Anemones and violets

Outside : ahhhhh so grey.



But friends
-I found anemone cups!
-the vests are finished (the alpaca : sublime)
-if you look through a violet parasol everything is ... violet, I guess

Oh : this project looks so appealing...



I hope you find your little window of happiness also this week
-Lies

Home home home

We have now moved!
Thanks Kimberlee in Berlin for keeping our space so exciting and fresh with loads of pretty images.
The move was quite enormous, it was postponed twice, we're only just now in our new house and are still living in/out/of boxes and there is mess everywhere.



It's going to be a bright and happy place though, I've added some snap shots of new favorite corners :

-the dining shelves that divide kitchen from living area
-a 'Mekko panel to brighten up Lieveke's room (fast and easy ad interim wall hanging : sew an open hem, stick bamboo rod through, hang on wall, voila color),
-our art on the wall (including the hilarious 'floating lemon' and 'glorify', a hommage to Colin McCahon)
-our new/old sofa (I think we've finally found one that we like, guess what, it was made in Berlin!)
-a lithograph by German artist Michael Jaeger (finally managed to get it framed)
-bright poppies to celebrate.
Warm welcome.



ps.
I haven't sewn or crafted in about 6 weeks- I'm so sorry I know an Etsy update is badly needed, alas not only did we move, Lieveke had Chicken-'pops' and little Noor had a few problems with sleep through the move and she's only slowly slowly adjusting to the new house...
soon, soon X






I've missed you all!
-Lies

New times

Lieveke is looking to the future.


And we are moving in two weeks. To the exactly the same town-house unit, a row further. I know, radical.
The colorful 'Tippa' dress is Lieveke's new favorite, from this lovely shop, warmly recommended.
When he heard that we are moving, a friend gave us the happy sixties diy book, hilarious, and funky - oh ye primary colour-scheme - I like of course the craft unit.
The pussy-cat says : I always like to try the one I never tried before. Some time ago Lieveke chose this lithograph for her birthday, ...figures.





Have a sweet new week
-Lies

Made

Computer's fixed. Heh.
So meanwhile, made some things. Top for myself, from this sewing book (every-one has it, it's great, that's why). Toddler girl dresses for the Etsy shop (next week.) Found some colorful cups and pyrex's. And Noor is growing into a fine young thing. Oh, I made the cushion cover too.

Nice weekend all
Looking fw to catching up on all your blogs
-Lies

More you pretty (given) things

We are so lucky I tell you, some people are so generous that we have to repeat : we are so lucky I tell you. The above are just a VERY small selection of the massive parcels those generous friends sent, I just picked these because I felt yellowish and craved some sun today I guess (outside is rainy gray).

-Rosie Flo colouring in book for Lieveke, from Charlotte
-retro cross-over top and daffodil baby slippers, from Melissa
-funky kitten skirt for Lieve and baby pants for Noor from Jen,
who chose carefully from this wonderful shop.

***
We
wisper
sing
smile and
sigh :
thank you
thank
you
***

Oh and I do like these colorful Dutch blogs :

Mus

Vlijtig

Jikke's

I discovered them via my new favorite Julija's wardrobe (sewing AND knitting AAAND Belgian).

I hope the sun does come through for all this week
-Lies

books! glorious books!

In case you don't know this about me already, I have a thing for old childrens books. Anytime I go into an opshop, I run straight for the kids book section and entirely lose myself in the colourful, gorgeous illustrations. That is if I am lucky enough to find some good books. But since I am not the only one into these old treasures, it's getting harder and harder to find the good stuff.

Recently I had my MY MOST SUCCESSFUL BOOK HUNTING DAY EVER, and collected this entire stack.

All of these are from the 1950s, WHICH IS ABSURD! You never find beauties like these all at once. Some of these books are close to 60 years old, which technically makes them vintage not just retro in case you were wondering.

And this lot is from the 1960s and 70s. I couldn't believe my luck. It was as though they were put there just for me by some devine, cosmic working.

Lets look inside a bit, shall we? The Cats go to the Market, 1969

Jolly Dogs, 1950's

Animal ABC, 1957

WAIT A MINUTE! Hold the phone. This book was printed in MY HOME TOWN! Racine Wisconsin! whoa. What are the chances?

If that were not enough, take a look inside Bruno and Minne at the Zoo....

Mulder publishing? no. way. That's my last name! Or it was until I got married. Finding these books was like going through the story of my life.

Finally and totally unrelated... I found more cuter than cute japanese eraser toys. Here is the entire collection so far, let me know if you see any more of these babies around town.

Hope you guys are finding good treasures as well. Keep you your eyes peeled.

-k

Beautiful Cut-Out Scenes And Life-Like Figures

I am quite into Christmas this year. Some years during the holidays I get a strong case of the 'so whats', like the world isn't full of magic or mystery. which it is. But it is very easy to get cynical amongst the creepy Santas and cheap tinsel decoration that are strewn about my environment, and its hard not to get annoyed at the extra junkmail stuffed into my letter box with ugly photos and shocking graphic design- more cheap crap I don't need. (And why does my 'no advertising material' sticker lose all its power this time of year? please friends, don't litter into my letterbox!).



But this season I have been determined to dive deep into the SPIRIT. Working with children has definitely helped with this. Kids are absolutely mad about Christmas, full of wild expectations, belief, and a crazy kind of merriness that is possibly sugar induced. If you spend a lot of time around them, it is almost impossible not to catch at least a small part of their happy frenzy.

Also I have forced myself to let go of nostalgia so that I can enjoy the southern hemisphere summer Christmas for what it is. Yeah its not going to snow, big fat deal. And we are not going to cuddle up by the fire drinking cocoa, or cider, or egg nogg, so what. Get over it. Instead we have the beach, pohutukawas blooming, and sunshine (ah the weather this year, glory be!). My tomato plants will soon be red and green.


So yes, I am making an effort and as it turns out, I am really enjoying myself. I spotted this little treasure on my friends desk yesterday and outright yelped with delight. A vintage nativity set! Illustrated! Made of paper! from the 1960s! Those of you who know me can understand how these elements combined are my pure pleasure. Its enough to help me overlook how inaccurately white Jesus and crew are.



Thanks very much to Megan for sharing this nativity with me, and to her grandmother for saving this treasure!

Mmm hmmm that's right. I have put up the tree, and made the presents, baked the cookies, and now I am ready! One week to go.


Happy Christmas!
-k

it's about time

animal print scarf

vintage patchwork scarf

vintage rose garden scarf

Yes it is about time that I added some things to our etsy. Its been ages which is why I am so lucky that my fantastic crafting partner is so on top of things (thank you Lies for keeping the shop going!).

It is indeed summer here and I am trying to embrace the fact that summer and Christmas go together in this part of the world. The last couple of years I have stuck to my motto of "its not reeeeallly Christmas." Well guess what, it is. And it's about time I got used to it. Sunny days, bright colours, breezy scarves, and Christmas!

-k