SHOUT OUT FOR RANDOM PHOTOS!

Blogger are  overall pretty amazing at sharing about their life through photos - some even take better daily life photos than blog-post photos. I don't know what it is, maybe the age old curiosity thing, that makes people wanna have insight into other's lifes. I'm not sharing too much personal stuff here, probably because I'm scared of stalkers. Haha, no, but sometimes I wonder whether certain bloggers actually have stalkers ... They have fangirls for sure ... so who knows?

Well I don't want to talk about fans, stalkers or creepiness (no offend to anyone - I consider myself a bit of a fangirl, too, sometimes). I'm just fascinated by how bloggers document their daily routine. I take pictures for this blog regularly. But the other day I wanted to put up some more personal photos up on my wall and naah. I didn't have any recent ones that I really connected with at first. So today I wanna give a shout-out for random photos! They are personal, lovely and great memories. 

I took this picture during my biology class. It just captures the moment so perfectly. We use a lot pencils in that class to draw things and well ... sometimes I like to put my head on the table. Just for a minute. Haha! Moments like oftentime get lost in the daily hassle. Also I could take a picture excatly like this one any time during my school week - there wouldn't be much of a difference. 

But 'not much of a diffrence' is still a difference.Just a few weeks ago the seniors at my school graduated. That made me realize how precious our school time is and within less than a year I won't be going to school anymore. So by taking picture more frequently I can hold on to those moments for a bit longer. 

Also, our days might often seems quite similar to each other, people aren't. And neither are cats. So I'm a big fan of 'living-things'-photography. I don't do it often enough though. Taking selfies in front of my mirror is one thing, but with other people I just find it uncomfortable sometimes to take photos. It's not a common request around here to take a photo that is not all smiles or even take random photos in general. I often hear things like:' What are doing? Are you taking a picture now?'... Makes me feel a bit awkward. 

On the same page I think it's so important to find new angles for photos. It takes a lot of practise to realize quickly, oh this is a picture-moment and immediately find a cool angle to snap a great shot. That's why I love the pciture of my cat above. It's sorta unexpected.

These last two photos kinda show the difference between 'real life' and 'real nice set-up' pretty well, I think. The first one was taken while walking up the stairs from a subway station in Berlin, the second one is once again my night-stand. I happened to have all these notebooks flying around and I thought: 'Well this is cool, let's take a picture'. So I actually arranged them to look like this - tried to make it look like a coincidence though, such a ganster! 

As a photographer of any kind, I think it takes a lot of courage to do what you like. Simply because others aren't used to cameras being around them for no appearend reason. So let's pull ot the iPhones and DSLRs and what-nots and make people feel comfortable, so we can feel comfortable snapping away every moment of our life! And soon I hope to have more meaninful photos to frame and decorate my room with!

Hope to encourage!

Lots of Love, Tabea ♥

JOURNAL # 5 - STORY TIME

Summer is seriously my favorite season. I took this picture around half past 6pm and is was still so nice and bright outside. I just felt this design needed gras as a backdrop. Also my biology trip went on a field trip yesterday. We explored the woods and rivers in a town close-by. Yepp, we're all around the age of 17- 18. It was an exciting day for us. I'm on a nature kick now - thanks biology teacher! 

I created this page rather spontaneously and tried to think of something fun to journal about. I remembered a video I had recently seen on Youtube where someone talked about creating a whole journal about the things one has accomplished in life. Well, I didn't wanna go that far today, but digging up memories is always fun!

I found the 'activate self-esteem' and '100%' signs on a bag from 'The Body Shop' and thought the colors would go perfectly with my baker's twine. 

Because recyceling is awesome I re-used the sheet of baking paper from my Dream Journal to create the pattern on my basic sheet of cardboard. I like going a little crazy with paint ... a destroying brushes apparently. I killed like three of them within the last couple weeks! 

Also I'm having an obsessison with embroidering these days - and the feeling this obsession might continue for quite some time. I think it's kind of a nostalgic thing, since I used to do this with my favorite art teacher in elementary school. She was so sweet! One day she just gave me this whole bag of embroidery thread, needles and other things. Still have some of it today. Great Lady!  

Here's another close-up. I also used some lace and more embroidery, this time with yellow baker's twine. Yeah and then I added some fun stories from my life. I think the average profil information like 'I love crafting and photography' are getting old. These are so much more personal! Here are some further details on the stories... 

