Knitted jeans | Stickade jeans

From knitty.com

I will make these jeans one day. I will make these jeans one day. I will make these jeans one day.

If you say it three times, it becomes true, right? I sure hope so, because I REALLY want to make these jeans one day. #oldfairytalewisdom

Summary in Swedish: Jag ska verkligen verkligen göra de här jeansen någon gång. Verkligen.

DIY Art caddy | Gör-det-själv: Pysselfodral

We will go skiing in a few weeks together with friends, and since their daughters recently turned 2 and 4, I thought I'd make them each a birthday gift. In pink, since that hasn't been the color of choice recently around here. One of the challenges with having a four year old son...

Anyway, I made them art caddies to hold crayons, notepads, stickers, and small books. I made one for my son a few years ago using this pattern from Mr Monkeysuit. This time I adjusted it a bit, adding a flap so that the things don't keep falling out, and changing the size slightly. 

I liked the way they turned out, matching but not exactly the same. Hopefully they will come to use during travels, restaurant visits, or at other times when you need something to do. They fit nicely in a handbag or in the kid's own backpack. You can adjust the pockets to fit stuff of your own choice. I will also add small notepads (behind the stickers). All fabric is from Panduro.

And this is the one I made for my son using the original tutorial (without the extra flap):

Summary in Swedish: Här är mitt första bidrag till Husmorsskolans Syförening. Jag har gjort två fodral som är oerhört bra att ha med sig på restaurang, resor eller när helst man behöver sysselsätta barnen en stund. De kan justeras efter behag, dessa innehåller kritor, pennor, klistermärken och Pixiböcker. Ska också köpa små anteckningsblock och lägga i. Mönstret jag har utgått från finns hos Mr Monkeysuit, men jag har justerat det lite och bland annat lagt till en flik så att sakerna inte trillar ut.

Sewing circle! | Syföreningsmöte!

I have joined Husmorsskolans Nya Syförening, a Swedish blog that each Tuesday hosts an online sewing circle. Today is the first time that I participate, and it's really great to have something that makes you finish projects once a week! I'll show you this week's project later today.

Summary in Swedish: Jag har gått med i Husmorsskolans Nya Syförening! Det är en nätbaserad syjunta där man varje tisdag kan bidra med något handarbetsprojekt. Mitt första bidrag kommer under dagen.

Five things I pinned on Pinterest last week | Fem saker från Pinterest förra veckan

Pinterest is one of the best things that has happened to me lately. Really. I have always saved nice pictures and ideas in folders on my computer, post-its, miscellaneous notes on pads at work and at home, etc etc. Very hard to get an overview of. But now! With Pinterest I can create as many mood boards as I like, I can organize my ideas and photos WITH links to the original source so that I never forget where I saw that great DYI project. And I can follow great inspirational people and re-pin their ideas. Pure greatness, indeed. And it's free!

I thought it would be a nice idea to share a few things that I've found and pinned during last week, hopefully it can serve as inspiration for you. Here goes:

From Zickermans

A lovely lovely skirt-protector for a crafty bike rider!

From Mini-eco

DIY string-tie envelopes, doesn't seem too difficult to make and can serve both as lovely envelopes to mail things in, or as a folder to keep - I don't know, buttons, patterns, or other things? What ideas do you get? We'll be sending out birthday invitations shortly, maybe I'll try and make a few of these then.

From Martha Stewart Weddings...

And speaking of invitations, isn't this the best idea ever? Or is it just me who loves lottery tickets...?

From Design*Sponge

I would love to make these DIY postage stamp coasters, but as I have kids I hesitate. I wonder if they are washable? Well, there is only one way to find out I guess, by making and washing them!

From Honest To Nod

I do love bookselves. You'll find that out for sure if you follow this blog. And even though my bookshelves are filled with books, wouldn't it be great to have one made into a doll's house? Or a Lego Star Wars house, if you have boys like mine...

Follow me on Pinterest!

Summary in Swedish: Jag är ett stort Pinterest-fan, och här är några av de bilder och idéer jag hittat under förra veckan. Följ mig på Pinterest!

My kind of flowers | Min sorts blommor

The snow is melting outside, but spring is still far away, I'm afraid. I try to buy tulips whenever I can, but they always seem to loose all of their petals in a day or two. Enter the perfect spring pick-me-up flowers! Paper ones, these will be lovely forever and ever, and they make me happy everyday. I bought them at the fabulous Mokkasin store.

Summary in Swedish: Fantastiska pappersblommor som inte behöver vatten, inte tappar kronblad och är vackra varje dag. Gilla på det!

