A clutter free home...

... that's what I'd like to have. And after last weekend's efforts I believe we got a little closer. We finally bought, assembled and arranged a new wardrobe for our bedroom. Up to now, I had the smallest wardrobe thinkable. No way all of my clothes would fit in, and everything always came out totally wrinkled...
So now, we have a big(ger) closet in our bedroom, which not only contains all of my clothes but also K.'s. This freed up some space in a couple of built-in closets and allowed us to re-arrange all of our belongings. My small closet made it into little H.'s room, who until last weekend shared one with her big sister in big sister's room. She was thrilled to have a closet of her own and so was M., who no longer will have H.'s clothes, PJ's and underwear spread out on her floor! (We're still in a transitional phase, though, as this morning little H. picked out her clothes in her room and went straight to her sister's to get dressed!)

It was a lot of work. It took up all of our weekend. In order to sort out we had to go through everything. I have now three bags of children's clothes waiting for a new owner. We also about halved our entire shoe collection. We should repeat the same exercise with the girls' toys. The one problem with that, however, is that little H. can't part. Whenever I suggest we should get rid of something, she starts crying. "But it's my favorite, mommy! You can't throw that one out!" She still has a painting up in her room, made with her class mates in pre-school which takes up about an entire wall. I'm not allowed to take it down! We have to arrange things "around" it. And my guess is she'll keep it up there until she goes to college... We also have this ever growing collection of stuffed animals. Of every single one the girls can tell when they got it, who they got it from, why they got it. Like the little kitten in the picture, which we found at our house after a vacation. We never were able to find out who it belonged to, nor where it came from, and so the girls "adopted" it. I was so happy when M. told me last week she only wanted books under the Christmas tree... I wonder if we can talk little H. in doing the same, as really, we have no more room for even more toys or stuffed animals!

Now, in case you're running short on gift ideas for kids, check out the Every Child Needs series at the Giverslog...

Sew, Mama, Sew! Blog Giveaway Day - December 2nd

Just a quick announcement before I forget. Sew, Mama, Sew! has another big Blog Giveaway Day scheduled on December 2nd. I barely made it in time but I did sign up for it!
So make sure to stop by on December 2nd if you'd like to take a chance at winning a // Between the Lines // original. And make sure to visit Sew, Mama, Sew! to find out about many more blog giveaways.

Weekend...

Our weekend will be a busy one. How about yours?
See you back on Monday!

Cheers,

P.

Experiment

Do you know this feeling? The feeling of an idea popping up into your head late at night. The kind of idea which needs immediate attention or you won't sleep. Do you recognize this feeling? It happened to me again last night and I think I like the way it turned out!

Wishing you all a happy thanksgiving!

DIY Lip gloss

Good I still had these candy tins. They couldn't be better. CURIX has the word "cure" in it as M. pointed out...

We had a quiet and relaxing weekend - so nice for a change... There was lots of reading, playing, talking and there was... DIY lip gloss, a special request from big girl M.

She found the recipe in a book she has. "The Girls' Book - How to be the Best at Everything", by Juliana Foster. Though at first I didn't like the book - mainly because of its title, I guess - it's a fun read, I admit. And the DIY lip gloss definitely is one thing we, the three girls, liked doing. It's a fun and simple activity which you can do with kids of any age. If you google DIY lip gloss, you'll come across many recipes, but they all come down to the same principle: mixing petroleum jelly with coloring and flavoring of some sort, usually Kool-Aid, but you'll find recipes calling for honey or mint as well.

Since we didn't have petroleum jelly we used Aquaphor which is more or less the same anyway. Ever since little H. was diagnosed with food allergies (which explained the severe eczema she'd suffered from) Aquaphor has been a staple in our household. We went through tubs and tubs of the greasy stuff when she was a baby. Basically, I had to rub her skin with it at every (!) diaper change and after every bath. Luckily the eczema has gone now - but not the Aquaphor...

