Perfect day

Today was just a perfect day. The last day of February - the first day of Spring. That's what it felt like, here in Paris. Sun all day. The four of us went to our favorite park just a couple of blocks away. The kids ran and played, rode their scooters, K. relaxed in the sun - and I was watching Spring unfold through my lens...












Just a perfect day...

Nested eggs

Was it the feathers on the beach or just me longing for spring, but as I was cleaning up my little craft corner and came across a bobbin of metal wire, I had this Aha-moment: a bird nest with felted eggs! (Some of you might remember the wire-wrapped felted heart from a while ago). I didn't do much crafting over the past two weeks (to the extent that I feel a little deprived...) since the kids are on winter break, but last night I had a go at it. And here's the result with a short how-to. Hope you'll like it as much as we do!



For this craft you'll need:

- metal wire, round nosed pliers and cutting pliers
- a small amount of roving, felting needles and a foam pad for needle felting the eggs
- some raffia, or other bits and pieces (newspaper, fabric, burlap, yarn, grass, twigs,...) for weaving into the nest

Step 1: Wire-wrap the nest and eggs.

Try to do so without cutting the wire - keeping the wire in one piece. Start at one side of the nest and bend, twist, turn, ... ending with the loop part for hanging. Don't worry about the wire popping up or not staying put while you go. You can correct this later with your round nosed pliers. Cut wire with the cutting pliers and wrap the end around somewhere on the side, to secure. Now, using your round nosed pliers you can perfect the wire-wrapped nest, shape the eggs,...

Step 2: Needle felt the eggs
I've used soft tones for this project, but of course the possibilities are endless. You could try to do colorfully decorated Easter eggs, for one thing. Use your imagination! First felt a little piece slightly bigger than the egg on your foam pad. Next, put the nest with eggs on top and wrap the excess over the wire and felt to secure. Keep punching those needles, flipping the project a couple of times to avoid everything getting stuck to the foam pad and in order to have both sides nicely and evenly felted. Don't worry about the wire showing, this actually adds to the charm of the project. As I wanted the eggs to look like eggs (well, sort of...) I added a little roving as I went, to give them some "body".

Step 3: Weave in some raffia or anything else you have at hand.

Other options: I think this project would work well with papier-mâché eggs, which you could paint then. This would make it a suitable project for kids (which needle felting certainly is not!!).
Need to try this with my girls!

Art on the beach :: Getij-dingen...

... or translated in English: "things in the tide". That's the name of an ongoing art exhibit on the beach between Koksijde and Nieuwpoort, Belgium. The name of the exhibit - Getij-dingen - has to be taken literally as artwork has been attached to 15 wooden beach poles and gets flooded as the water comes and goes with the tides. The pieces change over time, through the works of the see, the wind, the sand. Some get lost and replaced. An interesting concept, if you ask me.

Here's a selection of the ones we've seen on our walk. There are more and I definitely want to go back on our next visits...

For those of you interested in this exhibit, go check here for more information - unfortunately it's in Dutch only.


This one's a bit creepy, but somehow it's my favorite...



Also a favorite...







The girls loved the more colorful ones...

March 2009 Calendar!

I can hardly believe it, but we have only a couple more days to go before it's March! Spring! Maybe, hopefully... We are so much in need of a little bit of sunshine. The days are getting longer already, which is really nice.
Anyway, here is the download-able March calendar. The February one, I made completely from scratch, and it took me quite a while to get it right (well, sort of right). Things got a lot easier this time as I ran into the Flickrtoys calendar templates (desktop and monthly calendar sheet). So much easier!! So, feel free to download this calendar here or go over to Flickrtoys to make one of your own, using your favorite pictures. You'll see there's plenty more you can do with your favorite photographs. Maybe, something fun to do on those still long winter evenings...
And before you'll know it Spring will be there!

Birds of a feather...

