Paint With Me | How to Paint Perfect Watercolour Trees in 3 Minutes

If you love painting trees just like me (hello! tree videos galore right here) then this one is for you.

All you need are some basics . . . a small palette of watercolours (or even a few fav. colours), a spray bottle (travel size is perfect), a paintbrush with a fine tip, and your favourite cardstock (it doesn't even have to be watercolour paper - I'm using heavy duty sketching paper here as it makes great swing tags).

In 3 minutes you will be loving your sweet little tree and will be Christmas ready with your very own, handmade swing tags. Grab some festive cheer in a glass and let's do this!

Paint With Me | Art Practice - Gift Card

"Without the rain, there would be no rainbow "

A little reminder today that it's ok to give yourself grace when you are struggling and to remember that today's rain will be tomorrow's rainbow!

In the meantime, pull up a chair Friend and let's create some art together. I am so happy you're here!

K xo \

Create With Me | Air Dry Clay Tags - Botanicals

Are you a Maker, a Baker, a Creative, a Bride to Be? Does your packaging need levelling up? Are you wanting to personalise your table settings for your big day? Gift something special to the ones you love?

These darling tags have all the rustic beauty and charm you are looking for and on the kindest budget! The options are endless and they are limited only by your imagination.

K xo

Plan With Me | February 2024 - Camping Life Watercolour

Is there anything better than the great outdoors to replenish the body and soul!? Thanks to a wonderful week spent camping with friends for my Birthday, I am feeling sparkly and new and ready for the year to come.
Come sit with me a while and refill your cup dear Friends!
Blessings, K xo

Paint With Me | Palette Knife Art - Acrylic Trees

More trees! This time with a palette knife and acrylic paints. Seriously so easy and budget friendly. My only advice on this one is don't overthink it! Trees come in every shape and size. Revel in the texture and tools and enjoy the process.

K xo

Create With Me | DIY Paper Clips - Make Your Own Pretty Stationery

Are you a lover of pretty stationery? A creative heart and devotee of thrifting and vintage finds? A fellow Educator or Student who loves to personalise her classroom & stationery? Then you have absolutely found the video for you!
I picked up these sweet wooden pegs while thrifting a few months back (so easy to find in craft stores too). Some acrylic paint, a palette knife and a little imagination is all it took to repurpose these little darlings into the prettiest paper clips you ever did see!

Plan With Me | January 2024 - Moon, Stars & Botanicals

Plan With Me | 2024 Journal Set-Up

It's that time again my Friends. Time to embrace a New Year, a new adventure, a new you!

My theme this year will centre on self care, renewal, soul searching, spirituality and reconnection with mother earth. My pages will be brimming with quotes, lyrics, botanicals, sketches, watercolour, ink, pencil and inspiration wrung out of every moment, every second of my days. If your soul is in need of nurturing, pull up a chair and get comfortable. You've found your tribe.

Blessings, K xo

Create With Me | 2024 Handmade Journal on a Budget

How to create a beautiful Journal with items you have at home.

✓ Quote Pocket
✓ File Folder
✓ Iron-on Transfer
✓ Fabric Cover
✓ Hand-embroidery
✓ Ephemera

Put the kettle on and pull up a chair Friends, we are going to get our journal on!
Blessings, K xo

Plan With Me | December 2023 - Handmade Journal Pages - Forest Friends

‘Tis beginning to look a lot like Christmas my 'deer' Friends. Don't you love this time of the year!? We are celebrating with BuJo pages brimming with our favourite forest friends from our Near & Deer Christmas Range.

Grab a cuppa and pull up a chair for 35 mins of fun & whimsy xo

Paint With Me | A Rose Gold Christmas - Watercolour & Embroidery - Gift Card Series

Welcome to PART II of our Seasonal Gift Card Series.

A Rose Gold Christmas is something a little special. We've moved away from the traditional red & green colour palette for this video and have embraced a softer, more feminine style with a touch of glamour.

The perfect blend of amber, Palm Beach pink and bling, this video has everything . . . Watercolour, Hand-Embroidery, Glitter & Stamps!

