KissKus

Vintage ribbon lamp shade

I broke our glass lamp shade a while ago (while vacuuming, go figure!), so I needed a new one. Not wanting to spend much money on it and not wanting to search for a new one either, I decided to pick up a cheap lamp shade from the thrifstore and see what I could do with that.

(Said cheap, ugly lamp shade)

All I did was get out my prettiest vintage ribbons and bravely cut into them (go me!). I then attached all ribbons with sticky velcro tape. It took a while, but when I was finished I was super pleased with the result.

This project hardly cost me anything and I actually love that my ribbons are on constant display.

Playing with mais

The kids, Linus especially, have rediscovered playmais. I must admit that it's pretty amazing stuff. Made of corn, so completely safe even when eaten (the kids have tried, but apparently it's very dry :)). And it's just so easy to make cool things with!

Linus made this person with very large... ummm... eyes.

I made these seasonly little pumpkins; an idea that I had pinned.

Michel made this work of art.

Even the big girls had some fun!

The tree

As promised photos of our happy little tree (insert Bob Ross).

Man, it's loud! But we all think it's fun (except for maybe Michel, but you can't please them all).

Some of the ornaments:

I made these angels years ago (found the link... october 2006!). The gingerbread man was a present to myself this year.

Bauble with personal message from Michel's sister & hubbie who live in Australia.

Mexican angel gifted to me by the owner of the bookshop I used to work (in..1997?). The felt object in the background was a crafty project of Amber and myself in... 2006.

The star on top was a present from my sister when Amber was born (2001).

Amber took this photo of the Dick Bruna nativity set.

The colourful lights were a thrifstore find... just so irresistibly WRONG ;)

Just like good old Bob!

 

Home improvement

It's a slow process, but bit by bit we are tackling some very important issues in our house.

Firstly, the craft room. This is a tiny room (so no exciting photos), where I keep all my fabric and notions and our paperwork. This room has been out of control since... forever? It was really bad. A few weeks ago my my mum came and helped me clear out, clean and sort it all. It wasn't pretty, but at last we got the job done. Now all my sewing things are easily accessible and I can't tell you how wonderful that is. When I now feel the urge to create something I do not need to hunt for fabric/thread/yarn/buttons first!

Next step was to create a little spot where Michel could sit and work. With 4 inexpensive legs from Ikea, a bit of leftover MDF and some paint, Michel created this cute little desk where he can do his writing. I think it turned out great.

The other thing we had to take on was the wardrobe situation in Linus' room. I decided to sell his old chest of drawers and changing dresser first, but when I did I didn't have anything to put his clothes in! So we managed another trip to Ikea and bought him a Pax wardrobe, which is huge for his small room, but it will easily hold all his stuff.

I feel happy and relieved that we got this done these past days (the children were staying with their grandparents). The house feels better now. Now onto the next project, but slowly....

Vintage hexagon coaster

From a vintage quilt that I bought last year or so I cut one hexagon block (shocking, I know!).

I blanket stitched around the edges and then crocheted a scalopped edge and then a sweet new coaster was born.

The cup and saucer is another fabulous thrifstore find, by the way :) There are such treasures out there, people!

First embroidery

Linus' stitches are almost as neat as mine!

Crochet bunting

On my very productive holiday in France I made 16 flags. It took me a little time and practice to figure out how to crochet a triangle, but once I got the hang of it, it was easy sailing. A very fun little project.

It took me several weeks (that holiday seems so long ago already!) before I dug them out of my crochet bag and sewed them onto some bias tape (3 metres). I really like how they turned out.

Leaves me with just one question to ponder over on this cold and wet Monday: why is it so impossibly difficult to photograph bunting?!

Time for a change

I'm on a serious roll with the house decorating. Some say I'm a little obsessed...

Yesterday the children were actually complaining about my furniture painting. They said, and I quote: "Our house is becoming too colourful, it's becoming too happy!".

Kids... I don't know how they come up with it! Although I was surprised by their strong opinions about home decorating, it didn't stop me from starting the next project: our livingroom clock.

This is the BEFORE photo. An old (but trusty) Ikea clock. We've had it since we first started living together which is a LONG time ago (about 15 years). It's one of those pieces in your house that you hardly notice, but still you look at it all the time. So I decided that something new was in order.

I dug a hole in my sewing room and emerged with a piece of oilcloth. As meticulously as I could, I then cut out the oilcloth so that it would fit onto the clock.

I then used husband's superglue-pistol to put it all together. And it worked! It's not perfect, but good enough for now.

The children were mildly pleased with the result, which for me is enough encouragement to move onto the next COLOURFUL project :)

Paint it blue

As I said the other day, I'm spraypainting my way around the house. And the good thing is that things are starting to get finished, although I still have some small things to do.

Yesterday I was able to put our shoe cupboard back in the hall. This cupboard was a thriftstore find and it works well for us. I like the way it turned out. The blue goes well with the yellow of the walls (which actually need a coat of paint as well!).

I think the key chain is hilarious. A photo of a very young Queen Beatrix, printed in England. Doesn't her blue eyeshadow go so well with the cupboard ;)

Some very random things

These mugs were 35 cents each in the thriftstore, but the joy they bring me is priceless.

Bookmark monster that Amber made today. I think it's brilliant.

The book? The first hardcover I grabbed from our bookcase, which was The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. Who else was utterly disappointed by this long awaited novel? I really did try, but gave up after nearly 200 pages. I wonder whether it will it be worth it to pick it up again?

Michel's finger has a blister. There's an A on it... why??

I'm happy that all three kids have had quite a good first week at school. Especially happy that Simon seems to settle well in his new class, since he skipped a class. I've had rather a few motherly worries about my boy, so I'm relieved and pleased to see that the new situation seems to turn out well for him.

And now it's weekend! And what's more... the people in charge promised us some summery weather. I know, it's AMAZING!! Sun deprived as I am, I certainly intend to absorb as much summer as I can.

Happy weekend everyone!