The journey of the days and weeks deep and then deeper again into the winter season feels like a deliberate grinding down. A forcible slowing, as primal as hibernation. It starts on the first morning you realise you’re getting up in the dark, and that night blankets the streets outside before the kitchen fires up for dinner. It gains momentum when the garden turns sparse and soil shows, black and hard, under the fallen leaves. When you pull your knitted hats and gloves and scarves out of storage. When your words float in visible clouds around your face as you leave the house in the morning.

Winter is a lesson in slowing down. In taking stock, in being more aware of the present. And I don’t know about you but when I finally dial things back a bit, that’s when the creative ideas tend to appear. It’s as though my creative mojo is shy, waiting until most of the crowd in my mind has gone home and bunkered down where it’s warm. Then, in the cold quiet of a winter’s morning, ideas tip-toe back in.

So if your ideas have been shy of late too, or if they’re just not being heard over all the stuff you’ve got going on, here are 13 ways to use the winter downtime to reignite your creative mojo.

Tend to your word garden. Or perhaps visiting a word gallery is more your speed, or sitting down to a word craft-table, or sweating it out at a word gym. It doesn’t matter. The lesson is to do that thing that teaches your mind to unwind, relax, and let creativity grow. Failing that, just read this piece about “the word garden” anyway. It is beautiful

Notice the good. This tip for parents to “catch them doing the right thing” is actually a wonderful reminder for everyone. Try to look for the good in people, actively notice their better selves

Search for pockets of light. You might just find beauty

Solve an urban mystery. Like this cute story about “the dudes”

Be in the present. This beautiful neon clock, called ThePresent, completes just one revolution in 365 days. It inspires thoughts like this: “It’s a reminder to stop everyday. It helps me find some grounding or a moment of reflection, a good thought, a deep breath…”

Unleash your creative soul, by signing up for one of these workshops

Make stuff out of cardboard. It doesn’t have to be this fancy (but it could be)

Put down that phone. Step awayyyyy from the computer

And related to the above, start “single-tasking.” This video is so funny, but true

Steal time for you. Whether you can grab five minutes or several hours, make the most of “me time”

Let others help you overcome your creative block. Danielle Krysa of The Jealous Curator has just published a book called “Creative Block” in which 50 international artists share their insights and exercises on how to get new ideas flowing

Show your joy. Don’t be cool, celebrate it like a toddler

Write a love letter to a stranger

How about you? Do you have any tips for reigniting that creative spark?

You know what’s really great about the weather being so cold you can see your breath in the air in front of you? Heaters and knee-rugs and ugg-boots and the kettle on the boil, that’s what! So from the warmth and comfort of my couch, hands periodically cradled around a hot cup of tea, I bring you five things I’m loving lately.

1. For my home: hanging plants

Lately I find I’m really hankering for plants inside my home. I long for the sense of calm they create, and the suggestion of health, clean air, and generally being a little more grounded (even when you live in an inner-city terrace house). Right now we only have one plant in the house, a beautiful terrarium that a friend gave me at Easter. And it’s dying. How do you kill terrarium plants? I thought they were almost indestructible. Maybe I over-watered it, I have been known to kill plants with kindness…

Anyway, I think this mid century hanging planter seen on Justina Blakeney (via Chantelle Grady) is gorgeous in its simplicity and clean lines. Plus I love the interest and variety that hanging plants generate in a home. AND hanging planters keep soil and potentially-toxic leaves out of reach of curious little hands.

2. For my rainy afternoon: home-made crumpets

This icy, wet and blustery weather calls for hot crumpets, dripping in butter and honey, wouldn’t you agree? And tea, of course. On particularly cold days, Madeleine and Harry and I love to treat ourselves to crumpets for morning or afternoon tea. It feels all very proper and British, don’t you know? One of these days, I’d really like to try making crumpets from scratch. If for no other reason than that I like the idea of eating crumpets any darn time I like, rather than only when I’ve remembered to buy them from the supermarket (which is not very often). I think I’ll give this recipe a try some time soon.

3. For giggles: NYC survival guide

These illustrations on how to survive life in New York have been doing the rounds of the Internet for a little while, and every time they cross my radar they make me laugh. During my time living in NYC I quickly learned that New Yorkers were short on time and space, so respecting those two things in others was paramount.

