Back to school

We're back from Riga! We had a great time, there was so much to see. We visited the amazing beaches outside the city,swam in the sea, got massages, rode a pedal boat on the canal, shopped, visited loads of interesting museums, rode go-carts and watched 4D cinema, and walked around the beautiful Vecriga (Old Town) and Art Nouveau districts. My feet were so sore after 4 days of sightseeing!

But now we are back home - and school has started! It was a bit of a shock at first, but I'm really enjoying being a student again! It looks like I'm going to be really busy in the coming weeks, so I probably won't be blogging as much as I'd like... But tonight I wanted to share something that's on my mind a lot these days:

Fun and pretty school supplies!

1. hand bound journal 2. pencil case 3. organizer 4. pencil cup 5. book pin 6. stationery sampler 7. letterhead set 8. tote bag 9. note cards 10. custom bookplates 11. journal 12. note cards 13. stikcy notes 14. pencil case 15. journal 16. mini planner

Aren't they just lovely? I want them all!

Off on holiday!

Hi everyone! Guess what? I'm off on holiday next week! Keith and I will be spending a week in Riga, Latvia. A lively, historic and romantic city that I have wanted to visit for a long time!

Have a great week, I hope to have a lot of fun photos to show you once I get back!

Chocolate OD - Oreo Brownies

Time for some baking! I found a marvelous recipe for Oreo brownies on Craftster the other day and I just knew I had to try it. I think they turned out quite well, and Keith loved them. They're extremely chocolate-y!

If you'd like to try them yourselves, the recipe can be found in this post. Since I couldn't find any Brownie mix (in Sweden we still like to bake from scratch!) I used this great brownie recipe. Go on, try it, you know you want to!

Also, there's a great giveaway going on over at Handmade Giveaways blog - check it out for a chance to win a cute little coin purse!

Recently received

I've been lucky enough to receive some really lovely things in recent swaps, so I thought I'd make you jealous! :-)

This first item is a beautifully made fabric bowl, made by Kwality570 on Craftster. Isn't it amazing? I gave it to my mom, and when I visited her last week we tried to make a couple of fabric bowls ourselves. They turned out NOTHING like this, I can tell you! :-)

Next up are two neat homemade soaps, and 3 great custom magnets (do you recognize Stella?), both received in the Craftster Sweat Shoppe Swap. The soaps smell great and I gave the magnets to Stella's parents who liked them a lot.

And last but not least, these lovely ATCs made by Jody, received in a private swap at Swap-bot. I love these pretty vintage ladies!

Looking for inspiration?

In a crafty rut? Blogs, Flickr and Craftster are all great ways to find crafty inspiration, but to me there's nothing quite like looking through a really good craft book. It might have something to do with the fact that my dad is a librarian, but I'm a total book nerd. I just love the look and feel of a nice book!

Here are some of the craft books I'm coveting right now:

Art Stamping Workshop by Gloria page. I would love to take my stamp carving to the next level, and this looks like a book that could help me. Lots of nice images, ideas and techniques!

Pretty Little Presents from Lark Books. The latest from the "Pretty Little" series, this little book caught my attention because I like making things for other people and I would love some new gifts ideas!

Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray. I love Aimee's style, and as I am always doodling on scrap bits of paper, I think this type of embroidery would suit me!

Warm Fuzzies by Betz White. I've been following Betz's blog for a while, and she has a really unique style. I have a bunch of felted sweaters that I have been meaning to play around with, and there are so many ideas in Betz's book!

Family fun at the fair

I just wanted to share some pics of what I have been up to this week... It was so much fun having Stella and her parents here! The Molly doll seemed to go over well, too:

Kisses! Stella loves softies, so I have a hunch I'll be making a few more for her over the years! :-)

We had a great week. We spent an entire day at Liseberg amusement park, going on all the kiddy rides and winning a huge prize on a chocolate wheel! We also spent a day in Haga, a lovely historic neighborhood here in Göteborg with lots of fun shops and nice cafés. Here's Stella and me hainging out by a fountain at Järntorget:

I hope you all had a good week too!

Molly Monkey Doll

Hi all! This is a scheduled post, because I am way too busy this week to find time for blogging... Baby Stella and her parents are in town visiting us for an entire week! Yay!

I decided it was about time I made Stella a nice doll (she's over a year old now you know!) and I decided on this pattern from the talented mmmcrafts. It came out so well, I might have to make another one!

The little monkey doll is a free pattern on the mmmcrafts blog, and it was just a joy to make! Really clear instructions, even for someone with limited sewing skills like me! :-) And I just love the pattern, the proportions are perfect... Those long skinny legs are too cute!

Here is Molly packaged up and ready to go to... Along with some more goodies for Stella. Being an auntie rocks, I love making toys and playthings and now I have the best excuse! :)



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Artist Trading Cards

These are some of the ATCs I've been making in the past months. This first one is a replacement for a card that got lost in the mail, grr! I've never had mail go missing before so I was a bit upset. But I quite like the replacement!

These next two are zetti themed. I've been playing around a bit with the zetti style, but I still feel like I don't quite "get it"... Do any of yoy ATC makers out there have inspiration tips?

And this last one was for a feminist ATC swap, it was great fun! I love the quote, it's from a feminist website.

Meet mr Raccoon!

Keith and I have a wall in our living room that has been almost bare ever since we moved into our apartment two years ago. My plan has always been to arrange photos, prints, and some of my embroidery there, I've just never get round to it. But last week I bought some wonderful wall art on Etsy, it'll be perfect for this space!

Meet mr Raccoon and mr Cheetah! These prints were bought from Berkley Illustration, a wonderful Etsy shop which sells the most amazing animal portraits! I wanted to get them all, but in the end Keith and I chose one each.

Aren't they great? They're so realistic, and there's so much emotion in those eyes! Next on my wish list is White Rabbit or Crow.

Check out the Berkley Illustration Etsy shop and blog! You can even buy their art at Urban Outfitters now!

Simple sewing for Stella!

I have some sewing to show you - about time isn't it! Last month I received some lovely fabric charm squares in a a swap, and I knew at once what they would become. Here are the squares, along with some very pretty buttons:

Here's an in progress shot. As you can see, my kitchen table is where I do most of my crafting! :-)

And here is the result - a doll quilt for my niece! Stella turns one in a couple of days, and she had her birthday and namegiving party last weekend. My mom bought her a really cute little dolls bed, so I made this little quilt to match.

I matched the charms with some fabric in my stash, and I think it turned out quilt nice. I really like this color combo!