1) I was about 10 when this happened and beforehand I had lost a game against my uncle, my cousin and pretty much everyone else who was there. I was bitter! Such a fun game and I was the loser! Because know you better than you know yourself, she felt that I was a bit upset and decided to play another game with just the two of us. Well long story short - I won. Mmmh, just five minutes before my mom had almost won a game against a flipping genius-bowler called my uncle.. I guess my mom is pretty awesome. 

2) No, seriously. I went to America. I bought 'cheese in a can', because we don't have that stuff in Europe. Aaand I had to find a video on Youtube to figure out how to work the can. Yepp, there are videos out there about this topic. 

3) I was about three. Always the same stairs - I wanted to figure out how dogs walk down the stairs so badly. I never figured it out until today so sometimes I'm still tempted to crawl down the stairs head first .. But nah. I don't wanna ruin my senior year GPA. 

4) On a bus ride while we were on class trip to France. I did it to impress everyone else - and then I discovered the deliciouness of chocolate and mayo. I'm not sure if I'll ever eat this stuff again though. Was kind of a 'What happens in France, stays in France' thing.

5) My hostfather laughes about this until today - and so do I. To my defense: I didn't use this word very much in my english class prior to going to the USA. So how was I supposed to know?!

6) I remember this one time when a friend of mine who could swim told me she'd hold on to me and drag me trough on this twirling whirlpool which was supposebly really fun. Well she let go of my hand just when we had gotten in. I and sank and stayed under water until she was all the way around the thing and pulled me up again. For whatever reason I didn't move. I just stared up at the surface and waited, floating throught the water. . Water was never my element. 

7) At my High School they had this thing called 'Camp-in-a-box' to raise awareness for the homeless. You had to raise 20 bucks though to take part in it. So yeah I didn't excatly pay for it, but you get my point!

8) Well apparently I was very tired and my friends weren't. I still love them. 

Hope you enjoyed story-time today! 

Oh and on another note guess who joined me while I was taking the pictures or this post?

My cat is awesome. 

Lots of Love, Tabea + Hildegard the cat ♥

DREAM JOURNAL

Whaaaad'up? Uh yeah, I'm finally fit again and ready to get my craft going! Lately I've been having weird dreams .. well my dreams are always weird. But lately I had several weird dreams in a short period of time. Is that a sign? Apocalypse?! Let's hope not ...

The other day I dreamed that I there was a Grizzly bear by my house and my dad chased it away with some weird rolling pin, another day my friend's car was stolen from outside my house and he was just freaking out, screaming at a truck that had suddenly appeared. And yesterday night, I dreamed that I got to know one of my friend's moms who I'd never met before - and she was mean! Like 'what are you looking at me?' - mean! Why are my dreams so terrible??

Because I love to remember my dreams (no matter how horrible they were), I sometimes write them down. So today I'll show you how to create a dream journal. It'll be the size of about 3x5inches.

You'll need acrylic paint (any color), cardboard, paper (I like to use old paper that I would not use as notebook paper anymore) , brush, needle, embroidery thread, marker, pin

This time, I put the steps right onto the pictures - for all the 'visual'-types out there! I'm with you!

Lastly glue both cardboard pieces onto the booklet. Done!

This is sooo cute! Can't wait to fill it with the things my nightly imagination comes up with!

For everyone interested in more 'dream-journal'-inspiration - here's my old one. I think the cover is pretty rad. It's Tavi Gevinson glued to the face of Jonny Depp. I made this one in a late-night session - Probably thought this was hilariously funny at the time. Okay, I still love it.  Also some of the pages I created in it - just plain lines would have been boooring!

Okay, have a great night / day (depending on when read this) everyone and remember to write down all the funny things that happen while you're awake or asleep. Rereading them later is a treasure!

Lots of Love, Tabea ♥

DAYDREAMING & THE TRAVEL BUG

What a weekend you guys! Eastern Germany is fighting this huge flood, folks are out to help everywhere and what do I do? I'm staying at home sick to my stomach, stuffed nose and throat. Brilliant! My area isn't affected very much but I feel with those people living in the badly damaged areas close by. Kinda crazy to think that yesterday my family and I were sitting outside idly eating dinner, whilst only 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) from here people are fighting for their houses and lifes! I'd love to help, but right now it's just not possible for me. Also it's getting more and more and dangerous so people are leaving and the military is taking over now. Prayers for the people are greatly appreciated! 

Because I couldn't just sit around all day, pittying myself for not being fit and ready to help, I tried to find something to keep me busy. Whenever I need distration I like to daydream ... mainly about the future. That Is why I pulled out My cool Campervan. It's my rainy-days joker! 

