking for a house to buy with Dan
Y Went on solo coffee dates - something I have come to love doing on a Saturday morning
Y Went on mini road trips and to New Caledonia
Y Took part in One World One Heart

There are so many more but these are the main ones I wanted to share with you.

From my first road trip of this year with Dan Y

Rhiannon xxx

Winner of My Memories package

2012-01-07T11:14:00.000+13:00

I am happy to announce that Genny is our winner of the My Memories Software - CONGRATULATIONS GENNY!!!

I will be contacting you through facebook with the code to download the software.

Rhiannon xxx

My video for 2012

2012-01-05T15:02:00.000+13:00

One of my favourite things to do at the beginning of the year is divulge in some new years blog post reading. I love seeing what people have planned for their year, the goals they want to achieve, the places they want to go, the people they want to meet, the food they want to eat. It's so exciting! New possibilities, new beginnings...a New Year.

Whilst reading copious amounts of inspiring posts I have noticed quite a lot of people are picking a word for the year. While this may work for some, one word doesn't have much weight for me (as I realised after trying it myself in 2011). I need a message or something with more substance. While I was trying to think of something that would work for me, it suddenly seemed so obvious. I would pick a video for the year, but not any video. A video that has stuck with me since I first came across it.

'How bad do you want it' is a video I came across through Alex Beadon a few months back (and blogged about it here). It's the most powerful message I have come across and I think it would be perfect for 2012 and what I want to get out of this year.

"When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe; then you will be successful."

Have you picked a word or phrase for 2012?
I would love to hear what you have chosen :)

Rhiannon xxx

Oreo Truffles Tutorial

2011-12-29T17:31:00.000+13:00

I first heard about Oreo truffles through Pinterest (where else?) I then tried some that a friend had made and they were so incredibly scrumptious, I decided to make them as Christmas presents. These truffles made my heart sing they were so good!

This is all you need:

Ingredients:

500g Oreos
1 block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
500g White chocolate to melt
Milk/Dark Choc for decoration (optional: you could use edible glitter, draw faces on them, add bits of crushed oreo. Decorate them however you want!)

Process:

Blend all oreos in a food processor
Mix the softened cream cheese with oreos until it's all mixed together
Roll teaspoon sized balls of mixture onto a baking tray (use waxed paper on the baking tray so you can get them off again). You should get approx 45 depending how big yours are
Put these all into the freezer for about 15mins
Meanwhile melt the white chocolate gradually
Take the balls of oreo mixture from the freezer and dip each one into the melted white chocolate. Use a fork so that you end up draining excess chocolate off the ball to get a smooth coating before putting it back on the baking paper.
Do this for all 45 (approx) balls of mixture.
Put these in the fridge to harden
Add drizzled melted milk/dark chocolate for decoration or your own decoration =)

That's it!! Sooo easy! And I haven't met anyone who hasn't liked them yet- even the ones who claim not to like chocolate!

One word of warning though; these puppies are addictive! So be prepared to gobble down a few along the way. Happy truffl-ing!!

Rhiannon xxx

Christmas gifts & a lot of desert & kittens

2011-12-28T10:27:00.000+13:00

I just wanted to drop by briefly and say that I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and Santa spoilt you with all you dreamed for and more.

This year I really wanted to try and give wonderful gifts without drowning myself in debt. I didn't spend as much as I have in the past which is great, and I did this by making a giant batch of Oreo Truffles (I will be doing an individual post on these soon - but I can tell you they are addictive and self control is a must when making them) and buying a additional side present that was more individual to the person. I also wanted to try and spend a bit more time on the packaging this year and I took huge inspiration from Alisa Burke's 'Holiday wrapping with paper bags' blog post. Here is what I came up with =)

Our day included a lunch with Dan's family and then dinner with my family - both meals had pavlova and I ate a giant piece each time. Check out my mum's amazing pav! Y

Oh and say hello to the two latest (and last) kittens to join our family. Max (the black boy) is my little man and Sushi (the tabby girl) is my flatmates. It feels like a mad house here sometimes with kittens getting under you feet and changing three litter boxes, twice a day; but they are so unbelievably gorgeous and loving it's so worth it. They do the cutest brother and sister things like sleeping next to each other and cleaning each other. Adorable!

I will be popping in and out over the next two weeks while I enjoy the New Zealand summer and do background work for the coming year. I wish you all a safe and fun holiday! Y

Oh and have you noticed a few changes around here? What do you think of them- I want something fresh for 2012.

Rhiannon xxx

Lists, lists, lists...and 2012 planning

2011-12-21T15:37:00.002+13:00

I am feeling rather rested after my first three official days off from work; but also overwhelmed. I love being able to plan for next year, but I've realised that I've already made a photo challenge list for Jan, thought of over 70 things to do in 2012, made a list of places and things to do for date nights with Dan, a list of improvements I want to do with my blog, posts I want to write and also beginning planning my etsy shop and everything that goes with that... *gasps for breath*. Thats a lot of lists; which means a lot of things to do.

Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited. I get goosebumps when I start thinking about all these things I'm going to accomplish. But my brain is obviously done with lists for now so I decided that it was time to take a break this afternoon and try a tutorial that Natty Malik shared which is how to make a simple visual journal. This is something I had on my 'to-do in 2012' list - I think I might be sneaky and keep it on the list and cross it off in Jan hehehe. It is the easiest tutorial I have ever come across so make sure you check it out :)

I used an old map book and embroidery thread to make this book.

I am pretty happy with the outcome and am going to make a few more with different papers, weights and sizes. I have always wanted a small square visual journal so that will go onto my list for things to make.

P.S. I have been smoke-free for a week now. YAY!!

Rhiannon xxx

Christmas Giveaway // My Memories Suite

2011-12-20T13:50:00.000+13:00

My goodness - it has been one busy month at the day-job [hence the lack of posts here]. I am however now on a well deserved, three week long Christmas break. During this time I have many many things to plan, work on, improve and start... basiclly 2012 is going to be a kick-ass year in the world of Pierced Beauty Designs, but more about this soon.

I have been suffering from the end of year blues and because of this I haven't been in the mood to do any art journaling recently. It all seemed too messy and too much effort. I have however been having a fantastic time doing some digital journaling using My Memories Suite. And because it is the season of giving, I am really excited to announce that I have one copy of this awesome software to gift to a lovely reader- that's right, one of you! But first I want to show you what I managed to create and also share some of my favourite features.

Now. I have to admit that when I first opened the software, I was worried that it wouldn't live up to my expectations. I am not interested in scrapbooking, it seems far too precise and rigid for me. I much prefer art journaling, less pressure to create something perfect and more room to let your emotions dictate what you create. But I am happy to say that it actually surpassed my expectations.

To suit my recent love for lists, here are five things that impressed me* about the My Memories Suite.

It has spell check. This has always been something that bugged me about Photoshop; no spell check. I'm not the worst speller but I can't count how many times I have finished something only to realise that I have spelt something important wrong and had to go back and change it. I would love it to have had a UK spelling option though, at the moment it only has US spelling.
Free built in templates & embellishments. I was so impressed with the sheer quantity of built in templates. Most are what you would consider traditional scrapbook layout but if that doesn't tickle your fancy why not check out my next point.
Extra Digital Scrapbooking Kits. These are extra kits you can purchase off the MyMemories website and they are very reasonably priced with most staying under USD$7. They cover all sorts of themes, colours and seasons - one of my favourites is the Welcome to Wonderland Pack.
The price! Now anyone who knows me, knows that I am sporadic with money and most of what I say dosen't make sense. For example; I am happy to spend $7 on a coffee and turn around and say that a $5 sandwich is rip off. But I have to say that with this software you definitely get more than what you pay for, and at USD$40 it really is affordable.
You can create your own calendars. I have always wanted to make a calendar in Photoshop but without a template, it was going to be a very looooong and tedious job so I never really bothered. I was so excited to see a calendar option and I can't wait to make mini calendars to give to people!
Free Kits. Want to get a few more freebies before you dive in and purchase a kit? Why not have a scroll through all of the free downloadable kits available and choose a few. *I know this is number 6 but I couldn't stop on 5 hehe*

How to enter

So the big question; how do you enter? Well I want to make it as easy as possible so all you need to do is click here and tell me one thing:

1) What is your favourite digital scrapbooking kit from My Memories?

Do you want an extra chance to enter? Well why not tweet about the giveaway (remember to mention @piercedbeautynz or I won't be able to track it), or mention it on your blog? If you decide to do this leave an extra comment on the above link for each.

I will be drawing a random winner on Jan 1st 2012 and will contact that person through facebook as well as an announcement on here. I wish everyone the absolute best of luck!

Extra Awesomeness
I have also been given a special code for Pierced Beauty Design readers. Hop over to the My Memories website and using the code STMMMS41828, you will get $10 off your own Suite and $10 off the MyMemories.com store. How awesome is that??

Rhiannon xxx

**Note: The are my own honest thoughts and opinions on the software. I have not been paid to write a good review, nor would I ever do this for any product.

Te Aroha, New Zealand

2011-12-13T20:59:00.000+13:00

Do you want to know one of my favourite things about New Zealand summers?

And there is nothing like welcoming the summer with a trip down to Te Aroha with my best friend Corey. No TV, no Internet and very little phone signal. Absolutely perfect for a soul healing mini getaway. We both needed to have a break from the city and do nothing but sit in the sun, read a book, and take lots of photos of cows haha.

We got brief glimpses of sun but it did end up being quite cloudy both days. And those cows are actually in the backyard!! The only thing that separated them from us was a wire fence (which you can see it in a photo below).Such gorgeous, beautiful rolling hills. How could you not feel relaxed with a view like this?
It was such a great break, and I intend to go back there quite a few times before the end of the summer.

P.S. I finish work this Friday and begin a three glorious week holiday! I cannot tell you how excited I am; so many plans that I need to spend solid time working on.

Rhiannon xxx

My biggest achievement of 2011

2011-12-09T15:00:00.000+13:00

One of the most terrifying goals I set myself for 2011 was to sit and pass my full car licence test. I had put it totally out of my mind until it hit me in September that I only had 4 months to cross this off the list. I was nervous; so nervous that even thinking about the test made my stomach turn. However I got to the beginning of September and told myself "I have GOT to do this. If I don't pass, nothing bad is going to happen to me or anyone else. It's just a test and I can always re-take it." I actually had to talk myself into even considering preparing for the test.

I finally made the decision to take a defensive driving class; I figured that I need to be taught to drive 'properly' so I feel confident when sitting the test. I have been driving for 3 years now but I have never had any lessons and I had developed some bad habits. The classes went over exactly what the testing officer was looking for, what you should say and how to react in tricky driving situations. It was so helpful and boosted my confidence ten-fold. So I booked my test... then the fear came back. It was a week from when I booked it until I sat it and during that time I managed to work myself into a nervous wreck.

Then the day of the test arrived. I had taken the day off work so I could go and practice in the testing area prior to my booking. I ended up arriving 45 minutes early and sat in the waiting room, feeling physically sick, and I tried my best to take deep breaths and calm down. Being this anxious during the test wasn't going to help me.

After what seemed like an eternity of reading trashy magazines, my testing officer arrived and turned out to be a really nice guy (I am so thankful for that). I did explain to him briefly that I suffer from anxiety but that was all. I wasn't about to ask him to take it into consideration when testing me, I just wanted him to be aware. After all I wanted to be able to pass this test on my driving, not my mental state!

After about 35 mins of driving in different speed zones, pointing out the hazards, doing countless left and right turns, he directed me back towards the testing station. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that he was filling in the temporary licence and I though to myself "Was that it? Have I passed?"

Once we had pulled up back at the station, he casually said to me whilst still filling out the licence "Well done, you have passed." I cannot express in words the feelings that came over me; how incredibly happy and overwhelmed I was. I don't think I managed to mutter anything other than a very surprised "thank you". He handed me my temporary licence and he left. I was so relieved, excited and PROUD of myself. Before I knew it, my eyes had watered up and I had a little happy-cry.

