Pom-pom love-love

I'm excited, because pom poms have been making a huge come-back, and I am loving it! The trend is definitely on the rise, and the fuzzy suckers are being used in all sorts of things, from home décor - they are added to curtains, edges of pillows, blankets, towels, anything with an edge! - to apparel. They are easy to make from scratch, and inexpensive too, and creative people all over the interwebs are using them in their crafty projects. They simply add a flirty, playful vibe to anything.

I jumped at this opportunity by making these easy necklaces.

You can find the free tutorial from Honestly...WTF here.

Stay tuned, my next post will show you how to make a SUPER-cute pom-pom infinity scarf!

Pop-art clutch

For most of my adult years, I have been a total organizational freak. Think Sheldon in the episode of The Big Bang Theory when he organizes his friend's closet..that's me in real life! I believe everything should have a place to call its home. I think that might be why I really enjoy making things that can contain other things...like bags!

I found this tutorial that got me REALLY excited because it reminded me that there really are a lot of possibilities with transfer paper. You can basically put any image you like on anything! WOW.

I made my clutch out of white vinyl. The tutorial is quite simple, so if you know what you're doing with that sewing machine you can add a few more sophisticated features, such as sewing the lining (instead of glueing it), and a cell-phone pocket like I did, etc.

Hand-warmers, SQUEE! So cute

Where I live, in Phoenix, Arizona, we don't have what my husband calls a "real winter" (he's from the Mid-West). Instead, we have 1-2 months of chilly weather. But even these 2 months are not really consistently chilly. Let me explain: one day I'll be sun-bathing in my back-yard with my bikini on, and the next I'm wearing a winter coat. It's pretty schitz-ey!

Either way I made these cute "happy couple hand-warmers" for those cold evenings when you just have to get out in the dark and take the dog for a walk. They contain little pockets that are filled with rice. You pop them in the microwave for a minute before heading out.

I loved how they turned out! Just the sight of them makes me feel so cozy inside! And I think they make for really good presents. The embroidery takes a while, but that's my favorite part of the project so I don't mind!

The project is from "Zakka Style"

Pillows enrich our lives!

Here is the second ever pillow project I embarked on. Of course, when you start with a sprocket pillow, everything else is downhill from there, right? I added a zipper to them, like I do for every pillow I make, because I can't stand the idea of never washing a pillow case. Gross!

To learn how to sew a zipper I used this tutorial from Prudent Baby, which was very helpful and easy to understand! It shows how to make any square/rectangular pillow case with a zipper. 

Here they are, all 5 of them in their glory! I got these beautiful fabrics at Joann. One day I went there for some supplies only to find out they were closing that store (the closest one to my house, great). So most of the inventory was on sale, and all of the home/upholstery fabric sample squares were sold at 50c !!!!! I went crazy right then and there. I bought at least 20. Because you never know! I used a solid color for the back.

Pillows enrich our lives!

I love pillows. I want one of every size and in every shape imaginable to man kind. I really like to make them myself, and to challenge myself to make more and more difficult and creative ones very time.

One of my very first sewing projects was not your typical square pillow, but a round sprocket pillow! Getting it done was so satisfying :) I was so proud of it. Now I'm like - sprocket pillow? In my sleep!

You can find the tutorial for this one at Cluck Cluck Sew. The instructions were very clear. Try it, it's really fun!

Gift ideas for men, anyone?

I often complain that buying a gift for a man is much more difficult than it is for a woman. And I don't think that that's just because I am a woman, either. Most of the gift material out there in this world is suitable for women only. Shopping for a girlfriend or female relative is so much simpler even that trying to conceive a gift for my own husband, who is my very own soul mate! Let's not even speak about presents for my dad, or for other male relatives! Eeghhh ...Now I try to take secret notes whenever my dad or husband give a clue as to something they like.

So anyway to get to the point, when I first started sewing I was so eager to share my new-found giddiness with other people, that I conceived everything I made in terms of "she'll love this" or "she'll LOVE that". But I didn't know how to share it with Ben. Stumbling accross this project (from "Zakka Style") , upon further reflection I realized it could easi-ish-ly become a "male gadget". I mean, yes, it's a pouch, but a tweed one! Tweed, with it's rough and unfinished look, gives off a casually indie and hipster vibe, which totally reflects both my dad's and Ben's personal tastes in a way! (They are gonna think it's funny I think they have something in common such as style!) So I made one for each of them, for Christmas.

Polka-dot Camera Strap

I gave a make-over to my boring black & yellow "NIKON" camera strap. Why the hell not?? Best thing I've ever done. For cereal. Because now when I take pictures I look really trendy. And it is so cute, I love the polka-dot fabric used. Only set-back is that my husband claimed I should have asked him beforehand, as it's not just my camera but our camera, and that he does not need to "look cute" when he's taking pictures. So bite me! Sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness rather than for permission ;)

This is a no-tutorial-needed project. Super easy! Just measure the length & width of your camera strap (the part in between the leather pieces). Mine was basically a really long rectangle. Then cut your fabric leaving enough space for the hem, at least one inch on all 4 sides. Use the excess fabric to fold the seam inwards twice. Pin in place, then top-stitch using a sewing machine. It's pretty much intuitive. You like?

Book Mobile

A few months prior to my artistic "coming-out" I picked up a book that really inspired me. It's called "The Repurposed Library", by Lisa Occhipinti. This was the first project I made from that book: it's a hanging sculpture made from an old hard-cover book I picked up at a flea market in Belgium. The book is a second-edition of the novel "Rose in Bloom", written by Louisa May Alcott in 1876, translated into Italian. A totally random find, and for a couple of cents too! This book sat awkwardly in my library for a few years (I don't have any other antique books). I had actually thought about getting rid of it, because I can't stand things that are out of place.

