Meandering Craftily

New Monoprix Ads

2010-11-05T14:08:00.002+01:00

I love these - simple, but eye-catching.

I particularly like the tea ad they have up in the metro

Birthday Party Invites

2010-09-18T08:17:00.002+02:00

Birthday Party Invites
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Long time no post and no comment on my laziness!

We are getting ready for the big birthday party and she is very excited to finally have a proper party now that we have a big enough space to have one in.

I spent forever designing a balloon themed invitation, but Miss P decided to go for a pin-wheel theme instead. Since I'm a hoarder, I was able to break out the origami paper, grabbed inspiration for easy origami pinwheels from this great tute, some pretty fonts from dafont and had 13 pretty invitations 2 hours later.

Today we are off to pick up party supplies; I want to try to get some nice party favor bags from Salagnac (thanks to Cilou for the tip), some cheap frames as we are going to make it an art-themed party (I got the idea from here), and some cake making stuff from G Detou

I love dafont

2010-08-27T13:44:00.002+02:00

Dafont is the best place to go font hunting!

I'm loving these:
Telegrafico
Cicle
Mamma Gamma
Lane
SF Old Republic
Grutch Grotesk
Ayla
Bebas Neue
Highway Gothic
Seattle Sans
Market Deco

map of my Parisian Meanderings

2009-12-07T07:08:00.002+01:00

I had fun playing with Google Maps and mapped out my route, stops and even put photos on it!

View 2009 12 05 in a larger map

Parisian Meanderings

2009-12-06T00:10:00.002+01:00

I went for a huge walk today and took lots of pictures (you can see the set here).

Details coming up!

Coloring for big girls

2009-12-03T06:08:00.002+01:00

Am I the only one who still breaks out my secret stash of crayolas and tip-toe into the kids room once they are asleep to borrow one of their coloring books? Probably.

Anyway, there is a great French website called Filles with Color for those of us who do still like to color, brought to you by a group of women designers. Each month they choose a theme and each do a different illustration that you can download. They are doing an advent calendar of sorts for Christmas, with one new illustration per day that you can download in color or black & white.

I think Nanikaa's mistletoe would stitch up nicely!

how sad...

2009-11-22T12:02:00.002+01:00

Flickr Faves... 22 November
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

is it that my 100th post is actually a FlickrFave?

Sigh.

Finds

2009-11-22T11:00:00.003+01:00

Temporary antique fairs spring up all over the city in the autumn; we ran into one in the 7th (Ecole Militaire) on our way home from the dentist and the library. I know the box was overpriced, and probably was brought home years ago from someone's jaunt to Amsterdam filled with cheap candies, but it was too pretty to pass up.

Fred and Friends make the greatest, useful and wonderful stuff for the home. Since Phoebe has discovered the joy of Asian food, much to the dismay of the wait stuff of the restaurants that we frequent, I thought that these may come in handy.

Oh, and look at their M-Cups... aren't they adorable?

Kidding around

2009-11-22T09:22:00.002+01:00

I
I know that I'm pretty lucky with my kids; they are generally polite, well-behaved and lovely - but one of them is male and approaching teendom with frightening speed.
Elliott was being tetchy yesterday, playing GTA and getting obnoxious with his sister (see mosaic below) and I would have gotten angry with him... but he then tried to yell (see video).

I couldn't yell at him for the laughing!

Funny things are everywhere

2009-11-22T09:04:00.002+01:00

Swatch Store Champs Elysées...
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

I, like most people who live in a big city, do not often take the time to stop and take in the little details of those places that you know well.

In France, most stores are closed on Sundays, with the exception of the big ones on the Champs-Elysées. The Champs is not my favorite place in the world, I don't think it is the most beautiful street in Paris and it has too many tourists and crappy stores, but we often end up there on Sundays.

Last week, Ell and I had a bit of free time just the two of us on Sunday morning and took advantage of the calm to lazily idle down the avenue. I looked at the Swatch store to check the time on the over-sized swatch they have hanging outside, stopped and started cracking up. Elliott was looking at me as if I was crazy, then finally got it as I managed to point to the watch face...

Need a quick laugh?

2009-11-22T08:55:00.002+01:00

If you ever need a break from the tedium of your day and have a few minutes to waste, I suggest the following sites, guaranteed to make you laugh out loud.

It made my day - for the optimists - a few of my favorites:

I was playing Lego Star Wars with my 8 yr old daughter. She kept killing me and I told her we were on the same side. She replied “I work alone,” and proceeded to kill me again. IMMD

I was digging through my old first grade notebook today. In response to a prompt that read “I am happy to be a kid because…” I wrote, “I can sit on the toilet backwards and yell Yeehaw!” IMMD.

I was in LA with my family and we hopped on the metro and sat down. The next stop a clown got on and sat down and started making balloon animals for the passengers. The following stop another clown got on. They acknowledged each other with a nod of the head and a glare of the eyes, then started a balloon-animal battle. IMMD. (see photo)

FMLife* - for those who enjoy schadenfreude - a few of my favorites:

Today, I babysat 3 year old twins. They have a huge dry erase board hanging in between their beds. After they fell asleep I drew a very detailed and large drawing of a penis. When I went to erase it I realized it was in Sharpie. FML
Today, I was at a zoo with some friends in Germany. People were talking to this bird and it responded in complete, grammatically correct German sentences. One of my friends said 'Wow, that bird has better grammar than the exchange student!' A bird speaks better German than me. FML
Today, after months of trying to potty train my son, he finally told me he used the potty. I went to the bathroom to check. There was nothing there. So I asked him "Where did you go to the potty?". He then grabbed my hand and took me to the cat's litter box. My son has successfully litter trained himself. FML

FMLife is the English version of Vie de Merde, which I find more amusing (have I spent too much time here?):

Aujourd'hui, mon père remplit un formulaire pour moi. À la question : "Handicap physique, si oui, lequel", il a répondu : "Oui, blonde." VDM Today my father was filling out a form for me. To the question "Physical handicap, if yes, please describe", he answered "Yes, blond". FML

Aujourd'hui, je suis institutrice. Inspectée ce matin, je suis stressée mais confiante, car ma classe de petits n'est pas trop pénible. Vers la fin de la matinée, le petit Thomas arrive vers moi, me pose les mains sur les fesses et lance à l'inspecteur : "Elle a un beau cul, ma maîtresse, hein ?" VDM Today, I'm a teacher and had an in-class inspection. I'm stressed, but confident as my class of young children is pretty good. Towards the end of the morning, little Thomas comes up to me, puts his hands on my bum and says to the inspector, "Doesn't my teacher have a great ass?" FML
Aujourd'hui, mon fils m'a lancé un ultimatum. Soit j'apprends à mieux cuisiner, soit il part vivre chez sa grand-mère. Il a six ans. VDM Today my son gave me an ultimatum; either I learn to cook or he goes to live with his grandmother. He is six. FML

The next thing you know

2009-11-18T00:00:00.004+01:00

When I was young and uncomfortable with what my life was like, or with myself at any given moment, I would play a game with myself. I don't know that I ever told anyone of the game, I don't think that I could have explained it properly or even if I did, if anyone would understand, and I'm not sure I can do it now. As I grew, and my worries more complex, I stopped playing the game and somewhere along the line, I even forgot it completely.

Now that I am older and have much more hindsight, I can remember how much it helped me then and I want to start playing again. So, I will try to explain.

You take stock of the moment in which you are in and which you are uncomfortable, unhappy, etc. You take in all aspects of it, the words that are being said, the weather around you, the smells, the sounds, and you gather it all in your mind... study it, analyze it until it is like a capsule. You tell yourself to remember it, never forget it and think how real and present it all is. You tell yourself that the next thing you know (or more specifically, the next time you think of it) it will be in the past and you will be far away, a different person looking back at a long forgotten memory.

I remembered this because I was lying in bed reading a book and Spandau Ballet's True came on the radio tonight. The last time I can remember playing that game I must have been 14 or 15... I was in the car with my mother, was listening to the same song on the radio, being driven north through Berkeley passing the Claremont Hotel and being desperately unhappy.

It is now 23 years later and I live in Paris, have a great job, a pretty good life and a son who is almost the same age I was then....

What I'm liking today

2009-11-17T22:59:00.002+01:00

reading
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

I'm usually in a huge funk from October through April; though I've lived in Paris for more than half of my life, I'm still a Californian by heart, and have never gotten used to the grey, dismal weather that we have here - it always affects my moods in the most horrible of ways.

I have, strangely, been in the best of moods for the past week, despite the worst of circumstances (work issues, my ex getting married, moving on, major dental issues, etc).

The following have helped with my mood:

- signing up to the American Library
- my children
- cooking (Lemon Pudding Cake, Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake, Veggy Chili, Quiches, ect)
- the prospect of a great girl's night out here (I'm having the scallops, the chicken then the chocolate cake)
- sushi with friends in a great new restaurant down the road, at Phoebe's request
-an upcoming reunion with best friends from afar in London and Dublin
- good music with this
- hypnosis
- listening to La Vie en Rose on the metro
- having a tragedy turn into something good
- reading Mairu's inspiring blog
- sharing a smile with a stranger in an overcrowded metro car

I love how a chain of small, inconsequential events can add up to a wonderful day, week... life.

howdy stranger

2009-11-14T08:02:00.009+01:00

I'm finally getting used to autumn and have vanquished the blues that come with it, so am writing this long overdue post.

I uploaded my Barcelona pictures to flickr

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

and looking at them again, I'm wishing I was still there. I'm also thinking that I should have gone out with the Spanish exchange student instead of the French one all of those years ago. The climate of Barcelona, its proximity to water and nature, its colors and wonderful details much better suit my personality. But I'm not complaining about living in Paris!

I didn't bring much back, except a bunch of Bad Toro things for Ell (and for me , because I find it hilarious):

oh, and Desigual. Sigh. If you know me, you know that my closet is full of shades of black, grey, and brown. While there is an occasional splash of color, I dress in a very bland way. Not anymore:

I got two dresses, two skirts and one for Phoebe. Then I obviously had to buy a pair of blue shoes to go with ... I think I'm going crazy in my old age!

