More Easter Eggs

Taking a turn away from traditional Eastern European Egg decorating I'd like to share these beauties from my friend Lisa Tilse's studio. I love these black chalkboard eggs. They are so different and fun and make a fantastic gift if you're over the whole chocolate thing. Although you can still give a chalkboard egg AND chocolate! Come to think of it they don't even have to be given as an Easter gift exlusively. I can see these as a fun gift all year round. The eggs are ostrich and are painted with chalkboard paint all ready for you and/or the kids to have fun on. Check Lisa's blog for more info and how to buy them.

image source: lisa tilse, the red thread

image source: lisa tilse, the red thread

AND I absolutely love these. I loved them from the moment I saw them. They are so subtle and soft and very much Lisa's style. These are goose eggs dyed with natural vegetable dyes and painted in white designs. Again check out her blog for more on these. In fact just check out her blog alltogether because it's gorgeous and full of breathtaking inspiration. Thank you Lisa for letting me share these with my blogs visitors!!

image source: lisa tilse, the red thread

Easter Eggs

Alas Easter! I feel somewhat sad coming up to this Easter. It is the first year that I can remember that I have been unable to paint eggs like I usually do every year. I did do a few, some for me to test out a new method and a couple for a friend of mine who ordered them way back in January. I am delighted that all my other products have been selling so well that I've found it hard to keep up but the downside is that I will have no eggs to sell this year. I send out my apologies once again to all of you who emailed me wanting to place orders. Next year will be different.....(famous last words!)


Anyhow here is a selection of eggs I have painted in the past that I wanted to share with you all. If you're into egg painting or want to have a go I hope some of these may inspire you. I get ideas and inspiration from all sorts of disciplines of Polish and eastern european folk-art. I never worry about getting anything perfect. None of the designs on any of my eggs are perfectly symmetrical or even. In fact much of it is lopsided, lines are unevenly thick and thin and the colours are never smooth. However having seen a lot of other folk-art I have been delighted to see that it's not all about getting it perfect. Much of the art is made by common folk in their homes next to fireplaces and with relatives and friends. It is all about the tradition, the process and the cultural practices. The end result is a colleciton of works with soul and substance that you just won't get with mass produced work. To me the whole egg, the process, the love of doing it and the overall finished effect when you have a dozen colourful eggs in the basket is what makes me smile in the end. Having said that there are some incredibly talented egg artists out there. The kind that ought to have their eggs displayed in museums. (and some do). I admire those people to no end as they posess skill and talent acquired over many years and practice as well as through the teachings of other masters before them. Enough talk here are the pics...

These are from 2003. I painted them using basic acrylic paints. I prepared each egg by coating it with a good layer of gesso. This helped the paints to stick nicely to the egg surface. Also I used some little beads to finish off the top and bottom holes made by hollowing out the eggs.

This lot is from 2006. It was my greatest glory as I had these featured on the front cover of Good Living magazine. I will keep thanking John Saxby (editor) until I die. You can see the front cover on the "press" page of my website. Acrylic on a base of gesso once again.

These are from last year. I tried a new method this time as I was after a glossier finish without having to varnish them in the end. So I found these porcelain paint pens by Pebeo. You can get them in nearly all art supply shops. I base-coated each egg with a creamy coloured acrylic. I wanted all the eggs to have the same base colour and as you know eggs come in many different shades of white-brown. I was very pleased with these and enjoyed doing a monochrome range.

These here are goose eggs. I wanted a totally different look with these. I was after an earthy, rough kind of feel. I wanted these to be matt as opposed to all the glossy ones I'd done in the past. Again I used acrylic paints but this time I first sanded the egg lightly to make the paint adhere better to the surface. Then I painted the design on first in just one colour (mainly brown) and then sanded it back until it looked just like a grainy veil of colour and then I applied a second coat of acrylic over the top. This brought the grain out from undeneath and muted the colours that went over the top. I like this result as well. Although if I did a lot more and mucked aorund with more colour combinations I know they'd look a hundren times better. I will be getting back to these.

The most recent. I did these for my friend Helen who asked for some eggs many months ago. This is the style I was going to go for this Easter. Full bright colours and big bold patterns. I was really plased with these and will definately return to this design style in the future.

