Last freebie of 2011: Owl Lover calendar

Hello everyone, how was your Christmas? Hope it's been a rocking one!

Now it's nearly time to say goodbye to 2011, so I wanted to finish the year with a free calendar offered by one of my favourite blogs, My Owl Barn.

The beauty is that there are 45 different artworks made by 45 international artists, so you can choose your favourite 12 pictures to create your personalised calendar.

You can download your calendar here.

This is also my last post for 2011. Thanks to everyone who has been supporting me, reading me, listening to me, all my friends and family, thank you for making 2011 a year to remember.
These are the artworks I chose for my calendar. Which ones will you choose? Enjoy!

January by Yoon See



February by Petra Boase

March by Night Owl Paper Goods

April by Tracey Long

May by Julia Hartling

June by Liau Kwee Eng

 



July by Penelope & Pip

August by Suzy Ultman





September by Caro Celis



October by Phoebe Eason

November by Christine Pym

December by Stephanie Coleman



Merry Christmas!

Ilaria Rocks is taking a break during the Christmas period, I am spending time with my family and friends in Italy. Hubby is here, too, his first Italian Christmas!

Have a very merry Christmas everyone, hope your Christmas truly rocks!

the xmas tree in Ferrara city centre taken by my dad :-)

Happy Monday

By Sarah Jane

Freebie Friday - Christmas Boxes

Happy Friday everyone!

This weekend I am finally wrapping all the Christmas presents...have you wrapped yours yet? I will certainly be using these boxes, they look so pretty and stylish!

They are ideal for little items like jewellery or gift cards...but they could also double up as favour boxes if you are having a Christmas Wedding!

designed by Lovia from Pink Pigeon Graphic Design
source The Pretty Blog

You can download yours here.

late night thinking

I found myself late at night thinking about how to package some brooches my friend Jane bought from me, as usual I am always last minute, but usually it's under pressure that I get the best ideas...Until now I have not really given too much thought to packaging and so far cannot really afford anything too fancy, so I thought long and hard about how I could present them using things I had in my crafty stash already.

I like the idea of keeping it simple, even if some time ago I used to be "scared" of empty spaces, like when I used to design some greeting cards, I always wanted to fill in every available space, then I slowly changed and I do agree that sometimes less is more. I really wanted my items to speak for themselves and at the same time I wanted my logo to stand out and also needed some room where to add my blog address so people could find me.

I opted for some brown card, I cut it into a rectangle, rounded the edges, stuck my logo on and handwritten my blog address...

Considering it's my first attempt I am quite happy about them, though I am sure there's room for improvement...eventually I am hoping to get the cards properly printed and looking more professional, for now the rustic feel will have to do! Let me know what you think!

Happy Monday

Source: amandarxs.tumblr.com via Ilaria on Pinterest

Freebie Friday - Printable list

Are you all set for Christmas yet? Or do you still have a few things to think about? Today's freebie will definitely help you getting nice and organised! I am crazy about lists and it was love at first sight for me when I found this!

This jolly good list was designed by Jenny at Allsorts. Just download the pdf, print and you are ready to go!

You can download it here. Enjoy!



christmas is officially here

I cannot hide the fact that this is one of my favourite times of the year and I am so excited...I love making my own Christmas cards, decorating the house and wrapping presents, I could do it all year round!



These are some pictures of my favourite tree decorations and the other decorations I dotted around the house. I also changed some pictures into frames I had to more Christmas inspired ones.

There are more decorations I haven't taken pictures of because the natural light in the flat is quite poor at this time of the year, I only manage to take some shots of the living room.

Happy Monday - Live Simply

A nice reminder, especially at this time of the year.

Source: etsy.com via Ilaria on Pinterest

By Studio Mela

Happy Birthday To Me!

Oh yes, it's that time of the year again! It is probably one of the only days of the year when I like to wake up early to make the most of the day, and cos it's a Saturday I plan to celebrate the whole weekend!

I have already received some great pressies this morning, I am a very lucky girl!

I got a Cath Kidston notebook, I will use it for some special project...then it was the turn of the Great British Bake Off recipe book, I just can't wait to start baking! And last but not least, a set of 4 gorgeous teacups by Cath Kidston, simply beautiful.

After a breakfast of tea and scones I am going to have a lazy morning then I will be getting ready for a special treat, hubby is taking me to Michael Caines' restaurant for lunch, how exciting!

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your kind words and wishes, thank you loads!

Freebie Friday - Owl Gifts Tags

Now I have come clean about my owl obsession, I thought this free printable would fit the occasion perfectly!



Designed by Kelly Medina, visit her blog and download them here.

I am looking forward to see how you have used them!

It's an owl obsession round up!

I recently found myself with a new obsession: after badges and brooches and may other things, here comes the owl! Anything from owl shaped bags to earrings, necklaces and rings, owl themed notepads and cards and many more! I am seriously considering starting collecting...hope Santa is reading :-)

I have been lucky enough to stumble across a blog full of love for the owl and anything owl: My Owl Barn  is the place to be if, like me, you are fond of all things owl.

Is it those big eyes or the cute little beak, I just don't know, all I know is that I am in love with them! This is why I have been busy on Pinterest pinning  a round up of my favourite Christmas owls, and I wanted to share it with you because...owl rocks!

Ready...steady...owl!

I Sew Lucky

Red Marionette

Juicy Bits

Brick House Studio

Lauren Alane

Sweet Treats

Happy Monday - Everything happens for a reason

Freebie Friday - Xmas Art

If you like me cannot help but thinking today is 1 month till Christmas...well, this free printable is for you! It will make a quick decoration to set the theme in your house...I simply love it!

Thanks to the lovely girls at Eighteen 25 for sharing it!

 You can download it here.

Happy Monday - Everything is going to be alright

Source: pinterest.com via Alicia on Pinterest

N is for Natalie

Today we joined our friends Paul & Dawn to celebrate their youngest daughter's Christening. It was a double celebration as today was also their oldest daughter's birthday, Matilda, who is 2 years old.

As a gift for Natalie, I wanted to create something special that could stay with her as a keepsake to enjoy for years to come, so I went on making an alphabet print that highlights her initial and I added her Christening date, then decorated with little sparkling gems. I also made a matching card.

Freebie Friday - Birthday Tags

I am taking the inspiration for this week's freebie from a few birthdays I've got coming up, I found these adorable printable labels and tags by Elephant Shoe, I hope you like them as much as I do!

You can download them here. Enjoy!

Tidy Thursday - My Dream Studio

I don't know about you, but I am always looking for new ways of organizing, tiding and storing.
There are always bits and bobs round the flat because they don't really have a place of their own...or even the essential things, sometimes they are never easy to reach!

So I have been looking for some inspiration on how to improve storage, especially by recycling things like tins, jars, boxes...just wanted to share some of them with you.

great way to reuse tins!

Source: blogs.babble.com via Ilaria on Pinterest

Source: craftgawker.com via Claire on Pinterest

see everything at a glance

Source: designtraveller.blogspot.com via Ilaria on Pinterest

I dream of having my own little corner where to craft, all nice and tidy, in a bright lit room, but at the moment I'll have to make do in the living room, on the dining table. One day hopefully I will have my own studio and work place, for now I keep dreaming looking at these pictures!

Source: Uploaded by user via Ilaria on Pinterest

Source: dottieangel.blogspot.com via Ilaria on Pinterest

A cupboard like this one would be ideal to hide everything when craft time is over!

Source: organizingmadefun.blogspot.com via Ilaria on Pinterest