REVolution

uhm. hello.

hello my lovely & sweet friends. i just wanted to let you know that slowly, very slowly i'm feeling a bit better every day. i can see some light at the end of the tunnel. there are some days there's no light at all. it pretty much is dark and i just 'feel' my way through the day. but lately, the better days are winning from the darker days. and that's pretty rad.

i want to thank all of you sweet crazies for sending me cards, gifts, flowers and the most lovely messages. wow, do i feel loved!

don't worry, i won't overdue my feeling good. i take my time. relax. chill. take it all in. and breating it all out. and these 2 uber crazies are helping me dearly.

{new game before sleep. in their pyjama's. imagine that}

so i just keep making cute stuff with my feet up. i've made a new crochet blanket (to die for, seriously), a lot of cute crochet animals (orders from my muppets, who will not give in), i'm doing a cute make over for Sanne's dollhouse (i play secretly while doing the make over ssst), lots and i mean LOTS of canvasses mixed media, scrapbooking and a few new patterns for a cute crochet doll. let's say these hands were pretty busy but they are my blessing. they drag me through this.

life is good. and it's getting better and better every day.
rev

i need to rest.

there. i said it. it wasn't that hard. now the actual RESTING part. that's hard. let's explain a bit to you, my lovely readers. i promise i keep it short. like: i've been asking too much of myself the past 2 years. i do not feel the need to explain in details, but those close to me know it's been a rough 2 years. and now, when the sun starts shining again, my body is going to give in. not up. in. it has been giving me signals for the past 6 months now, and i'm queen of denial and NOT listening to my body. till the point i can't play fake anymore. the body wins. eventually.

i need to rethink. refocus. reclaim my life mostly. see again what's most import to me. i need to feel the warmth again. i need to be the mom i always was and i always wanted to be. somewhere along the way i took some wrong turns. i am not lost. i am just searching my way back to my 'normal self' again.

so i am taking a much needed break. from everything except my lovely family that is. so for a few weeks, no more blogging. no facebook. no twitter. no working on design teams, no workshops. no writing patterns. no creating tutorials. no. no. no. the hardest part was to realise that i simply couldn't make it to Finland. luckely for me, i've have the best friends around and Marsha is going to make sure the workshops are going to be rocking good. Marsha, you know i love you to pieces. not only for getting me out of trouble ;).

and yes for taking rest. taking LONG walks. on the beach. hair in the wind. yes for dates with friends. yes for playing with the muppets. real playing. not 'working' and playing with a half mind. yes for being outside. yes for reading a book. or a magazin. yes for reclaiming my life. yes for just sitting with my feet up enjoying a lovely capuccino.

so. lovely readers of me. don't you dare stay away from me. don't be upset. or angry even. don't send me emails i can't handle. i'll do my best and i certainly will be back. i promise. this is temporarily. i need to start taking care of myself and keep it that way. after all, i'm kinda important to two very small people (and 1 big one). that's clear for me.

life is good. take some rest.
rev 

instagram love.

since i'm busy with animals these days, let's throw in some more pics. Ruben is finally getting more interested in his own bunny Kuffie. uber cuteness i say.

 

hehe. that REALLY is a bunny. believe me. i've seen real poop.

this is not what you think... seriously. this is Snuffie (girl) getting a 'ride' from Kuffie (boy with no more balls left). that's what usually happens when they get to play outside. Snuffie get's all excited and jumps on Kuffie's every move. he really runs & tries to hide for her. when he's behind something where she can't get to him, she starts to walk up and down waiting for him. as soon as he shows his face, she makes a move. seriously. they crack me up. and YES i'm sure it's the girl on the boy. he has not more balls left, so if SHE was a boy afterall, they can't make any tiny bunnies. never ever. thank goodness.

life is good. SPRING there you are!
rev 

special guests.

last week wednesday afternoon we had 2 very special guests to look after. Spike & Mini from Marije. Sanne wants a little dog. desperately. mommy sais 2 bunnies is more then i can handle anyway. and we have our own pig called Ruben. i say full house.

so we made a deal. she got to look after the 2 cute dogs from Marije.

so we picked them up at the office (they were in the office in the morning. just sitting in a bag. hilarious). they walked them. it was so cute. (no, i'm still NOT getting a dog.. sorry peeps. no time).

one is 9. the other is 11. unbelievable!

look at that proud little face of my cutie. Ruben was kinda done (they had to "pee everywhere mom!") hehe. Sanne didn't mind at all walking them both!

