it's starting to look a lot like {mini} Christmas

Well it's that time of the year 

when the little people 

decide to put up their Christmas tree and the ornaments...

Unfortunately, the dollhouse is getting wrapped and crated and will be unveiled again... at some point.

But wanted to look "pretty in red" for the last time ;)

The front yard is an explosion of red, white and gold. 

Do you like the mini-Nativity? I love it! 

And the indoor tree is up as well. 

... and the snowman with the big candy cane.

I made the snowman few years ago, with crayola clay and toothpicks and dress him up with a red scarf and a pom-pom hat ;)

To give the "snow" effect to the clay, once dried, I used some tacky glue and rolled "Frosty" into some sand. 

And then painted ... I used a Dollar Store nail polish in pearl white!!

Do you like the mantel with the mini-stockings ?

... I have a mini-tutorial coming up for you! 

xox, d.

it's a keeper

I'm not a hoarder (but it's a closed call)

but I have hard time getting rid of old clothes.

That's correct: there is a FULL BOX

of clothes in need of a remake.

I've seen numbers of episodes of "mission organization" and I know that the basic rule of the thumb to get rid of something is:

"IF YOU HAVEN'T WEAR IT FOR THE PAST YEAR, 
IT HAS TO GO"

Well, now I'm about to explain the many reasons why this rule doesn't work for me...
(call it: ALIBI)

1- if the fabric is a good quality, it's a KEEPER
2- if it doesn't fit anymore, but has refashioning potentials, it's a KEEPER
3- if it has sentimental value, it's a KEEPER (maybe with a refashion, too)

Reality is, there is a full box of potential here!

As soon as the container will arrive into port, I'll have my sewing machine plugged and ready to purr on these clothes!

Stay tuned!!!

xox, d.

DIY packing tips: ties

Husband loves his ties.

He loves his ties A LOT. 

And he owns A LOT of them.

I'll show you how to pack ties in a way that:

a - ties won't get ruined during the move
b - you won't have so much trouble having to press all of these once you open that box.

Follow this step-by-step tutee!!

By folding one bag into the other, you won't have any hard crease on the ties and they will be ready to wear without any further care!

xox, d.

DIY packing tips: jewelry

Jewelry is coming with me in my carry on,

therefore I want to have it packed in an easy, 

secure and as less bulky as possible way.

Do you want to see what's inside?

I found the quintessential jewelry organizer. 

It's actually a Dollar Store weekly pill organizer. 

I used it several times stuffed with few different pills in each slot.

I took the labels off and erased the prints with nail polish remover.

It's unbelievable the amount of rings, earrings, cufflinks, thin chains, pendants 

that you can stuff into a such a little box! 

Really, you need to try it to believe it!

(I pat myself on the shoulder for having such a cool idea!)

For the bulkiest pieces, I used some tie up bags and a jewelry roll.

All of this will be able to fit in a ziplock bag, and best of all,

once in Italy, I won't have to open a magillion baggies.

xox, d.

DIY packing tips: beads and findings

Since I'm packing, might as well share with you some of my 

"packing tricks". 

My s-kids call me "the packing pro".

This move will go overseas, and I know I will be in pain until 

the moment I'll see my stuff on my door-steps in Italy.

Being the control freak that I am, I would love to maneuver the boat with my container on.

(ahah! can you picture that in your mind????!!! LOL!) 

Because the above isn't an option, the only thing I can do is:

... pack carefully.

This is how I'm packing my beads and findings.

I hope this is helpful
in case you have a move in your future, 

or if you want to take with you some crafting supplies for a vacation... 

See you in Italy, pretty beads!!

xox, d.

DIY Missoni neck-warmer

After the DIY Missoni sweater was finished,
I still had few yards of each color,

so I knitted a neck-warmer

I can wear it on top of my DIY Missoni sweater, 

which will make my sweater look like a turtle neck, 

or I can wear it on top of any other sweater. .... 

yes! versatility!!!

I casted on 135 stitches and knit the zig-zag pattern until I had 12 inches in length.
Bind off.
Sew the sides to obtain a "tube".
(I could had knit with a circular needle, but I'm so slow with the circular knitting, AND I didn't bother the seam in the back!)


xox, d.

DIY Missoni sweater

I've been knitting on and off, 

and finally sew the last stitch on my Missoni piece.

The tutorial for the pattern is 

on the zig-zag stashbuster post.
Yes, it's a sweater made out of leftover yarn!

The idea to do vertical zig-zag came from the Missoni for Target line, an because I'm "vertically challenged" (A.K.A. I'm a shortie), vertical is always better :)

The basic construction of this sweater is really easy, since I didn't want to cut the knit, I made two rectangular and sew the zig-zag on the sides, leaving a boat neck opening.

xox, d.

will party here

a big table

We have a truly BIG table.

Which got moved few times, since we are wondering people...

... and now we are moving... again.

The big table needs to be wrapped, and taken out.

only issue: it's a 600 lbs 13 ft long table.

December 7, 2009

Two years ago when we moved to NYC came in through the window with a crane.

November 17, 2011

And through the window with a crane went out this morning...

Did you know that there is such a thing called "crane embargo"?
Yeah, neither did I.
Well such embargo is real and  it's starting tomorrow and ends end of January 2012.
Since we have to move by Dec 1st... the table had to leave the apartment today :(

(That will make Thanksgiving dinner a little challenging...)

I got a bit sentimental last night, gave the table an extra coat of natural wax, polished it, light the candles and take pictures.

