made.by.me*

Bow tie alternatives - Office collection

2016-05-26T16:37:00.003+01:00

If you visited my shop recently, you might have noticed new layout as well as new items. Below is a little sneak peek of new Office collection. Hope you enjoy it! :)

Simple Black geometric bow tie alternative It goes well with any 1 color shirt. It is also unisex.

You can choose this one in any color you want. Select from options at the check out.

Black geometric unisex collar accessory from Office range

Geometric collar accessories

2016-04-11T19:10:00.000+01:00

Here is a little update from my shop. I've added couple more geometric accessories there ( or let's call them bow tie alternatives as per my previous posts). Hope you like them!

Sparkle your ordinary office shirt with this Turquoise ombre geometric collar necklace £17

Or this one in combination of black and white £17

If you want something a little bit bold, try this triangle shaped bow tie alternative £14

Let me know which one do you like the most?

5 minutes DIY fitted sheet for moses basket

2016-03-08T17:51:00.001+00:00

My due date is pretty close now, so I am trying to finish all little sewing projects for the little one. Today I made fitted sheet from spare fabric and it took me basically 5-7 minutes with all the measuring, cutting & sewing. I can imagine how often sheets need to be changed when it comes to baby, so I will definitely do more!

Take the mattress out of the moses basket and put on fabric. Allow 3 inches for seaming on each side when cutting the fabric.

Sew a casing seam all the way around the fabric and then sew on elastic band. I used 5mm thin elastic band. Don't forget to stretch it when sewing on!

And that's it! Easy peasy!

Geometric necklaces - bow tie alternatives PART 3

2016-02-29T16:01:00.001+00:00

Bow ties became very popular in last couple years and I always enjoy making them, but I told myself maybe it's time to offer something different, similar to bow ties, but SOMETHING NEW. I've started to make unisex bow tie alternatives from quality leatherette which are ideal for any occasion, even everyday wear. I have already posted PART 1 and PART 2 and now it's time for new addition to my shop - PART 3 !

Grey, black and Yellow bow tie alternative £17

Intense pink, black and yellow bow tie alternative £17

Geometric necklaces - bow tie alternative PART 2

2016-01-01T22:32:00.000+00:00

I featured some of my geometric accessories here couple weeks ago and as I enjoyed making and wearing them I've made some new since. It's very easy to make them by yourself but If you prefer buying some you can browse through all accessories here.

One of a kind geometric bow tie alternative

Geometric grey/white/black unisex collar accessory

bow tie alternative in black/ white and yellow

Gift ideas for Christmas

2015-11-29T19:53:00.000+00:00

Here is a little list of ideas for Christmas presents. All items comes from Etsy, so everything is handmade. Hope you like them, Happy shopping!

Gifts for her:

Long sleeves tunic top by AryaSense £47.10

Silver cat necklace by mostlikelyShop £72.40

Gifts for him:

One of a kind bow tie by cyou2nite £11.00

Natural wood felt slippers by aikafeltworks £47.27

Gifts for a kid:

Minijungle by milimbo £8.69

Wooden Camera by BublyMoon £15.00

Babies Rattle by LizzieSimpsonDesign £27

Household gifts

Decorative pillow cover by sandraarduiniphoto £20.48

Set of 2 pot holders by Bohelina £23.21

3 set of bird wall hooks by Dubudumo £12.97

Geometric necklaces - bow tie alternative PART 1

2015-11-28T21:08:00.000+00:00

I became bored of all accessories that I have. When I go buy some new ones I always fine same stuff in all shops. Repetition of "style". Boooring!! I wanted something original and something that describe me. Style I like is of course simple lines, geometric pattern, nothing complicated. So here is what I came up with.

I combined bits and pieces of quality leatherette and create something like bow tie alternative. Now I can bring life to a boring single color shirt or any plain top. It is very easy to make and you can do it yourself, but If you don't have time or don't feel like doing something, you can also order same in my shop. This one is listed here.

Another necklace very similar to the first one. It is very simple to make. It's all about combining right colors and shapes together and that's it! Here is link to this necklace if you like it.

The necklace above is my favorite. It goes well with plain black shirt. You can find more details here.

Vivid colors like Yellow can add very nice finish to your outfit. This necklace is a combination of quality yellow, black and white leatherette and there are also white studs in the middle with tiny black and yellow freckles. For more pictures, info and price please click here .

This diamond shape necklace goes well with collars, but it also look nice on a loose top:

If you like these you might also like my whole range of geometric accessories. Feel free to visit my shop.

Thank you!

