27.11.10

Girl in forest




Girl in forest
(Personally, I think she had 'a tiny bit' too much champagne)






Luckily,
she is still gorgeous.





And suits our wall just fine!
&
what do you think of our new ceramic shelve of fame?
isn't it serene?
I collect (don't laugh, i know I collect a lot...)
small white lovely's to put candles in
or flowers.




Imagine the night,
and all those little pots are on fire.
Every single one mean a lot to me.
Unfortunately not for the boys,
that's why we had to tink a shelve high in the sky,
Most of them,
are bought in England.
Once lit,
they take us right back to the Christmas Market
in front of the stunning Winchester Cathedral.

Must be the time of year,
me dwelling over England these weeks!
So sorry!

Back to business, Tinkerbell...

Girl in Forest is also wondering around in my SHOP.

Happy Weekend

I have to hurry now,
my party with 10 girls starts in 1,5 hour
got to buy us champagne!
x


26.11.10

Embroidery Sewing XL









I'm sewing on very bold silk,
not easy,
but fun




Of course there had to be apples
and flowers







I wonder what it will end up to be.....





Happy Friday!

24.11.10

Paper Cutting

Today I'm busy paper cutting
a little bit of old
and bits of new
will drink their champagne
in new surroundings!





Happy Wednesday!


23.11.10

This week we danced on this song every day



What is your 'dance in the living room' song this week?



19.11.10

Life Tree/ Boom Screen Print



EDIT: The first Sweet heart Arrived!!!
Congratulations dear neighbors


We are in the middle of a
BABY BOOM
I ♥ babies,
I ♥ pregnant bellies &
the excitement around the birth of a baby.

Yesterday the first due date arrived,
no baby yet,
lucky for me,
still time to design my gift.
It took hours to make the cut out,
but I think it is worth the effort.

(btw: boom = tree in Dutch)



Of course the big apple in the centre would be baby
The top two could be the lucky parents
and the baby can be surrounded by brothers and sisters

or

The big apple is surrounded by
all the people who are gonna love and cherish this baby/toddler
forever and ever.

The design is really abstract because
I really want that every child
feels comfortable to be the centre of this family tree.






This is the original paper cut





I tested one
with name & date
&
different colors




I framed & hanged it.
I now know
which colors I will use
and
how I will add letters.





For all people who are not in 'my' baby boom circle,
but are part of their own,
this print will soon be in my shop,
of course with your baby's name on it.
I'll keep you posted!

(shall today be the day
I will make the first one for real?
Keep my fingers crossed!)



16.11.10

Corner View: ' Exactly 6 years ago'


November 2004
Guy & I just moved to England.
This was were I was,
what I was doing
&
who I was with
according my photobook.

the land in front of our house

surrounded by trees




by ancient churches and cathedrals




by the most lovely little houses, i was.




this was our first find
our home
for 4 years



and this little guy was wondering around the forest
i liked him





i worked my *** off in artcollege
& carried a little secret around in my tummy
to me this girl looks like 15
i was not




here i looked like a movie star
who had time to shop
for a decent winter coat
lucky me




i also made weird little movies,
believe me,
even i don't know what there on about!





What were you up to 6 years ago?


15.11.10

Jude Blereau's Apple Fig Tray Bake


Another great cookbook author,
I really admire,
is Jude Blereau.




Her latest cookbook,
wholefood for Children
comes in very handy,
having three small children in the house.
(ok, it wasn't a severe necessity....)

Her cookbooks are especially good if any of your
family is on a special diet.
A lot of her recipes are wheat free,
gluten free or easily adjusted to vegan, etc.




This morning I made the:

Apple Fig Tray Bake.

I did precisely what the recipe told me to do
and it turned out delicious!

