Sewing is back in fashion. Sewing machine sales are up as more people turn to making or customising their own clothes. So here are a few fabric finds:1 and 5 from Of Paper and Thread, in Western Australia2, 4 and 6 from Fresh Fabrics in NSW3, 7, 8 and 9 from Spice Berry Cottage in California ...

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I caught the end of this piece on a program called Collectors this evening and was immediately struck by the beauty of these artworks. Lucia Usmiani uses recycled drink cans and bottles collected from household bins and transforms them into amazing works of art. Above the work is created by cutting up small pieces of aluminium drink cans, while below titled 'Wallflowers' is...

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I've be rediscovering the joys of Ikea this weekend. Our place in London was full of it so I've been a bit turned off for a while. But our friends have this lovely white day bed in their place and it would be just perfect for our new sunroom. This pic is from Harmonie Interieure. I've be rediscovering the joys of Ikea this weekend....

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Celebrate Earth Hour AND Earth Month. Switch off the light Saturday night from 8.30pm for Earth Hour to join 80 countries around the world in highlighting the importance of taking action on climate change. And next weekend you can do it again, but this time light your Aveda Lavender Candle. Each candle sold in April raises funds for Avedas Earth Month projects. ...

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Here are some good looking gift ideas that score 20/20 for originality and fun:This pendant light was made by covering an old shade with an eyechart, add a little trim and you're done, instant Drs office chic. Pic from Real Simple.Never forget where you left your glasses again. When glasses are in the tray the eye chart is in focus, when they aren't...

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Last week I mentioned the popularity of Babushka dolls at the moment. Well this just tops it all. If you have a spare $8000 plus dollars lying around you could pick yourself up this new Chanel Matrioshka handbag made from black resin and gold. You'll have to wait until mid May though - damn, would have gone so well with the outfit I...

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Just finished this weekend: a Kookaburra collage.  Just finished this weekend: a Kookaburra collage.  ...

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It's been a VERY busy week here. A total redesign of a beauty magazine has taken up most of my time, but we still managed to make some more progress on the rock pool photography project. I'll let you know when the results are available for sale on creative monsoon.  It's been a VERY busy week here. A total redesign of a beauty...

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This is definitely my favourite find for this week. This gorgeous photo was taken by Aussie photographer Jason Loucas and comes via the city sage blog. Two weeks to go until we move into our new home and Ive been thinking a lot about decorating. This is a must - a china hutch painted all white. This is definitely my favourite find for...

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These cute little guys are everywhere at the moment. Babushka dolls, (also know as matryoshka) originated in Russia and are most commonly know for the nesting dolls in decreasing sizes. But there are so many variations around:I love this take on the Babushka doll by Ferragamo Studio in Florida. She is hand embroidered and decorated with lots of different fabrics and ribbon. A...

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How gorgeous is this pic I got in an email from Anthropologie today? Lots of antique-style handles. When are they going to open a store in Australia??? Until they do apparently you can use this site: www.shopanyamericanstore.com. I guess its like having a friend there that you can send your order to and they'll post it on, but the postage is a bit steep....

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I have to say one of the nicest things about my work is I do come across some really lovely products. At the moment I'm loving Blooms thirst quencher vitamin e body cream, $24.Not only does it smell great but the packaging has been beautifully illustrated by Kat Macleod. Kat has a fantastic portfolio full of colourful combinations of watercolour, pencil and collage.  I...

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Well I just bought one of these, so I'll let you know how it goes, but they look great. They are the work of UK based artist Thomas Forsyth. Bascially you just pop your pen or pencil in them and give it a twirl. Instant cool squiggly artwork.  Well I just bought one of these, so I'll let you know how it goes,...

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We've been out early this weekend taking some photos of the local rock pools. The light was great and its made for some lovely images. Keep an eye on the creative monsoon site when the prints go for sale.  ...

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Perfect to help unwind after a stressful week - have a nice cup of tea:Full of vintage charm these cheerful tea pot tea-towels will have you putting the dishwasher to one side. Available through SITE. A little birdie once told me someone very senior at the BBC kept a piece of wood on his desk to be used for colour matching his cups of...

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Have you ever googled your name, see who comes up, what they do? Funnily with my name they're mostly artists, designers and illustrators. And look what I found today! A whole Jen-eration of artists. Maybe next time they'll make it Jen 12 (although I prefer Jenn) ...

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I decided because I seem to spend so much time hunting for interesting things on the net I'd pick out my favourite find each week. Might be a photo, a place, an idea... anything.So to kick it off what really caught my attention the past week was this fabulous Nautilus Light by New Zealand designer Rebecca Asquith. Prices start from NZ$460.00 and they...

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Last week the lovely sfgirlbybay was kind enough to feature some of my photos on her blog along with other peoples shots from all over the world taken on that Sunday.Well I didn't think I'd have anything to submit this weekend, Mardi Gras kept us out till late on Saturday night and the weather looked a pretty gloomy today. But we went for...

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I love aerial views, photos or paintings. I think its the way it gives such a totally different perspective on an otherwise ordinary scene. Brodie Murray's work 'Urban complaxity, rural simplicity, innate automatism' are a bird's eye view on landscape. There was something about them that reminded me straight away of John Olsons paintings, in particular '5 Bells' at the Art Gallery of NSW. Olsen's paintings...

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There are only a couple of weeks left to see Canberra's Degas - Master of French Art exhibition before it closes March 22nd. As with every popular exhibition there were big crowds gathered around the most well-known works making it difficult to get a good look. And the lighting certainly didn't help much, it was one of the darkest exhibitions I've seen (or not...

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More from Art Express: I was very interested in some of the materials Angus Hardwick used to construct his work - 'Traces: stains, processes, memories' .  I've used perspex in the past for my own work. It's a tricky material to work with, especially if you need to drill it, it cracks so easily. I thought Angus had an interesting idea to cover the...

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Summer might be over but there are still warm nights in Sydney. We're off tonight for some moonlight cinema and the other evening went to Luna Park where we took this ferris wheel pic. Prints are available on the creative monsoon site - which needs some serious updating. I've been so busy with buying a house I haven't had chance to work on...

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I thought I'd try this simple idea of painting a bird silhouette onto a material background to get back into some artwork. It's really easy to do, but pretty effective. I thought I'd try this simple idea of painting a bird silhouette onto a material background to get back into some artwork. It's really easy to do, but pretty effective. ...

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