A Little Poetry - John Keats

"John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of romantic poets along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his work only having been in publication for four years before his death." - Wikipedia

Bright Star 

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art--
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--
No--yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever--or else swoon to death. 

DIY Terrarium

One of the things that I promised myself I would do while I was on leave was make a terrarium.  And guess what?  I did!  I originally set out to follow a tutorial that I found a few months back but alas when I went back to look for it, it was gone.  Because I tend towards laziness, I thought about giving in and buying one but they are so expensive - think almost 200 bucks for a teeny tiny little plant!  Anyway, I decided to just wing it and it turned out well.  Really well.  Here’s what I did:

1) Purchase a Glass Bowl - I found this one at Mr Price Home in Argyle Road for R 59.95.  It’s a nice size and depth.

2) Purchase Some Plants - I had already been looking at pictures online and on Pinterest and decided I wanted three little plants.  I probably should have researched the varieties available but I didn’t.  I went to the Tropical Nursery in Sherwood Road and picked three succulents that I liked the look of.  Here’s what I ended up with:

Aloe Aristata:  A small stemless aloe with succulent spotted leaves.  It has red or pinkish tubular flowers in November.  A very cold, hardy aloe.  Full sun. little water (from the label).

Echevaria – Rock Rose:  Pink/Grey tips and creased leaves highlights this silver/grey rose.  The sap is caustic, don’t let children handle it.  Full sun, drought resistant, hardy and slow growing. (From the label).

  

Unnamed (but cute) little plant:  This one is the tallest of the bunch but sadly didn’t have a label on it’s packing.  It has a slight reddish tint on its tips which I rather liked. 

3) Put Plants in Glass Bowl - I initially thought I would need to buy some extra potting soil but I spoke to the lady at the nursery who assured me that the soil I had already would be more than enough.   I carefully removed each plant from their soil...

...and then used a mix of all three soils to create a base.   One I had a little bit of soil in the bottom to work with, I planted each one according to the rough idea in my head. 

4) Add Some White Stones - While I liked the look of the terrarium with just the plants and the soil, I decided to add some white aquarium stones.  To me it just upped the prettiness factor by creating more of a contrast.

And that is how I made a terrarium that now lives on our coffee table.  Luckily our flat gets a whole lot of sun so I didn’t have to give too much thought to where to put it.  Altogether it came to:

1 x Glass Bowl - R 59.95

3 x Plants - R 100.80 

1 x White Stones  - R 49.95

TOTAL - R 210.70

It came in a little higher than buying one but for that price I got three plants instead of one and enough white stones to make another two or three terrariums.  I think I am going to start giving them as gifts!  Plus, because we live in a flat, I don't get many opportunities to play in the dirt so putting this together myself was very satisfying!!  Yay for finally owning a terrarium!

A Very Adventure Time Christmas

Guys!  You can get free Adventure Time Christmas tree decorations!!  Could there be anything cooler?  We don't really have a Christmas tree yet but that didn't stop me from downloading, printing and assembling these little pieces of awesome.  

Like I said, we don't have a tree yet so I hung them on the bonsai just to see what they look like.  They are actually bigger than I thought which means that they'll stand out quite well amongst tinsel and other shinies...it that a word?  Anyway, I just printed them on plain printer paper (not cardboard or anything) and once they are doubled over, they become quite firm:

Also available on the Cartoon Network site?  Adventure Time gift tags.  Its a good thing that appreciation of this show is a family trait otherwise I'd have some very confused family members on my hands come Christmas day!!

I haven't made these ones up yet but I think that I will probably stick them to some card before I attach them to gifts.  Just to make them a little more durable.  Yay for Christmas!

Paper Toy Obsession

I can't remember exactly how it happened, but a few years ago, I stumbled across an artist called Jason Harlan.  His website promised illustration, papercrafts and fonts so I decided to take a look around.   This is where I discovered his Boxpunx collection and the wonderful world of paper toys.  The Boxpunx are awesome.  They are super easy to make, require absolutely no glue and completely satisfy my need for brightly coloured randomness.   Before I knew it, I had made a ton and covered every available piece of shelf in our flat.  So I started taking them to work and managed to fill up my limited desk space as well!!

The 'Paper Army' from my old office

There is an amazing amount of variety in the Boxpunx range - both in the style and in the designs.  There are nine series as far as I can tell as well as a whole bunch of templates for you to create your own!  Here are a few of my favourites:

You can find the full Boxpunx collection here.  Sadly there have been no new Boxpunx since about 2009 but there is plenty there to keep you occupied, I assure you.

Earlier this year, I found the Proudly One Sided paper toys at the Come Out and Play exhibition.

Created by Reghardt Grobbelaar, Proudly One Sided is described as:

"that explores the daily scenarios one would find in South Africa. Rather than following the stereotypical images, which are normally associated with the country, the project was approached in a lighthearted manner."

