NEW EARRINGS FOR FALL

  This is my latest creation, a pair of delicate aromatherapy earrings perfect for all fall looks (especially for redheads):

Made of copper-colored, allergy-tested and nickle-free jewelry metal, red wool, and glass, these beauties will cheer up any gloomy and rainy fall day. I enjoy rosemary essential oil with them to make every day the best day ever. 

  The earrings are now available on Nelland Boutique (and make an excellent X-mas gift idea too!).

UNISEX OUTFIT FOR KIDS

  Most of the clothes I have made for my girl lately have been quite girly. So now for a change I wanted to dress her in unisex, all around cool and classically stylish, clothes. But as always, comfort and coziness first.

A pair of soft & stretchy corduroy pants coupled with off-white and light grey jersey shirts. A true staple in anyone´s wardrobe.

This fabric was found in my old stash.

The sleeves bear a small detail so it´s not all that boring. =) But in a unisex outfit you have to be careful with details anyway, so that it still suits boys too.

Pants are made of a leftover piece from these leggings.

A wide zig zag works lots better than a twin-needle in my sewing machine, giving a more stretchy result.

This fabric is another leftover piece, but from my mom. Now I realize that this whole outfit is made of recycled material, so I can proudly call it a piece of "ragshion" (a term I discovered in all my cleverness =) some time ago). The sleeves are slightly cropped.

I turned the sleeve pieces inside out, so the reverse side of fabric is shown on the outside. The color is the same, but texture is super-soft and somewhat fuzzy. It creates a subtle change in the otherwise plain look.

  Lately I have sewn so much for my kids, that I´m running late on my own Mabon Collection. Better hurry up before the wheel turns again...!

WILDERNESS FOOD

  It´s all out there, just go grab it - for free. Forests are full of wild, natural, food at this time of year.

Mushrooms for lunch.

And lingonberries for dessert.

  More specific how-to on my column Nelland Living. Check it out and get out there!

VEGAN BIRTHDAY PIE (SO UNHEALTHY =)

  For my own birthday I wanted to make something I would like, instead of the usual birthday cake everyone expects. I made this raspberry-chocolate chip-dream brownie/pie.

Although all vegan, this treat is far from healthy!

Loaded with sugar and fat, you will know you´ve had dessert long after enjoying about 1/3rd a piece of the pie.

The recipe:

8.1 oz (230 g) vegan margarine in room temperature
a snug 1/2 cup (1 dl) sugar
a generous 1/2 cup (1 1/2 dl) brown natural cane sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar
a snug 2 cups (4,5 dl) white flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
a generous cup (3 dl) vegan dark chocolate chips
a snug 1/2 cup (1 dl) raspberry jam

+ Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Line a 8 x 12 inch (20 x 30 cm) baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
  Whip up the margarine and sugars in a big bowl until fluffy.
  Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Pour into the margarine mixture, mix carefully. Add the chocolate chips.
  Spread 2/3 of the dough into the baking pan, set the rest aside. Even out the surface, and spread the jam on it, but not into the very edges. Drop the rest of the dough on the pie in small pieces.
  Bake for 30-35 min, until the top has browned beautifully.
  Let cool and cut into pieces. Store airtight.
  (To the above dough recipe I added about 1/2 cup (1dl) soy milk to get it together faster. The baked result is therefore more fluffy than with the original recipe.)

  Usually I don´t much care for home baked sweet products because they simply are not sweet enough to satisfy my needs. There is one exception to the rule: Ms. Raisa Kettunen. I have two of her cookbooks, and she shares my kinda taste when it comes to desserts. Not sweet, not sweeter, but yes the sweetest. I see no point in having dessert if it does not satisfy me. Her recipes do! The above raspberry-chocolate chip-dream is from her book, and once again she did not let me down. Go Raisa! Thanks for making my birthday so sweet!

SO THIS IS 37

  Happy 37th birthday to me!

  They say that a maiden is at her most beautiful at age 17. When I was 17 I was sure I would look my best in my thirties. Can´t say I was wrong... =) 

  Now that I´ve lived a good while in my thirties, I think my prime time will last still for the next twenty years to come. There are so many super-gorgeous women out there in their forties and fifties, who prove my point. Obvious examples like Cate Blanchett, Mimi Kirk, Madonna, and Meryl Streep. Why should I be any different?!

How awesome is it to live in a time when they say that forty is the new twenty, and fifty the new thirty?!

  My husband likes to joke about my looks, saying that now at 37 I don´t look a day older than 73. Ha-ha, funny...

  I have never had an age crisis, not even now, when pushing forty. I welcome every upcoming year with joy. Hopefully there´ll be many!

P.S. If you think this picture is daring, think again after seeing selfies celebs post of themselves.


 

SPIDERS & PEARLS FOR HALLOWEEN

  Time to start planning for Halloween! I made these cool and gloomy aromatherapy earrings (the only kind I wear anymore!) for starters. They set just the right mood.

Made of jewelry metal, felt, glass beads, and silver plated hooks. Now also available on Nelland Boutique.

  My latest love in essential oils is rosemary. The scent is fresh, similar to eucalyptus, yet woodsy, and suits fall, along with these spider earrings, perfectly. Rosemary gives more energy, revives memory, blood circulation, and hair growth, and eases aches and pains. Suits me!

BIRTHDAY T-SHIRTS TO MY SON

  My awesome, brave, smart, cute, and dear firstborn turned ten last week. Kids these days have everything imaginable, so it is difficult to come up with an idea for a gift. He wished for money, and that´s what he got from everyone invited to his birthday party. Thanks folks! He´s saving for a super-unicycle he´s planning on buying in the future (he learned to ride one this summer all on his own!).

  But I wanted to give him something  more personal. Something that shows how much I love him. Something he knows I´ve put time and effort in. Self-made clothes of course. He´s big enough to appreciate it.
  My ten-year-old boy prefers jeans over any other pants, so I decided to make him a couple of shirts to go with them. The kind you can´t find in stores. Like this:
  

Two different looks, one pattern.

Unfortunately only subtle (and boring  =) colors are accepted in bigger boys´ and men´s clothing, so I went for this grey striped knit. But there is a trick to it, the wrinkles. The more the better. So no pressure to fold this baby neatly into the wardrobe!

I have found that using the good old zigzag, instead of a twin-needle, is more durable with super-stretchy fabrics.

Somewhat plaid camel-brown shirt is a nice alternative to grey. This fabric drew my attention right away in the fabric store, it has such an interesting structure. Yet the material is adorably soft to touch. 

For a while I hesitated buying it for my son... would it be too feminine after all? But when I added these wide sleeve edges, made of  reverse side of the fabric, and trimmed the neck edge with it, the whole turned into a boys´ garment right away. No question about it.

  Happy birthday my love!