Author Archives: zefiart

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About zefiart

Blogger, DIY-er, poodle lover, graphic designer, dog groomer, recycler, artist, wonder woman in my spare time.

guess i should have worn gloves

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(And yet this post has nothing to do with COVID 19)

You know how I’m always complaining about the stuff I can’t find in Greece, or how when I DO find it its like 3 times the price I paid for it in Australia?

Well, this is one of those things. All I wanted was plain old liquid nails. Construction glue. Yep. I did find it eventually… for approx 12-15 euros a tube! That’s like AU$24-30!!! For liquid nails! Something I used to be able to buy for AU$1.99 on sale for the cheaper brands at Bunnings!

Sheesh.

Anyway, I found a similar glue in a tube rather than a tube, for 6.50e. The tube was so hard to squeeze though I almost busted a few ribs trying to squeeze the stuff out.

What I did end up busting was the tube. With the results you see above.

Its been a week and I am still not completely glue freee…

So, what did I want that glue for you may ask… I was making a toy lamp base for a friend. You may remember the toy cake stands and other items I shared on my blog a while ago here.

This is the only before pic I have, sorry. By the time I remembered to take before photos I already had so much glue on my hands I wasn’t going near my phone. I’d finished putting the toys onto the base and put masking tape around it to hold things in place till it dried.

This is what it looked like once the glue was dry and I had the first coat of paint on it.

Another thing I can complain about is the lack of colour choices in spray paint on Paros. I don’t know what Athens has to offer, but on Paros you can only get black, white, clear, red and maybe blue…

Since this lamp is for a little girl’s room I wanted pink. I got lucky though and got a mistint of oil paint in a lovely pastel shade of pink.

The downside of painting it with a brush and oil paint is that its not as easy as spray paint, takes way longer to dry and in the end just doesn’t have the same smooth finish. But it works.

Sorry there are no finished pics… but you can thank COVID 19 for that since the restrictions in Greece are now severe… I gave it to my friend and am not going to visit her for a while…

z

paros, day 1: sock bunnies

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I’m in love with these bunnies!

I had planned to work on bigger projects today, ones requiring power tools and paint, but the weather seems to have gotten on board with the whole shutdown/isolation thing. It went from absolutely beautiful to crazy windy and cold overnight.

Indoor projects seemed the way to go. I was thinking about the various sock animals I’ve seen on Pinterest lately…and I had just washed 2 pairs of socks which had lost their elasticity… so I thought why waste them? Lets try out one of the sock bunny ideas.

I kind of made it up from a combination of sock bunnies I found on Pinterest, adapting it to create one bunny out of one sock.

I am in love. They’re soft and floppy and darn cute!

Of course if I make these to sell I’ll make them using new socks, but these are made from my own socks. I have no problem with my own socks! And I’m keeping these babies.

I might use the remaining two socks to create another animal… a cat, a dog, who knows. I have two more socks and a lot of time on my hands…

z

 

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one person’s trash…

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One of the great things about Greece (given its lack of tip shops) is that people put all kinds of stuff out near bins for rubbish collection.

That’s where this little beauty came from. I was parking in a town carpark when I spotted it. I don’t know for sure what it is, probably an icebox of some sort given it has a tap in front an no wiring. This is what it looks like inside:

Its pretty much of a mess. Rusty and painted over badly… but I just couldn’t pass it up!

I loaded into my little car and took it home to go over it with some sand paper to get rid of the worst of the rust. It still needs a coat of rust stopping stuff and a coat of varnish to protect it, but I love the way it looks.

For now its sitting outside my place as a kind of side table and a spot to put a plant. A nice little spot to sit on a lovely day.

Eventually I think I’ll put my gardening stuff inside it, you know – a pair of gloves, pruning shears, empty pots, leftover potting mix….

But its main job is to look pretty and I think it does that very well, don’t you?

z

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soft toys to keep busy

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Time to share some of the soft toys I’ve been making lately. Some of them, like the two above, were custom orders as gifts. A cute bunny and a Trump voodoo doll.

There there are more Trump dolls for sale in my Etsy shop.

Let’s not forget Scott Morisson either… A Scomo voodoo doll for those who need to vent their frustrations down under. The voodoo dolls each come with 3 skull pins to enjoy!

Lastly a couple more cuties: another bunny order – 2 bunnies this time – and a teddy bear I made just for fun to be found in my shop.

I always have fun making stuff out of fabric scraps. Its a smaller way to create and I can do it comfortably inside my own little home.

Did I mention I now have mom’s old Singer? Its probably a bit older than mine (and mine is pretty OLD) but its like the Mercedes Benz of sewing machines compared to my little VW beetle. I learned to sew on it but its still taking me a while to get comfortable with it. It does so much more than mine does. Not that I ever do fancy work, but its just a much better quality machine.

