My favourite days

Some days, when there is nothing pressing to organise, I steal some sweet hours during the afternoon.

I drag out all my sketching utensils and make myself a nice cup of tea.

I doodle and scribble.

I study and I write down ideas.

I soak up the sun until the shadows start creeping over my notepad and it gets chilly.
 

Or I sneak in a few minutes of coloring on the sofa.

Winnie is always my companion.

Sometimes I even feel free enough to pull out the painting supplies.

It is easier to go on working on a piece than to start a new one.

Sometimes I need a full day just to get started on something.

I don't mind getting my hands dirty, but I'm clumsy and I smear it everywhere.

But when I'm finished, I feel exhilarated.

This is the work that matters, the work that makes my heart sing and my soul glow.

Artist days are my favourite days of the week.

Things that inspire me today

- Pie in the sky by Johnny Cash
- Meeting a new friend.
- Reading French teenage magazines on the toilet
- Finding a trick that makes blogger recognise my enters as line breaks - no more html typing. Still no pictures though. :o(
- Looking at my pretty cello in the corner
- Unrolling my brand new all ecologic very affordable yoga mat!
- Listening to long missed music on my iPod whilst walking through the city.
- Cooking up new blog-goodies for better times! ^^
- Dreaming about places to go and things to do.

Just for remembering

Sitting on the balcony on a weekday in January, in short sleeves and a skirt, letting the sun warm me.
Paper and pens in front of me, sketching, working, creating. Feeling the small steps I take from an idea steadily towards the finished project.
Looking at my work and realising that, even if it is not as perfect as the work of those I admire, it is the expression of my need to share my inner worlds and stories, and therefore is a beautiful and legitimate work of art that defies any comparison.
Bliss.

Something told the wild Geese

Something told the wild geese
It was time to go;
Though the fields lay golden
Something whispered . . . "Snow".

Leaves were green and stirring,
Berries luster-glossed,
But beneath warm feathers
Something cautioned . . . "frost"

All the sagging orchard steamed with amber spice
But each wild breast stiffened and remembered . . .  "ice".

Something told the wild geese it was time to fly.
Summer sun was on their wings
Winter in their cry!

- Rachel Field

Oil on cardboard

This is a painting I've done a while ago but I completed it by adding the words and silhouettes of the geese yesterday. It's my first piece with oil colors and it was a big fight. Well, creating always is a bit like war for me, but this was even harder.
I'm not sure if it is really visible, but the colorful stuff that forms the Lady's shoulder are actually autumn-colored trees and there's a river springing from her neck. I wanted her face and hair to be the cold faces of the rocks that are towering above the valley and the loose part of her hair is the icy wind.

I really like how it turned out, but I don't think I'll get out the oil colors soon again. What mediums are you at war with?

Flower headbands

I've uploaded some more flower headbands to my Karma Swap album on facebook. They are really fun to make and to wear. All of them stretch to be worn as headbands by adults, but some of them are smaller and can also be used by children. Go to the album for more details.

Of course there are endless possibilities to wear them. Use them as hairbands, necklaces, to decorate your bag...

The Karma Swap is something like a little shop where you decide about the price. If you get a big smile on your face when you receive one of the things, that will be enough for me. If you want to pay for the postage, or send something in return, or pass the love on, that is just as good!
Help me spread the love!

New clothes

Here are the clothes I made from the fabric I got for my birthday.
I knew I wanted to make a flowy skirt from the brightly colored fabric and I liked the colors together. So I experimented with it a bit and came up with this combined, princess-like skirt. I need to wear an underskirt with it though, because the fabric gets static with my tights. It would probably look nice with my pettycoat.

I also made a skirt from the flowery fabric. I made a waistband from some stretch material and then just cut a round hole in the middle of the fabric to have minimal waste. The result is a very swingy, twirly pixie skirt that calls for some embellishment. I'm thinking tassles and bells, yeah!

I've already been lounging around in my supercool farmprint pants. They are super comfy and quirky, I'm in love with them! Super easy pant shape with no side seam, adding a stretchy, superlong waistband and some more stretch at the ankles.

