NINO, THE LITTLE BUNNY

This is Nino, the little bunny!

I am very happy because this is my first sewing project done with my new sewing machine and the result is fantastic!

I got the pattern from the book “Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts”, which I bought in New York  last Christmas. You can find it on Amazon it you want.

Nino is quite simple to make. To cut the pattern I used the Silhouette Cameo also bought in the same trip. The Silhouette is a plotter that cuts paper, cardstock, cardboard, fabric, etc... One day I want to make ​​a post explaining in detail this gorgeous machine.

Anyway if you don’t have the Silhouette Cameo you can print the pattern on paper and copy it to your fabric with tailor chalk, then cut it and start sewing. To make the fabric more consistent I pasted transparent plastic paper on side of the fabric. Then I joined the two fabric parts with the plastic paper side outside and I sew it by hand before sew it with the Singer machine.

And here you have it on the yellow stool!

For more info feel free to ask me! ;)


Marina

MONDAY NEEDS MUSIC... and cupcakes!

It's been a nice weekend around here. Weather is been a little crazy, with cold wind and sun. We had the first lunch outside in the sunlight,  some friends came to visit and we ate a lot. A lot. Like these homemade cupcakes I made with Silvia, just delicious!

And talking about sweet things, here you have two lovely songs.
First one by Joel Alme.

 
Second one, by Anna Kendrick (from the movie Pitch Perfect, have you seen it?). Here you have the album version, but here you can see  how she sings the original, wow!



Have a nice day,

Mònica

RAINBOW EASTER CAKE

I've been thinking of making a rainbow cake for a long time, and I finally decided it during the Easter vacations. My nephews helped me and were very excited to participate in the process.



Ingredients for the cake:

200 grams of butter

4 eggs

480 grams of flour

320 grams of sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla essence

16 grams of yeast

250 ml of milk

Food colorant

I used a mold of 22 cm diameter and then I cut the edges to make them more uniform. 
 

Mix butter and sugar until it's totally mixed, then add the eggs, one by one, only add the next when the previous is completely mixed in the dough. Then add the vanilla essence.

Add the flour and the yeast slowly. When all this ingredients are together, add the milk.
Now take 8 bowls and put one tablespoon of dough in each one until the dough is finished.
Now add the food colorant  in each bowl.
Put some butter and flour in the mold and bake each dough 8 to 10 minutes at 180 degrees with the oven preheated.
Once cooked let them cool. Now you can make the cake structure or if you want you can wrap each color cake and let it in the fridge for the next day.

To build the structure put a color cake in a tray, then a layer of cream, then a different color cake, then a layer of cream… until the structure is complete.

The color dyes are  able for eating. I already bought a kit with all the colors made. If you buy only the three basic colors you can get the other colors by making the appropriated mixtures.




Between the dough coats I put whipped cream.



Here you can see the remnants.



Here is the Easter traditional chocolate egg, also we made it, don’t buy it! Using a very large egg mold purchased Gadgets Cuina, we did the egg following the instructions in this video.



Well, I built the cake placing each dough in the color order you can see on the photos, placing cream between each one.


Here is the egg on the top of the cake! It's great, right?

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed my rainbow Easter cake! ;)

Marina

SOFAR SOUNDS

Hey hipsters of the world! Can you imagine a secret music show in your living room? Sofar Sounds make it true. As they explain in their web, they "have created a movement which brings music lovers together in secret living room locations to hear some of the world's most cutting edge artists. In order to create an intimate and spellbinding atmosphere, we ask that nobody talk during performances" 

The  shows are held in over 18 cities worldwide, like Barcelona.
If you want more info just check their web and  facebook  and find the closest show to where you live.

And now, just take a look at these great performaces:

Olivemoon

Berlin Ist

Mates Mates

So cool  right?

  
Mònica

BARCELONA’S OPERA HOUSE

On March 24 I went to Barcelona's opera house, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, was founded on the Rambla in 1847 and has continued over the years to fulfil its role as a culture and arts centre and one of the symbols of the city.

