Thursday, October 31, 2013

Glittery vampires and sugar skulls




Oh hallowe'ening we shall go,,,
Dressed in our trick or treating outfits,with a fair dose of ghoulish face make up,we hit the streets of Avalon to try our luck on the treat factor.. 


Hudson made for a very handsome Dracula,topped with a golden glittery top hat and a ball and chain


Malia was a sugar skull from mexicos day of the dead celebrations
Complete with neon orange feather and spider headband


Nevada moon was also a baby sugar skull,in a festive red flamenco suit
And guess what so was I!! 
A sugar skull that is!!
complete with an embroidered Mexican dress,and my red leather jkt for when it got nippy later 




It was funny watching other adults reactions to me!
Some smiled,some encouraged me
And some looked at me like I was a complete nutcase!!
From house to house we wandered,collecting lollies and treats and running into friends along the way
Occasionally catching glimpses of Levi and his friends,dressed in crazy galaxy print tights and a Dalmatian fur coat with a bare chest,he was having a ball but decided this year he was too big to hang with us(sad but true)


Hudson had to do a naughty pee break but no one was wiser as his cape was a great disguise!!!


Nevada had the best idea,cruising in her pram!


Some houses went to a lot of effort :)!!!
There was blood bath stations(raspberry cordial),
find your lollies in the worms(lollies buried in cold wet spaghetti)
And flesh eating booths(hot dogs on rolls)
All helped add to the magic of the night


Spider webs in trees,hanging ghost and skull lights,cackling witches on broomsticks and bloody psycho doctors and nurses were all out in force as our pillowslips filled with junk!!!




As the light began to fade...
The excitement got too much for my littlest sugar skull
Tired and exhausted we headed for a friends house to devour a pizza and then home to divvy up the loot
And what a lot of loot there was!!! 


I love halloween❤️
Not for the lollies and junk the kids collect(although I'm sure that's their favourite part)
I love the spirit in the air,the excitement,the dress ups and the sense of community but most of all
I Love Magic!!!!
And Halloween definantly has magic in the air💀💀💀🌟
Love and rainbows,
Gypsygirl x










Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Tuesday adventures



Tuesdays are a day I love,
I get to spend the entire day just hanging out with my two littlest babes,
Hudson banjo and Nevada moon


We usually potter around the garden in the morning or do some painting /craft but I do try to get out of our environment and go somewhere with them for a few hours(I often feel that having four kids it's hard to give them all individual attention)


So we go into the big smoke for the day,or a picnic in a park we haven't been to before,nature walks through the bush and visits to the nursery to buy fresh seedlings and goldfish are all really exciting to a 5 and 3 year old but not so much for my 10 and 12 year old


This Tuesday,
The air was thick with smoke from the fading bush fires,
And we had to stay local for appointments,so we headed up to boathouse for a hot choccie and a yummy plate of breakfast treats


Once again,the produce as you walk into boathouse is truly breathtaking,
Buckets of heavenly exotic blooms and overflowing baskets of fruit make for a tantalising display,and that's before you even get to the view!!'






And the view keeps the kids amused watching the boats and sea planes come and go,and when your tired of that,look through the decking gaps to see fishies down below


On a post brekkie beach comb 
we were lucky enough to find a whole cluster of washed up blue bottles,
this one in particular had made friends with a lady beetle (see photo) and it made me wonder if the lady beetle knew what a blue bottle was?as it was a creature from the underwater world??


There was also a lot of exhausted looking mutton Birds that had flown for too long,or too far and were dying on the beach,too tired to move
sad,but natures way.


Luckily the smokey haze kept a lot of people away,
so the kids were able to scooter along the road to their hearts content,
And they did too.


It was a beautiful morning with my little people!
Love and rainbows,
Gypsygirl x

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Gypsy doily skirts hanging pretty

Finally,
I had a chance today to photograph some of my doily gypsy skirts just hanging prettily on some candy coloured crochet hangers in the bush


I wanted to capture them with the sunlight shining through the crochet lace
Casting pretty shadows on the ground
Oh well, Not quite,it was actually very windy today,
making it tough to play too much with light and angles 
so I just hung the skirts where I could find a branch,
tried to face the light,made a secret wish to the the fairies,
aimed and shot.
(I figured I was in the perfect place for a wish to be granted,flannel flower fairy forest was very close by)






     
    

To my delight
Some of the shots  actually came out kind of magical
Especially when the sun shone through the skirts at just the right angle
Thankyou fairies❤️



 Making these skirts is like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle
Matching dyed laces and trims to make a long mermaid skirt and then adding crochet doilies and flowers randomly as embellishments,
And then hand crocheting a soft drawstring yoke for the waistband
they are definantly a labour of love.

