I really love this time of the year because I get to wrap up pretty presents and indulge in lots of papery goodness! I like collecting paper and usually buy one or two to add to my stash. This year I decided to stick with my DIY theme and make my own wrapping paper.

For my Christmas wrapping project I used a roll of brown paper, a white marker pen (my favourite new pen), twine, doilies, assorted papers and stickers.

It’s pretty obvious I have a special fondness for gnomes so I couldn’t resist drawing some smiley gnomes this year! They don’t look too bad (I think)! Happy wrapping everyone! My illustrated gift tags and stickers are available on my online shop.

I decided that this year I really wanted a tree! We’ve never had one before as a couple…and we always assumed that every Christmas we’ll spend it at our parents place (they have their own tree). But I didn’t want a fake tree…and I didn’t want to chop a tree down either…so what were my other options? A friend suggested the old tree branch idea and I was sold!

The very next day I went hunting for my dead branch and found a huge pile of chopped up branches on the verge. I’m sure people who saw me scavenging around the wood pile must have thought I was a loony!

I also picked up some pinecones and gum nuts and sprayed them all white with a $2 spray can from Bunnings.

For my tree ornaments, I hung up some baby pinecones with bakers twine. The rest of the ornaments are vintage treasures or gifts given to me.

I found a red flower pot in my father-in-law’s shed and filled it up with sand. Then I decorated the pot with more pinecones, gum nuts and tinsels.

So there you have it…my first ever DIY Christmas tree! What do you think? Hehe

Maybe I’ll start with my most recent adventure. This weekend I attended the Lomovember exhibition organised by Pigeonhole. It’s a wonderful lo-fi curation of colorful lomographs captured in Perth and around the world. The best images are block mounted and sold by silent auction, with profits of the sale going towards the Movember Foundation.

I had 3 photos selected for the exhibition, out of the 400 submissions they received:

Summer Sun (Strasbourg, France)

Twilight (At the back of my parent’s house in Stuttgart, Germany)

Kaleidoscope (Eiffel Tower, Paris)

Despite my excitement, I was actually nervous about explaining to my husband that his face was going to be in a public exhibition. I told him a few days before the event:

H: hey you wanna check out this lomo exhibition?
R: yeah sure…when is it?
H: they’re having a launch party on Friday. Uh…ah…some of my photos are in it…
R: yeah?? Cool!!!!
H: yeah…..but they are…erm…uh….ah….photos of you
R: WHAT??!
H: They picked them!! They must like the ones with you in it…
R: ………..

And we left the conversation at that. He had no idea which photos were being exhibited so it made for a nice surprise, as well as a pretty cool date for us

I loved every photo in the gallery, it was my first time attending a lomo exhibition, let alone taking part in one. It was amazing to see so many inspiring and happy accidental photos taken from a whole range of lomo cameras.

When they were getting ready to announce the winner for the Best Photo award, I remembered feeling a combination of tipsiness from the wine and also excitement for the winner. Then I heard,“…best photo…Helena Tay….Summer Sun”. I looked at my husband to see if he had heard it too, and he had this bewildered-proud-happy look on his face. I was speechless, I totally did not expect to win anything (I would have been contented with a raffles prize dinner for two!) So, I am totally grateful and humbled at being picked for the Best Photo award.

Thank you Pigeonhole for the generous prize and wonderful event! I think my new toy came at a great time too. Ever since I bought my Diana Mini a couple of months ago, it has rekindled my love in film and photography. It brought back good memories of my uni days when I was a Film student and we learned about composition, lighting and Mise en scène. I had big aspirations then of being a director and making pretty films. Whilst my goals in life may have changed, I think having my Diana and my new camera has encouraged me to get back into film and photography. I am excited to know that there are great moments waiting to be captured. I am also excited by the possibility that maybe one day I will make that pretty film!