Since we didn't have Kool-Aid either we used grenadine syrup instead, and as we went we also added a tiny bit of Jello dissolved in hot water, to boost the color and to get the consistency right since we accidentally poured in too much syrup.

The result you can see in the picture. Our lip gloss looks like strawberry frozen yogurt, it smells like strawberry frozen yogurt and it tastes like it. Every morning now, before heading out M.'s been putting some on. I secretly used it a couple of times too and it's actually really good and gives a subtle shine to your lips.
No chapped lips this winter, that's for sure!

Now, if you intend to make lip gloss with a three year old I'd like to warn you. Do not leave a three year old (correction: two three year olds) by themselves with lip gloss! Really! You shouldn't!
When M. was three, we had a friend of mine and her little girl over for dinner. The girls had been playing dress-up all night and while the parents were talking and finishing dessert, M. and her friend went back upstairs to play. All was quiet. Too quiet as it turned out - when it's that quiet, it's time to go check, we now know!
When at some point our guests wanted to go, we asked the kids to come downstairs. When they finally did, we couldn't believe what we saw. What did we see? We weren't quite sure. They both looked like they'd been thrown in the water - they had their hair all wet, they had their face all wet. At least, we thought it looked wet. We suspected they'd played with water in M.'s room, so I immediately went upstairs to see what happened in M.'s room. But all I found there were empty lip gloss tins scattered over the floor - a present Margot got for her birthday from another friend. Turned out their hair and faces weren't wet but GREASY! The girls hadn't found better than to rub their faces with lip gloss and to smear it into their hair as well. I felt so embarrassed but it was hilarious at the same time. I didn't know whether to laugh or not... My friend however didn't seem amused at all...
We got the stuff out. It took several shampoos, I believe we even used dish washing liquid in the end. But we got it out...
And when our three year old finally was in bed that night, K. and I had a really, really good laugh...

Note: This is how me made our lip gloss: Put 1 tbsp of Aquahor in microwave save container - heat for about 30 sec to make soft. Stir in grenadine syrup, little bits at a time up to 1tsp. Dissolve a 1/2tsp of jello in a little bit of hot water. Add to the mixture and stir until the desired color and consistency obtained. Put in a small container with lid. Place in the fridge to harden - about 1 hour - and ready. We keep ours in the fridge in between uses.

Messenger bag :: a tutorial

Last Friday, I mentioned there possibly was a tutorial in the works for little H.'s bag. It's been tested now over the weekend and she loves it - and so do I!
So, here's a tutorial for a fancy ruffled messenger bag!

This bag sort of happened. The only requirements were it had to be a messenger bag and the strap needed to be adjustable. And it definitely needed frills of some sort as little H. is a girly girl. Hence, the ruffles. All I used was my imagination and some scissors. I didn't even bother to take out a ruler or measurement tape (well, I did - afterwards, in order to write the how-to). The rounded flap and matching strap "happened" as I went.

In case you want to give it a try, here's a short description. The measurements given are approximate and include seam allowance.

For this bag you'll need:

two sets of fabric, one for the outside of the bag, one for the lining, cut as follows:

in each fabric:
- a 65x30cm rectangle, for the body,
- another 30x25cm rectangle for the flap, (long end determines the height of the flap, while the short end determines the width of the flap. The latter should be slightly less than the width of your bag pieces)
- a 4x15cm rectangle for the loop,
- a 5x105cm strip for the strap.

lining only:
- a long strip measuring roughly 7x140cm, for the ruffles


Step 1: Body of the bag

Fold the fabric in two, pin the sides, and stitch the sides closed.
Next, in order to make the boxed corners at the bottom, fold open the corner so that the side seam matches up with the bottom fabric fold, pin and mark as shown in the picture, about 4cm from the side. Stitch on the line. Repeat with the other corner. Note: it's really important to have side seam and bottom fold coincide perfectly, in order to get perfect 90° corners.



