DIY: Personalized drawstring bags

Do you also have a couple of plain white bags that need some decoration? I got these drawstring bags from my favourite COS shop. All accessoiries like tights, socks, belts etc. come in these. They are perfect for toys. So I got my fabric markers out and decorated them with forest themes. The one with the Marimekko flower is made with a plastic bag I got from that same shop. I just cut out the flower and then ironed it on the bag putting a sheet of baking paper between the plastic and the iron. You need to experiment a bit with the heat. Start low and then increase slowly until the plastic is nicely stuck on the fabric.

Birthday girl

Last week was my birthday. We had a relaxed day with tiramisu cupcakes which my daughter helped to prepare. Later on we went to the Hong Kong Museum of Arts and had a look at a modern art exhibition. The boys stayed at home so I had a really nice day just with my little princess. And in the evening she told me the best thing of the day (a bedtime routine) was the art work. I was really surprised. It was a nice rainy day as you can see from the last picture. It didn't rain that much and at least it was not as hot as usually at this time of the year. At the moment it's a seven weeks summer break for the kindergarten. So I spend a lot of time with the kids. It's fun, stressful at times but I think it does a lot to bring us together as a family. Especially the kids are enjoying each other's company a lot. Instead of fighting there are a lot more hugs and smiles and giggles. And it occured to me that it's quite cool to have three kids. Well, at least sometimes...

DIY: From placemat to toy storage

I found these placemats in my cabinet and wanted to throw them out but then I had this fine idea. Just a few seams and voila you have turned them into a box. Just close the side and the bottom and then make a seam along the corners of the bottom seam so give them the box shape. Roll half of it down and that's it. You can use them just like that or sew a few together like I did and hang them somewhere. Very quick and easy!

We are back!

We are back from our trip to Germany. And slowly slowly we are getting back on track. Jet-lag... with three little monsters, no fun! Well, our daughter was fine, no complaints here (somehow girls are always fine...). But the boys were awake from 2-4 am the first night, then 12 pm -2 am the second night and the third night was a bit mixed. And all the sleep training we had done before is completely forgotten. In addition to the jet-lag trouble one of them is teething and is waking up every 1.5 h for three nights in a row now. I am exhausted and I have sworn not to go on a trip again if the boys are not finally sleeping through the night!
But now to the trip itself. It was lots of fun with nice fresh air, warm weather and lots of nature. The grandparents really enjoyed the time with the kids, too. The flight itself was also really OK, not much trouble. And my mom cooked almost all the meals and the kids really liked it. We found out that the boys love meatballs (our daughter hates the texture of minced meat, funny isn't it?). The bread was yum, the supermarkets great and I had a few too many glasses of wine with my parents...

DIY: Cloud t-shirt

You might have noticed that I am in love with clouds when it comes to kids' stuff. So here is another quick t-shirt upcycling idea. I just cut a cloud out of an old t-shirt and sew it onto a new one. I simply used straight stitches for that. It's made within no time and looks great!

Happy Birthday Ragna!

Our little bunny turned three last week. She is a big fan of the little white rabbit 'Miffy'. So we had a Miffy party at our place on Saturday. But somehow we forgot to take photos of the deco. So I can only show you the Miffy birthday cake.
We also have started a birthday tradition. We take a pretty photo of the birthday child and then we add the name, the age and what they love at that particular age. So later on that will be a cute memory of those years.

DIY: Cloud cushion

I am in love with clouds for kid's stuff. Whether it's cushions or shirt deco I can't resist. So I had to make one for Ragna's room. I used a simple towel from IKEA to make this one. It's pretty easy. Just cut two pieces in cloud shape, sew them together leaving a small gap open. Turn it inside out, fill it and then close the seam and do a contrast zig zag stitching all around the cushion. I used yellow thread for it. But the options are of course endless...

DIY: Cardboard doll house

This simple doll house is made of two pieces of A4 size thick cardboard. I simply cut off the corners for the roof and then added a slit as wide as the cardboard is thick (approx 2-3 mm) and as long as half  of the entire height. The first slit goes from roof to the middle on the first cardboard piece. The second slit goes from the bottom to the middle of the second cardboard piece. Decorate the pieces with wallpaper or wrapping paper, stickers, paint whatever you like... Then you only need to put the two pieces together in a 90 degree angle. Make sure that the slit is not too wide because then the two pieces won't stay in place properly. We use our new little house together with the LEGO DUPLO blocks but the options are endless: doll house, circus, garage, zoo, barn yard, coffee shop...

DIY: Pastel beads necklace

This is another little necklace I made for my daughter. I made the ribbon from a 4x50 cm piece of leftover fabric. The beads are from an old necklace but you can find similar beads in craft shops or at amazon. Just fold the piece of fabric like bias tape and stitch the seam. Thread the beads and then adjust the length according to your needs. Close the loop with a knot. Find a pretty model and take a photo...

Surprise, surprise

Source: www.almondella.com



Source: www.citruslane.com

Source: www.peekabox.hk



I love surprises! But only the nice ones of course. And what about surprises that come delivered to your house once per month! Yeah, want that.

Ever heard of ALMONDELLA or CITRUSLANE ? Almondella ships for free within Europe and Citruslane within the US (no shipping fee either). You can select your plan, just one box to test it out or boxes over a period of 3, 6 or 12 months. The box content is customised to your baby's needs. And you can skip boxes if you don't like them.

So here was I living in Hong Kong and longing for those cool boxes but no shipping to Hong Kong, sorry la...

But, tatata, a clever business person came up with the same idea. So you can get your baby box in Hong Kong, too. It's called PEEKABOX . They only do clothes though. But that's a nice thing, too. So my boys will receive a monthly box according to their age and my taste (you can choose from several options). I will test it for three months and then see if I like it. Unfortunately all those boxes cover only age 0-3 years. So my daughter is out of the game...

I am already so excited. Can't wait to hold my first surprise box in my hands.

Oh and I think it makes for a great gift, too.