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26.1.10

Life,Twitter, TV shows & more

Hi!
after a period of hiatus I'm writing back on the blog.
I want to do this tonight, for in the next 4 or 5 days I'll be pretty busy and have no time to do so.

I have a lot of things to say, this is really going to be a "life" post, rather than a "craft" post..as I haven't been crafting for long since my sewing machine foot decided to flee from my house and it seems almost impossible to find a new one =_="

Well, btw..
not much has been going on lately, and the new year hasn't brought the enthusiasm back into me.
I just feel like I don't have the drive to do anything, I don't know what I want to be "when I grow up" (and given I'm almost 28 it's probably a bit late to re-think my whole life).. I graduated almost 2 months ago and I didn't really sent away any CVs to any company or so.. it's just I don't feel like I really want to take my life into my own hands..probably I don't feel like I am able to face the "real world".
I've studied translation for som 8 years now and I don't feel like I can or want to do this as a job,but I can't do anything else.. so it's pretty fucked up.
I sound a little emo, don't I?
I know the problem it's me, my lack of self-confidence, my lack of focus and goals.. I know nobody else can help me but myself, but again I'm not sure I really want to.

They say "the only way is through".
I know it's right.. but I'm afraid of moving the first step.
I shall repeat to myself Bilbo's words to Frodo:

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door," he used to say. "You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to."

Maybe I shall read again LOTR, it's always been a book f wisdom to me, "a light, when all other lights go out", quoting Lady Galadriel's words.
And again,

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

My mum always tells me I was born to do something great, that I wanted to come to this world at any means necessary. But I can't see what it is. I really can't.

Stop ranting now.

If you've been brave enough to read up to this point you win a big prize: reading my ramblings about social networking and my favourite tv shows.

First, lately I've been pondering a lot about my relationship with the internet and social networks like facebook and twitter.
I started to use the computer and internet when I was a little older than the avarage internet user of these days ( I was like 19-20), I remember when Internet was a brand new thing, google didn't existed yet, chatrooms were something mysterious and blogs were even more mysterious. The first time I used to internet for some sort of social interaction was back in 2003, I was on an Italian Tolkien Forum where I met some of the most amazing people i've ever met. I loved everything about that place, we were a small and very tight community, we met fairly often, we fell in love, we fought, we had a great time. Then something broke.
It was only on my side, I was disappointed by some people, and I simply cut the wires with everyone.. at times I tried to get back, but then I just felt I didn't belong there anymore somehow.
And that's what happens to me everytime, especially in RPGs I used to play, although I kept in touch with more people there.

And that's typical of me, I just can't keep in touch with people. I really just can't. Even people I love so much, I live in this sort of limbo, looking to everyone in a nostalgic rearview mirror, my thoughts are always there but I can't stretch my arms to touch them. And that's how I lost a lot of people, I know it hurts but then I don't change. I am pretty much similar to the literary figure of the inept, the worthless man of many authors from European literature of the beginning of the 20th century.

Then social networks came.
You may think, wow! a great chance to keep in touch with those people you lost. Well, theoretically it is so, practically it is just some sort of superficial contact you have with them. And even so..I use them to talk with those with whom I speak every day via msn or skype.
Anyway, for me social networks have never been a way to know new people and just to track people I already knew. That's why I usually don't add people I don't know in real life..

..that was before the Twitter Era.
I saw twitter the first time some 2 yrs ago, a friend of mine used it. I didn't find it interesting, or easy, and I couldn't really work out its ways.. but then some months ago I started following some actors from HEROES (Brea Grant, Greg Grunberg and James Kyson Lee), to get updates and it was funny.
Than I started tweeting, basically my fb statuses translated into English, and after that I started using it on a more regular basis, now I use itmost of the time! XD
This shows how social networks can get addictive somehow.
Going back on the subject, it was only when I started following Kim Boekbinder (Vermillion Lies - check more info on her and her solo album project here, and on the posts below) and her webcasts, that I started adding before unknown people on twitter (those I met on her webcasts). And later people from Thread banger, the first forum I followed with interest in years after the Tolkien one.
And I found some very wonderful people.
some poeple I can laugh with, I can share thoughts with, some people I really like, even though I cannot really say I know them, but I have feelings for what they say, I care if I read they're sad, I try to help as far as I can..
That surprised me.

I read a tweet by someone random that read something like "I really pity those who use twitter to pretend they're friends with celebrities".
I don't think that's the spirit. I mean, I follow lots of celebs (as of today i'm following only 73 ppl), but only thos who interest me. But i wouldn't say I'm their friend. I just like to know what they say, and if I have some thoughts to share i just write them although I know they couldn't possibly read them all..
I must say some of them are really sweet, and do their best to answer most of their @ tweets. I really appreciate that, and they make me sympathise even more. the most "answering" are Kim Boekbinder, Sinead Keenan from one of my favourite TV shows (Being Human), the staff from BurdaStyle, Wendy Linn Avignone the make-up artist from Heroes..

