Thursday, September 27, 2018

Organize your purse! Me and The Secret. Teaching my daughter needle works.

Organize your bag


School has started for a while and we got our children or grand children all kinds of stuff to stay organized. It is time we are thinking of ourselves and get our handbag or pouch organized. I made cute little business cards holders and a leather "envelop" to protect bigger cards or other stuff.


LoveLea's red leather card cases and envelop
LoveLea's red leather
card cases and envelop



The business cards holders, I made them open so you can easily take 1 card out. In a case your cards stay fresh and clean and you don't have to be embarrassed when handing 1 out. One I hand stitched with white linen thread, the other one with black linen thread and this one is less striking. I use linen thread because I just hate it when the thread starts fraying, this won't happen with linen thread.

LoveLea's card holder in red leather, white stitching.
LoveLea's card holder,
 red leather, white stitching
LoveLea's card holder in red leather, black stitching
LoveLea's card holder,
 red leather, black stitching














And I made an envelop out of the same leather to hold cards to take note on or any stuff bigger than business cards. So you have a little set in your purse.


LoveLea's red leather card holders&envelop
LoveLea's red leather
card holders&envelop
with hip pouch
LoveLea's red leather card holders&envelop 2
LoveLea's red leather
 card holders&envelop















Myself I use a hip pouch a lot when doing small shopping: you have your hands and your shoulders free and of course when travelling.

Me and The Secret


Books like The Secret or A. Hicks predicate that you already know everything you need to know, but you have to look INSIDE. That's true. I  knew about the vibration stuff before all the fuss about it; I knew but didn't understand it. When I was young, a teen, our whole world evolved around school and exams and later on about getting a job. When I was taking an exam and I didn't FEEL anything, had no sensations, I knew it was not going to end o.k. If I felt "nervous" I knew what I was about to be on, would be o.k. Same thing when applying for a job. At that time, nobody talked about vibrations but I recognized the feeling in my guts. It felt then more like "seeing" my future than "creating" my future. I have to find the way to get in that high vibration state again.

Teaching my daughter needle works


As I have had many uses from the needle works I learned at school, I wish my daughter too learned some needle work skills at school. Alas, that was not on school programs any more. I took it upon me to teach her how to knit, but to no avail. Now, so many years later, I think she didn't want to learn knitting and that's why she kept messing up things until out of frustration I gave up.

I also showed her how to sew on a button; myself I have a  very strong aversions for sewing buttons on but if you have a missing button, someone has to do the job.  I gave up on that too and thought inwardly: wait till you live by yourself and have a husband and kids, I got you! You know what: it's her husband who sews on the missing buttons! have I ever.


What lesson do I get out of this:


 never think YOU ought to do the boring stuff out of a sense of duty; if you won't somebody else will do! I should turn this into a nice quote by next week.

A made another  very nice quote, but somehow Canva didn't work properly and I can't download it. Maybe by next week I'll have two quotes for you!

See you!






Thursday, September 20, 2018

Faux fur handbag done maybe not finished! 2 tales of synchronicity! Signs of the past! A new quote for you.

Faux Fur Project!


Finally my faux fur handbag is done. It has cost me blood, sweat and tears! I had to remind myself constantly that I am making a prototype. It looks rather plain on itself but with the right outfit, it will get allure and give allure. If you use it with a basic outfit like a pair of jeans and a white tee or white blouse, your handbag will get all the attention. Worn with a plain black tee or blouse would give it the right "spirit" without looking ordinary.

I may make 2 alterations. I had figured out an original way to close the bag, but FORGOT about it! I'm figuring out if I can still implement a closure without being obvious that it is added later. And maybe I should or could add some tassels but removable ones. I thought of using chains to make the tassel but am afraid either it will mess up the faux fur or it may scratch the leather.  And how will I attach them if I don't want to use a key ring?


LoveLea's Faux Fur handbag fur side.
LoveLea's Faux Fur
 handbag fur side.
LoveLea's Faux Fur handbag leather side.
LoveLea's Faux Fur
handbag leather side.













Two tales of Synchronicity


A couple days ago, I had some situations I wanted to have more insight into and clearness in and I used a deck of butterfly oracle cards that I got from my sister. She is a butterfly fan and you'll learn why! Last year she lost her husband. She lives abroad and we spoke on the phone but I wanted to have her something tangible in her hands. I went through my stash of greeting cards but nothing caught my eye, nothing seemed appropriate. 3 Days later, I went again through my cards and choose a pastel colored card with some flowers and 2 or 3 butterflies on it. It took me 1 more day to write a nice and comforting copy before I sent it. 

