Unni Strand

Things I love #1

2012-01-23T13:29:00.002+01:00

...making pancakes!

Happy week to you!

Redesign Drammen

2012-01-20T13:36:00.001+01:00

Søndag 29. januar arrangeres Redesign Drammen.

Jeg har klippet litt fra Drammen kommunes nettside:

"Alt er mulig
Redesignarrangementer har tidligere vært arrangert i Porsgrunn, Bergen og Sarpsborg, og nå er det altså Drammen sin tur. På utstillingen får man se alt fra klær og møbler, til kameraer laget av blikkbokser, fluktstoler laget av europaller og smelting av tinn som blir til små figurer. Det vil dessuten bli moteoppvisning med 7.-klassinger fra to skoler i Drammen, som har hatt som prosjekt å sy sine egne redesignklær.

Publikum vil få muligheten til selv å delta i arrangementet, flere av aktivitetene blir workshops der man selv får prøve ut sine fingerferdigheter. Det vil også bli salgsboder, der man kan få kjøpt flotte ting."

STRAND stiller med salgsbod.
Jeg har med redesign som handlenett, smekker, punger og mine nye slips.

Arrangementet er på Sundland i Drammen fra 12-17.
Velkommen!

DIY Water colour pillow

2012-01-14T19:41:00.000+01:00

This is a quick and easy project you can do if you have an hour to spare!

It's ideal for fabrics that have small spots or discolourings that don't go off in the wash.

You need a pillow cover (a well used one will be best) and some textile colour that you mix with water until a consistence similar to cream.
Simply paint onto the pillow cover to get this water colour effect. Mark that some fabrics will let the colour run smoothly while it's dry, while some other, tighter woven fabrics will need to be soaked in water and wrung before you can paint like this.

When the paint has dried, heat fix the fabric with an iron for 5 minutes on medium temperature.

(Or follow the instructions from the manufacturer.)

Good luck!

Don't you just love men in grey?

2012-01-11T10:51:00.000+01:00

Here's an Etsy treasury with some current favorites for men. Go here to find links to the items and shops.

New work

2012-01-09T18:38:00.000+01:00

I have been working on some new ideas and designs lately.

I have been thinking designs for men and typography.

Here's a photo from the printing in my laundry room in the basement.

I have been trying out making neckties.

When I print like this, no tie will look the same. So I have decided to sell them numbered.

It takes me hours of hand sewing to make these ties, so unfortunately, they will be rather expensive.

I will have the first tie tested out next weekend!

Do you remember the quote/text contest I had on my blog in November?

This is the winner text by Rune B. The teatowel is now for sale in my Etsy shop and my Epla shop.

I did not plan for it, but I discovered that the typography design could work well as a teatowel print too.

The typography was random text and quotes. Not really meant to be read.
But there it is, the Eco Man Teatowel. Listed on Etsy and Epla.

I tried to make Noah model for the Eco Man Teatowel.

He didn't think it was a good idea at all...

New Epla shop

2012-01-09T11:14:00.000+01:00

ReMade - ReLoved is a new Epla shop.
Anette Seip makes cute, recycled jewelry from found, vintage objects.

Take a look in her SHOP and give her some love!

Crafting with children -play food

2012-01-04T10:28:00.000+01:00

As some of you might remember, the salt dough had it's peak in the eighties.
I occasionally use it for different projects with my daughter or with my students.
Here, I've made some play food with my daughter. We wrapped it in a gift box and used it as a gift for one of her friends.

Here's the recipe I'm using:
Ingredients:
3 cups of flour
2 cups of fine salt
1 cup of water (you may have to add more)
Instructions:

Mix salt and the flour in a large bowl.
Add the water. Knead until smooth.

When not in use, wrap in plastic or store in an airtight container.
The finished "food" can be air dried or in the oven on low temperature.

Just a reminder...

2011-12-15T12:01:00.000+01:00

Gift wrapping doesn't have to produce a lot of waste. You can come a long way with some newspaper, leftover paper scraps, ribbons from last years gifts and tissue paper from your last flower bouquet.

Do you practice eco friendly gift wrapping? Please let me know!
And if you have a link to share, please do! I would also love to share your images on my blog!

Making Christmas

2011-12-13T11:03:00.000+01:00

This week, it's all about wrapping gifts, decorating and cleaning the house for the Holidays.

My shops and designs are having a break.

Yesterday I put up this decal from Circle Line Studio.

The plexi ornaments are from I wanna be.

Hopefully, in between, I'll get time to sew myself a pair of reindeer curtains.

Design interiør feature

2011-12-08T11:53:00.001+01:00

My bib is featured in the last issue of the Norwegian magazine Design interiør.

Thank you to Monica Halvorsen -Uldlageret who pointed it out to me and to Siw Eriksen -the woman behind Re-Vinyl who ripped out the page of her magazine for me!

Noah

2011-12-06T19:30:00.000+01:00

We have a new friend in the family. His name is Noah.

Cute, isn't he?

Shop news -organic & fairtrade teatowels

2011-12-05T17:11:00.000+01:00

I am finally able to offer organic & fairtrade cotton teatowels in my shops!
I have printed some Christmas reindeers saying "God jul!" wich means Merry Christmas in Norwegian.

There's one print with a single turquoise reindeer. As you probably (!) have noticed, daylight is a sparse luxury these days, so I had to take the teatowels outside for a photo shoot.

It is lots of wind here at the moment, wich made it really difficult to capture a hanging teatowel.

(Flying teatowels were easy, but doesn't show the print so well.)
As you can see, I have a new log photo wall!

I am trying to recover from the very busy Christmas market weeks I've been through. It feels like I have been working all of the time the last three weeks. The markets were so nice and I have met lots of lovely people! And in between, I also managed to buy a couple of great handmade gifts.
(Mostly for myself, I guess...)

Friday Favorites from Epla

2011-12-02T12:09:00.000+01:00

Star from Bazaar.

PacMan cufflinks from Ridley.

Christmas card from Frøken Fabel.

Wooden plate from Rubbel&Bit.

Christmas ornaments from olivia.

This weekend I'll be at DEJM -Designernes eget julemarked. Have a lovely weekend!

Printing

2011-12-01T14:08:00.000+01:00

I'm printing in my original, mint green, 50's laundry room today.
The room has a lovely atmosphere.
I have printed lots of new teatowels for dejm this weekend.

Have to run down and print some more!

Designernes eget julemarked

2011-11-30T18:03:00.002+01:00

Nå har jeg det supertravelt.

-For jeg skal stå på julemarkedet på DogA i helgen med tingene mine.

(Hvis alt går etter planen, kommer jeg til å ha med meg noen helt nye håndklær.)

Kom og hils på meg da vel!

Eplas Julebasar

2011-11-21T18:18:00.000+01:00

Til helgen arrangeres Eplas Julebasar.
Jeg er med og jeg gleder meg til å hilse på mange andre som har butikk på Epla.
Hvis du er innom, blir jeg veldig glad hvis du kommer og sier hei til meg!

Fra Eplabloggen:
"Velkommen til Julebasar på Heggedal hovedgård! Epla og Allers har slått seg sammen om å lage årets flotteste julebasar på den idylliske hovedgården i Heggedal.

