...we make a life by what we give...

Hello my dear all and a very Merry Christmas to you! As from today in a few hours we are officially in a Holiday mode. 

The online shop is taking a rest and custom orders are all taken care off . And besides attempting as much as possible to be doings things we love and with love, our other "Master plan" is to try to get ourselves to Rome...oh well...exhibiting a tremendous amount of patience, as the airport in Frankfurt is cancelling an incredible amount of flights. 400 just for today....let's see how many times we'll be rebooked....or maybe we'll just get lucky :)

Before I log off for the days, I'd like to thank all of you, who have been showing so much love, support and care, by reading, commenting or simply listening. I wish there was the time to mention each one of you individually and write a couple of words for you, linking to your beautiful online & creative worlds, showing just the great poeple that you are!

Unfortunately there is not, so I just trust that you all know who you are.

I wish you to keep your hearts warm, no matter what the conditions in life might be, 

as trully, I cannot imagine a quality greater than love in life.

I'd also like to share with you a sample of the things and parcels prepared by me these days, this time mostly for presents and a couple of direct, custom orders.

At this point, let me also connect to the title... (I seem to be forgetting lately!)...I don't usally quote others and I'm afraid I have no reference to this, but I recently read it here on Kim Klassen's  amazing blog and it hit right to the center:

We make a living by what we get,

and a life by what we give...

So, I do have a wish for the New Year and this is to be able to offer so much more from myself, to myself, to others, for myself and for others, too....I hope that you are still following here....

I 've realised deeply how generous life is to me and I feel that I was a little bit lazy the past year...like I was taking a small break. 

Well, I want to share myself with the world and I want to offer the best parts of me.

I wish to be blessed in 2011 with the ability and the energy to actualise my thoughts and wants.

As I'm rambling, I'm also keeping the clock in mind, cause I should be logging of quite soon....So I should maybe let the pictures speak...I hope that they are self explicative enough.

Cards and parcels all wrapped up individually according to the person they are addressing to.

They can be maily categorised in three styles:

~ white + brown paper + classic red & white baker's twine

~ brown wrapping paper + simple white paper + wintery light blue hues

+ baker's twine in minty green + handmade woolen trees

....changing into something a little bit more glamorous with these "wrapping tools"

~ brown wrapping paper + fancy golden & turquoise glossy wrapping paper (Habitat) + vintage music sheets + minty green baker's twine

and here we are....a happy mess!

and an organised version ready to be shipped or picked up.

These (and more!) are gone since yesterday....I wish them to bring lots of joy and happiness to their receipients!

 .... wishing us all a very Merry Christmas with Joy, Peace, Health, Love and Abundance!

May the Christmas spirit work its magic!

Love, 

yours,

Ivy 

~ the Master Plan ;)

...hi my dears, I hope that the last post was not that much of a burden within this festive season....I thought I should have perhaps kept it for later, or not having mentioned it at all.

These lines though are devoted to living a life of awareness and this might involve unhappy moments as well. My happiness rose the moment I realised that I am grown enough to bare both happiness and unhappiness. A sense of calm came the moment I knew that too much thoughts were just a protective mechanism, that simply kept me from moving on.

I thought over and over again about the case of imitation, because I actually wanted to avoid feeling hurt...betrayed...used. I was thinking in order not to feel. Cause this is exactly how I felt. I held myself responsible for not being aware and wise enough to understand.

And then I felt dissappointed, because after all, I do know exactly why I am here.

I'm here because the time came in my life to share.

I'm here cause I'm in peace with who I am, 

even when I'm going through hard times.

I don't expect that life will only be kind to me.

But recently, I'm accepting all kinds of blessings in my life mainly for two reasons.

Firstly, cause I know that there lies undescribeble amount of work behind from my part in many levels, for many years. The cognitive, the emotional, the practical, the philosophical levels.

Secondly because by learning to live in the present,

all aspects of life suddenly become magical, sufficient, enough.

How about the reasons I'm not here....

I'm not here to be measured,

to be compared,

to be categorised,

to be antagonised,

to be analysed,

and I'm not here to do anything big either

This is just

 a life's journey,

a journey in creativity,

a journey in learning,

a journey in knowledge,

a journey in love,

a journey through realitiy,

through light and through darkness

A journey through every day life

and the beauty that can be found even in the simplest of things.

This is not about dreaming a nice life.

This is about living a nice life.

Through hard times

and through easy times

Through happiness & joy

Through sadness, too....

still doing all humanly possible to attract the best of luck in life

....by simply doing all the things I love the most....

falling in love every second of each process

...this is how I've found that time stops

...and know that when I miss the days

...when I miss the hours

...then somehow I forgot to do the things I love

somehow I forgot the bliss of life

...somehow I let myself be drawn to darkness

Now, let's get into present mode and time...

