DK's Craft Café

My First Guest - Natalie - NorthShore Days

2012-09-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

It's my great pleasure to present my first ever guest at DK's Craft Café - Natalie from NorthShore Days, a girl who tells stories through her fantastic jewellery. She's got a great tutorial for us today.

Hello Everyone, I'm Natalie and I blog over at NorthShore Days where I share crafts, DIY, photos and funny stories about my 3 loud, cheeky but very sweet kids…

I love white decor and everything beachy and I’m lucky enough to live very near the beach on the beautiful North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand.

I'm very excited to be here guest posting for Donata. Dona has been such a great bloggy friend and a wonderful support during my blogging journey...

Today I'll be sharing one of my latest jewellery creation with you all...

Its such a simple tutorial and I'm hoping you are inspired to make your own. I found this gorgeous tile pendant in the jewellery section of Spotlight and I just love turquoise so had to buy it.

What you will need:

A tile or decorative bead, 3 charms or smaller beads, a headpin, jump rings and long nose pliers.

What you need to do: (following the pics)

Gather all the components.

Snip the end off the head pin as you will be looping both ends of it.

Form a loop by first bending the end of the pin at a 90 degree angle then looping the pin back onto itself - this forms a really neat loop.

Pass the pin through the tile and repeat the loop at the other end.

Using jump rings, secure the smaller beads or charms to one end of the looped head pin.

Attach the pendant to a chain using another jump ring.

Seriously how easy is that? And how cute ....

I love how this necklace turned out, and as I used a copper chain and accents along with the turquoise, it has a real beachy vibe to it

I hope you enjoyed my post today. Thank you so much to Donata for having me.

Dont forget to pop on over and visit me at NorthShore Days and say hi...

Take care

xxx

Thank you so much, Nat! You never fail to touch my heart with your creations.Please visit Nat over at her blog and check out her etsy shop XOX

Discount And Useful Info on Glasses

2012-08-26T06:27:00.001-07:00

I'd like to share information on glasses today.
(I have discounts for you today!)
Why glasses? Well take a look at this:

My son wears eyeglasses since he was seven. Ten years and many broken frames since then :)
I love my sunglasses. Not only for protection. They are important accessory for many women (and men) ever since Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly.
And I have been using reading glasses for several years already.

With all that said, no wonder that I'm always looking for cheap eyeglasses.

The red ones that I'm wearing on the photo with my son were found on the web. But only recently I started to look for prescription glasses online. I guess I'm still learning to fully enjoy the convenience of online shopping. And the great prices!

So, no wonder I was delighted when I was contacted the other day by GlassesUSA.com.
For some reason, I thought they only sell within the USA, but that's not true. I can order glasses from them! This is great news for me and here's why:
1. Loads of frames to choose from
2. Low, low prices
3. Check out the virtual mirror below. My son and I had so much fun last night 'trying on' frames for almost an hour.

Have fun, find great frames and save money.

And here's even better news:

DISCOUNTS FOR MY READERS!!!

STOREWIDE OFFER - Take 15% off your entire order amount + FREE shipping (orders over $50). Code: FS15

Take 10% off any order of prescription glasses. Code: Blog10

Love,
DK

Disclaimer: This is an advertising, but I only gave my most honest opinion here.

In Bold Colors

2012-08-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

I'm in a new phase :)

I guess this a cry against this gray, cold, wet winter that doesn't wanna go away.

These babies make me feel better.

And I saw mimosas somewhere today! Yay!

Love,
DK

Linking up with:
Fine Craft Guild
My 1929 Charmer

This Week's Update - Hanniscrafts, Nat's Bracelet & more

2012-08-18T20:07:00.002-07:00

There are several things I'd like to share with you, my dear reader, this week.
First, I received my beautiful new bracelet I ordered from Nat of NorthSore Days.

The weather this week was so cold and gray and this bracelet warmed my heart with it's story of the beach. She uses high quality materials including New Zealand's ocean shell beads.

If you like Natalie's creations as much as I do, here is where to get them:
Nat's Etsy Link

Another great thing I would like to share is that I'm guest blogger at hannicraft by Hanni, my dear friend from Hungary.

Please go over to see the post (she really made it look great) and if you don't know Hanni, make sure to see her work. She is very talented and makes miracles with yarn and fabrics.
Make sure to visit her Etsy shop too:

Hanni's Etsy Link

And last, but not least: I had two sales in the first week at in.cube8r.
I call it a start :)
I've been working on a new collection - I'll post about it soon. (Hint: bright colours this time!)

