davinci

Delicate and dreamy leather pendants. Top that is used as the background is one of my old designs, simply a pattern with triangle and a circle. The jewellery I started calling DaVinci…cause at that time I was reading more about his designs. All materials are again recycled…pieces from old jewellery.

Symbolism and mysteries fascinates me and one way or another leaves their signature in the outcome…

 

Headpiece is also one of my old designs.

 

diy dreamy and delicate leather pendants called davinci

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

leopard print backbag

diy animal print back bagdiy animal print back bag with recycled decorations

The leopard print fabric and the cute Hawaiian motif one were a gift from a friend. What to sew out of these fabrics? I am not a big fan of animal printed clothes…so I came up with the idea to join both fabrics in the same item – a backbag. The Hawaiian print fabric I used as a lining. Shoulder straps are from thrift shop; a belt with gold colored studs 3€ and the chains from an old necklace. It is more my style to wear animal print as accessory – as a contrast or matching part of my outfit.

 

Photoshoot took place at harbour; beatiful sunny day and glittering water. From nationalgeographic.com: “Leopards are strong swimmers and very much at home in the water, where they sometimes eat fish or crabs.”  ;-)

denim wrap & Hermès

diy denim wrap skirt from old jeans, pattern from vintage leather skirt

 

The gored skirt is made of several triangular pieces of fabric, known as “gores.” The gores of a skirt are smaller at the top of the waist and wider toward the bottom of the hemline. When these gores are stitched together, the skirt takes on an A-line shape that works well for most body types. This design allows for a flattering fit at the hips and ease of movement while walking.

I bought second hand two pairs of dark denim jeans (5€) and re used them for my denim wrap skirt. I left the hem raw…in time being the hem will soften nicely and create a perfect worn look. I used my old, favourite leather skirt as a base when drawing the pattern. The back pocket from the jeans serves now as a handy front pocket in which my phone or other important stuff easily fits.

The silk top is made out of an old vintage Hermès silk scarf…yes it felt wrong to cut it but I use more the top now, the scarf I used mostly as a hairband.This way I can enjoy more of the beautiful motifs on the scarf; wearing a piece of artwork and true craftmanship.

I want to share with you one interesting fact about Hermès scarfs (source Wikipedia)

“Contemporary Hermès scarves measure 90 cm × 90 cm, weigh 65 grams and are woven from the silk of 250 mulberry moth cocoons. All of the hems are hand-stitched. Scarf motifs are wide-ranging, two silk-scarf collections per year are released, along with some reprints of older designs and limited editions.”

Hermès scarf top and diy denim skirt

diy Hermès scarf top and denim wrap skirt with zipper

 

•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.

 

 

|| mindful ||

Some pics of my jewellery diy year 2015.

I was trying out different techniques, such as self made clay and ways of decorating the clay with paint and nailpolish. In my older posts you can find more about these experiments. Some of the pieces turned out nice and few (above and under) became my favourite.

diy pendants from natural stones and odd metal parts

I picked up small stones whenever and wherever I found interesting ones. I let the shape of the object guide the way I am decorating and painting, by doing this I am merely enhancing the hidden beauty already existing.

collage of diy pendants from different materials

 

cobalt combo

diy bracelet with leather cord and second hand jewellery diy bracelet with leather cord and second hand jewellery

More small craft projects from denim. A pendant and a bracelet…both are easy to pair with any clothing and colors. The good thing is, these bracelets stands alone well, or can serve as a foundation to any arm bracelet setup you feel up to.

Black cord bracelet has a collection of old, various glass and metal beads. The clever, small magnetic closure for the bracelets is more neater than just using the clasp…and much more easier to put on your wrist.

Denim jacket is an old project, soaked in bleach from its arms and hem so that the outcome of the bleached parts is uneven and dramatic.

 

 

 

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.

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.

clay pendants and plain patterns

pattern: a natural or accidental arrangement or sequence

There are several ways you can make homemade clay for making ornaments, necklaces and for other projects and crafts. When shaping my small clay objects I usually go with the flow and the shapes are more raw and plain than complex and stiff.

