Desert Rose

Now arrived the most hot time in south Italy.  Temperature varies from 33°С to 38°С (91,4F to 100,4 F). Last year on my birthday July 13 was 42°С heat (107,6 F). All the grass has dried, there are no flowers in the fields. And the only oleanders bloom with their strange beauty along the roads. 

All around me have beige color  - It's color of dried grass, golden-beige color of the sand on the beaches... Also town is beige because all the houses here are made from beige stone from Lecce.  All this golden and beige dilute splendor has inspired me to create this ring. I called it  "Desert Rose". It remember me about the sand, the desert and dry wind. 
I made crochet flower from sand colored cotton thread and decorated the center with vintage glass bead. Then I connected it to beige leather flower. Together these two different textures make this ring similar to dunes of Sahara with their dark and light splashes.

Summertime

Summer is here and with summertime came a season of sagras which I love. 

Sagra is an artisian food themed festival in a small towns which usually is taking place on the central square. It can be dedicated to a watermelon or eggplant or even pizza! The full list of sagras you can find in a local newspaper so you can always find the one which will suit your taste.

During the festival you can sample 2 or 3 dishes of the local cuisine and sip some wine. The food and wine comes from the town’s butchers, bakers, farmers and vintners. All the cooking is done by volunteers and the wait staffs are the enthusiastic local people. Signs announcing the dates and featured foods of the sagras dot roadways and are posted on stone walls in and around towns.

We have already visited some sagras this summer:

No sagra is possible without the traditional music and dance of Salento. Everyone here knows how to dance pizzika, from toddler to the elderly people. People are learning to dance from the very young age.

This little girl simply charmed me, she is probably just learned how to walk and she is already trying to dance!

This is me during one of the festivals, wearing a traditional pizzika costume. The girl's costume for pizzika always includes a long wide skirt and scarf or shawl. While dancing the girl is flirting with a young man, using her scarf. 

Here are two my costumes for pizzika:

This wonderful skirt I bought in vacance in Greece and I very like it for bright color:

After I learned to make crochet balls I created these two pairs of crochet earrings to add to my costumes. One pair is white as I have white skirt and the second pair is turquoise for my turquoise skirt.

So when you drive through the Italian country side and see the signs along the road inviting you to visit sagra, turn, go in and enjoy!

Earrings with tassels

Tassels… This small modest element of decor has quite unexpectedly rich history and meaning. After first screening sin 2011 and now we know exactly what  tassel back to life, now as a decorative element for handbags, clothing and jewelry. Tassels can be a tiny and unobtrusive or the radical long. Earrings with tassels can dangle down almost to the shoulders.

Natalie Portman and KAte Hudson

In my summer collection of jewelry I present fabric earrings with tassels “Blue twilight”, “Pink twilight” and “Sea waves”. Beautiful high quality silk fabric and vintage beads make these earrings unique. Swaying tassels add length and movement. 

Pattern of fabric that I use to create earrings “Sea waves” remind me ocean waves because it is shimmering from purple to blue, from azure to gray, so that why each pair of earrings made from this fabric is unique. These earrings are versatile, can be used as a daily, and with evening clothes, perfect to wear with jeans clothing.

Bring your most daring fantasies and create your own unique style!

La Papara

Are you thinking that I visited Wild West of America? No)
This is "La Papara" - competition where horsemen from all parts of Puglia take part for winning the "head" of papara. La papara is a little balloon with water. The goal of horseman is at full tilt bring down it. For do this men should be able to perfectly ride a horse and have a coordination. It's important not only to bring down the balloon but return to start the shortest time. This year in La Papara took part 9 horsemen.


This man was my favorite because hi perfectly rided a horse and seemed organic whole with horse. Hi had the most beautiful horse I ever seen:

I thinked that he will win and he had the best time till the last boy. But this last boy took 4th place in European competition of Barrel Riding. His time was better for only 0.13 sec!