Photo book converted into Jewelry organizer

2015-06-13T19:55:00.002+01:00

Do you also have those days when you are in hurry and you can't find that necklace that goes well with your dress? Your jewels are all over the place, some are in a bathroom, some in a wardrobe, some in a bag. You end up running from one room to another and at the end you decide to wear no accessory at all, because nothing is as good as that damn necklace that you bought just last week. Where did I put it???

So, as I like recycling I decided to to convert an older photo book into jewelry organizer. I like its cover so much that I thought it would be nice to look at it more often. The cover is a beautiful Japanese style silk fabric in light purple color with golden embroidery.

I pierced pages with a needle. Then I pull through a little black hair clips that I used as a jewelry holders.

All my necklaces, earrings, bracelets are now at one place

And it's easy to store

Now I can enjoy and actually see all my jewels and of course save a lot of time in the morning too!

DIY - Hand painted wood necklace

2015-06-11T20:48:00.000+01:00

This necklace is so easy to make, all you need is:

- piece of wood (ideally flat, polished & pre-drilled) I used my old earring so that was easy

- tape (either masking tape or just an office tape)

- nail varnishes of your choice

And then just simply use a tape to create straight line and to cover the parts that you don't want to paint. Wait until first coat dry up, remove tape and then apply new tape in different angle. Apply second nail varnish and then third and so on.. You can create amazing geometric shapes just under 5 minutes. Go ahead, show me yours!

Blouse alteration

2015-03-28T16:29:00.000+00:00

I've been watching The Great British Sewing Bee lately, which I endlessly love and everytime I watch it I want to dust off my sewing machine and do something amazing. So last time I watched one of the episodes when I decided to do some garment alteration. I have many items piled up in my wardrobe which I don't wear but can't bin as they mean something to me or reminds me some special occasion or I have some items that I haven't even worn as they were given to me as a gift and aren't 'my cup of tea' if you know what I mean... So I've told myself why don't you change these slightly and make them either wearable or alter them to something completely different. Here is the first alteration and I hope you like it!

I had this blouse only for couple months, but I didn't wear it as I didn't like the collar and wide sleeves, therefore these were first 2 things I removed from the blouse immediately.

I used existing collar and sleeves as a pattern so I didn't have to measure the blouse again or create new pattern. As material I used black leatherette (faux leather) that you can buy in any shop with fabrics. You can buy various type of faux leather from heavy duty to very thin letherette. In my opinion medium leatherette is the best as it still look like leather and it's easier to sew and shape.

Once I cut the shape of sleeves and collar I pinned and sew onto the blouse and cut it to the wanted length/shape.

I've also added a piece of leatherette onto button's line matching the width of the line and sew on new black buttons on top of it.

And that's it! The new blouse has been born :) I think it will be my favorite this summer :)

DIY Origami Rug

2015-03-27T19:59:00.000+00:00

I always get excited to find any new Origami DIY project on Pinterest and can't wait to dive into it. Last time I did Felt Table mats and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to do something similar but in a bigger scale. So.. Here it is .. The Origami rug!

At the time I didn't realize that doing this project in bigger format will take weeks/ maybe months? I usually started at evenings after dinner while watching TV. I didn't have to concentrate as this requires repetition of the same thing on and on again. I felt like a machine! But I enjoyed doing it and I think the result is great, I love my new carpet in our dining room.

My little helper likes it too!

Below are couple pictures from work in progress. If you want to try to give a go, please visit this amazing blog 'How about orange' where you can download pattern and follow easy steps.

I have chosen different material rather then felt this time. I used thin carpet, which wasn't probably great choice as it wasn't easy to fold or cut, but at the end it is a carpet so I wanted to go for something durable. If you use felt you will have to reinforce it with some heavy duty iron or sew on underlay.

Pattern and step by step can be found here

What you can see below took me about 6 evenings to finish. Yes, there is a lot of cutting, folding, and cutting again involved but I am sure you will love the result of your work at the end, like I did.

If you find any more interesting origami projects, feel free to share here. I can't wait to make more. Thank you for reading :)

Felt project - Table mats

2014-12-30T17:37:00.001+00:00

I found an amazing felt project at How about orange couple days ago and my fingers were itching to try it. I am a huge fan of geometric shapes and simple lines so this project was MUST HAVE for me. Below are some pictures and steps how I created these. Visit How about orange to find more details as well as download perfect pattern.

There is only 1 thing I have added to this project and that's underlay / lining support, which makes mats firmer and more durable. I applied iron on thick vliseline. You can buy it in local shop with fabrics or some bigger craft shops.

