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

New Etsy Team + Christmas in July sales

Hello!

I't's July and it's hot. Super hot here in Sicily (more than 35° C everyday), but I'm into handmade Christmas ornaments again, because it's time for Christmas in July sales!

I'm offering a discount of 15% on all my handmade ornaments: you can find them in "Rustic home and holidays" section of my shop.

All you have to do is to add the coupon code FRIEND15 before payment.

[for my blog's readers only: I'm going to tell you a secret... you can use the coupon code to have a discount on any item in my shop, even on bags, moleskine accessories and wallets... the coupon code works on all my shop, not only on ornaments! It's a secret!!!]

The idea of Christmas in July is a bit odd for me, because I'm italian and we haven't this tradition here in Italy. 

But I decided to be part of Christmas in July sales thanks to the new Etsy Team I've recently joined: Rusty Dusty Team (blog - page).

It's a lovely team and perfect for me: the members run shops with a rustic style, like mine.

They often sell vintage, objects for home decor inspired by farmhouse living and all sort of handmade goodies with a country/rustic look. 

Eye candies for me! :)

You can find other Christmas items on sale in this thread of the team's forum.

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!

Amazing gifts: knitted Santa Lucia by Pam

I'm sure you know Pam.

Not only because I've mentioned her other times here on my blog as one of my best "on-line friends", but also because she writes a successfull blog (gingerbreadsnowflakes) with lot of readers.

But if you don't know Pam, well, you should! This post is for you, too.

She had very hard times this year, but she was so kind to finish a gift she promised to send me some months ago.
Look what it is:

A knitted doll with the sembiance of Saint Lucy (Santa Lucia in italian), so well made and so beautiful! 

And so precious to me, also because I know she knitted it for me during a very sad storm of her life.

The choice to make and give a Santa Lucia doll can appear a bit strange, but it isn't, because our friendship started to grow when we had the opportunity to share our thoughts about Santa Lucia day's traditions (some of you probably remember that I wrote for Pam' blog a guest article about italian traditions for Santa Lucia's day).

So this is not only a beautiful gift, but is also a symbol of the friendship between me and Pam :)

Lucia is now with Zarina, another "doll" Pam sent me some time ago (yes, I am a very lucky girl!).

I'm sure these two girls are good friend now. They probably spent the first night together chatting and chatting about almost everything, because, well, girls do it!

This doll surprised me for the care of its making and for some details like the hair and the candle crown:

And, ehm, I don't want to be insolent, but... look! Lucia wears panties, too!

:P

Love these details!

I'm very happy she is with me now!

Pam is a talented knitter and, since she is crazy for Christmas (according to her words), she also knits Christmas ornaments. 

Here you can find some of the ones Pam recently made (balls, mushroom, an elf and... oh, that polar bear!!!). 
To make them she follows Alan Dart's patterns; I think you have to take a look if you need ideas to dig into some Christmas knitting.

And also these balls are beautiful (patterns by Arne and Carlos). 

In the mail box I found also a little precious gift for mum:

Look what was inside the bubble wrap:

One of Pam's scandinavian shaved wood ornaments!!!

I can't wait to give it to my mum. For a happy coincidence I'll probably will be at mum's home with her gifts in my hands around S. Lucy's day! :)

A big THANK YOU to Pam and a suggestion for you: don't forget to visit Pam's blog if you haven't done it before. It's full of crafty and creative ideas for all seasons and I'm sure there is something that will inspire you!

July in 31 photos: day 1-5

I started the new month with a new project in my mind.

Following my growing need to document my daily life, I decided to take one photo (at the least) everyday for the whole July and to publish it here and in my Flickr album.

It's a great way to see how the month is going and to sum up my summer (I'm starting with July, but my plans are to go on in august, too). 

You know that I have big expectations for this summer and I hope to see beautiful snaps speaking about fun, nature and summer happiness.

Would you join me in this project?
I've called it "July in 31 photos" (I'm not very creative with names)

If you wanto to have fun with me, the only things you have to do are: 

- capture an image of your day, everyday

- publish it where you like best (Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest, your blog, ....)

- let me know in the comment where I can see your photos

I'd like to take a glance in your summer :)

I'll probably publish my photos by grouping them, because I haven't the day to edit and blog every day.

Today I'm sharing with you my first 5 days.

Day 1: S. transplanted some succulents (+ another unknown little plant) in our acid green pot:

Day 2: a mysterious little light in our lawn (a firefly, I suppose)

Day 3: olive plants took frangipani's place in front of our main door - from a tropical corner to a very mediterranean one

Day 4: new shoes for me!

Day 5: typicall sicilian breakfast for summer: bread and granita (granita is made of almonds, sugar, milk, ice and cinnamon... very refreshing)

And 5 days have gone!

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! :)

A precious gift from the past

A lovely woman died some days after my dad.

She was 76 years old. Although she was 40 years older than me, we became friends, thanks to our same passion for books and art. She used to give me her magazines about museums when she had finished to read them :)

She was a lovely woman. So sweet and funny!

 

Her apartment was just upon AuntFran's shop, so these two women used to spend some time together almost everyday and became very close.

When she died, her relatives said to AuntFran to pick up some objects of her friend, to keep as a memory.

 

In her sewing basket, among other things, she found this curious beauty:

 

 

What is it? Unscrew it:

 

It's a traditional wooden case for needles.

AuntFran picked up it for me. She thought I would appreciate it and she was right! I love this kind of old objects and I will think to her owner (that funny and sweet old woman!) every time I'll see it in my sewing dresser.

 

As you can notice by the photos, I'm working on my white desk again.

Yes, I came back in Sicily saying a warm "Goodbye" to my beloved Northern Italy.

