Crafting for Advent

This week's corner view theme is 'corners of your home', so since we just celebrated the first Sunday of Advent this past weekend, we spent Friday and Saturday of last week getting all the Christmas decorations out. We also stocked the fireplace with wood and tried out our fireplace for the first time! (the house still smells very campfire-y after a rough start...) I also put up last year's Advent calendar for some filler since we're still plotting what to do with that wall.


Saturday I made this year's Advent wreath. This is still a very popular tradition here in Germany. Last week I had purchased a pre-made wreath of greenery. Work has just been too busy for me to try making my own this year. I did all the decoration parts. Allison has a good tutorial on wreaths if you need one, though!


Stefan's also in the habit of wanting a typical Advent calendar, even as an adult (who can blame him?), so after a meeting yesterday I ran around in a panic looking for something suitable. We'll be away for nearly half the month, so I wanted something that we could take with us, and something that wasn't a big cardboard and plastic frame. The ones with the prettiest designs and guaranteed good chocolates were starting at 16 Euro. No thanks.


I didn't feel like going to the tiny dept. store fabric selection and dropping a small fortune, so I picked up some green napkins and did a quick zig-zag stitch with red thread up two sides, leaving the fold for the bottom. Instant little bags for the less than 2 Euro.


I printed out some cute labels from my stash of free printables, stuck them on the bags with my tape pen, filled with various chocolates, and tied with another drugstore find: cheery, red satin ribbon that says "Merry Christmas to a dear person" - sort of schmaltzy, but since I was in a rush and knew this year's Advent calendar wasn't of the critical sort, went with it.


It's nice to see them all lined up on the living room window sill. We have a big white Moravian star hanging over them that we turn on at night, lighting everything up all cozy-like.


I also picked up this Advent card. Something different, but fun. I'm having a friend come over tomorrow to do some cookie making, so I'm off to prep some dough!

Fore more corner views from around the world, head over to the sidebar on Spain Daily.

Corner View: Bee Sting Cake on the Menu

Today's Corner View theme is about your local menu. One thing you can certainly find everywhere in Germany is an Italian ice cream shop (eiscafe). Our local favorite has this dish with ice cream surrounded by a ring of a sort of warm chocolate pudding.


Thankfully the menu had a great color shot of the dish, as I forgot to take a picture of mine before we polished it off!


Another thing on this weekend's menu was Bienenstichkuchen (bee sting cake). We had cake and coffee over at my mother-in-law's house on Sunday. This is quite possibly my favorite German cake. Simple, not-too-sweet layers of cake sandwiching a frothy white layer of whipped cream, topped with crunchy, honey glazed, toasted almonds. Perfect!

For more Corner Views of menus around the world,
head over to Spain Daily!

wool = cozy decor

So I can't stop. Well, I stopped enough to do a rush job for work-work and that sort of thing, and I stayed up late to fix a dog jacket and finish some sewing bits of Christmas presents, but otherwise I'm stuck on these:

No more details because they're also destined to be gifts of sorts...maybe...Stefan thinks they look so cool and we keep thinking we could keep them all. Or not. We'd look pretty silly with so many, don't you think?!

Now, I have to give a MAJOR plug here for the lady who inspired me to give this a whirl myself. Her designs are SO much cooler than mine and she's basically got this down to a science. It's her job and it shows. Check out Knock Knocking's Etsy shop. She has a cute blog, too.

She's so creative, isn't she?!

I love the felt flowers she makes to put on them as well. I'm not so sophisticated. I'm going to go with imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and be happy for a good idea. I'm not selling mine, nor is my gift budget such that I could afford to gift so many of hers, but it's fun, no?

To see more posts on yarn wreaths hop over to Holly's post on Decor8 and the how-to tutorial that inspired her. Remember, if you want the look without the DIY, buy your own here (she updates her shop often).

Mixing yarn with 'shrooms: twisty

I've been wanting to try my own yarn wrapped wreath for a while, but had a really hard time finding a foam wreath. However, between a random specialty shop where foam wreaths were all less than 2 Euro and the 1 Euro yarn bucket at the grocery store, these two wreaths came in at under 3 Euro each! I love this one - it's going in my living room somewhere.


I think I may want to add something else to it, but I'm not sure. This wreath took me less than 20 minutes to wrap up. It's only roughly 7"/17cm in diameter. The next one took a whole ball of yarn and took about an hour and a half or so. It's much bigger at roughly 12"/30cm in diameter.


This guy definitely needs more work, and I may remove the pilze (mushrooms). It was really hard to get a good picture of this green one thanks to the typical gray and rainy weather we're having. Ignore the leaves on the balcony... There's just no good light anywhere!

You could easily do these while watching a movie. I got nearly caught up with friends and finished mine over the course of 5 different phone conversations. So for those of you I still need to catch up with (you know who you are!), you'll know what I'm working on while we talk!

Twisting and turning: yarn and thread

I've been busy working on non-creative work-related things, but I've managed to squeeze in some top-secret Christmas projects.


