Travelling feet

Posted on Thursday, 16 December 2010 by

As I said in yesterday’s post, I’m going to be blogging about my recent travels to Morocco, the UK and Germany over the next few weeks, but today, I’m just giving you a little preview taster to whet your appetites! Below is a whole series of photos I took of my feet during my travels…

Morocco, maroc, fes, fez, meknes, chefchaouen, riad, dar, monkey, atlas, barbery, ape, cedar, tiles, zelij

This series is from Morocco. So many different kinds of tiles – in the patios, stairways and rooftops of traditional riads and dars where we stayed; in the great courtyard of an Islamic school in Fez; on the street of a town’s cobbled medina; and the pastel-bricked step of a pottery factory. Oh, and a monkey in the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, sizing up my bag of peanuts!

Black Forest, Shwarzwald, germany, moss, leaves, mushrooms, fungi, toadstools, roots, autumn, fall, stream, gumboots, wellingtons, boots

These photos are all taken in the Black Forest in Germany where my half-sister and I stayed in a fairy tale 400 year-old traditional farmhouse. We spent the weekend walking through misty forests filled with Autumn leaves, mossy rocks, mushrooms, twisted roots, wild blueberries and chattering streams. Pure magic! Just wait till you see the farmhouse itself…

UK, london, v&a, museum, Exmoor, Exmouth, fossils, fossil, beach, seaside, pebbles, amonites, mosaics, tiles, berries, stone bridge, greenwich

…And these photos are in the UK. The many different floors of the Victoria and Albert Museum, great ammonite fossils and sea-worn pebbles on the beaches of Exmoor, an ancient stone bridge and fallen berries on moss (also in Exmoor), and the floors of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich (opposite where my brother lives and, more excitingly, where the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean film had just been shot!).

I’m slightly alarmed by how many of the photos feature the same pair of jeans and shoes… I’m ashamed to say, for a fairly seasoned traveller, I actually don’t travel lightly at all, and practically had my whole wardrobe with me, but you certainly wouldn’t know it! These photos must have all been taken on days when I was wearing my most comfortable, practical, walking clothes… : )

In Sofia Coppola’s film Lost in Translation, Charolotte remarks “…every girl goes through a photography phase, like horses, you know dumb pictures of your feet…” Well, it seems I’m still going through that phase! Somehow, photographing my feet in different locations has an irresistible immediacy that I still can’t quite get past.

Posted in Autumn / Fall, Friends, Germany, London, Morocco, Nature, Travel, UK | 4 Comments

Hand carved stamps: lanterns and blossoms

Posted on Wednesday, 15 December 2010 by

stamps, stamp, stamping, carved, hand, hand-carved, block, printing, print, lino, linolium, eraser, rubber, ink, tool, set, blossom, lantern, lanterns, paper lantern, japanese, japan, chinese, china, moon, red, orange, pink, blue, green

Yay! I’m so happy to be back blogging again! Over the next few weeks (I have a lot of photos to show you!) I’ll share some of my recent adventures in the UK, Morocco and Germany, but in the meantime, here are the results of my first ever foray into hand carved stamps – printing Christmas cards and envelopes.

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I’ve been wanting to try making my own stamps for a while now. I’ve been particularly inspired by Geninne’s Art Blog and her use of hand carved stamps (Geninne is crazy talented, if you don’t already follow her blog, you should!). Geninne has a great ‘hand carved stamps tutorial’ which I found really useful. Thanks, Geninne! 

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I’ve also been really inspired by the stamp sets created by Yellow Owl Workshop. I want, want, want! (Do scroll sideways through all their stamp sets, I especially love the ‘landscape’ ones at the end.) What’s so clever about Yellow Owl Workshop’s sets is how, with just a few stamps, you can create detailed scenes by overlaying and repeating different elements. As you can see, that’s the same approach I’ve taken with my illustrations here: building up layers of branches and blossoms using just two very simple stamps.

