Lessons in light

'Be still' is Kim Klassen's mantra in her My Still Sunday Class, a 16 week online still life photographic course.   Kim invites you at the start to make time for yourself, by possibly giving up something else in your life, even if only for a while. She guides you through the process of taking photographs and examining how light falls on objects, using either a mobile phone, or a DSLR. 

Kim's photographic style is gentle, soothing and moody and transports you to a quiet place of contemplation and peacefulness. You want to be in her photos, body and soul. Visit her website and her @kimklassen IG  feed to see exactly what I mean.

I heartily recommend Kim's photographic course. It is self-paced and you can dip back in at any time. 

As you head into a new week, I'd love to hear about who your photographic gurus are!

Have a good one.

Claudia x

For the exercise 'one thing, three ways' on Steller Stories. 

Perfectly imperfect

Finding beauty in the imperfect can be liberating. For some thoughtful musings on perfection in the imperfection in art and life, visit the Pachamma blog that eloquently explains philosophies in Japanese art and how to embrace the imperfect. This concept really resonates with me, so when I encountered Amanda Holland's Perfectly Imperfect living website, it gelled and provided the catalyst for a collaboration

Amanda @smallacornsamanda, who owns Small Acorns  and is the judge for #theperfectlyimpefectseries IG competition, has made her selection. From her blog and IG posts I know how Amanda loves flowers and the rustic, so it's not surprising to see that her selected winner and  four special mentions all have botanicals and a vintage vibe as a theme. 

Drum roll please .... our winner is: @jannelford Well done Janne, it is a beautiful capture and a picture of simplicity.

Amanda says of Janne's photo

"I adore everything about this image - the beautiful magnolia branch in the rustic, simple bucket; the fact that it’s still flowering, but also dropping from the branch at the same time; the chippy tabletop; the lovely handmade bowl adding a little contemporary freshness into the vintage mix. A little pink and the soft light. Simple, and perfectly imperfect all at the same time." 

Some special mentions go to the following entries in no particular order:

@lizmorgan
"I love the contrast between the appealingly rusty tins and the lush freshness of the just picked basil. Perfectly imperfect on every level."

@traceyc1968

"What’s not to love about a huge huge bunch of blush pink roses that are just on the turn - that point where the petals drop but still look plump and soft, and the fragrance is intoxicating. Nature at her perfectly imperfect best."

@petiteharvest

"I love using vintage items in unexpected ways, and using wonderful old trophies as vases gives them a whole new lease of life. And the hydrangeas are that gorgeous green and just on the fringe of perfect - not yet dry, but no longer lush either. Beautiful!"

@mysuburbanfarm

"The beautiful mood captured is stunning; I adore the hydrangeas which have the perfect antique feel to go with the old zinc wash basin, and the wooden spool of torn linen is magical. Truly beautiful."

Thank you all for your entries and playing along and a huge thanks to Amanda for judging and providing the lovely prize(s!). Until next time, see on Instagram. Claudia x

Perfectly imperfect - the perfect IG forager's challenge

My featured creative collab for my next series challenge is someone who has an eye for colour and form and owns the most delightful interiors shop in Wellington, New Zealand, called Small Acorns - A Contemporary Living store. 

Amanda Holland, who owns the store and offers interior design services, describes her shop as being "like your favourite lifestyle magazine in a store". How inviting is that! 

Wellington itself is a charming small city cradled in a bay and hugged by a crescent of hills, so if you are visiting the region, take some time to drop by Amanda's store (located near the waterfront) and say hello! If you can't make it there physically, pop over to  her website Small Acorns  and have a look at her lovely sourced objects.

I am totally inspired by Amanda's eye for colour. To see exactly what I mean, simply visit her blog Perfectly Imperfect Living, Instagram feed or her Facebook page.So in love with colour and flowers, Amanda also has a way with words, a combination that makes me actively seek out her blog posts in my inbox. 

