Lesbos

Getaway to Lesbos 

we decided on the last minute to make an escape to the Island of Lesbos. We, my husband and I, love Lesbos. It is so nice, green, lush, has marvelous views, rich monasteries, old chapels/churches, good food, the local resto's are just super: fresh fish, salted fish, sea food, lots of vegetables; the people are in good mood and love to talk to strangers. You speak your own language, they speak Greek and still you understand each other.

Kerami and its ancient church

Kerami is a small hamlet near Kalloni but it has the most beautiful chapel I've ever seen. When we saw the outside of the chapel, we stopped the car immediately. That this was an ancient church was evident, we just had to visit it.

St john the Baptist church in Kerami, Lesbos

The back of the church looked even more ancient. A couple minutes later, a lady came by and we started talking, a little bit of English, French, a lot of Greek. We learned that the church was dedicated to St John the Baptist and was maybe 500 years old; then she said: please wait and went off and came back with another lady with a big key in her hand.

Back of st. John the Baptist Church, Kerami, Lesbos

 When we entered the church, our mouth fell open: wow, this was not ordinary or kitsch like most of the newer churches; this was just ART, MOOD, FEELINGS, LOVE FOR GOD.

Inside of St John the Baptist Church, Kerami, Lesbos

                                                                                                                                                              The walls are covered with fresco's who were once very lively, but now faded; the fresco's depict   saints and apostles, also some scenery. 

   

Fresco's at St John the Baptist  church at Kerami, Lesbos

                            

In this picture, you can see "the Last Supper" if you look real well. The church is used only once a year in the first days of August, the inhabitants celebrate something, but I didn't grasp what they celebrate, unfortunate.

                                                                         

Volcanic landscapes                                                                                                                   

On the 3rd day, we went southwards, to a sometimes very barren part of Lesbos. The mountains are dry, caused probably  by strong winds, but the valleys are green. There is something puzzling about the mountain flanks: they are divided by low walls, like the dry stone walls in Ireland.

Low walls on the road Agra-Mesotopos

But the fields they enclose are mostly barren, lots of rocks, stones, some thistles, low shrubs. So they look from the distance. Could there be anything to eat for sheep or goats in these fields, enclosures? That's the only thing we could think of; we even saw a field with an elaborate gate; it really looked mysterious, it sets your imagination in motion!

Barren field with elaborate gate

We left that strange and depressing landscape upon arriving at Eressos.

Sapho's hometown!

Eressos, they say, is the hometown of the Greek poet Sapho. Nothing is left that reminds of her but the square with cafes and restaurants is the epitaph of poetic! Eressos has its own harbor, Skala Eressos, but it was very crowded and we couldn't find a parking space. Is is situated on the Aegean Sea, not on an inner sea

Eresos, Lesbos, poetic town square

New choker/necklace with Ibiza colors

Just before living, I made myself a new necklace: since we were going to travel, I choose a favorite Ibiza color: turquoise. You can wear it wrapped twice around your neck

Leather choker with Ibiza colors

or try the European loop; I prefer it this way

Leather choker with Ibiza colors

or I can use it as a belt,  a multi-functional leather accessory. And here you have a close look at the glass beads.

Beads detail of leather choker

I can make a similar item for you; just contact me; there's another choker at my fb page LoveLea; the link to this pages and the contact form are on the left.

To be continued....

Inspiration and My new style leather bracelet

Inspiration and a new leather bracelet with geometric adornment

You might wonder where you can get inspiration to create something. Ever change you make or have is an opportunity to discover something new. Last week I got myself some new tools, mainly punch tools. I wanted them to make nice and clean incisions wherever I needed an incision; until now I used my Stanley knife but for small incisions it didn't work well, either they turned out crooked or too long or ragged. With my new tools I only have to place the punch precisely, a few  hammer strokes and I have a nice clean cut. I took a little scrap of leather and tried them out: wow, nice clean cuts. My mind told me I could use this tools to create something filigree but in leather! Next I was thinking about a pattern: it could only have straight lines seen my tools! On a piece of checked paper I tried some combinations and decided on a combination of X"s and straight horizontal and vertical lines. I applied it to my bracelet, added the clams and here is the result:

leather cuff with geometric motif

leather cuff: geometric details

When using this bracelet, the pattern will show itself more clearly.