About a week later, my sister mailed me thanking me for my words and especially for the butterflies, since butterflies are messengers and bring us messages of our passed on ones! Honestly, I had no idea that butterflies carry such a meaning. This kind of things, me being a vehicle for a message,  gives me goosebumps!

Back to my card session: while shuffling my deck, 3 cards sprung out that I put aside. One of these cards was about Signs from Heaven: butterflies are signs from heaven that we are not alone and heaven is watching is, but feathers have the same meaning! The day before I consulted my cards, a  rather big down feather had landed right into my husbands garden shoes at the back entrance of the house! I had pointed it out to my husband and had remarked: look at this big down feather, must be from a big bird.





And the next day I learn it is not only a feather but also a big reminder that heaven is watching over me and this gave me a lot of comfort. I fancy it is my mother who sends me messages, but if not, I am happy with a sign from heaven, this IS big enough. I plan on laminating the feather and leaving it around my computer where I'll be bound to see my sign from heaven.



Traces from the past


A couple days ago we went to visit a beguinage church in ruins. As you can see in the picture the church is in Early Gothic style and the first stone dates from 1245! It must have been a very beautiful church but totally ruined now. Only the outer walls remain erect. Back home I wondered what happened to the church and googled it; to my big surprise, the church burned down recently: in 1976!!! How is it possible that they couldn't master the fire in 1976. I assumed the church burned down a 200 or 300 years ago. Here are some pictures:


Tienen, Belgium: Paterskerk
Tienen, Belgium: Paterskerk

It must have been a lovely church, not too small and not too big, with traces of pink and blue colors left on the walls; means pink was hundreds of years ago a color en vogue for females.


Tienen, Paterskerk, courtesy S. Ozonder
Tienen, Paterskerk, courtesy S. Ozonder
Way back in the Middle Ages, what is called the "dark" ages, they were concerned with widows and gave them shelter in an enclosed housing unit, a beguinage; each beguin had her own little or bigger house. No men ware allowed inside. They made vows but less significant than monastic vows. If not everything was cake and egg between this  gathered females, at least they had no loneliness problems!


If you enjoy this small sightseeing reportage, I'll include more next time.

My new quote for you!





Hope you enjoyed my new quote (hover over the picture to Pin it) and this post; see you next week!


Thursday, September 13, 2018

About making bread at home! My body taught me a lesson, more glam bracelets and wedding anniversary.

11 Reasons why you should make bread at home!


My mother used to make bread when she was older and most of her 7 children gone! At that time I didn't think big of it because I hadn't experienced it myself. And then I used to make bread, mind you! using my hands, not a bread machine! I like diversity but 30 years ago, I could find only 2 or 3 types of bread at our baker. So I made all kinds of bread: with eggs, with raisins, with onions, chestnuts, braided bread with pine- apple. And I loved making the age old gestures and motions, I felt as a link in an old and long chain, I felt a small part of a bigger whole. I baked bread for years but then we moved house and we did not make time to bake bread at  home.

Recently I read the labels plastered on the plastic bags filled with bread; I was horrified: the ingredients had nothing to do with bread or nutrition but all with aspect and outlook. So we started making bread again. Now we eat "clean" bread free from additives, colorants, preservatives, we eat real wholemeal  bread not bread colored to look wholemeal. I add some olive oil, sesame seeds and the exotic tasting nigella seeds.

To put all the advantages in a row:

  • you are a small indispensable part of a bigger whole
  • you continue a tradition
  • you know what you eat
  • you eat healthy bread
  • you can smuggle in ingredients that difficult eaters wont take in otherwise
  • you decide about the amount of fat in your bread
  • you eat bread and not air
  • a home baked bread stretches longer than a bought one
  • you add whatever taste, seeds, grains you fancy at that moment.
  • your house smells deliciously of warm bread
  • you can treat you and your family to a buttered slice of warm bread, sprinkled with a tiny bit of salt and/or black pepper, heaven!.   