Love,
DK

Hannicrafts Bag

2012-08-11T04:10:00.000-07:00

It's arrived! I ordered Hanni's black&white beach bag recently and it's here :)

It's large and strong and perfectly done. I warmly recommend it, really.
Here is her Etsy link: hanniscrafts

She even went so far to add this lovely surprise gift:

Thank you so much, Hanni!

Other news:
My baskets finally moved to in.cube8r gallery Fitzroy/Melbourne yesterday :)

Wish me luck :)

Love,
DK

I'm A Guest Blogger at NorthShore Days!

2012-08-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

I've never been invited to be a guest blogger before.
All of a sudden, I got two invitations. It feels good to be invited, doesn't it?
So today I'm a guest of my dear friend (and neighbour) Natalie from New Zealand.

NorthShore Days

I shared some more of my crochet rings.

Please go over to see what is new in my 'rings department'.
While you're there, take a good look around - Nat is an amazingly inspiring girl.
Thanks heaps, Nat! XOX

Love,
DK

My Baskets at in.cube8r!

2012-08-08T18:25:00.001-07:00

Encouraged by all your attention, I have been working on my crochet baskets ever since this post:
Crochet Baskets
Thank you all so much for your constant support! xox

Now, you can imagine that my baskets started popping out from each corner of my home. I had to do something about that!
I thought of Etsy, but most of my readers are from overseas and Australian postage is too high for me to be competitive on Etsy.
I thought a gallery would be a better choice for me at the moment.
And here is my good news:
in.cube8r gallery in Melbourne
is selling my baskets starting tomorrow, August 10!
Oh, boy, am I excited!
Here are some photos of what I've prepared:

Please wish me luck!
I hope this will inspire you to go our and show off your crafts. Maybe make some money with it too...

Love,
DK

Knitted Scarf with a Twist

2012-07-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

Today I'm sharing a scarf with a hole :)

While most of my dear readers are enjoying summer, we are in the middle of winter here.
So I made a scarf for a friend the other night.
That one is gone, but I thought I should share how I make these.

Here is how I make them:

Start with 20 or 30 stitches (depending on the size of your needles).
Knit 18-20 cm. Take an extra needle and keep one half of your stitches (10/15) on it.
Now work on the other 10/15 stitches. go for some 10 cm.
Do the same with the other half and continue working on all stitches.
You'll have a 10 cm long 'hole' in your scarf. Go on until you reach the length that looks good on you.
I make mine some 85 cm long.

I really like this twist in front where one end goes through the other and I've made a bunch of these scarves over several years using different materials and different colors. They are all gone. I only kept this silver colored one and I have been wearing it for three years now.
I like how it 'sits' and with this kind of yarn the hole is not even visible.

Hope you'll like it and make one for you before winter :)
I can only imagine how great it would feel to ware a scarf made from pearl yarn I saw here:

FB Photo

Love,
DK

Photo of the Day - Light in the Sky

2012-07-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

Hello my dear friends!

Oh, boy, I'm so glad I kept warm pictures like this one for the cold days to warm me up.

I would like to apologize for not being around much lately.
As we all know, life is not all pink and balloons, but don't worry, I will keep it for myself. This is a place for all things good and I want it to stay that way.
I still do my crafts and will be posting more soon. In the meantime, I do visit other blogs and try to 'stay in the loop'.

I've been very much into my baskets and rings for a while now.
Maybe it is time to show everybody some of the baskets that evolved from the first bunch I shared here in April. I might as well do it soon.

Until then, I hope this photo cheers you up.

Love,
DK

Photo of the Day

2012-07-03T16:56:00.000-07:00

Today I felt like sharing this photo, taken last spring (October) at Gold Coast, Queensland.

This winter day in Melbourne feels much better spiced with warm beach memories.
Funny enough, what you can see far in the back is a place cold Surfers Paradise :)

Have a fantastic day!
(If you're in the USA, have a happy Independence Day and enjoy your fireworks! I wish I could be there...)

Love,
DK

Photo of the Day - Power of the Ocean

2012-06-23T05:57:00.001-07:00

This is one of many photos I took each time I went along the Great Ocean Road. This road is rated one of the best scenic drives in the world, so if you visit Melbourne, make sure not to miss this ride.
There are many rocks like this one telling us stories of the power of the ocean. This always takes my breath away.

Love,
DK

P.S. You'll find a comment under this post that you will probably not understand.
Rosilene is from Brasil and it took some effort to translate this, but it was worth it :)
Here is what she wrote:
'I know a legend where the sea dominates the cliff and then abandons, as sometimes happens with humans, beautiful photo i will move on.'
(Something like that)
I was very touched by this and would really like Rosilene to share the story with me.
If it happens, I'll keep you posted.

