everything I do...

I do: declutter (day 5&6)

2011-11-06T18:53:00.000Z

After yesterday restoration course I managed to clear out our bedroom. I still have to clear our bedroom storage, but most of the bedroom is done. Some clothes, few handbags, some "nice but useless items" left our bedroom (in the charity bag).

Today I cleared one of the kids bedroom. This room is also used as a guest room and my friend is arriving today. (Can you see the connection of choosing to clear this room today? :) ). Old toys, books, clothes- all this is on their way to the charity shop and bits, missing pieces, broken toys, pieces of papers, non working felt tips... are in the bin. One huge bag!

All this is for charity shop.

Not sure if I manage to do any clearing tomorrow and on Tuesday, as my friend is here but I must say it feels so good to have decluttered rooms! (Well, some of them :) )

List of areas:
- living room (including books, DVDs, CDs)
- ~~kitchen- cooking area~~
- kitchen- eating area
- under the stairs storage
- ~~kids room 1~~
- kids room 2
- bathroom
- ~~bedroom~~
- bedroom storage
- ~~porch~~
- ~~hallway~~
- my craft room (oh good luck with it!)
- garage (oh super good luck! :D )
- garden

I do: declutter (day 3&4)

2011-11-06T00:53:00.000Z

I haven't stopped decluttering my house but some days are more tidying up and sorting. (and of course throwing away few bits here and there).

On day 3 I cleared our porch. It was full of donation stuff (which no one managed to take to the charity shop for 2 months!!), 3 bags of cardboard boxes (our council doesn't pick it up and surprise surprise- it doesn't walk itself to the recycling point). Now it's it's all cleared and welcoming :)
(photo to follow)

On day 4 I hung up mirror in the hallway, added some more picture frames, cleared shelf where we keep our keys and removed piles of shoes.

So apart of donation stuff on day 3 (3 large boxes) I haven't got rid off that much stuff but there aren't many things in the porch and hallway :)

List of areas:
- living room (including books, DVDs, CDs)
- ~~kitchen- cooking area~~
- kitchen- eating area
- under the stairs storage
- kids room 1
- kids room 2
- bathroom
- bedroom
- bedroom storage
- ~~porch~~
- ~~hallway~~
- my craft room (oh good luck with it!)
- garage (oh super good luck! :D )
- garden

I do: restoration

2011-11-06T00:18:00.000Z

I booked myself for a furniture restoration. It's something I never done before but always wanted to give it a go.

I decided to re-do our coffee table which we bought at car boot sale for £5 and it already had heat/water marks.

stained and scratched table

during striping off

Lesson lasted only 5 hours so I though I'll manage top desk only but then I decided to do whole table. So I unscrewed side wings and striped off the whole thing.

it's original varnish

striped and cleaned with white spirit.

I managed to stripe off the whole table and clean and sand paper the top desk.

Then I have to decide how to finish it.

Any idea?

I do: autumn wreath

2011-11-04T17:05:00.000Z

In front of our house is a huge cherry tree with beautiful colourful leaves. (I'm not mentioning my blisters on my hands from raking them twice a week).

So using these lovely leaves I made this wreath with a little pumpkin. No idea how long it will last before all the leaves turn brown as our front door isn't sheltered.

Sorry for this rubbish photo- it's already dark outside. And that white pin must be replaced!

I do: declutter (day 1&2)

2011-11-02T22:16:00.001Z

I love nice things, I like things with a history, I love bargains, I keep everything as it may be useful once and I collect EVERYTHING. And result of all of this is one happy person surrounded by nice things (me) one annoyed person (my boyfriend) and one cluttered house.

So I decided to get rid of some of my stuff as part of declutter november which is being organised by Louisa at The Really Good Life (which I found via Swirly Thoughts).

Day 1: Clothes from my wardrobe
- old clothes for the charity shop- 2 full bags
- 2 pairs of shoes (yes! 2 pairs of shoes!)

Day 2: Kitchen- cooking area
- 1 advert mug which I can't stand
- 24 piece Chinese Tableware Set (never used)
- goldfish accessories (our goldfish died 4 months ago but still got all the food, cleaning products, plastic plants and filters)
- broken kettle waiting far too long to be repaired
- 3 of 5 peelers

List of areas not to be missed:
- living room (including books, DVDs, CDs)
- kitchen- cooking area
- kitchen- eating area
- under the stairs storage
- kids room 1
- kids room 2
- bathroom
- bedroom
- bedroom storage
- porch
- hallway
- my craft room (oh good luck with it!)
- garage (oh super good luck! :D )
- garden

That's it. Easy peasy :))

I do: enjoy living in Godalming

2011-07-10T17:33:00.000+01:00

I love this little town Godalming, UK.
I have been living here (and surrounding areas) for one third of my life (well, with a 3 years break).

People are nice and kind.
I especially enjoy summer, where there is a band stand every Sunday.

Bring your picnic and enjoy the music.

Some other things to do in Godalming:
Watts Gallery, reopened in June 2011.
Winkworth Arboretum (I never know how to pronounce this!!!) the National trust park, most beautiful in autumn.
Farncombe boat house for a day (or week) out.

I did: celebrate my birthday

2011-07-10T12:08:00.001+01:00

Everything went well and as I planned.

My dress arrived day before the party. It fitted perfectly even without trying it on.

