Sunday Smoothie: Beets&Strawberries/Sfecla&Capsuni

Wandering through markets I realized I ran out of fruits to blend in my smoothies. I have tried all seasonal fruits, some exotic ones, dried fruits and some nuts but what else? Well...veggies, to be more precise, beets. I once made some roasted beets with honey that was insanely delicious so I imagined it would work well as a smoothie. And it did, together with some strawberries for sweetness. And I have to say that this is surely the prettiest smoothie...just look how hot that pink is!!!

Umbland prin piete mi-am dat seama ca am ramas fara fructe pe care sa le combin in smoothie-urile mele. Am incercat toate fructele de sezon, chiar si unele exotice, fructe uscate si tot felul de nuci, deci ce a mai ramas? Pai...legume, mai exact sfecla. Am facut o data niste sfecla la cuptor cu miere si a iesit atat de buna incat m-am gandit ca ar merge si intr-un smoothie. Si a mers, impreuna cu niste capsuni pentru un gost mai dulce. Trebuie sa mai adaug ca este cu siguranta cel mai dragut smoothie pe care l-am facut...uitati-va cat de puternic este rozul ala!!!

Ingredients: 1 cup boiled, chopped beets, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1 cup sweet yogurt, 1 spoon honey

Ingrediente: 1 cana sfecla fiarta si taiata, 1/2 cana capsuni, 1 cana iaurt dulce, 1 lingura de miere

Enjoy your Sunday!

Duminica placuta!

L.   

Aztec Necklace

Aztec patterns were and still are such a big trend. They are usually very geometric and colorful and they look good on almost everything, from phone cases to leggings. Jewelry is not an exception, so what do you think about an aztec necklace? The technique used is also very easy, it's a simple embroidery and you can recycle your embroidery thread leftovers, if you have some. Every time I make a friendship bracelet I end up with a fist full of short to medium threads and never had the heart to throw them because they are so cute and colorful. So here it is my recycled embroidered aztec necklace.

And to make it yourself you'll need:

1. embroidery thread; 2. canvas or any fabric you can use as a base, I actually used fusible interfacing; 3. needle; 4. two jump rings; 5. chain, 6. not in the picture, but also a sheet of felt

Find a pattern online, draw your own or you can obviously use mine, just scale the picture as much as you want, I made it about 10 cm:

The steps are as follows:

1.print the pattern and trace it on your fabric base; using the interfacing made this step very easy because its netting is very loose and you can clearly see the pattern underneath
2. start filling the shapes with thread, using as many colors as possible for an authentic result
3. on starting and ending a color don't tie a knot on the loose end of the thread as you would usually do, instead hide the tail under the back of the embroidery; this way you will avoid clumps and your design will lay flat
4. when you're done with the embroidery cut around the pattern leaving a 1.5mm allowance
5. cut a piece of felt the same size and shape as your embroidered piece
6. sew them together creating a border around your design
7. iron the piece using a cloth to protect it
8. attach a jump ring on the two corners
9. now attach the chain to the jump rings
10. and wear it!

Looks pretty cool, ha? I actually loved making this so much and the result is so great that I will post more of these in my shop soon. In case you don't have the time and patience to make your own, you will be able to buy them there.

Love,
L.

Sunday Smoothie: Dates & Pistachio / Curmale si Fistic

I am a fan of dried fruits and earlier this week, I found this crazy sweet block of dates and pistachio. So obviously I had to put them in a smoothie, see what comes out. And it was a super rich, creamy and sweet smoothie, probably the best I've made so far. Even if you can't find this mix already made, you can get dates and pistachio separately. And you should give it a try.
Sunt un fan al fructelor uscate si saptamana asta am gasit la un supermarket un bloc de curmale combinate cu fistic, ca o felie de tort. Si evident a trebuit sa le pun intr-un smoothie sa vad ce iese. A fost unul super consistent, cremos si extrem de dulce, probabil cel mai bun de pana acum. Chiar daca nu gasiti exact acest mix, puteti lua separat curmale si fistic. 

Ingredients: 1/2 cup dates, pits removed, 1/4 cup pistachio, shell removed, 1 cup sweet yogurt.
Ingrediente: 1/2 cana de curmale fara sambure, 1/4 cana de fistic fara coaja, 1 cana de iaurt dulce
Don't add any kind of sweetener because the dates are already extremely sweet.
Nu adaugati nici un fel de indulcitor pentru ca sunt curmalele suficient de dulci.

Enjoy your Sunday!
Duminica palcuta!
L.

Double Chain

Weekend is almost here and it's time to glam up for the parties you're going to attend. If you liked winter's baroque trend you can still rock it with some hints of black and gold, maybe in the form of this chunky necklace/choker. It is way too easy to make and it will be ready just in time for a girls night out or a gallery opening.
Se apropie weekendul si este timpul sa va pregatiti pentru petrecere. Daca v-a placut trendul baroc din aceasta iarna, inca il mai puteti purta apeland la mici accente negre si aurii, poate in forma acestui colier masiv. Este foarte usor de facut si va fi gata la timp pentru o iesire cu fetele sau un vernisaj.

