Polkadot challenge

Dots, is the theme of the EST challenge hosted by Staroftheeast.

Find the other entries here.

ingredients:

- felted balls with little seed beads sewn on them

- ethiopean silver beads

- a beautiful big resin bead with little wooden dots

gathered on a copper chain with a toggle clasp closure on the front.

The necklace measures 44 cm.

available in my shop

Inspired by Africa

Some days ago I blogged about the etnic roots of my eldest. But we do have some other genes in the house. Our second daughter Meron is from Ethiopean origin.
Unluckily we don't know anything about her parents or family. That s a hard nut to crack for her. You really can't imagine how one feels knowing nothing, but just nothing about her roots.

She has been found as an orphan in Jimma, Ethiopea and there, most of the people are Oromo,
she has indeed the Oromo physical features.
The Oromo represent one of the largest Cushitic-speaking groups inhabiting the Horn of Africa. Their physical features, culture, language and other evidences unequivocally point to the fact that they are indigenous to this part of Africa.
The Oromo people are the largest ethnic grouping in Ethiopia. About 95% are settled agriculturalists and nomadic pastoralists, practising archaic farming methods and living at subsistence level. A few live in the urban centres. They are dominated by the minority tribal group, the Amhara, who have controlled the country almost continually for the past 100 years.
Find more about the Oromo people in Ethiopea here.

So I found some beautiful pictures from Ethiopean Oromo women and girls adorned with the most beautiful clothes and jewelry. I let me inspire by the colors and materials and made this long copper necklace and a pair of earrings. Both are available in my shop.

Harara Earrings

Jimma Necklace

summer is here!

Summer vacation has started, the last days of June and first week of July were so wonderfull,
as we are used to grey rainy weather here in Belgium, now it was like we were in the south of France, yep, that hot!
Eating outside, children playing in the swimming pool from morning til eve, warm evenings outside on the terrace with a glass of cava, and picnics and BBQ's with friends and neighbours.
Most of those picnics or BBQ's are improvised and that's how I like them the most, unprepared, just see what's left over in the fridge: tomatoes, lettuce, greek cheese, olives, dried tomatoes ,
and home baked bread dipping in olive oil! mmmmmm.

My lovely gang of 4 gathered around the picnic-bag!

We have an expression for that in Belgium: "Living as god In France"

And creative work is still going on, as it is a little bit slower these days, children are home and , I have to admit , that hot weather makes me really lazy.
A lovely customer ordered my Donna Necklace and asked for matching earrings.
I like that colorcombo a lot: Lilac, purple and warm terracotta red and I have the feeling these warm colors fit perfect with this summer weather!

Cherry time

We are lucky to have a little monkey in the house who picks the cherries from the highest branch!

And today I just want to show some new creations. They are already in my shop!
(click on the pictures to go to the shop) !
And I will soon blog about what inspired me to create them :-)

creative workspace and a little help from my friend....

Gorgeous weather these days, hot days and cool nights,.... I hope it lasts....
What else to do then work outside with Merino wool, water, soap, and cool linen.

After the (belated) birthday party (of Mies) yesterday, I needed a little break and drove to a shop where I had my eye on some gorgeous linen, I bought it with 50% off, long live the sales!!!

can't wait to make flowers of them, to make perfect summer accessories!

you can find my linen flower (and silk) creations here.

Hop over to Kotoyoo's blog to find more creative spaces!

etnic roots

As I was looking for inspiration for the EST challenge, Kraplap told me I could also let me inspire by the traditional clothing of the countrys were my adopted kids were born.
She did not have to ask me twice, I admire the etnic roots of my kids!Flower Hmong
My eldest daughter Maia Dinh Thi Phuong is born in Hoa Bhin in Vietnam, situated in the mountains not far from Hanoi. As most of the Vietnamese have the ethny Khin, my daughter was originated from the Hmong, a minority Ethny who live in the mountains. I am very proud of that :-)

Noted most among their many crafts, their embroidery is stunning. The H'mong are among few people left in the world who, for the most part, still make their own clothes independently. Even if they buy the yarn at a local market, they still typically weave and embroider the fabric themselves. Many H'mong, though, still cultivate and dye, using local indigo plants, the cotton and hemp from which they make their clothing. From newborns to the recently deceased, the H'mong are dressed in finery. Other noteworthy crafts include the silversmithing and bronze making of jewelry. Indeed silver acts as a bona fide currency for them.

The eaarings are already available in my shop.

Find some beautiful pictures of the Hmong in this gallery of Dutch photographer Rob Oudshoorn.

Flax flowers from my homeland....

This time it was not so easy creating for the Challenge with the theme: Let your entry be inspired by the traditional costumes of the country where you were born .This challenge is hosted by Kraplap. find her blog and the other entries here.

I did not find much information about traditional clothing in Belgium, I am sure there must be, but I had not the time to do much research!

So, I know Flanders was well known for it's lace (especially Bruges) and I learned making lace doilies when I was a child, so I have the skills to make myself a piece of lace, but all material lays stocked up at my mothers and I really hadn't the time to hop over there!
But I thought of something I also have a connection with: linen.

My parents almost grew up between the flax fields and both my grandparents were working in the flax agriculture. When I was young , the flax industry was in a crisis as cotton and synthetic fabric (which were much cheaper) became more important.

But nowadays increasing worldwide demand for linen makes it again important. Flax is one of the few crops still produced in Western Europe, with nearly 130,000 acres under cultivation annually. Climatic conditions in this region are perfect for growing flax!
Here you can find more about the huge work it is from Flax to linen.

Linen is crisp, clean and comfortable. Soft, yet strong and durable. The more it is used, the softer and stronger it becomes. It can absorb up to 20% of its weight in moisture before it feels damp, and easily releases moisture to the air to remain cool and dry to the touch. Flax remains colorfast and launders beautifully. It has the additional advantage to be non-allergenic. Flax requires considerably fewer pesticides and fertilizers than other crops. The fibers are recyclable and eventually biodegrade.

So I found the material for my challenge entry: something typical for the region where I was born: linen.
I used a dark grey linen fabric and combined with light lilac (the color of the beautiful flax blossom) sugulite stones and dark lilac ribbon. The silver chain and hoops go very well with these colors.

Available in my shop.