Christmas ornaments for introverts

I know, the title sounds a bit crazy, but it reflects some of my thoughts of this period. 

In my (rare) spare time I'm dedicating myself to get my shop ready for Christmas and so I've worked on new photos of my handmade ornaments (and also prepared a coupon code to have them with a 15% discount).

My ornaments
They are little and simple ornaments. Totally my style!

Some are made of cornastarch clay (stars and snowflakes) painted by me in white. Some others are made of recycled materials. My favourite are the felt embroidered stars.

They are different but all of them are rustic, nature inspired, traditional and small.

But, the most important thing, they are not too much eye-catching.

And so I said in my mind: "Hey, they are for people like me! These ornaments are for introverts!".

What about Christmas if you are introvert?

I'm not a very "Christmas person". Oh, no, I'm not the Grinch, I'm only and introvert girl! Proud of my introversion.

You can hear introverts saying that:

• They don't like the wastefulness and the confusion of Christmas time
• They don't feel great at crowded parties (even when only close family is involved)
• They don't like to go out and spend entire afternoons looking for the right gift
• They don't like bulky home decoration which steal part of their living space

I know that, probably, introvert people during Christmas time like better to:

• spend a full afternoon at home, on the sofa, watching a good Xmas movie
• cooking alone Xmas dishes for very "private" christmas lunches / dinners
• avoid too much noisy things (like those Santa's puppets mechanically saying "OhOhOh")
• enjoy some time of rest at home, dedicating themselves to hobbies and quiet activities
• buy gifts on-line and not in real shops after hours and hours of wandering in crowded shopping centers
• decorate their nest with gentle and not too much eye-catching ornaments

And it's probably because I'm introvert that I like to make all the little and "kind" Christmas ornaments you can find in my shop.

They don't occupy too much living space. 

They don't make noise or bling-blings of any kinds. 

You can buy them on-line if you want to offer a little gift to someone special (a very selected one, I presume).

They are perfect for a quiet, resting, loner and silent Christmas time in our precious cave, ehm, nest! :)

What do you think?
Does my post sound odd, annoyng, Grinch-style? 
Is there something familiar for you in the introvert Christmas I depicted in this post?
(wait, are you introvert or extrovert? a free test for you) 

Study the topic a bit more with this posts I found recently: 

Gift guide for introverts by Untidygrace
What introverts can give during the holidays by Holley Gerth
Ideas to survive the holidays if you are introvert by IntrovertSpring

Carnival sewing: a tulle skirt

Carnival is coming!

The first Carnival day will be next Thursday and here in Sicily people are getting ready for this event.

I'm not a big fan of this noisy, dirty and "squandering" feast, but I like to have fun and to enjoy the best part of everything. And the best part of Carnival is... no, not the typicall dishes, but... making costumes! :)

Expecially when they are for little ones!

My niece C. (7 years old) will wear a cat costume this year and I made her a tulle skirt to match with cat ears and tail, leggins and turtleneck sweater.

I had so much fun yesterday when I was making her the skirt. Not my usuall sewing; it's good to test something new every now and then.

This tulle skirt is made of three tulle layers (black, white, black). I've curled them by hands and fixed to a silver elastic band.

A useful note: the tulle stripes' lenght was four times the elastic band's lenght.

So the curling is very wispy :)

I closed the elastic band with a metallic snap and voilà, the skirt is finished. 

No need to close the back side, because the tulle is so "puffy" that the skirt closes by itself (and ... we need an open place for the tail).

I can't wait to see my neice wearing this skirt!

And you? What are you wearing [*] for Carnival parties this year?

[*] or making for the kids you love ;)

Related posts:

2013 Carnival sewing

Monogram bag for C.

Drawing a princess with C.

Advent signs

At mum's home in the North for some holiday days.

The sky is so grey and gloomy here (100% usual for this part of Italy in december) that I feel a bit like I have dark clouds in my brain. But my heart is singing, like under a happy sun.

I'm spending special days with mum, AuntFran, brother, big cousins and friends!

Also enjoying the advent atmosphere.

I can't believe december is here. Again. 2014 is going to the end. Really???

I'm having fun capturing advent signs here and there with my camera.

Not those showy Christmas decorations that are everywhere right now, but all the little things that make my frugal Christmas.
Let me show them with you.

 

A couple of cute tiny angels for my Christmas tree I bought yesterday at "L'artigiano in fiera" (a big fair in Milan):

 

 

They come from Lithuania and I can't wait to show them to S.