Yep, Little Mo officially turns 3 today:)

3 years ago, I opened my online shop and listed a few stationery for sale. In my shop, I had 4 or 5 writing sets, some postcards and a few sheets of wrapping paper. The first item that I sold was to a nice couple in the states. They bought one of my wrapping papers and they said they just wanted to be my first customer. 3 years later, I think I got carried away with drawing, resulting in a whole expansion of goodies now.

I just wanted to say thanks for a fabulous 3 years and thanks for making what I do so enjoyable and worthwhile. I really had lots of fun over the years; blogging and sharing my art with you, selling and wrapping up your packages. I consider many of you wonderful friends that I’d love to meet in person and have tea and cakes one day! So thanks for supporting my art and thanks for your friendship!

Here are some of the new goodies for my birthday launch:

Little Mo and Friends silver book clips

Pug conversation cards

Pug silver book clips

Swedish tulips watering can brooch

And as a special treat, don’t forget to use this coupon code during checkout:) Just enter the coupon code: MOPARTY to enjoy your discount.

I’ve been busy drawing and cutting out papery things the whole weekend. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s launching on Little Mo’s 3rd birthday party.

I’m really excited with my new collection, they are a combination of all the things that I am obsessed with right now…namely pugs, tea drinking, and colourful patterns! Let me know what you think of them.

Don’t forget to visit my blog or my facebook page in the lead up to the party. I’ll be adding more photos of my new artworks. Stay tuned.

Possibly one of my favourite handmade shops in Perth! This little eco store is filled with eco friendly wares, botany and nature inspired products. All of my favourite things!

I’m over the moon to have my Little Mo and Friends stationery stocked in Debbie and Kiri’s gorgeous shop! Thank you so much! If you haven’t visited this shop yet, come in and take a peek!

The lovely Kiri was there to greet me today:)

A shelf full of beautiful handmade jewellery!

Little Mo notebooks in the stationery corner!

Potato look alike soaps! So cute! And because I have 3 mums (including my mother-in-law..yes I am a very lucky girl!) I bought them gifts from this shop, including this soap. Mums no more peeking, you’ll have to wait for your surprise in the mail!

For more eco goodies from out on a limb, join their fan page or pop in for a visit:

out on a limb eco design store
194 Whatley Cres, Maylands, Perth

I’m having an online party so come and join in the fun! I’ll be launching lots of new products. There will also be freebies and fun giveaways, as well as a special sale in my online shop. A perfect start to your Christmas shopping!

Feel free to download the party flyer and pass it onto your friends! I drew the invite today and coloured it while listening to the Stars.

And here’s a a sneak peek of a new product that I’ve been working on for the birthday launch. Pug conversation cards!

You can write your own pugly messages in the speech bubble

This year will be my third year running Little Mo and Friends and I want to create the cutest shop online! I also want to hold a Little Mo online party and celebrate it with everyone (animals included)! Not being too ambitious am I?

Here are some of the teapots I’ve been working on this weekend, to be launched on my 3rd anniversary. What do you think?

I’ve got a few ideas running through my head but as always, I’d love to hear what you’d like to see this made into.

Stay tuned for more drawings and I’ll be sending everyone a party invite for Little Mo’s 3rd birthday party

While there is still some daylight left today, I’ve been making a batch of notebooks for a wholesale order. This is one of my newer designs; Little Mo and Twigs.

And….I’ve been thinking about tea and cakes a lot lately. Today at work I ate a nice chocolate filled croissant. The pastry was flaky and buttery and it was dusted with all that icing sugary goodness. It was really tasty and even brought back fleeting memories of our patisserie eating adventures in Paris (which reminds me, I need to get around to writing a blog post on the city of love…but where do I start??)

So yes…I’m a bit obsessed with all things teapot at the moment…

A bit about Sagittarius Mo:

She is jovial and fun with boundless energy. A curious soul with an adventurous streak, Sagittarius Mo is always keen to travel and seek new horizons!