P8 Buttons & Fabrics

Button Wednesday : Marilyn

2012-02-01T13:35:00.003+01:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marilyn... who was Marilyn ? Nobody really knows; she kept her secrets buttoned up ....

Leigh Gordon created this fantastic button portrait of Marilyn, and you can see from her pictures how much work it was... She says you can learn to "stay strong despite the world" from (this buttoned) Marilyn.

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

Monday Mood Board: It's snowing !

2012-01-30T12:46:00.003+01:00

Finally a bit of winter feeling after this very very long autumn weather, because we have a bit of snow ! Some snowy items from four of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. LaNiqueHOME
2. ShinyJane
3. sunshineartdesign
4. MistyAurora

Button Wednesday : Buttons for Elsa

2012-01-25T13:32:00.007+01:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elsa, who was Elsa ? Elsa Schiaparelli was an extravagant Italian fashion designer in the 1920's and 1930's in Paris. Schiaparelli was very innovative and she had a lot of "firsts" in the fashion industry. Her career began with her introduction of graphic knitwear, this led to her fanciful fabric prints of body parts, food, and many more unusual themes. She was the first to use brightly colored zippers and also the first to have them dyed to match the material used in her garments. And she was the first to create and use fanciful buttons that looked more like brooches. They came in the shapes of peanuts, bees, ram’s heads, etc, etc. She worked with famous artists like Dali and Cocteau, and introduced Dada and Surrealism in her creations. Needless to say that I love the buttons that were made for her, and I show you here a pretty selection with some of them (the last picture comes from Pinterest; all others come from the book "Buttons" by Loïc Allio, Seuil 2001).

And two more from the Victorian and Albert Museum:

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

Monday Mood Board: Rainy

2012-01-23T11:29:00.004+01:00

My first post again after many many weeks. Illness and hospital visits made me very depressed, and left me without energy. I am now gradually crawling out of my dip and thought I will start my Monday Mood Boards again. It is still a bit moody though .... Some rainy items from four of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. shashamane
2. AnnieJewelry
3. MitzMetals
4. magalerie

Button Wednesday : Spiders

2011-09-28T12:52:00.006+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did some garden cleaning this week, because the weather is so nice. Had to scream every two minutes, because of the large amount of spiders .... Yep autumn is spiders. I have no idea why I scream when I see one and why I am afraid; I can handle most animals, but spiders.... brrrr. So irrational too ! Must be something very deeply rooted. So, this Button Wednesday, some scary spider buttons to tell myself that fear for spuders is nonsense.

1. leeettle spider button, 2. Trick or Treat Halloween Buttons, 3. hämähäkkinappi - button with spider, 4. Halloween spider button brooch pin Jewelry, 5. spooky buttons, 6. momshoo- itsy bitsy spider poofy badge, 7. Halloween Acrylic Buttons..Spiders, 8. Spider and Web Buttons, 9. Happy Haunting Handmade Buttons

I make no spider buttons myself, but button spiders .....

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

My Flickr Favorites: Traditional Costume Terschelling, The Netherlands

2011-09-27T13:00:00.006+02:00

Today we move back to the north, to the Wadden or Frisian islands. The islands had all their own costumes, but I only show you the ones of the island of Terschelling because it looks different from the rest of the Frisian costumes. Just as the rich costume of the Zaanstreek, the female costume has a kaper, but a plain back cotton one, and a bit smaller. It is worn over a knitted and crocheted white 'mutske' (bonnet) tightly fitting around the head.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. Terschellinger volksdansers., 2. 11 Terschelling- Jet Necklace, 3. Fokke en Sukke op Terschelling,, 4. Folk Dancing Terschelling

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Gardening

2011-09-26T11:15:00.004+02:00

We have such gorgeous weather here in the north of Germany these days; lots of sun, no wind, warm and, above all, no rain !!! So, I had to work in the garden this weekend, and ..... I strained a muscle in my back :( I definitely not become younger in time. Hoping hubby will be home for a couple of hours this week, so that we can do the garden work together :) Here some great gardening items from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. oraber
2. UltimateOrganicSoap
3. sunshineartdesign
4. anek

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Spain

2011-09-23T15:13:00.007+02:00

After the Basque costume stamps of Spain, we move even further northwest to La Rioja, Cantabria and Asturias. The typical costumes from these regions look in style like the ones we have seen in Catalonia, Aragon, Navarra and the Basque Country. They belong to the typical "northern" clothing category: costumes are inspired by a peasant way of life, with rather simple colors, to which elements such as characteristic shoes are added, fluffy petticoats, lace and stockings. The first stamp above is from a very large costume series issued from 1967 to 1971. The costume is typical for the city of Logroño in Rioja.

This next stamps is from the same large costume series (1967 to 1971) and shows the traditional costume of the city of Santander in Cantabria.

And from the same series, the regional costume of Oviedo in Asturias.

You can find La Rioja (light tan), Cantabria (dark tan) and Asturias (beige) on this map of Spain (in the north):

Button Wednesday : Leaves

2011-09-21T12:37:00.005+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is really becoming autumn again here..... The leaves start falling from the trees already. So, this Button Wednesday, some gorgeous leaf buttons seen on Etsy.

1. juppa, 2. OddCatButtons, 3. ejrbeads, 4. Overspill, 5. SkeeterBitz, 6. valstreasures, 7. blackmudstudio, 8. sewlovelysupplies, 9. SandrasShop.

I made no leaf buttons myself, but button leaves .....
Soon to come in my shop.

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

My Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume Zaanstreek, The Netherlands

2011-09-20T11:38:00.006+02:00

Today we move south from West Friesland to the Zaan district, staying within the province of North-Holland. This was a very rich area, and you can see that clearly in the traditional costumes. The dress was 6 meters wide and made of silk damask. The headdress existed of a black under cap, a white intermediate cap with embroidery, an upper cap of batiste with broad lace and a golden head-iron of 7 cm width with a large number of golden needles, sometimes decorated with diamonds. To protect this expensive headdress if you went outside, the "Zaanse kaper" was put on top of it. This broad over cap, mostly made of shot silk (dark outside, light inside), was stiffened by whale bones and cardboard. The lower part formed a small cape around the shoulders.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. april, 2. Doopsgezinden gemeenschap 29, 3. Optocht, 4. 306356

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Hello Etsy

2011-09-19T12:41:00.003+02:00

I had such a great time at the Hello Etsy conference in Berlin this weekend, that I am still in a Hello Etsy mood. So, here some great items from some of our European Street Team sellers I met in Berlin !

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. PetitPlat
2. karuski
3. Kirschbits
4. ChoochMagooz

Button Wednesday : Flea Market Gifts

2011-09-14T14:23:00.004+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a friend of a friend who likes strolling on flea markets, and when he heard of my button mania he decided to have a look around for buttons (which I did not know). Suddenly this friend of a friend sent me this huge button parcel ! I am so thrilled. Especially, the buttons on the cartons are splendid; they were sewn on by a German girl with the name Helga Meyer in 1965, when she was at a vocational school for seamstresses in southern Germany (the text is still readable). I give you lots of pictures !

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

My Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume West Friesland, The Netherlands

2011-09-13T12:19:00.006+02:00

Today we move from the north of The Netherlands back to the west of The Netherlands, so we have almost made the total round tour of The Netherlands. We are back in the province of North-Holland, and look at the area which is called West Friesland. The costumes are similar to the ones in Friesland, but the lace cap and the head-iron are different. The women wear a rich costume (silk, wool, damask) and lots of jewelry. The lace cap has a small pleated and starched tail, and the head iron is partly visible.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.
1. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago ..., 2. Hand in hand, 3. part of a costume., 4. Nederland / The Netherlands

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Kawaii

2011-09-12T13:21:00.004+02:00

Before Etsy I had never heard of "kawaii", but today I am in a "kawaii" style - mood (chosen from the styles at Etsy). So, here some sweet kawaii items from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. sabahnur
2. ChocolateMintCrafts
3. swiedebie
4. beautifultheories

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Spain

2011-09-10T14:55:00.009+02:00

After the costume stamps of Aragon, we move now furher to the west to Navarre and Basque Country. Both Navarre and the Basque Country are autonomous communities in northern Spain. Basque is spoken in large parts of Navarre and in all three provinces of Basque Country: Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa. The traditional costume for the men is made up of a red sash and scarf (a pañuelico or pañuelo), worn with a pair of white pants and white shirt. Red was adopted as the official color because it is a festive color, but blue, green, black or checkered also exist. The white pants and shirt are adaptations of the simple, traditional clothing worn by farm workers and other laborers and is also adopted by pelota players in Navarra and the Basque country. The sash was the belt; the pañuelo was worn around the neck and used to wipe away the sweat of a hard days work. The shoes are espadrilles and the cap is the traditional Basque béret (boina) in either black or red. The women wear a red skirt, black petticoat, white blouse, white headscarf, black apron and on their feet laced leather sandals with woolen socks, or white espadrilles decorated with red ribbons. Only in some valleys of Navarre, there still exist some very different traditional costumes, more like the ones of Huesca in neighboring Aragon. The first stamp above shows such a beautiful antique costume of Valle del Roncal in Navarre. It is from a very large costume series issued from 1967 to 1971. All other stamps show the more usual red and white Basque costumes. The second stamp above celebrates the "running of the bulls" at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, the capital city of Navarre.

