On Blue Doors, Yarn Cakes and Bohemian Dreams

 

 

When I planned the photo shoot for my crochet tubes lookbook, I had a specific place in mind that would have been perfect for my bohemian jewelry.

 

This specific place is actually the entrance of an ethno restaurant which with its arches and bricks resembles a mix of a souk and a medieval street. Can you imagine that? And the greatest jewel it hides? An old looking blue door.  It's not real blue - it's more of a teal that changes color depending on the day light. An extraordinary setting to bring to life our bohemian stories.

 

But there is a *Silvia in this story too. Well, you see Silvia had no consideration nor understanding of our plans. She brought over her luggage of dim grey clouds and threw her tantrums in the shape of large shiny raindrops and shooed us away.

 

Seeking a safe haven we used our plan B and went to this new place  a couple of steps away from our first designated location, which we have eyed for a long time but never actually sat for coffee or lunch and we found pure joy!

 

I cannot describe how we felt at the spread of beautiful colors in front of our eyes!  We played with our cakes and necklaces and here's the result. I jokingly named the necklace Eva is wearing 'tetris' because it reminded me of the game and the name just stuck with us. The lookbook  we shot these pictures for will contain tutorials how to style the tubes and make them more adventurous. I am excited about it and cross my fingers I manage to create it the way I've imagined it!



 

 

Yarn cakes on the stand here

 

Happy weekend!

 

*For three weeks now, my part of the world has been  under the influence of a cyclone, meteorologists named Silvia. Luckily, news is she is bound to leave us soon!

I am on Folt Bolt!

Dear all,
I am so happy to share that I am featured artist on Folt Bolt!
I wrote about myself, my passion and love. You can read the article here. I hope you do :)

Being part of them is a completely new and exciting experience and I am exhilarated to see what the future holds.

As of now, I also have a shop on their website and you can see it here.

What Summer Feels Like on Instagram

Here it doesn't feel like summer at all!

We've have been experiencing the wrath of the cyclone named Silvia for more than 10 days now and there was a severe drop in temperature that makes me take out all of our warm clothes back.

But, here's instagram to warm our bones a little bit and at least offer a haven for our imagination.  
My feed has been swarming with summery photos that literally urge me to pack my bags and leave on vacation.
Are you vacationing right now?

deminaekaterina, merci.bakery, anthropologie, honestlywtf, inali_campbell,
sarahdandelioncray, anthropologie, collagevintage, ieva_florence
 

Our First Crochet Tube Necklace Kits!

 

Tropical Paradise Kit

 Tropical Bliss Kit

 

 

Finally! After months of planning, hand winding yarn cakes, editing the pattern, taking new pictures and literally a ton of other stuff I refuse to bore you to death with - I am happy to present our very first crochet tube necklace kits!

 

So far we made 9 kits with preselected colors and several more are in the works. Each kit contains 4 (four) 20 gr yarn cakes (or a total of 80 grams of yarn cakes. Approx. 50 m in length per cake.) and a printed paper pattern. The written pattern is accompanied with step-by-step pictures to make the crocheting of the tubes even easier.

 

We are also going to make Mix & Match Kits where buyers can choose yarn they want, in the quantity they want. Cataloguing the colors is in the works.

 

 Lollipop

Cotton Candy

 

 Caribbean

  Ocean Mist

  Seafoam

  Seagrass

 Steel Waters

 

If you want to buy the digital pattern for the tubes, it is here.

Like Flowers & Butterflies

This is a necklace I made for myself for a TV talk show I just had today. Planning the outfit for the show, which by the way was a plain chiffon blouse in the softest peach you can imagine over plain black trousers, I wanted to make a vivid, playful necklace that would give life and texture to the blouse.

Immediately a beaded butterfly came to mind surrounded by flowers - just as you see it, so I made a couple of my favourite flowers - just as I did for this one not long ago.

The beads as you see them, were not part of the original design. As a matter of fact I wanted the beaded chain to hang under the flowers, but it was not good- not good at all - take my word for it - and I tried putting those short beaded chains at the side and quite liked how the whole piece came together when I did.  And that is how my newest necklace was born.

As for the TV show, it was fantastic! (Follow my insta stories!!!) I was invited over for a chat due to my feature in the Artful Blogging Magazine. I had the greatest time and talked my heart out. I talked about the feature, my blog and how everything started in the first place.

The lighting in the studio was not intended to make great smartphone photos so here's a grainy one with my hosts Tino & Spasiya.

