Herb garden

We're at it again. Maybe we shouldn't. I mentioned it here a couple of times already, neither one of us has a green thumb. Whichever plant we tried, it died.

And every Springtime we give it another try.
Right now we have lavender and Marguerites or white daisies on the balcony.
And herbs on the kitchen windowsill.

I changed watering strategies. Instead of giving them water a couple of times a week, I now soak every plant in a bucket of water once a week (for now) - until there are no more bubbles emerging from the pot, just as I was told by the seller at the plant store. And I'm feeding my plants coffee grinds, saved throughout the week in a plastic container, something I picked up from a lifestyle magazine on French TV.
So far, so good.

So, lately, we've been enjoying fresh mint on our cucumbers (with just a bit of coarse salt added - divine!), basil on our tomatoes. And I do like a touch of rosemary on a roast. I just try not to think of all the bad stuff in the air and the construction works around the corner in particular, when I'm savoring my insalata caprese.
 
We still have some space left on our windowsill - I might add cilantro, if I can find any, and maybe some parsley as well.
What's growing in your herb garden. Any tips or tricks?

Bohemian style belt :: a tutorial

Have you noticed? This summer, it's all about belts. Belts are quick fixes to any outfit, be it chic or casual. This summer, they come in different styles, widths, textures, and colors... I particularly like tiny belts - they add elegance to any silhouette (read: suggest the presence of a waist, even if there ain't any...LOL).

I don't quite remember what exactly triggered this project - was it my new leather punch? - but I had it in mind for quite a while - I just hadn't found the time yet to work it out. But I did now! Hurray to all the cartons unpacked!!

As always, this is a very easy project, which requires very basic sewing skills only. Also, very little is needed. Except for a free hour or so you'll need:

- an old leather belt, or a cheap new one
- fabric scraps, ribbon or bias tape,...
- a leather punch
- scissors
- big needle
- ruler and marker

Preparing the fabric:

From your fabric scraps, cut strips of different lengths. I cut mine about 1cm wide. No need to cut in bias - we like the frayed look on this project! I didn't measure the exact length the strips totaled up to, but my guess is you'll need about three times the length of your belt. If you're not sure, cut as you go.

Preparing the belt:

1. Determine how far apart you want the holes. I used 1cm intervals. Starting from the buckle, with a felt tip, make a mark every centimeter, about 0.5cm from the side. Do this all the way around the belt.

2. On your leather punch, determine which size of holes you want (use a piece of scrap leather or card board to test the sizes, before you start on the belt - the holes need to be big enough to fit the fabric strips through). Now, punch your way around the belt. This is the most and only labor intensive part of this craft, I promise!

Assembling:

1. Thread a big needle with the first fabric strip, tie a knot at the other end. Sew your way around the belt with a whip stitch through the holes. Change fabric strips as you go and to your liking. Don't worry about the lose ends - we will take care of those later - just start with a new strip in the next hole as you change.

2. Weave in the loose ends at the back of the belt, by slipping the needle under a couple of stitches. Cut off what's left. Repeat for every loose end and ...

Done!!
A bohemian style leather belt to give that white shirt and jeans outfit a little color boost!



Notes:

- If you don't have a leather punch, you can find them at most hardware stores, where they'll likely be cheaper than at specialty stores or craft stores.
- Instead of using fabric strips, one could also use different strands of embroidery floss of several colors combined together, leather shoe laces, raffia, ...
- I combined different types of fabric, but of course you could limit yourself to the use of a single color - in that case just cut your strips as long as possible.

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.

Fabric and wire flowers :: a tutorial

Though this morning didn't feel like Spring - I was cold the entire trip to school and still am, despite the polar fleece I'm wearing now and the cup of hot coffee I had - we certainly were lucky with the weather lately. Sun! I just love the light the early Spring sun brings! It makes me happy, excited. And it shows in my projects, I believe. Take this fabric and wire flower, for instance. Don't you think it's over the (my) top colorwise?!

It started with one of those kits to make flowers with wire and some colored gooey liquid (I actually think it's white glue mixed with colorants of some sort) which little H. received from a friend for her birthday. While I was helping her out I just started wondering if  maybe I could do something similar with fabric and wire. With Vliesofix that shouldn't be too difficult, I figured - no, I'm not affiliated with Vliesofix, but just happen to have bought a lot of the stuff. So, after buying the Petit Pan scrap bag, everything came together and I made my flower. You've no idea how little time these flowers take to make. It's free style from beginning till end, which I love. I don't like wasting precious time on making patterns, and elaborate preparations before being able to actually do something. In that respect I'm not any different from the average kid - I want instant gratification... (when little H. read on the box she had to wait for at least 12 hours for the gooey stuff to dry and set, she was really disappointed "but it looks dry to me - do I really have to wait untill tomorrow, mommy?").

