Happy Easter!

Our Easter break has been mostly cold and snowy (except today!), so we have not been able to really work on the greenhouse project. However, we had a lot of indoor hobby time, so I decided to make this little thing as an Easter present to my friends' baby girl. 

Knock knock, what's in the carrot?

Peek-a-boo, teeny tiny Bunny!

Happy Easter, everybody! :)

note: Based on a pattern by Ana Paula Rimoli. 

Winter Weeks

Well, I have been quiet on here lately, but I have not forgotten you guys! January has been busy around here in other things than arts, crafts and gardening, and I can't believe we're already nearing February. The days are already getting longer and that always makes me feel so happy! I absolutely love this first half of the year where daylight stays a bit longer every day and where Nature works its magic on all the plants and creatures, and Life just springs again. I think I probably say "I just love this part of the year" To pretty much any part of the year, mind you. ;)  I just find there's something enjoyable all year round. There's always something beautiful to observe, or something nice to look forward to.

Despite the fact that I was so busy in January, I did manage to find some time for hobbies. I started 3 different projects with 3 different mediums... but none of them is ready for "presentation" yet. However, here are a few samples, just to pique your curiosity... ;)

Acrylics... 

Paper maché...

Crochet... 

All 3 projects are fairly long-term, but I really hope to succeed in completing each of them within a fair period of time. Ideally before the big gardening season starts! If you guys remember well, last year, I did my first vegetable garden ever. It did not go perfectly, but it went anyway and I managed to harvest some good vegetables out of it! I learned many things about gardening and this year is the first time I have to "re-start" a garden. I still have much to learn and I am looking forward to it. I know that soon, I can already start thinking about sowing a couple of things indoors, but as of yet, I only have a faint idea of how to prepare the garden patch again. I'm sure I'll learn... one step at a time. :) I'm excited to see how things will go this year, as I at least know a little more where I'm going regarding what sorts I want to grow and such. 

Anyways, but for now, the snow is covering the ground and it finally looks like winter. I say "finally", because we'd had mild temperatures until about 2 weeks ago, and for a moment I thought we might go straight into Spring after the holidays! But the snow arrived and stayed a while, and is still hanging around. Now, I am not your biggest Winter fan, but I do enjoy how cozy the living room feels in the cold season. Besides, Spring feels even more magical after some snow and cold weather. 

I'm afraid the cats, however, are finding this little Winter visit a little too long! They are staying a lot more indoor and when they do go out, they stay very much around the house. Occasionally, they venture in the back of the garden, but they never stay out very long!

Tiana and Kashew,  bored and wishing the snow would melt already... 

My adventurous Kashew... 

That's it for now! I hope you're all keeping warm and safe... :)

New Year, New Ideas

Welcome, 2013! The vacation has been really relaxing and while I wish it could go on for a couple more weeks, the end of vacation only mark the beginning of something else. I jumped in the new year in the company of my husband and some very good friends and their little baby girl. It was nice to be among people I care about to welcome a year that I hope will be filled with positive energy and creativity.

Can you feel the celebrations?

Now, I have a rested head, renewed energy, and of course, a ton of hobby ideas!! One of the things I really want to develop is more experience/ understanding on how to crochet pieces of clothes. So during vacation, I crocheted my very first cardigan ever! I made it for my friends' baby. While it's not as big on her as I had anticipated (and so won't fit her as long as I wanted),  I am very satisfied with how it turned out. :)

First cardigan ever. I had fun making it! 

The other big hobby thing on my mind is to get going again with painting. I have not painted as much as I wanted to in 2012. But you guys won't believe what I received for Christmas from my wonderful husband... 

I received........ Every shade of green!

My Every Shade of Green

I can't wait to use my new colours. I already know which canvas I will start with!

I would like to wish everyone a very happy and healthy year 2013, and i want to say thank you for reading these little pieces of my life.  :)

What are YOUR resolutions for the new year? 

Crochet

As the weather is getting colder, and I am spending less and less time out in the garden, my motivation for indoor arts and crafts is climbing again, as it tends to do every Fall.

My hobby focus lately has been on crocheting. Good friends of mine brought to the world an adorable baby girl at the end of July, and I have been having a lot of fun crocheting small items to her.

Hat, dress and "shoes" in newborn size

Mini shoes in the converse style

My husband also requested a new scarf, as the one I had made for him a few years ago is getting quite worn out. So I made him a scarf and ear warmer set, which I think he is happy for. :)

These are blankets I made a while back. The yellow and white one was made a few years ago, when I still lived in Canada. The other one I made sometime this year. Unfortunately, I misjudged how much yarn I would need and ran out of 2 colours. They were balls of yarn I took with me from Canada, so I could not just go and buy new ones! So it ended up as a very small blanket. Oh well! I still had fun making it.

I enjoy crocheting in front of the tv in the evening. However, I do miss the easy access to a vast variety of yarn at good price, which I was used to from Canada. I find the selection limited here in Denmark, and the prices higher, unless there's a good sale somewhere. But the good sales often are for yarn that are not, in my taste, soft enough for baby items. Perhaps I am yet to find the right places to shop at. :)

A touch of lavender

When we first moved into our house in 2010, the backyard was filled with the lovely and soothing scent of lavender. There was indeed, and still is a lot of lavender growing on our lot. At the time, I picked a good amount of the pretty lavender flowers and hung them to dry. I then placed them in a box for later use.

It is nearly 2 years later now and I finally used a little of my time to make some First-summer-in-our-house-reminders in the form of scented crocheted balls. It is amazing how many memories can be associated to one single fragrance. Dried lavender can keep their scent for many many years, keeping your memories alive at the same time. :)

If this simple but fun project interests you, here is how to proceed:

You will need:

yarn,

scissors,

a crochet to fit your yarn size,

a yarn needle,

a stitch marker,

a small amount of polyester toy stuffing (not on picture),

dry lavender flowers.

Crochet about 3/4 of a ball.

Don't know how? go see the Ball tutorial at Greedy For Colors

Here, I chose to use 3 different colours.

When you are almost done forming the ball, put a little bit of stuffing inside it to give it a "bottom".

Place 2-3 dry lavender flowers into the ball.

Stuff with stuffing until you obtain a nice round ball.

Finish the last row or two and fasten. 

You now have a cute little ball with a piece of your garden in it! :)

These can be used in drawers, wardrobes or linen cabinets to give clothes and linens a fresh fragrance. They can be hung in a room as decoration. With the lavender's soothing and calming effect, maybe it would be worth trying to slide one or two of those little balls at the bottom of a pillow case, if falling asleep is a problem. I am also thinking that the colors, scent and size can be adjusted depending on the season and occasion.

Any other ideas?