Over 70 designere, kunstnere og håndverkere er i full sving med å forberede seg til julebasaren. Gled deg til å se alt det fantastiske de har med seg, og kjøp håndlagde og unike julegaver til store og små! Det blir hyggelige aktiviteter for barna, deilige vafler og pølser i vår lille kafé og ikke minst god stemning. Vi ønsker deg og din familie hjertlig velkommen!"

Julebasaren er på:
Heggedal Hovedgård
Heggedalsbakken 23, Asker

Lørdag 26/11 - 2011 kl 10 - 18

Det vil være betalingsterminal, godt med parkering og det er gåavstand fra Heggedal stasjon!

Vil du ha gratis påminnelse på SMS? Send “EPLA” til 2223.

Etsy Christmas

2011-11-21T10:54:00.001+01:00

I have a crush on vintage mercury glass ornaments... and Etsy has loads of them. -But do I dare to order such fragile items from so far away?

These are from Wise Apple.

Here's an Etsy treasury list I've made with vintage Christmas decorations.

If I do take the plunge and order some glass ornaments, I would surely need this wonderful wooden and eco friendly Christmas tree from Wood Wool Stool.

Here's more lovely decorations:

Glass ornaments from Found vintage objects.

Tiny decorative mittens from Gazaboo.

Christmas trees from adatine.

Dear Santa decal from Circle Line Studio.

Christmas tree tags from Katie Blair Desings.

Art photo from Lucy Snowe Photography.

Some very charming reindeer and Santa ornaments, Chelles Treasure.

Gift tags, Atelier 22.

Shop news: Reindeer for men

2011-11-19T14:02:00.000+01:00

I have listed some Christmas & reindeer t-shirts for men.

Here's one with a speech bubble with: Merry Christmas. Model: Jurjen Kuil.

Norwegian version of the Christmas t-shirt. God jul!

Model: Tor Hemma.

If you prefer the more neutral version with only the reindeer,

you can find it in my Epla shop and my Etsy shop.

Done some printing

2011-11-14T18:24:00.000+01:00

Hi there!
I've spent time in my laundry room again printing t-shirts and teatowels with reindeers.
Since I've experienced some problems with white colour on linen, I've made a new design for Christmas with only one reindeer and no snow.

The reindeer says "Merry Christmas!" or "God Jul!" or you could even have a more season neutral version without the speech bubble.

This teatowel is in my Epla shop.

If you prefer the English version, it can be found in my Etsy shop. (If you are a Norwegian customer and wants this one, just send me an email and I'll list one for you at Epla.)

I have printed some t-shirts for men too. I'll show you as soon as I have found a male model who will look good with reindeers on.

My woodburning stove

2011-11-12T10:51:00.001+01:00

I have thrown out the kerosene stove and replaced it with a woodburning stove.

Today I used it for the first time. And now, it seems like everything have fallen in place. Because earlier this autumn, when I dreaded the thought of colder seasons, I asked myself:

What makes autumn a nice and cozy season?

My answer was: Wood in the stove and homemade food.

-So that's my cure, and it works.

What's your recipe for a cozy autumn and winter?

Teatowel winners

2011-11-12T00:33:00.000+01:00

You had many great suggestions for me for my teatowels.
It was difficult to choose. But one suggestion made me burst into laughter, so I think that must be the winner:
Rune B has won with: Faulty Towels
Congratulations, Rune!

And then, there's the random picked winner: Min Verden, was the winner of the other teatowel.
Congrats to you too!

The winners can contact me through my Epla shop.

Happy weekend to everyone!

Last chance -giveaway

2011-11-10T21:41:00.000+01:00

Hi there!
Tomorrow I'll choose and draw the winners of my teatowel giveaway.
The best suggestion wins, and I'll also draw one winner randomly among the comments.
HERE's the giveaway.

November tote

2011-11-07T21:53:00.000+01:00

I made this tote today. The fabric is a flea market find a couple of weekends ago. I think it suits November. November is such a beautiful and silent month. At least if you go outside. The fields are plowed and ready for winter. There's always a mist somewhere, far or near, that wipes out the details and makes the landscape melancholy and mysterious.

I was in the garden with the rabbit. A woodpecker was working on a lamp post near by.

I guess I haven't shown you the rabbit? He is a handsome young man. I have to have a rabbit photo shoot soon.

It's getting harder and harder to take decent product photos. The light is so difficult to work with.
I have also done a lot of printing in my laundry room workshop today.

Hopefully there will be some new pouches soon.

Eplas Jul

2011-10-31T11:39:00.001+01:00

Moa og jeg er med i boken Eplas Jul.

Vi viser hvordan du og barna kan lage fine julegaver og gaveposer med potettrykk.

Eplas Jul er en stemningsfull og koselig bok med mange fine ideer til juleforberedelsene.

Boken kan kjøpes i dagligvarebutikker og kiosker og her hos Epla.

My daughter, Moa, and I are in the book "Eplas Jul". We show you how you can make gifts for Christmas with potato prints. It is in Norwegian and can be bought here.

Have a lovely week!
I'll be making gifts (your Christmas gifts?) for two markets this year. Eplas Julebasar and DEJM. (The Designers' Christmas market in Oslo.)

Halloween at work

2011-10-20T21:52:00.000+02:00

My day job is at Røyken videregående skole, an upper secondary school in Buskerud, Norway.
One of the courses I'm teaching is Interior and visual merchandising.

The students wanted to showcase a Halloween display for a local pumpkin farmer this year. I think it looks so good, that I wanted to share it with you. It is my fabulous coworker Tor Hemma who has been the teacher behind this work.

Well done, Tor! And to my students: Great work, girls! -I'm proud of you all.

Win a teatowel!

2011-10-19T21:01:00.002+02:00

I'm having a giveaway.

You can win a teatowel of your own choice from my shop

and at the same time help me with some great new ideas...

I have stocked my shops with my popular teatowels. So if you are looking for a gift for Christmas or maybe one for yourself, you know where you can find them. (Etsy, Epla)

Hopefully, there will be Reindeer teatowels soon too.

But I have been thinking a lot about making teatowels with a text.

-A quote, maybe a recipe, or something else?

I'd love to hear your suggestions! I'm welcoming both english and norwegian suggestions.

Each suggestion must be posted separately in a comment, and maximum 5 entries pr person.

Lucky me will choose my favorite word/text and that is the winner!
I will also randomly draw an additional winner among the comments.

The giveaway will be closed November 10.

(I'm reserving myself the right to use or not use the suggestions posted here.)

Sunday Etsy Favorite: andODesign

2011-10-16T09:38:00.000+02:00

I just love the designs from and O Design in Australia.

This is what she writes in her Etsy shop profile:

"and O design was founded by Yumi Ando in June 2010. She is a Japanese ceramicist based in Melbourne, Australia.

All the and O design items are hand-built using clay slab techniques and are made in small batches from a small home based studio. The designs are inspired by both Japanese and Australian cultures."

Have a look in the SHOP.

designskool

2011-10-10T22:31:00.000+02:00

My water colour teatowels were featured on the beautiful blog, designskool, by Justine Hand today.