I'm quite proud of myself for not screwing anything up too badly this time, and of Miss Bernina for being very well behaved although she really worked hard for three full days.
Well, happy sewing! ;o)

Darling, we need six babies, quick! ^^

Ouf! Today was the last day of my big sewing adventure! I've used up almost all the fabric I had. There are a few yards left but I really couldn't think of anything to make anymore... nor was I motivated. Maybe I'll think of something quick and easy to do with it before I have to give the machine back to my mum.

It was dark when I finished, so I only snapped pictures of the baby shoes that I made to use up some leftovers. Anyone needs baby shoes? I don't really have a use for them... oO But the pattern is so easy and quick and cute that it became one of my staples. I'll try and get someone to take pictures of me in my new trousers and skirts in the light tomorrow.

In other good news, I am back to exercising. It still affects my back a bit but I don't really care since the doctor said there's no risk of damaging anything, so I'll just carry on. I've put together some yoga poses and a workout focusing on posture muscles.

Posture will be one of my big projects in the next half year... the doc said I really didn't have much muscles in my back and that she was surprised because I said that I work out...
Well, I hadn't been exercising for very long before I hurt myself and I have always been the slouchy kind of person, especially because I don't like working at desks... I always lie on my bed or crouch on the floor or hang on the sofa... no wonder I don't have any supporting muscles. Sitting straight for more than five minutes actually really hurts me and tires my back. It's quite frightening to think that I've cheated myself through life without developing this important part of my body...

So let's make it better!
Anything you're going to work on over winter?

A day of sewing

I spent some days last week at my parent's place and went to Bern on Saturday afternoon to meet some girls that I studied with (we still organise meetings every once in a while which is fun) - a great change of scenery! Today I slept in rrreeeally long. I'm not sure but I think the medecine is making me sleepy...
Anyway, I realised that our time here in Switzerland is running out and this means that I will not have a sewing machine for much longer (I promised my Mum I would give it back when we go abroad), so I decided I needed to revamp my relationship with Miss Bernina.
I also did some handsewing on the balcony, because I couldn't bring myself to sit in our room in the dark whils a brilliant autumn sun was shining outside.

source

My score of today is:

Mended
- 1 pair of socks
- 2 dresses
- 1 pair of trousers
- 1 skirt
- 1 corset

Made
- 1 trouser = 0.5 pair of trousers ^^ (they're nearly finished but I don't know how wearable they'll be...oO)

So for tomorrow I've planned some more sewing with the fabric that I got for my birthday and that has been lying around for much too long. Let's hope that Miss Bernina will be as cooperative as today!

Do you sometimes mend clothes? It's real easy and it can double the life of your stuff. Good for your wallet, good for the environment!

Self portrait Thursday - and a Halloween freebie!

Here's me with an outch again... I feel so silly!
I got these barefoot shoes from a friend to try and I went running with them. Although I knew it would be very different from running with normal shoes I just wanted to run so badly I went for my normal 30mts route.
I didn't even have to wait for the next day for sore legs. But yesterday and the day before have been SO bad! I could hardly walk, I'd rather call it staggering. And stairs are almost a deadly obstacle. I go up them kind of sideways and down in some sort of slump, trying not to use the muscles in my lower legs...

When people ask me if I'm hurt or something I'm really embarrassed to tell the story because I feel so riddiculous. Ah well, lesson learnt! ;o)

On another note, it's Halloween soon! I don't know if you celebrate it in any way. Many people seem to have taken up the American traditions around here. We don't really do that because we can't relate to it, but Halloween under all the modern partyfrenzy and kids-excitement is also a very important pagan holiday and therefore is big for us. We're remembering our ancestors, honouring them and asking advice for the future. For some people (like me), Halloween is the actual beginning of the new spiritual year and therefore is a time for looking back and deciding what to let go of and what to take with me into the dark and silent times that mark the birth of the new year.
I'm really excited because we're planning to go to Stonehenge to celebrate it. I've never been there and I'm excited enough to see the Stones, let allone to have a ritual there.