Love!

Grace Kelly Exhibition

2012-06-19T05:51:00.000-07:00

I can't even start telling you how excited I was about this last week!
Grace Kelly exhibition!

Ever since I was a little girl, I loved Grace Kelly. She was The Princes to me.

Well, we could not have it here in Melbourne, but it wasn't hard to travel for a couple of hours to Bendigo, a provincial town in Victoria - the only place in Australia lucky enough to host this great exhibition.

This exhibition was first shown in London and now the world tour is on. Unfortunately, cameras were now allowed, but I found photos taken in London to share with you.

First meeting with her Prince. Because of an power outage at her hotel on the day, she could not dry her hair, so she improvised. Don't you think she did great? Wait, that's not all. She could not iron the frock she planned to wear either! She had to choose the least wrinkled one and it was a dress made from a pattern! Now you tell me it's not about how and by whom it's worn!

(This is why we call this bag 'kelly bag'. She had them in different colours.)

Well, I hope this will inspire you to dream and create something very stylish, my friends.

Have a fantastic week!

Love,

Happy Father's Day!

2012-06-16T23:30:00.003-07:00

(I used this beautiful vintage picture from 'The Graphic's Fairy' for this card.)

Love,
DK

My Memories Giveaway Winner

2012-06-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

To all participants:
Thank you so very much for participating!
If you were not lucky this time, I will have another My Memories giveaway in 3 months. Make sure you visit then.

If you decide to buy this software, you can get a $10 discount using this code:

STMMMS19805

And here is the result of the first ever giveaway here at DK's Craft Cafe:

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;The numbers generated by this widget come from RANDOM.ORG's true random number generator. &amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

So, 'The Keeper of the Zoo' won My Memories software for liking My Memories on Facebook.
Congratulations! I hope you'll have as much fun as I have playing with this software.
Also, make sure to use the opportunity to download additional free gifts - there are so many there.

Love to all,
DK

Make a Ring - Tutorial

2012-06-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much, everybody, for your kind comments on my ring.

I promised I would tell you how I made it, so here you are.
Many of you probably figured out immediately that this is the simplest crochet ever done.
- Start with a single loop.
- Make 6 stitches from that first loop
- Then do 2 stitches from each of the 6 stitches you've just done. (= 12 stitches)
- You can add one more 'expanding' row. You'll be doubling the number of stitches again.
- When you are happy with the size of your future ring, you will want to decide whether you want your ring to look like a little ball or more like a button.
- For the button look, you will go for one simple, 'single stitch' row - just repeat the same number of stitches in this row. If you are making a 'ball like' ring, skip this row.
- Then you start downsizing - 1 stitch in every second stitch from the previous row.
- Before you close the form, fill it with a cotton ball.
- Finish the 'ball'.
- Glue it to the 'blank' ring finding bought in a craft store.

Ta-Da! - A fluffy pink ball :)

The best part is playing with different materials.

I played further and here is more:

I used rough, shiny craft yarn here. I also made earrings here.

This one comes with mini arm warmers.

And this is a set in making - a ring, hand warmers and a brooch.

I hope you will find this post inspiring and the tutorial useful. My apologies - the photos are ugly again. Most of the winter I am at home only in the evening and this is the best I can do with the light I have to work with.

Love,

Challenge Your Creativity

2012-06-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

Hi!

I just stumbled upon this challenge at Rena Tom's site yesterday (check it out here).
I thought I'd give it a go and here is what I came up with:

To me this shows that I must be in a very conservative phase :)
How about you? - Let me know!

Now I prepare all my photos and graphics with help of My Memories software.
You can buy yours here:

Or, even better, participate in my very first giveaway and get it for FREE! - Click here!

My Memories Software - The First Ever Giveaway at DK's Craft Cafe

2012-06-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

I am soooo happy to offer you a free My Memories software today!

I think it's great that we can do digital scrapbook now. Much less mess, don't you think?
And with My Memories you have great albums in minutes. For any occasion.

All in minutes, yey!

Once you have the software, you have access to lots of free add-ons.

And that's not all. Here is a Father's Day card I made using this software and a graphic from The Graphics Fairy:

Or how about Graphics Fairy's instant printables?

And here is the first option for my blog button.

I still need to work on it. As soon as I'm done with an assignment I'm working on for school.
You will be able to make your own buttons, blog/Facebook/shop headers and more.

