The day after...

Hey girls! 

I hope you had wonderful christmas holidays! Mine were just perfect with family, games and lots of fabulous food, which I just could not get enough of! 

So today I am going to do a little showcase of my presents. My parents got me the following two books, which I wanted to have for some time already.

Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life

Of course, I haven't read the whole book, yet. But even just the photos, illustrations and graphics are worth having it. This woman has just been so amazing and I cannot wait to get to know her better.

Boutique Knits: 20 +

I am a total knitting newbie, but this book is just so inspiring, that I am willing to go through this torture of learning how to knit. I hope that I can understand those instructions soon. Does anybody has some advice on how to learn knitting best? Another book or website?

My boyfriend got me an half year subscription of BurdaStyle and in addition these ergonomically designed Prym sewing tools!

Hopefully these will put an end to my tortured hands. :)

And last but not least I got this chic Fifi Lapin brooch. Do you know her? The most fashionable bunny worldwide? 

Hihi, I just love her!

I am so into brooches, anyway, these days. How come they have been neglected as jewellery for such a long time?

And here comes one more christmas present I made for my boyfriend. A striped, color blocked sweater. Which is just as comfy as it looks! Luckily, I did not have to do any changes and he could wear it immediately. :)

Maybe you remember my wish for a sewing closet? My father has been working hard on it for about 2 months already! I would have never imagined, that it would take so much time and effort to build it! Unfortunately, he was not able to finish it for Christmas Eve. But that just ain't no problem! I can wait and am looking forward to finally get my hands on and my sewing stuff into that closet! :)

Merry Christmas!

Thank you my dear followers for sharing that queerish moment with me in my last post. I am so glad, that it made some of you smile and that, definitely, made me smile myself! Thank you so much for your nice, nice, nice comments. It is always a big pleasure for me to read a new comment.

So, it is already that day! ♥

I don't know how it is celebrated in your country, but in Germany today is that special night! I will have a wonderful dinner (prepared by my father) with my family (unfortunately not all of them) and afterwards it will be gift giving time.

So I will have to leave you now to get dressed and ready for this day!

I wish you all a merry, merry christmas and a wonderful time with your loved ones! ♥

Better make it yourself!

I do not think that I will ever win a sewing machine, no matter in how many giveaways I participate! So today I decided to better make it myself, then relying on luck and fate, only.

Tadaaaa! And here it is, my very own sewing machine! ;)

Ok, you got me. It is not the most professional one, but I like its aerodynamic look...haha...

Unfortunately, the control knobs fall of very often and I have to admit, that it does not have any variety of different stitches...also it does not survive any room temperature...sigh...

P.S.:

It has been snowing here in Germany for weeks already. Somehow this weather makes me a little queerish...So forgive me for this post. :)

Anyway, this was a lot of fun and if I could  have made you smile, just a little, I will be highly delighted!

Christmas is coming to town... Part. I

I was finally able to finish all my self-made christmas presents, yesterday! Yeaheee! No more stress for me! :)

So today I would like to share two of them. I can only show you these before christmas because I am pretty sure that both presentees will not come on my blog to have a look.

So this little birdcage ornament with a flying bird inside is for my boyfriend's grandmother. She is always such a kind person and I really hope she will like it! 

I made this ornament with the help of a tutorial by 'Pretty Ditty'. She shares wonderful and inspirational things on her blog and also has a very nice online shop.

I, especially, love her pegdolls, they are just too beautiful. I have to admit, that I once tried my hand on one of these and it was no problem to make the doll's cloth...but I cannot show you my pegdoll because I was just nooo good at painting her face. :)

Second present I would like to share is a leathern case for keys. I tried to keep it simple as it is for men. But to make it a little more personalized I stamped and sewed on the presentees initials.

So what about you? I am really curious to see what other people have made. Have you finished all your christmas presents, yet? What did you make?

♥ Coeur de pirate ♥

Oh, I really want to share this discovery with you. My boyfriend was so kind to find it for me.

I simply love this song, as well as the French language. I wish I was still able to play the piano like I used to when I was in my teens... ♥

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do and have a lovely day! ♥

"Stricklieseln?!"

Sorry, for not having posted for some time. I have been very busy with 'real' life, but in the end everything turned out just fine and here I am back posting my latest little projects.

I have tried my hand on some knitted wintery accessories that I saw in a German magazine called 'CUT'. The first one is my favorite. It is a flower brooch and was very, very easy to make. I just needed some knitted strings. Then I rolled them to be flowers and hand sew them on a feltbase combined with a safety pin.