You will need:

500 g red or green apples
peeled, cores removed and finely diced
3-5 dried figs, finely chopped
130 g white spelt flour
165 wholemeal spelt flour
large pinch ground nutmeg
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
125 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
180 g rapadura sugar, plus 1 teaspoon extra
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
2 large eggs
125 g yoghurt or kefir milk
120 pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts chopped (optional)







Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Grease a baking tray (20 by 30 cm) and line with baking paper.
Place one-quarter of the apple in a small saucepan with two tablespoons of water.
Cover and simmer over low heat for 3-5 minutes or until well cooked.
Remove from the heat, roughly mash, then stir in the dried figs.
Set aside to cool.
Place flours, nutmeg, baking powder and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a bowl
and whisk through to distribute the ingredients evenly and break up any lumps.
Stir in the remaining apple.





Place the butter and sugar in a bowl, and using electric beaters,
wisk until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs, one at the time,
beating well after each addition, until thick and creamy.
Add the flour mixture along with the cooled stewed fruit and yoghuty and stir until just combined.
Take care not to overwork the mixture. Spoon the batter into the tin.
Combine the extra teaspoon of sugar and remaining cinnamon and sprinkle over the top,
and the nuts, if using.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool a little in the tin before slicing.






I'll bet everyone likes it,
I do!
(but I'm not fussy....)

(Maybe I should sent her a bunny too
I will try to sent Buddy and Louisa some!!!!)

Have a fun Monday (I hate mondays....)

x Guusje


13.11.10

Dear Tessa,


Maybe you remember This Post,
I made those lovely bunnies,
found in Tessa's cookbook.




I decided to write her a note,
about how I love her work,
that I've made bunnies,
and of course offered her a pair.
The next morning,

I've found a note back!
How cool is that?

(While jumping up and down,
I summoned my husband
to get to the computer straight away
to read it too)




I can't be lazy now, can I?
So i got out the bunnies,
the fabric (this time a soft flannel)
and sewing machine.





I made Bun
with her two Bunnies.




It is always hard to let them go,
but come on,
they are for Misses Kiros herself !




Have a good journey to Italy,
Buns.
Give Tessa a kiss
and pay attention when she cooks!!!








12.11.10







Happy Friday!
Hope you do awesome things today.
(to be more honest for my own good:
I'll will be in PJ's on the sofa tonight,
with a bag of crisps
watching people sing their heads off on telly!

In the unlikely event of
anyone asking you what Guusje did this Friday:
I've read a novel,
listened to rachmaninoff,
ate steamed fish and vegetables,
Ok?)

Tomorrow I'll check in,
with the sewing machine
for a very special delivery!



x



11.11.10







Martinmas Lantern waiting for sunset.




9.11.10

Corner View: 'Autumn'





Wouldn't it be amazing,
if all the CV girls and boys,
would fly from every where around the world
to an open space,
in the most lovely forest,
were autumn leaves
are falling
like wool felt pieces
on top of Mother Earth.
We'll put on our sheepskin boots,
our thickest coat
and gather round a bonfire.
We would sing a song,
wait for the wolfs to join
and drink our autumn brew.
When we close our eyes
and fall asleep,
we'll see sparkles in our eyes
from the warm and cozy fire.
When we'll open them in the morning,
we will be safe at home,
in our own beds,
like we've been never away.
(but do not forget to wash your clothes!)




6.11.10


What are you all up to?
We are busy with all kinds of stuff.
Pops is having a cold,
we all know who ends up to be the most tired of all....
but one can not be too worried about it,
even the most nasty colds come to an end one day.




In the little time between,
I made a screen print.




We managed to do some gardening
and collected loads of seed pods
for next year.




And a message to all the baby mummy's in The Netherlands:
Run to HEMA
and buy this knitted suit
for babies.
We love it!




Happy gardening all!
(or Rock 'n' Rolling....)
(or drinking too many champagne....)
(or doing nothing at all....)




3.11.10

Corner View: ' Famous '







I don't believe it is in any of our characters to be or become famous,
we are too shy / self consious/ weird or just not interested.
BUT....our middle child,
He could be the world's entertainer,
no problem at all....



1.11.10

Halloween









I hope you had a good party too!

We had soup,
hot chocolate and booze,
a bonfire
and
lots of scary neighbors....