Lovely friends, sunny weather, yummy food and drinks.

I did have a photo booth. Everyone had a go, everyone loved it. Idea from Red red completely red (thank you!)

Happy summer days everyone! x

I do: grow my own

2011-06-24T00:48:00.000+01:00

Madly.
Badly.
But with a passion.

{photo by me}

Strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, some radishes, some sweet peas, some salad leafs.

I do: bake cupcakes

2011-06-23T21:29:00.001+01:00

For my boyfriend's birthday.

{photo by me}

Happy Birthday my dearest! x x x

I do: plan my birthday party

2011-06-23T21:15:00.000+01:00

My birthday is in 10 days.
I'm planning fresh, bright, summery, 50's style party.

{source}

With my dearest friends.
And hopefully with a lovely weather as it will be in our garden.

{source}

With a lovely food and drinks.
And rock'n'roll music.

{source}

I do: changes to this blog

2011-06-23T20:47:00.001+01:00

18 months blogging break, time for a little change.

Enjoy... :)

I'm still here!

2010-03-24T00:27:00.004Z

It has been loooong time since my last post in here. But I've been blogging almost daily. Really.

My biggest passion at the moment is my 'secret' obsession- my Teddy. I planned for years and years to make a book about him but I simply don't know how. So I'm happily taking photos of him and his home and I think over the years I got him, I created his own personality, style and character. He has got his own Facebook profile, Fan page, Flickr, twitter, email address and even an account on etsy :o)

In his blog I write about his travel adventures and about places he visited.

(to be continued.... I just realized that it's almost 1am and I have very early start tomorrow!!!)

salt dough

2009-12-07T16:25:00.004Z

I just found this beautiful tutorials and have to share it with you!

Thank you Katy!

+ see my right side for more Christmasy Ideas.

How to: Organic garlands

2009-11-24T14:07:00.006Z

These garlands will cost you nothing. They are made of organic sources and all you need is a needle and strong thread.
For my garlands I have used orange peel (but you can also use grapefruit, lemon, lime peel for different colours), rowan berries (or any red non poison berries will do) and beechnuts. These garlands are very simple and easy to make- maybe your children can help (only beechnuts are quite hard-so adults help will be needed).

You can cut or tear the peel and then just simply put it through the needle. Leave small gaps between individual pieces so the peel can 'breath' and wont go mouldy.
They smell nice, they look nice, they are easy and they are free. :)

Going Green Crafters and Artists

2009-11-18T12:55:00.005Z

I've been invited to contribute to Going Green Crafters and Artists's blog! Well- it has been couple month ago when I was invited but today I wrote first post! Woo Hoo! Come and see my post about recycled boxes:)

17th November

2009-11-17T10:46:00.003Z

20 years of freedom for the Czech Republic. I'm going to celebrate to Trafalgar square tonight.

2 new members...

2009-11-16T23:34:00.008Z

... of our family are Bagira and Stanley. 2 six months old black male cats.
We adopted them about month ago and I can tell our life has changed. I had to move all my plants on a window sill to one side, so THEY have somewhere to sit and watch the birds. I had to move my aloe vera plant because that was the most tasteful thing in our house. I can't leave any of my craft tools and materials around because that are the best toys. We cannot sit on our bean bag because it's THEIR sleeping place. Our towels are warmed up because they love to sleep in the draw under the bed. Everytime we turn the tap on- the cats are there because they love to drink running water. We have to keep the toilet lid down all the time as they love to drink water from it.

It took us about 2 weeks until we remembered which cat is which as both are completely black.
Here is Bagira, nicely wrapped in a blanket. (We renamed him from Bart as we weren't too keen on that name)
And here is Stanley (we didn't rename him) staring at my friend's dog.
Here they are, our cats :)

When I was little...

2009-11-15T21:40:00.013Z

When I was little I wanted to be an illustrator. I was fascinated by books and nice pictures. My favourite book called Anicka Malirka (Little Anna-the Painter) and it was about a little girl which loved to draw and paint and thanks to a magic cat she gets into the world of her drawings. That book was like my bible!
So today I'll mention just few of my favourite illustrators:

Jenny M.'s beautiful pictures are full of love, playfulness and colours.
This picture is my favourite ever as it looks like portrait of me!
And I can't get enough of this 2010 calendar!
Oh, I'm so going to treat myself this Christmas :)
For more images see Jenny's flickr or visit her cute website.

Italian based illustrator Simona Sanfilippo would be my number one choice of children's book illustrator..
Her images are so friendly, relaxed and beautiful For more images visit Simona's website.

And last but not least- London based illustrator Kate Wilson. I love her birds SO much!

I just love her style and great sense for details! For more images see Kate's flickr or visit her website.

Well, I'm not an illustrator, I went from 2D into a 3D (I have a degree in sculpture) but I still adore illustrations, graphics and paintings so much.
But maybe when I grow up, I may be an illustrator as well....