The second accessory is this bracelet. 

I used the same knitted strings as for the brooch. 

This is made by braiding four strings and connect both ends.

And last but not least the most easiest of all three is this necklace with 3 knitted strings in different length.

Somehow I do love this red and white color combination. It is wintery and has a christmas holiday touch.

Maybe I will try to make more accessories like these, as I still have some of this wool left.

So you might wonder how I made those strings? In German this tool you see on the last picture is called 'Strickliesel'. 'Strick' means 'knitting' and 'liesel' is an old German name for a girl. Can anybody tell me what this is called in English? I wonder if this tool is known all around the world? 

People told me that many Germans used to play with it in their childhood. Well, I am a little late having found out about this 'Strickliesel' just about a month ago! ;)

Old school embroidered pillow cases...

Today I would like to show you a little "side"project of mine. My boyfriend was in desperate need of new pillowcases. So I made him the following two with checkered woolen scrap fabric. But somehow they were kind of boring. 

Then I found this amazing and pretty cool book called 'Embroidered Effects' and tried to jazz them up a little. I made two patches. After stitching I sewed them on felt so that they won't fray. This was a pretty easy and fun project! 

The first one reminds me of those old sailor jerry tattoos and the second is a colorful skull inspired by 'Día de los Muertos'. Think I am going to embroider more in the future!

Little big hedgehog poche & a little surprise

Oh, I have been a total copycat this time. I am so sorry, but I just had to try this sweet hedgehog bag myself! And aren't people saying that to copy is the highest form of flattery?

I have seen this kind of animal bags on etsy some time ago. Then, some weeks ago got reminded about them by a post from crochetie on facebook. They are too cute, but they were also unaffordable for me, so I simply had to make it myself.

I used some soft and thin leather for the body. I wasn't so sure, whether my sewing machine would be able to sew leather, but with a leather needle it was no problem at all.

It is not really a bag and can carry only little things, but that is enough for some money, cards and my mobile phone.

 

P.S.: I got a little parcel, yesterday! I was so surprised and delighted!!! One of my very best friends, Meike, send me some goodies along with this lovely black leather flower brooch, which she made herself! Oh, I love self-made presents!!! ♥

Nut Roll - My favorite Winter Recipe

Today I would like to share another one of my favorite recipes. This time it is a cake! I love baking and the flavor of fresh baked cakes and cookies (but who does not!). This is a delicious, easy and quickly made cake.

What you need:

For the dough:

150g curd, 6 tablespoons milk, 6 tablespoons oil, 25g baking powder, a pinch of salt, 300g flour, 10g vanilla sugar, 75g sugar

For the filling:

100g sugar, 200g powdered hazelnut, 1/2 egg yolk, 1 egg white, 5 tablespoons water

What to do:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the dough, until you have a nice and sleak dough. 
2. Mix all the ingredients for the filling in another bowl.
3. Roll the dough on your table until you receive a nice rectangle. 
4. Then use a spoon or a knife to apply the filling all over it.
5. Roll the whole rectangle into a nice roll and press it a little, so that it won't open in the oven.
6. Cut the upper side several times.
7. Apply a mixture of the remaining egg yolk and some milk on the roll, so that it will get this shiny golden surface.
8. Bake it for about 35-40 minutes in 175 degress celsius.
9. Enjoy this delicious nut roll!!!

Casual Maritime

It has been getting very cold here in Germany, but at least the weather is fine today! So, finally, I had the chance to take some photos again. This is a "sweater dress" I finished already 2 weeks ago. I like my clothes to be comfy, yet not looking too comfortable!

I did not use a pattern for this dress. The skirt is made out of two large rectangles and the upper part is a copy of one of my simpler shirts. To give it something special I divided the yoke and decided to use two different fabrics.

I used two different sweatshirt fabrics. One is a dark blue and the other one is a maritime looking light grey one with blue stripes.

At first I wanted to add different golden buttons, but somehow they would have made the whole style less casual and did not really match the sweatshirt fabric. That is why I went for these heart-shaped buttons made out of shell which match well with the light grey.

Anyway, wish you all a relaxed sunday and a good start into tomorrow's week!!!

Better together...

Bagbag for Frederik

Last week on the 13th was my boyfriend's birthday. Yes, he is a 13th born!...kind of creepy...hihi...Luckily, I am not superstitious. :)

Anyway, I made him this bag. I used canvas for the outside and the inside and put some interface inbetween to give it more shape. The brown handles, the bottom and the outside pocket are made out of leather.