Lesson from my body


Saturday in the afternoon I was going upstairs rejoicing in the fact that on Sunday we would visit an old Art-Deco chocolate factory restyled into housing units. An old timer exposition together with craftsman showing their artifacts, food trucks and many more would be on the grounds
.
The next moment, an excruciating pain: I had bumped my right foot's small toe against the wall! I hurried downstairs to apply arnica ointment to relieve the pain, prevent my foot from swelling and blood deposit. Then I continued my day: my first thought was that I was somehow "punished" for wanting to visit the chocolate factory. Only in the evening, when my foot was swollen, almost black and my little toe twice it normal size, I got it: my body tells me to slow down and take a rest. From that moment on I sat with my foot elevated for most of the time; I slept with a cushion under my foot and in the morning my foot was a lot better. I had applied my arnica ointment almost every hour and that helped too.

 On Sunday, I said to my husband: we can still go, I'll walk very carefully and slowly! he said: no problem for me but it is your foot.So wisely I decided to sit with my foot elevated and let go of the factory. My doll of a husband did all the cooking, prepared the table etc. When I said: nice to have everything ready made for you, I got only a grin.

I had all the signs lately: I felt tired, my shoulders and my shoulder blades ached, my neck was cramped and I ignored all this signs! I just went on like a bolted horse and I am paying for this now.
What I learned is that I should never ignore the signs but take care of myself, love myself enough to heed the signs and let myself take a rest or a big enough break. I should by know know my limits and not exceed them; after all I am bored to death now that I am immobilized!

However there is an advantage to my new situation: I can't sit all day, doing nothing and when I decide to do something, I think very carefully how I can best organize myself to do as much possible with the least of movement! It obliges me to consider the whole of the process I am about to undertake and I am becoming more efficient!

More leather glam bracelets!


Browsing Pinterest I noticed lots of chunky chains and chunky chains are sported and loved mostly by elderly woman Remember my windfall in July when I bought 4 bobbins of chains? I have plenty of chain left to experiment with! I designed a bracelet and a neck lace for myself and it is real pleasure to wear them: chic and glam and very passe-partout. They look well dressed up (not too well dressed up since they're only colored metal) in fancy cloths, with a summer dress, with denim; both the bracelet and the necklace will upgrade a casual outfit. French riviera style is popular this summer and fall AND I love French riviera Style and pictured them with my favorite cardigan. I used black leather for the necklace and navy leather for the bracelet. I pictured them together for convenience.


Lovelea's leather chunky chain necklace & bracelet
LoveLea's leather&chunky
chain jewelry
Lovelea's navy leather chunky chain necklace & bracelet
Lovelea's  leather chunky
chain bracelet in navy













I also made a leather bracelet in a lovely very dark chocolate brown with 2 tassels to add a playful accent.


Lovelea's leather chunky chain bracelet with tassels in dark chocolate
Lovelea's dark chocolate
leather bracelet with tassels
LoveLea's chocolate leather chunky chain braclet with tassels, details.
Detail of dark chocolate
leather chunky chain
 bracelet's tassels 















A wedding anniversary


And we have a wedding anniversary: my daughter and son in law are married for 13 years! Sometimes I have a hard time to believe I have a son 41 years old and my daughter married for 13 years. I still remember her quest for THE wedding dress, their quest for a suitable location, preparing the list of guest, it seems like yesterday. I know it sounds cliché, but it IS this way.



daughter&son in law on their marriage day
My daughter and son in law the day of their marriage.

I know, again nothing from the faux fur front. My foot hurts when doing stairs and I have to do 2 flights of them, so I took it easy this week. But I am tending myself carefully, diligently and I hope to be recovered by next week.

See you next week with more news!

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Lesson? my ... My work space is almost done. What Tourists Don't See: Free running in Bruges!

What lesson?


Nothing much came out from the creative side this week. My faux fur tote is realizing slowly with lots of difficulties and unexpected problems and I have to remind myself constantly that I am not making a tote but a prototype. My work desire is seriously damaged. What do coaches say when you have a setback: what is the lesson in this? (😠😩😞😒). Now that I am venting my soul, the lesson idea comes to my mind, but really, seriously? I guess I can blow steam but in the end I'll have to reconcile myself with this situation, accept the fact and while ironing (👸☺) hopefully I'll find the lesson.

BUT  I created a cute heart shaped adornment in red leather that will brighten up every room or closet, hanging from a key, a closet button or on the back of a chair. It looks equally well on a white background as on a dark one.