I had been stewing about this for months and now it was over. I did it, and I did it all by myself. It may seem silly to some to get so ridiculously worked up over something as small as a licence test but this was a huge step for me and one I am very proud of myself for achieving. I went and rewarded myself with a giant soy Mocha and an afternoon in the sun. I cannot wait to go on summer road trips with my friends (now that I can legaly drive them)

What have you achieved this year that you are so incredibly proud of yourself for doing?

Rhiannon xxx

December Calendar // Free Printable

2011-12-05T03:00:00.000+13:00

I felt like trying my hand at making a printable calendar for the rest of this month. I have got so much going on; lunches, birthdays, cat pick ups, christmas present shopping & creating... I needed something to pin on my board to remind me of what happens tomorrow. I felt like using some of my own art work and wasn't really interested in it being chrstmas-y themed. I ended up coming up with this...

I haven't created something free for my readers yet (yes, you lovely people out there) so I thought this would be a perfect time to share, it being near Christmas and all! If you want to download this to print out either click on the image above or click here.

I plan on doing a lot more things like this in 2012 so stay tunned but if there is anything in particular you would like to see feel free to drop me a line [rhiannon.e.stone[at] gmail.com] or post a comment :)

Rhiannon xxx

Zombie Apocalypse Birthday Survival

2011-12-04T20:48:00.001+13:00

What could be a better present than a custom Zombie Apocalypse illustration printed onto an A3 canvas for Dan's 30th Birthday present? Not a lot.

I really wanted to get him a watch (like this or this) but I knew that I couldn't afford it so I started trying to think of something a little less expensive. I couldnt think of anything for weeks and I started freaking out a bit. Everything I thought of wasn't personal to us, or special in anyway, or I still couldn't afford it.

One night, when I was half asleep, I thought "Why don't I ask Alyssa to do a illustration commission of me, Dan & the cats surviving the zombie Apocalypse?" It was one of those eureka moments. When I asked Alyssa the next day whether she would be interested, she was immediately said yes and was super excited to get started. All I said to her when going over what I wanted was that it needed to have Dan, myself and our three [loyal, zombie] cats. Oh, and that I wanted to be wearing that hot red dress off Resident Evil hehe. I am so incredibly happy with the outcome & Dan absoutley loves it.

I would love to show it to you now that it is actually printed onto canvas but Dan wants to keep it all sealed up in plastic until we get our own house. Our current flat is very damp (it's an old villa) so it might get mouldy or damaged over time.

You should take a peek at the Friday Featured Artist post I did with Alyssa earlier this year to see more of her work.

Now I have to work out what to get him for Christmas hehe!!

Rhiannon xxx

For the love of shoes....!

2011-12-01T08:28:00.001+13:00

I know that 'women loving shoes' is a vast generalisation but I have noticed myself recently leaning towards buying shoes instead of what I usually go for (tops, cardigans, scarves etc). If you had asked me 3 years ago about being a tad shoe obsessed, I would have smirked and said something like "You have got to be kidding right?" I probably only owned about 4 pairs of shoes; my trusty black Dr Martens, a pair of Converse shoes, jandles & DC shoes.

In recent months my desire to buy unique, biker, colourful, sparkly, shiny shoes has grown tenfold and I find myself aimlessly searching for shoes I cannot afford. Want to see a few that I am currently dreaming about?

1. Jillian Ugg Boots // 2. Marlena Dr Martens // 3. IronFist Manslayer Wedge // 4. Frye Carmen Harness Short boots // 5. Steve Madden Beasst

What is your favourite thing to buy at the moment?

Rhiannon xxx

Shoes, Party, Books, Hair & Kitties

2011-11-21T18:06:00.001+13:00

The last few days have been a whirlwind of new and exciting things; I bought some awesome shoes, had my hair re-dyed by my best friend, organised a fantastic 30th party for Dan, picked up Tillie and had my Goddess Leonie book arrive. Let's break that down into bite sized pieces shall we?

1) New Shoes

Check out my sweet new Nike shoes. I originally wanted the black ones but because it was sale day, they had already sold out of my huge size (I'm a women's US11). I am actually really happy with these though. I don't really intend to use them for running, they just looked so comfortable and I wanted to some decent walking shoes.

2) New Hair

Yet again, I have changed my hair. People have worked out I change it (on average) about once every 7 weeks. I guess it's so much easier when your best friend is an amazing hairdresser *(hi Corey!)* This what what we had intended to do the first time round, but I messed up the dye so it was delayed until last Friday. What do you think?

3) Dan's 30th Birthday

My partners birthday was on Saturday and I had organised for us to have a party at a place in town. Corey and I spent most of the afternoon decorating the bar and putting 70+ pictures of Dan on the walls, all in different stages in his life so far. Side note: We were going to blow up 100 balloons but after finding three with holes in them, and one exploding in Corey's face we decided that pictures would be enough haha. Here are a few pictures from that night.

4) Tillie!

On Sunday morning we went and picked up our little tiny lady and bought her home. After 10 minutes of being a bit skeptical of her new environment, she was running around and giving me lots of cuddles. She seems like an absolute sweetheart and I can't wait to get to know her better. She seems happy with us though so that's good. I still believe cats pick you, not the other way around. I took a short video of her today when I got home from work.

5) Newest book by Goddess Leonie

Most blogger's out there know who Goddess Leonie is (and if you don't, head on over and say hi!.She is amazing!) A few weeks ago she self-published another book and when she announced it was for sale, I was having the kind of week where I thought "Oh man, I really wish I had that book right now..." so I did an impulse buy. I have only had a chance to flick through it so far but I can already tell I will be referring back to it repetitively until all the pages are dog-eared and I have made notes throughout. However that is exactly what the book is for!

Whats exciting things have you been up to recently?

Rhiannon xxx

I now 'tweet'

2011-11-17T19:39:00.001+13:00

Hi to all you lovely readers; I hope the weekend treated you well.

After much deliberation as to wether I wanted to join yet another social networking site, I took the plunge and joined Twitter last week. That's right, I am now tweeting!

Follow @piercedbeautynz

So I thought it would be most appropriate to share some twitter-related pictures I found on Pinterest (click on the image to find source)

Do you have twitter? I would love to find some more people to follow so leave your link in the comments so I can find you :)

Rhiannon xxx

New Journal Pages

2011-11-16T23:37:00.001+13:00

I have finished another two journal pages (I might be heading for a record soon, 4 pages in one week??)

The above page was inspired by Kira's most recent painting. I absolutely loved how her background seemed to blend so effortlessly into the different colours. I wanted to see if I could work out how to do that. This is the result. I didn't achieve what I wanted to (its mainly block colours on mine) but I do quite like the page.

What more can I say? I love Polaroids!!

I have such a busy week this week: tonight I had a long overdue catch up with my best friend, tomorrow I have to work from 7:30am to 9pm, Friday I have dinner with my partners family for his birthday, Saturday is my partners 30th birthday party and Sunday I get to pick up Tillie *wipes brow* I think on Sunday afternoon I will be due for a sit down and movie watching.

What have you got planned for the rest of the week?

Rhiannon xxx

365 Project Update

2011-11-14T21:22:00.001+13:00

Here are 10 of my favourite photos from the last months collection for the 365 Project.

Remeber to check out the rest over here.

Rhiannon xxx

Artsy weekend + meet the new kitty

2011-11-06T21:42:00.000+13:00

Yesterday I had a surge of inspiration and pumped out two new art journal pages. I am really happy with how they both turned out. Inspiration was Kira over on www.journalgirl.com .

Oh and say hello to the newest addition to the family :) She is such a sweetheart, but I can tell she is going to be a handful hehe. I get to bring her home in a week or two once she has been de-sexed. Her name at the moment in TinTin but her foster carerers say she doesn't recognise her name so it would be no trouble to change it. I keep wanting to call her Tillie for some reason but am still open to ideas.

Rhiannon xxx

Link Love

2011-11-04T16:13:00.000+13:00

♥ I can't get enough of this Pink Floyd Remix by Pretty Lights

♥ I really love this idea to document each week.

♥ Have you ever wondered what Disney princesses would have looked like in real life? Well wonder no more!

♥ I am a huge fan of the style of tattoos done in BellyButton Tattoo in France. It's very geometrical but all the tattoos have been designed in a way that suits that part of the body. They have become quite famous because of their distinctive style but also their incredible spray paint and graffiti effects.

♥ This is something I first read about over on SRSLYLIZ, and with my skin becoming worse as I get older (not better) I'm going to give this a try and see if the hype is true.

P.S. There will be a new addition to our family soon. I'm going to visit some rescued kittens tomorrow with the hopes of bringing one home with me when they are 8 weeks old. I can't wait to meet them!

Rhiannon xxx

Armageddon Journaling & Flavoured Toothpaste

2011-11-03T23:22:00.000+13:00

Armageddon was awesome!

I didn't end up taking anything more than my pen/cil case & sketchbook as my travel journl kit- nice and simple. I was very happy to find a massive set of copic markers waiting for me when I got there though, I had already started to regret not bringing more coloir. I didn't have too much 'free' time over the course of the day but I did manage to do this:

The whole place was packed with people in costumes! Most of them were continually moving and wouldn't stand still long enough for me to grab a good photo so sorry they are mostly mid-motion.

What did I buy? I tried very very hard not to spend money but when I came across Cupcake flavoured toothpaste [yes you read that right], I had to buy it. When I went to pay for it, I was told that there was also bacon flavoured toothpaste... my actually jaw dropped. Seriously?! Bacon flavoured toothpaste?! I had to buy that too. I didn't really want to try it but I had to own it. You can check out pictures of these over on my facebook page.

**Oh and make sure you check out my new easel!!

Rhiannon xxx

Journaling on the go at Armageddon

2011-10-27T19:29:00.000+13:00

This Saturday I have to work at an event called Armageddon. Now from what I can gather about Comic-Con, this is a much less intense version of that.

This year it's a 4 day event that has nearly everything you could ask for. All things anime and sci-fi, the latest/collector edition of comics, newest game & movie releases as well as heaps of fun things. Last year there was black light mini golf - how cool is that? Whilst helping set up today I saw a giant stage for the new Xbox Kinect which I'm keen to give a go if I get the chance.

I have worked at this event each year for either 4 or 5 years (i can never remember which) in a row so I can safely say it's going to be quite a lot of fun. I love being able to wander around all these dressed up people, looking at the latest and greatest of nearly everything. The only thing is about working there though is that it can get quite tiresome sitting at a stall from 9am to 6pm. I plan to try and avoid this by taking a small journal kit with me to keep me occupied ~~when~~ if things slow down.

I haven't had much experience with travel kits. The last time I put together a travel kit, I ended up taking so much I had to take 2 bags! So I have turned to the interwebs to try and figure out what my essentials will be this weekend; here is what I have found. Enjoy!

Make sure you check out "My Essentials for a Traveling Art Journal Kit" by Natty Malik.
Kira shared her traveling kit recently too, "{on-the-go journal kit}".

What are your essential art supplies to travel with?

Rhiannon xxx

Rugby World Cup [through my phone]

2011-10-26T22:23:00.000+13:00

Here is a timeline collection of photos from our night out on Sunday. I'm not a big going-outer (i just made a new word haha) so this was a big deal for me. It was really nice to get all dressed up and feel all adult-like though. You can see a couple more images over here.

Rhiannon xxx

The Boys in Black - World Cup Champions!

2011-10-26T10:39:00.000+13:00

I realise this post is a bit late, but I still wanted to publicly congratulate our Boys in Black!! After a nail-biting match against France, we came out on top as the World Champions. It was such a great night out and the atmosphere in Auckland City was buzzing with excitement. Once the game had finished we were high-fiving everyone we walked past, cops were getting photo's taken with fans and everyone was cheering & yelling. I will share some photos from our night out later on today.

So once again - huge congratulation to our wonderful Boys in Black. You bloody beauties!!

All images are courtesy of www.nzherald.co.nz

Rhiannon xxx

Hi summer!!!

2011-10-21T17:17:00.000+13:00

Today I received the first official taste of summer- and I can't wait until it's like this all the time. We have only just finished a weeks worth of rain and thunderstorms but it is a lovely 17c° today and the sun is gorgeous.

