New coin purses and a magazine feature

This week I have introduced new and improved coin purses to my shop. They are very practical little zippered pouches, perfect for your change and credit cards; 11 cm (4.5") wide, 10 cm (4") tall and 2.5 cm (1") deep with a handy split ring to attach them to the inside if your purse or to use as a key ornament. So far there are four coin purses in the shop, mostly with embroidery and lots of decorative lace and trims, but I will add more in the coming weeks.

And Loddelina was featured in the new, February edition of Slovenian monthly magazine for women, Vse za žensko. We did the interview over e-mails and my husband took the cover portrait of me sitting in my new sewing space (don't worry, it doesn't stay this neat for long...)

Ta teden sem v trgovino dodala štiri nove denarnice, majhne praktične torbice na zadrgo, široke 11 in visoke 10 centimetrov, z 2.5 cm globokim dnom. Vsaka ima tudi kovinsko zanko, s katero lahko denarnico pripnemo v notranjost torbice ali jo uporabimo kot obesek za ključe. 

V novi, februarski številki revije Vse za žensko je objavljena zgodba o Loddelini, intervju pa sem opravila kar prek mejlov. Za to priložnost me je mož slikal v mojem novem šivalnem kotičku (ki nikoli ne ostane tako lepo pospravljen za dolgo...)

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...

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 :)

I love to read

A short while ago I made a custom Mia pouch for Sophie who told me she loved it (thank you, Sophie) and asked me if I ever considered designing a reading glasses case. She was looking for a sturdy eyewear protection (because the hard case she uses now looks like a truck has run over it, as she put it) but she gave me the idea of offering a softer, yet still well padded version in my shop.

It was time to put the collection of my father's old neckties from the 70's and 80's to use...

The result is this padded eyeglasses cozy in dark chocolate wool tweed (slightly striped), originally intended for men's suits, adorned with a piece of rusty brown vintage necktie and two matching buttons. The case is lined with dark aubergine padded lining and is approximately 18 cm (7") long and 8 cm (3.2") wide across the opening. It closes securely with an elastic loop.

I am still testing the new design and thinking of ways to improve it so I was very thrilled to get a message from lovely Dominika @ PanicaLab this afternoon - she has included the new eyeglasses cozy in her I love to read treasury!

Thank you!

Treasuries by CardsAndCraft

It is always such a pleasure to have your items featured in a Treasury list and to see how they look displayed alongside with all the amazing Etsy creations. This month has been very special because lovely Claire from CardsAndCraft, London, has included Loddelina in not only one but in three of her Treasury lists!

Here are her golden, olive and orange autumn inspirations - and be sure to check out her Etsy shop, full of delicious craft supplies, all kinds of charms, beads, appliques and ribbons.

Thank you, Claire!

A welcome-back surprise

My holiday is over and I am back in France - and back to work.

There are suitcases to be unpacked, pictures to be downloaded from the camera, freshly bought sewing supplies to be stored away - but not for long as I have some new sketches that I want to try out as soon as possible!

While I was away, I had the pleasure of seeing quite a few of my handbags and purses included in very beautiful Etsy treasuries - here are the last two, both from yesterday, a nice double surprise as I logged in this afternoon.

First treasury was made by LeahSawyer, a yewellery designer from Sydney, who creates amazing lampwork glass beads - each a work of art in itself.

And the second, autumn inspired treasury by sofiasobeide, the author of the cutest crocheted creatures on Etsy, features one of my favourite colour combinations, deep orange and purple.

Thank you!

Latest treasury features

Who doesn't like to browse through pretty shop windows...

In the past week Loddelina was lucky to be featured in three lovely Etsy treasuries.

First is a romantic, tulip inspired treasury, made by Liat from BoydemTreasures, who has a sweet shop of wooden treasures "from the attic". The treasury features my Jaja basket purse with embroidered tulips.

The second, equally stunning selection and featuring my Bella bunny pouch, was put together by Joy of joieux, where you can find some realy elegant jewellery.

