Colorsofmyworld

"Tilda Tulip" doll...

2012-01-28T15:20:00.003+01:00

I finished my Tulipgirl pattern a little while ago, but due to problems with my sewing machine (which still haven't been taken care of :) ) it took forever to finish this doll. I love the end result though, I really think the smaller face, simpler shoes and cute stockings work well:D

IF you love her as much as I do you can always buy her at my Dawanda shop, or you could just wait for me to finish the pattern and make your own :)

And the winners are..........

2012-01-15T12:03:00.005+01:00

Little Red Riding Hood sewingpattern + fabric

Buzzing Bee sewingpattern #1

Buzzing Bee sewingpattern #2

Congratulations :D Please send your address/emailaddress to info (at) colorsofmyworld (dot) nl.

I've decided that everyone that didn't win this time gets a free Buzzing Bee sewingpattern if they buy one of my other patterns before monday the 23th :)

Giveaway!!

2012-01-02T11:33:00.017+01:00

The winners have been announced!!!

To celebrate the new year I'm giving away 1 Little Red Riding Hood sewingpattern + all the fabric and felt needed to make 1 doll, and 2 Buzzing Bee sewingpatterns!

I'd like to apologize in advance for the craptastic pictures, it's winter over here, I haven't seen the sun in over a month!!

First Prize (1x):
- A Little Red Riding Hood sewingpattern (my own design).
- Unbleached cotton for the legs and arms.
- Red cotton for the head.
- Stripey cotton for the socks/boots.
- Funky cotton for the dress.
- Off-white felt-blend for the face.
- Brown felt-blend for the hair.

All you need is some embroidery thread and stuffing. You can swap the felt for wool felt, but since I'm allergic to wool the wool-blend I'm using is the best I can do.

Second Prize (2x):
- A Buzzing Bee sewingpattern (once again my own design).

Now, on to the rules........
- Anyone can enter, I ship worldwide.
- Leaving a comment will get you one ticket.
- Following this blog, my twitter or my facebook + leaving another comment will get you a second ticket.
- Doing all the above + mentioning this giveaway somewhere in the internet + leaving a comment with the link to said mention will get you a third ticket.

The winners will be drawn on sunday the 15th of january. And don't forget to check out my other sewingpatterns!!

Good luck :D

If you can't seem to leave a comment (which happens every now and then) and you do want to enter, then just email your comment to info (at) colorsofmyworld (dot) nl and I'll add it for you :)

In need of help.....

2011-12-28T20:55:00.002+01:00

I'll be starting the new year with a special giveaway (a sewing pattern + all the fabric/felt needed to make a softie) but I need a little help deciding which sewingpattern I should use for the giveaway.

So, be a bunch of good little boys and girls and VOTE at our FB page, it'll only take a second.

25% Discount!

2011-11-19T08:57:00.003+01:00

I'm unable to update the site with new items due to the fast that my computer died on me, so I'm giving everyone a discount to make up for it :D

25% discount using couponcode crash
Valid 'till 27-11

To celebrate the upcoming holidays....

2011-11-11T08:38:00.003+01:00

Now you can make your little ones 2 softies instead of 1 :)

Go here...

Awesome gift from troispetitspois....

2011-08-29T16:33:00.007+02:00

I've been asking people to try my sewing patterns and one of the people that responded was the lovely Annelot from http://www.troispetitspois.nl/ (she made the cute, little lizard posted earlier) and in return she insisted on sending me some fabric. At first I figured she'd just send over some scraps, but man.......was I wrong :)

She has sent me the cutest fabrics ever! And yes, most of the pieces are small, but they're more than big enough to make a softie, or 2, and she even added some ribbons and a crochet flower (which has been taken hostage by my nephew who thinks it should be pinned to his new backpack)

What other lovely people made using my patterns....

2011-08-14T11:51:00.005+02:00

A lizard made by Annelot Sombogaard from
www.troispetitspois.nl

A wolfie and elephant made by Maaike from
mumsboven.blogspot.com

I've been asking people to try out my sewing patterns quite a bit lately, and 2 of them have sent me some pictures of the results :D I personally think they turned out awesome, that's why I asked both of them if it would be okay to share the pictures with all of you, but what's even more awesome is that they made them using just the pattern pieces! No instructions except for maybe a line of gibberish :)

Turns out that I love seeing what others make using my patterns, so I made a special Flickr group where everyone can post pictures of their results :D

And don't forget to let me know what your favorite item on Colorsofmyworld.nl is, it's the last day to leave your comment and have a chance at winning the 15 euro gift certificate.

Win a 15,- gift certificate for the site!

2011-08-10T20:12:00.006+02:00

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, or on our guestbook/twitter/facebook, letting us know what your favorite item on the site is.

You can leave your comment until sunday the 14th, on the 15th one comment will be picked as the winner.

Joined the world of Facebook,,,,

2011-08-05T08:39:00.005+02:00

Colorsofmyworld (and myself) has finally joined the world of Facebook! Make sure to 'like' it to keep up with updated about new items, giveaways, discounts, etc etc.

