Merry Christmas :)

Snow makes everything look beautiful.

A few more pictures from Modamo.kreArtiva Sajam




Thanks Zanovijetak Cvijetak for the photos :)

More about Modamo.kreARTiva Sajam



I hope you aren't going to get bored with me going on about the craft fair I was at over the weekend, but it was really good so I'm going to tell you about it anyway!

This is my table. I'm really happy with how I set it out, it looked so cute and funny with all those big eyes looking about! I was really encouraged by how many positive comments I got from people who seemed to love my dolls as much as I do! It's the first time I've exhibited them when I have been present so I've never had those kinds of comments before. Thank you to Zanovijetak Cvijetak who I think too this photo - and if she didn't she took some other great photos which I'll put in another blog post. If you like to accessorise with flowers check out her facebook page.


And this is a review of the craft fair in the newspaper - why is that exciting? It's exciting because I made the headline! It says 'There's something for everyone, from jewellery and bags to dolls made using a japanese knitting technique.'

Highlights from Modamo.kreARTiva Sajam


This weekend I was in Mostar at the Sajam Lijepih Stvari - or craft fair of beautiful things. This video shows a few highlights from where I was standing and the video below gives an overall impression of the whole thing. It was a fantastic event, really well organised and really well attended. It was great to meet so many creative people. The atmosphere was positive and exciting, and for me, as a foreigner, it was a privilege to be part of something new and inovative that tells a different story about the people here in BiH than those you usually hear on the news. I'm looking forward to what will happen next with the Modamo.kreARTiva community :)

Gabby in Grazia Magazine


Modamo Kreartiva Sajam is just 2 days away. They have done a great job of advertising it in newspapers, on TV, on websites and now in Grazia Magazine. If you look in the bottom right hand corner of this picture you'll see Gabby!

Ako zivite u Mostaru dodite u subotu ili nedjelju 10:00-20:00 u prostorijama HKD Herceg Stjepan Kosacka.

Seen for the first time...


Anyone who knows me from when I lived in the UK will know that I love salt and vinegar crisps, (or chips if you're American!) and that I especially love sea salt and balsamic vinegar kettle chips. When we moved to Bosnia and Herzegovina I was surprised and saddend to find that there exists a country where there are no salt and vinegar crisps! They have peanut flavour, which is totally weird, and no salt and vinegar. BUT... that all changed today. I found salt and vinegar crisps in our local supermarket, and I ate them! I can report that they are fairly average salt and vinegar crips flavour - nothing like kettle chips, but good all the same, and especially good when you haven't had any for a very long time. The problem is that on the front of the packet it says 'The taste of summer'. Summer was over a few months ago and this is confirmed by the fact that the best before date is 01.12.2011 - next week! So who knows where these crisps have been hiding all summer, but I know they haven't been in the shops, and who knows if after next week there will be anymore! But I'll enjoy them while they are here and hope that some local people enjoy them too and that it catches on :) Here's to the future of salt and vinegar crisps in Bosnia and Herzegovina!

Gabby is in the newspaper!



This is an advert made by modamo.KreArtiva for the newspaper Večernji List for the craft fair in Mostar in December and there in the bottom right hand corner is Gabby the love messenger doll! I'm not sure if it's already been in the paper or if it's yet to come out. I just found out about it so I hope it's not out yet so that I can buy a copy :)

Getting ready for the craft fair


I haven't blogged for a couple of weeks and maybe some of you have started to think that I've stopped making dolls! But no... here is the evidence of what I've been doing lately. I've been busy getting ready for the craft fair in Mostar in December and life has been generally busy too. These 3 dolls are awaiting accessories. Apart from that i'm focusing on Christmas stuff to sell at the fair.

Ako voliš lijepe stvari...



dođi u Mostar 10 i 11.12.2011.

Jajce Craft Party #2


We enjoyed our Etsy Craft Party in June so much that we decided to do it again last week. As you can see, we had a great time. Craft Party #3 is coming - just need to choose a date...

PlushYou 2011



The PlushYou 2011 opening night was on Friday. As I don't live anywhere near Seattle I didn't go, but some of my dolls made it there without me! I haven't seen many photos yet, I'm sure they'll start to appear on Flickr soon, but I did see this one on twitter and if you look carefully you can spot my dolls :) Thanks to Kristen and Schmancy Toys for putting on this exhibition again.

How to make a scarf from an old t-shirt


This is another tutorial from makeit-loveit.com found via Pinterest. I didn't follow the tutorial exactly as I made my scarf from an old t-shirt rather than from shop bought t-shirt fabric so I didn't have enough fabric to make it exactly like the one in the tutorial.

How to make a necklace from ribbon and washers


This is another tutorial I found on Pinterest. It is from a blog called Tiny Sparkly Things and is another well written and easy to follow tutorial with pictures to help. Click on the link and have a go yourself!

How to make a 5 way braided hair band from old t-shirts



I have recently discovered Pinterest. It is highly addictive and an amazing resource of ideas for craft and cooking. I've been trying out a few of the tutorials I found on there and I'll do a series of blog posts to show you what I made and to link you to the tutorials I used.

This hair band is made from an old t-shirt! The five-way braid is surprisingly easy and I'm very happy with how it turned out. The tutorial I used is from makeit-loveit.com. It is really well written and has photos to help you as well.

An easy way to make pom-poms!


I came across this on Pinterest and had to share it. It's a genius idea and it really works - I've tried it! The website address on the picture doesn't work so I don't know who took these photos and came up with this idea originally - but all credit to them anyway.

