advent calendar: done!

this year i played in advance, took it super easy and i’ve done it! my first advent calendar is ready!! i’m very excited because even if it is very simple, i made it by myself (with a little help from my daddy but he has offered!) and it is not fill with just chocolate and sweets. there are activities such as hand painting, candlelight dinner, there are movie nights and treasure hunts to find four new christmas books i’ve bought for our library.
i hope zoeti will enjoy her daily surprises as much as i loved make them!
   

my diy owl

when i started my sewing course, i wanted to learn to sew dresses. i could dream about create dresses perfect for me and for my daughters… the truth is that one single course it is not nearly enough to draw and sew a whole outfit! but it is enough to understand something about sewing! i have seen this owl (and bought the template) when i have been to abilmente with my cousin and we wait all these months to actually make it (hello unfinished projects!). it was a funny morning, chatting, having coffees, playing with alma and sewing.
   
now i really want to sew other stuffed animals and dolls…. stay tuned!

a handmade project

one of my goal for these last two months is finish all my projects. i am always so eager to start but then i loose my way…
i started this blanket 5 months ago (!) and finally it is finished! I thought about something that can grow with the family… i can add new squares every year until it will be big enough for my little girls.
    
so far it’s perfect for alma.

i love even the imperfections (there are tons of them obviously!!) and the way i combined all the pieces: i already knew that i was not able to do so in a clean and orderly manner so i simply made it with random dots. the effect is strange but i like it very much!

party decorations!

 
as i already mentioned here, zoeti’s birthday theme this year was supposed to be la pimpa (an old italian cartoon about a red & white dog) but find something about it seemed impossible, so we changed into a red & white party!
the banner is made with paper (i was supposed to make it with textile, but i hadn’t enough time and what can i do after with that?!) that's the tutorial i used to make it.


i made pinwheels and had a lot of fun!! i have found some nice pattern on internet, printed them and followed one of the thousands tutorials you find… super easy!
 
candies and m&m’s…. i love them! only the red ones of course (even if i added a touch of pink …. but it’s a girl birthday after all!)
 
ok… the menu was kind of tricky… 4 pregnant ladies, all of them toxo negative (i have already explayned what toxoplasmosis is here) means a lot of responsability! so one tray of sandwiches was just for us (toxo free) and the other had parma ham (and we can just dream of it!). all the tomatoes were washed 4 times to kill everything on them and the fruit skewers (no pictures of them sorry) were made with fruit washed and peeled. 
no problems with chips, olives and breadsticks! i had bought also some gluten free snack for a celiac friend.
i’m pretty proud about the result… what do you think? can i have a future as baby birthday planner?!

my first skirt!

finally i ended my first project with the sewing class: a skirt! it’s not perfect but … hey i made it all by myself! i’m completely proud of it!! being pregnant means to remain on clothes that easily adapt to a growing belly and that’s perfect! it was chilly outside this morning (spring, where are you?!?) but i so wanted to show you my first creation! i left some textile so i’m doing something for zoeti… pictures coming soon!
 
now i’m only looking for some sun and hot days!
PS: thank you, Dany for taking pictures while your little precious man was crying! ;)

my creative corner

as i've already said, i'm still shy to write "creative" and "me" in the same sentence, but i'm trying! We just renovated our bathroom so we had to move this beautiful and vintage cabinet that my uncle gave to me in our studio. i'm still trying to organize this small but indispensable room with gatherers for bills and boxes for photo albums, big boxes for scarves & hats and swimwears, electronical devices and office supplies...

so far we've just shared the cabinet! Giulio is using two shelfs for his toys and souvenirs and i'm using mine for rubber stamps, washi tape and sewing stuff. the cabinet is perfect for zoeti's curiosity: she can see what's inside but she can't reach anything (there's a key!): you know how much toddlers love buttons and colorfull stuff!! I really need to take a trip to the nearest ikea to buy other storage boxes, and something for wrapping papers, maybe something magnetic for scissors and needles... but for now i'm very happy and proud of myself! 

my first sewing project: lavender sachets

and that's my first sewing project! i'm so proud of it! it's a long time since i asked my mom to teach me to sew... ok, we're still far from create clothes or puppets for my zoeti, but you have to start somewhere right?!

i collected some lavender in september and let it dry in a cold and dark place. i almost forgot about it when i opened the place where it was! i simply love lavender's smell and in order to keep the house the greenest as possible i decided to use it to make some lavender sachets. and that's the sewing part!

now our closets smells right like a green field in september... so dreamy!

knitting time!

Zoeti is feeling better but we are still stuck in the house... Do you have any idea of how difficult is to fill the days of an eighteen-months-old?! when she finally goes to sleep i have time to eat (!) and relax. Some years ago i learned how to knit and i love it! i felt odd because it was a granny hobby but after becoming the biggest passion of hollywood stars i took out my knitting needles and began a project for the princess.

it's a tubolar scarf, easy to make and not so easy to take off for zoeti (the best part so she has to wear it while we are walking!). i made also the brooch with felt... another super easy project!

pottery news

that's what's new in my little pottery world... i made the lamp some months ago but i didn't took picture at that time... now that is winter i'm pretty sure she will be a protagonist of our hot choco + sofa + movie nights!!

i wanted something different for the bowls so i tried to mix the color to obtain the stripe in the middle... i love them! i want to make a bigger version for our winter soups!

and that's a preview of something i'm working on. just a clue... it's for zoeti and has to be ready soon!! winter is coming! the forecast for this weekend says " Cold, cold, cold and rain, rain, rain"...
what are your plans for the weekend?

from me to you...

i used to sit on this rocking chair for hours, with dolls or books... My parents luckily didn't thrown it away when i grown up so now zoeti can play with it too! the colour didn't convince me so i changed it in a yellowish white.

as i already mentioned, my husband is the artist, but i wanted to try. i fixed the wood to make it more stable. sanded. painted. twice. and now i can see my baby using it as i used to. priceless.

before...

zoeti's first flower

this morning started "with the right foot"... my husband left a love you note on the table, zoeti was super funny and the sun was shining! after a bike ride we made gardening a bit. yesterday the nursery's teacher gave me a small flower that zoeti supposed to plant (actually the older children have them planted for the youngest) and we put it into a proper vase! unfortunately zoeti thought to give it a hug just after planting so now it's a little bit... suffering! let's hope for the best!

i made the name tag with my super new washi tape! i was looking forward to use it!!