Do you get sentimental with "things" or it's just me???

Things do have a heart... right??

xox, d.

DIY Rock-Stud clutch

I needed a wristlet that could hold the essentials.

phone-lispstick-chapstick-card+id+money-keys-sunnies

...that's it!

The Valentino Rock-stud oversized clutch 

was the idea, but smaller-er-er...

this is what I used:

(the leather comes from an old skirt, 

previously cut to make this wrapped watch band )

first, cut the leather with these measurements:

then, sew the pieces together

last, but not least: the wrist-band

xox, d.

will party here

DIY Marni necklace

marni recycled plastic necklace: a DIY 

This is the necklace that I made for my assigned partner in the winter edition of the handmade gift exchange @ Craftaholics Anonymous.
She received it yesterday, so I can show it now!
She wrote me that she likes it very much and her daughter named it "the mermaid necklace"!

I exchanged few emails with my partner Julie, 

and she told me that two of her favorite colors are 

blue and green 

I'm the kind of person that can make/give a present only of something I like, therefore I found with these key colors an easy path since blue and green are two of my favorite, too.

I started to think, and did some browsing in my "to-do folder", where I found this Marni necklace that I've been wanting to make for quite some time.
At 420$ the Marni one might be "green" but my bank account will be "red"!!

I had the fleece and the ribbon, but if you need these, 

your necklace will end up about ... let's say 5$? 

...about 1/90 of the Marni one!!

left picture from net-a-porter, collage by moi

Since the original necklace is made out of plastic bottles, I thought... seriously?
I have a green, blue and clear bottle, and I can make my own version with the colors I want!

Enough words: let's get to work!

how-to: DIY tutorial

First, I printed out the picture of the necklace

from the net-a-porter site, enlarging the picture to a 145%.

Cut out the printout and you'll get the pattern for your bib.

Mark the pattern on the fleece or felt, and cut it.

Attach 1 yard of ribbon on each side of the bib.

And you've done for the base part.

To make the sequins, follow this step-by-step photo tutorial:

(15 plastic circles x 3 colors = 45 total)

First, wash, dry and cut the bottom and the top of the bottles.

Then cut it open to obtain a rectangular sheet of plastic.

Once you have all your sequins 

it's like sewing overlapping buttons.

Note: ... to make this necklace

took me about 4 hours. 

...plus some planning in my head ;)

xox, d.

keep in touch! 

facebook * bloglovin * pinterest

...we have a {shabby} winner!

We have a winner!

I would say:

we have a SHABBY winner!

This gorgeous necklace 

 will arrive in the mail to lucky number...

which happens to belong to lucky ...

Thanks to all of you who participated, 

keep hanging around here

there will be more giveaways!


Jen the winner:
please send me your phone number
and and mailing address :)

xox, d.

DIY AMcQ distressed silk trim

This is project that will 

"save" an old and torn sweater, 

by "destroying" it even more.

Ready?

In love with this Alexander McQueen sweater from last year, all you need is an old sweater (and if it has holes, really doesn't matter), and less than a yard of white/cream silk - which I had (I actually used an old and torn blouse).

Here the side-by-side final result... not bad, uh? 

Just saved 1500 $

picture on the right: stile hive, collage by moi

picture on the right I believe was from Nordstrom, collage by moi

... and this is how I made it:

xox, d.

handmade gift exchange

I made something for the winter edition of the  handmade gift exchange @ Craftaholics Anonymous.

I can't' share the details, yet, since I just mailed it and need to wait until my partner will get it... I don't want to spoil the surprise!

but I can show how she's going to get it, right?

(oh, my... I hope she likes it. 

I made something I like and I would want. 

In fact, I'm probably going to make another one for myself!)

xox, d.

evolu-tee-on

Y'all know by now that I'm a tee junkie, 

therefore I felt obliged to post about 

probably one of the most iconic t-shirts ever.

That one tee that so many of us have in our closets 

(I know that! and I have one too, duh!)

original logo created from Milton Glaser in 1973

Milton Glaser updated the logo in the aftermath of 9/11/2011

Besides the original versions, 
this t-shirt has had its own form of evolution, 

which in its honor, I would rather call:

"evolu-tee-on"

We can find all kind of related

 I {xyz} NY 

T-shirts, really, 

for every kind of feeling and situation.

FACT: most people love NY.

...but does NY reciprocate? 

somebody feels "just about right"

somebody couldn't care less. 
a.k.a.: "meh"

strong haters, 
they shout out loud.

no such a thing as scan barcodes, 
Facebook, 
nor code texting 
in 1973 when Mr. Glaser made the logo.
hello NY: it's 2011 (almost 2012)

the city that it's so darn expensive 

and you might have to leave

...and making somebody happy 

but these creatures, 
{for sure} 
will be in NYC for quite longer.

endless possibilities.

If I had the chance, I would ask Mr. Glaser if he had any idea of the huge success of his logo.

When he was asked "what is the best moment of the day?"
He replied: "when the new idea emerges from deep of the back of my brain to the front of my brain. It happens any time."
A genius, period.

update: 11/07/2012
in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, the iconic t-shirt sees another remake:

hurricane Sandy relief t-shirt

Artist Sebastian Errazuriz designed this t-shirt after seeing the water line marked on the walls of the flooded galleries in New York’s Chelsea art district. 100% of the profit goes to Hurricane Sandy relief programs.
buy here: grey area

xox, d.

photo credits: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here