Outdoor mini fashion shoot

A few trials on outdoor photography with 2 new garments... the Polar Star oversized sweater and the one-of-kind Pic Nic blouse in silk and cotton stripes.


Ohhhh now more will come, as I build my confidence with the camera !


Hey Hey here we go !

Polar Star sweater 

Pic Nic blouse

Photography snap shots n.3

And finally the last photos .... The work is not all done though, the phography Group will get together again in the middle of the month, and we will take more shots to complete the Silence theme. In september we are going to exhibit ! Isn't that fantastic ?!!!

Stable II

Stable I

my little flower

Stable III

Window I

Window II

Photography snap shots n.2

Thank you for all the comments! 


I have a more photos to show you, hoping you will enjoy them... taken at the same place as the last lot...
yes sad atmosphere, I know, or quiet... to photograph I found it a great place with so many interesting details... some extraterrestrial... what do you think?

extraterrestrial IV

extraterrestrial III

extraterrestrial I

extraterrestrial II

Photography snap shots n.1

Hallo my friends ! 
Did I tell you I took part in a fantastic Photography Course in my city's Negri Photography 
Centre?
We are a close friendly group of amateour and our teachers, two awesome guys. On sunday we had a whole photography day in an isolated and abandoned village called Levi Cavour, in the Vercelli Province.
The theme of our snap shots was Silence... 


I am enjoying this experience so much, it is truely helpful for my fashion shoots... which I would like to improve.


Here are some of the pictures I took: 

Silence I

Silence II

Silence III

Silence IV

Embroidery portrait for the second place winners

I did think a lot about the second place winners gift... and I started sketching the cute dogs when an idea hit me! using the sketch drawing as a sample for an embroidery portrait... I started hand stitching and sewing on an oval vintage fabric, when a secon idea hit me ! How lucky was I :)

A trophy ! 

I cut another oval piece to sew down the portrait, and filled the mini pillow with stuffing... then added two double layer straps, the finishing touch to a soft trophy. I was pleased with the result :) Send it to the dogs and I heard the barks from Usa and New Zealand, one in the afternoon from Titi, and one (bless) in the middle of the night from Penny... I guess Penny is not aware of the time difference :)

Wof Wof happy dogs !

xxo

Penny

Titi

First Price Winner 2012 : Tiki

Hallo ! ... sun is shining over here in Italy! We are getting ready to celebrate Easter weekend... large lunches and bbqs, friends and Monferrato wine.

Today Stefano recieved the ink and pencil portrait of Tiki, the winner of "My Pet is the Best" photo competition. He is very happy with it, and so am I, glad I did a good job ! But you can judge for yourselves, I am not a top portrait artist,.... but I try my best and enjoy the process very much !

Here we go Tiki portrait by Monica !

Tiki "My Pet is the Best" Winner 2012

Happy Easter to everyone ! Celebrate well, and have a happy family time ...

see you soon for the second place winners secret treat .... coming soon ...

Shhhhhhhhhhh.... this is a secret

Hallo dear friends!
I have a little secret to share with you,.... do you remember that Tiki the cat won the photo contest "My Pet is The Best" ?
Well I have started drawing the portrait, and it's not finished yet, but here it is, a little peak into my studio, my drawing table, the pencils and the ink...

Tiki

Not too long and it will be finished, so I can send it to Stefano and his wife Daniela. They live in Cagliari, Italy.
I can't wait to know if they like it!
What do you think?


xxx Happy Week End ... I am off to a birthday party now !

Protect the Earth - product follow up

As a little follow up, I think it is fair to show you some garments I presented last Sunday, at "Protect the Earth" event. 

We, girls from Laboratorio Fusetti decided to produce solely sustainable and recycled items; and my thought went straight to all the beautiful left over cut-outs, I am left with after sewing my collection pieces...  
The idea was to give new life to the pieces, matching them with alike colours. 
I wanted the t-shirts to look like they had been designed especially in those fabrics...  I was very pleased with the modern yet crafty result... 