Now repeat with the lining, but leaving an opening in one of the sideseams, for turning in the last step. You should end up with two bag pieces looking like this:




Step 2: Flap

2a. Take the flap and cut curvature going from the left hand side lower corner to the right hand side upper corner.



2b. Ruffles: Fold the strip in two and iron flat. Next, on your sewing machine sew two parallel seams in a not too small stitch. Knot the four thread ends at one end to secure. At the other end take the two upper threads and start pulling on them, while pushing the fabric down. Your fabric will start ruffling. Keep going until you've reached the desired length, being the length of the curved side of the flap.

2c. Pin the ruffles to the outer fabric, such that the ruffles face inward (see picture). Secure by stitching them together really close to the side.

2d. Put the lining on top of the outer fabric, right sides facing, sandwiching the ruffles inside. Pin and next stitch the seams all the way around except for at the top (for turning). Clip the corner, turn inside out, press flat with an iron. It will look like this:




Step 3: Loop and strap

3a. Put the two strips you cut for the loop on top of each other right sides facing and stitch together. Next, turn inside out and press flat.



3b. Do the same with the strips you cut for the strap. Note: As I wanted the strip to match with the rounded flap I cut a slight curve at one end.



Step 4: Putting the bag together

4a. Pin the flap to the outer bag right sides facing while making sure to have it perfectly in the middle of the back of your bag.



4b. Fold the strip for the loop in two and pin to the left side of the bag, right sides facing and having the loop face downwards (it will face up once the bag is turned in the last step).

4c. Pin the strap to the bag at the opposite side, right sides facing.

4d. Secure everything, by stitching close to the sides.



4e. Pin the lining to the outer bag, right sides facing, and keeping the flap, the loop and the strap sandwiched inside. Stitch closed, about 1cm from the edge.

4f. Turn the bag inside out, through the opening you left in the lining. Press all seams flat. Close the gap in the lining, pull the strap through the loop and tie a knot at the desired length... and done!





I hope I made myself clear, if not just let me know!

Good luck!

Please note, these tutorials are intended for personal use only. Therefore, do not reproduce, sell or commercialize in any form without permission. Thanks for understanding!

Special

This is a special day for me. Today, I'm a weekend guest at Virginia's COLOR Informal!

When Virginia first announced this a couple of weeks ago I felt very flattered to be honest. Her blog is one of my favorite spots in blogosphere. I don't remember how I ended up there, but one day in my early blogging days, I stumbled upon Virginia's blog and what I do remember is that I was really impressed. Impressed by the photos, the art work, the style, and the peacefulness of it all. It's typically the place where I like to end my day, where I know I will find some peace and quiet: a picture and a couple of words, a sentence, something to think about.
So, if you don't know COLOR Informal yet, make sure to head over there. I'm sure you'll find something you like.
So, thank you, Virginia for having me over. This means a lot to me...

I'm wishing you all a great Sunday,

P.

New bag

I made plenty of bags over the past year some of which you might remember, and many many more before that. But I never made a bag for this young lady. After we finished M.'s bag earlier this week, I promised her she would be next. I kept my promise and made this one yesterday - there might be a tutorial in the works, who knows...

Little H.'s thrilled with her new bag and has been taking it everywhere, to gym yesterday, to a birthday party today...

Zen leaves

or maybe not...



I took these shots yesterday of the one and only plant in the house. I thought they looked a bit zen-ish... until I tried to convert the RAW-format into jpg. Turned out that my regular editing tools didn't want to communicate with each other and/or compressed everything to small-size pictures. But I found a way around eventually ... and ... I changed the settings of my camera back to the regular jpg-format.
Photography needs to be zen, not hours of editing and reformatting on the computer!

Wishing you all a zen weekend!

Cheers,

P.

A wiggly tooth...

Her third one already... When will it come out?
The Tooth Fairy would like to know...

Update: It came out this morning. She crawled in bed with me, showed me how loose it was and then... she pulled it out. Just like that.
The Tooth Fairy must be on her way now, I'm sure, unless she decides to send over "la petite souris"...

Yarn fever...

