Merry Christmas!

Love, 
Damjana

My day Monday

red berries

clockwise from top left: sunshineartdesign, ManniaTitta, redbirdjewellery, AMIdesigns.

See more Monday moodboards at Star's blog...

Still here...

Hello, dear friends,

I must apologize for not posting much lately, things have been a bit hectic with the last week of preschool and all the Christmas preparation - but now the holidays are here, and most importantly, Mother Nature sent us snow to slow things down, stop us from rushing around all day, make us stay at home and enjoy each other...

So that is what we are doing this weekend, frolicking in the fresh snow in the morning and going to the town Christmas fair merry go round in the afternoon. I must admit I have been more faithful to Instagram than Blogger this past month - hence these square images...

I hope you are enjoying your weekend as well, I will see you soon!

My workspace

I wanted to title this post as usual, "work in progress" but other than chosing the fabrics and cutting out the pattern I haven't made enough progress on a new Pippa shoulder bag. I will continue on Monday since tomorrow we plan to visit a nearby Christmas fair...

Once it is done, this small shoulder bag will be a robin's egg blue corduroy with golden mustard jacquard base and lined with matching bright red and turquoise print, decorated with some mustard yellow trim and buttons, perhaps appliqued flowers. I haven't decided on the colour of zipper yet, if red is too much, I might chose something more neutral although I feel like    

c o l o u r  

at the moment - inspiration for this particular combination came from a pretty box I purchased some time ago...

Stay tuned...

My day Monday and December Newsletter

New issue of Loddelina newsletter is out today - due to busy time of the year there have not been many new additions to my shop this month but I am looking forward to new creative challenges and ideas for the year 2012!

And to start this week on a happy note, here is my Monday Moodboard:

Clockwise from top left: FiliGraceJewelry, StarBags, byMarianneS, bialakura.

December

Last night I was up till one finishing my double advent calendar for the children. Papa Arno made the light wooden frame (90x130cm, 35x51") with screwed in metalic hooks on which we strung a simple white cord to make 24 intersections. Children helped me make the tags and when they went to bed in the evening, I added two sets of red paper bags with small presents inside, attached with red polkadot ribbon for Lily and brown for Gaston.

I didn't grow up with this tradition but always found it fun for the small children who have a hard time waiting for Christmas (my son has been asking me about it since his birthday in September...). With this simple countdown tool they will discover a little surprise every morning of this holiday season.

Have a nice Thursday and don't forget, Loddelina December newsletter will be out this weekend, there is still time to subscribe and get fresh news about new items and shop promotions!

Have a nice weekend!

Yesterday I added a new zippered pouch to my shop - a dark brown canvas base with emerald green and raspberry pink silk patches, decorated with matching trims. 

I wanted to list another purse but the day got too short as I decided at the last minute to make a small girl tote as a present to my friend's daughter. I used my favourite Ikea striped canvas and lined it with whimsical colourful print of lobsters and fruit - what else!

I wish you a great weekend,
See you soon!

My Day Monday

It has been a while since I posted my Monday Etsy favourites - time to start the weekly post again!

LEAVES

Clockwise from top left: AliBaliJewellery, P8ButtonArt, DeerLola, oneperfectday.

And the reason for picking the leaves theme is that after a long sewing pause I am finally adding something new to my shop: a zippered purse in cream canvas with stripes and leaves. I have a couple more cut out & waiting, I hope to add them tomorrow.

Have a great start of the new week!

New home

After watching my husband play with iPhone application Instagram for the last five months and getting more and more hooked, I too started discovering this new platform for sharing images. The standard square format of photographs makes one pay more attention to composition of the pictures and application's many filters make it fun to change the mood, contrast and feel of each image. 

I downloaded some of my Etsy shop photos and cropped them through Instagram lense, which gave them a new, artistic look I like very much. Since I also like to take pictures of nature and all things that inspire me, it is now interesting to see all these images together on my Instagram account. 

You may find my pictures under username Loddelina or, if you don't use Instagram click on this link. 

Publishing pictures on Instagram also allows me to simultaniously post them on my facebook and twitter accounts. So many homes, so little time...

November news

As promised I have added four new iPhone sleeves to my shop - two with cheerful stripes and two in dark wool with embroidery.
These slim cases fit iPhone 4 and 4S perfectly so no velcro or magnetic closures are necessary. Cozies are lined with soft wool cloth or cotton corduroy and have no raw seams. Other sizes are available upon request.

And the new Loddelina newsletter is out - click on the icon on top left of this page to subscribe and get your own copy with a special coupon code for my shop!

New design

I have been meaning to add a mobile phone / gadget cozy to my shop for some time now but never knew which size to chose to make it as versatile as posible. The decision was made a few days ago when my husband came home with his brand new iPhone :). I made a test cozy for his phone, making it just large enought to fit the device snugly so no velcro or magnetic closures were necesarry. There is a small pocket in the back for a card and the cozy is lined with soft and thick wool cloth for extra padding.

The second case (the first was plain, no nonsense, masculine version) I decorated with Christmas tree embroidery and red corduroy applique on charcoal wool cloth. I quite like the result and will be adding a few iPhone 4 and 4S cozies to my shop next week. Other sizes might be available upon request, I am always open to suggestions. Stay tuned...

