bodner010

I don't know how your week has been, but mine was weird. And short. Flat tire on Tuesday, right when we were supposed to head off to gymnastics. Had to go by bus which we missed, so we had to wait and hence M. was late. Wednesday, I had to get the tire fixed besides everything else on a usual Wednesday . Thursday, I was supposed to prepare samples of crafts activities for an upcoming school event - I wasn't in a crafty mood, apparently, since nothing seemed to work out the way I wanted. On top of that a big photo frame came down from a shelf, shattered to pieces, glass everywhere and me almost having a heart attack from all the rumpus it made. It took me awhile to pick up the pieces and while I was vacuum cleaning the last bits, I decided to quickly do the kitchen floor as well. That's when I noticed a big puddle of water under the washing machine... It was close to pick up time from school and I was trying to find a leak... No way I could move the heavy machine on my own. ...

  Tania said... Congratulations, and what a brilliant giveaway, thank you! ollieandt@gmail.com March 15, 2012 3:31 AM Congratulations, Tania! I will send your information to C&T publishing and they'll take care of the rest! Thanks again everyone for your enthusiasm about the book!!

Thanks for the nice comments on my previous post! I've used my new bag every single day now and love it! The gold triangles definitely amplify the first sun rays!! As promised, I wrote down the entire process - for me, so I won't repeat my mistakes and for you, so you can give this a try, since really, as scary as it may seem, leather actually is  a very nice material to work with. In this DIY, you will find some general information, instructions on how to paint on leather (illustrated with  pictures) and step-by-step (written) instructions for putting the bag together. I included the bag pattern as well. Leather and gold bag  :: the DIY instructions. A few remarks in general: Before starting to paint on your precious leather skin, try a couple of samples first on a piece of scrap. This in order to see how well the paint works on the leather color wise as well as to determine the number of layers needed for a perfect coverage. Also, I tested several methods, from painter...

A couple of months ago, I came across a very nice piece of pigs leather, not tanned and very soft. Surprised by how cheap it was (I couldn't believe it was actually real leather at that price) I couldn't resist and bought the skin. It took me some time to decide on how and what to use it for. I kept it neatly in my closet with a nice ribbon tied around it. Once in a while I would take it out, pat it, fold it, smell it. A bag for sure, but what kind of a bag? I went slowly on this project. At some point, I decided I wanted to paint on it - I had never done this before - I tested a couple of designs and colors on pieces of scrap leather and then I just went for it. Triangles. Gold. No way I'm a bling-bling girl, but given the subtle color of the skin a little bit of gold wouldn't harm, I thought. I tested a couple of techniques to get clean cut triangles onto the leather and went with freezer paper. It took me another week or so before I had the courage to actually cut up...

Two summers ago, I got contacted by Rashida Coleman-Hale from Iheartlinen . If I wanted to contribute to a book on zakka style sewing. It was around the same time Kathreen contacted me for the Crafternoon series . I couldn't believe my luck!! Did I need to think about that? No, of course not! So, now it's finally here and I'm really, REALLY, proud to be one of the 24 contributors to this little gem. Because that's what it is. The book contains 24 sewing projects in typical zakka style. They make up for a perfect gift or a craft just to treat yourself. The simple yet stylish projects range from a tote, to a pincushion, nesting boxes, a messenger bag, a quilt and many more ... For the occasion I made an up-cycled version of this water bottle holder. More details about the book can be found here at the official Zakka Style page. And now the good news for you: Stashbooks at C&T Publishing is offering an e-book version of the book. To make a chance at winning this ...

... scraps of a new project I'm currently working on. All I can tell right now is that it involves leather, fabric and paint. I'm almost there - just need to add a couple of details. In the mean time, while tidying up this afternoon I had a little fun with the scraps. I'll be back next week with more and - it's been a while - a giveaway. So, stay tuned and have a great weekend! xo, P.

I can't believe I've been absent here for an entire month. February flew by. We all got sick (and better again...) at the beginning of February - I even managed to be sick in bed on my birthday. And after that the girls had a two week break. One week was spent in the mountains which was really great. We were in good company, had great snow and the most lovely weather - what more could one wish for... And now we're back to normal, impatient for Spring to come - which won't be this week as temperatures were announced to go down again and the sky looks sort of grey. But that's ok as I have plenty of 'inside' jobs on my to do list still. I'll (try to) keep you posted...