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Hugs and Kisses from HCC to you! 

DIY - Decorative Potpourri gift

Make a lovely gift for your friends or family in just minutes. 

Materials you'll need. 

* Small glass container with lip that turns outward

* Potpourri in the color and scent you like

* Tulle Circles
* Lace (double the length of the opening on glass)
* Any ribbons and flower or other decorations you may like.
* Hot Glue gun
* optional - Sewing machine.

First you will take the glass container and fill it with the potpourri the you have chosen to use. 

The One I chose was "Ocean Mist" and it has pretty shades of greenish-blue and teal/aqua hues.   (I added in a couple real shells to the mix)   You can add any other decorations to the glass bowl that you want to show in your decoratoin too. 

Once you have the potpourri in the glass,  you will take 1 to 2 tulle circles and place them over the top.  (I used two to be sure that no small particles would slip through) 

At this point you'll probably need a little help from someone to hold the tulle down while you tie a small ribbon around it and the glass.   (it's a pain to get the tulle on without someone helping) 

After you have held the tulle and tied a small ribbon around the lip of the glass make a knot in it, and then cut it real short.  This ribbon isn't ment to be seen. 

YOu will now be ready to attach your lace ruffle around the edge.  This is where the sewing machine is optional.  What I did is sew some lose stitches (leaving the bobbin undone so thread is loose)  and then stitched a line but didn't lock it at the final stitch.   I then pulled the thread to make the lace gather evenly.  (if you don't have a sewing machine to do this you can hand stitch it or just gather it by eye)  

Take your lace (about double the amount that would go around once)  IE:  it was  7 inches around this glass lip, so I used 14 Inches of lace.   Start glueing it around the glass to the tule/ribbon that you tied on to it.   Glue it every bit of the way little by little until the entire edge around the glass has the lace ruffle.   Make sure your lace is long enought to ruffle and gather and not just be pulled around the glass as it won't lay nicely if it's too tight.    Once you have the lace fully glued entirely around the tulle/ribbon it will keep everything in place perminently.  You can then start the decorating process. 

I chose a teal colored ribbon to wrap around the lace ruffle to give it a nice clean look (covering the glue and ugly stuff that you can see where it's connected to the glass/tulle.

I tied it in a bow and then used a few other ribbons on the front to pretty it up.    I was going for a Victorian look so I added a few different satin roses,  different shades and sizes.   All glued on with the gun.  It took about 30 to 40 minutes to complete. 

It may take you longer or shorter depending on your abilities.   But it's an easy overall project. 

After everything is said and done, I had a lovely gift to give to my nephew and his fiance which was handcrafted with love from me to them. 

If you ever try this or any other craft that is talked about at the Hand-Crafted Creations blog, Please email us pictures of them.  We would be so happy to share your creations with all the readers. 

email@hand-craftedcreations.com for possible submission of your site in our blog. OR if you are a vendor who doesn't want your info posted - please email & it will be removed ASAP.

THREEPEATS JEWELRY by Suzanne Lamberg - Recycled & Vintage

Suzanne Lamberg, of threepeats Jewelry on etsy submitted her work. We loved it! It's all so unique and much of it is Eco Friendly because of the recycled and upcycled items used in creating them.

The Born and Raised Native NY'r  - (Woo! a sista in the NY spirit) still adores living in NYC. The diversity and energy of the people, make her love to live there.   And of course the fact that she can walk out her front door and go one block to pick up a quart of milk at any hour of the day or night is a huge plus!

Suzanne is a high school dance teacher and choreographer by day and a vintage jewerly collector and designer by every other time.  She has a huge collection that she organized a few years back.  She's been using these vintage beads, chains and other collectibles ever since.  Suzanne makes necklaces and earrings from recycled vintage beads, chain, ribbon and lace (and sometimes felted wool beads). Each piece is designed to be long, light, easy to wear and affordable. Every design is unique!

She enjoys making necklaces that look good no matter how they slip around the neck.  Her creations are designed to slip over the head - on and off easily.   The design she came up with was three chain sections interspersed with three beaded sections of re-used vintage materials with no clasp (hence the name three...peats). 

Suzanne started making necklaces for herself and as gifts for her family and friends. When she started getting requests from people to sell them, she figured the place to set up shop was on etsy.

Suzanne has been an etsy buyer of things (including vintage jewelry) for years. She's added other vintage materials such as lace and ribbon into her necklaces as well as recycled t-shirt yarn and at her customer’s request started making earrings last year. She's found that earrings are a great way for her to re-use small amounts of chain and beads that would have been wasted otherwise.