I do however sometimes like to collect things that I like but have no idea what to do with at present, because often they turn out to be of great use in my DIY projects. In fact my favorite types of projects are those that involve recycling something. This is known as UPcycling; taking something old and/or useless to turn it into something creative and modern. That's what "The Repurposed Library" is all about. It's chic and tasteful way of jerry-rigging something.

Here is another project I made that was inspired by this book. It's a canvas made of several pages stitched together by machine (I had no idea you could sew paper). Prior to making the book mobile, I kept aside the illustrated pages for a project that would show them off, like this one. I painted them in a little with watercolors.

Travel-sized sewing kit

Soo...now that I sew I need a sewing kit, right? You know, to keep my sewing supplies in? Not really, I already had some sewing boxes, that can contain a lot more stuff than this little thing! But who can resist a cute project like this?? I guess I can use it for travelling, for those long plane rides...which makes me wonder, can you bring needles on a plane?

This project was also brought to you by the book "Zakka Style".

Sewing IS my bag, baby!

So, here's the deal, I've been creative since I was a tiny thing. But for the most part of my adult life, I have been doing my best to keep this creativity bottled up and hidden from the world.

Who knows why? Out of fear, out of not knowing where to begin, perhaps just out of sheer laziness! That stuff really gets the best out of me sometimes, and it sucks all my aspirations, you know, the ones that live happily inside my head. It's not that I wasn't inspired! Oh HELL no! I am ALWAYS inspired by the work of others. In fact, I sometimes get over-inspired, like overwhelmed!

So for years I had been bookmarking, clipping, saving and jotting down billions and trillions of inspirational ideas for future projects. You know, saving them for "when the time was right". For when "I had time" or "money"...you name it! Every excuse known to mankind, I thought it! It took me years to come out of this virtual closet full of "ideas for the future". Like I said in my very first post, STARTING is by far THE most difficult thing for me. Once I do that, I am a flowing river!

This is how I changed things: Well first of all, my sister, Clelia, sent me several books to get me into sewing. I resisted at first. For some reason, sewing always seemed like something completely out of reach for me! It seemed tedious and complicated, and in school I always seemed to have awful luck with those sewing machines. They always jammed on me! I was the annoying student raising her hand every two minutes to get the teacher to trouble-shoot. Besides, I have to say that my aunt, Sandra, is a very skilled embroider. She was even featured in an art show! Her daughter, my cousin, Camilla, picked up sewing right about the same time my sister Clelia did. They spent several summer days sewing together. They got inspired from a beginner's book on making clothes. Frankly it all seemed a little *yawn* to me. I wasn't interested.

But then I found myself at home, alone, I had just moved to the United States, had no friends, and no job. My lovely mother in-law, Carol, bought me a sewing machine for Christmas. It was my idea. But still, it was many months before I really put it to good use. Also to tantalize me, I had these books Clelia sent me. I got inspired, but from a distance, I looked through them, skeptical. I was certain I wouldn't be able to make the easiest single project from any given one of those books.

I decided to give it a try one day. But I needed someone to assist me, to be there for me, to hold my hand through this and share the blame in the event that we failed. That person was my mother, Gaia. She came to visit me in my new home, and we sewed together. And this is what we made in a half a day! I was ecstatic! If I can do this, I can do anything!!! And I  have proven that I can. Sorry for the huge post, bear with me.

I proceded to create more and more and more pot-holders. We could say that I mastered the art of pot-holder making, that I am now a pot-holder expert and connoisseur. And that is the story of how I crawled out of my shell, how I learned to embrace my talents and passions! Who would have thought that a pot-holder could have the power to change the course of my life? I never dreamed of it. 

But most of all, I realized that sewing is my bag (baby). I am good at it, and I think it's really fun! Oh, and my troubleshooting problems with the sewing machine vanished, PUF! 

But enough about me. In fact, how rude of me, I haven't yet mentioned the source of my inspiration. It all started with the book "Zakka Style" (not to be confused with that hideous song gangnam style). It comprises 24 projects by different creatives, compiled in one user-friendly book by Rashida Coleman-Hale. This is the book that got me started, the one that contains this pot-holder project. 

Testing... 1-2... Testing... 1-2

Hello there!

No, I didn't make these lovely dresses. But aren't they inspiring? Makes me want to organize a coral-themed   garden party! With adorable little tea-sandwiches filled with sprouts and sliced radishes, bite-sized pistachio cupcakes with rose-scented frosting, and home-made minty-peach iced tea! NOM!

Anyways the point is, this is my FIRST EVER blog post. The process of setting up this blog and of putting myself out there, was a long time in the making. It has been a long, strenuous road filled with doubts and - let's face it - self-inflicted laziness! Let me explain... I am a person who has NEVER even updated her status on Facebook. GASP! SAY WHAT?! You heard me! I've never updated my Facebook status EVER! I am THAT introverted. Fact is, I'm only used to sharing intimate things about me with people who are very close to me. I'm the kind of person who can't even envision owning a Twitter account.

So ... what am I thinking, starting a blog? Well, coming out of my shell has not been easy, but taking the first step out of my comfort zone is always THE hardest part for me. So there it is: the hardest part is over!!!! I have a feeling that from now on this will come natural!

So stay a while....join me on this journey towards self-discovery, towards owning oneself and letting the world in on your talents and ideas! What are those for if you don't share them with the world?

Get inspired by my ideas... inspire me! Let's connect, and let's be friends!