Greetings!

Over the last few days, I have been busily sending out my new greeting card catalogue. This is a small sideline that I do as a hobby, but thanks to some encouragement from a helpful friend of mine, I have finally got my act together and produced a proper range! Here are a few samples of the current collection, it has an obvious vintage inspiration of course.
Within the collection there are a few small ranges/themes, there is a soft watercolor collection featuring subtle hues and overlapping semi abstract shapes, subject matters such as bathing boxes, cupcakes, balloons and my favourite: cocktails.

There is also my signature or couture collection that features fashion illustration. Usually these images are created with a combination of watercolor paint and ink. 99% of the time I work freehand, but sometimes will finish off the image in photoshop by adding a block of color of pattern, as is done in the images below.

Another medium that I love to work in is collage (Although it is very messy- I usually end up with tiny bits of torn paper everywhere) Sometimes a piece is constructed purely by using collage, other times I will combine illustration with collage. The first image below is created with torn paper and then detail has been added with prismacolor (coloured pencil).

The image above was originally created for a friends wedding. This is created by a variety of wrapping papers, photographic images and coloured paper. I will be posting more, but in the meantime, you can download the entire catalogue at my 'lizzie lamb' website (just look under the 'greeting card' heading)

Valentine's Day Cocktails

"Little Nips of Whiskey

Little Sips of Wine

Make that Rosey Nosey

On my Valentine" 

- Vintage Valentine's day Postcard

I'd like to wish everybody a Happy Valentine's Day! While here in Australia, Valentine's day is promoted as a day for lovers and romantic love, it is really supposed to be a celebration of love in general and a time to be reminded of and show our appreciation for all who are near and dear to us. In my opinion there is no better way to show your love for someone than to make them a delicious cocktail!
Why not try one of these ideas, they are all easy and have a gorgeous Valentine's Day hue.



Valentine
Champagne flute

Rose Champagne
sugar cube
Dash Agnostura Bitters

Dash the bitters onto the sugar lump, place in a champagne flute and top up with rose champagne.

Strawberry Fizz
highball glass


30ml Gin
1 tsp sugar syrup
30ml strawberry liquer
soda water
ice
strawberry to garnish

Combine ingredients in a highball glass with ice. Top up with soda and finish with a strawberry slice and a sprig of mint.

Valentine's Day Boutique

As you know, Valentine's Day is coming up soon, so I have given the shop a bit of a romantic theme.
Here are a few current snaps of the store .... Oh and Happy Champagne Friday!
(today I am drinking a simple glass of Champagne, but I will have some recipes for Valentine's Day themed cocktails coming soon!)

Mojito

(image from Martha Stewart )


Wow, it's so hot here in Melbourne this week, I think it's about 40 degrees today. There's not much to do in this heat other than drink. One of my all time hot weather drinks (other than a classic G&T) is the refreshing taste of a Mojito. The mint and lime combination is magic on a hot day!

MOJITO
highball glass
60ml light Rum (Bacardi)
8 mint leaves
4 sugar cubes (palm sugar if you can find it is better, at most Asian grocery stores)
4 lime wedges
soda
ice

Muddle the mint, sugar and limes in glass. Add the ice and rum, then top up with soda. Finish with a mint sprig. Ahhh....refreshing!

Weddings, Parties, Anything

As you may have known, I recently became engaged and since then have just been loving looking at and discovering some amazing wedding blogs, magazines and other sources of inspiration. Admittedly, I had always looked at this sort of thing anyway, not because I am a tragic 'Muriel' type longing to get married, but because there are so many great ideas for decorating and design, not just suitable for a wedding but wonderful for any occasion or even for no occasion all.
Firstly, I must say that there are also many awful wedding mags and sites out there too .... I even came across a site that was selling replica dresses modeled off the one worn in the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (seriously)

As my partner and I are opting for a small, simple wedding in a small village in Hungary (yes really),
I will not be able to use very many of my grand ideas , (which is fine I just enjoy the creative process).
Another 'problem' of the small wedding abroad is that not many family friends and relatives will be able to attend. Instead of the big wedding, we have decided to have an engagement party so that the family and friends that can not travel to the wedding can celebrate with us. To keep it casual we are planning a garden party (held in my parent's garden).
The event is coming up soon, and hopefully I will get some nice photos to post. In the meantime, here are some lovely images that inspired the theme of our event and a mention of some great sites, worth a look not just for Wedding stuff...but all sorts of inspiration for any kind of party and everyday life too.

These beautiful images below are from thesweetestoccasion.com. I love the combination of soft pastel colored flowers and vintage bottles. I like the idea of the look being simple with a random feel to it.
(I don't usually like anything to neat or ordered when it comes to flowers)

Pictured below: paper lanterns suspended in trees. I love this idea for an elegant alternative to balloons.
Lanterns are more 'grown up' than balloons and suspended from trees create a fun, whimsical mood. I found these polka dot paper lanterns at pinkfrosting.com.au. I ordered some of these in various colors and used them as a starting point for the theme that will tie the event together. I created invitations to match and there will also be other decorations to compliment along with some color coordinated food!