In New York, it doesn’t matter how unusual or seemingly absurd your dream is: there are people who will know people, and they will want to help you. But I had to learn to make the most of every opportunity, because while New Yorkers might be generous with their knowledge and connections, they don’t have time to hold your hand and cajole and convince you to go ahead. The rest is up to you.

That’s the serious side. On the lighter side, you can buy the very cute and funny NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette book by Nathan W. Pyle on Amazon, or take a look at some animated GIFs of the same illustrations (click on each image to see the animation).

4. For my children: a balloon wall

I bookmarked this fantastic balloon wall idea in the lead-up to Madeleine’s second birthday earlier this month. She LOVES balloons (pronounced “baboons”) and in the month leading up to her birthday party we discussed balloons at least every day. In the end I didn’t create the balloon wall because I just had too much else to do for her TWO parties, and by the day of her actual birthday I think she had reached the point of celebration fatigue. Still, I am dying to do this. Maybe on another birthday. Or maybe one day, just for kicks. I can imagine the two children coming downstairs of a morning and finding a balloon wall to tear down. That could be a lot of fun, don’t you think?

5. For my ride: handwoven bike baskets

Do you ride a bike? I miss mine! It was a 1970s yellow Speedwell with back-pedal brakes and no gears, and it was precisely my speed. During the few months that we lived in Adelaide it really came into its own, because Adelaide was so flat and linked by so much green. I loved exploring the city on my little bike! I gave the bike away while I was pregnant because it wasn’t the type that could be converted to safely transport little ones, and it was (and will be) a long time before I’ll be riding solo again.

But the day I step across two wheels again, I definitely want one of these handwoven Asungtaba bike baskets on the front. They are made for House of Talents, an organisation connecting talented artisans in developing countries to consumers worldwide. (Also available from Anthropologie)

That’s it for Friday folks. I hope your weekend is shiny and happy!

ps. Some posts you might have missed if you’re new here…

* Melbourne: have you been to Kinfolk Cafe?
* Snail mail: here are 19 fab pen pals, and here is some decorated mail I’m sending
* Mothering: I won the lottery
* Making: these woodland picnic party invitations are quick, easy and leave a great impression
* Nesting: the story of the snow globe
* Art: Aussie artist Emma Lipscombe reveals where she looks for inspiration
* More favourite things

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine:
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lull’d in these flowers with dances and delight.
~ William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2.1.255-60)

Have you ever wondered what the inside of a rainbow smells like? Me neither, until recently.

A few weeks ago I saw some photographs of Rebecca Louise Law‘s floral installations online, and they took my breath away. The extravagance and generosity of these canopies of flowers are just extraordinary! I can barely fathom the vision, and the attention to detail, that it must make to create these all-too-fleeting interactive works of art.

Rebecca is a London-based installation artist who mainly works with natural elements, like wood, fruit and flowers. Her work is exhibited in galleries and museums, but she has also been commissioned to create high-end fashion displays. It always makes me happy when artists give me a “why didn’t I think of that?” moment. Like, WHY do we always display flowers facing up? Because JUST LOOK at how beautiful they are when seen from underneath! To my mind, it’s this kind of creative, out-of-the-box thinking – alongside talent and hard-won skill, of course – that sets a true artist apart from a clever copy-cat.

I am trying to imagine what it must be like to stand inside one of her amazing works. The best I can come up with is that it would be a sensory overload of the most beautiful, colourful kind. And perhaps provide the answer to what it smells like inside a rainbow.

All images and permissions generously provided by Rebecca Louise Law

Ages have come and gone since then: great cities have risen and crumbled, religions have swept across continents, wars have devastated communities and science has unlocked many of our greatest mysteries.

And that little sequoia plant has continued to grow, into a giant tree.

Silent, strong, made powerful with the protection of the forest all around it. Incredibly, it is still growing today, 3200 years later! Untouched by the passing of great civilisations, it is one of the biggest trees in the world, at more than 75 metres (247 feet) high.

And until recently, it had never been photographed in its entirety: there just wasn’t a camera lens big enough. The little clip below shows this stunning, ancient tree in a snow-storm, being photographed by National Geographic photographers and National Park scientists.

This tree has looked over us for more than three thousand years. Now, at last, we can look over it.

1. The Kombi tent

Kombi is the name we use in Australia for the classic VW buses that everyone wishes they have until they actually get one and then they realise they smell and overheat and break down all the time and the romance isn’t the same once you’re INSIDE the story.

Phew! Taking a breath now. I had a boyfriend who bought a Kombi once upon a time. I was really excited about the purchase, until I had to push the damn van along a freeway in 40 degree heat on one too many occasions.

But this tent? Be still my heart! It has the romance of the old Kombi, minus the breakdowns and petrol fumes and sticky vinyl seats. Just the wind in the trees beside you. Perhaps the babble of a creek not too far away (you’ll take a dip later). The kettle singing on the campfire.

It sleeps four adults and, at 182 centimetres, is tall enough for most of us to stand up inside. Now, how can I justify the (rather steep) price and convince Mr B that we need to buy one of these for family camping trips in the summer?

2. The peony farm

It was Madeleine’s birthday last weekend. A year ago, peonies became “her flower” and this is why, but winter is the wrong season for these floral beauties and, sadly, I couldn’t find any to decorate our home in time for her birthday.

But on the other side of the world, Madeleine’s birthday falls in just the right time for peonies to bloom. So we may just need to take a birthday trip north one day and while we’re at it, visit a peony farm like this one. (Or skip her birthday and visit a farm closer to home in the summer, I guess).

3. Nature girl

Isn’t she lovely? Aren’t these photographs incredible?

4. Indoor picnic

This indoor picnic is a lovely idea for winter, or for the ever-unpredictable Melbourne weather. I love the use of checkered napkins and cardboard and simple wooden boards, as well as the patio lights strung above the ‘picnic’. I’d probably go one step further and host the whole party on a rug on the floor. Have you ever had an indoor picnic?

5. The Kings of Summer

From its trailer, The Kings of Summer reminds me of Moonrise Kingdom. It has also been compared to Stand By Me. Have you seen it? Will you see it? I can’t wait. It’s a comedy about three teenaged boys who escape their overbearing parents and decide to spend the summer in the forest, building their own house and living off the land.

What do you think?

Laneway Foraging from The Little Veggie Patch Co on Vimeo.

I’m not sure if I could do this. I’ll admit it’s kind of cool in a nanna, Depression-era, creative thrift kind of way. But in my head, I’m not sure if I could shake off the ‘scabby’ taint of stealing other people’s harvests.

In an effort to convince myself to be all sustainable and healthy, I took a wander through the back lanes of my neighbourhood to see what might be ripe for the picking. It’s fairly late in the season but I still found some lemons, persimmons, olives, chokoes and cumquats that were mostly good to go, and some grapes that had only just finished. Oh and a lorikeet that was most put out by the intrusion. Not bad huh?

How about you? Would you / do you go urban foraging?

We are just back from three days of hiking in the bushland surrounding the Great Ocean Road as part of a group that’s raising funds to support cancer patients.

Madeleine absolutely loved it, singing lustily from her carrier as we hiked our way through the trees, and laughing every time anyone talked to her or squeezed her chubby cheeks (which happened quite often).

She kept on laughing while we trekked through rainforests, up mountains, along clifftop paths and over sand dunes. She laughed when we got back to our cabin in the bush wayyyyy past her bedtime, and laughed at the very suggestion of going to sleep while the sun was still up. She laughed even more when I gave in and took her down to have dinner with the rest of the group.

We all sat together around long tables on a wide verandah, drinking wine and eating cheese and making our own pizzas in an outdoor oven. In the darkening sky, koalas growled and kookaburras chuckled. Without warning, a big, blustery, summer storm broke overhead, sending down sheets of rain and at some point, while thunder rolled and lightening split open the sky, Madeleine finally fell asleep in my arms.

Later I put her down in a travel cot beside our bed, a gift from Baby Bjorn, and she slept beautifully all night. Slept like a baby, in fact. She barely moved until I woke her up for her next feed.

I’m so thankful to Baby Bjorn, because the cot was fantastic. You just pull it out of the case and it bounces into place: you don’t need a physics degree to put it together. It was small enough to fit in our tiny cabin room, but big enough for Madeleine to keep using it as she grows. The sides are at a kind of pyramid angle, making it super sturdy and safe, something very important to me because when she HASN’T been hiking all day, Madeleine thrashes and bumps around in her sleep like a washing machine full of towels. Plus there’s mesh all around which means my baby gets all the airflow she needs, and I can see her through the sides, but she still feels snug and secure.

I also used the travel cot as a playpen for her during the day when we weren’t hiking, putting it out on the verandah in the late afternoon sun to give Madeleine somewhere safe to roll around and play with her toys and show off how good she is at tummy time nowadays (really good).

How was your weekend, dear friend? Have you had a chance to get out of town lately?

* This post was sponsored by Baby Bjorn and Digital Parents Collective. Thanks so much for your support you guys. We couldn’t have left home without you!

Summer gave a cheeky grin. “I’m almost here,” it whispered. “I’m just around the corner.” And for once I smiled back.

So I strapped on the sling, and Madeleine and I took Oliver for a walk and a picnic in the park.

Madeleine’s roly poly dimples.

A fragrant breeze.

Laughing children.

A banjo-strumming troubadour.

Cloud patterns.

Delicious daydreams.

Little purple flowers in the grass.

Why hello, Summer. Perhaps, this year, I’ll be happy to greet you after all.

For me, that trade-off is worth it. And I absolutely love where I live now, because our little community is very old, very gentle and very quiet, yet I am a short walk from wonderful precincts like Brunswick Street, Lygon Street, Rathdowne Village and Nicholson Village, and only half an hour’s walk from the centre of the city.

But I miss having a garden. A few straggly ferns and agapanthus plus one giant rosemary bush, bordering weed-filled paving in a tiny back courtyard, do not a garden make. We are renters, so there’s not much I can do to change that (except get ride of the weeds between the paving bricks. I really must get on to that).

Cue the good people at Federation Square and The Little Veggie Patch Co, who have collaborated to create an AWESOME city project: the Pop Up Patch.

What is it? Smack bang in the heart of the city, it is your very own organic vegetable patch. Each ‘patch’ is made out of wooden fruit crates. It is filled with organic material and soil, ready to plant. You’re given seedlings (three sets a year, to work within the seasons), all the tools you need, and all-week help from gardening staff on-site. The garden is kept locked and secure. They water your vege patch for you when you’re away. And all this for $3.50 a day, over 12 months.

Brilliant, oui? This will be perfect for people who work in the CBD. They can stop by on their way home from work to dig a little, weed a little, and bite down on a juicy cherry tomato, warm from the summer sun, before heading home.

I am sorely tempted to book myself a Pop Up Patch of my very own, friends. SORELY tempted. For me and Madeleine it would be a commitment, requiring a dedicated trip in several times a week to visit our garden. But it’s not far, and we could walk or take the tram. Would I stick with it enough to make it worth it? This decision requires a degree of self-knowledge I’m not sure I possess.

What do you think? Should I do it? Will I see you there?

(All images from The Little Veggie Patch Co website)

ps. These books are going fast. Get a copy while they’re still free!

UPDATE 15 October: I sneaked over to Federation Square once the Pop Up Patch was open, and took some photos. You can see them here (scroll to the bottom).

Last October, this glorious video of a murmuration of starlings over a river in Ireland went viral. I missed it, what with our overseas holiday and my somewhat surprising pregnancy (and subsequent morning sickness). So just in case your attention was elsewhere, too, I’m sharing it here.

Murmuration from Islands & Rivers on Vimeo.

What did you think? I am touched by their collective beauty and precision and, in particular, the mystery they hold. Still nobody knows exactly how these birds create such glorious patterns, en masse, like clockwork.

Starlings are all over Etsy, too. Here are some lovely pieces I found.
Top L-R: starling doll; starling migration map; starling & roses woodcut
Middle L-R: starling greeting card; starling pin; starling skirt
Bottom L-R: starling bag; starling print; starling light-theatre photo