...and this takes us to the TV shows bit of this neverending post.

I've been following some 3/4 series lately.

1. I'm waiting for LOST last series so badly.. and on february the 2nd is finally coming again. I'm counting the hours!!!

2. HEROES - I loved the show. I would love to see a 5th season, if they do something about the screenplay. This 4th season is turning out a bit awkward.. I don't see where they're heading, how this could end in an effective way..I'm not sure I'm loving it the way I used to. Of course there are some characters I will always adore (thanks for bringing Adam back for at least one episode ♥ - I love David Anders Holt).. but I don't know what to think of the whole show.. I think I watch it more out of affection than out of interest.

3. BEING HUMAN -I watched the first season in 2 days (6 episodes) and I instantly fell in love with it. The concept is original: a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost who share a flat in Bristol and try to live a normal life. The atmosphear is very British (and that's something I really loved), which makes it very different from all American series, and very peculiar. Season 1 is a great blend of thriller, irony, brilliant comedy, great villains, great cast(the actor playing Herrick was incredible), good plot. I love the choice of actors for the main roles. Season 2 has started on Jan 10 and it's quite different from the 1st in tone but it gave me the opportunity to appreciate the acting skills of Sinead Keenan (who plays Nina), I didn't pay too much attention to her in season 1, but she's doing great in this one and I think she's being my favourite so far. Amy Manson is also very good ( I liked her in DESPERATE ROMATICS too) but she seems like always being a bit over-acting, I still don't understand if it's her character's way or if it depends on her.
That being said, I'm sorry we won't get this in Italy, because I think that's a quality show, and I 'm afraid of how tha American version is going to be, as I love so much the Britishness of it!

4. THE BIG BANG THEORY - As a self-proclaimed nerd I can't help but love it.
I love everything about the show, the characters, the lines, the situations.. I've watched the 3 seasons in like.. 4 days? Well! Now I'm pretty addicted to this! BAZINGA!

Well I guess I've written too much this time, you'll have 4 days to read this.
If you made it until down here, you should know I love you ♥

Goodnight.




28.12.09

Yellow HappYness & Graduation

Hi!!
I've been pretty lazy, very lazy lately.
But now I have a bunch of good resolutions for next year, especially when it comes to sewing and crafting.

First news: I FINALLY GRADUATED ( on the 2nd December actually) and it was very nice to get rid of that burden. I had the highest mark I could get and I'm happy for it. I'm not usually the kind of person to boost for such things or to show off, but I'm really glad it all ended well, because I was really demotvated at some point.

Great results were a good start.
So, I graduated and then got lazy.

I shall send away thousands of CVs and haven't really though about it yet for a reason or another.

Well, the thing is I spent a very nice Xmas with friends and family, and still haven't prepared a gift for anyone! XD (laaaazyyyyyyy) but today I went to IKEA with my mom and finally found a measuring cup with both Imperial and Metric system.
Now I can try to craft some body butters and lipbalms I've seen on the InternetZ (on Threadbanger or MakeYourCosmetics ).

The first attempt of my little alchemist's lab is the following:




This is made with all natural ingredients: shea butter, coconut oil, wheat germ oil + vitamin E, distilled water and cetyl alcohol, cinnamon and vanilla essential oils.
it looks very yellow and its consistency is a bit thick, but it smells great, though it smells perhaps a little too much like shea.. I should add more drops of essential oils maybe.

As a first attempt, I am very proud of it though!!!

Now I wish you good night, and the happiest and safest New Year!!
loads of luvz

18.11.09

The Kim&Cindy Necklace and other stories..

Hi!
so today I've decided to try and create something out of the hama beads shapes I created yesterday.. and the results were dreadful.

I was really discouraged, because I didn't feel like anything good would come from my hands, but then I started working on a necklace and in the end it was not so bad!

I started it while waiting for Kim Boekbinder's webcast to begin, in case you don't know her..you should. She's a very talented artist, a great singer and musician, I love all of her songs and she is also such an amazing person to read and to listen to that you can't help but love her.
she has also a fundraiser to get enough money in order to record her first solo album (she's a member of the amazing duo Vermillion Lies, together with her sister Zoe Boekbinder), so I invite you all to donate, even a small amount to support art as a process.

The Impossible Girl
- Kim Boekbinder's solo album.

Well.. she does these webcasts almost weekly where she plays songs on her ukulele and sings and chat with us fans and friends and is amazing. Tonight she had it w/Cindywonderful who is also in Berlin and I kept making the necklace during all the webcast.