So, if you want to give that Spring feeling a boost or just want to hold on to that last bit of summer, just keep on reading as here are some instructions!


What you'll need:

- scraps of fabric
- wire, not too thick
- Vliesofix, Bondaweb, ...
- scissors or cutting pliers
- iron




Instructions

1. Determine how many flower petals you want. Cut your petals, freestyle, in pairs,  i.e. cut at once front and back of the same petal by layering your fabric such that wrong sides are facing. Repeat  until you have the desired number of petals.
2. Trace every pair of petals onto the paper backing of the Vliesofix and cut out.
3. Cut wire to length - you'll need one piece of wire per petal. Bend and twist the wire to form a petal shape, using the fabric petals as a guide for size - make the wire petal slightly smaller than the fabric petal.
4. Iron Vliesofix onto the wrong side of its corresponding petal. Let cool down. Peel off the paper backing. Position the wire petal shape on top. Next, place the other petal piece on top, sandwiching the wire in between petal layers. Fuse the petal layers and wire together with your iron. Let cool down. Repeat for every set.
5. Arrange your petals to form a flower. When happy, twist the wires together to form a stem. Note: depending on the gauge of the wire you're using and on what you intend to use the flower for, you might want to twist the wire around a stick or another more heavy wire for support.
6. Once you're done twisting you can start playing with the petals - the most fun part, I think - to shape your flower.

Make a couple and put them in a vase, or twist them together to form a garland. Use them to decorate the dinner table for a festive meal. You could also make colorful napkin rings with these. So many possibilities and yet so simple to make!

Enjoy!

After I made this flower, I found  a similar project in the last issue of Marie Claire Idées. Instead of Vliesofix they use glue, which is slightly more messy, if you ask me...






Please note, these tutorials are intended for personal use only. Therefore, do not reproduce, sell or commercialize in any form without permission. 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.

Spring's here...

... and we love it!

There's lots of yellow everywhere.
Yellow forsythia - we got some in our living room,
yellow daffodils in the courtyard and in many parks, and sold by vendors at metro stations.

And there's yellow in my craft room...
Inspired by this first splash of color after a long winter (is it really over!?): a yellow coin purse with a liberty of London drawstring with a cute daisy print and a moccasin inspired little purse with yellow leather drawstring.



The tutorial is still available here (thank you so much for the many positive comments!) with two additional notes:

- for the moccasin version above: I didn't line this one (which means you can make this one really in no time) and just made a couple of incisions between the two front holes.
- if you're concerned everything might fall out when opening the purse: it pretty much depends on the quality of leather you use. The stiffer the leather the better the purse holds up and hence won't fold open completely upon opening. However, you can use a button or a piece of leather as a stopper if you really want to make sure (similar to the one shown here).

Wishing you a sunny Wednesday, where ever you are!

Cheers,

P.

Strawberries...

We love strawberries - they taste like spring.

The girls have their spring break, now. We don't have any real plans yet, but that might change. Right now, they just enjoy playing together. They really missed each other last week. Little H. is finally her usually self again, too. She felt tired the first couple of days and had some trouble transitioning from days filled with activities and friends, to the normal house setting and routines. I can relate to that, I often feel like this when we come back from a trip or vacation. Luckily the weather has been on our side, so last weekend we spent as much time as possible outside, even had lunch outside, and sat at home with the windows wide open.
Little H. even got new sandals...

And we all had strawberries, lots of them!

I'm wishing you a great week!

xo,P.

Spring in a bottle

I'm still keeping our clear glass empty juice jars.




I like to put flowers in them and place them around the house.




Aren't those stems beautiful?




I love the intricacy of layers and layers of petals in ranuncula's.



Do you have a favorite spring flower?

Spring

This is what the daffodils in our court yard looked like this afternoon. Four shots only a few seconds apart from each other. I guess it's windy, here. And wet. And sunny. And cloudy. And then sunny again. We had a bit of everything the last couple of days. But at least (or should I say 'at last'), the colors are back, freed up after what seemed a long winter. We switched to summer daylight savings time last weekend too. Little by little the days are getting longer again which is nice. The kids will be able to play outside after school before starting homework. I love this feeling - the longer days, the light, the feeling more can be done in one day. And I'll need it since now that I know so many of you liked my GrassShopper (thanks for the compliments and suggestions!!) I'm going ahead with my plan. I finished another GrassShopper yesterday. So that makes two of them. Two!? If I go on at this pace I might be turning fifty even before I have enough to start selling (FYI: I just turned 42 last February). I guess I don't have the organizational part down yet. Either I run out of thread, or fabric, or just time, or things get in between... There will always be other things that get in the way, I know that.
But I'll get there. I know that I'll get there. Eventually...
And Spring will help me, I'm sure!

Ranunculus :: the last ones

They are the last ones for this season. Ranunculus.

