Ready in time...

A little surprise for when the girls get home tonight.
I spend the better part of this morning crafting this advent calendar.
The only thing left is finding the right spot to hang it.
Can't believe we're starting to count-down this weekend already...

Wishing you a great weekend!

xo, P.

Folded leather basket :: a minimalistic DIY

I love minimalism, as I truly believe less is more.
I have always loved geometry.
I love figuring out how things are built.

Lately I have been drawn into building shapes, going from something flat to something three dimensional and functional with the least steps involved. The teddy bear key chain is one example.

So, when I came across this fabulous basket and DIY on Pinterest, I couldn't get to my craft's table fast enough. In no time, I made a bunch of leather mini baskets based on the same principle, but instead of using a hexagon I made use of squares. And leather - what else!?



This is an easy and fast craft, which requires minimal supplies:
a (small) piece of leather, a hole punch, rivets and rivet setter, a cutting tool, and a ruler and pencil.

Now if you don't have access to leather, try using heavy weight felt as in the original tutorial, or use foam sheets. Or with the holidays just ahead of us why not try making some baskets out of nice and heavy card stock, replacing the rivets with eyelets or brads. These baskets would make perfect packaging for those homemade cookies.

Before you get started and especially when using precious materials like leather, I recommend making a paper version first, just to make sure you got the dimensions right.

I made two sizes of baskets:
- a 15 cm square results in a 7 x 7 x 4 cm basket
- a 10 cm  square results in a 5 x 5 x 2,5 cm basket

To give you a rough idea: one of the larger baskets is holding (part of my) washi tape collection and the other one a bunch of large paper clips. The small one holds quite an amount of small paperclips. 



Instructions:

1. Make a paper template or download the template here.
2. Cut the leather and make the diagonal incisions as shown (for a 15 cm square, cut 6cm diagonals; for a 10cm square this would be 4cm diagonals)
3. Punch 4 holes as shown in the picture and template.
4. Set rivets (I found the table corner to be very useful for this, but make sure to protect your table appropriately). Shape your basket by inserting the two remaining flaps.

// Happy Holidays //

I planned a couple more posts but I have too much on my plate right now to make it work.
So, rather than getting frustrated, I decided to sign off for the year.
Take care, everyone!  Enjoy the holidays and...
hope to see you back here soon!

Cheers,

Pascale
xo

Handmade holidays :: a DIY wreath

With only one more week to go before X-mas we felt we needed a little more deco around the house to get into the mood completely. The idea for the Christmas balls we got from the latest issue of Whip up's Action Pack. We made a whole bunch of them using fabric scraps, sequins, yarn, my favorite baker's twine and some lace we still had lying around. Three were used to decorate a (store-bought) wreath. The balls were attached using a hot glue gun. We tied two pieces of fabric scraps in a bow for the finishing touch and - Voilà!

Christmas tree free holidays

We decided not to buy a Christmas tree this year but to come up with an alternative.
And this is what our alternative tree looks like: white semi-sparkly (semi because about 50% of the sparkles rubbed off already, but wiping down sparkles is nothing compared to cleaning up pine needles...)  branches picture (store bought, which is silly, I know, but we have no garden and I can't myself running through Paris with pruning shears without getting myself into trouble).



We decorated our branches with homemade salt dough ornaments. The idea for the salt dough ornaments I got here. They were fun to make and cost next to nothing. A fun detail: we only had organic flour, which makes these ornaments totally ORGANIC!  How about that?!



We used cookie cutters, red inked stamps and lace for  the decoration of the ornaments and my favorite divine baker's twine for hanging them.



The pictures are of poor quality because they were shot at night and I still hate using a flash. They're not crisp and sharp as usual but a little blur suits the subject, I thought...

Easy X-mas cards

Tonight little H. and I made a bunch of X-mas cards for the children at the local children's hospital - a great project initiated by a class parent.
We came up with several homemade cards. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take pictures of them before they went in an envelope, except for this one, which I made earlier in the day. Very easy to make if you want to give this a try. All you need is a piece of vellum, some colorful sequins, card stock, some contrasting thread and a sewing machine...