Flickr Faves - 25 October

2009-10-23T12:21:00.001+02:00

Flickr Faves - 25 October
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

because

2009-10-19T11:08:00.003+02:00

I'm too lazy to actually sit down and write a proper entry, here is another meme from Pip at Meet me at Mike's via Things to Make and Do (check out her nursery, it is to die for)

The idea is to copy and paste all the questions and answer them with one word only.

1. Where is your mobile phone? home

2. Your hair? up

3. Your mother? enterprising

4. Your father? funny

5. Your favourite food? pasta

6. Your dream last night? forgettable

7. Your favourite drink? wine

8. Your dream/goal? happiness

9. What room are you in? work

10. Your hobby? trying

11. Your fear? rejection

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here

13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something that you aren’t? mean

15. Muffins? poppyseed

16. Wish list item? space

17. Where did you grow up? California

18. Last thing you did? typed

19. What are you wearing? skirt

20. Your TV? off

21. Your pet? shedding

22. Friends? awesome

23. Your life? pleasant

24. Your mood? happy

25. Missing someone? yes
26. Vehicle? none

27. Something you’re not wearing? jewelry

28. Your favorite store? busy

29. Your favorite color? purple

30. When was the last time you laughed? this morning

31. Last time you cried? recently

32. Your best friend? far

33. One place that I go to over and over? work

34. One person who emails me regularly? Gab

35. Favorite place to eat? out

a step up from Guitar Hero

2009-10-01T06:59:00.003+02:00

a step up from Guitar Hero
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Autumn has arrived and has taken its toll on us, as we all have nasty colds, which explains a certain lack of craftiness of late.

Peter arrived back from his most recent jaunt to the states last night and managed to teach Elliott the opening cords of Cream's "Sunshine of your Love" in the space of 20 minutes. Ell was so taken with it that he played until 9:30 and went to bed with blisters on his fingers.

I also managed to drag all 26 lbs worth of my new KitchenAid mixer home last night, but that tired me out so much that it is still in its box. I'm going to have to get rid of my electric coffee maker to make room for it, and will replace with this manual coffee press, which is, for some strange reason €109 on the Bodum site, but only €32.50 on Amazon France.

I'm off to Barcelona tomorrow and am very happy about finally seeing Gaudi's Sagrada Familia and Park Guell...

Adios!

Mine - Mine - Mine

2009-09-28T14:00:00.005+02:00

I know I live in a 600 sq foot flat, with the world's narrowest kitchen and have no real room for this. And, yes, I do realize that I have a full time job and will never have time to make cookies every night and bread every morning, but how could I possibly pass up the 300€ price tag?

new stuff

2009-09-23T22:39:00.006+02:00

new stuff
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Ah, what a week it has been so far....

P being the hypochondriac that she is, I looked at her little scrapes on Monday night and gave the magical mommy kisses and told that I was sure her arm would feel better after a good night's sleep. The story got a little old the next day when she was still complaining about it, but since we were going to the doctor anyway, we showed it to him and he looked me and said: "she isn't exaggerating this time... see it is swollen. Didn't you notice?" OOOPS! Two x-rays and a visit to the emergency room and she came home with a cast! She has a torus fracture, which is called a 'motte de beurre' in French, which means a lump of butter, and cracked me up.
We are going to experiment with Sharpies to see if they work well on resin casts - I've promised to try to draw a nice picture in exchange for having been such a mère indigne (indignant mother)!

The whole incident went over a lot easier since she also came home with her first cell phone (yes, she is only 9, but goes to sport and school by herself, so it is a necessary evil).

I've been reading The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Steig Larsson and it is so much better in English than in French! The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is coming out next week (ithe English version that is - Americans have to wait until May 11th) and I've already pre-ordered it , even though I have it in French, but just can't be bothered to read it.

Since P is obsessed with Mamma Mia, and I couldn't find my Abba Gold CD, I put on the Waterloo album that someone gave me for Christmas. I've been listening to the King Kong Song over and over and have discovered that I like pretty much EVERYTHING that Abba came out with.

Lastly, I discovered Shakespeare & Co's website since a friend is going to be reading there on Monday from his new book, The Magnificent Mrs Tennant and it is beautiful (both the book and the website).

I leave you with a funny picture of P's yogurt covered spoon - the face was the result of her trying to blow bubbles on it!

Monday Musings

2009-09-14T07:07:00.004+02:00

Weather: mixed - more rain than shine.
Mood: bleark
Song of the day: "Pull up the Roots" - the Talking Heads

Stuff I learned:

you can transfer laser images to cotton (for embroidery) or even wood with acetone - no more expensive disappearing ink pens! Found via One Pretty Thing
Don't feel guilty about calling your doctor and insisting if you think something is wrong - you might be right
I may no longer love my ex, but boy, does he still know how to make me laugh
School sucks and I'm glad that is over with!
Sometimes you will never know why and you have to learn to live with it

Quiet Sunday

2009-09-13T22:32:00.003+02:00

Weather: autumnal mixed (16°C/61°F)
Mood: painful
Song of the day: "The Drugs don't Work" - the Verve
Kids: quiet
What's cooking: chocolate mousse parfaits for dinner with the neighbors

Stuff we did:

doodled the Ed Emberly way
played with the cake decorator bag I got at IKEA (highly recommend)
visited with soon to be parents
had a nap
had dinner with the neighbors

Today's photos:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Saturday Stuff

2009-09-12T09:11:00.003+02:00

Weather: sunny and autumnal (20°C/68°F)
Mood: downtrodden
Song of the day: "Changes" - David Bowie
Kids: good (4 is better than 2)
What's cooking: Cider Chicken with Cauliflower/Potato Mash (yes, I'm emptying the freezer)

Stuff I bought:

What I learned:

you can find lots of flickr stuff here
you can embed Flickr and Picasa images to your blog/web page here

Stuff we did:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Friday Flickr Faves - 11 September

2009-09-11T07:25:00.002+02:00

Friday Flickr Faves - 11 September
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Phoebe is 9

2009-09-08T07:29:00.002+02:00

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

We had a nice family celebration for Phoebe's 9th birthday: sushi/yakitori for dinner, a fraisier and lots of literary presents!

I also learned two useful words in French:
Clipboard (the old-school kind) = plaque porte bloc
Metal Stamps = poinçons à frapper

I'm baaaaack

2009-09-06T09:26:00.002+02:00

Find!
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

After a lovely holiday, but a horrible week spent getting over jet lag, I'm back at home and back to work.

I found these in the Muslim butcher shop right across the road - they thought I was totally crazy to be so happy to find eggs - wouldn't you be if you finally found white eggs after 15+ years of looking?? I can't wait for Easter.

soon

2009-08-06T08:11:00.004+02:00

The Cove
Originally uploaded by Qaanaaq

D-2 for a much deserved holiday.... sigh.

Friday Flickr Faves

2009-07-24T07:53:00.003+02:00

1. a-hello-a-day, 2. hand type, 3. light doodle 1, 4. paper flowers, 5. Atelier Eva Juliet, 6. light doodle 2, 7. beuys bunny, 8. Fawn Child & Oscar, 9. Two Snow Walkers Blueberry Ice and Pistachio, 10. wip-day 107/365, 11. egg-hunt-buckets, 12. Sappy, 13. You're Crazy, 14. dots and echos, 15. Tartelette, 16. Quilling by Yulia Brodskaya, 17. Madame Bovary, 18. Grump, 19. Twin sock bunnies, 20. Hand printed scarf, 21. scarves - a mix of colours, 22. happy 40 years to my in-laws., 23. antiqued wooden signs, 24. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Pictures by Virginia Lee Burton, 25. Rapunzel Baby Comforter, 26. alliums in a row, 27. unfinished doodle - dlion, 28. Love, love, love..., 29. rain., 30. Alabama Chanin skirt and stitchery, 31. B&W Magazine Box Details, 32. avenging narwhal, 33. Experiments, 34. imagination, 35. brooches to be, 36. slow progress...

Liberty Fairy Clock

2009-07-17T11:44:00.002+02:00

Liberty Fairy Clock
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

I love Liberty fabric but as my sewing skills are sub-par, I have been telling myself that I can buy any until I make some progress.

Then I saw this collection.

Sigh.

Phoebe....no comment necessary

2009-07-14T10:18:00.002+02:00

Phoebe....no comment necessary
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

This is in no way a crafty post.... but I had to blog it so that I won't ever forget how much monster #2 cracks me up.

The story behind this:
We had just bought her her first pair of Heely's (Heelies??) at Les Halles and she couldn't wait to try them on, of course. We get them out of the bag, only to notice that they gave us the wrong wheels. I left her in the care of some really nice teenagers, go running back to the store and change them. We pop in the right wheels, and off she goes, trying to use them while studying the instructions very carefully.

I love that kid.

Family Scrapbook

2009-07-14T09:59:00.003+02:00

Family Scrapbook Mosaic
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

When you have two kids, you end up with a lot of drawings that you don't really know what to do with.

I used to keep them on the fridge, but they would get stained, fall off, curl up. I tried to wallpaper my kitchen cabinets with them, but it just looked awful. Then I ordered the wrong size notebook for work and couldn't send it back, so I (god I hope no one at work reads this) took it home and started a drawing scrapbook.

my shoebox fetish

2009-07-14T09:05:00.004+02:00

The crafty bug bit me late, sometime right after the birth of monster #2 and I started by collaging shoeboxes. Environmentally friendly, useful and cheap... perfect!

Unfortunately, my then husband is/was a bit of a clean freak. Actually, I'm understating; how many people do you know keep a rolling stock of 5 economy size bottles of window cleaner at the ready? Don't believe me... check out the proof. He hated the little scraps of paper everywhere, the piles of magazines I would keep just in case or see the point of handmade storage.