If you are planning an event, you can't go past Martha Stewart. The magazines are usually brilliant. (I highly recommend the 'Martha Stewart Living' Halloween and Christmas editions ) but most of what  appears in the mags end up on her website anyway, marthastewart.com. Her creative team are amazing
and there are some fantastic ideas on this site. Of course she has a "Martha Stewart Weddings" section too. These invitations shown below are from the site and caught my eye because they match my theme.

This amazing piece below is a gorgeous 'save the date' card that I found on a cute blog called 'Little Winter Bride' there are some gorgeous ideas here. The author has a penchant for vintage style and again many of the ideas shown here do not necessarily have to be employed for a wedding.

Not that I am ready to start thinking about the dress and all that yet, but how gorgeous is this 1950's style wedding shown below??!!!! The bride and all the bridesmaids are wearing original vintage dresses (modified a little to fit). These gorgeous pictures are from a lovely site , called Polka Dot bride. (www.polkadotbride.com)
It is lovely because the weddings featured all have a unique twist, but still hold onto some tradition (ie they still look like weddings)

The image below is from a site that I admit I am now addicted to. "Offbeatbride.com' has some incredible photos of real weddings on it (no white pouffy dresses here!). As the name suggests this is a site for alternative weddings, there are many that are really out there, but there are some that are classic with a unique twist. There are heaps of great ideas here, from decorating to graphic design and food, so many of these ideas would be great for all sorts of occasions.

 

Below is a rough illustration that I did while working on the invitation for our party. I featured the croquet mallet as we are planning on having yard games for our guests. We just need to keep our fingers crossed for some nice weather! Below that is the design that I ended up going with. I ended up going with a simple watercolor printed onto one side of a postcard with the event details on the reverse. Sent in a sunshine yellow envelope, it created a light happy feel.

Rain,Rain Go Away

Firstly, Happy New Year!
It's been over a month since I have paid any attention to this poor, neglected blog.  Christmas and the Holiday Season have once again come and gone in what seems like a whirlwind and things should be settling back into a routine. But, with the terrible disaster that has been unfolding in Queensland and the bizarre weather we have been having here in Australia, it is hard to focus attention on anything else at the moment. Now that there is flooding here in Melbourne, it is all the more consuming, and it is still raining!
I will return to normal posting soon, but in the meantime check out some of these cute rain related vintage prints, while enjoying this very appropriately titled cocktail; 'Damn The Weather'.

Damn The Weather
(cocktail glass)

30ml gin
15ml sweet vermouth
15ml Orange Juice
Dash triple sec

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.



(shown at the top of the page -'Parapale-Revel ' and below 'Ombrello Franc' both by Leonetto Cappiello)

Shown above 'Sexy Umbrella' by Earl Moran and below 'Rain or Fine, Dogs must be taken for their walk' by Bernard Boutlet De Monrel.

It's begining to smell a lot like Christmas! (there are cocktails too)

Amongst all the gorgeous new things that I have here at the store, something that I am really enjoying (and that I will be treating myself to for Christmas) are the delicious smelling fragrant products.

I have quite a few special edition 'Christmas' Scented Products. Nothing evokes a special mood and memory like the sense of smell. For me obvious 'Christmassie' scents are things like gingerbread cookies, mixed spices , fruitcake, plum pudding and of course fresh pine. It's usually too warm here for other traditional foods and drinks like eggnog and mulled wine, but the nutmeg and clove smells used in these drinks still remind me of Christmas.
Speaking of drinks, I will be adding a few cocktails below, I have neglected Champagne Friday for a few weeks...(a combination of being too busy and having a nasty cold) But it is the season to drink and be merry, so I will definitely be catching up on this soon!

Fleurage have just created festive room sprays (appropriately called 'Christmas) that perfectly captures the essence of Christmas, and an absolutely delicious smelling vanilla and orange candle.   Candles always make such an easy gift, it's the kind of thing I like to have on hand when you need an 'emergency' gift for an unexpected guest or an overlooked present. Of course, it's always nice to treat myself to a candle too, it's such a lovely way to enjoy fragrance.

We also have a beautifully presented gift set from MOR, called 'Dear Mr Partridge' which fits in perfectly with the bird decorating theme at the shop this year. This features a soap, candle and hand cream all with the festive scent of Cinnamon and Clove.

And now for the cocktails! Here are some delicious Christmas favorites (or winter favorites best enjoyed during July and August for us Aussies)

Rum Eggnog
(highball glass)

45ml Dark Rum
90ml Milk
1 egg yolk
30ml cream
sprinkle of nutmeg

Shake ingredients with ice. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass and sprinkle with nutmeg. YUM!


Mulled Wine
(This serves 6 people or one very thirsty person)

1 bottle red wine
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar
6 cloves
1 orange
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 tsp ginger
6 slices lemon

Firstly press the cloves into the whole orange, studding it. Place all ingredients into a saucepan and stir and heat. Strain into heatproof glasses.
There is no better drink on a cold December July evening than this!


If these two drinks sound like too much hard work or you don't like the idea of raw egg, try this:


Cheat's Eggnog
(rocks glass)

30ml bourbon
30ml light rum
scoop vanilla ice-cream

Stir everything together  until you have a creamy consistency. Enjoy.