This item and  all of the shown leather accessories are for sale at my FB page: LoveLea. https://www.facebook.com/denyshildemaria.lovelea

Taking care of leather  or What I am using coconut oil for.

I have a nice pair of Miu Miu shoes but  didn't take good care of them. The result is that the leather has become so hard I'm not able to wear them anymore. They hurt my feet, it's like wearing wooden clogs, not the Scandinavian kind but the one's people who couldn't afford leather shoes wore in The Netherlands or Belgium, 1 piece of wood. I had a quick look at Internet but all suggestions were for stuff I didn't have at home: glycerine, saddle oil, neatsfoot oil. But I do have coconut oil! I poured some in a small bowl and with a cotton rag started rubbing the oil in. I was scared the oil wood make greasy spots, but it didn't; I guess the leather is too dry. (It reminds me of my childhood: we were a family of 7 children and each one  had alternately the task of shining the shoes every night for 1 week, makes 9 pair of shoes every day.) At this moment my shoes have had 2 turns of oil and it looks like the leather is softening: yes I rescued 1 pair of shoes.

When I was last at my daughters, Vicky burned her arm. She wanted to know what her mama had prepared for dinner  and took the lid of the pan and burned her arm. She screamed, ran upstairs, jumped into her bed and continued screaming in her bed. Steam can be very hot and burn severely. We applied some extra virgin coconut oil to the area, a hour later some more and 2 hours later, not a trace of the burn left any more, Vicky just radiant again, isn't that wonderful?

I use coconut oil also for small cuts,  little wounds, sun burn, for chapped lips. When my hair is too dry and all frizzy, I put a bit in the palm of my hands and rub them gently all over my hair; it doesn't give greasy look but it makes your hair nice and shiny.

The most gorgeous sunsets every night.

Where I live, almost on the beach, there is every single night a different sunset, I am truly blessed. I want to share a sunset with you so you too can that nice feeling of peace that every thing nice gives you. Later on I'll post some sunset pictures of my husband, he has some fabulous one's. Now, let peace descend right into your soul!

Sunset above Lesbos.

About birthdays and chokers

In April, there is only one birthday and it is the birthday of my first and oldest granddaughter, Luka. She is sweet, lovely, smart, bright, sharp tongued, multi-talented. We live a bit far from each other and we communicate via messenger. In March I mailed her the pictures my sister in law Gudrun had taken during the family gathering and she liked the chokers very much. OMG, a choker: she's not even eleven and knows what a choker is (English is not her native language!). Noblesse oblige: if you make chokers and your granddaughter wants one, than you make her one! She wanted a brown choker and no wider then 1 cm. Where did she pick that up? and such a specific one. That would make a nice extra gift for her birthday besides the 2 books I already got her. My youngest granddaughter Victoria aka Vicky would also be at the party; I made her a choker too, but in red leather. She's only 8 but she also knows what a choker is and wanted one. She is sweet and lovely, smart, charming and multi-talented, like her niece Luka but in a more quiet way. I also have a grandson, Maximilian, aka Max.

Luka, 11th birthday.

Vicky

This week my creativity flared up: I made a man's bracelet with Tibetan dragon head closure; I choose a nice sturdy black leather to support the weight of the closure and a yellowish-orange thread matching the color of the Tibetan dragon head.

Leather bracelet with Tibetan dragon head clasp for men

Leather bracelet with Tibetan dragon head clasp

 I am rather proud of the hand stitching: nice, even and uniform and with the correct technique, comme il faut.

Leather bracelet stitched by hand detail

Next week we are invited to a wedding. I plan to wear my silk yellow dress. And here is the choker I made to go with my dress. I still have time to manufacture a matching cuff. I have a pink choker in my FB page shop.)You can have a look at this item and all the other items I created at my LoveLea Facebook page. Just sent me a message or mail me for info. The link to my FB page is in the colum on the left.

Yellow leather choker with serpent head clasp

From a yellow choker to yellow tomatoes, it is only one step. Isn't everything united? inseparable?

This year I sowed some different vegetables among which yellow tomatoes; they don't look very yellow in the picture but next to red tomatoes, you see the difference easily. The taste is about the same as red tomatoes but the texture, the feeling in your mouth is different, somewhat softer...... I made a stunning salad with yellow tomatoes, red tomatoes, green rocket leaves, white cheese, black olives and a can of tuna but forgot to take a picture.

