Newsday Tuesday

Hello Chaps and Chaplets!

News on tuesday time.

Have been getting a little photo fever the past week and really into taking some artistic shots hence another reason why i joined Tumblr... i also wanted to load my artwork to something other than blogging it too! If you have any tips that i could make use of please share as i am still in tumbling kindergarten.

Really feel like i'm getting into my old self at the moment exploring art movements, photography, loads of street based stuff, diverse illustration and tattoo works.  I forgot how much i enjoy all these subjects, daydreaming and thinking creative thoughts is truly how i love to spend my days, i get such a buzz when i'm off with a new idea and can put it onto paper or under the needle straight away- it's what makes me TICK

Here's some artwork i did over the weekend .....

 Made for some family + friends as a thank you note

And this was just another crazy thought lol

Moving on ..... his cute little number you can see this friday at the BrisStyle Indie Twilight Markets at King George Square Brisbane CBD !! Handmade i finished sewing it this afternoon along with the long sleeve below..>..>>....

 My apologies for the limp arms my mannequin broke them at a violent wind storm we had at the markets one weekend and is still deeply wounded by the event

It even has shoulder 'do dads' (the pic is before i sewed the buttons on!)

So i hope you can come down to the friday night markets everyone in the team has been getting their 'good weather dance' on so i don't think there will be any rain lol.

While trawling the interwebs i came acrosss these nasty little accesories and on pay day (no matter what the bank manager says)  i'm going to get me some!! [insert] wicked laugh

Some of the greater things in life are unseen

That's why you close your eyes when you
kiss
cry 
or dream. 

Til then xoxo

That Nostalgic Feeling

Today i did an interview with my next door neighbour Alma.
I have known Alma for about 9 years now and we have chatted from time to time, me usually listening as she can talk about many subjects at any time of day. 
At the moment i'm feeling quite nostalgic with a bit of a thing for oldies. Their life stories and memories intrigue me and i love comparing it to how we live today!
P.S I have highlighted my correspondence in colour for you to make it easier to read.

Alma was born in Gympie Hospital and the year was 1931. At the time her family were living in Kenilworth which i learned, is in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.
Her father owned a saw mill (to cut down timber) and sold it to be a Bridge Builder. This career move took them to many different surrounding towns and Alma said she went to 22 different schools!

So i understand you were a member of the CWA?
Noooo, my mother in-law was but they did get me to sing all the time, i used to stand in front of a whole hall of them- by joe i would be a bundle of nerves!
And i used to sing at the Gympie City Council as well. I never liked doing it much.

Did you do any craft while growing up? Get into crochering or knitting at all Alma?
Yes i used to do "fancy work".
Doilies, tablecloths and we used to do like a blanket stitch along to finish the edge off you know. I used to knit jumpers for work.
Did they take you long?
No because we didn't have TV in those days, we had nothing else to do. Mum was a sewer, she sewed suits and high end stuff. She played Hockey. I remember her catching the boat from Brisbane down to Sydney to play, they wore those big bloomer things on their legs! (she laughs)

Alma's fancy work

What were your school years like?

Well i just scraped in with 52% or something like that for my High School scholorship. We moved to Gympie about that time, that was around the war years. I could never get Algebra! No matter what i did i could never grasp the idea! We had sewing classes and cooking classes. And then i had my first job at the solicitors, bookeeping. Two others after that and I was married at 20.

Wow! Really?

Oh Yes.

Yesterday Alma gave me a whole bag of neat vintage scarves that she used to wear.

David (Alma's late husband) and I used to go to so many do's , him being in finance and all, we went  to so many dinners and outings ohhh this is why i had them all!

In the end we got all the staff to go for us, i was done fancering round at night in the cold! (shakes her head)

So did you stay up Gympie way for a while, where did you go from there?

Oh yes we were there for some time. Then we moved to Main Beach in the early 1960's.

The boys surfed (Alma's son's). We lived on Main Beach Parade along the front there across from the beach and it wasn't expensive.

I remember looking out the kitchen window one morning and seeing all the boys laying on their surfboards on the grass i think they had slept there all night! We were there for about 4 years.

Then we moved to our big house at Benowa and there we stayed until the kids were all grown up and moved out.

Alma's lovely house was featured in the Women's Weekly magazine

It had parquetry flooring and cork ceilings, wowzers!

As you can see the magazine is of some age, with Prince Charles not even been crowned yet!

Was that all you needed from me today?

Yes, lovely. Thank you so much Alma.

Newsday Tuesday !

Hey there guys! it's Newsday Tuesday time again...
Since last post i have been busy bee planning the sewing/designing structure of the denver mackenzie winter range i have just about finished my trials so i will photos for you by next week!
For a sneeky tho i have sloppy greg's (like sloppy joe's but better) 3/4 tee's, normal arm length tee's (out of warmer fabric) all with super cool trinkets sewn to them including zips and shoulder gadgets... you'll have to wait and see!