Next time I go to Athens in the car I’ll take my sewing machine back to mom’s so I can use it while I’m there. I get bored if I cant work on something!

More scrap fabric projects to come, as well as some upcycled stuff. Stay tuned.

z

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quick and easy computer station

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I don’t know if any of you remember I bought an Ikea Ivar bookcase for my home. I’m all about storage since I do so much art and craft in my one room. I needed some serious storage space. You can read about the bookcase project here and here.

I love it. Its pretty and holds so much of my stuff. Nothing like being surrounded by your creative mess to make you feel at home.

Only problem was the computer ‘desk’ area…Well there were two problems – first was the fact that I need the laptop screen to be up higher but the keyboard lower for a more ergonomic workspace. I have a wireless keyboard so I can have them at different heights. I looked on ebay for a retractable keyboard shelf but decided to make my own.

Cause you know I have that insidious crafter’s syndrome:

I had a bit of scrap pine perfect for the job. After sanding, liming and varnishing the pine to match the rest of the bookcase, I joined it to the shelf with hinges underneath to be able to drop it down when I wasn’t using it. Mind you, since I made I’ve never dropped it down… Hm… At least I can if I want to, and that’s what counts!

To hold it in place when it was out yet allow for folding down, I cut two pieces of wood to act as my brackets. When I want to fold it down they swivel under the shelf.

Then the other problem… my laptop has had an issue with the screen for a long time. Its not the screen itself that’s the problem – its the wire connections. Although my laptop is so big and heavy its never really been something I open and close and carry around often, still, there’s an issue with the wires that connect it to the keyboard. Basically I’ve have to jiggle, poke and beg for the image to be clear and not all weird coloured. The reason I know its not the screen but the wires going bonkers is that when I hit the sweet spot it works perfectly. For about 2 minutes.

So a new monitor was on the cards. No reason to spend money on a new laptop since this one is still more than good enough for the stuff I do, so I bought a new monitor while in Athens over Christmas.

Of course that created another problem…

Like where to put the new monitor. How to set it up to keep the top of the laptop open and access the power button. I tried it on the shelf to the side but the cables wouldn’t reach. Time to put on the creative genius cap again.

This time I used bits of cut off legs I’d also collected (it pays to collect stuff which might come in handy one day) and a piece of MDF I had. Cause, again, I collected it…

Firstly I had to find leg bits the same height as my drop saw keeps throwing the fuse, I simple screwed them in place – I was too impatient, no time for pretty or neat here. It had to be high enough to hold the laptop underneath and allow me to slide my hand in to turn on the power. I had to cut out a section at the back to allow the screen to be raised permanently. Once I had it all fitting properly I limed it white to match the bookcase and set it up.

It might not be perfect but it works.

z

PS. Sorry for the bad photos… I’ve been using my phone more than my camera these days.

a simple plate display rack

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When I bought my tiny apartment I had this space above my kitchen cupboards which was pretty much useless. It has a lip so anything you put up there is partway hidden, and its up high so you can’t fit large items.

The place is also small and the kitchen area has upper cupboards which means there was nowhere to hang a plate display rack for my pretty dishes. Dishes I brought back from Australia. I gave away, threw away and sold so much of my collectible stuff… I had to keep SOME of it. The dishes were one thing I kept.

The only option was to make my own dish rack to the measurements I needed. I had my tools, a porch, some scrap pine I’d picked up from someone who was throwing it out, the weather was fine so why not?

First step was to design the sides. I drew them on newspaper and cut them out using a jigsaw.

Next step was to stain them. I used the old steel wool in vinegar trick I picked up from Pinterest. No money spent on this part. As you can see though, each piece turned a different shade of brown. No worries. I was going to paint it anyway, I just wanted darker timber to show through the distressed corners.

After cutting the sides and bottom piece, I used a piece of compressed cardboard like stuff I found in a dumpster behind the timber store for the back. Its similar to MDF but kind of ‘furrier’ and not as nice. But its the back. Who cares?

I did have to buy a thin rod for the front to hold the plates in place. I drilled partway into the sides, added glue, then joined the whole thing together. Last minute I also added a couple of ‘feet’ to raise it above the top cupboard’s ‘lip’.

Once it was all dry and finished, I gave it a coat of primer and two topcoats of a simple acrylic paint I had on hand. Lastly I have the edges a little sand to smooth them off and add a touch of distressing, not too much. After all, the plates are the hero here, not the rack.

