Finally some time to myself

With Christmas over and a few days off from work I finally had time to do some felting. I’d had a picture in the back of my head for along time inspired by a line in a book. It’s funny because I cant remember the rest of the book, it was probably just crap but that single line stuck like glue. In every corner of your heart let loves own flower grow. It made me think about the many different aspects of love. The love you feel for your children, your friends or the man in your life. How frail love is and how you must nourish and water the flower in order for it to grow. And I thought a lot about how there was a time in my life when my heart felt all dried up and how much I had to water it before a tiny little bulb developed, grew and finally blossomed. .

I wanted to use my long longed for creativity time well….The needle felting, the embroidery and the patch work can be done when ever I have a few moments over but the wet felting procedure has to be finished when begun so with time on my hands I decided to wet felt more than one piece. That way I could also have a few different projects to continue working on in the future. Boy am I smart!

Want to see how I spent my time?

Ready to go

Building the image

Pouring hot soap water over the wool


Gently felting the wool with cirkular movements

Working the wool in the zink . The harder you work it the thicker it will get. If you feel really adventourus you can throw it in the washing machine and then in the tumble dryer.....

The finished embryo.

When dry I can continue with needle felting and embroidery.

The rest of the felted pieces.

As you can all see I had a really happy afternoon. I think the wet felting part is the most challenging and therefore also the most fun. You never really know what the finished result will look like. I did four different pieces with a “heart theme” and on one I tried out a few silhouettes. I usually work best when I have a receiver for the piece that I’m working on so while I was working I decided that when finished one of the felted hearts is going to be a late Christmas present to a couple that are very dear to me. Their love is a constant source of joy, happiness and inspiration. I know they read my blog so I want tell you which one it is…..

And now the embryo is done I have needle felting and embroidery still to do. I hope to get started to night ….. Oh joy!

Lots of Love to you all!

Jeanette

The art of being nice

Yesterday in the middle of a crowd of hectic Christmas shoppers two men started to fight over a parking lot. That got me thinking of the art of being nice. Isn’t that what Christmas is all about? What life is about in fact? What is happening with us people? I know that a “nice person” often is considered stupid, naïve or submissive but for me a nice person is someone who lives with empathy and ethics in his heart. A nice person is never stupid. No in fact he is very smart because he has understood that what we do for others we also do for ourselves.

I know that sometimes you wake up feeling a lot like a cactus. That it’s very hard to find a reason for getting up and is even harder finding a reason for being nice. Angry and in a foul mood you stand in front of the bathroom mirror grimacing to yourself. That’s when you should try smiling! Smile as big as you can although the corners of your mouth are drooping. Smile again and feel how something inside is thawing. It’s very hard to be angry and smile at the same time. Then go out in the world and smile at everyone you meet. Give a big smile to your family at the breakfast table, smile at the bus driver, the letterman and the old lady walking her dog. Smile at your colleagues, the cleaning lady and your boss. A smile stops your mind from being stony and your soul from freezing to ice. A smile is universal. All people smile the same way irrespective of race, color or religion. A smile is the shortest way between two people’s hearts.

And when you master the art of smiling it’s time to start practicing on your laughter. A laugh makes your whole body relax, frees endorphins and counteract stress. If you laugh at your self it makes you more humble and helps you not to take yourself too seriously. A laugh unites people and is the easiest way to reach someone’s heart.

I know it’s not always easy to smile, to laugh or to be nice. And there are days when we don’t succeed. But the most important thing is to carry on trying because under the surface there is something good in almost everyone you meet. With some you might have to search longer or deeper than with others but if you look really hard it’s there! You never know what the people around you are carrying in their emotional backpack. Somewhere deep inside is the playing child hidden. The one they where before life took a wrong turn. If you bear this in mind whenever you meet someone unfamiliar you will be surprised at what you will find. Prejudice and fear very often stops us from really seeing each other! So be curious of the people you meet.

Life is short and love is frail. You never know what life has awaiting for you round the corner. So why not give a huge smile to the people you meet and practice the art of being nice.

I wish you all a joyful and happy holiday!

Jeanette

Glögg

Yesterday we lit the first advent candle. Unbelievable how fast time flies. Only three weeks left before Christmas is here and not a present is bought. The letterbox is filled with leaflets and junk mail everyday. All of them with the same message – buy, buy, buy! But I refuse to be stressed. . I decided years ago to try not to be like my mom who stood in the kitchen on Christmas eve totally stressed out and crying. We always celebrate Christmas at my house and along with the invitation is a list of what food to bring. My daughters makes small gifts for everyone because I think it’s important not only to receive but also to give but we grownups don’t give each other any presents. And my birthday is on the 26:th so I get presents anyway. Ha, ha! So on the whole it’s a stress free Christmas for everyone involved.