Going on a trip through all of Europe with a campervan or caravan is defintily on my life-long bucket list. Or maybe drive down the Westcoast from Seatlle all the to San Diego. Oh the travel bug ... 

Since I love this book so much I wanted to share some of my favorite pages with you. Jane Field-Lewis and Chris Haddan write great books and leave alone the photos are an inspiration for everyone who likes colors and crafting.

Aren't these campervans just the most darling thing you've ever seen? They are so retro - You could jump in and travel back in time to see Woodstock with these! I've always had a weakness for cute looking cars but I'm seriously over the moon for these. 

After I graduate from High School I'm planning on taking a year off... It's completely crazy but I love the idea of doing my europe trip before I get too old for it. I think once you've gotten used the comforts of an apartment and having a steady income it's hard to let go and just take off. Obviously this is pure daydreaming ... but who knows what will come?

This is my very favorite photos from the book. VW busses aren't just cars - they're a lifestyle! What would I give for a beauty like this one? 

Dreaming about a life on the road gets me excited! I have no idea whether I'm made for it or not but it feels so good to look forward to a future with this as a possibility. The world is ours kids! Let's conquer it!

Lots of Love, Tabea ♥ 

QUOTE WALL ART

Hey Sweetiepies! Summertime finaly arrived around here now. Temperatures in the 70s and sunshine non-stop!  Wohoo! So today, because the sun was shining so nicely into my room I thought I'd share some of my inspirational wall art with you. 

I've talked about my obssesion with Pinterest as well as my love for poetry. These posters and prints are basically the cross between those two, short quotes in an artsy packaging. The get the certificate 'super-duper-totally-rad'! I oftentimes catch myself browsing Pinterest's quote section way too long. It's an instant motivation / inspiration cocktail! I don't pin very much of it, because I almost always get overwhelmed and just glide into that stage where you stare at the screen and after a while all the little pictures start dancing. Usually that happens late at night. Other people buy loads of stuff at 3am - I pin words of wisdom. It's all good. 

The poster / painting above though is completely handmade by me though and yepp, I'm kinda proud of it. 

I like to say that I have the happiest nightstand in town. And the most crafty one - I painted both paintings, made the little flower box and obviously my journal. I'm into colors and pink clouds, if you didn't know.

To the poster: I made this because at the time I felt like I needed a bit more of a positive vibe in my daily life. Choosing your attitude is the most important decision you have to make on a daily basis. Choosing and writing those words, I hoped that one day I myself and others could see me this way. Also I like that there is no 'no' or 'don't' on there - I strongly belief in the power of 'yes' (YES MAN FANS UNITE!). It's a little reminder for me now. When I wake up, I can choose to be a person just like this. Positive, thankful, light-hearted and all the other good things. 

Talking about sayings I also wanted to show you another wall art thingy... this time Pinterest hit - big time.

I tried to come up with a cheap way to display some art in my room, without spending like 10 bucks on a single picture frame. I saw this washi tape technique on Pinterest and immediately loved it. It's super simple and can easily be changed up whenever I feel like it. I gathered a few of my favorite quotes and art pins and went for it. It was a one-afternoon project and really fun. The 'I love you deerly' - one is just too charming, isn't it? Yes I love deer, yes I miss seeing them on my way home, yes Minnesota is awesome for deer fans like me! The one with the girl is slightly creepy, but I thinks that's why I like it. Oh and my mom told me it sorta looks like me. Thanks mom, kinda creepy, kinda beautiful - excatly what I'm going for! Haha! 

My favorite is the MORE one. So cool! Ultimate summer advise, isn't it? 

Getting stuck on Pinterest at 3am is probably not the best way to spent your night, but sometimes there's really some great wisdom out there. 

I already took on the advise and went for MORE ...

More sunsets! Uuuh! Pink clouds are for real - summer IS the best! By the way this picture was taken from my friend's car and even though we'd only been in there for like 5 minutes, it felt like a roadtrip!

Get Inspired! 
Lots of Love, Tabea ♥

POETRY JOURNAL + ANTHOLOGY

Did you know you cannot mix the colors hot pink and magenta? With some thinking I probably would have remembered the latter one. But I wasn't aware of the fact that it's impossible to whip up a nice hot pink by yourself. You need pigments for that and blaaah... - I'm guessing the people at Menard's can tell you all about that. I was kinda bummed though. So bummed that I had to run outside and cry over my mom's peonies... Not really. But I did ran outside 'cause I saw how pretty they are blooming right now.