Thank you so much, Justine!

Dahlia & Saturday

2011-10-08T09:40:00.000+02:00

This might be the last flowers from my garden this year.

It's expected frost tomorrow, so we'll see what's left after that.

It is lovely and sunny outside. I will be painting the garden shed today.

Hopefully there will be some time left for a little printing later.

Have fun today!

October favorites from Etsy

2011-10-07T15:02:00.000+02:00

Here's a lovely felted purse from egluzem.

To me the different months have their individual colour scheme.
It's not based on the colours in nature like you could expect, but on the letters their names consists of.

When I think of letters and numbers, they have different colours and so the words are coloured by the dominant letters. Like October. These Etsy favorites I will share with you today, represent the colours of October. The dark blue/grey month.

I know not many people have colours on letters, but some do. I believe it's called syntestesia.
What are your relation to letters, numbers, months and colours?

Linen peshtemal from 1001days.

Messenger bag from memake.

Desk caddy made by Peg and Awl.

Linen tunic by Pamela Tang.

I hope you'll have a lovely weekend!

New designs

2011-10-05T09:04:00.000+02:00

I've continued my work with the water color inspired designs. This time I've been painting on vintage linen towels. Some of them had stains that didn't go off in wash. Then I've covered the marks with the painting.

Here's one inspired by party and pompons.

You can find the teatowels in my Etsy shop and my Epla shop.

Anjas wonderful garden

2011-10-04T08:55:00.002+02:00

I just had to show you this wonderful image from Blomsterhagen på Abildsø.

Anja grows organic cut flowers and sells them on farmers markets.

Follow her facebookpage to be updated on where she sells her flowers and see the beautiful floral photos she shares!

Dahlias are really some of my favorite flowers.

Plant dyeing

2011-10-02T11:04:00.000+02:00

My daughter and I did some dyeing on wool and silk this summer.

We used Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla Mollis) (Marikåpe) to dye with.

We chopped the leaves a little. If you shall do this properly, and get the best result possible, you need to boil and simmer the leaves in water first, then strain it before you put the yarn into the boiler.

We were in a hurry, so we just put it all together. The main problem with our method was to separate the leaves from the wool later...

The easiest and most common materials to plant dye is wool and silk.

They are both animal fibres and they react similar to dyes.

Here's wool yarn, wool, tied silk fabric and silk fabric.

The dyeing process goes like this:

1. Soak the material in lukewarm water for at least two hours.

2. Dissolve the alum (alun) in a small amount of water. Then add the rest of the water. Heat to 50 degrees Celcius. Put the material in the boiler and continue heating till 90 degrees. (Just below the boiling point.) Let the material simmer at this temperature for one hour. Let it cool down and press carefully out as much water as possible.

3. Make the dye bath by putting the plant material in water, heat to the boiling point and let it simmer for two hours. Remove the plant material and cool down to 50 degrees Celsius.

4. Add the wool/silk into the color bath. Heat to 90 degrees and keep that temperature for at least one hour. Let the color bath cool down. Preferably over the night.

5. Wash the year/fabric carefully in cold water and let it dry.

How much plant material?

-This is different from plant to plant. A plant dyeing book will help you with this.

If you live in Norway, there is some very good, old books (from the 70's and 80's) on the subject.

I recently bought this american (?) book, Harvesting Color by Rebecca Burgess. It has lovely inspiring photos and recipes for the different plants, but a lot of them are native american plants that we don't find here in Norway. Her er link til en svensk/norsk bok.

We used a 5 litre boiler for 100 grams of textile material. (A 10 litre container is the best.)

This is a recipe I found at Lyngheisenteret:

100 g tørkede plantedeler

100 g garn eller stoff (ull eller silke)
5 liter vann

16 g alun

Here's a recipe in english.

The textile material should be moved carefully around in the boiler all of the time to get an even result. We didn't, so the fabric to the left has some variations. The fabric to the right is tied with string to get a tie-dye result.

The finished yarn and fabric smells wonderfully!

My next projects are dyeing with mushrooms and working out how to dye cotton. This is considered very difficult, but it must be possible. I have seen it done, so I will figure out how.

This blog, Naturally Dyeing, shows several examples of dyes on cotton, but does not have any recipes.

At the moment, I'm trying to get some dye mushrooms picked and dried before the winter is here.

We did some plant and mushroom dyeing with our students some weeks ago. Here's a link to our class blog. The students have written an article (in Norwegian) were you can see lovely photos and read about the project.
P.S. I think the students will appreciate a comment from you!

Hello Etsy

2011-09-25T22:22:00.001+02:00

Photo: Christiane Hübner.

The Hello Etsy conference in Berlin last weekend was, as you might imagine, a fantastic event!
It's a bit difficult for me to convey my impressions properly since I don't speak the english language so well.
But I'm sure you are curious on how it was, so I'll try.
The event was well organized and planned in every detail. The Hello Etsy team had managed to capture the personal, handmade feeling that we love about Etsy. Like handmade soap in the restrooms, wooden bear shaped nametags, organic food and drinks, small plants in reused containers on the tables and so on.
E-werk, the location, was previously an electrical substation. Just look at one of the conference rooms:

Quite awesome, don't you think?

And there were little fellows like this one...

The Etsy stand was cut from cardboard.

I met lovely people like Sarah Sofia Hendy from Isle of Man and Maja Downar from Germany.

Sarah's homepage, Maja's homepage.

Here's me and Christiane Hübner. Christiane is a friend of mine from Epla. She has the very cool Epla shop Renna deluxe. And her Etsy shop is here. I was so happy to meet her. She is such a lovely person.

When it comes to the talks, I actually don't know where to start, or what I should tell you about. I have never been the sort of person that listens to talks, sees the whole picture and are able to say smart things about it in the breaks.
There where so much ideas, experiences, inspiration and good advices. The conference was a summit on small business and sustainability. About running your little business locally and still be connected globally and thoughts on how we can be a part of the way the world can/will/needs to change.
I felt very strongly that I want to be a part of that change.
You can watch the talks from the conference HERE. (Come on, do it!)

Some of us still wants to save the world. Or, I think it would be more correct to say: More and more of us wants to take action to save the planet. -And there are lots of thing we can do!

This and that in grey

2011-09-21T23:18:00.000+02:00

My new wonderful and vintage Wind Up Alarm clock from Soviet Era on Etsy.

My new teatowel, hand painted, Big Dot.

How do you like it?

Me on the roof top at the Hello Etsy conference in Berlin. (More on that later.)

Photo by Christiane Hübner with the Etsy shop renna deluxe.

New expressions and impressions

2011-09-15T14:46:00.000+02:00

Today I've been doing some experimenting on new colors and new expressions.
I have been thinking a lot about painting fabrics lately to create a water color inspired look.

I'm also preparing for one of the biggest adventures in my life so far.

I'm attending the Hello Etsy conference in Berlin!
You can see the Hello Etsy movie below and read more about the summit.

I'm a bit anxious now, that I shall not get to the airport in time etc.

Wish me luck!

Hello Etsy: The Movie from Etsys Deutscher Blog on Vimeo.