I try to make a new Advent candle holder each Christmas and this is was this year’s look like.


On Advent sunday we always put the outdoor lighting up. And every year it`s the same. We put all the stuff up before we acually check out if the lights work. And of course it never does. Work I mean! This year we decided to do just the opposite. With a help from a friend.




Another tradition on Advent Sunday is to drink Glögg. Glögg is similar to the Old English mulled wine or German Glühwein; each is just slight variations on a heart-warming winter drink.

Do you want the recipe? Here is two just for the fun of it:

GLÖGG 1

Boil together in 1 pint of water: 15 whole cardamom seeds (peeled) 7 tsp. cloves 4 sticks of cinnamon the peel from 2 oranges (take out white)

HOW TO DO IT: ~ Boil for 20 minutes, cool and strain. Add 2 quarts of Claret wine (or a good Burgundy) and one quart of vodka. Add 2 cups sugar (or to your taste). When heating for serving, add a few raisins and an almond to the (each) cup.

GLÖGG 2

1 bottle of red wine (cheap) 1/4 - 1/2 cup (0,5 - 1 dl) vodka (not spicy) 5 - 20 pcs. of cloves (whole cloves) 1 large teaspoon of cardamom seeds 2 - 4 pcs. (sticks) of cinnamon 1 - 2 pcs. of ginger Peels from half a lemon 1/2 - 1 cup of sugar 1 large teaspoon of vanilla sugar

HOW TO DO IT: Crush cinnamon and cardamom. Peel lemon. Put all spices + peels in a glass jar with the vodka. Cover. Leave over night. Strain the vodka, toss the spices. Mix the now spicy vodka with wine and sugars. Heat all ingredients in a large kettle until steaming hot. Do not boil! Stir and taste. If not sweet enough, add sugar. If too sweet, add vodka and wine. Serve with peeled almonds and raisins.

( photo: dl.nu)

A word of caution though. Go easy on the drinking. A Glögg induced hangover is no laughing matter. Once, in my irresponsible (and wild) youth I overdid the Glögg drinking a bit and it took years before I could even smell the stuff. But now I`m back to enjoying a glass or two.


Speaking of poison are you wondering what happened to the rat at our country house? Well he is gone to meet his maker but unfortunately a lot of friends showed up for the funeral so we are back to square one…..So if you have any suggestions of how to get rid of them that doesn’t contain snakes ( sorry Angela) or other dangerous animals please let me know

Busy times in Santas workshop

My husband says my workroom looks like Santas workshop and always enters with a Hoo, hoo , hoo. He`s a funny guy my husband eh ? You can hardly see my computer for all the lace, wire, pearls, finished and unfinished objects lying about. And I spend long happy hours in there making presents and Christmas cards and decorations for my home.


Last week I had a “Teddy Bear period” and made Teddy bears out of moss for a friend to sell in her shop. We gave all of them names and hope they will be adopted by kind people.

Please, please adopt me and take good care of me!

Right know I’m in an “angel period” and I’m making angels by the dozen. In all kind of shapes and materials. I am not religious but for me angels is a symbol of peace and warmth and peace and warmth sort of sums up the holiday spirit too. For me Christmas is about family and friends. I can do without a lot of things ( probably not the tree though) but there will be absolutely no Christmas spirit if I don’t get lot of opportunities to sit down with family and friends drinking glögg, eating gingerbreads and chocolate, (lots of chocolate) and talk until the wee hours of the morning.

There is one other thing that I can`t do without or else it’s not Christmas – I have to watch Grinchen. I am no fan of Jim Carrey’s other movies ( Ace Ventura makes me itch and get nervous) but I adore Grinchen. The film is about what really matters at Christmas. So late at night when everyone else is asleep and the house is quiet I light lots of candles, make myself a tray full of goodies and sit down to enjoy Grinchen! I especially like the part with " Hate, hate, double hate". If you haven`t seen it - Do!

The Grinch, the Grinch.....he has stolen Christmas.....

Handmade proudly presents.....

……four new blogs on my link list! Pay them a visit and you will return full of inspiration.


Lantlif
A lovely blog with a home decorating theme and lots and lots of shabby chic!

Anna Stilla
Beautiful photos and quiet words describing her life up north. Low key in a very nice way!

Janey`s journey
Janey does incredible and colorful drawings mostly in watercolor, ink and markers. I LOVE her cats! Go check them out!

Modern Country
Another blog full of inspiration if you like your home to be shabby chic!

X-mas spirit....

