Happy Easter!

I just wanted to pop in and wish you Happy Easter!

The kids and I spent the last week in Stockholm with their Swedish grandparents, so there wasn't much time for Easter preparations this year - but for the eggs I grabbed the small green bowl, which I crocheted some weeks ago.

Crocheting bowls out of small amounts of yarn which aren't good for anything else is a great idea, by the way - for this I used some self-dyed green wool together with a green cotton yarn and decorated it with a beaded flower.

(German summary: Frohe Ostern wünsche ich euch! Für das Eierkörbchen habe ich einen kleinen Rest Wolle und etwas BW-Garn verarbeitet - kleine Körbchen kann man doch immer gut brauchen!)

Small Xmas project IV: Nativity scene ornament/WP IV: Baumkrippe

If you happen to have a plastic laminator at home, this is a funny way to keep your kids (and even yourself!) happily entertained while waiting for Christmas ...!

Draw - or make your kids draw - (well, I found my pictures in a magazine) - the persons, animals and items needed for a nativity scene, cut them out, decorate them with sequins and glitter glue, let dry and then put them into the plastic laminating pockets with a bit of space between the figures.

When you've laminated them and cut them out once more (leaving a bit of plastic all around the border), punch an eyelet ring at the top and add a bit of string to hang them.

Leaving you with this for now, I wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

(German summary: Mit einem Laminiergerät und gezeichnete Krippenfiguren - vielleicht noch etwas Glitzer und Pailletten - läßt sich ein recht lustiger Baumschmuck machen! Und ganz herzlich: FROHE WEIHNACHTEN!)

Small Xmas-project IV: Crocheted star garland/Weihnachtsprojekt IV: Girlande aus Häkelsternen

If you happen to have an evening left - and some bits of sockwool - you could still make a small star garland for yourself or for a friend ...



I found this very easy-to-follow tutorial on Ellen Bloom's blog - though instead of acrylic, I decided to use some leftover variegated sockwool, both 4-ply and 6-ply, with a crochet hook 3,5 mm - and I spaced them a bit more, about 25 chain stitches inbetween, as I didn't have the time to make that many ...

My 4-ply stars are about 4,5 cm, the 6-ply about 5,5 cm big - so this is a small and sweet garland - but of course you can use whatever yarn you have stashed.



And if you don't find the time now, remember there will be a new Christmas time next year!

(German summary: Eine feine und doch einfache Häkelanleitung für kleine Sternchen habe ich auf Ellen Bloom's blog gefunden - mit Sockenwollresten schauen sie noch einmal so süß aus, finde ich!)

Small Xmas project III: Christmas ornament star/Weihnachtsprojekt III: Recyclingsterne

Almost a year ago, I found a tutorial on this beautiful Christmas ornament star at Pam's blog 'Gingerbread & Snowflakes' (if you click it, you'll be right there) - and although I tried them out right away, I thought I'd wait to show them to you until Christmas :-).

As soon as you've managed to do your first, it's an easy job, and the best thing about it is that you will most certainly find all (recycling) materials at home already - composite cardboard (like the brown one, for boxes), pins, beads, some leftover yarn or thread and bits of paper, maybe some small bits of decoration material to glue to the center.

Of course you could use a photo in the center too, and make gift tags out of them - they even look neat on the backside!

Thanks, Pam!

(German summary: Diese netten Recyclingsterne - man braucht nur etwas Verbundkarton, ein paar Stecknadeln und ein paar Garnreste - habe ich schon im Frühjahr entdeckt und nachgearbeitet - in Pam's blog 'Gingerbread & Snowflakes' gibt es die ganze Anleitung!)

Small Xmas project II: Felt ornament/Weihnachtsprojekt II: Filzhänger

What can you do with some scraps of white felt, bits of ribbons and lace? Well, a Christmas ornament, of course!

The felt I used for this was quite a sturdy one, actually a piece of a table placemat, and so it will hang nicely, no backing needed.

A little bit of ribbon and some handstitching, and it could turn out like this:



For the decoration of the second one I used different bits of lace and sewed them down with free motion machine stitches - but of course you could do it all by hand as well:



I guess there are endless ways of using tablemat felt in various colours for making ornaments - maybe also in combination with paper (what about photos?) or fabric ... could be adapted for a kids' project as well, I think!

