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YAY!!! My blue rose ring has been featured on Etsyitemoftheday!

After hearing about Etsy from a friend, Jackie has moved from an interest in Etsy to a passion for the site. Each day, Jackie looks for her next favorite Etsy item and posts it on Etsy Item of the Day!

Take a look and follow Etsytoday on Twitter!

Summer = Boules de Berlin!

Guess what, they want to be cool!

My daughters M & M would give a million for these yummie pastries, they taste a bit like a donut (same dough) but are filled with crème patisserie (sometimes jam) and covered with powder sugar.
In Belgium we call them "Boules de Berlin", but it seems in Germany they are called 'Berliner' and in Berlin they know these pastries as Pfannkuchen :-)
- find here a little history about those Berliners, in Dutch)
- find here the recipe in English and here in Dutch

Those Boules de Berlin are very typical for the Belgain coast: each summer ,men dressed in a white bakers outfit sell them on the beach.
And there is a funny Boules de Berlin campaign for promoting the Summer music Fesitvals on the coast: "Be cool: taste a Boule!"

In the meantime Ginger and Jeanne, two cute Cat brooches came to join me in my shop, they are looking for a nice and cosy new home! (click on the pictures to go to the shop)

Summertime = Flea market time

Pink rose ring (in my shop now)

I found some real cute doll furniture on a flea market, I already had the little cupboards, but could now supplement my collection with a cute heart chair and an even more cute rocking chair :-)

You see I could not wait to use them in my pictures, they give the perfect vintage look I want!

I am really pity I can't do more thrifting... Summertime is the ideal time for flea markets, but when I go with the kids they get bored after 10 minutes, ... while I could stay there for hours!

Minna from Karuski alos blogged about her flea market finds, go here to read about it!

And as you see, I am halfway pimping my felted cats! I hope to make much more these days, (thinking of the fairs I am going to attend :-) It's fun making them, I will give them each a name, if you have suggestions, just drop them in your comment :-)

flickr favorites

1. you & me stamps, 2. IMG_2293, 3. ooak254, 4. hydrangea cards

It's time for Flick favorites again,

I don't have a theme, I think I never have a theme, I just put together some awesome pics.

It reminds me of my previous life as graphic designer.

Oh, how I like to mix and match these pictures, there is no job, there is no purpose, just put togheter some beauties and make them even more beautiful in this mosaic!

Go to Artmind's blog to find more Flickr favs!

Busy holidays!

It's calm here on my blog lately...
But absolutely not here at home!
Although the weather is absolutely not like summer, we do enjoy this vacation time...
The kids have been experimenting with cooking almost every day, the result is that I have to put myself on a diet now, for some days...:-)(and that I have been cleaning the kitchen every day!)

a handfull of beads on my desk , completely by accident an awesome colorcombo

There is always a littlebit of time left over to play (in my case creating). And as I am more into textile accessories these days, I enjoyed making linen flowers, felting pebbles, felting cat brooches...

Cat heads awaitening to be embellished like these.

I am attending two craft fairs in August and I have the feeling I have to stock up a bit. I am really excited about it, at the craftfair in maastricht I will meet up with lots of EST friends!!!

And now a glimpse of my latest makings:

(Find more pictures on Flickr.)

Purple Linen Trio (available in my shop.)

Polkadot challenge

Dots, is the theme of the EST challenge hosted by Staroftheeast.

Find the other entries here.

ingredients:

- felted balls with little seed beads sewn on them

- ethiopean silver beads

- a beautiful big resin bead with little wooden dots

gathered on a copper chain with a toggle clasp closure on the front.

The necklace measures 44 cm.

available in my shop

Inspired by Africa

Some days ago I blogged about the etnic roots of my eldest. But we do have some other genes in the house. Our second daughter Meron is from Ethiopean origin.
Unluckily we don't know anything about her parents or family. That s a hard nut to crack for her. You really can't imagine how one feels knowing nothing, but just nothing about her roots.

She has been found as an orphan in Jimma, Ethiopea and there, most of the people are Oromo,
she has indeed the Oromo physical features.
The Oromo represent one of the largest Cushitic-speaking groups inhabiting the Horn of Africa. Their physical features, culture, language and other evidences unequivocally point to the fact that they are indigenous to this part of Africa.
The Oromo people are the largest ethnic grouping in Ethiopia. About 95% are settled agriculturalists and nomadic pastoralists, practising archaic farming methods and living at subsistence level. A few live in the urban centres. They are dominated by the minority tribal group, the Amhara, who have controlled the country almost continually for the past 100 years.
Find more about the Oromo people in Ethiopea here.

So I found some beautiful pictures from Ethiopean Oromo women and girls adorned with the most beautiful clothes and jewelry. I let me inspire by the colors and materials and made this long copper necklace and a pair of earrings. Both are available in my shop.

Harara Earrings

Jimma Necklace