Phew. I am off to chill and let all emotions quiet down. 

Indie Designer Interview: Steampunk by Maja

I had the pleasure of meeting my namesake several years ago and I will always remember seeing her jewelry for the first time! It literally cast a spell on me! So, I invited her over for a small chit-chat.  I hope you enjoy it too!

1. Welcome Maja! Please tell my readers more about yourself.
My name is Maja Tasic and I come from Pancevo (Serbia). I had studied and qualified for a dental technologist - a profession I chose under the influence of my parents, although I have always desired to study applied art, because I have always been drawn to drawing and painting. Aside from these two, my hobbies also included writing poems and making jewelry. I stuck to the latter.
I am married to Goran and we have two boys, ages 7 and 8 and I am also a stepmom to two beautiful grown up girls. We are one big, happy family!

2. How did the brand Steampunk by Maja get to see the day?
Steampunk by Maja was born out of the desire to create unique jewelry solely for myself. But then family and relatives got acquainted with it and the first orders started to arrive, replaced by handmade bazaars and online sales. The idea for this kind of jewelry first sparked when my husband poured the first pieces that got me hooked and I wanted to make them myself. That was back in 2012.

3. What were the first pieces of jewelry that you made?
It was a medallion flower, a medallion mirror and some square slabs...

4. Where did you first exhibit your jewelry? Do you remember?
Yes. It was at the mall called “Ušće” in Belgrade in 2012. I had a fantastic show and sold lots of my jewelry. But the thing that was more important and meaningful than the sales was the appraisal and compliments I received on my work. It gave me a sensational rise in self-confidence and a beautiful feeling of value and satisfaction that urged me to keep doing what I dream about.

5. What kind of jewelry are the buyers most interested in? Buyers are most interested in necklaces for themselves as well as for gifts, because necklaces are wearable in almost all occasions. Necklaces are closely followed by earrings and rings.

 

 

6.Do you have any favourite techniques?
I love working with epoxy resin because of the effect the designs have. I also love combining materials from my profession such as metals and acrylates that one would not usually find in jewelry supplies shops. Using those makes my jewelry even more distinctive and unique making it stand out from other jewelry made with similar techniques. I love modeling my own pendants and have my husband pour them in silver which is a rather demanding, more difficult and costly technique, but the final result is wondrous!

7. Where do you source your materials?
I buy them from specialized shops that sell raw materials in Belgrade and Novi Sad, some gift shops while I buy the small watches off my friends.

8. What is the most precious piece of jewelry to you as a designer?
Oh. It is difficult to select out any as favourite - I find everything I've made dear to my heart. I've poured my heart, my undivided attention and love into every single piece I have ever made.

9. What are you currently working on?
Right now I am working on some new pieces and collaborate with designers from Split (Croatia). I am expanding the  market :)

10. Future plans?
I plan to expand sales outside of Serbia and finally open my brick and mortar jewelry shop in Belgrade.

Thank you Maja! It was lovely having you over!
Maja's online shop.

 

DIY Bohemian Disc + Tassel Earrings

 

Happy Friday! Today we have a super easy DIY weekend project that is as cute as a button! We are going to make boho earrings with crochet discs and tassels.

 

What you need:

*4 crochet discs (pattern given bellow)

*2 embroidery floss for 4 tassels

* filling

* 18 big metal rings, 2 small jump rings  and 2 earring hooks

* tapestry needle

 

 

 

 

Crochet Discs Pattern (make 4)

 

Ch 4 and join to make a ring. Sc 5 in ring.

Round 1: sc2 in every stitch (10)

Round 2: repeat rnd 1 (20)

Round 3: sc2, sc1 (30)

Round 4: sc1 around (30)

Round 5: sc2, sc1 (45)

Round 6: sc1 around (45)

 

Leave a big tail which you'll use to join 2 discs together.

 

Thread the needle with one of the tails and sew the 2 discs together. Leave a small opening before you end, fill the disc in and sew to close it.

 

 

Make 2 long tassels. Instructions here.

Attach the ring to the head of the tassel and insert it into the disc from behind so that it falls naturally and does not turn.

 



 

On the upper part of the disc attach a chain of 3 rings, skip 2-3 stitches and attach another such chain. Join the 2 chains by 1 big ring onto which you attach a small(er) jump ring with the earring hook on it. Consult below picture carefully.

 

And with that, the earrings are done!

