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.

Autumn is here

Time to switch to warmer, more muted shades and wooly, cozy materials.

Some fabrics I have worked with before and am coming back to, like this dark grey wool cloth, meant for mens' wear and perfect for decorating with freehand embroidery and lace. Little money purse is also adorned with some embroidered ric rac trim and a wooden button.

Others I am testing out, like this upholstery canvas I purchased recently and is actually black floral jacquard on brown chenille base - I used its reverse side for more elegant look of this medium hipster bag and am quite pleased with the result.

Both items are now available in my shop.

One click at the time

Yesterday I had my Sewing Sunday, a day all to myself to make new bags for my shop (and to completely ignore all the domestic chores). Day was a big success, I finished one hipster bag and two small zippered pouches which will be listed shortly.

I am very happy with my work but not so much about the stories I flipped throught as I read the latest issue of Time magazine during my lunch break. The story that particularly struck me was the one about famine in Somalia and images of starving children and heartbroken mothers who manage to bring their children to refugee camps only in time to watch them die. A few more flips through the pages of the same magazine and I could read the story of launching of a new McLaren road sports car for middle aged men, all 1000 of the firts series already sold for $229,000 each...

image: TIME Magazine

Back to famine. I read a while ago that Europeans throw away one third of the food we buy. We either forget about it and it goes off in the fridge or we simply buy more than we can eat. I used to be a very picky child when I was little, one who hardly ate anything. With each meal I left unfinished, some (well meaning, I am sure) adult or other would say "How dare you, when at the same time so many children in Africa are starving!" As a child I couldn't do much about it, least of all pack my unfinished meal and send it to some refugee camp in Ethiopia, then the most endangered African country.

But guess what, now I can. Not in the real sense, of course, but by clicking this button, I can help providing a cup of food for Somalia famine victims. Don't ask me how it works, but apparently it does, so I urge you to post a link to your own website, facebook profile or twitter and remember to click on it daily. One click at the time,  while you are browsing the internet on your coffee break, for example. Or while you are not finishing your sandwich.

New in my shop

I am so happy to be back at my sewing station that I already listed three new items in my shop since we came back from vacation last weekend!
Three items might not seem much but to me it is quite an achievement, considering all the unpacking, tidying the flat and a huge pile of laundry we had to take care of first (and I mean "we", thanks, honey, for helping :)

So here they are, a new Maia zippered purse (with a slightly revisited design from last autumn, there will be more to come) and two tiny house brooches. It was a lot of fun making these, especially the one with fairy lights; do you think I should make more for the coming Christmas season?

 Grey and burnt orange with creamy white lace and embroidery

There's a party next door!

Closing of the little house once I have stuffed it with soft and light plant fibre filling...

Enjoy the rest of your week, more Etsy news coming soon!