The beautiful side of Belgium

Hi everyone! 

Today a little off topic conversation about my little trip to Belgium last spring (I saw places which were so beautiful, I really cannot keep all the pictures on my computer only ;-) )…well, I already visited Bruxelles about 1 year ago, but I have to say I wasn’t particularly impressed. Don’t get me wrong, it is a nice city, but besides for the beautiful central square (Grande Place) and the cathedral, nothing was able to  amaze me. 

This time, however, I had a very good guide, as my boyfriend was spending 4 months in the Belgian capital for an internship and he organized my stay, carefully picking three stunning places to see during my three days of vacation. So here is my little journal, with some (of the over 400) pictures I took. 

The first day, we went to the Serres Royales de Laeken, just outside the city. It truly is a magical place, not only for people who like flowers (which I, of course, love), but also for anyone curious to see a majestic glass structure and magnificently cured lush nature. I cannot describe my astonishment while walking around and seeing the number of plant species which every square meter cherished. Each corner I turned was a breath-taking surprise full of colors and shapes carefully organized in gorgeous masterpieces of elegance and balance…you don’t believe me? Here are some pictures to convince you! ;-)

The second day, we visited Gand, once capital of Flanders and major European city. The town still treasures imposing churches, a medieval castle, beautiful promenades on the banks of its canals and some unexpected glimpses in its central neighborhood called Patershol.  A precious gem is then the Sunday flower market, taking place in a big square of the center: an explosion of colors and blooms accompanied by live music (and I, of course, had to buy a couple of little plants, which I fit in my Ryanair carry on bag…and yes, I am still wondering how I managed to do that).

Last, but definitely not least, we took a train to Bruges, a charming town in the Flandres which keeps all the beauty of small village streets and exquisitely combines it with the majesty of its churches and steeples. In Bruges every corner is somehow able to amaze you: canals framed by their romantic bridges run around the town, presenting you with endless unexpected views; lovely houses with windows full of flowers accompany your promenades, while old churches and refined buildings complete the gorgeous puzzle.

Bruges is filled with tourists, but it is still able to treasure the harmony of a small village. When you move away from the most famous streets, silence fills the air and you are left in charming alleys simply surrounded by beauty. Here, you can truly enjoy its peace and wonder at the hidden gems the village exquisitely cherishes. Golden prize to this beautiful town, and special thanks to my fantastic guide for bringing me there!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures…and come back soon!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Vintage flowers clock

Hi everyone! 

Today I want to show you one of my first creations embellished with decorative painting. I approached this technique totally by chance: I was going around a Joann store with a 40% off coupon and sparkling eyes (the two things usually happen together!) looking for something worth spending such a fantastic gift, when I was attracted by the beautiful cover page of Donna Dewberry’s Complete book of One-Stroke Painting (full review coming soon).

I automatically took the book in my hands and started browsing through it. Having never painted before, I was extremely intimidated by the complex designs, but the text promised that even people who never held a brush in their hands before, would be able to make gorgeous blooms with only a little practice. Furthermore, glancing through the instructions I realized they just looked incredibly easy, so I decided to give it a chance. 

Once I got home, I started practicing. It took a bit of trial and error, but I was soon able to paint my first flowers…but let’s now (finally) talk about the creation! It’s an MDF clock I found at a hobby fair, brutally thrown in the sale section with other old and broken merchandize. Even if it didn’t look that nice at first, I saw a lot of potential in this 3€ piece, so I decided to buy it.

Once I got home (ok, I confess…about a year later) I started to work. I first used some acrylic gesso (a white thick acrylic  primer)  to coat the raw surface. When it dried, I sanded and painted the clock with a light cream acrylic color, before using a sponge to apply a very thin layer of liquid bitumen (bee careful, as this is very smelly, so make sure you open your windows when using it). 2 hours later (drying time), I decorated the sides, front and back of the piece with blooms and leaves before applying 2 hands of sealer to protect my creation… 

And here it is, my favourite vintage timekeeping piece!

I hope you enjoy the pictures…and have a lovely day!

 

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Enchanted blooms

Hi everyone!

Today I want to show you one of my favourite necklaces. It is a piece I created for last march Beadaholique challenge, called Pantone Spring 2013, for which I had to use at least one of the shades in the season’s women fashion report. I have to admit it was very challenging to get started, because all the colors were incredibly inspiring and picking one was awfully complicated. After some thinking, however, I decided to apply one Chiara’s fundamental laws, upholding that “no matter what your problem is, browsing through your beads will give you a 90% probability of finding a solution”…

and it worked (I guess it always does)! I found a gorgeous grayed jade Lucite flower, which had been sitting in one of my drawers for a long time, just waiting to become the centerpiece of a blooming necklace. And what would have been a better starting point for a creation made at the beginning of spring, when all the colors and beauty of flowers fill our days of surprise and joy?

So I started working, combining the beauty of Lucite flowers with the elegance of pearls, the light of sparkling crystals, the cheerfulness of glass beads and the grace of gemstones and bronze tone findings to remind of all the beautiful facets this season presents us with. But not everything could be made with the components I had, so I decided to stitch some myself using delicas to create little bead caps and blooms…

and here is my wearable piece of spring. I hope you like it, and come back soon!

My favorite parties: Under the Table and Dreaming -  Between Naps on the Porch - Dwellings - Creatively living - The dedicated house - Rain on a tin Roof - Its So Very Cheri - DIY Showoff - The Stories of A2Z - Coastal Charm - A Stroll thru Life - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Stone Gable - Cozy little house  - Knick of time -Savvy Southern Style - Ivy and Elaphants - Green Willow Pond - No Minimalist Here - From my front porch to yours - Craftberry Bush  - The Brambleberry Cottage - French Country Cottage - Common Ground - The Charm of Home - The shabby nest - Romantic home - Sunny simple life - The cottage market

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Flower triad necklace

Hi everyone!

 

Today I want to show you a necklace I made for a contest quite some time ago. I still remember that day in 2009…ok, this sounds like a movie whose next scene will be in black and white…let’s try again!...

 

Some time ago (better!) I found out about  the Colorworks contest organized by Step by Step Beads. I was so, so excited! Just a few days earlier I purchased my first color wheel, a fantastic tool helping beaders to combine different shades (you can see it here). The challenge (calling for a creation made using the orange-purple-green triad) just gave me the perfect chance to experiment with it.

 

The deadline was very close, so I rapidly went through my bead boxes (yes, that was the time of few beads packed in a couple of boxes!) and I found out I definitely needed more stash (nothing has changed here!), but I had no time to buy it. I just had to be creative with what was there!

 

…determined and full of energy from the challenge, I started right away! I picked out some purple glass flowers, a few orange fire-polished beads and…wait, I had no center piece (ouch!)… I was quite discouraged…but suddenly, (eureka!) I remembered about a beautiful pattern by Jamie Hogsett which I saw in the April/May 2009 issue of Beadwork Magazine (page 32) and I decided to use it in order to create a large flower to place right in the middle of the creation. I got out my needle, thread, teal Czech seeds and I started stitching. Once the focal was done, I attached some glass beads and blooms on the sides using craft wire and headpins. To make the piece lighter I created a strand of white seed beads running behind the neck to connect the two ends and close the creation through a toggle clasp on one side.

 

And here it is…my old, colorful necklace!

 

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)