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

Summer sewing in black & white: skirt and t-shirt

Hi, lovely readers!

How is your summer going?

Mine is full of trips, time with friends, work, books, beach and good food.

I'm not very creative in this period, but I've probably understood where the problem is hidden (multitasking is not always a good thing!) and I'm going to do some good planning to reconnect myself to my self-expression path.

Despite this not-very-creative mood, I made some new clothes for me. 

Summer is the best season for diy clothes, in my opinion. 

Easy t-shirts, or skirts, are very easy to sew and they help your wardrobe staying full of options during the hot season, when the pile close to washing machines can reach huge dimensions.

I made a skirt and a t-shirt!

They both are black and white (+stripes!). It's not a combo I used to like in the past, but something was calling me while I was looking for fabrics into my boxes.

The skirt (very easy pencil skirt)

Something about this skirt:

• I've bought the fabric more than two years ago and left unused, because I loved it so much that I was terrified to waste it (also because the piece was very small).
  It's a strong but lightweight and soft knitted cotton fabric, printed with different motivs of black and white zigzag stripes.
• I've drawn the desing by myself following my body's shape and measurements. It's a very easy pencil skirt finished with an elastic on the waist:

• I realized the hem by hands.
  I've learned how to sew an invisible hem by hands thanks to a stitch (called "punto strega" - "witch stitch" - in italian) that can be stretched a bit (thread doesn't rip): very important in knitted fabric skirts.
  Most important: it works!
  (me in the making)

The t-shirt (stripes + flowers again!)

Something about this t-shirt:

• Yes, the fabric it's the same of the stripes+flowers t-shirt I made last year (still loved and worne) but in black+white+sand and not in blue. I have a big piece of it, so I will probably sew something else in the future.
• Design by me!
  I used a (bought) t-shirt that it's very confortable on me and used as a pattern.
  I added some bands on the sleeves because these details help handmade clothes to look less handmade (yes!).
  I'm not 100% satisfied by the neck line. It's always the part of the process that gives my troubles.
  
  

Future projects

I'd like to go on sewing in August.

It's to start something new, so in my plans there are:

• Culottes! I've collected a lot of inspirations, tips, patterns and tutorial for culottes making in a Pinterest board. Something like this or this will be great!
• A top with draped neck line following this tutorial. I hope it will help me in go over my problems with neck lines. I like this kind of neck line very much, too!
• Leggins or easy pants in stretch/kintted fabric.

I'll share with you the finished projects, of course!


Do you practice easy summer sewing like me?
Share your work! I'm always looking for new inspirations!

5 new (to me) amazing zines to read

More than three years have gone from my last post about zines! 

Can you believe it?

I was addicted to zines reading in the past and, though I still love this kind of self-expression form, I haven't bought (and reviewed) one in years.

I was surfing Etsy some days ago and I had the idea to look for some zines that appeal to me (you know, I need something to read this summer, expecially because I've recently discovered that I love to read near the sea).

I found a lot of new (to me) zines I like. 

Five of them are amazing, in my opinion, for their topic, or the style, or the quality of the illustrations.

I haven't bought them yet, because I'm still doing some researches, but I decided to tell you something about them, just to spread the zine love :)

These zines are about some of my favourite topics:

• plants
• cats
• being a woman
• being an introvert

Want to know something more? I'm introducing them to you!

1. Winter wild, a zine about plants life in winter, by Kriski

I love the topic, but most of all, the style of drawing and lettering. So tidy and organized, but funny and modern.

The colours too are lovely, among my favourites!

And it's a big zine: 20 pages to look and read!

Kristyna Baczynsky, the author, says in the description: this book is a blend of writing, research, drawings and comics about ten different plant specimens; all drawn in detail for identification. An illustrated selection of historical, scientific and mythological facts.

It sounds good!

2. Self love zine, by LollieWorley

First of all, you can download it in .pdf, if you like!

Very good! Expecially for people who don't like to waste paper and like eco-friendly solutions like these.

The topic is amazing: self-love, a thing a lot of people need to work on.

Inside it has a cut&paste style I really like: it gives to the zine a handmade look, very well arranged here.

3. Illustrated women in history, by Apalelandscape

The one with the most professional look in this selection.

It looks so well organized and rich in text! It's more similar to a printed book than to a zine, but I appreciate it the same, because I like to read other women's stories and to be inspired by them!

21 biographies of talented women inside!

And (shame on me!) I know only a few of them.

4. Cat state of mind, by Nathalie Moore

I love cats! Not only mine, all cats!

And I also do my best, here and then, to draw their lovely faces and tails and paws, but I'm not so good in cats' drawing! -___- 

(I go on and go on filling my Moleskine with flowers!)

So it's very interesting for me that in this zine there are 20 pages of doodles about cats' world to be inspired by. And the title is quite funny for all people who know cats and do their best to read into their mysterious minds.

