Santa came last night!

It is early, I know, but since we are leaving for Germany on Tuesday, we had to do a little celebration with all the relatives over here. And it really did feel like Christmas and I got some GREAT gifts.
But I'm even more excited about the gift I gave to my sister. She had been eyeing some of the scrabble tile pendants that are such a big hit on Etsy right now. When she found www.homestudio.etsy.com and hearted about 20 of their gorgeous pendants, I knew I had to get her at least ONE for Christmas. I wanted to be it a secret and yet I made her choose her favorite one. Not an easy task!
Finally she decided on this little green owl and it looks so adorable on her. Totally her style! But as I said, there are so many, I don't know if it will stay at just this one...

And with us going to Germany in no time, that means there will be no more posts from me this year....See you on the other side and have a great holiday celebration and Happy New Year!

Nothing better than Christmas Decorations

All of our Christmas decorations are up, Christmas music is swirling through the air, and I even wrote most of my Christmas cards. Some have Lilly's picture with Santa and the others the last picture I posted on Wednesday. Hope everyone will like them. So we are all in the best holiday spirit.
And it is better that we are ahead of the curve since my parents, Lilly and I are leaving for a Christmas in Germany on Tuesday! It is about time we showed off Lilly with the great grandparent and all the other relatives over there. We are also excited about all the good food!!! I haven't been there for THREE YEARS NOW. So it will be interesting to see all and everyone again.
But first a few more pictures of our decorations.


This here is an ornament of Lilly last year at Christmas. It is so amazing to see how much she has grown. I'm doing a new picture ornament for her every year now. She will love those later on.

And then all of our pieces from Germany. Here the 'Pyramide' that spins around from the heat and air of a lid candles.



The 'Schwibbogen' that looks so good in the window.


And of course; a nutcracker. I love this one dressed up as a joker! Lilly LOVES this one the most.

Custom Jewelry Packaging

Today we had a very exciting 7 sales! While I was putting together the packages, I just had to take this picture of the custom pouches we use for the necklaces and bracelets. I looked near and far to find something more individual and with more personality than organza bags to package our Embroidered Felt Jewelry ! in so it would stand out from the crowd. We also wanted it to be perfect for gift giving and be environmentally conscious to go with the feel of our felt jewelry. When I finally found these, I was very excited. They are actually tube ribbon that I can cut to any size I want to. Then I just use some embroidery floss to stitch both ends shut. I love how they let some of the inside look through without being totally clear. I also think that the unusual closure gives the receiver of the present extra excitement while trying to open it carefully.

We always attach a little tag with our logo on it to all pieces with the OOAK # on the back. Pins and hairclips are attached to cards that have the same design as out business cards and spot our url on the front. All in all, I think that our packaging has come a long way and should add to our pieces.

Wordless Wednesday

'Til the Season to be Jolly...FaLaLaLaLa...

Sofa upholstery in progress

Ok, for all of you who wanted to see our large sectional that my Mom is recovering for me...here it is! She is almost done with all the cushions, only the end ones are missing as can be seen in the last picture. But it is already looking soooo good! I can't wait for it to be finished. This fabric is so much more inviting and cozy than that light pink floral. Now I just have to get more fabric for the frame of the sofa. I'm thinking of doing that in another darker fabric. I sort of like the contrast between the cushions and the frame right now. I will keep you posted on what we will finally do. Also, this sofa is just the beginning of some major changes I really want to do to our house. We moved in here while I was pregnant and so I couldn't do anything to it then. And of course it has been so hectic with Lilly until now that I never got around it. I finally feel that I can carve out some time to do all the painting and prettying that the house deserves. I guess this would be a great place to show some before and after pictures to see what you think!

First Snow, Christkindlmarkt, and Harvard Square Holiday Craft Fair

Today we had our first snow of the season! Just a light dusting to ease us into it. Lilly loved it and acted as if she had seen it before. Well, she did last year. I knew she had a great memory ;)

And yesterday we went to the Christkindlmarkt at the German International School here in Cambridge. It was so nice to see so many Germans - more than I have ever seen since we have been here. And all those kids speaking German. Even Lilly went wild running around in the halls of the school. They also offer a German music class for little ones and I signed Lilly up for that. She so will LOVE it the way she is singing already. This will also be a great opportunity for me to meet some Germans in the area who have kids Lilly's age.
While we were there, we had great Roster (those are German specialty sausages) and Glühwein (now everybody knows what that is!). That totally put us all in the Christmas mood.
And, believe it or not, after that we even went to the yearly craft fair in Harvard Square. There is a really nice one in the basement of that corner church. We already went their last year when Lilly was still so little and fit in a carrier. Now she was walking around and tried to do some shopping for her own! So we really had a great day yesterday. I wish I would have taken some pictures, but totally forgot my camera.


