Hello you vintage wallpaper lovers out there!
I tried to make some kind of business cards today. The background is vintage wallpaper I received from the vintage button swap. Printing these cards was a bit of a disappointment because the cards turned out more brownish.

We all love that beautiful paper with roses, or flocks in candy colors, we love the crispy edges. Did you know that before there was wallPAPER there was wall linen, like the linen of paintings? In dutch we use the word: behang, it is related to the english to hang, like hanging on the wall. So in our language you cannot hear whether this is paper or not. The word used for the older type of 'behang' is 'behangsel'.
Last week I went to see some antique behangsels/wallhangings.

Dudok, Houttuinen Dordrecht

I didn't want to use a flashlight, because of the fragility of the 'behangsels'. You can see the 'craquelé', if you click the photos. These 'behangsels' are from around 1800, painted by Abraham van Strij, one of the famous Van Strij brothers from Dordrecht. The Dordrecht museum has recently bought five panels of 'behangsels', but unfortunately it was forbidden to take photos there. Here, at Dudok's the 'behangsels' are 'in situ' , which means at the place where they were meant to be originally. 95% of these paintings are vanished, either destroyed or exported out of the Netherlands. So these wallcoverings are quite unique.



Let's take a closer look. Though you could see in the previous photo that the light was bad, the colors are amazing. The panels which are hanging in the Dudok building at the Houttuinen in Dordrecht, where we were guests, thank you, are restored recently.





A detail. The gold is new goldleaf and in my opinion it is more beautiful when it will tarnish. New and young is not always more beautiful, hehehe!

And now a contemporary artist:



I won the month prize at Linnea Maria's blog 'Linnea på Landet'.
Linnea Maria's work is truly amazing. Look what she did with a simple piece of broken glass. The insect is a drawing of her hand, no reproduction!
I'm so happy with this piece of art. I'm making a wall of fame. This piece certainly belongs there! My husband was thrilled with this too!



Look what other lovelies she sent me too.
Thanks a million Linnea Maria!

The Pip room isn't finished yet and the wall of fame is still under construction but....



I wanted to show you this. I'm not always the last to decorate! I bought this cute guy this week. I think he will survive Easter!
Have a great Sunday, happy Carnaval (yes, the dutch word CarnAval!) or Mardi Gras!
Thanks for your visit, all your lovely comments and I hope to see you soon.
xoxo LiLi M.

Hello you vintage wallpaper lovers out there!
I tried to make some kind of business cards today. The background is vintage wallpaper I received from the vintage button swap. Printing these cards was a bit of a disappointment because the cards turned out more brownish.

We all love that beautiful paper with roses, or flocks in candy colors, we love the crispy edges. Did you know that before there was wallPAPER there was wall linen, like the linen of paintings? In dutch we use the word: behang, it is related to the english to hang, like hanging on the wall. So in our language you cannot hear whether this is paper or not. The word used for the older type of 'behang' is 'behangsel'.
Last week I went to see some antique behangsels/wallhangings.

Dudok, Houttuinen Dordrecht

I didn't want to use a flashlight, because of the fragility of the 'behangsels'. You can see the 'craquelé', if you click the photos. These 'behangsels' are from around 1800, painted by Abraham van Strij, one of the famous Van Strij brothers from Dordrecht. The Dordrecht museum has recently bought five panels of 'behangsels', but unfortunately it was forbidden to take photos there. Here, at Dudok's the 'behangsels' are 'in situ' , which means at the place where they were meant to be originally. 95% of these paintings are vanished, either destroyed or exported out of the Netherlands. So these wallcoverings are quite unique.



Let's take a closer look. Though you could see in the previous photo that the light was bad, the colors are amazing. The panels which are hanging in the Dudok building at the Houttuinen in Dordrecht, where we were guests, thank you, are restored recently.





A detail. The gold is new goldleaf and in my opinion it is more beautiful when it will tarnish. New and young is not always more beautiful, hehehe!

And now a contemporary artist:



I won the month prize at Linnea Maria's blog 'Linnea på Landet'.
Linnea Maria's work is truly amazing. Look what she did with a simple piece of broken glass. The insect is a drawing of her hand, no reproduction!
I'm so happy with this piece of art. I'm making a wall of fame. This piece certainly belongs there! My husband was thrilled with this too!



Look what other lovelies she sent me too.
Thanks a million Linnea Maria!

The Pip room isn't finished yet and the wall of fame is still under construction but....



I wanted to show you this. I'm not always the last to decorate! I bought this cute guy this week. I think he will survive Easter!
Have a great Sunday, happy Carnaval (yes, the dutch word CarnAval!) or Mardi Gras!
Thanks for your visit, all your lovely comments and I hope to see you soon.
xoxo LiLi M.