New Wall-hangings

WOW I'm back and delighted to be back! I didn't think it would take this long to get back into the swing of things after Christmas but it did. I have been very busy with new retailers and new products and my two children one starting school and the other pre-school which has been a very big deal in our house. We all seem to be settling into a routine now so I thought now is a good time to get back to my blog.

The wallhangings pictured below have been a long time coming and finally I can say that they are available for sale. It's taken this long mainly because I have been searching for the right type of fabric to use for them. I tried canvass, different types of cotton, raw silk, hessian and was never 100% satisfied with any. That was until I went out and bought some heavy weight hemp. I am absolutely delighted with the result and even more so since learning of all the wonderful ecological and health benefits that hemp has to offer. I get supplied by www.hempgallery.com.au and if you visit their website you can learn about all the qualitites of hemp and never look back! I am now in a kind of hemp trance and want to get rid of all the bedsheets in the house and replace the lot with hemp!

The wall-hangings are printed on heavy weight hemp canvass and are finished off on the reverse with double stitched herringbone tape. They measure 65cm x 90cm (appr). The design printed on them is a traditional polish-folk art motif which I designed late last year for the wrapping paper. The wrapping paper has been extremely popular and people from all over have been saying that I should use that design on other things. I am not fond of recycling my own work but must admit I am very happy with these.

I also have a special offer available on these until the end of march. If you'd like to take advantage or get onto my mailing list send me and email laikonik@optusnet.com.au.

That's all for now :)

Such a busy time of year!

If you've been visiting regularly you may have noticed that I havent posted anything for a while. I'm not sure about everyone else but no matter how I plan for it December is just a crazy month. I will be posting some new goodies as soon as I can and for now I apologise to all those who come to visit and find nothing new! Don't give up on me I will be back!!

Make your own Christmas decorations

I'm really into making my own Christmas decorations, always was and no doubt always will. This is probably because when I was growing up we used to make our own decorations every year. My grandfather would get us kids started and we'd have loads of fun. The decorations were always simple and made using basic materials such as coloured paper, ribbon, straw. It was the process I remember more than anything else. The relaxed happy atmosphere around the table with lots of paper mess on the floor and no one worrying about it. So every year (or near enough) I've been making something or other to decorate the tree. And since having had children the task is made even more meaningful and fun. I'd like it to become a tradition in our house.

This year I am making a few things all of which I will share here. I've made some VERY simple paper decorations using fancy scissors, glue, ribbon, single hole punch and paper shape punch. I love blue on a Christmas tree as I think the colour really stands out against the green and in particular this vivid blue. I also love it because the blue and red combinaiton is very common in Polish folk art. These decorations do not require step by step instructions, but I'll write a brief description for those who'd like it:

1. Using the scolloped edge scissors cut out the desired shape.

2. Using the single hole punch go around punching holes in any pattern you like and add a larger or different pattern using the shape punch (in this case the larger holes).

3. Take the ribbon and thread it through one of the holes making sure the decoration hangs neatly and symmetrically.

4. Once you're happy with it secure the ends of the ribbon using glue.

5. Additionally I glued the ribbon together at the hole where it's threaded for extra hold. I then added a small blue spot (out of the hole punch) just to finish it off.

The great thing about these decorations is that you can make them out of any paper and ribbon combination you like. you can cover your entire tree with one style. It's a cheap way of making a gorgeous tree and you can get together with other families and kids and decorate the tree in your own handmade gems.

I do occasionally make some fancier decorations if time permits. This year I made some handpainted goose eggs. These were originally intended for my tree only but I have had many enquiries about them and have made them available for sale through my website. The goose egg shells eggs came from www.angieseggs.com.au . A fantastic egg and everything to do with egg decorating supplier. Angie is very helpful and has outstanding customer service.

I painted these eggs using porcelain paints from Pebeo. The paints are great to use on an eggshell as they dont streak and give a fantastic even finish. I finished off each egg with two small wooden beads and satin ribbon. To make something extra special I finally painted this old urn that I've had for nearly ten years. I've been wating to paint it for a long time and at last I found a good reason to do it.

