Button Wednesday : Giant Buttons

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It would be great if you could do the same; make your Wednesday a button day too. Have you seen a lovely, beautiful, stunning, crazy button or button-related thingy, or did you make something with a button / buttons, or did you even make buttons yourself, blog about it on your blog on Wednesday, and give the link here in the comments.


This Button Wednesday is about Giant Buttons often found outside button shops. I love those button signs ! And I am still trying to convince my hubby that our house needs such a giant button sign too :) I am starting with the Knopenwinkel (i.e. button shop) in Amsterdam that I visited last year. The same shop has also gorgeous button door handles (photos by ninimakes on Flickr).


The second one is at a shop called Tender Buttons in New York (Photo by Jo from Button Candy).


The third one is this giant yellow button sign above a tailor shop in Brugge (photo by Susan from Button It Up).

I don't know anything about this button sign which I found on Flickr (photo by Christina Anthony). I love the bright red colour !


No idea what this building in Latvia is, a button shop or a button factory ? Or maybe a bike shop ??? (photo by Gunta on Flickr)


And a button shop in Croatia (photo by Emily Kubec on Picasa)


And a beautiful one in New Zealand (photo by rlsycle on Flickr)


Last but not least, Guinness World Records' largest button at a button museum in Germany.

Flickr Favourites: Traditional Costume of Huizen, Holland

Today in the Flickr Favourites it's the turn of the traditional costume of Huizen in The Netherlands. Huizen is a town in the province of North Holland. The name "Huizen" is Dutch for "houses" and this has been linked to the belief that the first stone houses in the region appeared here. Huizen originally was a coastal village along the Zuiderzee, with a thriving fishing industry. After the damming of the Zuiderzee by the Afsluitdijk in 1932, the old sea was changed into the freshwater lake IJsselmeer, and economical activities shifted towards industry and commerce. There are still some elderly women wearing the old traditional costume. They wear large white caps with curved sides. The rest of the costume is relatively sombre which is a contrast to most of the other traditional costumes of Holland. The whole appearance of the black dress with the large white cap is very elegant and impressive.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. facebook, 2. Only the old wear traditional costume, 3. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago ..., 4. Klederdracht uit Huizen Noord Holland

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Moodboard: Grapes

This weekend I did a lot of work in the garden because the sun was shining. I cleaned, clipped and pruned. Except for the wine grapes, they are new in my garden and I have no idea how to prune them. Have to find that out ! So, being in a wine grape mood at the moment, have a look at these gorgeous grapes from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday moodboards see fleurfatale's blog.

1. psarokokalo
2. GiftsandStars
3. astashtoys
4. Elbenta

And this is how my wine grapes look at the moment :)))))

Etsy : Earrings

This week's earrings are these "Zeeuwse knopjes" by EST member Annemiek from TwoTreesBelgium on Etsy. Annemiek was born and grew up in Zeeland in The Netherlands. Her grandmother still wore the traditional costume of her region. The traditional jewelry and other items typical to Zeeland inspired her to make a series of ceramic 'Zeeuwse' items. And needless to say that I love her Dutch folklore jewelry line ! So, I had to have these Zeeuwse knopjes for my ears :)

I will shows you here some more of her Dutch folklore jewelry, but Annemiek makes much more than that; story bowls, animals, roses, and the most beautiful buttons (but I will tell you more about that in a future blog post). So visit her shop to see all these beauties !

Button Wednesday : Pillow IV

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It would be great if you could do the same; make your Wednesday a button day too. Have you seen a lovely, beautiful, stunning, crazy button or button-related thingy, or did you make something with a button / buttons, or did you even make buttons yourself, blog about it on your blog on Wednesday, and give the link here in the comments.


Part 4 of the Button Pillow story is about natural looking pillows with only a few buttons, a bit of "minimalism" :) I start with this minimalistic button cushion from ferm living. I like the simple colour trick with the 4 buttons.



This next pillow breathes a minimalistic industrial mood, and it is from a company called Industry, selling vintage and upcycled items from all over the world.


I totally love this quirky minimalistic design of Pieces of You. This cushion forms part of the "Lost and Found'" range; all the buttons have been lost and found, and it is made from unloved textiles for you to love !


This Chocolate Button Pillow is also made from vintage materials (buttons, linen and the back is made of fabrics like Liberty and Designers Guild) and it is from The Baobab Tree. Very yummie !


This button pillow by The Painted Chest looks like a beach pillow with all its mother of pearl buttons if various forms; very pretty !