"Free Taggies-toy Tutorial"

2011-07-11T20:54:00.012+02:00

I started making these little cuties a little while ago and since they're really simple, and easy to make I figured I'd share the pattern instead of offering it for sale. The pattern includes a cat, rabbit and bear and comes with a page of written instructions and easy to follow illustrations.

Don't forget to let me know what you think, if enough people like it I might share more in the future :D

Download the PDF-file

And feel free to upload pictures of the finished softies to my special Colorsofmyworld Softies Flickr group :D

Please don't offer the pattern for sale, I don't mind if you sell softies made using it since they're really simple and I'm not a genius for coming up with the idea, but please just redirect people to this blog if they're interested.

I need some pattern-testers....

2011-06-09T16:50:00.003+02:00

I've been trying to turn my doodles into actual dolls/stuffed animals lately and so far I've been able to offer a pattern for Billie Birdie in my shop but I've got 2 other patterns that need to be tested a few more times before I'm able to list them but I really don't have the time to do that the next few weeks so I was hoping that some of you might be up for it :D

I'll send the patterns for free, duh.....all I need in return is to know if you ran into any problems during the construction-process.

If you're interested please let me know, I've only got the patterns ready at the moment, not the instructions, but I could write something up really quickly and somewhat experienced sewers shouldn't have any problems with it.

Taggies Blanket Giveaway - WINNER!

2011-05-31T17:32:00.006+02:00

According to random.org comment #8's the winner.....

which means that Nicole won :D

Nicole said...

our new baby-on-the-way would LOVE a taggie!!

nicole at babyfoodscoops.com

Please let me know which one you'd like (I've got one with a red heart and one with a purple hedgehog as well, let me know if you'd like to see pictures) and I'll make sure to send it over asap :D Congrats on winning and your baby-on-the-way of course

New Layout....

2011-05-29T10:22:00.005+02:00

The site's got a brand new layout :D This way it's easier for me to showcase certain items and giveaways but I also think it looks a more.........professional?

So, go check it out and let me know what you think :D IF you really really really like it feel free to use the guestbook to leave me a message :D

I'm going to try and make a matching layout for the blog asap......but with my seed and attention span that'll take a few weeks.

Bottle Cap Necklaces......

2011-05-15T13:02:00.007+02:00

Some of you may have seen them already, but a little while ago I started making bottle cap necklaces from used bottle caps and a whole bunch of pictures I had lying around because they were too large to use for rings and small charms, but too small to use for the large pendants.

After some fiddling with the process (apparently coating paint with mod podge doesn't mean your resin will be glitter-free) I've managed to get a batch that looks pretty much perfect :D You can find them (and a few new ones once I get them uploaded) here...., just scroll around a bit or search for 'bierdop'.

And don't forgeto to enter my latest giveaway, you can win a taggies blanket of choice :D (closes may 29th).

Taggies Blanket Giveaway!!!

2011-05-12T13:14:00.005+02:00

I've been giving lots of these away for free to friends/relatives/people in my neighbourhood lately so it makes sense to give one away online as well right? You can find more taggies blankets and info about them here.

All you have to do is leave a comment to this post, if you follow this blog or twitter or blog about it please let me know and I'll give you a second ticket.

Anyone can enter, I really don't care whether you live in Holland, the US or Down Under, and the winner will be announced on monday the 30th and she (or he) will be sent a taggies blanket of choice :D Please make sure there's a way for me to contact you though (email in comment, link to blog, etc etc...)

PS: I've got a couple more than the ones listed on my site, but they need to be topstitched before I'm able to take any pictures.

Long time no see.....

2011-05-11T19:24:00.004+02:00

I'm the worst updated ever! Doesn't matter whether it's my blog/site/twitter/flickr, the second I lose the teeniest tiniest bit of interest in updating I might as well just give up completely because I usually end up not updating for months.

I'll try to update my blog more regularly again, I've got some new projects to share and if there's something you'd like me to blog about, please give me a shout out and I'll see what I can do :)

In the meantime........enjoy my pretty dandelion picture :D Snapped it myself this afternoon, more can be found on Flickr (those are all unedited though).

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec...

2011-02-14T15:19:00.005+01:00

AKA Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec, which turned out to be my fave French movie, right after Amélie :D

It's a movie based on a comic (I think) and it follows the adorable journalist Adèle Blanc-Sec in early 20th century France. In the beginning of the movie she goes to Egypt to find herself some artifacts and when she comes back home it turns out that a pterodactyl's using Paris as it's backyard. I don't want to give away too many details about the story because I really think that anyone that's into movies like Indiana Jones or the Librarian should watch this :D Also, if you like Amélie you should watch this as well, not just because they're both French movies, but because the way they're filmed (and the humor) is very similar.

The story's a bit messy at times, but the dialogues, costumes and just overall cuteness make up for that big time.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand.....

2011-02-03T15:52:00.006+01:00

The last week or so I've spent more time hanging on my couch or in my bed than on my feet due to the flu and other nasty things, but there's always something positive that comes out of being sick and this time it was my new love for Spartacus :D

I've always loved the original movie with Kirk Douglas, so when I found out there was a new (supposedly really gory and hot) series I couldn't wait. Unfortunately the dutch tv-network that was responsible for airing it decided it needed an unhuman timeslot, which means I ended up only seeing 2 or 3 episodes before the first season was over :(

So, because I was sick, a friend of mine brought over his dvd's and I watched them all! I suggest you all do the same (unless half naked people on your tv screen every 5 seconds freak you out, then this really isn't the show for you).

