Red star

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been working on a new bag design.

Some of my friends have made observations about my shop lacking a smaller cross body purse one wears when one doesn't want to carry around much more than bare essentials; others have said they don't like it when a bag closes with a flap that needs to be constantly lifted up when you want to take a peek inside...

So what is the solution? Hopefully this new Loddelina design, a small sized hipster bag with adjustable strap, with almost flat shape and a magnetic snap closure. The bag has a large zippered pocket in the back plus a small interior pocket for a phone and metallic D-ring for attaching keys.

As I was drawing the bag, starfish came to mind again so I decided to try a black denim version with bright red corduroy applique - army green shoulder strap gives it a unisex look and since tomorrow is May 1st, labour day in most European countries, the red star seems only appropriate...

The new hipster bag will be listed in my shop tomorrow.

While I was sleeping ...

... my little house brooch made it to the Front Page!

It has been a really long time since I was featured on Etsy FP so I am very grateful to Erin, talented jewellery maker from TheSilverDog, for having included me in her Tiny Pieces of Art treasury. Little yellow house got lots of hearts and so did some other items in my shop - a happy change from otherwise slow Etsy month.

Thank you :)

In other news, I am currently working on another design, a small crossbody hipster bag - flat, simple and practical. I might even consider a men's version...

Happy Easter!

Spring comes late to our part of the world so we get to enjoy these gorgeous tulips in the nearby park and all around our town at Easter time - in my opinion the municipality gardeners of Pontarlier really have a great sense of flower arranging...

Have a great weekend,

see you soon!

More colour!

I decided to combine two of my favourite fabrics, vibrant corduroy in fresh, spring colours and patches of striped canvas from Maison d'Artiga.

The result are these (so far) two Maia zippered clutches, one in red, pink & purple combination and the other in robin egg blue & yellow mustard. I lined both purses with cheerful floral prints in matching colours and decorated the zipppers with handmade polymer clay beads.

I love saturated hues of these new purses but somehow their true colours don't always show in the photos of Etsy listings. I thought my computer screen was to blame so I opened several photos in different programmes - it turns out Etsy makes all pictures look duller and less sharp compared to same pictures, published on Flickr, Facebook and other places...

Other fellow Etsyians confirmed that it is the case in their shops as well. So for future listings on Etsy I will have to push the contrast and saturation up in PhotoShop and sharpen all the images.

:: same picture on Etsy and in PhotoShop window ::

Are any of you having the same observations? Please share!

Freshly baked

Lately I have been in the mood for colour, lots and lots of it, so I started sorting out the most vibrant textiles in my supplies closet to make a few new zippered pouches. But then I realized I don't have many colourful beads left, those large glass or wooden ones I like to use as zipper pulls (and I find them not just beautiful but pretty handy, too...).

So I thought I might make some beads myself - the only available material I had was polymer clay though it has been a while since I worked with it the last time. I have a small collection of basic hues of Fimo soft polymer clay and it took some effort to blend them into pastel colours I was after but at the end I was very pleased with the result.

I used some tiny plastic beads to decorate each large piece, sinking them into the soft clay before baking it according to instructions (half an hour at 130° C). I laid the beads on a small baking tray - a miniature one from Ikea that my children use to make playdough cookies.

I made the holes large enough for the leather cord I use to attach them to zippers.

This project was fun but I am still very far from mastering the clay modeling technique - I admire those Etsy artists who make lifelike miniatures out of polymer clay, like Stephanie from PetitPlat, or jewellery artists like Maja and Sonja.

Nevertheless, I can't wait to use my new beads in future Loddelina projects!

:: P.S. ::

Thank you, Sonja, for pointing out a few more things about polymer clay beads, I will consider them when I make my next batch. Those that I won't use for Loddelina purses I will keep on my sewing table - they will come in handy when Lily comes to play at my feet, she loves to string beads!

Stella Maris wristlet

The weekend is almost over and I still have some tidying up to do before my family returns (and muffins to bake like I promised the children).

