#14 - A wall with hearts

"Goodbye," said the fox.
"Here is my secret. It's quite simple:
one can only see clearly with the heart.
What is essential is invisible to the eye."
                   -The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

I guess this is the end of a month of hearts and love. 
I LOVED every second of this little project and I hope you did too.
I was going to write another list but thought the above excerpt from the Little Prince was the perfect ending to the project.

I wish you a VERY HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY and lots and lots of love!!
Giova

#13 - Embroidered Heart

I have been working on this little heart (6x6 cms) since september. Adding little things here and there, not really knowing that it would end up having an underwater theme.

After seeing my friend Jone's heart, I wanted one for myself. This one is meant to be like hers, but I'm still working on that part! Some stitches were new for me. My friend Ute taught me the circle one and Becky the one that looks like a little star. So basically this little heart is a reminder of friendship and good times.

I wish you all a wonderful day.
Giova

#12 - Hearts on a String

Paper on a string is my favorite. Not only is it very easy to make, the variations are endless. And well, there is also one for each season, you can see them here, here and here.

I got back from my work trip to NYC on friday. I did what I had to do, which is place orders for my store and find new companies to work with. What I didn't expect (it never crossed my mind), was that I would get terribly sick the day after arriving there. So much for making plans and thinking I would get to do so many things! No! I barely made it to the NYNOW.  I'm still recovering, my body seems to be taking it's precious time to heal.

I haven't even had the chance to send my Valentine's notes out. How about you?? Did you make any nice Valentine's gifts or cards??

Have a great monday!!
Giova

#11- Unconditional Love

This one wins by far with me. There is actually (in my mind) nothing better than this. The "no matter what" type of love is simply incredible. To feel it and to have someone feel the same for you is just…

This passage that I've always liked comes to mind. If you have never read it in its entirety do read it.

Here is a passage of 1 Corinthians 13:

4 Love is patient,v love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.w 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,x it is not easily angered,y it keeps no record of wrongs.z 6 Love does not delight in evila but rejoices with the truth.b 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.c

So with that I let you go, and wish you a very happy weekend.
Giova

#10- Heart in Love Note

This is one of those things where I imagined something and the result was the complete opposite of what I imagined. Did that ever happened to you?

It happens to me a lot. Now I'll show it to you, some other times I just throw what ever I don't like away. I do like her. I don't like the lettering. I like the heart around Dom Pedro.

The "note" is actually a poem Love Letter by Srinatha (1365-1441)

Have a happy day!
Giova

#9 - Realistic Love

Or maybe pessimistic? Sometimes with love, you don't even know what exactly it is. Just as I have no idea where this piece came from. It started with a bunch of paper hearts that were meant to go somewhere else, and somehow found their way here.

We can call it, an embroidery paper hearts collage?

Have a wonderful start to the week.
I'm here just in case.
Giova

#8 - How to mend a broken Heart

If only it were that easy right? I'm sorry if you were looking for a solution here. I can say a few things of what NOT to do when you have a broken heart though;

• don't drown the pain with alcohol (it never works)
• don't call, email or write long letters while under the influence 
• don't beg or promise things you wouldn't in a "normal" state
• don't drink Nyquil or any strong flu medication! You are not sick, just with heart sickness
• don't write poems which at that moment you think are worth publishing, worse don't show them to any one
• don't think you are the only one in the world who has ever felt such pain
• don't for a second think you're life is over
• and when in doubt, don't do it!!

Time does have the wonderful ability to heal almost everything, unfortunately it does take its time to help. So trust that time will take care of it.

I'm off to NYC today, but all of next week's hearts have already been made. I hope you tune in.

Have an amazing weekend, and follow me here if you want to take a look of what I'm up to.
Giova.

#7 - Doily Heart

This heart couldn't be more my type. Kitschy and pink with an overdose of scrap reliefs. And very easy to make, I think no explanations are needed.

You probably have seen this one already (on the right side of the blog). But here it is bigger, and taking part in the project.

I'm halfway through the project, are you enjoying the hearts or are you fed up with hearts by now?

Have a great day!
Giova

#6 - Go With all of your Heart

I think it is quite simple really, go with all of your heart or don't go at all. It has happened to me, more times than I would like to admit, that I have gone with only traces of my heart, and it was (to put it mildly) a total disaster.
So wherever it is that you go, no matter how close (or early in the morning), do remember to take all of your heart with you!