Some of our other cards included fingerprinted moose and snowmen to which details were added using a felt tip marker (look here for inspiration), and a very cool Keith Haring inspired Christmas tree with presents and stars by little H.

// Happy 2011 //

We're still recovering from not enough sleep and too much magret de canard with this homemade chutney.
The fortune cookies we made were fun and the chocolate chip cookies served with vanilla ice cream yummy as always. We were in good company and had fun at playing the Wii and Pictionary.
We made it to the Eiffel Tower in time for the count down and fire works, and left almost immediately after the countdown because of some idiots firing off their own crackers and scaring off the kids. Seeing the Eiffel Tower light up and hearing the crowd cheer was magic, though!

We're ready for a new beginning and hope you are too!
Wishing you a happy and creative 2011!

xo, Pascale
 

Wishing you...

I'm taking a short blogbreak.
I'll be back here soon and I hope you'll be too!
Take care!

xo, P.

DIY Gift Ideas # 5:: Fabric covered notebooks...

Believe it or not, but it's only recently that I discovered Vliesofix also known as bondaweb, fusible webbing that sticks on two sides. Also recently, I bought Kasja Wikman's book Scandinavian Stitches. Inspired by the wonderful projects in the book I had to find Vliesofix right away. I was lucky to find some at the mercerie around the corner. The same evening I whipped together a Christmas themed drawstring bag, which didn't make it to the blog because it's simply not me. The girls think it's cute, but I'm not sure I like it.

Anyway, a couple of days after making the bag I saw the most wonderful (and also pricey) fabric covered envelopes at a store here in Paris. Seeing this was immediately followed by another one of my aha-moments which made me rush home. To make a long story short - I had plenty Vliesofix left. I also happened to have a couple of Moleskine notebooks. That combined with pieces of leftover fabric and you have fabric-covered notebooks! I finished them in no time and I think they look totally cute. The possibilities are of course endless. Make a couple in assorted colors and you have a nice teacher's gift, stocking stuffer, or just to keep them in your purse...
Here's a short description of how to make them. I didn't have time to make step-by-step photographs, but I believe it is kind of straightforward. So, here we go:

What you need:

- fabric, big enough to cover a notebook
- Vliesofix
- notebook (Moleskines are great for this)
- good sewing scissors, pencil, ruler
- iron

Instructions:

1. Cut a piece of Vliesofix slightly bigger than the notebook you want to cover
2. Iron the Vliesofix onto the wrong side of your fabric, paper side up. Cut fabric to size, along the outlines of the Vliesofix.
3. Peel off paper and place on top of your notebook. If your fabric has a pattern make sure to align perfectly - once the fabric sticks, it sticks! With your iron, press to fuse the fabric onto the cover. Let cool down a bit. Check if it sticks really well everywhere.
4. With small sewing scissors trim the excess fabric around the edges... and done!

Now, don't you think they look awesome!?

If you're into Moleskines also check out this post, from last year!

Please note, this tutorial is intended for personal use only. Therefore, do not reproduce, sell or commercialize in any form. Thanks for understanding!


If you made something using a tutorial found on this blog or if you got inspired by something you found here, make sure to post your pictures here.

Yummy! :: Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti

The holiday season or maybe winter in general, traditionally is baking season. One of our home made favorites are these cranberry-pistachio biscotti (biscotti literally means baked twice). Even K. who doesn't have a sweet tooth at all or doesn't even care about desert, can't resist these. They have a nice nutty flavor to which the cranberries add the right amount of tang. I made a batch late Friday night and they didn't last through the weekend! The recipe is adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.


ingredients (makes about 20):

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (levure chimique)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup cane sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup pistachios, peeled

1. Preheat oven to 350° F/ 175-180°C.
2. In a pan roast the pistachios until golden or slightly brown. Set aside.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
4. Put flour butter in a bowl and mix on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and mix until pale and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and eggs, 1 at a time, until well combined. Add flour mixture at once and mix until well combined. Add cranberries and pistachios and mix with a fork until well combined.
5. Transfer dough to baking sheet lined with parchment paper and dusted with flour. Pat into a long flat log. Dust hands with flour if too sticky. Bake until firm, golden brown and cracked on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, about 20 minutes.
6. Transfer to a cutting board and cut 1/2 inch thick slices using a serrated knife. Arrange slices onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake cookies until brown at edges, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Bon appétit!