Here is what you'll need:
Iata de ce veti avea nevoie:

1. two chains, black and gold, as long as your neck circumference; 2. white or black embroidery thread; 3. a large jump ring; 4. large lobster clasp
1. doua lanturi, nagru si auriu, de lungimea circumferintei gatului; 2. ata mouline alba sau neagra; 3. o za mare; 4. o inchizatoare lobster mare


And now follow these steps to create it:
Si acum urmati acesti pasi pentru a-l crea:

1. you will need a few or more white threads which are six times the length of the chain
2. fold the threads in half and attach the clasp at the folding point, securing it with a knot
3. align the two chains parallel in front of you and insert each side of the threads through the first chain mail
4. start crisscrossing the white threads jumping from the gold chain to the black one, just like shoe laces
5. when you reach the end of the chains, attach a jump ring and secure it with a knot
6. add a little clear nail polish on the knot to seal it

1. veti avea nevoie de mai multe bucati de ata, de sase ori mai lungi decat bucatile de lant
2. indoiti atele la jumatate si atasati inchizatoare in punctul de mijloc, fixand-o cu un nod
3. asezati lanturile paralele in fata voastra si treceti atele de fecare parte prin zale
4. continuati sa treceti cu atele prin fiecare za, mergand in zigzag si sarind de pe lantul negru pe cel auriu
5. cand ajungeti la capat atasati zaua de inchidere, fixand-o cu un nod
6. aplicati un strop de lac de unghii transparent pe nod pentru a-l sigila

That's it! A little rock'n'roll glam accent for your black dress or leather jacket.
Si gata! Un accent glam si rock'n'roll pentru rochia neagra sau geaca de piele.

Have a great weekend!
Sa aveti un weekend minunat!
Love, 
L.  

Hoodie to skirt

It was about time for the sun to start shining on these skies. And it's about time to prepare our spring wardrobe, to hide all the heavy and bulky sweaters and replace them with flowy summerish dresses. And maybe it'a a good idea to transform some of your winter clothes in new spring ones, like I did with this hoodie :)

You will need:

1. a hoodie with zipper large enough to go around your hips; 2. a paper pattern for a mini skirt; 3. measuring tape, 4. chlak; 5. scissors; 6. sewing machine or thread and needle

About the pattern, it's not that difficult so you can make it yourself. Just use this sketch to draw one.

1. create your pattern;
2. rip off the seams of your hoodie; detach the front from the back and remove the pockets if they exist,
3. cut the sides right where the sleeves start;
4. place the pattern on both sides and cut
5. assemble all the pieces and hold them together with pins
6. sew the sides together on the wrong side

And ta-daaaa. Here is your new mini skirt with a zipper ready to wear. Put on some sneakers and go for a walk in the park.

Love,
L.

Sunday Smoothie: Banana&Pear / Banane&Pere

Daca sunteti la fel de norocosi ca mine sa aveti bunici cu casa la tara si livada atunci stiti care este gustul adevarat al perelor, zemoase si dulci. Voi aduce acel gust al toamnei timpurii in smoothie-ul de azi.
If you are as lucky as me and you have grandparents living in the countryside and they have an orchard, than you know the real taste of pears, juicy and sweet. I want to bring that early autumn taste in today's smoothie.

Ingrediente: 2 pere, 2 banane, o cana de iaurt dulce, o lingura de miere, o lingura de musli
Ingredients: 2 pears, 2 bananas, une cup sweet yogurt, one spoon honey, one spoon granola 

Duminica placuta!
Enjoy your sunday!
L.

French Ombre

Tineti minte isteria de anul trecut cu efectul ombre? Ei bine, mie nu mi-a trecut. Si daca pe atunci il obtineam cu vopsea sau cu clor acum o sa-l facem cu ajutorul broderiei. Vom folosi tehnica numita nodul frantuzesc pentru a umple bretele unui maieu cu sute de bulinute in nunate de verde...sau de orice culoare va place.
Do you remember last year's ombre craze? Well I'm not over it yet. And if by then I used dye and bleach to get that effect, this time we're going to do it with embroidery. We're going to use an embroidery technique called french knot to fill in the strapt of a tank top with small dots in green hues...or any other hues you like.  

Aveti nevoie de:

1. un maieu uni; 2. ata mouline in mai multe nuante din aceeasi culoare; 3. ac de cusut; 4. muuuuulta rabdare :)
You'll need:
1. a solid color tank top; 2. embroidery thread; 3. sewing needle; 4. a looooot of patience :)

1. incepeti cu cea mai inchisa dintre culori; bagati ata in ac si faceti un nod la capatul liber; treceti acul prin breteaua maieului
2. puneti acum in fata atei si rasuciti de doua ori ata in jurul acului, de la ureche spre varf
3. infigeti acul imediat langa locul prin care l-ati scos si cu mana stanga(sau dreapta pentru stangaci) trageti usor de ata infasurata pe ac astfel incat sa stea lipita de ac
4. trageti apoi acul pe partea cealalata pana la capat
1. start with the darkest hue you have; thread the needle and tie a knot at the loose end; pull the needle through the fabric
2. put the needle in front of the thread and twist the thread twice around the needle, from the needle's hole to the tip
3. insert the tip of the need right next to the exit point and with with your left hand (or right for left handed persons) pull the thread lightly to get it tight around the needle
4. pull the needle all the way through  

Continuati sa faceti astfel de noduri trecand de la o culoare la alta pentru a crea efectul ombre. Trebuie sa aveti ceva timp liber si putina rabdare pentru a acoperi chiar si o suprafata asa mica precum o bretea(mie mi-a luat 4 ore), dar merita!
Continue to make these knots passing from dark to light colors to create the ombre effect. You must have some time on your hands and a lot of patience to cover even a small area like this strap (it took me about 4 hours :-O ), but it's worth it!

Cu drag,
Love,
L