I made this photo in excactly moment when he break down the balloon)

Cell phone cases for your Father

I'm living in Salento in the South Italy - It's region of wine and olive oil. That's why often my inspiration cames from nature and long traditions of this region. 
If you go out from Brindisi you will see hundreds and thousands olive trees. Olive tree has amazing color of leaves and it inspired me to create this cell phone case from dark olive green leather. It has simmetric design with two olive green circles which seem two olives.

 Olive green Leather cell phone sleeve case

The second I made from bronze leather. This is the color of the clayey disiccated land of Salento. This design is very simple.

Bronze leather cell phone sleeve case

This light beige leather remember me the color of walls made from stones without concrete. This walls traditionally devide fields and gardens in countryside of Salento. This sleeve case has two circles and decorative brown stitches. 

Wheat Leather cell phone sleeve case

To create this one I was inspired by color of the sky. It's simple and decorated only with white stitches:

The last sleeve case I created from brown leather inspired by color of rind of olive trees. Decorated with black borders and a few dark brown stitches this leather case remind me check on the rind of olive trees.

Every cell phone sleeve is unique as because I don't have this leather more as because I like to make one of a kine things. 

If you still thinking about gift for your father or searching gift for your special men, one of these leather cell phone cases can be a great gift idea! Make this Father's Day gift special by helping your dad personalize his phone. 

Italian seafood soup

As I promiced in my sunday post today I write about Zuppa di pesce - Fish soup or Italian Seafood soup. It's famouse plate of South Italy. It's easy to cook but need many ingridients.

I made these photos when we cooked Zuppa for ten persons, so, you can see many ingredients and full pan of seafood. 

For cooking Zuppa for two persons you would need:

100 ml/ 3,5 fl. Oz. - extra virgin olive oil (di oliva),
3-4 garlic cloves,
0,5 kg/17.6 oz. tomatoes
2 scampi (wild shrimps)
6 shrimps
1 small cuttlefish
10-12 black mussels (better to use the type called mussels Taranto)
15-20 clams
2 fasolari (Callista chione)

One small goosefish
One-two different small rock-fish that have intense flavor 

It's important that fish is very fresh! All mussels, clams and fasolari must be alive. Ask to control clams at the fishmarket - it can contain sand. In this case one clam will damages all plate. Crustaceans must be also very fresh. Do not use the crustaceans that have the flesh is very soft, greenish-gray.

If you use bake ware the flavor will be more intense.
Recipe:
Put some oil in pan. Fry garlic a little. Then put fish, and sliced cuttlefish and tomatoes. (You can put also some seafood - in this case you will need to remove it from pan together with fish)

The trick that fish must always be bathed in broth or sause. You don't need to salt because the sea fish is lready quite salty.
Remove fish from the pan after 10-15 minutes. Put all seafood in the pan. Add some chopped parsley. Stew it about 15 minutes. 

If a broth is insufficient consistency, pour a little bit of water with salt.
After 15 minutes put the fish back to the broth. 
Boil it for 1-2 minutes.

At the same time toast 3-4 pieces of bread.

Put in the plate Zuppa for serving along with toasted bread.

Buon apetito!

My new summer hat

The last weekend was full of events. In the near town of Lecce was an exhibition “Artigianato D'Eccellenza”. The exhibition was held inside the ancient church, and this increased it’s charm. There was a lot of talented young designers and many unique creations. But I immediately was attracted by a table with a lot of hats. There were very broad hats like a Hollywood star of the 50-s, were small hats in the style of 30-ies, or simply beautiful straw hat with decorative flowers. I pulled out the first hat and fell in love. Of course, I measured a lot of others, but this was the best! I bought it immediately.


Before hats were an essential accessory for every woman. This summer after many years hats back in fashion. Nothing is more feminine than women wearing a hat.
Do you think I look like a Hollywood star?

Another event was the day of open doors of wineries. It was Sunday, we visited a few on the way to the sea and a couple returning from the beach. In next post I will write about secrets of wine producing.