a letter to autumn

dear autumn

thank you for a rather lovely autumn so far here in glasgow (i won't count the last few rainy days) it has been dry and even somewhat sunny some days. i have loved all your autumn colours on the leaves falling from the trees, gold, red, browney red and yellow. thanks for that. thank you also for the conkers that you gave me. i just have one teeny weeny wee request for you - please could it be dry tomorrow as it is my birthday and my friend al's birthday and we don't like rain much. also it would be nice for all the little kiddies going trick or treating to not have to have to hold up umbrellas. i know it's a lot to as but pleeeese!

much love kim xxx

the best things in life are free(ish)

or nearly free! as someone who has not a bean to my name at the moment i love a freebie or a cheapo thrift shop score now and again. a big thank you to gert a fellow allotment holder (in his eighties but still has a twinkle in his eye that makes me go weak at the knees) who gave me one of his pumpkins when the ones i planted failed to grow - i will be making some pumpkin soup and curry with it. i am grateful for all the beautiful freebies nature is giving me this autumn (and i live in the city!) and to the sunday papers for giving some free fab free movies (for a change!)recently. i scored this cute little deer to add to my growing collection in a local charity shop for 10p! and last but not least thanks to moo for the free cards they are giving away at the moment. all you have to pay is the postage. now that's what i call a bargain!

a hyggelig happy halloween!

i love halloween (and not just because it's my birthday) and have happy childhood memories of trick or treating, dressing up, duking for apples and coming home with a big bag full of monkey nuts, tangerines and sweeties. here are just a few of the super dooper halloween inspired photos that have been added to my wee hyggelig happy flickr group including one of my cat biba in her pumpkin bed.

thanks to the following (from top to bottom)hyggelig happy,mia christopher, yokoo, encore petite, anoushka sophia, sweet sweet life, jek in the box, emma bradshaw

happy halloween everyone!

a sense of wonder

the colours in autumn leaves always remind me of the words in this song:

didn't i come to bring you a sense of wonder
didn't i come to lift your fiery vision bright
didn't i come to bring you a sense of wonder to the flame

on and on and on we kept singing our song
over newtonards and comber, gransha and
the ballystockart road.
with spike and boffyflow i said i could describe the leaves
for samuel and felicity
rich, red browney half burnt orange and green.................

do you have favorite autumn song?

it's rainy and gray here today but as usual on a thursday this is keeping me happy!

happy when creating interview: alleluja

that beautiful little lamb i showed you earlier this week was made by none other than the ultra talented sawako hayakawa who creates alleluja. when my little lamb arrived all the way from japan a few months ago i gasped at just how perfect he looked and felt. like many of alleluja figures they have double uses. mine can be worn as a pendant or used as a pincushion. how cool is that!

it was to my great delight that sawako agreed to a little interview about her work:

sawako, when did you start making your beautiful ceramic pendants and pincushions?

it is about ten years ago that i gained experience in ceramic art for the first time. after a few years i started to make mini cat pincushions. at the same time i started needle felting as well, and i began to make various pincushion pendants last year.

what materials do you use to make them?

i use porcelain clay and raw wool. i frequently use a gypsum mould, and all my moulds are original.

where did you learn/study ceramics?
i learned that at the ceramic workshop in the vicinity. is still go there now.

who and what inspires you?

i love the movies, music, comics and my pet cats. all of them give me inspiration. anyway, all cute things and weird things inspire me.

what projects have you planned for the future?

i want to fuse clay with wool more. i like those materials so much. i'll continue to make various pincushions. and i want to create something other than the pincushions using porcelain clay and wool in the future.

saweko sells her crawler pincushions in new stone age, los angeles. you can also find a selection of the beautiful seen work here in her etsy shop.

thank you so much sawako for telling us a bit about your work. i wish you continued success with your amazing creations.

i have more great wee hyggelig happy interviews for you up my sleave for the coming weeks!

hyggelig happy flickr goup: celebrations

from equistetum

from camilla engman

from lilybe

from farmergopi

from snitcn-notch

with so many amazing photos in the hyggelig happy group, i thought it might be nice to show you some each week with a different theme. this week in honour of my bf viv's birthday yesterday it's all about celebrations, birthdays and partys! happy birthday viv darling. thanks to everyone who has added photos to the hyggelig happy group this week - keep em coming!

nicola rowsell

i just adore foxes. i used to see a city fox near my home and loved his sly cheeky look. i know they do a lot of damage and harm but i am still fascinated by them! when i saw these foxes (and rats) by the very talented nicola rowsell i just fell in love with the way she had captured them! they are from her sketchbook of work that will be part of an upcoming book. i will be sure to tell you when it is published as i will want to purchase it right away! check out her website for more of her amazing work!

talking of foxes i really fancy seeing this.

sneek peek

here is a sneak peak of a wee interview to come later this week. it will be with the very talented lady who made me this little lamb (that can be used as a pendant or a pincushion!) seen here nestled amongst my felted pebbles.

a big thank you!

when i started my little hyggelig happy flickr group during the week i really did not expect so many people to join and add so many fantastic pictures to the pool. i am really overwhelmed by the response and would like to thank each and every person who has shared some hyggelig happy photos. please keep them coming!

i am a big flickr fan. it has been a huge inspiration to me when i have been somewhat poorly and i have loved sharing photos with many fantastic people from all over the world.

with so many amazing photos it was very difficult to choose just a few to show today, so here is only a tiny range from the pool. from top to bottom by: fampa, hermsprong, leila-anne, super ninion, les zigouis, leila-anne, nestled in, sheepdeer, mirjan, mannagryn design, sandra juto, smilerynker, candi mandi, ravenhill designs, (ki)nihito and recovering lazyholic.

wishing you all a hyggelig happy weekend :-)

a hyggelig happy week

the autumn weather has been so nice here in glasgow. dry with just a wee nip in the air, plus a little bit of welcome sun. plenty of crunchy leaves to walk through even in the city making it it a joy to be outside. i have been enjoying being creative (and cozy) this week including going to glasgow print studio to practice some screenprinting.

sitting room

Originally uploaded by pennyleavergreen
i have just started a flickr pool group called hyggelig happy! i shall be showing some beautiful photos from the group here.

this amazing photo is from pennyleavergreen. i love it! click on the image to see larger and to take you to her flickr photostream. many thanks to everyone who has joined so far.