 

 

 

The downloadable / printable copy for this pattern is available here.



Have fun making them!

Bohemian Summer Loading

 

Two years ago I started a Bohemian Summer series on the blog.

A topic that has added a charming stamp in the summer months; style that I readily turn to and continue to explore.

 

This year we continue to nurture the trend and channel some practical and effective DIY boho fashion and jewelry ideas, share lots of bohemian trends in home decoration and in general try to keep the flame of the bohemian spirit alive.

 

There is a DIY / crochet pattern for boho earrings getting ready for Friday, so do drop by. Until then, here's some boho inspiration to stir the flames up.

 

All respective links can be found on my boards: Bohemian Summer, Bohemian Jewelry and  Bohemian Home.

 

 

 

 

 

Rabendā- Jewelry That Gives Life to Stories

 

There is a new creative girl who joined us recently and we had a super fun and short interview. Meet Rabenda!

1. Who is the girl behind Rabenda?

A dreamer. An aspiring architect. A creative person :)

My name is Ana Stanoevska and I am a happy artist from the planet Earth. A lover of beer and comic books.

 

2. Why did you choose the name Rabenda? What’s its significance? 

 ラベンダー色 ; Rabenda; lavender – probably the only thing that influences me positively as the making of jewelry does.

 

3.What is the story that Rabenda tells?

It is a story called Keep the child in yourself! And read the Little Prince every now and then and enjoy the everyday things!

4. How did the idea of making jewelry become tangible and what was the first thing you made and showed to the public?  

Following the stories told by Eva Thissen’s creations and later watching my VIKI work, I got inspired and somehow I always believed I could do that. The Faculty, the “not having time” and similar excuses hindered me for ages, until I stopped and asked myself: “OK, are you happy now?”

I’d love to thank my family for the support and for always encouraging me with my crazy ideas :)

 

 

 

5. What motifs appear the most in your jewelry and where do you seek inspiration from?  
I’d say vintage motiffs, probably because I find myself in some old-fashion waters :)

 

6. What materials and techniques you use the most in your work?

I work with polymer clay and sometimes I combine screen printing with acrylic colors. 

 

 

7. What are the most wanted / the most sold pieces?  
All of my pieces are unique and one of a kind :)

But if we count in the messages I receive on jewelry, it turns out that this set above was the most wanted. I received many messages from buyers asking for the same. 

 

 

8. What kind of jewelry is the one that you make with immense pleasure?

To be honest, there are times when after making a piece I become doubtful saying to myself: “Is this for me or is it for sale?”      :)

Mostly I let go of them! I adore all of my book markers.

 And my absolute favourite is this one.

 

 

9. Your idols?

Oh, there are too many….Mainly Еva Thissen, Eddie Vedder and Sou Fujimoto!

 

10. What are your plans for Rabenda in the future?

I’d say “Times are hard for dreamers” but I’ll do my best to treasure the dream!  

Dream on girl!

 

Find Rabenda on social media:

Shop

Facebook

Instagram

Yarn Cake, Anyone?

 

oh, my.... I am awfully late with this post. But here we are!

 

My yarn cakes, all bundled up and ready to be mixed and matched to make some happy kits!

 

For those of you who are just tuning in we are going to offer kits that will include this lovely sport yarn and our revised and updated crochet tube necklace pattern. It will also include a look book of {nearly} all the tubes we ever created and various styles and designs you can apply to them.

 

I am quite excited because this was planned eons ago, equally snail-pace produced, but we are starting to see the end of it. Or is it just the beginning?

  

The Flamenco Tube Necklace

 

 

My class had their junior prom recently and for the occasion I chose a red blouse with a black skirt with a print of soft delicate bouquets of flowers scattered about it. I had an "appropriate necklace" chose for the outfit, but on the very day of the party I chose not to wear it and instead make something that would be "me". I actually made flowers to resemble ones on the print, so in the end it was a successful attempt and quite eye-catching.

 

 

Again I played with my favourite tubes here and for this one I designed two flower patterns which are so easy to make I don't think I will use other patterns in a while.  

 

I may have mentioned the production of my crochet tube kits before - it has taken me ages, literally, but I think the time to reveal them is getting near and I plan to include the pattern for these flowers as a gift. But more on it when the time comes.

 

Goodbye for now. I will see you on Friday!

 

Insta Love - For Those With a Sweet Tooth

The name of this cake artist is Elena Gnut and her cakes tell stories. See for yourself!