new Archives - Page 2 of 33

Good boy!

September 30, 2018 by Rebecca Hadfield 2 Comments

Kelsey the Scottie Dog in upcycled shaggy chenille – handmade by Leah of Vintage Chenille.

Oooh…I’ve got it bad. The “it” is puppy-lust and this particular case was brought on by my mom’s brand-new miniature schnauzer, Axel. All it took was one introductory snuggle in the parking lot of a local stir-fry joint and I was hooked. I spent the next half-hour trying to figure out how I could fit him into my purse and get him home without anyone being the wiser. Sadly, though, all of the puppy-lust in the world doesn’t change the fact that my busy-busy life simply won’t allow for a pet. Not even a cute little bearded fella with the softest fur and the sweetest puppy breath and the nicest kisses…oh, here I go again. Let’s just take a peek at some awesome, canine-friendly, handmade goods while I dream of ways to make that tiny, four-legged dreamboat my own.

“If I had a puppy, I would walk him every day.” The collars pictured above by The Black Lantern Studios have been re-purposed from thrifted leather belts. These handsome upcycled collars will keep your prized-pooch secure and stylish in the dog park or on the street. Vintage belts are cut to size, and then d-rings and heavy duty copper rivets are added to fasten. Black Lantern Studios can even make your dog’s collar to order and offer custom hot-stamping, if you would like your piece personalized with Fido’s name.

“If I had a puppy, I would take him with me wherever I go.” These Snuggy Luggage pet beds by The Pop Stops Here have been cleverly upcycled from vintage suitcases and are ready for travel, both around the world or around the town. Each suitcase is transformed into a portable piece of furniture with the addition of a removable, machine washable pillow (made from a durable vintage fabric), painted bun feet and a safety hook. The original inner pockets are left intact to provide toy and leash storage. All of the details are thoughtfully provided; Erica even includes the original key as well as a matching toy for your pooch (or kitty). When you’re ready to hit the road, just close up the suitcase and go!

“If I had a puppy, I would dress him in style.” Ladybug’s fashionable jacket from the Bugduds shop (pictured above, left) was lovingly sewn from a vintage apron. It is fully lined, with an added layer of flannel for warmth. Dorothy, the jacket’s designer (and Ladybug’s owner), makes lovely coats and accessories for dogs of all sizes, like the diminutive but dapper Dilly (above, right); emphasizing the use of recycled/re-purposed fabrics and notions. As a member of Etsy for Animals (EFA), Dorothy donates 5% of her sales to animal welfare organizations.

“If I had a puppy, I would play fetch with him in the park.” I’ve always wondered, though…do dogs call it “throw”? Made from recycled jeans and polyester fill, these fun squeaky balls by The Smiling Frog (above) will keep you and your dog busy for hours while you ponder that question. You’ll also feel great about your purchase because The Smiling Frog donates 25% of the sales from their line of denim dog toys to The Knox County Humane Society in Maine. That’s definitely something to wag your tail about!

“If I had a puppy, I would give him the tastiest treats.” The aptly named Dog Cookie Shop bakes all of their healthy treats to order from the finest natural ingredients. Many of their offerings, like the Peanut Butter and Oatmeal cookies pictured above, are wheat-free, making them suitable for dogs with (and without) wheat allergies. Check out the Dog Cookie Shop, as well, for their new line of gourmet, hand-dipped cookies.

So, mom…can I keep him?

Heaven

September 27, 2018 by April Meeker 2 Comments

Please welcome our newest columnist, April Meeker of Secondsister Jewelry and Suaviloquy.

Her column is about atypical guift guides – she’s going to go beyond “Gifts for Him” “Gifts for Her” and “Gifts for Kids” and find the perfect thing for “when you’ve finally completed your dissertation” – “congrats on your new job even though it was your third choice” – “I’m so happy you got promoted instead of that other guy.”

Well, those are the kinds of gift guides *I* would write if this were my column, but it’s not. April will probably choose other themes, but I guarantee you they won’t be pedestrian.

Do you have a tricky gift-giving situation coming up? Leave April a comment below and just maybe the next edition of Gift Guides will be about you!

::
Erika

Why the French are getting all the credit is an enigma to me. After all, they didn’t invent the macaron. No, the Italians should be getting the accolades for that bit of genius.

Macarons came to France in 1533 with the pastry chefs of Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henri II. Then there was some business about nuns making and selling them and creating quite a stir. The nuns made simple macarons, no fancy flavors, no double cookie with a filling. (Above photo by Chelsea Victoria.)

A bunch of time went by with people making simple almond cookies. Then in the 1900’s a guy named Pierre Desfontaines (not the author) was working as a pastry chef for Laduree Passterie and decided to take two macaron cookies and sandwich them with ganache.

And the modern macaron was born.

photo by Louis Beche

Then a bunch more time went by and I was born. And a little more time went by until I discovered my passion for macarons. What a shame all those wasted years.

If you have yet to sink your chompers into these morsels, just know it needs to become a life list item. They are little pieces of pure heaven.

And they offer a little something for everyone. I’m personally partial to the traditional flavors, chocolate and pistachio topping my go to choices. But macarons come in flavors that circle the globe. There’s wasabi, passion fruit, green tea, peach, rose, orange blossom, mint, pumpkin, coconut, chili chocolate, honey and praline, just to name a few.

So now that I have you all almond buttered up and salivating, I’ll tell you where you can get them. I buy my macarons, locally from a little French passterie in San Diego named Opera. But sometimes I think I’d like to ship some to a friend for a birthday or a baby, or even a hello there, I’m thinking of you. A girl’s gotta share the love.