We're back from our little trip to the seaside! And apart from one of our girls ending up having a gastro (which luckily didn't last too long and from which she recovered really well), it was great! We had only one day of rain, otherwise the weather was really nice, sunny even! I promised my girls I would take my camera with me only once...which I did on Wednesday, the sunniest day of the week as it turned out. We went for a long walk, had the beach to ourselves, and spotted all kind of things... like feathers. I got really inspired by these tiny, soft, perfectly white, seagull feathers, some of them having droplets of water sitting on them, every single one totally different, the gentle movement of the little hairs with the wind... I thought they were simply beautiful!



And shells! Lots of them. We collected some to take home as little H. wants to show them in class. And although Valentine's Day has past already, we thought these looked like Valentine's Day hearts...



But there was more on the beach... like art (and I mean real Art), of which I'll show you some pictures later...
The kids have one more week off from school and it looks like it will be another busy week, but I'm sure I'll be able to check in from time to time and hope you'll do the same!

Cheers!
P.

Signing off...

... for the week. The girls have their well-deserved winter break now and we'll be spending some time at the beach. So, I'm taking a couple of days off from blogging. But I'll be back soon, with - who knows - some more crafts and pictures from the beach. And I'm planning on a give-away in March. So, please, keep checking in from time to time! I'd better start packing now...

Have a wonderful week!

...first blossoms spotted

Quote of the day...

Little H. this morning: "Mommy, mommy! Come and look! The Valentine Rabbit came!!"

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

P.

created with Wordle

Valentine :: wrapping up - ctd.!!

After I posted my previous post - the braided necklace with portrait - I started thinking there had to be a different, more kid-friendly, way for closing the necklace than a clasp. A button maybe? I immediately went checking my box with little treasures, and yes! There I found, of all things, a red heart-shaped mother-of-pearl button!! Exactly what I needed! It took me five - well, maybe ten - more minutes to finish off the necklace. This completely erased my earlier worries about not having a little mommy-made present for my little girl yet...

So, here's what it finally looks like:


Cute, not?

Want to know how I did it? Keep on reading, then!

Here's what you'll need for this last minute project.

for the braid:
- 3 strips of fabric or ribbon, about 1 yard long (that's a rough guess) and 5mm wide. I've used two strips of left over fabric, each with a different print, and a piece of silk (embroidery) ribbon. When cutting the strips, don't worry too much about cutting it straight or getting a ruler, just cut! You won't see the imperfections once braided.
- a chopstick and something to hold the chopstick into place while braiding (I've used a cutting board with handle; you could also use a ring binder,...) - this is just for practical reasons, i.e. to keep the braid from twisting and slipping away while you go, and it will help you to make a nice and evenly spaced out braid.

for the ornament:
- a template - this could be anything. I've used a flower. A heart would be nice too. It's Valentine's Day after all!
- two small pieces of fabric
- a small amount of batting or fiberfill
- a picture and some colored pencils. (Note: you might as well use stamps for decorating, instead of a picture. Use your imagination and creativity!)
- iron-on transfer paper

for the closure:
- embroidery floss
- button

further decorations (optional): beads, colorful buttons, etc.



1. Make a braid, using the three strips of fabric. I'm convinced this doesn't need any further explanation... Tie a knot at both ends when done, to secure.

2. Prepare the picture. For this step, I refer to this post. I've used the exact same procedure.

3. Cut out your template from both pieces of fabric. Did I say one had to be of a light color if you want to transfer a picture on it?

4. Transfer picture onto light colored fabric

5. Squeezing a small amount of batting or fiberfill in between, with a contrasting color, sew the two pieces together using small stitches.

6. Cut the braid to the desired length, taking into account an extra margin for making a loop at one end later.

7. Sew the ornament into place onto the braid. Do the same for the other decorations you chose.

8. On one end, sew on the button. A useful hint: when sewing on the button put a tooth pick or match between the button and the braid. The little space you'll get, will make sure the loop (see next) will stay put under the button. (I'm not sure I express myself clearly here. If not, let me know!)

9. On the other end: fold over the braid to make a loop. Secure with a couple of stitches using embroidery floss, don't cut off the thread but twist it around the braid a couple of times and then secure by slipping the needle under and back to the beginning. (Again, I'm not sure this is clear. Let me know!) Secure, cut off and ...


DONE!!

Valentine :: wrapping up!

