Something small in between

Hello again,

and I hope you have settled into the new year a bit- between the beautiful snow we had (for just some days, boohoo!), a visit of my mum, working and being struck with a nasty cough, I didn’t have much time for almost anything else, really.

However, here is a little piece I’d like to share today. It’s made on paper with oil pastels. I like how the colours flow together. Hope you enjoy it!

Abstract 01/2015. Oil pastel on paper. 30cm x 42cm.

Detail of Abstract 01/2015. Oil pastel on paper.

 

 

Happy New Year

I know I’m late, but nevertheless I wish you a happy, healthy New Year, full of exciting discoveries!

I’m already almost certain of a very exciting discovery, since we are invited to a wedding in the US, so I will set foot into New York City for the very first time in my life! Hooray! Looking forward to feeling completely overwhelmed, when imagination meets reality…..any tips? I think I will start browsing the travel guides, good old paper versions and digital ones- I enjoy building the anticipation. Mental note to myself: check if knitting needles are allowed as carry-on, I doubt it, but check. An eight hour flight could be used….pff, who am I kidding, I will sleep as usual.

Did you do something special for New Years? Do you have any exciting plans for the year?

Season Greetings

Merry Christmas everyone!

May you spend it with your loved ones and enjoy the time together – it is all that matters really.

Innsbruck, Austria

Although the trip to Innsbruck to visit a dear friend has been pre-blog time ago, I still wanted to show some pictures, as it is a truly lovely place. And the food is to die for!

Here goes:

Typical facades in the historic town center. Narrow, baroque fronts, beautifully restored and painted.

View onto the Hofburg from the town tower. Alps in the background, obviously.

They have these beautiful metal signs throughout the whole city.

Entrance to the Swarovski museum-these glass gem stones are manufactured here!

And just because it was such a cute little shop front:

 

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….

Things that make me childishly happy, make me jump for joy and keep me smiling for the rest of the day are beautifully made, old-fashioned Christmas details. For a couple of years now I’ve been eyeing a particular set of china in a so so cute decor. Today was the day I finally purchased the etagere of the series and it makes me smile since the moment I saw it in the shop.

Villeroy&Boch Etagere

It’s decorated with all the christmassy items in a classic style, and of course I had to put it into immediate use.

 

You can get a whole dinner table, which in my opinion would be just to much and distracting from the chinas beauty, I very much prefer one center piece. This one is definitely something that I will enjoy for a long time- or, that is, for many Christmases to come. Now, I just need snow.

 

 

Christmas stitching

The latest addition to my Christmas decorations is this cute fellow. Now I just need to find a silver frame in the right size and then I’m all set!

Until the next little project – a snowflake 🙂

 

Trip to Bern

A spontaneous Saturday day trip to Bern, the capital of Switzerland, really surprised me with its beauty, lovely streets and traditional Christmas markets that I have been missing for the last four years. It was bloody cold, and even though I wished deeply for snow there was none.

The city itself has a world heritage listed historical town centre. The streets are cobble-stoned, houses build with arcades and they hover against each other- each one decorated with its own personal mini christmas tree. Oh joy!

 

 

Bern’s old town sits somewhat on an island, formed by the river Aare, passing through the city with icy green water. If the wind hadn’t been so nasty, I would have walked up the hill into the Rosengarten, from which one is supposed to have a spectacular view on the city. I will be back for sure, when all the roses flower, and see for myself.

 

 

 

Since Bern is the capital, the classic touristy shot of the Parliament Building is a must, so here you go:

 

 

Albert Einstein spent 2 years living and working in Bern, so his flat on Kramgasse can be visited and you can warm up in the cute cafe that is now located on the ground floor.

 

Thank you for the lovely day, dear Bern!

Cookie time

Last Sunday was the first Advent, which wouldn’t be complete without homemade cookies. So, get your ovens hot and pull out the basics (flour, sugar, vanilla, butter….and butter…and then some more), and have yourselves a lovely tea time!

List of ingredients:

• 250g white flour, mixed with 80g icing sugar
• 1 egg
• 125g butter
• zest of 1 orange (make that a bio-orange, so the zest won’t be contaminated…)

Mix everything together and chill for 30mins. Roll out the dough, form cookies and bake in a pre-heated oven at 190grad celsius for 12-14mins. You can go crazy afterwards with decorations like chocolate and sugary pearls, if you like…. Bon Appetit!

Part two….door wreath

Here comes the second part of guest writer Maike – this time with a door wreath, easy, quick and christmas-y!

Weihnachtlicher Türkranz mit Filzsternen

Falls ihr so weit seid und vielleicht schon mit der Weihnachtbastelei begonnen habt, hier noch eine kleine, feine Idee für einen Türschmuck. Dieser ist auch super zum Verschenken!

If you are ready to start all your crafty work in time for christmas, here a little inspiration for a door wreath. It makes also for a very lovely gift!

Ich habe aus einem geschenkten Türkranz mit Papiersternen dieses Jahr ein farbenfrohes Modell gestalten – der weiße Kranz ist zwar elegant und modern – er kommt im neuen weißen Hausflur auf weißer Tür aber nicht richtig zur Geltung. Daher habe ich die Papiersterne durch weihnachtsfarbene Filzsterne ausgetauscht.

