Lovely flower DIY: Using a Kenzan for a shallow vase

Hello everyone!  Today I would like to start a new column and show you some simple tricks to make nicer bouquets at home. The first trick I would like to show you today comes from Japan and is primarily used for the traditional Japanese floral arrangements called Ikebana.  A kenzan, also called spiky frog or flower frog is a specific metallic device used for fixing the flowers in the container. It consists of a heavy lead plate with erected brass needles where the stems are fixed. You can find them on amazon for example and they cost between 3 and 30 € depending on their size.  A kenzan is perfect for arranging bouquets in shallow vases such as bowls or small pedestal vases. It helps keeping flowers with very short stems in the water.  It is a very nice to arrange flowers on a table for dinner party for example, so that you can for instance see the person sitting in front of you. It also works very well if you want to create a vignette on a table in living room. For this bouquet, I decided to mix peonies with garden roses, as I think that they really work well together.

Your bouquet step by step: 1- Place the Kenzan at the bottom of the vase and fill the vase with water. 2- Cut the stems very short and take out almost all the leaves. 3- Pick the flowers one by one in the vase, so that the bouquet is pleasant to look from all sides. (especially if it is for a table centre).

So that's it for today people! I hope you liked this little floral DIY and that you will get yourself a little kenzan for your next bouquet. Have a great day! Elodie

pennant banner tutorial + free pattern

Hello everyone, As promised when I showed you the pictures of the nursery, here is a little tutorial for the big and the mini pennant banner I made for baby love.

So here you go! It is a very simple project that will not take you more than an evening or a week-end to complete and that is suitable for beginners. I also made a mini-version of the pennant banner. You just have to use the smaller triangle and a smaller portion of bias tape. I made some pictures to illustrate the steps of the tutorial and a pattern to download:

FREE DOWNLOAD

Items needed for a two-metre pennant banner:

You will need:

• the pattern (see above)
• 32 fabric triangles (for 16 triangles). It is good to use leftover fabric pieces from other projects. You don't need 16 different fabrics - just be careful not to put the same pattern next to each other when you assemble the garland
• 2.5 metre bias tape.
• assorted thread (same colour as the bias tape)
• a cutting mat and a rotary cutter (or some fabric scissors)
• masking tape
• a sewing machine
• pins
• iron and ironing board
• 2 curtain rings to attach the banner to the wall.

Step 1: download the pattern, print it and cut it out. Place the pattern on your fabric on the cutting mat and fix it with masking tape. Step 2: cut your fabric. Always cut at least two of each pattern for both sides of your triangles. Step 3 - 4 : place your triangles' right sides against each other and sew them along the two longer edges.

Step 5: cut the point of each triangle with a pair of fabric scissors. Step 6: return your fabric on the right side. Step 7: iron your triangles flat. Step 8: iron one side of your bias tape flat and pin your triangles (2 to 3 pins per triangle) next to each other. Be careful when you assemble the banner not to put the same pattern next to each other and to have a harmonious succession of fabric. Sew on the fold of your bias tape. Leave at least 8 cm of tape on each side, so as to be able to attach your banner to the wall. Take away your pins.

Step 9 - 10: with the help of your iron, fold your bias tape and pin it in place. Step 11: sew your bias tape as close to the edge as possible -  backstitch at the end. Step 12: attach the rings at each sides of the banner, and fix it to wall with simple nails.

Voila!

Take care and talk to you soon! (I really hope this time after the birth...)

Elodie

Pimping Baby Love's clothes - Iron transfer tutorial

Good morning! I am back today with another little DIY tutorial. Last week I presented you my little pink cloud body using stencil printing. Today I want to show you how to pimp baby (and adult of course!) clothes by using iron transfers. I bought these lovely transfers on the Isemarkt in Hamburg from the lovely shop kinder+raum. The designer Evy has got a stand on the market every Tuesday. It is of course also possible to buy the transfers online or in a couple of shops in Hamburg. Here is what I made for baby love and how it goes:

1. Select the pattern you want to transfer and the item of clothing.

2. Position the transfer on your fabric and place it on something hard - a wooden kitchen table would work better than an ironing board.

3. Place a sheet of baking paper between the fabric and the pattern before ironing. Set your iron to 150 to 160° C and press against the fabric with a lot of pressure for 20 seconds. It is important to press and not iron.

4. Peal off the plastic film et voila!

Here are a couple of examples of what I did for baby love.