Advent Calendar :: Oh Yes!

Ok, I'm a procrastinator - you knew that already. But I guess that little bit of pressure is what I need to be inventive. You see, yesterday morning, December 1st, we didn't have an advent calendar yet, though the kids had reminded me several times over the last couple of weeks. And yesterday late afternoon, still on December 1st,  I was ready to present this calendar to my girls. And they loved it!

It's one of those projects again that just happened while I was going. When I started all I knew was that I had to make 50 (well 48 actually) bags somehow, big enough to contain a chocolate coin.  The origami paper I intended to use for this purpose was simply too bright (really it hurt our eyes when we opened the package - the prospect of having to actually look at it for nearly a month made us change our mind). I wanted bags, but I wanted them quickly. So then I came up with this idea: making bags from a long sheet of parchment paper folded in two. With pencil,  I traced a raster of 4 columns by 12 rows. With the sewing machine I first sewed the columns (I sewed down on either side of the pencil line), then cut the paper along the traced line, to obtain 4 long strips. Next, I started inserting coins and as I went, after each coin, I stitched the pocket closed along the horizontal lines  I drew in the first step. It was actually fun doing and overall it didn't take that long. I didn't bother about cutting off threads, just left them on hanging. With stamps I printed on the dates. The only thing left was finding a way to hang the strips - and even that didn't take long. I just took another one of those wire coat hangers (I'm running out of them) and sewed the strips onto the hanger,. Now both girls have their advent calendar strips  hanging sisterly next to each other, and every night after dinner, they'll cut off the corresponding  pocket containing their coin.

Et voilà!! Fast, cheap and easy!!

DIY Gift Ideas #2 :: Say it with (fabric) flowers...

When I saw these fabric flowers in the latest issue of Marie-Claire Idées, I couldn't put down my magazine fast enough to get started. I made a whole bunch of them the same evening and while I was doing so I was thinking of the many different ways I could use them. In the original project they were used to decorate a seat cover.

The flowers are really easy to make. All you do is roll and twist a fabric strip to form a flower and then secure with a couple of stitches. Instead of cutting my fabric strip I ripped it, which gives a nice frayed effect. You can find many different ways to fold flowers online. Just google "fabric roses" and you'll end up with an extensive list. This tutorial is pretty close to the way I did it. Many people use glue or secure the flower with a couple of stitches as they go. I didn't do so, but finished folding my flower first, then put a couple of pins through the back to secure, and finally sewed the "petals" into place with a couple of stitches on the back, making sure to go through all layers. You probably won't be able to go through all layers at once - just work your way around the rosebud making several small stitches. One flower takes approximately 10-15 minutes to make depending on its size. I made mine while watching, or should I say listening, TV and found it very relaxing.



Once you have finished a bunch you can use them to decorate well basically anything. Here are a couple of examples. Of course I had to make a tote. It's a basic tote, in natural linen,  finished with a French seam, and with leather handles. As I liked the selvedges of the fabric - it has the same pale aqua green in it as the flowers -  I didn't even bother to finish the hem. With no lining, no hems and no fabric handles to sew, this bag is a real quick one! But I love the way it turned out - the rough look of  the linen and the frayed edges of the flowers combine really well, I believe. 



And if you thought I ran out of ideas for wire coat hanger make overs... here's just another one in my collection. This one's entirely hand sewn, as I was too lazy to pull out my machine. Fun to make and another fast DIY gift.



Little H. and I also made a cute little purse together, lined with a liberty like printed fabric. She took care of the side seams of both linen and lining and sewed on the snap closure. The result is one to be proud of, little Elf! Well done!