Anyway, now that I can be as sloppy as I like and live just next to a shoe store, I can collage to my heart's content, especially since I found rubber cement in Paris (Rougier & Plé in the 11th)!

iTunes faves: a music meme

2009-06-27T09:06:00.003+02:00

uh oh, I think I'm on a roll here! Using the same principal as the "Frequently visited websites - alphabetical order" meme, I'm doing the same thing with iTunes

Open iTunes
Sort by title
Choose the most listened to song for each letter (and number if you like)

# - #9 Dream - John Lennon
0 - 09:00:00 AM - Girls in Hawaii
1 - 1985 - Bowling for Soup
2 - 20th Century Boy - T Rex
3 - 3 R`s - Jack Johnson
4 - 40' - Franz Ferdinand
5 - 5 And A Half Minute Hallway - Poe
6 - 66 - Afghan Whigs
8 - 88 Lines About 44 Women - The Nails
9 - 9 Crimes - Damien Rice
A - All These Things That I've Done - The Killers
B - Brand New Friend - Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
C - California Stars - Wilco
D - Do You Remember - Jack Johnson
E - Everyday is Like Sunday - 10,000 Maniacs
F - Femme libérée - Cookie Dingler
G - Good People - Jack Johnson
H - Hide your love away - The Beatles
I - In Other Words - Ben Kweller
J - Johnny B Good - Chuck Berry
K - Keep on Rockin in the Free World - Neil Young
L - Let's Get Retarded - Black Eyed Peas
M - Minnie petite souris - Henri Salvador
N - No Other Way - Jack Johnson
O - Open Book - Cake
P - People Watching - Jack Johnson
Q - Quicksand - Travis
R - Race Car YaYa's - Cake
S - Sugar Sugar - The Archies
T - This Is The Day - The The
U - Un Monde Parfait Original) - Ilona
V - Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
W - Wonderwall - Oasis
X - X - Xzibit (not my favorite, obviously)
Y - Yellow Submarine - The Beatles
Z - Za - Supergrass

I didn't realize just how much I liked Jack Johnson!

A to Z internet meme

2009-06-27T07:27:00.003+02:00

It has been awhile since I've done a meme, and since it is 7:30 on a Saturday morning and I have too much to do, now is a good time for this one - as seen at Meet Me at Mike's :

Here's what to do : one by one, type each letter of the alphabet in the URL Line* of your Browser. Your most visited sites beginning with this letter - or using this letter within their address - will show in the little pop-up box below the URL Line. Take the top site - or the next one if you have privacy/security issues with the first - and add it to your A to Z list.

*Variant: since I use Google Reader for everything, I hardly ever enter addresses in the URL line, so I just looked at my feed list.

A: A fond les ballons
B: Book Hour Craft Projects
C: Ciloubidouille
D: Dooce
E: Paris Météo (yipee, looks like it is going to be sunny and warm again!)
F: FD's Flickr Toys
G: Geeksugar
H: Hello My Name is Heather
I: IGoogle
J: Just Something I Made
K: Katie Did
L: YummyLolly
M: Meet Me at Mike's
N: Navel Gazing at its finest
O: One Pretty Thing
P: Pink Paper Peppermints
Q: Rosalie Quinlan Designs
R: Raspberry
S: She Just Walks Around With It
T: Tarte Workshop
U: The Uniform Project
V: Vlijtig
W: Wild Olive
X: Xue Originals
Y: YokoBlog
Z: Pozzynette

Détruis ce journal - (Wreck this Journal) tasks

2009-06-26T14:09:00.003+02:00

Here is the list of tasks that I wrote up in Monster #1s journal. Unfortunately, little sister saw and wanted to know when she would have hers... sigh.

"Détruis moi"

1. Ce livre appartient à: écris ton nom en blanc, écris ton nom illisiblement, écris ton nom à l'envers, écris ton nom discrètement, écris ton nom en grand, Adresse, téléphone

2. couvre cette page avec la date du jour ou tu commences à détruire ce journal

3. Numéroter toutes les pages

4. Renverser, cracher, dégouline, lancer ta boisson préférée sur cette page

5. Trouer cette page avec un crayon à papier

6. Dessiner des traits fins et larges en appuyant fortement

7. Couvre cette page avec tes empreintes digitales

8. Colorie cette page

9. Jeter quelque chose ici

10. Coller des feuilles et autre choses que tu trouves dans la nature ici

11. Utilise un crayon pour faire des reliefs ici

12. Gribouiller frénétiquement, violemment ici

13. Déchirer des bandes - décore les

14. Dessiner des traits en marchant, dans la voiture, en courant

15. Documenter ton dîner ici

16. Mâchouiller cette page (n'avale pas)

17. Peinture à la langue (manger des bonbons colorés et lécher ici

18. Ecrit un mot des milliers des fois

19. Attacher le livre avec un fil et balade le... Document les réactions des gens

20. Faire tomber le journal d'en haut.... Dessine la scène

21. Faire un dessin super moche (crottes de nez, caca, vomi, etc.)

22. Mettre des choses collantes sur cette page (chewing gum, miel, chamallows, etc.)

23. Décorer cette enveloppe

24. Colle ici les stickers que tu trouves sur les fruits

25. Couvre cette page en utilisant des choses que tu trouves dans un bureau standard

26. Frotte cette page avec de la terre

27. Page de teste pour crayons, feutres, etc

28. Faire goutter des liquides ici (encre, peinture, thé) - ferme le livre pour faire des impressions sur la page d'en face

29. Coudre cette page

30. Coller ici une image que tu trouves dans un magazine

31. Colle ici des timbres postes

32. Trace ici les objets dans ton sac

33. Couvre cette page avec des choses blanches

34. Gribouille cette page avec des stylos empruntés et noté d'où tu les as trouvés

35. Décorer les bords du livre

36. Page pour les pensées positives

37. Utilise des légumes comme tampons ici

38. Ecrire n'importe quoi, n'importe comment ici

39. Colle des trucs trouvés ici

40. Colorie en dehors des traits

41. Ferme tes yeux, relier les ronds de mémoire

42. Demande aux autres de faire des dessins ici

43. Collecte les peluches au fond de tes poches et colle le ici

44. Trace ta main

45. Dessiner avec de la colle

46. Expérimenter avec des choses trouvés à la maison: documente les, faire des thèmes basées sur leur couleur

47. Document un évènement ennuyeux en détail

48. Faire un dessein en utilisant tes cheveux

49. Colle ici une photo de toi que tu n'aimes pas - défigure le

50. Dessine des traits en utilisant des objets bizarres et la peinture (cuillère, peigne, baguettes)

51. Décore cette page quand tu es en colère

52. Ecrire ou dessiner avec la main gauche

53. Cette page est un panneau - qu'est-ce qu'il dit?

54. Dessine un trait continu

55. Page pour les pensées négatives

56. Dessine des traits, lèche ton doigt et macule les traits

57. Une page pour les gros mots

58. Colle ici une page d'un magazine et entoure les mots que tu aimes

59. Ecrire avec le stylo dans la bouche

60. Ecrire à l'envers

61. Cache un message secret dans ce livre

62. Faire une liste d'autres manières d'abîmer cette livre

63. Journal des tâches

64. Dessine toi

65. Dessine/document tes choses préfères

66. Remplis cette page avec des cercles

67. Dessine un bonhomme qu'avec des rectangles

68. Faire un dessin avec tes pieds ici

69. Faire une mosaïque en utilisant des carrés découpés dans un journal/magazine

70. Dessine ta famille ici – décris les ici

71. Découpe une forme dans cette page - décore le et colle le ici

72. Fait un mini bd sur le thème: j'aime pas l'école

73. Faire un peinture en utilisant quelque chose de ciré (bougie, crayola, etc) ensuite peint par dessous avec un liquide (peinture à l'eau, thé, café, etc)

74. Ferme tes yeux: dessine sans les ouvrir

75. Couvre cette page avec la lettre "e" - écris le de façon différente à chaque fois

76. Graffiti cette page avec ton tag

77. Utilise une lampe pour projeter un ombre sur cette page - trace l'ombre sur cette page

78. Ecrire une lettre à ton futur toi

79. Trouve une photo d'une personne que tu ne connais pas - écrit leur biographie

80. Note tous les sons que tu entends dans l'espace d'une heure

81. Dessine quelque chose en utilisant que des petits points

82. Dessine ton souvenir préféré

83. Dessine une voiture du futur

84. Notes toutes les choses que tu détestes

85. écris les paroles de ta chanson préférée là bas, dessine-là ici

86. écris ici les grands titres du journal - dates les

87. Mets un petit objet dans ta poche gauche. Mets ta main gauche dans ta poche et dessines ce que tu sens.

88. écris les instructions d'une activité de tous les jours

89. Colle une image ici - modifie le en dessinant par dessus

90. Dessine les contours d'un objet sans regarder la page

91. Liste 10 choses que tu aimerais faire tous les jours

92. dessine ton arbre généalogique

93. Liste 10 choses importantes dans la vie (pas des gens ni des animaux)

94. Dessine tes habilles préférées

95. dessine la même chose tous les jours pendant une semaine

96. Colle ici tes couleurs préférées - où est-ce que tu les a trouvé?

97. Choisir un objet - dessine sa face cachée

98. dessine tes animaux domestiques raconte leur personnalités

99. dessine la lune tous les soirs pendant une semaine

100. décorer la couverture et l'arrière du journal

101. dessine ici un personnage manga que tu as inventé. Raconte sa vie

102. Ecris un secret ici (remplis la page) - découpe la page et colle le en désordre sur la page suivante

Sad

2009-06-26T07:04:00.002+02:00

Doesn't it blow your mind

2009-06-26T01:15:00.003+02:00

Doesn't it blow your mind
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

I just saw this ad and am rather surprised that Americans would appreciate it... loves it.

Personalized Wreck this Journal (in French)

2009-06-26T00:49:00.003+02:00

Personalized Wreck this Journal (in French)
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Monster 1 is off on Saturday for a month in the States. Since the kids loved the idea of Wreck this Journal and wanted one of their own, I thought it would be the perfect activity for the 16 + hour trip home.

I got great journals at Rougier & Plé, some rubber cement (I had forgotten how great that stuff is) and spent the last three hours finding activities for all of the pages (some translated from Wreck This Journal, some from Keri Smith's 100 ideas and some of my own)

I'll post better pictures of this tomorrow along with the contents of the book, once I've spelled checked it at work - my written French is still atrocious even after 17 years here.

