My herbal list

This year I'm gonna be a herbalist. There is plenty of healthy substances, microelements in the plants everywhere around - in the garden, in the nearby forest.  I made a small to-pick list for each month for me and encourage you to do the same. Wherever you live - whether it's US, Brasilia or New Zeland - there's sure a lot of goods around;)

W tym roku mam zamiar pobawić się w zielarstwo. Zioła są naokoło - w ogrodzie, w lesie - wszędzie. Zrobiła miesięczną listę roślin do zbierania, zachęcam do zrobienia tego samego! Zawsze możecie skorzystać też z mojej listy, polecam spróbować razem ze mną;)

Have a beautiful day,
Julia

Liebster Blog Award - 11 facts about me

Keely Jade nominated me to this and I must say big thank you! This award is given by bloggers to other bloggers whose blogs are considered as up-and coming.  

11 Questions: 

1) Are you afraid of the dark?

Sometimes. When I think that a spider might be in my bedroom. Or anywhere else in my house.

2) What movie or song makes you cry? 

"The call" by Regina Spektor (one of my beloved singers) in the movie "Prince Caspian" (you know, Narnia). Beautiful melody, melancholic voice and words. You can say both song and movie make me cry like a child.

3) Favourite comfort food?  

Have you ever heard about pierogi? (If not, read the link.) It's my favourite! Of course they're the best when my granny makes them!

4) If you could live anywhere, where it would be and why?

Here! I love the place I live. Suburbs of a big city, but still close to the forest where I would play when I was a child. But IF I had a possibility of having one more house, it would be in Italy.

5) Favourite item of clothing?

Dresses. Classic, simple dresses. I hope one day I'll have them all:

6) What do you do to cheer yourself up on a rainy day?

I play with my cat. I do any activity I like - sketch, sew, bake etc.

7)  Do you believe in ghosts? 

Hard question. Sometimes.

8) Favourite book?

The chronicles of Narnia! Timeless story with various meanings. Just read the dedication:

My Dear Lucy,
I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.

9) Do you have a childhood item that you'll never throw away?

No, probably not. I had a lot of teddy bears for a long time, but someone else is playing with them righ now.

10) Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
I see myself as an optician or a scientist! Or still a DIY-maker. Can't decide. I don't have special plans, life will decide about everything.

11) Why do you like to blog?

Because I can show things I create. I don't blog because I started and now I have to - what you see here is the result of my work or rather hobbies.

Have a beautiful day,
Julia

Dreamy lingerie

Remember the last self portrait I painted? And did I say that I love beautiful lingerie and have been painting on fabric recently? Here's another result. I turned the idea from my imagination into a really existing set of lingerie.

Painting and adding bows is a simple way to re-make any piece in your closet. The only important rule is to remember to fix the edge of ribbon in high temperature.

By the way, you can see a small mess I had on my desk. That doesn't mean I'm messy, it means I have too much ideas:)

Wishing you a beautiful day,

Julia

PS: I got a new member of my family! He's sleeping on my legs right now. Pictures coming soon!

Sweet dreams | stamped t-shirt DIY

As I said I've been painting on fabric last week. This t-shirt is an example. Although I prefer more classic style of clothing (I could wear dresses all the time), I decided to paint something on this tee and use it as a pajama top. I hope it will bring me sweet deams today!

You'll need: a tee, textile paints, stamps, brushes. (+ a cup of water and a white plate - if you want to mix colours). 

At first you should make a project of what you want to have on your t-shirt. Once you have prepared it, draw a sketch straight on the tee with a chalk of contrasting colour. Prepare all shades of paint you want to use. Carefully paint the stamping surface with a brush. lay the stamp on the fabric and press gently.

After you have all the imprints done you'll probably need to correct a few mistakes - use brushes to this aim. Leave your tee to dry and then follow the preservation instruction given on the paint container. 

NOTE: although I'll post a few DIY's connected with clothing  in the upcoming weeks this blog will never change into a fashion blog. I usually don't like top fashion trends, like glitter shoes etc. I won't do anything like this for sure, but you can expect a small amount of my own ideas:)

Wish you a beautiful day,
Julia

Self-portrait (forget-me-not blue)

A self-portrait I painted a few weeks ago. I used to draw myself when I was about five, always in beautiful dress and crown (yes, me as a princess of course)! This time I don't wear even a diadem, but now I prefer flowers to gold. Generally this pieces shows more how I feel than how I look.

I'd love to have a blouse like this. I really really love it, but it's only in the world of my imagination and on this sheet of paper. The idea of the pattern came to my mind a long time before I paited it, but sometimes ideas have to mature inside the head.

Currently I'm painting clothes and am sure that will show some pieces in the near future. I've tried it before, but now create a few projects in one time. It brings a lot of fun, but unfortunately it's impossible to correct any mistakes. I have to be very careful. Wish me luck!

Have a beautiful day,

Julia

Plant love - recent works

Watercolour and just a touch of pencil hadwriting that does not distract (I hope). You must look for some time to see well and read it and that was my aim, I wanted to focus attention on painting. I think I could never use black pen to wrine on my works.

Hope you like it!

Have a beautiful day,

Julia

Little things makes me happy

I enjoy little things. Recently I wanted to answer a question which part of creating process do you like the most? and I wondered if I like more inventing or bringing into life. I found out that the most pleasant thing is to combine both! That's why yesterday I painted chocolate syrup labels and really tiny stickers straight on the sticker paper without any previous sketches. I rediscovered how much fun can one have using watercolour, how big variety of techniques and possibilities it gives!

Chocolate recipe syrup will be published in the e-book about chocolate (it'll be free of course).

I also painted a few things connected with our future shop. Well, the kitty shouldn't be there, so I covered it ith a pressed rose petal. All these things were painted with the tiny brush above.
Do you have any important plans for the next few weeks? Best wishes!
Julia

a few drawings + fern

Some of my recent drawings. The fern sketchbook and fern drawing as the next part of the fern challenge.

The living frame (well, almost). I pressed these beautiful violas last year. Their colour is faded now, but the little spots remained. I must admit I like this 'version' of them too, they suit watercolour, they look as if they were painted!

PS: the last drawing is a visualisation of my thoughts about evolution. We could look like this now!

Postcards

Finally! The postards I've made for my friend for her 20th birthday. I've painted her a girl with a horse as we met on the horse camp. The 'over twenty' cream is just an obvious joke, she used to have 'under twenty' one. Callighaphing the card and the envelope was a great fun. I like inventing new types so sooo much.

Enjoy! Julia