red chrysanthemum christmas ornament

red chrysanthemum christmas ornament, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

I always end up making an ornament as a custom order every year, I like this one very much, it looks very much like a real chrysanthemum :)

yelow lily on a black wire comb

yelow lily on a black wire comb, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

another custom order!, I really love working on custom orders, they give me such good ideas. you know I have a day job, so I can not think about the flowers as much as I want to. so these custom orders really help me out and save me time :) so thank you all!

Happy Halloween

130, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

Me and my lovely husband love to make gingerbread houses around Christmas. This year a friend of ours suggested to make one for Halloween! it turns out making a haunted gingerbread house is a lot of fun! I love especially the ghost waving from the inside.
Stefan made the gingerbread using his german recipe and german spice mix, he makes a delicious gingerbread :) kathy and her son brought all the candies.
I made another one with my friend Yen, I took some photos with my cell, probably I'll put them on my flickr. if you click on this photo it will take you to my flickr account :)
cheers and happy halloween!

For DIY lovers!

I opened a new section in my Etsy shop for DIY lovers, now you can make your own origami stars and tsumami kanzashi flowers! I uploaded onyl a few but more are on the way :)
cheers
g

clark gable of cats

clark gable of cats, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

I just love my cats and I think my flowers look very nice with them :)
I am preparing some Kanzashi kits by the way :) I will be listing them on my etsy shop soon :)
g

How do you name your colors?

Maybe you already know but my first language is not English, so when I started my etsy shop the biggest challenge for me was to find out the names of the colors I use. I googled a few keywords and found this awesome website
"Name that color", I just wanted to share with everybody :)

Style Hive!

This is a wonderful website especially if you are getting married. I dont have a lot of time surf the net for pretty little things so this website is the perfect for a busy girl like me :)

Busy with weddings

corsage, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

I cant say enough how much I like to work on custom orders. I have a habit of saying "sure I can" every challenge that comes my way. So when my friend asked me if I can make corsages with Hibiscus flowers I said, "sure" . When I was struggling with the whole production process I wanted return back in time and beat myself :) but Thank God we dont have such technology yet.
I made this corsage from the left over flowers and ribbon, and I love it! would it look weird if I just wear as an accessory? I tried to put it on my cats you know like a hat, but they didnt like this fashionable idea. I will try next time I see them, just wait Koko and Suki mommy will be there to annoy you for 15 minutes ;)

Yellow orange lily

yellow orange lily, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

i made a lot of new flowers; traditional sakura, lily, hibiscus and more :) sometimes I get more creative I guess :)

my first attempt on fabric design

my first attempt on fabric design, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

I guess most of my friends know that I am possessed by fabric. and all the smart young fabric designers doesnt help me to get over this obsession of mine. well I really dont have any time to print, paint or (perhaps the most important) design. so when I get a fabric pen and some of the fabric I dyed already I become a 3 year old playing with pen. it was a lot of fun, I thought everything looked great :P these are a few from that batch.
I made several other flowers and I uploaded them to flickr, it you click on this photo it will take you to my account
cheers
g

new season of triangular pyramid bags

new season of triangular pyramid bags, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

My lovely husband finished making a bunch of new triangular pyramid wristlets. He says the hardest part is to match colors of the patterned fabric with the right ribbon , zipper and lining :) He is very proud of red riding hood bag where the finished the bag with a brown zipper.
I already listed a bunch and will b listing more throughout the week.
cheers

1300 sales!!!!!