"Wherever you go, go with all of your heart."  - Confucius

This piece will also go to the Etsy shop today, just so you know.

Have a great monday!
Giova

#5 - A Pleading Heart

I do love doilies, scrap reliefs, old paper, and ribbons. In fact I've loved collages, since always (first than boys actually).
A pleading heart is not my favorite kind. In fact I think it is quite a painful sort of love. (I won't go into details though). I also think it is a type of love you can learn a lot from.

Have we all been there at a certain point? Loving but having to beg for a little love in return?

The Begging Heart - Mekalh Agamet (excerpt)

You may think I have lost my ways
Just decided a change in art
You won't see what I see
You won't see the beauty of my heart.

You can find this collage in my shop here.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Giova

#4 - Ceramic Hearts

I wish I've made these hearts. I do have dreams of kilns and pottery wheels (but that is another story).

These were made by my very creative sister, and since she and my mother have decided to dip their fingers in the Etsy waters recently, I'm very happy to be able to show these hearts here.

So if you are looking for a very sweet, handmade with lots of love gift for a friend or sweetheart then I would recommend you visit their shop!

Have a very lovely day!
Giova

#3 - A poem in a Heart

I really like this poem, i carry your heart by E.E. Cummings. This was an experiment to see how much of the poem fitted in a "normal sized" heart, and to see how the letters looked this way. A bit crooked, a bit difficult when it got to the last part.  I added some pieces of fabric as I went along, it seemed to me that the heart needed some sort of frame.

I'll be selling this piece on Etsy, if you are interested take a look or if you are curious about measurements, etc… take a look too!

I'm trying to "let go" of some of the things I make, since my drawers don't have that much space.

Have a great start of the week!
Giova

#2 - A Nostalgic Heart

This heart was made from beginning to end thinking about my grandfather.
It is based on the sacred heart milagros that I like so much.
His birthday was the 19th of January (not of 1884 obviously). I do miss him terribly, almost every day.

nos.tal.gi.a : A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past.

Not too bad to feel nostalgic every once in a while huh? Or even more than once in a while? I don't want to forget, because that will mean he wasn't here.  That we didn't spend all that wonderful time together.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Lots of love,
Giova.

#1 - A Home with a Heart

This is my dream cottage, one with an English cottage "vibe."  One of these days I'll find it and be able to afford it. Until then, I simply dream about it.

For my first heart, I wanted to start with a little heart, but one that means quite a lot to me. A home with a heart. The sun and branches from here, have found the perfect home. Again I've used Jane Austen's words from the 2 pages that were given to me (I'm squeezing the bejesus out of those pages).


Home is all these wonderful things
Home is the place you develop wings
Home is the place that you’ll find one day
Home is the place where your heart will stay  - Aisha Patterson (Home)

Have a lovely day.
Giova

A Valentine's Day Manifesto

I know it is still a month away, but here we go!

i love Valentine's Day. 
i love hearts. 
i love pinks and reds. 
i love all things kitsch.
i love ridiculous window displays.
i love cards that say "be mine"
i love to see people in love.
i love to see women on the street carrying that smile of love.
i love men who make the effort.
i love the word LOVE

...And I don't like people who say that Valentine's Day is just a commercial holiday.

It is if you want it to be. Nobody is forcing anyone to buy things. Besides what are they selling? Chocolates, cards and flowers. Arghh come on, you won't break your bank account with these things.

Unfortunately, some people need a little push, others need to be reminded, and some others need time to get in the "mood." Valentine's Day is just as good excuse as any other. Beside how many days of the year are you truly romantic and dedicated to the idea of love or friendship??

I started a tradition with my friend from graduate school (we were both single), and we met up every 14th of February to exchange little gifts (yes chocolate, yes cards), have a massive afternoon tea then walk around Manhattan enjoying the views. What is not to like about this? Since then I looked forward to this day.

sorry about this picture, it is in a very dark place of this apartment

As you can see, my heart collection is spread through out the apartment. I told you I loved hearts.

So starting on wednesday I will post each day (on my usual posting days that is) a heart. A handmade heart. Paper, cloth, clay, anything.

Maybe, just maybe by the time we reach Valentine's Day, you will be in the mood for love (have you seen it??). Anyway, I hope you do get bitten by the love bug.

14 days of hearts here we go!
Be well.
Giova