Best things about it:
- An actual story-line that (most of the time) makes quite a bit of sense
- The costumes! They should win an oscar (along with the ones on the Tudors)
- More than enough action to keep you entertained
- A handful of lovestories to even out all the action
- Lots of naked people! (I'm not one that minds, clearly)

Special Discount

2011-01-29T09:06:00.004+01:00

I added a special discount section to the site! You'll be able to find items there for lower prices than usual, of course, but the new prices will only last for a week so make sure to place your order on time!

The first batch of items can be found here: *Special Discount*

They include "Serenity" bracelets, "Cute Little Owl" necklaces, "Shabby Chic" cameo necklaces and a few more items, including resin jewelry.

New items to be listed....

2011-01-22T17:31:00.003+01:00

The next few days I'll try to update the shop with all the jewelry I've made the last 2 months. For some reason I did find the time to photograph everything, but not the time to actually get them onto the site :)
I'm thinking that, even though I don't believe in New Years resolutions, I should have made mine 'update the site when jewelry's ready!'

I've also 'designed' 4 new softies, but I still need to test the patterns one more time, just to check if they really work out the way I want them to. As soon as they're finished I'll upload 3 of them as buyable patterns, but the fourth will be a freebie so make sure to keep an eye on this blog if you're interested.........(just a little hint: the freebie pattern will be a bit of a fairytale clash, and no, it's not actually a doll but more like a creature :p)

Sinterklaas......

2010-11-30T10:25:00.008+01:00

The last few weeks of november and the first week of december are all about Sinterklaas here in Holland.

Small children are led to believe that Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Pieten (Black Pete's I guess) live in Spain and return to Holland to celebrate Sinterklaas' birthday on december 5th. I know that doesn't sound all that awesome, but instead of getting presents on his birthday, Sinterklaas actually gives the children presents :D

For the children it's fun because they're getting presents and because the Zwarte Pieten are kind of crazy, but for most adults is fun as well, of course because it makes their kids happy, but also because of all the amazing candy like kruidnootjes (see picture above), pepernoten, speculaas, marsepein, etc etc......

If you're not living in Holland, just read up on the story, trust me, it's a lot of fun, and don't forget to celebrate with us on sunday :D

And for the dutch people: what's you're favourite Sinterklaas candy?

Bottle Cap Necklaces....

2010-11-20T18:05:00.003+01:00

I started working on a new project a few weeks ago because I had a ton of images that were too large for my smaller pendants and rings but too small for the large pendants and I really wanted to use them..........so, I started looking for charms that were the right size, couldn't find any and figured that since bottle caps were about the right size they might do the trick.

After some begging for bottle caps on Twitter and getting messy with paint and my new resin I was able to finish a handfull of them :D They're all recycled since I don't see why I should buy caps especially made for charms and throw out perfectly good ones, and they're all painted with either silver or gold paint to match the necklaces. The paint's protected with 2 layers of varnish (both in- and outside) and the images are of course protected by a thick layer of resin.

They'll be in the shops asap :D

Little Red Riding Hood on Dawanda

2010-11-02T09:11:00.004+01:00

1.Little Red Riding Hood - 5 puppets set by AnnDoll 2. The Little Red Riding Hood - brooch by krize
3.Little Red Riding Hood Case for iPhone 4 by MiTru 4. red riding hood amigurumi pattern by simpleartsplanet

Dutch Webshop & Halloween...

2010-10-28T12:52:00.002+02:00

trick - or- treat ;-), originally uploaded by C.Mariani ( mostly away ).

To celebrate the fact that I added a Dutch shop www.colorsofmyworld.nl, I'm giving everyone that places an order before november 15th a 10% discount. Just use couponcode new on www.trutdelamode.com or nieuw on www.colorsofmyworld.nl and the discount will be taken care of automatically.

And this weekend it's Halloween!!! Don't forget to let me know if you're celebrating and what your costume looks like :D Not sure if Im going to a party, but if I do I'm dressing up as a tiny Obelix!

Also, don't forget to sign up to the newsletter, I sent this month's issue out this morning but the next one's going to have something special in it that you don't want to miss :D

And the winner is.......

2010-10-19T13:28:00.003+02:00

........Miranda!!!!

Congrats :D I'll make sure to contact you asap and you've got 2 weeks to decide which necklace you want (I'll try to make a couple of new ones in a week or so).

Thanks for entering everyone :D

Resin gone bad.........

2010-10-15T13:29:00.005+02:00

Apparently I got some bad resin last time I ordered it, because it's supposed to be okay for at least 6 months, but I got mine in July and I already have to throw it out because it just doesn't want to harden anymore. I found some other kinds of exopy I'd like to try instead, so let's hope I'll be able to get my hands on some soon :D

This also means I haven't been able to make more 'little' necklaces for the give-away, I tried but I had to throw every single one of the 50 pendants and charms I made the last 2 weeks in the thrash, so the winner gets 2 weeks to let me know which one he or she prefers.

