Busy busy busy

Wow ... such a very very busy weekend ! I have to admit most of this busy-ness it's my own fault, I have so many projects going on and saturday I decided also to bake some goodies for the following days. And ... And James has started to sleep in his own bed ! I can't believe it. We have been co-sleeping since day one and now it feels so strange ... yesterday he has been in his bed until 1:00am who knows how tonight will be ...
And next friday my youngest doughter ( 11 yo ) will go to her first live concert with dad ! Nightwish are playing in Helsinki and she has loved the group since she was six or seven ... time runs away so fast ... I want to finish my huge amount of projects and then I want to start prioritizing better what I decide to do in my life. I want to enjoy my little people more. And here few pics from the weekend ....

Baked goods

 

Crocheting, crocheting, crocheting away ....

 

My boy is growing !!!

Have a happy new week dear friends !!!!

Spring and fairies

Hello world ! Wow it has been a long silence it feels almost strange to be back here on my apple tree posting. Very busy days in a rather demanding family with a lot of work to get ready for summer's markets and events in which hopefully I will sell some of my creations. My creativity has the tendency to roam very wide in very different fields, so I have busied myself with jewelry, mixed media, crocheting, painting\drawing and photography. Little by little I will show here some of my things and maybe I might consider to start selling also online (maybe on Etsy ? I need to check it out, prices and stuff ... ).
So as the title says it seems that spring is slowly showing up here in Finland too. It is still quite cold ( only we reached +9C only after hours in the sun - a cold sun it seems ) but we already have very long days with the sun rising around 6 am and setting past 8 pm so lovely ! I've always been an early bird, but the winter darkness basically switches me off and that is something that I really dislike, but the light of spring\summer !! It's my thing totally, I also welcomed spring with a two weeks detox\cleanse with no gluten, dairies, meat and filled with raw vegetables and fruit and boiled eggs. It's not much far away from the way I usually eat, but in normal 'days' I enjoy some cheese or latte and ocasionally some chicken meat. During my detox I also started every day with meditation and prayers and Bible reading, which usually helps me a lot to go through the day. Well this depends a lot on James, if he wakes up earlier I usually have to give up meditation or Bible reading, but accepting this season of my life I'm sure it's a big step in the direction of mindfulness and awareness and acceptance of the will of God.
Anyways, as I said today we had some sun, so with the precious help of two of my children I went outside to take some pictures. Well .... you won't believe what I found ! ...our garden was filled with fairies ....
(spoiler alert : it's part of a nice little project I'm carrying on ... ) so .... welcome in my garden  !

... As I was getting ready to shot some pics of the wild crocuses I realized that little friends had gathered around the flowers as well. I'm sure the fairies have missed flowers and sun as much as I did during the winter. I wonder where do they hide in the dark and cold months ...

 ... And look ! I'm not the only one who is excited about rhubarb season .... this little one is probably rhubarb fairy !!

Hopefully you're life have been filled with sun and joy and a little kind of magic as well.
Have a great week !

Under the sea or upcycle part three

Lately it seems that I can't focus or get inspiration. As if my positive attitude has a bit faded away for no evident reason. I'm functioning really undertone in these days, hence my silence here in blogland. But I still menage to make some pretty things ... another jar cover, with a bit more character this time ....

leftover blue cotton, sequins and a humble pickle jar ...

Not bad in the end ;)

Work in Progress : crocheted bag

You might rememer I got myself a special gift for my birthday back in january, this Attic 24 chunky rainbow pack. At the beginning I just wanted to follow the original pattern intended for that pack but somewhere along the way ideas started popping in my mind so I first changed the edging and then I decided to add a nice and resistent cotton lining to the bag, to make it more durable and suitable for everyday use. Today, when I started to cut the lining I decided to add some pockets on the inside too, to store the cell phone, pencils and a bigger pocket for all that little stuff that a mama always keep in her bag ( you know, few candies, small toys, little shiny stones ... ). To top all of this, since I still don't have a functional corner for my sewing machine and I didn't want nor to wait or drag the machine back and forth from the craft\school room to the kitchen table, I decided to hand sew the lining and the pockets. I actually LOVE handsewing, few years ago I sewed skirts for me and dresses and trousers for my children and curtains all by hand, I find it relaxing and meditative. So I just cut the fabric and started sewing. I could finish the first pocket, the one for keeping the cell phone. I'm pretty satisfied of the outcome and can't wait to continue. Here a few pictures from today...

