Redesign: Black Cloche to Licorice Allsorts Floppy Hat

Remember this little black and pink cloche I made earliter this year?

Well...I saw these incredibly yummy looking licorice allsorts, which were brought out for the Christmas season...and I felt compelled to create this Licorice Allsorts Floppy Hat, which has a Hippie-cum-Aussie Digger Slouch Hat vibe to it...and here's an example of the Aussie Digger Slouch Hat, which is still part of the Australian Army's Uniform and goes way back to the ANZAC uniform of World War I...

I have this cute little bee pin, which I thought would be gorgeous in the middle of the flower...

yup, the little bee completes the look...

the little licorice hat changes yet again, this time in 2016. I've also added lilac...

Redesigning Long T's

These were long, masculine looking T-shirts which I have given boat necks, and shortened or given tie front waists...

Bodmer's Dog Dancer - autumnal colors!

My Pumpkin Harvest T has been cropped and turned into a tie front...works!

This graduation present has been turned into a sequened cropped T, love it! Like a phoenix rising from the ashes...lots of fun to wear!

Autumnal T-Shirts

The leaves are falling(again!)and I just had to do something with an Autumnal theme, so here are acouple of T-shirts that I did last week using Slick Paints...

Based on the beloved Hello Kitty, here's my "Autumnal Kitty T" with Falling leaves and flowers in corals, rusts and browns...
and one with a harvest theme...so here's my Pumpkin Harvest T in plums, oranges, gold...

Yellow Cloche Hat With Fall Colors

The sunny Spring cloche gets a new lease on life for the Fall with this brooch in autumnal colors. I've also added several rows to the brim of the hat to give added shade outdoors...

Crocheted Cross-Over Shoulder Bag

Now that the weather has cooled down a bit and it's starting to feel like Fall, I'm thinking of little projects to do. So...I had a bit of yellow wool left over from the last project, so I got busy and made this cross-body purs. It took a full day of crocheting...
This one could be worn as a shoulder-bag but it is best worn crossed over the body from one shoulder to the other hip...

Inspired by Roman Glass...

Learning so much about ancient Roma and her antiquities has inspired me to produce these sets. Although these did not scan all that well, they will give you a general idea...

violet hued vine leaves with iridescent top glaze, combined with brass, amethyst glass and celadon crystal beads; Bacchus would be proud...
an Arte Nouveau head with a distinct classical Roman detail, violets in violet frosted glass with iridescent glaze, paired with amethyst glass beads and crystals...

a set in pale blue frosted beads with iridescent detail, more like moonstone than mere glass, that has a "heavy metal" feel to it!

see, this is the sort of piece I'm talking about...isn't it just gorgeous?

Oak Leaf Cluster Brooch

I had this old vermeil pin with jade ovals so I made an "Oak Leaf Cluster Brooch" with jade acorns, and copper foil oak leaves from a garland I had for ages...looks great on this tweed jacket!

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright...

anyway...yes, the beads have been very much "animalized" by me...tigers, leopards and that other stripy thing...oh my!

A tale of two tigers: this one I call my "double barrel" or "two tiger" necklace!

so I guess I'll be reading Rudyard Kipling next...

Meeoooowww!!!

Inspired by Marigolds...

these glorious marigolds have inspired me to make the following scarves, earrings, necklace and bracelet...

a scarf with an unmistakeable marigold motif which doubles as a wrap...

and a headband made out of a little extra material...

which would pair well with these yellow topaz and garnet bead earrings...

an almost neon, bright yellow scarf with delicate red floral and squares motifs...

which would pair well with these sunny golden heart earrings...

a saffron and gold filigree scarf which pairs well with this slinky maroon tank top...

and marigold hoops with almost every color that they come in...

and a memory wire bracelet with amber, golden, maroon and crimson beads...

and this necklace in shades of tangerine and orange colored marigolds...

which pairs perfectly well with this tangerine tank!

Rosary Lariat Necklace

featuring smooth and carved bone, onyx, crimson lacquered wooden beads, and faux black pearls, silver spacers and beads and a Orthodox crucifix...

inspired by the cover art of this book by Holger Kersten, Jesus Lived in India...

For Earth Week: Mellow Yellow...

It's feeling like Spring, FINALLY...and I'm seeing YELLOW (POLLEN)...everywhere!!! Like here, in this stunning field on the edge of a Connecticut wood...

I felt inspired to create something in yellow, so I created a crocheted tank in a buttery yellow which is very reminiscent of the 70's...

and with the left over wool, I made this cloche...again very 70's...

my passion for yellow led me to look up all the gorgeous shades of yellow, which brought up references to the robes that Tibetan monks wear...

yellow, goldenrod, gold, saffron, orange...

which are coincedentally all of the colors of marigolds...which range from pale yellow to maroon!

a colorful thangka...with as many shades of yellow as the monks above...

fluorescent yellow in the hats of these monks onlooking a mandala painting...

Tibetan prayer flags...

and so I learn that in Tibetan Buddhism, yellow is the color of earth, and thus a symbol of rootedness and the equanimity of the earth...

Redesign: Chef's Pants to Hip Cross-Body Shoulder Bags!

A pair of baggy houndstooth pants which were very much like a pair of Chef's pants, haha, that have ended up as a snazzy pair of shorts and the two cross-body shoulder bags!

you get the general idea...

Ever since I found out I was "The Owl" in Native American Medicine zodiac, I've been indulging in all things OWL...and this bag is one of them - lots of fun to design and create!

I just love the playfulness of Hello Kitty but never got around to buying something that had the motif - this was a joy to make...

I still have the other lower trouser leg left...let's see what could I put together next...?

Easter Bonnet

so it's a couple of days away from Easter, and I'm still in my fur-trimmed woollen house coat AND my hand crocheted pink and black cloche hat-yes, I've become a crocheted hat maker!

this hat does not photograph easily but I want to share how this version also ended up with touches of red - nice...

hat redesigned from crocheted draw-string victorian pouch bags - which were better un-photographed!

Souvenir T-Shirts Revamped

A Native American themed Denver Shirt sequined and shortened and paired with a shortened very Cowgirl ruffled skirt by an American designer...

This ruffled denim vest would go well with the ruffle hem of the above skirt!

Corn Maidens T-Shirt from Denver will go well with these denim tights...

Corn maidens with sequins added for extra bling...the way I like it...

A floor length denim duster shortened to knee length and wearable now would pair well with the long T above and the denim tights!

the bears from Denver, sequinned, rouched at shoulder and a tie created at the waist...slightly edgy paired with the hot pink lace top! Go Bears...

A souvenir T from St. Thomas, VIs, sequined and shortened and paired with a shortened red damask skirt and paired with a Guatemalan macrame belt...