Greenery

I'm trying my hand at growing plants these days. Or should i rather say keeping them alive? A couple of years ago this was not possible at all since my dear Luna loved to eat anything that looked green. I actually tried to have a bit of a grassy patch for her in a pot on my balcony but it ended up as her loo! So that didn't last long. When i did finally let her roam around outside on her own and she grew up so much that she's not interested in anything else but sleep... well only then could i bring in plants again and enjoy them. I've had a couple of mishaps but not many. The picture above is of the ficus in my bathroom. The green against the white really makes a statement. I also got an office plant which gives me some privacy and i love it for that. Was quite a mission to figure out the office plant though because it is a mixed bowl containing 4 different plants. Now to my thinking these 4 plants will like a similar climate and handling. Alas! One did not make it. But the other 3 adapted well to office life and i've figured out how much water i need to give it. Indeed, i'm enjoying plants so much these days that i'm looking forward to starting my own little vegetable garden in pots and adding more plants to my new flat. Gardening does pass as a craft doesn't it?

Kreado - Mosaic and Pewter

So as promised here is one of beautiful pewter and mosaic mirrors we made on Saturday. As you can see, we were sitting under the trees busy with our art work. This particular frame was done by Karen van Sckalkwyk who for the first time finished on time! Well done Karen! I consider Karen and her friend Merle regulars of Kreado since they've been there four times or more. It's lovely having regulars because they also help the other first timers. This is especially needed with a large group of people. Since i'm organising Kreado on my own these days i've considered limiting the numbers to 15. That's a steep number by itself but as i've seen with a previous pewter session it was possible. As long as some friends / regulars are available to help me out. And of course the help of my love when we are setting up before the people arrive is so much appreciated.
This past Saturday there were 4 people that joined me for the session. Like i said yesterday, this was the perfect amount to be able to finish the project. Last night at home i also did some mosaic work and pewter and will post the final result soon. It's wonderful to do crafting! In my mind it's totally therapeutic.

Décor Infatuation

Our Mosaic and Pewter Kreado session was a huge success. There weren't that many people but i am really glad for this. Doing to different techniques can be daunting for first timers especially with a time limit of 3 hours. Well they proved to me it is indeed possible. Well within 4 hours at least. I'll post a pic of this Kreado session tomorrow. Of course, i was inspired to do my own art work again and i am also busy with a mirror frame that will have pewter leaves on it. I've already planned to do a session next year that involves 'pewtering' an entire cross and then painting it with glass paint.

The above art work i found while browsing some links that Martha Stewart posted. It's the art work of Julie Legg. As far as i can gather she's a photographer who does fine art with photography. Beautiful works of nature and her new venture of landscapes is mostly her focus. I also came across a very handy blog with the name
"The Inspired Room". There are truly such interesting things to find on the web. But i must admit i would never have known if it wasn't for my RSS Feed, Feedly. One of Firefox's many extra features.The reason for me being interested in "The Inspired Room" is mostly because of my endless search for beautiful décor ideas. You see i'm moving end of December and i am so excited to have a bigger place to decorate and try new ideas out on that i can't help but drown myself in décor blogs. So go have a look!

In love with books

I grew up with books. There's nothing quite like discovering a great book and world to lose yourself in. I remember during school when i was reading a wonderful book i couldn't wait to get home in the afternoon to read until the early hours of the morning on my bed. It was great times for me. These days it is a struggle to sit down and drown myself in a book. It's more like a true leisure activity that seldom happens. I do confess that i also love to read in the bath. Until the water gets cold. And nowadays bathing is my reading time. Currently, and i'm ashamed to say this, i'm still busy reading 'The Girl who played with Fire' by Stieg Larson. I started reading the book last year but i seem to struggle finishing it. Why? Isn't it a compelling read? No not at all, in fact i find it very entertaining. I love the 'Whodoneit?' stories. It's all a matter of time and priorities. During my school years i had plenty of time to read 6 books in 2 weeks. My life now doesn't afford me that though. In retrospect i do think that i would have been a good librarian. But for now I'm still busy with it and i'm planning to take a bath soon to finish it!