Also very natural is this Button Pillow Brushwood from Etsy's PatsyDesigns. The pillow is made of a mix of vintage and newer buttons in woodsy greens on a soft green misty Dupioni silk.


And because it is officially spring now, and Easter will coming soon, this pillow story ends with the Easter bunny. It's made by skinny laminx, and it is über-cute !

Flickr Favourites: Traditional Costume of Urk, Holland

Today in the Flickr Favourites it's the turn of the traditional costume of Urk in The Netherlands. Urk is a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Urk was in the past an island in the Zuiderzee. In 1939, a dike from the mainland to Urk ended the town's island status, just as the Afsluitdijk project was changing the salt water Zuiderzee surrounding Urk to the less saline IJsselmeer. Later in the 20th century, sea-bed areas surrounding Urk were reclaimed from the sea and became the Noordoostpolder. Urk is still a fishing village and religious life has also traditionally been very important to Urk's inhabitants. The kraplap (i.e. bodice) is in Urk made of beautiful coloured silk with embroidered flowers on the front (called the "hartje" or "small heart"). The silver head iron that holds the lace cap with yolk coloured trim, is the oldest type in The Netherlands. The striped apron is the same as the one in Volendam.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.


1. Urkerdag 2010, 2. Urkerdag 2009, 3. Urkerdag 2010, 4. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Moodboard: Renovation

This weekend I started to clear the former sewing room upstairs because it must become our new bedroom. Hubby and friend want to start with insulation this week, so I could not postpone it any longer. Strange enough the room is not so small at all when it is empty :) If you are also in a "renovating the bedroom" mood, have a look at these cool sleeping stuff from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday moodboards see fleurfatale's blog.

1. artistico
2. AngelPearls
3. hatchedinfrance
4. lessandmore

And this is how it looks now:

Etsy : Earrings

This week's earrings are these mother of pearl ones by EST members Estella & Esther from staroftheeast on Etsy. When I was in hospital last year, hubby brought me the post every day. One of these days, just when I was very down, he brought me a parcel from Estella & Esther with these gorgeous earrings. That was fantastic ! I was so happily moved. I wear these earrings always with much love, remembering how I got them :)

Look at some more of the Stars' beautiful jewelry; next to a lot of mother of pearl they incorporate the most beautiful beach finds.

Button Wednesday : Pillows III

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog. It would be great if you could do the same; make your Wednesday a button day too. Have you seen a lovely, beautiful, stunning, crazy button or button-related thingy, or did you make something with a button / buttons, or did you even make buttons yourself, blog about it on your blog on Wednesday, and give the link here via Mister Linky at the end of this post.


I start part 3 of the Button Pillow story with this beautiful pink velvet button cushion from John Lewis. It is embroidered with simple flower shapes that are made up of a stitched stem and button head. I love the playfulness of this design.

If you are not a sewing person you can try glueing as Amanda does in this lovely button branch pillow tutorial.


Letter Perfect Designs on Etsy makes the most beautiful monogram button pillows; all letters are possible ! And if you want to try it yourself, you can follow this great tutorial from Kari.


You can make complete words too, like in this tutorial from Spotlight.


And I very much like this heart pillow by american swede; it's beautifully done in lovely subdued colours on linen. And you can try your to make your own with this tutorial from Modern Country Style.


Or maybe you prefer a more nautical theme; this one comes with a tutorial from all about you. And I am absolutely stunned by these Pearly King pillows from house to home, based on Londons Pearlies.


And then I also found this cute peace pillow by RJB Stone.



And as the last pillow in this review, this absolutely funny & funky Pickle Button Pillow with tutorial from Mandi.




!!!!!!!!!! If you have something for The Button Wednesday, give Mister Linky your name and the link to your button post !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tidbits : Flickr Favourites

After the Marken and Volendam costumes, today it's the turn of the traditional costume of Spakenburg in The Netherlands. Spakenburg is a village north of Bunschoten. Spakenburg is formally called Bunschoten-Spakenburg since its fusion with Bunschoten. The village lays south of the IJsselmeer in the province of Utrecht. It is one of the few places left in the Netherlands where some women still wear local traditional clothes; they can often been seen on the various open air markets in The Netherlands selling fish. Thir kraplap (i.e. bodice) is the largest, most visible and brilliant one of all the Dutch traditional costumes.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. Symbols of Faith Kraplap, 2. Lace Cap, 3. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago, 4. Bunschoten-Spakenburg

And two picture postcards from my own collection.