here comes easter..

So.. as an older sibling you kinda get the short end of the stick sometimes.. I wouldn't know from first hand experience as the youngest of two, but it sort of seems that way when I look at lil Lell. Easter is just around the corner so why not get the food colouring out and sneak in some easter egg painting I think to myself.. and then shortly after that... laugh at myself... as I look at my very very red hands..

Lil Lell had a ball though.. after almost exploding from trying to blow the guts out of the eggs.. she made a gorgeous little set... love you Lell..

ok... so i may have jinxed myself..

So I said it would be a month of madness.. but kind of hoped it would be a productive type of madness not one spending a night in emergency with my little man who is having difficulty breathing. It seems Zaccy is taking after his dad in the health department as a baby and when we arrive at emergency in our hospital the nurses greet us with "so we meet again.. looking gorgeous as always Zac.. what can we do for you today.."

It was a quick 6 hour visit this time.. but it still meant that I only just beat the sun home and got a total of 45 minutes sleep. So simply said.. production levels of any kind were at the lowest low and with Easter creeping up and Zaccy's birthday the weekend after, I think production is being put on hold..

Happy to say that our little man is responding to ventolin and breathing well again..

loving mr mushroom..

Printed some gorgeous fabrics last night.. pic to come soon..

Just thought I'd excuse myself for the next month or so from the facebook and blog world as I take over my shed and turn it into a little studio.. this unpacking and packing up around kids is proving faar too time consuming and I so need a workspace after Zaccy took over mine almost a year ago..

As I create my little space I will try to do a few posts of the transformation of the currently very run down shed at the end of our block..

Have Fun!!

the month of madness..

I thought once christmas was over for the year, it would all calm down around here for a while.. well.. with continuous sicknesses, the big boy taking on a couple enormous projects, me itching to get at creating for kasiabear kids, easter approaching, zaccy's first birthday creeping up and now me wanting to take over the shed so that I can have a little studio.. its madness here again.. but good madness.. its just a little tiring is all..


Feeling a lot better now that I have quickly put together Zaccy's invite... ready to print and post tomorrow...

off to see some beautiful cars...

soooo extremely excited.. going to check out some gorgeous cars tomorrow with my little girl... new t-shirt designs here we come.. "sorry zaccy.. you'll have to wait till next year". loving some of these flyers too...

a little sneak peak.. cushion covers...

It's pretty straight forward.. I love cushions.. and therefore love cushion covers..

Here is a little one I made today inbetween hanging out with my little guy.. washing.. cleaning.. cooking and taking Ella to a Wizzy Wizard birthday party...

front of the cushion.. 

front detail..

back of the cushion..

another gorgeous quote...

a little giveaway for a green t.. which one will it be..

As a little thank you to all my new facebook friends and fans and also my blog followers, I'd like to give away a little size 4 green t-shirt I printed last night, but I'd like you guys to pick the design which will be given away.. so here goes..


These are the two designs.. printed on exactly the same t-shirt style and size.. being size 4, and both printed in purple on a lime green t-shirt.. 'my trike' & 'my little flower garden'..

Soooo... what to do to be in the running to win one of these t-shirts...

• vote which t-shirt you would prefer on the poll on this blog
• follow this blog
• facebook, blog or tweet about this givaway
• become a fan of kasiabear on facebook

So.. get voting as the t-shirt with the most votes will be the one given away.. 

(please leave a separate comment on this blog for each entry)

Giveaway ends and will be drawn on March 31st, 2010. International entries are welcome. 

strawberry with a cherry on top please...

Here we go.. feel a lot better now.. a couple of girlie designs done.. now I can focus on the planes, trains and automobiles...

and the paint doesn't stop here..

here is a little painting by zaccy zac... can't overlook his creative side..

ella's latest artworks..

We've been a bit busy in the art department.. both with me working on designs for kasiabear kids and teaching Ella bits and bobs... she got some awesome art materials from santa and I'm not entirely sure who has been enjoying them more.. her or me...

loving geomag..

Ok.. I haven't done a post on toys lately and I'm loving these little guys that I got for my little Zaccy for Christmas... They are called GeoMag and are magnetic little shapes that you can build with etc.. they have a softer than normal white plastic section that the little guy loves chewing on and it also makes them somewhat quieter on the floorboards than most of the other plastic toys in our house..

but the best thing about these.. is that they live on the fridge.. soooo easy to clean up and put away :o) gotta love that!!

my mushrooms...

My little princess has been feeling a little left out each time I do a design.. so I had to do something girly for her... can't wait to print these on wednesday...

delicious ambiguity...

my jeep...

Had a kid free and husband free outing last night... very nice and rejuvenating mentally... but feeling a bit sleep deprived today.. oops..

anyhow... here is my next design.. inspired by last night..

I loooove jeeps..

a little fundraiser for a beautiful family..