Oh, and at the end of the day I made this custom initial necklace for a little girl named Navia. I think it came out so cute and I sure hope she will cherish it. To have a custom initial or name necklace made for your girl, just contact me!
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Nikolaus came last night

These are Lilly's little shoes that Nikolaus filled with chocolate and stickers last night! It is a German tradition that on the 5th all the children clean and buff up their boots and put them outside the door (or on the steps, that is what we always did) for Nikolaus to come during the night and fill them with goodies. Only the nice kids with bright and clean shoes would get something nice. The kids with the dirty shoes would get coal. So it's a little pre-Santa!
Lilly has been singing: "Chocolate in shoes!" for weeks now and couldn't believe when she saw her boots filled with Chocolate Santa’s and stickers.


She took them all apart and we were filled with stickers in no time!


And then Lilly had the great idea of using the tiny stickers as earrings! Doesn't she look grand? So now every Dec 6th Lilly will find some chocolate and other goodies in her shoes!

Fresh Friday Finds

Oh, I love this Fuzzy Mohair/Cashmere Hat! You know I have been looking for some fingerless gloves the last few weeks. Now a good friend of mine is actually making a pair for me! I got some really cute yarn and can't wait for them to be finished. Now I can move on to finding a great hat to go with those and I think I already found it. I just love the idea of cashmere and mohair and the way this hat is slightly slouchy. Now if I just find someone to give it to me...;)

These Two Turtle Doves Christmas Cards ought to get you in the spirit. The colors, the picture, the message - everything about these cards is so unique that everyone would surely remember receiving them.
Well, of to do more Christmas shopping. Are you done with your list yet?!

Wordless Wednesday - Here comes Santa Claus

Today we went to see Santa!
The first picture they took, Lilly didn't know what hit her. Once she realized what was going on, she didn't want to do it anymore. Instead, she loved the decorations and tried to pull me away to show them to me. So no sitting on Santa's lab for her! Luckily that first picture turned out so nicely. I mean, really not bad for a one and only. Of course, by the time I paid for the picture Lilly had warmed up to Santa giving him high five and even a hug. So I hope we are ready to go for next year!

10 Things about my Thanksgiving Weekend

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We sure did!
1. Of course, we had lots of turkey and pie and cranberry sauce and squash and mashed potatoes and ... on Thursday. And then again on Friday and Saturday. By Sunday, I could not get near it anymore. That's why we only have it once a year.
2. For Black Friday, my Mom and sister dreamed about going shopping at 4 am. When Lilly woke up my husband and me at 7 am, my husband looked outside the window and said: "What is your guess! Think their car is still here or not." Well, it was still there but by 8 am they were up and so Lilly and i came along. We were actually in the store at 9 am, which is still the earliest I have been shopping for cloth! So not too bad.
3. Now to keep up with all the food, I raked leaves and leaves and leaves. (And I had some help from my Dad. And Lilly, of course.) Now they are finally gone and we are ready for - dare I say so - SNOW.
4. Meanwhile my Mom was busy reupholstering our large sectional sofa. It had been ripped and the color is awful and we finally thought - YES WE CAN! Now it is almost done and looks so beautiful and cozy.
5. On Saturday, we put up our Christmas tree and all the decorations. Lilly just loved the tree and the ornaments. She kept on singing 'Oh Tannenbaum' and taking all the ornaments off the tree. Needless to say that it took some time re-hanging it all several times. And I will be doing it for the rest of the season! The tree had to be up before Sunday because it makes the first Advent. That is a big German Christmas tradition. The 4 Sundays before Christmas are celebrated by lighting candles. One on the first Advent, two on the second, and so on. It is a nice time to come together and reflect on the year.
6. But before that, we had Lilly's friend Eva over on Saturday and went to a local Ice Hockey game. Lilly just loves watching the game and is clapping and cheering the hole time. We might have a Cheerleader on our hands!

7. Then on Sunday my in-laws came back and played with Lilly. That gave me some time to do some jewelry. I made some amazing embroidered felt rings! Watch for the first listing today. I actually got so many great pieces done this weekend that I can't wait to show everyone.

So, I guess that is it. Not quite ten but close enough. He, it was a holiday and you are not supposed to do THAT much ;)