 

Other angels I photographed visiting the fair. They are made of crocheted cotton and wooden spheres for the heads.

 

 

A recycled paper nativity I bought for mum in a craft fair  last november (look where S. and I have been in a sunny november sunday!).

It's now part of her collection.

 

 

Mum loved it at first sight. I'm happy her collection is growing with my contribute, too!

 

Some advent craft: I'm making new synthetic felt ornaments. Not only embroidered stars! These are for cat lovers (like me).

 

 

Pam's ornament for mum is in its place: mum decided to hang it to her kitchen's door, so she can see it everyday!

 

 

I'm updating my Pinterest boards almost everyday, filling them with ideas for a rustic Christmas or for all people who like snowflakes (like me!) as winter symbol. They are full of other advent inpirations, take a look!

Little snowman: cross stitch part II

It's probably toooo early for snowmen and Christmas ornaments, I know.

It's still summer here in Italy.

But I followed a cross stitch pattern to make a little snowman recently (part of it in the corner of this photo) and making a Christmas tree ornament looked a great idea!

So... this is the new item in the shop: a little soft ornament made of fabric and thread with an embroidered snowman on one side.

I added a red bead for the nose. Isn't it similar to reindeer Rudolf?

Two silver metallic buttons and a black cord to hang it:

Cotton fabric on the back in sand and white and polyfill fibers inside:

Do you like it?

I do.

But the most important thing is that making this kind of little objects makes me happy. Crafting brings me an important amount of happiness day after day.

My heart sings while working to my things.

Can you understand me?

New embroidered stars for Christmas tree: felt!

Not only cornstarch ornaments in the shop!

Recently I've also listed six couples of felt stars I made last August/September thinking of Christmas and holidays home decor.

They are a bit different from the stars I've made last year: they were made of cotton fabric, sewn front to front and turned inside out (and then stuffed with polyfill).

This year, while I was spending a long and hard period at my parent's home, I decided to use some sheets of felt I found there: red and camel synthetic felt and blue real wool felt (recycled from old clothes).
I worked a lot after lunch, under the cloister, or in the evening, watching tv.

I like to work with felt, it's one of my creative discoveries of 2013. It's very soft to embroider and you can sew it by hand, back to back: there's no need to turn your work inside out, so the stars came out a little bigger than last year.

It's time to show them to you. I designed by myself the embroidery design, as usual, slightly different for each couple.
They all are embroidered only on one side with white cotton thread and are approximately cm 7 tall.

My favourite are these red stars:

Other red stars are...

... these with a simple embroidery:

 



... and these more complex:

I think red and white are perfect and traditional colors for Christmas, but also dark blue is great when you're making star, because the mix of blue and white suggests the light of the stars in the dark winter sky. Do you agree?

I made two couples of blue stars.

This is the first one:

And this is the second:
 

Follow the links in the text to go into my shop's pages and read additional informations.
I decided that 12 € for each couple is a fair price. What do you think?
Consider there's a lot of work, totally made by hand, to realize them.
Of course you can also jump into my shop's "home decor and holidays" section to see all the different ornaments available.

The last set of stars is slightly different: the stars are embroidered on both sides with two colors (red and white) and not stuffed (they are flat).
You can find them here:

Please, can you write in the comments which is your favourite set?
I need you opinion to improve the production of this kind of home accessories. I really like to make them, so I want to do better, if I can!
Thank you!!! :)

It's that time of the year again! Winter crafts time!

Robins has here again, we roasted chestnuts last sunday, I cooked a very big pumpkin, leeves are falling down ... it's that time of the year again ... fall, time to start winter crafts of all sorts!

 

November is coming and brings very busy crafty moments every year.

It's time to make Christmas ornaments, handmade presepi, handmade gifts for family and friends, new clothes for chilly days... a lot of things to make and do!

 

My plans:

- go on making clothes for winter. After the long sleeves cardigan, I need a skirt. I've spent some time yesterday looking for patterns and/or instructions for wrap skirts and now I'm ready to start! Also an half-round skirt is very welcome, I hope to have the time (and right fabric, too).

- crochet! When evenings are colder I like to work in bed with hooks and wool. Not sure what I'll make, but Pam's mushrooms  are amazing and I'll probably give them a try. New amigurumi animals and granny squares are on the top of my list, too.

- start my 2013 photobook. Although 2013 has been a very hard and sad year, I want to save all the photos of happy moments for the future, like last year. Hanna's blog post will help me in solving problems I had last year with Blurb, I hope.