A little while back we received a letter from my kids childcare centre informing us of a change of management.. reason being is that one of the beautiful girls who worked in the office was diagnosed with leukemia... me being ignorant and not really knowing much about the illness googled it and realised just how serious it really was and how much of an impact this will have on this little family.. Even closer to my heart was the fact that this ladies little girl is in my daughters room and I know her very well..

From the moment we stepped into this childcare centre to check it out I felt at home and put Ella on the books straight away. Its a wonderful family atmosphere and I love it for so many different reasons.. and even more so now when I found out that parents are donating goods to be sold at the centre to raise money for this beautiful family...

I wanted to add to this wonderful gesture and make some little t-shirts.. so here are the first four.. printed, washed 3 times just to make sure they're good and durable and ready to be delivered on Monday..

where has this week gone..

Ok.. this week has literally disappeared.. I got a fair bit done.. but it just went. My head has either been stuck in the computer trying to source a whole assortment of things for kasiabear kids or I've been mum.

My little girl turned 3 this week so there has been back to back celebrations including her family and friends party at a local park on Sunday, a day with mum on Monday which included shopping for all her mum's group pal's birthday presents (as they all turned 3 around the same time), chocolate doughnuts, visit to the pet shop and continuation of present unwrapping.. Then Tuesday was a joint birthday party for all the 1st generation mum's group kids at our place.. and more present unwrapping then dancing class... ok... understanding where the week went now..

I've had a ball setting up kasiabear kids.. on facebook, etsy and madeit and also starting on a couple of custom projects.. even better still.. I'm on this journey in parallel with one of my best friends from my high school days who now lives in Melbourne. Shan is also in the process of setting up a little handmade business called Missy Melly. It's really cool as we both have the same taste.. and are in the process of doing  the same thing in two different cities.. but funnily enough.. our ideas are very different. She's a mum of twin girls and is going on the gorgeous girly path and I'm taking the fun yet graphic approach with more of a focus on boys... check out her website which is now up and running.. Missy Melly.. ooooh.. and there is a giveaway happening at the moment for some gorgeous clips.. Love ya Shan and loving this little journey with you :o)

just because...

the first t-shirt order has been placed...

I'm so excited to share this little bit of info.. it took a little while as there were so many fun colours to choose from and sad to say... I couldn't have them all.. The choice was hard but I managed to limit myself to 6 colours which I will be very excited to see in real life when they arrive early next week..

I am currently testing out colour combinations, washability and wear of the paints and fabric I have chosen to work with and hoping to have some fun designs in my shop soon.. It's a bit of a long process, but I want to make sure that all of my items are durable and can handle a bit of rough treatment by their little owners..

So share in the fun of this little journey with me.. I love comments.. I love feedback and I'd love to hear of any designs you always wished you could have on a t-shirt for your little one and just never found..

my little girl is turning three..

It almost seems surreal that three years ago I was heavily pregnant and only one night away from becoming a mother. Its 9pm and my husband's out working late and I have managed to put both my monkeys to sleep and have a small army of cupcakes and a gorgeous butterfly cake decorated for my little angels 3rd birthday party tomorrow..


Ella just stirred, much like she does many times, each and every night, and although running on less than three hours of sleep I didn't fall asleep next to her as I do most nights when I resettle her. All those memories of her birth came rushing back to me and I felt so amazingly blessed to have her in my life. I thank you from the bottom of my heart my little angel for coming into my life!!


I had an amazing pregnancy with her, an amazing babyhood and toddler years, and to me she is really turning into a little girl now. Her vocab is absolutely astounding and our daily conversations endlessly put a smile on my face.


This little girl has changed my life more than I could have ever dreamed. Don't get me wrong.. she is a shocking sleeper and I cannot remember when I had a full night sleep since her birth, she is so incredibly time consuming and drives me up the wall with her stubbornness at times.. but there is something she has done for me that no one ever has. She has softened me up, made me feel strong and made me feel alive. She has indirectly encouraged me to live my life to the fullest, to stop and smell the roses, to love all the little things in life again. Ella has given me the strength to follow my dreams as a designer and showed me how to have fun again.. and she has certainly taught me how not to take life so seriously.


As your dad and I promised you on your naming day.. I promise again that..

• We will nurture you in a loving and caring environment, so that you grow into a kind, considerate, empathetic person.
• We will help you to seek and gain knowledge, ensuring that you learn to make educated choices and good decisions for your future.
• We will support you in your endeavours, allowing you the confidence to take on and complete anything you wish.
• We will provide you with a balanced lifestyle, ensuring that you appreciate all that life has to offer, family, friends and fun.
• We will provide you with the tools that you need to become the best possible person you can be, both personally and professionally.
• We will give you respect and understanding as you go forth in the world, so that you can do the same for others.
• We will not influence you with any prejudices or preconceived ideas that we have, so your future is not hindered by our past.
• We will ensure you understand that the more effort you put into your life, the more you will receive in life

I love you my little angel more than I can ever explain in words.. after all I am a photographer and I think in photographs not words.. happy birthday my darling!! may each day bring you the happiness you have bought me and my you follow your dreams without once being hindered by other peoples opinions.. you can be an astronaut if you so desire.. and don't ever let anyone tell you differently.. 

