Finished a quilt

For the first time in a long time, I finished a quilt that I am actually keeping - yes, a quilt for me!

It is backed in pink (naturally) and I love it. It will be perfect for camping and snuggling up by the fire.

I have been working on some more mixed media as well, but I have started a blog just for that. Feel free to head on over.

http://www.paintstampglue.blogspot.com.au/

And to finish, here are a few photos I have taken lately.

Roller Derby!

Yes, it is that time of year again. The beginning of the Roller Derby Season.

More Crafting

I am really enjoying being back into my crafting again. This is the next installment. It is made from a cardboard box (I used a large envelope box from work) some toilet rolls, and some fabric that I decorated and then glued to the outside of the box. It sits up on my shelf, full of pens, and I absolutely love it!

Crafting Again

Oh crafting, how I have missed you. :)

A couple weeks ago I caught up with a couple of friends for a sewing day. I have been working on a huge hand sewing project for a couple of years on and off. It will probably take a few more years to finish. But it was really nice to have a crafting day again, and to find new people to sew with.

Anyway we were talking all things craft, and I got introduced to a new art form - Mixed Media Art. I came home and spent a day on You Tube watching these amazing art forms come to life.

It got me thinking, while I loved this art form, I am more of a fabric person than a painting person, and the base in all the videos was paint. So I decided to mix it up.

I grabbed an artist canvas, some fabric, some paints, stencils, trims and a photo and started creating.

This is the result.

 



I had so much fun creating this. And I am really excited about creating many more. I have a collection of over 1000 postcards just sitting in boxes, and I have been wondering for years what to do with them, now I know. I need some more supplies and to clear my craft space before I get stuck into this, but I am so excited to have found a new outlet and to be crafting again.

xK

Movie Review – Hitchcock

I was really looking forward to this movie coming out and it did not disappoint. I adore Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren, and the amazing support cast definitely held their own up with these two outstanding actors.

The movie is about the making of the movie Psycho. It starts with the events that the original book was based on, then moves to Alfred Hitchcock, discovering the book, and trying to get the movie made. Until this point, horror movies were not his specialty, and the start of the movie follows Hitchcock as he tries to get a studio interested in funding the project.

In the end, he decides to take a massive risk, and mortgages his house to fund the making of the movie. His wife is there supporting him all the way.

What I liked:

I loved the dialogue and the casting. Anthony Hopkins (while better looking even in his “ugly” make up) did an incredible job mimicking the real Alfred Hitchcock. He was 100 percent believable as a vile tyrant, who was in love with the art of movie making. Hitchcock was a very complex man and Anthony Hopkins pulled the different facets together beautifully.

I loved the focus on the relationship between Alfred and his wife Alma (Helen Mirren). It showed a side of Hitchcock that was probably very rarely seen in the public eye. There was complications and difficulties, as with many “show bizz” relationships, and I felt they were played out beautifully.

What I did not like:

I thought the focus on the man himself was a bit sugar coated. While all I have are news reports and articles, by all accounts, Alfred Hitchcock was not a nice man. He was a womaniser who bedded many of his leading ladies – and rumours even suggest that this was a pre-requisite to becoming one of his leading ladies, he was cruel on set to cast and crew, he was tyrannical, and he was generally seen to be a bit crazy. This movie made him out to be a misunderstood softy with a few anger issues. It glanced over the relationships with the leading ladies, referring to them as mere “crushes” or “infatuations”. It focussed on an implied affair that Alma was meant to be having, however completely ignored Alfred’s outside dalliances.

Despite all this, I really enjoyed the movie. I see a lot of it as fictional rather than a true account of the man himself, but did enjoy seeing the process of how one of my favourite movies was made.

I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of Psycho or movies of this time.

3.5/5

Book Review - The Calling: A supernatural thriller, by Robert Swartwood

The day after 18 year old Chris's high school graduation, he awakens to discover his parents have been brutally murdered, and the killer is now after him. Shipped off to Bridport to stay with relatives he has not seen in 10 years while local authorities hunt down the killer, he slowly gets to know the Grandmother and Uncle he has been estranged from all these years. There he meets 10 year old Joey, a young man with very special gifts.

But the relocation has not fooled the killer and soon dreadful things begin to occur in Bridport. Chris starts investigating the history of the town, and discovers a series of awful truths that has brought an evil power to Bridport, one that has the power to destroy the lives of everyone it comes into contact with.

Soon it becomes clear that Chris shares more with Joey than he ever thought possible, and that the killer is beyond the skill of the local authorities to capture. Joey and Chris must face it - alone.

Despite the fact that this is a "young adult" novel, I really enjoyed it. The supernatural plot starts subtly, but grows as you learn more about Chris's family and their history.

I enjoyed the growth of Chris's character. Even though the book runs over the course of only a couple of weeks, he grows up a little bit more with every "encounter" and you can see him change from a reticent teenager to a strong young man.

The Calling was well written, with strong characters and good sub plots. The merging of the slowly revealed history of Bridport and Chris's family with the current happenings of the town give you a real insight into the characters, and how they have all ended up in Bridport at this exact time when evil asserts itself.