The next two stamps show the costumes of Álava and Gipuzkoa. Both stamps are again from the large costume series of 1967-1971.

The next two stamps show the costumes of Biscay. The first one is again from the large costume series of 1967-1971. The second one is from a series of Spanish Zarzuela's issued in 1983, with a scene from "El Caserio" from Basque composer Jesús Guridi Bidaola.

You can find Navarre (grey) and the Basque Country (purples) on this map of Spain (in the north):

Button Wednesday : Cork Buttons

2011-09-07T13:45:00.000+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw these cork buttons of oritdotan on Etsy and I like them very much. I have always liked cork; it's warm, soft and natural. Why did I not think about cork buttons before ?

So, I searched a bit further, and found that a firm called Pink Paislee makes cork buttons, of which Danielle Flanders made a lovely button bracelet.

Amy Kate gives a terrific tutorial on her blog "casa in the country" to make your own cork buttons from wine corks. I am certainly going to try that !!

These ones are from thedailymarker on Flickr and she distressed them to a get a dark color; lovely !

You can also paint them like Tracy did (alias ccyytt on Flickr).

And this last photo shows some ingenious cork buttons by The Knitting Physicist; it's a great tutorial ! Will try that soon 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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

My Flickr Favorites: Petit

2011-09-06T12:32:00.004+02:00

Today in the Flickr Favorites we are playing by theme (every first Tuesday in the month), and the theme for this Tuesday is "tiny, little, small, teeny". Next to teeny buttons :) , I found some other lovely tinies.....

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. thimblescape, 2. tiny one, 3. tiny..., 4. Tiny little fungi... dot..dot...dot!!

Monday Mood Board: Historical

2011-09-05T10:50:00.000+02:00

Today I am in the "historical" style - mood (chosen from the styles at Etsy). So, here some more or less serious historical items from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. avgustvarjanja
2. reveriefrance
3. cloveristanbul
4. niftyknits

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Spain

2011-09-02T14:20:00.001+02:00

After the Catalan costume stamps of Spain, we move now from Catalonia to the west to Aragon. Aragon is an autonomous community in Spain, once the medieval kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces from north to south: Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Aragon's northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees. Within Spain, the region is flanked by Catalonia on the east, Valencia and Castile-La Mancha to the south, and Castile and León, La Rioja, and Navarre to the west. In north Aragon, the costumes have still very old elements, and is a bit similar to the costumes in neighboring Navarre. Most striking are the (mostly green colored) long skirt and the pleated linen puffy sleeves and high neck cuff. In the other parts of Aragon, the costumes have similarities with the Catalan costumes.
The stamps above show the beautiful antique costumes of Huesca in north Aragon. The first one is from a very large costume series issued from 1967 to 1971. The second stamp is from the "Popular Festivals" series, issued in 2003, for the the Day of the Costume Festival in Ansó.

The next two stamps show the costume of Zaragoza. The first one is again from the large costume series of 1967-1971, and the second one is from a series of Spanish Zarzuela's issued in 1982, with a scene from "Gigantes y Cabezudos" from Spanish composer Manuel Fernandez Caballero.

The next stamp shows the costume of Teruel, and is again from the large costume series of 1967-1971. The last stamp is of the yearly Europa Stamp series, which was about "Folklore and Feasts" in 1981, and shows people dancing the jota, a fast traditional dance from Aragon.

You can find Aragon on this map of Spain (the olive green areas in the north east of Spain):

Button Wednesday : Button Photographs

2011-08-31T13:56:00.004+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I show you some fantastic button photographs I found on Flickr. The one above is by Fiona of wild goose chase; I love the soft focus and the text shining through the water drop.

And here the water turned into ice.... This photo is by Sam Turner; isn't it mysterious ?

In the next photo it looks if the buttons float on water; it's by Carlos Porto.

Here the buttons are disappearing in a black hole; photo by Alan of Sunset Sailor.

In this photo, the button itself looks like a black hole; photo by Neal Fowler.

And in this last photo, the buttons seem to stream away.....; photo by Cecilia Esbjornsson of Nifty loves crafting.

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

My Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume North Netherlands

2011-08-30T11:57:00.007+02:00

Today we move from the east of The Netherlands to the north of The Netherlands, the provinces of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. There are differences in the costumes between the various regions in this area, but they are very difficult to see for outsiders. That's why I combine them here in the mosaic. The women wear a rich costume (silk, wool, damask) with the characteristics of the crinoline fashion, namely a tailored upper part with a wide skirt and petticoats. Above it they wear a scarf and an apron made of embroidered lace. The most striking element however is the the broad gold casque, a goldcap that covers the entire head. Above the gold casque they wear a lace cap with a small pleated tail.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.
1. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago, 2. Lace headdress, 3. Ljouwerter Skotsploech-Folklore Dancing-Group, 4. Ringstekken Burgum

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: High Fashion

2011-08-29T12:35:00.004+02:00

Today I am in the "High Fashion" style - mood (chosen from the styles at Etsy). So, here some stunning High Fashion items from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. EugeniaTransylvania
2. matchstickgirl
3. aprilandme
4. LOUIEbrussels

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Spain

2011-08-26T12:13:00.006+02:00

After the Catalan costume stamps from France and Andorra in the last weeks, we look this week at the Catalan costumes on stamps from Spain. Catalonia is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of the Kingdom of Spain. It comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, and borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east.
The stamps above are from a very large costume series issued from 1967 to 1971. They show the Catalan costumes from Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, respectively.

The next stamp is from 1977 (series of Spanish celebrities) and shows the Catalan poet Jacinto Verdaguer (1845-1902) in the barretina (traditional Catalan hat).

You can find Catalonia on this map of Spain (the pink areas in the north east of Spain):

Button Wednesday : Tiny Button Dresses

2011-08-24T12:37:00.011+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I saw these beautiful tiny antique button dresses, I fell in love with them. It is work by artist Janet van Fleet and photographed by Maggie of colormuse on Flickr. So I searched the net for more funky button dresses.

And then I found this one from toast and buttons by Hazel Terry; isn't that marvelous ? Hazel has a great blog too.

And then I found this cute petite button dress in the scrapology blog by Ranjini Malhotra: it's adorable !

And this lovely lady is wearing a heavy button dress too. She is in the Button Crafts part of the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine in Florida (photograph by Graceann Macleod on Flickr).

The next dress sculpture from ceramic and buttons is by artist Kathleen Holmes. Look at her site for more wonderful dress creations !

Mr. Buttons! is made by .RADICAL!. from acrylic on wood with antique buttons and wears a fantastic button dress too.

This lovely lady is in the Wisconsin Quilt Museum and wears a very beautiful mother of pearl button dress (photograph by Ida Lively on Flickr)

And this last picture is my absolute favorite; it's a fabulous dress made out of buttons by artist Lauren Levy. She makes the most beautiful button creations and I blogged about her before. I would love to see this dress in real life :)

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

My Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume East Netherlands

2011-08-23T09:39:00.007+02:00

Today we move from the south-east province of Limburg further north to the east of The Netherlands, the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. This part of the Netherlands is the Saxon part, where the people speak low Dutch Saxon and the traditional costumes are very similar. There are differences between the various regions (Achterhoek, Twente, Veluwe, etc.) in this area, but they are very difficult to see for outsiders. That's why I combine them here in the mosaic. The costume itself was an oldfashioned dark, mostly black, city dress. The cap for Sundays, holidays and special occasions was made from beautiful types of lace with a long tail at the back; it was called the "knipmuts". A poorer fashion of this cap was the same model but then crochetted. During weekdays smaller white caps in various forms were worn, but the most frequently seen one is the "plooimuts". The Dutch word "plooi" means "pleat", and this cap has a great number of beautiful large pleats all around.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.
1. The lady who makes those beautiful bonnets - Oud Lunterse Dag - Village festival Lunteren, 2. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago ..., 3. Traditional Dutch Costume Nr 2, 4. DSC05570 Volksdansen 18-04-2009

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Challenge: Leaves

2011-08-22T20:55:00.018+02:00

Yeahhhhh !!!!! I won the European Street Team Challenge, organized by Fishes Make Wishes with the theme "Beautiful Geometry" !!!!

