Homemade { Patchwork - For my Wall}

You will remember the Cherry House QAL I started in February. I finally finished it. It still needs hanging but here is my version.

Material: Kona Medium Grey (1223), Kona Red (1308), Kona School Bus (1482), Kona Banana (1481) at Simply Solids,
plain white fabric I had, two different quilting threads (grey and yellow) at the Cotton Patch.

Not sure you can see the quilting (it should be more obvious when hung). The idea was to have concentric squares so it looks like a painting (or an excuse to indulge into my obsession for geometrics. Depends who/when you ask.)

I am actually really pleased with it, despite my few issues (alignment of the small squares not that straight, quilting issues). Well, at least it definitely looks homemade!

{Upclycling competition - What to do with a can?}

Guys, I know you are all super creative - I am reading your blogs, so this is going to be right up your street.

I was sent today the website of a competition going on at the moment called i luv my can. This competition is a way of encouraging more people to recycle by taking a fresh look at the packaging of their favourite drink.

All you have to do is pick a category (most artistic, most fashionable, most unusual re-use etc), then upload a video or a picture of your can creation.

Each category will have its own winner, with the best creations being auctioned off to raise money for the Art Fund, the UK’s leading charity that helps secure great art for museums and galleries for everyone to enjoy.

The deadline is August 28, so a bit of time for you creative peeps to think up something amazing!

Noas' Libellule {Bathroom}

Last week I talked about the ktichen, we also re-did the bathroom - as well as all the other rooms. Here are a pictures of the before and after.


We changed... well everyhting. We have a shower cubicle now (cannot see it on the pictures unfortunately), had a new bathroom suite, change the colour scheme, tiled... BUT we re-used the bathtub! We tried to have a warm and cosy feel to it, a room where you want to spend time in - and we both do! What do you think guys?

Noas' Libellule {Today}

Sometimes you put your jeans on

And you feel that you are wearing the latex costume of catwoman

With the body of the hippo-woman

Homemade {TheThing-in-Progress}

I feel really bad. I have not really posted about knitting or crochet for a loooonnnng time, and despite the fact that have... let's say a few... projects on the go.

I took pictures of what I am working on at the moment in the evening, and well, you will see for yourself, it doesn't look like what it is supposed to be looking like. Not sure what it looks like, but nothing like the picture on the pattern, I can tell you!

So what do you think The Thing is? Let me give you 3 clues, 1) The Thing is not for me (lucky me!), 2) it can be worn (really I hear you say, yes really?), and 3) I have already made other versions of 'The Thing' in the past (for those lucky ones who follow my blog).

I leave you with this thoughtful note from this blog and found on pinterest ... And yes I just ate some... Happy Friday guys!

Noas' Libellule {My kitchen favourites}

Sarah over at Modern Country Kitchen started a Kitchen Favourites Linky Party today! She has asked what were our 'Kitchen Favourites'.

After having spent a lot of time, effort, planning to redo our kitchen area, I think my two favourites things are: the open plan layout. M and I are able to talk and be in two different 'parts' of the living room; and the island as everyone gathers there. I read the newspaper in the morning here, I cook there, and it is a great storage space (behind the stools are all my cockery!), in fact we hardly use the dining table - it is all very clever! And you know what after 4 months of being in the new house, I am still amazed by it!




So what is your kitchen favourite?

Homemade {Cushion}

Finally managed to post pictures of this cushion cover I made for our little room. Simple but I do love the yellow and grey combination.

Material: Kona Medium Grey (1223) at Simply Solids, Japanese Light Canvas Fabric-Asanoha Floral, Ginger Yellow at Etsy, two different quilting threads (grey and yellow) at the Cotton Patch.

Noas' Libellule {TV addict}

M and I have a new favourite show - Four Rooms. The concept is simple. People who believe they have a valuable artefact get a chance to sell it to four of the country's buyers. They visit each dealer room, one after the other. There are some tactics involved on who to see first (check out the dealers' noise of interest etc) as once they have seen a dealer and walked away from one room/a deal, there's no going back. Alternatively they may have seen a dealer and accepted the offer, but then they cannot accept the offer of another dealer (and yes they do know the offer afterwards).

This is our Sunday treat. Last Sunday was the best so far as a four-tonne concrete wall, complete with a mural by street artist Banksy, was up for sale. Admittedly you need to have room for it (think Mansion), but the wall section would make a real statement. I, on the other hand, have a book, much more compact and affordable.


Section of the wall after restoration

Anyhow the two friends and the wall section came to the show, and - this is the cringing moment - they came out with nothing (well their wall section), and turned down a 6-figure offer (they spent £30,000 on it). If you have not seen it, it is available here. Feel free to shout at your TV/computer..

The right card

Is it me or everyone is getting married this year? It is truly great, but after the excitement of another one of our friends getting married come the anxiety of: what to wear, with or without hat, the wedding present and the wedding card.

Yes cards, I really do think hard about the cards to congratulate the happy couple that will be given on the wedding day. I kept all mine, and loved them, and therefore feel that they should be a bit special.