If you sIgn up to Amanda's Perfectly Imperfect Living newsletter you'll get a (free!) download of Amanda's e-guide "Five Ideas To Style a Perfectly Imperfect Home”. So hurry on over.

You can understand why I am excited that Amanda is sponsoring the adi & bert IC challenge this month, and it's a whopper of a prize!

On the premise that perfectly imperfect living is a mix of something old, something new, something chippy, something hue, the prize includes -

+ A beautiful Katherine Smyth bowl - handmade, individual and made in Wellington, New Zealand
+ A Bonnie and Neil handscreened tea towel, botanical design, gorgeous colour. (Made in Australia but Bonnie is of course a kiwi from Southland!)
+ Raffia pompom - quirky and fun to hang or tie
+ 'The Observers Guide to Wild Flowers' - every foragers must have, and vintage of course.
+ Some NZ souvenir vintage spoons.
+ Some original cardboard milk bottle tops - 1940 ish.
+ A handmade fantail (piwakawaka) fabric bird made from Designers Guild linen. No two alike!
+ Plus cards, photos etc.

To be in to win ALL of this, join in our IG Challlenge! 

On Instagram:

1. Follow @smallacornsamanda & @adiandbert 

2. Tag a friend & invite to join

3. Post a NEW pic featuring anything perfectly imperfect to #theperfectlyimperfectseries

Comp is open worldwide (!) and closes midnight on Valentines Day, 14 February. 

Amanda will judge the winner!

Look forward to seeing your lovely foraged items displayed and photographed in a perfectly imperfect style. 

- Claudia x

Kitchen greens

I am blessed to have a garden to grow things, but if I didn't have herbs on my kitchen window ledge I would not use them in dishes nearly as much as I do. 

Herbs are like prepositions that bring dishes together. They are great for salads and garnishing and an inexpensive way to decorate simple food. In summer, basil is my go-to herb for salads and Italian dishes, like pasta and pizza. I recently tried growing thyme which looks luscious and is a great accompaniment to potato dishes  I also keep chives handy to cut up into little hyphens over salads and to decorate dishes.

Sometimes positioning herbs in the kitchen can be a problem. The window ledge may be too hot or plants may not receive enough light. 

Have you ever thought about being a little 'shelf-ish' and putting up a little shelf just for your herbs? This way you can position them in the right spot. They need good light, but be vigilant of your plants if they get direct sunlight through glass which can get super hot. In the summer months, check the soil for dryness daily.

My favourite herbs are basil and flat leaf parsley. I do have to dash into the garden for my parsley, as the herb, like Rosemary, can get unruly and grow into large bushes. I let the parsley in the garden self seed as this helps to replenish my supply. (See my previous post on thrifty gardening tips.)

Another good supply of greens is to grow microgreens in the kitchen. The fresh plump shoots are delicious.
The Tui Garden Project and Annabel Langbein have some tips on how to grow these succulent accompaniments. In New Zealand you can buy Annabel Langbein's small packs of microgreens like beetroot, chervil, rocket and cultivate your own or you can buy potted greens like this one from The Family Herb Co. in Auckland. 

This post was inspired by Judith and Igor of Urban Jungle Bloggers who challenge their followers each month to post a blog on a botanical theme. This month it's 'plants in the kitchen'! Being a plant hunter myself, I am totally hooked! 

If you want to participate, please visit the Urban Jungle Bloggers website for all the details. 

Enjoy your herbs and eat your greens! 

- Claudia x

Thrifty gardening

Happy New Year! Perhaps you are on holiday or preparing to go back to work soon. You may even be looking out on your garden and feel the need to get out there. I find that being in my garden and getting close to the earth is refreshing and rewarding. It clears my mind of everyday worries. Somehow gardening activities demand that I focus on the task at hand. I find it quite invigorating too. One minute I'm watering a patch and re-viewing my layout, what's working and what isn't. The next minute I'm moving plants around and leaving piles of weeds in clumps as I go. 