Personalized touch

2009-11-13T11:16:00.011Z

✿ A while ago I made these cats. I made about 15 of them but never put them for a sale on Etsy. They sat in my wooden box for about a year, occasionally I took them to a craft fair and sold one or 2. Then my Flickr photo album has been discovered by a 10 years old girl and she wanted 6 of them for her friends for her b'day party! I added personal touch- I embroidered names on a pockets and added little jingle bells. I'm glad these cats doesn't have to sit in the box anymore! And that 10 years old girl is my youngest customer so far :)))

✿ A few years ago I found a birthday brooch with a flower fairy and number 4. I loved that image but it has been loooong time ago when I was 4 so I added a simple sticker saying- 20 years ago (and next year I changed it to 21 years ago. Now I can add a quarter of century ago :))) ) But this gave me an idea to make personalized birthday badges.
This was made for my friend's 30th birthday:

And this one for another friend:

I offer these badges in my Etsy shop. All I need to know is the real age, the number/age shown on the badge and I do the maths :)

✿ Then I had an order for personalized Mr. Snail. It was for 1 year old boy called N. I always find gifts for boys more difficult to find and/or create. I wanted some simple ornament to stitch on the snail as a bow is too girly. But car and a rocket seems too big and too complicated to make. (See- for a girl: bow, heart, flower, butterfly... Simple!) So then I added a sherif style star with a big N and voila!

✿ Then I wanted to add a personal touch to this blog. I found great free templates and uploading wasn't that hard either. I made a copy of the old template (LUCKILY!!!!!!) then there was some warning that I'll loose some items- such as fb fan page, list of favourite links etc. I didn't care so I uploaded NEW template and it was DISASTER!!!!! All pictures were squashed, endless text as long as roll of toilet paper, half of my items on the right side were missing... Quick action and I uploaded my good old template back. But I lost my list of favourite links and blogs...
So. No personal touch to this blog :))

what a week!

2009-11-12T13:41:00.008Z

So far I had fantastic and very creative week!

It started like this:

♥ Last minute calls and bookings and I'm attending 3 Christmas Fayres!
First Fair is on Sunday 22nd November at St. Peter's Catholic School, GU1 2TN from 12-4.
Second is on Saturday 28th- It's Godalming Town Day and the High Street will be closed to traffic and packet with stalls. Because of my last minute booking I'll be 'out of the high street'- in Angel Court. Still good!
And third fair will be at Barrow Hills School in Witley on Sunday 6th December from 2-4pm.
So if you're from around Guildford area come to say hello!

♥ Then friend of mine ordered 20 Christmas ornaments!

♥ My Vespa has been featured in Etsy treasury:

♥ Then I listed a limited offer of 10 ornaments on Esty and it sold within 24 hours!

(10 ornaments still available on Folksy, otherwise collections of 5 are available on both Esty and Folksy as well as individual items)

♥ And then I receive an email that my Christmas ornaments has been featured on Found on Folksy!

♥ Now I just checked Craftopolis and I'm featured in Etsy Holiday Guides!

♥ UPDATE. I just received a message that my Little Robin is featured on Designs by Vanessa.

I'm thrilled!

You should see me right now- I'm still all smiley and happy :)

Free worldwide shipping this weekend!

2009-10-29T22:45:00.004Z

Because of this week postal strike here in the UK (yes, AGAIN!) I'm offering free WORLDWIDE shipping this weekend! It will start this friday 30th October until midnight 1st November 23:59 GMT :))

This strike is SO annoying!! One parcel I sent to Italy went missing, other arrived ripped off with missing stuff inside (to the same customer!!!) and I'm waiting almost 3 weeks for something from the US.

So this free shipping is something to cheer up :))

In my etsy shop I'm offering supply stuff, Christmas decorations (yes, already! I'm so organized this year :))))), very popular Vespa key chains and many many other stuff.

Some of my Christmas decoration:

Some of the supply stuff:

And I just received message from lovely Lynsey that my Green Vespa has been featured in Cuteable! \o/ Thank you Lynsey! x

maximalist

2009-10-05T09:59:00.009+01:00

My mum doesn't throw away ANYTHING. She keeps EVERYTHING. She needs EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING can be used some point, sometime. And I got it from her. (btw my dad is also collector of absolutely everything!). So the house I grow up is FULL of stuff. But maybe one day you may NEED it. I'm not complaining- as I said, I'm the same. So my house I live in with my boyfriend is also full of stuff. Stuff which can be transferred into art, craft or something useful. Stuff which is old but I'm keeping it for its beauty. Stuff, which needs to be sold. Stuff, which needs to be taken to charity shop (one day, but before I do that I'll go through the bags again and will be pleased to find something 'useful'). I love minimalists' style. I love when the house looks spaceful, sorted, calm, basically- minimalist. But I can't do that!!!!!! I did try many times and I really can't do that! I did try to have one (yes- ONE) shelf with just 3 items on. A picture frame and 2 ornaments. It stayed like that only couple of hours! Soon more picture frames moved on. Oh, and those books looks great next to it. Oh and this goes well with it....etc, etc... I love all my stuff around me. I don't like stuff to be hidden in the cabinets (apart from my boyfriends' wires and cables as I find them very unattractive and messy) I like all my books to be displayed and seen. I would love kitchen, where everything is displayed on the shelves without doors!! I need to see all my stuff. My stuff makes me happy :) I'm definitely NOT a minimalist. I'm maximalist.

Here is a blanket made by my mum from leftover yarn (That yarn has been around for ages! ie-that bright and black yarn used to be my jumper in early 90's!!!!!!)

So this is a great example, how some of mum stuff been used. Unfortunately this doesn't happen too often ;)

And here is my room in my parents house. I don't live there over 9 years but still have my room with my stuff:

(sorry for the blurry photos!)