how cute! mini was shaking, a bit cold i guess. and sanne took of her coat and gave it to the smalle cute Mini. who immediately looked like "hehe, i thought you never gave it to me!".

so Sanne's NEED for a dog is filled for just a few more weeks, before the wining starts again. but she also knew walking them was kinda tiring and she wanted to play outside, but she also had to 'watch' the dogs. let's hope i can bribe her a little longer with that. hehe. 

life is good. still not buying any dogs. 
rev 

love on Friday.

i know there are many many blogposts, forum posts, facebook & tweets about the terms of conditions of Pinterest. I've read this one, and i'm certain all will be ok. all will be handled like it should be and i can keep using Pinterest, with many many others, as it was supposed to be. an inspirational huge moodboard.

and because i want to share some love, i show you my five favorite discoveries lately.

 a gorgeous Etsyshop owned by Ana Camamiel and she makes the most amazing dolls. this one is my favorite. i can not believe how much attention she puts into the details. gorgeousness all over.

sonny angels. my new addiction. lovely toys for the muppets. i've bought 6 so far, and they are unbelieveable cute. they are in our window for everybody to see. Sanne & Ruben LOVE to play with them. secretly i want to have them to myself. ha. so i need to make a plan to sneak them out and hide them so they will forget about them. like that is ever going to happen...

watercolors have a huge attraction on me, and Lori Vliegen is one extremly talented lady. i just look, drool, and NEED to create. like. right. now. what was i doing here?

 

i cannot wait to start making a big fat Granny Bobble Blanket. Karen has made a gorgeous tutorial. and while you are there, check out all her other lovely patterns & ideas!

and this uber lovely layout by sweet Celine Navarro took my breath away. seriously. i NEED to create. like. right. now. i already told you that, but i seriously gotta go!

life is good. why not just LOVE it?
rev 

a day full of joy.

* saturday was more then i ever thought! i hope to update soon with some incredible picture Liesbeth, Fresco Fotografie took of the day! *

the daybooks from Amy Tangerine, American Crafts, are so perfect. in all ways possible. you can document a lovely trip, but it's just perfect to use as a mini-album for a day with the kids, as a journal. it's also perfect for taking with you when you travel and NEED to create something. i'm sure gonna take one with me when i go teach in Finland in April. planning on documenting a bit there. and otherwise, i'll make it at home. no stress.

this daybook is filled with fun iphone pictures which my lovely friend Liesbeth made of our trip to Birgits, with Marsha. we had a day planned with scrapbooking, laughter & eating, and that's just what happened. the pics crack me up, because we saw so much crazy stuff during our 2,5 hour drive. i guess you look differently when you are taking pics of the trip. very recommended.

supplies: i heart you (84057) - Daybook, Noteworthy (76214) - Daybook (used the stickers), yellow ribbon (58232) - ribbon, wonder kale (53263) - thickers, mixtape (61748 & 61749) - Amy Tangerine Mixtape, paper leaves (77258) - house embellishments, shaped paper clips (85566) - elements, good times (42213) - remarks books, all together (42219) - remarks stickers, wishing (42216) - remarks stickers, glitter buttons (85563) - buttons.

it's just like: pictures, glue, pen & embellishments, a daybook, and you are good to go!

title: een dagje genieten (a day full of joy)

we left early. i believe Liesbeth was around 8 in the morning at my house. we took turns driving / taking pics.

look closely on the pic on the left side. yes. that's a HUGE tail of a horse coming out of the back. i thought it was hilarious. i'm like that. so we moved to get behind the car to get a good picture. you know you are a scrapbooker if that is more important than getting somewhere in time :)

yes. a coffeebreak. much needed. with a very grumpy lady behind the counter. but hey, that doesn't scare us. only more reason to be very annoying. we are queens in being annoying.

the country side is so gorgeous with the sun slowly rising. gorgeousness.

i am queen at taking pics WITH 1 single tree in front...

the dreamteam together. yes. we parked the car to the side for that.

and Birgit had shown me, earlier, she had a lovely crochet book. so i replied that that little book "could" end up in my bag after our visit.... so when i arrived, she had the book tucked safely away with a LOCK. seriously Birgit? 

but she was also very happy to show me the book. so she unlocked it. hehe. when she was downstairs cooking a delicious meal for us, we replaced the book for a "thank you" card! ofcourse i hid the book somewhere between her other books on the shelves. it only took her a few days to send me a text message "real funny. where is it?". hehe.

Marsha deeply thinking of what to create :)

business.

yes, working hard!

it was such a lovely day with lovely friends & getting creative.

