Blissful Sunday: to the market with me!

Oké, officieel gezien is het geen zondag. Maar tweede Pinksterdag, dat geldt wel een beetje als zondag toch? Het begint een beetje een traditie te worden dan ik elk Pinksterweekend wel even langs loop bij De Utrechtse Fabriek. In het begin deed ik het vooral om ideeën op te doen, inkopen te doen en te bekijken wat er allemaal te krijgen was.

Alright alright, it's not Sunday. But it's a long weekend here, so Monday feels like Sunday, and it was blissful. So bare with me! It's become more or less a tradition that I go to De Utrechtse Fabric crat market every Whitsunday weekend. At first I went to het ideas, do some shopping and see what was happening in the craft world.

Maar nu ga ik eigenlijk om de webshops die ik al ken een hart onder de riem te steken, even bij te kletsen met verkopers die ik al ken, nieuwe shops te leren kennen en een beetje trots te zijn dat al deze creatieve webshop-eigenaars het al zo'n lange tijd redden. Dat wil toch wel wat zeggen volgens mij. Goed voorbeeld is Spool me, waar je leuke DIY naaikits en stoffen kunt bestellen.

But now I go to the market to support the people who own these creative webshops, to have a bit of a chat with the owners I already know, see who the new kids on the block are and to be proud that most of these webshop owners have been here for years and they're still going strong. That says something about the creative community I think. Like Spool me, who's been there from the start, a shop to order fun DIY kits and fabrics.

Leuke nieuwelingen (nou ja, ík had ze nog niet eerder gespot) waren bijvoorbeeld Kitsmade voor leuke tassen, hoeden en etuis en Prien waar je geweldige handgemaakte stationary kon kopen. En helemaal geweldig: er stond voor het eerst ook een wolkraam met geweldige producten. Gewoon eerlijk katoen, maar ook heerlijke zachte mixen van alpaca en merino.

Lovely newcomers (well, I hadn't seen them before) were Kitsmade with lovely leather bags and cosies and Prien where you could buy fantastic handmade stationary. And for the first time there was also a yarn stall, yay! My heart skipped a beat looking at plain and honest cotton and fantastic blends of alpaca and merino.

En ja, oude bekenden. Het was heerlijk om bij te kletsen met Greetje van Halsoverkop. Die stond heerlijk, relaxt op blote voeten in het gras alle nieuwe jurkjes en rokjes aan te prijzen. Ze heeft inmiddels al een enorme collectie, net een snoepwinkel. En ik moest natuurlijk even rommelen tussen alle flock applicaties, bandjes en stoffen. Alsof ik dat kan helpen!

And yes, old friends too. I met Greetje from Halsoverkop, who was standing on her bare feet in the grass, with the sun on her face, talking to all her lovely costumers about her huge new collection of crazy fun dresses, skirts and tops. Love them! And I couldn't help myself, I just had to browse all the applications, ribbons and fabrics.

Speciale vermelding is voor Story Tiles, ik vind het geweldig dat zo'n ouderwets concept als Delftsblauwe tegeltjes weer een totaal nieuwe adem ingeblazen kunnen krijgen. Er zijn heel ouderwetse oer-Hollandse tegels (te schattig) of moderne varianten met schitterende grafische opdrukken. Gaat dat zien!

I especially want to mention Story Tiles, as I think it's a wonderful idea to boost such a old fashioned concept. They sell really old fashioned Dutch Delftisch blue tiles (too cute to be true) and modern varieties with gorgious graphical prints.

Begin september wordt is De Utrechtse Fabriek weer paraat in het Griftpark in Utrecht en anders... ben ik er volgend jaar waarschijnlijk gewoon weer bij! Zelfde tijd, zelfde plek.

Early september there's another craft market like this in Utrecht, but if I can't make it, I definately will next year. Same time, same place.

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Give Away WEEK Day #3

Aw, the last day of my Give Away week is already here! That's too bad isn't it? But I hope you had fun eyeing all the lovely goodies and the webshops of my sponsors. So many of you replied to the 2nd day of the Give Away. That's really great, I absolutely appreciate it. It was nice to read about all your holiday plans. Mine? Well, me and the husband are flying to Zürich in a week and will spend the holidays at Bodensee in Germany. Some friends of us are there as well, so we are looking forward to it.

And... we have a winner for day 2! Eva Maria! Congratulations!! Please contact me and e-mail your address!

