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To Sink – by Alexandra Parhomenko

I have to admit I haven’t felt very inspired at all lately; I’ve been struggling for various reasons, and feeling really low. I feel very uncreative at the moment, and it’s getting the better of me. I promise I’ll try harder, because I miss this way too much.

xxx

Life is about dreaming, imagining, creating ♥
Papaya Art

Goodness knows I can’t wait for this film to come out next March!! Tim Burton + Alice in Wonderland = LOVE. oh my goodness.

Some new shots that have been released:

Alice meets the White Rabbit

...in wonderland?

The Mad Hatter, The Red Queen & Alice

&USAToday has some amazing moving images of the above, where you can zoom in & around the pictures to see more than what’s on the screen, if you want to see more!

Some people are so amazingly creative, inspiring, talented and driven that it takes my breath away; the editor & designer (& writer, publisher & illustrator!) of Parasol magazine is definitely one of those people. Yasmine has created an AMAZING online magazine (also available to download for free as a pdf) featuring art, design, & photography from independent artists and people living the creative life, and it is definitely worth checking out.

The cover of Parasol - issue 3

Yasmin is also the owner of A Print A Day blog, and her magazine includes interviews & articles, illustrations, beautiful photography, tutorials, ideas & inspiration galore. There are 3 issues available for download (or free online viewing) now – and I definitely hope there will be more to come!

To read, visit the Parasol magazine website!

Release – by Olivia Bee @ flickr

I didn’t actually mean to go AWOL for the last 10 days or so; I feel rather bad for that, but exam fever got the better of me, and I’ve spent most of the last 2 weeks revising & having my head stuck in textbooks. But my last exam was yesterday (hurrah!) &now I have a few weeks off from uni before my next semester starts. It will be the last semester of my degree too, so the end is definitely near. I am hoping to make lots of posts in the coming days to make up for my absence – I’ve missed this!

Books = happiness

I posted this over on my facebook but as (one of the things) this blog is about things that make me happy, I figured it was worth reposting here. It sort of feels like cheating on a blog post a bit… but oh well. It’s worth it for some book appreciation!

This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag 15 friends, including me because I’m interested in seeing what books my friends choose. Only 15, please.

1. White Oleander – by Janet Fitch
This book resonated deeply with me – Astrid’s strength inspired me through some dark times.

2. Dangerous Angels – by Francesca Lia Block
Slightly cheating because this is 5 books in 1. Witch Baby was always my favourite – and most related to – character, although in recent years, I’ve taken on more of a Weetzie perspective of the world.

3. Wasted – Marya Hornbacher
Marya’s writing is incredible. Another book that got me through some dark times.

4. Echo – by Francesca Lia Block
Probably my most favourite FLB book, it is exquisitely written ?

5. Mists of Avalon – by Marion Zimmer Bradley
“She is little and ugly like the fairies” – oh Morgaine, you, too, have given me so much strength.

6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – by JK Rowling
The long-awaited final book did not disappoint.

7. Wuthering Heights – by Emily Bronte
It’s been years & years since I’ve read this, but I love it still. Who could not love Heathcliff?

8. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – by Barbara Kingsolver
I love the idea of local eating, even if I don’t know if I could put it into practice.

9. The Northern Lights – by Philip Pullman
This trilogy took me to a whole other world, and I loved every minute of it.

10. Piece by Piece – by Tori Amos and Ann Powers
I loved the insights into Tori’s mind, her way of life and what guides her music & performance. This book is like a good conversation.

11. The Virgin Suicides – by Jeffrey Eugenides
This book reminds me of afternoons sitting in the sun in Queensland, reading in the backyard & feeling ethereal.

12. Stupid White Men – by Michael Moore
This was the book that first got me really interested in American politics.

13. The Little House on the Prairie series – by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Childhood favourites! I’ve reread these books so many times over the years.

14. A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton – by Carl Bernstein
Cheating a bit because I’m still reading this one, but, although I don’t agree with Hillary on everything, I have a lot of admiration for her strength & determination.

15. More, Now, Again – by Elizabeth Wurtzel
I think I like this one a lot more than “Prozac Nation”.

Feel free to repost this on your blogs – I’d love to read other people’s lists!

