Candy Floss

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Candy Floss
Ik vond dit prachtige Engelse boekje bij de kringloop. Het doet me denken aan de kinderkamers uit ‘Atonement’ of andere films en series uit dat tijdperk. Alleen de foto van de schrijfster is fantastisch, om nog maar te zwijgen over de potloodtekeningen in het boekje zelf. En wist je dat candy floss de Engelse benaming voor suikerspin is?

I found this drop-dead gorgeous little book at a second-hand store. It reminds me of the children’s spaces from ‘Atonement’ or other movies or series from that particular era. The very image of the writer is to die for, not to mention the beautiful drawings throughout the book itself.

Candy Floss
Candy Floss
Candy Floss
Candy Floss

Panama

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As much as I would have liked this post to be the announcement of our next holiday destination, it isn’t. On the other hand, a trip to a second hand shop is extremely relaxing to me, maybe (er…absolutely certain!) way more stress-reducing than a 24-hour plane flight or car ride to a destination somewhere on the globe. This book of Janosch I thrifted recently is so endearing that it could make me cry. I mean..look at that cute cover! The book is about a little bear and tiger that decide that Panama is the land of their dreams and set off on a journey to find it. Of course, in the end they actually learn to appreciate what they have at home. Quite the bottom line of traveling isn’t it? Once you’re far away from home you realize how much you actually appreciate it. I love how Janosch learns his readers these great life lessons in such an endearing and funny way. Maybe I’ll just plan a second hand tour through The Netherlands next summer.

Hoe graag ik ook zou willen dat deze post de aankondiging was van onze volgende vakantie bestemming, is het dat zeker niet. Aan de andere kant: een trip naar een kringloop is extreem ontspannend voor mij, misschien wel (euh, eigenlijk zeker wel) véél stress-reducerender dan één of andere vlieg- of autoreis van 24 uur naar een uithoek van de wereld. Ik vond dit boekje van Janosch recent bij de kringloop en alleen de omslag is al zo aandoenlijk dat ik ervan vol zou schieten. Het verhaaltje gaat over een kleine beer en tijger die op zoek gaan naar Panama, het land van hun dromen (of tenminste, dat denken ze). Natuurlijk gaan ze thuis weer extra waarderen door hun reis, wat eigenlijk de kern van deze post is: door ver van huis te zijn, ga je er weer vreselijk naar terug verlangen. Daarom hou ik zo van Janosch: hoe hij eenvoudige levenslessen verpakt op zo’n grappige en prachtige manier. Misschien dat ik de komende zomer maar eens gewoon op kringloop-tour door Nederland ga.

Craftbooks galore

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I’m not famous for my patience and because of that I still can’t crochet, knit or… (fill in another fantastic creative skill). I don’t exactly understand why I always buy secondhand craftbooks thinking: “Ah! Knitting! And oeoeoe, such nice patterns! I’ve always wanted to learn how to knit a lovely little retro jumper, so this one goes home with me!”.

My heart aches seeing all those lovely patterns in Lis Paludan’s crochet books…and not be able to execute them (unlike Ingrid, who crochets these lovely little Lis Paludan slippers).
To be honest, the only thing I’m really good at is making the things I make for my shop. Just because it didn’t took me years to learn how to draw a pattern and how to sew a blanketstitch. I’m more of a self-taught woman, that is.


You can imagine what I thought when I bumped into the book pictured. It’s called “Het grote kruissteek boek” (“The big embroidery book”) by G. Bengtsson, E. Hansen and I. Winckler. Embroidery fortunately, is a skill I master (not a very difficult skill, but it is a skill :-)). The spoiling factor in this one is my lack of patience. And the fact that the patterns that once came with the book, aren’t with the book anymore (the only disadvantage of buying second hand books).


It seems to be the perfect excuse to not embroider these and just look at them and dream about that day you hear yourself thinking: “Wow, such nice retro patterns, I’ve always wanted to spent a month sewing a super-retro embroidery!”

Now I think about it, that day might break earlier than expected.
The tree with the little birds at the bottom right doesn’t seem to be a very time-consuming project. If only I could get my hands on that pattern…
anyone?

New decor

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Beauty can be found in unexpected places. After working on the necklace I put it down for a while and it appeared to match wonderfully with the book underneath it. I don’t want to write about Autumn already (and upset the sun-loving readers here ;-)) but these colors have such an Autumny feel that I just can’t wait for the leaves to fall and the days to get colder………….
Just pretend you didn’t read that, okay?

Original title of the book is New Decor, written by Elizabeth Wilhide. I have not yet found time to give it a good read, but flipping through it, I think it’s another very inspirational book about color and pattern. That said, I devour every book or magazine about interior styling, color or pattern, so I might not be the right person to base an opinion on ;-)

Marshmallow friends

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Although it seems Summer disguised itself in dark rainy days at the moment, it’s near and so are long happy barbecue evenings with friends. On Flickr I found these super-original marshmallow characters. You certainly would make an entrance with these treats :-) I found them at The Happy Apple’s photostream here. Fifi the Poodle is my absolute favorite!

De zomer heeft zichzelf op het moment goed verstopt onder donkere, regenachtige dagen, maar eens breekt ie door en kunnen er weer lange barbecue avonden met vrienden belegd worden. Op Flickr vond ik deze super-originele marshmallow figuurtjes, wat een giller om deze aan je gasten te presenteren (of om samen te maken). Ik vond ze hier in The Happy Apple’s photostream. Fifi is mijn favoriet!