Super Shed haul

With the next Craft 2.0 in Wellington only a few months away in April, the Super Shed has been on my list of places to visit for new display props, and my recent visit failed to disappoint. I came home with a lovely haul of plates, fancy trays and bowls, all with a distinctly Victorian style, for the grand total of $8! Recycling at its finest.

Bee-utiful summer weather

Well, here we are in 2009.. hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years. I'm currently enjoying my Summer holidays (3 weeks off, which is the first time in I'm not sure how many years, at least around 10) and with temperatures in the 30˚s I have the tan to prove it! There has been much reading and pottering, and as little computer time as possible while I get my annual intake of vitamin D. I have also invested in a lovely new 60mm macro lens, and spent an afternoon chasing bees around the backyard, from which I have compiled a little bee montage..



The last week of my holidays holds a photographic road trip to the top of the South Island, round the Nelson area, so there will be many new panos coming soon!

Lupins and Murphy

I finally managed to get away for a day trip down to Tekapo this week, to snap some photos while the lupins were still out in force. The weather in the area was typically unpredictable, and changed its mind on several occasions throughout the course of the day, and although Murphy was having a field day (Murphy's Law) I did manage to outsmart him on one occasion, snapping a rainbow mere seconds before it dissipated. Although the overall score for the day was well in his favour, I was still quite happy with these 4 new panos to add to my collection.


Seconds after finding this little tin shed it started to absolutely pour down, reminding me of rule #2 in caring for your digital camera – "do not get wet"


Murphy 0 – Mel 1
(truth be known, Murphy actually had a few on me by this stage..)


One of my favourite spots, atop Mt John in Tekapo

Cherry Blossom

Katherine and Emily have done a great job of promoting my new brooches at Cherry Blossom, which included a feature in their newsletter, my very own section on their website and an absolutely gorgeous display instore!



Any excuse to take a pano..

Paua-rific!

I've been looking forward to popping in to the Paua Shell House for quite some time now, and finally rewarded my patience this week with a little photographic expedition, which was well worth the wait!
The Museum has done a great job reconstructing Fred and Myrtle's house, in particular the lounge, with carpet identical to that which my grandparents had, and little kitschy relics nestled in amongst the hundreds of paua shells. I wasn't entirely sure where to point the camera first, and found myself momentarily stunned with a child like sense of wonder. Love that Kiwiana!







Fred and Myrtle's Paua Shell House is in the Canterbury Museum on Rolleston Ave, and open 9am – 5pm everyday!

My 2cents worth

Each year I like to treat myself to a little something special for Christmas, as you can guarantee that whilst shopping for pressies you'll see something that you fall in love with. For me this year it was this 2cent coin bracelet, made by Christchurch jeweller Andrew Peach. Locally handmade classy kiwiana, it doesn't get any better!

Lake Coleridge

With dropping petrol prices and the increasingly likely chance of fine weather, I'm easily talked into a road trip these days, and Lake Coleridge was the destination this weekend. An enjoyable day out, even though I did end up a tad on the wet side after orienteering in thigh deep water around the shoreline of the lake for a good few kms (high hydro lake levels were to blame for the non-existent beach access), but the planned shots were successfully snapped, and I can now enjoy the scenery once again whilst wearing dry pants!