I'll show you photos of my current house some point (as I don't have many!!!). We moved here 6 months ago but here is still so much to do!!!! Unfortunately we are renting so choices of decor are very limited to white or magnolia (yuk!) + I can't have free hand as much as I would love to.

And I'm asking you my dear readers- are you minimalist or maximalist?
And- do you know any good website, blog, flickr group etc with indoor tips for transformation, room change, re- use tips etc?

self obsession

2009-09-18T12:05:00.004+01:00

I just went through my Photo Booth and discovered over 500 photos- mainly of me!! Am I self obsessed? Am I poser??? Here are just few of them.....

I know I have glasses obsession. And don't tell anyone- none of the glasses on these photos have proper lenses. Just clear glass/plastic!

paper period

2009-09-13T18:32:00.004+01:00

my latest items in my shop.
I was looking for a small bags for my seeds from my garden but everything I had seemed to be too big, too unpractical... so I made myself these cute bags.

My gardener bag made it into etsy treasury!!!!!! \o/
You can see the yummy treasury here.
(I'll add a picture of the treasury as soon as the treasury finnish).

and the winner is........

2009-09-08T14:36:00.005+01:00

Sorry for the delay!!
Thank you all for taking part in my giveaway! Its been great to read what everyone has been up to this summer!

I'm glad to announce that the winner of this giveaway is number 10-Nicole!!

Congratulations!

Don't worry if you haven't won- I'll do another giveaway some point soon!

My reindeer and robin are available in my shop!

x x

My shop is OPEN!!!!!

2009-09-04T17:10:00.004+01:00

my etsy shop is finally open and I am sooo excited! Some of the photos are still a bit dark- it's so difficult to use natural light here in grey and rainy england! So I am thinking of getting a light box. Do you have a light box? And are you happy with it? What kind of light box do you have? I may look on instructables for some DIY tips...

I would welcome any recommendations and tips about my shop!

and don't forget-my giveaway is extended to monday!

christmaaaaaas!

2009-09-03T16:23:00.008+01:00

yep, christmas came early this year! Last year I have been traveling so didn't manage to do any christmas crafting so this year I started well early! I started to sew in July, I even took sewing with me to France and done some stitching while sunbathing beside the swimming pool (meanwhile children were splashing, dads on the bar and mums were reading Hello magazines).

And here are some of my latest items which will be available in my etsy shop from tomorrow!

(have you noticed, where the items are photographed?? yes! Inside the wooden box!!!! :o)) )
plus I have many many more designs waiting to be stitched and decorated.
I am sooo excited about my shop re-opening that I even dreamed about it!
And my giveaway is still running and is extended as I'm away this weekend! + I will add reindeer or robin(your choice) to my giveaway pack!

new banner!

2009-09-02T14:31:00.017+01:00

you may have noticed that my banner changed! I was planning a update for ages but nothing seemed to be right, nice.... Until now!
I have also changed my etsy banner (well needed!!!!!!!!!!)

here are my old designs:
my first banner:
photos of recycled flowers. But it looked too cheap, too plastic....

my second banner was created in photoshop:
(you may remember this one as I had it there for most of the time) but now I think it was too pink, too curly, too not right...

and here are some of my other designs which didn't make it through:
too flat, too boring, too gray...

this one doesn't say much about me!

definitely bright and colourful but still not happy!

And here is my latest version which I am very happy about!!!
Ta daa!!!!!!
Here you can see whole page.

What do you think? Have I done the right decision?
p.s: my giveaway ends this friday! You still have a chance to enter!

A little birdie told me...

2009-08-31T12:31:00.009+01:00

.... that it's the right time for a GIVEAWAY!

It has been a long time since my last giveaway and with the end of the summer, new school year and my esty shop re-opening is the right time to have another one!

Here is what you can win:

-a little sketchbook/notebook for your sketches and ideas and because it's back to school time
-flower buttons- from my new esty collection and because it's the end of the summer
-cat stickers- stickers are always handy and useful and because we are going to get a cat
-pack of mini felt squares- for your crafty projects and 'mini' because we have gnomes in our garden
-reindeer or robin- because they smell of lavender

All you have to do is leave a comment under this post about what you did this summer. Just tell me if you have been somewhere nice or someone nice visited you or you did something nice or something nice happened to you or.....

The deadline is on friday 4th September at midnight BST and I will pick the winner at random on saturday 5th! Anyone can enter- I'm happy to ship worldwide. Just make sure you leave your name/nickname and email (no anonymous please!) and come back on saturday to see if you have won!

UPDATE: I am away this weekend so this giveaway is extended to monday 7th September until midnight BST. + reindeer or robin from my christmas collection will be added to this pack- just let me know which one you prefer!

Good luck!
x x

gnomes in our garden!

2009-08-29T16:11:00.010+01:00

One day I noticed a hole in the ground in our garden. Together with my boyfriend's kids we inspected it and all agreed that it must be a hole where gnomes live. And that was when the fun started.

Kids started to build a houses for them from twigs, moss and leaves, they spent hours building it, re-doing it as it kept collapsing, or it was too weak or it simply wasn't the right design.

On the second or third night the gnomes actually visited their new houses! We know as they have left a half eaten blackberry!!! That day the kids wrote a letter to them. In the evening they put it in the house and to their big surprise they found a reply in the morning!

