Pop-Up Card

Special birthdays ask for special measures. Especially when you are not there to celebrate. So I made this little pop-up card which is a birthday card as well as a voucher for a nice weekend out and about. Making a pop-up card is not hard at all once you understood the concept. I used to do several some years ago but then kind of forgot about their wonderful effect and the endless possibilities that they offer. 

First I cut out little circles from different kinds of papers. Then I thought about where I want them to be on the card, which ones should be in the front, which in the back, which ones on the top and which ones more to the bottom. 

According to this plan I cut out paper stripes and folded them according to where I want them to be. The one you see below on the picure was one that was going towards the front and also quite high up. 

At last I put glue on both ends of the paper strip and glue it to the card while holding the both sides of it at a 90 degree angle. After putting all paper strips into place I attached the little circles with the choices for the weekend away.

Then I decorated it with some butterflies and the top with some white ribbon and some cardboard flowers. And yes, it turned out quite pinky and feminine, but also very happy and floral and this is what it is about on birthdays, right? 

I hope you suceed in creating your own pop-up card following this maybe not very thought-through instructions! :)

Enjoying the snow

The snow was falling, the sun was shining, the snow was falling. We didn't have much choice with this perfect weather. And that my sister and her family were here was more than just a lucky coincidence. So we had to get some skis and take benefit from the fact that Ulm is located very close to some mountains.  We chose to go to a very little ski "resort" with one hill and three lifts, one only for sleighs as it was the first time for my little nephew to get onto some skis. After five minutes in the kids ski park he was bored so my brother-in-law just took him up the mountain and going down he screamed with excitement thats how much he enjoyed it. 

After this he just called his father "the white flash"

We also enjoyed being in the snow, skiing in an interchange of snow flakes and sunshine. After some hours we took a nice break eating soup and sausages in the little cottage before my nephew just shooed us outside again because he wanted to continue. Clement and I discovered some little ways through the woods next to the slope and with a feeling between excitement and anxiety we went down between the trees bending left and right and down in order to avoid the branches as well as trying to not gather too much speed going down that we would have to hug a tree to make us stop. 

Taking a break.

After some time he switched to the sleigh though which I enjoyed almost more than he did! Being pulled up the mountain with a lift is just awesome and whoever pulled up a sleigh with a two-year old up the mountain can imagine how much fun it adds for the grown-up. So all in all a wonderful family-weekend-outing <3

Sleigh and sleigh lift! 

Winterwonderland

Preparations for a special birthday.

It's my god childs birthday next week and because I can't be there, I wanted to give her something extra special. When I asked her she said that she would either have MarioKart for her Nintendo or some colouring books from TopModel. And because I'm not such a big fan of supporting her playing with her Nintendo all day, I thought I will give her a little TopModel-Kit, because I guess that's what pre-teenage girls need to get through life.

The pink glittery explosion in our living room.

So I got her some nice pens, pencils, nail polish and two colouring books where she can create outfits and the make-up of models (which should make the dad happy, because then she doesn't have to try all the make-up on herself). I also got her a book which I heard from a colleague who has a daughter in the same age should be perfect for her. 

For the little artist. 

But besides I wanted to make her somethings special so I crafted a banner to say her "Happy Birthday". It took me quite some time but I could finally live out all my princess and barbie fantasies. The more pink and purple and glitter is involved, the better. Our coach is glittering a lot now, same as my clothes and my hair. 

Preparations for the banner.

It was a out of fun and totally worth it! Too bad I can't be there when she opens it... 

The girly box. 

DIY - Upcycle!

Two little projets that I did during the last weeks. The first one is a made from an old plastic jerrycan that once contained washing liquid. I saw this on another blog some time ago but had to wait patiently for the can to be empty so I could turn it into this:

We live in a rather old house and our sockets are at the most curious places resulting in some troubles to find a suitable place to recharge the cell phones without risking it falling down or one of us stepping on it. With this handy little container the phone can now hang right under the socket and recharge.  What I did is I cut off the top of the can and cut the rest into the shape you can see on the picture below. The hole was quite hard to make because it has to be big enough for the plug to fit through but also the left over plastic should not be too thin that it would rip easily. To make it a little pretty, I put a ribbon with polka dots around it. 