With only three more days to go and one project completely gone wrong, I felt a little pressured. That was until last night! I still didn't have a little mommy-made present for little H. after the Black-Apple-Doll-mishap. So, I had to come up with something new - and preferably something fast as well! And I did.
So, here' a little sneak-preview. I'm not completely done yet, but it's just a matter of minutes now. A colorful braided necklace with portrait...

Egg-free Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

We made some Chocolate Chip Cookies this afternoon!! The three girls together! We just did our first tasting and they are GOOD!! Really good! M. took one to gym-class now for her coach...

We haven't done any baking since, well... I believe since we've left California. We used to bake a lot. From cookies over bread to fruit pies. For quite a while I would bake all of our bread. The bread soon became a staple at potluck dinners. I just loved every single step in the process: the kneading, seeing it rise, the smell while it's rising or in the oven, the excitement every time you take it out of the oven, as every loaf looks different from the previous one, the sound of the knife in the freshly baked crust...
Since we moved to Paris, there is no incentive for baking our own bread anymore. We have at least ten bakeries within close walking distance...and the bread here is SO good - what did I say? Outrageously good!

For cookies and pies, Martha Stewart was my main resource. I just loved her recipes. I subscribed to Living and Food Every Day, would buy the specials,...
However, we had one limitation: no eggs! no nuts! - as one of our girls was diagnosed with a severe egg and nut allergy when she was about six months old. As most baking recipes call for eggs, baking cookies was quite a challenge at the beginning. That is, until I found out about EnerG's Egg Replacer. It took a while to get the dosage right, but once that problem solved, we could make just about everything - and I believe I can say no one ever noticed there weren't any eggs involved! Baking became a fun activity with the kids. Especially little H. enjoyed our baking sessions.



The absolute favorite were our egg-free chocolate chip cookies. The recipe below is an adaptation from a Martha recipe - tried-and-true! Instead of using water to dissolve the egg-replacer, as suggested on the box, I use milk - something I do for most baking recipes. Also, the egg-replacer tends to color down the cookies a bit, so I've replaced part of the granulated sugar by light brown sugar. Depending on your oven, you might also want to increase the baking time a bit. Just keep an eye on them as they bake!
A batch of these usually doesn't last long, here!

Egg-free chocolate chip cookies

US version
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 teaspoons egg-replacer dissolved in 8 tablespoons (lukewarm) milk
2 cups semisweet- or milk-chocolate chips, or a combination of both (about 12 ounces; Trader Joe’s semisweet are great!)

European version
250 g self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
150 g unsalted butter, softened
150 g granulated sugar
50 g packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 teaspoons egg-replacer dissolved in 120 ml (lukewarm) milk
200 g dark or milk chocolate chips, or a combination of both; if you can't find chocolate chips, just smash a bar of chocolate to pieces...

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175-180°C). Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. In a separate bowl beat together on medium speed butter and sugars until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce to low speed and add vanilla and dissolved egg-replacer; mix until well combined, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. If necessary, add more milk, one tablespoon at a time and no more than two. Stir in chocolate chips.
2. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through baking time, until centers are set and edges are golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature up to 1 week (but they usually don’t last that long…).

A little side-note: As I don't have a decent mixing bowl nor a good mixer, the batter would keep splattering around. I had already moved the whole setting to the counter near the sink, when M. got a paper plate. "Hey, wait a minute! That's a great idea! Let's cut a hole in it and place it between the mixer and bowl", I said. The girls thought it was hilarious, but it worked! A more transparent plate would have worked even better! And M.? She went to get her little camera...

Disclaimer: Before starting, make sure to check all the labels of all ingredients you're about to use for the presence of possible allergens!!

Moon

one moon...



two moons... (digital collage) - "The expression two moons (or sometimes, two heads) was often used in Chinese Buddhism to indicate a state of divided consciousness. The state when we are thinking about something while we are doing something else is one example of this. But the Buddhist state is oneness in action – a state in which there is no second moon..." - extract from Wisdom Books

An old passion revisited: handmade jewelry...