So here are my top 6 cards for weddign celebrations in 2011:

From left to right: Rob Ryan Heart Seat; Lil Sonny Sky Card ; Sophia Victoria Joy ; Doodlelove; Darling Clementine ; Mr and Mrs

Some I could easily frame as well .. No, I should not keep them to myself, they are for someone else.

Home Inspiration 19 - I need a desk

I have claimed the little room in our house, and since it is full of yarn and fabric - and books - no one has disagreed! I love the room, although it needs some pictures on the wall - and just that little bit more of personality - it also desperately need a desk.

(Edit: This is indeed the little room for those who wonder)

I have my eyes set on one.. Surprisingly I found it at John Lewis and it matches our dimensions. Here is the beautiful desk, how much time can I resist?

PS: London weather today is really really bad - as I an writing this sunny spells are here, but my shoes are still wet from this morning. This little cartoon from Soledad Barvi (Elle magazine illustrator) rings very true right now.

(I should really be thinking of having a wax done.. euh no, the weather is crap again..)

Another idea for a TShirt

I was inspired by this necklace that you can find on etsy.


I loved the chunkiness of it, the two colours, the way you see the different strands of 'yarn'. But I only had one T-Shirt left to use, and once cut up the strands were too small. And then I remembered something I was addicted to when I was younger - making scoubidous with plastic strings and wondered whether I could apply the same technique (for a round one) to my 8 strands of yarn. Here are some pictures of the process and result.



Here is a close up of it when I came back from work on Monday. Scoubidou rules!

Blog Banner {Tutorial}

Haha... Finally.. Someone... aka That Girl.. That Quilt.. revealed it all.

I, MOI, ME could create my very own banner ON MY OWN. Yes, I could. And here it is. Displaying four of my favourite, hand-picked ( mmm .. easy to upload from my Facebook acocunt) pictures (which is why it is so random but supposed to have a summer theme to it).



The tutorial is so amazingly clear that I copied and pasted it - I had to make a couple of changes, in bold below. Go and see the blog of Jennifer and check out her banner too. So here is the tutorial.

1. First, go to BigHugeLabs to make your photo mosaic.

2. Change the columns to 4 and the rows to 1 if you want a layout like mine. Leave all the other settings the way they are.

3. Scroll down to where you can enter the URL's of your pictures. I chose all of mine from (Flickr) Facebook.

4. Go to (Flickr) Facebook and click on the first individual picture you want in your banner. Copy and paste the entire link into the space provided on the BigHugeLabs site. Repeat for the 2nd and 3rd pictures.

5. (If you want a blank space to write in like I did, leave the 4th URL space empty.) I did not leave a blank space but you may want to...

6. Click create and you are almost done with the first part of your banner!

7. Your banner will be shown and if you like it, click the save button above the picture and save it to your computer.

If you don't want any writing on your banner you could be finished now... if you are, resize your image on your computer, skip the Flickr steps, and pick up at step 12 to upload your banner to your blog.

8. Next, go to Flickr and upload your new banner to your Flickr account. Open the picture in Picnik.

9. Add text... add a frame... etc.

10. Now it's time to resize your banner. Most blogger headers measure approximately 940 across {you(might) will have to play with this a little}. In Picnik, click on Resize and change your first dimension to (940) 900.

Important: make sure the keep proportions box is checked so that your images don't end up all stretched and weird. (Save the image and you will automatically be directed back to Flickr.) I saved it on my desktop.

(11. Click view all sizes and choose the large image which is the original dimensions you saved when you resized the banner in Picnik. Save this image to your computer and we are almost done!)

12. Log into Blogger and click design. Click edit in the box where your banner goes.

13. Remove the current image and choose browse your computer to open your new banner. Let it load into the box and click save. You will be taken back to the design page and from there you can go back to your blog and admire your work!

I am feeling smug...

Homemade home - T-Shirt coasters

I have had to get rid of to a few items in my closet. The new wardrobe is just too small and they are items that should... well just not be there anymore (or make it in in the first place). Face dwith the reality of my new wardrobe, I was finally prepared to get rid of my clothes, and thanks to pinterest, I came accross this tutorial. What, I can make coasters out of my discarded T-shirts??

Yes, you can, and they can look really stylish - I suprised myself. Here is my first attempt - took max 2 hours, which I thought was a very effective way to spend my time and 2 T-shirts.


I know you have some T-Shirts that would be happy to become your latest homemade projects... Let me know if you try it!

Home Inspiration - Creating Moodboards

I love free softwares - they are free and usually a bit more basic and easier for me to use.

I have been looking at creating moodboards for a while - not just for the house but also for new handmade projects. We are currently considering the colour of the curtains we want in the main room, and sometimes it is just easier to have a board to visualise the project.

So when I ended up on olioboard, I was very excited. And it was really easy to use. I added a lot of items - as by doing a moodboard after the room has already been decorated meant that it was less about inspiration and more about trying to match one new item with the rest of the house.

The only criticism that I have is that I could not add any words to the moodboard (it may not be the done thing... ). I added some in Picasa (another wonderful free tool).

Here is my moodboard for downstairs, hopefully ensuring that M is convinced that blue curtains are the way forward. My username is frenchgrenouille, add me if you sign up to it!