So don't forget to enter the give-away............you've got 'till monday to enter.

Give-away: win a 'little' altered-art necklace of choice!

2010-10-04T13:43:00.010+02:00

Hoping it will promote my more 'budget-friendly' line of 'little altered-art' necklaces a bit I've decided to give one of them away :D
So far I've only got 3 to choose from, an Alice in Wonderland teaparty one, a Flower Fairy one and one of Little Red Riding Hood, but since this give-away will remain open for 2 weeks there's a chance I'll have more listed by the time the winner's drawn.

www.trutdelamode.com

Ways to enter:
- Leaving a comment will get you your first ticket.
- Promoting this give-away on Twitter, your blog or Facebook will get you your second (make sure to leave a second comment with a link to the promotion).
- Becoming a follower will get you your third ticket, once again make sure to leave a seperate comment to let me know.

The winner will be drawn on the 18th.

And don't forget to sign up to the newsletter.

Colorsofmyworld has a new category....

2010-09-30T20:55:00.004+02:00

Colorsofmyworld has a new category: Kids!

So far I've only een able to finish and list a couple of tag blankets and hair ties, but in the near future you'll also be able to find necklaces and other jewelry items customized to fit both little and larger kids :D

Don't forget to check them out.

Busy, busy day....

2010-09-23T22:17:00.004+02:00

I've had some problems with the site for a couple of weeks now and today I decided to try and figure out what the problem was. Being the dumb webcode-challenged girl that I can be I tried upgrading joomla and virtuemart first but that turned out to be a disaster :( The product pages were completely gone.

It took a few hours before I was told by my host that I needed to go from php4 to 5 and by someone on a forum that I needed to enable SEF (which took me an hour to find honestly), but those 2 combined actually did the trick :D The site's back and has a new layout since the old one didn't seem to play nice with the updates either.

Yup, I don't think I'll ever update again if I can help it :D

Oh, and don't forget to sign up for the newsletter, I'm going to send out a new one tomorrow and it'll have a couponcode mention in it.

Altered-art tutorial for sale....

2010-09-13T11:41:00.012+02:00

I posted a tutorial a little while ago and took it down the very same night because I got paranoid. I'm now offering it for a very small price, EUR 4,00 , to make sure I'm in control of things a bit more.

It's a 3-page PDF (front and 2 pages with instructions) with step-by-step instructions and information about the products you could use.

Dilemma.......:(

2010-08-27T10:14:00.006+02:00

I really want to make a sleeve/bag/something for my new cellphone and I want it to look pretty of course, but I just cannot make myself use my prettiest fabrics :(
I'm afraid I'll mess 'm up......what should I do? Try with a slighter less cute piece of fabric first or just go for it and cut up the pretty fabrics?

Some of them even have glitter D:

I've got about 50 of them, all different, some of the other ones have scribbly lines, stars, zoo animals, fairytale villages (+GLITTER), etc etc......

Winners.....

2010-08-20T17:24:00.003+02:00

I've decided to pick one winner from the people that subscribed through the blog and one from the people that used the site, since both had about the same amount of subscribers.

I'm in a hurry so not able to copy/paste/alter the random.org results, but you're just gooing to have to believe me on this one :D

The winners are..........

Mélanie Oellers and Ellen
You've both been sent emails :D

I'm might be the queen of procrastination :p

2010-08-15T13:07:00.005+02:00

I finished these well over a week ago except for one teeny tiny thing.........the little charms. For some weird reason it took me that long to get up and actually attach the charms I put aside when I sorted the beads. No idea why, I'm just really glad they're all finished now :D

Don't forget to sign up to the newsletter (if you're using the link at this blog, please leave me a comment as well so I'll be able to find you if needed) and have a chance at winning a EUR10,- gift certificate for the site.

Happy lefthanded day :d

2010-08-13T12:09:00.002+02:00

Todays not only friday the 13th, but it's also left-handed day :D So, if you're left-handed like me, or not, let's all celebrate the fact that the last few years more and more daily items have been adjusted to be used by lefties as well. No more, or just less for me, screw ups just because it's impossible to hold something correctly.

"Blooming" earrings....

2010-08-10T17:19:00.006+02:00

Usually I'm not a big fan of bronze, but when I saw these flower charms used on really crappy looking earrings I just had to buy tons of earring so I could take them apart and use the charms :D I basically bought every single one that wasn't messed up somehow (lots of them had blobs of metal between the petals and some of them even had petals broken off!). Aren't they pretty?

Win a EUR 10,- gift certificate!

2010-08-06T17:39:00.009+02:00

To get my newsletters running I'm giving away EUR 10,- gift certificates to 2 people that subscribe to them within the next 2 weeks. They can be spent on anything listed at trutdelamode.com.

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter
If you sign up through the blog instead of the website, make sure to leave a comment here as well, preferably with your email, otherwise I'll have no way of contacting you.

Don't worry, the newsletter aren't used for spam :) I'm hoping I'll be able to send them out monthly and they'll be filled with info about newly listed and soon-to-come items as well as give-aways.

