Again about plagiarism, copying and faking - it's in the blood of every artist

OK, so I found this truly inspiring book called "Steal like an artist". It is as if I read myself. I feel so connected to everything the author states, because I still wander around searching for a meaning of what I'm doing, I still feel ashamed that I didn't come up with something truly original yet, I still fear that everyone I inspire (or better said, "copy" from) would find me one day and sue me, put me on the ground for "stealing" their work. 

But this books really makes all this fear disappear. It's nothing wrong with copying, the author says, it's not similar to the plagiarism - in fact, "plagiarism" is only when you take someone else's work and pretend it to be yours. As for me, I always add links to the original work of art for my own creation. It's not like I didn't make it with my own hands, I just took someone else's idea and made my own (almost identical) version. And it's because I liked to make it, I liked the way it looked or I liked the colors. That means it was worth stealing!

One of the main ideas of the book is "only steal what you feel is worth stealing". That will help you define your style later. In fact, it's already written even in the Bible, the oldest book in the world: "Nothing new under the sun". Everything has been done before, everything has been said, but there wasn't anybody there to hear it and see it. That's why it needs to be said and done again. And again, and again. Just like in photography - you take people to photograph the same place, the same landscape, the same person, and each and every one of them will come up with something different. The images will be similar, but different in essence. (I'll insert here the link to a great documentary trailer about a famous photographer - The salt of the Earth). It's the same in art.

This book also helped me understand why I collect a lot of images and links and patterns and tutorials of things I like. Because it would take me more than two lives to make all of them, if I were to make them. I collect them because they inspire me. They create my style.

But I'll stop here. I haven't finished the book yet, but I already feel more released. It's great to know people empathize with you on this matter. I invite anyone to read this great book too. On one hand, maybe artists that already found their way and style will understand why other people copy their work, but in the same time maybe they'll admit to themselves that they aren't as original as they think they are. On the other hand, maybe it will encourage young artists like me to continue their works, even if they think it's not worth it, because it's not much originality in what they do. Originality will come, eventually.

Rita the bunny- Lalylala doll making

I finished Rita a few days ago and I wanted to present her to you together with her male bunny friend that I was gonna do right after. Well, I just couldn't help myself not to show her to you before and, well, I don't even know if there's gonna be a boy version of Rita after all (that rose is harder  to embroider on her body than I imagined - I had to improvise a little bit more than Lydia from Lalylala suggested, so that took me hell of a lot of time! Anyway, I went a little further for her face, as I like my toys to have personality, and actually it's the first time when I use safety eyes, and I'm very happy about the result!
So, this is Rita, presenting you her tiny bunny heart! Tell me, how do you love her? <3 p="">

Dancing cats around the plagiarism problem

I made this sewing dancing cats a while ago, and I already had them all gone away. They were super cute but hey, I also need some place for myself in my tiny home, don't I? :)

My inspiration was an Etsy shopper creation, which I had saved in my computer a long time ago:

The problem that I was gonna raise is that, although it didn't happen yet (hey, I'm just not that popular yet! :P ), I might have been accused that, by making this toy, I have stolen someone's intellectual property. In my opinion, as long as I don't claim that it is an original design, I give credits to the original creator or link to the inspiration site, the toy that I came up with is entirely mine and I have the right to do whatever I want with it! In the very end, we can't even say that they are exactly alike, because I used different materials, I painted the details (instead of embroider them) and I added that little love-note idea!

That's why, I hardly keep myself away from entering discussions when I see artisan fellows (especially the girls that are working with FIMO) complaining that someone else has stolen their creations and ideas, making identical items that they sell on their own websites. Of course, I agree it's not a kind thing to do, especially when you are not mentioning anything about your inspiration resources, but hey, it is a free (virtual) world and you assume some risks when posting photos of your original designs. No need to get so much upset when others don't feel the pleasure to promote you or maybe they feel too ashamed to do so (because maybe their entire work is based on copying other artisans). But hey, maybe they're just repeating after you, which should make you so much proud! (NOTE: if you still don't feel like this, you should really get to know Sarah from Repeat (Cr)After Me, she is an awesome creative being, and MOM, who doesn't get upset not a tiny bit on anyone who copies her, but she encourages creative copying! I simply admire her!)

I myself didn't hack in my life just that dancing cat that you can see above, but also crochet patterns and tatting patterns that didn't came up with instructions. Is that so much wrong? Anyway, as I cover quite a broad area of interests on my blog, I don't feel like I could come up with something 100% original right now. Maybe later, when I will learn enough things about crochet, or about sewing, to do so. Till then, happy creatively repeating after... all of you! ^^

Still about LOGO-s

It's been a long time since last posting, but I'm still struggling  between what I am supposed to do, what I like to do and what I am actually doing every moment of the day. And that's a harsh battle, believe me. Anyway, since the first logo that I came up with, I found myself on the edge of an identity crisis, I was about to start a new blog only in Romanian, meant to promote romanian artisans and, eventually, myself in this artisan world, but I managed somehow not to abandon this very blog that is more than perfect for my needs. And I understand now that writing in english is not just a way to reach out artisans and artists all over the world (and defintitely is not a fake way to express myself, as english is not my native tongue), but it is also a choice that I made a long time ago and that defines me as a person.

I thought, therefore, of coming up with a logo that better describes me, and it stroke me once I thought about why did I choose that photo of me holding a leaf in front of my mouth and face, leaving only the eyes and hair revealed, to be my profile photo on the blog. That photo could be explained in many ways, but most important is that it emphasize my eyes, the eyes which are the mirror of my soul. No wonder I like it so much!