It's that time of the year again. Every year at some point in Fall I feel the urge to start knitting. My very first post on this blog actually was about knitting.
Finding a bag with some Brown Sheep left over yarn didn't really help - there wasn't enough to start on something. But in the same bag I also found these crocheted squares.



I can't remember what they were for (a poncho for one of the girls, maybe?). I probably made them in my crocheting phase a long time ago. There were fourteen of them, all with a different pattern and/or stitch. And I'm glad I never threw them out as I did with so many other things on our last move. Turns out they were perfect for our little project last weekend, when M. and I were thinking of how we could make a bag for her, with no sewing on the machine required as she wanted to do it herself.



The bag is ready now, and it is oh so cute. M. stitched all the squares together (I only did a few to show her and I did the side seams), while I crocheted a strap with yarn still in the found bag. Yesterday, I finished it off by adding some lining made from one of daddy's old t-shirts - it couldn't be better! - and a heart shaped button. It was ready in time to be taken to gym. She slipped it on and of she went, so happy with a bag she pieced together herself...
And now I have one more girl who's been begging me for a bag. I have something in mind already - to be continued...

Family pictures :: my mom

I'm still recovering from a bad cold, but feel so much better already. To the extent my fingers itch to do something creative. Not one or two things, but plenty of things. But first I need to get the other stuff done. Not feeling well made me skip chores and now I need to catch up on those, of course. The fridge needs a cleaning - I want to get rid of that nasty Camembert smell and there are some chocolate (?!) spills in it as well and plenty of expired things. I need to catch up on laundry and ironing also. And then there's the weekly returning cleaning cycle. And I don't feel like doing any of these. Instead I want to knit, to sew, to needle felt (haven't done that for the longest time), take pictures,... I want to do anything but the aforementioned chores...



However, before I dive into the work, I want to take a moment to share some very nice family pictures with you. Pictures of my mom this time. My mom as a little girl. And again this was an interesting exercise if only to see how much my youngest one, little H., looks like my mom as a kid. This of course didn't come as a complete surprise, since I look a lot like my mom - and even more so with aging - and people keep telling me little H. looks so much like me. So, there's the link. But it was striking still to see my little girl appear in those photographs (especially in the school picture): same mouth, same little nose, same jaw line, same flimsy hair, though I'm not exactly sure about the eyes.

Did you see the dresses in those pictures? Lovely, aren't they? My grandfather was a tailor - he made men suits. He had his own atelier at home, where he made suits for doctors, lawyers, or anyone who could afford a custom made suit - in those days men would typically have a suit made for the big events in their life which they would wear until it didn't fit anymore or got all worn out. He did pretty well until confection suits took over and incoming orders started to sluggish. He quit the sewing business and took another job at a factory. However, being a tailor he took pride in having his kids well-dressed. The dresses weren't made by him, my mom told me, but by his seamstress. I especially like the pleated one in the first picture, her first grade school picture (same age as little H. now, and in this one the resemblance is quite striking!).



My mom is the middle child of three, with one older brother and a younger sister. The second picture shows my mom with her sister in their courtyard. The dresses, the socks and shoes, the hair: the fifties that's for sure! The third picture is my mom at her Holy Communion. The dress here is simply amazing. And the tulle, plenty of it! She looks like a little angel in that one, though I can immediately add she wasn't (sorry mom!! - the truth needs to be said, LOL!). What I also like are the fancy hairdos in those shots, something my grandmother would take care of. She would use bows, curling tools, braids,... anything that would help to make my mom's hair look less flimsy. Too bad for my girls, but I'm really horrible at this. A pony tail or a braid is about as fancy it gets here...



So, mama, pretty girl, this post is dedicated to you ...
Wishing you a wonderful day!

