Sneak peak of my new webstore!

A sneak peak for those of you who are curious about what I'm up to. 

I have been working on my new webstore so here is a chance to snag these items before I officially open my store:

https://www.freewebstore.org/kamadesign 

If you got any feedback or run into  any problems with the site, 

let me know. 

 

Great Christmaspresent tip for all who want to learn how to draw

A quick tip for those of you who are early with your Christmas shopping:

This guy has some really awesome tutorials on youtube on how to draw with pen and ink. His tutorials inspired me to give doodling a go and I'm so greatful to him for it. 

He has published a book on this subject. It's been out for almost a year now. Apparently I haven't kept up with his tutorials lately (which piled up to be a year, but that's my idea of "lately") so I didn't know about it. But now I do and it's oh so going up on my Christmas wishlist.

You can buy it (among other places I'm sure) on:
amazon
bokus
adlibris
 

Here's one of my drawings following his tutorial:

Check out that tutorial here and while you're at it subscribe:

Alphonso Dunn's youtube tutorial. Seascape

Youtube premiere!

Yesterday I started my youtube career :)

A quick video that shows how I make my metalwire jewelry.

So much I had to learn with editing and computerstuff so I'm quite proud the way it turned out, even if it's quite basic.

 Small steps, am I right? If you have any suggestions on what you would like me to film, let me know here, on facebook or on that video. Constructive criticism is also welcome. 

While you're at it, like the video and subscribe.

Enjoy!

Youtube How I DIY metalwire necklace

 

Tilda "fruit garden" quilt - my first big quilt

If you are a follower of this blog you might remember a looong time ago I was desperately looking for three scrappieces of a Tilda fabric.

Thanks to some very nice fellow crafters I managed to get those last pieces I needed to finish this quilt. It's been finished for a couple of months, but it took me a while to photograph it. 

This is my first finished big quilt. It measures about 105x145cm. You might remember the first finished quilt I made for baby Alicia, but it was much smaller. 

 For this quilt I used Tilda fabrics designed by Tone Finnanger. The collection is called "fruit garden". The back is a fushiacolored cotton fabric.

I made up the pattern myself. I started by cutting 9x24cm pieces. Three of the patterns were to be joined horisontally and three vertically. 

Every of these three fabric pieces made a square. I attached them together and got a pretty neat pattern. Originally I wanted to have strips of fabric in between the squares to hide any imperfections, but it turned out I had been quite good with keeping exact measurements and the squares joined up perfectly. Almost the whole quilt is machinestitched except the fushiaborder which is handstitched with about 1cm long stitches. It took a while, but I wanted to make it properly like a quilt is supposed to be made.

Do these colors match your decor perfectly? Then good news! 

This quilt is up for sale. It has been machinewashed once in 40 degrees C and comes from a smoke- and petfree home. I am currently working on a webshop where it will be available, but if you're interested, you can book it straight away. Just e-mail me at: kamadesign@gmail.com. 

 

DT call presentation

Hi

I'm Katarina aka kamadesign. 

 

I've been crafting for about 20 years and during that time I've tried many different crafts. I have a couple of favourites that I rotate between, unless I'm learning something new.

The crafts closest to my heart are: 

papercrafting (cardmaking, altering, junkjournals etc.) 

sewing (and making my own patterns)

jewelrymaking, beading

drawing, painting, handlettering

I often say that I have one hand in paper, the other in fabric and in between is everything else. I think my fully stocked hobby "corner" would agree ;) I'm comfortable with a lot of crafts like papercraft, altering, albummaking, sewing, jewelrymaking, drawing and the list goes on. I have even repainted and upholstered furniture and other things I find at the thriftstores. So you can see I have tried most of the stuff out there!

My style is very different depending on the supplies and inspiration and one of the best things about me is that I never make the same thing twice. That's why my instagram and blog is full of different projects in different styles. Right now I'm mainly active on instagram. I love being able to directly chat with people, commenting and answering questions. This year I participated in "typetober" - a daily prompt to make you do handlettering, something I loved to try out.

 

I've been on different designteams, eg: ilovepromarkers blog challenge, the sweetpea, skapahobby (a swedish craftstore) and been invited as a guest designer for many others. I have made several tutorials on instructables that were quite popular and won a couple of crafting contests. You can check the "achievements" tab on top to see in detail what I've done, but for more recent activities check out my instagram.