Puppy love tag book

What a pleasure to receive this little parcel in my mailbox!

Today the puppy love tag book arrived.
Karla Nathan hosted a puppy tag swap in honor of Twinks' little puppies.
She assembled a tag book for every participant.
And she had made a tag book cover for every tag book.
That must have been a awful lot of work.
But I'm so happy with the result!
Thanks Karla!



Let's take a closer look:

The tag book cover is made by the one and only Karla Nathan! You will probably recognize it from the button of the puppy love tag swap. The lovely embellishments were also attached by Karla.

This tag is called "On the wings of love" and is made by Jen Kershner.



This token of affection was made by Carla Fisch.



'I am there for you' by Sarah Elder.

Lovely vintage embellishment, ribbons and flowers. This tag was made by Dawn Gahan.




'Puppy Love' was created by Cheryl Stoneham.

And the the last one in the book:


Another 'Puppy love' created by Valita Baxles.

Thanks to all girls! I love all tags but together I adore them!



Click the photos to see more details!
Thanks again Karla for hosting such a fun swap!

Puppy love tag book

What a pleasure to receive this little parcel in my mailbox!

Today the puppy love tag book arrived.
Karla Nathan hosted a puppy tag swap in honor of Twinks' little puppies.
She assembled a tag book for every participant.
And she had made a tag book cover for every tag book.
That must have been a awful lot of work.
But I'm so happy with the result!
Thanks Karla!



Let's take a closer look:

The tag book cover is made by the one and only Karla Nathan! You will probably recognize it from the button of the puppy love tag swap. The lovely embellishments were also attached by Karla.

This tag is called "On the wings of love" and is made by Jen Kershner.



This token of affection was made by Carla Fisch.



'I am there for you' by Sarah Elder.

Lovely vintage embellishment, ribbons and flowers. This tag was made by Dawn Gahan.




'Puppy Love' was created by Cheryl Stoneham.

And the the last one in the book:


Another 'Puppy love' created by Valita Baxles.

Thanks to all girls! I love all tags but together I adore them!



Click the photos to see more details!
Thanks again Karla for hosting such a fun swap!

Am I still in time?



To wish you a Happy Valentine?!

We usually don't celebrate Valentine, because this celebration is just not us.



Though I do have a bouquet.
Another man than my husband surprised me with this...
My husband works for 10 years at the same company and to celebrate this we had a very nice dinner, a present for him and a bouquet for me.



These branches should have been filled with those card-labels on top of this post.
Mmm I'll keep them till next year. Then I'll be the first with Valentine decoration!



We call these branches 'katjes' which means kittens. These flowers start like little furs, so soft and not flower like at all. They are another messenger that spring is coming.



These branches are some kind of Salix.


My favorite heart

Some vignettes:



Some love letters....



Love letters unpacked.

Peter started writing Sjaan in 1942 and they married in March 1944.
It's a little sad that their love letters ended up at Rotterdam market. On the other hand; I bought them there, treat them with respect and those letters play a part in Valentine decoration. Well how cool is that, while other letters have been thrown in the waste bin?






The mantle, centerpiece filled with heart shaped mercury glass.



Tip: the border of this heart is made from kitchen paper.



Another Valentine vignette?
No especially for Elly; it's my Pip diary and one of the fabrics I'm going to use in the Pip room.
Have a nice weekend whether you celebrate a special Valentine's day or not.

Have fun and remember; every day can be a special day. xoxo LiLi

Am I still in time?



To wish you a Happy Valentine?!

We usually don't celebrate Valentine, because this celebration is just not us.



Though I do have a bouquet.
Another man than my husband surprised me with this...
My husband works for 10 years at the same company and to celebrate this we had a very nice dinner, a present for him and a bouquet for me.



These branches should have been filled with those card-labels on top of this post.
Mmm I'll keep them till next year. Then I'll be the first with Valentine decoration!



We call these branches 'katjes' which means kittens. These flowers start like little furs, so soft and not flower like at all. They are another messenger that spring is coming.



These branches are some kind of Salix.


My favorite heart

Some vignettes:



Some love letters....



Love letters unpacked.

Peter started writing Sjaan in 1942 and they married in March 1944.
It's a little sad that their love letters ended up at Rotterdam market. On the other hand; I bought them there, treat them with respect and those letters play a part in Valentine decoration. Well how cool is that, while other letters have been thrown in the waste bin?






The mantle, centerpiece filled with heart shaped mercury glass.



Tip: the border of this heart is made from kitchen paper.



Another Valentine vignette?
No especially for Elly; it's my Pip diary and one of the fabrics I'm going to use in the Pip room.
Have a nice weekend whether you celebrate a special Valentine's day or not.

Have fun and remember; every day can be a special day. xoxo LiLi