Now, there is one more chance to win a fabulous Give Away! Check out what you can win today!

 

First of all: this lovely denim tote bag. It has the best fall theme right. I love the cotton! It was an absolute pleasure to make the bags for this Give Away. But it was even better to fill the bags with the goodies from my sponsors.

Since it's the last day of my Give Away Week I think it's nice to introduce my sponsors to you and tell you guys something about them. I think the best part of indie webshops is that the owners add something personal to every item they sell. Either they've made or designed the items they sell themselves or they have selected carefully every item in their shop.

Halsoverkop was founded by Greetje. I've known her for quite some months and she's very passionate about her designs. She loves designing fabric and making clothes herself. That's why in her shop you can find dresses and skirts, but also fabrics and notions. For Greetje this is the perfect combo of making and DIY.

Buba_B is Elizabeths shop. She had a very tough job working in health care when she decided she needed some more colour and joy in her life. Because she loves vintage fabrics and bags, an opportunity was born. Now she sells lovely vintage pouches, purses, bags and kids accessoires.

Annelies from Vicarno found her love for crochet after she became a mother. The love for crochet was very basic: you can't knit with a child on our lap, but you can crochet! Now she's a pattern designer and her first pattern book is coming out in 2014!

Wendy, who's the owner of happy webshop Stip & Bloem loved making custom bags and kids accessoires, but once her business started booming she decided to sell other items as well. She's one of the only sellers of Cath Kidston in The Netherlands and her store also specialises in great DIY kits.

Elle-Bee is the webshop by Letty. She loves making boxes for kids in which they can treasure their calf's teeth, but her hairclips and felt applications are lovely as well. At this moment she's got some great Christmas items in her store!

As you can see, this bag is once again filled with fantastic items! And I bet you'd like a chance to win this Give Away, right?

So this is what you do!

1. Leave a comment. Hop on over to my Etsy shop and tell me which item you like best.
   
   It's as simple as that... but if you'd like EXTRA chances to win, here's how you do that:
2. Follow me, either via Facebook or Twitter 
3. Start following one of the shops that are sponsors to this Give Away, their lovely items deserve some lovin'. You can follow the shope here: Halsoverkop, Buba B, Stip & Bloem, Elle-Bee

On Sunday I will announce te final winner! Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to lay down... it's been quite an exciting week ;-)

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Fabulous Give Away week! Day #2

This Give Away is now closed,

check out the new Give Away that's been posted!

WOW, how overwhelmed am I by all those comments on Day #1 of the Give Away Week. Over 600 of them. You guys are amazing thanx!! And glas to see you're back for day #2 of the Give Away Week, welcome welcome!!

And there's a winner for the goodiebag of Day #1
Karries S has won the bag all the goodies! Congratulations Karrie!! Send me your address and I'll send the goodiebag as soon as possible.

If you haven't won, well... You have another chance, right HERE right NOW!

Todays goodies come in this lovely shoulder bag. It's  denim and aqua coloured tote bag. Big enough to carry your groceries, books or work things.

And this bag is completely filled with lovely goodies again. Take a look at what you can win!

So let me tell you a little something about all these lovely things that you can win.

Today, you can't win one... no you can win 2 bags. The lovely black denim and red floral trimmed shoulderbag is sponsored by Buba B, who sells amazing retro and vintage purses, clutches and (diaper) bags.

Halsoverkop is offering an amazing DIY parcel again, this time with fabulous and cool bull fabric. I have a dress made from this fabric and I can personally vouch for its fabulousness! If you take a look at the webshop of Halsoverkop.nl, you'll find amazing fabrics and notions there.

With the DIY parcel Elle-Bee is sponsoring today you can make beautiful felt hearts ornaments. The felt is all high quality wool.

Wendy from Stip&Bloem put together and sweet and soft care package full of love. In white, grey and black. There's a lot of lovely things in this parcel, just te best thing to spoil yourself or someone else!

The fun black, grey and white yarn balls are courtesy of moi, together with a lovelt felt brooche. The yarn is great to make a scarf with, very soft and it has a fun structure. Keep yourself warm this winter, okay! :-)

To be honest, I couldn't fit all these goodies in the tote bag. But they are coming your way anyway if you enter this Give Away! Now, entering this Give Away is easy... just follow the next steps!