And the third, a lovely collection of items around bird theme, was selected by Liga from FiligreeCreations, a place to find unique lamp shades.

Thank you!

Salmon and olive tapenade

Than is how jewellery maker TopazTurtle called her yummy treasury that includes my Pupa shouler bag among many lovely items. Some of the featured shops are already my favourites and others I have yet to discover.

Thank you!

Thank you

My Etsy shop was closed for quite some time due to our move so it was a great surprise to find Loddelina in two delicious treasuries, one of them even less than a day after reopening.

I love the new 4x4 format of Treasury East, allowing members to curate as many shop windows as they like and their viewing time is unlimited.

The first treasury is a collection of minty fresh items, made by Agnieszka from bialakura, a place to go to for unique childrens' clothing and accessories.

And the second treasury, featuring deeper greens and browns, was put together by distinque, a shop of beautiful nature inspired jewellery.

Thank you for clicking and giving some love to the treasuries!

Front page features

My Malina furry purse was featured on the Front Page last week, thanks to Jetty from JKphotography - her beautiful treasuries often get chosen by Etsy admin, they are delicate and romantic as is her photo art.

While downloading a screen shot of the page from Craft Cult I noticed that a week before another Loddelina item was featured, this time it was one of the decorative hearts, chosen by paper artist Relydesign for her colourful sellection!
I completely missed it, I must be "Dans la Lune", as the French say...

Thank you for the features!

My day Monday

Rose quartz

:

clockwise from top left: Katheyl, funchi, MGMart and mysticfibers.

It hasn't been very easy to blog lately, working on a tiny laptop and struggling to find the right keys on a French speaking keyboard....

My monday is almost over when I'm finaly posting this collection of pinks - that is how today was for me, all warm and sunny, smelling-of-spring kind of day.


And this past week I was featured in two Treasury lists - thank you, Kallia and seragun!

Fairytale features

My cold wintry Sunday ended with a hot-chocolate-with-whipped-cream heartwarming surprise from fellow Etsyians!

The first collection, looking like a page from a fairytale book, was made by Maria from HeartshapedCreations - her sweet little polymer clay miniatures have a very recognizable look you might have noticed on the front page recently, and the second mosaic was put together by Moonika from Kuutydruk, a charming shop with linen products, decorated with beautiful folk embroidery.

Thank you!

New fabulous features

This week began with another bouquet of gorgeous features for Loddelina hearts.

First one, bee-oriented and sweet as honey, was made by BigGirlStudio.

The second one is a charming and romantic collection, curated by one of my favourite Etsy artists Elisa from peskycatdesigns,

and the third a sparkling mosaic made by fellow ESTian FebystanDesigns.

And to put the cherry on top, this cool and artistic Treasury, curated by Fluur, made it to the Front Page on Tuesday morning!

Thank you!

Go west...

On the Etsy European Street Team forum thread there is always a big buzz of excitement when they count down the minutes to new spots opening on Etsy Treasury lists. The lists have a limited life time of 2-3 days and every day either a main list or so called test list of Treasuries West makes room for new curators.

This afternoon it was the "westies" opening and thanks to the lovely ESTsians Loddelina got featured in four of them. Thank you so much, FebystanDesigns, Kreativlink, HeliS and enchantedhue, for these amazing collections!

Treasury lists are like pretty shop window displays where everything fits together with perfectly matching colours and textures. I like to print/screen the most memorable sellections and keep them in an "inspirations" file - sometimes it even helps me track down a shop I have forgotten to mark as a favourite...

And this main Treasury feature came as a lovely surprise from mythunderstood, a funky jewelry and accessories shop. Thank you, Lisa!

It is almost 23h and I just checked the Treasury countdown clock on craftopolis - it looks like the main Treasury list is minutes away from opening - here comes the buzz...

Double treasury feature

Icy january cold brought two new treasury features for Loddelina: the first one was made by Jetty from JKphotography and features my Winter romance heart. I love her cool and frosty sellection, but you have to check out her shop for some amazingly romantic photographs!

The second treasury is by seasides, a lovely place for sea glass and other ocean treasures. It suits the shop's name very well - gorgeous collection of blue hues. Thank you!