To their even bigger surprise the gnomes don't use a standard alphabet but they wrote in code! The kids managed to solve the code letter and keep writing to them in their 'language'.

To this day the kids have managed to find out about gnomes:
-they come out in the night only
-they like blackberries and other berries
-they like salad but it musn't be left in their house as slugs manage to eat it before them
-they don't like slugs
-there live 6 gnomes in our garden but other close relatives live in other gardens, houses and local woods
-their names are: Trixie, Marsha, Pilbill, Bubulo, Finkle and Binkle
-Finkle is the messy one and wears red hat (he left it one night in the little house; it had a hole so Daisy fixed it for him)
-they had big feast on saturday 29th August (but we don't know the reason for that feast)
-they use brown paper, similar to "baking" paper for their letters
-one of them can't spell properly

Have you checked your garden, attic, cellar, sheds? Gnomes may live near you too!!!!

I love recycling, re-using, re-doing, re-designing, re-creating, re....

2009-08-28T13:49:00.009+01:00

...and this is my latest project.
I got this cabinet on ebay for a bargain price of £5 (about 8 us dollars, about 5.50 euros, about 150 czech korunas).

then I sprayed it with with spray in a 'ice cream' shade, impatiently waited until it dries (almost) and patiently stick colourful self adhesive foil and here we go!

and then I found this lamp shape in a charity shop:

just perfect match with the new cabinet! :o)

Photos!!

2009-08-26T20:31:00.001+01:00

ok. in past 3 days I have problems to write my blog and upload pictures :(((( you can see some images from USA and my latest creations in my Flickr photo album. x

I'm back!

2009-08-18T13:16:00.004+01:00

I'm back from my trip to USA! I must say I reaaaaaaally enjoyed every minute, I did see so many things, visited amazing parts of California, met nice people, done things I haven't done before and did bring amazing memories...

Well, now I am back in not so sunny England (but not rainy!!!!!!) and sorting all my photos (over 3000!!!!). I have found an *AMAZING* craft shop in San Francisco where I couldn't refuse to go! It was difficult for me as I was backpacking, so every extra kilo on my back was killing me but it worth it!

So now I am working on a new stock for my Etsy shop, including new designs, craft supplies- felt, buttons (many many buttons!) and other stuff.

So my Etsy shop will be reopened on FRIDAY 4th SEPTEMBER!!!

I'm thinking of giveaway as well but probably next week as I'm going away again (but this time only for 5 days!)

And I'll upload some images from my hols in USA soon! x x

bye!

2009-06-14T12:12:00.004+01:00

long time no post! upssss!

I have been quite busy job searching, making more stuff for craft fairs and packing. I've found a job but the responsibility of working process scared me a bit so I decided to travel a bit. (yes again) Its my cousin's wedding next weekend, she is getting married in the USA so me and my boyfriend are going there. Then we will travel a bit (Canada as well) and then he has to return back to UK and I'll stay another month backpacking round USA.

I attended a craft fair last weekend, it was really nice though the weather was tipical british (gray and rainy) but lots of people attended and it was a success!

so.

I'll be back in august, I'll re-open my etsy shop with new ideas and stuff.

Look after yourself and see you in 7 weeks!

X X

forget me not

2009-05-07T21:24:00.004+01:00

I've finally finished my forget-me-not mug for my mum for this sunday mother's day (Mother's day in Czech is the same day like in the US), finished tutorials for it and published it here

I am so excited about it as it has been already featured on the instructables front page!!!!

Bargains!

2009-05-04T13:05:00.003+01:00

I *LOVE* bargains! Today we went to the local car boot sale. It was about to rain, there weren't many people selling but I managed to find this AMAZING retro handbag!!

The best bit is the price- only £1!!! (which is about 1 euro, 1.50 us dollar, less than 30 Kc)

Ahhhh. I think I'm going to sleep with it tonight :o)

latest news

2009-05-01T23:15:00.007+01:00

I've spent last 2 days creating present for my mum for mothers day which I've also planned to enter on Instructables Mother's Day Contest. I am really pleased with the result as it is something mum likes and it is handmade. But today I went to check the page with the rules again and to my BIG shock it is open to US only :(((((( I am sure that THAT note has been added there lately as I haven't notice it before (and there were comments from people around the world asking if its open to worldwide). Its not fair :((

Anyway.
here is a little peak- I don't want to put the final result here as I don't want to ruin a surprise for my mum (not sure if she is checking my blog though)

Another (more exciting) news- I had my 10th etsy sale today !!!!!! And immediately followed by 11th!! I am *really* pleased :o)
I've 'celebrated' that 10th sale a bit and I've sent that lucky customer some little goodies.

EXCITING UPDATE!
before I managed to finish this post I've found out that I can entry that mothers day contest! Basically, they post to US only and my cousin live in the US! Voila! And I am going to her wedding in June. Ahhh. Life is beautiful again :o)

I'm back!

2009-04-25T21:29:00.004+01:00

after almost 2 months I'm back to my crafty world. In that time lots of things have happened.

The most exciting thing is we moved the house! So I was very busy packing, cleaning, painting, decorating, repairing, unpacking, more cleaning....
Me and my boyfriend now live in a lovely little town in south England. (the best thing is here is 9 charity shops where I am almost every day)

here are some images- what we see from our bedroom window:

I also stocked up my etsy shop with some bright colourful and soft felt.

otherwise I'm trying to keep myself crafting. It's a bit tricky as I still can't find some boxes with my craft stuff and material (we still got garage stuffed with boxes and bags!!)

