The one with the shameless self-promotion

Happy monday everyone! It's a cold, grey rainy day over here. So I am sitting at my desk together with a big glass of camomille tea and some chocolate to get me through the day.....

In case you were planning on doing some Christmas shopping over at my Etsy shop, please make sure to place your order before the 5th of December. When ordered before this date, you are sure to receive your Christmas prezzies in time for the holidays!

The one with the things I liked this week (140)

I spotted these shoes over two months ago on Instagram, and I finally managed to get myself a pair of these shiny sneakers!

 Seen on a walk to the mailbox

Christmas is getting closer, the first sign of it

Since a while we are selling Tony's Chocolonely in the brick and mortar shop. It's a Dutch brand that uses slave-free cocao beans in their bars. The are well known for their not so usual flavours (a limited edition's out now with popcorn and discodip). Every once in a while I need to check what it is I am selling, right? This one is with orange and rosemary. 

Talking business, I started another Instagram account, where I show what I do on weekdays, during the day. My other account (which consists of lots of doors and windows, quirky things I see on the streets that made me smile, and the occasional vintage car is here). 

Enjoy your sunday!

The one with the heartshaped Christmas ornament DIY

Rudolph's on his way, the ornaments moved up from the basement, I have started to search for recipes to cook up during the holidays, and the first Christmas songs have been listened to. Time to get crafty and make something Christmassy! Besides the traditional Christmas colours, I like to add some gold to the mix. These are quite easy to whip up, and if you're the craft supply hoarder I am, you might already have some of the supplies beads and charms laying around the house.

What you'll need

• thick wire
• thin wire
• small beads (but big enough so they can be beaded to the thick wire)
• charms
• a bit of glue

Fold the thick wire in the middle

Fold the edges together to make a heart shape

Start beading away

Tie the edges together with the thin wire and secure with a drop of glue

Wrap the thin wire around the heart, adding the charms and more beads

How far are you with decorating? Any homemade decorations?

The one with all the nativity scenes

Last saturday I visited an exhibition with my mom at the nearby museum Orientalis. It's mostly an open air museum, that focuses on religion. The current exhibition is all about nativity scenes. The museum is only 5 minutes away by car from our work, and we thought it might be a fun break on a busy day. The last time I've been there was when I was a teenager. Which is, well, quite a while ago. As a kid I used to enjoy our afternoons there, because there's a lot to do and see, and it's outdoors. One of the things I liked most where the wooden figures, where you could stick your head through and make a photo. I got all excited that they were still there! I'm also a big fan of sheep, goats and donkey's and seeing a whole bunch of fluffy black sheep, made my day.

Burkina Faso - iron and paint

Denmark - ceramics

 Germany - cardboard and paint

El Salvador - wood and paint

France - seashells and paper

Kenia - banana leaves

Peru - wood and paint

Spain - terracotta

Sri Lanka - wood and paint

The one with the things I liked the week before Christmas

I thought it might be fun to do a 'things I liked' post with a Christmas theme. Since vacuuming is not my hobby, and my apartment is on the small side, I choose not to have a real tree, but a washi-one. It's decorated with Holy Mary's, old cards, a tree made of fabric, a dried flower another Postcrosser sent me, a feather and the paper ornaments I blogged about earlier this week. I did enjoy a real, more traditional tree over at my aunt's.

The one with the paper ornaments

Earlier this month, my blog bud Mia from MossyJojo asked me to join in on a DIY party. I love parties, and I love making things. So, yes please! For this DIY post I made paper ornaments.

The theme: Christmas
The challenge: up to 4 materials only

What you'll need:

• paper strips, I used strips of semi transparant paper, that are 30 x 2,5 cm (around 12 x 1 inch)
• twine
• needle
• thread

What you'll need to do:

These are super easy to make, I think the pictures don't need any explanation.

I think they needles doesn't count as one of the four materials, so I guess I was allowed to make these too. Before cutting the paper up in strips, I made lines with a ruler, added some neon washi tape, and wrote some titles of Christmas songs on the paper. I also experimented a bit with different sizes.

Don't forget to have a look at the other Christmas Challenge DIY's

• Mia from MossyJojo
• Samantha from Elah Tree

Have you been doing holiday crafting this year? If you blogged about it, feel free to leave a link in the comments, I would love to see your creations!

The one with the paper and pencil gift guide

When it comes to certain things, I am a bit old fashioned. Although I love all of the awesomeness internet has to offer, I am still a pencil and paper kind of girl and thought it might be a cool theme for another holiday gift guide. There are some more gift guides at the blog that are here, here and here. Like the other ones, all of these goodies are budget friendly, all being under € 10,- / $ 14.-

Sausage dog greeting card

Pencil case

 Little village journal

Silly walks paper doll

Star confetti

Vintage Swedish newspaper

Pencils