Tag Archives: #zefifamelis

OMG where have you been???

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Yes, yes, yes. I know. I’ve been busy, I was abducted by aliens, the internet was playing up, the beach called, my suit didn’t get back from the cleaners, I was having an existential crisis and wondering whether I even wanted to keep blogging. Other things seemed more important.

Then for some strange reason, tonight, I had the urge to post again. Not that I have much of importance to say… just the usual rubbish I write about.

But for anyone out there in cyberland who may have been missing me, I am still here. Still alive. Mostly. Ok, I’m fine, I’m just being dramatic. Mom is fine. She’s been getting better all the time. I tell you, I’ve never met anyone as stubborn as my mom. In the best way. The doctors brought her back from the brink after she lost 2 of her sisters within a month of eachother (the youngest who dropped dead of a stroke without warning and the oldest who’d faded away over 6 years with dementia in a nursing home). The doctor and the physio visit to check up on mom regularly and she does whatever they tell her – she gets up every morning and does her exercises.

*I* don’t do exercises. Mom, at almost 94, does.

Ok, so I have been exercising. Before summer I finally decided that joining the gym (and actually attending) would be a good idea so I began pilates. Then soon as aqua aerobics started I switched to that. Let me tell you, nothing is as good as working out in the sea. No matter how awful or painful something might be, its better in the water.

Once aqua stopped mid September, a friend and I continue doing our own workouts. We meet at a convenient and protected beach and swim and work out with our leg and hand held ‘weights’ (of course they’re foam, not metal, we’re not suicidal!) So I’m keeping fit(ish).

I’ll be taking mom back to Athens soon, she insists, she’s getting better, I can’t refuse to let her go to her own home. And once I get back I’ll reinstate my gym membership and start doing some weights as well as pilates. And the plan is to keep swimming through winter. Its meant to be great for your immune system. Not to mention your skin.

I tell myself I’m going to swim in winter every year and soon as it gets cold I bundle up and pack away my swimmers. But with a partner in crime who actually swims in winter, I think I might be able to do it this year…

I have ordered a neoprene swim jacket. And a microbre hooded poncho I can wear and change under. That might help.

Stay tuned.

We’ve had a very busy summer. The entire family from Australia came to Greece this year. Everyone except for my brother and his partner. But my niece and nephew came, heaps of cousins came, my niece brought her partner and kids, my brother’s ex wife and her new partner. The place was hopping.

Its one reason mom bounced back. All those people to see. Especially the great grandchildren. So gorgeous. So cute. So loud…

On other fronts, work has been okay. Grooming dogs and doing workshops. All good.

Very little creative time. Too much happening to concentrate on creativity. But I have begun needle felting again, plenty of painting stones, some smaller stuff. You know… I have to do something or I go crazy.

I leave you with a photo of the most recent needle felted creations for Christmas… made by upcycling felt dryer balls by needle felting and adding accessories (bought and made).

Hopefully I’ll be back again soon, with catch up posts.

Till then,

z xxx

Shared at Funky Junk Interiors Upcycle Ideas Party

needle felting like crazy

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Lately it seems like all I want to do is curl up on the couch with my ‘work tray’ and coffee table and stab wool with sharp implements.

Maybe it’s because it’s been really cold and windy and not at all inviting out there…

Maybe its cause needle felting is a more immediate way to create sculptures – for instance, it’s so much quicker than papier mâché which needs to be done in stages with long periods of drying in between.

Plus, working with needle felting gives me the opportunity to make miniature stuff – something I’ve always had a passion for.

Whatever the reason, I’ve been working on these little figures most afternoons and evenings and listing them in my Etsy shop.

Here is baby boy mouse with his bunny and milk bottle.

And the baker mouse with her fresh loaves of bread and her baker’s cap.

A middle aged couple on the way to the beach with towels and soft drinks in hand.

A little gardening mouse in her ladybug boots.

A homeboy mouse with a hoodie, untied sneakers and snacks.

A ladylike mouse whipping up cream to top a pie.

And last but not least, the best Elvis impersonator of the mouse world, Elvis Mousely.

These little guys are so much fun to make. They’re done in a couple of days mostly, depending on the time I have to spend on them and the bits I need to make – like the shoes and any props I can’t buy. Sometimes I make my own clothes (like Elvis’ jacket and the aprons on the cook and gardener), or footwear which means I have to let the air dry clay I use in most cases dry. And any painting I need to do… But they’re quicker to make than the papier mâché dogs I had been making in the past. Not to say I won’t be making more of those!

My needle felting workshops are doing ok as well. Given this is a small island and a lot of people leave over winter and are too busy to do any crafts in summer, I never expected these workshops to take off, but they are great fun for those who do join in.

But I have to get back to painting and not spending all my time stabbing wool. I have 2 commissions and the series I’m working on waiting for me!

z

painting #3 in a series

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I finished the 3rd painting yesterday finally. It had only been sitting on my easel since before Christmas and I’d barely touched it.

Feels good to have it done finally.

Now a new canvas is sitting on my easel, in the living room (ie my studio) starting at me accusingly as I sit and felt, or do nothing.

I have some ideas of what will go on it, but so far all I’ve done is prepared the canvas. Better get my paints out again as I also have a cat commission to finish by next week.

For now the newest painting is hanging in my bedroom and I love it there.

I have no idea where I’ll hang the next paintings I plan on doing will do… I am fast running out of wall space. Not that I had a lot to start with…

I’ll have to think of something.

Meanwhile I continue to work on STUFF.

The felting workshop I did this week went great. We all had fun and got something to show for it at the end. It might only be a needle felted BALL, but hey, its the start of something great! You gotta learn the basic technique first and that’s what the first beginners session was about.

Next week we’ll add colours and attach parts to make the ball into something more interesting.

Then I have to plan my second beginners workshop series and add in an advanced one for those wanting to take it further.

Such fun.

z

busy with my etsy shop

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Etsy sale for the month of January 2025.

I have been absent but that seems to be the way I roll lately.

I roll out of bed, walk Vincent, have coffee, get online, do minimal housework, walk Vincent, do some errands, roll onto the couch…

However, despite my seemingly endless nothingness, I have been busy needle felting. The couch has become my new workstation. As you saw in my last post, I have been infected with the needle felting bug again.

I have been spending almost every single evening with a pointy weapon in hand, stabbing at innocent balls of wool with wild abandon.

And experimenting.

So far, here is the first lot which I have managed to put up for sale in my store:

They look so cute in a group.
Bird lover and bird watcher fox.
A fisherman Jack Russell terrier.
Shy, tea drinking hedgehog.
A rabbit with his morning coffee and newspaper.
Shy teddy bear with his bunny rabbit.
And of course you’ve already met the little rat with his heart in his hands.

You can see more pics and details of each of these guys in my store.

My store has been very quiet lately, so it was time to put selected items on sale and promote it more, so please visit and share it with friends. I offer commissioned work – paintings, remade dolls – wall art for a nursery, felted and papier mache sculptures… all kinds of things.

This is a hard but wonderful time of year. I have the time to create, but no regular income. I’m loving the time at home and being able to experiment and play, but having to juggle bills sucks. Luckily, I have tons of art and craft materials on hand thanks to my inability to stop buying it! I think I have enough to keep me busy for MONTHS.

z