To accompany the garments, I discussed an idea with my mum, and she was happy to help create these cute, totally recycled, tags... like a little chalk board, with a little poem written on... I love these! thanks mum !

Little chalk board tags

The tag says : "cotton fiels, fabrics and prints I have loved, luxurious textile pieces to embellish the new and the recycled, to make you shine of rare charm" ...

I found a fair trade company, a while ago, that imports biological cotton from India, totally fair-trade, which means the workers in the field are treated humanely and the pay is fair. Plus the cotton is grown organically, without the use of damaging chemical products. This company produces the knits on a roll, and has its own label of t-shirts, hoodies etc. 

I bought the cotton knit from them last year, and for this occasion I created two simple t-shirt, in a modern cut, but with a very romantic collar... 

The Old-School t-shirt !

Old School t-shirt small

Old School t-shirt medium

And least but not last, the famous Pic Nic dress in a patchwork of white linens and cottons, some embroidered, some vintage... embellished in a precious 40s table cloth cut-outs... I adore this piece.

Antibes Pic Nic dress

The collection included also the Obi Belts, easy and practical.... but so feminine ! I made four one-of-a-kind belts, they all have colourful straps to tight in shape with a cute bow :)

Colourful Obi Belts

And here is the last Chai t-shirt left... the other three got sold :) That was a happy moment !

Chai patchwork T-shirt

Thanks for reading ! Hope you enjoyed the collection.... xo

Event - Protect the Earth - Sunday 25th of march

Dear readers, you can't imagine the joy as I walked into the door ! 


Cucina Fusetti is simply a relaxing and joyful place, you will find it on a quiet back street of the Navigli district, in the city of Milan. 
I guess more and more people nowadays are longing for tasty and genuine food, surrounded by  a friendly atmosphere where they can really feel at home and chit-chat to their friends. It is a cosy and enclosed space, where the decor is a mix of vintage italian and american collectables, school chairs, a window rustic table, modern stools, and the passion for jazz..
... actually this sweet little place is more than just said! 

The story of Cucina Fusetti has just started, and I am sure the boys will tell you all about it, once you meet them.

Cucina Fusetti - the bar area

If you make your way to Cucina Fusetti, between a dish of pasta and a glass of red, you will soon find out about the little brother : Laboratorio Fusetti. 
This project goes hand in hand with the kitchen - it is experimenting, creating, learning, exchanging ideas, a challenge and a surprise! 
Laboratorio Fusetti is a collective of artists and crafters with the idea to meet and give! We are all,.... (yes I am part of this !!!!) ...  producing collections of jewellery, clothing, accessorize and interior design products in our own lifes, and decided to join as a team to exhibit and share our tips through the workshops.


Sunday 25th of March was a very busy day ! On the same day the Mercatone was on - Vintage, the old and the collectable market in the Navigli district (which is every last sunday of the month). 

Mercatone - Navigli Milano

The theme of the Laboratorio Fusetti event was "Protect the Earth". We presented a selection of works based on recycling and sustainable crafts, re-using materials such as bicycle inner tubes, paper, fabrics, buttons, electrical resistances, plastic bags and old stockings. The items were all very interesting and glowing new life.
Alongside we offered a few "hands on" workshops : on how to translate a forgotten necklace in a new one, and how to transform small parts of plastic bottles in jewels. 
Passers by were intrigued by the work table by the window and started to come inside Cucina Fusetti, many joined in the workshops, met the artists and spend the afternoon learning a new skill.

Laboratorio Fusetti - the work table

Laboratorio Fusetti - the exhibition

If you are starting to get curious, then here is your chance to follow us through the events that will come... We have on our agenda a whole week of exhibition from the 17th to the 21st of April, dedicated to the theme "Fun in the Kitchen"! Follow us on our Facebook page, where you can find all the information you need : Laboratorio Fusetti

The girls on the 25th of March were : Stefania, Marzia, Silvia, Sonia, Monica M, Lorella, Isabella, Monica D, Monica C, Simona.


