fun Archives - Try Handmade

Product Showcase: Starry Night

April 12, 2021 by Ellie Thouret Leave a Comment

Here is a fact that almost everyone who knows me will tell you – I love stars. I’ve always been fascinated by them, both the actual stars in the night sky and anything with their shape on it. I’m so into stars that I even have 12 of them tattooed in various places on my body! This week, I’ve rounded up some fabulous star-themed handmade goodies for your enjoyment.

The inspiration for the earrings up top started with the finish, which Caroline, the artist, discovered by accident one day while working with a piece of silver. She realised that just by using a steel file, she could create a wonderful shimmer effect on the surface of the silver. Caroline has always loved star shapes in jewellery – “I feel the shape is simple, yet fun and also timeless…so what would be better than a star that gently shimmers in the light. ”

I love this print by Deb of Champignons, it reminds me of looking up at the night sky and feeling very small indeed. Deb was inspired by the juxtaposition of big things like cosmic hares and stars and tiny things we treasure and keep safe. She says, “I’ve always liked the idea of tiny world systems, there’s nothing to say that worlds have to be giant, either, so there might be tiny worlds all over the place, with stars and hares and even smaller worlds within them.”

How adorable is this zombie/stars colourful print? “The idea behind the little zombie lovers is to share some love!” says designer Rhi, who intends the expression of the zombie about to recieve the heart to depict warmth, shyness and surprise. Rhi paints these designs with the hope that someone can give the painting to another, as a gift that says ‘I love you’ in an alternative way.

Nautical stars like the ones in this cushion cover remind me of my husband, who has one tattooed on his forearm. Ruth was inspired by her daughter, who loves skulls and pirates – she also thought the red and black stripes were very piratey! “I just love being creative with fabric, it is a bit of an obsession!! I am always looking out for beautiful, luxurious and quirky fabrics.”

Not enough cooks in the kitchen!

April 6, 2021 by Amy L. Leave a Comment

A friend recently told me I should: “become a foodie” after learning that I’m not really into cooking! I thought this was pretty funny… If you’ve been reading my posts you’ll know that I’ve been on a bit of a health kick lately. So far, so good – though this last week I’ll admit work took priority over yoga and eating right. I figure this week’s a new week though! (Hive Honey Set from Biodidactic Designs)

We’re heading to a friends house for dinner tonight and I urged her to have me bring something so I could “flex my domestic muscles”. She didn’t crack the whip though, and just suggested we bring salad and ice cream (she’s pregnant)! All the same it got me thinking about my hope of becoming a foodie one day… From time to time I find myself looking longingly at all the fun handmade products available online for the culinarily (is that a word ;)) gifted.

Here’s a roundup of a few of my finds from Supermarket, I hope some of these will find their way to my kitchen one of these days.

Showpony is urging us to Eat our Greens! With this adorable kitchen towel. Emma Henderson is the creator behind Showpony and her business is run out of her studio in Glasgow. With the environment in mind Emma uses organic and fair trade fabrics whenever possible as well as water based inks and recycled card and packaging.

Inhaus brings us these beautiful, minimalist letterpress kitchen notes, perfect for keeping track of all of our favorite recipes. All of their beautiful work is created on their very own Adana Eight-Five letterpress.

And my last find from oooms – which I think is pretty clever, these fun wooding cutting boards that also double as the perfect plate at a cocktail party (featuring a spot for both your wine glass and an appie too)!

How about you, are you a foodie extraordinaire, or more like me, hoping to get there some day?

Handmade Spring Fashions

March 24, 2021 by Kristin Huston Leave a Comment

[hKristin]

It’s Spring Fashion time here at the Seasonal Handmade column and I am here to help you buy a piece or two that will inject a little freshness into your wardrobe.

Let’s start with the basics. How about a tee? Just because we often run around town in tees and jeans doesn’t mean we have to look sloppy. This tee from Limey T’s features a great mum print in lovely shades of blue. Just right for spring and just right for looking sassy while you run your errands.