My clay recipe is quite simple, I do not cook the mixture or use oven, I simply let the objects air dry for a couple of days. When the clay is dry and hard I give the surface final touch, usually it is painting with different techniques. Why not even leaving the pieces undone! Here I wanted to try out a surface that looks like marble but in the end the result looked more like color splashed on the object. I used one color, black, rather than mixing a variety of colors so I got a more simple look. The necklace looks good paired with one coloured garment and stands out perfectly.

 

 

striped skin

Narrow stripes cut free hand out of leather. The stripes I arranged first so that the colors flow evenly and the outcome is interesting. Then connected the pieces by sewing them together on top of each other. Bag closes with magnetic clasps and the shoulder strap is long enough to carry the bag cross body. The flap I decorated with shorter leather strips and left the edges raw.

Epäsymmetrisen raidallista nahkapintaa pitkiä paloja yhdistämällä. Leikkasin vapaalla kädellä mustaa, valkoista ja beigeä nahkaa pitkiksi suikaleiksi jotka yhdistin päälleompelulla toisiinsa. Sommittelin nahkapaloille järjestyksen ensin lattialla, sain siten tasaisen mutta vaihtelevan pinnan väreihin. Laukun läppään ompelin somisteeksi suikalepinnasta ylijääneen osan ja se kätkee alleen myös kiinnitysmekanismin, magneettinepparit. Kantohihnan mitoitin niin että laukkua on kätevä kantaa olan yli ristiin. Laukku on ehdottomasti katseenvangitsija jolloin vaatetuksen voi sävyttää laukun värimaailman mukaan.

leather stripes bag

leather stripes bag

leather stripes bag

fringe pouch

This vintage pouch is from Stockholm. To give it more personality and to match it with the rest of my wardrobe I added some fringes and black studs.

Vintage mustan pikkulaukun löysin Tukholmasta second hand-kaupasta. Laukku oli kaunis mutta halusin päivittää sitä vaatekaappiini sopivaksi. Hapsut ovat muodissa joka vuosi vaatteissa ja asusteissa joko pääroolissa tai efekteinä. Elementtinä hapsut ovat katseenkiinnittäjiä ja niiden avulla näkymätön muuttuu hetkessä näkyväksi. Pikkulaukkuun leikkasin kaksi riviä nahkahapsuja jotka liimasin laukun etupuolelle. Mustat kartioniitit viimeistelevät yläreunan ja merkitsevät kohdan josta hapsut ryöppyävät alas. Tämäkin laukku toimii vaikka seinälle ripustettuna katseenvangitsijana!

bag with studs and fringes

This bracelet is bended from silver wire and the ring is connected to it with a delicate chain.

diy bracelet and fringe pouch

 

mimic

Black leather with different techniques. One with fringes and the other one is odd shaped piece which I gathered together from one side and fastened it to the leather cord. Used alone it makes a statement to your outfit and even looks more dared with added jewellery on top of it.

Mustaa nahkaa eri tavoin työstettynä. Halusin tehdä ison kaulasomisteen nahasta ja liittää yhteen eri tekniikoita. Laskostettu nahkapala on kiristetty langalla yhteen, en siistinyt palan alareunaa jotta nahan luonnollinen kauneus ei häviäisi. Toisen somisteen hapsutin ja rullasin pieniä nahka”kukkia” koristeeksi. Kaulanauhaksi letitin nahkaa ja kiinnitin kaikki yhteen niskasta painonapilla. Kaulasomiste on käytössä hieno sellaisenaan tai vaikka yhdistettynä toisen korun kanssa. Sisustuselementtinäkin koru toimii ja “telineestä” sen voi helposti ottaa käyttöön ja säilyttää myös näyttävästi.

leather and doll

doll with leather cord

 

 

 

alchemist amulet

Natural stones transformed into pendants with copper color. The striped pattern I achieved by first masking the stone with small tape. All decorative parts are recycled and from old jewellery, color combinations I tried to keep in the warm shades of brown, gold and copper. Background is a board game called China chak, made in Finland by Nelostuote.