Anyway, hope it will make this guy happy!

oh boy
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

New addition

2009-06-21T07:56:00.002+02:00

Organizing
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

I went to the consignment shop again to see if I couldn't find a piece of furniture to put at the foot of my bed, since I have more room after moving the bed in front of the window.

I did find a little bookshelf that is now in the entry way and I saw a 1930s (?) buffet that I fell in love with. I thought it was way too big for my miniscule living room, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. Since it was still there when I went back the next weekend, I impulsively bought it. At only 60 euros, it was a steal and I wish my flat were big enough for me to have bought the matching smaller version (but it was missing the marble and the mirror) and armoire (only 80 euros!!!)

It isn't solid wood, but a very old version of Ikea type furniture (i.e. just a few screws) and is really light, once you take the marble top off. We used the Dremel again to drill four ventilation holes and two holes to put the electrical cords in. I have to find a solution to make things neater (I'm thinking I should use the shoe rack from Ikea, the cheaper version of this), and it needs a little TLC, but it fits perfectly and I'm so in love with it that I just want to sit on the couch and admire it.

The other buffet is now in my bedroom and I have absolutely no excuse to be messy now that I have so much more storage space.

Birthday gift bag

2009-06-21T07:33:00.003+02:00

Birthday gift bag
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

P was invited to a birthday party for a little girl, who told me that she only liked books, and for once I started to get ready a few days before.

I had a great time doing a little stash busting (fabric from the bag was bought 4 years ago and left over from the curtains in the kids' room, buttons are from my grandmother's collection) to make a bookmark and a drawstring bag.

I also learned a word in French: "queue de souris", which is the name for the cord I used on the bookmark. It is a very thin wire, covered with cord... anybody know how to say that in English? And, while trying to find where I could get some more of it, I found a great online source of jewelry supplies for French people: www.lesfeescreatives.com.

It was a happy coincidence that I had colors in stock that matched the books I got: Mathilda by Roald Dahl and Ottoline Goes to School by Chris Riddell.

Thanks to Maria Fita for the bookmark inspiration and to NeedSomeCoffee for the drawstring pouch tutorial (I folded my corners too much though).

Brocante finds

2009-06-21T07:18:00.003+02:00

Pet Shop House in progress
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

There is no such thing as a garage sale in Paris, as no one has a garage! We do, however, have tiny apartments and minimal basement storage and need to do a spring clean up every once in a while.

There is a city-wide garage sale once a year in my town, for which you have to get up at the crack of dawn and reserve a space. One of my ex-neighbor's finally took the plunge and sacrificed themselves, getting up at 5 a.m. to stand on line for the rest of us and nabbed us 3 spaces right in front of the building (thank you M!)

My basement was full of the donated furniture that I received when I moved, that still had lots of use left, and my ex basement was so full of stuff that we could barely open the door. The kids manned the stand, while their father brought stuff up and we managed to get rid of everything, making them a nice little profit.

Since I couldn't be there to help all day, what did I do? Wander around buying other people's discards, obviously. Since I had to run off unexpectedly, my haul is still in my ex-basement, but I did bring this home, for the meager price of 20 (euro) cents, and I bought two others, not quite the same, for just one euro.

P is really into the Littlest Pet Shop figures, so I thought it would make a great display case. That said, she would have to be organized enough to put them in their new house, but you never know, miracles can happen.

Really cool recipe books

2009-06-13T10:23:00.000+02:00

I just bought the best recipe books, Les Recettes Inavouables and Les Nouvelle Recettes Inavouables- perfect for the harried, working, single mother of two that I am. All of the recipes take less than 15 minutes to prepare, and use ingredients that the average French household has on hand or can run out to the corner store to buy.

Since I like to know what recipes are in a book before I buy, I typed up the contents and you can see them by clicking here and here, only if you read French though!

I've only made the Lemon Meringue Pie so far and wow, it is really, really easy and was delicious, if I do say so myself!

paper flowersOriginally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Treasure trove

2009-06-13T10:04:00.004+02:00

paper flowersOriginally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

To help my overworked colleagues, I took over the mail duties and finally noticed what others had been blogging about: the beauty of security envelops!

I just punched out random patterns, glued them together with a glue stick and then threaded them with wire taken from a spiral bound prospectus that I was throwing away.... ta da! A little bouquet for a friend.

Who knew the office was such a great source of free craft supplies?

badly photographed Ikea hack

2009-06-13T09:17:00.007+02:00

1. Necklace Holder, 2. Finished, 3. The mess before, 4. The mess after... finished and hung

How to:

get bored one day and tell yourself you really should do something about the tangled mess of necklaces on the mantelpiece.
stub your toe on the piece of wood from a long-gone, broken Ikea bunk-bed set that had been hidden under a piece of furniture for about two years
grab the cheap acrylic paint set that someone got for Christmas two years ago and then break out the white shoe polish to finish.
print out a phrase that you like on your printer using a cute font from dafont and glue on with Mod Podge or some other medium, varnish with Mod Podge or equivalent
use old drawer pulls that you have been saving for a project just like this and pop them in the holes that were already on the piece of wood.
screw with the random Ikea screws that you save and have floating around your junk drawer.
staple a recycled cord/ribbon* to the back and voilà... stand back and admire your brand new, personalized necklace rack!

*thank you to my colleague who gave me this cord from her birthday present wrappings!

My phrase says "Quand la vie est un collier, chaque jour est une perle", which loosely translates to "When life is a necklace, each day is a pearl" and is from one of my favorite poets, Jacques Prévert:

Quand va la vie est un collier
chaque jour est une perle
Quand va la vie est une cage
chaque jour est une larme
Quand va la vie est une forêt
chaque jour est un arbre
Quand va la vie est un arbre
chaque jour est une branche
Quand va la vie est une branche
chaque jour est une feuille

Quand va la vie c'est la mer
chaque jour est une vague
chaque vague est une plainte
une chanson un frisson

Quand va la vie est un jeu
chaque jour est une carte
le carreau ou le trèfle
le pique le malheur

Et quand c'est le bonheur
les cartes de l'amour
c'est le cul et le coeur.

finally

2009-06-10T12:33:00.003+02:00

This is old news for my friends in the US, but Coraline finally comes out in theaters in France today. We got all buttoned up for the occasion:
You can too...

Then I made a flower

cause it is nice to have a bit of sun on a grey day!

wip in pictures

2009-06-06T10:04:00.003+02:00

I have a lot of things on the go and not a lot of finished projects, and stupidly forget to photograph the ones I do finish!

Here's what I've been doing:

- trying to make a template so that I can print out all of the recipes that are floating around the kitchen in my spring cleanup project. I have a pretty recycled box to decorate and put them in.

- made a necklace holder from a piece of a broken Ikea bed and old drawer pulls. I actually finished this, but need to hang & photograph it.

- organized the kitchen cabinet that was previously a death trap (you opened it and everything fell out on your head)

- still debating how to turn this into a dress for the monstress.

Rainbow Cake Mosaic

2009-06-06T08:57:00.003+02:00

Rainbow Cake Mosaic
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

During my customary trawling around the blogosphere, I saw the great things people had made using gel colorings and was very envious, as it is very difficult to find food coloring here, much less the gel variety.

I finally got to visit Mora one day, and Ciloubidouille is right, that place is a treasure trove! I limited myself to purchasing the three primary colors from the Wilton Icing Colors range and two squirt bottles (like the ones you see in old diners for ketchup and mustard), figuring that they were easier to use for frosting than the usual pastry bags.

The kids and I were due to visit friends for tea one Sunday, so Monster#1 and I had fun making a rainbow cake, which I had seen on Omnomicon. Since boxed cake mixes are hard to find and very expensive, I just used the simple white cake recipe from my ancient version of the Better Homes & Garden's cookbook (which every one should have in their kitchen), split the batter between 6 bowls, and colored them. We then just scooped the batter into the cake pan randomly.

The gel colors are amazing in respect to the classic liquid form; they do not alter at all, even after baking, to the point where I was even sure the cake was finished.

cross section
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Unfortunately, I have yet to master the art of making decent frosting as you can tell from the photos above. Our friends live 15 minutes away by foot, and I was mentally willing the frosting to stay put the whole way there, to no avail. Since the French hate buttercream frosting, and they scraped it all off anyway, it wasn't really a big deal.

Bon Ap!

stay tuned

2009-06-02T00:13:00.002+02:00

I finally downloaded my pictures from the last month and have done a few crafty things, but that last rambling post on makeup took a lot longer than I thought and I really have to go to bed with a good book (yes, I know it was written for young adults, but it is Neil Gaiman after all).

So, here is a vague outline of things I have been up to:

made a faux Lemon Merigue Pie
baked a rainbow cake and totally f*#d up the frosting
trying to design a template for recipe cards
embroidering dishtowels
am making a necklace rack
wrecking my journal

random ramblings on make-up

2009-06-01T10:40:00.012+02:00

When I was a teenager, I had the blue mascara, frosty pink lipstick and those mix and match eye shadow palettes with electric colors which were de rigeur for every self-respecting teenager in the 80's. Then I went through the shaved-head, black nail polish phase, before just making do with the same two shades of L'Oréal lipstick for 10 years.

I had my best friends come stay with me for Christmas two years ago, and I found myself watch one of them open up her make-up case and turn in to someone else and thought...hmm, have I been missing something?

I guess I was, because since them, I have become the proud owner of a Sephora gold card and have spent more money on makeup in the last two years than in the last two decades. I would post photos of my collection, but it is too dark for photos and, to be honest, I'm a bit ashamed about how much I have.

