house Archives - Try Handmade

Handmade Organization

February 12, 2021 by Kristin Huston Leave a Comment

[hKristin]

Have you been doing your spring cleaning? If you have, you know that cleaning is about more than chasing away those dust bunnies. It’s also about finding organized solutions to your clutter problem. I am all about helping you find handmade solutions, so let’s get going!

I have a soft spot for canisters. They are handy not just in the kitchen, but in every room in the house. These particularly beautiful canisters from Blue Sky Pottery are inspired by nature and they will inspire you to stay organized.

Today we tend to keep a lot of information, phone numbers, emails, addresses, stored in our cell phones. But if you’ve ever lost your phone, you know how important it is to have a written record of all that important data. [Read more…]

Freshie and Zero

January 25, 2021 by Erika Jurney 7 Comments

Hilarious but true fact: in a month you’ll be able to buy this jewelry 3 blocks from my house — small world!

Freshie and Zero: Hello. I am Beth, a.k.a. “Freshie”. I wish there was an exciting story about how I got my nickname, but there isn’t really. A few years ago, my manager at work just thought it rhymed with “Bethie” so she started calling me that and it wasn’t long before my coworkers and friends adopted my new name as well. Zero is my Jack Russell Terrier and yes, he’s totally nuts.

I strive to create jewelry that is pretty, modern, and classic. I mostly use simple geometric shapes and I constantly push myself to create new ways of making a feminine piece of jewelry out of these simple forms. Each piece is handcrafted using a hammer and wire and the end result is a mix of delicate sophistication and bold elegance, from the dainty wire outlines to the more solid silver hammered discs. Occasionally I add touches of semi-precious gemstones or pearls, and have started doing more wire wrapping lately to add to the delicate and edgy irregularity that I love.

Re-Bound

January 13, 2021 by Erika Jurney 1 Comment

Re-Bound: Creating Handmade Books from Recycled and Repurposed Materials
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Re-Bound is a beautiful book on bookbinding with a fun green twist-all the projects use recycled and upcycled materials. This book shows you how to take everyday materials from around the house, flea markets, thrift stores, and hardware stores and turn them into clever and eye-catching hand-made books.

” → more info

Jealousy Designs

December 25, 2020 by Erika Jurney 5 Comments

I run my own company as a interior/exterior house painter I paint, repaper, and things like that. It is not easy for a female to run a business in a man’s world but I love my job and I hope I will keep going.

My interest in beads started with a gift from my lovely boyfriend. He bought a box with beads, wire and some other things to me. Just because he thought I would like it. And I loved it! At the start I didn’t have any plans at all to sell my items but people around me started to ask if they could buy some of it and after that it came more people and more….

After a while I felt that I wanted a development from the beads and the material I had been working in. So I started studying various metalsmith techniques. The material I most liked to use became sterling silver and a little more expensive gems. And there is where I am today.

I am a person who takes my inspirations from my own impressions, things in life and nature. I always have a goal to make my jewelry and findings original. My style is very variable but often pretty clean design. I do my jewelry and findings with the word: everything has his own time. I want my work to be as perfect as it possible can.

On Sustenance That Warms

November 21, 2020 by Diana Prichard 3 Comments

I was born and raised in the north. Michigan, to be exact. I’m still there, but remain convinced that the whole thing has been an epic cosmic mistake — or a higher power’s sick joke. I don’t take cold well and while Michigan is by far warmer than some places it’s also colder than far too many for my liking.

It’s not the being in the cold that really gets to me, I can dress in layers, but warming up afterwards I have always found nearly impossible without all the right tools for the job: tall, wool socks; a cozy, fleece blanket; a favorite canine friend and hearty, heavy fare.

Usually the holiday season gets me through until this time of year. The hustle and bustle, the family and friends, the sheer business of the season makes everything seem warmer. By the time mid-January sets in however, I start to get antsy; I start to get cold. The days, while they do start to get longer, seem exponentially so in a dragging, dreary, bone-chilling way.

Reluctant to stay in too much lest I fall victim to the seasonal mood disorder that so likes to grab hold of people this time of year, braving the cold becomes an avenue of defiance; a figurative middle-finger in Mother Nature’s direction. After so gesturing however, the evenings must be spent under the blankets, cuddled up in a fight against the persistent, miserable shivering that only the best winter foods and loyalest furry companions can kick.

The best of those nights are the ones on which the house is filled with the aroma of a heavy winter meal when I walk through the door. A juicy venison roast with potatoes, carrots and onions in the slow cooker, a pot of chili simmering on the stove top courtesy my thoughtful husband, a loaf of whole wheat bread in a bread maker that was set to be done just in time; all are heaven on earth for me during the coldest winter days.

Tell me, what are your go-to winter warm-up meals?