Saffran

Moving

I got tired of Blogger being so troublesome and stiff. Please update any links and come visit me at blog.zaffron.se instead.

And Now, Something Diffrent

I just thought this was such a good post I have to share it. It's about recycling and what matters. It's been on my mind lately and this was a little bit of an eyeopener. What really matters seems to be the amount of things I buy, not how much I recycle. I'll try and keep that in mind and I have gotten better at not buying everything. Which doesn't mean that I am where I want to be in this respect - there are so many lovely things out there that I'd just love to own.

Bookmark Swap - Morgan

I got mail from Morgan a few weeks ago, she had seen my blog and we emailed a little. Now I got her as my swap-partner in this swap! And guess what, she sent me so much goodies I was a little overwhelmed, in a good way, since this swap was only for a bookmark!

I love the crocheted bookmark the best. She made it in my favourite colors and without a scheme to follow. I love that it is hand made and that she tailored it to my tastes. You are so talented Morgan! Now I enjoy opening my book even more :) Then she added a bookmark pen, lots of teas I can't wait to try and a red and white dishtowel (even though I'm not fond of the tomato applique I am really happy for the fabric which is very nice and I'm thinking I'll make it into a small tablecloth or perhaps the lining for a bag), together with a pretty card and a sweet and long message inside. Thank you so much, Morgan, this was a lovely surprise.

Embroidery Project Done

2 years later and tadaa. I'm not kidding you. I have enjoyed making this, it's just that I've been enjoying it in small doses and far between. It feels so good that it is done. When I began I didn't think it would take this long. A short while after this one I began another embroidery project which still isn''t finished or even halfway done. Guess that's next on the list now. It's a snowman project so maybe I'll manage to finish it by christmas. That would be great :) I am also glad that I recognised how slow at embroidery I am and refrained from beinning more projects even though I've seen so much I'd like to do.

For you non-Swedish peeps: the text says something like "Tasty buns rolling out of the oven". Which rhymes in Swedish and makes it sound better. Cheesy but kind of fun.

5-4-3-2..Etsy!

I've been away a couple of days as you might know, and thus missed and forgot the date set to showcase what I bought for the 5-4-3-2..Etsy! pledge. That's why this is a little late, but better now than never :)

I had been looking through the diffrent Etsy shops like forever it seemed and when I saw this pendant in Auriis shop I knew I needed to look no farther. The pendant is itsy bitsy tiny and still manages to have space enough for 7 lines of text from an E. E. Cummings poem! Two good things - poetry and jewelry - rolled into one.

Auriis real name is Laura and she is a very talented freelance illustrator and jewelry designer, with a major in illustration from RISD. I've mailed back and forth a little with her and thus I can tell you how nice she is as well :) If you are interested in her jewelry go here and if you like the pendant I bought you will find an even cuter one here.

Needlework and totes

I've been away a couple of days and brought my latest embroidery project. I hope to show you the finished item today or tomorrow at the latest. This is one that won't go into the shop or be given away, like most things I make :)

When I got home yesterday I made something else for my shop instead. Mum have given me some scraps of fabric which I wanted to use with what I bought the other day. I'm not sure I like these totes myself, they didn't turn out as I thought they would, but they are well made and I hope it's someone elses style.

Painting Again

It's been years since I painted somthing last time. And more than a handful of years since I finished something. So this feels good. I used to love to paint and I guess I still do. This one has been in progress for the last couple of days. I used acrylic paint on canvas and I am going to varnish it as soon as I have bought some. It's about 24 x 18 x 1,5 cm (7 x 9.5 x 0,6 inches). I like her cute little face and naked feet. And that place! I wonder what she sees, looking down like that.

Inspiration

I got more fun mail today - Howl's Moving Castle on DVD! I love Miyazaki´s movies and this is the latest of them. I also went out and bought 3 magazines for inspiration. In order of how good a read I found them:

British Homes & Gardens
German Burda Patchworks
American Country Marketplace

Heaps and Loads and More

You won't believe how much i bought at the thrift store today. I can't anyhow. I spent a whopping $115 !!! I didn't plan this, but what to do when they had so much goodies there? And each and every item were so cheap that I couldn't think it would get to be so much together? The good part is that now I'll have enough materials to keep me buzy at leasta month. Here are most, but not everything, of todays finds:

Great Mail Today Again

I got a package from Canada today! My prize has arrived and it is just a lovely as I imagined it to be. Thank you again, Izik, for chosing me as the winner of your contest :) I love this sweet little robot.

The Cards

Here are the images I promised!

New postcards

This is the only creativity I had time for today. I made two sets of three postcards, with fall leaves and "I just want to say" embossed in white or gold. They are quite simple but stylish, so I am happy with them. As always - I can't take any good pictures at night so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see them, and then I will put them in my shop as well.

Teabag Swap - Paula

Oh, happy day :) I got the best swap package today. Why? Beacuse I got the loveliest little crocheted "Tea bag" for my handbag as an extra little thing! It will hold a few of my favourite tea bags, so I can bring them with me wherever I go and always have something good to drink. So fun and cute, I think this was the best idea. You even got the colors right. Of course there were teas as well in the package. Every single one new to me, and lots of yummy tastes I think! The packages all look so good I almost can't chose which to begin with. And I got way more than required in the swap. Paula, I could hug you, that's how happy I am with what I got. Thank you so much!

Shopping

Guess what? The Cold Days Tote sold! My first item to sell on Etsy and it feels really good. Someone like what I made so much that she spent money on it. Fantastic!
The not so fun result of this is that I realised how little I get left when all the fees are paid - PayPal and Etsy both charge of course and then I had free shipping as well. What remained isn't much considering I spent 5 hours on the tote. I have to admit it shouldn't take that long to make a tote. I'll get quicker. Anyhow, now all the free shipping is gone on my items!

Since I were so happy about the sell I decided to go spend some money myself. I've been shopping for 3 hours and came home with lots of clothes! Fun fun fun. Fun!

For the Cold Days to Come

This is what I were doing yesterday - sewing this sturdy tote! It's a perfect size for magazines and got a small pocket inside for a cellphone, an ipod or such. I cut out squares from diffrent red fabrics and sewed onto this good quality wool I had. In retrospect I should have sewed the squares closer together for a better visual appeal, but it works out rather ok anyway.