While I have found a few products that I just can't live without, there are some that just make me wonder how stupid the marketing people think we are... try Dior's Addict Lip Polish, which apparently has a "revolutionary and exclusive spin-on applicator" and "mimics makeup artist application"- um, right. Then there is Oscillation mascara from Lancome; with its "7000 oscillations per minute", it is supposed to render my stumpy lashes "ultimately extended, exceptionally separated, and virtually multiplied in number."... yeah, at 35€ a tube, I don't think so. Phenomen'Eyes Mascara from Givenchy is simpler, but it scares me; using that little mascara covered ball that close to my eye - no way. (all quotes from Sephora)

If anyone is interested in my take on cosmetics, these the products that I use everyday and buy regularly (in order of application) are:

Oil of Olay (Olaz depending where you live) Original Active Hydrating Beauty Fluid or the one with the SPF 15 as it really suits my combination skin. You can usually find it at Monoprix, if you live in France.
Dr. Feelgood, by Benefit: it smooths my complexion and makes putting on makeup easier (use it before anything else, despite what the packaging says).
Sephora Brand Professionnel Perfection Makeup Base or Sephora Brand Base Primer in Light (Rose)
Benefit's Hello Flawless SPF 15 is a new find, but wow, love this stuff! I hate the brush it comes with and use a kabuki brush instead and I haven't tried using the sponge applicator yet. I adore the Rectractable Kabuki Brush from Too Faced - it is "soft as a fleecy cloud", to quote the vintage sanitary towel dispenser in the Chrysler Building.
Too Faced Shadow Insurance is a must-have if you wear eye shadow. The packaging is perfect (a squeeze tube), a little goes a long, long, long way and it really works in keeping your eyeshadow from forming a yucky paste in your eye fold.
Maybelline's Superstay Lipgloss is great; I love the nude colors that only require two applications per day, and since I hate lipgloss, I just use the color part, which doesn't stick or dry my lips out.
In terms of eye shadow, I don't have a favorite but like Too Faced's Eye Shadow Duo (I totally toasted Totally Toasted by dropping it, but it is still great and Poodle Puff is pretty), as you have two colors that blend beautifully together. Benefit's Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner's live up to the hype. Sephora's Pearl No. 08 (champagne beige pearl) is something that I wear a lot, as a blonde.

I have yet to find the perfect concealer, Benefit's Boi-ing is ok, but I have to use an eye-cream with it since it is really thick.

I love this eye-liner brush from Mac and use it with Stila's black Smudge Pot or Shisheido's Makeup Enhancing Eye Liner, but Sephora has a great range of brushes that are more affordable.

I have yet to find a good mascara and have only learned that if you have short lashes, you should be using a very fine, small mascara wand. Mascara primers are good, but they make your lashes feel heavy and they make mine fall out. Baby Oil and L'Oréal's waterproof makeup remover are the only things that really get mascara off, btw.

Visit Makeup Alley before you buy anything, don't worry too much about the expiry dates (except for mascara), take off your makeup before going to bed and enjoy the pleasure of spending just a little time pampering yourself in the morning. Oh, and don't mentally add-up how much you spend on makeup like I just did!

I won't mention much about nail polish other than to say that I may just cheat on OPI buy getting some of this stuff, which reminds me of the red nail polish that I had when I was 12!

howdy stranger

2009-05-28T09:57:00.007+02:00

I don't really have an excuse for not posting in almost a month, just a little gloomy I suppose, like the weather. I have been up to a little craftiness, but will post about that a bit later when I finally get around to downloading the three weeks worth of photos from my camera.

I'm really excited about this book I just ordered from Amazon, "Wreck This Journal: To Create Is to Destroy" by Keri Smith. Tip for anglos in France, you can order books in English from Amazon.fr and pay the low delivery costs – they have the same stock in books as amazon.co.uk.

I've already started in on it and will post some photos soon and am planning on doing personalized journals for the kids. You can see what other people have done with theirs on Flickr.

I'm also waiting on delivery of a few more goodies from Amazon, thanks to the gift certificates I got from answering marketing questionnaires: Alabama Stitch Book, Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitters Handbook, How to Design Monograms and Doodle-Stitching.

As I can't post with out a picture, here is a great little drawing that P did of her little brother.

am I the only one?

2009-05-03T23:32:00.003+02:00

that thinks that the world would be a better place if we had more sing a-longs?

boycott Urban Threads - support independant crafting

2009-04-29T06:53:00.004+02:00

I have just been made aware of another case of a large company blatantly copying an independent crafter's designs and will no longer be visiting Urban Threads.

There are two interesting posts that I have come across that merit being read, from Feeling Stitchy and on Flickr.

lazy Saturday

2009-04-19T11:56:00.005+02:00

Yesterday was a lazy home day, with a late brunch of our favorite Eggs Benedict, spring flowers for a rainy day and a wander around the consignment store, where I fell in like with this cabinet.

the week

2009-04-18T07:29:00.010+02:00

I have been quiet of late as my dear friend G is in town and we haven't seen each other in 6 years. So, I took off last week to spend with her and the kiddos and we have had much fun running around Paris (click on the days to see photos):

Saturday: lovely walk in the Bois de Boulogne and the Jardin d'Acclimitation, where we went to see my friend Aviva's things exposed during the Des Américains à Paris event.

Sunday: a beautiful Easter Sunday spent with old friends in the suburbs. We had a wonderful lunch and caught up while the kids played with the animals and took pictures of the spring flowers before coming home to dye Easter eggs.

Monday: we wandered all around Montmartre in the spring sunshine and then headed off to the Champs Elysées with all of the other tourists in Paris and finished the day on a park bench with ice cream, yum!

Tuesday: monster #2 decided she had had enough family time and went to vacation care, so the three of us wandered from République down and around the Marais. We were disappointed not to get falaffel but were pretty happy with the crepes we had. We also tried out the cupcakes at Berko (The Puff List has a great description and photos here); while the frosting was really good, the cupcakes were a bit bla... I'd try one of their pastries next time.

Wednesday: monster #1 and I left G to her own devices and did a little shopping and just a little Vélib as he got a bit scared of the traffic. Going down the rue Royale at lunchtime was probably not a great idea! We came home for a rest before going for a stroll through the park between Cour St Emilion and Bercy, where the kids chased each other around and we played with our cameras. We crossed the pedestrian bridge over the Seine and went to see movies at MK2 Bibliothèque, which is really the best cinema in Paris.

Thursday: we were all a bit tired from the running around, so we had an at home day. and G went to the Eiffel Tower. I worked on the sticker collage in the W.C., started making name boards for G's boys at home, and made a delicious (if I do say so myself) dinner of arugula salad with honey garlic vinigrette, with goat cheese and roasted pine nuts, risotto with home cured cherry tomatoes and chicken, and a chocolate mi-cuit with custard (I bought the custard).

Friday: we got up early to take the kids to the train station, then headed over to meet with G's friend. We picked up chaussons au citron (lemon pop overs, which are VERY hard to find here, but soooo good) from the boulangerie next to Picard at 195 rue de Grenelle. We wandered from Strasbourg St Denis down to Montorgeuil then over to the Marais, where we finally got our falaffel. The girls went off to the Picasso museum and I took advantage of the alone time to finally check out Mokuba (the famous Japanese ribbon store), which is mind-blowing and then Mora, where I finally got some Wilton's gel food coloring (pretty cheap at 4 € a bottle), lollypop sticks and squeeze bottles for cake decorating.

My #6 plastic attempt is part of Urban Thread's Flickr Round Up this week, and I'm very excited about it! Now, just have to finish the magnet!

Little monster joins in the Easter fun

2009-04-15T00:01:00.004+02:00

Phoebe's Bunny - front

I think monster #2 has inherited the crafty spirit; she disappeared into her room for a while and this is what she came back with...

Phoebe's Bunny - front

easter - a day late

2009-04-14T23:46:00.004+02:00

egg - a collage
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

I love dying eggs, and I think Easter is probably my favorite holiday of them all. So, living in France is really frustrating for me as it is impossible to find white eggs here.

I have used regular food dye and a vinegar/water combo to dye our eggs for the last two years. Red and blue work very well, yellow is impossible and green... not so good. We have fun using rubber bands and a white crayon to make little drawings on them, but for some reason, the dye rubs off with too much handling.

I'm going to try the natural way of dying next year (red onion skis, beets, cabbage) and will see how that goes.

I know what next year's Christmas presents will be

2009-04-08T09:27:00.004+02:00

Isn't Blurb the coolest thing ever, and it seems rather affordable.

Eeeks, as that another thing to add to the L.I.P?

The wc make over in progress

2009-04-06T12:42:00.003+02:00

The wc make over in progress
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

well, this is a bit of the contact paper that made it onto the wall.
I had planned this as an afternoon activity for the three 8 year olds I was entertaining, and while they had fun cutting and sticking for about an hour, their output doesn't really fit with what I had in mind. That said, not sure what I came up with fits what I had in mind! But I'm getting better with practice.

I'm still looking for a good medium to stick the cards on the wall, I think the double-sided carpet tape I got is too strong and will rip the paint off the wall, and the glue dots are not perfect. I'm going to try regular double-sided scotch tape and see how I like that. I also think I'm going to give in and get the big hole punches I found, because, you know how I NEED them to finish this project.

Groceries French Style

2009-04-05T23:09:00.003+02:00

Groceries French Style
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

after having read a post on Mairuru's blog, I decided to do the same, thinking that it would be interesting to find out how other people in different parts of the world do their shopping and how much it costs for similar things.

As you know, I live in Paris and don't have a car. I do most of my shopping at a small grocery store about a block away. Since I live on the third floor and don't have an elevator, I'm pretty limited on how much I can buy at a time (for instance, I didn't get the kitty litter I needed today!) Since I have old stairs, I can't even use a rolling shopping caddy, so I use big recyclable tote bags.

I usually shop 2-3 times a week, depending on what the kids have going on.

So, 60 euros got me:

700 g ground beef = 3.95 €
800 g fromage blanc (similar to plain yogurt) = 1.97 €
frozen potatoes = 1.41 €
1 liter orange juice = 3.32 €
1 liter milk x 2 = 1.60 €
12 rolls of tp = 2.75 €
fresh meat ravioli = 1.77 €
250 g lardons (bacon bits)=1.78 €
500 ml creme fraiche = 1.01 €
340 g skippy peanut butter = 3.93€
3 x 125 g mozarella = 3.53 €
250 g sausage (like polska kielbasa) = 1.94 €
150 g Doritos's Dippas = 1.74€
6 packs of individual cearals = 2.54 €
Crackers = 1.58 €
350 g Cherry tomatoes = 3.20 €
1 kg basmati rice = 2.54 €
200 g grated swiss cheese = 1.58 €
4 cherry yogurts = 1.65 €
boxed taboulé = 1.95 €
250 g ground coffee = 2.22 €
Draino = 1.73 €
4 strawberry yogurts = 1.65 €
20 ml x 6 juice boxes = 1.86 €
big box of lemon cookies = 2.73 €
250 g grated carrots = 1.14 €
400 g dry cat food = 0.76 €

How much does it cost you? How do you do your grocery shopping?

cleaning out my closet

2009-04-05T22:56:00.005+02:00

in progress - a collage
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Since my friend G is coming to stay for awhile and since it is now officially spring, I took advantage of being ill this weekend to go through all of the things I started and never finished.