Now, I am the challenge queen for this week and the theme will be ................

Leaves

Inspired by nature and autumn/fall coming, we must prepare ourselves for autumn markets and the after-summer season on Etsy, so LEAVES it is !

Some inspirational pics from some of our European Street Team members on Etsy:

1. PatternsbyMarianneS; 2. lePetitFoyer;3. bysweetmom; 4. galafilc; 5. eljuks; 6. EarthLab; 7. lilabelledesign; 8. JurgitaMi; 9. DUEALBERI.

I am eagerly waiting for all your challenge entries !
__________________________________________________________

Challenge ends 5 Sepbtember at 21:00 German time.

And here's the 1st entry by staroftheeast: Peacock Leaves Earrings

The 2nd entry is this "canopy of a dense forest shawl" by ingermaaike:

The 3rd entry is a whimsical Autumn Leaves jewelry pouch by artenini:

The 4th entry are these two mini canvas Leaves Boxes by oneperfectday:

The 5th entry is this Autumn leaves silk scarf by ColoursandTextures:

The 6th entry are these Leaf ear plugs by dinafragola:

The 7th entry is this Green leaf necklace by FishesMakesWishes:

The 8th entry is this Autumn journal cover by Rita alias alatvian:

The 9th entry are these Golden and rust leaves by AnnukCreations:

The 10th entry is this Remember spring brooch by ERGANweaving:

The 11th entry are these Red leave earrings by amoronia:

The 12th entry is this Embroidered leaf necklace by Akamatra:

The 13th entry are these Green fingerless gloves by baahar:

The 14th entry is this Red butterfly bib by lovisetto:

The 15th entry is this journal page by Rita alias alatvian:

The 16th entry is this knitted leaf baby dress by tenderblue:

And the challenge is closed now.... Thanks you all for your lovely entries !!!
My hubby choose the winner (he don't know any of you, so I thought that was honest).
And the winner is ........ Entry 8 of Rita !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeahhhhh Congrats Rita !!!!!!!

Monday Mood Board: Edwardian

2011-08-22T12:14:00.006+02:00

Today I am in the "Edwardian" style - mood. So, here some stunning Edwardian items from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. CartesPostales
2. MarshiaCy
3. glamasaurus
4. LucieTalesVintage

Last week I was in an almost opposite style, very geometric, and I made my challenge piece for the European Street Team challenge:

It is called "the DOUBLE SQUARE button art ring", and the challenge is called "Geometric Beauty". You can see the entries so far on the Fishes Makes Wishes blog.

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Andorra 2

2011-08-19T12:07:00.006+02:00

We stay this week in Andorra, but this time we look at the Spanish postage stamps. Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. The Principality was formed in 1278. The role of monarch is exercised jointly by the two co-princes, the President of the French Republic and the Bishop of Urgell, Catalan Countries. Therefore, Andorra has French and Spanish stamps, issued by France and Spain, respectively.
The Andorran costume is very similar to the Catalan costumes worn in France and Spain. For women the costume features a full, mostly flowered skirt over a white petticoat; a blouse (sometimes covered by a flowered shawl); long, black, fingerless net gloves; and black espadrilles (cloth sandals) with white stockings. The traditional costume for men is a white shirt, dark knee-length pants, white stockings, black shoes, broad red sashes tied at the waist and the barretina (the traditional Catalan cap).
The stamps above are from a series of 1972 celebrating Andorran customs. They show "Les Caramelles" (traditional Easter songs choir) and La Marratxa (a traditional dance representing the two co-princes dancing with the six parishes), respectively.

The next two stamps are from 1975 ("Espana 75" International Stamp Exhibition in Madrid) and 1978 (50th Anniversary of Spanish Post Office), respectively. They both show postmen delivering post at ladies in traditional costumes.

These last pictures show a series of 3 stamps with traditional costumes from 1979 (a you woman, a young man and newly-weds) and 1 stamp of the yearly Europa Stamp series, which was about "Folklore and Feasts" in 1981, showing people dancing the Santa Anna dance.

You can find Andorra on this map of France:

Button Wednesday : Georg Herold

2011-08-17T11:55:00.006+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week I found out about the work of German artist Georg Herold (born in 1947 in Jena). He creates very personal and meditative work, often ironic and critical, and uses mostly unusual materials like roof beams, bricks, buttons etc. The above button painting is a watercolor with buttons, thread, and shellac on primed canvas.

The next three paintings are oil paintings with buttons and thread on canvas.

And this last one is a collage of buttons and string on linen:

Although I like these paintings, I would love to know: Why buttons ?? Does Georg Herold want to send a message ? Like in much of his work ?
The pictures are from artvalue.com and Frieze Art Fair; and if you want to see more of his work, here's a video from a Georg Herold Retrospektive in Kärnten.

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

My Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume Limburg, The Netherlands

2011-08-16T13:22:00.007+02:00

Today we move from the province of North Brabant to the south east to the neighboring province of Limburg. The famous "poffer" from North-Brabant is called "toer" in Limburg, and was worn in the north of that province. The other costume shown in the mosaic is from the south of the province, mostly around the city of Stein. This costume was more colorful and had a less elaborate headdress; a small white cotton bonnet, with a black crochet bonnet on top or a kerchief, the "kopplak". The shawl has a colored border and the apron came in various colors.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.
1. Nationaal Tinnen Figuren Museum 2010, 2. World Folklore Festival Brunssum 2008, Netherlands, 62, 3. World Folklore Festival Brunssum 2008, Netherlands, 65, 4. limburg

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Avant Garde

2011-08-15T11:34:00.005+02:00

Today I am in the "avant garde" style - mood. So, here some stunning avant garde items from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. scandalousgilt
2. goodmorningmidnight
3. binkaminka
4. andreasschiffler

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Andorra

2011-08-12T12:02:00.006+02:00

From Monaco last week we go this week to the French postage stamps of Andorra.
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. The Principality was formed in 1278. The role of monarch is exercised jointly by the two co-princes, the President of the French Republic and the Bishop of Urgell, Catalan Countries. Therefore, Andorra has French and Spanish stamps, issued by France and Spain, respectively.
The Andorran costume is very similar to the Catalan costumes worn in France and Spain. For women the costume features a full, mostly flowered skirt over a white petticoat; a blouse (sometimes covered by a flowered shawl); long, black, fingerless net gloves; and black espadrilles (cloth sandals) with white stockings. The traditional costume for men is a white shirt, dark knee-length pants, white stockings, black shoes, broad red sashes tied at the waist and the barretina (the traditional Catalan cap).
The stamp above is from a series of 1963 celebrating Andorran history. It shows people dancing la Sardane (Catalan dance).

The next stamp is from 1976 and celebrates International Women's Year. It shows "La Pubilla", the patroness of tradition at Catalan city and village celebrations.

This last stamp is from 1981 and part of the yearly Europa Stamp series, which was about "Folklore and Feasts" in 1981. It shows people dancing El Contrapas, the festival dance of Andorra's capital Andorra la Vella.

You can find Andorra on this map of France:

Button Wednesday : Button Trees

2011-08-10T10:28:00.010+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today it's about button trees. I showed you already some the great art trees from Ran Hwang. The present post is about some smaller trees. The first picture is from Lisa Jordan alias lilfishstudios on Flickr; she played with some fabulous buttons and the result was this lovely tree !

And Christian Church, alias Christian BC on Flickr, photographed this prickly one in the Belhaven Memorial Museum in Belhaven, North Carolina, which holds the collections of Mrs. Eva Blount Way, a seriously eccentric woman who simply couldn't throw anything away.....

This gorgeous tree is made by Gregory “Mr. Imagination” Warmack, which he gave a s a gift in 2000 to the American Folk Art Museum on Manhattan in New York City. The understructure of Button Tree is the limb of an old tree that the artist rescued from the streets and set in a base festooned with bottle caps. Dismayed that the tree had been the victim of development, he was resolved to “save part of it.” Warmack worked on the piece a little at a time, nailing buttons onto the wood one by one in a laborious process that took years to complete.Pictures are from christiNYCa and Lori L. Stalteri.