Last Friday, after posting the wire wrapped felted heart, I went on a long stroll through Paris. An inspiring walk, I must say! Except from buying some fabric and a Frappuccino, I didn't spend a dime. But I did get a refreshing load of new ideas - for free.
A couple of years ago, I started making jewelry. It all begun with a two-hour beading class at the local fine arts center. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets... I made tons of them. I found my inspiration in JJill catalogues, the local farmers' market, and other places I can't remember ... Some pieces I still have, some I gave away as presents, some of it I sold at our moving sale. And then, all of a sudden, it stopped. I found some new hobbies like needle felting, collage, messing around with paint, baking, photography... I did a bit of sewing again. But I didn't make any jewelry for the past two years.
And then, this weekend, some new ideas kicked in and I made this necklace and really had fun at it! Doesn't it look beautiful?!



Except for the bronze chain, pendant, split rings and pins, I had everything here at at home. The braid and fabric pompom, I had made a while ago. They were just sitting in my "crafts" box, waiting until I found some new inspiration to do something with them. The braid was made out of silk ribbon and fabric strips. Some of you might even recognize the fabric. It's the same one I used in quite a few projects by now (here and here) and which I originally got to make some pyjama pants with - which I never finished, by the way. I don't even remember where they ended up...But I guess I'm deviating.
The pompom just "happened" (same fabric!). If you'd like to make one of these: they're really easy. All you need is fabric strips (about 0.5 cm) and a pompom template (I made my template with some heavy weight card stock) and you just proceed as you would for a regular yarn pompom. When done, you just trim here and there with scissors to get it into shape and ... done!
Besides the gem stones and bronze flower pendant, I added a (tiny) leather strip. That leather, I got a while back at BHV, a big department store here in Paris. I had no idea what I would use it for - I just loved the color and needed to have it!(I've got some nice green too!) And see, it fits in perfectly with the rest and (the back of it) made the perfect surface to put the necklace on in the light box...

Now, will I wear it? I don't know. It might end up in my jewelry box just like the other stuff I made or I might put it on display against a wall. The thing is, I hardly wear any jewelry, but I love to make it...
And I'm already planning a next one!

A gift...

... from me to you. A downloadable calendar for February!
I need to admit this wasn't entirely my idea. I had been thinking of making one for a while now, and then I stumbled upon this post at Chocolate and Zucchini - a great blog, with great recipes, and great pictures! You should check it out - yes, Mom, I have the feeling you'll just love it! I'd love to try making my own vanilla extract - among all the other yummy things there! A good resource to boost my culinary performances a bit, as I haven't been doing great in the kitchen lately... You should ask my kids about it!



Now, a little more about the calendar. I've made two versions: a desktop version (shown at the very top of this post) as well as a printable version (right above here) which provides space to write in. Both will be available from the sidebar, as off tonight or tomorrow morning, under the label "February 2009 calendar". Let me know what you think of it! It's a try-out. If you like it I'll make one available every month. I'd better start making pictures, then... When I look outside now and see the snow that's coming down, I can't actually believe I took this picture with the clear blue sky yesterday!

I hope you'll have a wonderful weekend, snow or no snow!

Valentine :: Wire wrapped felted heart

Looking for a last minute Valentine's craft? Well, maybe I have something for you then!
How about a wire wrapped felted Valentine's heart? Easy and fast. What else would you want?



This is what you'll need for this project:

- wire (I used a 0.7 mm gauge)
- pliers to cut the wire
- flat nosed pliers to help you shape the wire
- a tiny little bit of red carded wool
- needle felting needles
- needle felting foam pad

Step one: Shape the heart (see diagram), starting by leaving a long end at the top where later on you will make a loop, and ending with the center heart. This is a free-style exercise! Cut with pliers and correct the shape where needed by bending here and there, using the flat nosed pliers. Make a loop at the top for hanging.



Step two: Needle felt the heart.


First, on your foam pad start needle felting a bit of wool (slightly bigger than the heart), flipping it over once. I typically use a medium sized needle to start with. Next position your wire wrapped heart on top and fold the wool over the wire while punching with your needle. This shouldn't be too precise - it's actually even nicer when the wire shows. Make sure to flip over your piece a couple of times to avoid your project gets stuck to the foam pad. Also be careful not to hit the wire, as this might cause the needle to break. Switch to smaller sized needles (fine, ultra-fine) as you move on. Continue to punch until you're satisfied with the result. You can add wool if needed or pull out some if there's too much. You can't go wrong with this project!