Hokey Pokey Ladybug

I've been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple of days. It started on Friday night with some sneezing. And then, on Saturday, I woke up with a bad cold and a slight migraine. I have a history of bad migraines, which tend to last four days when not taken care of immediately. The timing of this one couldn't be better, with K. leaving on Sunday for the week. I took some meds, the migraine subsided, but not the cold.
I still felt lousy on Sunday morning, had to lay down for a nap after I finished ironing K.'s shirts. And then, when K. left, M. started crying. The girls are used to their daddy going on business trips once in a while and they're fine with it. But this time M. was really sad and worried. Worried his plane would come down... Poor little thing... I felt sad seeing her like that. I pulled myself out of the couch, took some ibuprofen and then we started on a project she'd been asking for, for a while (more about our little project later this week). Little H. preferred to paint and sat down with us at the table with her paint, brushes and some "pastels gras". And you know what? We had a wonderful afternoon being crafty together like that. Seems like the best remedy when feeling not well is doing something fun and creative.
Things got even better when I spotted this ladybug in our bedroom (at this time of the year - can you believe it?!). Ladybugs bring luck, I told my girls - and M. promptly felt relieved: daddy would be fine!

When later that night I had a look at the pictures I took (of course I did - they're not great, a bit out-of-focus even, but somehow I like them a lot - those legs and that little butt!!) I couldn't help but think of the Hokey Pokey. When M. was little we used to dance the Hokey Pokey a lot. It would make her giggle and feel happy and me too. Baby M., she grew up so fast... Maybe we should just re-introduce the Hokey Pokey - a happy, silly dance for when we feel a little down or sad...
Thanks for the reminder, Hokey Pokey Ladybug!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy week!

Cheers,

P.

Paris, je t'aime... :: not to be missed

I'm exhausted, that's the least thing I can say. My brother came to visit us and for three days I was a tourist again in what's been our hometown for almost two-and-a-half years. Under the most pleasant Fall weather we walked miles and miles, talked and just enjoyed the city. And in between we visited a couple of exhibits.

On Thursday, I took my brother to the Centre Pompidou, to see the Soulages retrospective. If you happen to be in or plan a trip to Paris: this one's not to be missed! I highly (HIGHLY!) recommend the Soulages exhibit. His work is stunning, of a magnificent beauty and simplicity.


© © Adagp, Paris 2009 (photo found through ARTE)


© © Adagp, Paris 2009 (photo found through ARTE)

At the same venue and not be missed either is the exposition "La subversion des images - Surréalisme, photographie, film", which brings an overview of surrealist photography.


Man Ray : « Lee Miller's Neck ? », Paris 1929
© Man Ray Estate. All rights reserved. Lee Miller Archives, England 2009 / Man Ray Trust / Adagp, Paris 2009
(photo through the Centre Pompidou website)


And then there's the Photoquai Exhibit, Deuxième Biennale des images du monde, a photo exhibit in the open at the Quai Branly. But hurry up for this one as it ends October 22nd.


© Sanan Aleskerov Sitara au-dessus du ciel, Bakou, 2007 . Azerbaïdjan (photo through the Photoquai website)



Soulages, Centre Pompidou, Paris, October, 14th, 2009 - March 8th, 2010, entrance fee: 12 euros (covers visit of the entire museum)
La subversion des images, Centre Pompidou, Paris, September 23rd 2009 - January, 11th, 2010, entrance fee: 12 euros (covers visit of the entire museum)
Photoquai, Deuxième Biennale des images du monde, Quai Branly, Paris, September, 22nd - November, 22nd, 2009, entrance free

My brother's in town...

and these are pictures little H. made of us on her dad's Mac yesterday - yes, she knows how to do this...
And now I'm off to visit Paris, which after two years here still is exciting and fun...

Wishing you a wonderful day!

xo, P.

Family pictures

I just wanted to share this photo, because I think it's lovely. It's a picture of my grandmother taken at the beach in Oostende, Belgium. I've no idea how old she is in that photo, I forgot to ask my dad, but my guess is she must have been somewhere in her early twenties. She seems so happy in that photo...
I just love to watch old family photos as they show you people in a way you've never known them. I've always known my grandmother as a grandmother. But she too once was a kid, a young girl, a bride, a young mother...