In the spirit of being Eco Friendly and Green, Suzanne enjoys taking things that are discarded and useless and turning them into wearable works of art.

As you have some time - check out all the places she can be found on the web.

http://threepeats.blogspot.com/

http://sittlife.blogspot.com/  (a more personal blog about life in NYC)

http://threepeats.etsy.com/

http://twitter.com/threepeats

email@hand-craftedcreations.com for possible submission of your site in our blog. OR if you are a vendor who doesn't want your info posted - please email & it will be removed ASAP.

Introducing the Queen of Stinky Feet, Ms. Lynne - from StinkyFeetBabies.com

Lynne Schlumpf  is a creative and amazing lady! 

She's a retired Air Force person who ran away to Alaska in 2003!  It takes a special kind of person to run away to Alaska :)  It must be a beautiful place for sure!.

Lynne began really pursuing  her artwork once she got to Alaska.  She'd been dreaming about pursuing it for 30 years, and now finally that dream is a reality.

She  loves mixed media and making dolls. Her favorite crafts are hand-sewing and beeswax-based paintings, as well as oil painting. She loves oil because you can work on it so much until you get it right, plus, the colors are so vivid.

Lynne has a few websites and blogs.  She sells only items that are made in Alaska.   They like to film interesting aspects of Alaska for their business  "Alaska In My Dreams Film Studios, Inc"  But her most recent business and crafting venture is the Stinky Feet Babies of the Far North Secret Sock Society.

Lynne has experience in the following areas:

Painting, ~   Drawing, ~  Dolls

She will likely share her knowlege with us all, when it come to :

~ Great crafting ideas, ~ Instructions for DYI projects, ~  Advice about starting and running your own handmade business, ~  Lots of crafting tips, ~  Reviews About Actual Artists she's worked with,  ~ Features about Artists she admires, ~ Self  improvement (in general)

I'd like to take this moment to give a great big warm welcome to Lynne!

Welcome to the

♥

HCC Blogger Family!

Please check out here places on the web when you have a few moments.

http://stinkyfeetbabies.com/

http://stinkyfeetbabies.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @StinkyFeetBaby  and @LynneSchlumpf

Other Blogs http://alaskatreasures.blogspot.com/
 http://alaskainmydreamsblog.com/
 
 
You can be an official HCC DIYer blogger too.  Simply fill out the application at the top of the blog where it says so and well be happy to check you out.   If you are a great fit for our blog -  we'll welcome you aboard with open arms  :)


email@hand-craftedcreations.com for possible submission of your site in our blog. OR if you are a vendor who doesn't want your info posted - please email & it will be removed ASAP.

Eye Spy Something Pink and Yellow!

Lets play a game! 

Eye Spy Something Pink and yellow !  

What is it?

Anwer will be post Next week.

Could it be somewhere on this cute hand knitted baby outfit?

Or maybe the colors in this handmade flower card?

How about this room decor by  Bleeting design?

I know!  It's the beautiful Sugar flowers on this cake by the Sugar Flower Shop!

What about the background of this cool leopard handbag by MissyLu?

Possibly could it be in this Echo D'Amour design?

It's got to be here!  The fun Tutu's by PrincessDoodleBeans

Wow, it could be on the adorable Monkey and cupcakes blanket by Cuddle Up Blankets

Possibly here on the Japanese inspired sachets by Raycious

email@hand-craftedcreations.com for possible submission of your site in our blog. OR if you are a vendor who doesn't want your info posted - please email & it will be removed ASAP.

DIY Ribbon Holder

I just love ribbons... and who doesn't love them? They make them in so many great colors, textures, patterns... geesh! A girl can get overwhelmed with so many ribbon choices. Not to mention, every craft store seems to have there own assortment, making choosing the perfect ribbon for a project even more difficult.

I recently added some new ribbons to my collection so my mother and I can make some hair bows for my baby girl. With the new ribbons added, my collection quickly outgrew the small shoe box I was storing them all in so I took a trip to the craft store to buy a ribbon holder... only to find out they were a whopping $39.99. There is no way on this green planet that I was going to spend that much on a ribbon holder.

Disclaimer: I am not saying there is anything wrong with others spending that much if they choose too... it just won't be coming out of my pocket.

So I looked at this $39.99 ribbon holder and upon closer inspection I saw it was pretty much a pretty frame with rods.

...and so my brain went to turning...

When I got home I searched every room of the house looking for something to use as a frame... with no luck. Just as I was about to sit down, a light bulb turned on! In my recycle bin was a USPS Priority Mail shipping box from gift my grandmother sent before she passed away early this month (blog coming soon). This was it!

