DIY Baby Keepsake Box

I had been dying to put together a keepsake box and my pregnant girlfriend's birthday was the perfect excuse. I found some hat boxes at Ikea that were not only sturdy but a departure from using shoe boxes which I happen to not have on hand at the time (no I am not a shoe freak- plus I usually get my shoes back in the states so I usually ditch the box in favor of bringing back more essential costco goods). I knew that I wanted to the keepsake box to house different moments from her daughter's life and had settled on making little individual boxes to help remember each one of those moments.  

                  

Before buying the smaller boxes to fit into the hat box, I thought of different events/ people that should contribute to the keepsake boxes to decide on the shape and size of the boxes. Some of the ideas were: 

Gifts from the grandparents: 

• A lullaby in grandma or grandpa's native language
• A bedtime story that the grandparents like to read to the baby 
• A trinket that represents grandma and grandpa
• A souvenir from where grandma and grandpa are from
• A  letter to the baby from the grandparents

From Mommy: 

• wristband from hospital
• appointment cards
• first jewelry from mommy 
• sonogram pics
• lock of hair 
• my first tooth

From Daddy: 

• First picture of daddy holding me
• wristband from hospital
• Hospital bed tag with weight and height
• a newspaper clipping from the day I was born
• my first pair of christmas socks

I also knew that the baby would be spending a lot of holidays at the family beach house and would reserve a box for that. 

I then was then able to go to the craft store and find boxes that would accommodate the different ideas for gifts. Luckily most of the boxes that I could find (a very limited selection compared to what I would be able to find at Michael's back home)were made of paper mache which help to keep the project cost effective. I thought about painting them and then covering them with paper, but there was something nice bout the natural and roughness of the paper mache. I was particularly tickled by the suitcase I found for the beach house keepsake box. 

I printed paper out from Mel Stampz who had the chevron, Moroccan tile, and quatrefoil designs that I was looking for. I covered the different boxes each with a different color or design to make sure that they were distinct from one another.  For the boxes from Mom and Dad, I cut out maps with the country showing where mommy and daddy were from - a little nod to the heritage for the baby to think about when she was old enough to appreciate the keepsake box. On the inside lids, I printed out the ideas of what could go into the keepsake boxes and glued them in the inside lids of the boxes. 

For the hat box, I covered the box with wall paper.  The wall paper material was thick enough to smoothly cover the box and also allow me to cut out pieces to make frames on the top and side of the box where pictures of the baby could be put in.  In retrospect, I would have chosen a square box instead of a  round box due to the difficulty of getting the wall paper smoothly over the round edge of the box.  This was a fun 1/2 weekend craft project that I can't wait to do again! Anyone else having a baby soon?

Lace testing

Yes, I am one of those evil owners who puts my cats in costumes.

In my defense, Ghost was the one who decided he wanted to help me with my lace cutting by burying himself into the pile. Isn't he adorable?  He may look unhappy but secretly he loved the photo shooting session (at least this is what I tell myself).

Ghostinette de Aquitaine 

I was using the lace we found up in the attic to decoupage onto jars for the wedding centerpieces and candle votives.  I had made two different decoupage pastes.  I found that since the lace was much heavier than the sheet music, a mixture of 1 part white glue to .5 part water to decrease the viscosity of the glue was necessary.  Using just white glue was too pasty and heavy causing the lace to bunch of and have unevenness when it dried.

We had been saving our little yoghurt pots (ok, so maybe we ate more yoghurt than we usually would during this period) which made perfect little votive holders used to decorate everywhere!

© Blanc Coco Photographe.  More of some of our antique treasures that we have collected over the time...

I had originally found some of this thicker boarder lace but found it too heavy to decoupage onto the delicate votives.  It did go quite well on Ninjette but she's wasn't a huge fan of being dressed up like a girl (she is a total tomboy).

"Take this thing off of me before I scratch you!"

the lace votives were a nice easy touch to the wedding.  Stay tuned for further posts on our herb pots and other DIY twine, lace and sheet music jars!

Libya Part 3: Ghadamis

After two long days on the road, we finally reached Ghadames.  The most notable thing about the non Unesco part of the city is that there are so many new buildings here.  We were told by our guide that in an effort to protect Ghadames, the government moved all of the locals into new housing in the 70s. To the government's dismay, the new apartment style housing did not protect from the heat the way that Old Ghadames city does and the locals usually move back into their old houses in Ancient Ghadames city during the summer months.  And this is why this city is so cool.  Even with modern day technology and architecture, it does not stand up to the ancient buildings where the berber people had already discovered the best way to cope with the hot desert weather. 

A typical corridor- palm tree trunks, thick mud walls and lots of shade

It's easy to understand why Ghadames is on the UNESCO world heritage list. The architecture, shape and art work of this place is really one of a kind.  When entering Ghadames, there are a few characteristics that become obvious. The first is how the temperature immediately drops the moment you walk into the gates of the city.  The second is the white lime washed walls. The third is that every wall is connected.  In essence, this city is one gigantic organism.  With the exception of the hotel where Sophia Loren stayed in while filming The Road to Timbuktu,  you can literally walk the entire city from the roof tops. 

