green silk/black leather/swarovski crystals earrings

Few years ago I found green silk yarn from nearby charity shop. As I was going through my material boxes, looking for a pair of shoulder pads to another project I came across this hidden green silk gem. I imagined a summer party, soft warm evening air, long chiffon dress, barefoot and these earrings with long green silk tassels.

Silk yarn was in tight bundles and curled so I needed to first soak the yarn in water and let air dry to get it straight.

My work flow when creating my earrings is unpredictable, I cannot say directly when my earrings are ready. Sometimes I leave the whole design process for weeks on my table and pick it up again when I feel like it. Here on these “green garden party” tassels I was not able to decide how the top part of the earrings would look like, first I let them to be quite minimalistic but later on decided to add more beads and some nude colored swarovski flower shaped crystals. Minimalistic was not the right feeling for these silk tassels, they needed to shine and catch every glimpse of sunlight.

I love the boldness, the movement of the silk yarn and the touch of raw arts and crafts feeling.

Susanoo design long cardigan with wool/alpaca scarf

This post is oldie but still goodie, I made it in Delft, Netherlands some years ago (2016).

My long cardigan is self-made from woolen blend jersey. It is a pattern from 1992 Burda which I altered by lenghtening it and also took away the collar. Rounded patch pockets has a lining inside them and pockets are big enough to create an eyecatching element in the front but also super comfy to keep your hands in. My back bag is made from old leather pants and decorated with studs.

I bought 8 rolls of Ambiente black wool/alpaca yarn (not cheap) and crocheted the scarf with 15 sized hook (made from bamboo). Reason why I spent so much for the materials were that I wanted a black basic scarf with quality material; alpaca mixed with virgin wool makes the scarf super soft and quite light to wear. The extra that makes the scarf pop are the tassels I made from the same yarn.  Susanoo remark: the yarn was bought in Delft from a nice, small yarn shop by the canal called Knotten.

Susanna with diy long cardigan and alpaca scarfSusanna with diy long cardigan and diy leather back bag in Delft Netherlands

Fall/winter is the time of the year when you can daringly play with your outfits- layering different materials and shapes takes the whole look into new dimensions. Why not layer a long cardigan with a short leather vest and experiment freely by mixing scarfs together with different sizes and colors.

Susanoo design tassel earrings from second hand materials

These two pairs of tassel earrings I made out of quality yarns that I always buy second hand from charity/flea markets. Here I combined other elements with the tassel earrings such as old jewelry parts and fake leather from one old belt.

I love old clip earrings and some of my handmade earrings I design in a way that it is easy to slide it into the clip earring.  In this way you can change the look of the pair of earrings easily.

 

The red tassel earrings metal part is from old metal bracelet which I formed into a circle to fit a red bead in.

 

white tassel earrings

These bespoken tassel earrings were born one hot summer morning on the balcony.

Friend of mine from Finland needed white earrings for a wedding party, she gave me free hands and there were only one guideline “20´s wedding” theme.

 

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She was really happy with the result.

flip-flop decoration from leather

A pair of shoes works for me as an empty canvas, just have to add or create decorations that will mark the pair as “Susanoo shoes”.

All my decorations are easy to attach and to take away- to be used when ever some extra attention is needed.

 

From my leather stock I found some beautiful green pieces, gold colored stiff material is actually a placemat and minitassels are easy to do from yarn.

 

Here I added the decorations to my flip flops but why not use them with any kind of shoe…maybe over the shoelaces? Freedom of expression.

 

metal/thread/stones neckpieces

 

From second hand store found some metal plates in different sizes. I like to combine different materials and as usual I just started to test and try how it would look like when I crochet silk thread around the metal. It was not easy cause the silk is so slippery but I am happy how the silk looks together with the beach glass that I glued on top of it.

By using some hanging leather decorations also covered with stones the whole necklace looks airy and floating. Here I paired it with my white diy t-shirt.

 

The sand colored smaller neckpiece is done with the same technique only here I wrapped the thread around the metal part instead of crocheting. Stones are handpicked from the shore of lake Vättern.

 

Yellow thread tassels combined with the metal plate. Card is by emmajansson.se

Three T-shirts

There is a number of ways you can repurpose a basic jersey tee—everything from braided accessories to full-blown woven rugs. It is all about making yarn out of your old, worn and torn T-shirts…and it is super easy just check out these instructions. For my bag I used three old T-shirts and the color stripes I crocheted horizontally…I did not decide the pattern or shape of the bag beforehand, I just went with the flow. When the bag was ready I came up with the idea to add long shoulder strap so that it would be easy also to carry the bag across my chest. Tassels I made out of black cotton yarn and by adding two different buttons I wanted to underline bags rugged hippie look…and buttons are of course vintage!diy crochet bag made out of old t-shirts with old button from the 50´s

fabric sofa samples- a bag

I do find the Finnish Red Cross Kontti second hand department stores very exiting and worth a visit every time. They have a special deal for all the craft items they sell…it is priced by weight. So these fabric sofa samples (at least over 20 pieces in one bag) were all together 2€.