From the Hello Etsy homepage:
"Hello Etsy: A Summit on Small Business and Sustainability is a hands-on gathering for small business owners who want to connect with their peers, learn the skills to find success and independence, and be part of the movement to build human-scale economies."

2011-09-09T13:34:00.000+02:00

Her er mine fredagsfavoritter fra Epla.
For å se hele listen, trykk HER.

My local and seasonal luxury

2011-09-08T10:36:00.000+02:00

The Team Eco Etsy blog had a post the other day about the importance of eating seasonal. You can read it here.
Living in a cold country like Norway, it really feels like a luxurious treat to have my own homegrown peaches. Both local and seasonal produce.
Lovely!

Apron

2011-09-04T18:33:00.000+02:00

I'm thinking about making some aprons for my shop.

What do you think?
Any suggestions on prints and colors?

I have made a test apron for children too. But my usual model, well, uhm, hates to have things tied around her waist... so I need to find another model for it. Will show you later.

I hope you'll have a lovely week. I'll have my studio day tomorrow. Yay!

Bedroom

2011-09-03T19:35:00.000+02:00

I'm searching flea markets for the right furniture.

Moved into my new drawer today.

I'm a happy girl!

Mint

2011-08-28T15:12:00.001+02:00

If you feel like me and still want to grow something more in your garden this season, I will recommend you to buy a mint plant and plant it in your garden. Mint will grow for some more weeks before it gets too cold, and it doesn't seem to mind the rainy weather we have had this summer.
And even better. -It will start to grow happily again next spring. (Even though it's not the earliest plant in your garden.)
The leaves are lovely in a salad, with some meat and rice or, like shown above, in a smoothie combined with melon. -Not to mention how fantastically wonderful it smells!
Enjoy!

PS Like you can see below, I got a comment from Lise B. It reminded me that I forgot to mention that mint is a rather invasive plant. It needs to be controlled so it doesn't take over the whole plot. You can do that by cutting the bottom out of a bucket and place it around the mint plant in the soil.
Thank you for the reminder, Lise B!

East Africa

2011-08-28T09:01:00.001+02:00

Made by Mosey is raising money for the children in East Africa.

By donating money through Unicef or another organization, you can win this very cool, vintage teatowel quilt.

Head over to the Made by Mosey blog HERE!

Etsy Favorites

2011-08-27T08:27:00.000+02:00

Looking into other peoples favorites is a good way to discover new great items on Etsy.
Here's some of my recent favorites:

I hope you will have a lovely weekend!
I'll be off to a flea market soon.

School Girl

2011-08-25T22:55:00.001+02:00

My little girl has started school and she now entitles herself as a School Girl.

"-Now, that I am a School Girl... etc."

She was lucky to know most of her class mates from before. She started out telling us she had gotten six new friends and today the number was 23. Lucky indeed!

This is Prikken. (Dot)

He has gotten a new collar and is ready for the Plush Animal Party in her class tomorrow.

I bet he'll have fun!

Blomsterhagen på Abildsø / Mad about flowers

2011-08-20T10:03:00.001+02:00

We all love flowers, don't we?
Personally, I ~~want~~ need flowers in my house all of the time. But in winter, when my garden is sleeping and I have to buy industrially processed flowers from the flower store, I feel kind of bad about it.
Anja Bruland is the answer to my dreams!
She is growing cut flowers in a sustainable way and selling them on farmers markets in the Oslo area.
She has this great site. (+ Facebook page.)And here's a collection of images from her lovely business: (The following post will be in norwegian.)

Her er Anja. Du har kanskje sett henne og blomstene hennes på Bondens marked i Osloområdet?

Anja er også av og til gjesteblogger på den fine bloggen Moseplassen.

Jeg dåner nesten når jeg ser så mange fine blomster på en gang. Jeg må nok bare slå fast at jeg er helt gal etter blomster...

Og gjett hva? -Anja holder kurs!

Hun har et bukettkurs førstkommende tirsdag og jeg ville så gjerne vært med på det. Dessverre er tirsdag den verste dagen på jobben i forhold til å få til det. Men kanskje det er noen andre i Osloområdet som har lyst. Jeg tror det fortsatt kanskje er noen ledige plasser.

Her er kursene hennes utover høsten/vinteren:

Bukettkurs 23. august og 13. september.

Kransekurs 17. september.

Kransekurs jul som blir en gang i november.

Det er også mulig å bestille skreddersydde kurs. Hun planlegger også blant annet et kurs i dyrking av hageblomster til snitt.

Som du kanskje vet, har jeg akkurat flyttet til et nytt hus. I denne hagen er det ingen blomster. Jeg kjenner abstinensene veldig sterkt nå. Neste år må jeg bare ha blomster og en egen avdeling for snittblomster. -Og for å si det sånn, da skal det bli en del blomster...

My new kitchen

2011-08-07T19:10:00.001+02:00

As you might know, (See this post.) I have been moving from my partner and into my own house this summer.

Most of the time has gone to renovate the kitchen.

I felt that I really needed to get this done at once, since the kitchen is the most important room for me. The heart of the house. And a house without a heart feels strange and empty.

It's been a tricky job for me to get it all done. I was able to do a lot on my own, but have also been in need of much help for the biggest tasks. There've been family and friends here to help me. Thank you all!

This is what it looks like now. I thought I could do without a kitchen table, but have come to the conclusion that I need a small one. Perhaps painted green? I am sick of all the shopping and all the waste from the packaging. So I have decided not to buy more new things, only old furniture. -Which means I have to wait for the fleamarket season starts...

I'm a little unsure of how the curtains turned out. I had some vintage bedlinen left and wanted to use it. But the pieces were so small. So I had to add some lace I have inherited. -Sewn onto a piece of white fabric. But curtains are easy to change. And I like the sunny feeling they add. For now.

The small inhabitants of the house also need a place to cook/eat.

(The weird placement of the cooking books is to hide the hole in the wall after the

old stove I had to throw out.)

New childrens tee

2011-08-03T14:51:00.001+02:00

Hi!

I've printed some cute t-shirts with a pink ostrich.

My daughter fell instantly in love with it and wanted one.

I have only size 3 and 4 years, and you can find them in my Etsy shop and my Epla shop.

They are made from organically grown cotton, as usual!

The ostrich photo is taken by my travelling friend, Tone Regine Sauve.

She has a cool cooking blog you should check out, Gurkemeie.

We're enjoying lovely summer days here. I'm working hard to get my house ready before work starts again.

As you might know, I recently moved into a new house. I had to renovate the kitchen. Hopefully it will be finished by the weekend. Here's a sneak peak.

Enjoy summer!

A reminder...

2011-07-30T23:31:00.001+02:00

I love this sign from Happy Deliveries on Etsy.

New friend in the garden

2011-07-28T11:17:00.000+02:00

Well, actually it's me that's the new one. She has been here for years. But I feel very lucky to have her here!
I haven't seen a hedgehog since I was in primary school. The pic is a bit bad because I couldnt go so close. When she sees me, she stands completely still and plays dead.

It's lovely summer weather here, and I'm sending you my love!

