Happy New Year 2012!!!

...May this new year bring us Peace and all the desires of our Heart...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

{ LADYBUG GIVEAWAY }

Almost a month ago I received a message from a sweet girl asking me to participate in a give-away. This is my first experience and I'm thrilled!! I'm giving away one of my cozies, the Ladybug in the Clouds, through her blog. If you are interested and would like to have the opportunity to win one, just click HERE and follow her directions. :)

http://shealynns-faerie-shoppe.blogspot.com/2011/12/2nd-day-of-christmas-le-belle-madeline.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ShealynnsFaerieShoppe+%28Shealynn%27s+Faerie+Shoppe%29

Merry Christmas!

I Wish You All a Beautiful and Blessed Christmas!!
xoxo

Merenda time!!

Merenda is the Italian word for "afternoon snack". Today, under my husband's request, I made Churros for the first time! I found the recipe on the online magazine Bon Appetit, one of my favorite magazines. They are basically fried eggy dough covered with sugar. They didn't come out too bad, the frying oil was probably a little too hot so they came out crunchy on the outside but not completely cooked inside. They were edible though... they are almost all gone! :) I also served, to my husband and children, a delicious hot chocolate. It was great!!
I was curious to know more about this crunchy Spanish snack..I knew it came from Spain and it's very popular all over South America and Mexico, but I found out it was a recipe made by Spanish shepherds, to substitute fresh bakery goods. Churro paste was easy to make and fry in an open fire in the mountains, where shepherds spend most of their time. I think it's interesting...
Here's a picture taken earlier to show you how they came out! Bon Appétit!!

my Ladybugs...

I don't remember how I started to create my little Ladybugs.. probably because since I moved to California it became my favorite bug! My yard is always full of them, my children like to observe them, I love the feeling and tickling of their tiny legs walking on my arm, or hand. Sometimes we find them in the house! They are just cute bugs and are now part of my BUG ON A MUG collection of cozies!
The last one I made, after the success of my Ladybug in the clouds, is the Ladybug walking on the Moon.. the first is a "day-time cozy", so why not create a "night-time" one? :) Check it out and see if you like it!!

my Christmas present...

I decided I will start working on a new purse.. I just love the Granny Square purses that I have made so far.. the crocheted squares give a hippie look, my favorite style! This time the purse will be for me..! My Christmas present.. inspired to this one, which is right now for sale in my ShOp! :)

my Santa Shop

aaahhh!! working!! :)  my house, or actually my bedroom (which is half of my house..), has turned into a Santa Shop!! I spent this last week crocheting and stitching ladybugs on cozies and pouches! What a beautiful feeling! It's nice to be busy working on something I really love to do...♥
I created a few personalized cozies and a purse for little girls, thanks to a big custom order I received from Italy. Now anybody can choose to write something on one of my cozies! Just let me know!!

                          

The Ocean.

What a gorgeous day! I went with my family to visit my cousin, who lives near Palo Alto. Today he took us to the beach! The Ocean is incredible!..to see the strength of the waves, the power with which they break on the shore.. I could just stop and watch forever.
I'll share with you one f the pictures I took.. no words to describe how beautiful it was to be there.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This morning I finally started to feel a little better.. we have all been sick with cough and sore-throat this past week! But today I could spend the whole morning and part of the afternoon.....COOKING!!! I prepared a Thanksgiving meal for my family and 3 guests.
After having studied with my children about the First Thanksgiving, I was imagining to be a pilgrim woman preparing all those good dishes... first of all the big turkey!..then the cranberry sauce {made with fresh cranberries...so delicious!!}, the green-bean casserole {with fresh green-beans cleaned by my babies!}.. the yummi gravy...the apple pie.. nothing from the cans.. I can't believe how much I cooked!! And it was so much fun!
After dinner we all played cards.. the super fun italian game called scopa, and also another game called war.

Beautiful Day... Beautiful Night... now I'm gonna go to bed and sleep tight! :)

* * *

*Christmas Cards*

I love writing Christmas Cards.. I have a long list of people I send them to every year. I always need many cards.. I usually like to send a picture of my children all cute and dressed-up {just as my Mom used to do when I was little}.. This year I will for sure send one of these gorgeous, incredibly cute cards made by my little sister Francesca! She also has a shop on Etsy, it's called PETERandFRANCESCA. She's a great artist {as well as her husband}, specialized in iconography.. but she loves also to use watercolors. Her inspiration is Beatrix Potter and the tales of Peter Rabbit. These are the cards I will buy from her shop... aren't they adorable??

featured Shop: Bijouxfan

Today I want to introduce to you another very talented person, owner of a beautiful Jewelry Shop called Bijouxfan. Her name is Carmen, an Italian girl from the beautiful Naples. She moved to the United States one year ago to follow her husband. They are both engineers, but she's not working right now and she's more than happy about that! She's able to dedicate herself more to her family, her son and the passion she has of designing and making jewels.