So far I made some cards which will be in my shop as soon as I finish envelopes for them. I just love that cute design!!

Then I've been working on a new thank you cards for my etsy customers and the final design is like this:

Then I managed to go through etsy treasury ( a bit tricky lately) and created another treasury which can be seen here (I'll post a photo after it finish).

So. That's all from me now :)

treasury+365 crafting

2009-03-08T18:26:00.008Z

I've been so tired yesterday that I went to the bed at 9pm. Unfortunately I had my laptop with me as I need to do some research and then I surfed around Flickr and Etsy. Then I discovered that Etsy treasury is ending "quite" soon. I did try to do it once before but I kept refreshing the page and missed the whole bit. This time (at 2 in the morning!!!!) I was more lucky and had a chance to do my first treasury! I panicked for a bit as I had no idea what theme or topic to do. The first thing what appeared in my head was The SUN (as I am missing quite badly :o( ) and here is the result:

It was great fun choosing all these bright items! I am really pleased with it and can't wait to do more :o)
The live treasury can be seen here

My 365 crafting.
Oh dear oh dear :o( I didn't choose the right time as we are going to move on end of this month. I am very excited about it, we are going to a bigger house in small and very cute town not that far from London. But all those viewing in our current house and packing are impossible for crafting. I always hide some stuff away and then I can't find it (like the ribbon for my spring flowers!) Its a bit frustrating. I'll try to continue as long as I can but its more like that I have to start again....

day 2 and 3

2009-03-03T12:01:00.004Z

Yestreday I've been cutting out more fabric birds for my spring cards. I am also documenting every step of making these cards as after honorable mention in Craftzine last month, Singer would like it for their web pages! \o/

Now I am adding little details to the birds like beaks and eyes.
I made these cards last year and all of them got their owner now. Here you can see finished cards from last year.

Cards will be available in my Etsy shop in spring collection from 7th March 2009!

crafting 365 started!

2009-03-01T21:28:00.005Z

My crafting 365 has started! Yesterday actually :o) I cut out these flowers but couldn't find all matching thread so sewing is postponed until I get more thread (probably tomorrow).

So I finished my pom pom dandelions. I made the pom poms a while ago , just needed to add the sticks.

I still have more pom poms to finish (I run out of branches!! and I was too lazy to go out and find more :o) ) But I am so happy with the result! Its so nice and bright- like a bit of sunshine.

These flowers will be available in my Etsy shop on 7th March!!!!

crafting 365

2009-03-01T14:30:00.004Z

Today I'm starting the 365 project. I'll do some craft every day, document it and post it in my Flickr :o) I just need some more motivation. Inspiration for this came from Lupin, who created group on Flickr called Crafting 365.

I also started to do a month summary on my creative stuff. Here are photos from January and February.

February:

January:

Its all going so quickly! But I am glad its March now as I don't like the first 2 months of the year :o)

Spring collection

2009-02-26T13:42:00.003Z

I am working on a spring collection. And I LOVE it! Its so bright and full of colours and it makes me happy and now I can't wait for spring to come!

Here is a little peek to my new stuff:

There is still a lot to do so I've decided that all my new Spring collection will be added to my etsy shop on 7th March 2009.

I'm going to a wedding reception today (I made these invitations for them) and I'll be the main photographer of the wedding! Its very exciting :o)

new banner!

2009-02-26T02:00:00.006Z

It's 2 am and I just finished my new banner for my Etsy shop. Yipeee! (no idea how to spell that word!)

And here it is:

I need to do last touches- the name is a bit out of focus+ some other tiny bits I'm fussy about :)

I may write about it more tomorrow, now is time for bed..........

And the winner is........

2009-02-21T21:23:00.015Z

Today on 21st February at 21:21 GMT was draw of my "21 giveaway". I am pleased to announce that the lucky winner is Evinka (now or never)! Huge congratulations!

Thank you all for taking part in my giveaway and all of your advice. Its been great fun for me so I am sure I do another one sometime in the future :o)

Here is how it went:
(In some way I'm a bit "old-fashioned". I could use on-line random.org but I much prefer the old way+ I had 15 comments but only 14 names... :o) )

All names has been written down...

.... nicely folded and put in the hat.

At 21:21 the draw started....

...holding the lucky one....

.....and the winner is Evinka!

Just for being curious I did try random.org and the result is surprising! Its number one- which is Evinka (now or never)!

busy busy busy!

2009-02-20T12:25:00.007Z

No post for one week- been extremely busy!

I have been 3 days in Exeter-southwest England- for Animation festival (I am a big fan of animation!). This year wasn't as good as last year but really enjoyed time out of London.
Some images from Exeter:

Bunty from Chicken Run

All this tiny things! (I so would enjoy making it!)

Exeter swan

Klara and a ghost

Also I have been contacted by one London gallery that they like my work (they have seen it my graduate catalogue) and would like if I send them some current work! Its very exciting news but I am panicking now! I haven't done much art work since my degree show last year and deadline is on Monday 23rd February! So I am sleepless, thinking of new projects etc... Its great opportunity and I don't want to miss it.

Also friend of mine asked me if I can make some wedding invitations for her friend. Its only small reception so I decided to do it all by hand. (God bless computers and printers!!!!!)