LoveLea's leather hart on light surface
Leather hart, light surface.
LoveLea's leather hart on light surface
Leather hart













How or when to use this cute little heart.


The heart is a real chameleon: it is made so that you can change the ribbon easily according to the season: change the ribbon to a green or tartan one and you have a Xmas adornment; you could even hang it in the x-mas tree;  a gold ribbon to enlighten New Years Eve; give it a yellow ribbon and use it for Easter, a white ribbon in summer time.

Here is my workspace:


Way back, in January I posted about my work table. If you visit this post you can see a picture of my table in the space upstairs, in fact the attic that I share with my husband. (He is an author, composer, song-writer, plays the guitar and sings.) OMG, the attic, my table t are so empty, very minimalistic. I love minimalism but in other people's houses. I love stuff, I need it around me.

Anyway, the attic has changed since then. I needed storage for all my crafts supplies, my leather scraps, tools, fabrics, yarn, cotton yarns, books etc. Since a week my cabinet is finished. It took quite a while to finish it, largely due to the carpenter's full agenda. I still need to arrange my fabrics neatly, replace the ugly orange box with a cute one, find more cylinders in the right size for storing the big chunks of leather.

The white and empty space in the middle section is in fact a seat that I use when sewing.  I lose some storage space, but I gained space in the room. If I would use a chair or a small stool, the table would have stood at least 40 cm more to the center  in the room.

Lovelea's work space
My work space and work table at the attic.



On the left side of the cabinet are my fabrics at the bottom, my yarns  at the top, in between my sewing supplies in boxes. In the middle section on the top are my big chunks of leather rolled and stacked in cylinders (no pic). To the left of the cabinet are my knitting and sewing books on top, below them skins that don't fit in the middle section. In the transparent boxes are my small scraps of leather and at the bottom are my files, art books and writing supplies.


LoveLea's craft cabinet
Right side of my cabinet
LoveLea's craft cabinet, left side
Left side of my cabinet.













How I designed this structure? 


My son has very good and logic ideas, but he was too busy and I was on my own; but I had pinterest and at that moment I only pinned work spaces and cabinets styles. I studied all the images and there was 1 thing constant: the triangular formed spaces for yarn. I want my sewing machine ready to use and there was only 1 possibility: at the right side of the table. To save space, I wanted a seat in between the 2 closets. You have to ponder how you want your things organized: by color, size, material? When I made up my mind, I called the carpenter and I explained what I wanted and that the closets should be open to see at every moment what I have and keep the inspiration flow open.

Luckily the carpenter made lots of shelves and this enabled me to expose my skins horizontally 3 or 4 at the same time (to the right); my medium sized chunks of leather are rolled up and exposed perpendicularly next to each other by color (to the left). The scraps are in transparent boxes, sorted by color.

By listing what I wanted to craft in my work space and inventoring my supplies, with looking at lots of images, some advice from my carpenter and the big amount of shelves, my cabinet came to life.


LoveLea's cabinet details
Deatail of my cabinet


My table looks like a mess but I assure you, everything has it own place and I know my way blindly.


LoveLea's work table
My work table at the attic.




What tourists don't see.


My sister emailed me this video: Free running in Bruges. Breathtakingly gorgeous! And it is true we 'll never see Bruges from this point of view. I love Bruges because it is my late mother's hometown and it is a gorgeous, old, historical city. Enjoy the video!




If you ever come to Belgium, check out Brugge or Bruges, an old and historically  important city. Take out at least a whole day: wander around, taste the atmosphere, listen to the carillon, watch how bobbin lace is made, visit impressive churches, the belfry,the chapel of Holy Blood, rich museums and many more.

Taste the real french fries, eat them with mussels or the authentic way: out of a point bag with mayonnaise, not ketchup. Eat a waffle (I use beer in the recipe, delicious!), drink a trappist (beer brewed by Cistercian order of monks) along with cheese and mustard and have something chocolaty as dessert!

And visit the beguinage, where widows stayed and no men were allowed till 1929! don't forget the Minnewater or the Lake of Love. Brugge lives up to its second name: Venice of the North.

By next week, I hope to have better news from the faux fur front!

If you enjoyed the video, please leave a comment, I like engaging with people and accidental encounters!

See you next week!


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