Flickr Favorites

1. Cocktail party, 2. Papavero solitario, 3. ZWARTE TULPEN IN DE MIDDAGZON // BLACK TULIPS IN THE AFTERNOON SUN LIGHT, 4. sprouting moss

I know this is more a spring mosaic then anything but I wanted to make a 'growth' mosaic and what better subject then nature?
New live, growing & making the world a nicer place.

Next Tuesday is the first Tuesday of the month so we play by theme if you like. Minna from Karuski provided the theme: garden party! Yeah! Looking forward to see how you interprete this.

How to make a leather key chain?

A while ago, I got this awesome leather punch set van EviesToolEmporium as part of the Totally Tutorials Exchange program. The only thing I needed to do in exchange of receiving this set is to make a tutorial.
I did a tutorial with the leather punch set already and posted it on Poppytalk Handmade.This tutorial will be a bit similar but I'll show you how to use the leather punch in combination with the eyelet punch.

Here is what you need:
A leather & eyelet punch set, leather, pencil, paper,
thin metal wire, thread, black marker.
Make a drawing onto paper.
Trace it onto the leather.
Punch the holes with a needle so that you know where to place holes.
Cut out the design.
Punch holes.
Place an eyelet into the hole.
Place the eyelet tool onto the eyelet and press firmly.
Glue the head onto the body.

Cut a piece of thread.
Place it into the eyelet hole and make a knot at the end.
Add legs
Cut a little piece of thin metal wire.
This is to help pull the thread through the tiny holes.
Pull the 'legs' through the wooden bead.
Make knots at the end.
Hang your design onto a key chain.

A large key chain is much easier to find back your keys when you need 'em I think... :)

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 decided to post a picture that affects us in one way or the other. And this picture will serve as a source of inspiration for another merrier to make something in next month's post.
I can't wait to see all the pictures.

I chose to use 3 pictures as I wanted repetition and textures to be my theme.
Not that my feet are such interesting topic for pictures nor for inspiration but I just couldn't imagine how life would be without 'em.
My feet have brought me to many places and everyday they show me beautiful things to see and inspire me.
I love looking in general and most of the time it's looking up and around me.
Lately I've been looking down too and I found the most amazing textures right underneath my feet. How I love textures!
So, don't forget to look down too from time to time - there's great stuff right underneath your feet!

Want to know more about what picture the other Merriers chose to share with you? 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

The big package

This was what was inside the more then 30 by 30 package:
An old letterpress drawer that Sandra from Zsazsazsu didn't use anymore.
So pretty that I couldn't say no when she offered it to me...
I know I will have to negotiate next time my other half wants to bring in something bigger then 30 by 30 as he will certainly bring up this drawer... :)

30 by 30

This was the seat next to mine on the trainride back from the beach yesterday.
Not sure if I'm allowed to bring this into our home as we have a 30 by 30 rule when it comes to bringing stuff home. Since we both love stuff/things we tend to collect more then we can hide when needed. :)
So a few years ago, we decided on the 30 by 30 rule which means that we discuss any objects that are bigger then 30cm by 30cm (12 by 12 inches) for permanent stay in our home. It's still unwrapped so I'll try to secretly give it a space as if it has always been there! Will show you what it is tomorrow.

We both tend to be very gentle on the 30 by 30 rule so it's more fun then bad really!
After all, when we discuss a purchase in front of a seller by bringing up the 30 by 30 rule, you can see 'em looking in unbelieve! LOL :)

Flickr Favorites

1. Beach shoes, 2. the rail line, 3. IR (Break) trein St Ghislain 27-06-10,

4. Noordzee / North Sea, Strand, Noordwijk aan Zee

Today I'm going to the beach by train. I love doing both, the beach and going by train. Even more when it's spend in good company. I'll be travelling with Ann from De Zilverij to Oostende to meet up with Sandra from Zsazsazsu. Looking forward to a relaxing day although my head spins with 'mom' and 'to do'-thoughts these days...
I hope I can dig my feet in the water, find beach treasures and sniff the fresh beach air.

Happy weekend

image via Flyingman

Just what I need: a big, relaxing chair for the weekend.
Wish you all a happy one! :)

Art journaling

I received these books a few weeks ago and even though I haven't had enough time to read in them, they are already inspiring me and I've only read a few pages.
Keri suggests to start a journal. I'm one of those people who is afraid of filling blank pages with my horrible handwriting. I also have a fear of drawing. How do I start?

The perfect push I need is the Etsy Labs in Brussels on the 24th of May but when I flipped through my calender I saw that I already filled that day with activities. Boohoo!
Perhaps you can go? I'm sure it will be a blast!

