24 November 2013

Curtains - DIY

I love trips to IKEA I could spend hours there wandering around and buying all those little bits for a household. We went there other day and one of the thing we bought was a very cute black fabric with white and orange Koi carps print. My boyfriend is a huge fan of Koi carps, so we decided to make a new curtains in a living room :)



DIY curtains - What you need:


- Fabric 5m long, at least 120cm wide (The best fabric for curtains is heavy       cotton, thick polyester fabric, or any firm, durable  fabric)
- sewing machine
- matching sewing threads
- scissors
- gathering tape
- Iron-on tape if you like for bottom hemming (I haven't used it at the end)

Step 1: Measure and cut fabric. I measured the length between the curtain rail and the floor and added about 5 cm on the bottom to account for the hems. To cut the fabric right, lay it out on a large flat surface - table is not enough, I lay it out on a floor. If using a patterned fabric it is important to make sure each drop starts ate the same point in the pattern so that the design flows across the window. 
Step 2: Sew the side hems as per below picture, allowing at least 1,5 cm for hemming. 


Step 3:  Press the top of the curtains down (about 2cm) to the inside and sew the curtain tape across the top of the wrong side of the curtains. Fold in ends and stitch along outside edges ensuring that the strings are not caught in stitch line. 


Now your curtain top corner should appear like this:


Below is a guide how to make equal ruffles by tying strings on gathering tape and also how to attach the curtain on a rail using plastic clips. 



Step 4: Sew the bottom hem on each curtain.

 

And that's it! Your new curtains are ready to be pressed and hang! :)



  


17 November 2013

DIY project - Leather detail skirt

My favorite black skirt has shrinked a little bit and I can only blame my washing machine for that... Other reason could be that I put on weight but I would rather stick to the first option :).
... so as I couldn't wear that skirt any longer, I decided to enlarge it with a piece of faux leather and make it even fashionable! If you want to make something similar below is the guide for you, enjoy! 


What you need: piece of leather - real or faux, a ruler, fabric chalk, scissors, sewing machine and of course some skirt with zip closure in the back


STEP 1: measure your skirt length and cut a strip from leather in exact length, the width depends on how much you want to enlarge it. I kept the same width along the whole  leather strip as my skirt has an elastic waist belt. 


STEP 2: Cut the opening for a zip into the leather piece. 
STEP 3: Carefully rip the stitching as pictured, including stitching around the zip 

STEP 4:  Use pins to fasten the zip and leather and sew it together using zipper sewing foot. 

STEP 5:  Fasten leather strip along both sides of skirt fabric and sew through 


TADA! New leather detail skirt :) 




04 August 2013

Summer sale online

Enjoy sales up to 50% on selected items at MirkaDesign. Offer ends 17th of August! 



Click here to access MirkaDesign online shop.



27 July 2013

A little bit of Vintage - hand made necklaces & earrings

I've made some necklaces and earrings out of old-fashioned jewels and made them wearable again. It's a pity that I haven't took a picture "before and after" so you could see the difference! Hope you like them anyway!


Vintage style statement necklace by MirkaDesign $22.00




 Drop shaped earrings by MirkaDesign $14.00




Vintage brass statement necklace  $22.00


Gun Metal Leaves necklace by MirkaDesign $22.00




.. And matching gun metal earrings  $14.00



For more jewels please visit here








21 July 2013

Hand painted stones necklaces

I've found jewelry making very relaxing and it has become one of my favorite things to do over the weekends, especially those rainy ones, and we have them many here in the UK! The greatest thing about jewelry making is that there are so many ways how to combine various materials, bits and pieces, ideas, that it's never boring. This time I used a natural material - light weight stones. I've picked some nice little pieces from Stanwick lakes near Rushden when I was walking my dog Floo and painted them with durable gold paint. Here is the result!  




 Find more details here 



Find the last one here

Which one would you prefer to wear? Click here to view more necklaces made by MirkaDesign. Thank you! :)


29 June 2013

Summer must haves - all available online!

These below items are just great for this summer holidays. Most of them are chosen from Etsy - the hand-made world. Feel free to browse and find more items on ETSY
Red transparent round vintage eyeglasses $29.99 - (International shipping) 

One  of a kind Wood clutch by  AssemblageUnique $150 - (International shipping )

Geometric iPhone4 Case by Fieldtrip $18.00 (International shipping)


Dolly Bow Headband by Eindre $12.00 (International shipping)


Skipper High Waisted Navy Nautical Sailor Bikini Bottom $54.00


A sweet pair of red Suitcase Set $64.50


Chain Head Piece by ThreeBirdNest $23.00 (International shipping)


Geometric drop shaped necklace $26.00 (International shipping)


Bodysuit by Bershka £19.99 - (International shipping)



Geometric pattern High Waisted panties $23.00 (International shipping) 

All natural Lip Balm by Winsome Green $5.50 (Shipping to USA only)


Cut out bikiny by OYE swim wear  Wikus $199 - (International shipping) 

Now, What item do you like the most? :-)


09 June 2013

Stages of love - a new collection of my heart shaped pendants

In last couple weeks I became obsessed by creating resin jewels. It's such a nice, relaxing hobby.  Today I want to feature few heart shaped necklaces from my shop. Let's call this LOVE stages, however there are so many that I would have to work many months to express them all in my jewels. 

1. Meeting someone - Heart full of hope, mixed feelings, butterflies in a belly... We all know this feeling. A little red metal flakes in calm green colored resin are my expression of new beginnings and hope.


Find necklace here

2. Falling in love - This is when heart starts to open and receive love. At this stage you're finding yourself smiling a lot, being happier suddenly, being better person. Your heart beats faster every time you think of the "one". You want to be with him/her all the time... My necklace is half full of sparkling metal flakes, as a symbol of good things coming to your heart. 


Find necklace here

3. Heart full of love - You are sparkling with love now, looking so happy and beautiful, the glow of happiness is written all over your face! Every day is suddenly wonderful! Your heart is finally full of love and you feel amazing :) NOTHING is better then spending time with your half. You feel complete.  I think I don't have to explain why this pendant is full of red sparkling pieces! 


Find necklace here

4. Argument/ Misunderstanding / Disappointment in romance may spell the end of the relationship. But it can also make your relationship stronger. All problems in relationship makes you feel blue, your heart suddenly weight a ton and you are not as happy as you were before. Of course this can all be fixed, the basic rule is Conversation! Talk to each other! (Am I trying to be a psychoterapist here? That's not my intention guys :) Just enjoy my necklace :)   



Find necklace here 

5. When Love is only a pain -  Have you ever got to a stage in relationship when nothing could save it? Every single day is full of arguments, smile left your faces a long time ago and priority levels of you two are completely opposite?  Your heart feels like it's full of nails, like it's broken to pieces.

find a necklace here

Necklace cloudy love


Necklace Black heart

6. Good friends - It's impossible in most cases, but to preserve a friendship is sometimes better then stay in relationship which doesn't work. A drying tree can be revive if both of you really want to.  


More about necklace here


So, in what stage of love are YOU?