The craft of the two hands

Ask me if I like this dress! Go on, ask me! 🙂

The dress is alright, so are many others on tidebuy but I am really interested in the handmade embroidery part.

Which is why I made some research on the topic and found out :

1. This sort of needlework dates back to 5th century BC in faraway China and it started as a mere necessity of mending the tore pieces of clothing or reinforcing them.

“Shuzhou.manufaktura.jedwabny.haft.artystyczny” by user:Kwz – own work of user:Kwz. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

2.The technique used is basically the same as it was at the beginning, the design can be stitched in either on top of the fabric or through it and the materials needed are easy to find,regardless if its classic  thread work or it includes pearls,beads or sequins.

3.Embroidered clothing, religious and household items were considered a sign of wealth and high social status in Persia, India, Japan, Medieval and Baroque Europe and my guess is that this more or less silent and default rule still exists in many countries.

4.Along with the industrial revolution came the automation of some labours and in consequence one of the first embroidery machines (still seconded by women) saw light of day in the mid-1800s.

In Romania, my home country,embroidery is used for decorating the national costumes and I’m happy to discover that the traditional “ia” has made as a fashion trend.

The type of embroidery I’m interested in also involves much creativity in designing patterns and whole pictures at timesand is also a bit more difficult.It’s called the tambour embroidery.You can find out more about techniques, materials and patterns here.

pinterest.com/saskiaterwelle

pinterest.com/saskiaterwelle

How to make a beautiful flower arrangement step-by-step

I, for one, HAD no idea. 

Actually the truth is I never took the time to inquire about how to make an ikebana vase or how to arrange flowers in a bouquet,since I always went on my gut and usually the outcome was pleasant,aesthetically speaking.

But while surfing the web I stumbled upon this magnificent man, my new-found passion/crush/man of my dreams , Shin.

I can’t understand a word he is saying but boy, does he handle those flowers gently. 🙂 And the bouquets and ikebana arrangements he creates are just gorgeous.

You can find Shin and his masterpieces on his YouTube channel and you can find me pressed against the monitor watching his hands work their magic.

Let me know in the comment section if you found this useful in any way and also if there is anything in particular you’d want me to write or find out about.

Also, all love letters and poems are most welcomed ,likes and follows are appreciated greatly and subscriptions are met with surprising gifts.

Nesting done right

As time goes by and we evolve as a species and maintain our position at the top of the food chain, our concern for providing the basic roof over our heads, food for our stomach and cloth to cover our nakedness has become a quest for a bigger, fancier shelter/crib,exquisite and pretty looking food, more(or less) comfortable and fashionable outfits.In consequence, man has developed and perfected the skills and tools needed to make all of the above happen at an easier and faster pace than ever before.

Let’s talk house building, for example. The materials used are various and range from easy to find to “unobtainium” and the process of raising a house from the ground has been sped up a great deal.Technology has helped man ease the manual labour and make even the craziest and bold architecture plans possible.So we now have houses that have their own operating system, houses with walls that talk to you and recognize you as the house owner,houses that become more and more alive.

We make a house a home by filling it with our lives.

We love the concept of “home” because  it’s the place where we can be ourselves and sing in the shower,walk around naked and play our favourite song loud.It’s the place where you hang not only your coat at the entrance but you also shed the daily “wordly dust” from your shoulders and feel safe yet again.Also home is the place you share with your family and friends, it’s the space that holds memories dear to you.

Building a great house is not the same as building a great home.

In this vast concrete/iron/aluminum/glass  dominated scenario, it’s refreshing to find different,out of the box and back to the roots type of thinking and doing.

What on earth am i talking about?And what does it have to do with handmade?

Well, i’m so glad you asked because i was just dying to share this with you.

It’s handmade house edition.

Oak

 

I have recently stumbled upon this amazing site called Natural homes (their facebook ) and have simply been mesmerised ever since.

House made of straw bale in Italy

Treehouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve already begun making a plan for my hobbit house in Tuscany…in my head.

I invite you to take a look and let me know if you were as enchanted as i was and still am.

All ’bout handmade, no treble

I was on the hunt for supplies for a new project today (I’ll tell you ll about it soon) and I found out something interesting:they’re damn hard to find.Of course it depends on what is it that you wish to create or embellish or transform with your own two hands.Another factor should be where you find yourself in this gorgeous world, but since we are interconnected more than ever, that doesn’t matter s much.The brave delivery guys will find you wherever you may be.

A nice place to start looking for supplies could be the “supplies” section of the platform you have your store on….given that you sell your handmade creations with the help of  such a helpful place.

For instance, I have a little bow tie shop on DaWanda, and their supply section is more than satisfying.

Another great place I found is a shop on the same platform, emmaworkshop .

For those of you who are italian or live in Italy, the best place i can recommend is Bricofer because it has absolutely everything you need no matter your field of handmade:decoration,carpentry,gardening,etc.

If you happen to be passionate about soap and beauty products and want to give it a shot and make them yourselves, Wholesale Supplies Plus is the “IT”.

Let me know in the comment section if you found this to be useful and  I intend to find stores in any country you might be from, so leave a comment below and if I can spare you the tedious job of having to google the best places to find stuff, it’ll be my pleasure.