As the leather was very thick I had to do a lot of handstitching. I worked on it for hours! And there is still some horny skin on the tips of my fingers.

At first I wanted to buy some handles, but I simply could not find matching ones. So in the end I tried to make them myself! It was not quite that difficult.

You won't ever guess what is inside them! I used old cables to give them more grip. :)

In addition I added a shoulder strap, which is removable. So he can use this bag in two different ways.

But the best part of this bag is, that he likes it a lot! 

Well, that is at least what he told me! ;)...if he did not meant it, he surely deserves an Oscar Award!

 

Yesterday, we went to eat some simple Japanese food. Yakitori-Don! Oh, I so miss Japanese food. One of my favorites has always been Okonomiyaki! I just found out, that there is a restaurant in a neighbouring city, which is specialized on that dish! Definitely have to try that one soon!

Wish you all a nice and relaxing sunday and have a good start in tomorrow's new week!

Faux Fur Collars

You might have noticed, too, that this autumn/winter season seems to be all about faux fur! I always wonder how those trends evolve unnoticed. People, including me, tend to think that they come up with something, like in this case the detachable faux fur collar, but in the end we are all just unintentionally following some trends, which are impossible to relate to one origin.

I think this case of 'faux fur collars' is a great example. I had the idea in my mind at the beginning of autumn. Then, maybe about 1 week later I found Ophelia from Crochetie had made some beautiful fur collars for her shop (you should really stop by her blog to look at them or even purchase one).

Her collars finally encouraged me to really try my own one. Though all of these are faux fur collars, there seem to be boundless possibilities to make endless variations. You can  play with the size, the pattern and the different kinds of furs.

Then, just 2 days earlier Colette patterns made a fantastic tutorial on a removable custom faux fur collar for coats.

And finally, yesterday, Elegant Musings added 2 other wonderful vintage patterns for detachable fur collars, which you can download as pdf on her blog. She also made a detailed step-by-step instruction on how to work with fur. 

Isn't this amazing?! Unrelated people from all over the world come up with similar ideas at the same time and the origin of these simply remain unidentifiable. How can you explain this?

So what do you think of these detachable fur collars? Do you like them, or did you even had the same idea in this season?

Anyway, if you are into them, here comes a little hint! Elegant Musings is having a giveaway for one beautiful fur collar. Simply leave her a comment on what your favorite wintertime accessory is and how you like to wear it. 

Good luck girls and have a nice day!

Me encanta tú blog!

 

I feel so flattered! Lovely Jelena has given me this sweet blog award! Spongebob in a vogue like pose. Hihihi, I love this one! :)

 

Anyway, with this award come some questions she poses. I tried to answer them as good as I can.

Why did you create your blog? 
I started this blog because I want to share my passion for sewing and creating with as many people as possible all around the world. I have seen so many beautiful blogs and wondered whether I could do something like that, too. And here I am trying! ;)

What kind of blogs do you read?
I read all kind of blogs about crafts, but also fashion in order to get inspired in several ways.

What is your favorite decorative cosmetics brand?
I like all kind of natural cosmetics. I do not really have a favorite brand.

What is your favorite clothes brand?

I love clothes from Anthropologie! But actually, they are too expensive for my little purse and that is why I have not purchased anything there, yet. Anyway, their clothes are a great inspiration for me.

Which product of decorative cosmetics is the most important to you?

Definitely rouge (I am using Benefit's Coralista, at the moment) and concealer (Artdeco's Perfect Teint Illuminator). They are essential for me because they make me look fresher!...I always look a little weiry.

What is your favorite color?
I love all natural colors. I guess, at the moment my favorite color might be beige - camel.

What is your favorite perfume?
My favorite perfume at the moment is Jil Sander's 'Jil'.

What is your favorite movie? 

My one and only favorite movie is 'Garden State' with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman. I can only advise you to watch it, if you haven't yet! It is wonderful and I love the message behind it. 

Which countries do you wish to visit and why?

I would love to travel everywhere! hihihi...but my favorite is still Japan. I have been there 2007 for about 10 months to study Japanese and to complete an internship. It was one of my happiest times and I really miss them! In addition, I would also love to travel to Korea (they have really, really good food), to Hawaii (who does not want to go to Hawaii?!) and to Russia (that would be something different to what I have seen, yet).