 It fits !!! And coffee is helping me  ;)

Here a detail of the pocket, I'm very happy of the way it looks !

And of course James has been there with me all the time, providing entretainement, love and laughs while sewing. Here he was jumping from the stroller wheel to the floor and kept asking me

 'take a pic of me while I jump ! '

I love him !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crocheted Jewelry

I have been working on some crocheted jewelry (among other things ) lately. Now I have few items, but I'm especially proud of the earring I have done. Today I will post some of the pictures and tomorrow the others. I am wondering if I might open an oniline shop or something like that. It would be great to find a way to support a bit my family money-wise and still being at home. What do you think ? Do you like them ?

All of them

Tiny blue flowers

Indian style

Exotic, in the shades of purple

I'm in love with all of them!

Upcycle part two : crocheted jar covers galore

Ok, when it comes to crocheting and decorating, things get very easily out of hand. So after my first jar cover I was so excited that I had to make another one, and another one,and another one ... I'm very satisfied, two of the jars are the one I use for flour and sugar. The third one, smaller, doesn't have a use already, but I have few ideas buzzing in my head for it ( and the others I might do ... ups ... ). ut here few pictures ...

Here the four of them on the kitchen cabinet

The smaller one, made with some leftover yarn (baby bamboo, my favourite ) in shade from red to yellow

And the bigger ones, on the left with the pinkish string  for sugar, on the right with the white string for flour. In my opinion they look very nice and give the kitchen a much cozier feeling ...

Do you like to make beautiful things for your home? Let's share few ideas !

It's a kind of magic ....

After three days of snow the world looks much better. I can't stop  looking outside and grabbing the camera for just one more shot and finding excuses to get out for a moment to enjoy the outdoor. This is our fourth winter here in Finland and I can't still get used to the magic that happens with the snow. I love nature, I love God's creation, I love to be a part of it. Never a dull moment when living in awe and gratitude.

( And yes, of course I know that bad things do exist and yes, I have my share of problems and concerns and why not anger, but I want and I need to focus on the good )

And now few pictures from today.

Crocheted snow flakes in the entrance 

Outside in the garden. I still can't believe something can be so beautiful.

... country road take me home ...

And the sun decided to come out at some point. Glittering and shining and glowing are just few of the words that started popping on my mind at this sight.

 And such a huge gratefulness for all this.

Upcycle - crocheted jar cover

I have a soft spot for decorations and beautiful things. No. That's not true. I have an obsession for decorations and beautiful things. I love to take care of my house and during the years I made decorations for every season and festivity. It's january but the longer hours of daylight already made me think of springtime. So last week I realized this little upcycling project. I'm pretty happy the way it turned out, basically what I had in my mind became true before my eyes and that is great, when it happens.
But let's start from the beginning. Along with my oldest doughter, we have started some heavy decluttering with the new year ( I'll write more about it in the next days ). In a kitchen cabinet we found a half empty jar of instant coffee that we brought here from Italy when we moved here almost four years ago. Yep. FOUR YEARS AGO. So we decided it was time to get rid of the content but not of the glass jar. After few days of watching the jar and letting my mind wonder I had the right idea for it. With my favorite yarn ever ( baby bamboo sirdar ) I started crocheting in every ( rare ) spare moment as I couldn't wait to see it finished. Here few pictures ....

I LOVE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And here it is in use, with colorful tulips in it, over my old sewing machine, near my most lovely music box in the most beautiful corner of my house.

And you ? Any project you're especially proud of ?