Shady Business

We bought this (Jugend styled?) lamp a couple of years ago from a Fall Market in Tartu. It was put in storage after that since we really didn't have a place to hang it in our apartment back then. But now we have moved and we had a perfect place for it over our dining table. It only had one problem...no shade what so ever. At first we thought that maybe we could make it work without the shade, but the light was too harsh and very...in our face ;P

So I searched through my fabrics, found something that i liked and got to work. I tried out a couple of different ways to drape the fabric and decided that the best way was to sew a rectangular piece of fabric to the top rim of the lamp and then gather the fabric at the bottom.

It took some time to sew the fabric to the top since I did it by hand and standing on a chair (since we couldn't be bothered to take the lamp down ;P...which probably would have been easier to do than sew everything while the lamp was hanging..well ..live and learn :D).

I really like the end result (as usually with the projects I show here...the ones I don't like so much don't usually get much broadcast ;P). There is enough light coming through the fabric and the light gets defused nicely around the room.

Ciao-ciao,

Once Upon a Time There Was a Ceramics Class

So here's the post about my ceramics class (FINALLY!) or rather the things I made there. Keep in mind this was my first ever experience with clay and nothing came out exactly as I had imagined it :D
I really-really enjoyed the class and I will definitely take another ceramics class in the (hopefully) near future :))

 

 This was literally one of the two first things i made in the class, it was meant to be a cookie jar.... looks more like a vase ;D

 

 This was also one of the first things I made

 

 

 I made a very....umm...artistic tray ;D

 A coffee mug for my lovely hubby :))

A bowl with some stamps pressed in the center
 

 ...for fruits, cookies, chips, candy....all the things I love

Plate for serving all kinds of yummy stuff

 And also a couple of love-mugs :))

This wasn't my idea (although i wish it had been), I saw a picture of similar mugs on Pinterest and got inspired :))

Like I said already, i really loved that course, so I definitely have to take up ceramics again at some point.

Hope you're having an awesome day!
Ciao-ciao,

Super Chunky Knitted Pillow

So I'm trying to get all these posts done that have been postponed so many times that it's been already months since I actually created these things ;P. Well what can you do when life gets in the way :))
One of those things is this super-duper-mega-üper-(insert some other extreme adjective here)-chunky knitted pillow(case) I made.
I got some really chunky yard from my mum and decided to make a pillow out of it.
The design is actually really easy and I didn't follow any particular pattern. I just knew that I wanted there to be knitted cables in various sizes on it. And that's basically what I created.

I tried to make a printable pattern if anybody would happen to be interested. Since this is the first time I've done this it might not be perfect but I tried my best to make it clear :)) I knitted a piece that was approximately 30 cm wide and 95 cm long repeating this pattern.

 

Then I folded the piece lengthwise so that the ends would overlap approximately 5cm at the top. I sewed the sides together using instructions from this tutorial on YouTube. After that i sewed on the buttons, inserted the pillow and that's it :))

It was a pretty quick project to make since the yarn was so thick and the needles were also huge (10mm ones). The only problem right now is that the buttons are too small for the button holes because I used the biggest buttons I had lying around which clearly weren't big enough since the buttons keep slipping open ;P I should really get some bigger buttons... I probably will..at some point...if I remember ;P


Ciao-ciao,

Easy DIY Ruffle Pillow

Christmas came and left and so did New Years Eve... I can't believe it's the year I turn 25 already ;P
We are also kind of in the middle of moving right now so the last few weeks have been quite an exciting and busy time for me and my little family :) Luckily i have had this post waiting or some time so I can publish it now :))
Do you remember the post about the duvet cover I made? Well anyways I had some leftover ruffles and of course I couldn't just dismiss them and throw them away. So I decided to make a little ruffle pillow. And I even took pictures of the process (for once!) ;D so I can share it with you and try my best to explain all the steps.

First cut out the pieces, for my pillowcase I cut out a square that was 40cm x 40cm and two pieces that were 40cm x 30cm. I used these measurements just because I already had a pillow and those were the measurements that I thought would suit best. You can always alter the measurements according to your needs.

