Re-use, Recycle Liquor Bottle Wrapping/Packaging

Today we went grocery shopping. Greg wanted a bottle of Vodka and the only ones they had at the store were all fancy and dressed up in these(see picture above :p). I don't like it when bottles are all dressed up. It just means more garbage in the end. And usually I buy the regular kind, without the pretty packaging.

So I tried to come up with something to do with it. I was pretty surprised because the whole thing was really pretty and quite good quality. I love the all 'engraving' look to it and the fur, of course, I love the green fake fur!

So I cut the stiches off the fur and got a nice band of fake fur all ready to go.

And I cut out all the pretty designs from the wrapping. Since I make brooches, I thought I could easily use those.

First I made a cuff bracelet with the fur. I've been wanting to do that for quite some time. A while ago my cat wrapped his tail around my wrist and I got the idea to make a black and white fake fur cuff for myself. I never did it.So this time it was the perfect opportunity to use this free fake fur. :p And I love the result! I used metal clasps on each end of the fur band.

Heeee! love it!

Shop

Shop

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I just sewed the cut out designs on my brooches.Simple and easy. :)

So that's how I didn't throw away the whole thing and made the most out of it. But that's just one way!

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the packaging was to make a fake leather cuff bracelet, with lace, maybe fur.

I snapped these a couple of days ago in Paris. I love the style! Those are all over our neighbourhood.

Anyway, I just wanted to share. Since I am jobless now, I feel liberated. I feel like I have more time to look around and notice this kind of things.

I'll just go back to my wine now and enjoy the rest of the night. :p

2014 Highlights

Here is a tiny list of the things I've been the most grateful for in 2014.

These are just the ones on the top of my mind.

I've been to new York in May with my Mom. Even though I missed a craft fair I was supposed to sell at, it is a fond memory.

There was some tensions between my Mom and me during the trip but now, I'm glad we did this together.

 I took tons of pictures, I spent 3 days by myself in New York because my Mom had to work and it was the first time ever I spent alone time in the US, even though it was like my 12th trip there, it was the first time I explored an american city by myself. It was awesome. Everything is different when you travel alone. And it took me out of my comfort zone, which is something I should do more often.

One of the things I'm so happy about in 2014 is that I got to meet my friend Kathleen in person after 7 years of talking on line. That is one of the most thrilling moments of 2014, if not the most thrilling. This girl is the best. Kind, intelligent, gorgeous, sweet... You name it... I just love her!

I could go on and on about her but I think I still couldn't explain how glad I am that our paths finally crossed and how awesome I think she is.

Here is my best purchase of 2014. Not only was it a steal (90€ in the end) but it is something I wanted for looong time!

The day I got it was a true peak of excitment!

My best purchase of 2013 was unmistakably my tablet. Even though it was a bit pricey to start with I still use it all the time and get so much stuff done with it.

What a month we spent in Chicago! I work all year for this. These moments in the US. I was not disappointed once again. What a gorgeous city. We did so many great things.

I'm also very happy I worked as a salesperson this year. I found a steady part time job for 2015. I'll be working 24hrs a week at a job I like and will have a steady income of money that will allow me to breathe. Not worrying about money will be a new thing for me.

Here is the last thing I'm elated about. My shop. I passed the 1000 sales mark this year. Had a bunch of new customers. It was also my 3 year anniversary. I think this is the thing I'm most proud of in my life, my craft.

There will be tons of posts like that here and there from bloggers. :) I just couldn't resist making one. It was a great year. What will 2015 have in store?

Another Day Off...

 Shop

Today has been a good day. Sewing and cooking. All I wanted to do! :)

I did mini brooches, and earrings for my shop. I usually make much bigger portraits. It's fun and quick to do these little versions.

Shop

I finally got to sleep past 8:30, which was nice. I'm kind of sad I have to go back to work tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I like my job but I kind of miss my freedom and being able to be creative. Sometimes work is slow and I don't like to stand there doing nothing. I'm not taking care of my online shop and working to add more stuff to it as much as I'd like to and since it will be half of my income starting in october I feel scared. What if I lose all of my costumers? Or the tiny bit of 'fame' I gained on the site. Or somebody takes my place... I guess I won't worry about it when I'm completely in business again.

I even had the courage to put on make up today! :p

Here's my cat with the last book I read, Murakami, The Chronicles of the Wind-up Bird. It was a great book. I loved the style of the author and how poetic he made all the daily life actions like cooking pasta. It is a very soothing and unsettling book at the same time.

My cutie pie :)

And I baked madeleines. I bought this new mold last week and couldn't wait to try. I did a first try last week. They were not very good. I tried a new recipe today and I think they will be better.

