Author: Marina

Autumn wreath

 

This year, for the first time, I had plans in decorating our front porch. Since we moved to our place a few years ago, I have dreamed of flower baskets hanging outdoor, seasonal wreaths and various decorations. Sadly, none of this has been possible to date; our front porch is literally falling off. So, last summer we finally made the decision to get a builder in September to fix it. Needless to say, that September became mid October, and that has now become mid November. But last week, in the middle of a DIY withdrawal, I made a simple and small autumnal wreath which will be hang outside to inaugurate our new entrance, once is ready. 

I used a small wicker wreath as a base, about 25cm, and covered it with a burnt orange wool yarn. I then sew some felted ball in various colours, but you can easily use a glue gun. I didn’t really follow a pattern, just made decisions on colour and position as I sew along. I then made a hook on the top using some matching yarn and did a little testing, to see where it would sit best on our door. But for the time being is hanging in our living room, out of reach from my little who’s obsessed with felted balls!

43/52

It’s week 43 and you are becoming funnier every day. It is amazing how many changes you go through every week. And the more you change, the more we like you.
Loving playing squirrels in the nursery ground and collecting acorns
This week you:
  • Added many new words to your vocabulary. But the most hilarious one is “uovo” (egg), as you make such a funny face when you say it, we want to kiss you all over.
  • Kept playing over and over with your puzzles. I think it’s time to get you new and more challenging ones.
  • Had a temperature on Friday and I had to pick you up from nursery before lunch. And although you weren’t feeling great you had so much fun playing with mama’s craft stash.
  • Had a playdate on Sunday and loved going around, chatting and playing with your little friends.
  • Adjusted to clock change instantly, and slept even more than ususal.
And from last week, I love the seasonal pictures of Rianna, from A.k.a Chymecindy. So much happiness in just being a kid and playing with simple things. It reminds me a lot of my little squirrel above!

If you are curious about this project and want to know more, you can check Jody’s blog @ Che and Fidel.
All my previous posts can be found here.

DIY Rubber stamps

 
A few weeks ago I came across a beautiful and captivating book on rubber stamps. The front cover was enough to make me buy it, and after flicking through the pages I was totally hooked. The book is Geninne D. Zlatkis “Making an impression”, and it’s about making your own rubber stamps, with lots of tutorials, ideas, templates and so on. She gets inspiration from nature and translate her interpretation of it into beautiful stamps.

The process of rubber carving is quite straightforward, as long as the design is simple and not too intricate. There are many tools and materials available, of higher quality and more professional than the ones I used, but as I didn’t want to wait, I just used what I had handy.
This is what I used to carve my own stamps.

  • small cutting mat
  • some scrap paper to try out my designs
  •  HB pencil
  • craft knife ( I used a Jakar swivel knife)
  • retractable knife
  • Some plastic erasers
  • ink pads in various colours

The first thing I did, was to ink the eraser surface, let it dry for a few minutes, gently wash it with water and let it dry again. This preparation process will become handy when cutting the design.

While the eraser surface was drying up, I tried various designs on a piece of scrap paper, bearing in mind the size of my plastic erasers. Once I was happy with the design, I copied it onto the eraser’s surface. This is the easiest way of trasferring your picture. For more complicated ones, I would suggest using tracing paper.

Using the craft knife, I marked the outline of my design and with the retractable knife I started cutting deeper and taking out the rubber around the picture. This is the most delicate part of the entire process; the more careful you are, the better your rubber stamp will be, especially if you are dealing with round surfaces. The coloured surface of the rubber will help showing the cuts. Now, the best way of doing this would be to use a lino cutter tool, if you have one.
You can try out your stamps during the cutting process, to see whether you need to cut more or make adjustment.

Once you are happy with the results, just ink it and start stamping. I’m telling you, it’s addictive…I’m stamping everywhere!

42/52

It’s week 42 and only 10 weeks to the end of the year! Thinking about Christmas already, and a certain someone turning two very soon.

This week you:
  • Spent two days with papa all alone, and had lots of fun.
  • Went to your nursery friend’s birthday, but was more interested looking at the older kids playing with guitars than playing with your peers.
  • Still going to bed easily in the evening, but your sleep has been a bit disturbed and we can’t figure out why.
  • Loved repeating every word we said. Your favourite has been “uovo” (egg).
  • Started throwing more tuntrums than usual. I guess you learned the trick already; you how to get want you want. We still haven’t learned how to deal with it!
And from last week, I love this little fitness lover from wendieland. She seems so very at ease with the move!

If you are curious about this project and want to know more, you can check Jody’s blog @ Che and Fidel.
All my previous posts can be found here.

Pick of the Month: October // Toddler Nursery Essentials

1. Shirt with lace from Zara / 2. Fine-knit cardigan from H&M / 3. T-shirt with floral applique from Zara / 4. Corduroy trousers from Zara / 5. Leggings from H&M / 6. Checked trousers from Zara / 7. Desert Boot s in Black Suede from Clarks / 8. Wellies from Mothercare/ 9. Etnies Visor Beanie Blue/Grey from tkmaxx.

Another month, another wardrobe update for my fast growing girl. Shopping is fun when you buy clothes for a toddler girl; there is so much to choose from and prices are still manageable. She loves patterns, like her mama, and comfortable clothes to run around and climb on things (I caught her jumping on a chair last week at nursery!). There are still a few things she’s going to need for the winter, but these basics will keep her warm and cute.