Embellished shoulder

 Another embellished shoulder top I did back in 2011...

Customized labels

.:Gift Labels:.

There are a LOT of great gift ideas out there at the moment. And tons of free ready-to-print gift labels too. Of course, you can always go ahead and buy some. But nothing beats some personal crafty ones, right? I made these with a re-purposed burlap (which was part of a gift wrap), simply cut into rectangles and frayed. I then stenciled the nicknames of the people to whom I'll be gifting, well the gifts (I can't really say what it is am gifting, I know for sure one of them might be reading right now lol), using fevicryl, my favorite brand of acrylic color, each in what I hope are their favorite colors. There! Done.

Before/After: Footstool & Hamper

Hamper before

Footstool before

After

 Three layers of white acrylic paint and a new fabric later, voilàaa.

Also, I'd like to say thank you to Astrid of Grandma's Red Needle for the lovely award she sent my way! Go read about the adventures of a Norwegian woman in tropical Mauritius, it's so much fun:D & of course, check out her amazing quilts.

The rules say that I am supposed to say something about me, that you don't already know, then pass the award along to others. Let's go back to high school. hehe. Back then (graduated in 2003), I was way more into science that into art. I had no idea how embracing your creative side was something that could be so fulfilling!

Ok, I know it said pass along to others, but I'd like any of you crafty bloggers to grab the award. And to link back so I can visit you:)

Door stopper changes clothes

.:Door Stopper Before:.

.:Door Stopper After:.

I have had a sack of sand that serves me as a door stopper for ever and much like throw pillows, it changes dress often. For now it's burlap and stenciled LiveYourStyle, sewed as a pillow-case. I painted it with Fevicryl acrylic colors for fabric. A custom mix grey. The stencil was bought at Mr Bricolage, I was too lazy to go make my own. The burlap is actually from a re-purposed gift bag. The first few letters are kinda smudged, coz I made the rookie mistake of using too much paint on my brush. It really is better to "layer on paint" from a dry brush. By the way, just like whitewashing, stenciling is way too addictive. You get crazy ideas to stencil everything.

DIY ruffles cushion cover

.:Made from T-shirt scraps:.

My raw material was these small (approx 25x 25 cm) jersey squares. I chose hot pink for this project, since it'll go well with my decor. And who can resist a girly ruffles pillow in hot pink! But two old xxl tshirts in any color should do.
Obviously, it was a bit of a maths problem figuring out how to make use of these small pieces of fabric. I started by sewing 2 squares together (x2 for the other side of the cushion) to obtain the base for my cushion cover (40cm x 25 cm) and got cracking for the fun part, ruffles. Here's a step by step for making ruffles...

(1) Start by cutting strips, 1 inch large. It's better to scale up or down depending on the size of your cover, etc. For the length of each strip, the basic rule is that the length of the strip should be twice the length of your ruffle.

(2) Set the tension on your sewing machine to lowest. I used white thread so you can see the stiches, but of course use a matching thread color. Stitch down the middle being careful to leave reasonable amount of thread at one end so you can pull. I find that sewing by machine yields a better looking ruffle, which won't disintegrate. But in any case, it should be fine if you use a needle+thread.

(3) Pull on the bottom thread (4) Spread the ruffles along the length of the strip


(5) Pin the first row, leaving a bit extra fabric over the edges (6) Set the tension back to normal, sew over the middle of the ruffle, closest you can to the stitches holding the ruffle.

(7) Repeat until you have enough rows and then you can assemble your cushion cover. I simply sewed it like a pillow case, without any buttons or zippers.

Voilà!!!

P.s: I am no expert at sewing (self-taught). However, I'd advise you to practise making a ruffle or two beforehand. As for fraying, I haven't washed yet, but I'm confident it should stay put. Do sew the rows as close as possible though. Oh, this isn't the first or best tutorial on ruffles cushion covers, still hope you like it:) Don't hesitate to ask if you have any question.

These were made for each other

Penguin's Classic cloth-bound books& the library below

Images Via Shoebox Decor

"P.S - I made this..." tutorial on Shoulder Pads

You know how strong shoulders have made their comeback (Yes, sometimes I still shudder at the thought), well, I think I've found a way to rock em! And it's with utter delight that I came to discover uber fabulous designer Erica Domesek's site P.S - I made this... which is all about the 3R's, re-imagine, re-use, and re-invent. Her motto defines her work perfectly, I see it. I like it. I make it. Do visit her![here]

(Source: P.S - I made this...)

Luxirare

"Killer clothes and Fine Cuisine".

The Chain Jacket by Luxirare

And what follows on this amazing blog is exactly that. You can't help but beg for an online Luxirare shop, after you've seen what this talented person can do.

All pictures are from Luxirare, found via Cafe Mode

Alphabet from Recycled Jackets

I found these fab repurposing projects from Stilsucht, where I can't understand a single word, but the images speak for themselves, it's packed full with great design stuffs. With these, I think I might jump on board the alphabet decor trend...What say you?


p.s: I keep meaning to post on LiveYourStyle, but then I get inspired for L'Atelier. End-point: you can't force inspiration, it comes when it comes.

Who said spiders are worthless!

Art Historian Creates World’s Largest Shawl Made From Golden Spider Silk

Photo by R. Mickens/American Museum of Natural History

Using silk extracted from more than a million golden orb spiders, which are found only in Madagascar, this spectacular 11×4-foot shawl took British art historian Simon Peers and his American business partner Nicholas Godley more than four years to create using century-old weaving techniques. The glistening silk threads are completely undyed.

Now on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the shawl is believed to be the largest—and rarest—piece of cloth woven entirely from golden spider silk, which is known for both its intense color and strength. Only the females of the species, which isn’t poisonous, produce the silk filaments, 24 of which are twisted by hand into a single strand, then twisted again with three other similar strands to make the silk thread. Roughly 70 people collected spiders daily from webs on telephone wires, then another dozen more drew silk from the spiders using hand-powered machines. Although some spiders died during production, a system was set up so that spiders being used were released every day. The intricately patterned shawl, which features traditional Malagasy bird-and-flower motifs, has its genesis in 19th century stories of a French colonial administrator’s attempts to spin cloth from the threads of golden orb spiders. In the late 1890s, Madagascan fishermen also used spider silk, which for its weight is stronger than steel, to create rudimentary nets and lines.

Source: Ecouterre