和紙

I think you all know that I am a paper-lover, I have quite a collection of all kinds of papers (vintage wallpapers, handmade papers, Japanese papers... I even brought a huge pile of Chinese newspapers from my hotel in New York and if I am not looking for vintage trims on the Flee market, I am lookin gfor cute cards or papers...)

Since some time I use Washi or Wagami (Japanese paper) in my designs.

I try to find an interesting detail in the paper : (a twig , a blossom, leaves...) to use in my designs.

(you can find them here in my shop.)

want to know a bit more about Washi?

Washi or Wagami (和紙?, literally, "harmony paper" or "serenity paper") is a type of paper made in Japan.

Washi is commonly made using fibers from the bark of the gampi tree, but also can be made using bamboo, hemp, rice, and wheat.

Washi comes from wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper, and the term is used to describe paper made by hand in the traditional manner.

Washi is generally tougher than ordinary paper made from wood pulp, and is used in many traditional arts. Origami, Shodo, and Ukiyo-e were all produced using washi. Washi was also used to make various everyday goods like clothes, household goods, and toys as well as vestments and ritual objects for Shinto priests and statues of Buddha.

It was even used to make wreaths that were given to winners in the 1998 Winter Paralympics.

Washi was developed from the traditional Chinese paper-making process.

find more about Washi on Wikipedia.

want to know a bit more about Japan?

go to Malene's blog, Malene just came home from a trip to Japan and has a lot to share!

(thanks Malene for featuring one of my designs in you blog!)

flickr favorites

1. midsummer, 2. flower 6, 3. vintage zipper three spiral necklace - copyright amalia versaci 2009, 4. ready to go

Flowers definitely inspire me, they are a red thread through all my work.
I made this little collection with the real stuff and more abstract artwork that makes me think of flowers.

me modelling ;-))

I know that most customers like to see how a necklace hangs , therefor I try to show a necklace always on my clothes-doll, ...

I like her a lot, she is my roommate, keeps me always company in the the moments when I am lonely ...... creating. (I must say I love her quietness, I just love it that we understand each other without words ;-))

But lately I took some pictures of myself, modelling the necklaces, just to show how nice they hang on a real body :-))

What do you think, are you more tempted to buy now, or not.... :-))

anyway, you can find these necklaces in my shop.

from left to right:

Underwater Love: Silk flower and beads on a copper chain.

Sweet Jane: Fuchsia Silk beads and truquoise touches... adjustable lenght

Lemon and lime: soon in my shop.

Pinkblush Blossom: linen flower on a copper chain.

4 joyfull days!

Etsy is down for maintenance, this gives me the time to blog about a long warm weekend :-)

Last thursday was a public holiday in Belgium, and hubby also had a day off on friday, so we had a looooooong weekend.

The weather was incredibly nice here , so this sunday I spend the whole afternoon enjoying the sun, the good weather gave me the good vibes to create some new designs :-) (I'll show you some pics tomorrow).

Saturday we spend the day with friends that we met years ago. It was our adoption procedure that brought us together. The waiting during an adoption is a very hard time, we met each other a lot then, we were like brothers in arms.... :-) Now we try to meet once a year as we are not living very close to each other.
See what a bunch of happy adopted kids we have now :-)

On Friday, We spent our day in Holland, in the Efteling, the kids had big fun,

So much fun that when we drove home, 3 of the kids just slept from beginning to end .

Mies, with the fairy crown, was watching children songs on DVD and sang out loudly, but the three others just went on with their very deep sleep! :-)

Gerard, leonore and Mathilda found a new home in Japan

I want to show you my cute cats, Gerard, Leonore and Mathilda, who gave me company in my shop, but not for long, .....
they are adopted by a sweet lady from Japan,.... I know it's far, ...but I am sure they will find a nice and cosy new home there!
So I filled the empty places with new friends Emile and Lola , you can already find them in my shop.

Creating these cats is fun, so , soon, I will make more of these little pets!

Flower in the woods

Today is a 'kids' day, we're leaving early for Holland, to the 'Efteling', the two youngest are still young enough to believe in fairytales and the oldest have lots of fun with their little brother and sister believing all that stuff about witches, wolves, snowy white and little red hood :-)
We will take a yummie picnic with us, so I am sure it will be a great day!

Today I want to show you the results of my creative work yesterday.

The necklaces turned out very lightweight and give me a real summery feeling because of the materials I use: the linen and the wood.

I hope they will be a hit in my shop, because I like making them!

you can find them here.

my creative workspace

I love making these linen and silk flowers, and because of their natural feeling and look, I combined them with Bayong wood, which has a pretty reddish color.

A new design, perfect for summer, already one in my shop! :-))

Find out about other creative spaces on kootoyoo's blog :-)