BUTTONS ON WHITE- OUTFIT FOR A BABY

 Between all the holidays we are living through now, I´ve managed to make this new outfit for my (fast!) growing baby.

Off-white is a beautiful color that can be worn year round, and every baby looks healthy and natural in it.

I added cotton lace to the sleeve- and leg hems to give it a more romantic look. White on white looks subtle and doesn´t draw too much attention to the lace. The beige stitches give it some contrast and add detail.

The buttons are the star of this look. The main focus is on them. I bought a big bag of random buttons, and selected the best suiting ones to go here. They form like a necklace of different beads, which of course could not otherwise be worn by a baby. But this necklace is totally safe, and cute.

I felt the pants were too bland with just the lace and stitching. Then I got an idea to add this fake "hatch" to it. I have always loved the look of old long-johns I´ve seen in movies, and now finally got the opportunity to use the idea myself. With the risk of making the pants look underwearsih. But with all the other details, they didn´t end up that. (Must note here that, the one leg is not shorter than the other, it just looks like it for some reason =)

  This outfit is original, definitely not boring, and makes my baby look soooo cute!
  Babies are cute no matter what they wear, but why not magnify cuteness by dressing them well? It can only do them good.

MY FAVORITE HOME MADE BREAD

  Now this is easy. I´m no baker by nature, but since I want to eat as much additive-free, home made food as possible, I have been on a quest to find a recipe quick and easy enough even for me.

  Have no fear, this bread is so full of nutrients, that it will not make you fat! So many people are afraid of carbohydrates these days that an honest, clean, whole grain bread may feel like a vicious enemy. But I assure you, I have eaten this bread a ton lately, and have not gained any weight. =) After eating it I feel satisfied and full for a long time. Yummy and healthy!

  The (basic) recipe:

5 dl water
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp raw cane sugar
1 bag (11g or 3 tsp) dry yeast
about 1 liter flour (I always use 1/4 white and 3/4 whole grain flour)
1/2 dl oil

+ In luke warm water mix the yeast, 1/4 of flour, salt and sugar. Cover with a cloth and let sit for 10-15 min, until you see it rise and form bubbles.
  Add in the rest of the flour, or until it feels right. (Depending on the flour, more or less may be needed.) Finally mix in the oil.
  Place in a greased kettle, cake tin, or whatever you have big enough in hand and cover once more. Let rise for about 30min and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 45 min. or until it is done (again, more or less time may be needed, depending on the form and size of your container). This dough is not sensitive to overtime, it will not burn easily, I have tested... =)

  To this basic recipe can be added pretty much anything you wish. In this particular one pictured I added two finely grated carrots, two finely grated apples, gingerbread seasoning mix, grated lemon peel, and raisins to make it Christmasy.
  My baby girl eats this bread three times every single day. She will only taste, out of pitty, I´m sure, a couple of spoonfuls other food I try to feed her. And the rest of the meal is all about my home made, salt-free bread. I get her to eat veggies by grating them into this bread dough. I have even added celery root in it, and she has eaten the bread with the greatest joy.

SNOW!

 We are getting lots of snow for Christmas. A white Christmas is the only right kind there is!

Lovely!

Oh man, I hadn´t done this in years!

  I heard that the first ice cream ever was made of snow mixed with sweet juice. And it was served only to the rich and fortunate of course. I don´t find snow appealing enough to try that recipe... =)

WOODSY HAT

  This is a Christmas present to my sister, whom I´ve always seen as a forest elf. (I´m sure she was one in her past life. =)

I made this hat from my favorite winter fabric,  fleece. It keeps frost bites and wind  out and warmth in and is super soft.

The "evergreen" is also made of the same fabric. I simply cut it in thin stripes and sew it on in the middle. Adding a genuine pine cone gives it a lively and natural look. Little glass beads act as snow on the branches.

  With this hat on my sister will definitely look like a forest elf in this life too. All ready to wander in the woods doing magic. But this hat is subtle enough to be worn in the city too. Decorative and unique, but not too costume-like. I love it!

  I made this hat with the same pattern as I did my own yule hat.

YULE EARRINGS

Inspired by candy canes.

When I saw these beads in the craft store I just had to get them. At the time I didn´t yet know what I would combine them with. I was thinking about maybe little red bows, but I found these bells at home. Craft stores sell earring hoops, and they are cheap.

 

Voilá! Quick and easy Christmas earrings are done, with one-of-a-kind guarantee.

BABY´S GINGERBREAD DRESS

  Not a costume, but an everyday dress for Yule time. Inspired by gingerbread cookies to brighten up Christmas spirit for us all.

A vest dress and pants. The dress is just the right length for an active crawling baby, so that it doesn´t slow her down. The pants are big enough at the top to fit a washable cloth diaper easily. With cloth diapers I often find it difficult to fit a baby´s bum in store-bought pants, which are clearly designed for bums dressed in small disposable nappies.

This zigzag is what gives the dress a gingerbread taste. I didn´t want it to be too obvious.