My garden is mostly comprised of perennial plants.  The few annuals I have, seem to come up from reseeded stock, season after season, or from seeds I have collected, saving me from spending big. 

At this time of the year straight after Christmas, I find I don't have much spare cash to spend on gardening even through I have some spare time, so its important to have some thrifty gardening tips. Here are some that have helped me get through the year.

1. Let nature do it's thing:

Let the garden become a little unruly and allow some flowers or herbs to go to seed.  Collect the seeds on a dry day and store in marked envelopes for sewing next spring. 

2. Make your garden and food waste work for you

Make your own compost, but have two piles going. Start one after a hefty gardening prune (exclude weeds!) and then leave it for some weeks. Start another heap with food waste (no meat products) to which you add any subsequent pruned clippings. It does take a few months, but you'll be amazed how much green waste you can recycle and have some mulch and nourishment for your plants - like all living things, they do need good supplies of food!

3. Make more 

Some plants can be grown from cuttings placed in water e.g. Impatience, fuchsias, Rosemary, oregano etc. Pot soft wood cuttings in well drained soil using a rooting hormone e.g. Lavender, Streptocarpus, or use a layering technique for ground covers.

4. Be generous

Offer cuttings and surplus plants to your friends and neighbours and you'll be rewarded with reciprocity. 

Hope you have a productive gardening year and are able to take some time to just be still and to take some breaths.

- Claudia x

Bath tea

There is something satisfying about making home-made gifts. Simple ideas can be really effective.

One such example is making bath tea bags. A simple treat to throw in the bath to make it feel and smell more luxuriant.

What you'll need is:

Dried lavender rubbings - large handful
Dried rose petals - large handful
Dried calendula petals - handful
Dried rosemary - small handful

Thin cotton or muslin cut into 6 rounds the size of a side plate.

You'll also need:

Coarse sea salt 6 TBS
*Epsom salts 3 TBS
**Baking soda 1 TBS
Essential oil (5 - 6 drops) 

Mix all ingredients In a large bowl.
Spoon a TBS into the centre of a cut muslin cloth, 
[*Epsom salts is useful for soothing tired muscles and **baking soda, softens the water and helps to relieve skin irritation.]

Tie up securely with string and store the bags in a sealable container. 
When you draw a bath, drop a bath tea bag into the water and enjoy.

Wrapped and ready for the tree!

My Steller Story for making bath tea has been featured - So exciting- thank you @Stellerstories! 

Winner of #thegatheredandfoundseries IG competition

The results are in for #thegatheredandfoundseries and a winner is chosen! A common theme I can see is that all pics feature elements from nature, the best place to find inspiration!

Well done to @flojoro123 for being selected as the winning entry. (Please DM Tasha on IG with your address so you can receive the beautiful "Oceans necklace".)

Here is what Tasha Wakefield, from Spindrift Collections and who crafted the 'Oceans Necklace' prize, had to say about her choice. 

"It was an extremely hard decision as the entries were all so beautiful, but this one stood out for me. I love the beautiful composition, colours and stillness. It's a wonderful picture and one that instantly caught me eye."

These  entries are some of Tasha's other favourites.

"I loved this one as the natural colours were so fresh and festive and I can almost smell the tea looking at the picture." @ehpyle 

"I love this picture, it's a wonderful composition and I adore the beach finds and muted colours". @petalplum 

"This picture really put me in the festive spirit - again I loved the natural colour palette and use of the lovely sparkling fairy lights." @kim_swanson

"I enjoyed this beautiful flatlay with carefully selected and placed natural items" @annld60

"This one, I enjoyed the beautiful natural festive composition". @bymeeni

Thanks to everyone who joined in #thegatheredandfoundseries and a Big Thank You to Tasha for her exquisitely crafted prize, the "Ocean's Necklace" and for selecting the winner. Head over to Tasha's website Spindrift Collections to see more of her stunning work and the places you can find her. 

- Claudia x