Some alternatives to needle felting the center part:
If you don't know how to needle felt, you could cover the heart with small strips of paper instead (this is something I came up with as I was writing - newspaper strips would work well for that). You could also wire wrap a piece of colored glass or use a colorful bead... Just use your imagination and whatever you have available!

And that's all there is to it! Easy, not?

Valentine :: something old

This is another Valentine's day gift I made a couple of years ago. This one just "happened" as I was trying to make one of these. I remember I found I had made the neck part way too long. Next, I turned the neck part into a body, added some pipe cleaners to the back to make arms and legs, as shown in the diagram. I cut the pipe cleaners to the right size and bended them to form hands and feet. The hands, I covered with the same skin-colored fabric as I used for the head.

The rest you can see in the photo: I gave the little guy some pants, little boots, a pointed hat, a scarf and a jacket (for the buttons I used French knots - you can check here for a nice how-to) - all felt. No patterns involved, all very intuitively! I just added the details as I went along. I drilled some holes in a little piece of wood to make the swing, and as it was close to Valentine's Day I added the heart... I didn't do this, but when you want to make sure the little guy stays put, you can glue him onto the swing. All this maybe took me a couple of hours at most.

If you're not familiar with making Waldorf dolls, you can find some instructions for making the head here (as this puppet is kind of small, I would leave out the nose, though). For a small puppet like this one you can use tubular gauze (finger splint padding) to be found at the pharmacy section of your supermarket.
A final note, maybe: since this puppet has a lot of small parts it's not intended to be given to young children to play with. We have ours hung up by the window in one of our girls' room...

The light studio

I've referred to it several times now (here and here and here and finally here): my homemade light studio. I'm still all excited about it! Making pictures of small and not so small objects has become a lot easier for me. I still need to work on getting the camera settings right, but being able to work in a controlled environment has made a huge difference already. I can highly recommend it to everyone!

So, this is what it looks like:

See the mess in and around it? That was in the excitement of the first time I put it into use. I grabbed everything within reach and photographed it...

On the internet you can find many different ways to make one of these - all more or less inexpensive.

A first method makes use of a simple cardboard box, where you make cut-outs on the sides and at the top, which you then cover with paper. A very good description of this method can be found here and here.

A second method - and this is the one I eventually chose for - makes use of foam boards. The reason I ended up making this one is because you can take it apart when done and store it away (not that I ever do this - mine has been sitting around in our living room (even) when not in use...). I found the link to the very clear and step-by-step instructions through One Pretty Thing.
The only alteration I've made is that I've made a cut-out in the top as described in the above box-method and next taped white tissue paper over it. I did this as I intended to use a light source coming from above.
This light studio will take you a little longer to assemble and involves precise cutting and measuring. Hence, don't try to make this one if you're not well-rested or with small children running around! But again, the main advantage of this one is that you can store it away, which comes in handy when you live in a (small) apartment as I do.
I might do a few more changes, like making a slit in the back over the entire length to be able to slide through the back-drop, which would be nice when using fabric as a background. Also, I've been considering to cut additional (interchangeable) side-boards with cut-outs like in the top one. This would allow me to use different light sources (from the top or the sides, or both) depending on what I want to photograph. Since this box is made like a puzzle, this is totally feasible. I'll keep you posted!

I'd like to mention a third method also, which makes use of simple household items like a laundry bin, which I'm sure everyone has sitting around, and which is described here. I stumbled on this one through Bricolagelife's blog after I finished mine already. This method is by far the simplest, as there is no cutting or precise measuring involved.

There are probably more ways to make one of these. Feel free to let me know! I'd be happy to add them.

Under a white blanket

This morning, Paris woke up covered under a white soft blanket. The girls couldn't leave early enough to school. Unfortunately, the snow probably didn't last until recess time as it started to rain. Bad luck again, as they were so desperate to build a snow man...