Friday Friends - Australian Etsy Artists - Raechel Saunders, Aboriginal Artist

Hello Maddabling blog readers, welcome to another edition of Friday Friends! Maddabling is hoping - weather dependent - to embark this weekend on a delicious walking adventure with hubby and two dear friends. If all goes well, I will share some photos of the walk in my Sunday night blog post. On the agenda is wildflower and whale spotting - hoping for sunshine and clear skies, even though it is winter! 

This week it is my great pleasure to introduce a super talented Aboriginal artist from the Biripi Nation on the Mid North Coast of NSW, meet Raechel of Raechel Saunders Aboriginal and Fantasy Art. 

I stumbled upon one of Raechel's gorgeous geckos and knew I had to explore her work some more. Here are some wonderful pieces that I just had to share with you all. Firstly, some Koori Art - this beautiful Shark painting. 

Also, meet the adorable Jeremy, a Clay Gecko from the 2013 Gecko Collection. 

And just to show you something completely different, how stunning is "Beautiful Lady and Dragon with Orchids" - an OVERSIZED Postcard Art Print in Pink and Mauve.

Dear readers, time for you to put your feet up for a short while and to enjoy The Tale of Raechel Saunders - Aboriginal Artist. See you all on Sunday evening for my weekend blog post xo

The Tale of Raechel Saunders; Aboriginal Artist 
Hello, My name is Raechel. I am an Aboriginal Artist from the Biripi Nation on the Mid North Coast of NSW. I have been selling my sculptures and paintings from our small family Gallery for the last 12 years.

Working in clay and painting canvas with acrylic paint just came naturally to me.

I have grown up in an Artistic home, my father being a well-known Aboriginal Artist in my local area Pastor Russell Saunders OAM. I often spent many hours working alongside my dad, watching and learning.

My inspiration for my artwork comes from my love for the Creator, my people, the culture, and the beautiful animals and stunning nature we are blessed with in Australia.

When I create new artworks it feels like I am carrying on the traditions and stories handed down by my father. I love that my artwork is seen by many and travels the world as gifts and keepsakes.

I prefer to work with acrylic paint when painting. It suits my fine line work and dot style. I enjoy the instant burst of colour on a canvas and quick drying time with easy clean up. 

I paint Australian animals in x-ray style art and spend hours dotting tiny dots on small canvas boards. Over the last 12 months I have enjoyed sculpting in clay again. 

Making - clay masks, witchetty grubs and gecko's. The gecko's would have to be my favourite to make. 

They come alive in my hands as I sculpt them. I adore watching their cheeky little faces evolve as I sculpt/fire then paint them with acrylic paint.

Everyday my life consists of art. Making, looking and dreaming of artwork. And I am thankful I have been given the chance to live this wonderful life.

I would like to continue to build my shop on Etsy and create new works for our family Gallery. Early next year I hope to have an Art Exhibition with my father, it’s been 8 years since the last one and I am bursting with stories to tell on canvas and in clay.

Dear readers, would you like to explore more of the Raechels lovely creations? Here is how you can connect.

Buy lovely things on Etsy here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RaechelSaunders 

Visit Raechel's website here:

http://www.raechelsaunders.com 

Become a follower on Facebook here: 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Raechel-Saunders-Aboriginal-Fantasy-Art/165995590235884

Ambient Amber - Wednesday Wishes

am·ber 

1. A hard translucent yellow, orange, or brownish-yellow fossil resin, used for making jewelry and other ornamental objects. 

2. A brownish yellow.

source:http://www.thefreedictionary.com/amber

I find the colour Amber so beautiful, it reminds me of liquid honey, autumn leaves and earthy things. The inspiration for todays Wednesday Wishes is simply "Ambient Amber". Enjoy xox

Old amber glass vessel from AlbertandGrace

Czech glass button, Dragonfly, Rich Amber, 31mm from AvedisBeads

Bormioli: Italian amber glass storage jars, set of 6 from ThatRetroPiece

Raw amber Baltic and sterling silver necklace from silvergallerycomau

 

Cimbalom Organic Natural Perfume in a French Bottle; Melodic Notes of Jasmine, Patchouli and Amber from IlluminatedPerfume

Countdowns, Cloud Nine and Cookies

Hello lovely readers, today I will share with you Countdowns, Cloud Nine and Cookies as the topics for my Sunday blogpost. Enjoy x

Countdowns

This weekend saw Triple J Radio celebrate two decades of Hottest 100 Countdowns and asked listeners to vote for their top 20 tracks of the last 20 years - the only catch was that the song must have been released during this period: 1 January 1993 and 31 December 2012. 