1300 sales!!!!!, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

we hit 1300 sales yesterday , thank you 1300th customer :)))

A fabric and yarn outlet in our town

A fabric and yarn outlet in Bradenton, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

My good friend yenny and I found this cute little shop from Etsy when we were looking for fabrics for the girls'. To support the local economy immediately we went there right after work and met the super cute couple who own the shop. They won my heart when they said Turkish yarns are beautiful and high quality :) I love it when I hear nice things about the products of my country. Stef got Haribo gummy bears that were made in Turkey from sole shop in town, I was super surprised and happy :)
well let me return to the subject, this little shop (a fabric and yarn outlet) is super cute, most of the quilting store tend to carry fabrics that speak to older generations, I like all colors and everything but I prefer Japanese fabrics or fabrics that are full of interesting designs and broght color. so this little cute shop of perfect for me :) Next time I go there I hope to meet their little dog and smart daughter who brought up the idea of selling fabric along with yarn :)
So we got these two sets of fabrics one from Heather Ross but sadly I forgot the other one, sorry! when we finish the projects I will do my best to upload photos to the blog. They will be on flickr for sure
cheers

My youngest and

I love you, daddy!, originally uploaded by yen yen yen.

prettiest super model, I think she makes the flower look cuter :)
I am totally in love with these girls, they are super adorable, I cant wait for them to grow up so that I can make more things for them . we are planning on making genie pants for them. then dresses and other cool stuff. babies are the coolest!

home decor with kimono fabric

home decor with kimono fabric, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

I made this set for my bed room, it really changed the atmosphere in the room. It looks more like my room and less like a hotel room :)
should I make these for you guys, too ?

Dreamy tsumami kanzashi from Japan!

I look for pretty photos of Tsumami Kanzashi from their mother land , Japan. Last week I got obsessed and look for some more, and thank God I did so, I found this blog , these are the most dreamy, beautiful kanzashi I have ever seen. I couldn't hold myself and wrote her an email and she responded! She is very very sweet. I am so excited to exchange e-mails with an authentic tsumami kanzashi artist :) Thank God for Internet :) we are very very lucky.
Please check her gallery out, you will see beautiful dreams filled with kanzashi tonight :)
cheers

gochemoche sales graph by year and day

gochemoche sales graph by year and day, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

I always thought I sell more on fridays, obviously I was wrong actually Monday was a much more popular day last year (2008).
I love graphs :) another obsession that comes from my day work :)

New projects

I love making tsumami kanzashi, but I am always scared that I will be bored of it if I spent to much time on it. So I keep finding a bit different stuff to do. I tried decoupage and quickly find out the medium used makes me sick, so goodbye decoupage, byeee
I think I am going to spent some time making some clothes, I have this gorgeous fabric from Kokka, it is perfect for hot summer days. So I cut it out yesterday to make a kimono style top. wish me luck!
Then I decided to cut some fabric and being a bit ADD, I make some wall art for myself :) I have a lot of kimono fabric that are sooo beautiful I can not cut them, I have to use them somehow because I dont believe in keep things as they are, I love collecting but I love using them in projects even more.
Today I think I am gonna go to my quilt shop :) it will be fun, I will Stef was here we could have gone there together :)Yes ladies, you can be jealous, my husband actually likes quilt shops and uses our sewing machine :)
have a great weekend

I just love working with fabric

anti tarnish silver pouch, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

It calms me down :) after a long day at work, I come back home mentally tired. Then I looks at all the fabric I have and just admiring their beauty takes me to the times when my mom was telling me stories. My imagination starts working, sometimes I cant keep up with it. There is so many project I want to start but I have to be patient and go with the flow :) maybe in a few decades when I retire huh? of course palying lottery is also another option :)
cheers

Thank you !

another angle, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

Thank you, everybody who congratulated us :) I am very happy that we are surrounded a lot of thoughtful, and loving people
I would really want to thank Missmalaprop ( http://www.missmalaprop.com/) who featured our shop gochemoche on her awesome blog, it was a great surprise for me to see it just after we returned back and re-open our shop :)
I am very tired since it is near midnight now, I am in the process of making more flowers for other weddings, now that I know how hard it is to organize a wedding (mine was very very simple) I really feel for the lucky couple. The good news is that after everything is said and done, you never remember the upsetting details :)
cheers

