sun in the city

We went to Maastricht for a day to meet a very dear friend. Maastricht is a wonderful city all the way in the south of the Netherlands and somehow a city trip to Maastricht always feels like a mini-holiday, probably most of all, because it somehow always has blue skies. It was the first time this year I could take the kids outside without jackets, boots and hats and we even bought ice-cream. Unfortunately of all the beautiful sights and sounds of the city I only have these pictures of Marit next to a ventilation unit to show you. That’s the problem with kids… you never have any hands free to keep your camera on standby. Luckily the sunshine on her face says it all.

ready to take your order!

We’ve been back in Holland 3 months now, and to tell you the truth, I feel like I’ve been living in limbo a bit. We’re still looking for a place to live so our life here in Utrecht feels very ‘temporary’. Last week I received 3 new assignments for birth announcements and I’m so thankfull that I’ve got something to concentrate on again. However, I’m waiting for a computer component to arrive through the mail, and without that I really can’t get started yet.

It has given me a boost, and I think it’s high time I start focusing on ‘by JOE and JULES’ again. In the meantime I’ve  updated the website and translated it into Dutch as I’m hoping to focus on the local market a bit more. Now I’m hoping the orders start coming through!

winter ends

Today it was a whopping 16 degrees. We spent way to much of the day inside because the kids were catching up with a heap of sleep after we had been traveling around Holland a lot, but when they were finally awake, we raced to the playground to catch the last rays of sun. It was the perfect formula for us all to get out of our little winter depression. the slide for the kids, the sunshine on their faces and a camera at hand to catch this moment.

my illustrations published!

I didn’t really ever believe it would happen, but it did. A little children’s book with my illustrations has been published. It’s a book about a Ghanese girl and her mother who find a way to finance the little girl’s school. It’s written to explain to children in Holland how micro-financing in third world countries works and it’s been published by a Dutch NGO organisation called Day for Change.
The book is called ‘Yaba’s moeder en de kleine lening’ which translates as ‘Yaba’s mother and the little loan’ and it’s written by Nicoline van Slingelandt. First it was only available as a special action for Sint Nicolaas and Christmas, but it still is available for schools through Day for Change’s website.
I’m really happy I got the opportunity, especially because I think it’s such a fantastic cause. I hope I’ll get some more chances like this.

ice, ice, baby

Lucas has been born into a very sporty family who love  to cycle and ski in the Alps. His older brother’s birth announcement was all about cycling so this card focused on skiing. Snow and winter quite coincidentally became a very appropriate them for this card, as little Lucas was born during one of the coldest weeks Holland has had in years.

winter wonderland

We’re acclimatizing quickly although we’ve gone from one extreme to the other. We’ve been experiencing a pretty cold Dutch winter with continuous temperatures below freezing. They are even talking about having an Elfstedentocht, which hasn’t happened since 1997. It’s fun watching Nils’ reaction to snow  and his dissapointment that it didn’t taste sweet like icing sugar.

It’s a fairytale sight but we’ve been having some trouble coping with these temperatures. It took Nils a while before he understood that winter gear is a must if you want to play outside. He managed to take off his boots in the middle of town somewhere and walk through the snow in his socks.

I bought a bike with child seats and I’ve been looking forward to cycle around town with Nils and Marit like a proper Dutch mom, but I’ve been dreading to get out onto the slippery road on those two wobbely wheels.

more than a tale of two cities

Malik is a true mix of cultures. His father is Algerian and his mother is Dutch and they live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The parents asked me to design something incorporating the skylines of Amsterdam and Dubai. I think it was a super choice, because both these cities’ skylines are impressive and very characteristic. I decided to add the stork because after all, this card is more than a tale of two cities, its about a little boy being born. Little did I realize at the time that I hit the nail on the spot because coincidentally storks are the national bird of Algeria! Boy, was I pleased with myself!

Welcome little Malik!

the good life

this trip had been planned for a while, so just before we started our new Dutch life we spent two gorgeous weeks at Joost’s parents place in the Southafrican sunshine. It was lovely to recuperate from the busy weeks behind us and to prepare ourselves for the road ahead. It was great to  see how the kids were thriving at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. Marit mastered the art of walking and Nils recovered from some serious lack of sleep.

Although I dreaded leaving them behind, going away for a couple of days without the kids was the absolute highlight of our stay, with a horse ride through Walkers Bay Nature Reserve being the icing on the cake.

Ozzie

 

little Oscar will be travelling to Holland in a few months. It’s a long flight from where he lives in Australia and his mom was planning to do a halfway break in Oman to visit us. What a bummer that we won’t be there anymore! I’d have loved to show them around. Ofcourse, now we’re moving back home we’ll meet up there.

This card arrived in the mail a few weeks ago. It’s been lying on the dining room table for weeks. I spilt some coffee over it and its been creased. The style of the card is derived from the card I made for Oscar’s parents to announce to the world that they she was pregnant!

Boxing Day

Dear all,

Of course let’s start by wishing everybody a Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year. We’re spending our Christmas packing instead of unpacking. All our stuff has been wrapped and I am already looking forward to somewhere in March or April next year when we can unpack it all again.