The sweetest house in the whole wide world

Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.

~Oliver Wendell Holmes~

The house on the picture means a great deal to me. It has such a sweet appearance too, I even like to think it has a bit of a face, a very sweet one I'd say. The picture shows it in all her old-days glory, with thriving blossom in the trees of her front garden. Oh, how much I would want to go back to those days, if only for a couple of minutes!

Alas, I can't pick up the house and put it in my pocket, but I can cherish the memories that lie on that very spot and take them where ever I go. So...what's nicer than turning something so dear into a creative project?

I traced the picture and used this site to turn it into an embroidery pattern. (I'm sure there are lots of websites that facilitate it too, this one is in Dutch.) It's very simple and fast and it's just the perfect project to do during this wonderful slow holiday season.

I'm taking a small blog- and shopbreak to work on some more creative projects, be with loved ones and relax after a very busy year. Hope your Christmas was cosy and warm. Will be back before you know it!

Vintage teapots

My collection of teapots is getting bigger and bigger. I found the one above yesterday on a very succesful thrifting adventure. It's romantic appearance is a bit odd between the retro ones (also here and here) but I love it anyway, especially combinated with the old-in-a-new-way-Hema-tray that finally got a nice spot on the white hood in our kitchen.
Hope Mr. Winter will be kind and allows us to travel safely to our loved ones for Christmas.

Happy holidays and above all: enjoy! dear readers!

P.S. I heard this beautiful song for the first time since ages again on the radio. I can't believe that it's not played more often..it's so poetic, one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.
A Winter's Tale - Queen

How Winter should look like in my opinion

It's so funny when you think about it. Everything we can do here in The Netherlands is whine about the cold weather and snow. As though those warm Winters from the past few years where normal. I must admit, I don't like it either that cycling to my work is the farthest from home as I get these days and that I haven't crossed the city borders for over a week. I hate it that there's only a very narrow snow and ice-free strip available on the bicycle-paths and that you'll for certain get stuck behind someone with a much slower pace because it's impossible to pass by without falling over. I hate it when I have excavated our drive and one day later I can start all over again (and where, tell me where do I leave all those piles of removed snow? I have gathered enough snow to build an igloo and go Eskimo). It's all so confining, but it's so normal. It's Winter! I guess people in Canada (or Russia! or Alaska! or Eskimo's!) laugh their pants off when they'd hear us complain about the weather. A few inches of snow is peanuts compared to those who need a snow-plough to even be able to leave the house. Or build their house with it (for crying out loud).

Ah well...despite the icy bicycle paths, today I was still able to get home with two bags filled with thrifted treasuries. And one thing's for sure: this Winter gives us the most beautiful sights since years. The Christmastree in our neighbour's garden looks like it came straight walking from a fairytale. As long as I'm inside, next to the central heating, I guess I can still enjoy this season...

Chrysanthemum

Time goes by so fast! Within a week it's Christmas already!
With the piles of snow outside, our days are terribly slow. Since these weatherconditions aren't very helpful when trying to get from A to B, we have to stay home (such punishment! ;-)), cuddle up, drink hot chocolate and eat too much 'festive sweets'. O how I hate to stay in and do nothing!

Above: the only flowers that seem to survive the icy cold drafts that flow along the windows are the 'mums'. I love their retro appearance.

Hope you all have a lovely pré holiday week.
May all your loved ones make it safe home through the cold and snow.

Planet Fur Playground

Between my busy work for the shop (Hermione the Rhino and Little Unicorn are a bit of a hit at the moment), I try to freewheel a bit too. I'd like to call it 'going to the playground': working on little projects to take my mind off daily routine.

I made these kokeshi dolls inspired on Tif's one's on Dottie Angel - those are beautiful and available here).
One way or another, how hard I try not to, they always end up looking a bit condescending. It's like they know they're cute and cheeky and that they can twist everybody 'round their little finger if they want to.
And they can, to be honest, I just can't resist making (or buying) them.
Cheeky girls.

(I'm experimenting a bit with the lay-out of my posts. Bloggers seems to entiny (new invented English word by me heehee) all my pictures, which really drives me crazy, for by my humble opinion pictures are the most important thing on a creative blog, aren't they? Don't know if I like this lay-out, but at least you can see what I'm writing about.)

Merry Frustrated Christmas

I'm a bit reluctant to show you this one, to be honest.
You see..last year I loved the oistershelves in the tree, I really did. But this year..I don't know. I can't decide if I like it. What I'm absolutely sure about is that this is not the perfect spot for a Christmastree in our home. Where it's standing now, it's a bit lost, like it sneaked into the livingroom through the backdoor and got caught doing that. Poor tree. She's a bit crooked too (like every other Christmastree we ever had, because the only non-crooked trees are the fake ones and I always say I'd never never allow a fake tree in my home).

