My daughter asked for a new bag...

My Daughter really deserves a bag!!!

It is not the first time my daughter asked me to make her a bag,
at least a hundred times or more,
I finally agreed...
So, this afternoon we sat together, my daughter and I, in the studio,
picked the colors she wanted,
drew the design, decided what fabric, which handles and selected the buttons...

This is the outcome of this adventure...

Reversible cotton bag








magnetic closure ,two pockets,two webbing handles
15"-w, 14"-h,4"-d

Cruise on the Celebrety Equinox

First time cruiser

We just returned this week after a 8 day cruise to Norway Fjords on the new ship Celebrity Equinox.

The trip was just a wonderful experience and left a great impression on us.

Visiting different countries and ports, staying in a deluxe hotel on the water without having to pack over and over again, meeting people from all over the world ,shows,sport, hot glass show, grass on upper deck great food and much more.

Great for all ages our kids loved the cruise.

We are sure to make future cruises.

First time to be featured on FP Etsy Treasury

It's our first time to be featured on FP (front page ) of Etsy treasury!!!

A BIG Thanks to verogue who treasured this treasury.Wonderful job!

Please go check veroque's shop on Etsy.

She is a lovely person and has beautiful Jewlery shop,

which I am sure you'll love.

Round turquoise Cabochon pendant with tiny glass beads

FP on Etsy - we've made it, our treasury was on the Front page of Etsy

First time to have our Treasury on FP (front page ) of Etsy :-)


A few posts ago I was so happy to tell everyone how I managed to make a Treasury on Etsy.
Well----------------

I was so happy then...

Since then, I have been addicted to making treasuries.;-)

My family does not understand why I'm addicted and what I get out of it , I continue anyway.

I try to explain that;

I ENJOY MAKING TREASURIES :-) :-) :-) but that doesn't count

1.Lots more people go into my shop-

I check it on Google Analytics and see the the graph going up.

2.when I feature a shop, many times that same shop would feature us as gesture,
if they make a treasury themselves.


Today we are featured in two treasuries by Gailai

and one treasury by dafnadagan































3.Since I started making treasuries, the amount of hearts for our shop has grown.

4.many people go into my blog -also according to analitics.

5. we are posted in different blogs like: Gailai -first apperarance on Etsy FP
Yellowgoat -Mondays finds

If you like to know if you are featured or were featured on Etsy FP check into
Craftcult - Heart-o-matic -featured
The Vault

All you have to do is enter your username or store ID number

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR TREASURIES :-)

How to make your Flickr badge

So....you wanted to know how to add your Flickr badge to your blog?!

Just a few easy steps:
1.Go to your flickr ,
2.sign in
3.go to this page -you will have two alternatives: An HTML badge or A flash badge

choose which one you want

4.next step - you have to choose what you want to disply

your pictures, from a specific group...

from a group or everyone's.

5.colors - choose the colors for the backround, border, links, and text.....

6.preview - check that everything is to your liking & get your code ( copy- Cntr C)

You have to copy the code and paste it in your website.

7.blog - in your layout you can add html text .Add the code you recived from Flick (Cntr v ).

8.save changes

GOOD LUCK

Bonfire - Treasury

Today people in Israel celebrated with the lighting of bonfires .the thirty-third day of the Omer period between Passover and Shavuot.
The combination of colors in the fire gave me the will for this Treasury.

Thanks for these talented artists for their lovely creations:





Bonfire treasury

ALfa studio Things we love...: First time to be Featured on Etsy Treasury :-)

ALfa studio Things we love...: First time to be Featured on Etsy Treasury :-)

First time to be Featured on Etsy Treasury :-)

The last few post all are about our firts time on something....
It's like a little child starting off on his new way.
Now it's our first time to be featured on a treasury.




Thank you Bat Chen for granting us this experience.

The Treasury was composed by BatChenDesigns. -she is a wonderful goldsmith's that combines her techniques with lampworker's techniques.
Bat Chen is a member of the Israel Artists Team.

