Beautiful Long Weekend

we did a good job on making wonderful memories with our friends last weekend. on the beautiful sunny Sunday we went up the CN Tower in Toronto and enjoyed the view. we went to the harbor festival and came home to barbecue in our backyard. the children made the flower arrangements for their kids table, while we enjoyed our homemade caesar salad and other foods and drinks. it was one of those days that seemed to last forever...

Happy Outside

some Summer happiness

outside

with blue skies and warm sun beams ~ unlike the grey day today

random pictures from close by and helicopters spreading the love in New York

my favorite spot at Lake Ontario

making collages outside is the best

and Toronto by sundown is just amazing...

happy days!

Last Week on Instagram

last week I had a lovely friend visiting from The Netherlands to keep me company for a week

we had so much fun together

it was a week to remember

we went to see the lake Ontario shore

and spent some lovely time crocheting together ~ more about that in another post

we drove to a forest for a hike along a little lake with the most pretty views

~ picture by my friend, no iPhone ~

after that we went for some thrift shopping

we also spent one day in the city of Toronto

it was quite warm that day, so we enjoyed cool water, delicious coffee and a smoothie

in one of my favorite coffee shops

that night we went to the baseball game Toronto Blue Jay's versus the LA Angels

for all tree of us it was the first baseball game we ever saw live ~ and we had so much fun !

great how they entertain the crowd for at least 3 hours

again, pictures by my friend ~ best view on the CN tower ever by the way

right after my friend left, the husband and I went camping

just a few more pictures of that lovely weekend

Canada Day, and delicious celebration cake

cooking outside on our camping table, practicing to roast the perfect marshmallows after dinner 

by far THE best thing about camping in Canada : a fire place/ BBQ on every campsite

lovely pillows in a local cottage country shop

and my attempt to take a picture of a chipmunk that approached us to get some food - 

the fearless animal jumped right on my knee and it surprised me so much I freaked out, haha!

~

again, we had a great time

The Beach - Toronto

yesterday I was lucky to get a tour around the area The Beach in Toronto from Tracey

it is an area East of the city and I had a wonderful visit

with all the delicious treats and wonderful time together, I felt like celebrating my birthday!

I hope you are ready for a sweet and colorful report...

Tracey first showed me a fantastic cupcake house Life is Sweet

absolutely delicious homemade cupcakes

and beautiful warm accessories from the HoneyBea DesignHive

we went to her beautiful and light house, where I felt right at home

the light colors remembered me of our apartment in Amsterdam

if you know Tracey's blog Helana and Ali, you will know about the beautiful felt creations she makes

they were everywhere and so pretty in real life

after that, as if this all was not enough yet, we went to Bobette & Belle

it is one of those places where everything is pretty and delicious

we enjoyed the macaroons to the max

and decided we both have to get married again, to have an excuse to order one of these pretty cakes

~ to the same guys, that is ~

how is that for a quote

~ enjoy and let them eat cake ~ 

such a wonderful place to sit and drink tea with a sweet treat

the weather was beautiful

we walked along Queen Street East and took a look at vintage shops in the neighbourhood Leslieville

beautiful city parks along Queen Street

and a wonderful fabric shop macFAB where fabric was 50% off

so here I am at home

with a box full of super delicious cupcakes

beautiful fabrics on my table and my mind full of wonderful memories to a fantastic day

and I am happy and thankful to be able to share this beauty with you!

how is your week going so far?

p i ' l o and the City of Craft

for those of you who wonder:

creJJtion will not be only collages from now on

but, I like to give the pictures I took with my iPhone a different look

because I take most of them 'on the go'

and some are also filtered through Instagram

any one of you familiar with Instagram? - I am addicted at the moment I am afraid...

creJJtion is my profile name and I would love to meet you there too!

~

Heather from p i ' l o and I first met at the One of a Kind Show ~ I featured her in this post

last weekend she invited me to her open house in Toronto

and it was so wonderful

well, what else would I have expected...

the open space, large crafting table in the middle, natural light coming through the ceiling

natural materials, lovely displays and a very inspirational mood board...

visit Heather's website p i ' l o to find out more!

~

afterwards I went to the City of Craft, shortly introduced on their website as

"both an alliance of community arts organizers that present and support local crafty activities and Toronto's largest independently run juried craft sale featuring craft-based installations, free workshops, and craft-related programming in local businesses and galleries"

I enjoyed the atmosphere a lot

crafty people behind and in front of every booth, exchanging inspirations, ideas and goodies

I would like to mention a few of the booths to you that caught my attention

Needle Book ~ a blog about sweet makes from yarn and fabric, I love these sweet mini birds

Kid Icarus ~ stationary, cards... all screen printed in pretty designs, I like the greeting cards a lot

Gezellig ~ Victoria is a Dutch lady and makes comfy pillows, hand screen printed as well, her Etsy shop is not finished yet, but well, I guess she is working on that

~

that is it for today

and we are already approaching Christmas with the speed of light!

six more days... I wish you a very merry 'week before'

and hope you were able to keep the stress out of the preparations this year!