Another great tee is this lovely circle print shirt from Eliza + Axel. The hand appliqued circles elevate this tee into something that would look great with a skirt and some ballet flats for a casual dinner out or lunch with your girlfriends.

If you want to “spring” for something even dressier try this lovely and romantic tank from Armour sans Anguish. Not only will this top look sophisticated this spring, but the rich blackberry color will take you into fall with the addition of a jacket or cardigan.

Speaking of cardigans, is there any item of clothing more versatile than a lightweight cardigan? This darling specimen, from Good Egg would look great over anything from tees to tanks to summer dresses. Not just that, but it would make a gorgeous layering piece for the fall and winter.

What if you’re a skirt and dress kind of girl? This lovely purple skirt from Zoe Chen would make a great, fun addition to your spring wardrobe and would be easy and breezy in the summer too!

What could be easier and breezier than this perfect dress from Treehouse 28? Universally flattering, this style will look great at the beach and walking down the street in a big city.

And if your closet is full, but you’d still like to add some springtime to your wardrobe, why not accessorize? These fabulous earrings from WillOaks Studio add both color and whimsy to your jewelry drawer.

A new handbag is always a fun way to celebrate a new season. This one from Deyitta is adorable and has some darling spring birds chirping their way across your accessories.

Finally, put some skip in your step with these lovely vegan shoes from Hydra Heart. Cute and planet-friendly, what more could a girl ask for?

Now that you have some ideas for decking yourself out this spring, go forth and buy handmade! Next week we will be looking forward to memorial day and finding some fun handmade goodies to make your long weekend even better.

Simple Fun For Kids.

March 21, 2021 by Cara Quinn 1 Comment

The idea of recycling isn’t just about separating your household waste into piles of glass, paper and organic waste. Like the above photo from Skip To My Lou, recycling is a cute way of having fun – as well as keeping little people busy and entertained with these juice carton boats.

I love the idea of simple, easy to make crafts and home made treats – especially when minimal mess is acquired making said crafts and home made treats!

Much like these yummy looking Ritz cracker snacks, made by my sister-in-law, Amy.

These are a straight forward make and you will need:

Ritz crackers/a cheaper alternative.
Peanut butter.
Chocolate (Amy has used white chocolate, but you can probably use just about any variety.)
Sprinkles.

Melt the chocolate: you can try the bowl in the pan method or the microwave method. Sandwich together 2 plain crackers, spread a little peanut butter in the middle (to hold the crackers together) then dip into the melted chocolate and add sprinkles to them – the last two steps my 4 year old nephew helped out with meanwhile my 2 year old nephew sat that part out and was on hand to taste-test.

I was so impressed with these cute little treats and it further affirms to me that from simple things come great things – and you don’t need to break the banks doing it, or expend a lot of energy making things.

Much like these sweet (literally) building block marshmallow straws from Makes and Takes, a crafting blog jam-packed full of crafty ideas for kids, family time, recipes, home projects and so on.

For instructions to make these marshmallow/straw building blocks.

More uses from the stuff you’d normally throw into the recycling – egg carton caterpillars from Skip To My Lou. A good one for The Very Hungry Caterpillar fans, especially!

So when keeping it simple on the craft and making front with kids, make it accessible and inclusive to kids of all ages. Devise tasks for all age groups according to their ability levels, encourage (but don’t over bear) their creative and crafty sides – and remember to get them to help with the cleaning up process, too!

Poochy Couture

March 1, 2021 by Erika Jurney 3 Comments

[hPets]

Poochy Couture: I am a lover of ALL dogs. We have a house full of dogs (2 danes Tiny & Daisy 1 pug Zoey). I’ve been designing jewelry forever and on Etsy for a couple of years (girlygirlstudios.etsy.com) Well my husband had a tada moment and said I should make dog tags…Well I did and they’ve been selling like crazy!! I really wanted to keep my jewelry and pooch accessories seperate…so PoochyCouture was born.

I really enjoy making the custom designs (like the request for the mushroom dog tags).

I use all natural dyes and earth friendly leather products.

I think every dog lover wants the best for their pooch, so I will offer really colorful fun designs at reasonable prices.

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