We have a climbing rose bush in our back garden, I think it's a Cecile Brunner. It's growing quickly and had completely covered the garden shed, so I cut it back this morning, and now there's a jug filled with roses on my desk. Very nice.
I've made these little pins as a last-minute project for my stall at the Auckland Art and Craft Fair this Saturday. I had some clay to use up, and wanted something small for my table. I made them from oven-bake clay and decorative paper, and coated the finished pins with several layers of mod-podge varnish. Some of the papers were from old magazines. The folksy illustrations came from a second-hand that book the children loved to death when they were babies, and I saved a few of the pages because they were just so beautiful. I think the name of the book is 'The Little Wooden Farmer' by Alice Dagliesh and the illustrations are by Anita Lobel. Actually, I think the book would make a good Christmas gift for my little neices, so I will try and track it down again.
In other news, I went to see Rhys Darby live the other night, and he was amazingly funny and clever. If he comes to your town, you must go along. You won't regret it.