Some Updates

Hello lovely people!

First of all, I want to apologize to my blogging friends for not commenting on their blog posts enough (if at all). My Internet activities came down to my Etsy shop and a bit of Facebook. That is all I can do right now. It’s because I have no patience for long reads, or any reading except books, because I am ill. I have Cervical Cancer. I found about that around Christmas and since then my life has turned up side down. There have been days of despair and sobbing, but most of the time I have been and I am ok. Right now I am waiting for the treatment to start, Chemo and Radiation therapy, which should be in about a week. Yay. 😦

But, I have to do what I have to do and life goes on. I, thankfully, have a ton of things to do and a ton of things to make, I have been busy with my shop, and most importantly, I have my wonderful supporting husband and our two dogs to make me smile every day.

So that is why I wanted to apologize to you my friends, I am thinking of you, I hope you won’t forget me, I just need to go through all this the best way I can and know how, and hopefully I will be able to welcome Spring Cancer free and with a smile on my face.

But enough about that crap. Here is what I’ve been doing lately.

My studio is jam packed with all kinds of materials and supplies! I have been hording things for years, and even though I work and create and make all kinds of things, I still buy yarn and fabrics and paint, I still get things from people, things they don’t want and I DO want, I still recycle (even more), and I simply don’t have enough space for all those fabulous materials. That is why I decided to offer some of my treasures to other people so that they can use them and make fabulous creations with them. 🙂 Here are the kits that are in my shop (and I have many more prepared ).

The Black and White kit:

You have the link above in the name of the kit, so I won’t explain the contents here, I will just say that I construct all my kits with great care, I try to make them big and filled with different things that buyers can use in several projects.

I also have a Blue and Green Kit in the shop:

Again, a ton of things to play with!

There is also a Valentines Kit:

Then this great Masculine Kit:

You can’t see very well in these photos, but there are so many vintage pieces in these kits, some great papers, old or vintage embellishments, book pages, fabrics, yarn, I mean, I love them! I already decided that if they don’t sell for some reason, I will use them as they are and make some fabulous journals and small bags, tags, oh so many things!

Ok. I got a bit distracted. 🙂

There are also some smaller supplies/kits:

My Handmade Paper:

Then another type of Handmade Paper:

A small Blue/Green Embellishment kit:

Small Red Embellishment Kit:

And this lovely Pink and White Small Kit:

This one was recently sold:

As well as this kit:

But there is so much more! I have more kits to add to my shop, but let me show you this gorgeous, (mostly) White Kit that I will hopefully add to the shop in a day or two:

What I especially love to do is to use my handmade unfinished tags and book page bags to pack all these small pieces and yarns into. That way a buyer can use them in a project also, and I get a chance to recycle and help this planet a bit.

Anyway, I have been in and out of the hospital for the past twenty days or so, and I have a week before the treatment starts, so I am trying to work as much as I can and to stock up my shop. I will (hopefully) be home for the weekends in the next couple of months, and my husband will also help me with shipping the packages to buyers, so the shop will work normally. I do need that type of work/fun/amusement/thought distraction now. 🙂

I wish you all great day/night!

 

Fabric Collage (Work in Progress)

Hello lovely people! Here I am with another recycling project! Fabric collage!

As you know, I collect all kinds of materials and junk which I then like to transform into something beautiful and useful. And here is what I’m doing right now – making journal covers from small pieces of fabric (leftovers) and, well, junk. 🙂

I used some plastic, kind of foamy, packaging material as a middle layer of the journal cover.

I’m sorry for the next photo, it’s bad because there was no sun when I took it, but you’ll get the idea of what I was doing. I started stitching fabric scraps onto the plastic, adding fabric pieces randomly and without too much thinking about it.

Continue adding fabric pieces until you cover the plastic and you will end up with something like this:

As you can see, after I stitched all the pieces onto the plastic, I then zigzagged the edges so they don’t fray. It also adds details to the whole piece. I like that. Fun! 🙂

Then it’s time to add the backing, and you can use, again, what ever material you like – paper, fabric, plastic…I used more of my leftover pieces of fabric.

I left it like this and continued working on another collage piece, and then another and another, and I can’t show them all to you now, but I promise I will soon. Here is one more:

I can’t wait to start hand stitching and decorating this journal cover.

And here is a peek into two small covers, already taking shape and starting to look beautiful. 🙂

This is a wonderful way to tidy up the studio, use all those fabric leftovers and junk, and make something lovely! This doesn’t have to be turned into a journal cover. It could be sewn into a fun clutch or a bag, maybe a set of coasters or oven mitts, or even a doormat! There are so many more possibilities!

Have a great weekend! 🙂

Eco Dyeing

I don’t like this weather at all. It’s cold and rainy and it seems like it’s Autumn again!

Although we had one day (ONE day) of sunshine, which was perfect for picking plants

to be used for Eco Dyeing.

I have been dyeing paper and fabric before, but mostly with onion skins, tea and coffee. Now I wanted to try some other plants.

I simply placed leaves on fabric and rolled everything up, but these leaves didn’t do much except adding light yellow color to the fabric, which is beautiful,but I wanted more. 🙂

I cooked them for a few hours.

I did similar thing with paper, but since I didn’t have any wood, I had to use cardboard to press the paper a little. I guess it’s not the best solution, but that’s what I had.

The winner was this tree (I’m sorry but I don’t know how it’s called, not even in my language,LOL!)

It has gorgeous deep red leaves and I knew it’s going to be great for dyeing.

The fabrics turned out very interesting, a bit messy but I like that.

There were some nice prints

But the paper is amazing!

I cooked it for a few minutes and then left it to cool completely before opening it. The colors are incredible!