 It is said that the reason for this is because the roof tops was reserved for woman and children as they were not normally allowed in the lower corridors of the city. The last characteristic is the triangular and step like roof top forms that hug every corner/ edge of the city.  this triangular form is the same form found on the painted walls of the houses that hug the window sills.  It is said that this triangular form is typical of their berber designs. While in Ghadames, we visited numerous traditional houses, took a tour on the roof tops and had a camel stew lunch in one of the traditional homes.

Just outside of the city walls, you will find a small tourist center where one can find traditional berber arts.  Here a father son team work on leather making traditional leather moccasins.  Brightly decorated and again with the triangular forms, they resonate the traditional berber art forms that were repeated in the homes inside Ghadames. 

I'm not sure what the state of Ghadames is today- it's said that there was concern over the upkeep of the ancient city during the revolution.  I hope that it is still being maintained and restored as it is truly the "pearl" of the desert- an oasis with a beautiful organic past. 

Libya Part 2: Berber granaries, rusty doors and desert views

Main central countyard of Nalut

After our visit to Leptis Magna, the next day we set out to the South West of Tripoli in search of Ghadames.  What you should understand about Libya is that like any other developing country, the roads outside of the major cities are sparse and often not paved.  It looked like they were doing some major infrastructure work to build some two lane asphalt roads on top.  The journey is only 600km but would take us two days to make the journey. 

Granary of Nalut

 Along the way, we stopped to visit the granaries of Qasr Al Haj and Nalut.  Qasr Al Hag is a fortified granary built in a circular form with a large center courtyard.  As in any granary, there are remnants of the grinding tools and olive oil storage vases. Made from bricks, gypsum, and palm tree trunks, these monuments have stood for over 800 years.

Granary of Nalut

While Qasr Al Haj is interesting, it is the twisting narrow corridors that give the granaries of Nalut character over Qasr Al Haj.  It feel like the granary organically grew over time- with new granaries being added on creating a maze of stacked granaries.  It is amazing to still see the palm tree doors and ledges sticking out from these mud structures.  Part of it reminded me a bit of Santorini and the way that the buildings hug the mountain wall.

One thing that I always enjoy taking pictures of are doors. What was really cool about all these old berber villages that we stopped at were the rusty metal doors that gave a bit of life to these mud, rock, brick structures.  It almost seemed odd that these old dilapidated buildings would have such solid doors to protect them.  I also loved the textures of the rust, and different layers of paint on the doors that really gave a feeling that these doors have endured a lot in their time and have a story to tell.

On the way back from Ghadamis, we stopped at a random Berber village on the Western Mountains just outside of Tripoli.  Most of the Berber houses are abandoned but I wasn't surprised to see that many of them were still in use.  These structures which were dark and a bit damp helped to keep the villagers cool against the harsh hot weather. 

The Berber villages and Granaries are an integral part to Libyan culture.  They tell a story about how the people survived over time, how they had to work together and still do to this day to live.

View towards Tripoli from the western mountains

Libya Part I : Leptis Magna

Ok. So I never actually thought I would ever go to Libya but when my mom asked me I thought to myself why not? It just sounded like one of those really off the beaten road type of places that most people would never go to.  My first question was "what are we gonna see there?" My second was "are we allowed to get in the country?".

To answer my first question- to the rest of the world that wasn't banned from entering the country, the Libyan coastline is dotted with rich history- from the Berber people to the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, they have all ruled Libya at one point in history or another.  In the early 1900s (prior to the former Gadaffi regime), Libya was part of Italy until about 1930.  It was of course a surprise that our driver spoke fluent Italian, remnants of the connections of the European nation not far across the Mediterranean.

One of the first places we visited in Libya is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Leptis Magna (now known as Sabratha), the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Septimius Serevus who ruled from 193-211. Much of the work done in Leptis Magna was carried out during the Italian occupation but there is still so much to uncover at Leptis Magna.  One of the nicest things about Leptis Magna versus more popular ruins like Ancient Ephesus in Turkey is that the tourist industry isn't as developed and thus you virtually have the place to yourself. Okok! enough history, onto the pictures already!

The most notable things to see at Leptis Magna is the Septus Severin arch. The thing is massive!

the Ampitheater

 In 2005, a group of Archeologists from Hamburg discovered a series of mosaics, kept intact and protected by mother nature as depicted below:

Uncovered mosaics overlooking the Mediterranean Sea

The Mosaic work from Leptis Magna is considered some of the best in the world

The Venus Forum

One of the most magnificent things on site is the Theater.  The degree to which this theater has been reconstructed is truly magnificent.  The fact that the theater overlooks the blue/green of the sea in the background adds a touch of je ne sais pas quoi that I have not experienced at any other ancient ruin.

