Snail Mail my Email

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A bit of mint

I found the idea of a two piece ensemble interesting for a very long time, but never got around to make one. But since my new found love for mint green and the discovery of this great fabric I had to make a 60s inspired set.

The fabric is Cookie Book by Kim Kight for Cotton + Steel Fabrics and it is gorgeous. I love the color combination and the feel. It was so easy to work with and wears really nice.

The skirt I made without a pattern. It is a simple dirndl skirt. For the top I used vintage Simplicity 5346. I think it is a bit baggy, but cute. Maybe next time I will try to make a crop top from the Colette Sorbetto pattern. I had a bit of a struggle with the waist band of the skirt (as always). I even had to take it in a bit after the first wear, because it was too wide. Otherwise the sewing was really fun and easy.

I love that I can combine the two pieces with other things, but also have a kind of dress. I will show you some combinations soon.

I hope you all have a nice summer. Here in Germany it is really warm weather and the sun is shining almost permanently the last weeks. We were a lot in the garden on weekends. Last weekend I even managed to finish two books, I started ages ago. The little one has his fun in the garden too. He either likes to bath in his little pool or he plays in the sandbox (only downside, we now have sand everywhere in the house). Only thing he is not so keen about is walking.

Top + Skirt - selfmade
Shoes - T.U.K.
Cotton Candy - Scrumptious Delight on Etsy
Hair Flower - Topshop

E & A in April

After an idea by A Beautiful Mess and Elise Blah Blah, here are some things that the little one and I liked in April:

Food

I discovered Chia seeds and like them a lot // The little one had some tummy problems, so he ate a lot of rusk

Shoes

I love my Sunjellies. They are so comfortable. // The little one got his first shoes.

Books

I started this interesting book about cocktails. // The little one loves his small picture book.

Calligraphy Place cards

One Easter gift I made myself. My mother in law told me, that she wanted some new place cards, but did not have time to make them. So I decided this was the perfect gift for her. I made these place cards out of watercolor paper and used this tutorial and her Kaitlin style calligraphy for the design. This was my first calligraphy project and I am really proud of the outcome. The Kaitlin style is the perfect beginner style. It is very easy to make and even looks good, if it is not perfect.

Easter Bunnies

I hope you had a nice Easter weekend. We sure had fun, even if the weather was not perfect and again we could not hide easter eggs in the garden. I was a very busy Easter bunny this year and hid over 20 eggs, some real, some plastic. In some of these eggs were these cute little Easter bunnies I knit. The pattern is by Anna Hrachovec from Mochimochi Land. You can find it for free here.

Because these bunnies are so tiny they are a bit fiddly to make, but at least they are quick. The wool I used was not ideal. It is a cotton wool and a bit slippery. I made seven for friends and family and of course one to stay with us (who was almost eaten by the little one, poor bunny). They sure were fun to make and to give.

Happy Easter!

I wish you all a happy Easter! Hopefully this little bunny was really busy hiding some nice Easter eggs for you.

Fox Hat

I made this hat already last year, but only got around to take a photo now. The pattern is from Ravelry. Knitting was very easy and I love the outcome. It is a bit more subtle than most of the other ear hats, although I think the more over the top ones are cute, too, especially for children.

Two Baprons

As the little one eats solids for quite some time now, we are always in need of some cute bibs. We are lucky, that he mostly is a very tidy eater and spits out food seldom. On many days the bib is clean after eating, but you can't bet on this. And there are other opportunities to smear clothes with stains, so bibs are always welcome. And I found this awesome baby apron aka bapron pattern and had to make some. The sewing was really really easy and fast and I am already thinking about making more (maybe in the bigger size, because the little one grows fast). I made these out of some cotton fabrics I had in my stash and made a second layer out of cotton jersey. I am pleased with the outcome. They look really cute and fit perfectly. So here they are, my two baprons:

Frog and bear were nice enough to model for me. I think the frog really likes his Star Wars bapron as he was not so eager about giving it back.

So two new bibs for the little one, but as he goes to kindergarten we always seem to be short on these. Time to make more! What a luck, that these are great stash busters.

Tiny Gnomes

After I finished the birthday cake for the little one, I needed something small to knit. So I decided it was finally time for some tiny Mochimochis. And because the creator Anna Hrachovec has an exhibition in Korea soon and ask her fans to send gnomes, I decided to start with tiny gnomes. Here is my first one, which will be staying with us. The rest will hopefully be finished soon.

Poor gnome was almost already eaten by the little one, but we could rescue him, before anything happened. I fear, he is a bit traumatized.

Birthday Cake

The little one's birthday was the perfect excuse to knit this awesome cake from Mochimochi. It is from the book Huge & Huggable Mochimochi. Most of the knitting was easy, but time consuming. But there were also some things I did not have knit before, like picking up stitches and knitting an i-cord. I am very proud and happy about the outcome. And that I did make it in time. It took me a bit over a month, but with many pauses.

Birthday Outfit (New Look 6262)

Here is, what I wear for the little one's birthday. I did go with the theme of balloons. And magically the rest fit together really well.

Dress - self-made
Cardigan - vintage
Balloon brooch - Lucky Dip Club
Hair flower - Belle Blossoms
Bracelet - Brighter Bakelite
Shoes - Ebay

Balloon Party

On 7th March we celebrated the little one's first birthday. I was really excited and made plans for it for months. We decided on balloons as a theme. And of course this was no pinterest perfect party I was very proud of myself and enjoyed making everything come together.

We had the balloon garland, a balloon centerpiece, balloon name cards and I made some balloon decorations for our self-made muffins (which were perfect by the way). The party was a lot of fun, although of course the little one was a bit overwhelmed. I almost can't wait for next year.

