Sunday, December 9, 2012

FROM OLD T-SHIRT TO BASKET


 I learned from pins on Pinterest how to turn old t-shirts into yarn, and thought it was awesome to be able to re-purpose those old t-shirts you can't even give away to charity.  So I got some of them and got to work :)

Once I had the yarn, I looked for ideas on Pinterest on what to make with it.  Most people make rugs with them, but I saw a picture of a basket and decided that was exactly what I wanted to do with my t-shirt yarn.  I'm not very handy with crochet, but I was determined!  After many trial and error attempts, I think I finally got it :).  They are not perfect, but I love their uniqueness... definitely one of a kind.

No more old t-shirts being thrown out in this house :).

[Dec. 27] I made this one for my 2-year-old great-niece with a handle "attached" with 2 antique  buttons.  She can take it off if she wants, or use it with the handle to carry things around.


Saturday, August 4, 2012

Portuguese Inspired Tiles

Portuguese tiles can be seen inside and outside of houses, palaces, shops, and even train-stations in Portugal - they are called azulejos in Portuguese.  Since I am Portuguese and grew up seeing these all around me, it is no coincidence they have inspired me to create my own tile designs.

[PT]  Em Portugal podes ver azulejos no interior e exterior de casas, palacios, lojas, e ate' em estacoes de comboios.  Ja' que sou Portuguesa e vivi com estes azulejos 'a minha volta, nao e' coincidencia que eles me tenham inspirado para fazer os meus proprios desenhos para azulejos. 

I got a couple of pictures from the web so you can see the tiles on the outside of houses and stairs.

[PT]  Fui buscar estas fotos na net para poderem ver os azulejos nas paredes de casas e em escadas.

Tiles on the outside walls of a house in Portugal
Tiles on the stairs

I decided to carve my designs on soft block (shown below) so I could print them over and over, create different designs, and use them in different colors.  By itself, each tile does not look like much, but the design comes alive when you put several tiles together.

[PT]  Decidi esculpir um bloco de borracha com o desenho para os azulejos (na foto) para poder usa'-los repetidamente, fazer desenhos diferentes com cores variadas.

I started out with this design on a 1.5 inch tile:

[PT]  Comecei com este desenho para o meu azulejo (3,8 cm)

Tile design carved on soft block and printed (on the left)

One of my Pieces on Etsy created with this design and painted with watercolors

Then started creating other designs on 1 inch tiles.  This one is called Hearts, and even though you can't tell from an individual tile, the hearts appear when you put two or more together.

[PT]  Depois comecei a fazer outros desenhos para azulejos de 2,5 cm.  Este chama-se Coracoes, e embora nao se possa ver num so' azulejo, os coracoes aparecem quando se poe mais do que um azulejo junto.
Carved block of Heart tile design

Carved block printed and painted with watercolors.  Each "tile" is 1 inch square.

Heart Tiles Inspired by Portuguese Azulejos Purple
This piece was created by digitally modifying a scan of the watercolor painted tiles.  


I created a few other designs but have really enjoyed the swirls:

[PT] Fiz outros desenhos, mas gosto muito de trabalhar com estes redemoinhos:

Each tile is 1 inch square, and 24 tiles were painted with watercolors and outlined with Pen & Ink to create this piece.

Green Tile Design 2 - Swirls Ipod Touch Cover
I love how these watercolor painted tiles look on Zazzle products.


I am currently going through my tile designs on Zazzle and creating a lot of different products with them.  I digitally modified some of the tile art (as the design in purple on the mug above and in the pillow below) and having a lot of fun to see how they look on different products.  For instance, I created this pillow last night and absolutely love it.

[PT] Agora estou a passar pelos meus desenhos de azulejos na minha loja na Zazzle e a fazer muitos produtos diferentes com eles.  Modifiquei alguns digitalmente (como o desenho na caneca e nesta almofada) e estou-me a divertir a ver como ficam nos produtos.  Por exemplo, puz um dos desenhos de azulejo nesta almofada ontem 'a noite e adoro como saiu.
Heart Tiles Inspired Portuguese Azulejos Lavender Throw Pillow
The art on this pillow is a digitized version of one of the watercolor painted tiles.


And here are some other products from other shops on Zazzle with Portuguese tiles.

[PT]  E agora alguns outros produtos de outras lojas na Zazzle com azulejos.
  
Azulejos Magnet
Azulejos Magnet by homydesign
Make your own personal fridge magnets at zazzle.com

Saturday, April 14, 2012

My Top Ten Items This Week

I'm always very curious about what people look at and find interesting. In case you are, too :)... here are the top 10 items viewed in my two shops this week.

MartaHarvey:
  [out of these, 4 have received TBAs (Today's Best Award) from Zazzle]
Blue Tile Design 2 - Swirls zazzle_sticker
Blue Tile Design 2 - Swirls by martaharvey
Create your own custom stickers online at zazzle.com
Hand Carved Magnolia Flower zazzle_speckcase
Hand Carved Magnolia Flower by martaharvey
Make your own photo iPhone case online at Zazzle.

CMCreativePhotos:
  [out of these, 1 has received a TBA (Today's Best Award) from Zazzle]








The Eiffel Tower - Paris casemate_case
The Eiffel Tower - Paris by cmcreativephotos
Put your favorite photo on iPhone case designs at Zazzle.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Water Bottles, Teapots, and Plates from talented artists - Group 3

Zazzle Gallery Directory is a great Facebook group where people are friendly, helpful, and love to promote others.  

This is the third week of featuring bottles, teapots, and plates from participating artists.  This posting will show off the beautiful art created by Susan Elkin, Marta Harvey (me), Aysha Iqbal, Gkrew Productions, and Briana Blair.  I hope you enjoy and look through these shops to find other wonderful art.

Susan Elkin


Marta Harvey


Aysha Iqbal
Malibu California Best Souvenir fuji_plate
Malibu California Best Souvenir by addmorecolor
Create unique custom plates online at Zazzle.

Gkrew Productions

Orange Tulip Plate fuji_plate
Orange Tulip Plate by gkrew1
Create unique custom plates online at Zazzle.

Briana Blair


Saturday, March 31, 2012

Water Bottles, Teapots, and Plates from talented artists - Group 2

Zazzle Gallery Directory is a great Facebook group where people are friendly, helpful, and love to promote others.  

This is the second week of featuring bottles, teapots, and plates from participating artists.  This posting will show off the beautiful art created by Marta and David Burton, Re Becca, Brenda Thour, and Diane Clancy.  I hope you enjoy and look through their shops to find other wonderful art.

Marta and David Burton


Re Becca




Brenda Thour


Diane Clancy