Taking Inspiration from around the corner
Lately, I’ve been finding inspiration close to home—right here in Brisbane, Queensland. I’ve been working on a group of designs based on the buildings, landmarks, and wildlife that make up everyday life in my hometown.
Queenslander, Inspires by the beautiful queenslander style houses we see across the leafy & hilly suburbs of Brisbane
One design, called ‘Queenslander’, is inspired by the view you see all over Brisbane: timber houses with tin roofs and big verandahs, nestled into leafy hillsides. They’re such a familiar part of the city, and I wanted to capture that feeling in a playful, hand-drawn way.
Bin Chickens of Brisbane
Another one I’ve been having fun with is ‘Bin Chickens of Brisbane’. It features some of Brisbane’s skyline alongside the much-loved (and sometimes not-so-loved) Australian white ibis. These big birds have really made the city their own—you’ll spot them rummaging in bins all over the parks and streets.
Brisbane Sketchbook page.....
Above is a page from my sketchbook- dreaming up ideas for a possible future tea towel collection!
I’m also working on some designs based on native birds. I’ve shared a few of my early sketches here, and I’ll post more as they come together—follow along on social media to see what they turn into!
Sketchbook Love
Just a few of my sketchbooks
Back to the Sketchbook
Lately, I've realized my sketchbook has been a bit neglected. When life gets busy, it's easy to let sketching slide. But looking back, I see that many of my favorite designs started as simple doodles on those pages. So, I've been making a conscious effort to return to daily sketching. It's a small habit, but it’s fun, and you never know where it might take you...
Writing this post is a reminder to myself of how important it is to spend time sketching and doodling. It also means letting go of perfection. My sketchbooks can look a bit messy, but that's the whole point—to try things out and sketch ideas that can be refined later.
I'll be sharing some recent sketchbook pages, examples of sketches that became finished designs, and a few of my favorite sketching exercises that help me get started and overcome that daunting blank page.
From Sketch to Design
Below I’ve shared a few examples of how sketch becomes a starting point for a finished design……
Aegean Nights Sketchbook to Repeat Design
Bold & Boisterous Flowers, sketch to final design
Nibble & Sip… sketch to final pattern
Sketchbook Exercises
Here are some simple exercises I use to get back into the flow:
Timed Doodles: Set a timer for 10 minutes and draw whatever comes to mind.
Blind Contour Drawing: Draw something (anything)from observation, but don’t look at the page- just the object that you are drawing.
Continuous Line Drawing: Challenge yourself to draw in one continuous line without lifting your pen or pencil from the paper. This is fun to combine with the blind contour technique, & draw without looking at the page. It really enhances observation skills,often with interesting results!
Pattern Play: Create a grid of squares in your sketchbook & fill each one with a different pattern or texture. I like to set a timer for this one, to stop myself from overthinking.
It's important to remember that sketchbooks are a space for exploring and playing, not perfection. Allowing myself to make messy, unpolished sketches trying out different media or techniques allows for unexpected outcomes or happy accidents and for new ideas to happen.
A recent sketchbook page, I wonder what this will become!
I hope you enjoyed this sketchbook focused blog post! Thanks so much for reading. If you'd like to stay in the loop with my latest designs, behind-the-scenes updates, and creative news, I’d love you to sign up for my newsletter — there's a link on my Welcome page.
A Creative Dive into Art Deco Design
My Art Deco inspired ‘Deco Flower’ design
I've recently been working on an Art Deco–inspired group of designs. The initial spark came from a Spoonflower design challenge prompt, which led me down a bit of a Pinterest rabbit hole exploring Art Deco styling. That exploration made me realise it was worth digging a little deeper—not just collecting motifs, but learning more about the history and context of the design movement itself.
above is a screenshot from my ‘Art Deco Love’ Pinterest board. Pinterest is usually my 1st stop to gather inspiration & ideas.
Art Deco, short for the French Arts Décoratifs (decorative arts), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s, just before World War I. It gained widespread popularity across Europe and the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. The style is known for its geometric shapes, clean lines, rich colours, and ornate detailing. Art Deco expressed a sense of luxury and glamour, reflecting the optimism and enthusiasm of the post–World War I era. It combined traditional craftsmanship with the excitement of new technologies and industrialisation. Its influences were broad — from ancient Egyptian and Aztec motifs to traditional Japanese art, Cubism, and the streamlined elegance of modern machines.
