Strings: Hats

Sorry I was abstinence for a while now, I was with my relatives on the other side of the state. But, Im back home, so here is one of my favorite designs I have made.

Because I really like hats and  when I saw this design in a magazine I quickly made about 15 small hats like this, but I gave them to my friends like gifts. And besides, they are super easy to make.

All you need:

bottlecaps, strings, magnets, decorations (pearls, wrapping strings, ...)

You start in the middle of the bottlecap and you turn around the string...

The start is always annoying, but you can help yourself with a long, thin object, like a toothpick or anything like that to hold the string in place till the glue dries. And from there you just add glue and in a circular design  add the string.

When you come at the end of the bottle cap, you place it on a stronger paper and work your way on there. When you reach the desirable size of the hat, you cut the string and glue it in place. I like to put one more coat of glue over the top of the string just to make it a bit harder.

Now, you can play with designs. You can put wrapping strings or pearls or flowers or anything you can imagine :)

At the end, you put a magnet on the back of it with a strong glue or silicon, and there you go, a nice decoration for your fridge.

Postcards from all over the world and my little hats :)

Try out some of your designs and send me a picture to nicholson.ema@gmail.com :)

                                                                                                                               Emma Nicholson

My three days in Tuscany

Tuscany, a north-west region in Italy, known for its gorgeous landscapes and its rich artistic legacy.

Wheat fields, a tipical view on the landscape.

I've been there with 50 other students from my school. We went there by bus, so we freezed because of the air-conditioning, we couldn't sleep good and the air in there was horrible. But we still had a great time :)

We stayed in Hotel La Darsena ***, the rooms, the food, the night parties...it was all good, even the waiter was cute.

The program included a visit to Lucca, known for its many churches and the main square - Piazza Anfiteatro, which is a amphitheater surrounded by tall houses. And on the first day we visited the famous Pisa, where is the famous Leaning tower. When we walked there, I just couldn't belive my eyes that I after all those years of looking at pictures, I see it in real life. It was truly amazing. 

Pisa;  Piazza dei Miracoli or Square of Miracles

On day two, we went on a ferry to Elba and spent the whole day there. We visited the largest city on Elba Portoferraio and went from there to Napoleons second residence on Elba, Villa di San Martino. It is actually a small villa on top of the biggest villa. And I find the decorations and the furniture very interesting, I especially liked the mirrors, which were kind of rusty. From there, we went on the northern part of the island to a city Porto Azzurro, where we could eat and take a small jump in to the ocean. We went back on the south, to a small city, which name I don't remember, and took 2 hours, just to relax on the beach to jump in the oceans and get some tan. When it was time to leave, we went back to Portoferraio got on the farry, and went to the hotel to get some sleep.

 Beautiful sandy beaches on the island of Elba

On our last day, we went to Volterra, which was a known an important Etruscan city. For me it wasn't that interesting, but I enjoyed our final destination, city San Gimignano, called medieval Manhattan, because of its high towers. The families build them to show their power and used them to dry the coloured fabric.

In San Gimignano I loved the things they sell, I wish I could buy more, but it was all very expensive, so I took a lot of pictures.

I know I will visit Tuscany one more time in my life, because I want to experience a week in one of the big villas in the rural. If you can go there, GO! You will enjoy very much and visit a totally different world. 

Napkins: Cardboard Box

I love making unusable, boring and ugly things into something that is both interesting to look at + usable. 

So I had this box, which was ugly brown colour, like any other box on this world. And I thought, why don't I cover it in my favorite napkin and use it for storage :)
So I did! :D

You need: 
- a box, you want to decorate
- a napkin with a pattern you like
- mat varnish (I have Marabu - Aqua matt varnish)               
- some clean brushes
- some time :)

You first colour the box in bright blue or any colour which you like, and will go good with the napkin. Then  you start with separating the napkin. You only need the upper layer of it (it usually has 3 layers), and then you place it on the box, and starting from the middle of it, you apply the varnish. You slowly work out until you finish. You can have some problems with applying too much varnish, so you can tear up the napkin. And be gentle!

You do this on the whole box. When you finish, you run through with the varnish again, just to make it more sure about making it harder and waterproof.

I love this box very much, because of its colour and pattern. I am using it for storage my other works :)

I hope I gave you some inspiration :)

                                                            Emma Nicholson

Cameo

                      

You must have heard about cameo. If you have not, you just did :)

It is a method of carving an object on a ellipse shaped base. The object is usually white and the background black ( or blue, red-brown). And around it is decorated with details (as you can see on the picture). The main motive is an ancient Greek woman (or a flower like on the left one).

They have first emerged in Ancient Greece. But you probably first thought of Renaissance or the 18th and 19th centuries when they appeared again. 

I love vintage things. I know these earrings are plastic, but they have cameos looks :) I got them in C&A for less than 10€. I really like them :)

What do you think of cameos? :)

                                                                                                                                                  Emma Nicholson   

About Me

I am a 17 year old high-school student, who loves crafting and just expressing yourself through art (Yes, I think craft is art).  I've been interested in making stuff since my first year of high school. When I don't have many tests, I lock myself in my room, and create something for my soul :)

You have probably noticed that I don't use proper English, therefore, im cannot be English...Yes, it's true. I am not from England. But I want to live there one day or on a Greek island :)
I could say that i have set my  goals and dreams in life. And one of them is, that I have some readers and ''fans'' of my blog. 

I know it's just the beginning, but maybe one day, more and more art lovers will find my blog, and visit it more regularly :)

Well...I will be posting some of my old works very soon, so don't miss it :)

Thank you!                       

                                                            Emma Nicholson

Welcome!

This is my blog, where I am going to post my DIY's and probably some other things connected with me and my life :)

I am new at blogging so it might take a while to get everything in place. Anyways, I hope, that you will like my work and that it inspires you.

If you have any suggestions or questions, you can email me on nicholson.ema@gmail.com

                                                                                                                           Emma Nicholson