A new start

I wish a happy Etsy new year to the fellow shop owners and, as this lovely treasury says, happy shopping to us all - I love shopping on Etsy, it is such a special experience!

New year brought a very nice surprise from Kallia from KalliasWonderland, who included my heart in this romantic collection of pasteles.

I couldn't resist also adding a few pictures from Kallia's shop, these ornaments are just so cute!

A golden feature

My Remember that rainy day decorative heart was featured in this romantic treasury list, made by filofashion.

I realy love the soft colours and delicate textures she has put together. Some of the featured artists I know and some I am glad to discover and make my favourites.

Thank you!

Woman at work

Yesterday I started working on a new tote, trying out some new fabric I have bought recently (nice and heavy black denim) and matching it with colourful pieces of the handwoven basque cloth.

My initial inspiration was spring (Christmas isn't even here and I'm already fed up with winter and the icy cold), but it later evolved as I decided to join this week's challenge, organized by Etsy's European Street Team.

The amazing ladies from EST meet every day in the forum thread, where they discuss everything, from their creative progress to cooking recipes&cold remedies and share all the latest listings, Treasury lists and blog posts. Every Monday the new theme is announced by the winner of the last week's challenge and then members have one week to make and list an item, inspired by the theme.

The challenge (and the relatively short deadline) seems to bring out the best in everyone, giving amazing results, each creating an item in their own signature look. This week the theme is "friendship" and you can follow the listed items as the last week's winner, Kim from viltalakim, posts them on her blog.

We meet back here in a day or so if you want to know what the final result of my challenge attempt looks like...

Update 19-12-09

See the final result HERE.

And thanks to Laura from BlueTerracotta, another fellow ESTsian, my Bee mine decorative heart was featured in recent Treasury West along with some delicious honey/caramel items. Thank you!

I'm back!

Herz Jesu church, Augsburg

We came home last night, it was just after midnight when we stopped in front of the house - the ground was covered with first frozen snow and the air was icy cold. We had to carry two sleeping children inside, wrapping them up in blankets so the cold wouldn't wake them up (not a simple task in the age of safety belts and special car seats. When I was a child, the car safety ment you made sure you didn't run out of gas in the middle of nowhere and everybody had to learn how to change a flat tyre...).

The house was in the same state of chaos we left it ten days ago. We always pack in such a rush, me stuffing all the essentials in suitcases and the children pulling them out again behind my back. They call it "helping", I call them my "non-assistants".

Today, after sending Gaston to kindergarten in the back seat of his father's bicycle, Lily and I set off to clean the mess. For the next three hours we were vacuuming, dusting, arranging the toys back in their boxes, the books back on their shelves, unpacking the suitcases and even managing to cook a simple lunch. It took Lily five minutes to fall asleep in the stroller afterwards and as soon as we were back in the house I sat down with a glass of latte macchiato and rewarded myself with some yummy home made cookies my mother gave me before we left. Phew!

While I was away I made some sketches for new handbags and bought some new fabric I'm itching to try - I will soon post pictures of my work in progress!

And another thing: my Sales Fairy has been busy again, bringing me another Treasury West feature - this time it was Maria from HeartshapedCreations that sellected my decorative heart for her Christmas inspired sellection. This makes it a third feature for my Open your heart ornament in one week...

Thank you, Maria!

Wow

I should go on vacation more often...

One week away from my computer, just barely getting a chance to check my emails every day - and Loddelina gets featured in four Etsy treasuries, two of them making it to the Front Page!

The second FP was a treasury list I wasn't even aware of, made by DeerLola, and I only noticed the Front Page factor - an unexpected rise in item and shop hearts...
Thank you, Ina, for featuring my wooly Malina handbag!

The last Treasury West feature includes my decorative heart again, this time in a very elegant and sparkly collection of items made by Michele from steinschmuckdesign - her Sales Fairy has arrived safely a few days ago and I will post some pictures of her in her new "working" station, when I get back home.
Thank you, Michele!