Some of my favourite projects are
(click the title to be taken to the project's more extensive post):

Seathemed box

 

Altered mask (with tutorial)

Can can birthday card

I'm always interested in guest designing or collabs. 

If you like my work please contact me at:

kamadesign@gmail.com 

My social media:
Blog
Facebook
Instagram
Instructables (tutorials) 
Pinterest
Youtube

A package full of love on your birthday

It was time for another birthdaycard this week and again I used a Penny Black image. This cute kitten was a delight to color. I used my favorite colorcombo pink/green and of course my beloved promarkers. 

 Just like last time I used patterned papers from my scrappile. I used a piece of string and it wasn't until I was done with the card that I realized I had colored the string on the cat's package the same color. Love when those kind of "accidents" happen, don't you?

This card could be used for any number of occasions. Since the image is so cute I didn't want to make the card too cute with pastel colors or heart shapes. Instead I used a darker pink/green colorcombo and instead of a heart charm I used a leaf - perfect for a fall-themed card. I think it looks kind of vintage-y and I'm very pleased it turned out so "grown up" as it's sometimes hard to achieve with cutesy stamps.
Finished card measures 12.5x18.5cm (about 5x7")

Challenges: 

Creatalicious - anything goes

Cute card thursday  - vintage

Fab 'n' funky - inspired by nature

Passion for promarkers - clean and simple

Penny Black saturday - nature

Pile it on - autumn colors/theme

Simon says wednesday - clean and simple

Tuesday morning sketchers - sketch

Stamp: Penny Black "Fragile" 1920K
Promarkers: ivory, blush, pastel pink, ice grey 1,3 and 5, blender, chestnut, walnut, moss, marsh green, apple and meadow green.
Papers: "Valentine stripes" by Chatterbox, "Discreet" Whisper collection by prima marketing.
Dies: Spellbinder's circle and scalloped circle

Celebrating your birthday with cats and butterflies

So many friends and family celebrating their birthday this and next month so time to make some birthday cards. Here is my latest one. The recipient's favorite color is orange and preferably with black or blue. I couldn't believe my luck when I found this patterned paper in my stash. The whole background is just from one sheet of patterned scrapbook paper. You gotta love those. 

The image is from Penny Black colored with my promarkers. The text is a cut-out from a sheet of scrapbook paper. I added some stickles glitterglue to the letters for some extra sparkle and 3D glaze to the middle of the flowers. The bigger butterflies are shapeabilities dies from spellbinders and the small one a Martha Stewart punch.

And of course the inside has got to be as pretty as the outside:

When assembling my cards I always try different options. Here's a photo of the different layouts I played around with before deciding on the last one:

Challenges:
Crafty cardmakers - layer it up 
Creative inspirations - anything goes
Cute card thursday - animals/creatures
Everybody art - anything goes
Fab 'n' funky - fall colors
I love promarkers - spots and stripes (stripes under the sentiment and spots on the yellowish swirly pattern)
Moving along with the times - anything from the first verse of Dana's song "all kinds of everything" (I used butterfly)
Ooh la la - anything goes

Passion for promarkers - beautiful butterflies
Penny Black and more - sentiment
Penny Black saturday - nature
Penny's challenges - anything goes
Simon says stamp wednesday - stamp it

 

Fisherman's bag - 1:st place winner!

The bag measures about 45x25x20cm.
 
As a crafter we have so many ideas and projects we want to start on. The problem is finishing them and not just jumping into another one when we are faced with boring parts of the projects. Because let's face it - as fun as crafting is there are always parts that are boring or hard. 

I like learning new things and have learned most of my crafts by watching tutorials or trial and error. Most often I'm too impatient to go to classes. That doesn't mean I'm sloppy. Quite opposite. I research a lot to do things the "right" way (which honestly seems like a contradiction when it comes to creativity). Evidently this puts a hold on my project, like with this bag.

I started making this for my stepdad a couple of years ago. I'm sure it's been over 5 years. I had all parts done, just needed to sew the pieces together. The instructions didn't make any sense and I couldn't figure it out. So I thought that I could come up with a solution by leaving the bag for a while. 

5+ years later...