How to win
Get involved in any of the following ways:
1. Just leave a comment saying you would like to have this software.
2. Go and check out My Memories for yourself. Come back here and leave a comment telling me which paper pack or layout you liked best. (You get 2 entries for this one).
And you're in!
You can also choose to:
- follow My Memories on Facebook,
- follow my blog,
- promote this giveaway on your Facebook, Twitter, blog...
Whatever you choose to do, make sure you leave a separate comment for each of your actions. That's how you increase your chances to win.
But, wait, there is more good news!
If you decide to buy My Memories, use this code for $10 discount:

STMMMS19805

This giveaway will close on June 15.

Click here to start:

Hoping you'll like My Memories as much as I do and wishing you luck!

Love,

DK

PS: You can also find My Memories giveaway at Hannicraft and Serenity You.

A Ring & a Rose

2012-05-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I made some new accessories:

I first made the ring.

I love large pieces of accessory. I will not wear much, but you're likely to notice what I'm wearing at any time.
So I decided I would make this large rose pin too (which can become a part of a necklace one of these days).

Sorry about the low quality of the photos - I was excited to share this last night and pictures are taken in bad light. One of these days I will try to replace them with better photos. I will also share a tutorial on how to make these babies for yourself.

I have to run now, but I'm leaving you happy that I have new accessory to show off come next casual Friday :)

Love,

Photo Challenge - The Sun

2012-05-11T21:08:00.001-07:00

Here is another challenge at Our Reflection:

The Sun

I take many pictures of the sky and sunset. This one, taken in Lakes Entrance, is one of my favourites.
Hope you'll like it too.

In other news: I decided to organise my very first giveaway before the end of May. I'm so excited!
Stay tuned :)

Love,
DK

Sunny Day in the Country

2012-05-06T23:42:00.000-07:00

It's been only two weeks since I spent a day in the country, but it is so cold today, this lovely day seems to be sooo far away.

I enjoyed the sun, the air and the peace of a sunny early-autumn day.
There is a lot of green in Australia throughout the year, but the warm colours of dying leaves still can be found everywhere.

We don't remove dead trees in Australia. Pictures like the one above can be seen everywhere. Sad but beautiful, don't you think?

Here are a few pictures taken in a small country town called Woodend.

And this is the hous I'll buy if I win Lotto before the end of May. And so I'll open a real brick-and-mortar craft cafe and live there happily ever after...

Just dreaming - doesn't cost me a cent :)

OK, I promise I'll be a good girl and post a real project soon. (I've been really busy with some assignments for the course I'm attending.)

Love,
DK

Free Printables: Mother's Day Cards

2012-04-27T07:00:00.002-07:00

Here are a few Mother's Day cards for you:

Just choose the right size in your printer settings and off you go! Enjoy!

Love, DK

Photo Challenge: From a Low Angle

2012-04-27T05:52:00.004-07:00

I found this weekly photo challenge over at Laura's Our Reflection.
While there is so much I'm still to learn about photography, I just love taking pictures and get so very excited when they turn out well.
Last weekend I was out in the country enjoying a beautiful autumn day. I took some pictures that will make a nice post one of these days.
I thought I could share at Laura's this one taken from a low angle:

Lovely autumn light and gorgeous colors made this picture beautiful, not my skill.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Why don't you go to

and add one of your photos too? Let's make it a party!

Love, DK

Flower Fashion

2012-04-21T05:04:00.001-07:00

I've been very sick and very tired this week.
I haven't done much but, thanks to the Melbourne Flower and Garden Show, I still have one more thing up my sleeve :)
This is the last post from the Show. I call this Flower Fashion, but this is a flower-meets-garlic, florist-meets-artist kind of a thing. And more.
Take a look:

I wish I had time to play with these photos and take all the backgrounds out. These look quite busy, but you'll get the idea.

I guess there is nothing really new in this world. We have seen models wearing fresh fruits and flowers. We have seen people wearing fresh meat, for that sake. But I have not seen this much creativity in excursions like this one before. Not to mention the skill and time given here.

This one is pregnant :)

So, my friends, that is the best I could do with my little camera and my humble skills in the space and under the light I could not change.
I still hope you will enjoy these photos and feel at least a part of the atmosphere these fabulous works created at the Show.

Love,
DK

Happy Easter! Roses for You :)

2012-04-07T00:53:00.000-07:00

This Easter I have roses for you. More pics from Melbourne F&G Show:

I will make cards with some of these photos. If you like them, please feel free to use them.

Mother's Day is coming :)

HAPPY, HAPPY EASTER!