- Make at least one of the projects I saved into my Pinterest boards [*]
- Drawing drawing drawing. And painting a bit, too.

 

Suggestions from my blog:

If you need ideas for winter crafts, feel free to "copy" my creations. I would be very happy if you'll let me know in the comments what you've made!
My suggestions are:

- Print and make some paper angels

- Prepare some cornstarch clay with my tutorial: you can use it for jewelry (to give as a gift or for you).

- Use my snowflakes designs to embroider snowflakes everywhere or to make ornaments!
- Explore the endless possibilities of handmade presepi (= nativities): here some by my mum.

- Start a Christmas wreath with real tree branches

- Follow my tutorial to make bows: you can use them to make little gifts (like brooches) or ornaments. Great for fabric scraps!

 

[*] Pinterest inspirations:

- decorative trees with pine cones

- a Christmas bunting with orange peel

- the perfect gifts for dads and grandpas: a tie

- gift idea for friends or sisters: fabric tote to carry wine bottles

- Felt reindeer!!! Super cute!

 

What are you going to make this november?

Let me know in the comments! :)

Shop update: Christmas ornaments in cornstarch clay!

I'm setting up the shop for Christmas in these days!

I love the idea that some people in the world will receive my items as made-with-love gifts. I hope to sell well and I'm doing my best to organize a beautiful shop full of interesting things.

I'm filling it of Christmas ornaments, too.

Do you remember all those stars and hexagons I made and painted last June and July?

I've recently divided them into sets (after adding some cotton thread for hanging) and uploaded in the shop.

 

They are...

 

... a set of three green stars:

 

 

... a set of three little red stars:

 

 

... a set of two blue hexagons with painted snowflakes (blue thread):

 

 

... a set of two blue hexagons (white thread):

 

 

... a set of three red hexagons:

 

 

... a set of three little stars in blue:

 

 

... and a set of two red stars:

 

 

All the ornaments are painted in White with tempera colours and varnished with a water varnish that make their surface a bit shiny.

The price of each set is between € 7.50 and € 9.00 (+ shipping). I think is a fair place for things 100% handmade. Do you agree?

 

I have other sets to photograph and upload in the shop. Here you can see all the sets I've prepared:

 

 

This summer I made some embroidered stars with felt, too (a blog post is coming!). You can find them in my shop's "home decor and holidays" section, together with other ornaments like the embroidered snowflakes, white leather stars and three sets of plaid bows.

 

Hope you like my Christmas ornaments! :)

Stars and snow in July

Vacations  close to mum = cornstarch clay! :D

She makes for me the clay everytime I ask for it. I shape hexagons and stars in blue, red, white and green, because I decided it's not too early for working around Christmas decorations.

 

 

Then,when dried, I have fun fun fun painting on them with a tiny brush.

And voilà... stars and snowflakes come to life... in July, eh eh.

 

 

 

I worked a lot these days, can you see it?

 

 

One year later... I finished my violet skirt!

Last January I saw a lovely wool fabric in my favourite sewing shop here and I started to sew a skirt for me.
In March I had to admit the failure: the skirt came out so full of problems that I couldn't wear it :(
 

I gave up: this project stayed abandoned in a closet till last week, when I finally found the courage (and the patience!) to give it a second chance.

And after some cut-here / sew-there / rip-these-seams etc... I finished it!!! :)

 

 

I'm so proud of myself and so happy to have a new skirt for winter in my wardrobe (the unique "skirt for winter" to be honest! I'm a bad girl, I know!).

 

I like the fabric!
It's a bit "furry" and imitates a knitted cloth, althought it isn't.
I love the violet+grey+white+black mix in it!
It's a strong and warm fabric with wool fibers, perfect for winter, but its thickness is what probably gave me all that problems last year: I think it isn't the ideal fabric for a beginner in clothes making (I suppose starting with a simple flat fabric is the best choice!).

This a more complex skirt than the one I made in summer ("poppy skirt").

Poppy skirt is made on a super simple design: it hasn't darts, zipper and lining, but only an elastic band on the waist.

My new violet skirt is different, it has darts, closes by a zipper, has a "belt" on the waist line closed with a button and lining (in lighter violet).

 

 

A basic skirt: an A-line model for everyday outfits.

 

Now I know I can make this kind of skirts for me.
I've just bought a velvety fabric in a lovely sky blue to make another one! Not sure if I'll start it this winter or next year (I'm a bit busy with no-sewing things at the moment).
Finishing this one is enough for me now. I made it, I won!!! Eh eh :)

A totally unexpected gift in the mail

When I came back home last saturday I found a super lovely gift in the mail box. I opened the envelope and inside there was a beautiful handmade card:

 

 

It has a "festive" decoration made with stamps.