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The first stamps I carved where out of linolium (the branches, blossoms, moon and green/orange lantern). I then carved a second lantern out of an eraser. I found both the lino and eraser to be surprisingly easy to carve, but the eraser stamp had a couple of definite plusses going for it: It seems to take the ink better and so gives a more even print, and it’s easier to hold when you’re stamping because it’s that much thicker than the lino.

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I love all the little imperfections and rough edges you get with stamping. So different from digital graphics.

If you’ve been doing any stamping yourself, do post your links in the comments sections, or if you have any particular stamping inspiration, I’d love to see it!


Posted in Artwork / Illustration / Design, Celebrations, Craft projects, Stamping, Tutorials | 3 Comments

A little catch up

Posted on Thursday, 11 November 2010 by

Hello from cold, grey London!

I’ve been having the most amazing time. I’ve got so many photos and experiences to share with you (Germany, Morocco, London…) but I don’t have easy access to the internet here so I will have to do lots of blog posts when I get back to New Zealand in two weeks’ time and catch you up on everything.

Today I just found out that my Kimono Paper Tape has been featured on this gorgeous treasury on Etsy. The treasury has also been showcased on S and O Productions. Thanks Julia, Sarah and Olivia! I’m really honoured to be showcased alongside such gorgeous paperyness.

Kimono Paper Tape, kimono, paper tape, Lucy Patterson, etsy, treasury, washi, tape

My lovely man has been sending out my Etsy orders from New Zealand for me while I’m away. Unfortunately I’ve just run out of the HOT colours of the Kimono Paper Tape! Talk about bad timing. Oh well! I’ve still got packs of the COOL colour range in stock. I’ll make more of the HOT tape as soon as I get home…

Can’t wait to share my travels with you!

Lots of love

Lucy : )

Posted in My Shop, Travel | 2 Comments

A new season…

Posted on Friday, 15 October 2010 by

Goodbye New Zealand Spring blossoms….

Spring blossom, new beginnings, Lucy Patterson, cherry blossom, flowers

Spring blossom, new beginnings, Lucy Patterson, cherry blossom, flower

And hello Autumn in London, England!

Sorry I haven’t blogged for a while, I’ve been so busy getting ready for my trip. I’m going to be away for 6 weeks and will try and touch base with my blog whenever I can. I’m sure I’m going to have lots of wonderful things to share. A week in Morocco for starters! And a long weekend in a beautiful old farmhouse in the Black Forest in Germany… And of course London experiences too.

Before I set off on my trip I picked one of my Paper Fan Inspiration Cards. Here is what I got:

Lucy Patterson, paper fan inspiration cards, new beginnings, inspiration

That seems pretty appropriate, doesn’t it? The card’s even  got Autumn leaves on it, which wouldn’t seem like the obviously choice for ‘new beginnings’ (I’m surprised I didn’t illustrate the card with new Spring blossom, now I think about it!), but it works perfectly for me right now!

This trip feels like a really special time for me and somehow a new step or turning point in my life… Everything has just fallen into place so beautifully for it too. I can’t quite believe it!

I’m going to be running 5 Reiki workshops while I’m in the UK which I’m so happy about. I feel utterly lucky to be combining a wonderful holiday with doing the work that I love, and catching up with friends and family who I haven’t seen since I left London and moved back to New Zealand more than three years ago.

Speaking of that time in my life… When I first moved back to New Zealand, for almost a year, every single time I picked an Inspiration Card, I would get New Beginnings!

What ‘new beginnings’ are you welcoming into your life right now? I’d love to hear about them.

Posted in Autumn / Fall, Monday's inspiration, Nature, Seasons, Spring, Travel | Leave a comment

Poultry PS

Posted on Friday, 1 October 2010 by

As a PS to my Poultry Show post, I thought I’d show you a picture of me with one of my lovely chickens. This is Road Runner, she’s an Araucana-Andalusian cross and lays pretty, pale blue eggs. (And, as you can see, she’s also sweetie!)

