Romantic cuff

You are looking at my new romantic cuff.

I have had this left over cuff from this project and I saved it just for something like this. I am happy how it turned out and I know it'll be my favourite!

This is how I made it:

A cuff from an old shirt whose colors I didn't like so


I took a plain white cotton, marked it


and covered the cuff . Before stitching I inserted a lace in between the layers.

I sandwiched that lace.


And top stitched all over it.


Then I added a lace ribbon over it.


I sewed a white elastic on one end.


I covered a button with the same lace and put it on the other end.


Then I made a flower by combining the two fabrics.


Here it is finished! Isn't it cute?

Eternal specials

Hello! I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend. I am. Today I bought myself two pairs of sandals I am super-excited about! But that is not the reason for this post. It's about the little, eternal, special things.
Quite unexpectedly, while at my mom's, I dug out a Burda special from 1997 I forgot all about. It is a special edition offering patterns for clothing for "special" occasions. I am happy I found it because some of the pieces actually never go out of style.

I am in love with this one, although I have like a ton of similar dresses (if not the same design- the Lavender being my last one - just a couple of posts bellow). Still I cannot shake off the design - it's so.... me!

Then there's this one - so simple yet so refined. I haven't worn anything so "figure caressing" for a long time, because my figure is having a "let's occupy some more space, shall we" experience, but I am working on it - thank you very much!

And the last for today is this sassy and gorgeous dress (but without the fluffy thing, please). Pity I don't have many occasions where I would actually wear this. That is, if I decide to make it.

And, I'm ending my post by these wise words someone said and I am trying to live by them:

"Simplicity is the essence of elegance"!

Keep up to the simple things girls!

Under the sea

Summer is perfect for interactive activities when the children are at home with plenty of time on their hands. A colleague of mine made this with her children and when I saw it I knew I had to give it a try.

The basic materials we need:

- A paper plate
- Paper napkins (blue- of course)
- Cut out fishes (material of your choice)
- Birch-tree flowers (those are the brown things)
- Plastic flowers and weed
- Shells, sand and stones
- Aluminum foil for the bubbles
- Beads for the eyes and the fins
-Glue

First, glue the paper plate, put the napkin over it and smudge it with your fingers.


Next, set the background. Arrange the weed and flowers.


Glue the little fishes.

Put some bids for the eyes and the fins.
Roll the aluminum foil and make some bubbles.

Then you have to work on the sea bed.
Arrange the shells, stones, and in the end sprinkle sand over it.


And that's it! Your aquarium is done!

Flower bouquets

All I could think about lately is this:

Ever since I saw the fabric flower bouquets I thought I must make myself some.
And I used the first chance I got when freed from my duties to make these cuties.

These are truly contagious.
You can't stop making just a few. You have to make a ton. :)

The carnations are what I like best.
The light does not give them justice.
(We are having weather tantrums again! It's been dark and cloudy and rainy for a week now.
Can't take a proper photo anywhere in the house!)


They are just a great refreshment to the living room table.
I've just heard the vase exclaiming and leaping out of joy that it'll be hosting the lovelies!

P.S. I've made an adorable fabric ring, but I'll leave that for another post, because someone has been playing with the glue gun - and I can't find it!

Earring loop display

Bouquets of flowers come wonderfully wrapped in beautiful (recycled) paper or in nets and I don't have the heart to throw them away so I keep them for the kids (or me) to use in some of their projects. This time I found a great way to reuse such pieces by making an earring display loop.

This is what I did. First I chose the paper I wanted to work with. I chose a netted roll of paper which is sturdy and strong, a fragile looking, light peach paper that proved to be easily tearable and an embroidery loop.

I marked the net and cut out a circle...

... and tried it to see what it looks like.

The netted paper was sturdy enough to resist the stress of the load but since its color was too purple for my taste so I covered it with the lighter paper.

I cut off the excess and glued it all around.

And the earring display was ready.


This is a nice way to reduce the clutter in the jewelery box.


My all time favourite pair! My dad gave my mom these at their engagement.
They were cuffs. Now they live the life of earrings :)
Aren't they amazing?!

Traditional dance show

Today Eva had her traditional dance show. They have been preparing the whole year for this show and she was anxious when the actual day came. Traditional music, dances and songs were presented and we quiet enjoyed it.

The only drawback was that it was held out in the open, near the bank of the river, with no sign of a shadow. What was the organizer thinking when they scheduled the show to begin at 6 p.m (the children were there before 5 - mind you) when the temperature was almost 50 degrees Celsius, is a great enigma. The poor children and the parents along, were literally cooked under the burning sun. Especially the children with the costumes, woolen aprons, the pantyhose, the woolen socks the boys wore. But, luckily no one collapsed.

The girls received simplified copies of the traditional costumes with plain long shirts (dresses), aprons, and kerchiefs.

The boys had the complete costumes with long shirts, belts, trousers and socks.

(A spontaneous act: Just before the show, Jacob running to give her a good-luck hug)

The musicians were also dressed accordingly and played fantastically!

The drummer with the traditional, intricately embroidered vest.

The children gave us quite a performance and received a gigantic applause.


Eva danced perfectly. We were so proud.

The Lavender Dress

This is my Lavender dress. I love it! I feel great in it! It's in my favourite colours!

There was a school celebration last Tuesday on which I was to wear this particular piece. So on Monday, I rolled my sleeves up (not literally because it is like 40 degrees outside and it feels like hell) and I sweated on it for what felt like ages. The reason was that I used two different sizes to make it.

I used a larger size for the bodice and a smaller size for the lower part (the skirt). I have never done that with Burda's patterns, but there is always a first time for everything.
When I combined the two fabrics I knew that I will use organza for the belt and I think the colours match perfectly.

And although I have used this particular web like organza in many projects I forgot that it'll rip off when I put the zipper. And it did. And I thought that my brain is not functioning well due to the heat. So I appliqued a piece over it (Eva calls it 'the butterfly') to hide it and I think it is a nice detail. I mean a nice cover up when you mess things up.

I especially love the roses. They look great. Although, now when I watch the pictures, I think that their arrangement should be changed.

And to finish the story: just as I was about to sew the straps, my husband's comment threw me in the gutter (he actually said I looked as if washed out) so I lost interest in finishing it! Needless to say I wore something else for the celebration.

However, I wouldn't be myself if I let a comment knock me out so I finished it yesterday so that I could wear it today for the graduation reports awarding ceremony for my class. I felt great.