As mentioned above, I'll announce the winners on fri. the 20th.

CLOSED!!

Newsletters..........

2010-08-06T11:50:00.003+02:00

I'm finishing up this month's newsletter so if any of you signed up for it more than a week ago, please sign up again. I'm using a new site to keep track of the subscribers and lost all the info of the old one :(

You can also sign up using the site, www.trutdelamode.com

Don't forget to sign up if you haven't yet, there'll be info on my new items, items that should be listed soon and news about a give-away :D

New bracelets....

2010-08-01T11:35:00.008+02:00

I was able to finish 4 altered-art bracelets while my internet was down but I only thought about about blogging them just now.............sorry :p
3 of them are of course Flower Fairy bracelets and the 4th is an Alice in Wonderland bracelet.

I've also got about 15 large pendants waiting for beads and charms so I'm going to try and finish those asap.

PS: I'd really appreciate it if some of you would fill out the poll on the right :)

Summer Shots....

2010-07-29T13:16:00.003+02:00

Played around with my camera while I was visiting my parents and ended up with a few 'interesting' shots :D I didn't change a thing, this is exactly what the sun and my camera decided to give me that day.

And the winner is...........

2010-07-20T11:57:00.008+02:00

Sonia! (I'm afraid I couldn't find your email).

Congratulations, I know that you mentioned that you love the Wood Sorrel Fairy necklace, but if you're not 100% sure that's the one you want please let me know.

For everyone that didn't win, please don't go sit in a little corner and sulk, I'll make sure there'll be another give-away not to far away from today and I'll also extend the 25% discount at trutdelamode.com with an extra 3 days. Make sure to use couponcode 'blogfriends' since it'll be just for people that read this blog.

PS: I'm still shocked that I went from 40+ followers to almost 100 followers in about a week :D Thanks everyone

Final update before going back to the stone age.....

2010-07-09T17:44:00.006+02:00

One final update before I've got to figure out how to survive for a week without any internet :( All of these items have been listed, I just didn't have the time to list them at www.trutdelamode.com AND Dawanda, so some of them are listed at the first, others are listed at the second and a bunch of them are listed at both :D

I've got 2 more bracelets and a necklace done and photographed, but since the mechanic's already here I just haven't been able to list them somewhere. I do have a babysitting gig tomorrow night though, so I might be able to 'borrow' their internet and list 'm then.

Don't forget about the 25% discount at www.trutdelamode.com and the giveaway while I'm gone :D

Give-away: Win an Altered-art necklace of choice!

2010-07-07T08:33:00.009+02:00

I was going to host a give-away when my blog reached 50 followers, but I've decided to just do it now since I've been told that I'm not going to have an internet connection between this friday and tuesday the 20th :(

This time you'll be able to win an altered-art necklace of choice, just check http://www.trutdelamode.com to see what kind of necklaces you'll be able to choose from, and leave me a comment. Followers get a second chance to comment, make sure you use it.

I'll close this on the 20th of July!!!

Don't forget about the 25% discount at http://www.trutdelamode.com! It'll last 'till July 20th, so if you got your heart set on a necklace make sure to order it now, just in case you're not the winner of the give-away.

This give-away is now closed, please check And winner is..... for the winner

Give-away approaching & WC discount!!!

2010-07-05T10:36:00.004+02:00

New give-away when my blog reaches 50 followers, so make sure to spread the word :D

And tomorrow's the first Worldcup semi-final and Holland's in it, so to celebrate I'm going to give everyone a 15% discount on www.trutdelamode.com starting tomorrow. Just use couponcode 'huphollandhup'. If we reach the finals I'll change the 15 into 25% so make sure you root for the right team :D

Long time, no see........interview, artsy things & jewelry

2010-07-04T16:32:00.005+02:00

A few months ago I was interviewed by Dawanda and they finally posted the interview on their blog on monday :D You can read it here. It's not all that exciting since I wrote it during exams and didn't have a lot of time to actually think about the answers, but you might like to get to know me a bit more anyway.

I tried something new when I had one of my wrists in a brace a few weeks ago (meking jewelry one-handed was just not happening :( ) and I can finally show you the results :d I made more, 2 serving trays and a wooden jewelry box, but those were gifts and I don't feel comfortable posting pictures of them.

A little 10x10 cm picture and a decorated Moleskine notebook

Also made some new jewelry pieces the past few days now that I've got both hands available again

And the winner is............

2010-06-12T09:46:00.002+02:00

The winner of my give-away is LOES!!!!

Congrats, I'll make sure to send you an email as well.

Don't worry, I'm sure I'll host a new one in a little while, but if you can't wait 'till then you could always order one at trutdelamode.com. If you do so today you'll get a 25% discount by using coupon-code 'champagne'.