Birgit's sweet girl Marlijn made us some yummy "Roombroodjes". her kitchen was exploded though...

ah. cute ladies.

if we only lived closer, i'm sure we would schedule days like this every month! but we'll keep up as much as possible. i had the most fun!

life is good. and it's only getting better.
rev

tomorrow...

was going to be the start of my weekend. my REVolution event. and as you can read here, i almost fell apart when i had to cancel it all. i felt broken. but i knew there must have been a reason why this path was going this way.

and since time has passed i'm certain it's better this way. i was asked to join design teams. i was asked to work for the fabulous {entre}Artistes Magazine. do challenges for other blogs. my Etsyshop was featured on other blogs. i've had more time to accomplish lovely things. work on my canvasses. made a video of me creating a canvas (which has been watched more than 1400 times? say what? that's like MUCHOS for me!). i've had time to write out plans. think of new ideas. hire a very lovely lady who will take over so much work from me  in the office AND also has a creative heart. respects me. so in the end, it's always better this way.

and i am so happy that my workshop "REVving it up" and Birgit's workshop "For the love of masking" will take place tomorrow! my little sweetheart Sanne is coming along to 'help'. let's hope i don't go bonkers with 'her helping me'. we'll do fine. as long as i have Minty Marocco tea, lovely music, a LOT of enthousiastic creative girl, friends (*), and my little girl keeping me company, i'll manage. i promise.

life is good. follow your path.
rev

(*) one will be missing tomorrow due to a terrible loss in her family, and Ellemieke, i will be thinking of you tomorrow.

canvas. follow your dream. catch that star.

i keep falling in love. when i'm creating. i feel like falling in love with mixed media. paint. spray ink. stamp ink. stamps. and getting messy. i love that feeling and i think there will be a workshop soon.

the little birds & owl on this canvas are from fabric. all others are scrapbooking / mixed media supplies. title is just something that popped up in my head, and handwritten. we need to embrace our handwriting, even if you don't like it. treasure it.

today: is REVolution day and i've got lovely plans. like playing with the new Studio Calico kit. actually it isn't new anymore already, but for me it's still new, so who cares? making plans for a mixed media workshop. finishing the last bits and pieces of my workshop this saturday (can't wait to meet all you lovely ladies!), having a lovely lunch date with my 2 muppets and walking them back to school for the afternoon, thinking & calculating my new crochet pattern which i think is gonna be uber cute, and i really have some more deadlines i neeeeed to get working on, but i feel more like playing. so playing it is.

life is good. play more.
rev

sure sweets.

o my goodness. did you see the new Dear Lizzy line from American Crafts? no? were you under a rock? (that's where i usually am). seriously people, if i would ever fall in love with a scrapbooking line (yes, that's sounds as crazy as it is), it will be Neapolitan from Dear Lizzy. shut the front door. and play.

supplies: wood buttons (78073) - buttons & accents, brads (78074) - brads, serendipity parakeet (53293) - foam thickers, white (71081) - cardstock, charcoal (71077) - cardstock, dreamy days (35642) - paper, warn memories (35633) - paper, first date (35362) - paper, sea breeze (35643) - paper, stickers (42232) - remarks books, ribbon (58805) - premium ribbon, stickers (42235) - remarks stickers.

journaling is in Dutch: title: sure honey.
"mom, can you crochet a little hat for my little pony, she's cold" asks Sanne. "sure honey". when she comes home from school the little hat is ready and she's so happy. secretly mighty proud to make her this happy with my crochet work. and then follows "oh, and can you also make a scarf? and leg warmers?"

life is good. right here. right now. remember that.
rev

oh hellup.

created with the amazing new line Dear Lizzy Neapolitan from American Crafts. i'm in love with every single piece in this line. sometimes you just know you are going to use every bit and scrap leftover. this is the one. 

supplies: First Date (35362) - Paper, Serendipity white (53291) - Thickers, Remarks Books (42232) - Stickers, Parakeet (42234) - Letter stickers, Roller date (59160) - stamp, Happy chance pennant (35648) - Flutterbys, acrylic stamp 5 (59156) - stamp, buttons & accents (78073) - buttons, printed chipboard shapes (84057) - chipboard, Paper pad (35658) - Neapolitan paper pad, Premium ribbon (58805) - ribbon.

journaling is in Dutch: oh. help. i just came across this picture and it only looks yesterday that Sanne so lovingly helps Ruben on her small bike, and look at that little tongue of Ruben! but it's already 3,5 years ago! Aaahh! help!

life is good. but sometimes i want to stop, sit & watch.
rev