I collected some azalea branches from the garden and tied them together to make this twig like tree. I really like the result! If you'd like to purchase some of the hanging goose eggs, email me via my website for a special offer that runs out at the end of this month.

I hope you enjoy making your own decorations. I'd love to hear from anyone who makes their own and what they do.

NEXT WEEK MORE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS AND AN ADVENT CALENDAR

Polish folk ritual for November

Christmas is just around the corner... well nearly, but before it comes I wanted to tell you about a wonderful Polish tradition that dates back to the 16th century in Poland and to the 12th century in central Europe. It is the popularly celebrated St Andrews festival on the 29th of November. The traditions followed on this day were focused mainly on young girls foretelling their future romantic prospects. I remember doing all these rituals when I was a young girl but I have no recolection of any particular future being revealed to me. The rituals are fun and make for a great get together. You don't have to be religious or believe in fortune tellers. St Andrews festival can be celebrated by anyone who wants to make a fun night of trying to see into the future. Here are some popular rituals to be done indoors or outdoors after sunset...

Pouring of wax...

You will need a bowl of cold water, a large old key and candles. Each person takes their turn to melt some wax (you might do this in a metal bowl to make it easier to pour the hot wax) and then pours it into the bowl of cold water through the hole of the key. The wax hardens in the water and forms a shape. The shape is taken out and held infront of candle light to reveal a shadow on the wall. The shape of the shadow is then interpreted to reveal what might happen in the near future for that person. For example a car shape implies travel, a flower a visit from a stranger, a coach foretells a wedding. The idea is to interpret these personally and intuitivelly.

Next in line...

In order to reveal who amongst all the ladies present (widows and divorcees included) will next get married each lady must remove one shoe. The first shoe is placed with its heel against a wall pointing in the direction of a door. Each subsequent shoe is then placed in front making sure the heel of the next shoe touches the toe of the last shoe. The shoes are thus lined up until one crosses the threshold. Whoever the shoe belongs to will be the next to get married. If there aren't enough shoes to make a line from the wall to the door, the first shoe may be taken from the back of the line and placed in front with all the other shoes following the same pattern until one reaches the door.

Whats in a name...

If you want a clue to the name of your beloved, whom you obviously are yet to meet, this ritual may reveal just that. Each person takes an apple and peels it carefully making sure the entire peel is in one piece. They then stand up and throw the peel behind them and turn to read what letter of the alphabet the peel has made. That letter is the first letter of their soul mates name.

These are just some of the many rituals that were practised for centuries. If you plan to make a night of it add to the tmosphere by dimming the lights or doing it outside by a fire. Most of all have fun and have a laugh and who knows what fortunes foretold may come true. If you know of any more rituals or have memories of practising these I'd love to hear from you :)

TOMORROW...CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

Wrapping presents

I love wrapping presents. Each Christmas one of the things I look forward to the most is the pleasure of wrapping presents. It's something I start thinking about even before I start thinking what I'm going to buy for whom! This year I've decided to use the simple and old favourite brown kraft wrapping paper and decorate it with cut out shapes from my screen printed paper (see "wrapped with love" post)

You can have a lot of fun with the patterns on this paper or any other patterned paper. Remember the pattern should be large enough for you to be able to cut it out without too much fuss.

I'm starting with the basic plain brown paper, scissors, sticky tape,

glue (you can use regular stick glue), twine and Laikonik wrapping paper.

Start by wrapping all the presents in the plain brown kraft paper.






Cut out the desired patterns, shapes or images that you'd like to use.






Arrange all your pieces so you can clearly see what you've got to work with.

Glue the back of each piece and stick it onto the wrapped gift in a pattern of your choice. It's a good idea to lay out even a bit of the pattern before you glue it on so you can see what's going to fit and what won't.

Wrap string around each present or ribbon if you prefer.

For something different write on the side of the gift instead of using a seperat gift tag. You'll be able to write a longer greeting and won't have to fuss about with a tag! And there you have it, a gorgeous stack of pressies ready to go under the tree!

image source: Real Living magazine, November 2008, (p 59.)

Also have a look at this amazing paper. It's called Juliette Paper in Blue and it's from Pepe's Paperie.

HAVE FUN!