Hubby says: "Can you do something less colorful, less floral? I mean it's nice what you make, but I think people like plain, one or two colors stuff."
Me: "Well, but this is me, hubby. I already had this thinking of making plain things, but these colorful results are part of my personality and my culture, I guess. I know I can do something plain, but I won't be happy with it. I know there are a lot of people that would never wear a red shirt. But I do. I like it bold. I like it strong. I wanna do what I like and sorry, I can't please all the people".
This conversation we had several weeks ago...to be or not to be so colorful? I prefer to be. If you like it, stay with me. If you don't...say bye. The sun shines for everyone.
My comment box remains closed and I am thinking about reopen it...maybe not. I have good reasons to not let people to comment here, I prefer e-mails at the moment.
And today I took the kids to the community pool. Warm day, when the sun is not hidden behind the clouds. My skin is a bit red. Love this, but with lots of sunscreen, please!
I heard that Hancock Fabrics is closing several shops in the country and the one in town is one of them. they had a huge sale and lots of stuff were sold for almost nothing. I got lots of Waverly samples like these below for 50 cents each...
Remember those clothespin dolls I was making? I just put them in a box, unfinished. Yeah, I did. I just discovered that I don't like messing with small things. My fingers get nervous and I lost my patience with them. Besides, I don't really like dolls. Sometimes, I do. It depends...I am so afraid of those Blythes. I see them everywhere on Flickr. I totally understand those that like them, but they put me off a bit...they really make my hair to stand up!
And this (below) I started last night...Will you guess what is this? You don't need to. If you wait, you will see. Hopefully it will work perfectly. Burlap is so very cool to work with...love it.
They gave her a name which I like. It's Molly, my mannequin. Perfect to hang my clothes and photograph my handmade bags and brooches...I don't like to be a model to show things I make and I dislike using a tripod, so this mannequin is just great! It's not heavy and I can move it around easily.
And the bag was renamed Amelia. It's gonna be back in the shop soon. I wanted to redo the lenght of the handles as I thought they were a bit too long.
And I made a brooch with scraps of embroidered linen, cotton and a covered button...
Last, just because I am happy about it and I know it's too silly to report that, but I will just because...I finally found the perfect bra size for me!!! After over 6 years living in The US, I am happy to know that Victoria's Secret sells 38 A bras. The sales girl told me they are new and it's not even in the catalog yet...and they just had half dozen in a forgotten drawer. Yay, I don't feel like an alien anymore!!!
I've been thinking about this blog lately. I don't feel like deleting it, but I also don't feel like being here as much as when I started it. I don't have amazing, impressive and great writings for you to read and most of my visitors come after tutorials and I also don't feel like posting tutorials anymore for the public. I also don't feel like writing in my mother language either. I am not conecting at all in blogland these days. I am still making things, sewing, taking photos...perhaps I should turn this blog into a speechless photoblog. I still like my blog...so confusing!
Wip: making dolls with vintage wooden spools and some clothespin dolls. I made some dolls with wooden spools in the past and my son loves them so much. He confiscated them for him and now all my wooden shadow boxes (the ones I bought months ago and I never did anything with them) are in his room. He likes to play with dolls since he is a little baby. It's funny because he is a boy, but I will never stop him. He also loves plush toys and toys made of wood. As for clothespin dolls...you probably have seen a bunch of them in blogland lately, hu? I wish to make them a bit different from what I've seen around the web...
The cat doesn't really look like a russian doll as I was expecting...it looks just like a plush cat. I've stitched his face with floss on linen. I used my own pattern to make this cat. I still have to add his tale and a pin rosette.
The heads are attached, now they need dresses! I promised a few for my son...
And Tobias the real cat is enjoying his summer time! Today 3 cats will visit the Vet's office for immunizations.