What I realised afterwards was that the rod was too far forward for the plates… what I should have done was put a slim piece of timber along the bottom to hold them in place. I like the rod so that’s staying, but when I get a chance I’ll add the timber stop at the bottom. Sort of a double protection from plates slipping.

I’ve made a temporary shelf which the antique bowls sit on. I’m not sure how I’ll deal with them, but for now this works. I may just make a proper shelf for them at a later date.

My finished display rack

I have three larger platters I also want to display on the other wall, leaving more space in my bookcase, so I’ll be making another, longer one. I still have my template… And I have scrap timber… I might make the next one slightly different or I might make it the same… who knows?

z

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yeah yeah yeah…

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I know. Bad blogger.

But things just happen… ya know?

Like I’ve had a lot to deal with. I might very well love adore living on Paros but in general there is SO much to adapt to about living in Greece vs living in Australia. I mean, for one thing, I lived in Aus most of my life and I knew how things worked there. Plus (until recently from what I read in the news) the government and tax system there actually made sense… it was a civilised country… People who wanted to start a new business or lived on low incomes weren’t pounded into the ground with no taxfree thresholds and a GST(FPA) of 24% on the first euro you made if you were self employed, and then income tax on top of that at the end of the year.

Being self employed apparently means that with insurance of 140e a month minimum (I hear the good news is its just gone up!) and 24% FPA, I get to keep 650 out of every 1000 euros I make, minus monthly accounting fees… and income tax where I can only claim 2000 untaxed receipts at the end of the year… that’s pretty daunting when you’re only starting!

Oh I miss Australia with its $24,000 tax free threshold! Heaven for a new business!

Its just felt like every time I got excited about something, starting something here, I got shot down. But I’ve decided I have to do it. I have to take the plunge, register a business number and start making it work. I can’t live on the pitiful pay here. I could subsist, maybe, but not live. I moved to Greece to be with family with the side benefit of being in Europe. I want to take advantage of being here to visit places I haven’t been before since a flight from here to another country could be as little as 1 hour. A bit different from living in Australia! Not to mention there are so many island in the Cyclades alone that I’ve lived my life hearing the romantic sounding names of but never been to visit… islands like Astipalea, Folegandros, Milos, Serifos, etc.

So, I am preparing get it started and make it work. Wish me luck.

I have a job lined up for summer. A very part time job so I can’t live on that, but it allows me time to build up a grooming business which is the way I want to go. And make things to sell cause making things makes me happy. The job is doing something I love too (painting art on ceramics), so theoretically I’ll be living the dream.

Meanwhile I just wanted to say the reason I haven’t posted in so long is basically cause I felt I had nothing positive to share. I do have some projects and I plan to start sharing them soon and hopefully get back on track with the blog and in my own mind.

So hang in there. I haven’t disappeared forever. I just to sort things out. Till then sharing good stuff will help keep me positive. 🙂

z

dogs dogs and more dogs!

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I finally got to a dog show in Greece! I was lucky to be in Athens when there was a dog show (a weekend of shows to be exact) in Lamia – about a 2 hour drive from Athens.

I joined a friend who breeds and shows toy poodles, we got a place on airbnb and set off with two of her dogs and Lainee.

Naturally, as it goes with all dog shows away, we didn’t really see the town, we spent all day at the show and went out in the evening to have dinner. So I can say I got a glimpse of Lamia nightlife but otherwise saw only the inside of the expo centre.

My friend’s dogs are gorgeous. She showed her black adult male and a silver veteran. We also met up with a lovely young lady from Switzerland and her first show dog, an apricot dwarf. I was thrilled to be able to groom her boy and to brush up topknots on all three.

Heaven… being back to poodle coats, even in mini versions!

I’ve missed showing. Not so much the show itself, but the dogs, the smell of hairspray, the hair… did I mention the hair? I love doing up topknots and scissoring and presenting a poodle for the ring.

I got the chance to go into the ring of course, which was lovely. Especially when the veteran girlie I handled went so well and got 3rd veteran in show! Lovely! Not to mention when the boys both got BOB in each show they entered!

Of course, I was also reminded of all the things I dislike about showing. The nerves before going in the ring. The backstabbing and politics of the show world… So no, I don’t think I’ll be back in the ring any time soon. Not on a regular basis and not with my own dogs… For one thing there’s the fact that I live on an island so getting to a show has the added expense of travel to the mainland. For another, its costly to enter shows and keep dogs in coat. Right now I’m still struggling to make ends meet on my own with one small dog to feed.

Still, I loved seeing all the dog breeds and spending time presenting poodles and with other poodle lovers. I confess I have absolutely no understanding of how showing and points work in Greece (under FCI) but it was extremely interesting to meet breeds which we don’t know of in Australia, let alone to meet the greek breeds I never knew existed.