The "Love & Joy" garland above is a custom order for a friend, who decided to offer as gift a happy row of  paper boats to her daugther, after seeing these ones.

Pink was what I was asked to make and I found a fairly big page at an old Zara catalogue made from beautiful, thick, recycled paper.

Lucky me, it was off white in the back and turned out the perfect choice.

A little bit difficult to fold such a thick paper, but the outcome was rewarding.

I tied the boats together with baker's twine in minty green.

And then I wrote important words-wishes in silver ink on each paper boat.

Liebe = Love

Freude = Joy

 Kreativität = Creativity

Glück = Luck

and a few others not protrayed in the pictures.

I always like to combine decoration with a little bit of meaning to go with it.

It is packed using vintage music sheets and a few left overs from the same pink page.

I hope that they'll both like it.....and I think it 's about time this post was brought to an end....and I just realised I haven't direclty conneted to the title!

What is the Master Plan after all?

Well, nothing more and nothing less than simply Sharing from the Heart.

Silly me, it was right here, under my nose, all the time....I knew it...but perhaps I had not really felt it or realised it. To know with the mind is one thing. To know with the whole existense is another.

The  Master Plan is to love.

Hope you've have wonderful weekends.....I had a really nice one, very peaceful while being busy, as I created presents and prepared a couple of custom orders for hours and hours...the last ones for this year....but every one of them (hours spent & creations) was a bliss.

Tomorrow is Post day...a 20' walk through an extreme amount of snow and then back....I'm afraid some of my presents will be arriving with a small delay, but I'm ok with that.

There is all the love that I could put inside in every one of them, so I'm sure that time plays a secondary role.

The Etsy shop's last orders are already since a week on their way and the custom orders are being picked up. But before that, tomorrow morning I'll photograph some of the packages to share here.

....happily & warmly me....here :)

~ a life of inspiration ~ yours!

In my previous post today I mentioned that tiredness has reached me in terms of sharing and that I wish for a plan before I go on. What occured to me as most important though, is to actually talk things out after all.....much like a cleansing process.
So, reaching the end of this year, looking back, seeing where I was right and where wrong, what brought me happiness and what misery...has also brought online existence under the spectrum.


So I'd like to share a few thougths on the issue. Why so much thought though?
Why is there a little, temporary blockade?
....because unlike many that begun having an online presence and sharing publicly, I did not have a plan, neither did I really know where I was getting into. Of course, as everything in life, online/public presence is two sided, too.
On the one hand, a vast world of opportunities, beauty, inspiration and all things nice opens before our very eyes and then also an impersonal world, where one cannot really be certain of people's motives, other than rely on some common sense and perhaps a little bit on our gut feelings.


I've been mostly delighted with my online presence and have received lots of warmth, support and praise, without really having done anything to cause it, other than sharing the world through my eyes.
I found out that being able to offer inspiration simply by my thoughts, doings and everyday life adds nicely to my reality. I also thought that this is a world of give and take and since I also receive inspiration via my screen, it would be nice if I could be able to do the same.


Let's face it  though, being only a simple human being, I started growing connections to this online world and presence of mine. In the happiest of cases, connection can be now interpetted as a few, but really wonderful, meaningful and strong friendly relationships.


And then, there is the issue of freely offering inspiration and parts of somebody's self. Does this mean, that since there is no official law attached, that anybody can simply get inspired and build an online presence of their own, based on other people's thoughts, ideas, inspirations to name only but a few?
Taking a little bit from here....a little bit from there...adding a little of our own on top....and there we go, ready we are! "Birth" of something new...


This is the real world and I know that the answer is: Yes, dear Iro (Ivy) this is a free world and a free "market". Based on this very correct truth, getting inspired from others and then making it "yours" is o.k.


Still, as in everything in life, there is a "but". What is the "but" in this case?
That somebody is building with precision and extreme care castles on sand. Because however hard, we try to make something ours, when it is really not, no wrapping, no label will ever make it ours. The only thing that is genuine and trully ours is something that is a true expression of who we are.


Why am I being bothered with all this issue? After all I so often talk about love and positive aspects of life...well, because by emphasising beauty, peace, calmness, love, truth, real emotions and other such things not only like minded people  are attracted, but in a few cases, people who behind their admiration actually hide an envy.


There is a Greek proverb that says: "Lots have hated money but nobody has ever hated glory". Around the net there can be found many who simply thirst for attention and will go all the way for it. Let your imagination go wild....


Ok, and now stop pointing the arrows to me, saying: "and what about you misses?...you think that you are anybody better?....No, I don't. Actually, I'm recently very concerned, that I might be simply part of all this game. 


