Sunny, Daisy Flower Mixed Media Canvas

We all need some motivation and encouragement, right? This sunny, daisy flower mixed media canvas was created with this in mind.

I love flowers. I love the range of vibrant colours that they burst forth with. I love how a group of them can't help but look cheery and happy. Combine these happy flowers with tones of yellow and green and a tone of happiness is set!

I also believe that we are all created by God for a purpose and that there is a need to stop life from clouding or diminishing this at times. The words that I wrote on the canvas are meant to remind us of our value, to be strong and to proudly do what is required.

Paint is a wonderful medium to work with. I enjoy working with it so much as it offers such freedom in creativity. I love blending colours together and adding textures. I have been inspired by other mixed media artists, of late, and have experimented with new techniques. I have even started an art journal to make the most of trying out these new ideas. In this canvas, I have used bunches of thread as a way to create some extra dimension. I have also used torn magazine pieces as the centre of the flowers.

This canvas is currently available, although I am having a bit of a hiccup listing it in the new shop that I hope to open soon online. 

(Feel free to contact me for more details about this canvas, if you have any questions though).

Thanks for viewing!

~ Jen.

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

Winter gardening and a fabric pendant design

Winter is knocking on the door...

 It is not just the cooler weather, the extra showers of rain, the gusty winds and the muddier boys’ clothes that give it away. It is the greenness and lushness that seems to grow in boldness and be more evident.

We are blessed with room for a garden that we enjoy growing flowers, fruit trees and vegetables in. On the weekend (usually Sunday afternoon) hubby, myself and the boys, all get out into the garden and weed, plant, pick or prune. It is very rewarding to receive delicious, home grown produce for our efforts, whilst the boys are learning a lot about plants and how they grow.

The only drawback, at this time of year, are … the nettles. We know that it is getting cooler and wetter when the nettles seem to pop up and thrive. It also sees us with trousers, jumpers and gloves, making sure that we don’t have any skin exposure so that we don’t get stung by the nasty weeds. All part of gardening, I suppose …

My latest creation uses greens, but more of a spearmint green, rather than leaf green, teamed with bursts of purple. Here is the result …

I had the idea to use my hand painted creations, but rather than use canvas or paper to paint on, instead use fabric. I have managed to turn my paint into fabric paint, by adding a special textile medium to the colours. This makes it more waterproof (but not recommended to swim or bathe in). I like the idea of using reclaimed materials in what I create, hence a lot of the beads and the fabric are reclaimed. I am not totally happy with the top part of this prototype pendant, as it bunches rather a lot. I am making alterations to the design which will hopefully fix this problem. I loved creating this design and will definitely make more.

Thank you for stopping by!

~ Jen. 

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

Getting organised and greeting cards

A couple of weekends ago, we celebrated Mother's Day... 

Twelve months ago, I celebrated my first Mother's Day after what seemed like an epic age of heartache. Then, finally, I became a mother of two (very!) bouncy boys through adoption and my world changed. I now experience a different heartache: a heart aching with love my boys, a heartache when they are sick or upset, a heart aching with worry about problems, a heart aching with pride as I witness their amazing growth. It was a special day for me.

Mother's Day is also a time where I like to remind my mother and mother-in-law how much we all love them. I like researching easy, yet beautiful crafts that the boys and I can create together. However, there is only one problem with this ... I always leave the creation part to the last minute. I don't know how it happens ... I make up my mind what to create early enough and have everything ready, but the 'doing' part seems to happen days before it is due for giving. As it is, our creations are still drying and will be late in the post.

I often feel the temptation to 'pop into the shops', however, my creative streak is strong and the determination to make something personal overrides this. That is why I love handmade items and gifts - they are personal and created with love, whether you have made them yourself or bought from someone who enjoys creating. I love that I can have the help from my boys in creating these gifts and this year they have their hand prints (purposely) stamped with paint on them as a record of their growth in a year. Now, if I can only get myself more organised with birthday gift giving ...