I've been thinking about blogging since Monday. I can't believe it is Friday already! Summer is the busiest season for me. I have both kids at home and they beg to go outside, to ride their bikes, to be in the pool, to take a walk...and somehow I have more energy in this season. I even cooked today. I mean, I always cook but I am talking about good food. I don't like cooking but it's a pleasure for me when my kids are excited to eat something special that I make. I made a good soup today and fried yucca roots. Have you heard about these roots? Yucca roots are what we call in Brazil aipim, macaxeira or mandioca. I never make fried foods. I avoid fats as much as I can. I do an exception for yucca roots that are so much part of the brazilian culinary and very popular down there. Peel it, cook it in salted water and when soft, not mushy, damp in really hot oil. Not too long, because you don't want it too hard. The best is when is crunchy outside and soft inside.
Today is Saturday. I could not finish the post last night. I was too tired.
I guess I did not mention that our trip to Brazil was cancelled. Yes, we must wait a bit more. We will spend one week in California in July. My children haven't seen the ocean yet. Well, the oldest did but I don't think he remembers it. I bet it will be a blast! So, I can go back to my sewing room and make some pretties for this Summer. I've listed some totes in my Etsy shop last week. They were made of my own pattern and ideas.
Yesterday I started to work on something new. Super colorful. I dyed the linen with Rit on stovetop. They say to stir the fabric back and forth in the pot and they mean it. If you don't, the result is no good. I had to redo the process once and I think it looks nice now...
In my opinion these two look great...
I have more linen to dye in red and orange. I hope to show you next week!
This is my work in progress. I am loving it. Yes, it's a bag. Very soon I will try other things, like crazy colorful pouches, brooches, collages...
I can't forget to mention these books I got a few days ago. I've seen a lot of people talking about Lotta and her cool ideas for printing on fabric. I've been thinking about trying these ideas this Summer...with my own drawings, of course!
The another book is D.I.Y (Design it Yourself) by students and faculty in the Graphic Design MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. For those that are looking to learn something about Design, it is a nice start. It was published in 2006. I am looking foward to learn more about graphic design.
Another book that I got not long ago and I think is the best in the subject, it's called Craft Inc. (Turn Your Creative Hobby Into a Business) and it comes with great advices and important stuff we need to know if we would like to go business with our little arts & crafts. I like to surround myself with these readings lately. I wish that one day I can have real profits from whatever I do.
These links take you to Amazon. Happy Shopping and happy weekend!
Because as always, my time is hectic. You can't read about this anymore, I know. Nothing really deep and dramatic comes from my soul to put on the blog and I don't find it really necessary. So, better show what I've been making regarding sewing activities...
This is the second zippered pouch I make in my life...
I need to make this clear, this wreath below it's for my home. I am not selling it. The first time a saw a wreath alike it was on Danielle's blog, which is one of my favorites. She made this wreath inspired by this artist, that has a Etsy shop and sells her gorgeous wreaths.
For our home we can make whatever we wish, right? So, taking the idea of covering the styrofoam with yard, I followed my own taste to adorn it, with birds, fabric flowers, paper flowers, etc...
I was looking to make one for my home since a long time. I almost purchased one at Target some months ago, with pretty cherry blossoms on it, but seriously, I have so many supplies that I am not using and I love to craft...I just needed the yarn. So here is mine...
These crocheted flowers were made by my mom, on top of them plastic flowers and pins...
I am just not sure if I am hanging on the front door...can someone steal it? I would get really mad if that happens!!
After finishing this wreath, I got ideas to finish the styrofoam trees. I was suppose to finish them for last Christmas...hmmm, I show them later...
The week was good. I am bit tired, I would like to sleep till noon, but...I can't. At 7 am the alarm scares me out to death (I feel like braking it, throwing that cell phone on the wall!) and if I don't jump out of the bed that same second, I will probably oversleep.