And next friday is the wedding reception and I am going to take all the wedding photos! yay!

Then I am working on a new Spring stuff for my Etsy shop- its very exciting, bright, colourful and full of happiness.

And thats not all. We are moving next month so our house is full of chaos, boxes, estate agents, visitors, more boxes and more chaos.

But as we say: What doesn't kill us makes us stronger :)

And don't forget my "21 giveaway"! It finish tomorrow at 21:00 GMT!!!!!

my lucky friday 13th!

2009-02-14T00:05:00.009Z

I am SO excited! My cards with birdies have been selected as an honorable mention in Craft magazine!!!!!!!!!

Also today I had another sale in my etsy shop!

And thank you everyone who is taking part in my "21" giveaway! Your comments are so warm and kind! And I really appreciate all your advice- I'm going to work on it!

Gosh, I am so excited now that I am all shaking!!

"21" giveaway!!

2009-02-12T23:14:00.005Z

My previous post "21" gave me an idea of a giveaway. So here I am with the prize and the rules.

Here is what am I giving away:

- 21 jingle bells (in 3 colours)
- 21 wooden beads in different shapes and colours
- 21 origami papers (in 21 colours)
- 63 confetti (21 star confetti, 21 flower confetti, 21 smiley confetti)
- 3x felt flowers stuffed with lavender (each flower has 7 petals, thats 21 in total!)
- 3x 1 meter of ribbon (which belonged to my grandma so it's over 21 years old ;o) )
- 6x white buttons with pearl-like stars (also over 21 years old)

All you have to do is visit my etsy shop and leave me comment here under this post together with your blog or email address so I can contact you. The comment can be either what you like in my shop or what should I improve ( I am a newbie at Etsy and I really need an honest, brutal critique- don't worry it wont affect your chance to win! )

Then on Saturday 21 February at 21:21 GMT (obviously, its the "21" giveaway!) I will do the draw (with my boyfriend as the witness) and one lucky winner will receive this box full of goodness!

Anyone can enter! (And you don't have to be 21 years old! :o) )

21

2009-02-09T11:39:00.005Z

Thats odd! Everywhere I looked today I could see the number 21!

21 people hearts my etsy shop:

I have 21 Twitter followers:

There are 21 items for sale in my etsy shop:

Today I got 21 Flickr emails:

And this is post number 21!!!!

Isn't it odd??

I'm thinking of some give away if I get 21 comments! :o)

decoupage stones

2009-02-06T12:06:00.003Z

This is my first decoupage I have ever done. I must say this needs lots of patience- which I don't have. Cutting out all the shapes from the tissue paper, then don't blow nor sneeze otherwise everything would fly all over the table and floor, then slowly sticking it with glue or varnish onto the stones. Well, but I like the final result :o)

The big blue one on the right is my first and it's not very well done :o(

Very girlish I would say.

recycled envelopes

2009-02-05T15:40:00.005Z

At the moment I have a "paper" period, so lots of cutting and sticking. I made these envelopes (so far 12) but many more to come! (they are very fiddly to bend and glue). And they are available in my etsy shop :o)

Free badges!!

2009-02-02T23:47:00.004Z

♥♥♥ All orders before February 14th will receive a FREE Valentines badge!! ♥♥♥

please check my shop

snow and snails

2009-02-02T23:16:00.007Z

So. January is finally over and I am feeling much better :o) We had lots of snow last night- which is very rare for London. We have lots of snow every year in Czech so it's quite funny to see how Britain is dealing with something so "normal" for me. No buses, cars stuck on the roads, school closed...

I took some photos last night:

Today I finally finished my snails I started to make ages ago. They have been almost finished- just the little details like ribbons and eyes needed to be added, then photograph them, upload them, describe them.... :o)
Well, they are finished and already in my shop!

under the weather

2009-01-19T10:38:00.005Z

In the past week I have been a bit under the weather- for no reason (I think its January. I just don't like this month). I wasn't in the mood to write long posts here on my blog. I think I am better now so hopefully long and readable post will appear here now :o)

What I have been up to.

I made more Moo cards. They are based on my idea I had in August- I made this one for my cousin's birthday:

Unfortunately, this card didn't stand up (it did before I added udder) so I was thinking of new design. After few sketches- new moo cards has been born!

So far I made 3 cards only- they take such a long time to cut! And the card is smaller than the original one- from A5 to A6. But it stands up \o/

I already sold one in my Etsy shop yay! \o/

Cards with birdies

2009-01-15T18:11:00.006Z

Cards with birdies
Originally uploaded by Martina-craftyna

I made these cards last year but uploaded them for this year's "Sewing with Nature Contest"

It reminded me when I was 14 years old. I entered some chewing gum competition where the first prize was a car, 2nd trip to Paris and 3rd a mountain bike. As I was the only teenager in my village without a mountain bike I really wanted to win one. To my big disappointment I won the trip to Paris. You wouldn't believe how sad I was!
Anyway. The trip was amazing and unforgettable and I got the mountain bike for my 15th birthday!
So. What I wanted to say its that I don't need to win the sewing machine but I would love the 1 year subscription to CRAFT Magazine! :D

pom pom flowers

2009-01-14T18:50:00.002Z

pom pom flowers
Originally uploaded by Martina-craftyna

I couldn't wait to make those! I saw it at Craftzine pages. Tutorials here: http://www.domestifluff.com/2008/10/how-to-make-pom-pom-flowers/

Happy Valentine!