Thank you Jelena! And thank you, who have been interested in reading my answers! ♥

 

Matryoshka

I love old and traditional things from all around the world. Getting to know about other cultures is one of my favorite pleasures. Luckily, I had the chance to travel a lot, though I am still quite young. I am very grateful for that.

Anyway, I have never been to Russia, yet! That is definitely one more country I would love to see. Traveling with the Transibirian Train would be a great experience, I think.

Well, that journey will have to wait. But it inspired me to do this lovely looking matryoshka pin cushion!

I feel a little sorry, whenever I put a needle in it! ;)

Curiously, I found the pattern on a Japanese website called Tezukuri Town, which means somethings as Handmade Town. It was my first try in embroidery. It was great fun! If you would like to try it, aswell, you can find the pattern here.

DIY: Vintage Sewing Spool Charm

Some weeks ago I bought a set of 12 vintage wooden sewing spools. They looked so nice with their neat graphics and I thought they might be useful to hold my laces. Another idea of mine was to use them for a knob rack. I am still into the idea of a knob rack, but actually, I would have no use for it at the moment. So that is definitely an idea for the future.

Then I had the idea for a charm. Definitely a charm for seamstresses! I looked up several sailor's knots and ended up with the 'monkey fist' which seemed to be a nice ending for this charm.

For those of you, who like it, too (and did not win the giveaway) here comes my first DIY tutorial.

Materials: about 20 inch of twine, a wooden sewing spool, some glue and yarn in your prefered color

• Leave one end of the twine shorter and wrap it 3 times. The longer end you take to the right.
• Then wrap the longer ending 3 times counterclockwise around the first 3 rings.

• Wrap the long end 3 times around the 3 rings you have just made.
• Now comes the "hardest" part. Be partient and find out which parts you have to pull in order to get the knot neat.

• Make another simple knot into the twine (about the length you prefer your monkey fist pendant).
• Bond the longer end of the twine to the shorter one. Then pull the twine through your sewing spool.

• Make another simple knot at the other end of the spool in order to fix it.
• Use some glue on your spool and wind up a yarn with your preferred color.

Finished!

And the winner is...

La Inglesita from Spain 

Congratulations! I will definitely try to contact you soon, so that I can send you the giveaway asap!  ♥

I am so happy for my very first little giveaway. This was extremely exciting. Thank you so much to everybody for entering. And I am so sorry, that I cannot send all of you a giveaway. But I will definitely do another in the future. So come back now and then and thank you all for following me and being interested in what I have to share. This really means a lot to me. 

Have a nice and beautiful day girls!

Giveaway No.1: For Seamstresses

I am a little nervous, but also very excited! Tadaaaa! This is going to be my first little giveaway! I hope so much that you like it as much as I do! A little seamstress kit for all those lovely seamstresses!

So this kit includes 4 items. 

The first being this selfmade seamstress vintage sewing spool charm. 

I used a really cute vintage wooden sewing spool and added some mustard thread. The ending is a sailor's knot called 'monkey fist' which I made with some cotton twine. I think this charm is a nice way to express one's love to sewing!

The second item is a little hand-sewn Japanese bag. Which can be used to store little items like buttons or candys! I used two of my favorite fabrics to make this one. Both are from Japanese 'Lecien' fabrics. As you can see, there is a big pocket in the middle, which can be closed using the drawstring and there are also two exterior pockets underneath the triangles.

And last, but not least 2 small goodies. A lovely red lolly (everybody needs some sweetness in life now and then) and some of my favorite incense sticks with lavender flavour.

So if you like what you see, please enter my very 1st giveaway in one of the following ways:

• Leave a comment and a way for me to contact you (email, facebook name, blog url).
• If you would like to have an additional entry, be or become my follower.
• Another way to have an additional entry, would be to repost this giveaway on your blog and to link it back here.
• Please tell me in your comment, if you chose to have additional entries.

This giveaway is open until Thursday, November 11th (11 am (CET)). I will choose a winner randomly using random.org. Good luck everybody! ♥

Casey's giveaway: done up like a present – 50s headband

How adorable is this one? I do not know why, but it gives me a special christmas present feeling!

Casey shares with us this wonderful tutorial on how to make a cute 50s headband. 

And for those, who are too busy to make one on their own, she is giving you the chance to win one in her giveaway!

So good luck girls and have a wonderful day!!!