We went to see Madama Butterfly, one of the most beautiful creations of Puccini. Albert gave me the tickets as a present for our first wedding anniversary, it was really exciting. It's difficult to describe the feeling you have when you hear those voices, so powerful.

Oh, don’t be afraid to go to the opera if you don’t understand Italian language, because each seat on the Liceu has a small screen where the subtitles appear in real time.

Madama Butterfly (Milan, 1904) tells the harrowing tale of Butterfly (Cio-Cio-San), a geisha in Nagasaki, who trusts blindly in the love of a cynical American naval officer, Pinkerton. But after marrying her under a Japanese law that allows the wife to be repudiated, Pinkerton goes home to America. When Butterfly discovers that the man she loves has come back with his American wife and wants to take charge of the son she bore him after his departure, she puts an end to her western dream and commits hara-kiri. The focus is on Butterfly -- her admirable capacity for love and her delicacy -- while the music , with its touches of refined exoticism, suits her fragile and sensitive character to a tee.  

I leave you some pictures of our visit and some videos of the Liceu and Ramon Gener, don’t miss them!

Marina

LEMON YELLOW

I’m a person who doesn’t keep many things, but I realize that the things I throw can be a treasure for others.

We found this IKEA stool in the street, abandoned. He looked very old. We thought about and finally picked it up and keep it in the garage of my parents' house. I finally get inspired and decided to paint it.

I chose bright lemon yellow paint. It had to be lemon yellow, not the typical yellow. I really like the result, we use it a lot and its color fills our dining room of bright light and life. It’s a multipurpose stool, used to sit, as a table, as a scale... Someone threw it but we have given it a new life!

Let’s recycle! ;)

Marina



LINKS LOVED

Here you have another round of links, today with music and dancing as the main theme.

via

Let's start with some music videos with amazing combinations:

• Like this version of "Tender" (Blur) by  Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller.
• Or this  version of  Near Wild Heaven (R.E.M), by Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Ben Gibbard.
• And this dream,  The National and Bon Iver!

And music is for dancing:

• Like this little 6 year old girl, wow!!
• Like this dancing nana...
• Or this man, I love him!

And we continue with other melodies: seals yelling like humans.

OMG, I never thought I would say this but I love a Miley Cirus song! I know it's a version, but this is perfect!

And we finish with a video that has nothing to do with music but it's so beautiful.

"Marina Abramovic and Ulay started an intense love story in the 70s. When they felt the relationship had run its course, they decided to walk the Great Wall of China, each from one end, meeting for one last big hug in the middle and never seeing each other again.
At her 2010 MoMA retrospective Marina performed 'The Artist Is Present' , where she shared a minute of silence with each stranger who sat in front of her. Ulay arrived without her knowing..." So much emotion without words!

And that's all!

 
XOXO

Mònica

PENNE WITH TOMATOES AND MOZZARELLA CHEESE

Here we have the other pasta recipe I talked about  few days ago. The first one was about Rigatoni, take a look if you want.

Let’s go.

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

∙ PASTA

500g Penne.

∙ SAUCE

90ml extra virgin olive oil ∙ 1 chopped clove garlic ∙24 cherry tomatoes cut in half ∙ salt and pepper ∙ 250g of fresh mozzarella cheese cut in little pieces ∙2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil ∙ 1 tablespoon of fresh mint.

∙ SAUCE: 1. Mix the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, garlic, mint, and olive oil in a big bowl. 2. Add salt and pepper at your taste and mix it all together softly.

∙ PASTA: 3. Put a pan of salted water to boil over high heat. Cook the pasta until is al dente, 10-12 minutes. 4. Drain the pasta and put it into a large bowl. Add the sauce to the bowl. 5. Stir the mixture well and serve it hot.

I added grated cheese at the sauce, it is much better!

One trick: Heat in microwave the dishes were you are going to serve the pasta, so it will stay hot longer.

Hope you try it and tell me about.

See you soon!

Marina