Almost two years ago, someone painted that photo of me for a swap. Since then, it hangs above my night bed. I often watch that painted eyes and seek for something that I know is inside me, only it's so hard to reach. It could be determination, it could be fulfillment... Any case, I know it's something good, and better than I am myself right now. I just hope it won't be a never-ending battle :)

So I turned the painting into a sketch, I enhanced it using Paint (I'm still that basic!) and then I added the name of the blog, using a free font from the web (it's called "Sverige Script", if anyone wishes to know). I still feel like I could better it, but I am satisfied with the result. After all, I am that Papillon en Papier, not any P, or butterfly, or cat. Hmmm, do you know what just crossed my mind? That this name seems like the names of american indians... :) (I already see the next logo coming up :))

My first LOGO

I wanted so much to have a personalized LOGO, but I always thought that it would be such a difficult thing to do, that I almost gave up... Eventually, I hired a professional to do this for me, but I just couldn't wait until she was able to think about it, so I came up with this in an intense moment of procastination. I used.... (see if you can guess) PAINT! That's right, the Windows Paint program! :) I even turned it into a watermark using Gimp. What do you think? I'm very proud of myself, I must admit!

Now, let's see how I convince my professional that I no longer need a personalized logo... but more urgent things from her! ^^

Notes: For creating the watermark, I used this tutorial. To watermark the photos with my own logo, I use this site.

Gray bolero

I made this vest initially for me. Not that it didn't suit me well, but I chose to give it to a special person on her birthday. I even added the pom-poms on that very day! The vest is featured in the summer collection of Simply Crochet magazine which I downloaded for free from here: http://www.molliemakesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/simply_crochet_digital_download.pdf. I struggled a little with the pattern, but as you all know, different kinds of yarn act so differently worked with the very same crochet hook... For my vest, I used doubled Alize Bella cotton yarn, a 5 mm crochet hook and minimized the number of patterned columns, as even the smallest number was too large for me...

Anyway, maybe someday I'll make another one for me too. Maybe in white this time - I realised white suites me best when it comes to vests :)

Turqoise elegance purse

I am a Simply Crochet magazine fan, although I only discovered it about a year after the launch. Nevertheless, I have all the back issues now, either in print or digital. So, since I'm preparing for a wedding, I thought about giving a try to their scalop pouch in issue eight but in the end I got a scalop-much pritier-purse :D I think it's all about the handles, I only had this kind on hand, thanks to Narcisa, who owns a very pretty online store on her FB page.

Anyway, I didn't follow the pattern for the pouch exactly either. Instead, I worked in circles only on the RS (right side), and made four extra rounds. I'm giving you a tip about the lining: always measure in the first place the perimeter of your handles opened, and add about 2 cm for the sewing. I didn't do that first, so I now I have an extra smaller lining. As for the brooch, I improvised with some recicled elements! :D

By the way, I love turquoise and I'm glad there are so many shades of it on Catania cotton!

THIS PURSE CAN BE ORDERED ON ETSY! I can make a similar purse for you in any color combination, on order. The dimensions of the purse is approximately  23 x 15 x 8 cm. ORDER HERE

Summer hat and peasant dress

I know I post way less often than I should, although I don't lack beautiful projects I happen to finish from time to time. But that's only because sometimes I feel guilty doing them, because I feel like I'm supposed to do something else (like, for instance, really work on my PhD research), and that brings some shame in showing what I really am into sometimes. That's why, I feel like I need to change something about this, and I think that really living for myself would be a good start. I mean, doing creative things would be better than trying to work hard on something that annoys me and not really accomplish anything. Or, thinking small, like finishing this or that project today would make me very happy tomorrow, and not only in a few years, after I get my PhD degree.

Anyway, I will show you now two of my older projects, that have been overlapped by others on this blog. First is a hat, actually a pair of hats, I made last summer, when I was quite new on crochet. I used this free pattern tutorial and doubled thread, as it follows: for the white hat, Puppets Eldorado yarn, and for the pink one, Alize cotton yarn (using different crochet hooks and adjusting the pattern, of course. I couldn't tell which numbers, though). But, although I found also a very beautiful free flower pattern, I didn't like quite much the end products, so I wanted to give them both to my mother. She pursued me to keep at least the white one, and now I discovered that it makes a cute addition to a summer outfit. I also took a picture of the pink one I left at my mother, the last time I visited her.

The second project is a peasant dress that I started long ago, but only finshed it after I got my new sewing machine (which, by the way, is divine!). I wanted first to hand embroider it, but for lack of time and desire, I bought instead lacy borders and sew them on it. I also added small crochet bubbles for visual effect. The pictures were taken on the way to my parents home, near a poppy field. We also got puppies for the photos!

Seeing the poppies, I remembered about a little creative moment from my childhood. Did you ever make a doll like the one in the picture bellow from poppy flowers?

Simply Crochet featured blouses

Not much to tell about these two new creation, but that I soooo like the gradient blouse!
Materials used for the gradient blouse:
- YarnArt gradient cotton
- 3 mm crochet hook
- pattern from issue no 9 of Simply Crochet magazine

Materials for the mandala shirt:
- Alize Diva silk effect yarn
- 3 mm crochet hook
- pattern from issue no 17 of Simply Crochet Magazine
I chose to make a colourful mandala and a fade pink border because I thought that the uni version looked too simple :D