Good-bye 2011

I cannot believe 2011 is almost over. It was mostly a good year! It was also sometimes a bad year! You know, it was just a year with up and downs – like most years are ;-) – and it was definitely a crafty year for me!

In January 2011 I rediscovered the good old Strickliesl and remembered how much fun it is to produce meters of “Strickliesl sausages”: here and here and here

In February 2011 I took part in Me-made-February, a wonderful initiative by Cat, and discovered how many me-made things I own, although not nearly as many as the other participants.

In March 2011 I made delicious Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes.

In April 2011 I worked on my balcony – to transform it from a triste concrete place to an urban oasis.

In May 2011 I saw parts of my little one’s christening outfit, including crawling pants and sunshade cap.

In June 2011 I made a lot of decorations and pressies for the twin baby shower, I organised, e.g. this dummy band .

In July 2011 I continued making little baby things like this onesie.

In August 2011 there was little time for crafting, but I managed to make at least some great food like these spaghetti vongole.

In September 2011 was a failure in terms of crafting. Too much working didn’t leave a minute for DIY L

And the same was unfortunately true for October 2011. Don’t like!

In November 2011 I finally got more time for crafting: my little one’s first lantern and starting my dress for Cat’s Christmas dress challenge. Yipee!!

In December 2011 my creative juices really went crazy thanks to a few days off work: cinnamon balls, lemon-rosemary bath salt, a ‘stolen’ piece of art ,  a leather necklace for my aunt,  ginger-almond-crossies and of course my Christmas dress.

Wow, what a wonderful DIY year! I wish 2012 will be equally productive, creative and fun!

Wish you all a great New Year’s Eve! With great food, friends, bubbly and of course spectacular fireworks!

For me made pressies

Paula had a wonderful idea. She shows us not only what beautiful presents she made for her loved ones, but also what amazing self-made presents she got. And believe me creativity runs in her family. I love the idea to show how great and creative your family is and how much you like the gifts you have gotten.

So here is my tribute to my wonderful creative family:

My husband turn one of his beautiful photos into an amazing piece of art by getting it printed onto Alu-Dibond.

My little one made beautiful drawings, ok let’s say scribbling, for her grandparents.

My mum made me a beautiful hand bag. With my choice of fabric (top and bottom), my choice of handle, my choice of interior fitting (room for my mobile, for my calendar, my keys, my pens...). That is real luxury: something which caters for your individual needs and aesthetics.

My mum also knitted me another one of these wonderful warm scarfs. I never wear them outside (no need to this winter so far anyway), but love to wrap them around me when I am sitting at my sewing machine or laptop. It feels like a big hug.

My sister is also a kitting champion and made this beautiful woollen flower brooch for me. I love its vibrant colours and the combination of something so cosy and spring-like at the same time. I could never make something as delicate and as knitted.

My brother is a passionate photographer and made some amazing photographs using a special lens that makes the photos like a miniature landscape has been photographed. A bit like these ones. Real pieces of art.

And my dad made us all dinner. A family tradition, but still we appreciate your efforts every year, dad.

Thank you so much for each and every of these wonderful pressies, dear family. I love them more than any diamond ring and I thank you so much for making them for me.

Fireworks Sale start today!!!

picture found here

Just a little reminder for all the other firework addicts in Germany: the fireworks sale starts today.

I know many think it is a waste of money! Just dangerous! And over in a second anyway!

BUT

I am so excited!!!

Aldi? Lidl? What do you think? Who has the better offer? I am big fan of the Aldi website, because you can have a look at the fireworks virtually beforehand. Which saves you a lot of time and pushing in front of the shelves in store. Which is what I DON’T like. I just want to get in, snatch MY fireworks and leave this crazy-grocery-shopping-because-there-is-one-public-holiday place as soon as possible.

So I better go. The early bird, ... you know ;-)

Christmas again

Today we will be celebrating Christmas with my lovely husband’s side of the family. I love that the distance between my family and his family ‘forces’ us to celebrate Christmas twice. I simply cannot get enough of candles & stories and beautiful presents & great food. In both our families our dads are responsible for the great food by the way.