The colourful bodies are from petit bateau, the white body and kimono style t-shirt from C&A, and the muslim squares from Budnikowski. The patterns are from kinder+raum and the paper box is from Tiger

I hope you like it. It is a very easy and economical way of pimping your plain baby outfits and bodies. Take care and have a nice day.

Elodie

Pimping Baby Love's clothes - Stencil Printing

Hello everyone, Today I have a little DIY for you. My fabulous mum made a lot of baby clothes for little Miss Love, and I have been sewing a lot myself lately too, almost only for the decoration of the nursery (which I will be showing you soon, when I think that it is almost finished). Another thing that I have been doing during my maternity leave with my friend Stephanie is "pimping" some plain, white baby outfits I bought from C&A for instance. The first one I want to show you uses the stencil printing technique. Stenciling is a very fun and easy technique for customising boring fabric.

Here is what you will need:

• strong paper and a permanent marker, or stencil pattern
• craft knife
• fabric paint (mine is a Javana Textil)
• small plate (for the paint)
• sponge
• washi tape

1. Choose an existing design or design your own stencil with a permanent marker. I found my little cloud in the book simple sewing for baby by fabric designer Lotta Jansdotter 2. Using a craft knife and a cutting mat, cut out your design. 3.  Pour some of your fabric paint onto a small plate and have your sponge ready.

4. Protect the other layers with another piece of fabric. 5. Place your stencil on top of your fabric and secure it on the sides with some washi-tape, so it will not move when you are printing. 6. Using the sponge, apply an even amount of paint through your stencil. 7. Let the paint dry a little bit before removing the stencil. Fix the paint after drying by intense ironing (5 min. cotton setting). Cover fabric with a cloth. Thereafter your fabric will be washable.

Here is the result:

I wish you a great day! xxx

Elodie

Etsy Labs Hamburg with Frau Sieben

Hello everyone, On Monday Evening, I attended my first Etsy Labs in Hamburg which was organised by my friend Trixi (alias Frau Sieben), a jewelry designer . I am sure you all know about Etsy - for those would don't know, it's an american online platform that sells handmade and vintage goods all over the world. They regularly organise craft parties in European cities called Etsy Labs - It's a free DIY event, on a special topic. The ones in Hamburg are organised in a brilliant location called LOKAL e.v.. The concept is simple but really enjoyable - you sit around a table with other people (okay, mainly girls...) and do something with your hands, while drinking a lemonade.  Yesterday's Etsy Labs was about creating summery bracelets - and that's what we did! I had a lot of fun with my friends Maria, Christin and Anne. Here are a couple of photos for you:

Talk to you soon! and see you at the next Etsy Labs.

Elodie

12 aus 12 by madame love

Dear readers,

My German blogger friend Ricarda, from the blog 23qm stil had this great idea to review your 2012 via 12 pictures. As I started searching my photo archive from 2012, there were far too many photos and great memories to only post 12 photos, so I decided to make 12 photo collages for the 12 topics that influenced me the most this year and which tell my story the best. The birth of my blog (on July 15th) was definitely my highlight and all the great projects I realised through the blog, the workshop and conferences I attended and the many more to come in 2013, and most of all, the brilliant people I met through blogging.

1- My year in flowers:

Flowers have been my main source of inspiration for my blog this year, they made me improve my photographic skills and transform my flat into a photo studio. I love working with flowers and will continue to do so in 2013. I love picking the right vase, waiting for the perfect light, before work or on Saturday morning and playing with colours and textures.

2- My year in shops:

My blog made me visit a lot of beautiful interior shops in Hamburg.  Each photo belongs to one shop: here are the links to the blogposts (from left to right and from top to bottom) Akiko, Palais 13, Küchenblume, Johanna Schultz, Lieblingsstück, Nordlys, Lieblingszimmer, my perfect Sunday, Manoir/Palazzo, Morgenthau,das 7te Zimmer,Richard, Eden Living, Lys Vintage, Human Empire, SmuukeStore.

3- My culinary year:

Even if food is not the main focus of my blog, this year I took part three times in the project Post aus meiner Küche (with the strawberry lollipops, the speculoos stars, and the mini-madeleines. I also took part in the food-blogger event France Bon Appétit. Here are some impressions:

4- My creative year:

I started sewing a lot at the beginning of 2012. I was seriously thinking about creating my own little label: L.O.D. Love On Delivery, and open my own Etsy store. In the end, I used my spare time for my blog and not pursuing my first project. I took part in the designer market -  Kleine Dachladen organised by my friend Merret in May, though, and I really liked it. What do you think, should I open my Etsy store in 2013?

