After finishing http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=330194.0 this, I was stuck waiting for a movie to finish at the cinema where I had opened the bar my theater group runs (we volunteer there), so I was playing around with the blue beads and the limited materials I had brought with me... and this is the result! I like the simplicity of the bracelet, I'm not too sure about the earrings...

the photo above is proof that I am able to sneak in some purple even when I want to make something that is not purple... I love the purple shine on those beads which normally looks much more blue than that!


I made it half width than mine, which I previously posted http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=325563.0, so it's just 5 stitches instead of ten... it took a lot less to make!!
I hope you like it!

Today I happily spent the day drawing, cutting and painting a new addition to my outdoor decorating for Xmas (barely in time: in Milan we put decoration up on Dec 7th, the day of the city patron saint)... I had decided last year that I was going to add something related to both Peanuts & skating... so that's Snoopy skating with Peppermint Patty!

starting out, you can sort of see the the design I drew and then went over with red permanent marker, under a layer of base white.


detail of Patty's dress, which is far more simple in the comic strip, but I am also a huge ice skating fan and and ice dance MUST HAVE sequins and swarovskis!


colors done, I was starting with the black & outline


finished! I LOVE it and I can't wait to hang it outside.


other details I like:


and to show you the rest of the outside decorations, I found photos from last year:

I have already another Snoopy themed panel


and a "fantasy" skate


(see a pattern here? this year's piece was the obvious addition to them!)

Mr.Snowman


and the Gingerbread Man


all outside with the fake present boxes


and the garland on the banister hides some lights: action shot!


I adore coming back to this sight at night during the holidays!

the dog coat is closed by a couple of pieces of former shoelaces at the pointed ends of the chest part, and towards the end of the back part, wrapping around the dog sides and tying at the top... like this:



I'm not a fan of buttons.. and I had no velcro at home, so, not wanting to have a half finished project until I could buy some, I went with lacing up with those shoelaces...

Ehm... it's actually a term I invented on the spot because I couldn't think of a proper translation... *blush*
they'r ebasically just loops of fabric... the shape from above should look like this:



the mattress cover is sewn on three sides and open in the back for ease of removal of the mattress when a wash is needed, and it's only tied shut by more little laces not pictured

the tube thing is closed at the two extremities by two drawstrings which I'm planning to have to tie each one to an additional loops which I will add to the front of the mattress, one towards each corner, to stop the tubular thing to point the ends outside...

^_^ Today I was actually going to work on fixing a coat I inherited from my grandmother, but in the end I got sidetracked by two other projects: (crappy cell phone pics, sorry. I't also dark, so they look even more grainier that they would be if taken in daylight!)


I had been looking for a larger cushion for the dog we adopted from a rescue shelter last month: we had bought him a pretty big one, but unlike my other dog he sleeps quite sprawled out, and the cushion seemed small for him. So instead of doing a simple cushion, I made a completely removable cover for a mattress I pieced together from two different thicknesses of foam sheets, with a tubular cushion going all around it (detachable from the bed and with a removable cover as well - everything is washable!) kept in place by some fabric cuffs... it is WAY bigger  than the previous one and cost probably 1/5th of what I would have paid a same size one in a shop, and is in a better color than the crazy ones on sale (which would be horrid against my furniture).
I'm really proud of this one and he seems to enjoy it!

With part of the same cushion fabric (which is padded and lovely) I also made:

a coat for my other dog, who tends to feel cold and refuses to go out in winter. I modeled it off one of the coats of a former dog we had, it keeps both her back and chest warm, and has a large "buttonhole" on the back to pass through the rings of the harness I use to take her on walks, which has to be put on before the coat...
It has two fasteners, both around the end of her ribcage and in the tiny part of her "waist", to keep it all from moving around too much. She HATES when I try to take her picture so the one of her wearing it is really bad, but is the only one I managed to take.... but away from the camera, she seemed at ease in her coat!


totally gratuitous pc of my mom and her cat Michelle, "helping" her at the computer while I worked at the sewing machine...

I've been spending way too much time on fashion and creative blogs, and I'm doing some more chunky and extravagant pieces lately.
I confess taking a shortcut here - I sewed the base shape from a random piece of cotton and attached the ribbon for closure, but the stitching stopped there: all the buttons and pearls are attached thanks to lots of hot glue...

on slightly blurry and overexposed


close-up


complete


C&C welcome!

While browsing these boards to see what the great craftsters here have made with this new medium I've just discovered, I saw this post
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=303679.0
and loved the blue octopus a lot - mainly the idea of the swirly tentacles moving away from the body.

Problem is that as much as I liked the necklace itself, octopi are not exactly my favourite animals, so it wouldn't make much sense for me to make one! So I tried to base my design on the idea I liked, making into an abstract design:

instead of the octopus' head I went with a cookie cutter star:


on me:


random close-ups:


I think I'm liking it quite a lot! I'm not sure how fragile it is.... only time will tell, I guess!

C&C welcome!

So last year at a fair I bought this cute little doll http://www.dayuvoodoodolls.com/products/Voodoo_dolls_VD021_The_Mummy.htmand carried it around like a good luck charm. Unfortunately I must have lost it at my old job, and since I quit on not so great terms with my psycho boss I can't go around asking if it's been seen or expect someone to return it... so one of the first things I thought of making was a little more compact substitute for it!
C&C welcome!

Here it is: front



see the head pins in the glittery heart? (the little dots in the heart are glitter - the only red clay I found at the shop had glitter inside)


back:


one side

before posting a couple of other experiments I made, I'm posting an update here: I varnished some of the pieces and I love how smooth and brilliant they are... here is the round swirly set, with the earring hooks mounted and the pendant ready for a chain:



and the swirly purple cloud:

this one I tried to do with one varnish and it became all sticky and bad, so I rubbed it with a pearly purple eyeshadow on the ridges, and went over it with another varnish that I saw on another piece went ok... and this is the result. I think I like it better than before, but as the rose set, it needs matching earrings now!



C&C?