Step by step:

1. Cut squares as per pattern using 'stanley knife' or use scissors. I've found scissors to work better with soft felt, however stanley knife is more accurate. Before cutting fasten each square with a pin.

2. Begin insert corner pieces through the slots in the middle

3. Connect as many squares as you want. You can create small coaster, table mats or even carpet! That will be my next project :)

4. Trim off the excess felt around the edges and cut off the points of the triangular tabs to create nice geometric shape. Iron on thick vliseline on the back side. This will also straighten edges on the other side and will make mats looks neat and tidy.

5. Woohoo, all done! :)

Curtains - DIY

2013-11-24T18:43:00.000+00:00

I love trips to IKEA I could spend hours there wandering around and buying all those little bits for a household. We went there other day and one of the thing we bought was a very cute black fabric with white and orange Koi carps print. My boyfriend is a huge fan of Koi carps, so we decided to make a new curtains in a living room :)

DIY curtains - What you need:

- Fabric 5m long, at least 120cm wide (The best fabric for curtains is heavy cotton, thick polyester fabric, or any firm, durable fabric)

- sewing machine

- matching sewing threads

- scissors

- gathering tape

- Iron-on tape if you like for bottom hemming (I haven't used it at the end)

Step 1: Measure and cut fabric. I measured the length between the curtain rail and the floor and added about 5 cm on the bottom to account for the hems. To cut the fabric right, lay it out on a large flat surface - table is not enough, I lay it out on a floor. If using a patterned fabric it is important to make sure each drop starts ate the same point in the pattern so that the design flows across the window.

Step 2: Sew the side hems as per below picture, allowing at least 1,5 cm for hemming.

Step 3: Press the top of the curtains down (about 2cm) to the inside and sew the curtain tape across the top of the wrong side of the curtains. Fold in ends and stitch along outside edges ensuring that the strings are not caught in stitch line.

Now your curtain top corner should appear like this:

Below is a guide how to make equal ruffles by tying strings on gathering tape and also how to attach the curtain on a rail using plastic clips.

Step 4: Sew the bottom hem on each curtain.

And that's it! Your new curtains are ready to be pressed and hang! :)

DIY project - Leather detail skirt

2013-11-17T17:40:00.000+00:00

My favorite black skirt has shrinked a little bit and I can only blame my washing machine for that... Other reason could be that I put on weight but I would rather stick to the first option :).

... so as I couldn't wear that skirt any longer, I decided to enlarge it with a piece of faux leather and make it even fashionable! If you want to make something similar below is the guide for you, enjoy!

What you need: piece of leather - real or faux, a ruler, fabric chalk, scissors, sewing machine and of course some skirt with zip closure in the back

STEP 1: measure your skirt length and cut a strip from leather in exact length, the width depends on how much you want to enlarge it. I kept the same width along the whole leather strip as my skirt has an elastic waist belt.

STEP 2: Cut the opening for a zip into the leather piece.

STEP 3: Carefully rip the stitching as pictured, including stitching around the zip

STEP 4: Use pins to fasten the zip and leather and sew it together using zipper sewing foot.

STEP 5: Fasten leather strip along both sides of skirt fabric and sew through

TADA! New leather detail skirt :)

Summer sales at MirkaDesign, up to 75% off!

2013-08-24T12:25:00.000+01:00

Enjoy massive summer sales at MirkaDesign all resin necklaces under $20.00 !

Summer sale online

2013-08-04T11:41:00.000+01:00

Enjoy sales up to 50% on selected items at MirkaDesign. Offer ends 17th of August!

Click here to access MirkaDesign online shop.

A little bit of Vintage - hand made necklaces & earrings

2013-07-27T15:38:00.000+01:00

I've made some necklaces and earrings out of old-fashioned jewels and made them wearable again. It's a pity that I haven't took a picture "before and after" so you could see the difference! Hope you like them anyway!

Vintage style statement necklace by MirkaDesign $22.00

Drop shaped earrings by MirkaDesign $14.00

Vintage brass statement necklace $22.00

Gun Metal Leaves necklace by MirkaDesign $22.00

.. And matching gun metal earrings $14.00

For more jewels please visit here

Hand painted stones necklaces

2013-07-21T16:52:00.002+01:00

I've found jewelry making very relaxing and it has become one of my favorite things to do over the weekends, especially those rainy ones, and we have them many here in the UK! The greatest thing about jewelry making is that there are so many ways how to combine various materials, bits and pieces, ideas, that it's never boring. This time I used a natural material - light weight stones. I've picked some nice little pieces from Stanwick lakes near Rushden when I was walking my dog Floo and painted them with durable gold paint. Here is the result!