I cut the front out of the box. I wrapped it with masking tape to make the edges smoother. After all, it may be made out of a cardboard box, but it doesn't have to look like it.

Next I used a ruler to make small holes on both sides of the box. These are for our rods we are going to add soon.

Measure your rods before you make you holes. you want them to fit in the tight... too loose and you may end up with more of a mess than what you start off with.

My son is going to be adding a mosaic tile design on the sides for me, but for the time being, I added a quick coat of white spray paint. I also wanted the inside to be white, instead of cardboard brown. Another idea for you crafty crafters... add scrapbook paper to the backing to give it a cute, personal touch.

To finish it I took some thin rods I had from another craft project and stuck a thumb tack in one side to hold the rod in place... added my ribbons... and *wallah*

I don't know if I am more excited that I have a ribbon holder now, or that it cost me less than $1 to make.

Post is from http://www.ralasbrainfood.blogspot.com/ )

Posted by Lauren from: http://www.ten23designs.com/

Are YOU Promoting your Wedding Biz with Luv?

Have you ever heard of the website named  Wedding-Luv.com?  

Well incase you haven't, you need to know about it!!    It's a great place for those involved with weddings...  planning a wedding , brides, grooms attendants and wedding vendors.  (this article is mainly focused on the Vendor aspect though) 

How Did Wedding-Luv come about? 
Wedding-Luv was started as a way for Victoria Joanne to be able to have a place to give away her free samples and post about sales & specials she was having. She then decided to open the website up to EVERYONE who is in the wedding industry... wither your a Vendor or a Client you will find that wedding-luv has tremendous potential if you would only make use of it.

What Is Wedding-Luv from a Vendors Point of view? 
It's a place where you can promote your business!  There are Networking sites all over... that's real nice.  At this point we are all networked up the Ying Yang!  It's time to DO something with this new found friends.  It's time to start promoting each other!!  This is where the real potential and value lies with Wedding-Luv...  in the biz promotion factor.   We can share each others specials on twitter with the new tweet this tool at the Club.  It's wonderful all the promotional potential this website has... Most vendor members haven't even tapped into this very valuable resource (that's how new and revolutionary the concept of this site is) 

Every time you make an announcement about a new sale, contest or giveaway in your Vendor Blog... Your info gets Twittered out to the Wedding-Luv followers.  (Follow Wedding-Luv  to keep up on the activities of the club)  Also every time you make an announcement on your blog about deals or contests,  the more chances you have of being picked up in Search Engines.  Links to and from the wedding-luv site help in SEO  (Search Engine Optimization) . 

As a huge bonus... Each time you post an announcement on your vendor blog about a sale, contest or special you're running you have the potential of being featured on the Official Wedding Luv Homepage Blog!   All these things are completly free... Promoting your business doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg every single time.  The Wedding-Luv site is a diamond in the rough... It's just waiting to be discovered by smart and savvy wedding professionals. 


What is Wedding-Luv from the Clients (brides/customers) Point of View? 
GREAT DEALS -  SPECIALS -  GIVEAWAYS  -  CONTESTS !

It's a place where you can find out about wedding related contests &  giveaways.   You can find some great sales & deals on wedding related services, accessories, attire, favors, photography, etc... What ever is being blogged about by the Vendor members is what you will find.    (this is why it would help every vendor to post new announcements on a regular basis)   As this site gains in popularity we anticipate having more and more announcements to share with our brides/clients. 


Wedding-Luv has so much untapped potential!   Please help us to spread the word about this hidden treasure so more people can benefit from the LUV.   Showin' Luv one giveaway at a time in so many ways.  Link to http://www.wedding-luv.com/ on your websites.  Tell all your friends about it!  Follow the official Wedding-Luv blog with the Google friends connect to keep up on the latest Wed-Luv Features. 

And USE the CLUB!!  We can't stress this enough... You will only be able to tap into the value of promoting yourself if you actually take the first step in posting about YOUR deals and YOUR sales... once you do that... Wedding-Luv will take it from there to feature you and tweet about you. 

Every little bit helps in this world of Search Engine information overload...  Take the step and be a part of the Luv. 



email@hand-craftedcreations.com for possible submission of your site in our blog. OR if you are a vendor who doesn't want your info posted - please email & it will be removed ASAP.

DEAN DYMENT STUDIOS Original Monotypes and Collographs

DEAN DYMENT STUDIOS

Mushroom - monotype print with chalk pastel

Lori the artist at Dean Dyment Studios, is a talented original print maker.  She owns a press and creates linocuts, collographs, drypoints and monotypes.

