After playing...

... comes cleaning!
Bweurk, definately not my favorite activity...

Dusty footprints & plaster drops in the kitchen.Messy table.

More messy table.Messy pots.

This was my studio yesterday.
Today it's clean and fun to work in again.

Work in progress

Making singing birds...
Lots.

Weekly happy stats

Things that made me happy last week:

• Finding my mobile back after it had been missing for 4 days
  (I hardly ever use it but it was a new one and had a new prepaid card on it)
• Supply shopping
  (silly how exciting a sack of 25kg plaster and a few buckets of slipcast can make you)
• Decorating my birch tumblers and having more ideas for the Birch theme
  (why didn't I think of that in fall?)
• Eating cake and chatting a lot with Kim & Mariana
  (hmm, she's a good baker)
  
• Planning an Etsy craft party in my studio
  (and regretting the smallness of my studio so inviting peeps is limited)
  

Random happy pic by wild goose chase

Happy weekend, everyone! :)

Merry go round

Every last friday of the month, I jump on the 'Merry go round'. What is the Merry go round exactly? Each month, a group of craftswomen from around the world join together and give their reponses to the same question/challenge.This months question is a tough one I think...
What do you do to network? In what ways does it work or not work?

When I first started out on Etsy in 2007, I had NO idea about networking. As I tried to be 'present' at the world wide web, I joined every possible network I came across that could be of any interest to me. I ended up starting a blog, setting up a Dawanda shop, getting a Flickr account, joined the European Streetteam, trying to get used to Facebook, signing in at 'we love Etsy' and Indie-public, opened accounts at Deviantart and Ravelry, got myself a Twitter account and started a newsletter. As soon as I did all that, I thought I was set and I could properly start networking. But quickly I realised that because of all the networking, I didn't have time anymore to create.
Hmm... all that effort to then contemplate what network I could close?
So here's what is left from the list and why I love it:

• Blog
  I love blogging as it gives me the opportunity to connect with awesome people worldwide. I find the blogging community one of the most generous and inspirational ways of networking. My blog is a way for me to share my work and processes and I higly value all the feedback I get. I think that the peeps who read and comment on my blog, are the most amazing all around! They make me grow and glow.
• Flickr
  When I first started out on Flickr, I had NO clue what it was about. I didn't understand why someone added me as a contact so I frantically checked 'em out as if it were my enemy. Just because I didn't have a clue. After a while I got the hang of Flickr and now it is among my very favorite sites. I go there every day but because my contact list has grown so much, I can't check out all the uploads. Flickr is highly addictive. I love images and I can just spend hours browsing streams, favorites, search for the most ridiculous word ever and get inspired out of the blue. I love it and it also made my network much larger. I'm so glad I've 'met' so many cool, inspirational peeps there.
  
• Twitter
  With over 7000 Tweets, I think I can be counted among the addicts there too.
  Twitter is a place that I visit every day and that really has a large impact on how my work is spread over the web. I love the short message style kind of thing. I dread reading long blogposts, like this one I'm writing now, so if you're still reading: you have a great attention span. :) For me, Twitter is the perfect way to keep up to date with my network in a really fast way.
• Newsletter
  For over a bit more then a year, I wrote weekly newsletters in diary style. I talked about what I did the past week and added links to tutorials or wip's in my blog or Flickr. I used Google groups to send out these weekly newsletters. I could only see how many people subscribed but not how many people actually read the newsletter.
  Recently I switched to monthly newsletters and use more or less the same content style but I started using Mailchimp. It allows me to get more detailed stats about the use of my newsletter. It actually tells you how many times a link has been clicked, the percentage that opened the newsletter, where they come from,... I'm a sucker for stats so this is fabulous. :)
  Can't really say a lot about Mailchimp yet since I only send out one newsletter but so far it looks absolutely great. You can subscribe to my newsletter here.
• European Streetteam
  I think this was the first thing I did to network and it has been the best deccission ever. A streetteam is just an amazing group of like minded people that are supportive and fun to be around. I have a lot to thank for to the team as all the individuals in the team are gems, one by one!
  

And I regularly check in on my DeviantArt & Ravelry account but I don't spend much time there. I suppose you just can't do it all...

So, I narrowed it down quite a bit from where I started but I think that I stuck to the networks that worked best for me. It's something personal and what works for me, might not work for you. You can compare it with chocolate: some prefer really dark chocolate, other's go for the milk chocolate and then you have a lot of white chocolate lovers. You have to try it to see what you like best... I'm still undeccisive on what chocolate I like best so I have to keep on trying I suppose... :)

Want to know how the other merriers look upon this networking question? Hop over to their blogs. Please bear in mind that the members will be posting at different times of the day, depending on which world time-zone they are in :)
Alison at Tweed thoughts
Kim at Vilt a la Kim
Sara at Saras Texture Crafts
Fabienne at Easterya Jewellery
Mariana at Florcita
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent
Lily at Lily Pang Art and Design
Ruth at Birdland Creations

My creative space

Today is going to be packed! I'm trying to get lots done this week and I sometimes feel like a headless chicken running around doing it. This morning I'll try to decorate some tumblers with black stain so that they can dry while I go to a tea party at Mariana/Florcita's home in the afternoon. Then I'll be able to glaze 'em tonight and if I have enough, fill the kiln and fire it. And in between all that, I'll try to drop by at my suppliers too for more goodies. Poor wallet! :)

Want to show your space? Hop over to Kootoyoo's to play! It's fun! :)

And I forgot to pick a winner for my spoolknitted flower last week.
I asked a random number on Twitter and Anta chose number 23.The lucky winner is Jennifer Rose. YAY! :)

I'm obsessed!

With tissues.
Lots of them.
Everywhere.
One box in every room of the house and one in the car.
And at least 6 of them in stock.
Just in case I run out.

Crazy huh? :)
Do you have an obsession?

Flickr Favorites

1. shoulder bag laminated cotton (multicolor floral), 2. shower, 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled

I randomly went through some of my favorite pictures and I thought that these just fit really well together. There is something calming about putting together mosaics.
Oh, and I love that bag! It makes me happy only looking at it.

A few weeks ago, I did a vintage themed mosaic and I gathered that lots of people would like to work around a theme sometimes. So, I was thinking about doing a themed mosaic every first Tuesday of the month. Easy to remember and I'll announce the theme the week previous to the themed mosaic theme. Let me know what you think about this. The theme for next week is emptiness/loneliness.
If you have suggestions for a theme, feel free to send me a quick message via e-mail: mitsy@artmind.eu

My favorite mosaic from last week lead me to a new favorite ceramic artist. I simply love her work!

If you like to play this week, make your mosaic and add a link to your blogpost (NOT your blog please) or Flickr in Mister Linky (click on the button below and fill in your name with the link to your blogpost or Flickr picture)...

Before and after

BEFOREMarch 18th

AFTER
May 18th

I love all seasons, but spring and fall are my favorite. Remember I couldn't wait to get my hands on this patch of the garden after winter? I'm so happy now that that it's all in full bloom!

Work in progress

Busy making happy girls for the Sunday Market...

They are excited, can you tell? :)

Weekly happy stats

Things that made me happy last week:

• New clothes (although I hate clothes shopping)
• Riding my bike
  
• Planting a raspberry bush
• Sweet & fun comments on my blog (thank YOU)
  
• Drinking a cherry beer on a sunny terrace
  

Random happy pic by Pieter Musterd

Happy weekend, everyone! :)

Oh puppies!

I bought this Dachshund cookie cutter a while back as I thought it was mighty cute.

I pressed it into clay slabs and fired them. When they were bisque fired, I applied happy colors of glaze to them. Guess what I exclaimed when I opened the kiln?

Oh, puppies! :)

I'm wondering if I should make brooches or magnets from these...
What would you prefer?

My creative space

There's lots of stuff on my table at the moment but this is what I'll be working on outside in the sun today.
I'm making functional ceramics for the Sunday Market in Amsterdam.
Now, what would those ceramic balls be used for... :)

Want to show your space? Hop over to Kootoyoo's to play! It's fun! :)

Paper doll project

A while ago, Anastasia send me a message asking me to participate in a project of hers called 'Paper Doll project'. Just for fun and I really like to do things 'just for fun'. :) Besides that, I think it's an awesome idea and I hope that lots of people will join.

She made a drawing of herself and asks people to make clothes for her.
You can download the drawing in her blog.
Then you get to work with paper, pencil, fabric, paint, crayons, recycling material,... you name it, lots of possiblities.
So here's what I did...

BEFORE AFTER

I cut out a dress from wallpaper and added some rikrak ribbon at the bottom.
I love mary janes so I decided to give her red velvet mary jane-shoes.
Her accesoiries consist out of a red necklace & hairpin.

I'm not a fashion designer and to be honest, I'm not all that interested in clothes at all. I really liked the challenge to make something of this and yes, it did draw me out of my comfort zone again. Now, go and make some clothes for Anastasia! :)

Flickr Favorites

1. strawberries, 2. 20060917 - Raspberries, 3. three, 4. hungry

I have red fruit on my mind lately! I love strawberries and raspberries the best.
We still have to plant a red raspberry bush in our garden. I used to have a white raspberry bush but when the house got renovated, I gave it away.
Did you ever taste white raspberries? They are yummy!
We also have a small patch of wild strawberries - they are tiny but make for a good addition to my smoothies! :) Talking about berries, I can't wait till I can go blue berry picking - that seems like something I haven't done for a long long time.

My favorite mosaic from last week was small but big.

THANK YOU, Ange aka Gnomeangel for your AWESOME postcard from the Outback! I love it! :)

If you like to play this week, make your mosaic and add a link to your blogpost (NOT your blog please) or Flickr in Mister Linky (click on the button below and fill in your name with the link to your blogpost or Flickr picture)...

Result Birch tumbler

Remember I made birch tumblers the other day?
They were bisque fired and looked really good but suddenly I was doubting they would look good when glazed. I looked at my stain samples to see if I could apply a bit more color to them as they looked too white. Of course I had a sample which seemed to have the perfect color but I never wrote down how I mixed it. Bummer and lesson learned!

So I didn't dare to apply it to all my cups and made new samples for future reference.
I mixed some black stain with water and applied it to the cup. I rubbed it off nearly right away and let the cup dry again. Then I applied some transparant glaze and fired it.

I think that it comes pretty close. Perhaps I should leave the stain a tad bit longer to darken it up a bit more. It came out better then I expected but...

You see that some of the glaze chipped off?
That's because the clay slib I made myself didn't really attach to the clay.
So, good that I made a sample and now I know I'll have to add some glaze to the clay slib to make it stick better. I have a lot of cups which have been bisquefired already and I can not change the clay slib anymore.
I'll cross my fingers it was just accidental with this one cup! :)

But I really do like the end result! Do you?

How to make a spoolknitted flower?

When I posted my knitting spool in my creative space and on Flickr the other day, people asked to show 'em how to do spool knitting. I found a good tutorial on YouTube for spoolknitting that shows all the steps very clearly so head over the movie first to learn the tips and tricks of spool knitting. Or in case you like to see it a picture step-by-step, here is another good tutorial.

I did however make a tutorial on how to make a flower brooch from spool knitting.
(the picture quality is so-so 'cause the weather couldn't decide to either be sunny or cloudy)

Here is what you need:
A spoolknitted thread (min. 30cm or 12 inch) that can be easily divided by five
(one or more colors), a measuring tape,
pins, needle, thread, a brooch back.Divide your spoolknitted thread in five equal parts and mark them with a pin.
I used 40cm or 16inch as a length and have 5 loops of 8cm around.
Sew the loops together with the same color.
Stick your needle in the first marked spot.
Bring your needle to the next mark and you'll have a loop.
Make a few stitches to keep the parts together.
Go to the next marked spot and make a few stitches to close the loop.
Go to the third marked spot and repeat the former action.
Now you have three loops attached in the middle.
I decided to tie a knot and cut off the excess thread.
I will use the ends of the spoolthread to fasten 'em in the middle.
Make the last loop.
For the heart of the flower, I used a different color to brighten up the result.
This piece is 15cm or 6inches long and I made a coil from it so that I can sew it onto the heart of the flower.

Use the end of the thread to sew the coil together.
Just twist it around in a circle and make sure you sew it together on the back.
It doesn't really matter if it's neat or not as nobody will see it.
As long the coil doesn't fall apart it will do fine.
Then sew the coil onto the heart of the flower.
Add a pin back. Your spool knitted flowerbrooch is ready to rock your outfit.

I loved all the awesome ideas some of you left in the comments of my spoolknitting post - thanks so much for taking the time to go back in time with me - it made me smile big time!

I'll round 'em up for you here:
Heather suggested to make a dollhouse rug.
Mickymunchkin is a bit more ambitious and suggested to make a carpet.
Matchstickgirl used to make scarfs for Barbie and Ken.
Miss Minoes made lots of potholders for her mom when she was younger.
Kraplap made this awesome item.
ZsaZsaZsu uses her spool in combination with beads to make jewellery.
Jennifer Rose suggested to use it in the X-mastree.
Amoebahandmade said that she would like to use linen yarn and make basket handles or a very skinny belt.
Rosina used to make metres and metres of yarn snakes with her spool when she was little.

Don't forget to look at this tutorial from Salihan who left a great link in today's comments! Super awesome idea to make coasters.

How about we all get our spools out and get together sometime? :) Now that would be fun!

You can still enter a comment on this blogpost to win the blue flowerbrooch I made last thursday. That brooch is smaller and I used approximately 30cm of spoolknitted thread to make it.

Weekly happy stats

Things that made me happy last week:

• Vintage week on my blog
• Spoolknitting
• Cat cuddles
• Seeing the seedlings grow
• Eating strawberries

Random happy pic by Lilfishstudios

Happy weekend, everyone! :)

Vintage cooking

When I found this vintage apron back in my closet the other day, I decided to do a post about 'vintage cooking'. Nothing is more pleasant then peeking into a vintage kitchen and perhaps trying out a vintage recipe.

image via CountryLiving

Nothing beats to what grandma used to make, right? Charming vintage recipes and vintage recipes provide a good source of lovely recipes. I especially love browsing through the dessert section of the last one. :)

image via Nickandnessies

There is also a Flickr group called vintage cookbooks. I loved browsing through it. The images of these cookbooks are so excessive in decoration and setting. I love the static way people used to show off a pie! LOL :)

image via MyHomeIdeas

I just love the tabletop in this kitchen. And the tins and the plate rack and...

Vintage recipe box via Thriftalholic

I love to get a box like this and then order some of the cards below. Now lots of recipes are just stuck between my favorite cookbook and it's making it really fat and unhandy to use.

personalized recipe cards by the Petite Press

image via Bloesem

No vintage kitchen without a bit of Pyrex. The color and designs brighten up any kitchen.

I realize that I don't have lots of vintage in my kitchen, do you?