I love you!!

the first singlet sample is printed.. 'my trike'

Had a great time last night trying out the 'my trike' stencil.. it printed beautifully on paper but its a little delicate for fabric. I'm in the process of 'toughening' it up a little and then re-cut.

my little man modeling.. 

i so wish i could speak french right now..

i have just stumbled onto the sweetest blog.. 

les fifoles

it's french and i cannot comprehend a word but just adore the images.. 

here are some of my faves.. 

stunning photographs..

papier mache blog.. wow!!

some great red finds on etsy..

so cool.. loving these save the date cards that are popping up everywhere.. 

this one's by permetpat

gorgeous fabric by spin spin

such a great canvas.. look wise and the statement it makes.. gee zees

love this print by red letter words

a little quote for the day..

shopping adventure...

Had a great day shopping on Friday for art supplies... I hadn't stepped into some of these art shops since my last exhibition 6 years ago, and some since my days at uni. I started a screen printing course this week, to refresh myself on all the in and outs of the process.. If I hadn't already mentioned, I'm in the process of setting up a little business 'kasiabear kids' making simple, fun clothing and accessories for kids. You can check out more details on my other blog.

I hadn't really done anything creative since leaving official employment over a year ago to have my second bub, and even then, I had been at this job for so long, that what I did do just seemed like a production line of designs that I really had not a great deal of control over.

I'm loving being creative again, its refreshed me more than I could have ever imagined, and the freedom that comes with working for yourself is so comforting. I can create designs and not have to ask anyone for approval. I know that when I do a design it's my own and hasn't been influenced by someone's limiting brief.

Loving life at the moment, even though my little family is plodding through another round of sicknesses.. I feel alive again..

first t-shirt design is almost complete..

Had so much fun today creating this little image while the little man slept.. thanks Zaccy!! This one's for you... a little more fine tuning but it's almost there..

This image was originally inspired by a little trike I picked up on hard rubbish a couple of years ago.. one of our friends is in the process of fixing it up and painting it up for our little guy.. cant wait to see the finished product and cant wait to see him riding it wearing a little red 't' with this image printed on it..

Now the hard part.. sourcing a good supplier of funky t-shirts.. all I seem to be able to find is US based companies that do not ship to Australia.. hmmmm...

planes.. bikes.. cars..

working on some designs for t-shirts..
planes... bikes... cars...
cant decide where to start...

sticky tape... who would have thought..

i'm in love.. and with sticky tape of all things in the world.. its by a UK paper artist Rob Ryan.. now to get my hands on it somehow..

found this little beauty on the inside out blog..

back to school for me tomorrow...

I'm very excited about my first screen printing class tomorrow... I haven't done screen printing in so many years it feels like I am starting from scratch again. My little guy has been quite sick lately so there hasn't been much happening in the world of kasiabear kids.. but I am learning to work around a little one at home all the time again.

the once wine rack..

My little man has been pretty sick lately and has had a lot of time with mum to himself.. me being me and not being able to sit still and always needing to be productive in some sort of way, have cleaned out and resorted almost all of the little guys toys... Zaccy has loved helping me out, which has made it so much more fun for me... so we get to play and I get to be productive at the same time.

When my daughter became mobile two and a half years ago, our wine rack had to be cleared of all wine bottles and sat empty for a little while collecting dust.. until one day Ella popped one of her small toys in one of the holes.. Genius!!!

The once wine rack soon became a toy storage facility with lots of little compartments. The slots are quite deep and can actually fit a lot of little toys in them, meaning a small collection of toys can be kept together, such as the family of turtles or soft chickens or rubber ducks. The kids love it as they can put things in the little holes and take them out as they please, and for us its nice and easy for the evening pickup of toys as we don't have to lug everything back to their rooms.

So this little area was one we tackled the other day.. I thought I'd share this little idea as everyone that visits us looooves it, and so do we :o)

valentines..

Another year.. another valentines.. not that we really celebrate the occasion at our place, but its a beautiful day, beautiful concept.. especially for those that have just fallen in love and starting the journey with someone new... wishing everyone a full year, a full life of valentines. may each and every day of your lives be celebrated as it valentines day!!!

Its a little early but we have a big day on Sunday as my little guy is getting christened so I thought I would drop this in while I have a few spare seconds in between preparations... 

happy valentines..

wishing you all a day full of love, laughter and fun... may the rest of your life be celebrated as if its valentines day!!