The address : Cucina Fusetti  - Via Mario Fusetti 1 - Milano

My Pet is the Best 2012 (second edition)

Here we go ! It's final now!

Wednesday 21 March we cast a vote from the Photo Amateur Group and on Friday 23 March we had the animal lovers vote.

The vote were numerical from 1 to 4, beeing 4 the highest score. I didn't vote.

So.... meet the judges :

the photo club amateurs

the animal lovers

.... and with the highest score of 34 points ..... tah dah :

TIKI is the winner of this year competition !!  Well done Tiki !! You stole the hearts of the judges !!!

Tiki from Italy - by Stefano

Tiki, your cuteness and curiosity made you the lucky star !!!! So happy to have you as the model for the portrait! To draw you will be a challenge.... so ink and pencil soon to be found on my studio table for a Tiki Portrait ! 

.... and as promised we have a second price too, well..... we have two pets which scored the same numerical 33 points:

Titi and Penny are our second place  

Titi from Usa - by Mireya

Penny from New Zealand - by Leo and Victoria

The price for the second price scorers is a surprise ! ... you will get it in the post as soon as I can ! .... and yep, it won't be a bone to share ;) !!

It was so much fun ! Thank you to all for partecipating.... This year we had 22 pets - it's fantastic !!! I send a super cuddle to all the pets!! ... and a big thank you to the owners/photographers :)

I have to say the judges loved each pet and it was seriously hard to vote, as I showed each fotograph, the jury said : "wow", "ohhhhh", "cute", "what a love"... etc it was one expression of wonder after the other ! 

We loved them all !

xxo Monica

My Pet Is The Best .... last chance !!

Amy

Amy form Italy - by Marcello

RandaCat

RandaCat from Italy - by Sylvie

Zè and Baltazar (in love?)

Zè and Baltazar from Portugal - by Joana

Stassi

Stassi from Usa - by Lisa

Pascià

Pascià from Italy - by Sylvie

Piuma

Piuma from Italy - by Deda

Last hour and counting ! here we go ... all ready ? 
Here are some of the last partecipants, just in time to compete in this year My Pet is the Best photo contest !! I am very happy to see all these beautiful animal come closer and show their beauty :) 

I have a special jury voting tonight 21/03/2012 at the Photography Amatour Club, they don't know yet, it will be a surprise.
We will have votes coming from photo amatour enthusiasts, and some, in the second round of votes (friday night 23/03/2012), from amimal lovers...

I will come back with a final winner and a second place winner, at the latest on saturday morning ... so keep your fingers crossed and be patient... I am really impatient myself, and excited ... who will I draw ? Where is the drawing going to be posted ... Europe, America... New Zealand... 

Good luck to everyone!!! For me they are all winners, remember !

xxo Monica 

My Pet Is The Best .... more and more cuddly stars !!

Yu Yu

Yu Yu from Italy - by Tiziana

Morfeo

Morfeo from Italy - by Daniela

Magò 

Magò from Italy - by Strega Operosa

Sterlina

Sterlina from Italy - by Arianna

My dear friends, I am so delighted ! 
Thank you so much, the photos are coming in every day and each pets is so much fun, cuddly and cute! I am happy thay will all compete for this photo contest, and they are all beautiful, so it will be hard for the jury to decide, but as usual it is just a matter of luck... anyhow I like to thank you all and let you know, that for me, they all come first ! xxxo Monica 

My Pet Is The Best .... more friends are here !

Titi

Titi from California - by Mireya 

Ettore

Ettore from Italy - by Gaia

Ralphy

Ralphy from Italy - by Gianluca

Penny

Penny from New Zealand - by Leo and Victoria

Tiki

Tiki from Italy - by Stefano

Fragola

Fragola from Italy - by Micol