And if you want to make a tiny button tree yourself, this charming tutorial from Lee Meredith can help you out !

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

My Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands

2011-08-09T10:39:00.007+02:00

Today we move from the province of Zeeland to the east to the neighboring province of Noord-Brabant. There existed a lot of different caps in Noord-Brabant, but the most famous and striking one is the "poffer", which is shown here. The poffer was worn in a large area around 's-Hertogenbosch. The poffer is a large white tulle bonnet finished off with lace; apart from that it exists of a black cap, a white undercap, a decorative strip often with tiny fake flowers, and ribbons. It was an expensive part of the costume, only worn by rich farmers' wives on Sundays and holidays and at special occasions. It developed from a much simpler form and had its hayday around 1870-1940; after that it gradually disappeared. The costume itself was an oldfashioned city dress.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.
1. It's All In The Details, 2. Back in time, 3. 1932 - Kerkhof stoet Odafeesten (colorized) Sint Oedenrode, 4. mobilisatie 1916

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Abstract

2011-08-08T09:52:00.003+02:00

Etsy made our life a bit more complicated last week; we have to choose from a list of styles to characterize our items. It is a big list full of styles I have never heard of :) So, I decided to make some search for the various styles on Etsy to get some idea what Etsy is aiming for. Today we look at the first one of the list: "abstract" (this is the easiest one for me). So, here some abstract items from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. clacontemporary
2. ArtGlamourSligo
3. aaphotograph
4. CraftAndJewelry

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Monaco

2011-08-05T10:44:00.008+02:00

Last week I ended with some lovely postage stamps from Monaco with the "Santons" of the Provence. Therefore, this week more lovely stamps with the traditional costume of Monaco itself. The Monegasque costume is very similar to the French traditional costume from the Côte-d'Azur, like Menton and Nice: red and white striped skirts, flat straw hats and knee trousers. The stamp above and the four stamps below are from a series of 1973 commemorating 50 years of the National Committee for Monegasque Traditions. It shows the Maypole dance; Country picnic; "U Bradi" (local dance); St. Jean fire dance; Blessing the Christmas loaf.

This last stamp is from 1981 and part of the yearly Europa Stamp series, which was about "Folklore and Feasts" in 1981. The Monegasque stamp shows children in traditional costumes carrying palm crosses.

You can find Monaco on this map of France:

Button Wednesday : Mona Lisa

2011-08-03T11:27:00.008+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today a very spectacular image of the Mona Lisa in 3D and in buttons ! It is a huge statue inside the Hankyu shopping center in Kobe in Japan. The first three pictures are from Nick Grills's blog; the next one is from shushusuru; and the last one is from Joe Collver.

(Never knew she had a butterfly at her back .....)

(Her smile is even more psychedelic as the original one .....)

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

My Flickr Favorites: Childhood Memories

2011-08-02T11:01:00.004+02:00

Today in the Flickr Favorites we are playing by theme (every first Tuesday in the month), and the theme for this Tuesday is "Childhood Memories". The most of my childhood memories are around all the holidays we had at the house of my Friesian grandparents. The smell of peat in the kitchen, the blue walls against the flies, the white goat and the fresh milk, the heaps of forget-me-nots we picked, the washing under the cold pump outside, the chicken and the eggs, the fishing with my dad early in the morning, the meat simmering on the oil-stove, etc. etc.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. Washing at the pump, 2. Vergeet-mij-nietjes, 3. Keuken , 4. Geit melken

Monday Mood Board: Fair in Town

2011-08-01T10:00:00.004+02:00

It's that time of the year again; the fair is in town this week. I can't say that I am unhappy about the fact that I don't live in our little town, but some distance away in our little quiet and peaceful village ;) But, we always go there one evening to buy some sweets and look at the lights.... Therefore, here some fair impressions from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. JKphotography
2. PetitPlat
3. baboucherouge
4. magalerie

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps "Santons de Provence"

2011-07-29T09:10:00.007+02:00

This week some lovely postage stamps with the "Santons" of the Provence. Santons are clay figurines that depict the colorful people, traditional trades, traditional activities and traditional 19th century costumes of the Provence. Santon comes from the Provencal "santoùon", or little saint. Jean-Louis Lagnel (1764-1822) of Marseilles, who made molded figurines for church crèches, decided during the French Revolution, to make the santons for the general population, at a price they could afford. Santons for the public became an instant success, and an industry and tradition was born. Next to the typical Nativity scene Santons like the three wise kings, the shepherds, Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus, the Provencal crèches depict typical Provencal village inhabitants, like the fishmonger, the lavender woman, the lumberjack, etc. The two stamps above are from the 1995 Red Cross series of France; they show the fishwife and the elderly couple.

The next three stamps are from the 1984 Christmas series of Monaco; they show the spinning woman, the garlic woman and the couple "Grasset and Grassette" (stands for kind people, nice and devoted grandparents).

And this last stamp is from the 1991 Christmas series of Monaco; it shows the Arlésienne. She is a native of the city of Arles. Young and pretty, she is always dressed in the very refined traditional costume of the region of Arles.

You can find the Provence on this map:

Button Wednesday : Button Rain

2011-07-27T10:27:00.007+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today it is raining buttons ! Spectacular pictures of art made of buttons in the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City. The first two pictures are from PuroGuro; the next two are from saul.casas; and the last one is from Paco Cotera.

And if you don't have had enough yet, here a video from the button rain (GlobalJaunts):

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

My Flickr Favorites: Traditional Costume Axel, The Netherlands

2011-07-26T12:25:00.007+02:00

Today we stay in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen in the province of Zeeland and move a bit to the east to the town of Axel. The costume looks a bit un-Dutch because of the silhouette and the exuberant pearl embroidery. The most striking part is the kraplap (bodice) with shawl, seen in most of the Dutch costumes, but here they are very different. The kraplap is embroidered with a very colorful pattern of glass seed beads, and the shawl is stiffened with paper inside to make the shoulders stand up like wings. The headdress is a small lace cap over a head-iron ending in golden spirals.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.
1. Zeeuwse Klederdracht, 2. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago, 3. Terneuzen 09052009 DSC_0213, 4. Terneuzen 09052009 DSC_0211

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Shopping

2011-07-25T12:04:00.007+02:00

Since a couple of weeks some of my creations are in a real shop here in the neighborhood and I pay my "commission" by being a shop attendant for a few days every month. And I found out that I like it; the customers are mostly very happy tourists and very talkative, and when there are no customers in the shop, I can craft at the enormous crafting table in the back of the shop (wish I had such a table at home ...). Therefore, here some real shop experiences from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. nasoupo
2. shashamane
3. magalerie
4. IchaPhotography

And this is the real thing:

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Brittany, France

2011-07-22T12:51:00.010+02:00

This week some beautiful postage stamps with traditional costumes of Brittany / Bretagne. The first one above is a French Red Cross stamp to commemorate 300 years of Quimper pottery and shows a woman in traditional Breton dress.

The next stamp commemorates the 150th anniversary of Paul Gaugain and shows his painting "The Vision After the Sermon (Jacob wrestling with the Angel)" with women of Pont Aven in their traditional costumes.

This third stamp is a very fancy one; it's from Umm Al Qiwain (one of the United Arab Emirates) and part of a 1972 series of dolls in traditional costumes of the world. It shows a doll in the costume of Pont Aven and it is a hologram.

You can find the Brittany / Bretagne on this map:

Button Wednesday : Cherry Blossom

2011-07-20T11:55:00.006+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Button Art that looks like cherry blossom branches !! Videotaped by Randolfe Randy Wicker at the Cherry Blast Night (A Night of Contemporary Art and Music) of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, April 2010 in Washington. I wish I had been there partying among the buttons :)

And some really psychedelic button pictures from the event:

All pictures are from Ryan Janek Wolowski.

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

My Flickr Favorites: Traditional Costume Cadzand, The Netherlands

2011-07-19T11:25:00.006+02:00

Today we move further along the North Sea coast to the most southern western part of The Netherlands till we reach the town of Cadzand in the region of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen in the province of Zeeland. In the 17th and 18th centuries some French Huguenots fled to Cadzand, which is still "visible" nowadays in the large number of French family names in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. The costume looks very sober; it is a fashion costume from around 1880, mostly in black, dark blue, dark brown or dark green. The small cap is much older; it is made of lace from Mechelen in Belgium and a small carcass to stiffen it, and is worn over a simple black under cap. It has no head iron, so no place for showing off your wealth in gold or silver, and it is tight to the face, so that there was no place for earrings too. That's why they wear the so-called golden cap-rings hooked into the black under cap :)

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.
1. folkloristishdag ijzendijke18072009 DSC_0215 crop 2, 2. Molens en Klederdrachten in Nederland 20, 3. folkloristishdag ijzendijke18072009 DSC_0054, 4. DSC_0007 crop

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Playing with clay again ....