Just for decoration. The top needed a finishing touch.

Just behind the toes I added small bows made with the same ribbon used at the hem. Repeating the same element binds the top and bottom well together.

  It is a joy to watch my baby swish around the house with these beauties on!

  A similar pattern for the dress can be found here.

YULE LIGHTS

  Lights, evergreens and red bows are what I use to create Christmas spirit outside our house. Like this:

Garage windows.

This is the walkway to our house. My darling eight-year-old son built these flower pots for me this summer.

The front porch. (This is where we eat breakfast in summer, when the sun shines here directly.)

This oak was only my height when we bought this place twelve years ago.

Candles are the most beautiful of lights with their naturally twinkling lights. I just do not dare burn them anywhere too near our home (I´ve had two people I know burn to death in a fire started by a candle. Horrible.). A tree  by the driveway is safe enough.

  Now Santa can see well in our yard when he comes to greet us on Christmas Eve.  =)

GOURMET RISOTTO (but healthy!)

  I value healthy, clean, home made food above all. Using quality, preferably ecologically grown, ingredients that hold the most nutrients (the more nutrients, the more satisfying, I have noticed). But since I live in the real world, and don´t have too much time to cook every day, I prefer easy and quick-to-make foods.
  This risotto offers a deep experience in flavors and is mouthwatering. I call it "gourmet" because normally I would just cook plain rice, and certainly would not know how to use wine in cooking.

A dollop of (vegan) margarine crowns it all. Yum!

The recipe (from my Mom):

6-8 dl vegetable stock
1 Tbsp (vegan) margarine
1 red onion
3-4 dl rice (I used whole grain kind, not special risotto rice)
1 dl white wine
2dl frozen peas
2 Tbsp (vegan) margarine

+ Sauté the onion in margarine.
 Add the rice and continue cooking for a couple of minutes.
 Pour in the wine and let it absorb thoroughly.
 Add the stock and let rice cook.
 In the end add the peas.
 Season with a dollop of margarine.

  This was a whole meal for me, and it was difficult to stop eating! My mouth kept wanting more, but my stomach couldn´t keep up.  =)

YULE HAT

  This hat can be worn throughout Yule due to it´s neutral color. It is shaped like an elf hat, but when combined with dark blue it no longer looks Christmasy.

The hat is made of a maternity tunic I wore a year ago, when I was six months pregnant. It is lined with a piece of fleece at around the edge to keep ears really warm. The rest of the hat is of thick jersey blend fabric.

The pompom gives it a finishing touch, and I deliberately wanted to keep it simple. I often wear earrings, and they steal some of the viewer´s attention, so a simple hat is more stylish and doesn´t draw too much attention away from the face.

  Grey blends in beautifully with the colors in nature at this time of year. It is a great base color to use at Yule. Grey overall is a nice color, which comes in numerous different shades and hues, and can be combined with pretty much any other color.

  This hat is super easy to make. A similar Santa Claus hat pattern can be found here. Just use your imagination when choosing the materials, this hat doesn´t always have to be red and white!
  Have fun!

DECORATING FOR YULE

  At first advent it is time to put up Yule lights and start decorating for the biggest sabbat of the year. I start slowly, adding things along the way until Christmas. This is what it looks like here so far:

 I like to tune into the mood already when stepping in (and out) the house.

A close up of the above. I found this old telephone at a second hand store years ago. I reckon our mobile phones of today will never be considered equally beautiful in the future when they are vintage...

The opposite wall of the entrance hall. Snow has fallen outside, which is always the signal to turn from Samhain to Yule. Nature leads the way.

Kitchen table (in the far back on right you can see the entrance hall)

Hyacinths spread the most enchanting scent, and are natural air fresheners. A definite must to have at this time of year. The lamp between them projects beautiful circling light specs up to the ceiling.

I have these cones hanging throughout the year. Adding simple candy canes turn them into Christmas decoration easily.

    Welcome Yule!

MOUSE DRESS FOR A BABY

  My baby has grown out of many of her older clothes, so it is time to make her some new ones. Here is my latest creation:

A knee-length dress and leggings. My little baby is standing up a lot these days, so a real dress is more suitable for her than before. Hem length is still important to keep short enough, so it doesn´t make crawling too difficult.

The decorative mouse and a piece of cheese are buttons. I thought they were totally cute and created this outfit around them. I used the fabric here inside out, because I found the wrong side prettier and more interesting than the intended striped one.

On the other shoulder, three more mice are on their way to the cheese (the third one is behind the shoulder so you can´t see it in this picture). I think adding details in the backside too makes any piece of clothing look higher quality.

The paws add padding to the knees as she crawls on all fours around the house, and repeats the pink in the button mouse´s nose. I like to repeat colors around the garment/outfit to make it look complete.

  This is also the time of year when real mice try to sneak into our home. They are totally cute (but don´t belong inside the house!), and I wanted to turn that cuteness into fashion. My little baby mouse just looks adorable in these clothes!

  (The patterns used here are from the latest Ottobre magazine.)