My dad cannot cook a lot of things, but he makes the most amazing chicken dish on earth and therefore it has been our Christmas dish for about 10 years (and hopefully for the next 10 years as well): Lemon Chicken.  Slowly roasted in the oven. With a golden crust. And lots of soft vegetables and apples. Fresh and light thanks to the lemon juice. The exact ingredients are his secret, since everyone else is so engaged in the other family traditions that we hardly drop into the kitchen.

In my husband’s family cooking is always dad’s job and thankfully my husband kind of inherited this family tradition and loves to cook, too. They don’t have a special Christmas dish, but whatever my father-in-law makes, it is always delicious. Therefore I now quickly pack our pack of presents, my little one and my lovely husband and then we are off to a delicious, relaxing and festive afternoon and my in-laws.

I hope you enjoy your Boxing Day, too! Hopefully not in the Myer’s Christmas sale, but relaxed with your loved ones.

Merry Christmas

Finally time to open up your presents as well, dearest readers, who didn’t celebrate Christmas last night. I hope you have a great time with your loved ones, with great food and great music.

I started the day with another of my favourite traditions: staying in your PJs all day. Later on, however, I will have to break this tradition, because like so many other people we will travel today to celebrate with the other side of the family tomorrow. So my wishes go out to everyone who catches a train, a plane or drives to go into the second round of Christmas celebrations tomorrow.

Have a safe and relaxed trip!

Frohe Weihnachten!

To all my German readers and those all over the world who celebrate Christmas today: Frohe Weihnachten! Feliz Navidad! Buon Natale! Have a wonderful Christmas Eve!

I won’t be able to post a lot today, because December 24^th is full of traditions in our family. Some traditions are old. Some are new. But we all love them dearly and nothing can keep us away from celebrating them ;-)

One of my favourite traditions is decorating the Christmas tree. My two siblings and I have been doing that for the past few years and it is always a celebration in itself.

First we get all the Christmas boxes from the basement. It takes us three to four trips before we have all the collected decoration treasures which my mum has collected over the years.

Then discussions start about how the tree should look like this year. Monochrome? Colourful? Traditional red and green? Full of memories? Bad taste? This discussion is part of the ritual although we always end up throwing everything together. A bit of handmade ornaments from our kindergarten years. Some shiny Christmas balls. Lots of real candles. Some folk art. Some glitter.

And one thing is never missing. Our collection of obnoxious ornaments. We always add something new each year and it is really astonishing what is available. And they mean it seriously, don’t they?

Anyway, these were last year’s ornaments:

The most decorated hippo in the world.

A Yorkshire terrier.

A garden gnome.

I cannot wait to see what my brother and sister have ‘unearthed’ this year. I have to admit mine is a bit lame this year. But how could you possible top last year’s highlights ;-)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your Christmas traditions – whatever they are – and I wish you a happy and peaceful Christmas Eve!!!

Weihnachtskleid sew along – Finale

Hurray! A highlight right before Christmas. Today Cat and all the other fabulous Christmas-dress-sewing-girls finally show their beautiful Christmas dresses.

Here is mine:

 

 After looking for a fabric so long, falling behind and a bit of panic, I am really happy with it now. It fits me very well without too many adjustments. Due to its wrap front it is adjustable in width, particularly important when you love to eat (on Christmas Eve and other foodie occasions). It is not too transparent (despite being off-white). I love how softly it falls, when I walk or dance.

I am sorry that I cannot show you my Christmas dress properly i.e. on me, because today I don't have a personal photographer but only a curious little one. And the photos in the mirror doesn't do this dress justice at all.

 Nevertheless the dress looks much nicer on me than on the hanger. Great, because that is what dresses should do. Not the other way round (i.e. look nicer on the hanger than on me) ;-)))

I have to go now because I cannot wait to see your dresses!