And here comes the point I believe that this situation is a chance to learn, to be strong and have at the same time a big heart but also a firm, decisive mind. To be able to balance between sensitivity and strength, while keeping in touch with reality. And knowing where I'll be devoting precious time to support others and where not. Sometimes saying a "no" is an act of love towards ourselves and quite possibly others.
So, to whomever wishes to be inspired by whatever is offered through my presence and "add" a little hat of his/her own baptising it as his/her idea, I'll say that you aren't playing fair and that's not nice.
And if you wish to play "dirty", you may as well do so.  I'm simply staying out, cause I'm neither interested, neither do I have the time for such games.


So, I've not decided to go away, but I wish for a solution to be found. Because such incidents might reoccur and it would be a loss of time to go over the same thought process again.
All I need is a clear mind and light heart to go on unfolding the chapters here...just being more aware....still having the best of intentions.


Thank you for sharing some of your time here with me. It's mostly appreciated :)
All the very best,


Ivy

~ silence's beauty

...the beauty

...the secrets

...the truths

...the transformations

...the music

...and birth that take place

all in the arms of silence

{Please visit this link to be directly taken to the amazing photographers whose work is portrayed above}

This is a way of saying that I' m rather tired of speaking, of many words, many interpretations,

much sharing... I don't know where this will lead to, neither do have I plan (I wonder how do I even dare to say that I don't actually have a plan in this goal setting society!)

I know that there has come a time of change,

I'm a little undecided about the online world,

a little uncertain of what I do here after all.

Though I do know for sure that when I read in your comments 

that here you find a place of calm, peace and inspiration,

a smile is brought on my face.

It feels to me that this diary is a way of doing some charity,

but am also quite concerned that I might be simply too preoccupied with ouselves and our lives.

It seems to me that the best things have happended unexpectedly, without having a plan....

...meeting my partner

...relocating in Germany

...being able to enjoy a life in two so different to each other countries ( Greece & Germany)

....beginning to make my hobby a job

...creating a blog

...meeting an incredible ammount of extremely talented people  on line

......

But I also feel that to go on, I actually do wish for a plan.

A plan and practical applications in life.

We shall see....

so long with thoughts and time spent in front of a screen on what is a marvelous day my dears

...wishing you a lovely Friday and weekend ahead....

Hope you to enjoy every moment ~

Ivy

~ growing snowflake Christmas trees... go figure!

Phewww....I really thought I was going to be one more day late to come here writing a post!

My apologies to those of you, however few you might be, in case you waited for a post since yesterday. 

May I ask how are you?...how are these days proceeding?.....gift shopping....present wrapping, home decorations, crafting, baking, holiday preparations.....and so on and so on!

As you may have well understood, my computer screen and I are not spending much time together these days....in a way I miss preparing more posts, coming here sharing inspiration with you and exchanging thoughts and opinions...but then, to be able to inspire, one must be able to create and I really needed some peaceful days with just some crafting involved.

I've been creating various things, some of which are the products of instant inspiration and others the  product of some custom orders and my effort in making what I'm asked for.

Something that seemed a mistake at the beginning, turned out to be a concept I grew to really like:

The Snowflake {Christmas} Trees, seen below:

 which are officially named as

~ Growth

Why growth? Because to my eyes, the trees' branches represent the infinite possibilites we have in our lives, countless occassions to acheive growth in all possible ways.

Growth is available in a 5"x 5" size, but custom orders also are accepted.

For the time being, a few like the one pictured above are available in the shop.

The frame belongs to the Ribba line from Ikea and fits just prefectly with the three dimensional nature of these fluffy, music, snowflake trees. It's something that you'll have to supply yourself from your local Ikea though, as it's not inluded in the listing.

The same concept is also offered in a set of two, one of a kind card & envelope sets, 

which  are wrapped this way:

What do you think ?

 I already got my first order for a douzin of them this morning...this time not exactly from a customer, but still someone I could not say not to...my mother!

So, I've been pucnching out many, many snowflakes from Bach's symphonies and brown, wrapping paper, glueing them one by one patiently...

On another notice, today a couple of suggestions I have written about how to

"Greet your day in a better way" are published over at my favorite Ikea Family Live's blog.

Hop here to read it and be sure to take some  more time in reading Apartment Therapy's Maxwell

super fantastic and practical posts on the 

"Psychology of Decluterring"!

 Practical psychology and every day living meeting one another. Could it get any better...?

See you soon with more news from the shop and much, much more inspiration!

....Smile today and as often as you can :)

Ivy ~ xx

~ "Christmas in Paris" give away's winner

Hello dear readers of these pages! Happy Monday and new week, separating us just 12 days from Christmas! These are the elves on behalf of Ivy, who have come to announce the Christmas in Paris give away's winner!