Men only

2011-07-26T09:50:00.002+02:00

I've been working on a new t-shirt print for a while. It is for men's t-shirts only and I have a guest designer this time. The print is made from an art photo by Jørgen Schøyen Nicolaysen.

The photo is called "A crow's car castle."

Jørgen was kind and modelled for the photos!

We found some wonderful decay and tagging that worked well as a background for the t-shirt.

I have this t-shirt in all sizes from S to XXL. You can find it in my Etsy shop and my Epla shop.

As an introduction offer, you can get this t-shirt with free shipping until August 10. Just enter the coupon code: BLOGFREESHIPPING when you order on Etsy. If you're ordering on Epla, please write "Fri frakt" in message to seller. (I will refund the shipping later via Paypal.)

Here's the original photo. I have reworked it in Photoshop to make it suitable for printing.

I had to include this photo because I look so incredibly grumpy. -But I'm not! -I'm just concentrating. I think this might be the expression I have when my students say: "What? -What's wrong now?"

Sad days

2011-07-25T10:38:00.000+02:00

Our democracy have been attacked.
The bomb in Oslo and the massacre on Utøya have left us all in shock and in sorrow.
I wake up every morning haunted by the image of the teenagers who were hunted down and killed.

We will remember them and we will keep up the work for our country to remain a country of love and freedom.

The sign above is from WoodWoolStool.

My teatowel in Switzerland

2011-07-18T08:16:00.000+02:00

Céline from Switzerland sent me this lovely photo of her Strand teatowel drying outside. Thank you, Céline! I'm always happy to see my designs in their new homes!

I'll be busy this week preparing for a craft fair this weekend. (Kunst- og håndverksmarked i Lillesand.) The rest of my kitchen will just have to wait...

Have a lovely week!

Kunst- og håndverksmarked i Lillesand

2011-07-17T13:54:00.000+02:00

Til helgen finner du meg og tingene mine på kunst- og håndverksmarkedet i Lillesand. En fin sjanse til å få prøve t-skjortene på!

Håper vi sees!

In the mailbox this week

2011-07-10T09:57:00.000+02:00

I want to share some Etsy finds that I found in my new mailbox this week.

Here's a very cool t-shirt from The Medium Control, with the Futura font. It will be great at work, I think.

And I couldn't resist this collage drawing, "Fabric Addict" from Aunty Cookie.

Aunty Cookie (Shannon Lamden from Australia) has the coolest prints & blog.

(Actually, I think she is too good...)

I bought my second hemp skort from Gaia Conceptions. Eco friendly and lovely clothing.

The skort is very practical, since it's a shorts and a skirt at the same time. (So you can wear a short skirt and still feel decently dressed.)

The skirt came wonderfully wrapped with the lovliest dried flowers.

House sneak peak

2011-07-09T15:54:00.000+02:00

Hi there! I'm busy moving and renovating these days. I thought you'd might like a small peak into the new house.

This is the kitchen and the workshop. I need to make new flooring and the kitchen needs new cupboards.

So it's a bit difficult with shop orders at the moment. I have to drive to my ex to pack my orders.

Son painting floors in bedroom.

Of course, my son made sure that the internet, tv and music was up and running very soon!

(Painting by grandma Esther.)

The cat (Tulla, 14) has found a new favorite spot in the window.

Why you should grow strawberries

2011-06-30T15:11:00.001+02:00

I think strawberries are some of the most rewarding crops you could grow in your garden.
Mostly because of all the pesticides. Norwegian strawberries are sprayed about 13 times before they are harvested and it is allowed to spray them as late as three days before harvesting.

Diseases are a problem, but mostly when there's a lot of rain. I have found two things to do to avoid this:

1. Don't plant your strawberries in a field, but in between flowers and vegetables. For example in a row in front of a flower bed.

2. Have some in containers you can place under roof in their most busy growing & harvesting time.

And here's my top 3 most rewarding crops in the garden:
1. Strawberries
2. Potatoes
3. Leaf salad

P.S. I thought about finding an image from Etsy with a strawberry design. But very soon I realized that I wouldn't find any. There are now successful way strawberries can be incorporated in a piece of good design, is there? Why is it so difficult to make something look good with strawberries on?

New bib

2011-06-29T14:28:00.000+02:00

I've listed a new bib in my shops. The cartoon dog named Bob is now also available in pink/red and can be found in my Epla shop and my Etsy shop.

Have a lovely day!

Fucking happy-love-signs

2011-06-28T11:40:00.000+02:00

I'm sorry, I just had to share this today. It's one of those days.
Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one who can't stand happy-love-signs and happy-love-songs.
But if you feel like me, at least from time to time, -this one's for you!

It's really not very kind of me, because I've stolen this print from MursBlanc and, well, sort of redesigned it in Photoshop. -A quite normal, coffee table morning task...

I guess I have to apologize and show you some of the wonderful and beautiful (though I personally feel that the message stinks at the moment) prints in this shop. See below:

In reality, it looks like this...

Remember, you find these great prints at the MursBlanc Etsy shop. Ordering one takes about 2 minutes... (I guess that's if you have an Etsy account.)

Another birthday gift

2011-06-27T22:45:00.001+02:00

Doesn't it just melt your heart when a small girl wants you to sew her some dolls clothes for her birthday?
I've spent the evening sewing clothes for the rabbit plush I made for my niece a couple of years ago. I've made a quilt, trousers, a halterneck top and a dress. I also made her a printed drawstring bag for the clothes. It's my enchanted garden print I made two years ago. I made a new silk screen with it for the summer.
It's printed on recycled linen, the ribbon is from Lin & Papir.

Shop news! Formula lanyard.

2011-06-26T19:06:00.002+02:00

I'm proud to present my new lanyard design! It's hand written by a genuine math teacher.

-Thank you to my great colleague, Truls Lind!

I think it's the perfect gift for the science geek in your life, your math teacher or perhaps someone who keeps forgetting the formulas?

Practical and fun.

And I had to include one of my favorite paintings (which actually in this case, is printed on a magnet),

the Risk -rectangle magnet from The Mincing Mockingbird on Etsy.

If you spend the next week at work or happily on holiday, whatever,

-have a happy one!

I'll be packing down my stuff and trying to get rid of some of it,

before I'm moving into my new house on Friday.

Birthday present

2011-06-25T01:54:00.001+02:00

My daughter is invited to no less than three birthday parties this weekend. So I've printed some tee's for presents. My impression is that children get so much
s t u f f for their birthdays, so I thought I'd make them a slow and eco friendly gift.
I think The Cartoon Dog named Bob looks good in red and pink too. I think I will list some of these tee's up in my shops tomorrow.

By the way, -have you noticed that I've pimped my blog a bit? I wanted to give it a more hand-drawn look. I find it really difficult to get the layout and everything like I want. Why is it so narrow? Why doesn't the images spread more nicely on the whole width of the screen?
What do you think?

Friday Favorites from Epla week 25

2011-06-24T02:01:00.000+02:00

1. Pillow, Marianne Moe
2. Rain skirt, Smask!
3. Pillow, Galleri Prestahuset
4. Bowl, Leirbrent
5. Ear studs, Dahl Design
6. Brooch, almaPalma
7. Pouch, zndesign

Bibs for Rundt & Rundt Redesign

2011-06-18T10:56:00.000+02:00

These are some bibs for Rundt & Rundt Redesign in Kabelvåg.