The possibilities for these little flowers are endless. I have a couple more in mind - now I just need to find the time to work on them.

In the mean time, here are some useful links to tutorials if you'd like to make any of the above:

- Easy tote bag for beginners
- Denim tote (you could use this bag and sew on the handles the traditional way)
- drawstring bag
- Fabric coat hanger cover 
- Fabric flowers found at  Susie Harris' blog here

DIY Gift Ideas # 1:: a polar fleece poncho

November is almost halfway through. The first Christmas decorations are showing up in town, and I try not to see them. Because I'm a procrastinator and it reminds me of all  things still to be done. And because, somehow, the whole holiday craze makes me feel uncomfortable - more and more - every year. "Do we really need to spend that much to get through the holidays and to make everyone happy?" is the question that comes to my mind when I see all this extravaganza. This DIY Gift Ideas series is an attempt to do things a little differently this year - and at low cost. All it takes is a tiny bit of creativity and a little bit of time. I truly hope to inspire at least some of you to craft along!

Ok, I promised I would kick off this series with last weekend's project. It's finished - I like it, but I'm waiting for better light and more time to take a couple of pictures.

So, why don't I get you started with a polar fleece poncho instead! I made this poncho a while ago after seeing a girl wearing a more luxury - hooded - version of it. The weather has gotten too cold and wet here to wear it outside, but little H. likes to cuddle up in it here at home and wears it as that little layer extra in the mornings and evenings. Just like the other poncho's, it is super easy to make. With only a couple of seams and the use of an easy to work with material like polar fleece, this project is accessible to even the most inexperienced sewer - a kid literally could make this. So, maybe this might be a good idea to keep your child busy on a rainy day as well.
About the fringe: I used masking tape to set outlines for cutting - if you want to perfect this you could even make marks on the tape to space them out evenly. I didn't go through the hassle of doing this, I didn't even bother to work myself all the way around with the scissors - I simply folded the poncho such that front and back were perfectly aligned on top of each other and I cut through both layers at once.

What you'll need

- polar fleece: it usually comes in 1.50m width, so half a meter would do for a poncho for an 8-10 year (adjust for bigger sizes)
- matching thread
- masking tape
- good sewing scissors
- sewing machine (note: depending on the machine being used, it might be useful to test the machine on a little swatch first to see how it's behaving in terms of tension and needle.)



Step-by-step instructions

1. Pattern: make a paper pattern of a 63cm x 44cm rectangle. This includes seam allowances. This should fit an 8 – 11 year old. You can adjust the dimensions accordingly for bigger sizes (to check hold the rectangle across your body, the short end being one of the shoulder seams). Make sure to have a difference of at least 18-20cm between the width and length of the rectangle as this will determine the size of the opening of the poncho for the head.
2. Cutting: fold your fabric in two, pin the pattern to both layers of fabric. Next cut your fabric. You obtain two identical rectangles.
3. Assembling: (see also Fig. 1) With the right sides of the fabric facing each other, pin the short side of one rectangle to the longer side of the other. Sew with sewing machine. Do the same with the other two ends. In the middle you’ll have the opening to put your head through.
4. Hemming the collar: With the right side of the poncho facing you, turn  the top 1.5cm of the opening inward and do this all the way around. Pin while you’re going, to secure. Next, topstitch on the machine.
5. Cutting the fringe: place your poncho in front of you such that front and back are perfectly aligned on top of each other. That way, you’ll be able to cut through both layers of fabric. Now, using some masking tape, define the size of the fringe you want (6cm in the poncho shown). Start with an incision at the center tip, and than gradually shift over the next couple of incisions until it becomes perpendicularly upon the tape. Then continue to cut parallel on both sides, left and right from the center tip.
6. Optional: you can further decorate the poncho, using ribbons, buttons, appliqué, sequins, embroidery… Use your imagination!

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

Did you make something using a tutorial found on this blog or did you get inspired by something you found here? Then make sure to post your pictures here!