 

My first try out from the samples is this bag. I used five of the samples and the lining and handles are made out of old jeans.

I added the chain which is an old necklace and the decoration parts in the handles and on the both sides of the bag are actually from various old bags.

And a bag is not finished until the tassel is there! Inspiration picture for statement bag, click!

diy bag from fabric sofa samples with recycled jewellery and parts from old bagsdiy bag from fabric sofa samples with recycled jewellery and parts from old bags

pouches with art

For carrying mobile phone cross-body. All pouches are made from recycled materials; denim, leather and all the metal parts are from thrifted bags or jewellery. Lining is made out of old scarves, as long as they have silky and smooth surface to easily slide in and take out the phone. I used various type of cords for the strap…from shoe laces to self made ones.

Some of the pouches I painted and stamped with lines and circles and the swiss cross symbol was just perfect for the more simplified and sharp look. Love to use also washing instructions from old garments as decoration.

Now I just need to find homes for these unique pouches…

diy denim pouches black and white artsy picture

work in process stamping, painting and decorations

Gold painted denim

diy denim bag with painted gold colored waves and matching tassel diy denim bag with painted gold colored waves on the rooftops in Kloksteeg Delft Netherlands

Free hand painting on denim. Bought this denim fabric for 2€ from local thrift shop…it is a large piece of denim, almost three meters so this bag will be the first one of a bigger wave-family.

I lined the bag with the same denim fabric so the bag both looks and feels sturdy…easy to also carry heavy items and the bag keeps its shape even when half empty. Shoulder straps I padded to add extra comfort and fastened them to the bag with gold colored badges (which I found on a flee market in Ghent…30 pieces for 2€).

And the tassel…cause what would a bag be without a matching tassel? Painted some black leather with the same gold color and finalized the tassel with twisted metal wire (done from an old bracelet). Now waves and vibes for good times!

 

 

 

•a keen eye•

diy leather bag made out of old leather jacket, decorations white leather inspired by abstract art.

This bag is made out of an old leather jacket and because I am working with an existing garment I have to constantly adapt my design to work with the details of that particular garment.

Decoration was inspired partly by abstract art and partly by the interesting eye icon that has been popping up in the fashion shows quite a lot. See mind blowing Viktor&Rolf spring 2016 couture pic.

I sew the original care label from the jacket to the front of the bag, completing the story of repurpose and zero waste.

 

 

flower power

diy crochet fringe bag and converseThis crochet fringe bag was born in wintertime in Finland Lappland. I found second hand a box filled with untouched black cotton blend yarn rolls. I knitted and crocheted many various things out of the yarn but this bag became my favourite. In my mind I was carrying it in snowy scenery because it looked kind of winterish and warm finished but when I unpacked it in summer I realized how perfectly it even fits summertime also!

It is crocheted with a big sized hook into a rectangle piece and then folded to the shape of a bag and hand stitched together from the sides. Fringes add the hippie look and I also placed some silver colored buttons on the flap to make the bag stand out.

dotty

diy white leather tassel with dots and old button

More tassels now with dots. I found some paint from a leftover black leather color bottle and started to try out different patterns and stamping on leatherpieces. Not having anything particular designs in my mind I just had FUN! Dotted some pieces of leather and turned them into tassels. Using only glue I put the tassels together and finalized the top with matching button! Photoshoot is done with planet magnets from MUJI attached to a radiator.

flash! bang!

Jersey fabric from the golden 90´s with some bold statements on. The words were so cool and graffitilike so I cut them out and sew them on denim. I have a pro camerabag for my Canon but it is quite big and boring and often I just want to carry with me only the camera when I go on a photoshoot- so why not carry it in a cool and funny bag! I padded the bag with foam to secure the camera from getting any hits. Shoulderstrap is long enough to carry the bag across shoulder to hip and it is made from an old canvasbelt. The denim tassel was originally created for another project but by adding a wooden pearl to it tassel was a perfect match with my new bag.

diy camera bag out of 90`s print fabric and denim tassel

diy camera bag out of 90´s print fabric and denim tassel

robust hues

What to do with the leftover leather scraps from various projects? Tassels; they are fun to make and you can easily decorate anything with them. Put them on your key chain. Spruce up one (or two or three) of your purses or even attach one onto a jacket zipper. I have signed my tassels with an unique leather strap finishing on the top which I cutted out to a weavy form and then wrapped it tightly around the tassel using glue. Another small design part is the cut out round piece on the top of the tassel from which the cord comes out..glued tightly to its place. I really love it how the colours in these photos blend together, the old brick stairs were just the perfect background for the tassels and the vintage bottle.