Granny square baby blanket | Bebisfilt av mormorsrutor

I like small projects that one actually has the possibility of finishing. And I have always wanted to learn how to crochet. So a granny square blanket seemed like the perfect project! The squares are finished one by one, which makes it easy and fun to see how the blanket grows. And it was kind of addictive too: "I'll just make one square tonight. No two. No three..." You get it.

Since we recently had a baby, a baby blanket seemed like the right thing to start with. I didn't want it to look to "baby-ish" in pastels, but wanted a more colorful look. And the yarn I used is one of my favorites, the Hillesvåg Superwash, a 4-ply machine washable 100 % worsted wool. It's Norwegian and I ordered it from Britts butik since my regular yarn store doesn't carry it anymore. 


It turned out nicely, I think, and I got some spare yarn that I used for another baby project. I like!


Summary in Swedish: Jag har alltid gillat mormorsrutor, och har dessutom alltid velat lära mig virka. Så en babyfilt av mormorsrutor var ju finfint att börja med!

Elsie's letters | Elsies bokstäver

Oh, and I almost forgot - the letters in the Create oh la la header is of course from the Märkbok by Elsie Svennås.

Jag glömde - bokstäverna i den här bloggens rubrik kommer förstås från Elsie Svennås Märkbok.

On stitching books | Om märkböcker

I have a few old Swedish stitching books, and they are really lovely. And instructive! Some of them contain very detailed pictures of how to make the different kinds of stitches. Very good for me, since my stitching skills are somewhat limited to cross-stitching and buttonhole stitch.

The letter design in Märkbok by Elsie Svennås (the book with the red letters) feels really modern and a fun fact is that this book, originally published in Swedish in the 60's, have been re-published in Japanese in 2010! It's hard to find in Sweden though, might I hope for a Swedish re-print? Hopefully I'll find Elsie's Märkbok II in a thrift store one day, it looks really interesting and even more modern. Look at the cover here. Then all I have to do is to decide what to embroider. A tote bag? Napkins? A skirt? Maybe I can find some inspiration at Karin's blog? She is so good and have such great ideas! But is a little bit more experienced than me, maybe... Well, I'm not that easily discouraged, more on my stitching ideas to come, alas.

Summary in Swedish: Jag har en hoper märkböcker som jag verkligen gillar. Favoriten är nog Elsie Svennås, vars bokstäver känns moderna även idag. Och de små emblemen för barn är väl för söta?

DIY Christmas matchboxes | Gör-det-själv: Jul-tändsticksaskar

I know that Christmas is another ten months away, but I can't put away the matchboxes we made last Christmas since I like them so much... I got the idea from a friend, and it's a great gift - who doesn't need matches in the wintertime? Could easily work as a teacher's gift, a hostess gift, you name it. And 4 year old A made easily very appreciated matchboxes as Christmas gifts for his cousins and grandparents. His had a bit more bling than mine though... You can use pretty card stock, sequins (especially if you're 4 years old!), or make a paper collage. Any pretty paper will do, really.

I'm thinking Easter matchboxes will be a good thing for spring.

Summary in Swedish: I julas pysslade vi tändsticksaskar till alla vi kunde tänka oss. Det är enkelt att göra, även en fyraåring gjorde fantastiskt fina askar. Och vem behöver inte tändstickor i juletid?

Not creating oh la la | Inte så mycket oh la la

All relationships are based on trust and honesty. Right? So - even though I would love to tell you that my crafting cabinet (yay, I have one!) looks like this:

Photo from scrapbook.com 

or like this:

Photo from bhg.com

or why not like this:

From http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/

I feel I must reveal that it really looks like this:

NOT inspiring. Challenging, at best. Well, its re-organization is first on my to-do list. It's not really a choice anymore since I can't find anything that I'm looking for. Hope to show the "after" picture next week. A new era will begin! The era of a neat and tidy cabinet. Hopefully. Wish me luck.

Summary in Swedish: Jag har ett pysselskåp! Och det ser inte ut som på bilderna överst, tyvärr. Men jag arbetar på det.

Hello world! | Hej världen!

I'm really excited about this blog, and I feel proud that it's finally happening. I have discovered that life is so much more fun when I manage to find the time for crafting, or simply browsing and planning fun, creative, and stylish ideas.

Create Oh la la, you say, what does she mean? Well, I have always liked the French (I think) Oh la la expression, it brings a sense of glamour and can be used in a happy as well as a sort of surprised way, and I like it. Happy surprises are always welcome in my house!

Enough with the introduction, it's time to start blogging!

Summary in Swedish: Hej och välkomna till bloggen som vill inspirera och inspireras att skapa lite mer oh la la i livet. Vad det nu betyder... Något positivt och överraskande, förhoppningsvis! Pysselguldkant på tillvaron, om ni så vill.