Love love love that Dala horse!

I immediatly recognized in it the stamp Fanie handcarved during Dala horse craft-a-long (I had the same idea but with different results).

 

But this card is not from Fanie but from Pam!

Lovely woman :)

She made it to send me a beautiful gift, hidden inside the card:

 

 

It's a danish woven paper basket!!! For me!!!

And in a color I really like!!!

 

This gift warmed my heart up and brought some joy in a quite difficult day (you know... saying goodbye to  my family, my home, my belove Po valley, travelling almost all day...).

Thank you, Pam, my friend, for your sweet gift!

 

I received some gifts at Christmas. Some are bought in the shops, some handmade. And in my opinion nothing is precious as a handmade gift.

This little paper basket is now in the group of my favourite Xmas gifts this year, together with this photo book and this pendant!

 

If you want to make one for you or for a person you love, follow Pam's tutorial!

I'm going to try this week! I'm not used to work with paper, but experimenting new crafts is always a good thing!

 

2012 / 2013

2012... a happy plain year.

No amazing facts, no too strong emotions like in the middle of 2011, no big goals achieved.

But a lot of simple happy things around me.

I can see it by my 2012 Flickr set.

Happiness, tranquility, little pleasures.

I'm grateful, yes, I am!

Thank you, 2012, for being an happy plain year! :)

But (because we always want to grow and have something new in our lives) I hope there will be other words in my 2013.

They are: strenght, rhythm, planning. I'm working on them and other things (a lot of other things!).

Like last year I've selected some favourite photos of 2012.

Hope you'll enjoy them!

Happy new year, my friends!!! :)

I hope 2013 will bring you amazing gifts!

Dad's nature photos: two brave little animals ("my creative family" serie)

Just arrived in my parents' home I found a lot of lovely things, like people I love, good food, northern wet weather (not so lovely, but so "mine"), a warm fireplace, and other wintery/xmassy goodies.

I also discovered that my whole family really developed a lot of new and amazing creative habits and skills during my absence.

I can't wait to be at my home again to show you what I'm talking about, so I'm writing some posts during the holidays about the amazing subject "my creative family". They will speak about handmade clothes, a photo book, nature photos, jewelry making and handamde nativities. Great, uh?

Today it's the time for my dad's nature photos.

He spends part of his day in the garden, growing plants and watching animals. Recently he started to be an excellent photographer of nature and took two snaps that I really love.

Isn't this brave robin amazing?

My father gave it some food and they quickly became friends :)

(it's not so difficult with robins!)

And what about this rabbit?

Dad says it often visits the garden looking for food. I hope to see it during these holidays here! Lovely lovely creature!

Well done, dad! I love your photos!!!

Christmas Eve

This is my first Christmas Eve far from home.

Last year I was at home, in northern Italy, helping mum preparing food, crafting a bit and visiting friends.

Today is a strange Christmas Eve for me, because there isn't the atmosphere I'm used to: here in Sicily there's a bright sun instead of usual cloudy and foggy sky, warm and dry air instead of cold and wet northern air.

I fell like it's not Christmas, but Easter :)

But I'm coming back home, tomorrow. I can't wait to jump in that airplane and then be at home for Christmas!!!

 

Although I'm far from home, I have a lot to enjoy today and to be happy for!

 

I have lovely decorations on my windows (bought by S):

 

 

I'm enjoying the sight of a new plant (poinsettia) received as a Xmas gift from two friends (Lidia&Arturo): it gives the perfect festive look to my Christmas corner in the (still empty) living room.

 

 

I'm spending the time getting ready for my holidays at home, tidying up the home and cooking for this evening's dinner, when we are going to be together S's parents and his sister Lucia (+ her lovely daughter and her boyfriend).

My contribute for this dinner is a special pasta with pumpkin you finish to cook in the oven:

 

And I'm baking also a special bread filled with cheese and speck (it has the shape of a braid! So festive! It looks like my wreath! Funny!).

 

My mother-in-law yesterday cooked traditional sicilian sweeties for this day:

 

 

So yummy!

 

Tomorrow I will be at home. My holidays will finish on January 5th. So I'm not sure to can read your blog, write on mine, answer your e-mails.

The only thing I can say is... Merry Christmas!

Enjoy your family, good food, festive moo and... see you soon!!! :)