Now I promised photos of my new hair last weekend but time just didn't allow for it. So here they are! Which do you prefer? Red or blonde?

For those following the Rugby World Cup, this is a biiig weekend. The Bronze final is tonight: Wales vs. Australia (go Wales!!) and then the final is on Sunday: NZ vs. France. I'm so excited! And the best thing about this weekend? New Zealand has Monday off because it's Labour Day... yay!!

Rhiannon xxx

Favourite forgotten movies & TV shows

2011-10-20T08:52:00.000+13:00

Recently I have kept coming across all these old movies and TV series I used to watch. Some were from when I was a wee baby, and others weren't that long ago. How many of these have you seen? What were some of your favourites from years gone by? xxx

Hocus Pocus

Blossom

The Clangers

The Wombles

Breakfast at tiffany's

Breakfast club

Pretty in Pink

October Updates

2011-10-17T19:45:00.000+13:00

The last week wasn’t the best week- in fact it was an absolutely awful week, hence my lack of posts. I have been so incredibly busy it only clicked toady that we have moved into October. It didn't take much longer to realise that 17 days have already passed, and Christmas decorations are starting to appear in shops. *eeeeep* I'm not ready for Christmas yet!

House updates...

We were making some great progress with the whole house buying thing but then at the last minute everything fell through. In the end all my phone calls, back and forth between the lawyer and the mortgage broker was all a waste of time. So I am feeling absolutelydefeated at the moment. We have to start this whole process again, andthere are hardly any good properties on the market at the moment. I can see why people rank buying a house one of the most stressful times of your life (I can't even imagine what building a house would be like).

There were quite a few other things that happened last week but I don't want to dwell on them anymore than I already have; so lets move to some cool new updates.

On The Brighter Side...
A good friend at work has taken the Blogtoberfest challenge (blog once a day all of October) and asked if I would like to be a featured artist. Well, of course I would! Make sure you jump over and check out her post.

I also got around to photographing some journal pages I did a while ago:

Rhiannon xxx

365 Project - Week 34 to 40

2011-10-09T21:09:00.001+13:00

Wow I have been really bad with updating my 365 project recently but here are are ten of my most favourite snapshots from the last couple of weeks. You can check out the rest here.

Rhiannon xxx

Running

2011-10-06T22:14:00.000+13:00

You may recall a while ago some brief mention of a new treadmill. I have to admit that I haven't used it as much as I wanted to recently, but after a particularly stressful day today I couldn't think of anything better than going home and running my heart out. So that is exactly what I did and I loved every single minute of it.

Meet the Track 6000... a little beauty. I mananged to grab it nearly half price. (Yay!) It has a wide and long belt at 51cm x 140cm. Being the tall girl that I am (6ft), I have a really long stride so I needed to make sure I wasn't going to fly off the end. It has built in fans and speakers and it folds up to keep it a bit more out of the way. I tell you what though, this thing is absoutley massive. It weighs 130kg! We had to move half the house's furniture to get the thing even through the door. It took me, Dan and our flatmate to get it from the car to the house, and even that was a slow struggle.

I am not a pro runner, or even someone who can run for that long. I call myself an amateur runner and a sporadic runner. Sometimes I won't run for weeks, or even months and then the urge to run re-appears and I dig up my trainers and go for it.

I have discovered some really great posts on running that I thought I would share incase there are any other sporadic/amateur runners out there who need that extra bit of motivation.

I absoutley love this running post by Krista (over on Saturated Canary)
If your feeling unmotivated and have noticed your healthy lifestyle slowly disapearing, make sure you check out this other post by Krista. It's got some great ideas.

The most influential blog posts I have come across though, all originate from one place - (neverhome)maker.

These two have created an goldmine of really useful running posts that range from 'How to run' to 'Treadmill Survival Guide' to 'How to suit up to set out'. Both Ashley and Stephen are marathon runners so you need to make sure that you don't start thinking "if I can't run like they can, then what's the point". I am going to be honest with you; I cannot run far. Not far and not for long (sometimes a 10 minute straight run is too hard).

I have never been about distance or time; I much prefer speed, in fact I love sprinting! I don't spend much time focusing on any stats, but I'm not trying to prepare for a marathon either. Pretty much do whatever feels right for you. As Nike says: "Just do it!" The hardest part is getting yourself out the door (or on the treadmill), once you begin you wonder why you didn't get out sooner.

Rhiannon xxx

Etsy & going blonde!!

2011-10-05T17:48:00.001+13:00

I have a confession to make; my Etsy shop is not ready for launch. In fact it’s nowhere even close. I had so hoped to get it up and running by today but looking back, I was never going to have enough time to prepare everything I wanted to. With this house buying process in full swing, I have been so busy (and tired) organising everything that I haven't been able to focus properly on preparing for my shop. I feel quite disappointed though; I absolutely hate not meeting deadlines. Especially ones I make for myself. So I have decided that for now I will keep chugging away behind the scenes, take it as it comes and launch when I am ready. I want to do this properly and not rush it.

On another (much more positive) note, I have changed hair colour again! One of Natty's in the sun prompts a few months ago was Triple Dog Dare. I couldn't work out what I wanted to dare myself to do (that I would actually follow through with) until I thought "Ahhh! I shall dye my hair blonde." I started looking around for what I would want it to look like and I soon realised that Emma's hair (from Food Coma) is perfect.

[courtesy of www.foodcomablog.com]

It's a great transition of brown to blonde. One of the reasons I wanted to go blonde was because I need a bit of a break from having to maintain the red colour from month to month. It is an expensive undertaking. Plus with Spring being officially here, I thought it would be a good time to go with something lighter.

Not the best of photo's I have to admit so there will be some better ones coming this weekend but you get the idea :)

Rhiannon xxx

LA's Big Giveaway

2011-10-04T09:28:00.000+13:00

As you might remember, this month I chose to sponsor LA's blog. I absolutely love reading her blog and I think she is such an inspirational woman. As you may know, at the end of each month Leigh-Ann puts together a big giveaway with donated products/services from the sponsors that month. One lucky winner gets everything! (How lucky are they!?) There is always such a variety of things and I dream of the day I could win such an amazing bundle of goodies...

...but for this month, I'm happy to announce that I'm taking part in the giveaway. (yay!) You could win yourself this cute little "Mustachio" plushie made by yours truely, as well as a free medium ad space on LA's blog, as well as a ceramic owl mug and the list goes on and on!

Make sure you head over and enter the giveaway. It's a great chance to discover new shops and blogs. But be quick, entry closes soon!

Rhiannon xxx

P.S. Thank you to all the lovely visitors from over on LA. It's been so great to have you here. I am not able to post comments for some reason at the moment though (I had this problem a while ago and it was quite frustrating). But just know that I am reading them all, and appreciate every single one! xxx

Friday Feature Artist // Hannah Flinn

2011-09-30T20:02:00.000+13:00

After a mini hiatus in this series, I'm really happy to resurrect it this week. Meet the wonderful Hannah Flinn; Illustrator, Animator and all round awesome woman. She is incredibly talented and her work never fails to amaze me, it's so cute!! Hannah was kind enough to answer a few questions about her work so I hope you enjoy getting to know her.

P.S. I want to say a big huge welcome to all LA readers; I'm so glad you stopped by!

Tell us a bit about yourself and your work.
I grew up in Auckland - and after a bit of tripping around have ended up pretty much back in the same place I started (which is fine by me : )). I live in a house with my most excellent husband Josh, my sis-in-law, my cousin-in-law, my ragdoll cat Gussie, and a goldfish called Frank. I'm 28, and a was a little bit of a late-starter when it came to pursuing art. After leaving school I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do with myself, so went to work, and only started studying animation at the beginning of last year. I don't regret a thing tho - what has been so awesome about my working 'career' so far is that it has taught me that if you are a creative, you can utilize your creativity in whatever context you are in; in my case - from window dressing and displays in a fancy kitchenware store - to wrapping 200 corporate gifts with big fancy bows when working at a law firm (true story)! Also, it just goes to show that you are never 'too old'. Age should never be a factor in stopping someone from giving a dream a go. I know I still have a really really long way to go with my art - but that's part of what I love about it - there is ALWAYS more to learn - and sooo many people to learn from and be inspired by! Awesome right? : )

Why did you choose to study animation?
I had never considered animation as a job - I really wish someone had told me about it earlier! I went into the course at Freelance because I wanted to pursue illustration and wanted a course that was really hands on and would massively hone my drawing skills. And boy have I got that! I never anticipated that I would develop such a love of animation itself. It's an amazing skill, and it gives you a whole new appreciation of the animated films that we grew up watching and taking for granted.

What is your dream job?
Wow this is a tough one. I do want to continue illustration - it had always been my dream job since primary school (and I never thought it would happen). After learning more about the animation process, and developing a real love for the art form, it would be amazingly awesome to work as a visual development artist - if only to be able to work with other amazing people and learn as much as I could off them!

What are your favourite art materials?
I used to work mostly with paint back in the day - and, although I haven't had heaps of time for it recently I would love to get back into mixed media and painting. Also want to dabble more in water colour. I've also been trying to learn to use digital media more and that has been fun. Probably the most influential materials in my life however have been colour pencils. I feel really comfortable with them. I had some really nice water colour pencils in high school that I used to use to paint pictures all over my friend's arms which was fun. If was introduced to my mate's mums they usually exclaimed, "Oh, so you're the one who sends my daughter home covered in artwork". Hehe yup.

Where do you get inspiration from?
I am loving the blogsphere - there are so many amazingly talented people out there, who are so willing to share their skills and knowledge. I am also quite a movie addict - so definitely refer a lot to movies for atmosphere, colour, perspective etc. My friends and family are also an excellent resource, I am blessed to be surrounded by very clever and creative people.

Do you do commissions? (and if yes, how can someone get hold of you?)
I sure do! The best way to get in touch would be just by popping me through an email - or contacting me via my blog...

Where can someone go to see more of your work?
... that's at http://handrawn2011.blogspot.com/

A massive thank you to Hannah for sharing an insight into her artistic world. Make sure you pop over to her blog and say hi.

Have a great Friday everyone!
Rhiannon xxx

Bouncing TV Animation

2011-09-28T10:29:00.000+13:00

Remember this post? Well I am still [very slowly] working on learning more about animation and I have finally finished my second scene which is a bouncing TV. It was much harder to keep the volumes the same but I'm pretty chuffed with the outcome. It's so much fun to be able to see your individual drawings come together and start moving :)

Rhiannon xxx

A to Z of me

2011-09-27T08:48:00.000+13:00

I have seen this floating around the blog-sphere for a week two now and thought it looked like a bit of fun. So here are 26 facts about me...

A. Age: 22
B. Bed size: Double :( It's too small for me and my partner (who is 6" 4') and our two cats, but we manage.
C. Chore that you hate: Dishes (especially after a BBQ). Folding the laundry and putting it away (washing and drying I'm fine with)
D. Dogs: One day I will have a Rottweiler and German Sheppard. Big dogs only for me please.
E. Essential start to your day: Coffee- I know it sounds cliche but if I don't have some type of coffee before 9am I am a horror to be around.
F. Favorite color: It used to be red but I'm digging hot pink recently. oh and Grey
G. Gold or Silver: Silver all the way. I do like gold but I have olive skin so it kind of disappears on me.
H. Height: 6ft
I. Instruments you play: None- I used to play the recorder in primary school. Does that count?
J. Job title: Student Administrator (by day), blogger, artist, cat lover and amazing girlfriend hehe.
K. Kids: None yet, but maybe in a couple of years.
L. Live: Auckland, New Zealand
M. Mother’s name: Fiona (I love you mum!!)
N. Nicknames: Riz (most people know me as this and not Rhiannon), Rizzle, Riznan, the red head, and Peg (as in Peggy Bundy from Married with Children- it's the hair, the leopard print and some of her mannerisms)
O. Overnight hospital stays: I have had a few- the main one was for appendicitis
P. Pet peeves: People whose personality changes depending who they are around- I call them chameleons. Oh and also people who eat loudly, or make slurpy noises with drinking a coffee or soup.
Q. Quote from a movie: “You're one... ugly m*****f*****!"- Predator
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: One younger sister
U. Underwear: You put it on under clothes......[?]
V. Vegetable you hate: I don't hate it but I'm not a big fan of broccoli.
W. What makes you run late: Sleeping in; always sleeping in.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Knee, teeth, abdomen (for appendicitis), wrist, ankle
Y. Yummy food that you make: My wondrous double chocolate chip cookies. I have also been told I make a mean beef burger (from scratch of course)
Z. Zoo animal: Meerkats or otters. They are so fun to watch

Rhiannon xxx

For the Home

2011-09-20T09:54:00.000+12:00

Time seems to be slipping away from me at the moment. Our plan to buy a house is moving forward rapidly so I am spending most of my time working out what the next step is (and looking for a house of course). It's really exciting but it can also be very draining at times (especially when you think you have found 'the house' and turns out it's too expensive or someone else has bought it) so I thought I would share some inspiring 'for the home' images I have begun to accumulate on Pinterest

Rhiannon xxx

Link love

2011-09-17T23:03:00.000+12:00

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that Pierced Beauty Designs has a facebook page now (left sidebar), so make sure you come and say hi! There will be lots of interesting links on all sorts of topics to check out that I don't post on here, so it's worth taking a peek.