2011-07-18T09:42:00.005+02:00

Feeling like a happy kid here because I am playing with clay again .... Lots of buttons are drying at the moment ! I also tried the casting type, and I love that. Because I had no casting forms, I used the packaging where chocolate bonbons are coming in :) Therefore, here some terrific master pieces (and not those simple buttons that I make) of some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy to show you the other end of the clay scale !

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. karoart
2. Sielukka
3. ArtMind
4. PiaBarileJewelry

My infantile pleasure:

Traditional Costumes : More Postage Stamps of France

2011-07-15T11:45:00.008+02:00

This week even more postage stamps with traditional costumes of France. The stamps above and the first one below are from 1960 and commemorate the centenary of the incorporation of the dutchy of Savoy and the county of Nice to France. The stamps show women in the traditional costumes of Savoy and Nice, respectively. The woman from Savoy is standing in front of the Glacier de l'Homme, and the woman from Nice in front of the Mediterranean beach. You can find these regions under the names of "Savoie" and "Comté de Nice" in the map below.

The next two stamps are from 1981 and part of the yearly Europa Stamp series, which was about "Folklore and Feasts" in 1981. The French stamps show traditional dances. The first one shows the Bourée croisée from Berry with dancers in the folk costume of that area. The second stamp shows the Sardane from the Catalan county of Roussillon with dancers in the Catalan traditional costume.

You can find the regions on this map:

Button Wednesday : The Button Venus Dress

2011-07-13T13:54:00.006+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Button Wednesday is about the fabulous button dress, Xiaopei "Jennifer" Wu made for the International Surface Design Association's Student Exhibition in Kansas City (2009), where she won the top design prize. Wu studied at the Fiber Science & Apparel Design program of Cornell University. Wu's "Button Dress" features an asymmetrical seamed bodice made from silk charmeuse and embellished with hand-sewn silk chiffon, buttons, beads and gems. On the skirt are 2000 shell buttons sewn on by hand. Wu spent more than 300 hours creating the dress.
"I wanted to make a piece, not to 'wow,' but to beckon the audience to come closer and look," said Wu. "I am about detail." She was inspired by the painting "The Birth of Venus" by Sandro Botticelli, which depicts the goddess Venus emerging from the sea as a woman.

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume Zuid-Beveland, The Netherlands

2011-07-12T14:40:00.007+02:00

Today in the Flickr Favourites we move a little bit to the east from the former island of Walcheren to the former island of Zuid-Beveland in the province of Zeeland. The costume looks a bit similar to the one of Arnemuiden on Walcheren, especially the kraplap (bodice) and the shawl. The cap is very different. It has a very large oval egg-shape, at least if the wearer was part of the protestant population. It has a trapeze shape, when the wearer was part of the catholic population. Actually, the basic form of the protestant and catholic caps is the same, they are only stiffened and folded in another shape. Characteristic for the Zuid-Beveland costume is also the very large golden end plates of the head-iron. The first row of the mosaic shows the protestant costume; the second row shows the catholic costume.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. [Three Dutch women.], 2. Zeeuwse Klederdracht, 3. Antonia Chamuleau and Mattheus de Baar, 4. Terneuzen 09052009 DSC_0255

And two picture postcards from my own collection (the first one is the protestant costume, and the second one is the catholic costume).

Monday Mood Board: Unstable

2011-07-11T11:53:00.007+02:00

We have a very unstable summer here with regard to our weather; lots of rain, thunder, and in between some sun. And this all in one day. I still hope we will get some nice dry and warm days after each other.... Therefore, here some pics from our European Street Team sellers on Etsy to show you our weather !

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. glamasaurus
2. thegretest
3. AnnukCreations
4. FishesMakeWishes

No comment:

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps France

2011-07-08T10:25:00.010+02:00

After the beautiful stamp series of last week, I will show you this week some more beauties from France. The stamp above is from 1938 and commemorates the 300th birtday of Dom Perignon, who improved the technique of making champagne wine. The actress and singer Janny Perjeanne (1882-1965) was used as model for this stamp wearing the traditional dress and toquat cap of the Champagne area, with of course a flute of champagne in her hand.

This next stamp is from 1939 and shows a woman in the traditional costume and lace cap of the Languedoc, again with a glass of wine in her hand :) She stands before the cathedral of Béziers.

This stamp is from 1945 and celebrates the liberation of Alsace-Lorraine. The Alsace-Lorraine region is an area that switched nationality several times between France and Germany. The last time was during WW II. These two women show their French nationality by the little tricolor cockades on their traditional caps. The woman on the left wear the Alsace costume with the huge black bow cap; the woman on the right wears the Lorraine costume with the girly plied cap. They stand before the French flag, and the cathedrals of Strasbourg and Metz, respectively.

You can find the regions on this map:

Button Wednesday : Big Buttons in Fashion

2011-07-06T11:43:00.006+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Button Wednesday is inspired by this stunning creation from the Haute Couture collection of Dior for autumn/winter 2011/2012 (seen on gofeminin). It is a short pink jacket with green inside and a stunning big embroidered yellow button. Maybe I am going to try to make myself something like this :)

The next jackets have even larger buttons ! They are creations from Benjamin Cho's Fall 2007 collection. No need to say that I love them !!!

In any case, Dita van Teese seems to know this fashion trend very well wearing a black dress with extra large gold buttons.

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

Flickr Favorites : Afraid .....

2011-07-05T11:27:00.003+02:00

Today in the Flickr Favorites we are playing by theme (every first Tuesday in the month), and the theme for this Tuesday is "something you're afraid of". I am often most afraid of fear itself .....

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. dressing rooms, 2. anxiety - interaction, 3. liten2, 4. scary red diablo

Monday Mood Board: Sewing

2011-07-04T10:54:00.005+02:00

I am pretty busy sewing again ! Two custom orders from a lovely plus size lady. Therefore, here some lovely plus size creations from our European Street Team sellers on Etsy !

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. NervousWardrobe
2. subrosa123
3. chomelchomel
4. ThongbaiTatong

And this is the place where all the sewing is done:

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps France

2011-07-01T14:10:00.009+02:00

After The Netherlands and Belgium, we go now to France. This week I show you the 1943 series with regional French caps of the 18th century. For this series, issued in favor of the National Aid, the French Vichy government (French government from 1940 to 1944 who allied with Germany) wanted to strengthen the idea of regionalism in France, thinking perhaps that it would weaken the sense of patriotism. The Vichy stamps bear the mention of "France - Postes" instead of "Postes - République Française". Unfortunately, not the only time that traditional costumes were misused by politicians....

The regions on the stamps are:
Picardie (60c + 1f30)
Bretagne (1f20 + 2f)
Ile de France (1f50 + 4f)
Bourgogne (2f40 + 5f)
Auvergne (4f + 6f)
Provence (5f + 7f)

Button Wednesday : Button Skirts

2011-06-29T10:24:00.012+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Button Wednesday is inspired by the last one which was about fashion designer Patrick Kelly. We are going to have a look at button skirts ! The first one is a skirt adorned with rows of buttons and is on display in the JHB International button collection in Denver. (pictures by meanfish2 on flickr)

The next skirt is very Patrick kelly-like; I love those big colorful buttons ! (picture by jmdinobilewd on flickr)

And macgirl_k made a great button skirt out of an old pair of jeans.

Amidalia made this lovely swirly skirt:

Spicyapplebum made this very sweet button flower skirt; she saw it in a magazine made with sequins, but she went for buttons !

More button flower skirts by PinkLizzy Sews and bliss24, respectively:

And tiboutoo shows us a skirt with buttons from WWII; so nothing new under the sun !