Doodling on holiday


I'm back from holiday and I thought I'd show you this - I had a go at some doodling embroidery whilst we were away. I'd never done it before but it's pretty easy and very relaxing!

kad srce kaže ljeto...


I won't be posting much - if at all for the next couple of weeks. I'm going to be on this beach :)

Mollie Makes in Bosnia


Mollie Makes is a new UK magazine for 'those who love the crafty life'! It's full of ideas of things to make, interviews with crafters and lots of lovely photos. It even comes with a craft pack stuck to the front of the magazine containing all you need to make one of the projects inside. I heard about it last week on twitter and quickly asked our soon to be visitors to pick me up a copy in WHSmith before coming out to see us. I got the magazine yesterday and I'm pretty sure I'm the proud owner of the first ever Mollie Makes magazine in Bosnia and Herzegovina :)

Birthday Cake!



I came across ThePudgyRabbit on Flickr. She makes super cute amigurumi. Her range of birthday cakes is my favourite. You can find out more about her at www.thepudgyrabbit.com.

Mille Sweet-tooth



Millie Sweet-tooth will bring a smile to your face as soon as you meet her. She's not like the other mice, she sings in the shower, always wears pink and she prefers candy to cheese! She is just what you need to bring some sunshine into a cloudy day. She's got a Berry Sherbet lolly in her hand which she would be very willing to share with you.

She is available in my Etsy Shop.

The owl is ready to fly!


So here she is - ready to go!

He's finished!

He's finished and I think he looks great :) The shoes took a while to figure out and I took them apart twice in the process. They still aren't perfect, but for a first try I'm happy and I'm sure Sammy will be too.


Giant Amigurumi Owl


My friend asked me to make an amigurumi owl for her daugther's 1st birthday. She said she wanted it to be quite big - so I thought, the easiest way to make something big would be to use thick yarn. It's very big - just over 9inches/23cm tall already and it's not yet finished. Hopefully it isn't so big that the little girl will be scared of it!

The leaves on the trees are turning


It's September tomorrow and the leaves on the trees are starting to turn. So I've been stocking up on Autumn/Fall themed amigurumi in my shop.

Blackberry Crumble


Sometime last week a lady came to our door selling blackberries. They looked pretty good and juicy, and we knew she needed the money so we bought a bucket. We then had to decide what to do with them, as there were too many to eat in a day and they wouldn't last longer than that. She had suggested we make tea or juice or jam, but I have no idea how to do any of those things. In the end I decided to make a crumble - which I also had no idea how to do! But I found a recipe online and it turned out so good that today, when I saw a girl selling blackberries on the side of the road, I had to buy some more and make it again!

Amigurumi - work in progress



This is what I'm working on at the moment - for a certain little nephew of mine :)

Stuffed Magazine


This week I got my complimentary copy of Stuffed Magazine. This time I'm in it as part of the Plush Team. The magazine has done an article on one of our team challenges. If you are a regular reader of my blog you might remember me writing about the Frankenplush Challenge. The funny green fluffy mousey monster thing with pink eyes on the front row is made by me and Cat from RaggyRat.

Maisy


This is Maisy. She is studying literature and art history at university. To help pay for her studies she works part time in a cupcake cafe. On summer evenings she loves taking a stroll in the park or through town with her friends and on winter evenings you will find her be snuggled up on the sofa with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. She is available in my Etsy Shop.

Amigurumi Cacti



You see quite a lot of Amigurumi Cacti popping up on Etsy. Some people make realistic looking ones and others go for the cute kawaii option with a little face. This pattern by mutts is one of the cutest and most original ones I've seen. She sells some fantastic patterns in her Amigurumi Friends Pattern Shop and she also has her Studio Shop where, if you're not much of a crocheter, you can buy the finished articles.

Orange and Blue


Or is it yellow and blue? Anyway, this is the doll I'm working on at the moment.

MochiQtie


I'm loving MochiQtie's Etsy shop at the moment. Her amigurumis are all so cute and little, and I love how she photographs them. Make sure you check out her shop to see more of them.

The black cat holds the key



New in my Etsy Shop, this cat holds the key that you are looking for. The key to your heart or maybe someone else's. The key to your future. The key to understanding things that can't be understood... or the key to the cupboard that you know is full of chocolate and other lovely things.

Rainforest Man


I made him for the latest Plush Team Challenge. I'm pretty happy with how he turned out!

what do you think?


This is the first amigurumi doll I've finished in ages! I've been so busy that I haven't had time to make any. Maybe it's because I'm a bit out of practice, or because it took me so long to finish her, but somehow she didn't turn out quite like I wanted. I haven't decided yet if I will put her in my shop, and if I do I need to think of a name and a story for her and some kind of accessory.... What do you think?

The road signs of life


More preparation for camp - life is a journey, look out for the road signs of life!

Rainbow Birthday


It was my birthday last week and I thought I'd show you a couple of the presents I got:

A lovely rainbow hoodie and a Hello Kitty Momiji doll who you will see if you look closely is also wearing rainbow clothes.

Life is a journey



The theme of the next camp we are going on is 'Life is a journey'. These are some things I have prepared for the craft workshops.

Paper Heart garland made from maps - tutorial by minnesotamom



Paper wallet made from a map - tutorial by Having an Art-A-Tack




It even has a place for your bank cards!






Happy Campers!



I haven't blogged in ages. What have I been doing? Camping mostly! Or preparing for camps.



Yesterday we got back from the teenagers camp at Emek Beraka campsite on Boracko Jezero. We had a great time. Everyday was packed with activities including sports, group work, adventure challenge, learning about Jesus and making sock monkeys!