Cinnamon cupcakes

The weather's been really ugly the last couple of days - rain and more rain is what we had! And I have the feeling temperatures dropped quite a bit too today. It makes me feel like staying inside and cuddling up in the sofa with a book and a hot drink. Unfortunately, there's way too much work to be done for that and a lot of running around too!

But last weekend we stayed inside and cuddled up and spent a lot of time in the kitchen which resulted in a batch of yummy cinnamon sugar cupcakes and some really, really good pumpkin soup! And there was even some time left for sewing. Initially, I planned on getting some fabric in Montmartre. Unfortunately - or fortunately - it was pouring by the time I wanted to leave, so I decided to stay home instead and work with what I had. It's actually surprising, the things you can come up with by simply using what you have. The project isn't finished yet, but I'll show you as soon as it is. It will be the first in a row of crafts and DIY ideas I plan on bringing here between now and the holidays - if all goes according to plan that is! It won't necessarily be holiday related crafts, but things you can make anytime and which could make a nice present too. So, if you're still in search of DIY gift ideas, make sure to stop by from time to time and, maybe, there will be something you like!

Oh, and in case you're wondering about the muffin: it's the Joy of Cooking 'Basic yoghurt, buttermilk, or sour cream muffin'  dipped in melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar. They were divine!

Back

We're back from our trip to the Lot. It was really fun in every respect. The weather was great, so was the food (canard, summer fruits,...) and so was the place where we stayed. We booked a gite run by the very nice Peter and Zoë, who've been doing this for over twenty years now. They transformed a former farm into small cottages and B&B rooms. The big yard contains a pool as well. What more could one wish for?! We found a perfect balance between day trips in the area, playtime by the pool and lots of reading.
The region of the Lot is simply gorgeous with its small medieval villages, winding roads, sun flower fields, vineyards, markets, châteaux... What was striking though is that quite a few of these villages have turned into ghost towns almost, as people moved to the bigger cities. Apparently this has been an ongoing process and the recent economic and financial crisis certainly didn't help. A lavender distillery we visited, is running on its last legs because it's economically no longer viable to maintain the activity or to do the much needed investments. This is only one of several stories we heard, and it made me feel sad knowing that traditions and part of a culture will sooner or later disappear that way. So, I truly hope the region will surmount its problems and will become flourishing again as never before because it really deserves it...

For more pictures, visit my Flickr set here - I'll probably be adding more photos in the days to come.

// La douce France // - le 14 juillet

Still in the Lot area we celebrated le 14 juillet like never before, in a small village, at the very top of a hill, with the most stunning view over the area beneath.
People of all ages, locals and passerby's like us, sat together at long tables for food and wine (and other drinks as well), and danced through the night at the "bal populaire" with fire works once the sun had set to make it complete.

Fun and surreal at the same time...

// Happy Easter //

Wishing you a happy Easter weekend!
I'll be back on Monday!

xo, P.

Valentine's Day :: Crocheted hearts tutorial - part 2

I got really nervous about this particular crocheted heart. After I did the first three-dimensional one, I had to make another one in order to write the tutorial (why didn't I anticipate this?!) and I started panicking I wouldn't be able to replicate. But, as you can see I managed to do so and if you look really carefully, you'll notice this one actually looks better than its fellow over here. That's probably because this time I had to pay attention to what I was doing. Hence, no mistakes in this one. It's perfectly symmetrical and looks much more like a heart than the first one - though anatomically I would say the first one's probably a better match.

Anyway, if you want to make one of these goodies, this is what you'll need:

- a crochet hook
- red yarn
- 2 pieces of thread of different color for marking stitches or stitch markers if you would have any of those
- roving or fiber fill (I was lucky to still have some red roving left from previous needle felting projects)

Stitches used and abbreviations

cs = chain stitch
sc = single crochet
slst = slip stitch
st = stitch

Pattern

round 1: 5cs, close loop with a slst

round 2: 1 cs, 8 sc = 9st

Mark first stitch using one of the colored threads or a stitch marker.

round 3: 1 cs, 1 sc, increase by making 2 sc in every underlying stitch of previous row, finish round with 1 slst = 18 st.