Road Runner, chicken, chook, araucana, andalucian, rare breed, heritage, breeds

Posted in Chickens, Our family and animals | 1 Comment

Poultry Show

Posted on Friday, 1 October 2010 by

A few weeks ago we went to a local poultry show. Most of the chooks we keep ourselves are rare breeds (also known as heritage breeds), and each have their own particular traits that they’ve been bred for. The show was an absolute fest of different breeds, all in gorgeous, glossy condition. 

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I’m afraid I went a little overboard with the photos! So many beautiful birds and amazing colours and lighting – the bright red of combs and wattles against the muted greys and greens of the shed… And feathers! Iridescent black, burnished copper, silver and gold….

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Mostly the birds seemed remarkably calm about being temporarily caged for the show. This one looked like it had had enough of being stared at though!

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And this prize winning bantam looks so small and alone!

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Some of the birds were like fashion models. This little Silkie looks like she’s wearing a Russian fur hat and pearl earrings!

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And how elegant is this one with its windswept fur stole!

chicken, chook, poultry, show, poultry show, rare breeds, heritage, breeds

Some weren’t quite so stylish though…

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We have Araucanas ourselves (they’re the ones who lay the blue and green eggs), but ours don’t look nearly as silly as this one!

araucana, chicken, chook, breed, rare breed, heritage, poultry, show

How beautiful is this guy though? He’s a Silver Spangled Hamburg. I love the black dots at the ends of his feathers.

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I was mostly interested in the chickens but there were some beautiful ducks, doves and pigeons too. I love this duck’s little tufty hat and the ripple feathers on its sides. Not to mention the stunning colour of its beak.

duck, poultry show, rare breeds, heritage, breed

Check out the chest on this guy! All he needs is a top hat and walking stick to complete the look!

pigeon, dove, poultry show, poultry, rare breed, heritage, breeds, chest

And finally, how beautiful is this dove’s tail? Particularly with the light catching it like that.

dove, poultry show, show, poultry, rare breed, heritage, breeds

This post is dedicated to Christine Chitnis who led the fight (and won!) to make backyard chicken keeping legal in Providence, Rhode Island. Well done, Christine! (And good luck with the upcoming birth of your first child!)

Posted in Chickens, Colour palettes, Our family and animals | 1 Comment

Shop update: Tom Cats

Posted on Friday, 24 September 2010 by

I listed a couple of new items in my shop today. I call them Tom Cats.

tom cats, cat, cats, cat toy, toy cat, japanese, blue, embroidered, stuffed, softie, etsy, shop, lucy patterson

Tom Cat’s are cool cats. They might act a little bit superior at times but they’re really just pussycats with big hearts (which they wear embroidered on their tummies!). They’ve got gorgeous, striking eyes (and fabulous eyelashes), and pink tongues, which poke out when they’re concentrating (which is actually all of the time!).

tom cats, cat, cats, cat toy, toy cat, japanese, blue, embroidered, stuffed, softie, etsy, shop, lucy patterson

Tom Cats are made out of Japanese blue and white printed 100% cotton. Their faces are hand embroidered, as are the heart patches on their tummies. 

Tom Cats would love to cuddle up with special little human friends, or lounge on someone’s bed in the sun and look fabulous all day long! : )

Posted in Craft projects, My Shop, Toys | 3 Comments

Happy Equinox!

Posted on Thursday, 23 September 2010 by

It’s the Spring Equinox here today and we’ve been having crazy stormy weather every day for the past week. Up on top of our hill it’s felt a little battering at times, with the wind roaring straight in off the Tasman Sea (often bringing lashing, horizontal rain or hail with it). Here are some photos I took on the Spring Equinox a couple of years ago when the weather was a little different….