Monotypes make up the majority of her work and are really just paintings printed onto paper.   It's pretty neat if I don't say so myself  :)

Lori Dean Dyment lives and creates her art out of Richmond, British Columbia , a suburb twenty minutes out of Vancouver. She was born and raised in Vancouver Canada. She attended Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design where where she fell in love with printmaking.

Look at this adorable cow -
This image is a one-of-a-kind hand pulled print onto archival Rives BFK paper. This is not a reproduction. This is considered a reductive monotype in that Lori  rolls the whole plate with black ink and then “draws” into it with rags, cards, fingers, etc. Isn't this Amazing?!  
To achieve the whites and grey tones she removes the ink.   Gray would be some ink left behind... white would be no ink left behind.  Once Lori feels the image is complete, sh lays a piece of dampened paper onto the plate and rolls it through her press.  All of the ink transfers onto the paper and the image is in reverse!  This will be the ONLY print she can pull. Once dry, she can hand color it with pastels if color is desired.

 

Collograph print Lion  -
This is a neat way to create custom prints.   The term collograph print means that the printing plate is created in layers with various materials. The plate is constructed from matboard, glue, varnish, x-acto cuts, and carborundum. The various textures are what creates the varying tones. The varnish lets the ink wipe clean (light areas) while the carborundum holds the ink onto the plate (dark areas).

Lori is such a talented woman!   Such a unique and beautiful hand-crafted artistic talent she possesses. 

Since these are actually handcrafted plates, they can be printed more than once.  After the print is dried,  Lori goes back and hand paints the print with water color paints.  Since each print is handpainted the colors to vary slightly.    This in MY oppinion is what makes it so special and so unique. 




You can view more of Lori's work at  the links below.


Website - http://www.deandymentstudios/
http://web.me.com/jfdyment/Lori/Welcome.html/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ldeandyment




email@hand-craftedcreations.com for possible submission of your site in our blog. OR if you are a vendor who doesn't want your info posted - please email & it will be removed ASAP.

88LINKS - For the Alternative bride and fashionista

88Links  -  By Lady Steel

 Totally cool -  Colored metal...  can you guess what this is?   Did you guess a flower?   Well yes, It's a flower - I'm sure you probably guessed that quick enough... But what could it possibly be for?  Some sort of decoration but where would you put it?   Is a decoration to add to your flower arangment?    Could it be something you decorate your home with?   Could it be a tie back for your drapes?    What do you think? 

Did you guess?  

It's an arm band! 

Isn't this armlet uique and interesting as well as very lovely.   The bright colors used in it make for a happy spring time feel. I Really like it! 

This is only one of many unique and modern designs. 

Take for instance this really pretty turquois pendant armband.  It dangles from a little bit of chainmail type rings.  How sexy it is! 

Lady Steel is located in Tucson Arizona.  She likes to create simple peices that contain some history to them.  Her specialties are in working with steel, stone, and chainmail.  She conspires with her husband to create simple urban jewelry with a fantasy edge. 

You will be able to find lots of  really unique peices at the 88 Links shop.  .  Look at the boot jewery to the left.   That's really neat!  Makes your shoes take on a whole new level of sophistication.

The lovely turquoise stones are the perfect finishing touch to this lovely work of art.

The creations that Lady Steel creates for her 88 Links shop are also great for brides.  She's had alternative brides order armbands, custom steel pendants and circlets for their special celebrations.   One of the examples are below.  This was created for a bride to wear on her head.  It's a simple decoration for a bride who doesn't want to go way over the top. 

You should check out Lady Steel's creations at her shop.  The link is right below.

Etsy - http://88links.etsy.com/  

Please visit our sponsor - and become a member of the LUV! 

Club.Wedding-Luv.com 

email@hand-craftedcreations.com for possible submission of your site in our blog. OR if you are a vendor who doesn't want your info posted - please email & it will be removed ASAP.

HCC Guest Bloggers wanted - Apply within ;)

Attention!

Do you have a passion for all Creations HandCrafted? Do you have a great respect and admiration for the artisans who display amazing talent? Do you have a way with words that makes people want to read more?  Would you like to be an HCC DIY-er blogger here at the HCC blog? 

If you answered yes to all four questions above - then we would like to invite you to apply to be a guest blogger here at HCC. 

Please fill out all areas of the form and then submit it only once. 

http://www.hand-craftedcreations.com/z_hcc_blogger_form.html