Leaving On a Jetplane

Tomorrow I'm leaving for New York :) So I started packing. I'm quite nervous because I'll be travelling alone. And my flight doesn't leave from Charles de Gaulle Airport but from Orly. I've never been there! Orly is usually for domestic flights. I have to get a bus somewhere in Paris that will take me to the airport. That's the part I really don't like about travelling, getting to the airport. Once I'm there and I find the right counter, I'm good!

Look who's trying to sneak in my luggage! I might pack him by accident :p
I'm very excited to go to New York! First I'll get to spend time with my Mom, then I'll take tons of pictures, I'll get to meet my friend Kathleen from New York. We met online about 7 years ago and never got a chance to meet in person! This is thrilling! And lastly, I'll be shopping a bit :)

Ha! I've packed a few patterns :p
 I can't wait to be on the plane!

Today is a very special day for me, I've been waiting for this for a while. Today I made my 900th sale in my shop. The next big mark is 1000! This is very exciting to me! I opened my shop 2 years and half ago, I did the maths, and 900 sales equals a sale a day!

When everything goes wrong... :)

This week end most of the things I attempted miserably failed! :) Even if those are things I do on regular basis and everything goes fine, this time I messed up! :)
On friday I was invited to a birthday party and I wanted to make some 'cannelés', french cookies with rhum and vanilla. Those are delicious! When I discovered the recipe a couple of years ago I would make them all the time and I gained about 6 pounds in 2 months, but that was totally worth it! ;)
So Friday I decided to make pink cannelés since the theme of the party was flamingos! Black and pink.

They were a total disaster. I don't have pictures of them, because I was in a hurry. I was so ashamed that I didn't take them out of my bag at the said party! :s I wanted to share the recipe in the blog post but I need to make them right and take decent pictures to do so :) So I'll have to try again. But the oven here is so whimiscal, that's why I had so much trouble! The cannelés are very delicate to bake. Anyways! That was the first fail of the week end... I ate them anyway :p They were not bad to the taste...Burned in places but not bad... Just very very ugly and not in the least pink!!! Grrr!

Then today I wanted to make a bag to sell it at my online shop. I screwed up big time! :) The purse was crooked, it was too long, the portrait was not centered, I just hate it!

I asked my boyfriend to help me take the pictures anyway and it started raining! :) We couldn't finish! :)
Well, I'll just sell the bag at an on-sale price. I almost lost my temper and throw the damn thing away while I was doing it. It's so full of flaws I can't stand it! :)

And then I wanted to paint my nails.... What could possibly go wrong in such a harmless and easy process as this one? :)

I've seen all these manicures over the different blogs I'm reading using tape to make decors. I was very excited to get back my shears( I'm not sure that's the right word, what I mean is the pair of scissors you see in the pictuire, they're supposed to do zig zags as you cut). I brought them back from my place the other day.
And well, the manicure turned terrible! :)

So freaking ugly! ^^
I'm not mad nor frustrated, everything else went pretty smootly this week end. We booked an appartment for september in Chicago, I saw my friend Nina and was able to overcome social awkwardness going to her friend's birthday party, I did a few sales on my online shop... I just thought all these mishaps were funny :)

Oh yeah, and every morning I wake up with this adorable creature in my arms, so how could anything be that bad?

Commission Paintings

How exciting!
A sweet lady asked me for two custom pastel drawings! I did one for her a few weeks ago and now she wants two more!

 Here they are! The two Geishas I did! :) I hope she likes them.

 And here is the first one I made for her about a month ago.
I also got a message today of another lady who wants me to do a beaver painting! I hope it will work out because I would love to do that.
You can find all of my paintings here.

L'Arbre Orange, Getting Inspired, and Cheese Puffs

Today I've been getting brooches ready (40 pieces) to send out to a Bourges shop. I'm very excited! The lady managing the shop is very nice and her ethics are the same as mine! We both want the prices as affordable as possible! Everybody should be able to afford handmade things.
I hope she'll like my brooches. Here is the flyer of her shop.

L'Arbre Orange

Lately I've been trying to use the supplies I already own instead of buying new ones all the time. It's hard to work with things you had lying around for a while. They are not as inspiring.

I came accross this illustration I don't remember where and it really struck me.

source?

So I decided to pick beads and try to work out a design from them. For example I had these that somebody gave to me. They are not beads I would have bought for myself but since I have them, why not do something with them?

They inspired me a portrait brooch of course. Since they have fire on them, I thought of a Rock and Roll chick with leopard print clothes. Here's the result:

She's on Fire

Same thing with these. I think these beads are really pretty but I never use them.

So here's what I did with them.

Lady Harmony

It's very satisfying to take some old stuff and get inspired. And it's pretty interesting to work out a design around it.

I've also been cooking and I tried my hand at 'gougères'. They are little cheese puffs. They are delicious and very fun to make!

Mine look like poop but they were yummy none the less. :)

I found the recipe here.

That's it for today. I have so many ideas and so much stuff to do!!! :D I'd better be going! ;)