Old habits...

...they really die hard, so here I am again with a beaded star.
I was playing with macrame and braided bracelet, which I'm lately stacking shamelessly on my wrist and dutyfully removing before each bath at the beach, but it's pretty annoying and time consuming, so I was looking for a solution...and I came up with this:

It's a wrap bracelet which changes style at each turn on your wrist, from a braid to macrame knots with a cute pendant

I used a special closure for this one, coated in silver glitter:

I'm surely making more of this, we still have a long summer to decorate ahead of us!

Ombre hair

I've always been pretty reasonable with hairstylers, never asked for impossible things - like bringing a photo of a much longer haircut and demanding my hair to look exactly like that, or asking for crazy colors hard to find in small salons.

Source: Pinterest

But I feel frustrated when my reasonable requests are answered with:
1)"this is IMPOSSIBLE" - yet someone did it...the pics can't all be photoshopped!
2)"We don't have this color, NOBODY has" - and you've done that exact color in that salon the year before
3)"We can't do this but we can do this other thing, it'll look even better" - and cost you twice the price...
4)"Why do you want such a thing??!" - ...
So lately I asked for an ombre effect on my hair, and OMG - I got all the previous answers all in one time, plus the "we need to bleach everything first".
WHAT???!!!!!
And all for a not-so-reasonable-price.
So I bought everything and dyed my hair myself. This is the result (forgive the crappy pic):

The ombre effect will be more visible after a couple of washing, and will fade away going to the beach for sure :( but I'm really happy with it!

Macramé is back!

When I was a kid of about 9, I was in love with a magazine called Rakam (it's been lately sold from its publishing company so I'm not able to find the right link to its website).
It started in the 30's and since then it's mantained the image of a magazine for the perfect Italian woman, able to master any kind of craft: from needlework to knitting, this magazine has always proposed a lot of interesting works.
I have quite a collection but I stopped buying it when it started to become thinner and was divided into too many different magazines - the one dedicated to babies, to cross stitch, to knitting...
One thing I remember clearly was the macramé lesson, from which I started making the so called "friendship bracelets" like these

Source: Pinterest

There's actually a whole world to discover besides bracelets: it's a knotting technique that will allow you to make solid bags and cases for your tablet or cell phone

Source: Pinterest

belts, curtains and decorations of any kind for the house

Source: Pinterest

Now that macramé is back with many new possibilities I'm happy such an old craft won't be forgotten. I think I will try and make something new with this technique - maybe I'll go and find that old magazine again...

EBW July challenge: Tangerine Tango

Orange has always been one of my favorite colors.
It's hot and bold, energizing and vitaminic!
This year we call it "Tangerine Tango" and not simply orange, and doesn't it make you think of summer, dancing on the beach and tropical cocktails?!
The Etsy Beadweavers Team has Tangerine Tango as latest theme for the monthly challenge and here is the most powerful mosaic ever:

Choosing a favorite will be almost impossible, but please try!

Voting will begin on the 9th and runs through the 15th of July, on the Etsy Beadweavers Team blog .

Perfect holiday

How is a perfect summer holiday for you?
Mine involves the sea (possibly my hometown beaches)

good books, and of course the right weather to enjoy both, which is hot but slightly windy.
Until now I've been fully satisfied!
I've decided to stay as much as I can here this summer, since I'm not working and the heat is impossible to bear in Milan, besides: would you ever leave this

for Milan with 40°C???!
This summer, I'm certainly not!!!
Unfortunately I didn't bring all my beaded items with me 'cause this decision was unexpected, so all I can eventually sell is: tutorials, custom orders and my Orange starfish earrings, which were accidentally in my stash box.
Hope everyone is having great vacations!