A sand-coloured bag with buttons

Today I'm going to show you my most complicated bag so far. I made it quite a long time ago but kept forgetting to post it.

I saw the Iris bag on Etsy and I thought it would be great to try to make something similar. Of course mine is not as professional as the Iris bag and I couldn't have made the zipper the same way but my goal was to make a similar bag and not a copy.

It has some pleats and four buttons as a little decoration. The outer fabric is from Ikea and I got the buttons from my Grandpa so they are real treasures. The lining fabric is simple white cotton. Inside there are a couple of pockets for all the important things I carry with myself every day.

Okay, enough said, let's see what it looks like!

And here is the zipper before it was sewn to the lining:

(I always zig-zag stitch every part of the things I sew - it takes more time but it prevents the fabric from falling apart.)

I hope you like the bag. :)

Have a nice weekend,

Kata

The Theory of Everything

I felt like writing something again for such a long time and finally an inspiring movie helped me to take the first step.

We watched The Theory of Everything on Tuesday. After the first five minutes of the film I already felt that it might become a favourite and I wasn't disappointed. It was incredible; I loved how Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones played Stephen Hawking and Jane. The whole movie was perfect - it was worthy of the most incredible of today's real geniuses. ♥

You might ask how The Theory of Everything is connected to crafting. Here is the story behind it:

One of my friends from university is getting married in May and I would like to try to sew a dress for this special occasion. I usually don't pay very close attention to the costumes in films but I just can't forget the pale green ball dress Felicity Jones was wearing at the May ball at the beginning of the film.

(photo source: dailymail.co.uk)

 I started looking for patterns and I found one here - it is completely free and my size exactly! So I decided to give it a try. First I want to find some simple fabric to test the pattern and then I'll buy a more elegant one.

I'll let you know about where I am currently in the whole process. This was just the planning phase so I have a long way to go until the wedding and in between there will be another semester at university with a pinch of teaching practice.

As for the blog, it would be great to write about older stuff I made and other movies or books but first I'll have to see how much free time I'll have this semester.

Have a nice evening,

Kata

Beaded pendant

Now that I'm done with all my BA final exams and MA entrance exams, it's time to have fun and do some crafty things. :)

Last week I made a beaded pendant based on this post at nimidesign.com which I found through Pinterest. When I was little, I used to make simple beaded necklaces and bracelets and lots of beaded animals so it was great to make something out of beads again. This pendant is really easy to make, once you have started, you can't do anything wrong. :)

I put a beaded ball in the inside of the pendant - it was made of a piece of aluminium foil which I covered with white beads. The only thing I need to make before wearing it is a simple ribbon necklace.

I hope you like it :)

Thank you for following my blog! :)

Have a nice day,

Kata

My First Book

Last December (it's unbelievable that it was such a long time ago), I decided to make a book which I could use as an art journal since my old drawing book was almost full. 

I found a great tutorial for bookbinding by James Darrow on deviantart and I was also inspired by Marysza's journals.

That's how it all began:

I sewed the cover of the book, using fabrics which I got from my sister and a piece of green ribbon to cover the line where the two fabrics are sewn together. I put fleece between the two layers of fabrics and ironed the cover when it was ready so that it became less flexible.

Here you can see the pages sewn together:

And here is how it turned out:

It has some imperfections, but it works pretty well as a book for my doodles. :)

 I hope you like it! I'd be happy to read your opinions! :)

Have a nice Sunday,

Kata

Summer bag

As promised, I'll show you a couple of things I have made earlier until I'll have enough time to create something new.

Today I brought you a picture of a bag made for summer.

It has the same pattern as the one I have already shown you, but its parts are made out of the same fabric. Its handle is quite short, so it would be impossible to use it with a winter coat but it isn't a problem at all since its colours are more appropriate for summer.

What do you think about it? Could you imagine wearing a similar bag?

I'm really curious about your opinion :)

Have a nice weekend,

Kata

Birthday Giveaway at Art-Piaskownica

The craft challenge blog Art-Piaskownica celebrates its 4th birtday this week, and there is a giveaway on the blog every day - as I read it on Marysza's Facebook-page and on her blog.

I decided to participate in today's giveaway and I am sure that I will also participate in challenges when I will have some more time. 

(Actually, I don't know when I will sew again because now I have to write my thesis. Until then maybe I'll show some of the things I made earlier.)

Have a nice evening,

Kata

The "famous" bag

It's almost the end of February, and I haven't told you yet that one of the bags made by me appeared in the February issue of a Hungarian craft magazine, Praktika. I was very happy when I saw it there, this was the first time that something I created appeared in a magazine. :) 

There was a contest a few months ago on their Facebook-page and anyone could send them a picture of a homemade bag. I decided to participate and sent them a picture of a bag made for one of my friends. The photo was edited by my boyfriend, because it needed to have a single-coloured background and he did a perfect job with it. :) (The URLs were added by me - I'm not so familiar with photo editor programmes yet.)

Here you can have a look at the bag:

And here is the yo-yo I used as a little embellishment (it has a safety pin on its back so that it can be placed wherewer one wants)

The upper part of the bag is made out of an old pair of jeans, because I didn't want to use the colourful fabric for the whole bag, it would have been too much for me. The lining is made out of the colourful fabric and the bag has four pockets inside. It has a zipper for closure. 

What do you think about the bag?

Feel free to leave commets :)

Have a nice evening,

Kata

Two presents for The One I love

Today I'm going to show you two birthday presents I've made for my boyfriend. I wanted to make something useful and unique at the same time - and the most important thing was of course that it should be something that he will like. Since he likes Formula 1 very much and respects Ayrton Senna for what he achieved as an F1 driver and for his personality, I decided to follow this path.

So the first present (from 2011) is a hand-painted T-shirt with the Ayrton Senna S on it. I made a couple of photos during painting it:

Firstly, I printed a template and put it between the two layers of the T-shirt and then I painted it with a thin brush.

The second present (from 2012) is a bag with Ayrton Senna's helmet on it. It is painted with the same method as the T-shirt but the bag itself is also homemade. 

I tried to mix the colours so that they match the original helmet, here is how it turned out:

(I don't have any photos of the final version, I forgot to take a photo when the red part was also finished.)

What's your opinion about the presents?

See you soon,

Kata

Painted pencil case

This pencil case was my very first fabric painting project. 

 I found the rose pattern in a Hungarian craft magazine, Praktika, where it was painted on a small cabinet. I used the simplest fabric paint and a thin brush for painting the roses. Since then I've washed it a couple of times, and I'm happy that the colours didn't fade too much.

I recently discovered Pinterest, although when I heard about it before, I always said that I should not join it, because it would be too time-consuming. To tell the truth, I didn't regret joining it in the end because I can draw plenty of inspiration from all the great pictures there.

(You can find my Pinterest account here, or on the sidebar)

I hope you like the pencil case :)

All the best,

Kata

 

Tree - A Craft Challenge at Art-Piaskownica

I found Art-Piaskownica through Marysza's blog. I think it's such a great idea to organize craft challenges like these, it's a nice method for connecting bloggers from around the world and for motivating them to create something new.

One of the recent topics was "Tree", and I decided to participate in the challenge.

I want to show you a small tree I made using a stone, some beads and wire. It was inspired by the trees with minerals as leaves which are believed to bring luck.

I hope you like it :)

Have a nice evening,

Kata