Favourite time of the year

My favourite time of the year is finally here - season of fresh berries!
Yesterday we went picking some blueberries after work. There wasn't many in the forest (someone probably was  there before us), but we got enough for making a cake and some dessert cream.
Mosquitoes tried to eat us alive, but both I and Oliver were brave and picked out boxes full of berries.

Blueberries are very good for health, they have a diverse range of micronutrients, with notably high levels of the essential dietary mineral manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K and dietary fiber.

I'm not crazy about organic food, but whenever possible, I try to use fresh and clean nutriments from my own area, so I can be sure there are no food  preservatives or E numbers involved.

Monday Moodboard: Green

1) LaLaShoes
2) Kirevi8
3) Artistico 
4) Lacravateduchien

I'm not going to write long. Why green? Because it's just a beautiful colour :)

See more moodboards on Fleurfatale's blog, and don't forget to turn volume on, because she has a great music playing there!

Since now you can comment without word verification in my blog. I know some people don't like to type those silly words to a box, so I just removed it.

Back to the present

I scared you off with the previous winter post, didn't I? :)

I must admit it's almost 30C in Estonia and I'm probably only one thinking of fall/winter season. Not because I wait it so much, but knitters like I am can't leave it to last minute either.

Today I left my knitting needles home and I've been searching for perfect summer dress on Etsy.
You know what's ironic about it? First dresses I saved to my list were all made in China.
I believe handmade items can be made in Asian countries too, but after seeing the photos and descriptions I'm not so sure if they are handmade, so just to be sure, I won't feature them here.I've read a lot about resellers on Etsy but until now I didn't think I've even seen any myself.

So the task was not as easy as I hoped, but I found several dresses I like and I want to share them with you.

Perfect orange and flower dress made by michalsclothes 

What about one like this for a evening coctail party? Made by dgiforvictory

Olive mix silk by cocoricoo

Silk dress by larimeloom 

Never too early to prepare for winter

First very important announcement:
TipJunkie is hosting mygiveaway on July 27th and then will be 3 winners! It lasts only 24 hours, so don't be late!

But even if it's +30C outside, I'm preparing for fall/winter season. 5 pairs of fingerless gloves are ready, more coming soon!
This morning I took some new photos of them. I don't have a good camera at the moment, but I can borrow one from work and I used this opportunity for pimping up my item photos.
I like to photograph in open air, because there's more light than in my tiny dark apartment, where sun shines only in the morning.
But it's hard to do it alone. My friend, who helped me with the photos by being my model, moved away for couple of months and I need to do it myself. I don't know anyone else to ask for help, but if here's someone from Pärnu, Estonia (still, most of my readers are local) and is willing to do it, please drop me a line! Small present is guaranteed :)

All gloves are listed to Etsy of course.

Monday Moodboard: Travel to Italy with me!

1) ImmortalButterfly 
2) NancyvdBoom
3) emelephotography
4) trotalo

Italy is in my heart since first time I visited. I've seen different sides of the contry from Africa refugee centers to beautiful cities and landscapes. Nature and history is something I especially love there.
Driving on scooter in Rome at night is something everyone should experience. Going to one of seven hills of Rome (Sette colli di Roma) and enjoying most incredible city view.
Having espresso and gelato (similar to ice cream) in open air cafe.
Visiting Tuscany and getting a bottle of red wine.
Spending day walking around, seeing old farm houses and narrow streets.

I miss it!

World famous designers love cable patterns

 Designers presented their Fall 2010 ready-to-wear collections while ago, but closer the season comes, more interesting the topic gets. As in previous years, I browsed some of collections and searched for knits. 
Didn't have to disappoint this time, world famous fashion designers still believe in knitting!  
Lot of them love cable patterns this year. You'll find designs with cables in ADAM's, D&G's and Tommy Hilfiger's rtw collections, while Michael Kors and Sonia Rykiel keep it more simple.  
D&G features a lot of knits in their show, with colourful Nordic patterns. 
You will find all collections at Style.com!
 

ADAM: 

D&G: 

Michael Kors: 

Sonia Rykiel: 

Tommy Hilfiger: 

Monday Moodboard : orange

1) Elixirio 2) Sunshineartdesign 3) ThreeBlueBee 4) MistyAurora 

No wonder why I picked orange for this moodboard, right? 

Yes, it is because of football and Spain winning the world cup. 

I admit I am a big fan of football and Spain is very sympathetic team to me. 

So let it be orange! 

See more at fleurfatale's blog.

Give your shoes a new life

This is something I've been doing for a while now - pimping up old shoes and giving them new chance to live for some more years.
Easiest way is to repaint them (which I did), maybe use some glitter, ready made fabric flowers or pearls for decorating.

What you need?
* Paints suitable for leather or fabric, depending what kind of shoes you have. I use Pebeo Deco, it's suitable for all kinds of materials.
* Different brushes - thinner for the borders, bigger for the top of shoes. Small brush is good for making patterns.
* Masking tape. You may try to use it for covering the borders, so you don't have to clean them later, but it may happen that after the paint is dried, the tape can rip open some of the paint too, so be careful! It's depending a lot on the material.
* Nail polish remover, in case you have to clean the borders later.
* Acrylic vanish. Cover the shoes after painting and they look beautiful longer.

My white shoes are now purple with bronze ornaments and leather shoes lime green. Both look good. Haven't decided how to decorate green shoes, any ideas?

My photos should show before/after combination, but I painted both white shoes before I got an idea to do it. But you can see a white strap on one shoe, that's how they looked before.

Monday Moodboard : embroidery

This time I used search word "embroidery" for moodboard and here is the result. Enjoy!

1) LaTouchables 2) SmArtAnna 3) StarBags 4) Kuutydruk

See more at fleurfatale's blog.

After the market

Thanks to everyone who wished me luch for international market.
The last day of it was fine, although I expected a bit more. But in general I can't be too sad, because we managed to get a bit profit and didn't end up in a loss.

We made baby booties especially for this event and I'm happy that some pairs of them travelled all over the world - tourists from Germany, Finland and even Australia bought them!
This is the best thing I like about markets and fairs - straight communication from with the buyers, a lot of interesting stories to tell and hear.
But I still have a few left and I listed them to my Etsy & Dawanda shops.