The winner

The free card game goes to Audra Marie. Congratulations! I am sure you and your children will enjoy it.
I thank everyone for your lovely comments, I really enjoyed reading them all.

And because I design co-operative games and choose for win win solutions, I have decided to offer something to everyone who participated.
You (only people who entered) need to send me an email before May 15th:
lizet_frijters(at)yahoo(dot)com(dot)au

please put bloggy carnival giveaway fun in the subject line.

Bloggy carnival giveaway fun

I am participating in the bloggy carnival giveaway and the prize that I'm offering is one of my card games Living Landscapes.
You can find the item in my etsy shop following this link:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11224436

To enter you need to leave a comment to this article telling me why you would like to win this prize. Anyone worldwide can join in and the shipping for this item will be free for the winner.
The winner will be drawn on Saturday April 26th around 5pm australian eastern time.
To see what you can win on other blogs, go to:
http://www.donttrythisathome.typepad.com/bloggy_giveaways/

Is bamboo fiber eco-friendly?

When searching the internet for bamboo fabric, I came across a few very interesting articles about bamboo fiber used for clothing.
I like to share this and I am very interested to find more information about this.
I love bamboo and I think it is a very sustainable resource. However the processing doesn't seem to make it that way.
You can read the articles:
in the green guide
in green living online
on the organic clothing blog: this is a very detailed information.

Any comments and more info on this topic are welcome.

SALE

I have lots of scarves, ponchos and kids vests for sale.

Visit my etsy shop and my dawanda shop to see the sale items.

WEARABLES WITH CHARACTER – Enchanted Gypsy fiber art.

Featuring EnchantedGypsy

They are a nomadic family of two adults, one newborn and five birds travelling the states in a veggie fueled solar powered house bus. Their work reflects their nomadic lifestyle: fiber work in felt. It really is work from the heart.

Wet Felted Boots -- Plant Dyed (Photo below)
These wet felted, were made using organic, locally purchased sheeps wool, dyed with natural plant dyes. They are extremely durable and amazingly warm. They can be worn outdoors in dry or even damp woodland areas much like leather mocasins.

The outer edge of the design is trimed in handspun and dyed purple yarn.
Wet felting is a traditional and ancient artform, used by nomadic people to make tents (gers or yurts), rugs, carpets, shoes and clothes.

More about this item: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9149471

Their etsy shop is well worth a visit: www.EnchantedGypsy.etsy.com

WEARABLES WITH CHARACTER - treehouse 28 ~ custom clothing for women

Featuring Alix from treehouse 28

Alix designs stylish clothing from scratch while incorporating her passion for uniqueness, beauty, simplicity and comfort.

If you like one of her designs, she will custom make it for you.
I like this one: hemp ruffled skirt.

The ruffles can be worn in front or in the back. In this picture it is worn in the back. It is an easy fit with a delicate drawstring waist and has a slight asymetrical hemline.

Cute worn with colored tights for the fall!

Made in hemp, a very sustainable plant fiber.

To read more about this skirt: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9157437

Check out her shop: www.treehouse28.etsy.com

WEARABLES WITH CHARACTER - Handwoven by Kristin Kelley

Featuring Kristin from SKIINGWEAVER

I can see that Kristin loves her weaving. She uses her own intricate designs to transform lovely eco-friendly yarn into scarves with their own identity.

Check out her beautiful work:

This handwoven bamboo scarf is soft and very drapable, this scarf would suit either a man or a woman.

It is woven in a structure that is not commonly available in commercial fabrics, which makes it a unique piece.

This scarf is made in bamboo yarn.

The bamboo plant is the fastest growing woody plant on earth. Bamboo groves are planted and harvested within three years, and no pesticides or chemicals are used on the plants, making this fiber not only ecologically sound but also sustainable.

The process of spinning the yarn from the bamboo creates a lovely sheen in the yarn, which has the softness of silk or cashmere and wonderful drapability. Textiles created from bamboo yarn are lightweight enough to be cool in the summer but also warm in the winter. They even have antibacterial properties that last through several wash cycles!

For further description of this scarf: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8692462

Please visit her shop for more pieces: www.skiingweaver.etsy.com

And her blog: http://skiingweaver.blogspot.com/

WEARABLES WITH CHARACTER - Handmade Furry Fairy and Elf Hats

Featuring Drew from FAIRYTALEFIBERS

Aren’t they lovely and cuddly, these hoods? They are made in 100% upcycled wool, protecting you and the environment.

Sustainable Fairy Hood in patchy Black and Light Green:

This hood acts as both a Hat and Scarf!
If you get too warm, it flips down like a Hood.
You can even tie the scarflette behind your back so you can dance all night and still have your hat in the morning!
An added bonus is that you won’t get saturated no matter how torrential the downpour!
You can even tie the tails to make a Satchel to forage for treasure while romping through the urban forest...