If you can move past the fact that the major players are teenagers, I strongly recommend giving this one a go.

30 Movies and 30 Books

So, I haven't been here for a while. I have been mulling things over. What do I want to do with this blog? I don't really want to record the details of my life, partly because they are a little bit boring, partly because I don't want everything about me "out there". So the question becomes, what do I do with this little space of mine? Do I delete it, do I change it, do I just leave it as is?  

 

Time to evolve.

 

At the beginning of the year, I decided that I was going to watch 30 new movies and read 30 new books this year. I already watch a lot and read a lot, but I have found I am re-watching and re-reading quite a bit. Time to branch out. What better place to record these and even review some of these, that right here! I have already seen a few and read a few, so I will slowly start to update where I am up to.  

 

I will also continue to share photos as I take them. I recently upgraded my camera and am slowly learning the ins and outs of this new toy. One thing I do know, it takes amazing photos!  

 

Books read so far this year

Interview With A Vampire - Anne Rice

Cool Shade - Theresa Weir

Morning Cup Of Murder (A Lacey Steele Mystery) - Vanessa Gray Bartal  

 

Movies seen this year

Take Me Home - DVD

Hitchcock - Movie Theatre

Silver Linings Playbook - Movie Theatre

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters - Drive In

 

I will start doing reviews shortly. Would also love to hear your movie and reading recommendations and why you would suggest I read or watch something in particular.

 

xK

I'm Back!

I have missed blogging.

Sorry for the absence, although I am not sure who I am apologising to, as I don't even know if there are any readers here anymore. But I am back anyway.

I was all ready to come back and say I am back but Gee I have been so busy. However, as much as I think I am busy I am discovering that I am not. At least, not all the time.

I have recently been put on to the book 168 hours. I have not read much of it yet, but as normal I skip to the exercises. Basically it is about the fact that every single person in the world has 168 hours in their week. Yet some people struggle to have a job and a semblance of a social life, while others work full time, study, exercise, raise children and have an active social life. How do these people do this?

As I have started my business now but still want to have an active social life as well as do a few other things, I thought this was timely.

The first thing you need to do is log what you do in a standard week. Unfortunately I don't have any photography jobs this week to take into account, but I am still logging what I do. In fact, I am going to do it for 2 weeks.

I am only 5 days in, but already I am horrified at the amount of time wasting that is in there. I will share the results when I am finished, but needless to say, I can definitely fit more into my life.

That's all for now, but I will finish with a few pics from recent shoots. I hope to be back soon.

More Pics

I know, this is all I am sharing lately. But aside from work, this is all I do. :)

Here are a few shots from a recent family shoot I did, followed by a pre-dawn and post-dawn shot I took yesterday morning. I got up at 4.45am to get these shots, and was so pleased when they worked out.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Ken Duncan

This weekend I am in Melbourne for a workshop with the fabulous Australian landscape photographer - Ken Duncan. If you are not from Australia and do not know who he is click HERE to see some of his incredible work.

This is us. :)

The workshop was a full day session and contained SO much information. Some of it I have heard before. A lot of it was new. I have not done landscape for a long time but am so inspired to got out into the country and do it again. I have also never done panoramic photography, and Ken was amazing enough to give us techniques to do it without the expensive panoramic cameras. I can not wait to try it! :)

Yesterday I had a wander around the town and took some pics (of course). I hope you enjoy them.

This & That

As part of being a Roller Derby groupie, last weekend I decided to go roller skating. I used to love it. I used to be awesome at it. I still love it. I now suck at it. :) It took me nearly an hour to let go of the edge. Then half an hour later I ended up on my butt, in agony, but laughing. The bruises are nearly gone, and I can't wait to go again.

For now though, I have to settle for watching Roller Derby again. the Grand Final is tomorrow. I have had my tickets for weeks. And I can't wait!

Next weekend I am off to Melbourne for a Ken Duncan photography workshop. I am going alone and I am super excited, but also a bit scared. The workshop will be awesome though.

Before I go, here are a few more photos from recent shoots.

ROLLER DERBY!

I have become a Roller Derby Groupie! We went to our first bout a few weeks ago, then last weekend we went again. It is so COOL! LOL The Grand Final is in a few weeks, and yes, we already have our tickets.

When I was a kid I loved Roller Skating. I skated everywhere. I thought there were no more roller rinks around, but discovered that we still have 3 or 4 place in Adelaide where you can skate. So I am going to go skating in a few weeks as well. I am so excited! :)

In other news I bought myself a new bike. I have been having trouble with my back on the road bike. The angle you have to lean over is just the wrong angle for me. So I bought a hybrid and took her out for her maiden voyage last night. It was awesome. It has been way too long since I have been out on the bike.

Here she is, her name is Dusty. Sorry for the crappy photo, I took it on my phone.

I have been doing lots more photo shoots. Here is a selection of my recent photos. Enjoy.



Models and Babies

My week has been filled with photo editing, Roller Derby (watching, not participating), babies, dance shows, anniversaries (today is our 5th wedding anniversary), and more photos. Enjoy!