Lucy Patterson HANDS-ON

Signs of Spring

Posted on Monday, 6 August 2012

Ok, I know it’s officially still Winter here, but it feels like Spring today and I’m celebrating! I’ve got that sense of relief that I get each year when the sun starts to warm up and the first Spring flowers are out.

I’m sure there will still be more Winter storms to come, but just for today I’m shouting out a big old Welcome! to Spring.

Ha! Just as I wrote that bit about there being more Winter storms to come, the rain came rolling in off the sea… You can’t dampen my spirits with your rain clouds though! I can see some blue sky out there too, you know! Here’s to changing seasons and nature’s beauty.

Posted in Gardening, Nature, Seasons, Spring, Where we live | 1 Comment

Etsy spring clean

Posted on Thursday, 2 August 2012

I’ve had a big (wintery) spring clean over in my Etsy store today, updating some photos and rearranging everything. I still need to add some of my latest products, but I’m very pleased with how fresh and bright it’s all looking! : )

So what do you think?! If you’ve got any feedback or suggestions about anything to do with my Etsy store, I’d love to hear it. Thank you!

Posted in My Shop | 1 Comment

Winter Matryoshka

Posted on Wednesday, 1 August 2012

It’s chilly and wet, the fire is blazing and the wind is rattling down the chimney. Yep, it’s still very much winter, here in New Zealand. Time to tell you a little bit more about Winter Matryoshka, I reckon.

Winter Matryoshka is inspired by a very different kind of winter than we ever experience here: A frozen winter of bare branches, the earliest spring blossoms peaking through and the odd scattered flower fallen on the snow. A winter of ice crystals and dancing cranes…

I created her from images of four pieces of vintage kimono fabric in my collection. The red piece with the crane comes from the first whole kimono I ever bought. It’s still one of my absolute favourites, and the few pieces I have left are very much treasured.

I think of the face of Winter Matryoshka as being Russian, with her pale skin, dark hair, blue eyes and cherry lips. (Autumn Matryoshka is Japanese and Summer is Irish, by the way!)

Like my Autumn Matryoshka, the back of Winter Matryoshka picks up the colours of the kimonos and mixes them together into a geometric diamond print.

You’ll find my matryoshka doll cushions, key rings, cards and magnets for sale in my Etsy store. Enjoy! And happy weather wherever you are.

Posted in Artwork / Illustration / Design, Colour palettes, Kimono, Matryoshka, Mood boards, My Shop, Winter | 1 Comment

Auckland Art & Craft Fair

Posted on Tuesday, 31 July 2012

I had a great day at the Auckland Art & Craft Fair on Saturday. Thank you to my lovely friend Amy for all your help. I couldn’t have done it without you! (That’s Amy behind my stall after we’d just finished setting up and were grabbing a quick breather before the crowds arrived.)

You can see how busy the fair was here!

I had all my usual products on sale, plus a couple of new things that I was really excited to be launching on the day. I’ll show you more about them soon, but below is a sneak peak at my Puzzle Ball kit, and Sock Horse and Friends kit. I was delighted with what a hit they both were on the day! They’ll be in my Etsy shop soon.

In fact, look out for a big Etsy update coming soon! : )

Here’s a little interview I did for the Auckland Art & Craft Fair blog, and you can see lots more photos of the fair on their Facebook page. If you’re an Auckland local, keep an eye out for their Christmas fair. I’ll hopefully have a stall then too!

Posted in Friends, Markets, My Shop | Leave a comment

See you soon!

Posted on Friday, 27 July 2012

Hello lovely people. Sorry I’ve been away from my blog so much these past few weeks. What with being sick and all, I just got so behind on everything. I feel a bit like a hamster on a wheel at the moment!

Tomorrow, Saturday 28th July, I will be at the Auckland Art and Craft Fair selling my craft kits and matryoshkas and lots of other pretty things. If you’re in Auckland, it would be lovely to see you there!