Secret Penpal Scavenger Hunt

This year I participated in the Secret Penpal Scavenger Hunt organized by Fab. First here is, what I sent out to janeonthemove:

I made a little photo tour and then put together a little scrapbook about Halle. Of course I had to make a postal kit. For something old-fashioned I remodeled a notebook and for something quirky I send her a donut necklace from Lucky Dip Club. And because she wrote that she will be Mom soon I got her a cherry pit cushion as a gift. And for something monogrammed I made her this floral letter, inspired by  The Postman's Knock:

I am very proud of this and if it was not for the tutorial I would never have thought I could make this.

Last week I got the package from my secret pen pal, Luus, and what should I say, it was amazing. First I have to show you the beautiful envelope:

Isn't it beautiful? And here is what was inside:

I was so happy. But the best gift were the wooden shoes, because they reminded me of my trip to the Netherlands with my grandparents when I was a child. They bought me such a magnet but in red. I really have to search for it and put these together on my fridge. Thank you so, so much, Luus!

Outfit of the Day

I wore out my new vintage coat today. It is very warm and looks so glamorous! I bought it from Solanah from Vixen Vintage. She has so many lovely things in her shop, too bad I am short on money. The coat is fake fur and feels more like a blanket, but there was a bit of confusion at the custom office.

Happy Valentine's Day and a new postcard

I hope you will have a great Valentine's Day, either alone or with your loved ones. As we don't celebrate this as much here in Germany, we will do nothing special.

Above you can see my design for this week's Sunday Postcard Art. I used a tutorial from The Postman's Knock as inspiration. The background is actually a really great gold color, which the scanner ate.

As always, I will give-away this card. Just comment here till Wednesday and I will pick the recipient at random.

Candlemas Postcard

The theme for this weeks Sunday Postcard Art was Candlemas, Imbolc, Groundhog Day. We don't celebrate either here in Germany, but I decided on the Candle. Mostly because I almost immediately had an idea for a candle picture and it was easy and quick to make. The little one has been ill this week, so as he was not in kindergarten I had not a lot of time to make something, without him creating a mess (he really likes to play with Mommy's things and I regularly have to fight for my pens, at least there is hope that he will be craftsy when he gets older).

For the card I used water colors and masking fluid. It was my first time with masking fluid but everything did go as planned.

Like last week, if you want this postcard, simply comment below. This time I will pick someone at random. Open till Wednesday 8pm German time and shipping is worldwide.

Robert Burns Postcard

With my interest in snail mail it was no long way to making mail art. I am fairly new to this and my works are not the best, but it is fun.

There is a site called Sunday Postcard Art, which gives you a theme for a self-made postcard every week. This week the theme was Robert Burns. I am not familiar with his works, but I chose a line from one of his poems.

Here is my card:

And here is the deal. I will send out this postcard to the first person, who comments on this post. I will send worldwide. Simply comment and leave your email address so that I can contact you.

Maybe I will make this into a weekly feature.

Watercolors

On Monday was my Grandma's birthday and because we could not visit her I sent her a little surprise package. In the package were some party gadgets, just for fun, a picture frame with photos of the little one and a self-made greeting card. The card was my first try at watercolors. The tutorial is from The Postman's Knock, a great site, which lured me into buying a lot of art stuff. But I love painting with watercolors. I have so much to learn, but it is so much fun. You really should check out her site. She has great tutorials, which are very beginner friendly.

Happy New Year

If anybody still reads my blog, I wish you all a happy new year. This year I am really looking forward to the new year.

I am very sorry that I did not write an entry for this long. Life just got in my way. First the little one got a lot more active and I had to watch him more and more. He is now trying to stand while holding on to everything he can reach. It is so cute. He is such an active little guy and wants to discover everything. Only his toys he finds somehow boring, because he prefers to play with our stuff (preferably my smartphone, he likes to chew on it). In October he started kindergarten, so that I could continue my studies. I had hoped this would leave me some time for blogging and all the other stuff, but I did not count in all the illnesses he would bring home. I had a flu now three times in three months and some other health problems (I fear due to being to energetic after the flu). I tried to at least finish all the necessary stuff, but this was not blogging.

Taking photos was also difficult when you have a baby at home. And my outfits were more on the practical side, too. I even have three dresses and some new vintage items I did not show you, which I hope to do soon.

But there were also some really good moments the last months. I am happy each day that the little one is making good progress. He laughs so much and it is amazing to see his development. Babies change such a lot in such a short time. I can't believe that soon one year is over. But I am also looking forward to planning a party.

I discovered snail mailing again. I always had some pen pals for at least ten years, but this year I started to look for new ones. Now I have a lot of letters to answer and I feel a bit bad, it does take me so long, but it is also fun to write and receive letters. I am also researching calligraphy and lettering after seeing a lot of great pictures. And in November I participated in Snail Mail My Email, which was hard work, but also much fun.

Last year I fell in love with Doctor Who. Together with my boyfriend I watched almost all of the new seasons and we have now great insider jokes.

In September we were on holiday at the Baltic Sea. It was a great week and I felt so good be away from home after being at home so long. Really I was so happy when university started in October and I got out of the house. I think, I could never be a stay at home Mom. It is such not who I am. I love my little boy, but I need something else in my life too.

So, this were some updates on my life. We had a nice christmas only a bit shadowed by the flu and a good start into 2015. And now I am looking forward to the next twelve months being a Mom, reading, writing letters, crafting and hopefully sharing about all of this on this blog.

All the best wishes to you!