Designing a pouch pattern

The other day I saw this make up pouch with round shapes that was standing up. I loved the design and decided to give it a try to draw a pattern to make something similar. It's not perfect yet, but it worked out quite like I expected, and I'm proud of what I made.

On the inside is a beautiful, slightly tacky lining. I won't show you the details however - I still have to practice more in making pouches, getting the zipper in neatly and working with bias binding :) This took me to on a short but interesting sidepath to quilting by the way...

The zipper was used before and when the pouch was almost finished it broke of. I attached two hemp strings to fix this. All in all it's an experiment. But not a bad one for a first time.

Turning trash into treasures

Local opp shop Het Goed is quite an experience. Besides goods they have inspirational displays, activities and they often sell some items for a good cause. That's where I found this 'spoorblok' (railway block) made of the yellow timetables that are on every Dutch platform and station.

I bought it as a gift for someone I know who worked at the Dutch railways for many years. A 'dienstblad' (service tray) was another option. They're made by Verdraaid Goed, a brand that has many more items made of waste, all with fun names. Look at their webshop if you like.

(photo by treinpunt.nl)

The woman behind this great idea is Lisanne Addink-Dölle. An engineer and designer who wants to make the world a better place, by reusing trash and turning it into treasures. I love this spirit and it's great how she makes it work out.

(photo by treinpunt.nl)

Cooking like mom learned

Since 1910 the 'Wannee kookboek' is the elementary cookbook in the Netherlands. It's been updated and is still published today. It was written for girls at domestic science schools. When I heard about it I was eager to get a copy from the fifties, the time my mom learned cooking.

Last Friday I received my copy from a second hand book store. It's the 14th edition and it's fascinating. It's like traveling back in time. I love how simple things were: not that much kitchen utensils and not too many ingredients. It's very seasonal, straightforward and honest cooking.

Today I made chocolate custard. I was surprised the cacao and the cornstarch in my cupboard are of the exact same brands as mentioned in the recipe. I wonder if the package changed ;) And I know, I should decorate these deserts, but they are too delicious to disturb.

I'm really pleased with this book and will make a lot more from it.

Handmade from cousin to cousin

With another birthday coming up, I'd like to post about my daughters last handmade gift. How could I forget? My niece specifically asked for something handmade by her :)

We tend to give children of a certain age some money for their birthday, to save for something big or to add it together with gifts from others. I showed my daugther this book by 'angry chicken' Amy Karol and told her she could easily make the pouch on the front.

We altered the size to fit the two pieces of scrap fabric my daughter had chosen and this is what she made. I'm curious to see what she'll be making for another cousin now.

Building a chicken coop

I haven't posted for a while, but it's not that I've been doing nothing. With the help of a friend (or should I admit: I helped her) I have been building this chicken coop in my back yard.

We started sawing boards that I found in the attic of my shed. This was in the beginning of September. The weather was still excellent for painting several layers to protect the wood.

The coop gradually grew. This was somewhere along the project. I found a building plan on the internet and kept it as simple as I could adding my own touch to it here and there.

We built the coop with good and affordable materials. My friend came up with a lot of stray wood and ironware that could be perfectly re-used.

Meanwhile I read a bit about chickens. Because they originally live in the woods, I decided to make the stairway from branches that I collected in the forest at the foot of the Holterberg.

The perch is also made of a blown off branch. And I designed a custom made air hole ;)

Finally this clever chicken feeder was an idea of Rob Bob on Youtube. It works perfectly: our three chicks arrived last Thursday and they're eating, drinking and sleeping well.

Good crafting material is key

In an opp shop I found a lovely children's encyclopedia from the sixties. It has lots of simple drawings in beautiful colors and the paper feels good: strong and soft at the same time.

With my wooden template for small envelopes I cut out several pouches. They're great to attach to a present for example or to fill with seeds from the garden to give away.

On every page I look for the best spot on one side or the other. It's fun. And cutting every little envelope out by hand is somehow tranquilizing, because the paper is nice to work with.

Last night I ended halfway through the D-words and I still have to glue them together. With a contrastingly bright sticker to close they'll be excellent. Like the material and the making process.

Tonight is the night

Christmas dinner is one of the big and best events for my daughter at school and tonight is the night. For the first time she wants a special dress for the party and this is what she'll be wearing.

About a month ago she showed me this drawing of a dress she designed. Can you please make this for me? is what it says. It's got an extra big smile to try to convince me to do it.

Sewing is not a problem for me, but making patterns is another thing. A T-shirt that she'd just outgrown gave me an idea. It was fun: we cut bits of fabric and sewed as we went and my nine year old did whatever she could by herself.

Her summer shoes go better with the dress than her boots. The flowers are from 'Het grote zelfmaakboek voor meisjes'. She imagined they're great shoe decorations. And so they are. My daughter's very pleased with the result. I am proud of her and hope we'll be doing this much more.

Another easy and free pattern

My daughter's cowl had gotten baggy, but the yarn is still beautiful. Why not take the knitting apart and make something new? I lost my pencil case some time ago, so that's what it is. Completely made by hand, even the attachment of the zipper.

Would you like to make this easy little pencil pouch too? Take a look at my section with free pattern above on the right. It's in English and in Dutch. Have fun!

Piling up old cups and plates

My post on the crockery lamp earlier reminded me of an 'etagere' that I made a couple of years ago with my daugther at the local opp shop. Also using old crockery.

We picked a variety of old plates and cups. Here's what it looks like when she's having a party.

Careful when you wash up though. The first time it all came apart. With better glue it's been fixed and we treat it gently now.

Opp shop treasures

On my way to an appointment yesterday I had a great opp shop spree. I visited three different shops in one afternoon.

My catch: a gorgeous linnen navy blue dress, a sweet little yellow tupperware box, a great comic book that I had when I was about eight and this pretty little old flowerpot. I filled it with hydrangeas from my garden.

Crockery lamp

Summer holidays have been a creative time. One of the things I made was this lamp that was featured in 101 Woonideeën. They have lots of great DIY-ideas.

At the local opp shop I gathered a collection of different sizes of cups, saucers and bowls. I wanted them to match, but I also bought some extra to practise with.

You have to drill quite long and hard. I was surprised at how tough and at the same time fragile pottery can be. And how different one kind of pottery is from the next.

Tip: the drill and the cup can get hot. Rinsing the cup with cold water cools it down and leaving it undried makes the drilling easier. I broke a few cups. Luckily not the ones I really liked.