Rugby World Cup fever is still very much in charge over here in NZ so I have just spent the night watching Australia v.s Ireland (massive high-five to Ireland!!) but I did do some doodling (which you can see on PB facebook page)

I have come across a few awesome links & blog posts recently so here are a couple to keep you busy.

I have spent quite some time over on this site recently; it's surprisingly calming and relaxing!
Loving these tips from Kayla Roma on how to find your blogging voice.
I can't wait to use these tips to try my own self portraits (by Alex Beadon)
This was quite a good read on beginners guide to choosing fonts.

Lots of love,
Rhiannon xxx

How bad do you want it?

2011-09-13T10:33:00.000+12:00

I recently found the mostwonderful blog which is written by an incredible photographer; Alex Beadon. Whilstsearching through her archives I came across this video and it has stopped mein my tracks and really made me think. I keep saying ‘I want to do this, I wantto achieve that’ but I'm starting to realise that I don't want it bad enough.How many hours am I wasting on Facebook, rubbish TV and blobbing on the couchevery day? If I really wanted to be successful then I would be spending everysingle moment free that I have working towards my goal.

I consider myself to be anexception to the Gen Y ‘epidemic’ where people my age expect to have jobs, successand everything else just handed to them on a silver platter. [Please take into account I know this is avast generalisation and realise that there are a lot of exceptions but staywith me on this one] I am beginning to wonder though; if I am not theexception I thought I was. I want to be successful and I want to enjoy what Ido for a living but sitting on the couch, expecting it to materialise while Ido nothing to help myself puts me right back with the rest of Gen Y. Do Ireally expect to get something for nothing? Logically no, but subconsciously Ithink I do.

This video has been a bit of ablessing in disguise. I am going to go back to the drawing board and ask myselfsome hard questions. I don’t expect the answers to come straight away or evenmake a lot of sense to begin with. It’s about being brutally honest with myselfand working out what I am willing to sacrifice to get to where I want to be.

“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.”

Rhiannon xxx

Wish List

2011-09-12T10:31:00.000+12:00

I thought I might try something different today and share a few items from my ever growing wish list.

1) I have been literally drooling over this bag since I first saw it on Elsie's blog back in February. It is the prettiest camera bag ever created! I can't wait to get my hands on one of these one day.

2) This is top priority on my wish list at the moment; the new Canon 600D. I currently have Canon Powershot SX1 IS which doesn't have a detachable lens. The auto focus is pretty blegh and I really don't like using it; although it is a preference thing. It may suit some people perfectly.

3) The Canon 18-135mm lens is all purpose and would save having to buy two lens' for different shots.

4) This I cannot wait for; I have heard so many good things about this workshop and can't wait to get involved with 4.0. It will be great to learn about so many different things whilst reading about successful ladies making their mark on the world through a creative outlet.

5) This is another class I have been eyeing up since Alisa announced it. Her watercolour paintings have always been amongst my most favourite, and to learn from such an inspirational woman would be amazing.

What is on your wish list?

Rhiannon xxx

Opp Shopping

2011-09-11T13:00:00.000+12:00

Alyssa and I started off Saturday morning with a very large coffee; I was still half asleep but determined not to waste such a sunny day. After our coffee had kicked in we decided to head to the two local opp shops. Normally I don't get a chance to go to them, but I was up early enough to get there before they closed. We both managed to grab some super cute little finds.

I also bought some knives and forks for 20cents each.

Alyssa managed to grab

She also got a spice rack and cute vintage shoes.

Have you managed to grab any good bargains lately?

Rhiannon xxx

The most perfect Spring day

2011-09-10T16:23:00.000+12:00

I feel I must warn you, this is a heavy image post so maybe grab a coffee whilst it loads up :)

Incase you didn't know, the rugby world cup began last night and so we got let out of work a bit early. Alyssa and I had a plan for the rest of the beautiful spring day that involved a playground, a beach, learning how to cartwheel, followed by coffee, dinner, fireworks and then the Tonga v.s All Blacks game. It really was the best day ever!!

I thought I would leave you with a video of the fireworks last night; they really were spectacular!

Rhiannon xxx

Spring time playgrounds

2011-09-09T23:25:00.000+12:00

My friend and I got to go home earlier from work than usual today because of the major chaos that was about to unfold due to the Rugby World Cup opening night. So what did we do with the most beautiful spring day? What else...? Go down to the playground and play on the swings, re-learn how to do cartwheels and take lots of fun(ny) photos. I love being outside on days like this. We took some cool secession shots to turn into gifs. Here is a funny one of me

I will be sharing some more photos from our antics and the rugby world cup tomorrow.

P.S. The opening night fireworks were unbelievable; I have never seen something so totally amazing! I might be able to find a youtube video tomorrow from where we got to see it! It was the most perfect spot.

Rhiannon xxx

New Polaroids

2011-09-08T22:13:00.000+12:00

I have only got one film left in the cartidge I opened on Saturday. I have got to slow down or I will be out of film all together (eeeep). Here are the latest ones I took on Sunday. I'm getting used to covering the film super fast but I have to admit I didn't even realise it had a focus! Which is why the cute dog is so blurry hehe.

Sorry the images are a bit crooked, my scanner is doing some strange things tonight so couldn't get the images right. The top left is one of our friends dog; her name is Pixie. The top right is my bestest friend in the whole world, Corey. The bottom two are views from our friends place; such beautiful area but a good 45-50 mins drive from where we are.

Rhiannon xxx

P.S. Rugby world cup is starting tomorrow so it's going to be mad busy in Auckland. I'm not particularly looking forward to the crowds; but the event on a whole is going to be fantastic. I will be sharing any cool photos I manage to snap during the next six weeks.

P.P.S. Check out my new blog button on the left sidebar. I will be making a few more over the next couple of weeks to suit all sized blogs. Let me know if you have a particular size in mind :)

I did animation!!

2011-09-07T20:57:00.001+12:00

I don't know if I have mentioned it before but I work at an Animation tertiary school doing administration. I've worked there for over 4 years now and have never tried my hand at animation, despite being surrounded with all the tools to do so. Until last week. I got to work on Friday and my computer had spontaneously decided to just not work. So my friends at work showed me how to do basic animation in Photoshop (which is also how you make gif's). After that, and my computer still not being fixed, I asked my friend Alyssa (over on Odd Enough) if she could teach me how to flip. Once I had that down, I was handed the first week's scene for a first year student- bouncing ball. I spent about three or four hours doing the inbetweens and following the keys. It was so much fun, and a hell of a lot more thought goes into the drawings than I ever thought. Here is what I managed to do...

There are volume issues and some drawings are not quite right but I am so impressed with myself for being able to do this. I'm working on the scene after this (bouncing tv) and will share it once I have linetested it.

Rhiannon xxx

Travel the world in one minute

2011-09-06T08:49:00.002+12:00

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

I'm in love with Polaroids!

2011-09-03T19:58:00.000+12:00

Remember this post? Well everything arrived on Monday (I literally jumped for joy) and I have been waiting all week to be able to start using them.

I will be dedicating 2 blog posts to the photos I get from my roll of film from my cute wide-angle lens camera. I did take a couple of snap shots with my Polaroid camera though. It is going to take me a while to get used to covering the film as soon as it pops out but I was so happy with the results of the three shots.

I absolutely love the graininess to all the images. The most wonderful thing about these shots though is nearly nothing can ruin them. No matter how many imperfections are on the photos (including the big brown bits that didn't develop) it can't ruin their beauty. They are almost a big magical. In the world of digital cameras where you can delete, remove or repair any imperfections the Polaroid pictures remind me that imperfect is still more beautiful. I can't wait to take more photos with these two fun cameras.

Rhiannon xxx

What does september bring?

2011-09-02T16:52:00.001+12:00

Happy Friday to all!

I have so much to blog about but I will have to organise my thoughts into coherent sentences before I share, otherwise it will be one big indecipherable ramble. However who doesn't love a good list? So here is what I have planned for September:

I am about to start working on resurrecting my Etsy shop and want to spend a lot of time focusing on this and getting everything prepared and ready. This is really incredibly exciting for me and something that I am going to put a lot of planning into but I hope it to be up and fully operational by September 30th.
My Polaroid one-step camera and film arrived, as did my cute little wide angle toy camera. I can't wait to start using these and share my shots.
I am starting to save for a new camera (Canon 600D + 18-135mm lens), online classes coming up, as well as other (more mundane) things and will be sharing ideas and plans on how to do this. I also discovered a great blog that is full of endless money saving inspiration.
Continue using my treadmill, and share some running posts I have found to be really valuable.
I’m a sponsor of the wonderful Freckled Nest blog for September, and will be donating a secret surprise for the big give away (stay tuned for more information)
I gave 2D animation a go recently and was really impressed with my first scene. Since two of my closest friends are animation machines, and I work at a tertiary animation school, I figured it was time I gave it a go.
Lots more art journal pages, trips outside, dates with my friends, exercise & fresh foods.

P.S. I did want to mention is that the Friday Featured Artist series has not disappeared. However instead of posting weekly, I will be posting as I find new artists to share.

Rhiannon xxx

Hello Spring!

2011-09-01T10:54:00.000+12:00

Today is the first day of spring! And I am so happy to say hello. That means the worst of the cold is over, plants and flowers start growing and that summer is that much closer.

Each year I watch the seasons pass without enjoying the little things each one offers, so I have made a list of things I want to do this Spring.I keep thinking of more things to add to the list (like go to a park and learn to cartwheel again) but I'm going to stick with these for now.

I also remembered a journal page I did last year on the first day of spring and thought I would share it again. I am hoping to get the chance tonight to do another one for this year.

What are your favourite things about spring?

Rhiannon xxx

Link Love

2011-08-31T09:30:00.001+12:00

Hi to all my lovely readers, I hope the week is treating you well :)

Last week was tough for me so I decided to take a mini blog break and just look after myself (rest and relaxation), but I'm back and rearing to go so I thought I would start with a list of fun things I have found on the interwebs over the last week or two.

Cool guest post over on Kim's blog by Corey on 12 ways to get more out of art journaling.
The new Wacom Inkling is just plain amazing and I would love to be able to get my hands on one.
I was so happy to be emailed this from Photojojo: return of the GIF.
A great reminder from Connie
Can't wait to try some of these 50 Alternate Date Ideas by GalaDarling
This is the kind of 30-day list I can complete
I am in love with the idea for this chest piece (although on closer inspection, it looks like it's actually just drawn on)
"Where Children Sleep" by James Mollison is an incredibly interesting read.
I am planning my half sleeve at the moment and I am going with a day of the dead type portrait and this and this piece have given me a huge amount of inspiration. I am loving the watercolour tattoos too though so want to work that in as well. I have got the best tattooist in the world (OK, I may be a bit bias since he is my partner but his work is pretty damn amazing)
This list of 100 things to do when your sad or upset is great for those super blah days.
Check out these 6 killer writing tips to become a better writer.

