Good 'ol Red, White, and Blue

It doesn't take long, living in another country, to realize that " You can take the girl out of America, but you just can't take the American out of the girl."Sunday we attended a pot-luck dinner. For those not familiar with the term, this just means that everyone brings a dish, with no particular menu planned... they really are the best. In preparation for what I was bringing, I flipped through my cookbooks trying to find what would be the perfect, easy to transport, outside picnic snack. When I proudly finished my dish, and stood back to admire my handiwork, I thought... wow, does that ever look American! But the thing is that I bought everything at a normal German grocery store, and with...

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Too Early For Christmas

Now I've heard of Christmas in July before, but Christmas in August?... you have to trust me on this one, it's just as much fun in August as it is in July. I got a big package from my favorite bead place this week with some of my favorite stones and lots of new colors. Which leaves me feeling... to sew or to bead? Hmmm... that is the question. Have you ever had so many projects on the table, so many ideas in your head, that you just didn't know where to start? Oh, the problems of being creative... sigh. Too many projects, not enough ti...

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Cute as a Button

Last week, I talked my husband into venturing downtown with me. (to be perfectly honest, it was to check out my competition) Much to my disappointment the shop was closed because of the school/summer holidays, so we spent our time strolling up and down the streets, window shopping and popping into other inviting stores. One particular shop that caught my attention was filled with jewelry, purses, and accessories, all in such a lovely vintage style. See the thing is, I have an addiction... to buttons, especially when they are vintage. I love how unique and unusual they are...It really is sometimes quite interesting... often I might buy a button, a ribbon, or an accent piece, having no particular...

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Flower Power

I've been having a lot of fun these days with Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party fabrics... I love the unusual color combinations and interesting designs. Still on a roll for show preparations, I decided that in addition to zippered pouches that I would add a few brooches to the mix. I was originally inspired by Betz White, and I added a few extra touches and beading to make it my own. What a fun little addition to a blazer, purse, or hat... don't you think? For other cool tutorials, check out Betz's blog. Happy creati...

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A Brand New Look

I just love a good makeover... don't you? When I started my blog last November, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It didn't take long to realize after jumping into the whole blogging world and discovering one fantastic blog after another, that my sorry, self-made attempt of a header just didn't cut it... so this time I left it to someone who knew what they were doing... what do you think? ... Speaking of new looks, have you seen the new rugs by Amy Butler, a.k.a "queen of everything creative". They are so dreamy, it makes you want to curl up a take a long nap on them... so divine! One could literally put these rugs in a room and nothing else, and still pull off chic.I seem to...

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... On A Roll

It seems as if it has been one thing or another that has kept me out of my sewing room these days... but now I'm back on a roll. I have a small, one day show that I am doing in September, and I am finding that I am needing some smaller items for my stand. I have seen a lot of people making these sweet little zipper pouches and I thought that would be perfect extra "little" something to fill things in.Let me just say, had I known how easy these things are, I would have been sewing them a long time ago. The perfect "Mitbringsel" (small take it with you present) that has so many uses, the possibilities are endless. I simply "Google-d"... "How to sew a zippered pouch" and found so many results,...

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Final Destination... Dresden

On our return trip from Herrenhut, the beautiful and historical city of Dresden was directly on the way, and a perfect diversion for a Sunday afternoon sightseeing stop. The city has long been known as the capital and residence for the Kings of Saxony, thus they provided the city with much of the architectural, artistic, and cultural sites that have attracted tourists for centuries. The city borders the River Elbe and boasts of fantastic and ornate architecture that define European cities. Many efforts have been made to restore the beauty and splendor of a city that was essentially destroyed after the war.The city square was filled with tourists and those out to enjoy a beautiful Sunday afternoon...

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Hidden Gems

While dining at one of the two restaurants in Herrenhut, our neighbor table had overheard my husband talking and immediately recognized his Northern German accent as coming from the same area that they were from. After chatting for a while, the friendly couple went on to tell us that they had visited a cute little village just a few miles from where we were, and highly recommended that we work the 15 minute diversion into our trip somehow. The patterned slate siding and wooden arches is definitely not typical architecture for Northern Germany, and it was great to see that all the houses were so well kept... everyone seemed to have beautiful gardens and well groomed yards. I love exploring and...

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Destination... Herrnhut

One of the places that my parents wanted to visit while they were here was a small village in Eastern Germany near the Czech border. This is where the Moravian church was founded, or Brethren Church, and many religious movements in the United States can be traced to the influence of one the founders, Count von Zinzendorf.The church was beautiful, but not in the traditional sense of what one would expect from an old, European church ornately decorated with religious symbols and figures. It was white and simple without extravagant details... it just felt so pure. We traveled to the next village where the estate of Zinzendorf had stood proudly years ago. Much of the estate was in ruins, but you...

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Untitled

I've been meaning to share for quite some time a few of the places that we visited while my parents were here for three and a half weeks. My husbands family just celebrated 10 years of owning a farm in former East Germany, and we wanted to show my parents this part of our lives too. While we were there, we traveled just a few short miles to a neighboring village where a former East German border museum was set up.The boundary between former East and West in this part of Germany was seperated only by a river, where the small villiage bordered the water. A tribute to those that had lost their lived trying to cross the water was on the entry door of the museum and I feel as if words are missing...

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Whatcha' Been Up To?

I would venture a guess and say that it has probably been pretty obvious that my sewing machine has not been doing much else than collecting dust these days. With us being gone in May, my parents visiting us the month of June, new fabric shipments and computer work in July, I have not had too much time work up some of the delicious, new fabrics that I have gotten in. But it seems that jewelry making has been on the brain, which is not a bad thing since we have a small show coming up in September... and it will be mostly jewelry on display.So here are just a couple pieces that I have been working on. Although it was not love at first sight, I am finding that Aventurine is becoming one of my favorite...

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