The second project is this fabric tube to collect old plastic bags. It was a Sunday and I woke up quite early with itchy fingers telling be that it's time for something creative. Getting annoyed by all the little plastic bags flying around in our flat and keeping the drawer where we decided to put them from closing, I remembered that we had such a thing in my student flat.

So I searched a bit on the internet, figured out how it could be done and half an hour later it was done. It was easy, really. And super handy! Every plastic bag is just crumbled up and stuffed in at the top. And if you need one, you just pull one out at the bottom.

It's an easy way to collect some plastic bags which then in a second step can be transformed into fabric. You might have seen this on other blogs: people that lay plastic bags on top of each other, put baking paper under and over it and iron that until they are sticking together. With the plastic you can do some cool things like little toilet bags or even big ones for shopping or the beach. I made some stuff out of ironed plastic bags, but I gave them away for christmas without taking pictures before :( 

Have fun upcycling your life! <3

Words are all we have...

And then you find this one song, that fills your hearts, stirrs up your emotions, makes you feel alive.

Bastille - Overjoyed - Acapella Version - L.O.V.E

Counterpart Travel - Uganda

In 2009 I went to Uganda to work there as a volunteer. It was by accident that I stumbled over an article in a dutch magazine for students where the work of Counterpart Travels was presented. Some days after reading the article I wrote a mail and some more days later I bought my ticket. I spent six wonderful weeks there, always felt save and connected. It couldn't have been a greater, more fullfilling time.

Africa.

Uganda has such a rich culture as well as a wonderful landscape. There are several national parks and nature and wild life whereever you look. Jinja with the source of the Nile, lake Bunyoni in the South, Gorillas in the mountains and the Big 5 in the national parks. 

The Source of the Nile.

Monkey in the tree.

For the first weeks I worked at Jessy-Johnny-Boarding School which is an elementary school just outside the center of Mukono. I was teaching English there and just blown away by the motivation, curiosity and thrist for knowledge. The kids were awesome, soaking up every information. 

Jessy-Johnny-Boarding School.

My class.

I went there in December and holidays started so the school closed down and I started working at an orphanage. It also has a school connected to it and takes special care for children with sight impairments. Together with the rest of the staff we tried to put up some activities for the holidays with almost zero money but those kids are experts and just know how to create something awesome out of nothing. 

The orphanage "Chain Foundation".

I know a lot of people who would love to go abroad and work as a volunteer but most organizations ask for a lot of money just for getting you a place to work without being paid. Counterpart Travel are located for several years now in Mukono, a town not far from the capital, Kampala. They are part of the town, employ local people and are by doing that in contact with local schools, hospitals, pharmacies, etc. That's why thay can find you a place to work as a volunteer that suits your profile in exchange for a donation to their foundation to fincance their projects there like mircro financing, building up a yoghurt company etc..

The local transport system in Uganda, bus stop in Kampala.

Upon my arrival I stayed some days in Kampala and got an introduction to the culture and the city and learned everything I needed to know to go on my first boda-boda drive. When I came to Mukono Charles, the coordinator, took me to schools so I could see where I want to spend my time. I stayed at the guest house of Counterpart Travels with other volunteers, which worked or to studied to become nurses, pharmacists, economists or lawyers.

The market in Mukono.

A friend of mine, Sylvie, went to Uganda just some months after my return. She worked as a teacher in the same orphanage I did and really enjoyed it. And now she is back since December 2012, taking over the management of Counterpart Travels with her boyfriend Maurits.

So if you got excited and you think that the Ugandan experience could be something for you, then don't hesitate to contact her and ask about your possibilities!

http://www.counterparttravels.com/en/

http://www.facebook.com/CounterpartTravels?fref=ts

Saying Goodbye