1. Leave a comment. Tell me what you're going to do over the holidays! Anything special planned?
   
   It's as simple as that... but if you'd like EXTRA chances to win, here's how you do that:
2. Follow me, either via Facebook, Twitter or Etsy
3. Start following one of the shops that are sponsors to this Give Away, their lovely items deserve some lovin'. You can follow the shope here: Halsoverkop, Buba B, Stip & Bloem, Elle-Bee

I will tell you on Friday if you've won... and I will put up another Give Away (Yes... Friday will be Give Away Day #3, mark your calendar!!). Can't wait to read your comments!

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Give Away week!! Day #1

This Give Away is now closed...

Welcome welcome everyone! Welcome to the BEST on my blog this year! Are you all set for the holidays? Well, if you hang around here all week, your holidays may get even better. Why? I'll tell you. This week, I have some fantastic Give Aways planned. Three (!!) in total. And they are not just Give Aways, they are amazing, silly, spoil-yourself-rotten Give Aways. So you better read on!

Lets get this Give Away show on the road! Lets see what I got in store for you today. Lots and lots, I promise.

This is Give Away Day ONE!

Entering this Give Away you will win this really great denim and cotton cross body tote. It's nice and strong and perfect to carry all year long. This tote loves the beach, but it also loves shopping for Christmas presents.

And talking about Christmas present. You won't only win this bag. This bag is completely STUFFED with lovely goodies. Wanna know what's in the bag? Well check it out, it's a crafters delight...

Isn't this all super amazing? Lucky for me I have some amazing sponsors who were kind enough to fill my tome bag with lovely goodies. Let me introduce them to you:

Buba B Elizabeth is the owner of Buba B. If you are looking for retro baby and kids items or something funky and retro for yourself? Buba B is the place to take a look. Elizabeth is crazy about retro and vintage fabrics and (great minds think alike) loves bags and clutches. A woman to my own heart, hop on over and take a look at her shop!

Elle Bee Funky designs made of wool felt, that's Elle Bee for you! She's sponsoring an amazing DIY parcel filled with felt flowers, which will liven up every dress or bag. And that cloud clip, isn't that just the cutest?

Vicarno's Mama I've know Annelies from Vicarno's for quite some time now. She sells amazing Dutch and English crochet patterns for kids and adults on Etsy and in her own webshop she sells really beautiful yarns as well. For this Give Away she's offering not only the pattern to crochet gorgious leg warmers, but also the yarn and crochet hook to make them!

Stip & Bloem Wendy from Stip & Bloem almost immediately jumped to the opportunity to sponsor this Give Away. She has put together an amazing parcel filled with lovely DIY items, like tags, bakers twine and so, so much more.

Halsoverkop.nl For those of you who've been following me, they'll recognise the name of this shop. You've even seen me frolicking around in one of the dresses from Halsoverkop! So I am so incredibly pleased that Greetje from Halsoverkop is offering a DIY parcel for this Give Away: filled with 1 yard of knit fabrics that she designed herself, including some really cute retro ribbons. You can make a skirt for yourself with this parcel or a dress or shirt for your kiddie!

Aren't these some amazing things to win??

Yeah, that's what I thought! So here's how you have a chance to win...

1. Leave a comment. Tell me what you're working on right now. Are you knitting, crocheting, sewing something? Let me know!
   
   It's as simple as that... but if you'd like EXTRA chances to win, here's how you do that:
2. Follow me, either via Facebook, Twitter or Etsy
3. Start following one of the shops that are sponsors to this Give Away, their lovely items deserve some lovin'. You can follow the shope here: Vicarno's, Halsoverkop, Buba B, Stip & Bloem, Elle-Bee

So, are you ready to win? Go go go!!

I will announce the winner on Wednesday... when I'll also be putting up a new Give Away.

WOOHOO! Happy Give Away week everyone!!

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Webshopping IRL: Flavourites Live

Wat heb ik toch een ontzettende rotbaan af en toe. Mag ik zo maar 's ochtends als Pers zijnde over Flavourites Live lopen en de mensen achter de leukste webshops leren kennen. Op Flavourites vind je de leukste webshops verzameld. Handig, want er zijn zo veel leuke webwinkels in Nederland alleen al dat het soms moeilijk je weg vinden is. Heel fijn dus dat ik vandaag niet alleen alle leuke webshopsmensen mocht ontmoeten, maar ook nog eens al die leuke spullen in het echt mocht bekijken, aanpassen en bepotelen (dat laatste deed ik niet hoor, maar ik vind het zo'n heerlijk vies woord).

