Spring! Finally.

Last weekend I was at the botanical garden with my family and enjoyed it a lot.
I made some snapshots just for fun with my mobile cam and was surprised. Obviously the lens was dirty but I must say I like the result in some way. It looks kind of romantic. But see for yourself:

Hey! I haven't written in a while because I was busy at work. So I coudn't even think of creating something nice. But yesterday was my brother's birthday and so I took the time to realise at least a small crafting project and made him a notebook-cover.
Although it was very, very hard, nothing is green this time :-) ... But at least I have some dots! What do you think?

Cooookieees !!!

There have to be familiy ties between the Cookie Monster and me... I love cookies as much as he does, only his blue colour makes me doubt a little bit... and of course the fur :-)
I made some Shortbread Spring Cookies today. The recipe is from Martha Stewart.
Aren't they cute?

Another one!

Although it looks like my last patchwork-blanket, this one is totally different. I made it as a birthday present for my friend who loved the colours of the cover I made in January.
But I had much trouble with my first cover because it was too thick and it had two different fabrics (fleece and cotton). It was very difficult to sew and impossible to quilt because of the slipping and streching surfaces.
So this time I used only cotton fabrics and it worked so much better. And I didn´t make it so thick. I chose the thinest batting. This means, of course, that this blanket isn't quite as cozy as the last one - it rather is a spring and sommer blanket, but I was able to quilt a little bit for the first time. Nothing special... only some squares, but I was so happy that it worked out.
And this time I didn't sew it inside out. Like this it was easy to adjust the two parts of the cover and the batting. But of course that means that I had to figure out a nice finish for the edges - I chose a satin ribbon as you can see below.
I've learnt so much with this cover that I´m really looking forward to the next one now!

The Creative License

What a great book. I´ve just finished it: "The creative license. Giving yourself permission to be the artist you truly are" by Danny Gregory.
It´s about overcoming your fears and allowing you to express yourself in a creative way. No matter if you draw, sew, sing, dance or cook. Forget the voice in you that´s saying "You can't", "You never will" or "You really suck" and start being creative. Don´t be afraid of failure and try something new. Release the artist in you and find out what makes you happy.
Really inspiring and motivating!

My first selfmade earrings

Here they are. And surprise! They're green ;-)
They look like little olives...
I like simple copper earrings with a single bead. They are comfortable to wear and easy to make.

Happy Easter everybody!

Hope you enjoy Easter as much as I am! I had a wonderful day with my family. Here are some impressions:

Creativa 2010

Two weeks ago I visited Europes biggest Crafting and Art Fair "Creativa". I expected a lot of inspiring booths about patchworking, quilting, sewing, felting, papercrafts, painting, etc. I also expected some workshops or live-crafting-acts. But I was disappointed. It was a really big fair but most of the booths were about beading (interesting, but after 20 of them I've had enough of it..) and scrapbooking ( what I don't like much).


But one thing was really impressive. There was a exhibition of Laura McCabe, an american beadweaving-artist. And wow... she makes some freaky jewelry!

Grrrrrr! Scary monsters (and a bunny)

Our nephews and our niece visited us yesterday and we made some really scary monsters and some plush animals. It was fun, but it was good having the helping hand of my sister in law ... Have you ever tried to satisfy the demands of three impatient kids at the same time? ... Puh, that´s really exhausting :-)
Here are the pictures of the creatures. Excuse the bad quality but most of the pictures were made with my mobile-cam.