The Art Deco aesthetic made its mark across all areas of design, from grand architectural landmarks and sleek automobiles to elegant furniture, graphic design, fashion, and textiles. Its bold, stylised forms continue to inspire artists and designers today — myself included!
Above are pages from my sketchbook.
Here are some of my original Art Deco–inspired designs, developed through the research and sketching process I’ve shared above. The featured design was created using motifs and illustrations straight from my sketchbook.
All of these designs are available through my Artisan Fabrics, Cloth Cuts, and Spoonflower shops — you’ll find links to each on my Contact page.
I hope you enjoyed this little deep dive into Art Deco styling! Thanks so much for reading. If you'd like to stay in the loop with my latest designs, behind-the-scenes updates, and creative news, I’d love you to sign up for my newsletter — there's a link on my Welcome page.
Helping at Lake Gkula Camping A Creative Easter Adventure
During the past school holidays, I was lucky enough to be invited by a creative friend to help out with workshops at the beautiful Lake Gkula Camping at Woodfordia — the home of the famous Woodford Folk Festival — on Jinibara land in the Moreton Bay hinterland region.
Lake Gkula Camping is open during the September and Easter Queensland school holidays, and it’s truly a hidden gem. The bushland site is stunning, with fantastic facilities, and a highlight is swimming in Lake Gkula — a huge, man-made, naturally filtered swimming lake.
Early morning swims were the best — the water was clearest then, and you could spot loads of fish, the occasional turtle, and even (if you were lucky) one of the resident lungfish! There's even a sunken boat with a skeleton resting at the bottom of the deepest part — a little bit spooky and a lot of fun to dive for!
Lake Gkula Camping is like a camping holiday with a Woodford Folk Festival twist.
There’s morning yoga by the lake, creative workshops throughout the day, live music, campfires each evening, and a general store café and bar for food and drinks.
I was invited as a volunteer to help run creative workshops. Over the two weeks of the Easter holidays, we hosted a variety of crafty sessions and family activities:
Scrapbooking Workshop
Attendees created a collaged scrapbook page featuring a polaroid photo taken at the start of the workshop — such a lovely keepsake of their holiday!
Visible Mending Workshop
We taught patching, stitching, and embellishing techniques using salvaged fabrics and simple embroidery stitches. It was all about creatively repairing beloved clothes and keeping them out of landfill.
(The photo on the left shows my own jacket, which I finally repaired after seven years — thanks to a hole made by Dipper when he was a mischievous puppy!)
Family Activities
We also ran some super fun family activities, like a scavenger hunt (sadly I forgot to take photos!) and family games: sack races, obstacle courses, skipping relays, egg and spoon races, and some fiercely competitive parents’ races. It was so much fun seeing families laughing and joining in together!
A huge thank you to Carol and Johanna for inviting me into their creative world at Lake Gkula. It was so much fun to work with them! You can check out their beautiful work below…..
I’m already counting down the days until the September school holidays — can’t wait to return for more lakeside creativity and fun!
Exploring Japan: A Family Adventure
Our family was lucky enough to spend two weeks exploring Japan during the June school holidays. With my husband & our three children aged 15, 17, and 21, Japan proved to be the perfect destination, offering a variety of activities and attractions to keep everyone happy. The mix of history, culture (both old and new), diverse food, and great shopping made it an unforgettable experience.
While my kids were most excited about shopping in Harajuku, Tokyo, and testing out different ramen shops, I eagerly anticipated discovering the beautiful art, design, and particularly textile and pattern design.
Over the two weeks, we visited Tokyo, Takayama, Hiroshima, Osaka, and Kyoto. Traveling between cities on the Shinkansen (bullet train) and using public transport within the cities was incredibly efficient. We managed to pack light with only carry-on bags, making hopping on and off trains much easier.
Tokyo
We spent 5 nights in Tokyo, and with so much to do, you could easily spend a week or more there. Here are some of our highlights:
Shopping & People Watching in Harajuku: Takeshita Street is famous and very busy, perfect for soaking in the vibrant atmosphere. We also checked out some unique pet cafes, including a Cat cafe and a Mini Pig cafe!
Meji Jingu Shrine: Just a short walk from the bustling Harajuku area, this beautiful Shinto shrine is surrounded by a large forested area, offering a peaceful retreat.
Shopping in Ginza: The Muji Flagship store in Ginza was a delight, and I stocked up on Muji sketchbooks. Tokyo’s largest stationary store, Itoya Ginza, is definitely worth a visit for anyone who loves stationery.
