Happy goodies, proud to be homemade

Attention please, and a great mailing from England

Wed, 22 Jun 2005 01:17:55 GMT

I have not disappeared in the dark, but I've realized that I can't find enough time to update a site and two (well, three) weblogs and a flickr account all together. So, I have updated my blog at Ciao! Cimba in these past days (more melmini, a bag and a pouch, some other crazy things), and I'm wrtiting it in italian and english, so also non italian people can eventually read it. I also added a link at the bottom of every entry that translates quick the site in english, and you can set Google to fast translate even in another language what you don't get. Please refer to it in the near future since I will not have much time to update here too (making double posts is insane). I will anyway maintain this account to read all of your journals and communities I'm in (I'm so behind, agh!).

And now: last week I received a wonderful pouch from Rachel, aren't you curious to see? :) Thanks Rachel!

Quick poll results

Thu, 09 Jun 2005 13:29:38 GMT

In response to the comments on my previous poll/entry: thank you all for your support!

Seems we have 5 for happy/happily homemade and 2 for proud/proudly. So, I will leave it Happy to be homemade for now (not using happily only because i live in Italy and the same tags etc are also for italians, that are more likely to understand "happy" than "happily").

But meanwhile I'm thinking some way to incorporate the proud thing (or maybe using it only for specific occasions or products), since I like it most personally and I've become a little attached to it :)
All I have till now is "Happy goodies - proudly homemade" but maybe is too long, I don't know.

EDIT
Also, what is your experience about exchanges and returns? For now all my sales are final, but I was wondering if it would be better to offer a form of support, like allow returns etc only in some cases. I usually feel sort of reassured when I read it on a site, but how do you prevent this from being crazy? ...like people pretending to return all or used things that they don't want anymore, or ...I don't know, in a word: is there a way to handle it good?

Quick poll - Please help :)

Wed, 08 Jun 2005 17:07:02 GMT

Which you like the best (and why, eventually)?

1. Happy to be homemade
2. Proud to be homemade

(This is meant to be the "claim" or "slogan" to go with Ciao! Cimba)

thank you in advance!

Ciao! Cimba goes online - phew!

Sun, 05 Jun 2005 16:22:53 GMT

The site is up! The site is up! I must repeat it twice because I hardly believe it myself. It was a long an hard road, and the site got changes and forced semplifications on the way, but still I'm happy to have finallly done with it, even if it's slightly different on how I had imagined initially. But. Who cares? It's like a big stone fell off my shoulders: it's a relief. And it's online now! HA!
Let me know of errors or anything that's wrong, every kind of feedback is appreciated. There's still a little visualization problem with Mozilla (the page "moves" from some sections to others), but I'll try to fix that soon. Also, I will add other items to the shop in the coming weeks. Oh, and let me know if you want to be in the links page: maybe I forgot to put in your site/blog or maybe I don't know you yet, so contact me if you'd like to be added.
I'm back to life now! hehehe

I won't give up

Fri, 27 May 2005 13:45:56 GMT

Just to say I'm still alive, though having no time at all to update and/or to make anything (& read other journals, too!).
Plus, the other day my monitor broke, so I don't have computer access from home and probably will not have access to a computer during the next days.

Sorry for you people that are awaiting swaps from me or maybe emails or anything else (I don't know if I forgot to reply to anyone, in this case, sorry).
A super special sorry to Lizette, whom I want to say I'm here and will complete all - please don't worry or don't think I'm disappearing.

I'll try to come back soon, sigh, ciao for now!

Too long withouth making a meme...

Mon, 16 May 2005 19:26:53 GMT

Pick ONE word from each pair that you think describes me the best and leave it in the comments. Then copy this and post it in your own journal to see how your friends view you.

* dominant or submissive
* logical or intuitive
* social or loner
* kinky or vanilla
* cute or sophisticated
* kitten or puppy
* warm flannel sheets or sleek satin
* leader or follower
* quiet or talkative
* spontaneous or planned
* teddy bear or porcelain doll
* hiking or window shopping
* tequila or vodka
* top or bottom
* bare foot or shoes
* jeans or slacks
* tender or rough
* aware or dreamy
* nerd or jock

[taken from ana]

Are you happy or sad?