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume Arnemuiden, The Netherlands

2011-06-28T12:57:00.006+02:00

Today in the Flickr Favourites we stay along the North Sea coast on the island of Walcheren in the province of Zeeland. We go to the city of Arnemuiden, where the costume differs from the rest of Walcheren. The costume from Arnemuiden was very similar to the costume of Walcheren in the past, but it changed more and more similar to the costume of the island of Zuid-Beveland (will be dealed with in two weeks), especially the kraplap (bodice) and the shawl. The cap is a different one and very special; it is made of an under cap from white embroidered batiste, followed by a small blue intermediate cap and crowned by a white embroidered batiste over cap in the form of a double shell. The under cap is attached to a head iron with golden spirals.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago ..., 2. Traditional-costumes-of-Arnemuiden,-Holland-(back), 3. Goes 2010, 4. Garnalenpelster in zeeuwse klederdracht

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Free

2011-06-27T10:18:00.005+02:00

I am free again ! no visiting family members and no deadlines anymore !!! So, my Monday mood is "free", here some pictures from our European Street Team sellers on Etsy !

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. byAMOR
2. hokata
3. helmitarha
4. stephmel

That's why I put a traffic light in my garden :)) Only 1 week to go and the bike path is ready !

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Belgium

2011-06-24T12:45:00.008+02:00

This week I decided to look into the stamps with traditional costumes from Belgium, and to my surprise, I even found another stamp with a Dutch traditional costume. It is an Belgian airmail stamp of 1958 from a United Nations series. This series was published to commemorate the 1958 World Fair Expo in Brussels (the first one after WWII), where the first time the United Nations participated in a world fair. The UN pavilion was a blue dome with six arches symbolizing the six continents (the Americas were counted as two). Several UN organizations presented themselves: ITU, ICAO, UPU, WMO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, IMF, GATT, ILO, UNESCO, WHO, UNICEF. This series of special UN stamps was sold as a complete series of sixteen stamps to collectors at Expo 58, the philatelic service in Brussels and at UN Headquarters in New York. The stamps could only be used on national and international mail posted at the UN pavilion. My "Dutch girl" stamp is the UNICEF one. It shows the globe with six kids from the six continents dancing around it. The Dutch girl must definitely look like a girl from Volendam and represents Europe.

But now to Belgium and its traditional costumes, and that is not easy, because not much of the traditional costumes is left. I found three stamps that could give us some idea of the traditional costumes. The first one shows a woman with her daughter and a postman from the 17th century (stamp for Stamp Day 1982); the second one shows again a woman with her daughter and a postman, but now from 1840 (stamp for Stamp Day 1975); and the third one shows a woman making lace (in two colors from the 1948 National Industries series). All three stamps show typical lace headdresses, which could be considered as typical traditional bonnets.

The last stamp is the closest I could come to a Belgian traditional costume. It shows a milk maid with her dog cart in Flanders. It is out of a series of old trades for Themabelga, the first world Stamp Exhibition for Thematical Philately in 1975. She is wearing a costume that is very similar to what lots of women in Flanders, but also in the south of The Netherlands (Zeelandic Flanders and North Brabant), were wearing with the typical large white bonnet and big shawl.

Button Wednesday : Patrick Kelly

2011-06-22T11:52:00.011+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

picture by styleandcultureblog
This Button Wednesday is about fashion designer Patrick Kelly. As a teenager I began collecting pictures of fashion designs from magazines and glued them all in many scrap books, which I still have :) One of those books was dedicated to buttons (and yes, the button disease started very early with me...). When I looked into that scrap book last week, I saw the pictures of Patrick Kelly's famous button dresses and thought I have to show them to you and tell you a bit about Patrick Kelly.
picture by mrpeacockstyle

I found out that The Brooklyn Museum had a Patrick Kelly Retrospective in 2004. I shortened their introduction a bit and here it is:
In the 1980s the young African American fashion designer Patrick Kelly took Paris by storm, becoming the first American member of the Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter (the governing body of the prestigious French ready-to-wear industry). A native of Mississippi, Patrick Kelly was influenced during his early years by the creativity and fashion sense of his female relatives, who often added embellishments to simple store-bought garments, as well as by the fashion magazines his grandmother brought home from the white household where she worked as a domestic. As a young adult, Kelly moved to Atlanta, where he sold recycled clothes and worked without pay as a window dresser at the Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Boutique. He later lived in New York, where he attended Parsons School of Design. It was in Paris, during the mid- to late 1980s that Kelly found his greatest success. He began by selling dresses on the street and working as a costumer for the nightclub Le Palais. His flamboyant garments became soon popular, and he started to make collections in 1985. Such well-known stores as Henri Bendel, Bloomingdale’s, and Bergdorf Goodman carried his Paris designs, and celebrities Cicely Tyson, Bette Davis, Grace Jones, and Isabella Rosellini were among his clients. Sadly he died from AIDS in 1990 at the age of 35.

Some of Kelly’s most memorable garments incorporated masses of multicolored buttons. Rightly, you can call him the fashion king of buttons.

I also found a great interview with Patrick Kelly on the net; it gives a good insight in his character and his career. You can see it here.

He did not only made button dresses, he made everything with buttons, like these gloces, and his giant button brooches.

(last four pictures by 1stdibs)

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume Walcheren, The Netherlands

2011-06-21T10:35:00.007+02:00

Today in the Flickr Favourites we descend even more along the North Sea coast until we reach the island of Walcheren in the province of Zeeland. The costume from Walcheren is colourful and girly with deep cut jackets and bodices underneath; it has a white lace cap with a tail for the little girls and a small fitting white lace cap for women. The latter cap is held on the head by a visible ear-iron. In some area's of Walcheren (around the city of Middelburg) the women keep their girl cap with the tail.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. Klederdracht, 2. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago, 3. Terneuzen 09052009 DSC_0294, 4. Schorten

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Too much rain ....

2011-06-20T10:35:00.004+02:00

I was at a fair last Saturday, but was rained and blown away with my tent. At 4 o'clock I phoned my hubby and told him "enough is enough", can you pick me up ? So, not a very successful sales event :(( To see even more rain, here some pictures from our European Street Team sellers on Etsy !

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. dearpumpernickel
2. JKphotography
3. shashamane
4. Kosmika

But the rain was good for my garden :))

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Holland

2011-06-17T10:18:00.006+02:00

This Friday my last stamps with Dutch costumes :)) Some more exist, but they are not in my own collection yet .... We start with a tourist stamp sheet of 1978, commemorating 10 years National Office for Tourism in the Netherlands; it shows tulips (Keukenhof Lisse), cheese (Kaasmarkt Alkmaar), mills (Schermer) and traditional costumes (Volendam).

The next stamp is from a stamp sheet of 2007, called "summer beach fun". I do not have the whole sheet, but only the used stamp. On this stamp we see a woman from Walcheren in Zeeland paddling her feet in the North Sea wearing traditional costume. The funny thing is that I have a postcard with her in my own collection.

This third stamp is from 1993 and published by local post service 't Hogeland in the north of Groningen. It commemorates the 28th Op Roakeldais in Warffum (international folklore festival) with 10 stamps each showing folk dancers in costumes of different countries. Holland is represented by a couple in the traditional costume of Marken.

Button Wednesday : Button Shirts 3

2011-06-15T09:32:00.009+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Button Wednesday is about button shirts again. Although, the buttons are a bit fake ..... The above shirt is from Petra Chladkova on Flickr. The next two shirts are from spread shirt.

And I am in love with this stylish one from redbubble.

A bit less formal can be nice too :) The next shirt is from Stephane on scrapcoloring; with lots of button templates on that page too !

And a very happy shirt from spread shirt again.

And at the end of this post a great swirly button shirt from Planet Sports.

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume , The Netherlands

2011-06-14T10:00:00.005+02:00

Today in the Flickr Favourites we descend along the North Sea coast until we reach the islands in the south of the province of South-Holland (Rozenburg, IJsselmonde, Voorne-Putten, Hoeksche Waard, Goeree-Overflakkee) and in the north of the province of Zeeland (Schouwen-Duiveland, Sint Philipsland, Tholen, Noord-Beveland). The costumes of these islands all differ a bit, but this is very difficult to see for outsiders. The most striking part is the long lace cap with the head iron ending in large spirals with lots of jewelry attached to it. The dress they wear is often an old fashioned dress from around 1900.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. Zeeuwse Klederdracht, 2. Joke Terlouw, 3. My greatgrandfather en -mother and my grandfather with sisters, The Netherlands, 4. Goes 2010

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Garden Flowers

2011-06-13T10:40:00.009+02:00

The garden is at it's utmost flowery status at the moment; I love it ! All the weeding early this year pays off now :) To honor all beautiful garden flowers, here some pretty ones from our European Street Team sellers on Etsy !

