*happy halloween!

It's finally Halloween!! Not that we celebrate it much here in Australia, especially like we used to back in the States, but that's ok. Yesterday I saw quite a few kids dressed up with capes and green scary faces walking to the Primary School next door... There is hope yet!!

Last weekend we had the 1st Annual Pumpkin Carving Party - good times! Jacob, Duncan and I went early to the Vic Markets to find any orange pumpkins we could... $35 and $20 later, we had two. We then vowed to never spend that much on pumpkins again, save the seeds and grow our own for next year. I excited to find two pumpkins, but the cost of them was quite a buzz kill. 

My Martha Stewart Decor. They turned out ok. The Pumpkin was a little to on the large size - but the cat and owl came out as good as I could have expected! Yay for glue guns!!

Let the carving begin!!!

Jacob and Erin

Pumpkin Guts!! Ewwww!

Tim and Bryan

And finally!!! The Finished Pumpkins!! Bad spirits - Be Gone!!

Erin and Jay's pumpkins

Bryan's and my pumpkins

Bootsy Pumpkin by Duncan and another by Erin

Jacob and Erin's

Julie and Jo's lovely anime lady ;)

Tim's 12kg grey pumpkin. Even without the guts, it's still heavy as!!

Happy Halloween!!!

xo

*personality colour quiz

Mmmmm. Quizzes! Check out this colour quiz found via How about Orange (love her blog!!!!!)

Pales colours inside are for sure my thing. My lounge room at my last apartment before I moved in with my hubby, was mostly white, black, tan and reds. Black and white images framed with white matts and black frames, and another set of images in white frames....

The more I started putting my own images into my space, the more colour seems to creep in. Now I live in a house that is mostly beige and browns, but the lounge room has these bright cobalt blue couches and more colourful painting on the walls. I like to think that I am growing in my appreciation of colour.Bring it on!!!!

*more seaport photos

Hi hi!

I've just posted a few more prints on Etsy.

Sometimes, I really miss Connecticut. There is this amazing history that just seeps through the ground, into your toes and through your fingertips. Everything you touch has a story of at least one hundred years. The colonial way of life burns bright in the sunshine. The mysteries of those lives lost in wars and lost out to sea lurk in dark cemetaries and the dark corners of your mind.

xo

*what's hot & not

I've given in to Loobylu's blog!!

What's Hot :

New yummy fabrics purchased from Dancing Queen and zippers a-plenty!

Aida finally getting a Holga! And me getting to photograph her new exhibition opening at 696! Woohoo! I'm such a good sponsor ;)

Pumpkin carving - Thanks to everyone that came Saturday night to the First Annual van Hulst Pumkpin Carving Night. I'll upload photos very soon! I promise! There was heaps of pumkpin guts everywhere and spooky glowing faces sitting on the porch... Good times!

Erin and Duncan's quickest portrait session ever! Seriously it took less than ten minutes. Sweet!

What's Not :

Realising that I missed the gallery opening for Sarah Louise Jackson at Obscura Gallery. I will get there soon! Fingers crossed!!

Allergies.

Racism on Public Tranport. Seriously. Bad news.

True Blood Season 3 isn't on until June 2010????? Very Not! Argh! Withdrawls!

*DIY Inspiration - Tank Top Totes

Love love love this!!

I'm always inspired to reconstruct old things. So of course, I'm totally curious and cannot wait to make this! I just have to finally go through my old clothes and singlets for something to convert.... That's the toughest part.

The full tutorial is here.

Thanks Craftynest for the inspiring bit and pieces :)

xo

*upcoming exhibition - aida sabic

Aida has some new lovely work...
I'm photographing the opening night, so hopefully I'll see you there!!

xo

*saturday's tempting find

Sooooooo tempting!! It's so cute! Lovely lovely lovely! All it needs is a wicker basket on the front :D

xo

*lobster pirates at mystic seaport

Prints available on Etsy

This past weekend I was able to sit down and go over quite a few images that I've been dying to do something with...

I tackled images I photographed back in 2008... Ages ago now! I went with Jacob, my parents and his mum, visiting from NZ, (when we were in the US) to Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. I love it there! Apparently (I've never seen it but..) my Great Great Grandfather has his boat in storage there.

The story goes a little something like this...

Levi Jackson, 32, fisherman, helped to save William H. Haskell, 46, sea captain; Ida M. Haskell, 34, and 12 others from drowning, Edgartown, Massachusetts, January 23, 1910. In a very rough and treacherous sea following a heavy storm, Captain Jackson and a crew of four men went in the "Priscilla," a small fishing boat, to a disabled schooner that had grounded on a shoal in the Atlantic Ocean four miles from shore. The "Priscilla," after careful manoeuvring, was brought in the lee of the schooner and anchored, and three of the crew, each with a 17-foot dory, made trips to the wreck and rescued its occupants, one at a time. Great difficulty was experienced in effecting the rescues on account of the waves that swept over the wreck, but after two hours’ work, under Jackson’s direction, all were gotten aboard his boat. The "Priscilla" had to make a trip of 13 miles, part of the way through very heavy seas, to reach Edgartown, a huge wave at one time nearly filling the boat.