The joys and the therapy of stitching after they go to bed or with little one seated by my side, talking away and making many questions, the cats making noises, I have one that snores really loud, these are just like lullabies...I thought that I would get bored doing this simple embroidery, but nope, I really enjoyed the process. The drawing I did myself with a fabric washable marker direct on the fabric (linen). I do draw a bit, I don't really need the ready patterns. I just don't draw anymore like when I was a teen. So do my husband. He is incredible. He is an artist, he is definitely better than I, because he can draw anything without looking at it. I don't have such good memory to make certain drawings without observing the object...funny! Sometimes he will say that he would like to paint and draw things again, but he will soon forget about it. Hectic times, hard work, there is always something to fix at home, places to go and we forget about us, as human beings full of needs and wishes. And I, well...although I have this gift, this talent (whatever you wish to call) for drawing, I chose other hobbies...we must do what we feel confortable with, right? I enjoy sewing and reading now, much more than drawing. Let it be! Sometimes I wonder if I open the sketchbook and doodle for good one of this days...
Lolita, it's the name of this bag I just finished. I thought about Lolita because I am reading a book that has something to do, I mean, everything to do with this name, since it's part of its title.
It has pale colors that I often do not use, but doesn't mean that I don't like it. I usually like brighter ones, but this captivates me somehow. It's delicate. I used some vintage buttons to adorn the back of it and crocheted laces. I don't know if I should sell it or not. I like it so much. Lately I've found myself removing things from the shop to keep them for me.
...
I feel so good in this room, having all my bits and bobs scattered all over the table like on the photo above. You can also see a piece of the book cover I am reading at the moment. I just got it. I felt like reading something and after several minutes of search and little one whining about going home, I picked "Reading Lolita in Tehran". So far, I am liking it. I've read 4 chapters already and I find interesting how the author describes some details about the girls, but this is just the beggining. I might get bored in the middle, I have no idea. All the books I got recently were left forgotten in the drawer of my side table with a book mark right in the middle of them. Sometimes books put me to sleep and they end in the drawers, forever. All the books I read till the end were in portuguese, brazilian literature. That's right. Great ones. I remember reading 3 or 4 books a week when I was around 18-22 years old. I wasn't so busy that time because I failed the tests to the university (I tried Social Sciences : Anthropologie and Sociology), so I had to read. I find books about social/cultural matters more appealing to me. I do approach the shelves on biographies and politics too. I don't know why...they can be hard, sad sometimes...
BTW, are you tired of seeing my craft room? No? Good. I am never tired of that. Today I want to take a walk to some parks around here. All the trees are blooming and it's so inviting! Let's see if I get different photos...hopefully, won't be so windy today. I hope, because I am tired of this cold wind.
You can't comment anymore on my blog, that's right. I decided to remove the box for reasons that I prefer do not discuss about it. I really appreciated the comments, but I feel like not having it at the moment. My e-mail is still available though. I might have it again in the future...who knows?
Oh man, I had a funny dream last night. I was in my parents home, everything looked the way it was when I was a teen and I had a pig. A baby pig that spoke and used to follow me everywhere I went. A buddy pig, very pretty and pink!!! I am kinda impressed with this dream. I think is the first time I dream with a pig!! He was clean and he wanted to take showers too.
So, I had a very nice swap with Anita from Germany. You can see what I sent to her on here. She made me lovely Tilda rosettes that I can use in some projects in the future. Right now, I embellish my inspiration board with them. She also made me 8 birds, with a pretty red flowered fabric as you can see on the photo. I loved to open the package and my kids got so excited about it. Everytime someone rings the bell they rush to the door wit a big smile and greet the deliver guy with me! Anita was generous making some paper tags all stamped with intricate drawings and she printed labels on fusible fabric for me. I also got 2 Cath Kidston catalogs and german mags, chocolate and a glass jar filled with fabric yo-yos and a delicious heart sachet. So here is just a glimpse of these fabulous goodies...
