The one with the things I liked this week (55)

One of my goals for this week was to make some new brooches. I must have summer on my mind, because I ended up with an icecream cone. Our local 'gelateria' will open again next month and it would be great if the first scoops of icecream will be accompanied by sunrays. My mom got me a beautiful rose as a surprise after work. Talking about work, on my way to work I always see this black and red eyed dude, but I've never taken the time to get of my bike and take a picture of him, until last saturday. As you might know I love sending and receiving old fashioned mail* and this card and gorgeous stamp are from Vatican City. Lots of time this week was spent watching the Olympics. The last photo is actually my Christmas washi tree. Or what's left of it. I've also made some changes to the lay out of this blog. It's not yet what I have in mind (I blame Blogger, but it just might as well be my computer skills), but it's slowly getting there where I want it to go. What have you been up to this week?  

* Are you a postcard lover too? If you'd like to do a mail exchange, drop me a line at yourinvisiblecrown@gmail.com

The one with Olympic links

source

Photo's of the Olympics' openings ceremony

This is what Sochi looked like in the first half of the twentieth century

Worst bobsled team EVER

The Dutch King and Queen at the Olympics

Likeable figure skating frocks

  NYFW Designers' gold medals

 

The one with the couscous and pumpkin

What you'll need (lunch for four):

• 1 cup of couscous
• 3 tablespoons of roasted pinenuts
• half a cup of plumped raisins
• 1 cup of vegetable stock
• 3 big hands of fresh spinach
• half a pumpkin
• 6 big tablespoons of fetacheese, in cubes
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

What you'll need to do:

Start by making the couscous as said on the package. Stir fry the pumpkin for a couple of minutes in the olive oil and add the vegetable stock. Let it simmer until the liquid has evaporated and the pumpkin is quite soft. Take this of the fire and while it's still warm, add the spinach and stir with a wooden spoon. When the vegetables have cooled down a bit, add the couscous, together with the feta cheese, pinenuts and raisins.

We ate this dish lukewarm, but it can be eaten cold too. Enjoy!

The one with the things I liked this week (part 54)

Pretty lights

Mad for plaid

You and I and nature

I couldn't resist these

Even longer days!

Homemade tomato-pepper-carrot soup

The one with the confetti envelop

Another Valentine's DIY? Yes, another Valentine's DIY! You might think I am some sort of crazy Valentine's aficionado. Truth is, I think you can tell the special people in your life 365 days a year that they are loved, I don't need a special do for that! But, I did have some leftover confetti from last week's garland DIY. I used them to spice up some envelopes, which were inspired by a very cute and colourful confetti envelop tutorial by Vivid Please.

What you'll need:

• envelops
• a pencil
• (heartshaped) confetti
• scissors
• transparant contactpaper (the one that's sticky on one side)

What you'll need to do:

Draw the outline of the envelop on the contactpaper (you don't need to 

trace the whole envelop, just below the bottow flap).

Cut the paper inside the lines (a couple of milimeters), so it will end up 

a bit smaller than your envelop. Test if it fits your envelop, before removing 

the protective paper.

Add the confetti, but leave some of the contactpaper (especially the edges) 

without confetti, or else it won't stick to your envelop.

Insert the confetti covered contact paper into the envelop.

Done!

Has there been some Valentine-themed crafting going on at your home? If so, 

I'd love to see what you've been up to, feel free to share a link in the comments!

The one with a red balloon on a rainy day

The one with the things I liked this week (part 53)

Seen on a sunday walk

February

Happy mail

Another new cookbook

The wall behind my home was painted over, no more Wally and Smurfs. This one's new

Folding paper bags from old magazines

Watching the Olympics opening ceremony

The one with the heart confetti garland

Mia from MossyJojo hosted a DIY party for Christmas back in december, and here's another one! This time, Edi from Memories for Life joined us.

Theme: Valentine's Day themed
Challenge: use a maximum of 4 materials

What you'll need:

• heart confetti
• hole puncher
• baker's twine
• washi tape

What you'll need to do:

punch the hearts

Attach the hearts to the twine

stick the garland to your wall with washi tape

ta-da

Feeling crafty? Mia and Edi were, so you can hop on over to their blogs for more DIY ideas!

Mia's pop up Valentine's card

Edi's Valentine's garland

The one with links I like

source

Every outfit Cher wears in Clueless, in under one minute

10 things Dutch shopkeepers will say to you

Perfect timing

Made me smile

If famous artists chose interior design instead of fine art

A definitive ranking of Carrie's questions 

Have you seen the trailer for 'the fault in our stars'?

The one with the thrift shop finds

Just when I was about to give up on the thrift shop after multiple unsuccesful visits, I found these little treasures! The best part was that they cost only € 4,- (just over 5 USD) all together. The little wooden tray might need a little improvement and could be the victim of a DIY project. No idea yet what this project could be, suggestions are very welcome!. Do you like to go thrifting? What's the latest treasure you found?