Paula Mills Art

It's school holidays here in Australia and we are at the end of the second week. I was having quite a trying morning with my kids and had to do the dreaded grocery shop with all three of them 'helping' me. I then had a moan about how I have to say everything at least 50 million times before anyone blinks an eyelid...anyway they redeemed themselves by putting together this cute little lemonade stall outside the front of our house with help from a friend - so sweet, I couldn't stay annoyed for long...

I have many reasons for buying flowers - it's Spring - YAY - and they instantly make your home look fresh and pretty. I had to spruce the house up a bit as I had a photographer and journalist come through my home to do a little house tour! Yikes, it was a little nerve racking but all went very smoothly. I can't say who it was for yet as I am not sure when the article will be published. But it was all very exciting and fun. After the photographer left I went around with my trusty camera and popped a few shots off while the house was looking so sparkly as I knew it wouldn't last very long - and I was right, by the evening it was topsy turvy again. I may post a few more images when I have a bit more time later in the week. P xxxx

The shots below, of all our prints and these shots above, of bits and pieces around my home, were taken by my friend Tigs, who has just started on the journey of becoming a brilliant photographer and has a flicker stream which you can see here and blog here . I can't believe how she made my studio chair in the middle of a pretty awful bit of carpet look so good! All the best Tigs.

More new shots of our prints - which are all for sale in our etsy shop.

I am obsessed with geometric patterns at the moment and came upon these lovelies by designer Erica Wakerly, they are sold as wallpaper and fabric here . I am busy working up a storm for an up coming art show; up coming market and all sorts of on going projects. I am feeling excited and inspired but also a little overwhelmed by it all - I have been trying to stick to the lists I have made but somehow my lists are getting longer and not shorter! And of course there are all my non creative responsibilities that I have to fit in like feeding kids and playing with them while on holiday. Anyway I will soldier on, slightly panicked but also loving it! Any tips on how to actually keep calm and carry on would be welcome.

Available in our etsy shop .

I had plenty of flicker activity this week and eventually I realized it was because Holly over at Decor8 had posted the image of my studio on her hugely famous blog! Was quite pleased with that. Which meant I spent a bit of time wandering around flicker - what an incredible place to loose yourself, and found these beautiful images on Das Kaninchen's photo-stream - incredible hand made objects, loving the color ways. Unfortunately her Etsy shop seems to be closed at the moment but hopefully it will be open again soon. Well happy weekend to you all. P xx

I am busy gearing up for the first Melbourne Finders Keepers Market - should be a blast! If you live locally stick it in your diary now - it's not to be missed! They have done a little profile of Sweet William here . And here is a blurb from their website: 'The first Melbourne markets will be Spring/Summer 2010 held on the 9th & 10th October 2010. The markets will be held at Shed4 a massive warehouse space in Docklands The markets brings together new emerging and contemporary independent artists and designers of original and high creative standards. Our aim is to always introduce new innovative work to cater for a wide range of our customers and supporters. Every market event is completely unique and we always introduce new designers and try and rotate stallholders from previous events, as well as featuring local independent musicians and we're always including other special features! The markets are FREE entry for all and feature live music, with a cafe and bar open...

A new print available in our etsy shop . A little pink owl with big teal colored eyes. The colors are quite strong in this image so I feel it would be quite nice as a small print - 5 x 7 inches or 130x 175 mm; which is a new size for us in the shop. I have also done one in blue. P x

I have been re shuffling things in my studio, have made a cleaner space to work in and used some of my lovely finds for storage, quite pleased with the result. I also bought my outside garden table in for another surface to work on. I am doing quite a bit of re shuffling in my house as I prepare for a very exciting visit in the next few weeks...more will be revealed later! I am doing a little community market tomorrow - I haven't done any markets for ages and I am doing this one to support our local neighborhood house, so if you are in the area, pop in and say hello. The details are as follows: Baby and Children's market - Sat. 11th September, Kew Neighborhood House, 2 Derby Street, Kew, Victoria, from 9am - 1pm. Preloved babies and children's goods, craft, face painting, cakes, sausage sizzle, should be fun!

I am very pleased with these little pocket books we have had printed and are now for sale in our Etsy store. I also used the same illustration for a tote bag competition over at Udessi - pop over, have a look, vote for your favorite design and be in with a chance of winning one!

My finds - the tin number 4 from Stockroom and the old wooden crates from The Vintage Yard Sale - all in Piper Street in Kyneton, so lovely! The Vintage Yard Sale in Piper Street Kyneton - this is the hallway leading to the shop which is up some lovely old wooden stairs. Enjoying our coffee at Winne Bagel - a little pop up coffee shop in Stockroom The Stockroom in Kyneton - amazing! On our way back from our weekend away in Dayelsford we drove down Piper Street in Kyneton - if you are ever in the area you must park and get out the car and have a wonder- it is all so lovely! Our first stop was at Stockroom , what an incredible space - an old butter factory which has been converted into a beautiful shop and gallery space. We enjoyed a laid back coffee and some old games in the Winne Bagel cafe which is a cute bright red caravan parked in the shop. Another high light was the Vintage Yard Sale full of beautiful vintage bits and pieces. I came away feeling so happy and excited by all ou...

Well we had a bit of an eventful weekend as Daylesford experienced floods and major power failures! The weather has been wild! But who am I to let a lot of rain get in my way? Daylesford is a wonderful place, heaving with interesting finds and creativity. A five minute walk from the lovely victorian bungalow we were staying in was the Dayelsford Bazaar - filled to brim with all sorts of wonderful treasures - I managed to restrain myself and only bought a few things (I could have been lost in there for hours); gorgeous retro wall clock, little brown leather case and little piggy cruet set - oh and pretty tin. The Sunday flea market was pretty much rained out but I did manage to find these lovely old bottles and rusty crate (first pic.). Unfortunately due to the power failure David Bromely's amazing shed 4 was closed but I was totally inspired by the sign-age outside the ware house. Wow. (Have a look at his amazing blog here ) We did manage to enjoy one or two cool cafes and I popp...

We are heading off to a lovely country town called Daylesford , a few hours from Melbourne, to rejuvenate, rest and celebrate Father's day. Everyone is excited, the kids have a whole bag full of hand made gifts for Dad and I have a list of lovely shops and markets I want to visit. Top of the list is Lark - where I will have my eye on a few things; crazy, crockery, collectors wrapping paper, something fun for Dad and the wonderful collection of Japanese Paumes books. It is always good to get out the city for a few days - happy weekend to you all! Paula x