This is a great little interview with the editor of Frankie magazine – about how she started out and how she became the editor of one of the coolest Australian magazines (those are my words, not hers!) Frankie magazine is fantastic – independent artists, crafts, photography, quirky fashion, illustration, handmade gifts, indie musicians. It’s inspiring & familiar & comforting & a really nice change from all those other celebrity-driven glossy magazines out there. If you like pretty, creative things, and stories about people doing what they love, then Frankie magazine is definitely for you.

Let me know if you can’t get Frankie magazine where you live – maybe I’ll do a giveaway

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

I have been a huge fan of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (BPAL) for 2 years now. Beth & Ted make the most incredible range of perfume oil blends, from all natural ingredients, and the variety of different scents they create is out of this world. BPAL draws inspiration from mythology, fairytales, history, visual arts, religion, nature, popular culture, and childhood stories (to name a few!), with permanent collections dedicated to Alice in Wonderland, Neil Gaiman stories, the writings of Shakespeare, the Seven Deadly Sins, steampunk and travel. Every month a new limited edition blend is released around the time of the full moon, in celebration of the lunar cycle and what it means in various cultures. There are also limited edition blends released for major celebrations (Valentines Day, or Lupercalia, Halloween and Christmas/Yule), seasonal occasions (like the recent Summer Garden miniseries), historical events (like the election day series released on November 4 last year) and well, just because (like the amazing Carnaval Diabolique series, which is being released act-by-act, with 7 acts altogether)!

Since I started using BPAL, I haven’t used any other perfume… in fact, I must admit that I’m quite addicted to buying the limited edition blends, and have bought enough oil in the last couple of years to last about 5 lifetimes! I love the fact that these are all natural, there is no alcohol used (unlike regular department store perfumes), and they are a completely independent company with amazing customer service and good conscience. I don’t think I can rave about them enough!

I’ve tried to limit my orders from BPAL in the last year, simply because I was accumulating way too much perfume, but now and then I can’t help but place an order. I just got my most recent order today, and it has totally made my day…

Getting packages always makes for a good day!

My order! Many of those samples were free – BPAL are very generous when it comes to giving away free samples with every order!

The label art on the bottles is always amazing ♥

The samples are called “Imps Ears”, or “Imps”. They also have awesome postcards!

My bottle order consisted of:
Strawberry Moon 2009: The lunacy oil for June (released at the time of the May full moon): Wild strawberries, strawberry flower, vanilla-infused sugar, early summer grasses, and milky dandelion sap.
Litha 2009: Golden honey and moss, with honeysuckle, chamomile, parsley, white gardenia, frankincense, carnation, vervain, gum arabic, yarrow, and liquid copal.
Lilith and the Jarocho: Lilith is Beth & Ted’s daughter (I think she is just under a year old), and she is adorable! Jasmine, vanilla, Spanish cedar, moss, marigold, purple verbena, candied tamarind, lime rind, a splash of margaritas on a nearby table, a little bit of Dorian, a little bit of Snake Oil, and a bright bouquet of mal de ojo.
Velvet Tiki: Gold-washed frangipani, vanilla flower, vanilla bean, coconut, hibiscus, papaya, pineapple, bouganvilla, passion fruit, and three orchids.
Velvet Unicorn: Spun sugar, sparkling rainbow candies, strawberries, merangue, and cherry fluff.
Velvet Pink Kitty: Pink rock candy, strawberry cream, and splashes of gin, vermouth, and grenadine.
Velvet Panther: Dark musk, star anise, agarwood, styrax, vetiver, gaiacwood, King mandarin, violet leaf, and black vanilla.

I can’t wait to try these out… and of course, now I’m thinking about what to order next time…!

This is an AMAZING interview with Emilie Autumn – I was going to post it as a link in my next Galaxy link roundup, but the more I listened to it, the more I thought it deserved a post of it’s own.

It’s long – 31 minutes – but for Emilie Autumn fans, it is a really insightful glimpse into the mind of this Gothic Lolita. I can’t help but respect her so much. I’ve been a fan of hers for over 5 years now – from the Enchant era to Opheliac and the violindustrial and Asylum-style performance, and I just think she is incredibly inspiring. This interview just adds to that.

“The thing about Enchant is, I don’t want to, I have a feeling that, as I progress as my own self, I could potentially. in some years, get back to that Faerie part of me that sees the dark side, but has that little light of optimism at the end, which I don’t really have now. I do, but it’s a different way. And the fans actually gave me that optimism.”