Find more details here

Another Hand-painted stone necklace

Find the last one here

Which one would you prefer to wear? Click here to view more necklaces made by MirkaDesign. Thank you! :)

Summer must haves - all available online!

2013-06-29T21:29:00.000+01:00

These below items are just great for this summer holidays. Most of them are chosen from Etsy - the hand-made world. Feel free to browse and find more items on ETSY!

Red transparent round vintage eyeglasses $29.99 - (International shipping)

One of a kind Wood clutch by AssemblageUnique $150 - (International shipping )

Geometric iPhone4 Case by Fieldtrip $18.00 (International shipping)

Dolly Bow Headband by Eindre $12.00 (International shipping)

Skipper High Waisted Navy Nautical Sailor Bikini Bottom $54.00

A sweet pair of red Suitcase Set $64.50

Chain Head Piece by ThreeBirdNest $23.00 (International shipping)

Geometric drop shaped necklace $26.00 (International shipping)

Bodysuit by Bershka £19.99 - (International shipping)

Geometric pattern High Waisted panties $23.00 (International shipping)

All natural Lip Balm by Winsome Green $5.50 (Shipping to USA only)

Cut out bikiny by OYE swim wear Wikus $199 - (International shipping)

Now, What item do you like the most? :-)

Stages of love - a new collection of my heart shaped pendants

2013-06-09T09:59:00.001+01:00

In last couple weeks I became obsessed by creating resin jewels. It's such a nice, relaxing hobby. Today I want to feature few heart shaped necklaces from my shop. Let's call this LOVE stages, however there are so many that I would have to work many months to express them all in my jewels.

1. Meeting someone - Heart full of hope, mixed feelings, butterflies in a belly... We all know this feeling. A little red metal flakes in calm green colored resin are my expression of new beginnings and hope.

Find necklace here

2. Falling in love - This is when heart starts to open and receive love. At this stage you're finding yourself smiling a lot, being happier suddenly, being better person. Your heart beats faster every time you think of the "one". You want to be with him/her all the time... My necklace is half full of sparkling metal flakes, as a symbol of good things coming to your heart.

Find necklace here

3. Heart full of love - You are sparkling with love now, looking so happy and beautiful, the glow of happiness is written all over your face! Every day is suddenly wonderful! Your heart is finally full of love and you feel amazing :) NOTHING is better then spending time with your half. You feel complete. I think I don't have to explain why this pendant is full of red sparkling pieces!

Find necklace here

4. Argument/ Misunderstanding / Disappointment in romance may spell the end of the relationship. But it can also make your relationship stronger. All problems in relationship makes you feel blue, your heart suddenly weight a ton and you are not as happy as you were before. Of course this can all be fixed, the basic rule is Conversation! Talk to each other! (Am I trying to be a psychoterapist here? That's not my intention guys :) Just enjoy my necklace :)

Find necklace here

5. When Love is only a pain - Have you ever got to a stage in relationship when nothing could save it? Every single day is full of arguments, smile left your faces a long time ago and priority levels of you two are completely opposite? Your heart feels like it's full of nails, like it's broken to pieces.

find a necklace here

Necklace cloudy love

Necklace Black heart

6. Good friends - It's impossible in most cases, but to preserve a friendship is sometimes better then stay in relationship which doesn't work. A drying tree can be revive if both of you really want to.

More about necklace here

So, in what stage of love are YOU?

Geometric shaped headbands by MirkaDesign

2013-05-19T20:14:00.001+01:00

I love all kinds of geometric accessories. Combination of circles, hexagons, squares and so on can add really nice finish to your outfit! I found some spare leather and suede pieces so I transferred them into something eye-catchy and of course geometric!

This cute handmade geometric headband features black leather and cream suede triangles arranged in a half circle. The geometric head piece is attached to one size metal non corrosive headband and secured by a piece of leather from the inside. The headband is suitable for any occasion.

This one is made from false suede triangles and it goes well with black top or combination of black and cream or even white!

And finally arrow shaped head-band made from combination of black and cream triangles attached securely to black metal headband.

I have another idea how to use spare leather, and I will share it with you very soon! :)

DIY - Elbow patched jumper

2013-04-04T21:57:00.000+01:00

The Elbow patches - For someone it is the latest fashion statement, for someone it is just the way how to fix the hole on her/his favorite jumper. For whatever reason you have just found this post - here is how you do it!

What you need:

- jumper

- piece of fabric ( leather, leatherette, denim, manchester, firm cotton, ..)

