fun little monster knit

My 11 year old little guy never asks for me to knit anything for him

but when he saw this little monster chunk from Rebecca Danger 

he had to have one right away!

I had some left over yarn, felt and glass eyes so I got started right away. 

Pattern was easy to follow. My little guy loved his new friend!

Now I have several orders from my little girl and oh, the little guy wants

some more...

Spun Cotton Valentines Bunny

 sweet little bunny valentine

standing 6" tall on a red glitter heart

crepe paper dress

silk ribbon belt

xox

glitter and hearts

A whole lot of glitter and hearts at the moment. February is fun, lots of love and sparkle. Until..  a whole container of glitter ended up 

on the floor... not fun anymore. What a waste of glitter!

My favorite coffee mug, thank you Charlotte! You know me pretty well :)

Love it!

Valentine knit

Tonights project : a small valentine bunny made from scrap yarn and a couple of buttons that were floating around in one of my kitchen drawers. I need to find a better place for random buttons.

Bunny was inspired by Rebecca Danger 's bunny nuggets.

A day of exploring outdoor art installations in Palo Alto

On our way home from Palo Alto, my little guy Oliver and I were driving past Palo Alto Art Center. We stopped to see the installation of Lawn Bowls - Lawn bowling balls made from 10 000 recycled plastic bags. Assembled by close to 100 people. The balls were scattered on the lawn in front of Palo Alto Lawn Bowls Club.  We took the time to walk through the exhibit. What a great way to 

make something not interesting turn into something very interesting.

We got back in the car and drove two more blocks only to see an amazing structure in the park outside Palo Alto Art Club! Again we stopped the car and walked over to investigate.

The installation looked like a dream like village or  from Dr Seuss and Moomin

Turns our it was one of  Patrick Dougherty's incredible sculptures. Made from tons of Willow vines.

Oliver investigates

Willow branches weaves in an out of the walls in a beautiful flow. You can walk inside the entire structure. You can touch the walls. Look up at the flow of branches above your head.

I felt as if I was inside a tree, a very special tree.

An amazing piece of art, I really like that it is set up to be walked through, touched  and enjoyed by everyone. One day it will deteriorate, then it will be made into wood chips and spread out in the parks.

What a nice use of our nature.

This picture reminds me of a crazy birdhouse village

 Peeking through a window

As a stark contrast to the flowing lines of Drocherty's sculpture you will find Jerome Kirk's "Homage to Silence"

Oliver spent 30 minutes trying to climb to the top. He absolutely loved the sculpture. The circles swivel and move so he finally

had to give up and decided instead to create his own art 

We will be back to explore some more. I asked my little guy if it made sense to make bowling balls out of plastic bags and placing them on the law and there was no doubt in his mind that it made totally sense.

Love how kids accept and understands things that adults sometimes questions. Love their way of thinking.

lovely day in San Francisco

Lovely are friends that treasure the little details in our world, the wonderful 

little things that makes you feel so blessed to be alive.

A  window display, a beautifully tiled floor

a paper dress on a mannequin,

a cup of coffee made

with care.

 I had an amazing day in my favorite city with great friends, what a treat.

First stop Ritual Coffee on Hayes st. The coffee shop is in a container that will be there for a few years until the city decides what will be built in the spot.

A beautiful red meat truck stands parked next to the coffee shop. It was closed, oh well we did not have a cooler anyway. Maybe next time on the way out of town we will stop by to shop for dinner.

Loved the lights that were strung across the yard!

Sidewalk garden/patio placed through out the city create outdoor seating and it is only taking up two/three parking spots. What a fine idea!

Made our way down to Union St. We had breakfast at Roses Cafe, my favorite for years! 

My breakfast pizza was smiling to me

Fillmore st. 

Had to try a salad at Roostertail on Sutter St, before running down to Japan Town 

and back up to the car.

Hm, the car had a parking ticket but we agreed we had such a wonderful day so

we managed to not let that pop our bubble :)

Happy, lucky and grateful!

paper flower tutorial

I love crepe paper flowers. They are great decorations for a party. I have usually make them for my daughters birthday party. We have hung them from the wall with streamers and garlands, used them as decor on the treat bags the kids have brought home and piled them in a basket as table decor. 

To make these flowers you will need:

- roll of streamer made from crepe paper

-floral tape

-flower stamens

-scissors

-ruler

For these flowers I bought the flower stamens from a local art supply store you might be able to find them at Michaels or you can order them from Blumchen 

The streamers can be found in party supply stores. The floral tape you will find at Michaels 

Cut a 35 cm or 14" piece of streamer and round off the corers with you scissors like in the picture.

Place the flower stamen in one end of the crepe paper and fold/gather the bottom of the paper towards the flower stem.

Continue gathering the bottom of the paper working around the stem.

I continue working the paper two rounds around the stamen

Gather the paper tight at the stamen.

Place the floral tape on the outside of the flower petal, about 1- 1 1/2 cm or 1/2" wrap the 

floral tape tightly around the gathered paper at an angle spiraling towards the stem of the flower.

Continue wrapping the floral tape towards the end of the stamen, the tape is sticky and can neatly

finish at the end of the stamen.

I like to carefully push and pull the paper a little after the flower is finished to give it a little

more natural look. 

Happy flower making!