I found a pastry chef in Austin, Texas who is in the business of shipping her goodies. Soraiya Nagree used to be a chemical engineer for a bowling ball company. Luckily for all of us macaron junkies, she left that job to attend the Le Cordon Bleu school and follow her true passion. She and her husband Azim opened Luxe Sweets and the rest is tasty history.

“It is a simple truth: food made from scratch just tastes better. The colors, the textures, the smells, and of course the flavors – nothing is better. We started Luxe Sweets because we wanted to create delicious treats which capture all the flavor and taste of home-made food. Every one of our delights has been made by us, by hand. They may not look all the same, but that’s the part we like best. Because it means that every single product has been made for you by a person – not some machine.” -Soraiya

I’m new to Try Handmade if you haven’t noticed. I’m going to be writing the gift guide column. I’m pretty good at shopping. In fact, if there was an Olympics for shopping, I’d take gold, for sure. So for this first post, I wanted to feature something that I personally would love to get as a gift.

I recently threw a big party and I served macarons for dessert. They were a hit. And they are so pretty they double as décor.

photo by secondsister

Bet cha can’t eat just one. And if for some reason you are on some silly diet and you can’t indulge, then by all means buy Chelsea Victoria’s print and feast with your eyes.

Far East Style, Home Town Goods

September 17, 2018 by Valerie Williams 1 Comment

Normally my shopping instincts are sharply honed onto pretty things to wear: clothes, shoes, jewelry, anything I can sew a flower on to, that sort of thing. But every now and then my eye is caught by beautiful home accessories, and I get the itch to beautify my living space, not just my closet!

Sue Henry is a sculptor and ceramic artist whose work moved over to textiles when her children came along. A dusty studio filled with fragile, breakable things was no longer practical with little ones running about. She decided to take up carving linoleum blocks – the tactile experience reminded her of her first love, working in clay.

Sue has been an artist all her life, and remembers her first creative instinct being about creating comfortable places to live. As a little girl, she wanted to be an architect and an interior designer. It just seemed like a natural next step to print her designs on textiles to create beautiful, functional home goods.

Seeing the lovely things that Sue makes really got me thinking about how I’ve been neglecting my living spaces lately. Her designs are full of movement and energy, and I love the bold colors she uses, which really make the designs stand out.

Every item at Tulusa Home Goods begins with a linoleum block hand carved by Sue. She is inspired by her travels to India and South East Asia, and her love of cooking, architecture, and design. The designs are printed on cotton or linen canvas with solvent-free block printing ink. The pillows are stuffed with organic kapok, a fluffy, soft, and environmentally friendly alternative to polyfill. The textiles are designed to be functional and durable, and are machine washable.

Included in the collection at Tulusa are pillows of all sizes, including large meditation pillows, and table linens of all types. Sue’s favorite part of the creative process is carving the linoleum block, so there’s really no limit to what she can print on, once she completes a design.

Right now, the most popular item at Tulusa Home Goods is the Ganesha pillow. Ganesha is a Hindu deity who is the remover of obstacles, and the bringer of good fortune and new beginnings. A good friend to have around as we approach the busy holiday season and the new year, wouldn’t you say?

You can find Tulusa Home Goods at Sue’s online shop, and you can also contact her for custom orders or to be invited to her December pop-up shop in Alexandria, Virginia.

Bottled Up

September 14, 2018 by Liz Grotyohann 1 Comment

[hLiz]

In our busy lives these days, we use a lot of disposable things without giving them much thought at all. So much is single-use, single-serving, throwaway packaging—things that are (hopefully) recyclable and that (hopefully) wind up in the recycling bin.

The great thing about today’s eco-friendly artists is that they see a lot of our everyday trash as raw material. Instead of heading to the recycling center (or worse, the landfill), our single-use, throwaway “stuff” gets a beautiful new life as housewares or wearable art.

Take the plastic bottle, for example. We use a lot of plastic bottles. Somewhere near 28 billion single-serving water bottles are used each year in America alone. Yet less than 20 percent of them are recycled. Some estimates are as low as 12 percent.

Armed with a heat gun, or tools as simple as a pair of scissors, artists are making some incredible items out of those bottles. gulguvenc (photos above and below, left) uses a heat gun to shape PET bottles and then pierces them to create amazing bowls and jewelry.

anettesplastics crochets old plastic bottles into amazing jewelry forms like this necklace (above, right) and the rings below, while both arnym (below, left) and ArtworkbyKD (below, right) cut shapes from old bottles to make their jewelry.

The great thing about plastic bottles is that they can be recycled. They can be made into new bottles, or processed into other raw materials, like craft supplies. There are plastic bottle yarns out there now, and felt and fabric made from recycled bottles. But recycling, like the production of the bottles themselves, takes up a lot of energy. Keep that in mind the next time you reach for a bottle of water. It might be worth investing in a reusable bottle to complement your new handmade purchases!

Bottle rings and fruit bowl above also by anettesplastics.

Stuffies and Owl's Wings from Sleepy King

August 31, 2018 by Ciaran Blumenfeld 2 Comments

Spring is looming. Easter baskets. Hatless outings. Critters creeping out from hibernation. Clearly inspiration is also striking. Take a lookat these awesome stuffed toys from SleepyKing! I’ve fallen in love with all their stuffies, from the bunnies to the foxes to the adorable squirrels.

Equally sweet are their vegan Woodland Owl headbands. I love the somewhat 20’s vibe these have. They make me think “flapper” in a whole new way.

If you are looking for unusual Easter basket goodies or a way to wake up your wardrobe and your children’s playspace this spring, be sure to check out Sleepyking’s Etsy shop. It’s dreamy!