Pressed Flowers

Despite all the time that I spend these days blogging, social media-ing and otherwise involved in technology, I'm actually fairly old school at heart, with chickens in the front garden and organic produce in the back (yep, that's my bunnykins collection in the background of this photo). So recently I've been teaching Miss 4 to press flowers.

Pressed flowers keep their colour intact as they dry, which makes pressing them a great way to preserve them for later activties. Miss 4 collects flowers and leaves when we are out walking and once we are home, it's quick and easy to press them. We have a wooden flower press, so we place each flower between sheets of paper (the blotter) and then put this paper between sheets of cardboard. We then put the piles of flowers in cardboard between two pieces of wood and blot them together. After a few weeks the flowers are completely dry and flat and ready for craft. Remember that they are very delicate.

If you don't have a flower press, you can achieve the same thing by placing your flowers between sheets of paper (the blotter) and then putting the paper inside a heavy book, like and dictionary or encyclopedia. Pile more books on top or slide into a full bookcase. After a few weeks, the dried flowers will be ready.

What old school fun do you get up to with your kids?

Find some more preschooler art ideas.

Project 30 Houses

Over the last three weeks, I have been taking part in Project 30 Houses, coordinated by Cassie Jene and Curly Jo on Instagram. I draw a 5 cm square house each day to a prompt and at the end of April, these drawings will be compiled into a colouring book, the profits of which will raise funds on behalf of Habitat for Humanity Australia to help build and repair homes for deserving communities. See my first and second weeks of entries and all the doodles on #Project30Houses.

Peg It!

{Did you know?} kaetoo currently has 41 varieties of washi tape covered mini pegs in store. With such a great range of colours and patterns, there's bound to be something to suit every purpose.

Washi tape pegs are great for gift wrapping, home office decor, party favours, hanging photos, scrapbooking embellishment, nurseries, and more.

What do you use your pegs for?

Active April

Because I'm an elite athlete and all (hah! not!), eight years ago I had an ACL reconstruction. I still play netball and as a result need to keep up the physio to make sure that my knee stays strong and healthy. But fitting in structured exercise with two small children is tough, especially once daylight savings has finished (I refuse to use a gym!).

What to do?

My strategy lately has been to do my physio exercises at the playground. Choose a playground that adjoins a nice flat area and let the children play on the swings and slides whilst you work out. This way, they're getting a work out too and having a great time whilst mum is preoccupied. Sure, keeping an eye on them means that you are not as focussed on your exercises, but you're getting them done, and that's the important thing. In addition, doing sit ups with a 15 month old perched on your stomach is an extra work out!

How do you manage exercise and small children?

Project 30 Houses

Project 30 Houses is a project by Cassie Jene and Curly Jo over on Instagram, the aim of which is to raise funds on behalf of Habitat for Humanity Australia to help build and repair homes for deserving communities. One draws a little house that fits within a 5 cm square box every day and the houses at the end April will be compiled into a colouring book the profits of which are donated. See my first week of entries here and all the doodles on #Project30Houses.

StArt Up: Top Arts 2015

Each year I make an annual Easter-ish trip with my husband and mother to see the best artwork from Victorians who have just completed year 12. This is a great chance to see some inspirational pieces for free, plus we've combined the visit with an annual meal at Chocolate Buddah and where there's food involved, I'm there! It's been really interesting to go to this exhibit each year and see the trends coming and going through the artworks. This year there was far more digital art than in previous years and far less in the way of photography and classical paintings and drawings.

StArt Up: TopArts 2015 is again being held at the National Gallery of Victoria in the Ian Potter Centre in Federation Square. There are 42 exhibiting artists this year and if you follow me on Instagram, you already know which pieces were my favourites. Let's step through some of the highlights...

Untitled by Sophia Kons

This untitled piece is chalk pen on bark. I loved how intricate and natural the drawing was and also was very impressed with the effect of the white on wood.

Carnage by Olivia Gardiner

This spectacular dress is entitled Carnage and is actually made up of feathers, shells, fur, bones and skulls, all scavenged from beaches and road kill. There were quite a few people there freaking out about the morbidity of the piece, but it really is quite a spectacular work of art and very intricate. This one earned my mother's vote for favourite.

Recursion by Andrew Hannah

Recursion, exploring a fractal, was my husband's favourite piece. He is an engineer and sees the beauty in mathematics. The colours and the final effect are quite lovely.

Tyler Oakley by Ashleigh Newman

Miss 4 was very impressed by Tyler Oakley and the other drawings by Ashleigh Newman. This artist accompanied her pencil drawings with a video of her doing the artworks and it was fascinating to watch her method unfold. Ashleigh's method of drawing is quite different to my own, as I always start with the eyes and she stars with the hair.

Unified symmetry by Callum Croker

And the piece that got my vote for the best was Unified symmetry, a series of intricate laser cut cardboard pieces. Just stunning.

Master 1 expressed no real opinion about his favourite piece of student work, although he was very fond of the bats in the foyer and also of the car exhibit in NGV. StArt Up is on until June 28, so if you're hanging around Melbourne, do go and check it out.

(I failed to blog about our 2014 outing last year - I blame the new baby - but you can catch up on my experience of the 2013 exhibit here and read what my mother thought of our 2015, 2014 and 2013 outings.)

Project 30 Houses

I have been taking part in Project 30 Houses with Cassie Jene and Curly Jo over on Instagram. The brief is simple - get your creative juices flowing by drawing a little house that fits within a 5 cm square box every day. See all the doodles on #Project30Houses.

Painting The House

I have been doing a lot of painting over the last few months, not of canvases but of our newly recladded house. Here's a visual of the front exterior's transformation over the last four years.

Keep up the history of our house renovations.