During this week I worked on these bags that I made for me and two for the shop. I've seen some people carrying eco friendly bags, taking them to the grocerie store, those made of coffe bags, and another day at the fabric shop I saw burlap (jute) on the shelves and I wondered what could be done with it. I was a bit skeptical about making bags with burlap for 2 reasons: the texture is not smooth and it can be itchy on our skin and because it frays really easy after you cut it. I did it carefully, sewing twice on the edges to prevent fray and I have enjoyed stitching the swirl on the front with a soft green yard. The sides and the botton has fusible interface, the craft type, it makes the fabric pretty sturdy. I really like the natural fibers like this burlap and linen and mix them with colorful cotton fabric and the crocheted laces. I wish to find other colors of it, but not luck around here. I just find ivory color. I want beige, like milk+coffe color. Should I dye them? I am inspired by the japanese zakka style. Also, the natural textiles conects me with the earth as I am so earthy person. So, my burlap bag is not for sale. I would like to ask your sincere feedback. I myself like it very much, it makes a great beach bag and next time in Sedona, I am sure taking it with me.
The one below made with a beautiful embroidered linen. It is not for sale either!
The one above and this one and below are very similar to the ones I made last summer. The difference is that they are not floppy, because they have quilter's batting between layers making them very soft and better constructed. I am also using the natural rope as closure instead of ribbon.
Several weeks ago, I went to Phoenix and curiously I had to stop at Ikea. I got a table for little one's room and some small storage, like those drawers that are not sold online. So, last week I made a little decoupage on one of them (I bought 2) with fabric and modge podge. Here is the result...
These drawers are fun because we can personalize it, but I tell you what...hard to put them together! Next time, I will let my husband do the not so fun part!
Do you have any Ikea Drawers still "naked"? Have some inspiration: here, here and here.
We used to go Vegas often when living in Lake Havasu city years ago. I don't really love that place, but hubby wanted to go there. It's always full of people and we don't gamble. It was good to walk around and see people from all over the world. You actually see all sorts of things, weird things. We went window shopping 'cause we have to save money to go to Brazil very soon... A long time we don't go anywhere, because it's a bit tiresome with small children. They had fun at Circus Circus. They actually had more fun than us.
When little one does not want to go in certain places...ha! He will stop at the doors and say it laudly..." I am not going inside there." You try to convince the boy...it takes like 15 minutes to make him to accept the fact that mommy and daddy would like to have fun too...that happened at Anthropologie. I wanted so bad to go see that shop that I hear so much about it and he would not let me go. The little brat started to cry by the door and after some little talking (pleeeease, let's go there to see beautiful things, pleeease!) we stepped in. We were all around the entryway looking what we could, because little one was not happy at all. I told my husband to take him out for 5 minutes, but nothing would make him go out with daddy and daddy, off course wanted to be by my side to watch how much I would spend there!!! He definitely had good tactics to stop me wishing Anthropologie goodies.
"Pricey, isn't it?" He tapped on my shoulder and said: "Have you seen the labels? It's all made in Asia. I said: "yeah...I see, but what is not made in Asia today?" He touched my heart right after saying: "probably made by a kid that earned less than a dollar sewing these clothing and they overprice everything to sell here for rich people looking for a brand name, a hip style. It's so frivolous Zee." And I just looked at him and "sigh, you are not wrong, just tell me that you can't afford it, cut this torture in half please."And how about the quality?" He asks. Well, I must agree that some shirts sold for around $ 80 bucks after looking at the quality......I got a bit concerned about it. Really, but a lot of things are fine and I think the price is ok, like these cushions for example. I guess it all depends of where you live and how much you make, it depends also of our evil part of being not so futile and knowing that living in this world is not a fairy tale, while we pay 118 bucks for something that we don't really need and the same amount of money would feed a family in Africa for the entire month... Ahem, I can't be hypocrite. Should we all feel guilty of being alive and have good food on the table? Should we all blame ourselves for all horrible things that happen in the world? After all, I just looked and got inspired and I got sad too. I like the style, speacially the houseware goodies, lamp shades, frames, embroidered pillows, all those colors... Some of their clothing I would not wear, but I loved some pants and shirts they have. It was great to go in, but shopping with kids and husband does not work.
I wonder if the brazilian shops are still making their own designs and sewing locally their creations. I worked as a seller in some shops and I knew that clothing were made locally. I am not sure about how much a seamstress makes in Brazil, but they probably make more than what people make in Asia, still not enough and it's obvious. Visiting Anthropologie gave me some DIY ideas...hmmmm....I love patchwork, crewel and details made with colorful scrapped fabric!!!