Yellow tomatoes in the garden.

See you next week.

Welcome to Hilde"s Leatherworld

It all began with my sister Lieve; it's not exactly true, but she put it on rolls

When I fell in love with leather, I don't remember but it started with Pinterest! I was in a bag period and kept pinning and saving bags and purses to my board, all fabric bags. As I got more into handbags, I came across leather handbags and pins with handmade, amateur bags, DIY and tuto's. What I like about sewing leather, is that you don't have to finish your edges, you don't spent time  finishing off your item.

I bought some tools and leather and started sewing small pouches, money purses, business cards holders, pencil cases; at that time I looked at the scrap of leather and tried to use the scrap to its full possibilities without cutting it; I made some cool organic purses and bags.

Leather pouches/purses,
 the first items I created

You can't keep making purses for yourself or as a gift; besides, a purse requires big scraps and know how and so my interest expanded to leather jewelry. Pinterest has some real nice pins of leather jewelry and I got inspired to make jewelry myself. I had beads laying around from previous projects, I had good scissors and knifes, lots of inspiration and ideas but no closures. So I made some bracelets with buttons made from sturdy leather and fabricated a loop or I would cut out a small sliver of leather, roll it up and finish it off with a tiny bead to use as button. But this takes time and patience and dexterity so I switched to ready made  closures.

Leather bracelet with leather button
 and wooden beads

Leather button with leather loop

What has my sister Lieve to do with all this? Well, she asked me to make some cable holders and since we were going to see each other at a family gathering, I would not sent them but bring them to the gathering. I wanted to show my relatives what I had already made I and took pictures of the bracelets, headbands, necklaces and mailed them to my family. My sister in law, Gudrun, who is very active and creative, said: you can't present your stuff like this: you need a model to show off your creations. Take everything you made to the gathering and we'll have a photo shoot with the young girls. You must know that I have a big family: I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters and most of them have 2 or 3 children, some of them aged 20, 25. We had a nice shoot with nieces and my nephew's girlfriends, Gudrun taking the pictures. They turned out fantastic, the girls being born models.

Louise wears a leather choker

Valerie  has a leather hair band

Louise with leather necklace

Louise with leather hair band and leather bracelet

Anna with red leather choker
in punk style

Valerie with green leather cuff,
 punk style.

What happened between the gathering and now? That's for another post.

What happened in March 2017?

Begin March, there are 2 birthdays to celebrate: Cindy, my sons girlfriend and Andrea, my goddaughter. I took the 3-hour train to Andrea's place; she's the daughter of Pieter, my second last brother and Gudrun, my capable sister in law. (You remember her from a previous post. She owns Concept Smalle.) Andrea is an athlete, dancer, sailor and we were going to celebrate her 17th birthday. Since I don't see her a lot, I started a couple years ago to take her out for dinner, just the two of us. She loves the attention and (I think) feeling grown up. I let her choose the place. We decided on leaving at 18.30; at 18.00 I called her to get ready, but I needn't to worry, she had already done her hair and was putting on some make up. She had chosen a nice Italian place and the food was nice and good.

The next day, Gudrun and I had the place and the time for ourselves. We talked about my new passion, leather accessories and she pointed out some things I had to brainstorm about: name, logo, website, domain name. Gudrun told me about her upcoming project: she met a steam-punk wedding dress designer, Gabrielle Détry.  For a week, they disposed of a window in a men's clothing store, Schmit Beaufays Men's; Gudrun would display the dresses in a fitting window display and one day the dolls would be replaced by models who showcased the wedding dresses and 2 couples would dress up and walk around in the neighborhood. Gudrun thought that some of my jewels matched the steam punk style and indeed, one of my cuff's was used.

Steam punk style wedding dresses by Gabrielle Détry

Steam punk style  leather Cuff by Lovelea

Back home, I had a week to find a name, create a logo, print the logo out and sent them to Gudrun. The name should cover my new project and I choose LoveLea. Isn't it about my Love for Leather. Once the name found I could think about a logo. My husband Suat (who is a musician, playing the 12-string guitar, writing and composing his own songs) is rather good in this kind of things and he made this beautiful logo:

This is the front of my logo

         and this is the back. I want to share my leather love
 with everybody,  hence the "we" love leather.