I've also started trying out some fun ideas with yarn. I found some great colors in the 99 cent bucket at the grocery store and today was able to procure a few more items necessary for my trial runs. I'll have to do some non Christmas-y things first, to see if my idea can follow through more, so stay tuned - hopefully tomorrow there'll be more to show!

The Berlin Wall: then and now

Today is a big deal kind of day here in Germany. It marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Regardless of how and when this all exactly came about, today is the day of celebration.

Here's a look at the first border crossing to open - watch how things change in less than 9 minutes. Realize that you are literally watching people walk into freedom. If you understand German, it's even better because the translation, while fair, misses a lot of things.

Where were you when you heard the wall was down?

(my answer's in the comments)

Free Printable: 2010 Calendar

I was over here originally admiring this free printable moving card (even though we're past that point ourselves) and then checked out her list of free printables (always fun) and found this gorgeous printable 2010 calendar from Gleaux.


Normally I operate on a 2 calendar basis: a big one in the kitchen for everything so Stefan and I are on the same page, and a second one in my purse to write in appointments as I book them when I'm out running around. Now that I have my own little office space, I was wanting a small visual to have on hand. This free download perfectly matches my office space aesthetic.

To get your own, head over here.

Autumn Window Shopping in Germany

We've been out and about the past two weeks thanks to the fall vacation break for the schools. In that time there's been some wandering around, enjoying the fall colors, weather and, for me, the pretty fall displays. Would you like to come along?

First up is the floral arrangement at our table in a little cafe we went to. I just love how creative this is!

Here's my favorite Einrichtungsladen (interior decorating shop) in our town. Lots of purple, the big hit for this year:

I liked this tablecloth but I don't think Stefan could handle
that much pink in our house!

A blurry shot of the fall browns and oranges (sorry!):

Dishes in a rainbow of colors:

One of my favorite flower stands in a nearby town
sporting the purple again:

And giving a wink towards the upcoming Christmas season:

We ended up in Bamberg one evening and I spotted some of the Pip Wallpaper china collection - really lovely! I could easily enjoy the whole set, but Stefan said he'd weed out the pink stuff. Surprise surprise.


There were also some bags and satchels from the same line. So sweet! To enjoy clearer, non-phone pix of the Pip Wallpaper line, click here. *Be sure to hold your mouse over the music box on their main page, lovely little tune to enjoy as you look at what must be one of the most beautiful websites ever! There are lots of little 'hidden' gems on there, play around with it for a minute!

Back home I spotted a display of the fun Christmas china pattern Villeroy & Boch put out this year. It makes me want to host a huge Christmas party!

I really like the serving plates and the tall mugs! Can't you just picture some spiced hot chocolate in them? To enjoy clearer, non-phone pix, see the My Winter collection here.

That's it for the window shopping tour. It's always fun to see what's out in the stores and, by taking pictures and posting it here to share, it's like shopping without spending money!

Little Girl's Bag: Take 2

So I made another bag, this time for an almost-2yr old who acts so much older than 2. She's a very girly-girl who puts on her own 'make up' when her mom is getting herself dolled up. I thought she could use a purse. I even added some pom-pom trim because I had a feeling little fingers would love to play with the soft little pom-poms, and I was right!


I mistakenly thought the trim would hide my crooked stitching, but the trim itself proved hard to stitch on straight. Short pom-poms and the sewing machine presser foot = eng (tight fit).

Then I realized it only added to the mess
that was going on inside the bag! grrrr...

However, I did a much better job on the shoulder strap this time (even though attaching it wasn't as pretty as last time). It turned out to be way too long for her, but oh well. I hate straps because you have to turn the whole thing inside out after sewing it shut, but after much tugging and sighing and trying various methods, it came out the right way. Phew!

I also had a reoccuring problem that I think has to do with the bag liner being too big or small compared to the outer shell. It bunched up here on the side again. Super annoying. I'd already had a mishap that required 4 separate uses of the seam ripper, so I gave up on this problem and just left it. I should've just taken a break and come back to it again.

I was pleased with the bag liner and
the little inside pocket I added.

I also tried something a little different with the flower on the outside, making the inner layer more daffodil-esque. I used a skinnier and much shorter length of fabric than I used on the bottom layer.


Altogether it was a successful venture. It was an improvement over the last bag and I think it was good to try the same thing again so I could see where I still need some practice. These little projects are great for encouraging me to keep trying: they're simple enough to be do-able within a short amount of time. Of course, seeing a little person's eyes light up and watching them continually use the item is an encouragement as well! Off to cut some fabric for a new and different project!

Corner View: Love

This week's Corner View theme is love. I don't have much to say on this because the one I love has 2 weeks vacation right now so we've been busy doing projects around the house, running errands, watching movies, and just hanging out.


One of the things we've done so far that I love, is enjoy the fall German specialty of Kürbis Creme Suppe - pumpkin cream soup. Along with Pflaumenkuchen, Kürbis Creme Suppe is another typical dish served during the autumn season here in Germany. I don't have a recipe for it, but I found this one and it looks tasty!

For more Corner Views on love, head over to Spain Daily and check out the link list on Jane's sidebar!

