Noticing

The bigger the circle, the slower the progress... :)

Flickr Favorites

1. What to focus on, 2. Spring morning, 3. The green house, 4. Untitled, 5. Red - Green, 6. summer love, 7. Bare Feet, New Sprouts, 8. D2X_2359, 9. Goodbye to a new season, 10. Grass Is Always Greener, 11. starring green, 12. Kröller-Müller Museum, 13. shout!

I love Marc Johns as an artist. His drawings always make me smile so I thought I'd focus on happy and built a mosaic around it. :) With green of course, my favorite colour! :)

Next Tuesday is the first Tuesday of the month so we play by theme if you like.
I challenge you to make a fashionable mosaic. Perhaps you would like to show us what clothes you like wearing, accesoiries that blow you off your feet or admit you have a shoe addiction...
Do you have a fun theme for next month? Don't hesitate to let me know!

Bad habits

I know that lots of you might find this extremely weird: sandwiches with butter and chocolate sprinkles for breakfast. It's very common in Belgium to put chocolate sprinkles on bread and you can't make me any happier in the morning!
Fresh, white bread with a crunchy crust, richly buttered and pure, chocolate sprinkles... BLISS!

Thank goodness we don't have strawberry pop tarts and crumpets readily available in our supermarket... :)
What's your favorite breakfast?

Great minds...

Great minds quote by chiefandcrown

I would have loved a chat with Eleanor, how about you?
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 month we were asked to introduce you to an artist who's work I find inspiring or interesting. It could be anyone at all, famous or not, dead or alive, ugly or pretty,...

That's pretty tough for me as my inspiration is influenced by so much and many around me. It is too hard for me to pick just one artist which inspires me so I think I'll cheat a bit... (shhht!)

Clay is the medium that I've been working the most with the past years and because of the nature of the classes I took, I'm used to work in themes or projects. We would get an assignment and that's where I usually started off to find inspiration. I would think how I could translate the assignment and find connections with my thoughts in books, on the internet or in real life.
I remember how hard it was in the beginning. First of all the anxiety to not have any inspiration at all and second the fear of having too many images in my head.
I never started an assignment right away and usually did some freewheel claying to give my head some space to 'deal' with my thoughts.

It still works like this in a way although I do miss the interaction with my fellow ceramic students a lot. We used to stop by each others table and give feedback on each others work.
Suggest someone to try something a different way or ask advice on how they would tackle a certain concept. I believe that interaction around your work is what makes it come to life most.

I love to be around creative people and do things together. It's a process that makes me grow in every way. Be it crocheting granny squares at a crafty meet up, giving a workshop at home, do supply shopping with friends and discuss art materials or exchange thoughts on a certain image on Flickr,... so really it's the entire creative community that inspires me every single day.

Finger pointing with limited DOF by Jamie McKerral

Hey, that's probably YOU I'm referring to as you are reading this blog, you are part of my creative community and thus my main source of inspiration.

I would not be as inspired if no one would ever visit me in this space, on Flickr, Twitter or at home. I love getting feedback on what I'm up to and I love to give my opinion on other people's projects although I feel that I do too little of that last bit nowadays*.
I should as I really feel that I want to give back what I receive... support, friendship and inspiration! Thank you source of inspiration, I hope you'll stick around for many, many more!

*I have issues with time.

Want to know what the source of inspiration of the other Merriers is? 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 :)

Laura at Blue Terracotta
Monika at Red2White
Ruth at Birdland Creations
Kim at Vilt a la Kim
Sara at Crafts of Texture
Samantha at Vintage is for lovers
Mariana at Florcita
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent
Jen at Painted Fish Studio
Bethany at Dirksen Dabbles

Please rewind...

I had the past few days off work so they were spend creating. I hadn't touched clay in while and a much needed catch up was in order. The house could use a good scrub too but creative time is always more important of course so I had the perfect excuse to skip cleaning...
I also took the garden set out to spend some time claying in the first spring sun. Bliss!

And yesterday was my day 'off' and I went so see my mom and we had a lovely day together. Really enjoyed spending time with her shopping and laughing our heads off in the fitting room.
She skipped a week of chemotherapy which does wonders for her energy levels. She's back on track tomorrow though...
In the late afternoon I met up with Karla from Karlita in our favorite chocolate place in town (Boon) for a lovely chat and coffee with delicious chocolates...

Please rewind...

Flickr Favorites

1. Glow, 2. Untitled, 3. we dream, 4. redwoods

I love to browse through the Flickr explore pictures and there are always pics that draw my attention and are added to my favorites instantly. But I do wonder how they choose the 'explore' pictures as lots of them are 'wow' and lots of 'em are 'WTF'. :)
Do you like browsing through the explore section?

How to make recycled decorative tape?

I love Japanese masking tape and the way it's used for wrapping gifts and decorating. It is fun to make your own tape with designs that you specifically want to use for a certain package. It's a great way to recycle some paper scraps that you kept around for god knows what reason...

Here is what you need:
Doublesided tape, cutting mat, cutting knife,
a variety of magazines, folders, newspapers, wrapping paper,...
Cut out a piece of patterned paper from a magazine.
Turn it around and stick a piece of doublesided tape on it.
Cut along the sides of the doublesided tape with your cutting knife.
With a paper punch, you can also punch figures out of the strip.
Take away the paper from the tape and stick it onto a giftbox.

Tada! How easy it is to pimp your packages with your recycled decorative tape!Update:
I just now see that Pascale from between the lines did a tuto on diy Japanese tape too not very long ago. I completely missed it but it's really rad! Check it out here!

You are special

(dank je wel, Liane!)

Don't forget: you are special!
Happy weekend everyone!

UFO's

Since I started crocheting in the beginning of 2009. I know I was determined to tackle the basics but started out a bit too ambitious by wanting to make a pair of slippers. It took me at least four tries to get it right.

1. Hmm..., 2. Second attempt, 3. Third attempt, 4. Attempt 4: Miracle!

Since then, I've been infected by the crochet bug. You can find my projects on Ravelry or in my Flickr. Lately I find I have too little time to crochet but I see so many fun projects around that I usually am very tempted to start yet another project.

So, I thought if I publicly shared my UFO's (unfinished objects), I will be more determined to finish 'em? It is quite embarrassing to see 'em grow instead of see 'em finished...

My granny square blanket.

My ripple blanket.My little blanket.My studio chairs.

Thank goodness I have two of the four finished...

And last but not least, a new project started earlier this week...

My yarn bag.

And I do have a few smaller projects in little pouches here and there too... *blushes*

But, I'm quite confident that I'm not the only one with UFO's laying around so feel free to do a little confession and tell me about yours! :)

We think out loud

How happy I am to show you the work of an artist I admire so much! It's sweet Belinda from GretchenMist. She has an Etsy shop and through her blog I follow what she's up to and it's always fresh and fun.
As a person that's afraid of the paint brush and blank canvasses, I so admire her use of color and shapes. Somehow, Belinda always manages to balance it out so beautifully that it always feels light and airy.

So I really want to show you the prints I won from Belinda's give-away! I was totally surprised and happy as I have been an admirer of her work for ages.
I could pick any print I liked - oh joy - I chose 'we think out loud' because I think it's an important reminder to communicate and exchange thoughts.Belinda was so kind to send me an extra print which is called 'we get together and dream'
Aren't they both beautiful?
Soon we'll be re-doing one of our rooms in the house and they will certainly get a beautiful spot there.

Thanks so much, Belinda! I'm so happy to get inspired by your work! :)

Flickr Favorites

1. Official Granny Stripe Palette, 2. Cute sewing box, 3. Untitled, 4. Compai at the Etsy Labs

Last night I went to a crafty get together in my neighborhood. A few weeks ago, a new sew, stitch, knit & crochet group started. Every 3 weeks they come together to play around with thread, yarn, fabric & of course, lots of chatting is involved.
I loved it - so many creative and fun people together. I loved looking at what other projects people were working on and I think it's actually a way for me to get some of my projects finished. If I don't chat and look around too much of course...