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. StarBags
2. MyMonography
3. IchaPhotography
4. galafilc

And some pictures of my own garden flowers:

Traditional Costumes : Dutch Costumes on Postage Stamps

2011-06-10T12:23:00.008+02:00

This Friday again some non-Dutch stamps with Dutch costumes :)) We start with a cute Dutch boy from the Netherlands Antilles, published in 2008. The costume of the boy must represent the man's costume of Volendam. The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of six islands in the Caribbean Sea. Aruba became a separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1986, followed in 2010 by Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Saba, Sint Eustatius and Bonaire joined the Netherlands as "special municipalities". The name "Netherlands Antilles" is still sometimes used to indicate these last three islands.

The next stamp is from Suriname and shows a Dutch woman in the costume of Volendam waving to a Surinamese woman in the Creole costume called koto missie. This stamp was published to commemorate the first KLM flight between Paramaribo and Amsterdam in May 1949.

This third stamp is from 1965 and published by the former German Democratic Republic and shows a statue of a Dutch woman of Putten in the traditional costume of the Veluwe. It is a World War II Memorial to commemorate the victims of the German raid on the 1st of October 1944, in which the entire male working population (between 15 and 50 years of age) of Putten was deported to several concentration camps, as a revenge act against a Dutch resistance attack on a German Wehrmacht vehicle nearby on the 30th of September. From the 660 deported men, only 107 men survived the war.

This fourth stamp is a very fancy one; it's from Umm Al Qiwain (one of the United Arab Emirates) and part of a 1972 series of dolls in traditional costumes of the world. It shows a doll in the costume of Volendam and it is a hologram.

This last stamp sheet seems to be from Mordovia or Mordvinia, a federal republic of Russia. However, these are forged stamps issued by anonymous private companies operating outside Russia. Among other typical Dutch things, it shows a Dutch woman in the costume of Walcheren in Zeeland and a pair of typical Dutch wooden shoes.

Button Wednesday : Button Shirts 2

2011-06-08T10:28:00.013+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Button Wednesday is about button shirts again. After last week I found also some lovely shirts you can do easily yourself. So, I thought the next examples are a great inspiration. The above shirt is from eskimolover101 on Flickr. The next two are pictures from Abbey Ley and wim-merlin on Flickr, respectively.

And you can do it with press-buttons too (from OutsaPop Trashion's blog; photo by Zeb Daemen)

Fewer buttons can be nice too :) The next kid's shirt is from ferrous on Flickr.

And I love these shirts from Kate Callan and pipnstuff on Flickr, respectively.

The next one is a picture from queenBlingerie on Flickr and it is my absolute favorite ! I love the tone in tone effect.

And at the end of this post a great tutorial for a very lovely button sweater from Bugs and Fishes.

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

Flickr Favorites : Garden Party

2011-06-07T13:06:00.003+02:00

Today in the Flickr Favorites we are playing by theme (every first Tuesday in the month), and the theme for this Tuesday is "Garden Party".

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.
1. garden party, 2. Garden Party Hat, 3. tea in the garden is for the birds, 4. Garden Ring

Monday Mood Board: Swallows

2011-06-06T09:31:00.005+02:00

Yesterday I found out that the swallows are using my welcome board for the tourists as their stop before going in their nest. I have nothing against that except for the fact that the text must remain visible for the tourists :)) To honor these beautiful and elegant birdies, here some swallows from our European Street Team sellers on Etsy !

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. psyboom
2. chomelchomel
3. elenapaint
4. LePetitFoyer

And a picture of my tourist welcome board with swallow nest:

Traditional Costumes : Dutch Costumes on Postage Stamps

2011-06-03T10:07:00.007+02:00

This Friday I show you some non-Dutch stamps with Dutch costumes :)) Maybe strange, but yeah they exist ! Four gorgeous stamp sheets, each with three stamps, resulting in twelve different Dutch traditional costumes (Katwijk, Zuid-Beveland, Stein, Hindeloopen, Spakenburg, Huizen, Axel, Eerde, Volendam, Marken, Staphorst, Walcheren). These stamps are distributed by Dominica, Gambia, Grenada and Grenada Grenadines, and are obviously by the same designer(s). So, why are these countries publishing stamps with Dutch folk costumes ? They were made to commemorate the International Stamp Exhibition Amphilex 2002 in Amsterdam. It was a major stamp exhibition celebrating the 150th anniversary of the introduction of the first postage stamps in the Netherlands.

I could not find any further information about these stamps, but to me the drawings look very much like the drawings of Jan Duyvetter. Jan Duyvetter (1915 - 1985) was head of the department of traditional costumes at the Dutch Open Air Museum. He wrote lots of publications about fashion and traditional costumes, which he illustrated himself.

Button Wednesday : Button Shirts

2011-06-01T09:34:00.010+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The plastron of a vintage shirt is embroidered with various buttons in mother-of-pearl, metal and plastic, composing the drawing of an eye. T-shirt : 20 hours
This Button Wednesday is about buttons in fashion. All kinds of shirts decorated with all kinds of buttons. We start with two awesome shirts from Belgium fashion designer Martin Margiela. Scream-button-dress: Vintage buttons are embroidered on a silk chiffon to create a bit-mapped effect motif. Two rectangular pieces of silk muslin are assembled to form a dress. The front is embroidered with various buttons of mother-of-pearl, metal, plastic to draw a mouth. Dress : 25 hours

And here I found a tutorial to make a "Margiela" shirt by your self in a quick way (click on the picture to go to the diy page):

This creation is a bodysuit with button adornment from Australian Fashion Company "Romance Was Born". It belongs to their Renaissance Dinosaur collection and I love that name :)

And I love these T-shirts from creativemonsoon.

And last but not least this skull Halloween jumper made by Lisa K. (losabia on Flickr).

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume Katwijk aan Zee, The Netherlands

2011-05-31T11:11:00.006+02:00

Today in the Flickr Favourites it's the turn of the traditional costume of Katwijk aan Zee in The Netherlands. After Scheveningen last week, we still stay at the North Sea coast of Holland, but go 16 km to the north. Again a fishing village turned into a beach resort. The costume is very similar to the costume of Scheveningen, except for the lace cap which is smaller than in Scheveningen, and the head iron end ornaments are square and not oval as in Scheveningen.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. Goes 2010, 2. zuid-holland, 3. Jansje Hageman , 4. Surprise on the beach 3

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Duck

2011-05-30T11:10:00.005+02:00

This morning we had a stray duck on the fence in the garden. She was sitting there for quite a while and did not care that Peggy and I were in the garden too. It was as if she was thinking, let me have a look what those people and that doggy are always doing there in that garden ..... To honor this friendly visitor, here some cute ducks from our European Street Team sellers on Etsy !

For more monday moodboards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. SnowStitched
2. Pepponi
3. HamjArt
4. sabahnur

And a picture of our own visiting duck:

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Holland

2011-05-27T10:44:00.002+02:00

This Friday I show you some stamps of The Netherlands that have some connection with traditional Dutch costumes. The stamps above are from the summer stamps of 1974 (of designer J. v.d. Toorn Vrijthoff) and they show the Dutch author Herman Heijermans and the actress Esther de Boer – van Rijk in her star role as Kniertje in the famous 1900 play "Op Hoop Van Zegen" (Dutch for "Trusting Our Fate in the Hands of God") of Herman Heijermans. The play is taking place in a North Sea fishing village, and Kniertje is wearing a typical North Sea traditional Dutch costume.

This stamp is from the local post service in North East Friesland for the winter season in 2000. It shows 3 couples in traditional Friesian costumes glide skating, a typical old Dutch way of skating.

The next stamps do not show traditional costumes as such, but more typical (Dutch) historical costumes. Because I like them too, here some pictures and a short description.
This stamp is of 1996 and commemorates 200 years of the province of Noord-Brabant. In 1796 Noord-Brabant became the ninth province of the Netherlands; this fact was celebrated with roll of drums and flag throwing in historical costumes.

This lovely milkmaid is a historic ornamental stone on a house in Alkmaar. She is in the 1975 Child Welfare Issue together with some other ornamental house-stones. She is wearing a typical 16th century farmer's wife costume of North-Holland. I found this picture of her on Flickr (Sierag):

This lovely set commemorates the 50th Anniversary of Child Welfare Issues in 1974 and shows early photographs. They are from an old photograph album of around 1900 of Gerardus van Bruggen and Cornelia van Nes with their ten children (living on a farm in Haarlemmerliede). The kids pose in their Sunday clothes looking like small adults: Gerrit with a hoop (30 ct), Dora holding hands with her little brother Jo on a chair (35 ct), Sjaan and Ans (6 and 5 years of age) standing beside a chair (45 ct), and Cornelia sitting beside a decorated travelling box (60 ct).