Wouldn't be nice to see shops owned by groups of local artisans, crafters, artists, something like Trunkt out there, in the streets? I think so...perhaps they are already there and I did not see yet. I live in a small town and I don't see much around here!
Work in progress...these cell phone pouches will be ready soon...
A bit late, I know! All right, life back to normal. It's snowing again and hopefully it will stop soon. All these days I've been working on new bags. They all have quilter's batting in between the layers for softness. Some mistakes I did, but fortunately I can fix them without problems.
How about 2008? Resolutions? Yes, some. I hear that if we write down our resolutions, it's better, but in my case, I will forget to look at them, I know, I will. My mom used to say that I lived in the "land of the moon" all the time, because I don't pay attention to things that....errrr, do not interest me very much. It's true. In high school all the girls used to seat at the same huge table to chat. Ha! I was always somewhere else. Maybe I can use my inspiration board for it, write some big red words to catch up my attention. What do I want? Confidence, more positive thinking, more skills, time management (guilt free), lots of inspiration...anything that pushes me foward will be great and I want peace, love with the family and hopefully, no more weirdos after me! Weirdos, please get a sewing machine! I tell you, it's good.
2007 was a calm year, although I had many of my mood swings bothering me, lack of motivation in the beggining, but in the end, I was just fine. I can't complaim. It was a good year. I have my kids, my family together and that is what matters.
Here are the bags I just finished this week...
The green + grey bag it was made with a piece of Scotland wool sweater that I wasn't going to wear it anymore, and instead of giving it away, I cut it in pieces. So, I came up with the idea of making a bag out of it. It was delicious to make it, the idea worked out pretty well and it's on my Etsy shop. You will notice different prices. Yeah, I had to do it. I put more than 5 hours on each of these bags and I am not even counting the time I spend shopping for supplies and taking photos and uploading them to the websites I use. If people like, if people love it, they will buy it. This is being a great experience. I am not really worried about it, the story of making money from home is great, but it's so complex. It demands a lot from me and I am still learning a bunch of stuff. If happens, I will be glad and it will motivates me even more. I think this is just the little beggining...maybe...
I was reviewing the year of 2007 with photos. I think I do better if I put together a photo gallery to work as a subdomain, I mean, another web page besides the blog. I do it later.
Have a nice weekend and thanks for all the messages, all the kindness last post!
I was not going to blog today, but something has been deeply annoying since I started to sell handmade things. Price. How to price my items. I know some of you that stop by this blog have an Etsy shop too or you sell some place else. You probably face the same dilemma. I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like selling myself short. I've stumbled over this and this articles about how to price our handmade creations, you might wanna take a look.
My husband truly supports my hobby, it is a hobby for now, I keep repeating that, because I (obviously) don't make a living with things I sell. I've sold very few things (all the bags sold out), but I am proud of it. Because it's a hobby, the profits can cover the expenses of supplies I buy. So...my husband is actually paying for me to play with my sewing machine! Probably, yours too. It's cool, but he tells me..."you gotta be kidding me, that you are selling these bags for that price, gosh Zee, you are giving them away!!!" Ooops, he is very realistic. I am too, but I often forget about all I go through to make one bag, for example. Just like everyone else, I go out to shop for fabric. I like to see the fabric in person, I like to touch and visualize patterns and look for delightful combos. This is one of the best parts of the job. I often go with little one, that hates the store and will bug me all the time to go home fast. I go home and right away, I wash and dry all the fabric. But hey, I also spent money with sewing notions: Ribbons, buttons, laces, thread, batting and the list can be endless. If you are a seamstress, you know how much supplies you need to start working.