The author is Nathalie Moore (click to go on her blog).

5. Creativity for introverts, by BusyWeekends

This one is part of a serie of zines dedicated to creativity into the life of introvert people (like me). You can start from here or from other zines of the serie.

Great idea + cut&paste style I love + very interesting topic.

Don't you think they are lovely?

All these zines have english text.

I'd really like to found interesting zines in italian, too, but I haven't found nothing remarkable yet. Zine making is not common in Italy, probably because we have been too busy in making different kinds of art for centuries, ahaha :)

Let me know in the comments if you know italian good zines

AND/OR

if you have zines to suggest me (you know what I like to read: crafts, books, nature, art, eco-friendly life, travelling, growing as a woman).

Simple happy things - July 2015

Last year I worked on a little project and documented every single day of July (I've called it "July in 31 photos").

Not the same, this year. 

July is very hot, I feel like I'm very down on batteries and I am not doing special things to capture with my camera (although I think that there's something special for us everyday and that happyness is hidden into simple things). 

But of course I took some snapshots here and there.

They make a sort of visual diary of this month. Simple things in my life.

Critters around the house...

A super secret project I can't wait to share with you...

Some hard and satisfying work at the sewing machine...

(completed this month: 5 bags + 2 wallets + 1 moleskine cover)

(bags 1 e 2 uploaded in my esty shop)

Summer yumminess...

Important birthdays and lovely birthday gifts by the kids...

Testing new tools (rivets!)...

A parade of handmade spring/summer tops!

This summer I'm not working only on bags and other accessories to improve my shop's offer!

Since it's summer I'm into tops making! :)

I really like to make fresh and comfortable t-shirts and tops using knit fabrics and cotton jersey (I usually buy them at our outdoor market and are very cheap - they are leftovers - but high in quality).

I have three of these handamade spring/summer tops to show you today.

The stripes + flowers top

A very simple design. It's a self-drafted top, t-shaped, without sewn sleeves, but with a curved hem on the bottom.

The things I like about this top is that it's very fresh and soft and it has some of my favourite peculiarities for clothes: the colours (blue and white!), the stripes, the floral pattern (climbing my left side)! :)

I sent these snapshots to my mum and she said she liked it very much!

The inspiration for this top came from this pin: I realized I could place the floral part of the fabric on one side, to create a lovely asymmetrical look.

The grey petal sleeves t-shirt

Some weeks ago I finished a more complex top: one in grey with petal sleeves and mother-of-pearls bottons.

I learned how to modify a basic t-shirt pattern to make a petal sleeve thanks to some tutorials I've pinned in my Pinterest board about "sewing clothes" (this one for example).

I've altered the pattern I've previously used for this cardigan and the work has been simple. 

But I'm not 100% satisfied about the final result, I see too much folds here and there and the t-shirt is not so good on my body shape :(

However, I'm going to try again, because I'm in love with petal sleeves!

The knotted blouse

There another thing I like when I make/buy tops, t-shirts or blouses: knotted necklines! I'm a bit obsessed.

So this spring (in april) I decided to make a blouse of this kind.

I have only one photo of me wearing it, because now it's too hot (july!!!) to take other images of me with a long sleeved blouse!

To make the blouse I've altered this pattern (yes, again!) and self-drafted the neck band.

I think I made a good work!

Since I'm obsessed by knots, I'm going to make other blouses with this caractheristic: I'd like to test the "Mimosa blouse" pattern by SBCC: it's a .pdf pattern for a t-shirt with raglan sleeves (love it!) and a flat knot. I like it because it's sporty and feminine at the same time!

If you like knotted blouses, but you are looking for something more elegant the Lottie blouse (free pattern!) is for you!

Some notes

If you have suggestions about handmade spring/summer tops (or want to share with me the tops you've made), please, leave a comment!

If you're looking for some inspirations, you can take a glance into my Pinterest board about sewing clothes.

Speaking about my future projects... I'd like to go on with asymmetry making something like this or this. But also the Harper blouse (free pattern!) by Spit Up & Stilettos is a good choice for my body shape (I'm a curvy hourglass).

Hope I've inspired you to make some summer tops for you! :)

Easter in bloom

Hope you've enjoyed Easter like me!

I had sun, deep blue sky, warm wind, tasty food, family time (oh, the kids!!!) , some good news (a little cousin is on the road) and flowers everywhere!

I've started to take snaps of the flowers we have in our garden on saturday (the sky was cloudy, so perfect for good photography!) and haven't stopped yet.

This is a little selection of my favourite.

[purple tulips! what a surprise!]

[the elegance of calla lilies (we have 20 of them) + the rustic simplicity of wild hyacinths]

[yellow daffodils on our balcony... they smell so good!]

[the big red tulip]

Of course we are sorrounded by a lot of species of little wild flowers, too! 

I can enjoy their company while walking to work everyday.

I love this season for the flowers!