2009-01-13T23:35:00.002Z

Valentine
Originally uploaded by Martina-craftyna

Here I am with bright new stuff for my ETSY shop. Valentines day is coming- thats why hearts :o) (obviously)

Ta daa!

2009-01-12T13:27:00.002Z

My Etsy shop has been reopen!!!

So far selling my "older" work I haven't manage to list 6 months ago- so far polymer clay items.

You can visit my shop here.

In 2 months time I am going to sell in UK's craft fairs (dates and places will be updated)

For now- back to work (working on Valentines items!)

wooden alphabet

2009-01-05T01:25:00.002Z

wooden alphabet, originally uploaded by Martina-craftyna.

this is the alphabet I was talking about in August. I still have NO idea what to do with it. Well, i got lots of ideas but nothing seems to be right.

New Year, new resolutions.

2009-01-05T00:27:00.002Z

Here I am again, fresh after my holidays in South America and full of new ideas (really missed my craftiness over there!). I still have one week off so keeping my hands busy. Making new plans for my Etsy shop, sketching new designs and ideas, searching mums workshop for new materials (you wouldn't believe what treasures are hidden there!), taking photos of everything I do and trying to write my blogs.

Soon, I'll blog my first images and I'll reopen my shop!

ta daa!

Paper day

2008-08-08T00:20:00.004+01:00

I went to see my dearest friend today so I wasn't very creative. I was on the train for 2 hours so I took some magazines with me for cut outs. I got piles and piles of magazines, all different kinds and topics. Its quite interesting that I do have so many of them as I hardly buy any (apart the ones free with weekend newspapers).

I done some cut outs of pictures for my scrap books. I was annoyed as the train didn't have any tables so I had to hold everything on my lap. At least I had 2 seats for myself :o) I liked people staring at me while I was busy with my scissors :o) (I quite enjoy being a bit 'strange' ).

Cutting out images is not easy as someone would imagine. I got all different scrap books and sketch books and research journals.

Book of colours

book full of colourful squares and rectangles in different shades of each colour.

Book of living

Interior, exterior, decoration and garden ideas.

Full of patern, interesting furniture etc...

Book of pictures

just nice images I find somehow interesting, nice...

Book of flowers

images of flowers and plants. Great art and craft inspiration.

Recipe book

guess what? yes, recipes :o) (of course cut out from magazines)

Research journal

all about art and artists world

And endless sketch books for my ideas and thoughts....

Soon I'll add some images of my books full of images :oD

gardening

2008-08-07T11:08:00.003+01:00

Today i've done some gardening instead of crafting. (well, its raining now so I am waiting for a moment when my head decide what to do- which crafty bit :o)

My tomatoes :o)

Here you can see a picture of my tomato plants. Tomatoes are doing very well but I'm wondering if they ever will be red :o( they are like this for weeks and weeks now. I wonder if its the 'British' weather fault.

to do list

2008-08-06T23:51:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I've left all my fimo out of boxes- so i could start in the morning. Every time I sat and wanted to create something- I've left and started to do something else (like washing up, washing etc..) I just didn't have a Fimo day :o( I quite like this different crafty periods but now I'm not surprised everything takes me ages to finish one single thing :o(

Here is a list of things I up to at this moment. Stars next to it are showing how difficult project is.

(*one star means easiest, *****most difficult)

Recycled car ****

-more paper-mache layers

-wheels

-paint it

Paper-Mache bowl ****

-sand paper it

-add few layers of newspaper

-paint it

Cats **

-add faces

Snails ***

-some are not finished at all

-some need just last touches

Ice-lollies *

-add pins

-glue front bits

Alphabet letters ***

-decide if to sell plain or paint them

Doll house refurbishment *****

-wallpaper whole first and second floor

-floors on first and second floors

Teddy's caravan *****

-don't start until I know what to do with it!!!

Thats enough for now... Its quite a lot of stuff to do........

Ta daa!

2008-08-06T12:12:00.003+01:00

Last night i've been working 3 hours on 2 Fimo items. I can't believe that it take soooo long! It is very small item-but very 'fiddly' + I hate when I can see finger prints on it. I did try to work with surgery gloves but I don't have that feeling in my hands while sculpting.

So- watch this space to find out what I have been up to! :o)

:o)

2008-08-05T22:00:00.002+01:00

well, after miserable afternoon I finally feel a bit crafty.

very slow start :o(

2008-08-05T18:24:00.007+01:00

In past days I have been working on my new design for an iPod cover. Design is great, unfortunately when I started to put it all together it doesn't work :o( It put me a bit off making more stuff.

"flowers ready to go :o)"

I still have only one sale on my Etsy :o( but I'm still optimistic :o) I did cut some flower to stick on wrapped items :o)

I spent quite lots of time doing all this preparation (tissue paper, stickers, little presents wrapping paper...) all I need are some customers :o)

Also I decided to take new photos of my items on Etsy. I got new lovely camera but it takes a while to work out how it works...

"my not working design..."

let's start!

2008-07-31T18:10:00.002+01:00

ok, this is my 4th blog (am I greedy???) but each one is in different theme.

This one is all about Craft and Art I make, do and create :o)

so- let's start!