Yellow baby card 1/3

I'm finally getting around to posting this card I made a while ago. Two card making friends and I had a whole evening of paper crafting together, you can read their blogs here: Krissie and Hilde.

We don't do it often enough! It's quite a chore to pack everything I want to bring, but it's such a nice break from sitting alone at my own desk. Let's do it again soon, girls!

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A colleague of mine has ordered three baby cards, and none of them could be gender spesific. Yellow was her wish, so here is the first of three yellow baby cards. This one has quite a bit of green as well, but not to much I hope. There's probably a boy among the three babies anyway! Magnolia stamp coloured with Prismacolor pencils. Tim Coffey pattern paper was a gift, and sentiment stamp was on loan, both from Krissie - thank you so much sweetie!

Believe in yourself

"Magic is to believe in yourself. If you do that, you can make anything happen. -Goethe"
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One of my mother's colleagues is leaving to go back to school. She's getting herself a new profession, something most of us don't do as adults. I know I'd be pretty scared if I quit my job! So in her honor, this card features a great inspirational quote and a stack of books.
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I've dug into my spanking new MME Wild Asparagus paper pad! Thanks, Krissie! :D And found this great K&Co tag to go with it. These colours are so much more my style than the retro card I did earlier this week. :)

Finally, something paper related!

I'm a day late posting this card I'm afraid, but I spent the better part of yesterday evening in heated battle with my Gmail account, which refused to load properly. The urge to scream and throw the computer at a wall was almost more than I could resist! The problem has so far proved to be unsolvable and that really annoys me. Computers, who needs them, right? ;)
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But on to the show! I've made a retro card for a colleague, who's going to a 60s party. I tried to find something in my stash that could look like it came from the 60s - no luck. This is as close as I could get, and it's not looking quite right. This kind of retro just isn't me I guess... Well, better luck next time. I've got another card lined up for posting later this week and that one is much more my style. ;)

Giveaway at Lisa Leonard's blog!

I discovered Lisa Leonard's blog just a week or so ago, and I'm in love. She makes the most beautiful hand crafted jewelery - custom made as well. And right now, she's giving away one of her new Illuminate necklaces to one lucky reader! Three lucky winners will get a set of five letterpressed folded cards and envelopes. Check out her blog for the details. Gorgeous.
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And I promise something paper related on this blog later today or tomorrow. It's been a while, I know... ;)

As if I needed more hobbies...

Oh yes, I could easily get addicted to this one too. No problem.

Cocoa in a jar

This concept was completely unknown to me until I stumbled across it on a blog shortly before christmas. Cocoa mix in a jar! A quick Google search yielded lots of recipes - not just for cocoa mixes, but cupcakes, brownies, even soups and stews! The principle is simple enough - layer all dry ingredients compressing them well to maintain a sharp line between each ingredient. Decorate your container and be sure to include instructions for preparation. Done! It's even upcycling - this glass used to hold tikka masala sauce.

I used this recipe as my guide, substituting brown sugar for some of the white sugar, and a few drops of peppermint extract for the candy canes. It would have looked more festive with the candy canes, but I unfortunately didn't have time to go searching for it. Ingredients are (from bottom): Powdered milk, cocoa powder, white sugar, brown sugar (with peppermint extract), chocolate chips. The brown sugar is sticky and forms a nice seal over the white sugar which would otherwise mix with the chocolate chips, and it tastes great too. ;)

Tsumami kanzashi prototype

My mother asked me to find some ideas for a brooch that could be worn to identify her and her collegues during the convention they're arranging this spring. Finally I've got a chance to get some kanzashi flowers done! I've been looking for an excuse for ages now. When the idea struck I whipped up this prototype in a hurry so I could e-mail her the suggestion right away. I had several other ideas using paper, yarn or felt, but this is by far my absolute favourite! I wish I wish I wish they'll choose this one! :)
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If you're not familiar with the concept of tsumami kanzashi, here's the Wikipedia definition. In short, kanzashi is the Japanese hair ornaments nowadays worn mostly by geishas and meikos (apprentice geishas). The subtype tsumami is defined by being created from folded fabric. This flower consists of nine individually folded petals, strung together and secured with sewing thread, plus two buttons as the center ornament.
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I was in such a hurry that the glue hadn't even dried when I shot these photos. You can even see it in the green button... I was just so excited! :) The final flower will probably be made in warm yellow fabrics to resemble a sunflower, as requested.
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The reverse side has a safety pin attatched by a strip of fabric pulled through a slit in the cardboard and fabric backing piece. It's been very crudely done, but it was just to demonstrate the concept. I doubt I'll use this particular flower much anyway - it was made only as a prototype and needs some overall improvements. I want to go and buy sunflower fabric. NOW. :)

Binary scarf

Now this is a gift for the geeks in your life! I've made this one for my brother, and I'm seriously considering making one for myself... ;) You can find the pattern, called Binary, here (Ravelry link). More details for my own scarf is available on my Ravelry Binary scarf project page.
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Just in case an explanation is needed I can quickly say that the scarf is meant to resemble an old computer screen, filled with binary digits. You can see the cursor in the bottom line there, where someone's still "typing"... *lol*

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The original pattern simply gives a pattern block for the individual numbers and says the simplest way is to knit them in randomly. But my brain just doesn't do "random". Without a plan for when to knit 0 and when to knit 1 I would have been obsessing over every single digit. My solution was to convert a little phrase into binary ASCII code and using that as my pattern!
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The ultimate test of geekiness is whether or not you can read what it says! I'm so geeky as to know ASCII-code by heart like that, but more than geeky enough to giggle just by the thought of knowing that it says "Are's scarf" over and over! *lol* I love that is in plain sight like this and yet a secret. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy new year to all, and to all a good night!
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I've been saving this post for a while, and decided that the first day in the new year would be the right occation to show off what has been decorating my veranda the last couple of weeks. This is a variation on a brilliant idea I found on the always inspirational blog Resurrection Fern. Klick this link for her original post on this project. While she used lace doilies, I had neither doilies nor pans big enough for the job. But I had something just as good! Last winter I made quite a few crochet snowflakes that were still lying in a crumpled pile in a drawer - and some small plastic containers that were the perfect size.

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It couldn't be simpler. Just lay your lace in any flat bottomed container that can safely be frozen, fill with a centimeter or so of water and wait overnight! Making sure you have a string attatched at this point is an advantage. I hadn't even weaved in the ends of my snowflakes yet and simply used those. I suppose using boiled water would eliminate most of the small bubbles that form during the freezing process - I might try it out some time, but I really like them just as they are now! :)

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After two nights I had a whole row of icy snowflakes decorating my veranda! These will no doubt be the replacement to the snow lanterns I used to make when I lived on ground floor appartments. I've already remade them once, but the temperature quickly dropped back to 10-15 degrees Celcius and this time it seems like it will stay low for a few weeks, actually. I can't even remember last time that happened. It's so perfect that we had a true White Christimas, and then finish off the old year and start the new one with this amazing winter!
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Wishing you all a happy and peaceful brand new year!