You can view them on the website and you can download the templates to make your own.  My favourite is Missing (the Cow-patterned one) and atm: the future of document creation.  I haven't made any of these ones yet but they are still hanging around on my To-Do list!

I haven't made a paper toy in ages and then I found the Adventure Time paper toys on the Cartoon Network site.  I have an obsession with Adventure Time that almost eclipses all others so you can imagine my joy at finding a combination of two of my favourite things!  You can get Finn, Jake, Marceline, Bubblegum and a whole host of backgrounds to set them up with.  The only thing that's not so great about these ones is you need to use glue.  I downloaded Finn, Jake and Gunter to try and they came out really well.  Despite the glue, they were pretty easy to make.

Anybody else out there share my obsession with paper toys?  If you do, feel free to share your favourites.  I'd love to find some new ones to try!

RECONNECT

Excuse my head shadow in this pic!

Yesterday I stopped by the KZNSA to check out the RECONNECT exhibition.  RECONNECT is a solo exhibition by an artist called Hendrik Stroebel.  He works with ceramics and embroidery to produce the most outstanding works.   My mom and I first heard about him and saw his work at an KZNQG meeting earlier this year.  I have never been one for embroidery but the pieces he creates literally blew me out of the water.  We have been waiting for this exhibition to open since then!

The KZNSA website describes his work for his previous show RECOLLECT as follows:

"Stroebel’s work has a painterly quality where the coloured thread evokes the freshness and immediacy of the painted mark. The content of the work explored the pattern and texture of the Arab and Islamic world. He portrayed the architecture, ancient history and people that so fascinated him on his travels. The artists abiding interest in antiquity is literally woven into the images."

Which I think pretty much describes this exhibition as well.  When you look at some of the pieces, it's hard to believe that they are not paintings.  Only when you get up close do you see that what you thought were brush-strokes are actually threads.  The time and effort it must take to put something like that together astound me. 

The RECONNECT exhibit is a preview of his solo exhibition that will open in Dubai next year in March.  What I would give to be in Dubai to see that!  

The show runs until the 4th of November and if you are in Durban and can get there, it's well worth a look.  If you can't, you can check out some of the exhibition images here.  There are some great close ups of the stars and the larger piece above.

Terrarium Love

Right, so I have recently found myself utterly consumed by the need to own a terrarium.  We have a dead spot on our coffee table that some extra greenery would fill so nicely.  First, I thought about buying one.  I did some looking around and found that while there are some really pretty ones for sale, they are really pricey!  The ones on the lower end of the price range are just a little plain for my tastes.  I came home and did some googling and found a whole host of terrarium DIYs!  Yay!  Anyway, seeing as Monday is a public holiday, I thought I’d go succulent shopping and see if I can’t put one together myself.  I’ll keep you posted!  In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of my terrarium inspiration (thanks Pinterest) and the tutorial I’m planning on using.

This is the tutorial I am planning on using.  Looks nice and simple. If anyone has any suggestions or advice, please feel free to share!

Sources: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10 

Best. News. Ever.

Rise Against is going to be in South Africa in March next year!!!  This is most awesome news for me.  Out of all the bands I would LOVE to see live, my top three look something like this:

• My Chemical Romance
• Rise Against
• Biffy Clyro

When I saw the announcement on Facebook last night I just about wet myself!  Now I have to wait patiently to see if they will play in Durban or not.  You see, while Jo'burg and Cape Town get bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2 and Coldplay, Durban gets Michael Bolton and Engelbert Humperdink bleh.  Anyway, it really doesn't matter where they play because I will cross the country for them!  

In case you don't know who I am talking about, here is the video for Make It Stop (September's Children) - one of my favourite songs with a really great message:

Rolo Cuteness

I must be totally honest, I am a bit short on blogging ideas this week.  In the absence of something more interesting, here are some really cute pictures of Rolo.  Enjoy:)

New Music #1

I’ve been listening to a lot of new music just recently so I thought I would share some of my favourites.  First up is the awesome Lark.  They are a South African electronica band from Cape Town.  I have always enjoyed their music but it had long ago fallen to the bottom of the pile.  Then, we went to the Durban leg of their album launch.  It was amazing!  Watching them live is half the joy of this band I think.  Inge Beckmann has such a powerful voice with so much range.  When she walked out on the stage in a black outfit complete with a baboon skull on each shoulder I was sold!  You can kind of see them in this photo Jason took with his phone:

Anyway, the new album Gong is Struck has been on repeat in my car and at work for the last little while.  I am torn between Afflatus and Two Wolves when it comes to choosing a favourite.  I couldn’t find either of those to share with you but here is the video for an equally cool track called Stole The Moon:

Another band I have really been enjoying is The Ravonettes.  I guess you could class them as Indie?  They are from Denmark and there are just two of them.  Jason gave me an album called In and Out of Control to listen to and although I was sceptical on first pass, it’s absolutely grown on me!  My favourite track off the album is Bang!  I couldn't find a video for that one but here's a video for a song called Aly, Walk With Me from the album Lust Lust Lust:

And lastly, there is Florence + the Machine.  I know they have been around for awhile but I never really got around to listening to them.  Then we came across the song Dog Days Are Over as part of an independently put together Marie Antoinette soundtrack and I loved it:

I decided to give the new album Ceremonials a listen and although it can be a bit slow for my particular tastes, I rather enjoyed it.  My favourite track is a toss up between What the Water Gave Me and No Light, No Light.  

If you know me well, you’ll know that when it comes to music, I prefer male vocals.  Preferably screamy or a bit unusual and preferably attached to Gerard Way!  So, the fact that all three of the bands mentioned here actually have female vocals is no small feat:)

Have you been listening to anything new?

This Quote

"In writing there are many secrets too.  Nothing is ever lost no matter how it seems at the time and what is left out will always show and make the strength of what is left in.  Some say that in writing you can never possess anything until you have given it away or, if you are in a hurry, you may have to throw it away.  In much later times that these stories of Paris you may not have it ever until you state it in fiction and then you may have to throw it away or it will be stolen again.  They say other things too but do not pay them too much attentions"

A Moveable Feast - Ernest Hemgingway

Genevieve Motley Jewellery

Some people have a weakness for shoes, other people for handbags but my weakness is jewellery.   Not the super fancy pants stuff covered in jewels, but rather the quirky, the unusual and the nerd inspired.  Some of my favourite jewellery in the world comes from the very talented Genevieve Motley.  Her pieces are mainly Perspex and wood and super affordable, all of which really appeal to me.  I have a weakness for the lines and colours of Perspex.  Also it’s fairly hardy and quite difficult for a clumsy, uncoordinated person like me to damage. 

 

I bought these black Perspex swallow earrings at my very first I Heart Market at the end of 2009 and it’s not an exaggeration to say that I wear them almost every day.  They go with everything and I still get so many compliments on them:

I started investigating her range a bit more and found that so many of her themes are things I love: Birdies, Anchors and Bunnies.  Before I knew it, I had bought this ring with the three little birds:

And this necklace with the anchor:

When I was searching for a 21st gift for my cousin, the first thing that came to mind was a piece of Genevieve Motley jewellery.  Not only is she a Durban designer (and my cousin loves Durban) but her new geometric range is to die for.  I ended up buying this awesome necklace for my cousin:

I’ll be honest and admit that I had some serious trouble parting with it!  It’s definitely on my wish list:)    I also ended up getting this anchor ring for myself:

You can see more of her range on her website or, if you are in Durban, you can check out her shop inside Mooi in Bulwer Road.

PS.   I wrote this purely because I love the jewellery not because I was given cash monies or anything. 

Legends of Ooo

Adventure Time is one of my all time favourite shows.  I love the quirky sense of humour, the illustrations and I think Pendleton Ward is pretty much amazing!  So you can imagine how happy I was when Jason found an Adventure Time iPhone game.  I think I did a happy dance of joy.  Anyway, its not the most complicated of games but it was fun to play and it includes all the best characters. Here are some screen shots I took while playing to give you an idea:

Lumpy Space Princess, the Hot Dog Knights and Gunter all make an appearance.  I just wish that there was more of Marceline, hands down the best princess in the show.  Like I said, it's not the most complicated game and it took me less that a day to finish it but if you are a Adventure Time fan, I'd recommend it.  

PS.  While we are on the subject of Adventure Time, the Cartoon Network website has some super cool Adventure Time paper toys.  Needless to say, I shall be making some in the very near future.  Expect a post about it!

Wakaberry Love

Confession:  I am obsessed with Wakaberry.  I have never been a great fan of frozen yoghurt but after my first visit, I was hooked.  Now it’s all I can do to drive down Florida Road and NOT go into Wakaberry.  Have you been yet?  Well you should.  The idea is really simple: grab a tub, choose your flavours, choose your toppings and there you go!  My favourite flavour so far is Mixed Berries.  My favourite toppings are fresh strawberries, Jelly Tots and the speckled eggs they had during Easter.  Here are some random pictures of my Wakaberry trips to inspire you:

You’re welcome!  Now go...

P.S. On Sunday my awesome friend Shannon surprised me by bringing me Wakaberry while Jason was out and I was working on my last assignment!  Thanks again friend, you are awesome and partly responsible for this post:) 
P.P.S. Wakaberry doesn't even know I exist.  I wrote this purely because I love them not because I was given cash monies or anything.