I can remember my dad picking up a big bunch of fresh flowers of our garden every saturday for mum in spring. A sweet memory.

Simple happy things: late summer edition

Although almost all of you are probably into a very autumnal mood, here in Sicily we are enojoying the last days of mediterranean summer.

Yes, we are still wearing t-shirts and sandals. It's still summer, but fresh air and some rain here and there are announcing that autumn is coming soon.

So this edition of "simple happy things" is about late summer, like last year in october.

I've collected some photos of little beautiful things that make me happy recently and I want to share them with you.

My favourite snapshot: this tiny bird called "african stonechat" ("saltimpalo" in italian). It lives in the (still dry) fields behind my home.

Tiny (but very hot) peppers S. grew in our garden:

Acorns! S. picked them up during our last trip to Selinunte archeological park: 

If you want, you can look in my Flickr album at some snapshot I took in the western part of our region we travelled some weeks ago (Greek temples, Palermo, great panoramas from Erice ... you have to scroll down to the bottom to see them).

This acorns were green, but I wasn't enough fast in taking a photo, so now they are dry and brown.

A handmade paper rose S. brought to me after work (a colleague made it):

My first crochet-covered bottle is a good place for it, isn't it?

Books about craft bussiness on "patchwork pillowcase n.2":

Now that I'm out of work, I'm working to improve some aspects of my shop, but I'm also reading a very big novel by Ken Follett ("Winter of the world").

I'd like to listen something about your simple happy things in this period of the year. Leave a comment! :)

Summer essentials: a white t-shirt (+ lace)

Hi! I'm on holiday at mum's home with S.

I'm taking a lot of photos of our life here, but before sharing them with you I want to write a post about my last work at the sewing machine (finished around 2 weeks ago).

It's a white t-shirt, something every girl needs for summer:

 



I couldn't take very good photos of it on me, so I decided for this collage of the most interesting details of the t-shirt.

 

It is made of a very fresh cotton jersey, has raglan sleeves (my favourite!), borders around the neckline and at the end of the sleeves and lace underlining the shoulders line.

Oh, you probably don't know how much I love lace!

This one is recycled: I've saved it from an old shirt I had to throw in the trash last summer.

 

The pattern for this shirt is the same I've used last year for other two t-shirts, with some adjustements.

 

Now it's time to go to bed.

With a good book to read, because, hey, I'm on holiday and I can indulge in what I love to do :)

Good night!

Art supplies offered by Mother Nature

S. and I spent some afernoons at the beach this week, a couple of hours after work.

We enjoyed the sun, the fresh air coming from the sea and the rest.

But I also made some beach art, eh eh, with suppplies given by Mother Nature in person: sand and shells :)

After a (not successful) attempt with a mandala (a sort of) I decided to draw something more easy to me: a flower in a sunny landscape.

This is my hand setting the last shell of the seagull:

You can make art everywhere. 

Nature gives you all you need!

Isn't it great?

July in 31 photos - days 19-31

Hello August!

I can't believe you are here! 

(already?)

The start of the new month is the perfect occasion to look all my July photos and make some considerations about my "July in 31 photos" project and the month I had.

But first of all I want to publish here all the photos I haven't shared with my readers: they are about days 19-31.

Day 19: in Licata with special friends for a feast+concert. The streets were decorated with thiese colorful umbrellas. Great idea!
I took other beautiful photos of the concert, the harbour (my favourite of this bunch) and umbrellas at night.

Day 20: Sunday. Rest day + sewing. I designed a t-shirt pattern with the help of a t-shirt I have in my closet.

Day 21: We bought some elegant clothes for S. because this summer we are invited to 3 weddings.

Day 22: a very ugly photos for probably the most exciting moment of this month: the firts time we've seen Macchia's baby out of his/her "cave".

Day 23: Today mom sent me this photo of a giant flower born from a succulent plant dad bought some weeks before his death. I decided to publish it for this day, because it's too beautiful!!!

Day 24: Today I received a sad new: a lovely friends has lost her husband after years and years of life together. I've been sad all the day and decided to take a photo of a dalia flower in my garden to dedicate to this man recently died and to my friend.

Day 25: Cutting magazines! I saved some images for future collages and some other to paste into my moleskine journal. That girl on the bike... oh, she's me (I haven't blond hair and I'm not so thin, but I feel like this image is speaking about me).

Day 26: First wedding of the season! I like my green dress, all made of lace!
And I like my man into elegant clothes.

Day 27: trying to make a mat for my sewing machine using my braid od t-shirt yarn. After a quiet start, somthing went wrong :(

Day 28: Macchia's baby started to walk in our garden. Oh, I'm in love!!!

Day 29: Beautiful colors in the veggies I cook almost everyday. Love veggies!

Day 30: Sleeping with mum (probably my favourite photo of the month)

Day 31: I made pesto with the basil we are growing in our garden. What a smell!