Made in Italy

When thinking of all the wonderful things made in Italy, like pasta, olive oil, great shoes and fast cars, lets add a few more.

It's no secret to anyone who knows me well, that I like to make stuff like jewelry and anything bead-related.  I love the challenge of creating something out of what would appear to be nothing.  I also like to transform stuff and can often be found painting an unhappy looking object for later transformation into something like this:

A once sad looking French bread box receives a decoupage and paint job and now adorns the halls of Paradise. And a collection of shells selected from the beaches in the Outer Banks are drilled by Enzo and finish up here in Paradise as gifts for some unsuspecting someone or other.

Sou can imagine the excitement here in Paradise when, following the meeting of new friends and family, I've begun to discover hidden 'crafting' talents all over the place.

Antonietta, the wife of one of Enzo's cousins for example, sits quietly on the side of a mountain in Supino with a needle and thread fixing and making delicate table, furniture and bed linens.

More recently Enzo and I met a whole crowd of new friends with one thing in common- a passion for cooking.  We were drawn together by Sonia Peronaci of Giallozafferano who left her busy kitchen to travel around Italy meeting all her followers.

Since Sonia's first outing, our 'GZ crowd' as we like to call ourselves, have been meeting on a regular basis.  Over the weekend we all met with Sonia for pizza to celebrate the publication of her new book and were given Christmas gifts. One of which was this from Cinzia and Patricia who live in lovely L'Aquila:

It turns out that Cinzia is a powerhouse of crafting! Her blog 'My Creations' is packed full of her work and this lady is busy!  Crochet, cooking and crafting, Cinzia is constantly on the go creating and repairing objects like bags, baubles and books.  Let's waste no time and show you some of her work:

This pair of beautiful crotchet bags for example, demonstrates just how versatile Cinzia is with her needlework.  However, if you are a crafter you will know that a crafters' mind is constantly seeking out new challenges and unique ideas, speaking of which take a look at just one of her books:

Cinzia, who has an eye for detail, creates her books for all occasions and each one is unique to the person receiving it. There is obviously a great deal of work involved in all of these creations resulting in a gift for handing down to the generations to come. So if you find yourself stressing over what to buy for your special someone, let's share something with you.  Crafting is a great way to relieve stress and one of the most precious gifts of all is one that is made by you, made especially for you, made for life and, in this case ... made in Italy.