After drying, I press with iron. I fold all the fabric and they go to my small stack on the shelf. Sometimes I will take several weeks to make something with them. I will be waiting for ideas and energy to make it. Sometimes I just don't feel like making anything, one more reason to say that what I do is a hobby. The day(if ever happens) I take it for a real job, I will have to set up hours of work and even hire someone to help me...that's only a dream!!! Haha! Continuing with my little rant. My husband asks..."how many hours do you put in just one bag?" I whisper... "hmmm, it depends, as I usually like to embroider and make it slowly as I am not super experienced on making them (but that doesn't mean they are not well made)...I think 5 - 6 hours each." He laughs and one more time he says..."you gotta be kidding me that you are selling them for that price!!!" I reply..."well, at least pays for some supplies." Shame on me. I feel stupid.
I believe that there are a lot of talented people that don't even start making things by hand just because they would not feel happy selling what they would create. They just don't believe that buyers would pay a "fair" price for their items. Some people start it and quit it quickly, after all the hassle of puting so much time and money on handmade projects. Sometimes, they just don't sell anything and get really frustrated. In my case...I don't know what is gonna happen...
From the site linked above, here is one of the things that caught my atention: "Finally – and importantly, when pricing consideration needs to be given to what the market will bear. There is no point carefully making a bag or purse, or embroidering a cushion, working out the costs factoring all the elements above, and then finding you are selling a $50 item at a craft market where the average price of items is $5! Make sure you have the right market for your work – and correspondingly the right work for the market. Look around for the right place to sell your $50 cushions, and make the right products to sell at a market where the average price of goods is $5."
Reading that, I ask to myself...is my dream of work from home reasonable? Should I insist? Are people willing to pay the price I think is fair for me? What people really think about my designs?Should I think big just because I've been lucky selling few things on Etsy and getting good feedbacks? Is Etsy right for me? Too many questions darlings...I just don't have the answers at the moment. I just finished 2 bags last night and all I feel is happiness for all the handmade process. It includes great feelings, that no money will pay. If I seat by a sewing machine it's because these great feelings I have, not because the money...but I have to rethink prices, I really do. Hubby is a hard worker guy and my hobby is also a hard work with lots of love. One of a kind, unique, special. That said, here are my new babies... and oooh, yes, if you care reading about Etsy's a bit more...here is a link for you. And ooooh, yes, I forgot that after making them, I have to take photos, edit photos and upload them to the web...so you figure it out! But...other questions bother me...do people really consider handmade goodies? Do buyers really know all the process we go through? If they do, why so many cheap handmade things out there??? Do people think big or do they just wanna pay for their supplies and have fun? Sigh.
Phew, finally done! I wanted so much to do this box! Somebody explaims to me, why do I love to make them?! Fun! You can see more explanations over here.
Unfortunately I won't be able to make many things for Christmas. Mostly gifts for my friends and family. Not much, I have just half dozen friends that I love very much. After all those gorgeous ornaments, lights and feast, the meaning of Christmas is often forgotten. If we keep it simple and small, we can also add those in need in our gift list!
Sometimes I don't really know my own style. There is a contrast between the pink bubble gum + modern patterns and the romantic french cottage home! I like vintage small finds, as postcards, images, sewing notions, tea cups...they make me remember stories told by my grandparents and everytime they did, I used to dive into their time, imagining the scenario. But I also enjoy modern design, simple and clean. I would like to blend all styles I like!
The first shadow box I make...I wish I could find some small "treasures" to complete the vignette. Although we went to a huge antique mall yesterday, I couldn't concentrate very well as I was very tired of all the driving and the kids couldn't stop whinning and nagging after us...not the right place for kids anyway, but we don't travel to Phoenix very often, so...at least, we got some cool vintage cars to decorate their rooms. How about Ikea, hu? Cool prices, but I would like to know about the quality of the furniture they sell. Our kids loved their toys, speacially the train set made in Bulgaria* and this thing, that I think is sooo very ugly! That super swedish royal blue place is huge, it was packed (oh, bugger, it was saturday!) and after getting few things like those cd/dvd storage that I wanted so much, to do some decoupage on it and, other small things for our home, I started to panic and beg to leave in a rush...what a headache. I don't like crowded places. That store is like a labyrinth...