Wed, 11 May 2005 01:36:47 GMT

I had thought about making a plushie for a while (I *always* realize my ideas way behind from when they come up in mind! sigh), and finally last night managed to put together this first one. I initially thought about making him shaped, with his "legs" and everything, but then I wanted him to be small and that one could carry him around in a hand, so I guessed it was better starting with a plain shape.
I digitized the design with my embroidery software (and with some pain, also! haha) and did it with my machine embroidery tool. The pink/red sides are made from felt (pannolenci, for real). I have to work more on sewing the hole at the end, though! :)

I made this keeping in mind small children, thinking that if I would be a child right now (which sort of I am), maybe I would have liked playing with a toy that can express emotions, in some way.

I'm making more of these happy/sad melminos, and eventually sell them on my site-to-be. I know I am late on my previously setted deadline (first week of may), but the layout is ready and all I need now is to cut it up (I obviously managed to make more difficult this process due to the nature of the layout) and make some coding. Today I ended up asking for some help and I hope to make big steps during this week. Let's see and cross fingers.

The Sunny book

Wed, 11 May 2005 00:15:23 GMT

I have been reading/finding out repeatly here and there online about this book, so finally I decided to order it some time ago, though the expensive shipping costs. But they were worth it, because I love this tiny book now!

Here's Sunny going out in the city. I love these electrical trees made from pencils! And the book is full of other similar ideas and tricks.

But the thing I actually love best (and the reason I was convinced to buy it in the end) is this super fantastic music cd that comes with the book! It has the most cute/beautiful songs I've heard in a while, I must say I love them all, they have the power to make me happy.
Go listen some samples yourself! (songs from the Sunny cd are the yellow cds).

Good mail always come togheter, it seems :)

Spillette! (button pins)

Tue, 10 May 2005 23:48:41 GMT

Last week my previously ordered pins from Buttonarcade arrived and I couldn't be more happy with them! Kyle was lovely to work with and she is also a nice and kind person, so visit her site and see all the buttons she have or if you want some with your designs on it!

Usually all drawn melminos have spiral eyes, but since I'm quite a lamer with Illustrator, I couldn't get to have decent small spirals for the design of this particular melmino. So he has came out with those funny careful looking eyes; I'll call him the "beware melmino"...or something more correct in english, haha!
And also two magnets and a pocket mirror with my melmino on it! wow :)

10 minutes surfing on stage

Thu, 05 May 2005 19:48:59 GMT

Interesting dress. I would imagine to do something similar with tights (they're so versatile)
Beautiful knitwear.
Just beautiful. (although not much wearable)
Great. (would it be difficult to take on? :))

My kitchen sink (that thing you use for washing dishes by hands, right?) is broken from days. Yesterday finally I had to wash my dishes in the laundry. Funny because I still have to get used to have a laundry! Bad sink smell is around the house and tomorrow the idraulico (the man who fixes sinks - sorry i have too little time now to search ALL the words that I don't know, that are many as you imagine!) will try to repair it. But there's a strong chance he would then (not tomorrow, but in the future) break the wall because the problem is actually over there, where the eyes can't see. I live here from, like, 7 months now, and this house was totally renewed. All this is because some really fucked up people worked on here and did lots of awful, unprofessional things. I hate them all. I fantasize about, like, burn their cars or something.

Now I have to go. (no! I won't burn anything, don't worry! hehe)

It can't be real!

Thu, 05 May 2005 01:55:42 GMT

Is it??

The 5 questions game

Thu, 05 May 2005 00:54:57 GMT

Answering to subpolka :</span>

1. If you could learn to flawlessly speak any language overnight, what language would you choose?
If I have to decide only one language, I'd say japanese. Because it's difficult compared to other languages ...and because there is such a world of japanese arts&crafts that I would like to read and not only watch to!

2. What is the minimum amount of money that you would accept in return for shaving your head bald?
Minimum amount is 1.800.000 euros.

3. Would you rather have the ability to fly or the ability to become invisible?
To become invisible. But I find it sort of scaring.