Love comes from the reptilian core of the brain ?!?!

This is the ultimate handmade! This is the thing we bring to ourselves and search for and even manufacture when anything else failed.The force, the field, the sun and moon, the drug, the happiness and disgrace all in one teaspoon of sugar.

My gift to you is a TED talk.Enjoy!

Happy Valentine’s!

Forever blowing bubbles

When I first tried the soap me and my mom made from scratch, it was a true awakening.I couldn’t put it down and I must have washed my hands for about 100 times that day.Not kidding!

You might ask what could be so special about that soap?Does it clean?Does it smell nice?Does it hydrate your skin?Does it come from an unicorn’s a%$ ? 

The answer is all of the above at the same time! In addition to that, it makes the process of washing your hands, face, body much more enjoyable.Enjoyable?!?Yes, enjoyable (it has already lost its meaning as a word, just go with it). 

 

When we first decided to try making soap,we compared it with  food.

Because food is the other thing humans like aside from being squeaky clean 😉

Then, when  researching the ingredients we wanted to use, we made an analogy with a good,healthy plate of food.This plate contains 4 ingredients (there are the vegetables, the whole grains, the healthy protein and the fruit) so we decided to give it a shot and apply this formula to our soap,in consequence we made it from as few and as natural ingredients as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We used caustic soda (or lye or sodium hydroxide),hydrogen peroxide,olive oil and depending on the case either organic dye(or colorants) or natural essential oils for fragrance.

Of course, we did some cute decorative garlands to hang wherever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Should you wish to purchase any of these soaps, feel free to contact me in the comment section or at cav3ndish@gmail.com  because they’re not yet available in any shop so you have the privilege of being our baes 😉 

Also, whoever doesn’t know what bae means (congratulations, there’s still hope for you! ) can ask me here or on twitter @cav3ndishTieBow or on facebook –  bowsandsoaps .

Handmade Chiangmai

Today I just want to share with you a great place I found almost by mistake a while ago and couldn’t stop frequenting.It’s like grabbing your favourite book and opening it at a different chapter every time.

This Shangri La is called  HANDMADE CHIANGMAI and i invite you to slowly discover it.

It has designer sections,crafts sections,travel sections and all the info you can handle regarding Thai handmade industry and markets.

TIP

Check the soaps 😉

3,2,1 Wedding time!

If there is anything to know about me, it’s the fact that I don’t really like weddings…generally.But when my mother is the one getting married,one has to embark on the happy train and sound the bells.

Being the great woman that she is, she decided to do everything herself and accepted little help.Which she did and oh,boy did it come out fine.

This was only the city hall ceremony and the church wedding will take place in the fall of 2015.I will document the whole process of planning and implementation this time, because it’s gonna be a handmade and dazzling wedding too.

The theme of the wedding was “fun time with friends” and in turned up to be just that.The atmosphere was warm and cozy, everyone knew everyone, the food was delicious and we all had a great time celebrating  love .

 

This was the  home/hand made cake.

 

These were the flower center pieces and the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And these were the mason jar lamps and the garden by night.                                                                      

 

 

 

 

 

At city hall

 

Let me know what you think in the comment section.

 

Charlie Hebdo. A Seven Year Old’s Reaction.

Amazing and true.

The Daily Think

I didn’t get to switch the radio off in time this morning. She heard, and understood (it seems). This was her response.

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Arts and crafts class

          It’s a fact that nobody was born knowing everything.And if there was such a person, shame on them for not sharing.

But maybe we all have a small piece of valuable information and the only way to figure all out is by us collaborating together and fitting all the pieces of the puzzle.It would be knowledge spread worldwide,locked in every person,hidden in an obscure part of the brain…much like Leto’s pearls of consciousness inside sand worms from  God Emperor of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 4) (maybe it would be best to start with  Dune just to get acquainted with the deserts of Arrakis).And maybe I’ve gone too far….This shall be known as  the “maybe” paragraph.

To get back on track with the thought process…i was beginning to say that in this lifetime the learning never stops and it’s the natural thing to do.Like all organisms evolve and adapt, we also have this wonderful brain and ability to assimilate and later put to use all sorts of information,in any shape or form it might hit us.

This starts from an early age, when you find out that fire can burn you,that if you make puppy eyes at your parents cookies might magically appear in your hands and that passing notes in school is a risk you’re (almost) always willing to take.

So,information might help you safeguard you life and skin integrity, it may brighten your day by using a bit of innocent manipulation or even encourage you to be illicit and enjoying it.

We rely on accurate information and we should also make a habit from checking the facts from time to time because when being swamped with tons of info we can’t trust and make good use of all of it.

Critical thinking should be taught even since kindergarten, in my opinion.

All that talk about information made me do some research in my field of  interest : handmade stuff.

That is how  I found this challenging community at Craftsy  where you can take classes online (some free and some in an acceptable price range) and learn skills like knitting,cooking,gardening,photography.

In the “Information is key” category,on the right, you will find from now on interesting things I try myself or find online or offline that are relevant and useful for anyone interested in handmade and not only. 🙂

Maybe that was too much information?   Neah, it’s never too much.