I did make some progress: Phoebe's bookmark is done, her sampler has been hot-glued and hung up, I did a bit more stitching on the future umbrella bag, I played with the number 6 plastic I had been saving and I spray-painted Ell's hoop for his sampler (which I have to finish).

I was really surprised how the number 6 plastic attempt came out this time; while it does not fully curl and then uncurl like regular shrinky dinks, I found that if I flattened it while it is still in the oven (using mitts and tongs, of course), it came just as well as the regular stuff. Now I just have to beg my colleagues to eat sushi more often!

Since I got off work early on Thursday to pick up P, we took the opportunity to visit a consignment depot that is just around the corner from the flat. I really wish I'd known about this place before, it is a treasure trove of great old furniture! If the apartment were bigger I would have come home with a vanity, complete with huge mirror, for 80 euros and a buffet with a marble top for 40, but I settled for this nightstand for 10. It does need stripping and re-staining, but is much better in it's original state than the crappy IKEA thing I had in the hallway and was cheaper to boot!

eureka

2009-03-25T23:14:00.002+01:00

eureka
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

I have two rolls of contact paper that have been gathering dust and a fairly large wc that could do with some tlc. Not to mention over 1,000 old business cards... so an idea is born!

More to come soon.

I need a new hobby like I need a hole in my head

2009-03-25T12:10:00.004+01:00

I so do not need to be buying anything right now, much less start a new hobby that requires purchasing new materials, but it was TOO CUTE to pass up.

I heard about Mayumi's etsy shop, Karaku, on one of the blogs I subscribe to, as she sells stamp pads for fabrics,. Whilst browsing through her collection of zakka fabrics, stamps, and stationary, I saw this little collection of stamps and decided that I neeeeeeded it and it was only 28€ with shipping. I didn't give in to my desire to buy the numbers kit or the Hiragana stamps, or all of the fabric, or all of the inks!

New fabric source

2009-03-22T08:47:00.003+01:00

Yesterday was such a perfect start to spring here: gorgeous blue skies, not too hot nor too cold, so I went meandering.

I started at la Fourche and went to Tati, where they have great linen table cloths, runners and napkins (2€ for three). I then hit Guerrisol (a huge second, third and fourth hand shop) to see if there wasn't anything of interest for me to upcycle. I didn't stay long as I can't stand the stench of the place, but they do have a huge selection of cotton sheets and the like (for 3€ per item), I only got this as I had no cash on me, but it is a huge top sheet for a double bed, with different prints on either side and I think it will be great for making monster 2's dress. I'll go back for more of the cotton sheets, they would be perfect for embroidery projects and a heck of a lot cheaper than going to the fabric store.

Since I woke up extra early again this morning, I tried the squared bottom technique with some of the vinyl used to make my table cover and succeeded, but vinyl is really tetchy to work with. It rips at the seams so I may have to play around with different stitches and tension to see if I can't find a good compromise.

I'm so excited

2009-03-18T23:49:00.004+01:00

All of my inspiration to be crafty comes from my grandparents:

my maternal grandmother was an amazing seamstress who made all of her grandchildren clothes, bathing suits and imitation Cabbage Patch Dolls, which were better than the real thing
my maternal grandfather was a cinematographer and then a wonderful painter of seascapes, amongst other things
my paternal grandparents were commercial artists, my grandfather known for creating Wrigley's Doublemint Twins and my grandmother, who designed one of the biggest illuminated billboards

and I'm really excited that my mom has been scouring ebay for me and has found these posters - thanks mom!

Motivation

2009-03-16T22:53:00.004+01:00

Warning to the one person who reads this blog... this is a post in French. If my motivation should continue, maybe I'll translate it!

Aux personnes qui liront ces mots en français, je ne suis pas francophone et je n'ai pas de vérificateur de grammaire sur mon ordinateur!
----------------------------------

Je ne pensais pas participer au challenge de Cilou, car bien que je trouve des idées partout, j'ai toujours du mal à commencer. Par peur de rater peut-être ou bien car entre travail, enfants, maison, je n'ai vraiment pas beaucoup de temps.

Subconscientieusement, je me suis quand même fixé quelques objectifs pour le weekend et, comme d'habitude, j'ai commencé mais j'ai été distraite par le beau temps hier et je n'ai terminé qu'une chose. J'ai vue que d'autres ont rendu leurs copies ce matin, donc en rentrant, j'ai fini les deux autres objectifs. Je vous épargne ma prose mal écrit, voici ce que j'ai fait:

1. j'ai organisé mes fils à broder, ayant été inspirée par Wren & Stitchy. Ca ne se voit pas, mais j'ai 158 échevettes!

2. J'ai vu un super tuto ici pour fabriquer une housse de table en toile cirée. Etant américaine, je lis beaucoup de blogs en anglais et j'ai du mal à trouver les fournitures en France, mais pour une fois, j'ai été gâtée car on peut trouver de la toile cirée ici pour le moindre coût (5 euros pour 1.40 m x 1.40 - il m'en reste beaucoup et je pense faire un sac de pique nique avec, mais ça je garde pour le prochain challenge). Vu que je suis incapable de mésurer correctement, j'ai préferée commencer par le plus simple:

3. ma dernière réalisation n'est pas un projet de grande taille, mais mon fils m'a demandé de réparer son bonhomme, qui avait un petit problème à l'entre jambe, il y a bien trois semaines. Et oui, j'avais la flemme de changer le fil dans ma machine à coudre

Et voili... trois projets sur 10,000 faits (il faut bien commencer quelque part).

The weekend... results

2009-03-16T11:41:00.009+01:00

This is a loose translation of my Motivation post...

I was supposed to make a table cover, a card holder and finish sorting my floss. Since Sunday was a gorgeous spring day, we were out and about enjoying the sunshine and I only finished the floss part. I then remembered my favorite French blogger, Ciloubidouille, had a motivational challenge that had to be completed for Monday evening and that pushed me to finish what I had started, for once!

All floss sorted... I have lots of blues, which is strange as I really don't like blue.
Monster 1's bean bag boy's crotch issue solved (it is a crap sewing job, but he stopped peeing mini Styrofoam beads all over the place).
My table cover (a first draft I think) is done.

I woke up with an idea for making the measuring easier for future table covers; it is probably a no-brainer for a non-blonde, but it would have been easier for me to fold the cloth in half and cut on the fold and would have resulted in a perfect square. I saw some great polka dot cloth that goes perfectly with my 'color scheme' and the dots on the one curtain panel (finishing the other panel is next weekend's goal), so I may get some of that and try a fancier version.

It feels very satisfying to have accomplished what I set out to do and limiting myself to one or two projects at a time seems to make things do-able.

What else I did:

bookmarked 3 new tutorials
went shopping with monster 1
did lots of grocery shopping
had 5 kids for dinner (even the French like sloppy joes)
showed them some origami on Origami Club
went to a friend's in the country all day Sunday (two cheers for sunshine)
did 10 loads of laundry and dried all but 3 loads (I'm not exaggerating)
Watched Mamma Mia (I love musicals and so do the kids, yipee!)

This weekend...

2009-03-14T07:06:00.003+01:00

I have bookmarked about a 1,000 tutorials and am always on the look-out for more, but have finally decided to do three things this weekend:

1. a fitted vinyl oilcloth table cover, as seen on Twig & Thistle. Vinyl oilcloth is the one thing that we can get easily and cheaply in France, and I don't even have to venture in to Paris to get it. The only thing that scares me about this project is zig-zagging the scalloped edges.

2. a card holder for my work badge, based on the pattern in Amy Karol's Bend The Rules sewing book.

3. finish sorting floss and making the tote.

I think I can manage four things

Discovery Day

2009-03-11T23:19:00.007+01:00

It has been an interesting evening; we had dinner with friends and on our walk back home, city hall was on fire. The kids went to bed quickly and I managed to make a quiche for dinner tomorrow and make a picnic lunch for monster #2's field trip.

While the quiche was in the oven, I stumbled on a few interesting French blogs, where I found an amazing site that lets you spell things with random images from Flickr:

Since the oven was hot and I finally found some examples of #6 plastic in France (Japanese take out containers and crème fraîche pots), I decided to melt stuff with interesting results.
I learned that all #6 plastic does not melt the same way and it does not react as well as the proper shrinky dinks, but it is cheaper and the randomness of it makes it that much more interesting.

Firstly, the bottom of the sushi container (black plastic) shrinks quickly, but does not unfold flat like it should and is basically useless. The tops seem to work really well, though I'm going to experiment more with it when I have the time.

I was really surprised with the crème fraîche container though, it shrunk really well, but you can't make very large pieces with it (I used the entire top and while it curled up, it never uncurled). Smaller pieces cut from the sides seemed to work much better, but they shrunk to incredibly small sizes - I'm thinking that they could be used as mosaic pieces...

home made shrinky dinks

why didn't I ever think of this?

2009-03-11T09:22:00.001+01:00

Easy way to line a round cake pan, from Apartment Therapy

polenta

2009-03-10T11:24:00.004+01:00

I've had a major hankering for polenta lately and having my vegetarian friend over to stay was the perfect opportunity for me to improvise polenta lasagna.

It was really good, but I will remember to let the polenta cool down completely before grilling in the oven (it gets too mushy if not).

finally

2009-03-06T19:27:00.001+01:00

I just found out that freezer paper is called"papier thermoscellable". Now I just have to find out where to buy some!

Kid Meme

2009-02-26T15:28:00.005+01:00

I thought this was a cute idea, so I asked monster #1 to play along. Will do same for P, when she gets back.