P.S. Come back on the weekend! I am planning to have a little giveaway, too! I hope you will like it!  ♥♥♥

Hoot Hoot - Recycled Frame Bag

This is a small recycling project. My boyfriend bought me a bag in Spain some years ago. Unfortunately the off-white canvas could not be washed because of the bag's leather frame. So I decided to tear it apart, buy a new fabric and use that really nice leather frame again. 

Somehow I was in a funny mood and ended up with this cute owl fabric (Kokka). The blue in the owls matches the blue leather frame perfectly. 

Final result: casual owl bag to go! hoot hoot

Inspired by Mathilde's Pantalon Alfred

About a month ago Mathilde from Paris uploaded her project "Pantalon Alfred" on BurdaStyle Community. I fell in love with her version of some trousers (BurdaStyle Magazine 06/2010), at once. Although I had this edition for months already, I had not noticed it in the magazine. But her aubergine colored version was just perfect in my view. That is why I tried to sew my own one. 

Sorry for the photos being a little dark.

These trousers have some pleats on the side of the high-waist. I had to do several fittings and narrow them because somehow they got too boxy at the hip. I am not too sure about how they fit me, but they are quite comfortable and I love the curvings at the trouser legs.
As you can see on the last photo I used contrasting cotton fabric for the trouser legs and also for the pockets.

Vanilla Sky Moment

Just wanted to share a precious moment with you! Do you know that inspiring painting by Claude Monet called "The Seine at Argenteuil". When I looked up into the sky, while taking a walk outside, I saw this wonderful vanilla sky and had to think of it immediately.

That just made me smile and reminded me how beautiful and precious every moment can be.

I wonder what the sky looks like at your place right now.

crochetie: Faux Fur Earmuffs Giveaway!

Following a link of one of my most favorite blogs! Stop by and have a look at crochetie's beautiful emorie line and enter her giveaway! These earmuffs are so lovely and seem to be very good for the upcoming cold days!

crochetie: Faux Fur Earmuffs Giveaway!: "More pics here. More pics here. More pics here. Hello! How was your weekend? I packed my stuff for the trip to Thailand:) Oh yes, I am s..."

Inspired by Coco Chanel

Got the latest issue of BurdaStyle magazine some days ago and am so delighted because it contains a pattern I was looking for some time already. Tadaaa! A Chanel inspired boxy jacket. I guess this is a piece which needs to be in any chic wardrobe.

Jacket BurdaStyle 11/2010       Background Vintage Damask

Unfortunately, I still have some projects on my sewing list, but I will definitely try to get this one done, at the latest for christmas! By the way! Did anybody read "Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life"? I am looking forward to this book, but it has not been released in Germany, yet.

Have a wonderful sunday everybody!

Hokkaidô Pumpkin Soup - My favorite Autumn Recipe

Still in autumn mood I want to share my favorite seasonal recipe. Hokkaidô Pumpkin Soup! I really hope that some of you try it because it tastes soo delicious and is a real explosion of different tastes. In addition to that I do love its color! Have a look:

What you need:  

1 hokkaidô pumpkin (0.8-1.2 kg),

1 or 2 apples,

1 onion,

butter or oil,

0.6-0.7 litre of stock,

some ginger spice, curry, chili powder, salt and pepper (season to taste),

some sherry (yes, sherry! but not too much!),

60 ml sour cream

 What to do:

1. Clean the pumpkin, cut it in half and get rid of the seeds with the help of a spoon. Then cut the pumpkin into several cubes.
2. Clean the apple and peel the apple and the onion. Then cut both into small cubes.
3. Heat the butter or oil in a cooking pot and start to stew the mixture of apple and onion. After a while add the pumpkin cubes and stew them, too.
4. Add the stock and cook it on small heat for about 15-20 minutes (cover your pot).
5. Season to taste with all spices, add the sourcream and sherry and puree it e.g. with a mixer. 
6. Taste it again and perhaps add some more spices.
7. Enjoy it! 

Please let me know if you tried this soup. I am curious to know what you think of it! By the way what are your favorite autumn recipes?

Jour d'automne - Part II

Is it monday again?! Let's hope for a good and creative new week! 

 I just wanted to add some photos of my new coat, because the color did not show up very well in the last one.

 Wish you all a good start into this week! And hopefully the weather is better at your place (here, it is a 7°C, grey and rainy day ...brrr...)!

P.S.: Somehow I do have a grumpy facial expression on these photos (though I was not grumpy at all!)! I definitely have to work on that! So please forgive me!  ♥