But you know..once the tree is finally in place, without causing too much damage to bright white painted walls (after our big renovation project, I'm not planning to touch any brush for about a year or two), I'm certainly not gonna replace it again. And I certainly don't want to make another trace of needles and mud and melting snow through our livingroom. So I just leave it where I first placed it, feeling a bit annoyed every time I pass by because it's just not the right spot (but what is the right spot then?) and because I'm not sure about the oisters.

Maybe I should consider a fake one next year. :-)

Beauty in all it's roughness and a big thank you

A dear friend of mine gave me the Amaryllis as a present. It's so beautiful in all it's roughness, I think I even like it better without the flowering bulb.

I'd really like to thank you for all your sweet, moving and honest comments on the blogging-issue post. I can't express how much I appreciate it that you kind readers took the effort to write such elaborate comments! It really helped me to convince me to do the things the way I do them, so thank you all!

En nu in het Nederlands (omdat ik me daar immers beter in uitdruk ;-). Bedankt voor al jullie geweldige, eerlijke en uitgebreide reacties op mijn laatste blogpost, het heeft me echt een stuk verder gebracht in mijn "worsteling" als blogger (die elke blogger, zo blijkt maar weer, herkent). Als je zo alleen aan het aanrommelen bent voor je gevoel, is het prettig om te klankborden en jeetje, hebben jullie dat gedaan of niet dan? :-) Blijf bij jezelf (en blijf jezelf) is het devies en eigenlijk geldt dat natuurlijk voor alles in het leven, dus waarom niet voor je weblog? Het heeft me gesterkt om door te gaan op het ingeslagen pad. Daarom vanaf Planet Fur een Heel Erg Grote BEDANKT voor jullie allemaal (en vooruit, Molly wil vanaf haar slaapplek op de vensterbank nog wel even haar hoofd optillen en een virtueel bedank-kopje geven. Ik begin echt te geloven dat katten ook aan winterslaap doen. Ik kan posts over haar voorlopig op mijn buik schrijven, het zou elke week eenzelfde foto zijn..wat een leven).

En dat ruilen..daar zie ik wel wat in. Leuk voornemen voor 2011!

The blogging issue

Dear reader,

There's been a lot of thinking going on on Planet Fur. 'Cause, as much as I like to see this thing as just a wonderful creative let-out, secretly it's much much more than that to me. I think everybody who does what I do recognise this, that's why I'd like to share my thoughts with you. Doing things for Planet Fur is the thing I like to do most, I wake up and go to bed with a head filled with ideas to work on. Since I have my little shop and blog, since I met all those nice creative people, I feel better than I felt in a whole lot of years. But since I'm a perfectionist too, there's always this little voice in the back of my head that's encouraging me to do better. So, here are my thoughts and questions about the subject, feel free to share yours!

My biggest dilemma is the way I fill in my little blog. Sometimes I get the feeling I'm just jabbering into space. Yes, I make nice pictures and that might be the reason why you want to hang out here, but doesn't it need to get a bit more interactive? Should I give-away, swap, write tutorials, share thoughts? To be short, how do I stand out in the middle of so many gorgeous blogs, with so many gorgeous pics of beautiful homes, vintage finds, creative ideas? Should I get a Facebook account, a Twitter account, get on Pinterest or Tumblr (sometimes I feel a like a big nobhead when I realise I'm probably the last person on earth that discovers those kind of modern media...I don't even own an iPhone). How do you do that and still be able to make stock for your shop, go to work, clean your home, meet with friends?

And then there is the language question. Does the English scare you off? (It scares me off to be frank, it's so difficult to express, I mean really express yourself in a language that's not your own.) Should I go back to Dutch and English posts? What do you think?

Overall: do you like being here? Do you get something here? Inspiration? A good feeling? Does it make you smile? I'd really like to know your honest opinion.

And, with the risk of being laughed at, can somebody explain me the principle of swapping? :-D

Thanks so much,

with love, Marlous

Like a candy cane

Who wouldn't want to find these lovelies in their Christmas stockings?
* Click picture to enlarge and even better eyecandy :-D *

Clockwise:
Bluebells of Happiness Skipping Bunny, vintage illustrated plate
by The Story Book Rabbit

Hedgehog Pincushion
by Lifepieces

Cake Bunting Noel
by KikiLaRu

Bunny Rabbit screen printed Eco Card
by CuriousDoodles

Enjoy your weekend!

WWS Christmastree 2010 edition

It's the 1st of December! A whole month of cosyness and celebration ahead of us, oh joy!

And the Wood & Woolstool Christmastree is finally up. This year I chose to decorate it with a white, red and greyish theme.

My incredibly talented, creative (and sweet :-)) mother made the sweet little sheep on top, and the heart with crocheted mistletoe. The snowman comes from Hema (where else?), their Christmas collection gets more beautiful by the year.

So now, let's enjoy this wonderful month. It's the most wonderful time of the year!