What is something your mom always says to you?

I love you (and do your homework)

I love you (wouah wouah wouah)

What makes your mom happy?

When P & I don't fight

When I clean my room?

What makes your mom sad?

When P & I fight

When she has a bad day at work and when we don't listen to her

How does your mom make you laugh?

By tickling me

with tickles or with the bedtime song

What did your mom like to do when she was a child?

Dress like an idiot

play doctor with her dolls

How old is your mom?

35, no I mean 36

36 (no hesitation at all!)

How tall is your mom?

1.70 … (close, only 2 cms off)

umm... tall?

What is her favorite thing to do?

Do something crafty

embroidery

What does your mom do when you’re not around?

She stays at work late

she cleans my room

If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

For being crafty (I sincerely doubt it but thanks for the encouragement)

because she's pretty

What is your mom really good at?

Making and decorating stuff

embroidery (and speaking English)

What is your mom not very good at?

Playing the wii

being stupid

What does your mom do for her job?

She makes the rich richer

people give her money and she gives them a little bit back, I think

What is your mom’s favorite food?

Hamburgers, no… that American thing with a muffin on a bottom, spinach and an egg (I think he means Eggs Florentine, which is weird because I only make Eggs Benedict)

avocado

What makes you proud of your mom?

Everything

because she gets up early

If your mom was a cartoon character, who would she be?

Bugs Bunny's girlfriend (I didn't even know he had one)

tweety bird

What do you and your mom do together?

We go exploring

crafty stuff

How are you and your mom the same?

Same hair and eye color

Same hair and eye color (ha exactly the same answer as her brother)

How are you and your mom different?

Our haircuts (ummm ok sweetie)

well, she is tall and I'm short. And she has big boobs.

How do you know your mom loves you?

Because I'm her son

she tells me all of the time

What does your mom like most about your dad?

He's funny

dunno

Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?

Home (the US)

the park ... to relax (hmm, didn't know that)

Things to do - a LIP (list in progress)

2009-02-26T07:09:00.020+01:00

finish the tote bag to hold umbrellas, hats and gloves before spring arrives... oooh look at what I just found, perfect for this project!!
I'm slowly progressing on the embroidery of what will someday be the outside of the bag and have already sewn the lining
5 april: still stitching

decorate the curtains for my armoires with the hearts that I bought 6 months ago

stitch quotes for the six frames I have floating around, as seen here

sew a cover for my moleskine day planner

make this sundress for P

make a family tree

stitch something as beautiful as this heart or this.
I bought the pattern today (I highly recommend Uptown Jane), so that is a step in the right direction. Monster 1 saw it and said "wow, that is pretty but did they pee on it?" I think I can add Explain using natural dyes to your children to my LIP!

Decorate all the baby formula boxes my colleagues are bringing me
april 5: I sanded off the lip of one since I want to sew a sleeve for it... that is progress, right?

Take more pictures of hidden Parisian treasures and do a google map of lesser known historical monuments

Finish painting the other living room curtain panel

STOP ADDING THINGS TO THE LIST

Done:

buy a DMC Floss Organizer to sort my floss collection (which is now a jumbled mess in a too small drawer), as seen on Wren & Stitchy. Not only will I have the satisfaction of being able to find the floss I want, but it won't be tangled and I can organize the colors any way I want, just like how I used to organize my Crayolas when I was kid (and still do to my kid's when I'm bored).
I bought a storage box from Ikea, as they are half the price of the floss boxes and have wrapped about 40 skeins. Unfortunately, it would appear that I have almost 100 skeins and have to go back and get more cards. And 158 skeins later...

Make an oilcloth cover for the table

finish my moleskine holder
almost done, just have to add some decorative bits
april 5: I think I may make another one, prototype one does not fit my needs. ... see photo here

finish E's sampler (spray painting and everything)
5 april: spray painted!
16 april: finished!... see photo here

Sewing

2009-02-25T22:58:00.007+01:00

Since I've gotten rid of some bad habits, I have more time to spend crafting!

I started making a case for my Molskine, it is a tri-fold case, and obviously, a work in progress. I need to sew the pen holders on the right side, cut off the pinking and sew the top to match the bottom, decorate the outside and, my least favorite part, add a button to close it all.
I'm proud of my progress so far, since it is turning out just the way I imagined it, which is the first time I have had that happen since I started sewing. I think working with the felt has helped, it is a great medium to start with and it is fairly inexpensive (4.50€ for a 50 cm x 50 cm piece of thick felt that I bought at L'Entrée des Fournisseurs).

As for Danny's bag, it is actually a finished project (and it only took me 2 hours from start to finish)! The original plan was to use a thin muslin pillow case and make a drawstring bag, but since I'm horrible at planning ahead, I didn't center the design properly and it was too close to the top of the case. As the material was way too thin anyway, it was for the best. I ended up taking one of my old t-shirts, cut off the sleeves and then I cut out the design, ironed on some thin fusible interfacing, traced a circle around and cut out the appliqué. I had wanted to zig zag in black thread around the circle onto the bag, but I'm not comfortable enough using the machine yet. As it was, I did a pretty good job of sewing it on neatly, though it is not perfect. I then did a double row of stitching at the bottom, stitched up a bit of the sleeve holes, used a bowl to make the opening of the bag wider and TA DA! A perfect gift bag for Danny's birthday.

What I learned from this:

pining is useful, even if it is a pain.
iron on transfer pencils are not the best way of transfering patterns - use a water soluble pen
go slowly when sewing and adjust the material when the needle is down so you don't lose your place
when cutting up a t-shirt to make a bag, better to cut up the sides a bit so it stops looking like a t-shirt and more like a bag.
there are tons of uses for clothes that you no longer wear but are not good enough to give away
crafting is good for the soul

vd crafting

2009-02-15T11:39:00.006+01:00

I finally tried my hand at making sugar cookies, using the recipe I found on AllRecipes. I don't know why, but I have never had any luck at any recipe that calls for the use of a rolling pin; whatever it is that I'm making systematically sticks to the pin, no matter how much flour or powdered sugar I use. I had planned to make heart cookies but since the dough was sticking to either the pin or the waked paper, I gave up and improvised.

I tried the food dye method (see this post on icing cookies) and it gives interesting results, but I really wanted to ice them. I used the royal icing recipe from AllRecipes, but it tasted funny and was much more runny than I thought. It didn't help that I used the more expensive powdered sugar, which was foul. The moral of the story is that if it involves a rolling pin, I'm in trouble.

The hearts were inspired by Maya, the large one is currently adorning the door and I'll send the little cards to my friends as belated vd cards (along with their Christmas presents).

The frame is a WIP - I just wanted to play with the Dremel (thanks again for that mom) and my sponge rollers.

I love meme's

2009-02-04T01:13:00.002+01:00

The rules: bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog (or e-mail your friends)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii - my grandparents lived there and I spent most of my childhood summers there
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (and DisneyWorld and Disneyland Paris)
8. Climbed a mountain (Yosemite falls)
9. Held a praying mantis (in Hawaii, see n° 4)
10. Sang a solo - almost every day! (nope I hurt my own ears)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (I think living there counts, non?)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. (yup, in the Bermuda Triangle to boot!)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (if you want to call it art..)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (see number 7)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (best memories ever)
21. Had a pillow fight (could do with having another one)
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (and got arrested for it)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (ran out on my annual review to do so)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (on the Wii)
32. Been on a cruise (two!)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (I was four and I remember it perfectly)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (only when family comes to town or the kids insist)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (see the Hawaii question)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (several, though Robert Altman's A Wedding when I was six and seeing Moonraker in a blue Camaro stand out)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia - no comment!
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (and am sad that they no longer want my blood despite the fact that I'm a universal dornor)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (no, but knew survivors and have no words)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (my Christmas present from when I was 7 was my 36th birthday present and she is looking at me now)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (yuck)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades (don't go in July)
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - contributed to one, anyhow...
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - my minivan!!
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox (at 19, not pleasant or pretty)
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo (3)
94. Had a baby (2)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (3 times, 2 twice in two days)

day 16 - out and about

2009-01-17T10:56:00.004+01:00

It was nice to have a night out to go to a long-planned concert with friends. I wish I could say that I really loved it, but Lloyd Cole is just a bit too mellow live for me. I must say he was incredibly punctual, and I loved his dry, self-effacing humour and his lovely voice. Plus L'Européen is one of the best places anywhere to see a concert.

day 15 - winter garden

2009-01-15T22:40:00.003+01:00

day 15 - winter garden
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

had a lovely lunch with an old friend in a new restaurant today and this is what we sat next to. I loved the symmetry of the arrangement and seeing flowers in winter always warms me.

It was a great little Korean restaurant and had delightful food, great prices, perfect service and I did not come out smelling of fried food like I expected!

The restaurant is
Go Ryo
24 rue Richer
75009 Paris

We had the 10 € fixed price menu with an appetizer, main dish, and snacks and it was worth it!

day 14 - business as usual

2009-01-14T22:31:00.002+01:00

day 14 - business as usual
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

The line 13 is the longest of the 16 metro lines in Paris at 24.3 kms long. It is the also the most overcrowded ... 4.5 people to 10.7 sq feet and seeing this sign in the morning is a good thing, it means that trains are actually running, since the line 13 is also the one with the most 'technical issues'.

Believe it or not I did manage to get on yesterday!

day 13 - Rolling Stones & Sock Monkeys

2009-01-13T22:08:00.002+01:00

I was in a Rolling Stones mood on my way home from work, and Ruby Tuesday was in my head - since it is Tuesday, I thought that m#2 in these jammies would be a great day 13 photo.

The jammies were actually meant for me or m#1 (om?) but for some reason she really wanted to wear them tonight, despite the fact that we could fit 3 or 4 of her in there and the fact that she usually wants to sleep naked.

day 12 - a pretty good Monday

2009-01-12T22:01:00.002+01:00

It was a great start to the new week ... it was a beautiful sunny day and you could feel that the bitter chill had burned off. No matter how much I love snow, I AM from California and the wonder of it gets old very quickly.
Plus, I got huge, wonderful, nothing better in the world kind of news and it just really made my day.

