Wednesday 30 November 2016

Newly Listed: Woven Copper Bracelet


Woven Copper Bracelet Herringbone style Wire wrapped Statement jewelry by staroftheeast
Rust- Photography by ShibbysShoppe
Conceptual Fine Art Photograph. golden hair, creative, contemporary art. modern art, ship birds clouds by violetgrayart
Metal Wall Art, Rust Photography, Metal Print, Wrought Iron Photo, Copper Wall Art by SCPerkinsPhotography

Monday 28 November 2016

Flower Power :)


This time our furniture piece started as a non furniture :) These large industrial spools are used often as tables and stools, the have metal pipes going through so are super strong and handy as they are neatly round already :)


I started by stabilizing it by adding wooden lats between the bottom and top, and adding wooden feet.


Then a strong fabric was tightly upholstered around this structure to make it evenly round, and on top of that a layer of foam to make it bigger and soft.


The bottom is usually just upholstered but because of the thickness of the velvet and the metal pipes of the spool I finished it off a little differently.


I upholstered a thin piece of round wood.


Which I then nailed to the bottom, covering up all uneven parts and finishing it neatly, it's all in the details :)


Here is the little ottoman after upholstering, but that was not all of course.


After making an arrangement of handmade fabric flowers I hand sewn them all to two sides of the ottoman, this part actually took much longer than the upholstery part. And yes, that is me at the end of November in my t-shirt outside!


And here it is, almost all made of vintage materials and fabric, a super flower power ottoman :)



It is cheerful and fun, and so love re-using all this old stuff.
It is available at StarHomeStudio, among other one of a kind furniture pieces.


Saturday 26 November 2016

Newly Listed: Sterling Silver Urchin Necklace


Sterling Silver Urchin Necklace Art Nouveau Style Sea Urchin Sterling Silver Necklace One of a Kind by StaroftheEast
Muted Minimalist Ocean Photography Print Fine Art Waves Landscape Ocean Art Nautical Silver Shores by EyePoetryPhotography
Watching the Tide Roll In, Seagull Gull Bird Nautical Beach Photography Home Decor Fine Art Photograph by FlashForward
Seashell photograph beach art, coastal wall art, beach photography, black and gray seashell print by NewLeafPics

Thursday 24 November 2016

Tender Loving Care



I have been giving some TLC around the house. Last Winter I have finished quite some projects and we are still enjoying the results so I thought it was best to continue fixing up the things I can fix up on a budget :)
This is our garden door, we actually have two. This way if any of the dogs escape they don't end up on the street. It's not that they would want to run away but they are curious and can wander off and get lost.
It was in a very sad state, the door actually has started to hang, cracking the wall in the process and making it almost impossible to close it, it was beside ugly super annoying.
But let me get in to the details :)


Our sad little postbox. It is hardly ever used, all our phone, internet and credit card bills come through email to save paper. Normal post comes in a PO box at the postoffice. Only thing that comes in there is are the electricity and water bills as they are read every month.


After a metal worker fixed the door and also all 4 other metal doors that we have in the garden got some care and new door handles. The slide locks where a hell to open and were ugly too. As to answer your mental question of 5 doors, they separate the garden in parts. With 10 dogs, no man can get in our garden. But sometime someone needs to get in, like an electrician to fix something. We then lock them up in the back garden. The garden can be divided in 3 different ways which is handy :)
I filled up the crack in the wall, brushed the postal box and painted it with anti rust paint. Same goes for the iron door, with its pretty new door handle :)


So much better :)
You know for you it doesn't seem much, but when you pass these doors every day it is super annoying and after wards very satisfying (yes I am satisfied with small things in life, p.s. Happy Thanksgiving :)!)



Between the two front doors are our water and electricity meters. We had to move both of them as the guys coming to read them just can't get in. Our doggies are feminists, they can get along with ladies (if they are nice) but guys get always a few nibbles :D


The electricity meter was also rusting and got two coats of paint.


The second door got stuck all the time, and a very difficult sliding lock, was rusting and the white plastic that was attached to it looked miserable.


The new lock was a huge improvement, one of the hinge got replaced so that the door doesn't get stuck anymore. I painted the door and then sewed a beautiful natural looking fiber stuff and attached it to the door. This door has never worked so smoothly and never looked so nice in the 15 years we had it, yaaay!


With only a little cost and many hours of painting, I am happy with the results :) The other 3 doors are still in progress, I have to paint them in bits because of the doggies, but the end is near. Also some metal garden furniture is getting some love.
Do you do any work around the house yourself? Don't you just love giving stuff some attention?