But what I really wanted to say is: I've played around with some of my pictures and made a card that I really liked and I thought you might like it too, so I'm putting it up here as a little Samhain-present for you! Maybe you still want to send out some cards or use it as a placecard for a Halloween dinner, or, or, or. Just download it and whatever you want (except for selling it or saying that you made it - but I don't think you will! ;o) ).

(I left the bubble free so you can write your own greetings)
Here's the link to a bigger version. Hope you like it. ;o)
Have a magical Halloween!
Thanks for reading!

As the leaves are turning

The other day I felt a bit small and not really up to anything. It happens when the only possibilities you have are either to curl up under a heap of blankets in the bed in a cold room, or sit downstairs in the livingroom where it is warmer but you don't have much privacy. And I like my privacy when I work. Sometimes there are things to do around the house like bringing plants in for winter, or putting the last of the harvest safely into the cellar, or doing the laundry.
Everyone likes these chores these days because they make you warm. ^^

Anyways, it turned out to be quite a nice afternoon after all, because the sun came out and we had a little walk to the store and I picked up the golden leaves from the side of the road and then I hung them around the livingroom for decoration. They look so pretty, I didn't really need to do anything with them. I just knotted threads on and put them up. I mixed in a few feathers for variety. It's nice to have the place all autumn-y and special.

If there's still pretty leaves when we come home in two weeks, I might make a wreath for the front door. Did you do any seasonal decoration? Do you already have the pumpkins out?

The groove of today

Here's a few impressions from today's groove:

... What I saw
A lot of rain in front of the window. It's gone grey again around here. I balanced it out with a lot of colourwork in my art.

And this is my favourite picture of today:

Memories of sunny autumn days... it's not so long ago that we were able to sit around in T-shirts.
Picture from Martin.

... What I heard

A lot of mellow music. Sticking in my head these days is this:







... What I made

I did some painting that you will soon see on here, but I'm saving it for a bit. :o)
I also made candles from leftovers of old candles. I don't like throwing all that wax away. It's bad enough that all the candles I can afford these days are either made from oil-based wax or palm oil, which isn't much better... so I want them to last as long as possible.
Mixing all sorts of different colors together only gets you a boring brown of course, but I was being more practical than aesthetic this time.
I also didn't have any thread to use as a wick, so I cut up a cotton cloth and used the thick hem. They're dry now and the next time I do this I have to figure out how to avoid the 'caving in' that happens when the wax dries unevenly. It makes an uneven surface... But I hope they'll serve their purpose.

I couldn't find a nice basic tutorial for pour candles, but basically its as simple as that: Melt your wax, either in a wather bath or use an old tincan and put that directly on the stove, fix a wick into your container, pour wax in (I just read that pouring in layers and letting them dry halfway helps with the caving), let dry. Finito. (I used the lower part of beer cans as containers... >.<)
There's some really pretty sites about candles of all sorts, colors, scents... though, so I'm giving you some links:

- Pretty blog about candlemaking
- Coffee bean scented candle
- More elaborate wax recyling instructions

... What I ate

There were potatoes and curry leftover from this week's meals, so we had heated curry and I fried the potatoes. 'Only' leftovers, but it was veeery tasty!!

... What I thought

First I thought I wouldn't be able to get out of bed because I kept waking up last night... I dragged myself downstairs anyways and I got most of my boring tasks done before midday. Yay, what a feeling!
Then I tried to create a bit which didn't look good at first because I felt vaguely inspired, but not really driven, so nothing seemed to come out of whatever I tried. In the end I did get some things done and even one that I'm pretty proud of!
I also thought about flats a lot because we have started looking for a place to move to at the end of this year. It seems like there is a great opportunity for us, cross fingers and wish me that it will work out!

... What I felt

Cold! It's chilly up here in the mountains, and the house gets very cold now. We only have a woodfire oven which heats the livingroom and the kitchen. Since our room is under the roof, nights up there are brisk. I'm sleeping with woollen socks and a jumper, under two blankets. I like to work in my nook up there, but now it's just not possible anymore, so I brought my stuff down to the common room.
I really hope the temperatures will stay above zero until we move out here...

Oh, and I felt jealous as well! Whilst I even put on my only pair of jeans in the hopes that they would be warmer than two pairs of tights and a skirt and am more often than not wearing my scarf and fingerless gloves around the house, Trev is sitting upstairs in the cold room in his tracksuit bottoms, barefoot and in a freaking T-shirt!! Curse the man and his inner stove!

Hope you're doing well and feeling toasty warm wherever you are! ;o)



P.S: I put a new outfit peek up on the facebook page! If you haven't seen it yet, click here to see how I styled boy's clothes. Oh and whilst you are there, why not 'like' it? I'd be happy to see you again there! ;o)

Self portrait Thursday

Yap, I actually made one this week, but I felt so sleepy yesterday night that I didn't get around to posting it. It's here now! :o)

Not much to say about it.
I finally finished a sketch for the first picture of my other book project... after a long time of trial and error, I get to play with paint again. I just need to get to the copy store to print it on watercolor paper and make sure I don't screw up the original ^^
Until then I'm working on the next one and doing a lot of sketching for no real goal... just making pretty things. I'm thinking about what to make of all these little drawings, they're quite stacking up.
Oh and I also did some model sketching, mainly herbs and grasses because I need them for the book.

I'm linking up with "Our creative spaces" again after quite a while this week. Follow the link to see more crafty people's workspaces from this week!
Hope your week went well and wishing you all a great weekend!

Guestpost: A fabric flower made easy

Today, Elisa from "Elia's Bastelecke" will show you something crafty here. She is a girl of all trades and if you are interested in all sorts of creative things and also like gardening, you should check out her blog!
I'm so glad she wrote this great tutorial, it's been a long time since there was craft content on my blog, and this is just the thing! Enjoy!

When Yaga asked for guest postings I immedately felt the urge to help her. Soon I found something to write about without the fear I would take away a topic I wanted to do in my own blog.
So I came up to show how to make a simple fabric flower.

You will need:

- artificial silk or other artificial fibre fabric

- scissors
- a charcoliner or fabric marker pen
- a matching thread and very fine and short needle
- a safety pin or something comparable
- some beads, I used seed beads
- a small candle

Step 1:

Draw and cut some circles from the fabric, make at least 4-6 and make at least 3 different diameters. Here, wine glasses can be very helpful.
The more the diameters vary, the fuller the flower will look like.

Step 2:
Cut 5 times into each fabric circle so to have 5 equal parts, don't cut too far into the circles, though.
Fold the edges of the cuts a little bit.

Step 3:
Light the candle and put it on a table in front of you. Hold the corners of the circles (where you previously cut) above the flame for some seconds, so that they will curl in. ATTENTION: Be cautious not to hold them too close to the flame and not too long because before you know it they can start burning! 
Repeat for all corners and all circles.

Your result for one circle should look like this:

Step 4:
Arrange the flower-shaped former circles on top of each other, the smallest on top and the biggest at the bottom, so that the flower leaves are above the gaps of the circle below. Adjust till you are fully satisfied with the look and sew them together with some stitches.

Your result should look like this:

Step 5:
Sew a safety pin, or whatever you want to use, to the back of the flower, until it is firm. This wil also help your flower to hold its shape.

I used a tiny golden safety pin and it looks like this:

Step 6:
With the thread fixed to the back, push the needle through the and out at the top of the flower and in the middle of it. Thread some beads (I used 3 to 5 at once) and embroider them in the middle of the flower. After you have finished sewing on the beads, secure the thread at the back of the blower, clip the thread and you are done!

If you like, you can squeeze the flower a little bit so it will look more natural.

My result looks like this:

You can use this flower to attach it to your clothes, or a headband, a hat or wherever you like. You can experiment with different fabric colours, different bead colours and sizes and different total sizes as well. Have fun and enjoy your flowers!

I hope you liked my little tutorial.
Elisa from Germany 

Thank you so much for sharing this with us Elisa! I hope we can all help to fill the world with fabric flowers now, wouldn't that be great? ;o)