I’m happy happy happy! I’ll use them for making journals (of course), and I already have a new batch of leaves ready for dyeing cotton lace and even more fabric. The fun never stops,LOL!

 

 

Scraps and Hearts

I think there is no hope of getting my studio in order. I try and try to clean it and make it look, well, not like a bomb site (lol!), but almost every time I do that, I find so many interesting things and get easily distracted. 🙂 How can I sort through my laces and doilies and not get inspired? How can I look at those tea dyed fabrics, scraps of silk and cotton, and just put them away? It’s impossible! I think next time when my muse “goes on holiday”, I should start cleaning up and she will be with me right away! 🙂

Maybe you remember the scrappy fabric from one of my previous posts:

It doesn’t look like much in that photo, but I made some cute things out of it.

Two cosmetic bags:

And a journal:

It has pink and pale lilac handmade paper inside, with a little bit of lace, just to connect the inside with the cover. Maybe I should name it “Button love”. 🙂 Here is the back:

I also finally finished this journal. I love the brown velvet:

It also has handmade paper inside, dyed with acrylic paint and tea.

Since I don’t like throwing anything away (that’s why my studio is always a mess), I made some hearts out of scraps of fabric and lace, and they will be used for journal covers or to decorate a purse or something. Sewing these pretties is a wonderful way to be creative without having a pressure of working on a big piece, but also it’s great for using all those bits and pieces that are lying around.

Sewing with small pieces of fabric makes me feel like I am working in my Art Journal. My thoughts and feelings are pieced together, making a solid piece of fabric that has a much deeper meaning than a “plain” piece of fabric would. Working in Art Journal makes me feel free and able to express my feelings without thinking too much about what I do or how I do it. It feels good to just be spontaneous. The same thing happens when I make these scrappy pieces.

Speaking of Art Journal, I have four new pages to show you. 🙂

This is my handmade journal with textured handmade paper inside. I love it! But there are only a few blank pages in it left to work on, so I will have to make another one. What a great excuse to make more paper. 🙂

Have a great day! 🙂

 

 

 

 

Hearts!

To be honest, I don’t care much about Valentines Day. I think that every day should be a “Love” day, so why celebrating it once a year? But, I had to make some little things for the shop (the one that sells my work here in Belgrade), so I made these. 🙂

Clay hearts

Fabric hearts

Hearts everywhere! 🙂

I love making hearts. All year round. 🙂

Weekend Fun

I’ve been so inspired by photos of gorgeous fabric beads I found on Pinterest that I just had to try making them my self. And to tell you the truth, they are so addictive I’m gonna make some more. A lot more!

Here is my first batch already made into a necklace, and I love it!

It’s fun, it’s bright, and it’s just the thing I need!

I know my beads are not perfect, but I like them anyway, and for my first try, I think they turned out pretty good. I enjoyed making them while sitting with my hubby, watching TV. It was very relaxing. So now I plan to make more in different colors because I need more necklaces, and why not having something unique and made by me! 🙂

Have a great day! 🙂

New journal

I am happy happy happy! I finished this journal last night, and I have to say I am very satisfied with it! It is so ‘Me’! Although I do like to play and to explore other styles, this type of journal is definitely my style. The colors, the fraying, different fabrics used to create texture, I mean, I love it!

I used various fabrics, from organza to tea dyed cotton, handmade paper, heavy weight paper, hand and machine stitching. It also has a pocket inside with some tags and a little booklet made with tea dyed paper for additional writing or other memories.

I think I will have to start making another one right away! These beauties are so addictive! 🙂

Late Night Fun

New ATCs! Just for fun! 🙂

First two were made with recycled cardboard.

For the second two I used junk mail on which I “clean” my paint brushes. When I finish painting, there is always a little bit of paint left on the brush, so why waste it? Just smear it on any kind of paper and after some time and a few layers, you’ll end up with a nice background for many projects.

The last one was made with scraps of my hand painted fabric. Nothing complicated, very simple, I just added a little bit of black puff paint, and a touch of white to stamp “truth” on it. I like how it turned out.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! 🙂

So many gifts!

It is absolute joy to open my mailbox lately! I received so many gifts from dear friends around the world! Wonderful ATCs, gorgeous inchies, so much goodies to add to my projects, oh, it’s pure delight!

I participated in a “Stash Swap” at Milliande’s and my Swap partner was Rita from Latvia who sent me an envelope filled with goodies I can’t wait to use in my projects!

Beads, papers, fibers, fabric, and more gorgeous things! Thank you Rita!

Then another wonderful surprise came from England! Mary sent me a Flinchie – which is a combination of a Prayer Flag and Inchies, another swap at Milliande’s that was hosted by Kalona and was great fun! I just love what Mary created for me, it’s made with velvet and ribbons, amethyst, machine stitched inchies, flowers, and it has words “Believe” and “Dream” on it. Thank you Mary!

The photo I took is really bad, I’m sorry it’s not showing well how beautiful it is.

Mary also added a few extra things in the package, some tags, lovely cutouts (I hope that’s how they are called) and a beautiful tag! I love Mary’s art!

But then, another package from Mary arrived today! She was so generous to send me a Sizzix die! How great is that! I was blown away! And it’s not just any die, it’s the one I wanted to buy while I was in the US but the store didn’t have it! Sooo cool! Me happy! 🙂

I am going to have such a great time using all these loveliness! Thank you my dear friends! It’s like Christmas came early this year! 🙂

A little bit of color

Two new handwoven scarves and a bit of playing with fabric and paint. 🙂

I was making stencils and trying them out on some fabric scraps. (photos below) Not bad I think.

Have a great day! 🙂