The London Report, part two

No London trip is complete with at least a little bit of shopping. And while shopping wasn't the primary goal of our trip, we did manage to stop by most of the stores I was hoping to visit. The Cass Art flagship store was great, as was Foyles and Forbidden planet (geek heaven!). And of course, the fabric and haberdashery sections at Liberty was fantastic as always. Above are my Liberty finds: gorgeous washi tapes, a pretty lavender sachet, and... What's in that white package, I wonder?

The above is a phone picture I snapped as we were unpacking our bags on Sunday. With the exception of apparel (because really, this is not a style blog - I doubt you'd be interested in a couple of Primark cardigans) and a few gifts, this is everything I bought on our trip. Of course, leave it to the librarian's daughter to pack her suitcase full of books she could just as well have bought online from the comfort of her living room... I can't help it, books just call out to me! But I also happen to think that books make great souvenirs - every time I pick up a particular book I'm reminded of how and where I got it, and that's the whole point of souvenirs, isn't it?

As you can see these books are mostly my regular brand of non-fiction, but there are a couple of craft/art books in there too. My plan is to learn how to draw faces and draw people in 2015! I also got some postcards, brushes and art masking fluid for a watercolor project I'm planning. And of course there are a few geeky things in there too - the Deathly Hallows key ring has since been turned into a necklace, and the chocolate frog has been devoured.

But now, for the all important fabric reveal. Get ready to drool!


Seriously, how amazing are these?? I've been trying to pick a favorite but it's just too hard! I love the Kayoko Tana Lawn, I bought it in red this time but I actually have it in another colorway (pink/cerise) as well. But I think my favorite of these is actually the red and green print at the top of the stack, I can see myself using that a lot next year. The only problem with Liberty fabrics is that they are so nice, you almost have to force yourself to cut into them. But I wan't these fabrics to be used, not just sit around, so I will have to get over that. Any tips on Liberty-worthy projects I should add to my list?

The London Report, part one

My one week blogging break somehow turned into two - my apologies! Things has been a bit hectic since we got back from London. The past week has been all about job hunting stuff, Amnesty activities, Christmas prep, and hosting a Glögg get together for most of my extended family. It's been a great week though!

So, time for a report from our trip. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and left Sunday morning, so in all we had three and a half days in London. It felt like a lot of time beforehand, but of course time flies when you're having fun! Still, I do think we managed to find the perfect mix of shopping, sightseeing, good eats and just hanging out with friends.

The most time consuming (and fun!) thing we did was the tour of the WB Harry Potter studios in Leavsden - our bus left at 8 am Thursday morning and we weren't back in the city until 3 in the afternoon. It was totally worth the time though, there's so much to see! I loved the whole experience, but some favorites included seeing the Diagon alley set, the Great Hall and the amazing set of Dumbledore's office which had SO much detail. We spent about three hours going through the exhibit but you could easily spend another five I think!

My birthday on Friday started with a huge breakfast at Pret a Manger - I used to work at Pret when I lived in London so I am naturally biased, but I just LOVE Pret sandwiches. Then we spent a couple of hours exploring St Paul's cathedral - despite living in and visiting London a ton of times, I had never been up in the dome before. The last part of the climb was a bit nerve-wracking, but the view from the top more than made up for it. If you're curious, there's a virtual tour of sorts on the St. Paul's website. After a bit of shopping and a change of clothes at our hotel we headed out for an amazing dinner and cakes with our friends Johanna and Marc, who had booked a fantastic indian restaurant (I love indian food) for the occasion. A great time was had by all!

On Saturday we did a bit more shopping, and then headed to the V&A museum for the necessary dose of culture (my dad the librarian would be disappointed in me if I spent all that time in London without visiting at least one museum). V&A was fantastic, even Johanna who is not usually a museum fan was swayed. The evening was spent at Johanna and Marc's place in Wapping, enjoying some excellent vegetarian shepherd's pie (beer might have been involved as well) and talking. And then on Sunday morning it was time to check out and head back home. I can't believe how much fun we managed to squeeze into those four days, but it was tough to go back home again. Can't wait to come back again!