Mark with the other colored thread or a stitch marker after stitch number 9.
Note: make sure to move up the stitch markers as you go - the markers split the work exactly in half which will help you in making the heart perfectly symmetrical.

round 4: 1 cs, 1 sc, 2 sc in every next stitch, 1 slst = 36st

round 5: 1 cs, 1 sc, * 1 sc, increase 2 sc, 1 sc, increase 2 sc *, increase 3 sc, increase 2 sc, increase 3 sc, repeat * * backwards, increase 2 sc, 1 sc, 1 sc = 26 st.
1 cs, * 1 sc 6 times, increase 2 sc, increase 3 sc *, increase 2 sc, repeat * * backwards, 1 sc = 26 st.
Repeat this sequence on the other half of the stitches. You should end this round with 52 st.

round 6: 1cs, * 1 sc 10 times, increase 3 sc in next stitch, 1 sc *, repeat * * backwards. Repeat this sequence on the other half. You should end with 58 st.
1cs, * 1 sc 11 times, increase 2 sc in next stitch, 1 sc *, repeat * * backwards = 29 st. Repeat this sequence on the other half. You should end with 58 st.

round 7: 1 sc 5 times, decrease by making 1 sc every other stitch 9 times, 1 sc 5 times. Repeat this sequence for the other half. You should end with 38 st.

round 8: 1 sc 5 times, decrease by making 1 sc every other stitch 5 times, 1 sc 5 times. Repeat for the other half. You should end with 32 st.

round 9: 1 sc 5 times, decrease by making 1 sc every other stitch 2 times, 1 sc 5 times. Repeat for the other half. You should end with 26 st.

round 10: 1 sc 5 times, decrease by making 1 sc every other stitch 2 times, 1 sc 4 times. Repeat for the other half. You should end with 22 st.

round 11: 1 sc 4 times, decrease by making 1 sc every other stitch 2 times, 1 sc 4 times. Repeat for the other half. You should end with 18 st.

You can start stuffing the heart with the roving or fiber fill and shape if needed. Continue to add as you go.

round 12: 1 sc 2 times, decrease by making 1 sc every other stitch 1 time, 1 sc 3 times. Repeat on remaining stitches.

next rounds: continue to decrease like in previous rows until you have 1 st left. Bind off and hide the remaining end inside the heart with a needle.

Just a final note: the first couple of rounds look kind of weird - ruffled - and I'm sure you'll wonder how this ever could become a heart. Don't worry about this. As you soon as you'll start decreasing stitches the heart shape will come.

Good luck!

Needless needles?

I stripped our Christmas tree on Tuesday from all its ornaments and yesterday morning we escorted it to the park, where it will get mulched.
At home, just a couple of needles left here and there reminding us of the holidays. It must be January...

In the same post where I mentioned I was still debating whether to get a tree or not, I also mentioned we weren't sure whether we should get the flu-vaccine. Even though we eventually decided we would go get one, we still didn't do so, due to circumstances. And now, I'm afraid we might be too late. K. came down with what looks like a severe flu. I'm worried. I've never seen him this sick. I hope it's not the Mexican flu, not that this matters right now - I just want him to feel better soon...

2010 :: Less is more...

I hope you all had a wonderful end of year and a happy start of the new decade. "The new decade" - it sounds so weird to me. I wasn't even aware of this fact until I saw all the overviews of the decade in the newspapers and on TV. Time goes by so fast.
Although this doesn't apply to the world in general, the past decade brought a lot of changes in my life - I mean nice ones, really good ones, positive ones and only a few sad ones. Will the next decade be as good as the previous one... ? Only time will tell.

I'm not a believer when it comes to New Year's resolutions - I'm just hoping for another creative year and a simpler life. No excesses this year as less is more.
And I have a personal project I want to work on this year. Too premature still, I want to keep this my little secret for now (and maybe forever, depending on how it works out...).

But in the meantime, I do want to wish you all a wonderful and happy new decade - a positive and healthy 2010!

xo, P.