I will be back here soon with pictures of my own preparations and decorations in our home...

sending you love from Canada

Around Toronto

let me take you on a visual tour around Toronto ~ a lovely day trip I had two weeks ago

it started with a second visit to the One of a Kind Show

with sweet Ana from the ultimate babyblog Bluebird Kisses

we found two more lovely booths that I like to share with you

both of them use recycled material for their products

~

cate & levi was born out of a lack of one of a kind,

responsibly made and beautifully designed products for children

read more about their wonderful products and story behind them on their About page

I love how they combine neutral colors with knitted sweater prints to spice up their animals

you can shop directly from their website!

the second shop is filled with sweet pillows

the squirrels and owls are my favorites! look at them so sweet

Hilary Cosgrove owns a blog and Etsy shop

~

after the show I went for a delicious lunch at the Toronto Liberty Market

and bumped into the pretty store West Elm ~ I never heard about before

which makes sense, since they only have stores in the USA ~ except for this one in Toronto!

unfortunately they don't ship to the Netherlands, but it won't surprise me if that changes soon

two display ideas that I really like are the top right star

I can think of many holiday shapes that will look great filled up with ornaments on the wall or table

and the glitter ornament is of course a lot of fun to make as well!

~

afterwards I took the tram to Toronto's Distillery District

a village in the city of brick-lined streets and pretty restored Victorian Industrial buildings

to the Dutch ladies among you; it reminds me a lot of the Westergas Fabriek terrein in Amsterdam

there are nice little shops where creative people sell their makes

alongside nice cafes with delicious coffees

these days totally decorated for the holidays, very pretty indeed!

one shop I like to mention is the Distill Gallery

it shows the individual handmade works by over 100 emerging Canadians

I liked the winter pillows by Identity, gloves by Isak Inger, and flower hair clips Clever Fawn

well... that was another great day in Toronto!

~

about the HO HO HO give away

Mabibilou I haven't heard from you yet!

send me an e-mail with your address in order for me to mail you your santa

if I haven't heard from you by next Tuesday, I have to do a redraw...

~ love ~



One of a Kind Show

the One of a Kind Show

Toronto, Christmas edition 2011

friends have been talking about it for three months

and they were right, it is a Great Show!

I am sharing with you the booths that I found lovely, sweet, amazing and pretty

focused on yarn, textiles, prints, paperwork and that natural comforting look

and... you don't need to live in Canada to find them because they all have online shops!

is that good news or what?!

now let's get started with this tour...

all pictures taken with my iPhone

~

first is Bookhou, based in Toronto

they do an amazing job with their screen prints on textiles, using natural colors

I was lucky to meet Arounna, the inspiring and creative woman behind this brand

take a look at their website and Etsy Shop to find out yourself!

then we meet Vintage Baby Revival

mainly focused on babies, but who can resist their cute owl designs?

all hand knitted and available in their Etsy Shop

~

Tracey from the pretty blog helana and ali made me check out the Pi'lo booth

I am so glad you did Tracey!

when you visit their website or Etsy shop you instantly get that calm, Nordic feel

well, that same feel was here, with Christmas ornaments out of felt, wood and cotton

not to forget that amazingly sweet hanging bird and the hand sewn notebook gift tags...

I felt at home immediately, also with many thanks to Amanda from the pretty blog MPERFECTION

next are the cute and photogenetic bunnies from Sonja

these sleeping beauties are handsewn from vintage sweaters made of natural (mainly wool) fibers

wouldn't they look cute in their vintage cups in every corner of your house?

the good news is the link to Sonja's Etsy shop

~

on the show were a few card and paper designers

but Flakespaperie was definitely my favorite

the simple and effective screen print designs presented on a mint green wall stole my heart

and of course the postcards with the Amsterdam bike on a canal... how could I resist?

I talked to wonderful Ashley who is the designer, printmaker and boss lady behind Flakespaperie

and not only hosts this Etsy Shop and website, but also this pretty blog!

last but not least in this feature is Heidi van Veen Designs

of course her Dutch last name caught my eye, haha

but I was overwhelmed by her pretty puppets and colorful designs for kids!

mister Fox is my absolute favorite, you can find him and his friends through Heidi's FaceBook page

~

and this is my precious catch of the day

along with the cutest magnets and buttons from babyelephantdesigns ~ a sweet newbie to the show

combined with a delicious coffee, some knitting and my warm feet by the fire place

I hope you enjoyed the tour with me and got inspired by these wonderful ladies!

I didn't get to see all booths, so I am going there again and probably show you more in a few days...

for anyone near Toronto, the show is on untill Dec 4th at the Direct Energy Centre

in the meantime you might like to sign up for the HO - HO - HO Give Away



Inspiration

thank you for your sweet comments on our new home

that huge window is indeed our new window ~ lucky us

today I am sharing my new Toronto inspiration with you

the design on the left is from GAN and I love it

especially this alexandra rug by Sandra Figuerola, the colors and the pattern... oh my

and the cake on the right of course looks too pretty and delicate to eat

on the left an early last century tin ceiling, typical Northern American, I had never seen before

and they are so pretty, in design but also in reflecting the light

read more here about the tin ceilings if you are interested in these European-inspired creations

and under this particular ceiling, they serve delicious caffe latte ~ smile

being a Dutch girl, bycicles make me feel like home

and this stylish graffiti bike happens to match my newest creJJtion somewhat

made from socks wool with a dark blue border

and number two already in my purse, for a little progress anytime

to be joined into one large blanket when finished

ooooh how I love matching these colors with everything pretty that crosses my eyes...

~ l o v e ~