After her funeral last month, a big metal box that she'd been keeping with her and which contained pictures of a lifetime, was passed along. My dad took a couple of photos home and scanned them for me. And while he was at it he sent me some other beautiful photos of him, my mom, my grandfather, my maternal grandparents. Small treasures...

I decided I wanted to post some of them here. So, let this beach photo of my grandmother be the first one in a series of old family photographs...
To be continued, I promise!

Sew, Mama, Sew! 3rd Annual Handmade Holidays

I just had to let you know: Sew, Mama, Sew! is having a great series going on right now: The Handmade Holidays. Tutorial galore, lots of printables, plenty of prizes to win, and much, much more... So, if you want to be prepared and ready for the holidays, head over to Sew, Mama, Sew! now!

... and yes, one of my projects has been featured, which made at least one girl happy! Thank you Sew, Mama, Sew!

Happy kid

You can tell our little girl is feeling happy. It's in the colors, in the words.
And it makes me happy too!
Thank you, my sweet little M.!

Wishing you all a happy weekend!

xo P.

Flea market find

Yesterday afternoon I went to the flea and antiques market at La Bastille. Though the weather looked very promising in the morning, it was pouring by the time I hit the market. But it was fun nevertheless, except for the soaked shoes and cold feet the rest of the day.

I like flea markets, not necessarily to buy, but just to look. The reason I hardly ever buy things is because we don't have the space for even more stuff in our tiny apartment. And also because I'm simply not good at it - the bargaining I mean, and telling the good stuff from the junk (unless it's obvious, of course). But once in a while I discover something I really want. And that's exactly what happened yesterday when I found these hemp (chanvre in French) bags, once used for transporting wheat and flour. The guy selling them had a whole stack of them. All in the same natural oatmeal color, but all very different because of a different line pattern. Some even had initials embroidered on them. Though clearly used, they were in mint condition. Since I just got there I decided to wait and to continue my way through the market.
But I couldn't take these off my mind and I went back. I chose one with blue lines - just one! can you believe it?!- which took me some time as they all were gorgeous. (as I'm writing this I'm thinking of going back, maybe - don't tell K.!)

I'm not sure what I'll do with it. Sew some pillow covers for our couch at the seaside was the initial idea. It's really big so I could easily get two covers out of one bag. However, for now, I want to keep it as is and look at it, touch it, feel it.
Because, really, isn't this a great find?!



I just love the details: the hand stitched seams, the hemp string tied in a knot, the irregularities, the texture...



Check out here for another detail...

Re-arranging the furniture

We have this thing, K. and I. Often when we come back from a trip, we feel the urge to start moving around furniture. Immediately, before any unpacking even. We've done this so many times. Drastic changes, like swapping around the entire setting. Or minor changes, like moving a couch or a rug.
We didn't move anything around after our last trip. There wasn't time for it, simply. K. had to return to the office right away. But something's in the air. We'll be re-arranging things here again some time soon. I can feel it.

When we got back, I of course immediately checked in to see how things were going here. And here too I felt something needed to change. I've changed the banner at least twenty times over the last couple of days, as some of you might have noticed - no, I didn't install a rotating banner in case you were wondering. It was just me who couldn't decide on what looked best. I also got rid of the excess of lines. I wanted a cleaner look. I threw out ballast. I'm even thinking of giving up the three-columns template (though I'm not sure on this one yet, as it took a lot of time and effort to get the three-column template to work).

I also went back to my other blog - my photography blog. It got neglected for quite a while. My last post dated back late September. But I'm not ready to give up on that one, even though it hardly gets any visitors (due to a lack of promotion on my behalf). So, there too I've re-arranged the furniture. I want to give it another try. I plan to post there again on a more regular basis. Same idea still: pictures and no or hardly any words. The words I'll keep for this blog here.
So, if you need some quietness, head over to // Between the lines // Photography, and maybe you'll find something there you'll like... Maybe?