Up up and away

We are checked in and ready to fly. 

See you in September.

x

1. A collection of blue skies.

2. A collection of gem stones.  

3. A collection of bugs.

4. Sunbleached library books mounted on a wall. Marianne Viero. 

5. A collection of shore findings.

Fancy a tumble?

found

found 

found

found

found

found

found

Colour and inspiration overload. 

My archive here. 

Nuno Magazine.

Here's a thing. A beautiful thing. 

Nuno magazine. 

A brand new online magazine, the first edition is out now, and aptly as Autumn is round the corner draws inspiration from the forest, using recycled objects. I down loaded my copy this morning and I can honestly say there are so many projects I want to do. The kids want to make the masks and I have wanted to make the bird puppets for a while, but errheerr have had little time to pursue my desires of late. My favourite is the covered paperbacks shown above. I don't think I could take on the challenge of a whole bookcase, but a selection for our guest room could be feasible.

So if you like to create, you might just like to step a little closer, here is where you can preview the magazine, and here is where you can buy the full copy. ($5, £3.30)

I am looking forward to the next edition!

Learning to fly.

It started with my sister and nephews arrival with five of these beauties, that they had raised. Can you see it? A Painted Lady Butterfly. 

We chose to release them at Wisley, beautiful gardens not so far from where I live.

We found a spot that we thought they would like, one by one, they each came out of their house, took a few moments warming their wings in the sun then, off they flew. It was such a nice feeling. Each child released one and my sister asked them to think of a wish to send it on it's way. (being four and two year olds this consisted of lots of lovely lovely flowers, a butterfly car and pink flowers, what more could a butterfly want? An umbrella might have been more adequate!) 

Now, there is always one right? This one. This one did not want to fly. It happily say on my hand for ages. It was nice being able to see it so close up.

It belonged to Matilda, we sat and waited and waited. In the end as it didn't want to go, I placed it under a cluster of flowers with the sugar food soaked paper. When I walked past later it had finally flown.

There is always lots of things to do at Wisley, we built rafts and wigwams,

and even found a sunflower maze! Finding our way to the castle in the middle was fun, although I had to keep my whits about me with three little ones all going in different directions, all smaller than the sunflowers! 

We bought a flower head home that was left on the floor of the maze. Today Dillon and I sat down and learnt how to draw one. First in pencils and crayons and then in paint. 

Our masterpiece hangs in his bedroom. Hopefully he is dreaming of flying, and at the very least, learning to dream.

Liberty.

I wondered at Liberty’s. I wondered for a good few hours. It is heaven in there. 

I bought these bits and now I am wondering what to do with them.

Hatfield House

We went on a country adventure to Hatfield House, we kept to the gardens as we didn’t want to tempt fate with the grand interiors and small fingers/fast runners. 

It was fun. In the sculpture park we pretended to put on our jet packs and fly to the moon. My nephew reminded me we had forgotten to put our pants on, so we had to take it all off and start again!

They had a great gift shop, in it I found pages from a kids vintage book that I am going to use to line Dillon’s new wardrobe. The former owner ‘Roy’ had practiced writing his name across most of the pages, he was pretty good by the end of it!

Martin D'Orgeval.

On 1st Febuary 2008, a fire tore through Deyrolle an entomology and taxidermi shop in Paris. Since 1831 Deyrolle had been collecting specimens worldwide. Thousands of butterflies, minerals, rare insects and stuffed animals were all destroyed.  

The owner Louis Albert de Broglie commissioned artists and photographers to document the still remains. Here are Martin D'orgeval’s photographs of the remaining beauty, all be it devastating, I still can see the beauty in the destruction. 

You can see more of Martin D'orgeval's Touche par le feu here.

Discovered on Little Acorns tumblr here.