I Love you to the Moon and back

Mixed media art print - available on Etsy

Origami Club

Origami: I kind of have a love/hate relationship with it.
I Love the shapes and craftsmanship.
Which brings me directly to the 'Hate'-part: I just don't seem to be able to master that craftsmanship and keep ending up with sweaty hands and greasy folds.

That's why I was very happy when I discovered 'Origami Club', a website with all kinds of easy not too difficult origami shapes and clear step-by-step instructions.

Soon I'll have a bit of time on my hands. Let's see if I can get into this, or at least learn how to fold the best paper planes before Little One arrives.

Here are a few examples:

The traditional Crane

A useful Fish's cake case

One of the many Paper planes

A newspaper Garbage bin

There are many more shapes available, amongst them two (!) complete alphabets and numbers 0-9, as well as windmills, balloons and medals.

Fold away!

Cake with giants: Amy Borell

A few lovely works by Amy Borell:
(Yes please, for the nursery)

All images courtesy of Cake with giants

Random cool stuff August

1. Golden Horse necklace by David Neale (the Golden Smith) - found on Jokemijn
2. Pianobell by Li Jianye
3. NO 419 (Wolf) by the T-shirt Issue - spotted on Design for Mankind
4. Utilitarian Ceramic by B. Fiess - spotted on All the Mountains

Interior inspiration

Just a few nice spaces spotted recently:


On Indenfor & Udenfor - Photograph by Mikkel Strange - spotted here

Photograph by I lay my hat and I wish to stay - spotted on 16house

Instagram lately: Flea-market and Nam Kee

Last month I went to one of the largest open air Flea-markets in the Netherlands: the monthly IJ-hallen-market in Amsterdam-North.
I had planned to write a post about it, but halfway through the day the heavens suddenly burst open and pretty much washed out the whole site.

A few snapshots I took before the Rains came:

After The Rain had happened I actually scored a few really nice bargains from vendors who were very ready to go someplace dry, so it wasn't all bad.
(I snapped up the little wooden fire-truck from the second picture for only €1,-)

Maybe I'll visit the flea-market again this month. Still in need of some stuff for BB.

T and I also went out for dinner with a friend in the small China-town section of Amsterdam.
The reason to go to this particular restaurant (Nam Kee) is that it has the best steamed oysters in town.
Obviously we had some.
I opted for the Peking duck as a main course. Don't they look tasty hanging in the window? (I know, not really...but my dish was great).

You can follow me via Webstagram.

Friday Quote: Make it Happen

from here

Secret in a shelf: Clopen by Torafu Architects

Spotted on Japanese blog Spoon&Tamago: The Clopen shelf/drawer by Torafu Architects.
(Name sound familiar? That's very possible: They're the people who came up with the worldfamous Airvase design.)

I am always really liking the floating shelves, even more (a lot more actually) when there's a secret drawer hidden in them like Torafu Architects fixed:

photos by Yosuke Owashi

The great thing is: the drawer handles are these little (magnetized) wood stubs, that can just be kept separately (on your key chain, for example). Which is great because I am usually not a fan of overly-present handles on drawers. (Always struggling with it when I'm designing cabinets myself).

When visiting the Torafu website, please note the 'J/E'-option in the top right corner of your screen. It's probably easiest to change the language to English (I think, but maybe you're a pro in reading Japanese, I don't know...).

Tile floors

Tile floors spotted lately.

By Chacha Papiers - Spotted on 16house

Decorator Montse Esteva house in barcelona by Interiors - Spotted on Roseland Greene 



Space of Carlos Nicolau - photographs by Elle decoration UK - via 16house

Riad El Fenn hotel in Marrakech by Lonny Magazine
photograph by Patrick Cline - spotted on SFGirlbyBay

Things on my Etsy-wishlist

1. Women House Slippers by Woolybaby
2. Whale Tissue Holder by Gnomessweeeetgnome
3. Anatolian Antique Rug Pillow Cover (Kilim) by Mothersatelier
4. Desk lamp by EarthSeaWarrior - spotted on DesignLoveFest

Homeless street art: Michael Aaron Williams

These card-board homeless people made by artist Michael Aaron Williams have been popping up in several city's over the last years.

Here's what he has to say about his work on his own website:

"Some of the pieces I create are made for a gallery and some for the street in which the placement is necessary to add to the thematic meaning of the piece. Making something that has its own natural lifespan is very interesting to me. Because the paintings are of people on the street I also put them on the street where they are exposed to that which can destroy them. I want the pieces to have hope, so I dont glue them to the wall I simply tape them so that the viewer can take them down and hopefully take them home. So when the pictures are left up and if no one takes them they will cease to exist. They will be destroyed and blown away in the wind or other forces that will rip them down and throw them away."

If I ever discover one of his pieces on an outside wall, I wouldn't think twice about bringing them home!
(alright, maybe I would, but only because the outside setting does the pieces so much more justice than they could ever get indoors)

All images courtesy of the artist (michaelaaronart.com)

Discovered via 16house

Friday Quote: Roald Dahl

spotted here

For Little One

All photographs courtesy of the artist/company

1. Air heads by Hector Serrano - found on Design for Mankind
2. Mountain peak cashmere mini blanket by Donna Wilson
3. Apple Papple poster by Fine Little Day
4. Petit Bateau classic raincoat by Petit Bateau
5. Wood Puzzle blocks by Dwell Studio - discovered via Pinterest
6. Blue Whale Felt Pillow by Ekofabrik on Etsy - spotted on BloesemKids