If you live in the neighborhood, feel free to join. You can contact Katleen from Prutsen & she'll inform you when the next get together is. Hope to see you there! :)

Hello weekend

Larry, Moe and Curly the finger puppet monsters by squirrel momma

Ohh, half the weekend is gone already before I could even wish you a happy one.
Crazy week here and unfortunately the blog gets affected first.
I promise I'll make up for that at the end of next week as then I'm having a few days off and time to get some photography done, clay, experiment and play around. I can't wait!

Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?
I'll be doing the ironing tonight, clean up my messy studio and then have some friends over to play in my studio tommorow. Looking forward to that last bit most! ;)

A beautiful slice of hope...

About a year ago, Baa from Baahar put lots of work and effort in getting the European Streetteam's charity shop rolling. It's called Europe for Charity and it's filled with items donated by people from all over Europe. There is a great variety in work to be found there and I would like to invite you to take a peek in the the charity shop if you feel like shopping.

The profit from the shop is donated to 2 causes so far: one is Architecture for Humanity for their rebuilding work in Pakistan and Haiti and the other cause is 'BlinkNow Foundation' to support their Kopila Valley Children's Home and School.

I'd like to invite you to look at a video of a very inspiring, young girl named Maggie. She decided that she could change things and still does...

Maggie Doyne — Why the human family can do better from The Do Lectures on Vimeo.

Not only am I dearly in love with Nepal and the Himalayas, but also the happy girls were so taken by her project, that we decided to spread the love...

Normally I don't sell the happy girls in my Etsy shop as they are part of my branding. But I do know that people love 'em so I made 12 packs of 7 happy girls in rainbow colours available to support Kopila Valley's Home and School.They are for sale here and each sale will go directly to Maggie's BlinkNow-foundation. The happy girls can't wait to fly off to new homes so that they can support the Nepali orphans and send 'em to school.

Flickr Favorites

1. cobwebby, 2. Untitled,
3. Untitled, 4. Pink Hydrangeas papier mache bowl

I love red so I made a composition of some of my latest favorites on Flickr.
The 2 pictures below are papier maché results - aren't they rad?

Relaxing weekend

Ness rolling balls of yarn.
Nothing more comforting then rolling balls of yarn.
Part of the highest waterfall in The Netherlands.
So big that I couldn't capture it on my camera. Can you sense the irony? :)
Lots and lots and lots of lovely cappucino's.
Spring in the park.
Cat looking at invaders from Belgium.

I had a lovely, relaxing and fun weekend. How about you?

Lots of nothing

warp speed by Roboputz

Since you all loved the picture of the dogs so much in my last mosaic, I'm treating you with another one today.
This weekend, I'm taking a little roadtrip to visit my friend Vanessa in The Netherlands.
We planned lots of nothing & I can't wait for relaxing and enjoying some time off.

Happy weekend everyone!

Happy world

We're up to something.
More news sometime next week...

Humpday

I wish I was sharing more creative stuff on my blog lately.
Where is the time were I shared creative projects in progress, shots of my table & my crochet endeavours?
The past few months I've been swamped with work which I am really thankful for as it means that things are going well. On the other hand is it making me feel like a little factory as I can't get around to try out new ideas in my head.
Frustrating sometimes but I still love love love what I do.
It's a fun factory you see.

I suppose it's all about finding balance but it's really hard to choose for the work that is already on my plate and not pick the interesting and fun things that are on the table too. I sometimes feel a bit like a child in a candy store...

I am grateful that I can do what I do and that there are so many supportive and inspiring people out there to help me do it.
Yip, that's you that I'm talking about!
So today, here's a little thank you for all your kind words, your thoughts and support.
Thank you for visiting my space, following my work, love what I do & being part of my community. Even if you never comment or 'talk' to me, I know you're out there... :)

Wishing you a wonderful humpday today! :)

flickr favorites

1. Dream., 2. Blue Dreams, 3. exhibit four, 4. Three Dog Road Trip

It's just a dream.

'Every great dream begins with a dreamer.
Always remember, you have within you the strength,
the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.'
Harriet Tubman

It's the first Tuesday of the month so we play by theme if you like.
Fancypants provided the theme and suggested to make a mosaic around 'a collection of dreams'.
I'm a dreamer and I'd like to keep all options open.
Head in the wind and try to make as many of them come true.
Life is good if we can keep on dreaming...