Productive procrastination maybe?

This just makes me want to go to France even more!

Rhiannon xxx

365 Project - week 33

2011-08-25T20:36:00.000+12:00

228/365 - The Auckland port by the ferry. The weather was incredibly dark but sunny at the same time. Was quite eeiry!

229/365 - My delicious vegan blueberry muffins. Man I love these things!

230/365 - Easy dinner. Vege susages & pasta with pesto, zuchini and brocolli

231/365 - This was just a very odd sight to see on your way to a breakfast. As it turns out there was a butchery around the corner. It made a bit more sense after working that out!

232/365 - My partner and I went out for dinner to an Indian resturant we had heard people raving about. It took quite a while to get all the food and we were seated by the bathrooms because it was so busy, but it was such good food. Will be going back very soon!

233/365 - Took this when waiting in my car for my friend. It's nothing interesting really

234/365 - Third spread of my Sketchbook Project [hope]

Rhiannon xxx

Say Something Nice

2011-08-25T07:57:00.000+12:00

This is the nicest video I have seen in quite a long time, and perfect for a day like today. People are wonderful!

Guest post on Art Equals Happy

2011-08-23T09:52:00.001+12:00

I have an exciting announcement; my first guest post is over on Kim's wonderful blog Art Equals Happy. It's all about Natty Malik's wonderful online course called In The Sun so make sure you check it out

Rhiannon xxx

FFA Archive

2011-08-21T16:39:00.000+12:00

I'm really happy to share my new layout of the Friday Feature Artist Archive. It's much easier to navigate and you can have a look through all the old posts much easier. Make sure you take a peek.

Rhiannon xxx

Friday Feature Artist // Rune Guneriussen

2011-08-19T20:47:00.000+12:00

This week's Artist is a photographer who combines everyday objects with out-of-place environments.

Rune Guneriussen, born 1977, is Norwegian but studied at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design in England. He currently lives and works in Norway and has put on numerous solo and group exhibitions. The photography with objects, that he is most famous for, began in 2005 with a series of photographs using tables, lamps and chairs. Popular to contrary belief, Rune sets up all of the photographs himself on-site; nothing is prepared beforehand. It is incredibly time consuming but provides some incredibly sureal photo's in beautiful settings.

A natural selection, 2008, edition of 5+1, 124cmx167cm, c-print/aluminium

Evolution # 03, 2005, edition of 5+1, 125cmx179cm, c-print/aluminium

It´s common knowledge, 2009, edition of 5+1, 187cmx150cm, c-print/aluminium

Twentyfourseven # 21, 2006, edition of 5+1, 125cmx218cm, c-print/aluminium

Connections # 03, 2006, edition of 5+1, 59cmx84cm, c-print/aluminium

Abnormal growth of gluttony, 2009, edition of 5+1, 190cmx150cm, c-print/aluminium

There is no earthly explanation, 2008, edition of 5+1, 125cmx218cm, c-print/aluminium

Bear with us # 04, 2007, edition of 5+1, 147cmx99cm, digital print/aluminium

Check out more of Rune's work over on his website

Rhiannon xxx

365 Project - week 32

2011-08-17T08:26:00.003+12:00

221/365 - Takapuna beach. This was one of the days I was sick but I just had to get out of the house so I went for a short drive down to the beach and took in the refreshing sea air. I like the little bird I caught in the photo on the bottom right.

222/365 - I thought this pattern on top of the mocha was super cute.

223/365 - I discovered that there is a double exposure function on both of the Android photo apps I have. How exciting!

224/365 - A friend had the day off and went to get deluxe cupcakes. They looked so pretty in the cupcake box (I didn't even know boxes specifically for cupcakes existed!)

225/365 - A cafe that I go to sometimes has extended their premises. The roses looked so pretty in the vase.

226/365 - This is by far my favourite photo of the week. I was taking photos of my first couple of pages for the sketchbook project with my partners awesome Canon 550D camera (18-135mm lense) and Spaz was hovering around keeping a curious eye on what I was doing outside on such a cold day. I managed to snap this fantastic picture of her when she wasn't looking. It is the best photo I have ever taken of her in the 4 years I have had her. I love her so much, she is such a cutie xox

227/365 - Auckland city on the day it "snowed". The wind that day was incredibly strong and oh-so cold!

Rhiannon xxx

Toast Catalogue

2011-08-15T22:19:00.000+12:00

On Saturday morning, I sitting on the deck with a hot coffee in my fluffy dressing gown (I was still in the process of waking up), when the post lady dropped a catalogue of some kind in the mail box. As I went to grab it, I realised it was the Toast Catalogue I had ordered ages ago and completely forgotten about.

Eeeeeeee!!! I was so excited. Ever since I found out where Natty was getting her beautiful images from, I have been on the hunt for places offering free catalogues. Sadly most that I have signed up for never arrived. I guess it's because I'm at the bottom of the world but who knows (maybe someone just liked the look of it on it's journey here).

I couldn't wait to rip it up and start making new journal pages. The thickness and the texture of the paper was perfect for painting over and embellishing. As I was flicking through it and absorbing all the wonderful and rich photography, I thought to myself "Why do I need to rip this up?" I started to warm to the idea of making this the start of a new journal. I will still probably rip some pages out but I like being able to add to the existing pages instead of transforming them into something else. So I did one!

Rhiannon xxx

P.S. On a totally separate note; it snowed in Auckland today. First time in about 80 years!! Granted we are grasping at straws here and any country with regular snowfall would call it cold rain because as soon as it landed on anything it melted. But it's the closest to snow I have seen in quite some time so I'm sticking with it being exactly that. Snow! (I really hope it snows a little bit tonight to leave a sprinkling in the morning to see)

Sketchbook Project 2012

2011-08-13T15:52:00.002+12:00

This is my first of a series of Sketchbook Project 2012 posts. I ordered and received the book a few months ago but hadn't got round to starting it until last week. My theme is Hope and I picked this because it can translate into so many things. I want this sketchbook to be full of inspiration and positivity so I am working on a plan of what to add in. In the meantime though I thought there is no better way to start a journal than get the first few pages out of the way; so that's what I did. I have started a set on Flickr for sharing all the pages I create as well (and I will add a sidebar link soon too). Here are the first two pages I created.

Are you taking part in the Sketchbook Project? I would love to see some other artists work (leave a link below to your flickr/blog if you are)
Rhiannon xxx

Friday Feature Artist // Sparkleface

2011-08-12T21:40:00.000+12:00

I discovered this week’s Friday Featured Artist on Flickr not so long ago. Her art is absolutely beautiful – full of colour and energy. Her work ranges from very simple and elegant to detailed and elaborate. Not only does she create delicious collages, she also creates embellished and eye catching journal pages. Let me introduce “sparkleface”.

Find more of her work on Flickr.

Check out her Etsy shop if your interested in buying original from this fabulous artist.

Hope everyone has a good Friday,
Rhiannon xxx

Vignette Application [Android]

2011-08-12T14:43:00.000+12:00

I have been trying out the the Vignette camera application on my android phone the last couple days, my main subject being the cats. They are both keeping me company during the day which is really nice, sometimes they are even posing for photos. I have only got the demo version at the moment which means any photo you take with it, is really small [which is why some photos below are quite small]. If you buy the full version [which I am about to] it offers a much higher resolution.

FFA is coming this afternoon

Rhiannon xxx

Keeping busy

2011-08-11T21:25:00.000+12:00

I am going a bit mad with cabin fever with being stuck at home with this wretched bronchitis so I have been trying to keep myself busy as much as I can. During a brief moment when I felt better [sadly that moment has passed now] I decided to do something that I haven't done in a long time; an art journal painting. I art journal a lot but I noticed recently that I never plan it out first. I jump right in and paint what I feel like. This time I wanted to sketch out an idea first, and then paint it. I took photos of the stages to share with you. I am quite happy with how it turned out but am undecided whether to add some text or not.

Rhiannon xxx

New art journal pages

2011-08-10T15:40:00.000+12:00

A trip to my doctor yesterday revealed I have Bronchitis. My whole body hurts from coughing so I'm pretty miserable at the moment (and am gettting cabin fever from not leaving the house). I wanted to do something to cheer myself up so I am doing a bit of art journaling to keep me busy. At certain times of the day I cannot do anything but lie still in fear of starting to cough, but when I feel up to it I will paint or draw. Here are a few I have done the last couple days.

Rhiannon xxx

365 Project - week 31

2011-08-09T13:05:00.000+12:00

214/365 - I catch the ferry each morning to get to work and I am always impressed at how many people cycle down to the ferry (instead of driving)

215/365 - It was my dad's birthday on 3rd August so me and Dan went out for dinner with the rest of my family. We went to a cute little Greek restaurant - the food was delicious. This is me and Dan x

216/365 - I'm still loving the shatter nail polish :)

217/365 - Because it is winter here, I very rarely sit out the back of the house but Saturday was pleasant enough to sit out the back for a while. My partner and flatmate love plants (mainly cactus & succulents) so out back "garden" is full of them.

218/365 - Now this plant just totally weirded me out so thought I should take a photo hehe

219/365 - The mess of colour I made whilst making some new art journal pages

220/365 - I got a nice little picture of Spaz last night while she was keeping me company (and warm) as I'm sick at the moment

Rhiannon xxx

Link love

2011-08-08T08:18:00.000+12:00

Happy Monday everyone,

You will have to excuse my absence recently; I have been sick (some awful combination of sinus headaches, flu and cold - blegh) for the last week and it got a whole lot worse on Friday so I haven't been up to doing anything (Friday Feature Aritst will be back next week). In the meantime here are a few neat blog posts I have come across the last couple weeks.

Check out some organisation tips from Moorea of Moorea-Seal.com.
The amazing Alisa Burke has re-painted the pattern on her hallway floor. It looks absolutely beautiful and would love to do this to my house one day!
Carrie of WishWishWish was kind enough to share some of her Photoshop actions that she uses for editing her blog photos.
Super cute free overlays by Lil Blue Boo.
A fantastic post on treadmill running by the lovely Krista of Saturated Canary.
Beautiful new art journal pages from Ingrid of My Peacetree.
Ever wondered about hair extensions? Carrie from WishWishWish does a review of her HeadKandy extensions - they aren't as scary as you might think.

Once I'm feeling better I will be back with some new art journal pages I have been working on.

Rhiannon xxx

I Just Might Explode - Sponsor

2011-08-03T22:41:00.003+12:00

Last month I bought an ad space on The Dainty Squid which was fantastic, but this month I thought I would change it up a bit. Kara Haupt (who was last Friday's Featured Artist) has been doing something quite incredible recently. She has taken to her photogrphy/online business to a new level and is now working on it full time. I think that she is so brave and I admire her so much for being this dedicated to making her dreams come true! I think what she is doing at the moment is fantastic and decided I would love to be a sponsor for this month on her blog.

So a big "HI" to any new readers out there!! I'm so glad you stopped by :)

Rhiannon xxx

365 Project - week 30

2011-08-02T21:26:00.000+12:00

207/365 - Part of a new piece I'm working on. I discovered that phone books make awesome image transfers :)

208/365 - Drinkies after work with the girls

209/365 - cute little square in Auckland City

210/365 - Eggs Benedict for lunch with my mum on Friday. Was absolutely delicious

211/365 - shatter nail polish

212/365 - my first fishtail braid on my friend Alyssa

213/365 - my favourite soup (winter and summer); bean and pasta with a bit of pesto and mozzarella cheese

Rhiannon xxx

Mid Year Goal Review

2011-08-02T14:59:00.000+12:00

I actually wrote a long post about this a few weeks ago but something strange was going on with the new blogger dashboard which meant all my saved drafts just miraculously disappeared. Rather frustrating indeed. But in this video, John Cleese basically said the second time you write something, its even better than the first time; and I think he is right!

We have just hit August and the year is flying by, so I thought it would be a good idea to do a mid year goal review to keep me focused and add new goals. Things change over the course of a year and evidently so do your goals. Some that were on my list written in Jan, I don’t intend to complete and it is no good to dwell on these. Instead its best to replace it with something you know you will achieve. Have a look here to see what was on my original list.

