Presents

I am always looking forward to preparing presents for neighbors and girls (who are just colleagues, not friends). This year I crocheted some mistletoe leaves to decorate the wooden pendants with Christmas motives. I found the instructions in a book that you can see in the picture. Ž said that they look like propellers, not mistletoe leaves. Well…

Usually I make presents for our neighbors but this year I thought of giving each of them a box of dried persimmon and a laurel twig. I have some ideas for the future years written down but I will probably have to start working on them sooner than in the middle of December. What I disliked this year was buying presents for the kids of Ž’s colleagues. I will have to figure out how to make this easier next year. They are all loaded with toys and I think that they don’t need more than they already have.

So, now I am already thinking of a birthday present for my mom. I guess I will be making lace again. :-)

Kult

My source of information is mostly limited to the radio, to what my colleagues tell me, to those poster advertisements that can be seen on the streets, to the Internet, books, some magazines (yes, garden ones!) and to the Sunday newspaper that is delivered to my house. I used to read the newspaper each morning before I went to school or work when I was still living with my parents, and later with B. Weather forecast, last page news, events for the day, science, culture, sport, travels, international news pages and front page. Morning ritual. Cocoa milk, bread, marmalade and newspaper. :)

Since living in my own house, I read only Sunday newspaper. I still prefer paper to the screen, I hardly read any news on the Internet although there are (too) many. It is still a special feeling when I flip through the pages and read the news that editors have chosen for us. Sitting in my armchair with a cup of tea. Every Friday one of the Slovenian newspapers issues a few pages about design, fashion, travels, architecture, books, culinary and style under the name Kult. Right, you can guess yourself that this means "cult" in English. I love to read those pages and my mom always saves them for me. I am learning by reading these pages how to ask myself questions about simple things in life - like who invented toothpaste or Bazooka chewing gum, for example. Many times answers can be found on those few pages every Friday. Though, I don't think that there was an article about quilling published; yet. :)
I was creative yesterday, a bit. Of course, quilling was on the schedule again. I practiced some mathematics, too (it was fun!) and did my first poster in Illustrator (which was fun, too). I am looking forward to this weekend very much because work has become very stressful during this week. And I know that by tomorrow afternoon it will be finished, at least that unpleasant part of it...

Cozyness

It started to snow. It is a total chaos out there on the streets. I might make a little snowman in front of my door in the afternoon. Shoveling the snow away from the street in front of my house is waiting for me this afternoon. Winter's tale.

These last days I was reading a book. I couldn't wait to sit down in the evening and start reading again. Chloë by Freya North. Reviews don't give it any credits but I liked it. One of those fairytales. I used to live in one. Some time ago.Also some plants started to bloom at this time of a year. Amaryllis. Two of them. Red and pink-white. Both with two stems. And both orchids, too. Pink and white. And one of the cacti. White. Lovely.

Two days ago I played with the paper again; I found so many magnificent blogs about kirigami. Japanese paper folding and cutting. People make amazing things. I started with the little elephants. Tutorial was found here.

I was invited to go to Ikea tomorrow. Of course I didn't say no. I will be back behind the screen on Friday, hopefully. :)

Angels

For Floortje and all of you, creative people. Picture taken at Waldorf Christmas fair last November. I might create a mobile like that myself someday. Lovely soft colors. 15 Euro each.

Holiday spirit

My mom came around in the afternoon and brought me a magazine with Christmas ideas (crafts, recipes, ...). I liked some of them, one of them is this one on a photo. I realized in the evening that first advent Sunday is not so very far away and that it would be time to make some decorations for windows (yes, they will be the same paper stars like last year but maybe of different color) and for front door, as well.

I intend to visit a Christmas fair at Waldorf school next Saturday where I will try to buy some organic vegetable seeds and hopefully some other nice things, too. I did not attend the workshop that was held there yesterday, and I hardly managed to stay at the course in the evening. This time we talked about typography, one of the most interesting topics for me. I have always liked different kinds of letters and every now or then I change the writing when I write on computer. It is interesting, that like an inclination to some colors also inclination to some different kind of writing changes through the years in my life.

I will stay at home tomorrow, hopefully I will fully recover by Saturday. Happy Friday & weekend, too!

Where did it go?

Two days passed too quickly again. I had full list of things that I wanted to accomplish and eventually ticked a couple of them.

I visited Furniture Fair on Saturday but I haven't seen anything there that I would have admired. Everything had been seen before. Here are a few photos of the things I liked. Colors or only shapes and patterns...
Yesterday Ž mentioned that I needed a stove in my living room. After so much work and still not finished house, I got angry at first but later I actually liked the idea. I am just so afraid of all that noise and dust that follows if you build in something like a stove in a room. I suggested that I go on a holiday while this would be done. Well, at this moment this is just an idea. There is so much we have to do before that.
I baked again. Curd pastry filled with grated apples and raisins soaked in rum. Bread in shape of a little star. I will try some other varieties of the latter (fruit version or spiced bread) because this would be a lovely Christmas present for our neighbors. Ideas. It feels so good when they fill my head from time to time...

I finally finished the kusudama ball. Well, I made two halves and today I will put them together. It took me about five hours to make all those flowers. I also tried to make some Christmas decoration, the green ball came out quite nice. You can make one yourself, if you like it too. I am still thinking what kind of Christmas cards should I make this year. I wish to start early this time, I always make everything in the last moment, although I promise myself to do it early...