Here you can see some of Her work:




Sea Anemone Shaped Lampwork Moretti beads




Carnival Glass Bracelet

My first Treasusy on Etsy

Last night I managed to make my first treasury on Etsy.
What a great sensation that is...
After waiting so long, so many times.
I just had to understand how to...
I read many times how to make a Treasury list on Etsy's blog
but until you really see that the number of the lists go down before your eyes; 342,340,338,335,1 minute...333,
you really can not understand the true feeling! :-))


red
the logest wavelengths of light descrenible to the human eye


Featuring:

truLuxe, rafya, pixieblossoms
AyalaLevinger, margauxlange, artquirk
Yoola, MyMoms, DvoraSchetter
limitz, terminy, galit


visit these artists they are great!!!

My First Award!!!

I received my first award for this blog yesterday from LILYJA .If you haven't visited her blog, you should.
It is the first time for me.I am so honored to be given Queen of All Awe-summ award.
Thank you for thinking of me for this wonderful award!

Here are the award rules:

* List 7 things that make you Awe-Summ and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers you love.

* Make sure to tag your recipients and let them know they have won!

* Also link back to the Queen that tagged you.

7 awesome things about me: Ha! HA! HA! :-)

1.I try to learn new things & if i don't at least I try to think I do :-)
2.I usually look at the bright side of life.
3.I love designing & creating.
4.I sit hours on the computer...
5.I have a great partner - Ada,we work together & love the same things.
6.I love working in the garden.
7.I have loving family.

7 Awe-summ bloggers I' like to pass this on to:

Alona Lahav
kraplap
herzensart jornal
the 6 o'clock stitch
You SEW Girl
Limitz
Iris Mishly

We've been spotted!!! our Reading set- book cover & pillow.

Just wanted to share with you all
that...
We have been spotted on IndieSpotting.

For all of you who ask how?... why?...
I read a post by the 6 o'clock stitch blog which love & really and recommend!!!The post explains how to promote your shop, selling tips, marketing tips,Etsy tips etc. .One of the tips no. 7 :

TIP 7: If you haven't visited Indie Spotting, you're missing out on a great free marketing op. You can upload ONE item per week from your shop to be featured in their rotation. I've uploaded a couple of things and they've made it to the front page within 48 hours.I learned... and encourage you to check it out.It's really worth a look .

This is what was posted........................
Reading set Book cover & pillow
The idea of a book cover & pillow came to our mind from our own need, as we read a lot; we were looking for some kind of solution that could hold the book for us! The idea went through many variations and the final product is the following:

The book cover and pillow allows you to read with leisure with hardly any use of your hands only to turn the pages!!!
The perfect gift, for anyone who really loves reading.
You can enjoy this gadget at any age, from children who start to read,students,book lovers or grandparents who find it hard to hold books.
Great for reading in bed, lying down, sitting near a table, or putting the pillow on your laps.It is made of lovely polka dots cotton fabric .

Did we really finish or are we just starting???

I am so happy to tell you all that Ada & I finished an intense course on "Marketing on the Internet".

The course was held at MATI, Jerusalem Business Development Center.(Israel)

Our teacher was Mike Darnell who did a great job teaching us, the different aspects of the internet. Quite a job when one thinks of the fact that most of the people who attended the class came from a very different background.

Mike's blog in Hebrew "Dagbareshet"

when translated from Hebrew means " a fish in the net" is great and explains lots of things one should know on the web & great links!

For all his efforts Mike received "a fish in a net" from all the participants.

The fish was handmade by us at ALfastudio, and is one of our softie collection.

I have a new SEWING MACHINE :-) :-) :-)

I am the happiest woman today!!!

I got a new sewing machine

After a lot of indecisions which brand sewing machine to buy, the Bernina 230 was my choice.

A birthday present from my husband.

I am so excited that I wanted to share it with you all!!!

My Bernina 230

Google analytics on blog or Etsy shop

Want to know who sees your blog, where they come from, how they got there,
which post was best reacted to, what words connect to the blog, shop etc.

The solution…. GOOGLE ANALYTICS!!! For FREE!!!

All you have to do is sign in to Google analytics through your Google account.