Turn back the edge twice on each of the smaller pieces of fabric, so you will have a "clean" edge. This will be the opening for inserting the pillow. Pin first and then stitch to place.

Then take your ruffles (if you don't have leftover ruffles like I did, you can always make some and then come back to this step) and arrange them on the larger piece of fabric (40cm x 40cm) in a way that pleases you. I just arranged them in (relatively :P) straight rows and pinned them down.

After pinning go in with your sewing machine and stitch them in place (instead of a sewing machine you could do this whole project by hand, it will just take you more time to finish but it is absolutely doable if you don't own a sewing machine or are not familiar with using one).

After sewing on the ruffles it's time to assemble the pillowcase. Lay the larger piece down so that the ruffles are facing up (right side up). Then lay one of the smaller pieces so that the "raw" edges are lining with the larger pieces edges on one side and the other smaller piece so that the edges are lining on the other side (as seen in the picture below). Both of these pieces have to be laid down so that the wrong side is facing up.

Pin the pieces to place and then sew all of the sides together.

Now the last step would be cutting off the corners as shown on the picture below. This step is not necessary but it makes it easier to push out the corners after you have turned the pillow case right side out. After you have turned the pillow case right side out, insert your pillow and...

Voilá! You have yourself a cute ruffly pillow :))

If you're not yet a follower then feel free to click the follow this blog button or go and like my Facebook page, it would literally make me jump for joy!

I hope you have an amazing day, at least I'm loving it because we finally got snow yesterday!
Ciao-ciao!

Pine Cones Dipped in Glitter

My niece-in-law and I went to gather some  pine cones a while ago and some days ago I decided to glam up the pine cones with some glitter to make them a bit more festive.

For some of the cones I used some leftovers of a gold and a silver glitter. I just brushed on some glue and then sprinkled on the glitter.

 
But as I said those two (very very pretty glitters) were only leftovers from some previous projects so for the rest I just used some golden glitter glue I had and although the glue isn't as sparkly as the leftovers I had, it did the job well enough.
It took a while (approx 1,5 hours) to coat all of the pine cones with the glitter and I also let them dry over night just to be sure the glue has dried properly.

You can use these pine cones to make a garland, or decorate your candle holders or just arrange them in a vase or glass jar and put those on the windowsill.









It looks really pretty and oooh I love the sparkle, especially in candle light. It's a pity that the pictures don't do the glitter justice, it really does sparkle a lot and looks so-soooo beautiful :))

Hopefully I will get at least one more post up before it's Christmas. I can't believe it's just over a week until it's Christmas Eve, I'm so excited!

Ciao-ciao!

PS! Be aware of fire safety if you are using pine cones as decorations around candles. They are very flammable.

Glass Jars and Sparkly Glitter

I wanted to make some candle holders with numbers on them for each of the Advents.
And the easiest way I could think of was to take some random glass jars I had in my collection (yes, I do have a collection of empty jars ;D), some basic paper glue and glitter (I chose red just because I love the colour and I thought it would stand out the most).


 

I used a small brush to make the shape of the numbers with the glue and a fluffy brush to dip it in the glitter and then tap the brush so the glitter would fall on the glue.

I've tried pouring it straight from the little glitter container before and i don't know if it's just me but it made a huuuge mess. It was a little messy even using the brush but not as much as pouring from the container.




When the glitter had completely dried I brushed off the excess with the fluffy brush, then added some candles and... Ta-Daa! Very easy and quick (it probably took me under 30 minutes to make these).

PS. I took most of the pictures already over a week ago ( that's why there's only one candle burning on most of the pictures) but the picture taken in the evening looked best with all the candles burning :))

I hope you're enjoying December, I know I sure am :))
Ciao-ciao!