      

I fall in love with each and every one of them and find it hard to part with them,
however,I'm happy if they go to someone who loves them as much as me


They look great over a cossie or little shorts,and in winter I wear mine over leggings,or you could wear them with a longer tunic over the top if you wish


I love making these skirts and really feel like they represent me perfectly,
if I were an item of clothing this is exactly what I'd be;
A mix of soft rainbow colours and feminine lace
I hope you like my gypsy doily skirts too


Love and rainbows,
Gypsygirl x





Thursday, October 17, 2013

Flannel Flower fairy forests



Strolling through the local bush today,
I chanced upon this awesome flannel flower carpet under magnificent spooky gum trees
I love flannel flowers,
they only come out in spring and they fill the bush with their soft grey green foliage and delicate super soft creamy flowers 


To discover a whole forest of them was very special and my camera doesn't really capture their delicate beauty



Not a bad location to grow up,flannel flowers have good taste!


One of my favourite Australian artists also loved being inspired by Aussie bush flowers,
May Gibbs spent her adult life writing whimsical fairy stories about the creatures of the bush,
Snugglepot and cuddlepie,ragged blossom and the banksia men were all part of our childhood,
filling our minds with imagination of the fairyfolk who lived in our bush land,
Including our flannel flower babies
(Who bring love)according to May,



It's easy to see why May was so inspired by our unique bush land,I am too,
the colours,textures and uniqueness all make it a pretty special place to be...


Sadly as I write this post a lot of our bush land is on fire both north and south of sydney,
We recently had our own fire locally,
when the palm beach lighthouse national park burnt extensively,
as we all watched  helicopters water bomb the headland to save the lighthouse and houses,it was both exciting and devastating to watch


This is the nature of the land,to burn,regenerate and flourish once more,sadly us humans get in the way and that means some of our possessions and lives are destroyed along the way
I hope everyone is ok and the bush bounces back to its lush beauty again soon

Love and rainbows,
Gypsygirl x

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Spring into a very hot summer!

Well I am a lizard always have been!
That doesn't mean I'm always baking in the sun,not at all
more that I love this feeling of the warm air and gentle rays on my skin
Summer is my favourite time of year and this year spring has turned to summer early,it's been really hot!!!


Searing hot days and nights tipping over 36 means that I'm not wearing much that touches my body,lots of long silk caftans and lacy shorts




summer flowers that are in bloom continue to dazzle me with their beauty and scent,filling my house with happiness❤️
These gorgeous roses were only $12 for 3 bunches and they smell divine too






My Bougainville is in full bloom too at the front of our house,
bringing a smile to my face every time I walk under those vibrant blossoms





And my magnificent moonflower growing feverishley over the studio is back to its full glory spiralling perfect white blooms  across its surface as the sun goes down at night,
I read somewhere that moonflowers are white and large so a certain type of moth can see it in the moonlight to pollinate the blossom ,
I like it romantic and useful!!








And I thought I'd include some photos of my studio to show you where I work
I love this little place❤️it houses all my treasures and I can easily lose myself for hours making things or painting
The space has a great energy




I've been slowly putting together a collection of things I enjoy making,
For my label gypsygirl 
Long lace doily skirts,patchwork leather and fur embellished vests and belts,crocheted shell necklaces,plaited and hand painted jersey and silk t's and dresses







I love this saying,
it reminds me that imperfection is the reason magic happens,
we have to seek out the flaws to find the beauty in life
And when it's just too hot to do anything else,pack up your yarn and a hook,your cossie and head for the ocean!!!


At the end of the day there is nothing I love more than to crochet some rainbow tags whilst sitting on my big patchwork blanket at the beach
Looking for cracks in the sky where the sunlight pokes through,
As a little girl I always thought the sun's rays were a shining path straight to heaven to show the way for people that had passed
(a bit ghoulish for a little girl,I know),
and I often lie on my back looking up at the sky for the rays of light that burst through the clouds,


hoping that the warmth we feel from the sun here on earth 
travels all the way back to heaven
(A bit like my favourite saying to my kids that "I love you to the moon and back again,")


Love and rainbows,
Gypsygirl x