- pair of scissors

- paper

- pins

- sewing machine / overlocker (not necessary )

Steps:

1. On a piece of paper draw the shape of the patch - it can be simple "O" shape, or cute hearts, squares - whatever you fancy..

2. Pin the paper shape to piece of fabric and cut it with scissors ( x2)

3. Seam the edges with sewing machine or overlocker. It will stop fabric from fraying, but it's not necessary if you use leather, leatherette or suede.

4. Use a ripper or a pin to tie the thread ends

5.Try the sweater on, place the patches at elbow level and pin them on sweater. Just make sure they are both at the same level.

6. Now you can sew the patches to the sweater by sewing machine or by hand. I sew it by hand as the sleeve or neck hole wasn't wide enough to put it through the sewing machine arm.

7. Ta daaaaaaaaaa... Elbow patched jumper is live!

DIY - How to shave your dog

2013-03-24T18:09:00.000+00:00

It is the time of the year when dogs are changing their "coats" for warmer weather. If you have a dog you know how hard it is to keep your house hairless in Spring. It is just impossible! Therefore I decided to visit a local dog groomer, who informed me that earliest available date she has for Floo is 20th of April. Now what do you do?

a) Wait till the end of April and hover every second day to keep your house tidy
b) Travel to different town to find another groomer
c) Shave your dog by yourself

Well, I decided to go for c) option and shave Floo at home. I thought it would be hard job but it wasn't at the end. It was actually easy and I enjoyed it! Here is the result

Steps:

Choose your shaver. I have bought a classic human shaver with several attachments (various blades from 0.5 mm to 2.5 cm) I made sure that shaver is not loud as Floo is afraid of the noise. If your dog is too, turn it on before starting to shave and let your dog get used to it. Hold it near his/her head.You can also buy proper dog shavers at a pet shop or an animal grooming store.
Hold your dog still. I asked my boyfriend to hold Floo for me. If you want to do it on your own, you will need to put your dog on a table and hold your dog's collar so he/she keep their head up and won't jump off.
Attach the 0.9 mm blade and start with the face. Hold your shaver flat against the skin and shave toward the eyes, moving the same way as the hair. To get the corners, shave away from the eye. If your dog is moving around, wait untill he/she settles down.
Go to the underarms. When the dog is standing, lift up their arm in a comfortable position. Shave under the arm and repeat with the other arm.
Move to the groin. Lift your dog's legs. This will keep the dog clean when they have to go to the "bathroom".
Now go to their bottom. Raise theire tail and shave around their bottom. This is also to keep them clean when they "do their business". Be careful in this area! :)
Shave the rest of the body. I changed the blade from 0.9 mm to 1.8 mm. Start behind the head and go down the neck going on to the back and then down both sides.
When you are done you can give your dog a bath and groom him/her with a brush or comb.

And there we are - nice & groomed! :)

Gift ideas for Christmas

2012-11-12T17:14:00.000+00:00

Picking Christmas presents should be fun and easy! I want to show you some gift ideas for everyone available online at www.etsy.com. Hopefully this will make your shopping easier this year! :)

Silver Faceted Bar Ring $125.00

Brian the Bear Lambswool Plush - Made to order $48.00

geometric wool shawl $77.00

Handmade sparkling white polymer clay brooch with the handpainted writing $17.00

natural white birch wood coaster - set of 4 $24.00

Coconut and Brown Sugar Scrub 8oz in Ball Jar $14.00

City Canvas Backpack in Hand Dyed Stormy Weather Ombre $160.00

Silk Scarf Hand painted Golden Autumn stole in Brown and Amber tone $32.00

Salt & Pepper Shaker "icosa" $35.00

Mustard bow tie $37.00

Gift FOR KIDS Fox MITTENS Gloves $27.00

Thistledown Cashmere and Wool Hat $40.00

Salted Fudge $8.00

Women Slipper Socks $70.00

Mini Wood Bowls, Set of Two $16.00

Coffee sachet heart magnet $ 7.50

Find more HAND MADE gifts at ETSY and don't forget to visit my shop too!

Happy shopping!

Geometric rings

2012-08-22T13:55:00.002+01:00

Hey guys,
Have you seen my new online shop? I thought I would share some great handmade items with you. Here are pics of some unique geometric rings made by talented american artist. Take time to visit my shop and feel free to share it!

Pink neon geometric square ring

Yellow neon geometric square ring

Mint neon geometric square ring

Black hexagon geometric ring

Neon pink hexagon geometric ring

So, Which one do you like the most?

Find more unique jewels here