Welcome to my new range of mixed media cards! I wanted a new design - something a bit more abstract and eclectic, however, I wanted to maintain the recycled/reclaimed material element. That is why every card uses a background consisting of a used book page. I initially wanted to add words to the card design, however, it just didn't look right, hence they are created without them. This has become a plus, as these cards are now free to be used for any occasion. Handmade cards are a wonderful way to convey personal greetings, particularly when each card incorporates a unique design.

These cards will soon be added to the store. To view what is currently in store, please click here.

Thanks for viewing!

~ Jen.

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

A Caravan and the Journey of Life

Since meeting my husband, I've seen many new places ...

My husband is originally form the Eastern states of Australia. He moved numerous times in his childhood and it was the nature of his family to travel long distances for holidays and to visit family. My family were very different. Most of our family lived in the same state as ours and we pretty well stayed in South Australia for holidays or visited family within South Australia.

It is quite funny that now that my brother and myself are adults, we both travel a fair bit. My brother, has acquired a job that requires him to travel to various places around Australia and overseas and he is rarely in the one spot. As for me, though my work does not require me to travel, my husband, my boys and myself travel quite a few kilometres to visit family and love exploring new places in Australia and overseas. I, personally, enjoy seeing new sights, new people, new cultures, but also enjoy being back home.

I often relate to life being an adventure - one amazing journey. A journey where we meet new people - people that enrich our lives, pull us up back on our feet, people that change our lives. A journey where events are celebrated and milestones reached. A journey that feels a bit like a roller coaster - with moments of exhilaration and moments that drag us through low valleys of difficulties. 

No matter who we are, we all experience the rise and the fall of life on our journey. These times give us wisdom and a new outlook. It gives an understanding that we all have times when we trudge through dark times and valleys. It gives a realisation that we are needed to support each other, especially through these difficult moments.

I wanted to create a new canvas design that has a 'travelling along life's way' feel, hence the caravan motif. Once again, this canvas uses upcycled materials - old book pages as a base for the background and the caravan and lace for the curtains. It displays an encouraging quote, to remind us to enjoy all the moments of our lives. Of course, each canvas is uniquely and individually crafted where you receive an original product, not a reproduction.With the caravan motif, this canvas would be ideal for travellers, but would also be suitable for a nursery, encouraging the little one to enjoy life's journey.

Thanks for stopping by.

 I would love to hear about a wonderful adventure you have been on or an amazing holiday. Feel free to let me know in the comments.

Enjoy the adventure!

~ Jen

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

Pale Pink and Emerald Green

It's been a while since I have used some pink in my creations. I must say, I like pink in moderation as I am not as fond of combinations that use excessive amounts of pink. Despite this slight aversion to pink, I have made it the base of my colour combination. I didn't want too much pink, therefore I decided to add shades of emerald green to add some coolness to this combination.

The spark of this colour combination was a photo of a door. The photo consisted of a deep emerald green door that was the entrance to a pale pink dwelling. Whether it is the influence of this photo or of the colours themselves, these colours seem welcoming, kind and gentle.

As you can see, I have started making jewellery items using this colour combination. I also have another 'princess' canvas, a 'home' canvas and boat canvas in the pipeline that will reflect this gentle and kind mood.

I can't wait to share more of these items with you. In the meantime, if you would like to view jewellery items in store, please click here.

~ Jen.

A house with character

There is something about houses that intrigues me... I find myself looking in the real estate advertising pages, admiring the quirks and the features of different homes.

After glancing through a craft book, I found adorable, miniature houses. I was then inspired to create my own version of a miniature house, complete with roof and tiny, little windows. Using the artistic, mixed media style that I have adopted, I then transferred that to the pattern I developed to create a unique, miniature house. I just had to have a feature window (the heart) and a removable base to allow a battery operated, tea light candle to be placed in the middle.

I hope to create more of these 'sweet abodes' soon...

Thanks for stopping by!

Wonderful Wednesday - What caught my eye...

Business Card Holder by 'Ina Sudjana'

I came across this lovely business card holder when browsing on madeit.com.au. This seller hand stitches all of their items. I love the colour combination of grey, green and yellow. I love the top stitching and I love the flower embellishment. Crafted to be sturdy and strong, this would be a handy way to keep business cards altogether.

Thanks for viewing!