In my next post I thought I'd show you some of the shopping I did. I didn't buy too much in the way of clothing, but I did get a lot of books, craft supplies, and of course, fabric! We didn't make it to Goldhawk road for fabric shopping in the end, but that was probably just as well since I already spent a ton of money on fabric at Liberty. Lucky for me, Keith's parents had made a secret deal with him that if I found something I loved that they would pay for part of it as their birthday present to me. A big thanks to Maria and Dennis! Anyway, more on that later. I'm off to start wrapping the Christmas presents!

ETA: I almost forgot to mention: I'm guest blogging today over at The Pickled Herring today for Kathryn's Scandinavian Christmas series! My post this year is about making pomander oranges, one of my favorite Christmas decorations. Head over there if you's like to read my tutorial!

December is here!

I can't believe it's December already! I'm already starting to feel the holiday cheer, and since this weekend was advent first, I don't feel guilty for getting started on the Christmas decorations. But before I go into full Christmas mode, I have something else to focus on: This is the week we are going to London to celebrate my 30th birthday! I've been looking forward to it for months and I am thrilled to finally be going. I will be taking a blogging break for the rest of the week, but I hope to be back next week with lots of pictures from our trip. Have a great week!

Crafty London

Exciting news: I'm going to London in less than a week! It's my birthday next week (turning thirty - eek) and we're flying over to celebrate and to spend time with one of my closest friends, Johanna, and her boyfriend Marc. I used to live in London when I was younger and I absolutely love the city - and the last time I was there was in 2011 so it was about time for another visit!

Now, we only have 3,5 days in the city and we want to have as much time as possible to hang out with Johanna and Marc, but I couldn't resist putting some crafty things on the to-do list as well. I thought I'd share them here as inspiration, if you're planning a visit to London anytime in the future.

Image by Gryffindor (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

1. Liberty of London. Of course, no visit to London is complete without a trip to Liberty's. This department store has an amazing fabric section selling (among other things) the signature flowery fabrics. I plan to stock up on some Tana Lawn and soak up the atmosphere before taking on Oxford street.

2.Cass Art. When I started looking around for the best arts and crafts shops in London, this one kept popping up in all my searches. Looks like they have a great selection of paints and tools, can't wait to visit!

3. Paperchase. As a stationery nut I LOVE Paperchase products, but unfortunately they don't ship to Sweden. So I'm planning on stocking up during my visit!

4. IF we have the time, I would so love to visit the fabric shops on Goldhawk Road. Apparently, this is THE place to shop for fabric at reasonable prices. It is going a bit off since we will be staying in and spending most of our time around Shoreditch, and I'm not sure whether we'll find the time. If we do go I promise I will update you on my loot!

Image by Karen Roe, The Making of Harry Potter 29-05-2012 [CC-BY-3.0] via Wikimedia Commons (image has been cropped)

We have lots of not-so-crafty plans as well, for example we will be spending almost an entire day at the Harry Potter Studios outside London. What can I say, I'm a geek! Also, Keith has only visited London once before so some touristy stuff is a must. A lot of the "standard" sights we did last time he went, like Trafalgar square, Parliament, that sort of thing. We've done the London Eye and visited Tate Modern, so this time I'm thinking the St. Pauls whispering gallery, the Tower (I loved it when I visited as a kid!) and the V&A museum (I've never been!). And I'm also considering booking a Jack the Ripper tour of Soho - a fun way to introduce Keith to some of the history of the city.

I can't wait! I promise I will share some pics of the trip once we're back home again.

"Attention: Craft" Exhibit

I love exploring all the crafty things that Stockholm has to offer! My mom and her husband came to visit recently, and we took the opportunity to go and see the "Attention:Craft" exhibit at Liljevalchs art gallery. It was a pretty small exhibit, but there were several fantastic pieces which I thought I would share with you.

I think this one is my favorite - it's a waterfall (hard to tell in the photo but it's massive, several meters high) made entirely of old recycled denim! Isn't it amazing? The artist's name is Hanne Friis, she makes really thought-provoking textile art.