After I cleaned the apartment, yesterday, I felt like I deserved something. Something to brighten up the space, something fresh ... like flowers. Ranunculus. I love them!

Their season is running on its last legs, I was told...

All things... yellow

It looks like it's going to be a lovely sunny day here today. We woke up with the sun already casting its bright and happy light over the city. Too bad I'll be spending most of the day inside - labeling clothes, and socks and underwear for M. who's leaving in a couple of days on a trip with her class. Finishing her class T-shirt, which they all will be wearing. And finishing a little project from little H. for her sister, about which I'll report later. And tons of other things undone... I guess the new projects I've been (mentally) working on will have to wait a few more days...

But I do have some pictures ready. Pictures of all things yellow - as right now I like yellow! Yellow as in...

~ the yellow hearts of the flowers on our balcony - I'm giving it an other try. I hope I won't forget to water these ones...



~ something refreshing like Indian Tonic with a slice of lemon and lots of ice



~ my earrings, with smokey quartz and pendants covered with yellow raffia - they make me look (twenty years) younger as everyone called me "Mademoiselle" yesterday, when I was wearing these... I have been thinking about making something similar. I still have gemstones and silk ribbon left somewhere...



~ my Campers - the comfiest shoes ever, though I might be switching to open toe sandals soon...



~ and my yellow scarf - which I won't be needing today, it looks like...



I'm wishing you all a yellow, happy and bright sunny day!!

New lens :: experimenting

I finally got my new lens! An AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D - a lens highly recommended on the net by many Nikon (DSLR) users. It arrived yesterday, but I had to wait until today for running my first tests. And I guess I'll need a couple more test rounds before I can really say something meaningful about it. It definitely will take some time to get used to - just like with the other ones.

But here are some first test results: some pictures of lilacs - flowers reminding me of my childhood. Our neighbor would grow them in his backyard and every spring we would get plenty of them for putting in a vase. And so did my grandmother, who had the white ones in her backyard. I wonder if she would remember those... I need to ask her...

Headband aka "serre-tête" :: a tutorial

So, here it is. The tutorial I have been announcing for about a week now. So, I hope you won't be disappointed it is only this: a headband. Right in time for spring!

When we arrived in France, almost two years ago now, one of the first things I noticed - well, not literally of course, but still - were these cute little headbands made out of fabric which all little French girls seemed to be wearing. We got a couple of those and as I was repairing the seam on one of them recently, I realized how easy to make these headbands are. It won't be a huge cost saver to make these oneself, as they tend to be rather cheap. But on the other hand: wouldn't it be nice to accessorize your little girl's new homemade spring outfit with a matching headband?

No tremendous sewing experience is required for this easy project...

This is what you'll need:



- two rectangular pieces of fabric: a big one of 40cm x 12cm and a smaller one of 20cm x 6cm (seams included) - Note: you might want to change the dimensions depending on the size of the head, the type of fabric you chose and the elasticity of the elastic. The sizes given here, worked fine for my 5 and 8 year olds. Also, you might want to try to make a wider one. I've seen them in a wider version, which is especially pretty with long or very curly hair.
Note: my oldest one tried on this new headband when she got home from school and found it a little tight. Although I used the same dimensions on all of the headbands, I used a different brand of elastic. To avoid disappointment, better cut the elastic a little longer - it's easier to make the headband smaller than the other way around...
- about 12cm of wide elastic
- matching sewing thread
- safety pin and needle pins
- iron
- sewing machine

Step one: Lengthwise, iron in the seams of the bigger piece, folding over the fabric twice (about 7mm). Next, with the right sides to each other fold the smaller piece in two, lengthwise and iron flat. (pic. 2 and 3)





Step 2: Sew the seams about 5mm from the edge. (pic. 4 and 5)





Step 3: Turn inside out the smaller piece, using the safety pin (pic. 6). Slide in the elastic, also using the safety pin (pic.7). Secure with pins on both sides and then sew to secure (pic.8).







Step 4: Fold over the bigger piece as shown in pic. 9, such that its width becomes a little more than twice the with of the smaller piece with elastic. Secure by sewing a couple of stitches near the edge (pic.10).





Step 5: On one end, put the elastic part on top of the bigger piece, the bigger piece being right side up (pic. 11). Squeeze the elastic part in between by folding over fabric from the sides and secure with pins (pic. 12). Next, sew it closed (pic. 13). Repeat at the other end (pic. 14) - before doing so check one more time for the size!









And... done! "Une serre-tête" as my girls would say! The result should look like shown in pic.15 and 16. Good luck with it. And please, let me know if you have questions or how they turned out!

Flowers... and a sneak preview

On our way back from school, yesterday, we bought some lovely flowers: ranunculus. They're my favorite flowers together with tulips. Of course they ended up in the light box, before putting them in a vase...











And here's a sneak preview to tomorrow's tutorial...