one of the best parts of giving a gift is in the wrapping of it, don't you think?
i personalised a sort of card for a friend's birthday. this mini-project was so much fun - and so full of possibilities - i'm now combing the house for more pictures of family and friends. although... you could really use any random person, couldn't you? sort of like this but taking the idea to a different place...
i love making cards, but this valentine's day i decided to depart from the expected and made little valentine's "Surprise Holders" (you may call them boxes!) in lieu of cards. they were a little fiddly to make - some of the papers i used were on the thick side which made drawing out the little drawer a little tricky - but they were fun to make since fiddling is fine with me!
what do you think?
my uncle's wife is ill. she has been through the wringer for a long time and her poor body and amazing spirit have been subjected to much much more than any one person should ever have to bear. claire is an extremely talented textile artist, and when her daughter asked friends and family to contribute squares to what will be a "quilt of hope" for her mother, i was quick to get started, but as usual intimidated by the blank sheet of paper (ok, in this case piece of fabric) in front of me. is it me, or is the hardest part of any project getting an idea you can fully get behind? once i decide what i want to do, actually getting down to it has challenges of its own, but they pale in comparasion with the inspiration part of the project for me. i know i would do myself a favor if i just got out of my own way and got started with something - anything. claudine has a fun idea of giving yourself 20 mins to create something based on an idea you get from her podcast. i think it may be just what i need.
anyway, i was happy with the square i ended up with in the end. it feels extra good to contrubute something like this for claire in particular, because i know that she knows that there is great affection and all the good vibes in the world embedded with every single stitch.
tonight i am going to a reception the swedish-american chamber of commerce is throwing for its newer members - like me. i printed up new business cards to make sure i had a whole bunch (how's that for optimism?) and in a sudden fit of inspiration decided that my pretty business cards deserve a pretty little leather case just for them.
a million years ago i wrote about a pile of leather sofa swatches i came across and enthusiastically bought every single one - having no plan for them but knowing that they were way too good to pass up. i have used these swatches in so many things, and they are the perfect size for a little card case. yay! can you see the color well? it is a really beautiful beautiful shade of a cross between brown and grey and darky taupey. what color do you call that? it is rich and lush and gorgy!
off to the ambassador's residence dahlings!
i am a sucker for lists like these.
i like seeing what other people consider all-time great ("the corrections"?? you have to be kidding) and comparing it with what i like (at least we agree on "the heart is a lonely hunter"). and the source of the list doesn't much matter to me. it can be time magazine's list, granta's, or the guy next door's. from time's list, i have read 15 of the 100. not that that means anything in particular.
how many of these books have you read?
(ps - they did one for movies too.)
i am forever obsessing over a project in my mind - planning it, choosing the right materials, gearing up to make it - and then once ½-way completed i decide it looked much better in my mind's eye and end up either ripping it out and starting the obsession anew or just abandoning it altogether.
i bought this really cute denim coat a while back and it is cute enough on its own, but i thought a little embellishment would really make it special. something discreet on the cuffs (since the arms are too long!). but once i finally got around to doing it (i have absolutely no explanation as to why it took me so long to put this together - it isn't exactly advanced but it took me ages) it just didn¨t look right. a little too... country or something. and a bit too indiscreet. suddenly i was all cuff. riiip.
maybe some dark blue and dark green hardly visible embroidery is in my future.
my sister withheld from making her baby's 2nd birthday cake and very generously allowed all 3 of her darling daughter's doting aunts to combine forces and bake The Cake. ellen made the cookies, i baked the cake (the most delicious chocolate cake recipe EVER with buttermilk is in the spring MS Kids magazine - make it!) and marlene and i decorated it together. there is such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen, but this time i would say there was just the right amount.