PS; does anyone know how to show the random-generator results as an image? Something other than Prt Scrn since I'm kinda disabled atm and it's already a huge struggle to type let alone crop :d

Give Away; Win a ring :D

2010-06-07T15:37:00.007+02:00

I've found out that I just don't have the patience to wait 'till I actually get 30 followers (that's just not going to happen anytime soon :( ) so I'm just going to give away a ring this week and keep the pretty necklace I had saved for the 30 followers milestone for when I get 50 :) So if you want to win it you better help me spread the word about my blog :D

Anyways, this time you'll be able to win a ring of choice, I've got quite a few to choose from, and I'll send it over asap! Everyone that leaves a comment will automatically have a shot at winning, becoming a follower will give you a second ticket and blogging/twittering/doing any kind of advertising will get you a third :D
You've got 'till friday the 11th to enter.

And don't forget to check out the new layout and jewelry at www.trutdelamode.com, the 25% discount's only valid until saturday the 12th.

This give-away is now closed, the winner is Loes :D
Don't worry if you haven't won, I'm supposed to host another one once I have 50 followers

New layout and items on trutdelamode.com!

2010-06-05T09:38:00.003+02:00

A brand new layout and lots of new items on the website :D I've been working my behind off the last couple of days, but I really think it was worth it. The site's a lot easier to navigate right now and everything just looks more organized.

Go check it out!!!!

And don't forget to place your order, everyone that order something between now and Sat. the 12th will get a 25% discount (just use couponcode champagne, I made it just for friends, everyone else gets 15% :p).

My really cool idea........backfired :(

2010-06-03T20:07:00.009+02:00

Remember that really cool idea I mentioned last time? Well, it kinda backfired :(
I found a really cool way to make 'gemstone-like' pendants/beads/etc etc using polymer clay, but what they forgot to tell me that the stuff used to get that effect doesn't exactly melt at 130'C and since that's apparently the highest temp allowed for Fimo I'm in trouble :( So far this is what I got..........and a few burned ones that ended up in the trash, just to be safe.

First attempt: Nothing melted at ALL so I just poured some on top of the baked pendant just to check if I could get it to melt and I did :D It ended up looking like something exploded though. This is the only on that's varnished btw.

Second attempt: Things started to melt, you can see the light swirly looking things inside, but it turned out there was too much stuff on top instead of in the clay.

Third (today's) attempt: Looking much better, things melted (or kinda exploded) inside, there's loads of little swirls and dots, but there's still some unmelted stuff, mostly just underneath the surface :(

Pink bag-finds on Dawanda

2010-05-31T15:40:00.005+02:00

I need a new bag and a girl's gotta love pink, so...........

1. Make-Up Bag Birds 2. Cheeky Monster Bento Takeaway Drawstring Pouche 3. Lisa Purse with Frayed Rosette 4. Small Leather Mandy Panty Purse

A 'real' update will be posted tomorrow if everything goes as planned, I've got a really cool idea for some new jewelry items if I may say so myself, but I need a few more supplies and I'm still not quite sure if the local craftstore sells what I need...........:(

Dutch finds on Dawanda

2010-05-28T15:47:00.005+02:00

1. Love Birds on the Wire 2.Turquoise Pendant 50 mm 3.Tumsy Iphone bag 4.High Tea Necklace

Don't forget about the Give-away! Spread the word, there'll only need to be 30 followers total :)

Summery Yellow on Dawanda

2010-05-24T14:02:00.005+02:00

A few pretty yellow items I've found on Dawanda....

1. Candy-Heaven 2. danny-firlefanz 3. vertikker 4. albinoberlin

I'm going to host another give-away when this blogs reaches 30 followers, so make sure to hit the button if you haven't already and spread the word!!!

Summer has arrived :)

2010-05-20T15:56:00.006+02:00

Summer has finally arrived, gone are the days with nothing more than clouds, wind and rain...........HOORAY!

Some new stuff for the shop. I've seen people sell the ballchain bracelets before, but as far as I know they used 6mm instead of 8mm like I did and they didn't use satincord/suede which I both prefer to waxcord. I also used half a knot instead of a whole one between the balls because the 'uneveness' makes 'm look more playful I think. They're cute right?

Some new items....

2010-05-03T16:36:00.004+02:00

A couple of new items to be listed at Dawanda :)

Hopefully they'll be up there sometime tomorrow.

And the winner is............

2010-04-21T20:03:00.002+02:00

Jessica!!!

Congratulations, I'll make sure to send it over asap (let's hope the airtraffic around here decides to play noce as well).

And don't feel bad if you didn't win, I'm pretty sure I'll host another give-away soon, so make sure to keep an eye on this blog :)

Give-Away: Flutterby Necklace :)

2010-04-18T18:16:00.004+02:00

I figured it's time for a new give-away, this time I'll be sending a 'Flutterby' necklace with a pretty vintage butterfly pendant and a 6 mm Czech glassbead in a color of choice to the winner :D

All you have to do is leave me a comment, and if you add my blog to your watchlist you're allowed to leave a second comment.

I'll pick the winner on wednesday, around noon GMT. Please make sure there's an email listed in your comment or at your profile/blog.

'Creativity' bag

2010-04-13T18:46:00.007+02:00

I made one of my little cousins an overnight bag which he could also use as a 'creativity' bag for when he's in the mood for coloring and I made this one using most of the scraps :D The biggest difference is that his doesn't have a pink elephant on the back, but other than that it's pretty much the same.