4. If you had to choose between losing your sight or losing your hearing, which would you pick? Explain.
Losing my hearing. I don't listen to anybody yet! haha sorry, that's politically uncorrect I guess.
Anyway it's true: I have severe myophia so I can appreciate more the ability to view compared to hearing, which I have had never problems till now (you like most what you have less, something like this).

5. What did you have for lunch today?
Pasta with tomatoes and tuna.

-----------------

Now then! Wanna play? Here's the rules!

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying "interview me."

2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different.

3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
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Three pompom bag, aka The Pierrot Bag

Mon, 02 May 2005 22:20:19 GMT

A coworker asked for a pompom bag long time ago, giving to me an old pair of stretch coral corduroy pants she didn't wear anymore.
The making of this bag has lasted months, I was never satisfied about it, and still I'm not. Plus, sewing the stretch corduroy was a pain and I had to rip the bag few times. The worst thing is that it came out nothing special, so all the sweatness wasn't so much worth. Well! ok. I gave it to her a couple week ago and she was happy about it...or at least she is so nice to lye appreciation about it! :))

Recycled corduroy pants, recycled light denim jeans, a piece of light blue felt, wool for the poms, recycled cotton man shirt for the lining.
Also known as "the pierrot bag" because a friend of hers thought it was appropriate, and I think it is. A clownesque pierrot, indeed!

I should do other, but only 5 minutes!

Sat, 30 Apr 2005 10:00:03 GMT

New background for my journal! Found at the lovely Flop Design (thanks to hellosummer)

Yarn poo and other melma stories

Wed, 27 Apr 2005 17:28:26 GMT

The other night, while waiting for the homemade pizza to bake (a friend of mine it's teaching me, we ate tons of freshly made pizza!), I took off the little Signora Tubo (I don't know the correct name, I call her this, that is like "Mrs Tube"). I've bought her on January while in Frankfurt, and didn't had the chance to try her yet.

Did you ever expected that from such a nice lady would come off all that? :))

Behind the cut there's one more melma pouch (I like this word, seems like saying ...ouch! hehe) I made for a coworker, along with a pompom bag (which I forgot to take pics of, ops). She gave me a pair of dismissed corduroy stretch jeans (a pain to sew, indeed) and a mini skirt, asking for a pompom bag. I used the mini for the pouch.

First steps

Wed, 27 Apr 2005 17:11:28 GMT

I'm learning to make crochet bracelets all my own...for now I've got these. Not much, but still! :}

Italia - Brazil

Wed, 27 Apr 2005 16:58:45 GMT

It's been a while, but this past week was full of things and didn't had the chance to pop up in here. Writing 2 blogs it's becoming to be time consuming, heh!

This is the nice package I got from Carol. It's been a long way but it made it (and so mine to her! yess). Look at that little lovely pouch, and the flower pin has a sweet heart on the back to cover the metal! Thank you Carol :)

I'm putting pics behind to not bother your friends page.

Melma gray

Thu, 21 Apr 2005 23:45:07 GMT

I'm running behind, well, far behind too many things. I have tons of projects waiting, multiple things to send, and I have even less time than ever, due to my partial involvment in my friend's theatrical piece. (no! I don't act. :) I didn't a lot really this year, only help a bit and feel close cause last year I did costumes for them)

I'm gonna ask you crafty gals out there that have an all day work out of home like me, how do you manage your time for crafting? I'm having severe problems with that, but I'm convinced that it's all a question of organization...well, staying at home more time would help, but HA! there must be a way, doh.
I would be happy to read your experiences, even if you are not a working class career woman (I'm joking here - hopelessly trying to be humorous and making english nonsense) but have suggestions/anything to share.

My site/shop launching is over over late from weeks and more, but today it got a new improvement, so I hope I will able to open it within the first week of May (I'm giving myself a deadline - sounds good).

Made this last week, vintage cotton inside, pile and something similar to velvet but not, outside. Listened a lot to this album while making it.

Lizette trade

Sat, 16 Apr 2005 20:56:35 GMT

For the first time in my crafty-blogging life, I have too much pics and things to post that I actually can manage. wow!

Here's the other surprising package I got right after Rosa's doll (one day after! this has been a super mail week - I also got something I bought from Ebay yesterday).