That's why I decided to call it "the Kim&Cindy necklace".
And here's a picture..


as you can see, the bunny is made out of hama beads and I addd some other beads and used brown and pink cotton threads to join them.

Then again the other jewel I create dtoday is an earring, but I don't like it very much..I don't know why, but there is something that doesn't convince me.. I let you decide wether itis good or not..



Ther you go!
Please please please, give me some feedback! good or bad, I need to understand what I can or can't put in my etsy shop!
G'night cats


17.11.09

The Hama Beads Experience

Hi everybody,
I'm sorry I haven't updated my blog lately but I've been very busy writing my degree thesis and so I hadn't got the chance to craft anything or to do anything apart that.

Now I'm back with some brand new materials and new ideas for creative mind. Now that I won't have anything to do for some weeks (I will discuss my thesis in the first week of december and then I will be embraced by Mother Unemployment) I decided that I want to go back to sewing and crafting.

I missed sewing all this time; my sewing machine was at my parent's place and I was living in another city so I didn't got the chance to exploit my full creative side.

This time I want to talk to you about HAMA BEADS or PERLER.
They are these plastic beads you compose together following certain patterns, pretty much the way you do in pixel art or cross stitching, and then fuse them together by ironing them. They're very fun to work with, though I am still learning and I still need to practice some more..

I'll show you some of my results hereunder. Please comment and give me some feedback, I'd much appreciate it.

You can see them here: FLICKR (I'm having some troubles uploding pictures here, I'll possibly fix it later)

You can see I made 2 bunnies, the pink one is my OC Puff!, a rainbow and some fruit..

Well it's all for tonight! Thanks for reading, hugses!

30.8.09

jewels on my mind

hey everyone!

First BIG NEWS!!
I have paypal now!! I can accept payments and donations and stuff!! *__________*
I'm opened to commissions from now on.

My account is: simplynerdilicious [!at] gmail.com

Please put @ where the [!at] is, and it will work! =)
I'm so excited..

Second,
in the last couple of days I've been working with very inspirating materials.. copper thread and leather.
I had these leather leftovers from a necklace EPIC FAIL I tried last week and I wanted to do something with it.. it was too pity just throw them away and such a terrible waste!
So I thougth about what I could do with some leather strips and, except some dirty things (LOL!) I came up with the idea of making earrings or some othe sort of jewelry.
So i grabbed my mum's metallic threads and chose the copper, copper is wonderful with leather IMHO.

I share the results with you.




Leafy pendan
t - $ 6.00
Size: 6.5 cm long (2.3 inches) - the leaf is about 3 cm (1 inch) long
Materials: copper thread and vintage leather

~~~


Simple Leather Earrings - $4.50 each couple
Size: 6 cm (2 inches) long
Materials: Vintage Leather and Copper thread

~~~


Spiral Earrings - $ 6.00 each couple
Size: 6 cm (2 inches) long
Materials: Vintage Leather and Copper thread

All these items are completely hand made by me.
The leather was stiffened in water without adding any other substances.

I ship internationally and I package everything in the safest way possible but I'm not responsible for anything that happens to the item after I 've left the post office.
Shipping rates are $ 3.00 per item + $ 0.50 with another item.

If you have any question please feel free to contact me at my email adress:
simplynerdilicious [!at] gmail.com

/me hugZ you..

25.8.09

Gear for Real Geeks

hey!
I haven't posted in a while, but I've been trying some things i really like.
I told myself that I should come up with something very geeky to be consistent with my initial purpose and with the name of this blog.
So, after sewing a multi-purpose white elastic belt I crafted some things from old happy floppy disks which decided to be my sacrifice for this noble deeds..

and without further ado, I would like to introduce you.. my FLOPPY DISK ART!


this was the first try, i had some trouble initially with gluing all parts correctly but it came out a lovely and cute star..


these earrings are made from the actual plastic case of the disk, I had this bunch of colorful disks I decided to use them.. this is recycling and giving a new life to objects =)

I want to say something about it, it is important to recycle and think about all the problems that our economies are creating by increasing the production of consumer goods which produce waste and help destroy our wonderful planet. We should think more about energy saving, renewable energies and alternative lifestyle.
Supporting recycled and upcycled items can help in a way..

Look at this SITE - STORY OF STUFF to discover a lot of stuff about this..and learn how we can help!

Last news for today, I created a paypal account and as soon as I have enough items I'll open the etsy shop.. stay tuned!

/me hugz you


12.8.09

Jeans brooch

yep!
another one!

This is a flower brooch made of jeans, a very heavy and thick fabric, actually not very easy to sew by hand and a beautifl yellow button with a little flower shape on it.
Again, the picture quality is horrible, but my camera hasn't come to life again yet, sorry about that!

Enjoy!