It's about 26x24 cm, so it's more than big enough to hold a fave coloringbook, a sketchbook and some other things and there are 8 little pockets in the front for crayons or pencils.

I love it when a sketch actually works :) Do you think I should try and sell them?

Picture-time :D

2010-03-12T17:24:00.005+01:00

Here are some of the pictures I promised + 2 pictures of doodles (not the one I based Emma on though, that one was a lot simpler than these 2 but the basics all look the same).

Beautiful Blogger Award

2010-03-11T19:05:00.008+01:00

I'm a bit late, but Viola-odorata gave me my first blogger-awards a little while ago, but since I've been having major computerproblems for about a month now I haven't been able to thank her, so..........thank you Viola :)

So, now I'm supposed to 7 things about me and give the award to 7 others. The first thing isn't going to be a problem, the second one is though since I'm only added a few blogs and I'm sure all of them have already gotten the award so I'm going to try and add more blogs to my list the next couple of weeks and give them the award then.

Now, 7 random facts:

1 My parents named me Annabella, but I don't think anyone has called me that in about 10 years or so. All my friends call me Anna, every single co-worker I've had called me Anna and I usually introduce myself as Anna. I kinda hate the Bella part, no idea why though.....

2 I've got a sneaker and flip-flop addiction, I'm pretty sure I've got at least 10 pairs of each.

3 I've got moles and freckles in the weirdest places imaginable, like underneath my foot, the inside of my ear and right above my bellybutton.

4 I'm as random as can be :D I don't know if any of you know Gilmore Girls, but a couple of friends of mine often say I'm just like the mother in that show.........one minute I'll be talking about something college-related, the next I'll be talking about something I saw on tv and after that I'll say something weird about my family. You just never know what you're going to get with me.

5 If there's such a thing like a filter that processes your thoughts before they come out of your mouth, mine must be defected somehow....or abducted by aliens.

6 I've got the habbit of trying out American tv-shows (pretty much anything but those drama things) but usually I only watch a handful of episodes before I drop it. There's only 2 shows that I religiously watch (Supernatural & Fringe) but I could probably tell you at least one thing about 50 others.

7 I really hate it when people gossip. Maybe it because my filter's non-functioning but I wish people would just either tell said person the truth in person or just shut up all together.

I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow, I've got some great shots of the snow we had last month and I also found some really pretty ribbons that want to be photographed.

Meet Emma...

2010-02-05T15:27:00.007+01:00

This is the first ragdoll made after my own doodles and I think she turned out to be rather cute :d In the next day or so I should be able to finish a cat, rabbit and monkey so make sure to keep an eye on my blog.

Right now all that's up for sale is the pattern, but as soon as I figure out the best way for shipping I'll get the dolls listed as well.

FABRIC!!!!

2010-01-31T15:02:00.005+01:00

I was able to sort a box of fabric pieces this morning, now they're all sorted by color and mostly lint-free :D

There are about 500 of them, but they're all pretty small, just big enough for the ragdolls I'll be using them for, so for me they're perfect.

Bye Bye Birdie Billie

2009-12-15T18:01:00.003+01:00

15-12 055, originally uploaded by colorsofmyworld.

Bye Bue Birdie Billie, the third toy I ever made using a sewingmachine :D It's my own design and he's made from cotton and felt.

He's about 21 cm tall and you'll see the rest of him in a couple of days.

Simply square pincushion tutorial

2009-12-11T22:49:00.038+01:00

This is basically a test-run for the doll tutorials I've been planning to write, so let me know if anything's unclear or if I messed up my english or something :)

Keep in mind that I had my sewingmachine for about a week when I came up with these, so I mean it when I say they're easy to make.

The materials you'll need:
- 4 even sized squares, anything between 5 and 10 cm would be perfect.
- 1 square that's the same size as the 4 little ones combined.
- material to use as stuffing.
- embroidery floss.
- a button.

Step 1: Take 2 of the little squares, place them on top of each other with the good sides of the fabrics facing each other and pin them in place. Sew one of the sides while allowing yourself a 0.5 cm allowance and make sure to go over the beginning and end a couple of times to secure the stitches. Repeat this step with the other 2 squares.

Step 2: Now that you've got 2 pieces made of 2 squares each, place them on top of each other, once again with the good sides of your fabrics facing each other. Line the pieces up using the middle seams and pin them together.

Step 3: Sew the 2 part together allowing yourself a 0.5 cm allowance once more to make a perect square. Fold it open and check if the middle's klined up correctly. If it's not this will be the only chance you'll have left of fixing it.

Step 4: Turn your square upside down and pin it onto your larger fabric square. Sew them together, but make sure to leave a 2.5 cm opening in the middle of one of the smaller squares. You'll be needing this to invert the pincushion. You can place the opening at one of the corners, but it can make the handstitching a lot harder.

Step 5: Cut off the corners, getting as close to the stitching as you can without actually cutting it and invert the pincushion. If you're having trouble turning it try using a pair of tweezers or the back of a pencil.