Below is the drawing i did to enter facebook "The love is here project" competition. Only 12 or 20 (can't exxactly remember!) people's artwork will be chosen for print in a book and exhibition in Sydney ha ha -not sure if all those details are right i'm relying on my shrivelled brain to come to the party but might be secretly asleep up there ... anyway in the end there was so many great entries i doubt mine will get anywhere but i enjoyed doing it anyway head to the page and have a lookylooky

Doing up some creative goal charts this week and in search of a professional coach!
Join me later in the week for "An interview with Alma"... put the kettle on, grab some biccies cos it will be a  lovely step back in time.
xo Krystle aka Denver

Winter warmness...

So it's getting kinda chilly now isn't it? I think Winter is the best time of the year for fashion. Time to pull out the nice warm grandma blankets (i think in winter i refer everything to being "grandma-ish"!) have porridge for breakfast, mix up late night hot chocolates and bake those yummy scones.

Will and i have been eating our porridge every morning for a whole week now, it's nice and warm on the fresh mornings we've been having and is also great for energy! yay

Here's my favourite scone recipe ....

Preparation time: 25 mins
Total cooking time: 25 mins
Makes about 12

2 and a quarter cups self-raising flour
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
20g chopped butter
1 egg
3/4 cup of milk
little bit of extra milk for glazing

Step1. Preheat oven to hot 220C. Sift the flour salt and sugar into a large bowl. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture is fine and crumbly. Make a well in the centre.

Step2. Lightly beat the egg and milk in a small bowl add alomost all the egg mixture at once to the flour mixture. Mix lightly with a flat bladed knife to form a soft dough add the rest of the egg, if needed.

Step3. Gather the dough togther and turn out onto a floured bench and knead very very lightly for 30 seconds, then press out to 2.5cm thick. Cut rounds with a floured scone cutter ( i like to use a mini scone cutter cos then they come out cute and little!)

Step4. Heat a baking tray in the oven for 5 mins and then place the rounds on the tray leaving a small gap around each. Brush with milk and bake for 15-20 mins or until tops are golden brown. Wrap in a clean tea towel while still hot. Serve warm or cold with jam and cream or just butter if you don't have any jam and cream!

And if you're lucky

they will look as yummy as this ....xo

Newsday Tuesday

Hello on this lovely Newsday Tuesday!

What have you been up to for the last 7 days and nights?
Me? I've been around i guess .... Friday i went for a little drive in the cube to visit the  Monthly City Markets at Bleeding Heart gallery and boy what a joyous time i had discovering EVEN MORE cute and awesome hand made goodies and what a quirky little place to have it (was my 1st time to the gallery).
While browsing i couldn't resist buying this miniature ceramic dish

HOW CUTE is it ??? :) i have a special love for anything small i think.
Ceramic artist KIM AITKEN makes them and you can email her for more info or your very own at kim.a.aitkin@bigpond.com

Another LOVE of mine is anything love hearty.... so these earrings .....

made by Morgan Kennedy took my little heart away AND they are leather!!! Awessoooome

As you can see in my photos above i have been reading the current issue of Frankie magazine and to be honest i think it's the best one yet! There's great reads on oldies, how they lived and what was happening in their day which i thought was interesting compared to what we endure in our day i guess. Another thing out of the mag that hit home with me was the article on pg. 40 "no baggage allowed" (ISSUE 41)
Embracing our personal baggage is surely a great thing and something that i am going to do from now on. : )

Since my last post Young Republic opened it's online doors and are quick on the list of one of the best online boutiques showcasing loads of untapped talent- you can also check out my profile and wares!

While sitting in the depths of the Denver Studio i have started thinking about chilly winter jumpers and sloppy joes to add to the denver mackenzie range... was there anything that you had  in mind for this winter?? Please share . .  .
Til then xoxo

Newsday Tuesday!

wOW! Have i got some news this week!
The weekend was quite eventful for me and Denver Mackenzie starting friday, we set up for my 1st BrisStyle Indie Twilight Markets and other than the wetness it was a fabulous affair i had some new tops on display which apart from selling had great feedback from, which is always great news!

And then Sunday was the monthly YDM held in Little Stanley St, Southbank Parklands! Also was a fantastic day, the sun shining it's warmth and brightness and lots of lovely people to chat to. My aunty Sandy was kind enough to come and take Will off my hands for the day (xo) so he wasn't totally bored and whinging away in my ear lol. So i had some quiet time for myself to wonder in my thoughts . . . .

{May turn these sketches into designs for tops what do u think?} But probably not the bumbag one ha ha 

I've also finished my first commissioned job for Loose Kid Industries where i designed the "new" denim shorts for the ladies summer collection, will be do lots more for the guys so keep watch i will post some links and pics when available! .....   weeeee

Thanks to all the people who came to visit me at the markets and the lovelies who bought my wares, enjoy!
Love K aka Denver xox