Back from wedding

Sis is putting earrings, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

Our nice trip to Turkey to get married and to Germany for honeymoon was so nice that coming to work was a bit hard for me the past week.
Now everything is back to normal, and I miss both Turkey and Germany dearly! Apart from all the loved ones I left in both countries the food was sooo good, I have to admit that we ate like there is no tomorrow. and guess what Stef lost 5 kilos (9-10 pounds)! I didnt gain any weight. This miracle happens everytime we go back to Turkey :)
I was so busy with filling out all the custom orders I had that I couldnt make much for my own wedding. I didnt want to pay hunderd bucks for my veil so a comb we had at home and some tulle from Joann's fixed that problem. I wanted to have colorful hair comb so I managed to make some time to make one last night I was in USA before the wedding. I love the way people can put hair comb in their hair casually, I cant do it, my hair is super flat and everythign falls off. so this was the perfect opportunity for me to try my own creation. My awesome hairdresser cam up with this do'. Turkish hairdresser's rock! I will take more photos of the comb but this one is the best one I have so far :)Our photographer kicked ass, he was really easy to work with and I love all the photos he took :)
not bad for a budget wedding right :)
cheers

my oak leaves are featured in a new book

my oak leaves are featured in a new book, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

Stitched jewels, it is full of very cool projects that you can make using textiles. The publishers just sent me a copy, I am so proud and happy :) I published a few scientific papers but for some reason this one made me as happy as those if not more
:)
you can find it on amazon.com

Birds on branch

Birds on branch -1, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

My super talented friend recently had very very cute twin girls. She can not make anything just ordinary. I put the mural she and her sis made for the girls room earlier. This time she wanted to make a mobile and she came across a DIY bird mobile online (http://www.casasugar.com/1673198) and decided to make one. well I had all the cute, adorable Japanese fabric she was looking for so we started making an army of birds. She added some wings to some of the birds so they look like they are flying :)
I made some birds, too. I have a few friends, actually including her, 4 friends who had or will have babies this year so I will try and finish it before the babies make it to college .
cheers

love is in the air!

pink and pink brooch, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

I am getting married in May, but I had no time in preparing anything for myself. I receive lots of custom orders for weddings. Flowers for bridesmaids, boutonnière for the groomsmen. And of course beautiful flowery pieces for the bride :) and my customers have the most awesome sense of taste. They come up with beautiful colors and combinations :)
I want to make a comb for my hair and flowers for my dad, my brother, , Stef's daddy and brother. maybe a big flower for my sister.
Stef and I made our invitations, when i have a chance I will take a photo and upload it here. of course they are Japanese themed. Actually I am getting married in a japanese association :) lucky!
Stef and I are also gonna make some origami stars to use as favors. We will get M&M with our names or specific colors we like and mix them up with origami stars . so people have some candy to eat and stars to remember us by :)
I hope we will have time to make these all I should get to work right?

Happy Sunny Days

110, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

I love this color! I cant wear it since it doesnt match my skin tone, but I still love it, it makes me happy :)
My fav in this citrus blossom set is the brooch with the leaves , what is yours?

My updated fabric index

My updated fabric index, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

I checked my fabric stash and updated my index :) all japanese style or japanese fabrics

Weddings

orange set, originally uploaded by offgenemi.

Looking back I realized many people ordered pieces for their weddings.
A nice bridal hair accessory, boutonnière for the groom and groomsmen, hair accessories for bride's mother, flower girl and of course bridesmaids. Most people wanted different pieces for each person and they choose red and orange the most :) Tsumami kanzashi style boutonnière are very nice since you can preserve them very easily as a memento from that beautiful wedding party. They are also very unique and they complement cherry blossom themed weddings perfectly :)
Flowers were not the only this that were ordered for weddings, our good luck origami stars are very popular these days, people use them as favors or as table decorations or as fillers for the gifts they get for the bridesmaids.
Some lucky bridesmaid got triangular pyramid bags as a gift for their hard work and support some others received anti tarnish pouches to keep their nice silver jewelry clean and shiny.
I also made a birdcage style hair accessory with a tsumami kanzashi hair comb, the same person got something for bridesmaids, flower girl, groom, groomsmen. so Her cherry blossom themed wedding was perfect with all these details.
have fun planing your own wedding or helping others plan theirs
cheers
g