A busy week in the land of Etsy

Since I opened my shop on Etsy last Monday I have been busy installing gadgets, rearanging pictures, editing text and changing avatar.

I started roaming around Etsy forums a bit, trying to get some feed back on my shop in the Critique section. I have to say fellow Etsians have been very helpful and sometimes brutaly honest so I will keep working on Loddelina's shop.

If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them with me - every opinion counts.

And thanks for hearting my shop, you know who you are!

Have a great weekend!

These are for Lily - vse najboljše!

Charly

This is Charly - a present from me to my baby girl for her upcoming 1st birthday. He is super soft and cuddly and the two are already inseparable - I mean it, kids today have mountains of plush toys and it takes a special someone with whom they really bond. Charly seems to be The One (he might be given a different name later, so far he goes by his tag name).

He comes from a distinguished German toy manufacturer Steiff and their stuffed animals are very high quality. They better be if Lily intends to take Charly with her all the way to college...

Loddelina on Etsy

Yesssss!

Loddelina has finaly opened her shop on Etsy!

After hours of staring at the computer screen, typing and transfering pictures, the shop is up and running - just click at the link on your right (I still have some tricks to learn about these gadgets but it will do for now...)

It is LATE and I'm off to bed. I will drink a toast to my shop tomorrow (with a large cup of coffee at breakfast).

Thank you all for your support,

good night, good morning, good evening!

The Lovely Package Exchange

Thanks to Fallon from Olive on Etsy I learned about this Lovely Package Exchange on Oh, Hello Friend blog just in time to sign in! The swap closes on Monday the 27th so there might be a day left left for those in other time zones...

I can't wait to learn about my swap partner. Danni from Oh, Hello Friend has a big job ahead of her to match all the swap participants - I joined as number 198!

Some of my favourite felts from Etsy

I came across these darn cute gadget cozies a while ago and just had to share them with you!

Some of them have been sold but check out these Etsy shops for more fun stuff:

Hiné

Birdona Fern Studio

Plushism

Vintage Coquette

Chewing gum disposal - there's nothing sticky about that!

I'm enjoying a relaxing week in France visiting my husband's family (at this point in life not having to shop for food and cook for a whole week counts as five star holiday).

Walking along the warm summer streets of Besançon with mon chéri last night I noticed the city's new dustbins and the inventive way they decided to fight chewing gum poluted pavements. They have placed these colourful "targets", printed on heavy paper, where passers-by can dispose of their chewing gums rather than throwing them on the floor or sticking them just anywhere. When one paper target is full, they simply tear it off and throw it in the bin.

What a great idea, I do hope it sticks!

Gaston's favourites

I only have two nights left to pack for our holiday and I'm putting together some toys to take with us (at the end they might get completely ignored and those left behind will be the most wanted, but that's life...).

But one thing I know for sure - I musn't forget my 3 year old son's painting kit. He loves to watercolour and this is his palette (or what's left of it). I only now noticed how he has used some colours more than others. He seems to prefer greens, blues and deep red-brown hues but for some reason avoids yellow, orange and purple. The winner is by far the colour black. It is, like the Monty Python say "no more".

Hand printed linen by inklore

I saw this shop on the front page of Etsy today - simple and lovely block print designs on linen by inklore. Makes me want to start knitting... 

Sam also writes a blog at http://inklore.blogspot.com/

yarn keep

lavender sachet as a keychain

linen napkins with umbrella leaf design

Got-everything? messenger bag

After designing Ma-ma zipper pouch for nappy changing necessities (see earlier posts) it was time for Mama to get her own messenger bag.  A bag just for me and my most basic stuff: it has a metalic hook to fasten my keys, an interior zippered pocket for documents, a padded compartment for my cell phone and another one with a velcro closing flap for my ixus. Next to it is yet another small interior compartment that holds a lip gloss and a pen. 

On the back side is a zippered pocket for my tram ticket and a small sewing tape measure plus another zippered pocket, hidden under the flap in the front (the flap closes securely with two magnetic snaps).

I've used the same fabric as for my Ma-ma pouch, a printed cotton canvas from IKEA - I've seen it used by quite a few Etsy sellers but for some reason people are reluctant to give it's source. Well, the beautiful floral pattern was designed by Linda Svensson.

Colours and textures

Since I started working on the Loddelina label again, I have been carrying my pocket camera around with me in order to capture sudden inspirations or unexpected colour combinations and textures I might come across. Nature has the best ideas!

Having walked through the same park past the same trees for two and a half years I only now noticed the beautiful tree bark I pictured in yesterday's post. Here are some more images I've made over the past few months - hardly leaving my house.

sea of purple

birdhouse on a birch tree

tree lichen

cherry blossoms

The colour of July

I've been busy these days trying to take nice pictures of my handbags to post on Etsy when I finally open my shop (time has been in short suply lately, not much sleep...). 

Here is one of my bags, Malina Hotpink, paired up with a picture of a beautiful rosebush I took the other day on my way through the city - Augsburg is full of lovely flowerbeds and they are exspecially vibrant in July...

Seagulls

I started planning my seaside holidays today and this pillow by Olive seemed just the thing to put me in the right mood. I love the colours and the details - you have to look closely to see what I mean... You can check out these seagulls and other fun stuff at her Etsy shop.

New: Ma-ma zipper pouch

Being a mom of two small children I got fed up with always having to carry around my big diaper/nappy bag whenever I left home for more than an hour. Yes, they can hold a lot of stuff, from nappies and bibs to extra clothes, milk bottles and snacks, but the bag just got too heavy for me to carry around in search of the changing station, with a toddler in my arms. 

So I designed this practical Ma-ma zipper pouch, just big enough to hold a coupple of spare nappies, a packet of wet wipes and some barrier cream. Its interior pocket can hold a toy or a small book to keep your baby busy while you change him. You can strap the pouch around your waist and carry the baby safely in your arms; store it in your diaper bag or hang it from the baby stroller when you are not using it. 

The pouch is 24 cm/9.5 inch wide and 28 cm/11 inch high with a removable strap 30 cm/12 inch around. The zipper is decorated with a porcelain bead on a leather string.

I will offer the Ma-ma zipper pouch in my Etsy shop soon - so keep following my posts!

Beauty pouch for Maud

Staying up late sorting out some old picture files on my computer I came across this beauty pouch I've made for a friend a few years ago. She had asked me to make a very "girlie" purse for her little daughter and so I used hot pink ultrasuede, embroided it with some colourful yarns, added felt applique and a few ribbons in contrasted colours. It had a zipper in front and a flat pocket with two compartments in the back. It was a bit wider on the top (20 cm/8 inch), with 16 cm/6.2 inch at the bottom and measured about 15 cm/6 inch in height.

Cooling down

How does that poem go: "The woods are lovely, dark and deep..."

Forest green may not be my favourite colour when it comes to handbags but it definitely brings the calm and relaxation when July temperatures rise above 30ºC.

Take a deep breath...