Miss Moussetache aka Mimimou

Floods , another oil spill , giant hail , food riots ... OK. Yes. I understand. A lot of things are not going very well in the world and there are many reasons to be sad. But at the same time... should I be sad because I can't do much about it? A week ago I have decided to change the world and I am making one step a day towards my destination. At least. The great thing is that there are no rules and it's not really important where you start. Which means you could do ANYTHING, ANYTIME. For example, you could make a complete stranger smile, just by saying something nice or sharing a moment ('look at that rainbow'). Or you could make seed bombs and drop them in desolated areas of your city. Or you might embellish the street with a few crayons and the help of some children. Take a few things into consideration: it's important to stick to your believes as much as possible, to mean what you do and to act impulsively . Monday 30 August My boyfriend and I have named this...

I was born on an island shaped like a three-legged monster and rugged like an old fisherman's forehead. The sea has always been renowned for its abundance in marine life, especially sword fish and tuna. But the land was poor of animals, except from the usual fauna you can see anywhere: mice, swallows, pigeons, sparrows, lizards and many insects. When I hit the magical age of eight, a zoo opened its gates on our island. I loved animals and could spend hours reading my Animal Kingdom encyclopedia, so my parents took me there on a lovely Sunday morning. We were the first people entering. Trembling with excitement I walked around its cages. Unfortunately the zoo hadn't managed the funding to get enough animals to fill them so most of the structures were empty. Outside the cages mice, swallows, pigeons, sparrows and lizards seemed to prosper, just like on the rest of the island. The largest cage of all was situated next to the play area (one slider and two see-saws). At first glance...

When we are little, grown-ups are always telling us off when we extend our drawing surface to anything that isn't paper: walls, human legs and let's not forget the living room's antique table. So we learn how to not use walls, human legs and antique tables as drawing paper. By the time we have restricted ourselves to a paper sheet, grown-ups our telling us off for coloring outside the 'lines'. Only a face should be pink and not its surrounding sky, dress, house, etc... So we learn how to stick our colored crayon in between the pre-drawn lines. But then WE become a grown-up too. And sometimes we go back to our instinct of coloring outside lines and using the world as a drawing sheet. When that happens... the world becomes a wonderful storyteller who we never want to stop telling its stories. Have you ever heard about knitgraffiti ? Small, usually rectangular, pieces from leftover yarns are knitted together and sawn around trees , abandoned gas stations , light poles ...

Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes. It's an ancient craft which probably originated in Belgium, just around the corner from Holland. The materials used for lace-making are usually just as fragile as its patterns: linen, silk, gold. Think of lace and you immediately think of underwear, napkins, curtains and religious ceremonies such as in weddings, christenings and funerals. What would happen if you could combine its feminine, domestic element with something masculine and industrial? Just look at Cal Lane 's work and you will see how this marriage would look. This gifted artist uses her torch to cut baroque, lace-like patterns into ordinary things such as shovels, old oil drums, wheelbarrows, car doors, and other pieces of scrap metal.

One of my best friends is pregnant. We were supposed to meet for a lovely lunch so I had bought her and her love two small gifts: a vintage pinnard horn to listen to the baby's heart and a huge set of old-fashioned baby clothes hangers (like the one featured in Heather Bailey's blog ) with deer shapes. After wrapping everything carefully in some kraft paper I realized I was still missing something. A card to wish the future mum and dad all the smiles in the world! As I happen to be an Etsy card seller , this wasn't such a big thing to miss BUT I wanted to give them a bit more than just a card. So I wrapped one of my Ballerina designs around a matchbox cover, draw smiley faces on a bunch of matches, wrapped these smiling matches together with some japanese paper tape and addes a little note inside... et voilà! So easy and such a sweet result! Have a lovely weekend, MM

The sun is shining, the weather is nice and you are feeling happy, right? Great, then it's time to say I love you 100 times to the love of your life. It's Love Day! But there are at least six other ways to celebrate Love Day... {1} A personalized love letter on a pillow, by Olive {2} Good Time Ring for your cutest kissing picture, by Yellowgoat {3} Mr and Mrs Scatter Pillows, by Idotakeu {4} Not a paper cup + a black marker for porcelain and just diy that love note yourself, by ThinkGeek {5} Custom silhouette prints of both of you (and your pet), by Ellothere {6} My favourite: a personalized and handmade lunch bag for your sweetheart, tutorial by DesignSponge Or you could cook his or her favourite meal tonight... put up a love note under his or her pillow... buy a bright yellow balloon and attach it to his or her bike/car... or... or... ...Happy love Day! PS: Each of these gifts would make a lovely wedding present as well.

{1} Tracy de Chevron Villette : pressed hydrangea flowers and leaves which have been used directly on to these silver earrings . {2} Ambre France : cable tie rings, bracelets and earrings in silver and gold. {3} Gabriella Kiss : butterfly earrings with carved horn wings {4} Frances Wadsworth Jones : eternity ring with ant workers created with prototyping technology to replicate the insect world at its own scale. {5} By Boe : New York based designer Annika Salame creates pure and elegant jewellery like this vintage inspired medaillon. {6} Moon Young Shin : I love shadow puppets and I am completely in LOVE with her shadow puppet ring series in silver.

When reading a magazine, I am always reaching for bits of paper to remember articles I want to research on. Or just to make sure I know which page I was reading as I tend to get interrupted every time I try to read one... I have created these zinemarks with characters from my 'Say hello' series and a little Lola girl based on a drawing and images from a magazine. I have cut each one and glued magazine images at the back with a piece of my favourite ribbons in between. After which I laminated the whole thing and carefully cut again along the lines. You can find these in my Etsy shop !

Rummaging flea markets all around the globe, I have started to create a collection of journals using antique books. Each journal has the original front and back of the book, and a couple of the original pages (all the ones I could find bearing an illustration!) in between the empty blank and graph paper pages. For two books I was able to save the original spine and I have created a bookmark (by adding a ribbon and laminating the whole thing) which I am giving away as a small gift. I have binded everything together with quality metal binders. You can find these in my Etsy shop !

I love drinking coffee. And I love eating cookies. As I also love crafting, I decided to create my own cookie plate - inspired by an upcoming birthday and the need for a unique gift: meet my toy cookie stand, created by combining a schleich toy with a good quality porcelain plate. Isn't she cute? Available in my Etsy store!