10 Things I ♥ in January

Ghost Apples | Tasia’s Witches | 20s Patterns | Cynthia Hart

1. 2020! It’s going to be a good year, I think.
2. Adriene (and of course Benji) is releasing another January Yoga series, Home, which I have so far managed to practise along.
3. I’m still in awe with the idea of these Ghost Apples.
4. The Real Historical Patterns Tumblr is a favourite of mine as a resource of patterns in general, but in the light of the New 20s, here’s their 1920s tag for your wardrobe for the new decade.
5. One thing that has become a beloved ritual in this new year is a pot of green tea each morning that I don’t have to get up before daybreak. There is just something so gentle and self-loving about brewing it, choosing to use a daintier cup than for most other infusions (because it cools much faster and is pretty) that matches the whispy aroma of the leaves and then sipping in peace before the hustle of the day begins for real.
6. Brushing up on my French has been so much fun (and I’m surprised how much stuck from those two semesters at uni)!
7. I think wall calendars are one of the hardest things to choose for the beginning of the year because they always pose the question of “who do I want to be for the next twelve months?” to me… However, I found the absurdly wonderful Cynthia Hart calendar that provides the perfect contrast to my more tomboyish and down-to-earth decor and still compliments the rest so well!
8. Tasia.m.s on Instagram draws these absolutely stunning witch illustrations based on vintage patterns and I’m very much in love with them ♥
9. Decluttering. Yeah, sure, it’s a trend now, but it just feels so good. Bonus points when I can give one of my old things to a friend, skipping the step of carrying the stuff to the thrift store first.
10. Kind of in the same vein: the feeling of seeing a video melt during editing – from the original footage to the rough cut to the final thing. As someone who rambles a lot, I really like the challenge to end up under half an hour without screwing up my personality.

Redrawing my old Art | Cobweb Goblin

I always wanted to do one of those redraw things, so when I finally had the time and chance I took it. I hope you enjoy watching the video as much as I enjoyed making it! ♥

10 Things I ♥ in August

Left to right: Circus House | Kirsty Elson’s Art | Paperblanks

1. Investing four Euros in a small soundbar at the thrift store has been such a good idea and makes living with the capabilities of my laptop so much easier.
2. I might have a bit of a calendar problem, but I bought a new pocket planner, one of those that start around Midsummer and then go for the next one-and-a-half years, and it makes me happy. I like fresh starts so much, and I really love how sturdy and simple in layout, yet aesthetically pleasing and fancy in cover Paperblanks are. It’s this one, by the way, and I love how they explain their designs, as well.
3. My new-to-me boots that I got from a friend – she’d gotten a pair of mine that I barely wore a few weeks prior, and I think we both ended up with something much more fitting, which is so lovely (not to mention sustainable). I love the colours and the little studs along the lacing!
4. Summer Rain. After last year left us dry and the groundwater reserves diminished I’m happy for every cloudy and rainy day we get. We’ve had some really intense rainstorms lately, and even though it’s still comparatively little, every bit helps to replenish nature.
5. Teen Wolf. I’m currently re-binging, mainly for Stiles, of course, who with this snarkiness and relatable being-an-oddball will always be my favourite character, but also Lydia, Peter Hale, and general supernatural teen drama, because I still can’t get enough of this over-the-top supernatural teen drama. Where were these series in my teenage years (not that we had a TV, and I know Buffy existed, but still)?!
6. I’m very much into French accordion music lately, together with the aforementioned summer rain it makes me feel like I’m in a 70s movie about artistic types in an unnamed French town.
7. And for a more lively mood I’m resorting to Yé-Yé tunes to channel my inner enfant terrible who annoys yet charms everyone around her.
8. This circus-themed house. I love cirque and carnival aesthetics, and the colours are so bright an lovely! The layout really looks nice, too, and I’d love to know whoever made it look this way.
9. I’m really quite taken with the Driftwood Art of Kirsty Elson. Her rows of small colourful coastal houses make me smile, and I love the idea of a large piece of driftwood as a wave. There’s even more of her work on Instagram, and it’s just as lovely.
10. I’ve fallen into a surprise Tumblr Hole again lately, and I think I like it?