Spring, equinox, flower, bee, chocolate, candy, sweet, lolly, hunt, easter, egg, orange

We’d had some friends come to visit and decided to have a sort of “Easter egg hunt” for the kids to celebrate Spring. It’s funny living in the Southern Hemisphere where lots of seasonal celebrations have come from Northern Hemisphere traditions and so are out of synch with the seasons in our part of the world: Eggs and baby chicks at Easter when it’s actually harvest time…. Fake snow, reindeer and holly in the middle of Summer…. 

Spring, equinox, goldfish, gold, fish, water lily, lotus, waterlily, lily pad, chocolate, candy, sweet, lolly, hunt, easter, egg,

Here we were celebrating all the beautiful Spring flowers in our garden at this time of year, plus we’d just acquired 10 new baby chickens as I remember. We’d decided to do a Spring Treat Hunt at the last minute and had picked up whatever goodies we could from our local shop. I had great fun hiding them around the garden, matching them with different coloured flowers or appropriate locations. Hence the goldfish in the pond!

Spring, equinox, flower, bee, allysum, elephant, chocolate, candy, sweet, lolly, hunt, easter, egg,

A bumble bee in the hollyhocks and an elephant in the allysum!

Spring, equinox, flower, bee, chocolate, candy, sweet, lolly, hunt, easter, egg, iris, purple, yellow

These might just be cheap, artificial sweets, but they colour-matched the irises perfectly!

Happy Equinox wherever you are – Spring or Autumn/Fall. Fingers crossed that the storm blows itself out for our weekend…

Posted in Celebrations, Nature, Seasons, Spring | 2 Comments

Morocco on my mind

Posted on Tuesday, 14 September 2010 by

I’m going to the UK next month for a few weeks. It will be the first time I’ve been back since I left three years ago (I lived in London for seven years), and I’m really excited about catching up with family and friends, and revisiting old haunts… AND I’m planning a little side trip to Morocco with my dear friend Amy. Oh it gives me tingles just thinking about it!

morocco, fez, fes, donkeys, mules, donkey, mule, leather, slippers, shopping, crafts, colour, medina, red, yellow

My half-sister and I went to the ancient Moroccan city of Fez a few years ago and had the most amazing time together. It was such a special trip. These are some photos from our time there.

Morocco, fez, fes, tannery, leather, medina, donkey, donkeys, mule, mules, tiles, zelij, gate, gateway, mosque, calligraphy

So much inspiration everywhere. Lovely, lovely people, spectacular architecture… The tiles! Such beautiful colours and designs. Donkeys and mules wearing little rubber shoes to stop them from slipping on the steep cobbled streets… The heavenly hammam (public bath house), the food… and the shopping. Oh boy. Carpets and pottery, lanterns and brass tray tables, leather slippers and bags and pouffes…..

I’ve got Morocco well and truly on my mind at the moment. Sighhh!

Posted in Colour palettes, Morocco, Travel | 5 Comments

My shop is now open!

Posted on Monday, 13 September 2010 by

I’m so excited, my online shop is now finally OPEN! 

I’ve been busy sorting out my shipping and shop policies and getting all the visuals prepared for my listings…not to mention actually uploading each listing onto Etsy inself. It’s been a great learning curve for me, I can tell you! Here’s a bit of a montage of some of my shop images for you to look at. I’d love to hear any feedback you have about how I’ve put my listings together. It’s all new territory for me! : )

kimono, paper tape, washi, masking tape, tape, vintage kimono, scrapbooking, gift wrapping

My Kimono Paper Tape which comes in a HOT or COOL selection…

lucy patterson, vintage, kimono, postcards, cards, eco, recycled, blank, thank you, gift, birthday

Vintage kimono postcards which are printed on 100% recycled card…

cards, deck, set, kimono, purse, japanese, tarot, inspiration, wisdom, fabric

And of course my Paper Fan Inspiration Cards…

Have a great week!
Lucy x

Posted in Artwork / Illustration / Design, Kimono, My Shop | 2 Comments