All right, last night I had a blast! Hahaha! It's funny how ideas come up so quickly and these yummy (you will agree that you can almost drink, bite them all!) pincushions weren't in my mind lately. I have a box of stuff that I must drop at the Goodwill and these ceramic cups were in the box too. The other 4 cups broke up a long time ago and their plates as well. So, "wait a second", I thought to myself..." I think I can use these cups and those styrofoam balls that I bought to make Christmas ornaments". If they just fit right, if they are exactly the size needed...do you konw what I mean? They do fit, they do work. Great. Instead of stuffing, styrofoam balls! I just had to apply some hot glue on the edges of the cup to secure the ball (covered with fabric) on place. I see myself thrifting for cups...
I guess my motivation for crafts came back. Yay! Do you remember those vintage tins I made couple of months ago? Well, if you are a visitor of this blog for quite some time, you will remember them. Last night I worked on some more. These English tins are so gracious and I don't know why, I really love to create kits like these below...it's so fun. I've seen ideas out there from other people and when I saw these tins, I just had the insight right away!!! A composition of delicious materials that delights me so much. I think we women are drawn to charming and delicate things and that's how I wanted to ornate the contents of these tins. It must be filled up with simple + gorgeous pieces. Some contents are truly vintage finds that I took months to find. When I go to an antique shop I don't buy the first thing I see. I like small treasures, just like little toys. I am not a collector, but It's a pleasure to create for others. Go figure it out! I do things for myself and the next thing I am thinking about to make, it's a mini shadow box for my craft room. I show you later as soon as I get done. Right now the chaos reign over there and as I am a paranoic person over keeping everything clean, I just close the door of that room and this way I don't get so nervous! HA! Weird, hu?
I have new delicious things coming up...but, sshhhhh, copy cats everywhere. A good thing is to be inspired by others, but using our own ideas, looking for different ways, adding our own style and a BAD, very bad thing is to see people making things exactly the same to rush over Etsy (whatever place they like) and sell for much less, claiming their own creation...nah, not cool. It's a shame! I don't use patterns for my bags. Usually I drawn my own, they are very simple though. I like simple ways to make things. I love to look what people do, because I belive that the most you see, more creative you get, but I wouldn't copy others...sometimes people have similar ideas...but not exactly the same ones.
Supplies posing for a picture...those wooden spools I believe are pretty old... 50 years old or so...I grabbed a bag full of them...not easy to find around here. The crocheted flowers were made by my mother. She sent to me sometime ago...aren't they lovely? I can't crochet! Darn it! My grandma tried to teach me, but I had hard time and I gave it up. I was too busy climbing the trees!!!
I better get stuff ready before Christmas...I was going to Michaels today, but...let me use what I have here first...
Some of the contents of one English tin...stay tuned over my Etsy Shop. I am uploading them tonight or tomorrow...
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A great Christmas gift for those that love vintage things. All these little darlings can be kept to delight your eyes or be used as craft supplies. There are fabric yo-yos made by me with shabby fabric, felted balls, buttons, vintage trims, vintage cards, ginger/vanilla scented and adorned tags, etc...
Phew, Despite all the rush around here...I got these finished today!! I am really drawn to patchwork and linen fabric. I could just spend all day long at Joann admiring fabric patterns, but next purchases I will get online, via Etsy, Reprodepot or Super Buzzy and try some japanese imports: cute, darling, different, interesting!
It's so difficult not to publish personal whisperings...but I guess this way I am saving more time and avoiding curiosity over my life. I don't mind if more than half of the blog's visitors are gone to land somewhere else. I tell you, I am truly enjoying the way it is now...
The bag I made for a friend as a gift and the pouch is available at my Etsy shop!
Zee
♥
mom of 2 little boys, wife, cats, photography, Photoshop, crafts,
sewing, handmade things, Rio de Janeiro, Arizona...
hey, my mother language is
portuguese!
If you like what you see, get a cup of tea and enjoy! Thanks!
♥