Read one book a month – I do still want to achieve 12 books this year, but so far I haven’t read one per month. Check out here what I have been reading this year though

Biting the big apple – Bella Vendramini [Jan]
The killer inside – Lindsay Ashford [Feb]
My sisters keeper – Jodi Picoult [Apr]
Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King [July]

Take part in online classes – I have been involved in three so far this year- In The Sun, True To You & Blog Love! And hopefully will be doing one more before the end of the year.
Take part in the sketchbook project – I have got my sketchbook and my theme but I haven’t started yet, I want to start it this month [Aug]
Complete my foundation course at TLC – this I can quite happily say I have achieved. Despite a rough time at the beginning of this year, I have my certificate and I am so incredibly proud of myself [blogged here]
Take a yoga class – I would still really like to do this so it is staying on my list but I'm being realistic that it might not happen. It looks like the rest of the year is going to be quite busy with other things that I must put first.
Teach myself more about watercolours – this ties in to the last class I want to take this year which is Watercolour Bliss by the wonderful Alisa Burke.
Start & maintain a flickr account – done and done!
Re-design my blog – very much done. I am happy with the overall layout and header. I do keep doing colour changes etc but the layout is staying the same. I would still love to get it professionally designed one day (by Freckled Nest) but I'm content with it for now.
Get my full drivers license – I am making progress with this. I have my defensive driving course booked for October and after that is done I will be sitting my full test. I am absolutely terrified though. I know I can drive great, but I hate being tested like that. It's so much pressure.
Walk over rangitoto Island – it's winter here at the moment so not the best time of year but I hope to do this around November when it starts to warm up more.
Complete the 365 challenge – I have been blogging about this recently [here and here] and I am back on track to finish this.
Go to Matakana markets – done. I just realised that I never shared any photos I took so I will share some next week.

So that's my re-vamped list, take a look at what is getting added.

Take the C25K challenge – I recently bought a treadmill and I decided that I want to take the Couch to 5K running challenge. I bought it not to loose weight [I'm pretty happy with my body now] but because I am an unfit mess. I want to be much healthier and I'm hoping that I can quit smoking [this time for good!] by replacing it with running. I have always loved running but it tends to be quite a fleeting thing because I will miss one or two runs and before you know it I haven’t run in two months. I am pretty nervous about taking the challenge because historically most people drop out of the challenge about week 4. I don’t want to be one of those people. I run because I love it, and because I want to keep healthy. I will be doing a post on this soon, especially with some inspiration blogs and posts to read.
Buy a house – Now this is a huuuuuge goal. My partner and I have been preparing for this for quite some time and we think we are at a place now where we can start speaking with mortgage brokers and looking for our dream house. We will be buying it with a friend [so all three of us will own it] which should make the repayments a bit easier. It will be so nice to get into our own house and be able to do what we want to it. The flat we live in at the moment is old and cold and I cannot wait to say farewell to it!
Buy new trainers – this is more of a money thing than anything else. Trainers these days are so incredibly expensive ($200+) but I'm going to keep my eyes open for any sales at sport stores.
Get my eyes tested & buy spectacular new spectacles – I am due to get my eyes re-tested before the end of the year and I'm thinking I want to try and get a different pair of frames. Again this is just a money thing so will need to save for this too.
Keep Art Journaling – I haven’t been doing much of this recently. Life seems to be getting in the way and I have been spending far too much time on the computer. So it's time that I set aside at least one evening a week where I just journal.
Start "Wreck this Journal" - I bought this book ages ago but was too busy with course work to start it. I only rediscovered it the other day- this will be a good lesson in not getting to precious about my work. Learn to love it and let it go! There is coupious amounts of inspiration online for how people have wrecked it in different ways.

There are quite a few other things I want to add onto the list but I am going to be realistic and leave it at that for now.

Have you added any goals to your list throughout the year? How are you doing with your goals?

Rhiannon xxx

Graduate of TLC

2011-08-01T22:11:00.000+12:00

This post is a bit late because I was hoping to receive my certificate first, but the government takes time to process these things apparently. I wanted to share something semi-official though.

EEEEEEE! I am still so happy about this! I accomplished something that, at times, I wasn't sure I would. This whole blog began when I started that course. I have grown so much, personally as well as artistically and I would love to be able to take it further one day and do the Diploma.

Rhiannon xxx

Photography Cheat Sheets

2011-08-01T09:02:00.000+12:00

I am not the best photographer, and I am the first person to admit this. But I do love taking photos, and I want to learn to take better photo's. This includes using the manual function on my camera instead of just using auto. Auto seems safe, you don't have to make any decisions yourself- just point and shoot. Manual however, you have to make decisions and no matter how hard I try, I can never remember things like how to create a shallow depth of field (is it the aperture or the shutter?)

So on my regular hunt through Pinterest, I have come across two awesome 'cheat sheets' for using your manual setting on your camera and thought that it might be useful for others wanting to learn how better to use your camera.

Happy practicing :)

Rhiannon xxx

Happy Birthday Mum xx

2011-07-31T19:10:00.000+12:00

It was my mum's birthday last week so I decided to give her a watercolour painting that I did 7 years ago. I always struggle with presents for people because I want to get something that they will like but also something that is useful. I don't like buying presents for the sake of it. So when I came across this painting when I was looking through an old art folder about a month ago I decided it was perfect!. I totaly forgot I even did it. I knew mum would love it; and she did!

I got it mounted onto a backing board and a mat board. I was going to get a frame for it too but I thought that mum might like to choose her own frame for it.

Happy Birthday mum - you are the best mum ever! xxx
Rhiannon xxx

Friday Feature Artist // Kara Haupt

2011-07-29T21:36:00.002+12:00

I hope everyone has had a good week so far. It's been bitterly cold in New Zealand the last few days, and most of the country got snow. Sadly, I didn't get to see any - Auckland tends to just get wind and rain. Anyway, enough about the weather.

Meet this week's fantastic Friday Featured Artist; the hugely talented Kara Haupt.

Kara is an incredibly inspirational woman. At just 19, she has already accomplished so much. She is the brains behind I Just Might Explode which has just moved from Typepad to its new home. She also has a range of sweet decals for sale, has created online workshops and now she is taking it a step further and focusing on becoming a self employed photographer. And if that wasn't enough, she has just launched her online photography portfolio.

What I admire the most about Kara is her determination and drive to succeed in a field she has such a passion for. I feel very lucky to be able to follow her journey as she makes her mark on the world. Following her blog and her accomplishments (and sometimes struggles) makes me want to work and push even harder to achieve what I want to and just for that alone, I want to say a big thanks to Kara :)

She was kind enough to answer a few questions about her work and her goals for this week; so what are you waiting for?

Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Kara Haupt. I'm an artist, blogger, photographer. I'm 19 and live in Boise, Idaho. I went to art school in NYC last year and now am taking a semester off before I move to Portland early next year! I spend most of my days blogging, creating online art journaling classes, and trying to tame my to-do lists.

What made you decide to pursue being a self employed photographer?
Hmm. I've always enjoyed doing senior portraits and other shoots. I was a photography major in art school(will probably be one next year too) and wanted to put my skills to use. I took the semester off to raise money for living in Portland next year, so using my photography skills in a business was one of my first orders of business.

Do you have any advice for someone wanting to become a self employed artist? Whats been the hardest thing so far?
Hmm. It's hard for me to say right now because I haven't been doing it "full-time" for very long. But, I read in an article about Sam Beam(the lead singer of the band Iron & Wine) that he gets up and works every day, tries to apply discipline to it, and accept that not every day is going to be awesome. I feel fortunate to be self employed, but it's not incredibly easy for me. It's hard for me to stay focused and not get discouraged, particularly on days when I don't leave the house. My advice is to just suck it up, remember that I'm not in a soul-ripping job, and maintain a good attitude through things I don't necessarily want to do. That sounds like I don't like what I'm doing, I do! I just have a lazy-person personality.

What are your top three tips for taking photos?
Learn to shoot in Manual. Don't sacrifice quality for trends. Try new things!

What camera do you use most and which one is the most fun to use?
I use my digital SLR most (A Canon 50d with the 50mm 1.4 lens). The most fun camera is probably my Instax Wide. Instant photos are so fun!

Where do you want to be in 5 years?
I would like to hopefully be graduated from art school with a BFA and still working for myself! I hope to be living and pursuing a whole, beautiful life.

What drives you to keep working hard?
I love independence. I was pretty independent all through high school and moving to NYC without really knowing a soul helped turn me into a self-sufficient person. I want a beautiful life and working every day to have one keeps me motivated. Also, this sounds bad, but money does too. I'm really motivated to make enough to live the life I want to(in Portland) and pay off my student loans considerably before I graduate.

Are you working on any side projects at the moment other than your photography?
I'm currently working a ton on an online scrapbook class and coding a new website to sell my PDF classes. I'm going to be redesigning all past classes by mid September too. I'm also starting a business with one of my best friends to unveiled later in the month. I also just got an idea today about the zine I want to create later in September. I obviously like projects, haha!

Thanks again to Kara for this wonderful interview; I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did :)

Make sure you have a good look at Kara's online; she is all over the place:

Blog

Portfolio
Kara Haupt Photography (Facebook)

Flickr

Happy Friday everyone!!

Rhiannon xxx

365 Project - week 29

2011-07-26T18:03:00.000+12:00

Last week I did a post on how my 365 project is going; and it wasn't going too well so I made a plan. Number five on my plan was to do a weekly post of photos and I am staying true to that plan so welcome to the first week of 365 photos.

200/365 - Sals Pizza was for dinner. So delicious

201/365 - I finally got a decent(ish) photo of my wee kitty Spaz. I love her to pieces

202/365 - The most delicious vege club sandwich for lunch.

203/365 - My newest addition to my Doc Marten collection. These are my absolute favourite. You might recognise them from here. I finally found them a few weeks ago in a random little shop and there was one size left in my size in New Zealand. Talk about meant to be!

204/365 - I had a art journal date with my two lovelies on the Saturday gone. We always include a bowl of lollies to nibble on while creating

205/365 - A fantastic mosaic at a cafe Dan and I went to for our Sunday breakfast

206/365 - A mean couch made out of old jeans! Wicked

Rhiannon xxx

Photography Madness

2011-07-24T20:21:00.000+12:00

Ok so I went a bit camera mad at the end of last week. I have been tossing up whether to get a Polaroid camera for a very long time. The pictures look amazing and I love that it's instantaneous but the instant film is rare and very expensive. Now what I am about to tell you isn't new news (although it is to me).

After having a good look through Photojojo and visiting an old post on toy cameras by Elise of A Beautiful Mess, I discovered The Impossible Project. They are a company that bought an old Polaroid Production plant and decided to keep the film production going for these classic cameras but with new materials. Once I had discovered this I decided I would go for it - I was going to get a Polaroid camera!

I found a traditional Polaroid One-Step 600 on amazon and bought it. I am already in love with it!! I love the "old school" look of them.

I didn't stop there though. I bought a whole lot of Impossible Instant Film of Photojojo. I much prefer the white border but I did get one pack of black borders; just to see what they are like.

And I bought one more thing - a good old fashion analogue camera from Poketo. It is the cutest little thing and takes wide-angle shots with super saturated colours and a lovely tunnel effect.

I won't get them for a few weeks as some of the places above don't ship overseas so my lovely aunty who lives in Arizona, will be forwarding them onto me. I can't wait to share them when they arrive (and the pictures they take of course!!)

Rhiannon xxx

Friday Feature Artist // Francesca Galliani

2011-07-23T10:07:00.001+12:00

This week’s Friday Featured Artist is especially exciting for me to share. Born in Italy, Francesca moved to the US when she was 19 and studied Fine Arts at Corcoran School of Art in Washington D.C. Once achieving her degree, she set out to make her mark on the world. Her work has appeared in internationally acclaimed fashion magazines such as Vogue, Glamour, Velvet, Zoom and more. She has exhibited extensively worldwide including New York City, Berlin, Paris, Dubai, Rome, Sydney and Hamburg. Francesca's work is highly sought after both by the fashion industry and independent collectors.