My mom's husband is into woodworking, so of course we spent a while looking at this fantastic sculpture. It's entirely made of wood, no metal nails or screws. I could barely stop looking at it, it's so fascinating!

This fabric piece is meant to resemble an autopsy - it was quite disturbing! 

Lots and lots of beautiful metal bowls - I was so tempted to try and steal them all home with me! I especially love the turquoise designs in the forefront, they would look so perfect on our living room table... Oh well, maybe I'll be a millionaire one day and able to buy all art that catches my eye.

We spent maybe an hour going through the exhibits, and combined that with a lunch at the excellent museum restaurant and (of course) a look through the gift shop. If you are in Stockholm and have an hour or so to spare, I would definitely recomment a trip to Liljevalchs. The "Attention:Craft" is on for another couple of weeks, so there's still time!

Wedding weekend

We have had a busy weekend! We left for Gothenburg on Friday afternoon, and on Saturday we had the joy of attending a wonderful wedding on a friend's estate north of the city. The beech forest was such a magical setting for a wedding - my pictures don't do it justice... Many congratulations to Jonas and Camilla!

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!

Back from my vacation

I had a great week visiting my parents and my sister, and of course my little niece. Stella is completely adorable! My father, Keith and I were the first to visit her, just four days after she was born. I thought I'd share a photo of her wearing the little booties I made!

Most of my vacation week was spent at my mom's house, relaxing, enjoying the countryside and of course, crafting! I spent an entire day helping my mom organize her fabric stash. It was a lot of fun sorting through all that fabric. We found lining fabric from a jacket my mom made for me when I was a child, left over corduroy from an awful pair of trousers I made in high school, and scraps from all sorts of other projects. We are both very proud of the result - what do you think?

We also arrived at the house at the perfect time for berry picking, so we spent a lot of time picking raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and gooseberries. My mother and her husband-to-be have the most amazing wild raspberry plants in their garden, they pick like a kilo every day and there are still berries left! So of course Keith and I couldn't pass up the chance to take home some amazing home made jam and juice!

The picture shows all the berry goodness we brought home with us: raspberry jam, raspberry and blackcurrant jam, raspberry juice, rhubarb syrup and fresh redcurrants. Are you jealous yet?

I'll leave you with a shot of some of the lovely flowers in mom's garden. Pretty, aren't they?

Say hello to Stella!

Yes, I am now officially an aunt! Little Stella was born yesterday at 11.57. My sister sent the adorable cellphone picture, and I can't wait to meet the little cutie. I will be leaving for my mom's house today, and we're going up to visit Stella and her parents together. I will be away for about a week, but hopefully I'll be able to blog from my mom's computer once or twice. Have a good week while I'm off in baby land! :-)

Craft fair fun

I'm back! We had a great weekend at Keith's parents, with lots of crafty inspiration. On Sunday, we visited a craft fair where Keith's grandmother and little sister were selling some of their creations. Tons to see! I didn't buy much since I need to save my money this month, but it was great to walk around and just look at all the beautiful things. The things I did get are this lovely apron made by Keith's grandma, made of a pretty and practical waxed fabric - perfect for my messy baking! - and a cute handmade card.

Oh, and check this out: We drove to the fair IN STYLE!

This awesome 1960 Dodge Phoenix belongs to Keith's dad, who is a mechanic and nuts about classic cars. We had so much fun riding with the windows down and singing rock'n'roll tunes!

Since I got back I've been busy carving stamps for the rubber stamp swap I'm in, and I also found the time to do some more baby crafting. I love Heather Bailey's Bootie pattern, so I thought I'd try it out. Here's my slightly lopsided first attempt:

I hope my sister won't mind that they're blue! I was looking for a nice color combo, and didn't stop to think about the fact that blue is supposed to be a "boy color" (I think that's rubbish anyway) before they were half finished. Oh well, I'll just have to make a matching dress then! :-)

Oh, and since they have all been received now, here are my latest Artist Trading Cards, made for the Alphabet ATC swap at Craftster. I'm really proud of them. What do you think?