Tutorial: Circle leather pendant with charm

You can make beautiful and stylish pendant  with your own hands. It's possible!

You will need:
a.. Piece of genuine leather  - thickness 0.02-0.06" - проверь!! (0,5-1,5 mm)
 b.. Thick needle or awl
c.. Scissors
d.. Compasses
 e.. Flat nose pliers
 f.. Charm
 g.. Ring - diameter 0.2-0.5" (0,7-1,2 cm)
 h.. Chain with lobster clusp closure (or cord)

1. Draw on the back side of the leather 2 equal circles.
2. Cut them out.
3. It has to look like this.

4. Join the edges as shown. Sew circe  together at a distance of 0.1"
(2-3 mm) from the edge.

5. If the edge of one of the circles overhang, trim it with scissors.
6. Pierce with a thick needle at a distance of 0.1" (2-3 mm) from the edge.

7. Take a ring and pass it through the hole.
8. Take a charm and put it on the ring.
9. Close the ring with flt nose pliers.

10. Pass the chain (or cord) through the ring.

Your exclusive pendant is ready!

Grape harvest

Already begun the grape harvest, which called in Italy Vendemmia. Now on the roads near Brindisi you can sea small tractors with trailers full of grapes harvested.
On vacation, before going to the Alpes, we visited two famous grape valleys near Verona - Soave and Valpolicella. 

In the valley of Valpolicella make ​​famous vine Amarone, a bottle of which costs abou 40-50 euros. The grapes for Amarone after harvest in October, leaving another 120 days for wither. Vino Amarone has usually about 14°.

This summer vi visited some Wineries near Brindisi where we explained certain secrets of winemaking. For excample, you know that red wine is not made ​​from red grape? It's can be made as from white grape as from red grape. For make red wine during fermentation add skins of grape - It change the color and the taste.

Free sample collage sheet from KarisaGraphic

Are you looking for image to make glass tile jewelry, maybe a pendant with initial letter of the name of your special person? Maybe image to use in your scrapbooking project?  
I'd like to share for you this digital collage. The collage sheet is 8.5x11 inch and resolution is 300 dpi. It contain all letters of alphabet. 
These letters are perfect for mixed media, collage work, cards, stickers, bookmarks, scrapbooking, jewelry, glass tiles, magnets, and others.  You can print it easily on home printer. Make right click and save the image.

Please, be aware that the digital collage sheet is not be sold as digital or printed collage sheet.

In graphic shop  KarisaGraphics you can find many collages for all you craft and scrapbooking needs.

Inspired by fall

Summer is almost gone and turned into fall. It’s that time of the year when I think of the past summer, organize photos made in vacance. Who has children need to prepare them to school. 

Autumn is my favorite season, because of the colorful fall foliage, foliage tours.  I do love the colors which describe the fall – hues of orange,  red and  warm browns. The colors of fall are warm and inviting, something I like to enjoy indoors as well as outdoors. But here in south of Italy the autumn is not "real", all trees are always green. You can’t feel the smell of autumn in the air. Yesterday was very hot and humid, newspapers say that all september will be such! 

I know that in Murmansk is already cold, the forest wears the colors of autumn and is full of berries and mushrooms. Mama told me that she prepared some jams for me)
I like orange maple leaves in parks of Saint-Petersburg where I studied for 6 years. The most beautiful is Aleksandrovskij park in Pushkin, small historical town near St-Petersburg. Fall is a great season for photographers. With my friends-photographers we often visited this park - away from the hustle and bustle of downtown, into relaxation, novelty and beautiful scenery.

 

I miss all this beauty there…


Looking through autumn photos on my computer I was inspired to make these orange crochet earrings. Their color reminded me of fall in Russia.  Orange glass beads are shining like drops of autumn rain on leaves.
I created also a brooch but before I had a time to make photos my friend saw it and immediately bought it to make a gift to her sister!

What about you, are you a lover or hater of fall? Maybe for you fall is dreary, cold and rainy days?

Are you was inspired to create something new?

Barley with smoked bacon

Many people did not have a very positive impression about pearl barley during his/ hers childhood. However, I know a way to make it taste great! 
I found this reciepe on one packing of barley and tasted it. It was so good that also my husband cleaned the plate with bread! So before wrinkle your nose, try to cook this reciepe. It's easy to prepare and does not require many ingridients.

You will need: 

1 cup of pearl barley

3 cups of water
2 lbs of tomatoes, chopped or 1 can (28 oz) of diced unsalted tomatoes

1/2 lbs of salted smoked bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
olive oil

Wash the pearl barley several times. Leave it soaking in the water for at least 4 to 5 hours. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and continue cooking until the barley is tender and liquid is almost absorbed or use a colander to drain barley (reserve some cooking liquid). 

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and sauté the onions over medium-high heat until golden in color. Add the bacon and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add the tomatoes and simmer all together on a low setting.

Stir in the cooked barley and reserved liquid. Continue to cook over low heat until heated thoroughly.

Add some salt if needed. I is not use any salt in because the bacon is salty already. But if you feel you need to add some, feel free. 

Enjoy!

Tutorial: Moustache keychain

If you can't choose gift for your dad, son or boyfriend - you can make а beautiful and stylish gift by your hands. Yes, it's possible! Here I write how to make leather mustache keychain.
You can buy this moustache key chain in my shop.

You will need:
a. A piece of genuine leather – thickness 0.03-0.06” (0,7-1,5 mm)
b. A thick needle or awl
c. Scissors
d. Flat nose pliers (2 pairs)
e. A key ring
f. Thread
g. A sewing machine
h. Moustache pattern

1. You can print and use the pattern included or draw your own.

2. Outline the moustache pattern twice оn the back side of the leather. Also outline a rectangle measuring 0.8x2.4” (2x6 cm).

3. Cut them out. It has to look like this.

4. Pass the strip into the ring and bend in half. Join the edges as shown. Position the strip with the ring between the two cut-out moustache pieces as desired.

5. Sew together at a distance of 0.1" (2-3 mm) from the edge. Sew through twice where you put strip with the ring.

6. If one of the edges overhangs, trim it with scissors.

7. The other solution is to attach the chain (not thin one)

Your keychain is ready! 

End of vacance

Well here I am back from vacation, full of impressions, photos and inspiration! Our vacance consisted of two parts: 

The first - a trip by car to the Alps. Here is our itinerary:

The second part - Greece, the island of Kefalonia

In this week wait for details of our journey with photo report!