What: Etsy Labs | Art journaling with Anna Denise
When: Tuesday evening 24 May 2011
Where: Turtlewings, 165 Rue Washington, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Bring with you: a journal (like a moleskine or some other kind of journal with strong paper that can be used with watercolor)
Entry: free of charge, but you have to tell Marta that you’re coming ( mpakovska@etsy.com ) and you will get a confirmation of your participation if there is enough space (max 25 participants)
Language: English

image via Dutchhandmade

Special shop

My friend Vanessa came over to spend the weekend with me. She's a kiwi living in the Netherlands and speaks excellent Dutch. Unlike me, she loves shopping so I took her to a very special shop...
Ann van De Zilverij told me about this shop a while ago and I thought it was the perfect place to visit with Vanessa. It has loads of stock that they bought in the seventies and for some reason they still have loads of that. So much that lots of it has to go at really cheap prices...
Shirts and shorts in orignal packaging and it brought me back into my childhood. How fun!
We spend 2 hours in there rummaging through all the boxes and racks. Even I loved it although I usually hate shopping.
Vanessa fitted on I don't know how many dresses and brought home two of them. They looked mighty cute on her! We didn't only buy clothing as we couldn't resist some buttons, wool, fabric and hooks and all got packaged in vintage packaging material. Haha! So cool! :)

Here's where you have to go if you want to go back in time...

Flickr Favorites

1. popjes, 2. Untitled, 3. Scarborough Beach Huts, 4. .. splash !

I can't get enough of happy colors.
They give me an energy boost and make my heart jump.
Do you like happy colors & what do they do to you?

Messy monday

Can't believe a week went by without posting in my blog. Somehow life took over and I just didn't get around writing a post... I kind of hope nobody noticed my absence but when I saw that my blog passed over 2000 blog followers, I think this hope might be idle! ;)
THANK YOU for your interest, support and being part of my community!

Today, Mariana came around to help me make a mess in my studio. We planned on making molds together. We first made a little trip to the secondhand shop around the corner to search for some cool objects to mold. We brought back lots of cups and bowls so it took quite some time to prepare 'em for the plaster treatment.
Luckily the activity is not of the kind that you have to concentrate on really well so we had plenty of time to drink lots of coffee and catch up chatting in between.And to make a mess of course. After all, that was the plan. It even followed us into the kitchen... :)We didn't only make a mess but have been really productive as we used up about 20 kilo's of plaster. I tell you, that's a lot of molds... and will hopefully make lots of pretty objects. :)

Flickr Favorites

1. scene not heard, 2. fly, 3. Painting 04-09-10 C, 4. °

Loving a bit of fog, mist, mystery!
And you?

Curtain skirt

When I saw this fabric in the shop, I knew I had to make something with it.
At first I thought a dress but then I was afraid the print would be too overwhelming so I decided to make an A-line skirt from it. It is actually fabric that I found on the curtain department but I don't really care as it's mighty happy.

It's not totally finished yet but I just wanted to show you that I can do zippers now... I don't do it the way I was thaught at school as it's too much hassle. My co-worker showed me to do it another way. I also looked it up on You Tube so that I could do it step by step and it works perfectly! YAY!
The pattern I used was from Neue Mode J 23250.
My next goal is doing the invisible zipper. Just need to find a neat pattern or project to use it in. And some extra time too of course...

The rebel's manifesto

Keri Smith inspires me.

You're gonna miss me

I came across this You Tube video from Lulu and the lampshades and it made for instant happy. I don't remember how many times I pressed replay! :) Just had to share with you...

I got my ticket for the long way round

Two bottles of whiskey for the way

And I sure would like some sweet company

I'm leaving tomorrow what d'ya say?

When I'm gone/when I'm gone

When I'm gone/ when I'm gone

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

You're gonna miss me by my hair you're gonna miss me everywhere

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

I got my ticket for the long way round

The one with the prettiest views

Its got mountains its got rivers

Its got sites'll (should be woods, whatever you like) give you shivers

But it sure would be prettier with you

chorus x2

third chorus is a bit different ..

You're gonna miss me by my walk you're gonna miss by my talk

And I know you will miss me when I'm gone.

Happy weekend, everyone! :)

Hello Etsy

Earlier this week they announced the availability for tickets for the 'hello Etsy' conference in September in Berlin, Germany.
I couldn't be fast enough to grab a ticket as I just don't want to miss this event!
Not only the content looks fantastic but I also can't wait to meet lots of creative, likeminded people!

There are 4 big themes at the conference:

The business: the nuts and bolts of establishing and running your micro-enterprise: Here we look at finance, legal, and time management.
The big picture: the why and how of human-scale economies. Here we explore a broad range of ways to improve the world.
The product: what you make and how you make it. Here we explore production, materials, presentation and function.

The market: getting your product or service out there. All businesses need customers, how will you reach yours?

This summit is NOT only for Etsy sellers/buyers, it's open to all those who are interested in running their own business and sustainability.

I think it will be an amazing experience and wouldn't want to miss it for the world!
Besides, I have never been to Berlin so I might just add a few days extra to explore the city and surroundings. Anyone has tips for visiting Berlin?

Perhaps I'll meet you there? Hurry and get your tickets here!