::: INTERVIEW! :::

1. When did you start making jewels? 
 I started about 4 years ago, just for fun and curiosity, but in few months this 'game' has become a great passion, a real 'need' for my soul and my mind. It's not only a way to relax myself, but a desire to express my ideas, my thoughts about life. A direct way to reach people's heart!
2. What is your inspiration?
I'm very attracted and inspired by color contrasts, that I can observe in nature, or in a painting, or in everything I see. Unusual shapes, natural or man-made, are another inspiration source for creation. And, obviously, stones. A single, beautiful, colorful stone can give me the main idea for a jewelry piece.
3.What else do you like to do for fun?
 I love music, I love singing. Since I was 3 years old, I sing, and sing, and sing all the time! There has been a moment in my life in which I dreamed about singing in a Musical, or in a big gospel choir. I took part of a little gospel choir several years ago, and it was a beautiful experience!
4. Tell me one of your dreams...
 One of my dreams? To be able to trasform my passion of creating jewelry in a real job, with a true 'workshop' entirely dedicated to my tools!


Dear Carmen, thank you so much for sharing something about you on my blog! I'm going to share some of the beautiful pieces of art you make and wish you the best!!! ♥

Isabella ♥

I'm going to dedicate this post to the incredible woman that inspires me everyday in every little thing I make.. my grandma Isabella.. or Nonna, as I called her. Today it's her birthday, she would have turned 98! She went to Heaven 1 and a 1/2 years ago, but she's always very present everyday. Especially today.
I spent the whole day sewing {I'm finishing a purse}, just like she used to do. She always had some work in her hands, she wouldn't stop a second. She could sew, knit, crochet, draw, paint... a perfect lady who grew up in a time so close to the 1800, I don't know how she could adjust to the new crazy era.. but she did, and everybody loved her. She enjoyed watching movies with the rest of the family, but she would never watch any war movie... as she would say "War? No thank you! I don't want to live it again.." She lived both of the World Wars, and she was a Red Cross Nurse during WWII, the memories were not that good.. she never really shared too much about it, it must have been awful. But she survived, always with a smile on her face. I don't know if I'll ever meet another woman as strong as she was.
There should be so many other things to say about her, but I would have to write a whole book, so I'll stop here.. because, really, I just wanted to say "Happy Birthday Nonna!". ♥

Lovely Squares...

I wasn't home this past week-end...and of course, Saturday was the day I finally received a package I was waiting for so long!! This morning I went to my little Post-Office as soon as it opened to go pick-up my first order coming from... China!!! :) I love receiving mail {especially packages} and if it comes from so far away it's even more exciting!! I bought 2 pairs of beautiful wooden handles; I was waiting for them especially because I needed to finish one of my new Granny Squares purses... and here it is! I already posted it on Etsy...I hope to sell it soon.. it could be a gorgeous present for Christmas..

jessicaNdesigns: Veterans Day Giveaway!

From one of my favorite Blogs:




jessicaNdesigns: Veterans Day Giveaway!: My New Personalized Key Chain Available in Silver Aluminum or Copper & personalized with your soldier's name & branch of the military He o...

Knock-knock!! :)

The shop I picked today to share with you is simply adorable. It's called knock-knocking! Agnes Blum is the owner of the shop and designer of beautiful and very original wreaths (she also has a Blog). I thought of her during this time maybe because we are close to Christmas, but I have to say that the type of wreaths she makes can be used all year round. They are so colorful, different one from the other, with pretty flowers made out of felt; some have a rustic look, some you could just eat them with your eyes! Who wouldn't love to have one of these hung at the door? Agnes does an incredible job.. she was even featured in the magazines Better Homes and Gardens and Simply Handmade.. and I'm not surprised! I love the way she assembles the flowers, combines the colors of the yarn and the felt to create something so unique. I will share with you the ones I like the most (very hard to pick which one!):

Ladybug in the clouds.

Last night I had this cute inspiration about how to decorate a cozy that I had started last summer (and I forgot about it)... the color made me think of a beautiful sky... so, why not adding some fluffy clouds and, of course, a ladybug crawling on one of those? This is how it came out! Brand new in my shop!

One of my Favorite Shops!

After I wrote about Lisa and her shop, I decided to write posts about different Etsy shops that I like and give me inspiration. One of the shops that I liked since the very beginning of my business adventure has a particular name: Oktak. It's the shop of Aki, a girl from Tokyo who lives in New York. She's incredibly talented! She makes the most beautiful Bags and Frame Pouches (and now also Flower Brooches!). I'm a big fan.. I love how she combines the colors, chooses the patterns and different motifs.. with so much creativity. I want to share with you a few of my favorite items from her shop. My little blog won't make her more famous than what she already is; my purpose in writing about her is just to wish her the best in everything! :)

my friend Lisa ♥

I want to dedicate this new post to my friend Lisa, as dear to me as a sister. She's the one who introduced me to Etsy, the website where I'm able to sell my creations.
Lisa makes beautiful jewels with silver, brass, copper... she hammers the metals, hand-stamps them, personalizes her creations according to her customers' tastes. Every time I go visit her studio I love to look at everything she makes, from the necklaces, to the rings and the guitar picks. You can visit her shop and see for yourself! :)
I'll share with you some of my favorite items... I'm so blessed to have her in my life!

my Flower Garland

Work Work Work... it's so nice to be busy with something you love to do! In my case it's crochet ♥ I recently had in mind to make a Flower Garland to sell in my shop, I finally made it yesterday!! It could be used in many ways, what I have in mind is to decorate a Christmas tree or to add as a decoration to a Holiday table. Any other suggestion?