(German summary: Ein Stück festen Filz - hier von Tischsets - und Reste von Borten, Bänder und Spitze - und Simsalabim! - hat man einen Christbaumschmuck!)

Mini summer project IV: Paper crane/Mini Sommerprojekt IV: Papierkranich

I finally made them!



Still on holiday - that's the excuse for having been so lazy blogging lately - I'm just popping in to share my joy with you for finally having managed to do some of those Japanese origami cranes!

Strung on a string, with a bead below for a stopper, I'm sure they'll make a lovely window decoration!

For those of you still struggling, here's a tutorial I found!

(German summary: Oh, ich hab's geschafft! So lange wollte ich schon einen japanischen Papierkranich falten können ...)

Happy Easter!/Frohe Ostern!

I'm back from a very interesting visit to Sara and her daughter Sophie in Alicante - and as this is holiday time, I just want to wish you a Happy Easter and a very nice Spring week-end!

I made this fast Easter bunny above with a pattern I found at Allison's blog - here is her free pdf-download in English and German.

Although my bunny looks like if it was knitted in form, it's actually sewn out of an originally knitted and then felted knitting sample.

(German summary: Ich bin zurück aus Spanien und wünsche euch allen Frohe Ostern und ein schönes Frühlingswochenende! In Allison's blog gibt's das schnelle Hasenmuster auf deutsch und englisch!)

DIY Washi Tape/Selbstgemachtes, buntes Klebeband

Sometimes there is such an easy solution to a new 'need' ...

After having seen the Japanese washi tape in various oversea online-shops, I wanted some of that colourful tape myself too - but as so often, the shipping costs are exorbitant.

So how could I make a similar tape myself?

When visiting a construction/DIY market lately, I realized I might use a double-sided sticky tape (the thin, cheap one, is just perfect for this purpose). And it works! You can use it either for paper - wrapping paper, newspaper, mulberry-, decoupage-, photos - whatever paper you like - or for light to medium weight fabric, or bits of trims and ribbons ...

Lay out your paper or ironed fabric backside up on the table, unroll a bit of the double-sided tape and gently press it down, avoiding wrinkles, unrolling more of the tape as you go. Cut it off in a manageable length.

Now you can either use a roller cutter or craft knife and a metal ruler to cut the tape lengthwise in the strip dimensions you prefer - or you could keep the width of the double-sided tape and just cut off short strips from there whenever needed.

A toilet tissue roll and a paper clip will keep your fancy tape organized.

(On the second photo, the two larger rolls to the left are actually self-adhesive wall paper borders which I found at a bargain - but they work as tape as well!)

(German summary: Eine einfache Art, buntes Klebeband selber zu machen, ist, dünnes, doppelseitiges Klebeband mit Stoff/Stoffbänder oder Papier jeglicher Art zu verbinden - dann entweder der Länge nach in dünnere Streifen schneiden und auf Papierrollen aufwickeln - oder bei Bedarf Stücke von dem breiten Klebeband abschneiden.)

*** I'm off for a week now - winter holidays at school - going to Sweden to see my family! ***

Crisp organza blossoms/Frische Frühlingsblüten - aus Organza

This weekend, there was a bit of spring in the air ... the sun was coming out and temperatures are rising!



Maybe you are familiar with the technique already, but I was delighted to discover I could easily make these romantic flowers myself with scraps of organza and a few beads.

You cut out small circles, about 4-6 cm in diameter, freehand and irregular, as they come, start with 10 pieces or so - then light a candle.

For extra safety, you might want to put the candle on top of a tin box and place it in the kitchen basin - and then you just scorch the edges of your organza circles. The brims will melt and the fabric curles up a bit - just perfect for your flower petals.

Gather your petals with a piece of thread, stitching through the center - keep it irregular for a more natural look - and add a single or a group of spare beads.

(If you take a look here, you'll find a YouTube tutorial on this and many more links for other kind of fabric flowers.)

(German summary: Ein bißchen ist hier jetzt schon der Frühling zu spüren - ich habe mich gefreut, als ich ein Tutorial über diese Organzablüten gefunden habe!

Einfach 4-6 cm große Kreise aus Organza schneiden, die Ränder an einer Kerzenflamme ansengen - sicherheitshalber beim Waschbecken arbeiten - dann ca 10 Blütenblätter mit einem Nähfaden in der Mitte zusammenheften, ein paar Perlen mittig annähen - fertig!)