(Some similar bibs can be found in my Epla shop.)

Sylvia Henriksen runs the shop. I think she has the coolest logo ever.

This is her blog and here's her Facebook page.

Etsy Friday Faves

2011-06-17T20:41:00.001+02:00

Here's one of the treasuries I made on Etsy today. Showing some new favorites with the theme:

Music Festival Collection.

Have a look at all the wonderful treasuries on Etsy, here.

If you want to see my treasuries (some of them being slightly self biographical) you can find them here.

It has become quite a list the last year. I think I'm a bit proud of all the collections I've put together...

Vinn søte stoffer hos Lin & Papir!

2011-06-14T12:58:00.001+02:00

Denne uka er det sommerfest hos Lin & Papir!
Det blir lagt ut oppskrifter og du kan vinne søte, blomstrete, sommerlige stoffer. Under er en fugl sydd av de fine stoffene fra Westfalenstoffe. Det er 25% rabatt på disse stoffene denne uka.
Og stoffene er økologiske, så klart!

Where the roses bloom...

2011-06-13T09:53:00.000+02:00

Finally, here it is, Summer with lovely warm evenings, summer rain and flowers.

It's time to fill the house with flowers from the garden again.

This is one of my old fashioned roses, Hurdalsrose. I love it! It smells wonderful and grows to the size of a small tree.

I think I need one beside one of the sitting places in my new garden.

It's just three weeks left now. Then it's time to move furniture and dig holes for all the plants I intend to bring from my old garden. Luckily, my son is back from his studies and is in need of pocket money. There'll be some digging to do for him this summer...

My Grandmother was a painter

2011-06-11T22:08:00.000+02:00

My Grandmother's name was Esther. She went to art school and planned to go to Paris and study more.

Then, she met this handsome vicar, Charles. And the rest of the story is a story of a life on a countryside rectory. A life filled with children, baking, housekeeping, embroidery and painting. And herbs and flowers. -Lots of flowers and flower arrangements.

When I think of my Grandmother, I think of organza scarfs, menthol candy, embroidery, sage tea, tiger balm, cookies in cute boxes, oriental poppies, sweet peas, roses, strawberries and tomatoes. I was very impressed by the fact that she killed wasps with her fingers without getting stings.

This is her purse. It still has a pocket mirror and I use it for my embroidery stash.

Flea market finds -vintage linen

2011-06-04T08:46:00.001+02:00

I found some lovely, vintage linen at a flea market last weekend.

I'm always in doubt if I should print it or not...
I find the damask weave so beautiful and a part of me just wants to keep it like it is. The other part of me says that there is lots of old linen napkins and teatowels out there and that it adds a little more interest to print it with a red hen. (And my linen closet is full of lovely old linen that I'm keeping like it is instead of printing it, like I had planned when I bought it.)

I'd really like to know what you think about printing on old linen?

You can find a teatowel with a red hen in my Etsy shop, and teatowels and napkins in my Epla shop.

Every woman who loves flowers...

2011-05-30T18:35:00.001+02:00

This truly beautiful package arrived today. From the vintage shop trampoline/ethanollie on Etsy.

Doesn't it look wonderful?

Inside, there were these two flower frogs.

Every woman who loves flowers should have one for her flower arrangements!

By the way, I bought a house today! I'm so happy. And I promise you. -That garden will be a garden of flowers!

I will also make room for a cutting garden so the house can be filled with flower arrangements through summer.

Looking for...

2011-05-21T22:18:00.001+02:00

Hi! It's me.

I'm busy searching for a house (I guess it would be more realistic to say apartment) these days.

I love the house in this photo by RandallKRoberts on Etsy.

If I just could find a lovely place for my little girl and me...

(And for my son, of course, when he visits in the holidays.)

And the cat.

And my workshop...

I think I need this photo by jmbarclay. Isn't it wonderful?

And this dress by cocoricooo would be great too.

Maybe I can sew my own... one happy day in the summer holiday?

This is the last tote I've made. I put it in my Epla shop since I discovered a lack of cow totes there.

Grow Flowers!

2011-05-16T19:52:00.000+02:00

My daughter and I were picking flowers from the garden for flower arrangements.

It's our Constitution Day tomorrow and some decorations were needed!

I have said it before and I'll say it again. -Grow lots of flowers in your garden!

There's nothing like having a wide array of your own cutting flowers available.

Tulips, daffoldils, sweet pea, sunflowers, zinnia, dahlia, and greens like grasses and hosta are valuable cut flowers.

Have a lovely day tomorrow, everyone!

Summer t-shirts

2011-05-09T22:01:00.000+02:00

I've dyed some tees in two new colors. Pale olive and yellow.
You can find them in my Etsy shop and my Epla shop.

It's been a totally sunny and warm day here today.

Hope you have had some sun too!

Heklebrikkene er trukket!

2011-04-29T22:12:00.000+02:00

Hilde S. ble trukket ut og får heklebrikkene i posten.
Gratulerer!

Her er en av de søte uglene som Hilde har laget. Hun lager også mye annet fint, så ta en titt på bloggen hennes, Hildes skattekammer.

Hilde, send meg adressen din HER, så sender jeg brikkene straks.

Jeg gir bort heklebrikker

2011-04-23T12:21:00.001+02:00

Jeg gjør unna litt vårrydding om dagen og kom over noen heklebrikker jeg har reddet fra søpla en gang.
Jeg bruker ikke slike selv, men kanskje du gjør det? Jeg vet jo at det er mange som syr søte ting med heklede detaljer.
Hvis du er følger av bloggen min og har lyst på disse brikkene, legg igjen en kommentar under dette innlegget. Fredag 28. april trekker jeg en av dere som får brikkene.

På grunn av portokostnadene, kan jeg dessverre bare sende disse til lesere i Norge.

Ha en fortsatt fin påskeaften!

Custom orders

2011-04-21T14:09:00.003+02:00

I finished two custom orders today and I just had to show you this pillow case, because I think it turned out so beautifully.

I just love the combination with the vintage, brown, floral fabric from Sanderson.

I think this must be my absolute favorite fabric at the moment.

I still have a piece left, but what will I do when it's gone?

And I finished these hen linen napkins too. They are going to Sweden.

I have two more of these napkins and have put them in my Epla shop.

Have a lovely day!

So she did

2011-04-20T23:46:00.000+02:00

My lovely giveaway-price has arrived. The necklace I told you about previously, from love, maude. (Have you been there yet? In this shop of beautiful embroidery?)

It's a necklace with a secret message. -Well maybe not so secret anymore...

I have struggled a bit with my business lately. I work so hard, but there's not much income from it. I sometimes find it hard to believe in what I'm doing.

On days like that, it's good to find a package in your mail and a message like this.

Thank you, Sandie!

I've bought some flowers. It's the only Easter decoration at the moment. But I'm sure the house will be fully decorated on Saturday, when my little girl returns.

Pouches and pincushions

2011-04-18T14:03:00.000+02:00

Some new designs in my shops today. The Easter holidays give me some extra time to sew.

It's a while since I've had pincushions in my shops, but here they are. I'm particularly fond of the one with math formulas. And there's some hen pouches too.
You can find it in my Etsy shop and my Epla shop.

I'm so happy for the old sewing box I inherited from my mother's aunts. The old sewing supplies are perfect props for my product photos, but most of all I love to search through them and get that nostalgic and humble feeling of how things used to be.

My Easter is happy! (Spring cleaning, sewing and walking in the woods.) How is yours?

Sunday news in my shops

2011-04-17T13:18:00.000+02:00

Hi!
I've made the first totes with my new design, the Ostrich. The tote is made from grey linen and has a cheerful, vintage, floral fabric. The image is made from a photo taken by my friend, Tone-Regine Sauve. She has a great food blog and I bet she has made something with ostrich meat. Here's her blog: Gurkemeie.http://gurkemeie.blogspot.com/
You can find the Ostrich tote in my Etsy shop & my Epla shop.

Hvem vant i Håndlaga 2011?

2011-04-14T23:07:00.000+02:00

Vinner-ring fra MONOme.

Lurer du på hvordan det gikk i avstemningen i Håndlaga 2011?

Gratulerer alle sammen som ble stemt fram til vinnerplassene, og til dere som var finalister og til alle som var så heldige å bli nominert!

-Ta en titt innom og gratulér vinnerne du også!

My lovely students & Young Enterprise

2011-04-13T18:05:00.001+02:00

I have the lovliest students you could imagine this year.

As a part of the education, they have Young Enterprise (Ungt Entreprenørskap). This means that they are establishing and running a business during a school year. There is two businesses in my class. One that makes real cute foxes to hide your bagged wine (Vulpis UB) and the other group redesigns furniture. (Re:Design UB)

Re:Design UB has just finished this great cartoon chair. They put out for sale on the Internet and it sold straight away! Here's their blog if you want to have a look. You will also find a link to their Epla-shop there.

Meet my new baby, The Ostrich!

2011-04-12T22:30:00.001+02:00

This is the first test print of my new baby. It's an ostrich for sure, but is it a girl or a boy?

-And what's that expression on her/his face? I wonder if it has a name or if I need to find one for it.

Any suggestions?

This is something else I'm working on at the moment. But I have not been lucky with my screens lately, so we'll see if I can use it. Working at home and using the closet as a darkroom has it's pros and cons, I guess.

Me @ the MADE blog!

2011-04-09T07:56:00.000+02:00

This image is borrowed from the MADE blog.

As Kaptein Biff kindly pointed out to me yesterday, my tote is featured on the MADE blog!

I'm so proud, because this is such a great blog and I love to read it. Dana, who writes the blog, has lots of tips on easy sewing, and the photos are fabulous.
Her goal with the blog is to "share ideas and help the Sewer of any skill-level realize that they can sew without a store-bought pattern."
And I have to say, I just love that Spring Banner she has on her blog now. The floral cotton tape is so beautiful!

Photo from the MADE blog.

This is Dana with the tote and an orange top that goes so well together with the mustard color.

Today is Flea Market day! I'm going to one of my favorite flea markets. It is a thrill, because the fabrics I find today will decide the color range in my shop for the summer. I choose prints and print colors after the used fabrics I have available so I'm quite dependent on what I find.

Friday Favorites from Epla

2011-04-08T15:10:00.000+02:00

Here's my Friday favorites this week. I guess this is how I feel at the moment.

To see the whole list, click here.

Testing out coupon codes

2011-04-06T09:14:00.001+02:00

Shop news: Cowgirl tee now available for children size 2-6 years. You will also find them in my Epla shop.

Hi!

I'm testing out coupon codes on Etsy. I feel humbled that you take the time to read my blog, so my first coupon code will be for my blog followers. It will be possible to use the code during April 2011 in my Etsy shop. If you buy something in my shop, just add the code BLOGFREESHIPPING when requested, and you will get free shipping on your purchase in my Etsy shop Strand Redesign.
For my customers abroad, the shipping is expensive, so this could be a real bargain!

Etsy Love

2011-04-05T23:06:00.001+02:00

I just love shopping on Etsy! Here's my latest purchases from the site. You can find literally anything there!

Like this great bangle from Buy My Crap. PS The bracelet is a little greener than shown on the photo.

And this wonderful, embroidered heart is from one of my long time Etsy favorites, Indianablue.

This is a new favorite I found through Eco Etsy, upcycled shoulder bag from Betsy and Bess.

I have put this poster up in my classroom as a reminder for my students... It is from jaimers.

Great wrapping and lovely, eco friendly soap from Herban Lifestyle.

Do you have any favorite purchases from Etsy?

Handmade for Earth Day Auction 2011

2011-04-05T21:09:00.000+02:00

The fantastic team of ecofriendly Etsy shops has done it again!

The items shown over is just some of the items you can bid on.

WHAT: Handmade for Earth Day Auction sponsored by Team Eco Etsy will feature treasuries filled with eco-goodies that Team Eco Etsy members donated for different categories listed below. A bidder will be able to bid on as many categories as they want.

WHY: To celebrate and raise awareness about Earth Day, Team Eco Etsy proudly sponsors “Handmade for Earth Day Auction” and the proceeds from the auction is donated to a non-profit organization. This year, the proceeds will be donated to Habitat for Humanity in Japan to support the relief effort, to help rebuild and to aid Japanese earthquake survivors.

WHEN: The auctions began Monday, April 4, 2011 and will end on Sunday, April 24th, 2010. The winners will be announced on Monday, April 25th, 2010.

WHO: Auction is open worldwide.

WHERE: All auctions will be posted on this site, where bidders can post their bids in the comment section for different assortments of eco-goodies.

Go to Team Eco Etsy's homepage and have a look!
(PS! Great site with lots of resourches, BTW.)

I adore manners, -love, maude

2011-04-01T15:15:00.001+02:00

love, maude starts her Etsy profile like this:

"I like pretty. Just because it's pretty.
I like kind words and happy people. I adore manners."

And I so totally agree with her.
I choose the color and pattern of my coffee cups after my mood and what I wear. I hate wearing that ugly, orange signal vest when I play soccer at work. I'm probably damaged by working with art and design...

But anyway, I wanted to tell you that I'm so happy because I won this wonderful hand embroidered secret message necklace from love, maude's shop! I entered a giveaway on the olive bites blog. This is one of my favorite blogs and you should check it out!

love, maude's shop is full of enchanted, beautiful embroidery. Just look at the images below:

T-skjortesalg!

2011-03-31T20:29:00.000+02:00

Jeg har veldig bra tilbud på t-skjorter i eplabutikken min, STRAND, denne uka.
Du får 100 kroner i avslag på t-skjorter. Jeg refunderer beløpet via Paypal i etterkant.
Tilbudet varer til og med søndag 3. april.

Bruk stemmeretten!

2011-03-30T18:17:00.000+02:00

Nå skal det stemmes i Håndlaga 2011!
Dommerne har plukket ut ti finalister i hver kategori og du er med på å avgjøre hvem som skal vinne.
Er du en av de heldige utvalgte? -Da er det bare å spre budskapet.