Tokyo DisneySea: This was our first visit to a Disney park, and we loved the immersive rides. I was particularly fascinated by how Japanese young women dressed up in funky and creative outfits for their visit. I would recommend getting there early and perhaps purchasing an express pass (we did not).
Tokyo National Museum: I was keen to see some Japanese art, so I took a trip to the Tokyo National Museum. They have a great collection of paintings and woodcuts. I loved the beautiful kimono collection and the Samurai armor.
Takayama
Takayama is a historic city in the central Alps, famous for sake making, local Hida beef, and artisan wood crafts. It was a lovely change of pace from Tokyo with a quieter, smaller town feel, easy to explore on foot. The old town district is beautiful, with small streets filled with restaurants, shops, and traditional wooden houses dating back to the Edo period. We enjoyed spending a couple of hours strolling around the morning riverside markets, with lots of food stalls and some local crafts. Espresso in cookie cups with bunny art was a favorite.
We also took a day trip to Shirakawa-go, a traditional village featuring ‘gassho-zukuri’ style houses with distinctively steeply sloping roofs. The tiny streams that crisscrossed the village, filled with colorful koi and the backdrop of mountains, made it seem like a scene from a picture book.
Hiroshima
Beautiful train ride through the mountains from Takayama to Nagoya & then the Shinkansen to Hiroshima. We had just 2 days in Hiroshima, The first place we visited was the Hiroshima Peace Museum,a powerful and moving museum displaying photos, personal stories & belongings of the victims of the devastating atomic bombing. A somber & sometimes confronting museum, but an important one to visit. On our 2nd day we visited Miyajima Island, famous for Itsukushima Jinga, a huge red shrine that rises out of the water.
Osaka
I loved the energy and vibrancy of Osaka. We stayed close to the Dotombori district, a colorful area packed with small streets and alleyways filled with tiny restaurants and bars. Osaka is famous for its huge variety of food and also for being a little more laid back than Tokyo. We did manage some family touristy things in Osaka; we visited the aquarium, Asia’s largest apparently, and we also spent a day at Universal Studios. Osaka is also great for shopping. We especially enjoyed vintage shopping in the Amerika-mura district.
Kyoto
A short train ride from Osaka to Kyoto brought us to a city filled with temples, shrines, and traditional wooden architecture. The Kiyomizudera temple (Pure Water temple) was stunning, perched on a forested hillside overlooking the city. We visited the Instagram-famous bamboo forest and fed the monkeys at the nearby Iwatayama Monkey Park. The highlight for me was walking through the red gates of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Thousands of vermillion torii gates line the trails along the side of the sacred Mount Inari. We visited on a rainy day, which I think only added to its otherworldly air.
Japan is a fantastic and fun location for a family holiday, but it is also filled with inspiration for artists and designers. The traditional patterns on kimonos, the stylized brush painting, and the intricate woodblock prints are mesmerizing. The simple and elegant lines of traditional architecture alongside modern buildings provide a beautiful contrast. I took a sketchbook with me on the trip, but I only managed to fill a couple of pages. However, I did take lots of photos (still unorganized), which I have been looking at for inspiration for sketchbook drawings and hopefully a future design group. Look out for a possible ‘Kimono Flower’ or ‘Osaka Street Lights’ pattern group in the near future!
The Joy of a Creative Challenge
It’s often hard to make time to be creative. Somehow in the busyness of our daily lives we often don’t allow ourselves time to just sketch or doodle in a sketchbook. It feels almost indulgent to take 30, or even just 15 minutes to draw, paint or journal just for the sake if it.
Over the last couple of months I have been making it a priority to sketch daily, sometimes I miss a day or two, but thats ok, I just start again the next day.
A great (and fun) way to encourage daily creativity is to sign up to an online creative challenge. I just recently completed the Make it in Design(@makeitindesign) ‘7 day florals challenge’. The format is simple, every day for 1 week we are given a different flower to draw or paint in your own style. You then share your artwork on Instagram & tag it #7dayfloralschallenge . It’s a great way to connnect with other creatives & super fun to see all of the different styles & approaches of the many other artists that participated in the challenge.
Beautiful Minjerribah
Here in Brisbane we are very fortunate to be close to so many beautiful natural places within a couple of hours from home. Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island) is a large sand island just off the coast & a short 45 minute ferry ride away.It is the ancestral home of the Quandamooka people. Apparently Minjerribah means ‘place of many mosquitoes’ in the local Quandamooka language. Here are some photos from our recent camping trip there. Thankfully there weren’t too many mosquitoes, & yes, I did take my sketchbook.