Wednesday 23 November 2016

Newly Listed: Embroidered Kilim Ottoman


Embroidered Kilim Ottoman, Vintage Embroidery Pouf Bench Bohemian Wooden Furniture Vintage Hand embroidery, Wooden Ball Feet by StarHomeStudio
Nature Photography, Fall Berries, Autumn Photograph, Nature Photo, Red Berries, Blue Sky, Winter, Wall Art, Blue, Home Decor by ellemoss
Rose-breasted Grosbeak, birds, photo, nature photography, red and white, black and white, flying (Pheucticus ludovicianus) by SmallMysteries
Tree photograph, Branches Dreamy Woodland Decor Botanical photograh, Nature Photography Winter Photograph Dark Brown by MariaRiisPhotos

Monday 21 November 2016

Old Traditions


Here in our town we have lots of free courses. Mostly attended by women, here is one hosted by the chamber of commerce on hand knotted kilims and tapestries.


The huge looms, the yarns and wool are all given to the students so that they can make these pieces without any costs.



It is quite funny how much money is spent on some stuff here, but I do like these courses, there is also one to paint porcelain, silver jewelry and more. It is meant for woman to be able to make some money or create job opportunities. These courses are either hosted by the chamber of commerce or the ministry of education. I have been to many of these kind of courses, they are fun and free and each course gives something new. Mum and I actually first started learning jewelry making in one of these courses. But then continued further with time, practice and other courses and tutorials.



Row by row knot by knot these pieces take weeks, not my cup of tea these would drive me crazy :)



Each region has its own style, patterns and methods to create tapestries.




Would you join this course if it was in your town?

Thursday 17 November 2016

Newly Listed: Sterling Silver Coral Rose Ring


Sterling Silver Coral Ring Rose with Leaves Sea Treasure Collection US size 7.5 One of a Kind by StaroftheEast
Stormy Sunset Color Photo Print clouds, dusk, evening, wall art, nature & fine art photography by photosbynicolelynn
Photography, Coral Blossoms Print, Nature Decor, Floral Wall Art, Fine Art Nature Print by BreeMadden
Flamingo Photograph, Print Wall Art, Pink, Animal Portrait, Home Decor, Fine Art Photography by AdelePhotography

Saturday 12 November 2016

Newly Listed: Floral Romantic Birds Bag


Floral Romantic Birds Bag, Needle Felted, Leather, Felt, Kiss-lock, Colorful Bag by StarBags
Nature Art Print, Fall Leaves, Japanese Maple, Nature Photography, Leaf Closeup, Botanical by KarissaSchultenPhoto
Nature Photography, Los Angeles, Sunset, Coastal Life Photography, Cow Farm Fields by minagraphy
Abstract Fine Art Photography Old Barn - Tin Type by sherilwright

Thursday 10 November 2016

All the Critters


With my disappointment in humanity still very much present I thought it was best to focus myself on animals today. Here are most of the visitors we had throughout the years in our garden, some were too fast to take a picture of. Above is the Eurasian Hoopoe which only visited once.


This huge and amazing moth was also a one time wonder for us, Oleander hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii) is more native in parts of Africa.


A praying mantis on our sewing machine :)


A snake right next to my bedroom window.


A very odd and big caterpillar, what a beauty :)


We've had several chameleons, they are so intriguing.


Sometimes a grasshopper hops inside :)


And in the Summer we often have turtles in front of our door which are treated with water and fresh lettuce or cucumbers, these guys eat very noisily and greedy :)
We also get huge wild swines in our street which is right below the mountain, I will try to take pictures next Summer, they are enormous and only come out after dark.


We have lots of bird visitors especially this year after I set up a bird bath, they love it!


The birds leave pretty feathers, for us to use :)


Wednesday 9 November 2016

Newly Listed: Bohemian Leather Bag


Bohemian Leather Bag, Knitted Leather Tote Bag made with Vintage Kuchi Tassel Charms, Boho Leather Bag by StarBags
Wildlife Art Print of Watercolor Painting - Birds, Egrets, Trees, Lake, Sunrise by PineBrookStudio
Snowflake Photography, Frozen, Minimalist, Snow Crystals, Purple Leaf, Purple Leaf by Smokinmudproductions
Nature Photography, Surreal Haunting Woodlands, Fantasy Fairy Lights Stars Birds, Fairytale Wall Art by KathyFornal