Pearl Wreath for Christmas

I can't even express how excited and happy I am that it is December already and the Holiday season is on!!
Christmas is definitely my favorite Holiday of the year, I just LOVE it!
I love the weather (especially when it's snowy), I love glögg and ginger breads, I love the festive atmosphere and all the decorations and of course I love spending time with family...do I have to say more? ;D
Every year I try to make some decorations for our home and this year has been the same. I will try to write about as many Christmassy projects as I can and I hope you will enjoy all of them :))
 
I actually made this pearl wreath last year already.
I just used a styrofoam base that I got from a local crafts store, A LOT of different coloured and sized plastic pearls, a hot glue gun and some ribbon.

I basically just glued the pearls on the styrofoam base with my glue gun, arranging the pearls in a way that pleased me. It took much longer than I had anticipated, but it was well forth it. I really like how it came out. It's really festive and that is exactly what I like ;D

I decided to hang it in front of a mirror as I like the effect it gives.

You can see Tindra climbing on some boxes on the background, I actually didn't notice her featuring in the pictures until I looked at the photos on my computer ;P

I'll be back with other Christmassy projects soon, until then I hope you're enjoying the Holiday fuss as much as I am.

Two Sided Duvet Cover

I have long wanted to make a Duvet Cover for our bed and when I was searching for inspiration for making one I found two which I loved.
The first one was quite minimalistic and modern and the other one was very romantic and quite girly.
Both of the posts have instructions for making the duvet covers, so if you'd like to make one the instructions are there.
I wasn't able to decide which one I'd like to make and so I combined the two and made a two sided duvet cover. I didn't follow the instructions too strictly but I got my basic guidelines from them and then I just made some modifications to suit what I wanted to make.

For the minimalistic side I bought a bunch of linen in different shades of grey and also white. I cut it all up and organized the pieces according to the directions. After this it was all sew, sew, sew.

Seems relatively easy but it took me a looooooong time to do all of that. It was partially because of the pattern and partially because I just got tired of doing the same thing all over again and again and I'm not even talking about the times I messed something up and had to take it apart and start again. But I pushed through and got it done :)).

For the romantic side I bought a 220cm x 220 cm bed sheet to use as a "base" and for the ruffles I used some old cutup cotton sheet I had lying around. I started by cutting the base piece to fit the minimalistic side I had already finished (so about 200cm x 180cm). Then I cut out long strips of fabric in different widths. After this I hemmed all the long sides of the strips with the zig-zag stitch on my machine because I don't want the pieces fraying too much. And then I started ruffling the strips. I made the ruffles just by gathering the fabric while sewing at the same time, I found this to be the most efficient and fastest way to do it. I also made the ruffles in different widths to add some more dimension and versatility.

So I ruffled and ruffled and ruffled away until I felt that I have enough.(I ended up making some more ruffles after I had pinned the existing ruffles on the "base" because I felt that it needed at least 3 more rows of them) This was actually the funnest part of this project, to see the pile of ruffles grow bigger and bigger.

Then I placed the ruffles on the base piece and pinned them to place. After this I stitched all the ruffles in place with my machine. Some of the ruffles needed two rows of stitches to hold them in place the way I liked it.

After this I also made a long continuous ruffle by stitching 6 2m long (13cm wide) strips of fabric together. i did this to make the ruffle edge to the duvet cover because I felt that it needed some kind of trim or edge to finish the look I was going for. So I placed the minimalistic side right side up, then I placed the ruffled trim around the edges so that the edge of the trim that I wanted showing was towards the center of the cover and the other edge was even with the edge of the cover. And then I placed the ruffled side on top with the wrong side up. Ok, I know this all sounds very confusing, but I tried to do a little illustration to make things (maybe?) a bit more clear :P Please keep in mind that I really can't draw at all ;D The yellow parts indicate the ruffles.

Then pinned everything to place and sewed along the edges leaving approximately  a 30cm opening to the upper edge (where I didn't place the ruffled trim) to turn the whole thing right side out. then I just stitched the opening and ...

TA-DAA!!

 I absolutely LOVE how it turned out. I've never been so happy to finish a project :)) It gives our bedroom a very idyllic and kind of a fresh feeling. Anyways I love it!

Oh, and did I say already that I love it ;))

 

I hope you enjoyed and have great weekend!
Ciao-ciao!