More about this item: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9165650

Make sure you visit her etsy shop: www.fairytalefibers.etsy.com

WEARABLES WITH CHARACTER - Art For Your Head and Body with a focus on ATTITUDE!

Featuring Rachel from DREAMWOVEN.

Eclectic is how she describes herself. She seems like a busy bee to me, expressing herself in a very creative way, resulting in extraordinary pieces and I bet they are warm and soft!

I love her style. Check it out:

Art For Your Head "Graciela"

A freeform creation done with a combination of techniques.... felting (fulling), knitting, crocheting, handspinning. She handspun this yarn from some beautiful handdyed yarns and the felted portion is a blend of wool/alpaca.

This is a two piece ensemble... dramatic but with much attitude! It is warm but light weight, funky but elegant. Read more:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8773320

Please visit her etsy shop for more of her creations: www.dreamwoven.etsy.com

and her blog; www.dreamwoven.blogspot.com

My Dawanda shop

Check out this item in my dawanda shop

A fun way to design your garden

I am an avid gardener, always keen to learn more, either from other people or from my own observations.

Starting a garden can bring about many questions, and to be able to fully enjoy it there is usually a lot to consider, especially if we aim for a sustainable garden. Getting the most out of our garden is easier if we design it well.

In such a sustainable garden design, we ask more why, how, how many, what, where, when… questions and than consider the connections between all of them. Or maybe we just have different reasons to take certain actions.

Many times I have immersed myself in projects without thinking profoundly about what I really wanted to achieve, and of course I ended up not getting what I needed. Planning beforehand is so rewarding though, and will diminish the hard work.

There are many different ways of designing your garden. It is helpful to become familiar with the place around you. We can use all our senses; most people however have a preference for one or a few.

Look around, what do you see? Observe what is already there, before you start a big clean up. What resources can you find and use right on the spot? Listen to the noises and smell the fresh air, the plants and flowers. Touch the plants and the leaves. And then smell everything.

Touch, smell and feel the soil. What does it look like? Sit down, close your eyes and visualise your garden the way you wish for it to be. All these observations can bring us creative ideas and are a great help in the design process.

Now you are ready to go into action. Take pencil and paper and jot down all your needs. Let your imagination flow to the full. Think of food sources, materials for clothing or furniture, privacy needs or the beautiful flowers that will spread their fragrance throughout your backyard and make it a paradise for the butterflies of the area.

After that, write down all the possible ways for these needs to be fulfilled. Make sure that you find more than one way to provide for your need. For example, if you need building materials, you can plant timber, bamboo, dig for earth or grow grain and use the straw in your building. If you eat a lot of fruit, plant different species and varieties, this will spread your harvest. Manure, legumes, mulch, compost and many other sources, can provide fertiliser.

You will now probably see the connections between all the elements that you want to put into your garden. Choose the appropriate place for your vegetables, buildings, orchard, and grain crops. Draw your design on a map if you like. You will find that it becomes clearer how your garden will look, and where to start.

Permaculture delves very deeply into every detail of the design and I really like this approach. I started thinking in a whole new way after doing my permaculture design course.

I have developed a tool that can help to make the designing stage more fun. It is a card game and each time I play it with someone, so many ideas come up. It brings about a lot of discussion, different each time, depending on the personalities and desires of the players. You can find out more about the game here.

I was featured on

http://parischicboutique.blogspot.com/ yesterday.
Check it out here

A glimps of my felt art wearables

white silk felt poncho ©Lizet Frijters

yellow dream patches top ©Lizet Frijters

white cotton felt top ©Lizet Frijters

water reflections ©Lizet Frijters

sunset in the jungle ©Lizet Frijters

Featured artists

Modern Japanese Temari by Julieandco
Etsy Finds - Dust team - Freeform
A few of my favorite ornaments on etsy.
Etsy Finds - Dust team: paintings
Etsy Finds - Dust team: necklaces
Botanical Jewelry from TabMade
Sheteam challenge april 2009: Rain
Recycled artworkbyKD
Highland Fairy chooses organic shopping
Sebentamartha with the embossed copper flower
TheSecretNest; sno globe, the spirit of winter
Enchanted Gypsy Fiber art
Treehouse28 custom clothing for women
Hand woven by Kristin from Skiingweaver
Fairytalefibers Furry Fairy and Elf Hats
Dreamwoven Art for your head and body

Articles about me

I have been featured on the following blogs:

On Jenjie's Crafty Stuff's blog.

On Handmade Unique in http://handmadeunique.blogspot.com/2009/09/unique-texture-gorgeous-forest-floor.html

On What does the golden mean? in Gift Given through the Zodiac - Gemini

On Highland Fairy in Organic shopping.

On the eco etsy blog: Themed nomination winners - longing for the ocean

On Paris Chic Boutique: all things soft - doux - and cuddly