This lovely mail is from Lizette, whose work I admire from quite a time. She makes wonderful crafts from her children drawings, and she's a really nice person, too. Look at that cute house, it was drawn by her daughter (also the houses on the card she wrote me). And the envelope was sweetly adorned with Enzo's (her son) drawings of dinos. Sure a mail to make you smile!
The pouch is dearly sewn and has a little little pocket inside, that contains an even smaller smaller super cute japanese cat, that's for good luck. I love it, it's such a treasure!
She also sent a vintage Coca Cola postcard, funny Elmo's stickers (great Elmo!), a Pop Rocks that is a gum fizz you put in the mouth and it fizzss fizzzzsss hehe, and a pack of M&M's, not pictured because I throw all them in my mouth like a glass of fresh water! haha. ahem.

Thank you Lizette :)

What is your world view?

Sat, 16 Apr 2005 14:18:13 GMT

Taken from sharmelon

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.

</td>

Cultural Creative

81%

Postmodernist

75%

Materialist

50%

Modernist

44%

Idealist

38%

Existentialist

31%

Romanticist

25%

Fundamentalist

19%

What is Your World View?
created with QuizFarm.com

Boneca va in Italia

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 02:28:43 GMT

I read Rosa's blog quite everyday (ok - I look at the pictures) and admire her dolls from long time, so I knew that sooner or later one of them would come living with me. And she's arrived, finally!

She has brought with her an ugly, kitsch postcard (not pictured because I forgot, ops) which I love because I have a large postcards collection, and the more you are ugly and kitsch the more I like you, usually. And then, a piece of her dress! Thank you Rosa.

This boneca is the first to come and live in Italy. She and Miss Fingah are already chatting about interesting things.

I received this package on Monday, and I've got another mail from then, but I'll talk about it another entry because I have to go now, it's horribly late as usual and tomorrow morning I have to go to the bank office.
Today I've learned a new english thing: "running behind" something. If I got it correctly, I guess this is exactly what I needed to know!

Pom pon-ytail

Wed, 13 Apr 2005 01:14:24 GMT

I'm in love with the idea of wearing a pom pon-ytail (or double ponytails! how do you call? I love them). If only I had my hair longer. So I sent this for trade. Then today I thought that gray maybe it's not that super choice of colour to put in the hair, maybe I'm offering a mean girl the chance to say "what do you have there, a dead rat?" haha.

MenKnit.net and Stuck at Prom (do you know we don't have proms here? I guess why)

Before and after

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 00:37:28 GMT

I sent this with a couple little things yesterday to Carol. I've found a microscopic, well hidden Postal Office not so far from my house that is open everyday, also on Saturday!, till 19.30. That's amazing, I have never would imagine.

Orange felt, bright yellow zipper, dark denim jeans and azzurro (how do you say that color? light blue?) and orange stars heavy cotton huge shirt, that I found at Porta Portese (the weekly, famous open market here in Rome) for 1 euro.

I repeatedly and obsessively listened to this song for the entire weekend.

The Ikea Challenge

Sun, 10 Apr 2005 02:32:39 GMT

36 packs for 350cm x 230cm. Full of sweat, cramps and calluses. Here's the footage, as promised.
Children, don't try this at home! haha

Now I'm gonna sing All by myself, I guess.

Crochet art

Fri, 08 Apr 2005 00:36:27 GMT

I've found a link to the work of this incredible artist through Camilla. Her name is Xenobia Bailey and she makes breathless crochet. I was so impressed by her work that I had to search more, and I found this and this also (not much in the end, the majority of pages seems to carry all the same pics). Maybe the most of you already know her, since she is in the crafty-art world from some time now, but if you don't, go see her beautiful, colorful, amazing crochet.

When times are bad, old, unsatisfying projects come in handy. Here's an ugly astuccio I made some time ago. I use it to carry my bare crochet essentials.

I am late and slow at answering emails these days, actually I'm slow and awful on everything right now. I have lots of projects to complete, trades to send/make, my head is full of thoughts and ideas on things to eventually make/do, but my hands (or entire body, perhaps) are sleeping a deep dream, and they won't wake up. I always block myself.
I am my worst enemy and that has become more and more tiring.