A Glammed up Garage Sale

The Elm Tree has been approved and we will be moving into our Pop Up space on September 20... so after furnishing it and prettifying all the wonderful stock people are bringing in to sell we will be opening for business before the end of September!

Pretty awesome news!!

With all the time that we have leading up to getting our space we have been furiously making things and being creative and all of that good stuff. (Never mind the bank stuff and stressful side of the whole thing) The Elm Tree as a brand is coming together pretty well and to celebrate and launch the things that we will be selling in the store ourselves we have gathered together a few friends and will be hosting a mega glam garage sale in North Parramatta on Saturday August 31.

It seems a bit pretentious of me to call it a brand launch - but I won't deny that I am ridiculously excited about the thought of spending time with some very awesome ladies and chatting and making things and listening to nice music and visiting with the people who come (you'll be there I'm sure) 

I will be selling my art and various other things that I have made (that also have my art on them) like notebooks and quilts (I'm still figuring out this whole quilting thing so we'll see if they make it on the day)
My sister Reina and her husband (who is a pretty talented wood worker) have been putting their minds together to bring to life all the sketches that she has in her sketch book with wooden ladders (the designer home-ware kind) and candle centrepieces and a whole heap of beach style home-wares.
Jess will be baking up a storm and catering for even the gluten intolerant among us (pre-orders will be available soon!)
Katie (my business partner in the store) has been testing out her craft skills on a range of baby gear - from onesies to booties.
McKenzie (who will also be working with us in the shop) is a talented artist who has turned her hand to sewing and is just as talented at that! McKenzie is also a wonderful musician (because she doesn't have enough talents!!) and has performed numerous times in Parramatta and I'm sure we can expect to hear her lovely music as well as seeing her other creations on the day.
A lot of my friends already have children who I've seen wearing Zana's unique skirts, but you'll also be able to pick up a one of a kind design from her on Saturday too!!




So spread the word and hit up the ATM before coming to visit us.
It's close by Parramatta Lake, so make a day of it why don't you and enjoy our little neighbourhood.

See you then!!

If my boys had a room like this...

Source

 Light and organised and tidy and spacious.

I don't think they mind very much that their room is only about half the size of this room with a window that overlooks the carpark (and cemetery beyond) because, well, the Samurai is 8 months old so what does he care, and the Angel is far more interested in the boxes of toys that take up any floor space he might have had to play on. He happily (and regularly) takes over the living room if he needs space to play.

But if they had a room like this I can guarantee that the art on their walls would change very frequently, and would be photographed often. Frankly - this is the only honest reason why I wish the boys had a room like this... because I am tired of being disappointed by the photos I have been taking of my work... my complete lack of space (and professional stylist) are frustrating. As for the boys? as far as they're concerned, the whole house is their room so they don't care if they have a schmick and nicely styled place to sleep (thankfully)

Photos of my work will be coming soon, and stuck all over etsy and the new selling platform Nookroad (check it out) but it takes me a while to think up descriptions (I won't pretend that they're witty) and click through all the categories my work fits into and enter sizes and postage costs and all that other stuff. So I have cut some corners and posted all my current prints on the blog for you to have a look at. (Click on the 'print sale' tab along the top) When I get some more time I will be moving them onto etsy, but you'd be doing me a favour if you bought them from here so I don't have to put them up hahah... yeah.

Hmmmh...

The Elm Tree: the real life shop  is coming some time next month and everything has been super busy getting it sorted out. I have had zero time to do art or anything very creative so I have to apologise (again) to those with subscriptions. I am putting together something special to make up for my tardiness! Promise!!

If you are interested in being part of our store I will be posting more details soon.

For the Samurai

In 2011 Evangeline Cachinero quit her day job and sold paintings every week to make the money she needed for her rent. 

Love is at your fingertips - Evangeline Cachinero

That is all that any artist is doing when they sell their work I suppose - paying their rent, feeding their faces, clothing their bodies, and paying for the things that they need.

Living on a budget is in many ways restrictive - mostly when it comes to food... I have to keep meal plans and bake way more than I used to (I don't like baking... ) and I don't really have the luxury of just deciding I don't want to make dinner so we'll just get pizza (which happens a lot. Cooking isn't really my thing) but it is also freeing in a way.