Evergreens: white+blue

White+blue is a lovely color combo, a sort of evergreen used in a lot of products, from clothes to home accessories.

 

But my favourite use of this combo is in ceramic art.

I've always been fond of white and blue dutch pottery, that inspired Pam to make this lovely embroidery pattern (and look here for white&blue dutch houses made of ceramic... aren't they super cute?).

I recently discovered that this color combo is a tradition also for sicilian ceramic (here a piece realized in the city of Caltagirone), but here in Italy white and blue are often mixed with other colors, like yellow and coral red.

 

So, with all these amazing inspirations around white&blue pottery, I couldn't resist in making something for me with corn starch clay in these tones.

Well, to be honest, mum made the "ceramic" part of the work (two beads) and I put together a pair of earrings with the beads and some supplies we bought together during her last visit here.

 

 

A classic but fresh look I really like. I'm wearing my new earrings right now and I love them. They will be with me all the summer, I'm sure! :)

Guest blogging about traditional italian nativities in Pam's blog

Yesterday Pam (the lovely woman who writes Gingerbread snowflakes blog) published an article I wrote for her. It's about the italian tradition of nativities (we call them "presepi").
The title is "The sacred and the profane: 8 random things about the italian presepe" (the word "profane" is for worldly, temporal, secular, as Pam noticed).
This is the second time I wrote for her blog (firts time here, about Santa Lucia) and I'm very happy she asked me to write this article :)
I love to speak about Italy, the real Italy and its traditions, over the stereotypes.

Stay tuned on Pam's blog this week, because she is going to publish other amazing posts about italian nativities. Well, it's a secret, I'm telling it to you only :P

If you need some inspirations about Christmas and other feast of the year, Pam's blog is a very good reading, so full of crafty ideas and well written articles about this subject.

[about the photo: the Jesus figurine - in the manger - in my presepe]

Yummyness for Santa Lucia

Yesterday I celebrated Santa Lucia :)

And things went as planned. Nothing went wrong (uhm, well, I'd like best a sunny day instead of rain, but it doesn't matter!) so I haven't felt homesickness although my brain stayed in northern Italy (where Lucia is celebrated more then in Sicily) all day.

And I had a lot of yummy things to taste and some time in the kitchen! :)

My sister-in-law gave me a big pot of cuccìa (the traditional sicilian meal for this day), cooked by her on the wood stove she has at home.

 

 

Last year I couldn't show it to you, so yesterday I took this photo, just a second before eating it. Wheat+chickpeas+water+salt+olive oil... tasty and healthy!

This is the eastern Sicily version of this meal (in other parts of the region it isn't salted, but it's made with sugar and chocolate).

 

Then I baked some cinnamon rolls (= Kanelbullar).

I looked for a recipe written in italian and I found it here. I religiously copied it in my moleskine (for the future) and started to work.

These are my Kanelbullar before putting them in the hoven:

 

 

And here we are the baked kanelbullar:

 

 

Yes, I've probably overcooked them a bit! And I'll add more cinnamon next time! But they are delicious. Yummy yummy :)

I gave some of them to my sister-in-law, to thank her for the cuccìa. And also because... my sister-in-law's name is... Lucia! A very common name here in Sicily.

 

And now that Santa Lucia day has gone... I'm opening myself to Christmas time! :)

Snowflake craft inspirations

I'm still working on my snowflakes ornaments (not finished yet, because I'm studying a lot and sewing a leather bag for a friend).

I've looked for some on-line inspirations on the snowflakes-theme recently and found some super lovely ideas I want to share with you today.

 

A lot of glue and some drops of watercolors and you can make this super cute thing (here for the tutorial):

 

Of course the most common way to make snowflakes is with paper and scissors.

I'm sure you've done something similar when you was a child, but if not, well, you can find tons of tutorials on line about this tecnique.

I really like this drawing (found here) and decided to show it to you:

You can make also paper sowflakes in 3D or play with this on-line (and free) tool to make false paper snowflakes to download (so funny!).

 

And what about beaded snowflakes?

On Remodelaholic there's a well-written tutorial to make this:

 

Have you some puzzle pieces to recycle?

Follow Lisa's tutorial to make snowflakes and Xmas trees:

 

If you like to carve rubber stamps like me, I think you can give a try to simple snowflakes like these by GreenGardenStamps or buy them: they can be a lovely tool to decorate Xmas packs:

 

If you can crochet you can make a lovely snowflake like this one by Loukippi:

AuntFran made 2-3 of them (similar) last year and I totally felt in love with her work (and Loukippi's work is amazing, too).

 

Hope these lovely links will inspire you to follow me in the snowflake mania! :)

Tartan bows for home decor

The bow-mania is still with me.

Bows... these cute little things can be used in so many ways that I can't stop making them (here my tutorial if you want to try to realize some for you) and test funny ways to add them to our life.

Some days ago a sweet memory jumped in my mind: when I was a child mum realized a Christmas tree with some real tree-branches from our garden and dozens of bows made of paper.

And I really liked it.

So I decided to make some sets of bowls to use as Christmas ornaments (not necessarily for the tree). I found some scraps of fabrics that were simply perfect for this project: tiny tartan samplers I received last autumn.

Made and uploaded in the shop!

 

My favourite set is this one:

 

But I also like the other two sets, made of more "traditional" tartan.

One is white+black+red:

 

The second one is lighter, having also some azure and yellow thread:

 

Althought they have been made for Christmas I think these bows can be used for home decor all year.

Do you agree?

 

I'm sure that my passion for fabric bows will be with me for long (today I joined this Flickr group to share my bows with other people in the world), expecially because making them is a great way for me to use all the tiny fabric scraps (or samples) I have collected.

 

[Today is the last day for my 20% discount coupon code]