Love,

I've been tagged

2012-04-06T22:26:00.002-07:00

I know I promised this post days ago L

As this is about me, I first need to let you know I’ve been suffering on migraines for many years now. This week it came again. It makes me reduce my activities as much as I can afford… I just couldn’t stand sitting in front of the computer. I did work most of the time and that was too much already….

Back to the game now:

As I said, Hanni from Hanni’s Crafts tagged me into this game. Here’s how it works:

The rules
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.
3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you've tagged them.

Can you believe, these birds come and eat from your hand? This is not a park, these are free birds :)

1. I love Jesus. You might think it’s cool or not cool, I’ll respect, but my first priority is to have Him to like me.

2. The greatest blessing in my life is my son Alex (17 now).

3. I was born in Yugoslavia. That country does not exist anymore.

4. I studied German Language and Literature and still feel connected to that culture, although my work has nothing to do with it.

5. I love waters. Sitting and watching the ocean (or a river) is the best therapy for me.

6. If I had my own pool, I would swim every day. Hard to prove this one J

7. I also love walking in the city.

8. Melbourne is full of beautiful parks. Another source of inspiration J

9. I’ve travelled quite some, but I wish I could travel much more.

10. I’ve realised just recently that I need to put ‘Read magazines’ into my calendar. I’m just too busy …

11. My dream home would be an old house somewhere around Mediterranean Sea.

Now to Hanni’s questions:

1. What do you love the most in blogging?

I love that feeling of being connected with people who share my interest in crafting.

2. Do you have other hobbies than crafting?

I always loved reading. A lot.

3. What was the last book you have read?

I’ve just re-read To Kill the Mocking Bird. I loved it as much as I had the first time J

4. Would you like something to learn or study now?

I always learn. I’m attending a course right now, but after that I’ll probably try to make a longer break – I’m sooo exhausted. What I would really love to do (and I can’t right now) is a photography course.

5. Are you a planner or a daydreamer type?

I’ve kept trying to make myself a planner most of my life and I’m getting better with time. OK, I admit, I’m a daydreamer by nature.

6. Do you prefer smaller blogs or big "professional" blogs (sites)? Which ones are your favourites?

‘Big’ blogs are looking great, photography is great, they have many contributors, so there is much to see. On the other hand, I connect much more with the smaller blogs being one of them. There is a person behind a small blog, someone who will email me and I’ll feel like getting a letter from a friend. And that’s great.

7. What is your favourite social site?

I’m a member everywhere, but I have to admit I just can’t find time to be really active on those sites.

I really like Pinterest and plan to be much more active there in the future.

8. What is the first thing you look on a b l o g ? What is more important: the men behind the scenes or the content?

I first look at the quality of photos, but once I’m there I always read at least a couple of posts and the person behind them is important to me.
9. Do you plan any trip or holiday lately? Where do you want to travel?

Since I live in Australia, my main concern is to go and visit my family and friends in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. In the meantime, I travel some in Australia. There is so much more to be seen here!

10. What is your favourite citation or phrase?

I love Bible and believe there is an answer to any circumstances of life to be found in the Bible.

11. Do you know something about my country Hungary?

As you would imagine, dear Hanni, coming from your ‘neighbourhood’ I know much about Hungary. Unfortunately, I’ve only been to Budapest (and for a short time), but I loved it! Budapest is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. When I go back to visit my family, I’ll try to visit Your great capital again and see some more – maybe Pecs, and ‘Hungarian Sea’, Lake Balaton (I saw it from the plane and there seems to be so much going on there.)

Now, I didn’t say this about me: I respect very much other people’s space and hardly ever initiate any relationship.

I have a problem now to invite anybody to this game. There are many blogs I love and would really like to know more about the authors, but I don’t know who would have time or interest to join and tell us more about themselves.

So, if anybody wants to do this, I would appreciate it very much. I know we’re all busy but I managed to do this and I’m glad I did.

In case anybody wants to join in, here are my questions:

1. If you should choose one word that means YOU, which word would it be?

2. Is crafting your hobby or business?

3. What is your favourite kind of music?

4. Movie(s) you will always remember

5. Books that shaped you as a person

6. Which style do you like best in decorating?

7. Your favourite colour

8. How do you like to dress?

9. What is your ideal ‘you’ time?

10. Do you have a dream which is still to come true?

11. If you could choose a trip this year, where would you go?

If you would like to participate, please let me know and I’ll add your button/link to this post. I will also recommend your post in my future posts.

See this as a good way to connect more with other bloggers.

HAPPY EASTER!