Lovely Clusters catalog

One of the blogs I love to follow is called Lovely Clusters, a place of neverending inspiration, beautiful colours and textures. Each year Rachel from Lovely Clusters publishes two catalogs, carefully selecting and matching lovely items into colour themes.

In the new Lovely Clusters Fall/Winter 2011/12 catalog my zippered pouch got featured in Harvest Orange section - thank you, Rachel!

Just leave the new catalogue out for Santa and you won't be dissapointed this Christmas...

How many is too many?

I recently purchased some new spools of thread - they were on sale so I couldn't resist :)

But coming back home I realized I already have most of these colour shades - or do I?
I keep my spools sorted by colour in a cardboard box and the new spools didn't all fit so I had to take out those that were too close in hue. But how to choose between midnight blule and navy blue, between lemon yellow and corn yellow?

I managed to trim my selection down so now most spools fit in the box...

New in my shop

I listed another large City Tote today, this one is made from fine dark olive green corduroy in combination with cheerful striped cloth in pink, purple and pea green. Comfortable, broad shoulder straps are made from the same striped cloth and inside of the bag is lined with khaki canvas.

Over the weekend I experimented with shapes again and made this large, square wristlet from neutral linen blend - I adorned the front and back with some freehand embroidery and added a handmade bobbin lace that I've bought in Slovenia. 

The region of Idrija in Slovenia has a long tradition of bobbin lace making; this delicate lace, often with flower motifs or heart shaped, is made from fine cotton thread, twisted and pleated over little pins in a round pillow. Click HERE to read more about this fascinating technique.

I've purchased several different pieces of bobbin lace, I will mostly use them for decorating smaller purses...

Monthly Newsletter

This month I am celebrating the 10th anniversary of Loddelina, ten years of more or less continued creating of handmade bags and other accessories. I recently found a box of my very first handbag designs, the early attempts of sewing and trying out patterns (I will share some of them in one of my next posts).

I have learned a lot since then, mostly through trial and error but what other way is there? And I am still learning, my latest task was to finally start Loddelina newsletter, a monthly issue with fresh shop news, a look into my work in progress and announcements of special offers and events.
So here it is, the October issue, put together with the help of MailChimp, internet mailing service. If you wish to subscribe to the newsletter, please click HERE - at the end of this month I will randomly pick someone from the list who will receive this Loddelina keychain charm.

Autumn inspirations

  Japanese anemone - I love their delicate stems and simple blossoms

 Shiny, gorgeous wild chestnuts - I used to dye my hair that colour back in highschool :)

The prettiest side of rain

Weekend!

I listed another bag today, it is a remake of my red city tote with rainbow stripes that got sold recently (thank you, cousin :) - a roomy, sturdy everyday bag, stylish book tote or whatever you want it to be...

This weekend I won't have much time for sewing - first official weekend of autumn is going to be exceptionally sunny and warm so my family will try to make the most of it (chilly, foggy mornings are reminding us that winter is not that far away...).

Children enjoying themselves at the ever changing water fountains in front of the Pontarlier town hall

::  ::  ::

I wish you all a great weekend, see you soon!

Some of my Etsy favourites

It's funny how I am attracted to fresh spring colours and summer-at-the-beach theme on the brink of autumn...

New in my shop

It was about time - another hipster bag is now available in my shop!

Made from lovely cream white basque cloth with woven stripes in rusty red, slate grey and taupe brown. I cut out some leaves from the same cloth and appliqued them in front and back. The bag has all the usual features: back zippered pocket, interior slip pocket for a phone and a handy D-ring for attaching keys.

Leaves are my favourite autumn inspiration and I intend to make more bags, especially zippered pouches, with leaves appliques. Stay tooned!

My workspace

Today is a Loddelina Sunday so I am busy cutting fabric and preparing everything for my day of sewing. So far I have a neighbourhood of little house brooches in the works and I might relax a little in front of the TV later in the afternoon while I sew the brooches shut.
If time premits I also have a new hipster bag all cut out and ready to assemble...

And this is the latest addition to my shop, small money purse, made from chocolate brown wool cloth and embroidered with mustard yellow thread.

Have a great Sunday wherever you are!

* * *         * * *         * * *

Update: several hours later my little house brooches are almost finished (I have to sew a pin in the back of each one) - hopefully I can add most of them to my shop tomorrow...

A very sweet swap

So far I have found only a handfull of Etsy shops, owned by fellow Slovenian artists, but we keep discovering each other through comments on our blogs or in Etsy forums. I found Saša from Tika Ceramics through Sonja's blog and I instantly became a fan of her beautiful ceramic dishes, cookie jars and oil burners. When we started emailing eachother she mentioned she likes my handbags and that is how we decided to do a swap!

Pippa Grande in sky blue corduroy with applique, buttons and embroidery

We met during my summer holidays in Slovenia (it was all in a bit of a hurry so unfortunately there was no time for a picture) and exchanged the goodies. I made Saša a larger version of my sky blue corduroy Pippa bag ...

...and in return she gave me this beautiful lidded cookie vessel, adorned with birds, imprints of handmade lace and delicately painted.

Saša also gave me a small handmade ceramic pendant (which I will model another time and post a picture!) and I really hope we have a chance to meet again soon. 

If you want to see what Saša aka Tika is creating next or to know more about the beautiful part of Slovenija she is from, check out her blog, Tikin svet.