Without the option to waste money - we don't. I am more organised out of necessity and marginally less lazy too.

The best part of it all is that Ky is happy. He is doing something that he enjoys, and if that means he isn't working full time for the moment then I am okay with that, because our household is a nicer place to be part of when we are doing things that we find personally rewarding.

One of the downsides though is the lack of flexibility when it comes to emergencies or unplanned for expenses.

The Samurai needs to see a specialist with the possibility of needing surgery for some baby issues. Nothing that's going to kill him, but definitely something that needs to be dealt with now to prevent problems for him down the line.
It's going to cost us quite a bit of money, and if surgery is required, even more... 

 At the same time - I will be reorganising my Etsy store so that everything is up to date.

I am taking a page out of Cachinero's book and selling things with a specific purpose - Ronin. I will be selling things here through my blog until they are gone, and the money will be going towards those unplanned expenses - namely, the paediatric urologist who we will be trusting to heal our little Samurai.

To check out everything that is for sale, click here - or click the URGENT SALE tab along the top.

Thank you!

Tree Antlers and Blossom

The April edition of The ELM Tree subscription is out now, and included in it is this reduction lino print.

Strictly speaking, I don't actually use lino, I use rubber blocks because they are easier to cut (by a mile) and much easier to print. But it's still a reduction print.

Reduction prints are made with the one block of lino (rubber) and cutting away and printing the image in stages - as many as you want really.  I have never made one, so I tried to keep it simple.

This is black and white (as you can see) and so first I cut away what I wanted to be the colour of the paper - I planned for this image to be printed on coloured paper - and then printed a whole lot of them in white.

While they dried I cut away what I wanted to stay white, leaving only the small areas that I wanted to be black.
Then I reprinted them, being careful to align the papers with the prints already on the paper.

Ta-da!

There are only 30 of these prints IN THE WHOLE WORLD, and they are only available as a subscription to The ELM Tree. Because I have set the system up as a way to help me to buy materials to keep making art, there will be exclusive art in each month of the subscription - just to say thank you to those who are supporting me make the art that I love to make.

We made this

Families take so many different shapes.
So I make trees of different shapes.

I can make a tree for you too. As unique and personal as your history is. 

Trees that reach up and down with ancestors and descendants, trees with lost items scattered amongst the leaves evocative of the colourful history of your family. Trees with tiny portraits of those you love. Trees of whatever shape or colour means the most to you.

This is the most recent of my trees.

As a totally related foot note, Analiese is a talented photographer and if you are looking to get some family photos done, or any kind of photos - go and check her out.

Cake for brekkie

This week has been about building a base of illustrations that I can turn into prints and postcards for the etsy store.

So keep your eye out of these folks - coming soon to the etsy shop.

War V

The war of the valentine.

I have had the one valentine, the one I am married to. Pretty awesome really.
I view the day as a marvellous excuse to go on dates and leave the children with someone else, but apart from that, I will be right there with any other cynic pointing at all the insincere valentines marketing and commercial shenanigans.

I still made these though,because the alternatives were bitter quotes from my stressball mind or swear words...  painting swear words would have offended some people and also seemed very hypocritical seeing as I'm always telling the man off for watching sweary things. (the Angel repeats everything. He's a talented little parrot) Also love is pretty awesome, and while I dislike the commercialism of valentines day, I do love love and enjoy being in it.

Happy super early valentines day. May your day, like every day, be awesome. (So basically, have a good day hahaha)

Genius

This is the first week that I have shouldered the title of 'bread winner' and I have to say that the bread has been kind of crummy. (Puns just happen - I'm sorry)

I suppose the biggest challenge is that I am attempting to be a full time mum, a full time housekeeper (which is laughable as anyone who has seen my house can attest to), a full time artist, a full time student, and a full time DVD converter.

IT'S INSANE.

I did actually restock my etsy store though, and last week got some prints back from Genius Printing (based in Melbourne) and they are wonderful!!

The colours are great, and the paper quality is lovely.
I can't get over how bright the colours came out on this canvas.

But the paper prints were fantastic as well, and the look like the originals with all the texture and little idiosyncrasies that my scribbly art has.