I'm looking through and sorting my stuff and realize that the bag hasn't magically assembled itself (shocking, right?). So with my new attitude of "finish it or toss it" I decide to give it one last try before I give up. I go back to the quiltstore where I got the fabrics and she explains to me how to finish it. It involves ripping out some seams (which quite frankly I hate doing because it feels like taking five steps back). I follow her instructions and ta-daa. 

A bag is created. 

FINALLY

You crafters know what I'm talking about. 

This love-hate relationship with you finished item :)

I freehandstitched some "seaweed" onto the green panels.

The inside of the outer pocket has patterned polkadot fabric - same as the inside of the bag.

I added a fishbone charm to the zipperpull for some extra pizzazz aswell as a metal "thingy" (can't remember what it's called) so you can add a strap to the bag.

 And of course - the inside must be as wellmade as the outside :)

I entered a sewing contest on a swedish site with this bag and won 1:st place! If you want to check out the other entries you can see them HERE.

 

So what project or part of a project do you struggle with? 
Comment below and let me know. 

Fabric used: Northern shores by Holly Taylor for Moda.

Owl always love you

A quick post today to show you one of my latest amigurumis. Don't know what it is?  

Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, usually cute stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. The word is a portmanteau of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. Amigurumi are typically animals, but can include artistic renderings or inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features, as is typical in Japanese culture.

(source: Wikipedia) 

I followed the pattern for this owl called Mr Murasaki which can be found at amigurumei if you want to give it a try. 

The pattern is quite simple using basic crochetstitches working in a circle. If you're a newbie at crocheting amigurumis - this pattern is a good place to start. 

I didn't finish my owl as it is done in the description. Instead I added two black brads as eyes. I also used two colors of yarn (my first try and it was surprisingly easy, especially since you don't have to cut the yarn in between, just work with both skeins at the same time alternating as you finish each round.)
I worked with a 2.5mm hook and the finished owl measures about 5cm.

Originally I had plans to add some more detailing to him, but alas, I needed a quick pick-me-up gift and thought this owl was funny looking and if he makes at least one person smile then he had done his job. And I can reveal that he did bring out a giggle from the reciepient. Job well done.

Tip: I added some beanbag filling to the bottom of the owl to make him heavier and easier to stand up. The beanbag filling looks like little pellets of plastic. If you don't have some at hand you could probably use rice or raw beans to add some weight.

So what do you think? Did the little owl make you smile a little? Has he done his job of adding a smile to people's faces?

 

My first finished quilt ever. Happy 1:st birthday baby Alicia!

 Ta daaaa!

(Just took 7+ years, but that's not bad in crafteryears is it?)

I thought it wouldn't take quite that long and the top part actually came together quite fast (sewing colorful squares together is so much fun). But then quilting the whole thing together - the sewingmachine eating the fabric and the bulk of it all...Nightmare! And apparently the soft minky fabric I used for the back is a known nightmare to work with and not recommended for newbies. Of course that I learned after I was almost done with the quilt :D 

You live, you learn, right? 

Last year I made a big cleanout in my craftingcorner. I gave away lots of new things I'd never used and decided to give my unfinished projects a one year deadline. If they slip down my prioritylist and are still in the same stage one year later - off they go. 

Just deciding on this state of mind kicked me into gear and I started taking on the task of this quilt that had been laying around for years. I already had the whole front sewn together and the backing and wadding already bought. The only thing that was left to do was to quilt it all together and finish off with a border. Shouldn't be that hard, right?

Well...it wasn't that easy especially as I still had my old mechanical sewingmachine from the 70-ies in trendy orange and brown, haha.

I had to take out stitches every now and then - probably around 40% of the time, but it was worth it in the end. No point in spending that much time on a piece and then making a bad job finishing it.

 The way I quilted it was to make a straight stitch along the onecolored panels. Then I followed the edge of every other square alternating like a brickwork. It was enough to hold everything in place. The final part was to handstitch the green dotted fabric to the edges. 

The night before I decided to customize the quilt so I drew and handembroidered a monogram to the right lower corner. 

This quilt was a gift for baby Alicia's Christening last year. I can't believe she is already one year old today!

Happy, happy birthday to the cutest little baby I know!

