A guided tour

I have a little balcony which I call my oasis. I will show you some of the details if you want to come along?
I have a thing for succulents. First of all they seem to survive pretty much everything and they don't need flowers to look interesting

Most succulent flowers look strange and exotic. I am surprised every time this plant decides to flower because it happens so fast. From afar these flowers look insignificant, I think

On the right side a box has been planted with herbs. This one is the thyme leaning on weathered wood

Another great thing about succulents is that they are willing to make lots of babies. I just cut these off and stick them in earth. The next thing you know is they are growing on their own

Recently I bought lavender and planted some of them in these metal pots. Grey metal seems to go well with the faded greens and the soft purples of lavender

My favorite flowering plant is the geranium. Here the Queen Ingrid as it is called in Denmark. It is amazing that the earth stays inside this pot but nevertheless it does

This was a new plant for me to have in my collection. The green colour is almost artificial. It forms the shape of a pillow if it is healthy enough.

I took some of these from my mother's garden and they seem quite happy now. I have taken an ultra close-up picture of the leaves because they really don't fill out the pot yet

This is the same type of plant as mentioned earlier but in a different kind of container. I don't think baskets are meant to survive outside but I like the rustic feel when it gets older

On my walk this morning I picked some wild black berries. There weren't many and they were really tiny but it just meant they were all the more treasured

New uses

Today I have lots of photos as promised. I went to an artists market a while ago and there I saw these cute buttons used as rings. I have made my own as you can see. I would like the metal to be thicker but then it would not be able to get through the button holes.

This button ring is smaller and looks a bit like the ceramic jewelry which is so trendy now.

I bought an old spirit level at a flea market, painted it white and got my handyman to put it up in the bathroom. It is very useful and since it is not very wide it does not bother the person occupying the toilet!

The holes and dents that came with the level are very practical. I have never known where to put the scissors but that problem is now solved.

This is where one can see whether something is leveled. This level however is so old that the 'bubble' jumps back and forth and therefore did not provide any guidance when screwing it onto the wall

I found this - whatever it is called - which used to sit on the poles keeping electrical wires in place. Now it is living a life as a hook for my mini ironing board. I am, however, considering painting the rod white where the red rust is most predominant

Small time sewing

I had taken lots of pictures of other creative projects but the light had disappeared and the pictures were a tad dark. This one was taken earlier today and shows a sun glasses pouch I finished yesterday. It is not complicated to make at all but it is very functional. The glasses are "retro" style i.e. very big and therefore do not fit into normal pouches. The bottom part is sewn together so the glasses cannot fall out. The string keeps the pouch together. The loop at the top is for hanging.
I like the fact that the pouch is made out of a pot holder.

Sleeping in protest

The dog decided that when nobody was going to put the beloved carpet back on the floor after cleaning she was going show her dislike through self torture - that is - lie on the tiniest little pillow (35cm times 40cm) half under the washing. Time and again I find her acting more like a cat than a dog. Where did we go wrong? More creative projects are on the way!

My corners

I have little "shrines" around the apartment. They are mine to decorate and I aim to include new flea market buys, things from the past, candles, similar textures or colours. Each display may stay the same way for a day or for several months. Sometimes it is impossible to decorate the whole house according to all ones wishes but little corners seem like a suitable mouthful. Here is the top of my favorite cabinet. In the background is an old mirror. Leaning against it rotor blades (I think). Beautiful stones from the beach in shapes suitable for resting chopsticks on. A vase just recently bought which is why there are no flowers yet. A group of metal pastry bag tops. A silvercoloured candleholder. Metal letters bought this weekend cheaper than I had hoped for.

The clockhand has temporarily been separated from its clock. I like the way its fine details are mirrored.

Here a close-up of the pastry bag tops. I suppose they must be made of part tin to gain such a colour. There is something about grouping many of a kind. A calm to the repetition.

On my dining table - which is tiny - some thing usually accumulate. I liked that the same brown appeared in both vitamins and in mother nature's own fruit.

I took this picture later in the evening and thought it was interesting how different the cabinet looks - a mysterious aura about the whole thing. Now ferns have been added to the vase. It is getting to be autumn here...

Vintage button swap joy

And today I received Cathys vintage button swap package (say that fast!) and I was not disappointed. Everything was cute from the inside out as you see in the following photos. I think I am supposed to put these photos on flickr but I have yet to find out how. This first photo is of the items as they looked when I took them out of the bubble wrap envelope.

One cannot wait to open such a secret looking roll...

Here are the trims Cathy printed with her stamps. Does anyone know the name of the type of trim at the bottom of the photo?

The buttons themselves are so beautifully arranged that I have decided - of course - to keep them like that. The buttons look very old as if they are somehow handmade - I will have ask Cathy. The fabric reminds me of carefree girls dresses from times past. I guess it is also to do with the whole purple theme. Nothing better than colour coordinated packages!

Notice the needlework here. As they say it is all in the presentation.

Here are the cards Cathy sent with the package. They show different animals (which she knows I love) printed with her homemade stamps. Much better than the cards one can buy in the shops. See Cathys projects on http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathygaubert/

Simple food for the eyes

I promised pictures of the Japanese book I was inspired by when I made the stamps. So here goes all in a jumble but with the front page as the first one. The ISBN is 4-391-12991-4 and my copy was bought at yesasia.com. I can recommend the book just because it has so many cute images one can copy






Another dinner picture. What is this with food? But it does look good and it did taste good. On one side it is potato slices with thyme and some other herb I don't remember the name of (fresh from terrace garden) and on the other side tomatoes with smoked ham. Underneath is mozzarella. I seem to make healthy good tasting food when I am alone. Maybe because I am willing to wait for it...

Stamping away

So I started making stamps after I received this great Japanese book. I will post a picture next time for those of you who do not know it. My tools were not good enough so the details were hard if not impossible to scratch. Anyway, here are pictures of the ones I did make. This one is a purse though I have heard other interpretations - you know who you are!

This one is good for envelopes. I just write the address between the lines. Very cute

This was actually the first one I started one - oh so many small details

This one does not look enough like a children's shoe. This is also made on a different kind of rubber. Harder to work on

Here I managed to make some wrong cuts but I was getting tired...