I just love dogs of all shapes and sizes so here are some gratuitous dog photos. Enjoy.

A caucasian shepherd dog: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_Shepherd_Dog
A biewer yorkshire terrier… never heard of this before but SO pretty: http://www.yorkieinfocenter.com/biewer-yorkshire-terrier
A greek shepherd, a breed I’d never heard of before: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Shepherd

what a year 2019 was

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Inside a small cafe near Ermou Street in Athens.

December 23, 2018 I came back to live in Greece. A year ago at this time I was right where I am now. In Athens. A year ago next week I went to Paros to begin my new life there.

2019 was a big year. So was 2018 of course since that was the year I decided to move back to Greece and had to sell everything I owned… but I’ve been thinking about how much my life has changed in one year.

Same cafe, gorgeous decorations.

So much has happened in a year. Most people tell me I’ve achieved tons though I always expect more of myself and I tend to focus on what I haven’t achieved. Still, I figure I should be grateful for everything I have done in that time.

I found work. More than one job in fact. I’ve become known as a good groomer by word of mouth. I bought my own piece of Paros to call home. I’ve made great friends and I’ve spent time with family. I got a poodle to warm my heart. I joined the animal welfare organisations on Paros and have helped animals in need. I’ve been adopted by a cat. I’ve done some of my own work and made things to sell. I bought a car. I’m learning to live in Greece. I’ve set up an art class to start this coming year.

Little Kook is a work of art. Three shops, owned by the same person, an entire street decorated for each season.

Sure, there’s still a ton of things to do. To work out, to decide upon, to set up. A workshop/studio for one thing… sigh. I miss that most of all. Having a dedicated space I can go out to to work on making anything I feel like.

But the possibilities for life here are endless… with all the choices and decisions I’m feeling overwhelmed and (to coin a friend’s expression) I’ve been ‘lost sheeping’ a lot. Which means I stand in the middle of a room thinking ‘what do I do now?’

However, all in all, its been good to come back to Greece. Mom is so happy to have me near by, or living at home as I am now while I’m in Athens. She’s always cooking my favourite meals. Its nice to have my mother near and I like to see her happy.

A local cafe bar called Button. Of course.

I miss Paros and can’t wait to get back to my home and friends, but to be honest, I’m also enjoying my time in Athens. When the weather isn’t too bad I go into the city center and wander around. Its amazing down there.

Elize, a cafe full of flowers.

One of the things the greeks do best is the cafes… We have great cafes in Australia sure, but here they are inspired! They do the ‘themed’ cafes so well. And they are always packed despite charging 7e or more for a slice of cake. Unbelievable. I went out yesterday and ate a meal in Psiri for 20e for two people, then a cafe for a small cappucino and cake for 2 people and paid 23.30e. Highway robbery. And yet, the places are always full.

Pink and red cakes.
Even pink cappucino.

Life in Greece is contradictory. So many homeless. Crime. Yet people enjoy their lives and somehow can afford to go out as well. Beats me how they do it, but they do.

Anyway, I’ll leave it at that today. I had planned on writing more and sharing more, but I can’t concentrate with all thats happening in Australia right now. My heart is aching for all the animals lost and all the people who lost everything they own…

z

Work

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I’m back. I did promise to tell you about my new job. Well, till a week ago and hopefully again starting in March.

I have been painting on porcelain clay items for Yria Ceramics on Paros.

I love the job. Its very fine work as most items are small and require working with brushes I have successfully avoided working with for many years. In fact I was working with brushes with about 3 hairs on them for the insects, especially the butterflies.

It takes a bit of getting used to – working on unfired clay – as the water is absorbed really fast, but I’m getting it. I love learning new things and this is interesting and fun too.

I work on my own in a tiny little studio where I can listen to music or audio books as I work and Lainee comes along to keep me company.

What more can a person ask for?

I’m hoping to buy some clay of my own to make a few things for myself. Little sculptures and ornaments and whatever I feel like. I am so enjoying the clay.

Its Christmas Eve now and I’m in the grooming shop with Grumpy on my lap, Lainee on a chair next to me and Pacquaio on a rug next to me. Gato the kitten is in his bed. Its quiet now but someone wanted to bring his dog in after 4pm so I wait… Maybe he will come, maybe he wont. You never know with people. They want you to do something for them when they want you to, but never think to call if they don’t plan to come. Don’t consider that they might be putting you out…

Ok, give him the benefit of the doubt. I had one no-show yesterday, maybe this guy will turn up…

The weather is still not what I’d call winter, but we’ve had some rain which only manages to make things annoying when you want to walk dogs.

Tomorrow is Christmas and a day to spend with family. Hope everyone has a great Christmas!

z