Brussels so far

This is just a quick photo post as our first day in Brussels has mostly been spent wandering around and getting to know where everything is. Now I'm off out again and will be back with another post in a few days!

A few days in Amsterdam

It's been a frantic few days! I meant to post bite sized chunks of our trip as we went along but only found time to sort through the huge amounts of photos on the train journey to Brussels today (where there was no internet to upload hence why it's so late on now that we're settled into our Belgian apartment). David is keeping a holiday journal so I asked him to help me bullet point what we've been up to... turns out a lot so far! There isn't photos for everything but you get the idea.

1. arrived in Amsterdam. 2. explored Jordaan (we stayed in De Pijp last time). 3. had pizza at Da Portare Via. 4. Walked into town as it got dark. 

5. Wandered around Haarlemmerdijk filled with boutiques. 6. headed to the Museumsplein and came across a vintage market. 7. Museumsplein had a festival of culture on “Uit Markt”. 8. frites mit fritesaus for brunch. 9. House of Bols with cocktails and new honey liqueur! 10. Saw our old holiday neighbourhood and bumped into a food market. 11. headed back into town via the Carrousel pancake house where we had hot chocolate and poffertjes. 12. found a nice patisserie and had my first macaroon of the trip – aardbei. 13. bumped into a David Bowie/Brian Duffy photography exhibition at Foam photo gallery. 14. coffee stop on the way back to apartment. 15. vintage shopping – so many shops to choose from! 16. pizza from La Perla for tea – best we've had since Naples last year. 17. another night time stroll. 

18. unexpected flea market on our way to another market, lots of vintage postcards. 19. Waterlooplein market. 20. reunited with Nilis handmade t-shirts where david bought himself three. 21. accidentally bartered a bargain deal for three time themed necklaces. 22. lunch at the Het Houten Huis, favourite cafe from last trip to Amsterdam. 23. bought more from Haarlemmerdijk boutiques, dutch apple pie teas and praline hot chocolate sticks. 24. more pizza for tea at La Perla. 25. Italian ice creams for after! 26. one last stroll in town. 27. Maoz frites for the late walk home. 28. a quick drink at our local – Jillz for me! 29. home via the rainbow fountains to pack to move on to the next stop...

DIY Scarf Camera Strap

Original idea & tutorial here: http://www.thehousethatlarsbuilt.com

I didn't really change anything from the above link apart from I cut out the purple leather bits from a charity shop handbag (£1.50) and the metal parts were from Bead Pop (they cost £1 in total). I used the original camera strap to cut the chosen scarf to the right length and chopped off the tassels too. The only tricky bit of making this was getting the sewing machine out of it's box for the first time in over a year! I had to practice on a wee bit of scrap material although sewing the actual strap was more difficult because it was a lot thicker. It didn't turn out too scrappy though!

Blessing Bracelets

Just a quick blog post to show you all my beautiful new bracelet handmade by Fiona of Blessing Bracelets. Fiona helps you choose from a selection of stones, beads and charms to make your bracelet unique, she is so helpful and friendly! I chose amethyst as it's my birthstone and favourite colour, but you can ask Fiona about the spiritual meanings of the gems and crystals too. The packaging was a wonderful surprise with so much attention to detail, I just had to photograph the stages of unwrapping to share! My other bracelet is a fluorite wishing star handmade by Kayleasha Crafts (you make a wish when you tie it on and once the thread is worn through and snaps the wish is meant to come true!)

https://www.facebook.com/BlessingBracelets

Around the World in 80 Teas

*group photo taken from Around the World in 80 Teas Facebook page

This afternoon me and my Mum were lucky enough to attend an Around the World in 80 Teas tea tasting class! I'd heard about this through Facebook, it's run by the lovely Hazel of A Vintage Tea Party who also styles the most beautiful vintage themed weddings with her enormous collection of crockery and props. Anyway, back to the tea tasting. It was held in the summerhouse which was naturally decorated with great attention to detail with little knick knacks and tea themed quotes on the walls. We were given a brief history of tea (and learnt a lot!) before beginning by smelling and admiring the textures of the many samples of Jenier teas. Then, tiny glass teacups, score cards and branded pencils at the ready the tasting began. I think we tasted around 10 teas (I lost track). I liked the smell of the Exotic Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Tea best but when it came to taste I was torn between Peppermint and Tropical Mango as my favourite. I think I'll be ordering both in the near future. After comparing notes we then had some more traditional afternoon tea with cream scones and tiny cakes - yum. At the end we were even given fab goody bags to take home!

Button Lamp DIY

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now, although I've only just finished the button lamp as I ran out of buttons before it was done! For this DIY project you will need; a lampshade (any sort will do although if it's a smaller one the glue gun may not work if the lightbulb heats it up and melts the buttons off. I chose neutral to make the button colours stand out), a glue gun, glue gun sticks (I used almost two packets) and absolutely heaps of buttons in whatever colours you like. You will also need a lot of patience as it will take longer than you think!

A few buttons in and realising how big a job this actually is...

And here is the finished lamp!

I'm so pleased with how it's turned out. As well as being a decorative statement lamp it's also a way of preserving button memories which sounds a bit daft but what I mean is that these buttons aren't just bought; they have been collected over time from friends and family and there's even a button from when I was a baby that my Mum gave me (can you spot which one??). I also have a habit of buying odd buttons from craft shops on holiday and there are a few random objects stuck on for good measure - did anyone spot a mini peg? I didn't take a photo of the lamp lit up but I'll do that another time (once the room is tidy!), it creates funky button silhouettes as it glows.

I'd like to say thanks to my Mum, my Nanny, Maya, Winnie, Kate of Curious Furnishings, Bead Pop and everyone else who supplied me with enough buttons to make this.