10 Things I ♥ in May

A Stitch in Time (via) | L’Art du Crime | Paper Sculptures | Ann Street Studio

1. A Stitch in Time explores techniques and cultural backgrounds of clothing worn in famous works of art and is therefore the perfect thing to watch while doing handsewing.
2. Speaking of art history, I happened to stumble over L’Art du Crime on TV when I last visited family. Set in Paris it’s a series exploring murder cases connected to pieces of art, with a great deal of background info, a very lovely art historian character and the obligatory hardened detective really annoyed by his new job. I can’t wait for the next season to air in Germany!
3. Even though I got distracted early, MerMay is so much fun! I will definitely continue working off my prompt list even when May is over (and I’m already looking forward to MahouShouJune…)!
4. Our new Dehydrator. Or rather, Scoundrel’s Mum’s old one. After years of faithful service ours literally crumbled down to small bits of plastic but the outlaws happened to have one that they didn’t use. With all the veggies and fruit that I bring home from work every week we will definitely make good use of it, though, so now it lives at our place.
5. Throwing things out of my closet is so freeing. It’s also lovely to have my friends go through the pile and pick what they like, thus skipping the thrift store step and in my case inching towards a more ideal wardrobe.
6. Speaking of which, I’m really positively surprised by the designs that H&M puts out lately, there’s a lot of neo-Edwardian 80s inspiration going on, lots of lace and ruffles and broderie anglaise (I might have fallen for this one – Pinterest link for backup). I really hope it’ll become a trend, because as much as I love thrifting, sewing and being sustainable I admit that I do appreciate stuff that I like being available in high street stores.
7. I might have spent a weekend or two playing Beat Saber at Rusty’s place lately… If you haven’t heard about it yet: it’s a VR rhythm game, a great workout and kiiiind of addictive. I’m stuck in level 11 at the moment, but I’ll beat it eventually!
8. Exploring new Places. I’ve been to Hildesheim – mere 30 km or so from Hanover – for the first time last weekend and I’ve finally made it to one of the fascinating historical graveyards in our city. I’ve been thinking about exploration videos lately, just getting off the tram somewhere that looks interesting enough and see where it’ll take me. Let me know if you’d like that!
9. I love the Wildlife Paper Sculptures by Tiffany Miller Russel, especially the birds with their layers of feathers, they are such delicate work!
10. I started following Ann Street Studio (or rather Jamie Beck) on Instagram a while ago now and I absolutely love their work. The mother-daughter self portrait series is perfectly picturesque, and I’m a lover of all things romantic and provençal so I was smitten the first time I saw any of their photographs.

As always I’m not sponsored by any of the parties linked or mentioned. If I were I’d let you know!

MerMay 2019 Prompt List

I think 2019 is finally the year I don’t forget about MerMay – it’s basically Inktober but in May and with a theme – until it’s well underway. I’ve been wanting to do MerMay for ages now because I always love a challenge and if it’s about mythical creatures, even better, but always forgot about it until I saw all the beautiful mermaids on social media. Oh well. Bother.

To motivate myself this year I made my own prompt list, too, feel free to use it! I’d love to see your creations if you take part in MerMay, so if you do I’d love if you left a link to your Instagram or Tumblr or wherever you post your art in the comments. ♥

10 Things I ♥ in March

don’t trust the B- | I3 by Diana Scherer | the embroidered computer | osmia bicornis

It might be a bit late but that doesn’t change the fact that I liked things last month!

1. I just finished Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23 within less than a week and I think it’s hilarious. Diverse (and also horrible but strangely lovable) female characters are so important and this show is doing a fantastic job!
2. How amazing is the art of Diana Scherer? The Dutch artist combines graphic design with nature by letting roots grow in patterns and the results are so gorgeous! I’m getting beautiful Solarpunk vibes from her work, especially I3.
3. This CollegeHumor sketch on hypermasculinity is just fantastic, and it sums up so many things that go wrong in advertisement – and, honestly, in Western society in general.
4. Osmia bicornis, the Red Mason Bee, 2019’s insect of the year for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Bees in general are so wonderful and I keep them in mind while planning my balcony garden for this year.
5. My Family. Or rather families, plural. My LARP family, my family of friends that I’m slowly building here in Hanover and of course my two blood families. I think they don’t even know how much strength they give me simply by existing, and how much I love them.
6. Russian Doll was a fine enough series (have you seen it yet?) but what really stuck was the, well, theme song Gotta Get Up by Harry Nilsson. It has a lot of things I love in songs – accordeons, great chords, brass, short, choppy rhymes, a march-y beat, relatable lyrics – and it’s basically the first thing I listen to in the morning at the moment.
7. Onion Peel Dye. I’m currently trying my hand at natural dyes again and the sunny yellow from fair onion skins is one of my favourite colours ever.
8. Warmer Spring Days – I even went barefoot on a walk through the hills behind my mother’s house for a few minutes! We still get cold days (which is perfectly alright with me) but you can clearly see where nature is going right now.
9. I started a diary again – but a drawn rather than a written  one. After going through it again I remembered how much fun my travel diary from our last Amsterdam trip was for me and decided to have one for the journey that is my everyday life, as well.
10. Okay, how amazing is the Embroidered Computer by Irene Posch and Ebru Kurbak? To me – who has barely any idea about how these things work – this is such a magical piece of art and I absolutely love the idea (again, very strong Solarpunk vibes).