Hands Gallery News - Shop Local This Christmas

A few days ago, I have seen a plea on FB to shop local this Christmas. This poster tried to support small businesses and local crafters. I am a very much in favour of this movement. I am a member of the Hands Gallery - artistic co-operative, and our shop is full of handmade, unique items produced right here in Munich.
As I was looking after the shop today, I have taken a few pictures to inspire your Christmas shopping.

Shopping for a party diva? How about these sparkly grey/silver fingerless gloves from Looby knittinx.

If you are searching for the right present for a Retro-mama, check the products from Kiwis and Krauts.

Funky presies for the little ones are also available, come to explore the selection of embroidered goods by 40stitches.

And if you are looking for some Christmas decoration, come to pick the right one. What is your theme: traditional or quirky?

Paris is more than just the Eiffel tower - Parisian pre-Christmas Menagerie

I have visited Paris before, so I knew that I do not want to see the Louvre or other highlights this time. Instead, we played our parisian weekend by the ear and we had fabulous time...

So here is a very random guide to what you can see, if you just keep your eyes open. Somehow it rurned out to be a lots of animals... ;-)

The first finds are from the fantastic department store Le Bon Marché. I love to visit before Christmas as they never fail to offer unusual decorations and here we go this year: Safari Christmas tree or would you prefer nautical theme... ;-)
http://www.lebonmarche.com/en.html

This little ZOO is entirely made of chocolate, yes CHOCOLATE! And it is one of the best in Paris! (Blog post on food experiences will follow when time allows). The master chocolatier is Jean Charles Rochoux. Click on the link, just the site is amazing, let alone the chocolate!

Another sight we could not miss was this pink elephant! Don't you just love pink plastic? (just kidding) He is made by Stéphane Gautier and you can find out more about him on the parisial gallery website: Galerie Barrou Planquart.

The next experience was a real treat for anyone who originally studied veterinary science (me). The National Museum of Natural Science feels like an old museum at the beginning of the 20th century (at least the old part). There are no funky video instalation or interactive devices, just bones, a loooot of them! But I loved it. If you've ever wondered how a skeleton of a turtle looks like, here is your answer:

For anyone, who is frantically looking for small funky Advents Calendar fillers, we found a great option, cute small horses that should bring luck! Just don't be afraid to enter this shop,it is a harmless enterprise supplying the nearby studying medical students with anything they might possibly need. ;-)

And last but not least this beatiful catch! The Italians also sell a lots of sea creatures but do they display it so well? Feeling like a crab for dinner? Then head to Rue Mouffetard, great spot for eating out or just wondering what is out there.... More about food next time!

The Advent Calendar School - The mini Calendars

As well as creating normal size Advent Calendars, I have recently made 2 mini ones. They are cute but I struggled a bit finding a suitable packaging. First I created the "Instant Advent Calendar"by stuffing all the houses, pegs, string and sealing stickers in a jar. It was fun but not so good for shiping and you coudn't realy see clearly inside. Yesterday, I was just playing around with some old DVD boxes when the idea strucked me! The calendar actually fits perfectly in a DVD box. It also looks a little bit like a suitcase. A perfect gift for a guy! Ladies in lingerie with a retro twist. ;-) It is easy to ship too! Visit my shop if you are interested:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/168862342/mini-advent-calendar-in-a-dvd-box-25?ref=listing-shop-header-0

The Advent Calendar School - What is inside #6

It would not be an Advent Calendar without a cute goofy surprise!

Today I found just that. The JuliaWine shop on Etsy has these cute bears in pyjamas to decorate your Christmas tree and variety of other wonderful creatures too! You will also find fabulous sleep masks in the kitty shape! Make sure you check it out. ;-)

The Advent Calendar Auction - OOAK

Your one and only opportunity to buy one-of-the-kind Advent Calendar! 

Two years ago, I made an Advent Calendar inspired by the beautiful houses in Prague. It was not meant for sale but it generated a huge interest online. As each house is hand-drawn, it was a real undertaking to complete 25 different houses and I did not have time again to produce one for sale. This year however, my talented niece (who just started a Graphic Design school in the Czech Republic) took on the challenge and created one Calendar of her own.

She is happy to sell it to the highest bidder. All the profit will go towards art materials for her studies and even though the asking price doesn't seem very high, it certainly helps her when converted into the Czech currency.

You will receive 25 houses made of newspaper and decorated with drawings made by permanent marker. EACH HOUSE IS AN ORIGINAL DRAWING. You can fill the houses from the top and then attach them to a string with  mini pegs or a ribbon as shown on the last picture.

Please note that the last picture if for illustration only, it is the calendar I made 2 years ago and shows you how it looks all connected together.

HOW TO PLACE YOUR BID:
Please follow the link to my FB page and send a private message to Cut & Tear with your bid, your name and your e-mail address. The starting price is 20£.
The Auction will close on Monday 18th November and the winning bidder will be announced on FB and notified by e-mail.
https://www.facebook.com/cutandtear

The Advent Calendar School - What is inside #5

I have bought one of these already for Valentine's day but I think that a coffee spoon from the ForSuchATimeDesigns shop,  with the right message, can make a great advent calendar filler too. At the moment, I would really do with this one...

The Advent Calendar School - What is inside #4

Last year I ordered  24 samples of tea from the wonderful Karen from the ArtfulTea shop on Etsy. My boyfriend loved it. The packaging was gorgeous, the tea tasted fantastic and the variety of flavours never got boring. I looked today to offer you a link to Karen's shop and found this brilliant, ready made Tea Advent Calendar!!! So, now it is up to you, you can order the whole calendar or you can order just some tea from this lovely shop, but in any case, you should try Karen's tea! ;-)