Google explains everything to you… with just a few steps…
Google analytics help center

I'll explain with a few of my simple words;

If I could understand,and it's not my profession… then every one can ! :-)


1. Sign in to Google analytics.
2. Add website profile---- add profile to new domain- your URL
3. get your tracking ID from Google analytics
3. add your ID to your blog ,go to blogger layout,
"add a gadget"and there add the HTML google analytics gives you. These actions will allows Google to track your site.


It takes 24 hours for Google analytics to start - so be patient !

There will be no history from before you added your ID,
Even if you are not exactly sure what to do, try it out, so that you don't lose time.

It is a lot of fun to check and find out what people are looking up in your blog, how long they stay in each post , how they linked to your site etc..

Etsy sellers who want to add their shop to Google analytics…

Add your URL to Google analytics.
All you have to do is add your Google analytics tracking ID in "Your Etsy"
in the shop setup section–Web Analytics. There you will find a place to add your ID.



As I said before, it takes time until you start getting reports from analytics,
at least 24 hours.
…patience… you waited until now , you can wait a little longer!

Great post on our Book cover set

We are so honored to be on Jakie's Etsy site of the day blog post
Jackie loves handmade and is dedicated on her blog to feature every day different seller – great.
Thank you so much for the wonderful post on our
Reading book set, it is so great to get such a wonderful feedback on our work!

Click here to see the article on Jackie's etsyitemoftheday The blog is decorated as a dairy -wonderful findings!

Restoration and reupholstering of an old chair

A few months ago we visited a friend, as we went out of her house near the trash I saw a wonderful yet ugly looking chair.
I know I had to have it, I was able to persuade my husband to put the chair into our car.
You must understand my husband's car should always be clean; putting the chair in, with no protection on the upholstery was not an easy task!!!





The procedure took a few months.
I took off the old fabric, which was old and dirty,
scraped, refilled and painted some parts of the wood work.
Found a fabric that suits my taste, added foam, and batting,
stapled the fabric in the right place...
...........made a few mistakes along the way…......... :-) !!!
Then added a matching trim with a hot glue gun, burned my fingers....
to cover to up the staples.

I enjoyed the transformation very much and I am happy I did it.



The fact that I didn't give the job to a real professional upholsterer was the most satisfying for me.
It was worth the work!!!



















I really recommend looking into these sites, as they do give a wonderful insight and understanding of what you are supposed to do during the procedure.

poetichome

bhg

decorno


chaircouture

metrosofa

alkemie

morewaystowastetime

countryliving

To all who want to DIY - good luck!!!

How to sew Oilcloth / vinyl fabric tutorial

You want to sew oilcloth / vinyl fabric?
You don't know how…

We found a few solutions over the course of our work which we would love to share with you.

* Do not sew and unstitch it will leave marks that you will not be able to repair

* You must have a good design, try out first on paper or old linen fabric.

* Do not use pins – they will make holes.



* Make all your signs / marks with sewing chalk



* Use masking tape to connect webbing



* Use paper clips or cloth peg to hold together the different parts




























*** Most important use a special Teflon leg for the sewing machine so that the oil cloth will not get stuck.
You can find a great tutorial on U handbag .

Alfa studio- Guest Artist in Australian Homespun Magazine

Sebastian the snail sitting on the top shelf on the front page!!!

We are so privileged to be Guest Artist on the front page and cover story on Australian Homespun craft magazine this month issue February 2009.

The editor of homespun magazine saw our work on our etsy shop and offered us an opportunity to showcase our designs. We were especially honored as we are the first Israeli guest artisans on the magazine.

Our work is presented with full description of ourselves, our background, how we started, the business and a tutorial of how to put together our "Sebastian the snail".

How to create a snail – a full tutorial teaching even a beginner crafter "how to", step by step put together a snail in a days work.

Our motto: "Always to things from your heart it will show through your work".

Honored to be in the next issue of Homespun

We feel so honored that our project, Sebastian the snail, will be featured on the next issue of Homespun craft magazine in Australia.

Sebastian the snail in Homespun Vol 10 No 2

Our girls poject!!!

We wanted to share with you a wonderful project our girls worked
on their last vacation.

The outcome was outstanding!!!!