Wonderful Wednesday - What caught my eye...

I have been browsing madeit.com.au for some items for the home. While I was looking, this gorgeous item caught my eye..

Green Dinosaur Hat by 'Sheri Rose'

This is so cute and perfect for a little one as the cooler weather rolls in or as a photographic prop. This beautifully crafted beanie turns your little one into a dinosaur.

Thanks for viewing!

Monday in the Making

I had an urge to make something in 'green'. I ended up making another monogram canvas. Here is the result:

I loved using different hues of green, but it also has a tiny bit of orange and grey added to the mix. Once again, this canvas uses decoupage, paint, drawing, fabric and textural techniques in its creation.

It would look lovely on a bedroom door or wall of a 'superhero'. Currently available in store - to check out the details, click here.

Thanks for viewing!

Monday in the making

I have enjoyed time to get back into some designing and creating after an extremely busy start to the year.

Lately, I have enjoyed applying my hand to some mixed media projects. These projects have consisted of recycled materials, paint and papers. I have completed a couple of canvases, however, I have applied the same techniques to cards. Here are some that are currently in my madeit.com.au store...

I enjoyed making a set of these cards so much, that I decided to start a 'batch' of cards using a different colour scheme. Here is a sneak peak...

Now to adhere this batch to cards...

Thanks for viewing!

Wonderful Wednesday - Cool

Last Wednesday I wrote a blog post about craving warm, sunny weather... Well, let's just say that I have warmth now in abundance, in fact, maybe a little too much warmth. As I am typing, the temperature read out on my phone states that it is 41.5oC, a little higher than what was forecast for today. The next few days are going to be exactly the same. We live in a lovely, stone home (no airconditioning) that stays cool for a little while, but I gather, by the end of this heatwave, the house would have warmed up considerably.

However, that is the land where I live and I am very grateful for the beauty and peace that it brings. At times, this land experiences scorching heat, but can also have snow on the mountains. It has dry heat down south, whereas up north it is more humid. Sometimes it rains and rains, however at times, rain is sparse.

I suppose that is why I enjoy living in this area. It may experience some pretty cold and wet winters, however, the summer sun is usually not intense. A little coolness would be nice, though...

Hence, this week's inspiration is... cool, using colours that reflect this notion (blue, purple, green)...

Bracelet by 'Escape Jewellery'

This bracelet is gorgeous! Just looking at it reminds me of a tropical beach as the gemstones remind me of the beautiful aqua water. A lovely colour combination, highlighted by the sterling silver.

Crochet Flower Headband by 'Fibre Frenz'

What a sweet headband! I love crochet and I love how the different green tones all work together to create a gorgeous flower headband. A sweet apple button embellishment, as well. Beautiful!

Dyed Wood Bracelet by 'Gumdrop and Drift'

What a unique accessory! I love the hue of blue of these beads. They remind me of cool water drops. Lovely!

Are you feeling cooler?

Thanks for viewing!

Wonderful Wednesday - Green and Gold

With the 2012 London Olympics beginning soon, it's time to prepare to cheer on the athletes representing our country. Go the 'Green and Gold of Australia!'.

Card Holder by 'The Crafty Mummy'

I have just discovered 'The Crafty Mummy' while looking for quality handmade gifts. I have a little something ordered from 'The Crafty Mummy' and her communication is great. This card holder would make a lovely gift, particularly teamed with a gift card from a favourite store.

Upcycled sling bag or clutch by 'Red Tree Designs'

What a great way to recycle materials...make them into stylish accessories! This bag converts to a clutch, so in a way, you have two items in one. I love this bright, mustard colour, teamed with a leather belt strap.

Note set by '3 Girls + a Goat'

Not only is this a beautiful shade of lime green, I absolutely love the texture of the envelopes. The texture is created (embossed) by hand. What a sweet little set!

Satin flower hair clip by 'Rainbows & Whimsy'

I love the ruffled edges of this satin flower ribbon, teamed with the pearl beads in the centre. This would add some class to any ensemble. A simple black dress, with this hair clip and gold bag (possibly a gold belt/sash around the waist) would look very classy.

I hope this inspires you!