Tusen takk til dommerne som har gjort en kjempejobb!
Og takk til sponsorene våre for kjempeflotte gevinster!
Du kan stemme en gang pr kategori, så tenk deg godt om. Avstemningen er åpen fram til 12. april og vinnerne offentliggjøres den 14. april.

Løp og stem!

Spring is in the air

2011-03-28T13:13:00.000+02:00

If you're looking for just one accessory for your spring wardrobe this year, you should choose this one! It's a tote I've sewn from the cutest white and green floral curtain ever. And the best part was that it came with a charming, green trimming which I kept. (Of course. Anything else would have been madness.)

It's a one-of-a-kind and can be found in my Epla shop.

Last week I was busy preparing for my lovely colleague, Inger's, birthday party. She was born in the fiftees, so the dress code was in 50s style. I found this fantastic polkadot dress among my old dress collection. It was made by my mother's aunt Ragnhild.

It needed some slight adjustmens that had to be done mainly by hand.

I have listed this Hilda the Hen pillow case in my Epla shop.

I have to run down now and sew some more! There's some new cow totes waiting to be finished.

I hope you'll have a lovely week!

Interviewed

2011-03-23T22:56:00.000+01:00

Today, I'm interviewed over at the crow rooster crow blog.

Click here if you want to read it.

The blog is written by the lovely Ariana. She takes the most beautiful photos. I love it whenever she has some new ones to share.

Like this one.

Thank you, Ariana!

Copenhagen

2011-03-20T21:55:00.000+01:00

I was in Copenhagen last weekend with the ladies. I know people ususally say "with the girls", but let's face it, we're not 19 anymore. We started out at a cafe with these fabulous anemones. I become so happy when I see some real flowers in a restaurant . -Don't you?

Of course, we spent a lot of time in shops. And I took some photos for my visual merchandising students.

More flowers, and TEA at Perch's tea room. -And scones with marmalade and lemon curd... Lovely!

You can see how happy I am here. In the middle of my big "tea ceremony", -which wasn't a tea ceremony at all, but a huge collection of finger sandwiches, petit fours and scones. And tea.

I found some fabrics and teatowels at Grønlykke.

Inspired by the spring fabrics, I had to make some spring totes when I got home.

Inger the Hen strolls happily along in the greens.

I won!

2011-03-10T21:14:00.000+01:00

I'm so happy! I just won this wonderful painting by IJ with one of my favorite blogs,

the lovely blog: Vestablikk. I love her colorful photos, her style and everything she makes.

And tomorrow, the happiness continues. -I'm going to Copenhagen with some very good friends. The sort of weekend you know, when you concentrate on looking/shopping, coffee, good meals, inspiration and good laughs. The lovely, cute, small people (who says they don't like the food, and that they're bored or so tired, they can't walk any longer) are left home with their dads and are probably having a smashing time too.

I hope you'll have a lovely weekend!

Fun jewelry!

2011-03-09T21:10:00.000+01:00

I just found these Oh-so-fun neclaces. -Love them!

They're from Als Wulfianum on Epla.

Take a look in their shop!

Secret writing

2011-03-05T20:23:00.000+01:00

-Something fun to do with your kids!

Use lemon juice, dip the back of a matchstick in the juice and write your secret message on a piece of paper.
When it dries, it becomes invisible. To make it visible, you need to hold it carefully over a candle until the secret writing appears! (A bowl of water near by could be smart. -We had a couple of accidents...)

This should preferably be done late in the evening, under a full moon...
My daughter and her friend loved the activity and have now decided that they shall start a Secret Club.

Happy Weekend!

2011-03-04T18:22:00.000+01:00

I had a calm day at home with my daughter today. She insisted on taking a photo of me sewing.

I'm enjoying my new overlock sewing machine!

Two new totes finished! Two more nearly ready.

Have a lovely weekend!

Eco tip

2011-03-03T14:33:00.001+01:00

My daughter's tights got holes on the toes too fast!
Emergency actions were needed.
I cut off the feet and made them Into leggings. I used an elastic trim, twin needles and the elastic seam on my sewing machine.
So now, she can use her red leggings the rest of the winter.

I still find it awfully difficult to deal with elastic fabrics. I thought the twin needles might be the solution, but I still struggle.
Help needed!

Har du nominert?

2011-03-02T22:54:00.000+01:00

I will start to say I'm sorry to my english speaking readers! -The following information will be in Norwegian. Normal posts will be in English, as usual.

Hei! Har du vært innom Håndlaga 2011 og nominert?

Fram til 18.mars er det mulig å nominere sine egne og andres håndlagde ting til konkurransen.
Vi syntes det var viktig at man også skulle kunne nominere seg selv, for det er ikke sikkert man har blitt "oppdaget" av andre ennå og da er det fint med en sjanse til å få vist seg fram.
Det er åtte kategorier.
Du kan nominere maks en ting du har laget selv og maks en ting laget av noen andre i hver kategori.

Etter 18. mars, vil dommerne se gjennom alle nominasjonene og velge de ti de synes er best innen hver kategori.
Deretter blir det åpen avstemning!

Du nominerer ved å skrive en kommentar under et innlegg. Hvis du for eksempel vil nominere i kategorien for barn, finner du det innlegget og kommenterer under det. Du kommenterer ved å skrive hvem som har laget det du vil vise fram og lime inn en link. Det er også flott om du skriver hvorfor du vil nominere akkurat denne gjenstanden.

For fullstendige konkurranseregler, les her.

Vi har jobbet lenge og hardt med dette og har også fått mange fantastiske sponsorer til gevinstene samt vidunderlige dommere som vi er veldig stolte av!
Vi håper dette kan bli et positivt arrangement hvor vi hjelper hverandre fram i rampelyset og gir oss selv og andre positiv feedback!

Spør oss hvis det er noe du lurer på!
Vi vil gjerne ha MANGE nominasjoner!
Velkommen!

Slow Monday

2011-02-21T17:20:00.000+01:00

My daughter's been at home today, slightly sick.

So I haven't been able to do so much sewing and printing.

She is more than happy to help me with the photos! The vest she's wearing is one from my childhood.

The new star pillow case is in my Epla shop. The fantastic stool is from Wood & Wool Stool.

I love my t-shirts!

2011-02-18T15:03:00.000+01:00

When I go shopping and try t-shirts in the shops, I usually get annoyed. They are often too small around the neck and I feel strangled. Or they are too tight around the waist. I guess you would tell me to choose a larger one, but I feel more comfortable with my own size.
This is why I decided to order my own model for my t-shirts. One with a feminine scoop neck and a more comfortable waist.
It was a much more expensive choice, but when I get home from my annoying shopping round, and try on one of my own tees, -it feels right. I just love my own t-shirt model!
They run a bit big, so if you are in between two sizes, you might want to choose the smallest one.
I have included measurements for the different sizes in my policies/om denne butikken, so you can find the perfect size for you.
Here's my tees on Etsy, and here's the womens tees on Epla.

I have finally made my new star print!
I have listed the tee in my shops with the option to choose your own color for the star.
I love stars and I love red, so this is how mine ended up. Some people find this star to be a political symbol. Do you?

Have a lovely weekend!