Button Wednesday : World's Largest Button Mosaic

2011-05-25T09:24:00.009+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GhismoMcPlush on Flickr
This Button Wednesday is about World's Largest Button Mosaic according to Guinness World Records. They state: "The largest button mosaic measures 720 ft² (66.89 m²), containes 296,981 buttons and was made at Maritime Square, Tsing Yi District, Hong Kong, for the "Springroll • Love • Mosaic" project between 23 and 28 July 2006." I found that intriguing and searched for the mosaic on the net, and found some great pictures of it on Flickr. Kelvin Hui Photography on Flickr
Tsing Yi is an island in the urban area of Hong Kong, to the northwest of Hong Kong Island and south of Tsuen Wan. The island has extended drastically by reclamation along almost all its natural shore. Three major bays or harbours in the northeast have been completely reclaimed for new towns. Tsing Yi means "dark clothes", but is also a kind of fish, probably blackspot tusk fish, once abundant in nearby waters. People named the island after the fish. So, that's where the fish are coming from in the Maritime Square shopping mall.
contradiction on Flickr

gelsen.pua on Flickr
I would love to see this mosaic in real life !!

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume Scheveningen, The Netherlands

2011-05-24T09:48:00.008+02:00

Today in the Flickr Favourites it's the turn of the traditional costume of Scheveningen in The Netherlands. The Flickr Favorites posts were so far all about the traditional costumes around the former inland sea Zuiderzee (now Lake IJsselmeer); now we go to the North Sea coast of Holland. Scheveningen developed from a small fishing village into a big seaside resort and part of the city of The Hague. The costume is a very solid one and mostly dark colored, except for the Sunday shirt and shawl which are often soft blue, lilac, beige or soft green. The cap (called "mop muts" in the Scheveningen dialect) is from lace and stands somewhat at the back of the head, so that it often seems as if it is coming down. It is fixed with two upright pearl-pins, there, where the silver head iron ends in the beautiful golden oval ornaments. The black cape has a very low neck
at the back to make room for the cap.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. Klederdracht, 2. Traditional Scheveningen Dress, 3. Scheveningse haven, einde van de staking, een gedeelte van de vloot vaart uit. Afscheid van moeder en zusje 12 juli 1938, 4. Traditional clothing

This Scheveningen costume is very dear to me because my grandma came from Scheveningen and I remember her and her friends all wearing traditional costume. I actually inherited her costume and I do wear it sometimes at special occasions :)
And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Peonies

2011-05-23T10:05:00.006+02:00

This weekend the peonies started to bloom in the garden. It's a pity that we had so much rain yesterday, because they are so soft and suffer a lot from the rain. But I took some pictures, and here some gorgeous peonies from our European Street Team sellers on Etsy !

For more monday moodboards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. bidesign
2. PetitVillage
3. OneLittleHouse
4. aldonasuneviciene

And a picture of my own peonies:

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Holland 1960

2011-05-20T11:08:00.009+02:00

This Friday I show you the children charity stamps of The Netherlands of 1960.

Children charity stamps are distributed each year by the Dutch Post and you can buy them at every post office in The Netherlands. There is an extra charge on the stamps, which is intended for cultural, social or health projects. In 1960, the children stamps were designed by Jeanna Bieruma Oosting, one of the most prominent Dutch graphic artists in that time. The rather realistic colored line drawings of children in traditional costumes are placed in front of loudly colored backgrounds. Funny enough, just like the rejected designs of Hubert Levigne from only two years before, she gives only a bust view of the kids (face and half-face).

The stamps depict some traditional costumes from around the former inland sea the Zuiderzee (now Lake IJsselmeer), and very appropriately the first sale of these stamps started in the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen. The children portrayed are Aaltje van Rie from Marken (4 ct), Jannetje Kwakman from Volendam (6 ct), Magda van Halteren from Bunschoten (8 ct), Janna Marijke Atema from Hindeloopen (12 ct) and Dittie Klein from Huizen (30 ct).

I think this 1960 series is a very charming set, lovely designs with children very well taken into consideration.

Button Wednesday : Halina, The Button Sculptor

2011-05-18T10:34:00.010+02:00

It is Wednesday again, so it's BUTTON DAY on my blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Button Wednesday is about the button sculptures from Halina. Halina's father was a tailor and pattern maker, and the family came directly after the war to the USA when she was eight years old. Due to language barriers and finances, the family made most of its own basic clothing. Self-dependence and recycling are Halina's main drives in life. She loves buttons because they were her first real possessions and they came from her dad. They came in all shapes, sizes, and colors and she says she loves the sound of them when piled high or when falling from of her hands like a waterfall. She started with flat images, sewn onto clothes and bags, but it developed quickly in a wish to make it 3D. She experimented with a lot of materials to form the body of her sculptures; different battings, recycled plastic containers, glues, fabrics, scissors, tapes, and threads until she figured out what works best for her projects. And the result is stunning !! It's fantastic to see that she is using the same technique as I do with my own button art; she sews the buttons together like I do. A clear evidence that two people who live miles and miles apart and don't know of each other, will develop the same technique by using and studying the same material. The expression though is our own, and Halina's sculptures are one of a kind ! You can read a lovely interview with Halina by Halina's man Robert here. (All pictures are from Mel Mashman on Flickr.)

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 so that everybody can enjoy it !!

Flickr Favorites : Traditional Costume 't Gooi, The Netherlands

2011-05-17T10:43:00.005+02:00

Today in the Flickr Favourites it's the turn of the traditional costume of 't Gooi in The Netherlands. The area is also called Gooiland, and lies in the southeast of the province of Noord-Holland. Its traditional costume is often described together with that of Eemland, the neighbouring area in the northeast of the province of Utrecht, because of their similarities. The most remarkable part of the costume is the lace cap; there are two types, the round one and the square one. Both look very much like the cap from Volendam, but with smaller wings. The wings are pinned onto the cap in the squared type, giving it a squared appearance. The costume itself is a dark stiff version of a late 19th century fashion.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago ..., 2. Optocht, 3. P1030672, 4. 14 september 2010, Laren

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Monday Mood Board: Sewing

2011-05-16T10:51:00.004+02:00

This weekend I finished my second custom order, a summer dress. And today I am starting with a summer skirt and top. I am so happy when I am busy, and can make other people happy with my sewing creations. Therefore, here some gorgeous sewing pictures from our European Street Team sellers on Etsy !

For more monday moodboards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. PetitVillage
2. voilacreations
3. swiedebie
4. shashamane

And a picture of my summer dress custom order:

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Holland 1958

2011-05-13T21:22:00.007+02:00

If you have looked into my vintage shop P8iosities on Etsy, you know that I collect postage stamps. I started as a kid and collected each stamp I could get. This became much too much, and finally I decided to collect only stamps with traditional costumes on it. Each Friday I will show you some stamps of my collection in this blog. We begin with the stamps of The Netherlands.

The series of stamps I will show you today is the 1958 summer stamp series. Summer stamps are distributed each year by the Dutch Post and you can buy them at every post office in The Netherlands. There is an extra charge on the stamps, which is intended for cultural, social or health projects. In 1958, the summer stamps had to show the traditional costumes of different areas in the country. The designer Hubert Levigne was asked to make the stamps. He made two engravings of the provinces of Zeeland and Overijssel which were intended to be printed in one color. His engravings were rather stylized with an emphasis on one aspect of the costume and dominating lines.

However, the Dutch Post and the designer did not agree; the Dutch Post found Levigne's designs too expressionistic, not colorful enough and not realistic enough. Finally they took the assignment from him and gave it to five different designers: P. Wetselaar (4 ct), W. den Ouden (6 ct), C.R. de Josselin de Jong (8 ct), J.R. Mensinga (12 ct) and A. Sins (30 ct).

These five designers have made a very harmonious series together, more realistic and with dominating color spaces of delicate nuances instead of lines.
4 ct: Walcheren, Zeeland
6 ct: Marken, Noord-Holland
8 ct: Scheveningen, Zuid-Holland
12 ct: Friesland
30 ct: Volendam, Noord-Holland

I like the 1958 series very much, but I must say that I like Levigne's designs even more; somehow they look much more modern. It's a pity that they were never realized.

Source: Postzegelblog