Door wreath version pre-colouring and materials used.

 

Was du dazu brauchst:

• 1 Styroporkranz ca. 30 cm Durchmesser (aus dem Bastelladen, z.B. hier: http://www.idee-shop.de/shop/de/dieprodukte/Basteln/Styropor/Styroporringe/StyroporregHalbring30cm.html)
• Filz in verschiedenen Farben
• Stecknadeln
• Silberband
• Schere

This year, I reused a gifted wreath made out of white paper stars to create a more colourful version – I do like the white elegancy of it very much, however, in  the new white hallway with a white door the wreath somewhat disappears. So I changed the white stars for felted ones in christmas appropriate colours. Here’s your list:

• 1 polystyrene wreath, approximately 30cm in diameter, see link above

• felt in your favourite colours

• pins, scissors and ribbons

Und los geht’s: Aus dem Filz jeweils die gewünschte Anzahl an unterschiedlich großen Sternen ausschneiden, auf dem Kranz anordnen und mit den Stecknadeln feststecken. Zuletzt die Schleife legen und ebenfalls mit zwei Stecknadeln fixieren.

Let’s get started! Cut out stars in different sizes and colours, enough to cover the whole wreath. Put them into place, fix them with pins and lastly, create a big ribbon and fix it to the wreath. Place to door and enjoy- or gift it and enjoy!

The shiny new version!

 

Part one….the Adventskalender

As announced yesterday, here comes the first post of my sister. You might be aware of the German tradition of having an Adventscalendar- these are calendars consisting of 24 little gifts or images or sweets to count down the days until Christmas eve. In Germany, we always have the big celebration on the evening of december 24th, with a lovely family dinner and presents afterwards. I’m already looking forward to it!

Of course it is much nicer to receive an Adventscalendar homemade especially for a dear one, so here is an inspiration for you by Maike (my sister):

Adventskalender selbst gestalten

(DIY Adventscalender)

Es ist bald wieder so weit – die Weihnachtszeit rückt näher! Plätzchenduft und Kerzenschein warten schon auf uns, um in die Adventszeit zu starten.

Christmas is moving closer, and with it all the joys of homemade cookies and cosy evenings by the candlelight. Let’s get started into Advent!

Aber keine Panik: Es bleibt noch genug Zeit, um einen schönen Adventskalender schnell selbst zu gestalten, oder um einem vorhandenen ein neues, festliches Antlitz zu verleihen!

But don’t panic: there’s still plenty of time to come up with a beautiful homemade Adventscalendar or to overdo an old one with a shiny new festive outfit. 

Was du dazu brauchst:

• 24 Säckchen mit Zahlen drauf (selbstgenäht oder selbstgekauft) – meine sind schon etwas älter, viele Varianten findest du hier: http://www.idee-shop.de/shop/de/dieangebote/ideedieangebote/Adventskalenderrotweiss24Beutel180cm.html
• Pappbuchstaben X, M, A, S (aus dem Bastelladen)
• Goldene Farbe (z.B. von Plaka)
• Eine Holzplatte aus dem Baumarkt (ca. 50 x 70 cm)
• Acrylfarbe in der Farbe sand
• Goldene Spiegelsticker in Schneeflocken-Form (aus dem Bastelladen)
• Rote Alufolie (z.B. hier: www.idee-shop.de)
• Einen Bleistift, ein Cutter-Messer, Sekundenkleber/Metallkleber/Alleskleber
• Füllung für die Säckchen

Here’s what you need:

• 24 little bags, either selfmade (sewing or glueing) or selfbought, some inspiration can be found in the link below

• the letters X, M, A, S

• golden spray paint and acrylic paint in your favourite colour

• a wooden board in your favourite size, mine is ca. 50 x 70cm)

• golden snowflake stickers

• red foil

• cutting knife, pen, glue

• most importantly: the filling for the little bags!

 

Ich habe zunächst die Holzplatte mit der Acrylfarbe angemalt (am besten über Nacht trocknen lassen).

Dann die Pappbuchstaben mit goldener Farbe anmalen und trocknen lassen.

Auf der roten Alufolie einen Tannenbaum vorzeichnen und dann mit dem Cutter-Messer ausschneiden (wichtig: eine Ritz-feste Unterlage unterlegen!). Dann den Tannenbaum und die goldenen Schneeflocken auf der Holzplatte anordnen und in der gewünschten Position festkleben. Säckchen füllen, aufstellen und:

Freuen, verschenken und jeden Tag ein Säckchen öffnen lassen!!

 

Firstly, I painted the wooden board with the acrylic paint in sand and let it properly (it works best overnight, just to be extra sure.). Same is true for the golden paint for the XMAS letters. Then, I marked and cut out a fir or christmas tree from the red foil – don’t forget to place a chopping board or something underneath! Finally, the tree and snowflakes are arranged on the wooden board and glued into place. The last step of course is to fill the numbered bags, arrange everything together and make a loved one very happy!

The finished Adventskalender- who wants one?