5- My year in Hamburg:

Hamburg treated me much better in 2012 than in 2011. Especially because I found a job I like at DDB Tribal and my friendships grew deeper. Thanks Hamburg - you almost made me forget Berlin (but not my dear Berlin friends).

6- LOVEly white dinner

In August, I shared a beautiful white dinner with my dear friends from Girl Gone International.

7- LOVEly cruise

In May, just before starting my new job at DDB, I went on a cruise with Mr. Love. Venice, Dubrovnik and Corfu. Needless to say, it was lovely! 8- LOVEly Antwerp:

To celebrate my birthday, Mr. Love and I spent a couple of days in Antwerp, and as expected, I really enjoyed the city, its architecture and interior shops.

9- LOVEly Amsterdam:

On the way back to Hamburg, after leaving Antwerp, we stopped in Amsterdam to visit friends and I loved the city very much too. As another friend of mine just moved there, I will be visiting again soon. My blogpost about Amsterdam is coming up soon as well...

10- My star obsession:

Another thing I noticed while browsing through my pictures, is that I have been using a lot of stars this year in my sewing and DIY projects, as well as in my food projects.... 11- My year in red & pink:

...and that I have been using a lot of red and pink in everything I did.

12- My year with Cheddy

My cat Cheddar loves being the centre of attention, and while searching for photos, I found a least one picture of him in each album. So here comes a little collage - *cat content*

So I am ready! 2013 can come. I hope you enjoyed my little review. If you want to read what other bloggers think about 2012, here is a link to Ricarda's blog.

Only 7 days to go before Christmas!

xxx

Elodie

Pimp my moleskine

You all probably know about the legendary Moleskine notebooks. Those lovely italian notebooks are having a revival now, but they in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, and were used by artists such as Van Gogh, Hemingway or Pablo Picasso.Now you can find them in almost every bookshop the paper quality is amazing, but I tend to find them a bit boring. So, here is my first attempt to a DIY Tutorial. So there you go:

You need:

1. A Moleskine notebook - They are available in many different sizes. 2. some organza ribbon 3. A star shaped perforator 4. A Leather Hole Punch Tool 5. A pair of scissors 6. Some washi-tape

a lazy Sunday afternoon

How was your Sunday afternoon? Mine was pretty cool. I spent the afternoon with my sewing machine listening to a podcast from the very inspiring Holly Becker about blogging. I did a Jewellery Roll I have been wanting to make for a long time - the result isn't perfect and I'll most certainly never sell it, but there you go - I really had fun making it! ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Vous avez passé un bon dimanche après-midi? Le mien était excellent. J'ai renoué avec ma MAC en écoutant un podcast de l'excellente Holly Becker à propos de la blogosphère. J'ai réalisé une pochette à bijoux que je voulais faire depuis longtemps. Le résultat n'est pas parfait et ne fera sans doute jamais partie de ma collection Love On Delivery - mais j'ai passé un très bon moment!

Mister Cheddar had a pretty lazy afternoon too...

and we both wish you a beautiful week!

Der kleine Dachladen

So today I took part for the first time in a designer market: der kleine Dachladen and actually sold a couple of my stuff and not only to my friends! It was really fun to see how people like my products and I loved decorating my stand. ♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥

Aujourd'hui, j'ai participé pour la première fois à une vente de créateurs à Hambourg: der kleine Dachladen (la petite boutique dans le grenier) et j'ai même vendu des trucs à d'autre personnes qu'à mes amies! C'était super interessant d'avoir un feedback sur mes produits et j'ai adoré décorer mon stand.

Hier sind ein paar Eindrücke: Voici quelques impressions:  

Cupcakes by Stücke vom Glück

 a lovely bird by Frei some space invaders by Kleinod

and here is my L.O.D. - Love on Delivery stand:  

product photography - first try

As I will be selling my L.O.D. stuff for the first time at the "kleiner Dachladen" (the little roofshop) on May 19th, I need to have some nice photos of my products for the promotion of the event. I will be posting more information about the event soon.After trying a lot of different angles and backgrounds, I decided to shoot the products on a black background with my dear rabbit-pin cushion as visual unifier - and I think it works pretty well. What do you think?