 I went to the print shop and had my logo printed; wow, how pride I felt with the printed logo's in my hand. This felt real! The only thing left was to mail them to Gudrun. Whew, everything ready right in time.

The exposition in July had drained me: the distance from home, the hot and humid weather, a painting  to give as a present to the city of Bergama still to be painted and little time, overdue work at home. No time and energy left for my leather projects. This week I really felt the urge to start again, but my hands and my brain  were left idle for too long and all I had was a blank mind. I went through my finished products and noticed I had not very much earrings. There were some white beads layin around  and, very important, their whole was large enough to get a leather thread through. I made some dressy and some sturdy earrings:

Dressy leather earrings by LoveLea

Sturdy leather earrings by Lovelea

Sturdy leather earrings in 60's colors by Lovelea

The earrings made, my inspiration came back; my love for tassels and chokers produced this:

Choker with tassel in nude colored leather

I want to finish this post with one of my husband's songs;  this is one of my favorite's; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijpncAP3hjQ. You can find the same link on the page My favorite Music on the left. Enjoy!

Discovering another world.

Hello,

At the family gathering, I delivered my sister Lieve's cable holders and the  ladies present bought some accessories which increased my moral: yes, I had found, started a lucrative business.

My realtives; picture taken by my sister Lieve

Back home, I realized I needed more and especially cheap requisites. I had made a nice choker:  leather lace 150 cm long with colorful glass beads pending from the 2 ends.

Louise wears a choker/belt.
Picture taken by Gudrun, Concept Smalle

One of my sister's liked the choker and when I said my price, she gave me a look of "are you out of your mind" while I really asked a modest price. Conclusion: if you're starting, unknown and make nice stuff, you are lucky to get your necessaries, materials back and forget about your investment in tools, the hours thinking about creating an original choker or cuff, the hours spent on realizing your thing, the mistakes you make...

 The beads for the choker, I got them at a Veritas-shop in Belgium (https://www.veritas.be/be_nl), but they don't provide that article any more and I had to look elsewhere. I searched the internet and found Kralenkiosk, an online shop in the Netherlands, nice choice, prices not too bad (http://www.kralenkiosk.com/).  I had planned visiting my daughter Halise, aka Lis, who lives in the Netherlands and gave her address as destination address.  When my son in law, Fred saw the content, he said: why don't you have a look at AliExpress ( https://www.aliexpress.com/). I gave it a try and a whole new world opened up: I was in Alibaba's cave! I spent hours and hours at the AliExpress store searching, choosing, comparing, choosing again until I came to the paying page: will be delivered in 3 à 6/7 weeks! Hrmpf: I want to start asap using!!! This asap was not 3 or 4 days but 3 à 6 weeks! Luckily, the packages came fairly rapid: 3 à 4 weeks.

I now possessed 200 wooden beads in different colors, 200 earring hooks, 100 toggle clasps, 10  hook claps with skulls and serpents and cows, 100 end caps, 80 snap buttons in different sizes and colors, 24 lobster claps, 1 cm and 3 cm. Little did I know it wouldn't go a long way. With the lobster claps, I didn't had to worry about size, the  6 cm chain gives room enough to fit a lot of wrist sizes or necks.

I had bought some magazines to have an idea what was in fashion and I was very pleased to see a lot of chokers. I like chokers myself and when you like something it is a lot easier to work on it. I looked at my scraps; I had for some time a small stash of fun fur pieces and had never done anything with it. Outside it was cold and just feeling the fur with my fingers, warmed me up. This set was the result:

Leather choker and cuff with fur, punk style.

Most of the time I like things (furniture, clothes, accessories, jewels, bags) simple, classy, chic: let the things speaks for themselves! No G. or MK for me. But sometimes I get bored and I need, want, crave for something more expressive, bold, even naughty and that's why I paired the fur (symbol of richness, money, I have made it) with spikes, studs and skulls.

My husband Suat is suffering from an upset stomach, nausea. I'll make him some tea of peppermint, fresh from the garden and a slice of lemon also from the garden. He'll feel better in no time.

Peppermint in the garden

Some lemons, riping in the sun in the garden