Everything just fell into place yesterday and it was a perfect start to the week...

The kids were upstairs when I got home and we had an impromptu dinner party, I love my neighbors for putting up with us but maybe not for serving me so much alcohol on a Monday!

yes, that is water that the kids are drinking, sheesh!

Days 10 & 11.... the weekend

2009-01-11T21:38:00.001+01:00

We had a lovely weekend; the kids were charming, for once and it was spent seeing old friends, new friends, doing homework, baking, and playing.

Saturday, we had lunch with our old friends and hung out with them for most of the afternoon and the neighbors came round for dinner... that said, the kids were here all weekend - the more the merrier, right?!
.

Sunday was spent baking (cupcakes and brownies, not the Altoid version though) then visiting ... I learned that I can fit five adults and six kids in my flat!

Day 9 - Ell's New Phone

2009-01-09T09:04:00.003+01:00

So not my idea to get monster #1 a new phone; firstly, he didn't need one, the one he got last year works fine and I dislike encouraging rampant consumerism and secondly, he is doing very poorly in school.

And now that he has sent me 20 texts since he got it yesterday, I am definitely ready to send it back to the store, except for the fact that his texts are now all spelled properly in French AND in English - so maybe it is a good thing.

Day 8 - Bugger

2009-01-08T23:11:00.003+01:00

Day 8 - Bugger
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

This is what happens when you get home from work at 9:30 p.m., pick up the kids from the neighbors after a drink, finally wrangle them in bed and decide that cheese on toast is just the ticket. But then... you go read your favorite blogs and get distracted... oops!

Good thing I'm cleaning out the freezer and found something to pop in the microwave.

yawn... bed.

Day 7 - More Snow, but lots of it!

2009-01-07T23:08:00.000+01:00

Day 7 - More Snow, but lots of it!
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

and two days for the price of one! Again no more crafty stuff to report, way too much work, as it is that time of the month again (work wise, of course).

I know the snow photos are dominating my daily shots, but it is so very strange to have snow stick here. Monster #2 requested this shot as we were walking to daycare yesterday, and she has pretty good taste!

Days 5 and 6 - Let it snow

2009-01-07T00:29:00.001+01:00

(blogger is being strange, links to the last two days' photos below)

It snowed all day yesterday... amazing. I've already stated how much I love the snow, but I haven't mentioned that the kids are just as crazy about it as I am.

That said, it has been so cold, that even Monster #2 has been buttoning up her coat and putting on her gloves without being asked. Today it was -10°C (that is 14° F for you Americans), with the wind chill factor. And they predict more for tomorrow. I don't care how much the electric bill will be this time, it is going to remain a toasty 68°F in here if it bankrupts me!

Since it was so cold yesterday, all of the left over snow turned into ice, which was very pretty (but slippery in my work boots!). I love the lights they have put up on this section of the boulevard, but that said, I am a bit obsessed with polka dots.

Nothing crafty to report, been a bit too much dealing with work and the monsters full-time, I'm sure I'll learn how to juggle everything eventually, but it is a bit much at the moment.

365-Day 4 - Maeva skating

2009-01-05T09:18:00.003+01:00

Day 4 - Maeva skating
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

The kids came back last night and didn't even give me a kiss before tearing off upstairs to see their friends; thus the ideal way to spend the last day of the holiday was by taking everyone ice skating.

My English speaking girlfriends then came round for tea, galette (the French way of celebrating the epiphany) and a book sharing session.

Not much crafting going on of late (though thinking about all of the crafting things I would like to do, not to mention finish), but lots of cooking: I made a gratin dauphinois (scalloped potatoes) and it was delish and Altoid brownies. The kids managed to eat the gratin but didn't even want to try the brownies, so my colleagues will be thrilled when I serve them up a bit later for morning snack.

365-Day 3

2009-01-03T18:52:00.002+01:00

2009-01-03.JPG
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Nothing better than seeing old friends. Had a lovely crepe lunch with Alex, Thomas & Marine before running some errands and basically wiling the day away waiting for the kids to come home.

365-Days 1 & 2

2009-01-03T10:47:00.007+01:00

Like so many others, I have decided to document the coming year in photos. This little goal has gotten off to a bad start since I didn't decide this until yesterday morning, so I have two pictures from yesterday.

I have been keeping the curtains in my room closed of late since it has been so cold, so I didn't notice it was snowing yesterday morning until I went to get the recycling in the kitchen before heading out to work.

Something about snow makes me feel like a little kid again and so I was so happy to see it. It didn't last long of course, but I think it was a fresh clean start to what I hope will be a great year for everybody.

365-Days 1 & 2
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Mosaic Box - Fail!

2009-01-01T08:46:00.004+01:00

This is one of the mosaic projects and it is a miserable fail; it was my Christmas present to my belle mère adorée and it ended up coming home with me in pieces!

However, as a wise man said, “Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn't work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.”

What I learned was:

it is better to use spackling powder made into a paste instead of the bathroom grout I used. The porportions are easier to measure and it sets more quickly and seems more sturdy.

I prefer collaging with deco patch paper, or even magazines, more than the paper napkin technique. The colors on paper napkins change when you apply the varnish glue and it has a texture that I just don't like.

Stuff on the walls

2008-12-21T16:11:00.001+01:00

Stuff on the walls
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Managed to put most of my stuff back on the walls. I just have to put the big Catalina Poster up, but need another set of hands to do that.

making Christmas

2008-12-21T16:07:00.002+01:00

2008 12 21
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Not feeling very Christmasy this year, so I really couldn't be bothered to go run around the stores like a chicken with my head cut off. I ended up making a lots of the gifts I plan to give:

1. soothing pillows to be heated in the microwave. I made these with cracked rice, 100% cotton sheet material for the inside pocket, and recycled material for the outside envelopes. I still have to put in the drawstrings though. I had thought of using velcro, but my sewing skills are still very rudimentary, though I can now sew in a straight line!

2. We made coasters from old CDs and mosaic pieces.

3. P designed and did the mosaic, I did the painting (which explains the crappy job I did of it) and the varnishing.

4. This is P's gift to her teacher; she made the flowers from recycled paper and sturdy twine.

More to come!

The New Wallpaper, finally

2008-12-13T14:02:00.006+01:00

I was very surprised at how easy it is to put up wallpaper, not to mention how cheap! It only cost about 40 euros for all of the materials, 2 hours to pull down the old stuff and 5 hours to put up the new.

Obviously, I have yet to put my pictures up on the wall, may try to do that this weekend, but am debating about putting up white shelving on the wall behind the couch.

For those who don't remember what the old wallpaper looked like:

Plastic Christmas Wreath

2008-12-13T13:40:00.004+01:00

Plastic Christmas Wreath
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

One thing down.... and I've lost track of how more many to go!

I was inspired by the Halloween wreath I saw on thelongthread, but since ribbons are so expensive here, that I thought I could do something similar with all of the plastic bags I have.

I simply cut the handles off of the bags, cut off the bottoms, then cut into short strips that were 30cm x 5 cms and tied them along (in a bow shape) on a wire hanger that I had bent into a circle. It took about 10 bags total, though I forgot to count.

I added two fused plastic flowers (see etsy's fused plastic tutorial and I found the inspiration for the flower form here). I didn't have staples, so I used glue dots, which have finally arrived in France, and that I bought at Loisir & Création.OK, off to prepare more Christmas stuff !

Finishing

2008-12-12T11:46:00.002+01:00

I'm really good at starting projects - not so good at finishing them.

Hopefully, I will be able to finish the following all on Sunday afternoon:

Grout mosaics (with kids)
Make fused plastic flowers to finish the wreath
Paint the tray (P)
Put up the Christmas tree

Stuff we did that day

2008-12-08T18:11:00.001+01:00

My creation
Originally uploaded by MeanderingCraftily

Stuff to do today

2008-11-30T11:07:00.006+01:00

I'm feeling a bit ill today, so I'm not sure how much of the below we will be able to do, but am feeling rather inspired as Christmas approaches.

I'm also thinking that maybe I should start translating my great finds into French, but god knows where I'll find the time!

My Family

2008-11-17T11:10:00.001+01:00

Get your own Family Sticker Maker

Halloween, or Walloween as P says

2008-11-04T22:05:00.004+01:00

Halloween in France is always a disappointment. Firstly, it falls during the All Saint's holiday, so the kids can't celebrate at school and are often off on holiday. Secondly, the popularity seems to be dictated by the amount of advertising done by the big stores and lastly, there is no trick or treating, ever.

Since we were in Chambéry for Halloween this year, my future ex-mother-in-law got a few decorations for the kids and I used some of the ideas found in the blog-o-sphere and P helped with a few ideas. This is what we came up with:

sausage mummies

scary pasta

blood cake

and a little witch to serve it all:

Great Embroidery Finds

2008-10-27T06:43:00.005+01:00

I got a bit obsessed with the interwebs the other night and found a few great embroidery sites:

How to easily frame embroidery (in French)
I have been looking for a tut on this subject for months and almost jumped for joy when I found this, but since it was 1:30 a.m. I held back since I'm on speaking terms with the downstairs neighbors for once!
I now have a purpose for those great $1 Target frames that have been taking up precious shelf space for three years.

How to complete embroidery in the hoop (finally!)
Another subject I've been obsessively googling to no avail; this tut is great as it does not involve a hot glue gun.

A French / English glossary of common embroidery terms
Now I only need to find the same for sewing terms, as I have no idea how to say fusible interfacing, batting or rotary cutter in French and the salesladies at fabric stores are a bit mean when I stumble for words.

A generator to convert your text into stitches
This is really, really cool tool that lets you type any text and generate stitches in 6 types of stitch (4 cross and 2 back stitch). The site also has graph paper to download and a StitchCalculator, which is really handy.

I'm also 3/4s of my way through coaster #3 and am starting to wonder how to attach to the felt!

In progress

2008-10-25T11:14:00.003+02:00

I told you I got back into cross stitch in a big way, especially since I found these books.

crafty-cross-stitching book montage

I'm making a set of four coasters for a swap at the end of November and I'm crossing (pun intended) my fingers that they turn out they way I want them to.

Here is a shot of the work in progress: