Put winter love in a jar - DIY

Some soft blue wool, some pinecones, white Mini-Pompoms, a little dear and LOVE - that's all it takes to make this Mini-Terrarium to glam up your pre-christ,as season! I created this little arrangement for the creative part in our magazine KidsLife - glad to share it with YOU! Hope your weekend will be a lovely one and hope to see you all soon!

Photo: Martina Voigt-Schmid

Decorate your table - DIY

November has these long, dark evenings that just spell DINNER! Plus Thanksgiving is coming up for my american friends here. To brighten your table setting and give some artsy, creative flair try making these easy tags i spotted at "Eat, Drink, Chic". She just cut out the shapes from thick, creamy white paper, went over it loosely with a big brush drenched in watercolor, and added the writing with a fine brush. Anyone can do this and  - hey, it's fun!

Have a lovely start to your week my dear ones. I'm kind of reluctant to let go of the weekend and get my motor up and running - wish me luck!

Photos: Eat, Drink, Chic"

DIY candle light holders

Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. 

Chinese Proverb

Happy start of the week flowers! The theme of light stays with me for a while. The days are getting darker - and little flames have such a nice way to not only light a room, but also warm the heart. Just in time i noticed, in India, people now celebrate the festival of light, called Diwali. This seems such a joyful and happy tradition to me. To read more about it, visit my lovely blogfriend Arti.

On the pictures, you see some candle light holders i created as a DIY  for the winter issue of KidsLife, which is almost ready now. They are fun and easy to make - you need:

Simple glasses

Semi-transparent paper, red paper

pretty ribbon, golden sequins

Cut the transparent paper and your ribbon to fit around the glass and fix the ends with glue. Cut a little heart fron the red paper and glue it in the middle. And as the cats meow, add a golden sequin to the middle of the heart - it makes love shine! Put a candle-light in and enjoy the lovely glow!

Photos: Martina Voigt-Schmid

Colored raincloud DIY

Does it rain a lot where you live right now? Here, it does! Colored leaves are getting wet and we're getting this November feeling already. In case you feel inclined to craft away with kids some of these days, here's a little project i did for the KidsLife fall issue: A cozy felt cloud with colored pompoms-rain. It's really easy and fun to do - and if you know how to sew well (unlike me ;)) - it'll turn out even nicer!

Hope you're having a fabulous fall weekend - will be round to visit you for hot chocolate!

Photos: Martina Voigt-Schmid 

Weekend project: memory jar

All the little treasures we pick up on a holiday  ...

are much too precious to be stored a way in drawers and boxes. Give them a new life by arranging them in decorative kitchen jars. To give them "grounding" i've added a bit of blue sand. A little project i did for our magazine KidsLife.

Oh, and .... have you recognized the sweet drawing included in the big jar? It's a present from a sweet blog friend of mine, Anita, from "Castles, crwons and cottages", who also has an Etsy shop full of more pretties.

So, keep your eyes open this weekend, you never know, what you my find on a pretty summers day!

Photos: Martina Voigt-Schmid

Shop the magic!

A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
Colin Powell

And then sometimes the magic slips in .... and makes a piece of work really special. Some gorgeous pix from other artists that caught my eye these day:

Exquisite paper shoes and bluebird, handmade by my dear blogfriend Anita Rivera, who just quit her job as a teacher to be a full time artist - so exiting!  Romantic necklace with pearls and flowers, so perfect to style up a simple white summer dress by Rustic Gem and a lovely vintage style painting on an old book page by Coco de Paris.

Happy midweek to you flowers, see you soon!

Monday Love: Paper-flower

The power of a paper flower ...

As Christmas is over and spring is not in sight yet, why not cheer the house up with some self-made paper flowers? They are easy to make - have a look here. And look how pretty the color of the paper shines when the light comes through! Monday hugs dear friends! Keep warm and cheerful - inner sunshine is so much needed this time of year!

Photo: Martina Voigt-Schmid

Merry Christmas, one more DIY - and a BIG Thank You!

Remember

This December,

That love weighs more than gold!

Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

How are you lovelies? Have you decked the halls and wrapped all the presents? I've still got a little bit of work to do, but not very much - and look forward to a peaceful and relaxed christmas time and after with my 3 boys (4, if the tomcat counts!). Am curious already, if the christmas fairy will give me the magic wand i secretly asked for - the one that gets everything clean and tidy in the wink of an eye, accompanied by a sweet birdsong!

Thank you so much for another year of bloggy friendship and fun! Your sweet comments mean so much to me - and your blogs do! I just love how the blogworld is an antidote to the bad "news" we get everyday and shows, how many people are out there, celebrating life and adding to it's sweetness and beauty.

Because i want to do a bit of planning for next years blogging, i would like to hear, what you would like to have more of here:

original art

interior decorating

design and lovely things

fashion and styling

easy DIY's

photography

lovely food

... i'd so appreciate, if you took a moment to tell me!

In case you're in the mood to make one or two more things - this is how we created the things in the photos above. The big X:  tale a cardbord letter from a shop, and cover it in simple cotton wool - from pads you use, to take of your make-up, by gluing it on to the surface in a "snowy" manner. The ornament: Use several layers of tissue papers, cut them in a round shape and sew them together in the middle with a sewing machine. Then fold the layers to ball shape, and add a string and a crystal - ready!

Have a lovely and loving celebration and a wonderful start into the new year! 

Photos: Martina Voigt-Schmid, Robin Benito

Monday Love: DIY-shopping bag

 

Are you looking for a cute last minute present idea? This bag can be ready in an afternoon of crafty fun. We took a vintage photo of my friends mum, printed it on a sheet lazertran and ironed it onto a plain white linen bag. The photo was then embellished by hand with buttons and ribbon, to match the pictures nostalgic appeal. This bag is a handy companion, because it can be kept folded in your handbag and taken out for that extra bit of shopping you have to do sometimes. Breadrolls for sunday breakfast look very good in it as well as fresh veggies and flowers from the farmers market!

Have a spelndid start to your week!

Bag design: Monika Dziondziak, photo: Robin Benito

Monday Love: DIY booksign

Nostaligc photos ...

i have a whole box of them, and sometimes i open it and revell in the spirit of times past by looking at portraits of my great-grandmother, countess Marie-Louise D'Harnoncourt and her brothers, sisiters and cousins. She was an adventurous spirit who once ran away from her home chateau with her house teacher and caused a big scandal. One day, i would like to write her story. This year however, i got the photos out to play and my good friend Monika designed sweet ideas for handmade presents for our magazine KidsLife, using these romantic pictures.  

These booksigns are easy to make. She printed the photos in desired size on lazertran and ironed them on pretty, eggshell colored cardbord, cut it in shape and adorned it with simple, elegant ribbons. They adds such a lovely, personal note to your presents, if you intend to give away books.

Have a fabulous start to your week dear ones - and see you soon!

Photo: Robin Benito

Monday Love: DIY flower brooche

A little project on how to make a cool flower brooche from the leftovers of a cut of jeans. I basically just cut a flower shape in 3 different sizes, sew them on to each other with a pretty couture-button as a center piece - and added a needle on the backside. Voila - this flower will bloom on your jacket or sweater all through the winter! Hope your week starts sunny and lovely and with enough space and time for some creative things!

Photos and idea: Martina Voigt-Schmid

Fridayx Pretties: DIY Paper Flowers

In the mood to make something?

How about these colorful flower-pompoms! They look quite impressive as a decoration for a party or - just for fun. And they are super easy to make. I know this is not exactly an easter thing, but - in case flowers are not yet in bloom where you are, they may add a touch of spring to your rooms - give it a try! I've made them last week as a creative project for the magazine, but also for my hubbys birthday.

Do you have anything planned for easter? I'm staying here, but, as the weather is really nice and sunny, i don't really mind. Going for long walks, having nice brunches and dinners with my family and friends, and just relaxing and celebrating the beauty around seems to be just the right thing!

Photos: Martina Voigt-Schmid
For more Friday Pretties visit Joyce's here! 

Friday Pretties: Felted pussy-willow

A cute project for early spring

If you're like me, and you can't wait for things to bloom, maybe you're in for a bit of fun with little felted balls. Attached with a little glue to some bare branches from a fruit tree or bush, they make a colorful and stylish bouquet - or centerpiece for your table. Sometimes, i love to work with this unspun wool, in germany we call it "Märchenwolle" - fairytale-wool. It has such a comforting quality, and rolling it up between your fingers is pure therapy for stress relief!

This is an idea and photo by Betz White - have a look at her Flickr, she's got more amazing craft projects to browse! For more Friday Pretties visit Joyce's here! 

Friday Pretties: New furniture for (almost) free!

Chair before

Chair after

Two amazing DIY projects on a budget

 i found on "The art of doing stuff", a blog by this amazing and crafty lady Karen, who is really wort a visit!  She transformed an abandoned chair she found by the side of the road into this strikingly luxurious dream of a chair, and a simple piece of tree-trunk into a stylish side-table that looks like it was bought in an expensive design-store. 

For the chair, she simply covered it up with a Mongolian Lamb throw - no special skills needed for that one, it's finished in a minute, YAY!  For the table - hmmm, looks like a girl must be a bit more patient here, but it sounds perfectly doable as well. Look at the instruction here.

Boy, i miss going to the fleemarket and look for ragged chairs! What are your plans for the weekend?

Photos: "The art of doing stuff"

More Friday Pretties to visit at Joyce's here! 

Friday Pretties: You are loved!

And how sweet is it, 

to wrap the nicest of feelings in a cute, creative idea,

like a Popcorn-box, filled with little items and an invitation for a movie night at home, or a collection of post-it notes that can be left in unexpected locations to bring a smile to your honeys face - not just on Valentines day.

Valentines, this year, will be on a monday. And i think, mondays, no matter what time of year, deserve a little extra attention and fun to get the week to a great start. I've forgotten about my "monday love posts" and will continue with them in the week to come. Have a super nice, warm and loving weekend and treat yourself and your loved one to something nice. The best time for a relaxed Valentines breakfast is propably this sunday. See you soon!

Photos: Eat, drink, chic

More Friday Pretties here!

Let LOVE show!

Add some love to your home!

With redecorated vintage plates, wooden map-hearts, a pretty typographic artwork or just simply a cute card. One can never have enough love. Or show enough love. So, especially in cold but lovely february, let's keep our hearts warm and happy by just being a little more loving every day!

Fotos and items 1-3 (you can buy them): Not on the high street
Last Foto and card-design: Martina Voigt-Schmid (soon in my shop)

Les chats de Julie Gaston

Handmade Sweetness

I want to show you something especially cute we got for Christmas: Our cat Itzig, modelled in clay!The first two pictures you see here, that's him. In his fury black and white tuxedo, friendly and elegant - Mr. best dressed cat, as some major cat magazines have mentioned!

The other two cuties are called Julie Frederike and Sir Henri Peterson. If you want to find out more about talented Mlle Gaston visit her blog here!