So let's get to the point here. I went to fight round number two with this littler bugger of a journal... It gave its everything - I had to work with a KNIFE to get the sand/glitter mixture and paint off again.. Second kind of glue on my black list - wood glue. Don't even ask why I used that stuff...

While murdering this poor little thing, I mused about what to do with it after I would have revived it. Mmh .. looking around .. uuh what is that over there on the shelf? Ahhh! My poetry anthology from last year! 

I always loved poetry in this weird way. I'm the most impatient person, but when I really take the time to read a poem it's so deep somehow. For me poetry is the most elegant writing style of them all - I have a passion for word groups and short sentences. A sentence like 'And then the rain started pouring' just gets my imagination. Weird example, kinda depressing - sorry, I'm a happy person, believe me!

I used to write poetry myself when I was about 14 or so. Then last year we actually got this anthology as an assignment. We had to write and collect poetry and present it in a way that would represent our feelings towards poetry. Love this assignment! I actually took it to Chicago with me, when we went there shortly before this was due to be handed in. Somehow special to work on a small piece of art that is so close to
your heart in such a huge city.

Well I love to share my beloved things with you, so here without further ado - my poetry anthology of 2012.

Don't you love the Cat Stevens Poem, too? I learned so much during those weeks of working on this. Poetry can have so many forms. There are literally no limits! Poetry can be anything from random funny words to deep thoughts put into just the right words. The most beuatiful thing about it is that everyone can do it. Talent or not - everyone owns paper, a pencil and a head. 

You might have already seen my Summer-List, so you know that I'm hoping to write some poetry again this year. Just for me. To have a nice place to put it, I created the journal I was talking in the beginning of this post.

It's not quite this bright pink in reality (hehe Photoshop .. my partner in crime..) but still a very lovely shade of pink. It's got bumps from the cutting and I wasn't very careful with the paint. My bad. I just got too excited about the glitter, I guess. Hot pink glitter - I almost fell over when I came across it. 

If anyone wonders how I did it. Basically 4 easy steps: Paint the journal - Drizzle the glitter over the wet paint - Let dry and seal with ModPodge (or something similar) - Stick the (fake) polaroid on it. Now you're a boss at journal-making! 

Okay one more message - in case I didn't mention it earlier on.

Be cool and try your hands on writing poetry - you'll be surprised by the results!

Lots of Love, Tabea ♥

HOORAY! SUMMER TO-DO LIST

He's heeeeere! Summertime, Summertime, Summertime! Who's excited? I'm excited! Wohoo. First of July is sort a magic date for me. In terms of seasons I think in a very strict 3-month-equal-one-season rhythm. Remember the posters in elementary school, theachers used to teach you about the four seasons? With dandelions for March, April and May. And green trees for June, July and August and so on? I guess that stuck with me. 

Summer is my favorite season. Vacation, my birthday in August and lots of good food (talk BBQs, fresh fruit, ice-cream ...). I'm a list-type of person. So here's my list for this summer - version number one. I got a about two hundred more things to do and try over the next weeks. High times!

Now I want an award for this pepp-talk - who can stay this positive when June 1st looked like this all the way? ...

Nooops, let's just stay positive and a little tiny bit ironic. We'll find a way out of this grayness. Even if that means shamelessly editing photos, pushing the saturation to its limits!

I honestly don't know why this is, but I literally start every spring/fall/summer list off with GO CAMPING! Somehow I always miss every opportunity to do it though. Well, I'm still positive there will be a night in a tent coming up this time! Because warm summer-nights are perfect for that! 

I really want to start a summer journal to collect all the little bits and bobs, I find along the way. Flyers, letters, photos, maybe some dried flowers. Summer is great to make memories. Swimming and bikinis - no brainer, no? I already talked about the deliciouness that awaits all of us soon. I'm over the moon for homemade Ice-cream!

I'll share about the poetry-one soon - stay tuned for that! As a former exchange students I'm infected with the travel-virus. So roadtrips with flea-markets and festivals as my destination get me all excited! 

Okay the photo above might have been a bit of an exagguration - it didn't rain all day in Berlin. I mean there was a lack of sun - but people were still spreading the vibes of a new, colorful season. Pink chairs are almost as good as ice-cream! Love!

Have a great summer everyone!

Lots of Love, Tabea ♥

P.S. No, neither did I move to Berlin spontaneously, nor did I ran along a window-front to take the rainy picture. I visited our capitol city with one my best friends yesterday and snapped that pink chair picture nearby a substay station in Steglitz. The other picture was taken while we were on the train back home, looking out of the window. Just to clarify things, hehe!