I found this on the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission website. What's funny, is I vaguely remember hearing bits and pieces of it when I was growing up, but no that I am older, I really understand why it was so important. Go Grampa Jackson!

So anyway, I was so happy to really forge through the images. I feel really appreciative that I had such a cool up-bringing like that. Sea Captains, Lobster Pirates, and Mermaids trapped in seaweed. Ghosts of the wives of men lost at sea, sad and alone, haunting the homes and widows peaks on the rocky coastline, awaiting their lovers’ return.

x

*new bits and piece { Melbourne Children's Portrait Photography }

Hey hey!!

So - some new bits and pieces for Portrait sessions!!!

I'll be adding new and fabulous products as time goes on, and if anyone has any particular requests - leave a comment! :)


*Storyboards
This is one of the best ways to display your favorite images from your portrait session. Each one is custom designed and depending on the size chosen, you can pick out 3-6 images to be displayed.

Below are a couple 10 x 20 inch Storyboards. These normally come mounted and ready to hang. You can also have them unmounted if you plan on having them framed.

Other sizes available (in inches) - 5x30, 10x10, 10x20, 10x30 30x30, 40x40. If you have a specific size in mind, let me know. Storyboards begin at $230.


*Fine Art Canvas
I've seen so many versions of these in the past few years... but I still go back to the traditional process. I love these. These are made from actual photographic prints and then the emulsion is heat pressed into the raw canvas. (In my personal opinion, this is much nicer and truer than the regular inkjet prints that you see nowadays - go the old school photographic ways!!!) The canvas is then put onto a stretcher with DRings and hanging wire.

Sizes for Canvases (in inches) - 5x7, 8x10, 10x10 and standard sizes up to 40x60. Canvas Prints begin at $300.


*Gift Vouchers
I'll have some images of these soon, but Gift Vouchers are always available for Portrait Sessions and Wedding Services.Email me for more details.

xo

*good advice...

via theloveshop on Etsy

xo

*pumpkin carving and cats

One more week until our pumpkin carving party!!! It's the first annual in the van Hulst family with hopefully many more to come!

Of course, here in Australia, those lovely big orange pumpkins are very hard to come by. We did however find some really lovely pale green/grey pumpkins with a similar shape. And we always have the option of doing some awesome carvings with butternut squashes and such... Time to get creative!!

Also, I received an email from my mum this morning. Our cat, Lucy, passed last Tuesday. :( She was such a gorgeous little girl. We got her and her sister, Ethel, when they were tiny kittens, back when I was just going into High School. Ethel disappeared after a couple years, maybe less - she liked her indepence and kitty kat freedom. But Lucy always stuck around, even after moving to a new house. She was mainly an outside cat except for the few times I was able to sneak her into the house for a short time - Sorry Mom! She had mostly white fur with a random splatter of red and black splotches, a black nose, and one side of her bum was black as well. She was adorable.
Just recently, in the last few years, she stayed outside in the cold for too long and the tips of her ears were frostbitten and soon fell off... despite the horridness of this, she looked cute with her little round ears - like a teddy bear. She was lovey with everyone and always enjoyed the head scratches and the big back pats.

My mom was there with her when she passed, which must have taken so much courage for her. And a lot of allergy meds, but you do what's important in those times.

Lucy was just about to turn 20. I can only imagine the amount of kitty adventures she had in her 140 cat years... She will be deeply deeply and dearly missed.

Love you Lucy! xoxo

*my image made an Etsy Treasury!

Thanks to Vicki! She was nice enough to include one of my photos for sale on a collection of hers.

Thanks!!
xo

*the time traveler's wife

I'm so hooked on this book. The last week or so - the trains have been running a little late and I don't care! I have more time to read this! I'm only about half way through it, so nobody spoil it for me!

Last night Jacob mentioned they made a movie based on it... I'm so tempted to watch the trailer, but I can't even watch it yet! Argh! The drama!!

Anyway, I'm not gonig to recommend it quite yet - for some reason I read what start out to be lovely books and end on a disappointment. So we'll see :)

xo

*an idea to lorve!

I'm all about recycling things into new... I used to make envelopes out of old used out of date maps. But I love this idea!!

From How About Orange...



Check out the whole tutorial here - and be sure to check out her fabrics!!

x

*today inspiration

Just some stunning beauty, some beautiful lighting and outfits I wish I could have.






x

*new sets of images

Hi Hi!!

I'm begining to fall in love with doing sets of images. It's just a nice feeling of completion to get 3 that work really well together. *Makes me happy!

Prints available here on Etsy...

Prints available on Etsy...

Also, just a quick note - Thanks to Alice Buscombe for the lovely pink flower in the photos above!! She has a photographic exhibition Through Scape at the Meeniyan Art Gallery - Access Gallery from the 26th of September to the 2nd of Novemeber.

x