New sawing machine, new url, new life!

Yes, I am finally back!

After months of silence, here I am :)

Many things changed in these months, all in better I have to say!

1) New job, full-time,  great colleagues, very challenging but I am learning so much! I knew being a Project Manager isn't easy, but I decided to give it a go anyway and, well, so far so good.

2) New, beautiful home, 3 minutes from the train station and very cheap :) 

Apologies for the bad quality of these pictures, they were taken with my phone...This house is just amazing, such an improvement compared to where we were before!

3) New sawing machine! It's a present from my lovely boyfriend and his mum and I love it so much! 
It's a Janome J3-24 and this is how it looks:

I tried it already and it works perfectly, so smooth! I can tell this is not a second hand sewing machine!

4) NEW URL! This is the new one: pandorasboxit.blogspot.com :)

I am going to post a tutorial now, I just have to edit the pictures and post them...see you soon!

Gibi

Recycled can: how to make a beautiful lamp

If you are Italian like me, or if you just like pasta a lot, you probably use many many tomato sauce cans, just like me :)

I kept a few, so that I could recycle them and make something nice and since my sewing machine is still hopelessly broken, I decided to make a nice lamp. 
All you have to do is deciding a pattern and drawing it on the can with a pencil. Then you have to find something with a quite sharp end, but not too sharp, and start making holes, while trying to keep the can straight. It's not as easy as one might think, but it's doable. When you have all the holes, light a candle and place it inside the can, the result is very sweet!

This is the one I did :)

I think you can clearly see that this is my very first attempt, but I really like it and I think that it would look even better if I cover it with paint. I'll post some pictures later, so we can decide which version is better: "raw" or painted.

Oh! I almost forgot! When you place the candle inside the can you should leave the can where it is, because it tends to get very hot very quickly, so be careful!

Hope you enjoyed it,

Gibi

Sewing machines

It's been one and a half month since my last post....I know, it's a long time, but, in my defence, I spend 8 hours in front of the computer every day in my new job and when I get home I don't really feel like switching on the computer again. On top of that, add that my sewing machine is still broken.....

Anyway, I have been looking everywhere for the missing piece for my sweing machine, I didn't have luck so far, but I did find a jewel in the heart of Brixton. It's an amazing shop that sells a huge variety of fabric at a very affordable price! I really had to make an effort not to buy all the fabrics I saw, because I would end up with a broken sewing machine and a room full of fabrics! I canàt wait to go back to sew my lovely little purses and make up bags....
The shop is called Simply Fabrics http://www.simplyfabrics.org.uk/ and it's really worth a visit if you're around.

I was looking for sewing machines on the internet, you know, just in case....and I found these lovely ones from Tula Pink:

My favourite is the first one, but I find all of them very cure.

I have to get ready, we are going to see a couple of flats today!

Ciao ciao

Dulwich festival – part 2

I have been to East Dulwich today, to have a look at what was going on at Dulwich festival….What a surprise! I didn’t really expect it to be so well organised. There were a lot, A LOT of stalls, the food section looks delicious (I forgot my wallet and perhaps that was a good thing) and on the other side it looked like “Children’s paradise”. Anyway, get ready because I have a bunch of pictures to show you, enjoy!
Anyone who is thinking of going….you should definitely do it, it’s worth your time!

 

Good night!

Crafty space inspiration - Part 1

Happy Saturday! 

Last night I've taken a tour (on the Internet) of crafty spaces around the world and it was so inspiring!
I wish I will manage to set up my own space, possibly as nice (and as tidy...) as these, they are all so beautiful and if I had to choose, I know I couldn't. 
When I look at the pictures of these spaces and then I think about the corner where I sew, well...it's not really the same. Who knows me knows how messy I can be and it happened in the past that I found myself in the middle of the room, with the floor covered in all sorts of things: scissors, fabrics, threads, buttons, ribbons and so on. But at the end of the day, when you managed to make something beautiful out of your sawing machine and your hands, the satisfaction that you feel is way over the thought of cleaning up the mess after it.

Anyway, now I will take you with me in these amazing places, here are some of my favourites:

This is the beautiful crafty space created by Jennie from Craft-o-maniac (only 20$ to make this beautiful paradise corner!). She wrote a post as a guest on Poofy Cheeks and you can find it here.

I found these two pictures on push-pins, they are originally from Vintage Cottage French but unfortunately I couldn't find the page.

The Patchwork Pottery

This little corner, found on Chez Larsson, is one of my favourite because it's simple and organised, but it still looks special.

I better go now, I am going to have a super Italian breakfast with a friend, yummy!!
Have a great weekend :)

xx

Dulwich festival!

This weekend is the beginning of Dulwich festival and I can't wait to go! There are many events in the programme, from walks in the park to concerts and the beautiful "open house" where you have the chance to actually walk in the artist's atelier/house. It's very exciting and this year I am not going to miss it!
I just have to make a plan because there are so many things to do and see....I need to check it on the website:
http://www.dulwichfestival.co.uk/
Here's some pictures from the previous editions that I found on the Internet:

I would like to go and see Sally Nencini's works, they are lovely (this last picture, for example).
http://www.dulwichfestival.co.uk/node/436 Apparently she will participate this yeas too, so I hope to get the chance to see her works from real and not only in pictures!This is her amazing website, have a look: http://www.sallynencini.com/

Goodnight, wherever you are reading this from :)

Baby elephant - Handmade felt bookmark part 3

Good evening everyone,
I had another great day, thanks to the God Sun and thanks to another fact: I have tickets to go to Italy in 2 months for my birthday! I can't wait to get a proper summer day. My birthday happens to be also my parents' anniversary, it's gonna be 33 years together this year, sweet.

Speaking of sweetness...I love animals and one of my favourite is the elephant, unfortunately though, I have never seen one live because I have never been to a zoo in my life (and I never will), but who knows, maybe next year I'll go to Kenya or somewhere else where I will see a real elephant, that would be amazing! Anyway, they inspired me in making these super cute bookmarks :)

I hope you like them! My favourite is the pink one, I am actually using it for my book...now I have to think of a name for it :)

Good night,