Alphabet Joy

I have a big smile on my face thanks to this...



Found on Drawn! via A Little Hut.

In primary school among my favourite books were "The Lettering Book" and "The Lettering Book Companion". I would flip slowly from page to page and for hours admire the different fonts and borders, waiting for (and imagining) the perfect opportunity to use them.

The more I explore the interweb, the more I realise (remember?) just how deep and strong my passion for graphic design runs, in particular, lettering and fonts.

The problem is, these days there are very few excuses for me to design anything. So I download billions of fonts. And I design lists which I print out and stick on my pinboard, and in December and January I very excitedly design the invitations for my daughters' birthday parties...but I want more.

I love my profession working as a pharmacist -- I find the intricate workings of the body and drugs inside it fascinating, and it's satisfying when I make a positive difference to someone's health, but there is this huge part of me which I feel is lying dormant. Maybe I want too much? We all have different interests and talents, and maybe we can't fulfill all of our drives? But more and more I feel dissatisfied. Maybe, as my wise mother has always said, things will follow their path and fall into place. I feel exciting things coming on.

Meet Me At Mike's is hosting a week of Vintage Australiana, with Gemma Jones. I've jumped aboard as we have quite a few vintage Aussie kids' classics on our bookshelf. Here's the first:

Banjo Paterson's, "The Animals Noah Forgot." First published 1933, this print from 1983.

Illustration Friday: Primitive

I remember from a very early age my mother telling me that when it comes to organisms/life, there is no such thing as simple. Even a single-cell organism is incredibly, miraculously, complex.

Although something may be primitive, its complexity should be something we marvel and puzzle at.

I might have a go at colouring this at some point using Photoshop.

Time for a Meme

I discovered lovely Creature Comforts via lovely Decor8, and Ez has extended an open invitation to anyone to participate in the following meme. I consider myself tagged, and so can you if you like.

My Foundation: I only use tinted moisturiser from time to time. I think it's Cover Girl... yes, CG Smoothers -- it's great, but I haven't used any other so can't compare. Better than foundation, anyway (I hate that stuff).

My Mascara: I have Estee Lauder Lash XL and L'Oreal Longitude and I wish I didn't because Estee Lauder has sweatshop, toxic dumping and "antitrust" issues, L'Oreal has the evil N****e as a large stakeholder, and neither have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. I only ever use mascara for special occasions, anyway.

Day Cream: My own jojoba lotion.

My Beauty Product Brand: The stuff I make! Not blowing my own trumpet, but I like to know what's in it, and I use the simplest possible formulae, and to me it feels better than anything else I have used.

My Essential Beauty Product: My own jojoba lotion.

My Favorite Makeup Product: Bronzer. I use it very carefully and it just brings me back from the brink of deathly pale.

My Perfume: Calvin Klein Truth. I bought it duty-free on the way to our honeymoon, and every time I wear it it reminds me of floating dreamily around the Cook Islands.

Three Products (besides solar) to bring on a Deserted Island: This is so unlike me (practical) but I will say a packet of Redheads (matches), a Swiss army knife, and a satellite phone so I can call someone to come and pick me up after I have a walk, a swim, and a lie in the sun (does that count?).

Woman I admire for her beauty: Ingrid Bergman. I love those classic movie stars -- their beauty was natural and for most of them, lasting.

Woman with the Best Sense of Style: Oooh. This is a difficult one! Gwen Stefani comes to mind, but I don't know if she'd be "best". My sister-in-law is the most stylish woman I know.

My Ultimate Dream: To live on a few bushy acres overlooking the sea in a lovely old airy light-filled house, and neither of us having to work. I would spend my days playing with the girls, walking or riding bikes with S, reading, cooking, and crafting. Aaaah. Oh, and world peace.

How Do I Define Womanhood: Nurturing, intuitive, patient, strong, cunning.

My Favorite Fashion Publication: Maybe Russh, although I very rarely read fashion publications.

PHEW! Talk about shallow to deep and back to shallow!

Illustration Friday: Fail

Some people will understand.

I Am Woman

Why, especially when we're talking to kids, do we refer to adult males as "men" and adult females as "ladies"? Isn't it meant to be ladies and gentlemen, and women and men?

Very early on, I decided to even things out, and started referring to women as women, not ladies, when speaking with MissM. But the problem is, "Give the ticket to the woman" sounds sort of harsh and strange compared with, "Give the ticket to the lady" -- especially when we are directly communicating with the woman in question. Similarly, "Give the ticket to the gentleman" sounds silly and pooncy, unless the man is a sweet little fluffy-haired 92 year old.

THIS BOTHERS ME, a lot. What century are we in again? Why is the need to pussyfoot around women and talk straight to men SO ingrained still in our society?

I will continue to refer to women as women and not "oh-so-delicate-and-feeble-you-must-speak-gently-ladies" and hopefully one day it'll stop feeling aggressive, and start feeling quite fine.

I challenge you, especially the parents, to try it out. Or at least start to feel funny about calling women "ladies".

Rave On...

Is it just me, or has the western world gone into a time warp back to the 50s?

I am gathering the evidence (and it's coming thick and fast):

- there's a baby boom going on
- there's more expectation to be picture-perfect -- hair, body, clothes, accessories, house, garden, car, etc.
- there's more expectation to get it ALL right: for women to keep the perfect house, be the perfect mother, and also do perfectly well at a job; for men to provide the perfect income to maintain this perfect lifestyle, and also be a perfect father; and even kids don't escape -- they have to scrub up perfectly in designer duds, sit patiently through genius-stimulating extra-curricular activities, and do perfectly well at their perfectly-performing private school.

What the hell is going on?? What happened to dagging around and having a good time, not worrying much about what you're wearing, just having fun with family and friends, like we used to in the 80s and even 90s?

Am I the only one who has noticed this weird s**t escalating at a seemingly exponential rate? Am I looking through the wrong end of the telescope (or kaleidoscope)?

Why do I sound like a whingey old woman at the tender age of 32?

Images from Retro Planet .

Linen pants for autumn/winter

I made these for MissM. They are linen lined with lovely soft cotton jersey for warmth (I added the lining). From the lovely "Basics for Girls" (isbn 9784579111473). They are called "Easy Pants" and that is exactly what they are! I have never sewn pants before, and these were an absolute cinch. Now I am sewing more!