Her unique work combines my love for thought provoking photography and mixed media. Each piece has a strong personality and her limited use of colour adds to the overall feeling. I love seeing text included in fine art too; it isn't commonly done with a practice. I guess this is one of the reasons I love art journaling so much. I get to make art and write :)

If you would like to know more about Francesca check out her bio page.
Francesca was kind enough to answer a few questions about her career and work. Hope you enjoy!

**Note: Francesca's work contains nudity and can be quite provocative. Please be aware of this as some are included in the post below.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got to this point in your career?
I am an artist and my media is a combination of: photography, painting and collage. I have a bachelor degree in fine art from the Corcoran School of Art in Washinghton DC. When I first started, I thought I was just going to be a fine art and fashion photographer. School gave me a strong foundation by teaching me painting, figure drawing, tridimensional design, graphics etc. that on my own I would have never thought of learning. It expended my development. At first I was fighting it. I didn't understand the use of it because all I wanted to do was photography. Later it all came together and that learning helped me to express myself the way I do today. I got to this point of my career by working very hard, by persevering, by not giving up when it gets hard.

What is the hardest thing about being an independent photographer?
Dealing and taking in the success and keep on moving when it doesn't go my way.

What inspires you to create?
Life. Going to museums, galleries. Also creating is a process. There are times I don't feel creative. In those periods I have to stay still and trust that it is part of the process.

When you started your Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art from Corcoran School of Art in Washington D.C, was your intention to combine photography and fine art? If not, how did it come about?
It was not my intention to combine different media. I thought I was going to be a fine art and fashion photographer. It came about just by allowing the process to happen. I believe, as artists, we are channels. To create means listening to your instinct and allowing it to take you wherever it takes you.

What was the most important thing you have been taught?
There are many things I I have been taught. One of them is: never give up and do what you fear the most.

What camera(s) do you use?
I use a Hasselblad and a Canon.

Do you have any advice for an aspiring artist?
Follow your instinct. Do not create what you think others might like.

Where would you like to be in 5 years?
My goal is to be represented by few prestigious galleries worldwide that believe in my work and together we can take my career to the next level and to have my work shown in major museums worldwide. I want to keep touching people's heart and continue to carry a positive message through my art.

Make sure you check out more of Francesca's amazing work over on her website

I hope you enjoyed this weeks Feature Artist and I want to thank Francesca again for taking the time to share with us about her work.

Rhiannon xxx

365 Project Update

2011-07-21T10:42:00.000+12:00

I haven't been very good with this project the last few months. My motivation had pretty much gone, but after seeing Ingrid take on the one photo a day for a month challenge here and here; I was re-inspired. It's not that I wasn't taking photos; it was the editing, organising and uploading of them that was the problem. I am quite notorious for not finishing projects and it is something I am very much aware of. However I am refusing to let this become one of those 'never quite finished' projects.

When I was overseas I had a lot of time to plan, think and explore what is important to me with my blog and my art/projects. I came to the conclusion that this is a project I really want to finish. At the end of the year, I want to get a large print of all 365 images and frame it. This is my end goal. If I keep this in my head all the time, it should make it easier to complete.

So I spent most of last night getting right up to date - we are now at day 201 [where has the year gone??] I thought you might like a look at the most recent ones.

My plan to keep going and finish this project:

Put a reminder on my phone each day so I don't forget to take a photo.
I will be using the camera on my phone for a majority of the photos. My other camera is just too big to take with me to work and home every day and I have enough stuff to carry as it is.
To make a list of things to photograph so I don't get stuck for ideas.
I have joined the official 365 project group so now I can keep inspired by looking at others photos for each day. I won't be uploading them to this site though, I will keep it on flickr.
One day a week, do a blog post of the last 7 days worth of photos.

What projects are you currently working on that you are struggling with?

Have a great Thursday everyone :)

Rhiannon xxx

Astonishing Hair

2011-07-20T20:39:00.002+12:00

I am already planning what to do to my hair next so I was scanning Pinterest for some pictures. I have two obsessions at the moment plaited and pretty coloured hair and wanted to share a few of my favourite's each.
Enjoy!

Source: flickr.com via Rhiannon on Pinterest

Source: abeautifulmess.typepad.com via Rhiannon on Pinterest

Source: mangoheart.tumblr.com via Rhiannon on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Rhiannon on Pinterest

Source: laurenconrad.com via Rhiannon on Pinterest

Source: None via Rhiannon on Pinterest

Source: 30.media.tumblr.com via Rhiannon on Pinterest

Source: 27.media.tumblr.com via Rhiannon on Pinterest

Rhiannon xxx

What's on the menu?

2011-07-19T13:07:00.001+12:00

While I was away, I had no control over what to eat. I wouldn't consider myself a picky eater but I do like fresh and simple foods that don't tend to be sold at restaurants. I guess I am a bit of a control freak and prefer to prepare my own food just the way I like it; but who doesn't?

Whilst doing daily catch up's on bloglovin during my break, I realised that there are a lot of different recipes and meals that I want to try once I got home. One blogger in particular does a lot of easy-on-the-wallet vege meals and I have picked a few that I want to try.

(never home)maker

[all photos credit to http://www.neverhomemaker.com/]

1) Garlic Knots [I bet Dan would looove these]
2) Blueberry Smoothie
3) Hummus Melts
4) Pesto Quiche with oatmeal crust
5) Cheese and Apple Bagels
6) Homemade Hummus [not pictured]

***Check out their go to meals as well.

What I love the most about the wonderful collection of recipes by Ashley and Stephen, is their simplicity. You don't need to go out and spend $8 on something you only need 1/2 a teaspoon of and they are big fans of substituting ingredients.

Chili Bean & Spinach Pizza
I have my own favourite eezy-peezy dinners that I can never get enough of. My absolute favourite would be pizzas with chili beans & spinach. If there is something else that needs to be used I will chuck that on too e.g. avocado, capsicum or mushrooms. I don't put a sauce on the base because the chili bean sauce, when heated, turns into a sort of base sauce [does that make sense?]

It just needs to be grilled with some cheese on the top [mozzarella for me please!] and your done. I have lunch versions of these too; replace pizza base with wholemeal pita pockets. Quick and easy and much nicer than soggy sandwiches.

What are your favourite easy dinner or lunch meals?

Rhiannon xxx

Holiday Journaling

2011-07-16T10:32:00.001+12:00

Today is my last day here, we are heading home very early tomorrow morning, but this trip has been so good for me to re-charge. Emotionally, mentally and physically [I have done A LOT of sleeping]. It has been absoutley beautiful aside from a few cloudy days. Most of the time has been spent by the beach or at the pool just absorbing as much sun as possible before heading back to mid-winter in Auckland (and atrocious weather according to the news). I finished my book, Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King, on the third day so have been journaling in the evenings since then.

My dad took this sneaky photo of me mid-journaling.

I bought a ~~little~~ *ahem - large* supply of arty things with me: winsor and newton travel watercolour set, modge-podge, pens, pencils, moleskine watercolour journal and acrylic paints. Take a peek at what I have been working on.

I am extreemly happy with the outcome of the sunflower. It's by far my favourite, and ties in well with Natty's summer flowers prompt over on In The Sun.

Be sure to check out this weeks FFA over here if you haven't already :)

Rhiannon xxx

Friday Featured Artist // Alyssa Acket

2011-07-15T19:29:00.003+12:00

Yay - it's that time of week again! [I love writing these weekly series] This week’s feature artist is one of my closest friends, and I'm lucky enough to get to work with her every day. She has bucket loads of talent and is one of the most determined people I have ever met. You might recognise her from my recent art journaling weekend

We originally met during a teenage art workshop we both attended about 6 years ago. When it finished we exchanged numbers and did the whole ‘let’s keep in touch’ thing [which of course you hardly ever do when your about 16 and unbelievably shy like I was] but a couple of years later when I started my new job I swore I walked past her one day coming out of the lift. I still had her number so text her and asked if she just saw someone who looked like me. She had! And here we are, 4 years later. Say hi to my wonderful friend Alyssa.

**Note: some of the images below are from life drawing and hence are nude, some are also what some may consider grotesque. Usually not a problem for most people but felt I should mention it - you have been warned :)

Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Alyssa. I am a 22 year old 2D animator and I live in Auckland, New Zealand. My passions are animation and most things creative. I doodle as much as I possibly can and dabble in paint, illustration, animation and anything else that takes my fancy!

What made you want to become an animator?
Really it was my love for drawing and cartoons, and the opportunity to be able to bring my own creations to life really drew me to it.

Can you explain what 2D Animation involves?
2D Animators first 'thumbnail' out a scene with the action they want to take place. They then make drawings called "Keys". Key drawings are the extreme points in the movement. E.g. First key: Man with leg out preparing to step. Second key: Man's foot contacting with ground and knee bending. And so on. Then the animator will 'inbetween' the key drawings. Inbetweens are drawings that fill out and smooth the movement. More inbetweens = slower movement. Less inbetweens = faster movement. After this first process of rough animation the scene will then be cleaned up. The same method as above but with smooth clean lines. The finished drawings are then scanned into the computer and coloured digitally.

Have you recieved any professional training?
I studied 2D for three years at Freelance Animation School (the place where I currently tutor first year) and have been taking Life Drawing classes since around the age of 16.

What are your dreams as an animator?
I'd love to work in a small-ish tight knit studio producing cartoons, ads or movies. Perhaps even open my own studio or my own business in the far future!

Where would you like to be in 5 years?
I really couldn't say! I like to take things as they come and go with the flow (within reason) but I'd really just like to be actively animating and meeting more talented and inspirational people in the industry.

Where do you find inspiration for your illustrations?
Everywhere! A lot of the time music is a great inspiration for me but anything could set me off on a creative frenzy.

What medium do you use for your illustrations?
Mostly I sketch, ink and then photoshop. I use pencils, pens, markers, paints and anything that I can get my hands on. :)

Do you do comission work?
Definitely! Price is negotiable depending on what is wanted. I do paintings, sketches, inked sketches, coloured cartoon-style portraits and I'm always open to new ideas new things to try! Best thing to do is email me with what you would like and we can take it from there.

What are some of your favourite blogs?
Yours! I'm always super excited when you update. ;) Another is http://www.danellebourgeois.com/blog, she does amazing design and her cupcakes and baking never fail to make me salivate!

Where can we find you online?
You can find me at my blog: http://alyssacket.blogspot.com/
deviantart: http://candehfeind.deviantart.com/
tumblr: http://lissasketch.tumblr.com
Or you can email me: alyssa.acket [at] gmail [dot] com

I hope you all enjoyed meeting Alyssa and getting to see how animation works. Make sure you check out more of her work using the links above.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Rhiannon xxx

Pierced Beauty's first badge

2011-07-12T18:53:00.002+12:00

Yes, I am on holiday but we have a lot of free time so why not be productive? [Although I have spent a lot of that free time reading and sleeping so far hehe]

I have been on the never ending search on how to create my own badge/widget, and since I didnt really know what to search for, it proved to be quite a fruitless mission.

I finally asked Ingrid while working on the Friday Feature Artist post with her last week and she set me in the right direction [thank you so much Ingrid!!] and I finally decided to give it a go today. What do you know, I figured it out!

Say hello to the first Pierced Beauty badge.

At this stage I just wanted to test whether it worked or not. I still need to do a bit of cosmetic fine tuning but otherwise I really happy it worked! I also want to work on some different sized badges with different images/layouts. This one is 200px by 96px - but what size badge do you prefer to have on your blog? I would love to get some ideas before I start making some more.

If there is anyone else out there who doesn't know where on earth to even start; this page was the most straight forward and helpful one I could find. Once it's broken down into steps, it's pretty easy.

Ok, off for some dinner now with the lovely family.
Rhiannon xxx

New Caledonia

2011-07-08T19:38:00.000+12:00

Tomorrow morning [4am - eeek] I will be getting on a plane and heading to New Caledonia for a last official family trip. I have been keeping this quiet because last week things were very up in the air due to volcano ash that is still playing havoc with travel down in NZ. We were originally supposed to be going to Rarotonga but after last minute problems with accommodation we had to change locations.