Sewing: A Little Girl's Bag

Somebody I know turned 4 this weekend and I wanted to make a little something for her. I had lofty dreams that clashed with my limited skills and available time. I tried anyways. Four hours later I had a bag and had learned a few things.


1) Plan ahead and make time for the project. Rushing creates mistakes. I made some really stupid and ugly mistakes I didn't have time to fix because I rushed. The seam attaching the liner is crooked, the flower and leaves could've been attached in a cleaner (and just as secure) way. I should've ironed out the old crease in the strap fabric. (rushing when all you have is a phone camera is especially bad!) I could go on. It was a learning experience.


2) The rotary cutter and big rectangle ruler my mom sent over are AWESOME! I can't cut straight to save my life, especially when I'm rushing. These things saved me big time! That disappearing ink pen is fantabulous as well. Pinking shears make cute leaves. Yay for imports!


3) The web is a great help in my learning-to-sew venture. I used one tutorial to figure out how to create a flat bottomed bag like this. I used another tutorial to figure out how to make and attach a bag liner. Heather Bailey provided me with a tutorial on making a super fast fabric flower that was perfect.


4) Bag liners are not as hard as I thought and hide a multitude of sins. I'm all about liners now!

This project cost me nothing, which was awesome! The bag was made from the same stack of curtain remnants as my sewing machine cozy. It's liner was the liner from the old curtains, perfect coordination! The pink fabric was something I picked up in a free bucket at some yard sale in the States and it came over when we moved here. The buttons and other stuff came from the one-day-I'll-learn-to-sew box as well and I'm glad we brought it!

My 4yr old friend was quite pleased with her gift and I now have a bag template for a few other little people. Little people are easy to please and generally don't notice the seams, so I will continue to practice on such a forgiving audience for now!

Corner View: Typical German Souvenir

This week's Corner View theme was 'a typical souvenir from your town'. I live in a German university town that doesn't have a typical 'thing'. When I visit friends in the States (or they visit us), we usually hit up the local grocery store for the best treats to take back. We find it's the cheapest, tastiest, and usually most unique and practical place to go. Everybody likes chocolates, so we can start with the chocolate aisle. Lots of Lindt:

Lots of Milka:

Really, lots of it (it's not even the Christmas chocolates!):

There's always the group of women who love pretty paper napkins, so there's something for them:

For those who bake, there's all sort of stuff that's standard here, but sometimes hard to find in the US:

I didn't include pictures of the beer and wine section, or the mustard section, but they're great, too. When my dad was in Germany hosting some Spaniards here for a business trip they were asking for a certain German mustard that was semi-sweet and impossible to find in Spain. I took them to a German grocery store and they all went home happy with armfuls of Händlmaier's (typical sweet Bavarian mustard). So the grocery store really is the spot to go. There's something for everybody!

For more souvenirs, head over to Spain Daily.

Reveal: Pom Pom Trim

So I finished my project. I dressed up our two kitchen chairs. We started with plain Ikea chairs and pads.
Clean and simple, but nothing special. Here's the before:

I've been in a pom pom trim craving phase and decided to add some to our kitchen chairs. Something fun, yet subtle, especially since I used white on white.
(should've done this for my last Corner View post, huh?)

We're pleased with the outcome: fresh, subtle, and deviating from the Ikea-ness of it all. It was super fast and easy to just whipstich along the seams of the chair pad.

Yay for pom pom trim! Even Stefan likes it and
he was really skeptical at first!

I'll be posting another project I finished later, but for more DIY, head over to Kimba's blog for more links and inspiration!

Something's up: threads and pom poms

I'm working on a creative project. Today is my calm before the storm of a new work opportunity which starts tomorrow. I'm prepared and am now doing a little creative de-stressing. Here's a preview:


The reveal should come early next week. In the meantime I'm going to go enjoy some homemade Pflaumenkuchen (plum cake) our lovely neighbors just brought up!

Corner View: White, or What To Do Over the Fireplace?

This week's theme is white. I like the idea of white. I like our white kitchen cabinets. But I don't really like white walls. I've tried. I just always feel like I'm in a hospital, or a creepy insane asylum. I feel like I should go to colored-walls-anonymous because here in Germany most homes have all white walls. Hi, my name is Juliette and I paint my walls. Yes, I do. Except when their surface doesn't permit paint, like below:


Here you see the horrid fireplace wall. We didn't paint it blue like the rest of the room. Well, the wall opposite the fireplace isn't painted either. It's just white, but it has tons of windows on it and we wanted the room to look balanced somehow. I drew red boxes all over the picture of our big, white wall in an effort to get a feel for what I might could do. Perhaps a large rectangle mirror, lots of framed pictures, we don't know what. The fact that the wall is actually two different depths doesn't help.

It's turned into a dumping ground in the living room. Yuck. Everything on the mantel can go. The wood box is our TV garage and should get painted and get decorative knobs. The random tools should get cleaned out of the niche by the fireplace and filled with chopped wood for the winter. You get the picture.

Something needs to happen to this white wall ASAP because although we like the whole fireplace idea, it's a bit of an eyesore just now.

Ideas?

To see more white - usually pretty, non-angst-ridden things, click on over to Spain Daily.