Oh, the tough job I have. Today I was allowed, as member of the Press, to walk around Flavourites Live and meet the owners of the most popular webshops of The Netherlands. Flavourites is a Dutch website that acts as a platform for the most fun webshops of the country. Which really comes in handy, 'cause the number of online shops is growing and it's sometimes hard to see the trees for the forest. So I was very pleased that today not only did I meet all those nice webshop owners, but also got to look, feel, try on and snif (well, okay... the latter I didn't do) all the gorgious products from these shops.

Nu ben ik niet echt van de stempels, maar het product dat me vandaag het hardst deed lachen was toch echt een stempel. Sommige dingen zijn gewoon op je lijf geschreven. Hij is trouwens van By Zenz.

Well, I am not one for stamps. But the item that made me laugh out loud today was indeed a stamp. What can I say. The message fits me like a glove. It's for sale at By Zenz by the by.

Ik ging voor de interieur- en keukenitems, retro, vintage en natuurlijk... stoffen! Een van de leukste shop, met een hele aardige eigenaresse, was Feels Right die onder andere geweldige vintage lederen ballen, tafeltjes, serviesgoed en prachtige accessoires verkoopt. Bij Tis een mooie dag heb ik vreselijk staan dralen rond alle schitterende keukenspullen. Vooral de houten kommen vind ik schitterend (en toen hoorde ik mijn man in mijn achterhoofd zeggen: 'maar je hebt al zo veel kommen!' Zo naar, zo'n geweten!!).

I was on the hunt for iterior design, kitchen goodies, retro, vintage and of course... fabrics. One of my favorite shops, with a lovely owner, was Feels Right which sells these gorgious vintage leather balls, side tables, ceramics and accessories. I was pondering around Tis een mooie dag for way too long, as I loved the wooden bowls so much. But then the voice of my dear husband ppped up in the back of my head saying: but you have so many bowls already! I hate when that happens... 

Dat ik zelf overigens ook niet van hout ben! Toen deze meneer zo ontzettend ontwapenend lachend opkeek van zijn telefoontje en mij betrapte tijdens het fotograferen, heb ik zo gebloosd dat ik er als een razende vandoor ben gegaan zonder een kaartje mee te pakken. Oeps.

And I am not made of wood myself. When this kind gentleman looked up from his phone and smiled, and caught me taking his picture, I just ran off blushing and completely forgot to take the card of his lovely shop. Big whoops.

Prachtig keuken- en woontextiel kun je vinden bij Design Fabrix, waar je trouwens ook hele leuke DIY pakketjes kunt kopen (zag ik zojuist toen ik de website bekeek... had ik beter niet kunnen doen, hebberig!). De geweldige retro mokken en dienbladen zijn van Kleur op Tafel, van Koloni Stockholm. Deze website heeft ook hele mooie dromerige serviezen en dergelijke, maar ik werd als een magneet naar het retro servies getrokken!

Fabulous kitchen and interior textiles at Design Fabrix, in this you'll also find really great DIY sewing kits (I just found that out by looking at the website, oooh I really shouldn't have looked. 'Cause now I wanna...). The fabulous retro mugs and trays are by Koloni Stockholm and are sold by Kleur op Tafel, who also sells dreamy ceramics and kitcheware. I was completely drawn to these retro lovelies.

En ik zag een hele bak bekenden! Wat is blogger zijn toch een enorm voorrecht, want al bloggend, Twitterend en Facebookend kom je zo veel leuke mensen tegen. Met een aantal heb ik al een hele tijd contact, maar had ik nog nooit gezien, zoals Greetje van Halsoverkop en Elisabeth van Buba_B. Met deze twee dames, en nog een paar anderen, heb ik binnenkort een supergave actie! Dus houd het in de gaten! En vandaag ontmoette ik ze eindelijk! De koeienprintjes uit de winkel van halsoverkop zagen jullie hier al uitgebreid voorbij komen. De JRKJS van Halsoverkop draag ik héél graag. En er zijn nu ook winterjurkjes en hele leuke stoffen en fournituren bijgekomen. Buba_B stond samen met kornuiten in één stand met allemaal fantastische retro en vintage spulletjes. Ook met Anke van de Snailmail shop was het even leuk bijkletsen, we hadden intensief mailcontact voor Robin Magazine 'Paper Love' en konden elkaar nu eindelijk de hand schudden. De nieuwe agenda die Anke verkoopt zag er prachtig uit.