An epic 940,000 + votes were lodged and I will share with you now the top 20 songs as voted by the listening public. 

20-The Living End-Prisoner of Society 
19-blink-182-Dammit 
18-Outkast-Hey ya!
17-Silverchair - tomorrow
16-Bon Iver- Skinny Love
15-The Prodigy-Breathe 
14-Mumford and Sons-Little Lion Man 
13-Radiohead-Paranoid Android 
12-Gotye-Hearts a Mess 
11-Queens of the Stone Age-No One Knows 
10-Powderfinger-My Happiness
9-Gotye-Somebody That I Used to Know {Ft. Kimbra} 
8-Powderfinger-These Days 
7-The Killers- Mr Brightside 
6-Foo Fighters – Everlong 
5-The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony 
4-Hilltop Hoods - The Nosebleed Section 
3-Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye 
2-The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army 
1-Oasis - Wonderwall 

If you would like to find out more - check out the Triple J Hottest 100 of the Last 20 Years web page here:
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hottest100/alltime/20years/

Happy 7th Birthday Cloud Nine Spa Chalets!

Maddabling loves Birthdays. The very decadent and super relaxing Cloud Nine Spa Chalets recently turned 7. Hip Hip Hooray!!!! Honestly readers, Shelley and Stan make sure your stay is everything you could wish for. Cloud Nine recently held a competition and up for grabs was a very generous prize; 

Two Nights in the Spa Chalet with a bottle of bubbly and a welcome Nibbly Platter!

Arcadia Spa Chalet 

Maddabling thought she would enter and give the "why do I need a break at Cloud Nine Spa Chalets" in 50 words or less a go. Having stayed at Cloud Nine before gave me a few ideas! (I am also sharing some of the happy snaps I took while I was there with you all too!) Less than 50 words was so much harder than it sounded. Although, when you passionately believe in a product, it does help.

View from the Arcadia Spa Chalet Deck

Maddabling eventually submitted this poem

 (after much rearranging and culling of words) 

"Runaway to forget my troubles, 
Immerse in spa with sparkly bubbles,
Find zen like state with mountain views,
Watch stars twinkle in nighttime hues,
Birdlife is your wake-up call,
Over the seed feeder they do brawl ,
Enjoy all nature has, it’s divine

A break away, please be mine!" 

Pink + Grey Galahs Feeding at the front of the Arcadia Chalet

Maddabling wasn't sure that she really had a chance but really enjoyed the creative challenge. Imagine her surprise when she wistfully picked up her phone just after 10am on Saturday to hear that she had won! 

Oh My Goodness!

A BIG BIG Heartfelt thank you must go to Shelley and Stan, we can't wait to come and stay again AND we wish you + Cloud Nine many more successful years to come! 

Full Moon at Cloud Nine Spa Chalets

Want to find out more about what Cloud Nine Spa Chalets has to offer? 
Check out the Cloud Nine Spa Chalets website here: http://www.cloudninespachalets.com.au
or connect through Facebook here: 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cloud-Nine-Spa-Chalets/123795385126

Looking back towards the Porongurup Ranges from Arcadia Spa Chalet

"C" is for "Cookie"

Who loves cookies?? This is a super easy cookie recipe that you can adapt by adding poppy seeds, lemon or orange peel, choc chips, mixed spice or whatever you like really. My favourite combination is Orange Poppy Seed - just add two tablespoons of Poppy Seeds and the finely chopped zest of one orange to the basic dough mixture. 

Easy Basic Cookie Recipe 

Ingredients (serves 35)

230g butter, softened

110g Caster Sugar

275g Plain Flour

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Cream butter in a large bowl or food mixer until soft. 

Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. 

Sift in the flour and then add whatever flavourings and extras you are using, then bring the mixture together to form a dough. 

Using your hands, roll the dough into walnut-size balls and place them slightly apart on a baking tray. note: baking paper on the tray makes sure the cookies won't stick to the baking tray. 

Flatten the cookies slightly, and bake in the oven for 13-15 minutes or until they are a light golden brown. 

Carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

source: http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/12942/easy-basic-cookie-recipe.aspx

Dear readers, that concludes Countdowns, Cloud Nine and Cookies. See you all on Wednesday for a new Wednesday Wishes blog post xo 

Friday Friends - Australian Artists - SilverGallery.com.au

Hello lovely Maddabling readers, welcome to Friday! Not much to report from Maddabling, we have been a little spoilt in this first week of winter, with lots of sunshine! Do you have much happening this weekend? Maddabling is hoping to test out a new cupcake recipe to share with you all - fingers crossed! 

This week it is my great pleasure to introduce you to the very clever Sylwia from SilverGallery.com.au

I happily stumbled upon Sylwia's beautiful creations while browsing "Amber" on Etsy. I was quite smitten by some of the pieces in her Etsy Store - here are some of my favourites :) One of my favourite things about these creations is they could suit every occasion - from dressing up to dressing down - love! 

I love the icy cool tones in this stunning in Blue Amazonite and Hammered Sterling Silver 

also, these elegant geometric Chrysophase and Sterling Silver earrings 

and last but not least, this gorgeous Raw Amber and Sterling Silver necklace! 

Dear readers, it is time now for me to let Sylwia tell you her story, The Story of SilverGallery.com.au. Have a wonderful weekend readers, see you on Sunday night for the now regular weekend blog post xo

The Story of SilverGallery.com.au

My name is Sylwia, I come from Poland. My whole adult life has been focused at any kinds of designs and handcrafts art forms.

My professional background comes from working in Flower Design and Floral Arrangements. During many years floral adventure in Poland, UK and Ireland, I have establish my way of spatial awareness, colors play, and harmony of similarity and the contrasts. 

Day by day, my floral design passion has found a new way of expression in silver jewellery handcraft and design.

It is difficult, the art of jewellery and I've improved since 2009. I have successfully migrated from Flowers to making jewellery in silver, labradorites, kyanites, and Baltic amber.

My inspiration? I'm still led by my floral background with major influence of natural rough design.

Dear readers, do you want to see more? 

You can buy lovely things on Etsy here: 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/silvergallerycomau

Rainy Days - Wednesday Wishes

Winter is officially here and so are grey skies, cold winds and rainy days. Here's to Rainy Days, the Wednesday Wishlist inspiration for this week xo 

Rainy Day Book Matchbook Notepad from MeagansMark

Rainy Day 12oz Porcelain Travel Tumbler from MosaicodiMangino

Rainy Days 01 - open edition art print from littleblackspot

vintage design RAINY DAY CHICK women's white cotton long sleeve t-shirt from ToTheMoonAndBack

Rainy Day Art Pendant with Ball Chain Necklace from MissingPiecesStudio

Winter Blooms and Chicken Soup

The best thing about blogging is you can prepare posts well in advance. 

Which comes in very handy at times. I present one I prepared earlier - winter blooms and chicken soup. 

Winter Blooms

There is an abundance of bright yellow and orange colour in our garden at the moment, there are the tall flowers - "red hot pokers" - I don't know their correct name; 

pretty pale yellow and orange nasturtiums climbing on the fence and 

our majestic Banksia Menziesi which is now producing beautiful flowers! 

Chicken Soup

Sometimes when one feels unwell, the most wonderful thing is a steamy hot bowl of homemade chicken soup. Try this one out if you don't believe me...

Thai chicken and coconut soup

Ingredients

1-2 tablespoons red curry paste

3 small chicken breasts, trimmed and thinly sliced

4 cups chicken stock

3 cups coconut cream

200g rice vermicelli noodles

coriander sprigs, to serve

bean sprouts, to serve

Method 

Place a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add the curry paste and cook for 1-2 minutes until aromatic.

Add the chicken breast pieces, stock and coconut cream.

Simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add the noodles and cook for 1-2 minutes until soft.

Serve topped with coriander sprigs and bean sprouts.

source: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/16909/thai+chicken+and+coconut+soup

Note: I found that two tablespoons of red curry paste gives a better flavour. 

I also found that the noodles absorb the liquid quite readily and next time will add an extra two cups of stock to the soup base. A welcome garnish of finely julienned carrot, thinly sliced spring onions and thinly sliced chilli also really add to this dish. You could also add some toasted shredded coconut for that extra touch. 

I hope you enjoyed Winter Blooms and Chicken Soup, see you on Wednesday for the next Wednesday Wishes blog post xo