Other things to see at Leptis Magna include the Septimius Serevus forum with its medusa like heads and the Roman Basilica with its intricate stone work around the doors. The immense size of the Roman Basilica is also something to marvel.  We spent a good four hours walking around but could have easily spent the whole day there.  

Leptis Magna is an incredible site to visit.  In addition to the site, the fact that it sits on the sea really sets it apart from other sites.  This is one of those must see sights as it is truly unparalleled and a hidden gem

DIY Vinyl Record Wedding Seating Displays

Keeping up with our vintage music themed wedding, I thought it would be clever to do something with the gramophone as part of the seating displays. I played with a few ideas like hanging notes on string made to look a musical score like it was coming out of the gramophone but due to the uncertainty of where we would hold the dinner (we wanted it outside on the terrace but were not sure the weather would hold up), I decided the safest bet would be to do something more simple.

I had already asked my mother in law if she had any old vinyls that I could use to decorate (wasn't sure where yet) and she came up with a whole box of her old records that had been sitting up in the attic.  I decided that this was going to still work with the gramophone - to have floating records of different lengths in front of the gramophone. 

© Blanc Coco Photographe

For the table numbers, I simply printed them and cut them out.  I cut circles out of sheet music paper (just large enough to cover the existing label) and glued the numbers on top.  For the names on the back of the Vinyls, I printed them on tan colored paper (the same ones that I used to make the program and thank you gift cards with) and used a circle template I had cut out of cardboard.

© Blanc Coco Photograph

To string the fishing wire through, I heated up the tip of a needle with a lighter until it was glowing red and poked a hole into the tops of the vinyl.

Easy as pie! and the result was exactly what I was hoping for :)

©Blanc Coco Photographe

Traditional Raclette in the French Alps

We are having a late winter here in Switzerland and there is nothing better during the cold of winter then having some delicious crusty burnt cheese.  The craving for some delicious Raclette reminded me of the little trip we took up in the French Alps to the Haute Breda Valley in search of some traditional Raclette.

Auberge Nemoz is an adorable family run restaurant/ chambre d'hotes nestled in between Le Sept Laux (Prapoutel, Pleynet and Pipay) and Le Collet d'Allevard. It's won plenty of awards from being recommended in the Michelin guide to being recommended by the Routard guide. Everything about this place has a personal touch, my favorite being that all the menus are hand written! The history of the Chalet is that it has been passed down for generations and built  and rebuilt(there was a fire) by the family.

Due to Raclette's heartiness of cheese, more cheese, potatoes and some pickles... and more cheese- it is typically eaten in the winter time and very traditional of any mountain top chalet restaurant.  Raclette in French resembles the word "Racler" which means to scrape and who doesn't love scraping bit of crusty burnt cheese onto their plates? 

Nowadays, everyone has metal raclette machines at home but at the Auberge Nemoz, they do it the old fashion way - in front of a crackling fireplace. The smokiness of the wood adds another dimension to the cheese that metal raclette machines will never give you. 

My joy of course was to watch the gooey burnt cheese getting scraped onto the plate.  It requires the server to pass quite often to rescrape every few minutes (or you have to patiently wait) but the warm gooey cheese is worth the wait. Raclette cheese is similar in taste to Gruyere cheese (click here for the previous blogpost on Gruyere Cheese) which is light, nutty and slightly acidic in flavor. 

The cheese is always served with potatoes and cornichons (thats french speak for mini pickles) and often times for you carnivores, a nice plate of charcuterie (prepared meets, usually of the dried variety like sausage, proscuitto etc). The Alps regions (both Swiss and French) are always full of dried meats that can keep over the long harsh winters. 

The Rhone Alpes Region, just like all other French regions produce some sort of wine or alcohol. Although the summer times are warm, the weather is (as you can imagine for a mountain region) milder and thus the majority of the wine produced is of the white or rose variety. We chose to go with a local bottle of Rose to go with the cheese.  It's pretty typical to eat any cheese dishes with white/ rose wine as the acidity helps to cut the heaviness of the cheese (trust me, when you think about the solid form of Raclette before you eat it, you will drink the wine to help cut the solid block of cheese in your stomach a few hours afterwards). 

The family also has horses with which they offer treks into the mountains with as well as adorable cats and bunnies.  Behind the chalet is a series of trails that take you into the mountains.  We had decided after our hearty meal to head towards the waterfall that was about a 20 minute easy hike in. We had a wonderful meal at Nemoz, with all of its' rustic charm and warm handmade touches. I keep on bugging my husband to go back -- hopefully he'll give in soon.

Taking in the fresh air of the Alps

I loved the carved wood details and pieces of Raclette cheese sitting on the fireplace

It's the Grinch!  

More carrots then this bunny can manage

Addresses

Auberge Nemoz

Hameau La Martinette

38580 La Ferriere

+33 (0)4 76 45 03 10