I have a confession to make. I am addicted to Christmas. And now is the best time…..when it’s still a few weeks away and you feel that you have all the time in the world to make this Christmas the best ever. I buy all the glossy Christmas Magazines and borrow tons of “do it yourself Christmas inspiration books” at the library and then I just sit there happily reading soaking up on the Christmas spirit. For me Christmas is the smell of fir, cinnamon, hyacinths, oranges and gingerbreads. Especially oranges. When I was a kid we had oranges in the shops only in December ( No, I’m not 95 going on 100) so now when you have them all year round it’s not really the same. But there are still moments when I feel the smell and it takes me right back to younger days….The best with Christmas is planning the decorations- both for the tree and the house. I usually do a lot of it myself and try to make something new every year. I’m not in to the overloaded, all pimped up kind of Christmas I’m more of a “less is more” girl and flowers, moss, candles and wire is important ingredients. When November comes my husband sighs and says that our house turns in to Santa’s workshop but he usually likes the finished result

The Christmas tree is a story of its own. To say I’m meticulous is a huge understatement. No one want’s to come with me and buy it anymore….Do you want to know why? Okey, here goes. . A few years back ( six in fact) I decided that we should cut down our own tree. I had this dream about us in a sleigh, snow slowly falling and hot chocolate in a thermos. That it was us in a Volvo with the rain falling was just a minor disappointment. I still sat in the car happily humming jingle bells….. So of we went to a wood outside town were a smart merchant had made good business out of stupid people like me hunting the Christmas spirit. One tree was uglier than the other. My daughters grew tired of the tree hunt first. They sat down on a fallen tree and asked me to come get them when I had found one. My husband joined them shortly after. After an hour and a half of “to short, to big, to wide, to thin, to ugly” the language started to get nasty. They threatened with leaving without me. I closed my eyes and chose one in random. My lumberjack of a husband quickly cut it down. Boy, was it ugly. No were like the Disney variety I was seeking….and I had to pay a fortune! At first no one dared to utter a word in the car but after a while my husband started to giggle and the daughters fell in and then I had to laugh too. My anger and disappointment….it was all so ridiculous. And nowadays this is a milestone in our Christmas memories and the daughters say oh yes, that was the year when we cut our own tree….

But still no one want’s to come with me and buy one. I wonder why?

My longing for Christmas usually starts come end of October but I try to hold out until the end of November. But yesterday I couldn’t help myself I just HAD to buy a hyacinth and make a wire angel…..Hurray! Soon Christmas is here!

I made the wire angel out of just one piece.....bending and bending.

A challenge but great fun!

Where is the fairy god mother…..

….. and the freaking mice when you need them? There I was lying on all four scrubbing the floor with soft soap feeling exactly like Cinderella and not a single bibidi bobidi boo was heard. I just had to keep on scrubbing muttering to my self that this fairy stuff is highly overrated if you ask me. And the ball at the castle? Well not much of that to look forward to either. Must be due to the fact that we haven’t got any letterbox yet and the king’s men had nowhere to put the invitation! Anyway the finished result was worth every teeth grinding minute of scrubbing. The floor was so smooth and the room smelled wonderful. Did I mention that I really should be ashamed of myself for complaining? No? Well you see my own prince charming did most of the really hard stuff (like sandpaper down the whole floor….after building the inner roof) and not once did he ask around for a fairy god mother …… or talking mice! Who needs a ball at the castle with a husband like that!

Bibidi bobidi boo....

Speaking of mice. The rat problem still isn’t solved but I bought rat poison and placed up on the attic so hopefully we are getting there. I also rat secured the kitchen by putting anything edible in cupboards’ and glass jars. While cleaning out the kitchen I found a package of hard bread that the rat had been eating on and that confirmed my suspicions that we are dealing with a giant mutant rat with beaver size teeth. I felt a bit bad about the poison though. I am an animal lover and I would much rather leave him a note asking him politely to leave but somehow I think that a note just wouldn’t do the trick here. My dear blogfriend Angela in Australia recommended a carpet snake. Maybe I can hire hers on a monthly basis? Well Angela, thanks but no thanks. Snakes make a good second on my most NOT wanted list. So poison it will have to be.

Giant teeth....

Besides scrubbing and poisoning rats I had a lovely vacation. I tried a few different wire work techniques’ and made an angel and a “Victorian bird feeder” to hang in my garden.

Wire work Angel



Victorian Bird feeder

I took long early morning walks on my own just enjoying the fact that it’s a beautiful world and that I’m alive and well and privileged to live in the middle of it. If you slow down your pace there are a lot of life’s small miracles to discover. Did you know that you can see the sky in a dew drop if you look closely enough?

Morning mist over the fields

Dew on a spiders nest in the purple cabbage

The sky in a dew drop




Slow down and take time to enjoy life`s small miracles !