We are so happy to be in this position and promising you that the official author of these pages will be back tomorrow. As for now, she must be somewhere having dinner, after spending a busy day creating and supplying her customers and friends with their orders...

So, drum roll please....it is the holiday season after all and we are aloud to make some noise! ; )

The lucky winner is Cathe (pronounced as Cathy),

auhor of "Just Something I made".

Congratualtions Cathe!

May you always be lucky in your life, among of course being healthy, loved, loving and very, very creative!

This is your choice and our cousin elves, working in Anne's atelier over in France, are already preparing your present!

And to all you who have enterred, a big thank you on behalf of Ivy and Anne and wishes for you to have lots of love and luck in your life!

Enjoy your days.....

The elves :)

~ among wrapping paper... candles... a give away's winner... & a lovely surprise!

So, I'm somewhere in between brown wrapping paper, baker's twine in classic red & white combo and a fresh minty green and white one, my favorite Christmas teapot with a happiest, rolling around himself, flying Santa, candles, canldes and more candles burning all day and night long, my new book (no, no dears....ain't written by me), prints, postcards and more prints and postcards which are prepared for presents, a few more of friends' requests (what would I ever do without them?) and just a tiny little few for the online shop (I have had almost no time to work on it and support it as I had wished, so I'm in a way surprised and grateful for every little sale taking place there!)

Let me tell you a couple of words for the book just mentioned, which among others I love these days...It's called " Love for textiles" and you'll find it at the shelves of your local Ikea for a very, very affordable price.

Amazingly beautiful pictures, printed with care for the environment on recycled paper, 

a sense for reality and real life and sections to read, while falling in love with the pictures,

 like:

~ energy

~ tranquility

~ fantasy

~ joy

~ enjoyment

~ love & 

~ adventure

My version is in German of course (Stoff zum Träumen) which turns reading it  - except from a pleasure -  to a most welcome practice of the language I so much need.

...talking about being lost in wrapping gifts, reading books and candle light, you wouldn't of course think that I have forgotten about the "Make a wish" give away's  winner, would you?...the truth is that I do spend limited time online these days, out of a concious choice to be able to sink into every day life fully and to enjoy this season. 

I've mentioned it quite a few times that I  do so much love this diary and you all who come to spend some time here, still it's mostly a spontaneuous activity. 

One done out of  love for sharing, inspiring and making something out of my free time.

Honestly, I'm so glad to be seeing that you are visiting so very regularly and often here, whether there are new posts or not!

Thank you very much for that.

Now back to the give away...yesterday I prepared the package for the winner having everything ready, except the " To:....." part of the gift tag.

I had to wait until last evening at 00:00, in case there were going to be more entries.

This morning the little elves, who come to keep me company and lay a helping hand whenever they can, found that there were 33 entries alltogether (quite symbolic I might say!).

 If you visit the give away's post here, you'll notice that there were 35 comments. Only that the 10th and the 30th were written by me.

So here is what we pulled together to randomly pick the winner:

~ prepared 33 little pieces of paper

~ wrote the numbers from 1 - 35, excluding #10 & #30,

~ threw the papers in my huge summer hat

~ shuffled & shuffled & shuffled

~ closed the eyes of a darling elf

~ who then picked a paper...

....with the number 24. I then run to the comments section to see to whom does it point to. And among all of the women who enterred, the winner is a the only man, a great photographer living in Canada. Christian, this is you dear! Congratulations!

Your little package is going to be brought to you by Santa hopefully before the 25th.

Just keep your chimney clean and have something sweet for him ; )

................................................................................................

Do you have the strength to come with me a little longer in my narrating journey?

That would be lovely, cause I so much want to share with you how lucky I am to have already begun  receiving Christmas presents! No wish to show off whatsoever, only to share.

Ilaria from IDA Interior Lifestyle  was so sweet and thoughtful into sending me one of the heart  garlands she herself handknits!

And she knows me so well, as she chose an all white one!

Soft, woolen, white, hearts in a garland!

I wish I had taken a picture as soon I took it out of the lovely package, but couldn't resist my urge into finding a place for it, which happened in like...10 seconds!

The huge, bellshaped and ever favorite of our pendant lampshades

 ( Ikea Leran) has just the right perimeter for the length of the garland.

I love how it immediately became playful and am so happy with the natural fibers - white combination :)

Oh, for the record, there are three more little decorations among Ilaria's garland. A heart, a Christmas tree and a little angel made from white porcelain, found at Habitat many years ago.

What do you think my dears?

Perhaps these ain't the best pictures to demostrate it to you, but trust me, photographing it was not quite a piece of cake....mmm, talking about cakes...I'd love one of our usual chocolate soufles for dessert since we had dinner a while ago...

Leaving you with a little touch of magic and lots lots of warm feelings!

Love, 

Ivy ~ xx