Pull up a chair and your fav. supplies for card making with a difference! Blessings, K xo

Paint With Me | A Traditional Christmas - Watercolour & Embroidery - Gift Card Series

It's the most wonderful time of the year my Friends. Time to be thinking of long held family traditions, long newsy letters to those we adore and plenty of Christmas crafting. I love that the post is full of beautiful cards, messages of love and parcels instead of bills. It just adds to the magic and joy of the season.

I have 2 handmade cards to share with you today - 'Under the Mistletoe and Merry & Bright in a pretty layering of watercolour and hand embroidery. Don't worry, they are beginner friendly, I promise!

Plan With Me | October 2023 - Handmade Journal Pages

"When life gives you pumpkins, make pie !"

This month is all about the Pumpkins - big or small, vibrantly orange or in soft shades of ochre and sage. Whether you are a huge fan of Halloween or more focused on Autumn, Thanks Giving or Fall, you are sure to love the pages for October.

Plan With Me | September 2023- Handmade Journal Pages & BONUS Printable

I've dedicated my pages to Spring and renewal as we say goodbye to Winter here in the Southern Hemisphere. I have loose white flowers in terracotta pots, a wee shelfie, a meadow of wildflowers and a scenic view to share with you this month. 

Spring has me reminding myself to be patient and kind as I live my best life and if it is all getting to be a little much, to dive into my creativity to replenish my heart and mind.

Pull up a chair . . . I'm so happy you're here! 

Paint With Me | Loose White Flowers - Watercolour Gift Cards

Playing with blooms, watercolour and gift cards today . . . the perfect recipe for happiness no matter what time of year it is. Loose flowers are the perfect jumping off point for all skill levels (get as real or as abstract as you like) and we will be talking, sketching style, colour mixing and organic shapes too.

Grab a chair Friends and join me for a moment as we focus on practice not perfection xo

Plan With Me | August 2023 - Handmade Journal Pages & BONUS Printable

I've been bitten by the travel bug this month as I sit down with you to create a glorious hour long video of mixed media journal pages.

Snippets of vintage ephemera, stamps, watercolour paint & pencils, gel pens and pigment liners, quotes and pretty typography.

Grab a chair my Friends and let's get started! xo

Make Your Own | Fabric Storage Box

Celebrating the release of our new DIY KITS, this instructional video will have you making the prettiest Fabric Storage Boxes you ever did see. Whether you choose to create with one of our Kits, or with all the beautiful fabrics you already have stashed away at home, all the details you need are right here!

How to Create Your Own Notepads

As an Artist + Designer who is always sketching or jotting down ideas, I always feel more inspired when I begin my musings on pretty stationery. Obviously I’m not alone in my love affair with stationery . . . ahem . . . introducing Kikki K, Typo, Daiso, to name but a few. If you are hoping to support local small businesses with a strong sustainable message, then options for your stationery can become rather hard to find and super expensive too. Here’s where you come in. Are you a doodler, a painter, a creative type? Do you make your own paper? Would you like to make a notepad or book with quality artists paper to enjoy a little plein-air (outdoor) painting? Or would you like to get the kids to help you make a special notepad for someone they love? Then you are in the right place my friend because this is exactly how I began my notepad journey and I’m looking forward to sharing all my tips and tricks with you!

First of all, just choose the paper, card-stock or artwork that you would like to use in your notepads. You won’t need expensive binding machines but you will need Padding Compound - the ‘magic’ glue and must have ingredient when binding books and notepads. This is the important ingredient that turns a simple stack of paper into a solid pad from which it is possible to tear out just one page at a time without destroying your whole book. And, before you ask . . . NO! standard PVA glue just won't do.

The 'How to' is actually so very simple . . .