Here are two new summer wristlets I listed in my shop today. I call them Stella Maris, starfish in Latin, and I must say I am very pleased how the corduroy applique in salmon and robin egg blue on two tone beige canvas turned out.

I have already sketched some more starfish inspired designs but they will have to wait for the next sewing break...

A busy weekend

This weekend it is all about Loddelina. Thanks to my husband, who took the children to grandma's, I have a whole weekend to sew!

Ok, almost the whole weekend because there are other urgent things to be done, like reorganizing my pantry (to make sure I restock on food that is actually missing and stop buying more and more pasta that I already don't have room to store anymore, for instance).

This morning I dedicated some time to call a few of dear friends I made during our stay in Germany - we were able to catch up without constant interruptions from children who always want to take part in the conversation...

Later I prepared my sewing table and started work on a new design (I have cut the pieces and fused the interface the evening before). But my stomach reminded me it was time for lunch so I had to take a break - my abandoned sewing table didn't look very attractive but that is how interfaced, double stitched insides of a tote bag look like...

I cooked some pasta, what else (to make more room in my pantry), spaghetti with tomato and basil sauce with cubes of fresh mozzarella on top. It is one of my favourite 20 minute dishes and I often make it for my family.

After lunch I hurried to finish the bag (I will do the dishes later) and here it is, a sneak preview of my canvas summer tote with handmade starfish charm. It has interior zippered pocket, slip pocket for mobile phone and a swivel hook for keys. It closes with a magnetic snap and makes a perfect medium to large summer bag.

I intend to make two more starfish themed designs this weekend and I hope to have them all photographed and listed on Sunday.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

A package is on the way...

... and this time it is one of my little house brooches, on it's way to Norway.

I usually wrap my bags and purses in plane or printed brown paper, decorated with colourful tape, before I stick them in a bubble envelope, but that didn't work for tiny houses.

So I looked around Etsy supplies a bit and purchased small glassine envelopes. They come in many sizes and with these 3" x 5.5" I can pack each little house individually, enclose my business card and staple the little package shut with a cut out cardstock flower on top. I like to include a handmade blank card with envelope as well in case the purchased item is a gift (even a gift for oneself...).

So far, Loddelina designs have traveled to many corners of the world, some to Europe but a lot of them much further, to USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and, thanks to lovely fellow Etsy lover and blogger Yael, to Israel.

-::- find Loddelina on facebook -::-

Thank you, all, and thanks to those who are liking Loddelina Facebook page - I will do my best to update the page with fresh designs, work in progress and other news as often as possible. See you soon!

New season, new ideas

First blossoms of spring make me already think of summer, there is something about clear blue sky with puffy white clouds that evokes memories of childhood summer holidays at the seaside... I love the clean and fresh combination of sky blue, leaf green and white!

So this week I am working on a larger summer tote - perhaps not in the same colour scheme as this cherry branch (because I have to use some of many fabrics I have in stock) but the new bags will definitely say "Summer Time"

Stay tuned!

Beautiful company

A big thank you to all the wonderful fellow Etsyians, who have featured my work in their treasuries lately - I love seeing how other people view my work and include it in ther collections.

Here are just two of the most recent features:

FIRST, a treasury made by Jetty from JKphotography

and SECOND, made by Betti from realfaery .

Thank you :)

Daffodils

Spring is around the corner but it will take a few more days for the first cherry tree blossoms to open - on this high altitude spring is always delayed by at least three weeks...

But following a tip from the locals we drove not far from our town to find a field where the first daffodils have started popping out of the ground. It was a beautiful afternoon with wild clouds above our heads and the children enjoyed picking tiny yellow flowers (this wild variety is much smaller than what I am used to seeing in people's gardens, it only grows about 20 cm tall).

After a while the clouds got darker and our boots were covered in mud so it was time to go home.

In my kitchen now stands a beautiful bouquet of sunshine yellow blossoms to brighten up our mornings.

:::

:::

Have a great weekend,

see you soon!