The whole family just wants a relaxing week away where there is warm weather and a beach. I cannot wait to get somewhere warmer where I can do nothing but read, drink, eat, bask in the sun and take photos. It will be absolute heaven!

I will still be doing my Feature Friday Post next week but it will probably be pretty quiet around here until the 18th July when I get back. So enjoy your week everyone, and I can't wait to share photos of what I got up to.

Rhiannon xxx

Friday Feature Artist // Ingrid

2011-07-08T17:06:00.004+12:00

I can't believe it's Friday already! I'm so excited to introduce this weeks Friday Feature Artist. Say hi to Ingrid; she is the beautiful mind behind My Peacetree. Her blog is the perfect combination of art, creativity, philosophy and all things beautiful in life. When she is creating art she focuses a lot on experimentation and texture. She is such an inspiration to try new things and not be scared of the result; to focus on the process rather than the end. In one of her latest blog posts she used wax over paint and the result is stunning - check it out here.

What are some of your favourite blogs to visit?
The women whom I have found online are absolutely incredible, encouraging, and radiantly beautiful. Some of my favorite places to visit for inspiration and connection are authored by iHanna, Goddess Leonie, and Brandi. I have a very long list of other dear blogging friends that you can peruse here.

What are your favourite materials and techniques to use?
Some of my most used materials are acrylic paints, gesso, a glue stick or gel medium, magazine images and phrases, bubble wrap and other found objects for stamping, watercolors, pens and pencils, tissue paper, old receipts and tickets, masking tape, embroidery floss, and image transfers! As you might have guessed, I experiment with just about anything I can find. I do quite a lot of collage and layering – paint on an image transfer on paint on collage, for example; I love when a page becomes so textural it just aches to be touched!

What do you usually journal about?
I tend to write very little in my journal, and instead explore texture, colors, layering, and visual representation of an emotion I am experiencing. Sometimes I will use one key phrase or word to capture something I am thinking about, but I like sharing my pages and am very aware of others reading my words, whether online or in person, and so usually only use writing as a visual element.

Where do you get inspiration from?
Flickriver is a great way to browse and soak up the visual pages of different artists; seeing others' journals always inspires me! I follow many artistic blogs, and often stop at the bookstore and settle into the section where the art journaling books and magazines are. The beauty of the natural world – lightning, a hardworking ant, the change of the seasons, or the sound of wind, for example – and big philosophic questions like "What does it mean to be human?" and "How can I bring light to the world?" always stir my mind, too. I did a whole post on inspiration here!

How often do you journal?
This question always leaves me with a sense of guilt, for I feel that I do not meet my own expectations of how often one must create in order to "be" an art journaler. Truthfully, I don't paint often - perhaps once or twice a month. Occasionally I will experience huge bursts of creativity and finish three pages in just a few days. Something I am continually reminding myself is that art journaling is as unique as every individual, and any form of it, no matter how quirky or unusual or rarely practiced, is absolutely, perfectly okay. This is something that I try to impress upon my readers, too.

Have you participated or taught any e-courses?
Yes! I am teaching my very first art journaling workshop "Beautiful You, Radiant You" at 21 Secrets right now - go here to check it out! Registration ends on October 1st.

When and why did you decide to start a blog?
I began my blog in May of 2009. I had stumbled across Hanna Andersson's beautiful blog a year earlier, and was so captivated and inspired that I felt compelled to start my own. I'm so happy I decided to take that step!

Do you have any future plans for your art journaling or your blog?
I hope to fill another art journal, and another after that. I'd love to develop more e-courses and host them through my blog. I hope to continue to sell my creations on Etsy, and I'd be so happy to have my art hanging in a coffee shop somewhere, too!

How did you start art journaling?
In a high school art class, I came across the book "Altered Books Workshop" by Bev Brazelton. I was absolutely fascinated, and began to experiment with painting, collaging, and writing in books. After I delved into the blogging world I came across many other women exploring what came to be known as art journaling, and through them I learned countless new techniques, started developing my own style, and made some wonderful friends.

How would you describe your blog?
I can only describe what I hope my blog is to others: a safe, kind, loving place of inspiration, art, self-discovery, photography, and a celebration of the beauty of life!

Where can you find Ingrid? She is all over the Internet:
Blog - www.mypeacetree.blogspot.com
Flickr - www.flickr.com/mypeacetree
Etsy - www.mypeacetree.etsy.com
Twitter - www.twitter.com/mypeacetree (or @mypeacetree)
Facebook - www.facebook.com/mypeacetree

You can follow her blog on Bloglovin' here,

I hope you all enjoyed meeting Ingrid today. It was such a joy to be able to do this post with her and I want to thank her [again] for taking the time to answer all these questions and share her work and blog. I just want to add that Ingrid has also just uploaded some fantastic new collage packs to her etsy shop that are really affordable so make sure you have a look.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

Rhiannon xxx

In The Sun - new pages

2011-07-06T20:06:00.003+12:00

It is about time I shared some more of my In The Sun journal pages with you all. I haven't been able to do any this week sadly - I have been so busy! The links for the prompts are below each page. If you haven't already you should check out the flickr group too. There are so many amazing pages being created :)

06 // Ideal Vacation Spot

I have never been to Greece. My parents met in Cyprus many years ago so we have been back there twice but never quite made it over to Greece. It looks absolutely beautiful - in fact I would be happy to go anywhere in the Mediterranean

08 // Summer Date Ideas

My partner's job means that he doesn't have set hours. Some days he will work from 10am to 6pm but the next day he might work from 8am to 12am. This makes it really hard to have "date nights" organised in advance. So what we tend to do is go out for breakfasts on Sundays (his only day off) and spend time that way. Once a month we try to go out and see a movie, depending what is on.

20 // Lazy Days [this was really freaky. I did this page about a week before Natty put up the prompt]
13 // Summer Wishlist

09 // In the ~~summer~~ winter time, I feel....

I get sad in winter, that's the honest truth. The lack of daylight, the rain, the icy winds and the overwhelming desire to hibernate until it gets warmer, makes me feel sad. So I try little things each day to lift my mood. My favourite one's are wearing bright coloured stockings and scarves. It brings a bit of fun into my otherwise black wardrobe.

I have got an incredibly exciting Friday Featured Artist this week so make sure you don't miss out!

Rhiannon xxx

New Hair

2011-07-04T10:34:00.001+12:00

I dyed my hair bright red about a month ago and it was time to re-dye the roots so my best friend (who is training to be an awesome hairdresser) came over and bleached my roots. When I had washed the bleach out I actually quite liked how it looked so I am rocking this look for a few days before we put the red dye back in.

I am loving playing around with hair colours and whatnot. And there is one of my tattoo's - a button. Needs a touch up but i still love it. Buttons are such fun to collect and I have an ever growing collection.

Rhiannon xxx

I'm on The Dainty Squid

2011-07-03T19:23:00.002+12:00

Something I have been thinking about for a while now was buying an advertising spot on one of my favourite blogs. So last month I decided I was going to do it. I decided on The Dainty Squid because her blog is absolutely amazing and she has the kind of readers that I think would enjoy my blog and it's now up.

I wanted to say a big hi to all new readers! I'm so glad you stopped by. I hope you enjoy having a look around and finding inspiration- I would love to hear from you so drop me a line: rhiannon [dot] e [dot] stone [at] gmail [dot] com

Rhiannon xxx

Friday Feature Artist // Autumn McGrail

2011-07-01T11:45:00.006+12:00

Welcome to another week of Friday Feature Artist and say hi to Autumn [such a cool name!] I discovered Autumn's work through The Learning Connexion last year and have been in awe ever since. Her paintings are enchanting and dark with a splash of sex appeal. The slender style of figures have been derived from 1920's glamour and 1950's pin up whilst incorportaing a burlesque aspect that makes them so elegant and eye catching.

Autumn is a Wellington based artist and has had multiple sucessful exhibitions including The Candy Dolls, Down the Rabbit Hole and A Burlesque Lullaby. I am crossing my fingers I will get to go to one of her exhibitions one day; I love to see work in person. Autumn was kind enough to answer a few questions about her work; take a look.

Artist Statement ♥
Painting has always been a means of self-expression for me. I love to go into my own world and create. I like to distort the subject matter, giving them extra long legs and huge eyes. I am fascinated by vintage glamour, Pin ups, Burlesque dancers as well as the victorian era, this is where most of my inspiration comes from. I’m known for my limited colour palette which helps gives a moody atmosphere to each piece and to that I add a semi surreal narrative. [source]

Tell us about how you became an independent artist.

I became an independent artist when I left art school, they would have end of term exhibitions and I would sell out every-time so when I left I decided to enter as much group shows around the country as I could, I would sell on line as well. Then my mum and I opened a Gallery/boutique in Wanganui called 'Phaedra'. I would sell enough each week to live off, unfortunately we had to close the store, I moved back to Wellington and concentrated on getting my website up and running and started having solo shows and putting art in shops and cafes etc.

Do you have any formal training as an artist?
Ive always been arty my whole life because my dad is an artist and our family has always been creative. But I did study at TLC for 4 years and thats where I actually had people telling me I was talented that were not my parents so that gave me the confidence to become an artist.

What inspires you to make/produce your artwork?
I get inspiration from everywhere, movies, songs, fashion...the list goes on. Random as ideas will pop into my head while Im trying to sleep as well and I'll have to get up and quickly scribble it down while Im half asleep haha.

Do you have any plans for where you want to be in 5 years time?
In 5 years time I would love to have exhibited oversea's

Want to see more work from Autumn? Check out her facebook, website and blog.

She has a range of prints available as well as orignal pieces so make sure to contact her if you want to find out more information.

Have a fantastic Friday everyone, and a big thanks to Autumn for taking the time to give us a bit of an inside peek to her creative world.

Rhiannon xxx

Meet Zeus

2011-06-30T08:46:00.005+12:00

I have two amazing cats and I haven't really mentioned them so far on my blog so I thought it was time for an introduction. Zeus was the second addition to our little family. Meet Spaz here.

Zeus was the absolute cutest kitten I have ever seen. He came to us from Rotorua (about 4 hours from Auckland) from a well known breeder. My partner was humming and haring about whether to get this kitten for quite a while as we already had Spaz, but with a little nudging and words of encouragement [from me] we decided to get him. The main reason he wanted to get this particular cat was because it is the largest of domestic cats: the Maine Coon.

Originally his name was going to be Hercules but we found out that his father was called Hercules so decided to take it up a notch to Zeus. And he absolutely deserves the name...

We weren't able to go to Rotorua and bring him home ourselves but we did pick him specifically from the rest of the litter. He was so little when we got him, but his ears and feet were huge. His whiskers were all chewed off from play fighting with all the other kittens. So adorable [and notice below the little water dribble on his chin?]

He really was the cutest, fluffiest kitten. He loved to hide and jump out at you when you were least expecting it and then he would scuttle off. And he has such a good nature; he doesn't bite and he let's you pretty much do anything you want.

Zeus's massive poofy tail seemed to appear overnight! And so did his appetite - he would eat absolutely anything. He has eaten peas, potato, chocolate, fish, beef and he still loves bread. We personally think that Zeus may actually want to be a dog.

And here he is now; in all his mighty-ness at 2 ½ years old. He is still a very cuddly cat which is odd because Maine Coons tend to be more 'hunting cats' than 'lap cats'. This guy loves to get his photo taken too- poser!

I hope you guys have all liked meeting my two wonderful kitties. They are both such a big part of my life so they may pop up on here from time to time :)

Rhiannon xxx

Computer Problems

2011-06-29T08:37:00.000+12:00

Hi all my lovely readers :)
I'm still having computer problems at the moment so I'm not able to blog very much until that is sorted. I have my fingers crossed for Friday at the latest so I can post this weeks Friday Featured Artist.

Also, on that note, blogger has decided I'm not allowed to comment on blogs. I just want to say that I appreciate all of your comments and will be replying to them by email until blogger has sorted this problem.

Rhiannon xxx