Tilda lovebirds with house

 

I've been looking through some old craft photos and found this cute pair that I don't think I've showed you yet. I made it many years ago when I bought my first Tilda book called "Tildas landsted" (by Tone Finnanger).

 I made them for a sewing swap where I got the Magnolia Tilda doll you can see HERE. 

Each bird have a charm sewn to the front - a locket and a key - and the house has a charm that says "love". According to the pattern you are supposed to add beaks made from skewer sticks, but I was worried they might break in the mail so I skipped them. I think the birds are just as cute with their fabric beaks. 

To be able to hang everything up I added beaded string to all parts. One of the birds have white beads, the other one red and the house is a mix of both colors. I also sewed on a piece of wire to the bottom of the birds so you could put them on a perch somewhere in your house.

It's fun to see how much my sewing skills have improved since I made these. Sometimes it's hard to apreciate your skill when it feels like it's not going forward. So if you have doubts about your skill: take a look at some of your older pieces and you might be surprised at how far you've come.

Until next time.

Bow clasp summerfield necklace

Welcome back to my blog and to another post. Today I want to show you another one of my wired necklaces. It's been almost finished for a month or two, but I was unsure about which clasp to use so I let it sit for a while and ponder about it :)

Well, it finally made up its mind for a bowshaped clasp so here it is.

It is made with different glass beads. The big green ones are silverfoiled on the inside and the big white ones depict flowers. The tiny fushia ones are freshwater pearls and the rest is glass and crackled glass. 

The necklace measures about 45cm (about 18") and is a so called "princess" length. 

You can buy this necklace in my webshop:

https://www.freewebstore.org/kamadesign

Jewelry cup and saucer tower

For today's post I want to share with you a great DIY from your thrifted cups and saucers. Are you just like me where you love these beautiful cups, but you just can't justify buying them for their real purpose because they are too small for tea/coffee? But they are soooo cuuuute and you want them soooo muuuuch? 
You just don't know what you would use them for?
Here's a way to eat the cake and have it too.

I don't know about you, but when I go to my local thrift shops I see a lot of these small cups and saucers with gold edges and flowers painted on them. There are often a lot of the same design and I hate breaking up a set. Instead I look for those they only have one of. It's also a good idea to have different sizes. Here the saucer is a little bit bigger on the bottom than on top. It takes a while to find the right combination so try different ones until you're happy with the tower. Here I used 3 cups, 3 saucers and a jar in the same style.

This tower is quite small which makes it perfect for jewelry or other trinkets. It's about 28x15cm.

All pieces are glued together except the top jar. I wasn't sure if I wanted the top to have a bigger area to hold a watch for instance or if the jar should be glued down aswell. I left it unglued for now, but what do you think? Do you prefer it with or without the jar glued down?

  By the way, did you know that during the Victorian era hot beverages were drunk from the saucer? Crazy right? I found some info about it HERE if you want to read more.

Let me know if you'd like a tutorial or if you have any questions.

Until next time.

Winner with both tutorials!

Just a quick note to tell you I was one of the winners in both the wedding- and the catsection at instructables.
Thanks to everyone who voted for me.

 This weddingbelt/hairband. Won second prize out of 236 entries 

This cat/dogbed as a runner up.

Both items are for sale.

Stay tuned for more inspiration, tutorials and remakes. 

 :)

Wedding flowerbelt/hairband tutorial

 

On monday there was a deadline for instructable's wedding contest. If you're not familiar with instructables it's a free site where people put up their tutorials in a huge selection of categories. Most of them are step-by-step instructions with photos (like mine), but some of them are with videos. The deadline was monday so naturally I came up with a brilliant project the same day. Nothing like a deadline to keep you motivated, am I right?

 

 

I've been thinking about making videotutorials, but I must admit I feel more comfortable with these photo step-by-step instructions. Do you think it's an ancient kind of way to teach or do you like these kind of tutorials? 

 

 

The way I see it is that I'd rather take a good photoed tutorial than a youtube one with bad  lighting, lots of unnecessary talk and the feeling of it taking to long and not getting to the point. 

Let me know what you think. Would you rather see my tutorials videoed? Is that even the right word anymore? Recorded maybe?

 I'm just showing you some of the shots of the finished project. If you want the full tutorial, check it out on 

 

instructables.com

 

where you can vote for this project in the wedding contest (in top right corner of the project's frontpage).