1. Take your stack of loose pages that have been neatly trimmed to ensure they are all the same size. They can be coloured, white, lined, thick, thin or blank - whatever your heart desires

2. Tap the edges firmly on a table or counter top to ensure pages line up evenly - especially at the top edge where you will be applying the Padding Compound

3. Grab a handful of bull dog clips to hold your pages tightly together at the top where you will be applying the glue (most people will have them on hand at home, however they can be purchased very cheaply from any newsagent, stationery store, even your local supermarket. Mum and Dad may even have lots on hand at work that you could use and return once you are finished with them. Just make sure it is ok with the boss first).

   TIP: Add a thick piece of cardboard to the top and bottom of your stack (sandwiching your paper between). This will give your pages more substance - keeping everything secure and protected until the compound has dried. The cardboard will be removed once everything is dry at the end so don’t worry if it is recycled packaging you had on hand as it will be discarded at the end. Plus you can give yourself a little extra pat on the back for being kind to the Earth by doing something useful with excess packaging before it heads off to become landfill. In fact, I don’t throw my cardboard pieces away at all. I pop them in a craft drawer to use again next time.
   TRICK: If you don’t have any bull dog clips, carefully stack your pages and then place several heavy books on top of your notepads to compress the pages as much as possible ready for gluing. The books will need to stay in place until the Padding Compound has completely dried.

4. Take a small brush and your pot of Padding Compound and apply the glue in a light, even layer to the top edge or spine of your notepad | book - you will repeat this step several times to build up a nice even layer so don’t worry about being too heavy handed at first. The compound will be touch dry in around an hour, depending on the weather, and ready for a 2nd and 3rd coat. I then like to leave my notepads to sit overnight to dry. An expensive brush is not required so please don't go to the expense. Any small brush will do - something you can work with easily. I recommend you wash the brush well with warm, soapy water when you are finished - the compound is non-toxic but it is strong so the bristles will be hard as rock if you don’t ;)
   TIP: This is a terrific craft project to do with children as the glue is water based for an easy clean up AND can also be tinted with a drop or 2 of food colouring (did someone say rainbow?). Do take care to add only a drop or two of colouring to a pot of Padding Compound to ensure it doesn’t compromise the product. The pot too is refillable. Simply bring it back for a discount on your top up or repurpose in your craft room to hold beads, glitter etc.

5. If creating with children, the next step will need to be done by a responsible adult. Take a sharp blade - I use a craft knife with a curved blade. Once again, a specialised knife really isn't needed. Most people would have a flat edged kitchen knife that would do the job equally as well. Remove the heavy book weights or bulldog clips from the notepads and set aside. If you have used cardboard to stabilise the pages, place the stack back down on a hard surface and carefully slide the knife between the cardboard | packaging and the first page of your book. Taking care to cut away from you, slice the notepads apart. Tear the top page off (it may already be loose) and voila! Gorgeous, bespoke notepads made in your home and to your own specifications.
   TIP: Leave a chick piece of cardboard on the back of your notepad. Not only will it protect the last page, but it will create a solid surface on which to write.

I hope you have enjoyed this easy ‘How to’ Tutorial. The Notepads shown in the photos are my own and are available to purchase in store if you are interested. Having struggled to find pretty stationery with a sustainable, small business focus, I began to research how to create my own and this tutorial was born. For more projects like this one, connect with me on Instagram or subscribe to my YouTube Channel. I look forward to seeing you there!

Growth Planner - Notepads

Plan With Me | July 2023 - Handmade Journal Pages & BONUS Printable

Handmade journal pages that are guaranteed to make you smile. Let's talk self care, good mental health and kindness as we plan our July journal together.

Inspired by the whimsical quote from Beau Taplin . . .

"Rise and shine.
I've always held such fondness for that sweet old phrase.
As thought we are all little suns.
As though we are all someone's day"

We all have the ability to be bring a little sunshine into someone's day. I hope that I have brightened yours and if so, won't you please pass it on xo

Plan With Me | June 2023 - Handmade Journal Pages & BONUS Printable

Celebrating June with a sophisticated, achromatic set-up inspired by the Zen-Tangle art movement. We will be slowing down this month as we explore this maximal, textured art style in a simple palette of black and white.

We are delighted to introduce the first of our BONUS Printable's. Say hello to this darling Mini Landscape for you to download and print at home xo