I’ve been a crafting factory this past week or so, trying to catch up on the time I lost being sick so I’ll be ready for the fair tomorrow. 18 hour days, baby! I’ve got some new products that I’m launching which I’m really excited about. I’ll show you as soon as I’ve caught my breath!

In the meantime, these photos are of a couple of old favourites I’ve been making for the fair.

See you soon!
Lucy x

Posted in Markets | 1 Comment

Goodbye dear uncle

Posted on Thursday, 19 July 2012

My wonderful uncle Alan died last week and it’s his funeral today on the other side of the world. Although we can’t be there in person, we’re very much there in spirit.

This is for you, my dear uncle, and for your family, sent with all my love.

If I could I would send you a field full of beautiful flowers

and great bundles of lotus blossoms

I would send baskets of scented rose petals

and brightly coloured pot plants

I would send garlands of sunshine yellow marigolds

and brilliant bougainvillea climbers

and I would have it all delivered by bicycle!

And then, because not just blossoms grow on trees…

but hearts too

I would send you a tree covered in hearts filled with all our love.

Goodbye dear uncle. Thank you for being a truly marvelous person and such a special uncle to me.
xxxxxxxx

Posted in Celebrations, Our family and animals | 1 Comment

Kimono paper cupcake decorations

Posted on Thursday, 5 July 2012

I’m still sick at the moment (my flu has progressed into bronchitis now – oh joy!), but I wanted to post something quickly for all you lovely people who check in regularly to see what’s new on my blog. Thank you!

These cupcake heart decorations are another project for my new Kimono Paper Craft booklet. If you missed them, you can see some of the other projects here, here and here.

Sending each of you a little heartfelt sweetness for your day! Lucy x

Posted in Celebrations, Craft projects, Kimono Paper Craft | 2 Comments

Tamarillo time

Posted on Tuesday, 3 July 2012

It feels like I’ve been away from my blog for ages! I’ve been stuck in bed with the flu for much of this past week. My whole household has had it.

I love that nature provides the perfect foods to deal with the Wintery cold and flu season in the form of vitamin-packed fruits. Right now it’s tamarillo season in our garden. They look like festive decorations!

At the moment we’re not picking the tamarillos, only collecting the ones that have fallen on the ground each time we go past the trees (usually on our way back from feeding the chickens). Soon it’ll be time to make our yearly supply of tamarillo chutney. Yum!

Posted in Food growing, Gardening, Nature, Seasons, Where we live, Winter | 3 Comments

Kimono Paper Craft gift wrapping

Posted on Thursday, 28 June 2012

Here’s a look at another Kimono Paper Craft project I’ve been working on for my new booklet (see more about it here, here and here). Think: gift wrapping using accents of kimono paper against deliciously bright tissue papers and neon coloured ribbons. Here are the materials I used.

I love this pack of mixed tissue papers that I found.

Here I’m choosing which elements would go together.

This is my selection of kimono papers that I was working with.

I created the gift tags by sticking little off-cuts of kimono paper onto some scrap kraft card that I had left over from a previous project.

These colours have been really cheering me up! The winter storm’s still a-raging outside and it feels a bit like we’re under siege from the elements. The top of our chimney blew off a couple of nights ago and it’s still far too windy and dangerous to try and get up on the roof to fix it. At least it’s so windy that the rain doesn’t seem to be coming down the chimney, only hitting it from the side!

Posted in Artwork / Illustration / Design, Craft projects, Kimono, Kimono Paper Craft | 1 Comment

More winter walks

Posted on Monday, 25 June 2012

We’re in the middle of another big storm at the moment, but recently I’ve enjoyed some more lovely winter walks on the beach with friends. To get to the beach we walk under these giant pohutukawa trees.

We found this tree washed up on the beach, roots and all. I wonder what had ripped it so violently from the ground.

It made a fun photo frame!

A deep sea squid spiral balanced on it’s own shelf of black sand.

Walking back to the car, under the pohutukawa trees again. We were fascinated by the way that the leaves on each branch formed separate islands of green divided from one another by sky gaps. Not the best photo, but maybe you can see what I mean.

What are you enjoying in nature at the moment?