Luonnonmateriaali kivi muuntui kuparin värisillä yksityiskohdilla koruksi. Raidallisen kiven teippasin ensin jotta väri ei tarttuisi kuin haluamani kohtiin. Koruosat ovat vanhoista kaulakoruista, yhdistelin ja kokeilin vapaasti eri osia, pitäen värimaailman ruskean, kuparin ja kullan sävyissä. Koruja voi käyttää myös vaikka avaimenperinä tai sisustuselementteinä. Kun korun yhdistää esimerkiksi samansävyisen valokuvan tai kuten kuvassa, pelilaudan kanssa saa erikoisen yksityiskohdan sisustukseen.

arboretum garden gem

diy leather ring with black wooden beads

Stones that I picked from the sea shore. Some of the stones I painted and added metal wire to hang the cord from. You can choose a variety of ways how to work with stones, leather is one of my favourites. The ring on the red leaf is made out of leather and bound together with wooden beads. Photoshoot took place in northern Finland,  Arboretum Tornio.

Meren rannalta poimittuja kiviä kuvattuna Arboretumin vehreyden keskellä. Luonnon muovaamissa kivissä on hienoa erilaiset pinnat ja värivaihtelut, kivet ovat myös sellaisinaan valmista korumateriaalia. Meren rannalta tarttui mukaani muodoltaan kapeita kiviä. Kiinnitystavan valinta kaulakoruun voi olla mitä mielikuvituksellisin, kuparinväriseen pyöritin metallilankaa ja toiseen kiveen liimasin ruskeasta nahasta tupin josta kaulanauhan voi pujottaa.

diy copper colored stone pendant with metal wire

diy copper colored stone pendant with metal wire

diy stone pendant with leather

contrast bag

Sewing together suede and leather. Same color brown and black but different surfaces makes together interesting combo. This bag I wanted to carry only in my hand so the handles are made shorter. Lining is made out of rigid denim so the bag keeps the form even when you are not carrying so much stuff in it. Leather material recycled and second hand jackets.

Kädessä kannettava nahka/denimlaukku. Laukun idea lähti tilkkutyöskentelystä, olin jo ajatellut pitkään tehdä laukun yhdistämällä samaa väriä eri pinnoilla. Leikkasin laukkuun mustasta ja ruskeasta nahasta ja mokasta kolmionmallisia tilkkuja jotka yhdistin vuorotellen pinnan elävöittämiseksi. Laukun materiaali löytyi taas kirpputoreja kierrellessä, vanhoja nahkahousuja ja takkeja. Laukun takaosa on tehty mustasta denimistä ja laukku on vuoritettu tukevalla paksulla vuorikankaalla. Laukku on siis ryhdikäs vaikka mukana kannettaisiin vain vähäistä määrää tavaraa ja rennompi vaihtoehto asukokonaisuuteen kun et halua kantaa olkalaukkua.

diy bag with suede and leather triangles

diy bag with suede and leather triangles

silvered pack

This is my first ever back bag made out of leather. Pattern is simple and again the design is zero waste; old second hand leather jacket to be re-used. I decorated the upper and lower part of the bag with silverpainted triangles and also by adding decoration with studs and some fringes in the bottom this bag gaines more rock credibility.

Selkärepun tarina alkoi pienestä kankaisesta repusta jonka joskus itselleni ompelin vanhasta jo tiensä päähän tulleesta rakkaasta paidastani. Halusin kokeilla nahkaa repun materiaalina ja tehdä siitä yhtä yksinkertaisen muotokieleltään kuin kangasreppuni.  Varastossani oli useita sisustusniittejä ja sommittelin niistä kolmiomallisen kuvion repun etuosaan.Halusin myös vuorittaa repun niittien takia ja ompelin vuoriin myös taskun pikkuesineille. Kuviot on painettu hopeamaalilla reppuun, painovälineenä toimi muotoon leikattu meikkisieni. Nahkahapsut repun alareunassa liikkuvat kantajan liikkeiden mukaan ja antavat myös ilmeeseen särmää ja rock-henkeä.

diy black leather back bag with studs and fringes

diy black leather back bag with studs and fringes