Mocht je zin hebben om richting Flavourites Live te gaan? Je kunt morgen en overmorgen nog terecht in Amsterdam. En anders kun je de ontwikkelingen volgen via Twitter als je #flavlive13 volgt.

And I saw so many people that I know. Because if blogging I've met so many great people. I think blogging, and social media like Twitter and Facebook, are a great way to connect to people that you usually wouldn't run into in your usual circle. I met Greetje from Halsoverkop, who's dresses I love wearing, and who also has a range of really great winter dresses, fabrics and notions available. And I finally met Elisabeth frum Buba_B. Together with Halsoverkop and Buba_B (and some other great ladies) I am hosting something fun soon, so stay tuned. And it was great seeing Anke from the Snailmail shop, we were in contact when I was busy making RobinMagazine 'Paper Love' and now we finally met. I really loved the dayplanner she just launched. 

I can't ask you to hop over this weekend to The Netherlands and visit Flavourites Live in Amsterdam, but if you ever want to get to know some really awesome webshops from The Netherlands, Flavourites is where you'll find them.

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Pleated tote bag: tangerine love

Take a look at this pleated tote bag on the new Happy in Red website.

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'Put her on the fence already!' (And some bulls)

De dingen die je al niet te horen krijgt als je in een veld staat, terwijl je in een jurkje staat de manoeuvreren om een tas zo voordelig mogelijk op de foto te zetten! En die opmerking was dan niet eens gericht op degene die in het jurkje door het veld aan het springen was (ik dus), maar naar de behulpzame echtgenoot die meedacht over mooie achtergronden en af en toe eens wat aan gaf. Ha!

The things you hear when you're in a field, running around in a dress trying to take some good pictures of a bag! And the remark wasn't even directed to the one running around the field (that would be me), but towards my very helpful husband who was thinking along about the best backgrounds and handing me things. Ha!

Maar goed, ik ben de beroerdste niet. Kruip ik toch even op een hek! Maar niet voordat ik even een gesprekje had gehad met deze koeien (die stieren bleken te zijn... ja, koeien hebben geen hoorns, dûh). Ten eerste paste dat goed bij mijn jurkje. Ten tweede vind ik koeien fascinerend. Ze zijn heel rustig en nieuwsgierig, kunnen heel blij zijn gewoonweg in de weide staan. Ook schijnen ze je stress te kunnen voelen en die te kunnen wegnemen. En dat zonder gewauwel bij een zielenknijper op een bank, terwijl je over je diepste emoties moet nadenken. Laat mij dan maar een koe aaien. Overigens moet je dat met stieren niet proberen. Gewoon vanaf een afstandje bewonderen dus.

But seriously, I'm no spoilsport. So I'll set myself on that fance, thank you very much. But first I needed to have a chat with these cows (who turned out to be bulls when I looked erhm... a bit closer. Bad city girl!). First of all, the bulls suited my dress. Second of all, cows are fascinating to me. They are relaxed and curious creatures and they can be so happy by simple being in a meadow and chewing on some grass. And they're supposed to feel you stress and they're able to take that away from you. A lot better than laying on the sofa in some shrinks office I would say. Cow petting it is. Don't try that with bulls by the way, just admire them from a distance.

En voor het bewijs: ik was dus echt de beroerdste niet en klom gewoon op dat hek. En kiepte niet eens achterover! Het zou namelijk echt iets voor mij zijn geweest om het ene moment nog vrolijk kakelend op dat hek te zitten met wiebelbenen en het volgende moment achterover in het weiland te liggen met mijn jurk over mijn oren. Niet gebeurd dus! Het zijn die kleine dingen...

Het jurkje is van Halsoverkop en gaat zó mee de vakantiekoffer in! Ik zag trouwens dat er nu ook rokjes te koop zijn. Oooooh!!

And just to prove: I did sit on that fence. And I didn't even fall backwards! That would be so typically me: one moment I'd be sitting there, chatting away and wiggling my legs, the next moment I am laying legs in the air in the field behind me with my skirt over my head. Glad that didn't happen: oh, the simple pleasures.

The dress is by Halsoverkop and is so coming with me when I go on holidays. And... there are now also skirts available. Squeel!

Happy weekend!

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Take your pleated tote bag to the country side

Have a look at my pleated tote bags on the new Happy in Red website.

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