Step 6: Get as much filling into your pincushion as you can without ripping the seems and make sure that the seam allowance of the turning gap is neatly folded to the inside and underneath the filling. Thread your needle with a piece of strong, folded thread and make sure that the looped part's longer than the part with the 2 end. Make your first stitch on one side of the gap, right into the fold, and make is as tiny as possible. Pull the needle through the loop. This will secure the thread without having to make a knot.

Step 7: Make your second stitch right into the seam of the gap on the opposite side, starting right across the exit point of your first stitch. Keep stitching like that, going back and forth, making sure that the stiching are as small as possible and neatly lined up. The stitches will look like the steps of a ladder.

Step 8: Go on stitching until the gap's completely closed and close the stitches by pulling the thread in short, little tugs. Tie a knot the size of your needle as close to the fabric as you can. Stitch right through the pincushion and give the thread a short pull to sink the knot into the pincushion.

Step 9: Get your embroidery floss and wrap it around your pincushion 5 times. Thread your needle and pull it through the middle of the pincushion, front to back, making sure there's about half a wrap of floss left. Try to get your needle out in the middle.

Step 10: Pull the needle through the pincushion a second time, once again font to back, and pull it tight, placing the embroidery floss right on one of the seams of your squares. Try to keep the needle coming out the back in the same spot. Keep going on like that 6 more times so that all, but one, of the seams have 2 strands of floss.

Step 11: Tread your button onto the thread and place the needle a couple of mm across the middle, on the opposite seam of the one where your floss is going to be. Pull it through. Remove the thread from your needle and go back to the front, to the piece of left-over thread you started with. Thread your needle with it and pull it through the button, in opposite direction of the previous thread. Pull your needle through the pincushion for the last time, again making sure that you go across the middle like the previous stitch.

Step 12: Pull on the 2 ends of floss coming out at the back, pulling the button into place. Tie them off and voilà, you're done :D

I'd love to see pictures of all of your pincushions :D And as a bonus I'll be giving away the pincushion I made in this tutorial. Just leave a message with 'win' in it and I'll have my doggy pick a winner wednesday the 16th.

Your free to do with this tutorial whatever you please, just don't copy it and claim the whole thing as your own please.

Comments are loved!

First results using the sewingmachine.....

2009-12-04T11:43:00.006+01:00

The first finished items I made using a sewingmachine ever :D I'm quite proud since I only got the machine last monday and I only had a couple of hours of practice, but I like it, it's fun :)

They're really simple, but cute as hell, so I'm thinking about writing a tutorial. Good idea or bad one????

Blog make-over

2009-11-24T22:31:00.008+01:00

I didn't know what to do with my time today since I'll be spending the next 2 weeks getting rid of a flu (I was actually sent home from my internship because they're afraid I'll get the 4 that haven't gotten it so far, sick as well) so I decided to give the blog a make-over.............isn't it pretty?

Let's hope my sewingmachine will arrive tomorrow so I can actually start practicing and do something a bit more constructive with my time....

Mouse Elsa

2009-11-15T17:13:00.009+01:00

My first, made-from-scratch, stuffed animal is about half-finished :) I'm so proud! I designed the pattern myself and sew it by hand since I have no idea how to work a sewingmachine, and even though the head was a tad too big at first I managed to take care of it quite nicely if I may say so myself.

It's a tad wonky, I know, but I the last time I sew something I was about 9, so I think it looks pretty damn good :)
I'm going to try and finish it over the next couple of days and maybe try my hand at the laybug and owl patterns I've made as well.

You can still win a 5 euro discount by commenting here

Give-away!!! Win a €5 discount!

2009-11-11T09:41:00.004+01:00

My first give-away :D Leave a comment to this post and in a week's time I'll get my doggie to pick a lucky winner.

Make sure to follow my blog to be sure you won't miss the result.

It's not much, but since I haven't got loads of followers yet there's a really good chance you'll win and I will eventually, when the number of trusty followers increases, increase the value of the prices :)

Help me out here......

2009-11-07T17:02:00.006+01:00

I'm working on a new project and I need a bit of help: If you'd have to buy an animal image/painting/drawing/toy etc etc for a little kid, what would you buy?

- a rabbit
- a ladybug
- an elephant
- a caterpillar
- a butterfly
- a cow
- a pig
- a bird
- a sheep
- a snail
- a monkey
- a bear

I need help figuring out what to make first, so comment please :)

Doodling

2009-11-06T20:04:00.007+01:00

A friend asked me to make her something for her niece, and I'm not telling what it is, you guys will find out soon enough, but I figured a picture of my not-so-great doodling might be fun :)

Left to right; top to bottom => turtle, ladybug, butterfly, elephant, giraffe, lizard

Welcome

2009-11-06T17:42:00.003+01:00

I've finally convinced myself that a blog dedicated to my crafts was in order :D Not sure how often I'll be able to update, but I'm going to start off updating at least once a week about my own crafts and probably once a week about other artists. We need to spread the love a bit.

So far I've mostly made jewelry pieces, which can be found at www.trutdelamode.com, but for a couple of weeks now I've been making stuffed animals to make up for my lack of inspiration jewelry-wise.

I'm hoping I'll be able to meet lots of new people using this blog and of course keep in touch with friends I've already made online and in real-life, so feel free to comment and I'll make sure to comment back :)