holiday shopping issue Making your list and checking it twice
dad
sis
UPcycled Holiday ornaments
Finding the perfect handmade gifts for everyone
Healthy Living
INcorporate MaTcha tea into your holiday recipes
Eco crafts
Take the
boss
kitty
Handmade holiday
pledge PUTTING A PERSONAL TOUCH ON GIFT WRAP
C O N T E N T S ...
The Holiday Issue F E AT U R E . . . Finding the
perfect handmade gift can be easy, fun
and make those tough-to-buyfor friends,
family members and co-workers glow.
. . . PA G E 1 2 ECO-CRAFTS ... Make your own upcycled ornaments out of scrap pieces of fabric, sweaters and old books!
LIFESTYLES ...
. . . PA G E 6
MAKE HEALTHY HOLIDAY RECIPES INCORPORATING MAtCHA TEA.
. . . PA G E 1 0
LEARNING TO DIY ...
Making quick, easy
and charming gifts
and wrapping them
to look like works of art.
. . . PA G E 2 0 Holiday Shopping Issue \ The Handmade Companion \ 3
A Note From the Editor
Taking the Handmade Pledge
I decided to go handmade this year. {kinda like last year, right?} To my friends and family: I pledge that my holiday gifts are made for you with love by my two little hands or those of a super-talented artist/crafters. I am very conscious of where I spend my money. I like the idea of keeping it in
the hands of small businesses.
Especially those in my own community. I am very lucky to live in Metro Detroit, surrounded by amazingly creative folks. Never a shortage of cool stuff around here! These days there seems to be some kind of handmade holiday shopping event in every big city. I’ve compiled a list on my blog {thehandmadegiftguide.com} of some of the larger events in the U.S. If you can’t attend shows, online shopping is the next best thing. {You can wear jammies!} I have a bunch of links to cool Etsy shops on my blog too. It really is a great visual guide to discover new crafters. Check out my make a gift section as well, a resource for finding tutorials for some DIY-ing. I hope you enjoy our holiday special issue! The Handmade Companion will be a quarterly print magazine, with the first actual edition out in January 2012. We wanted to give everyone a taste of the vibe of the magazine, with the launch of the first annual holiday issue. In these pages, our firecracker team of DIY-ers shares seasonal recipes using fantastic natu-
ral ingredients {like tea!}, cool upcycled ornament projects and we share some super awesome handmade finds from our fave online shops in our gift guide that makes buying handmade for everyone on your list a breeze. The magazine will regularly feature handmade lifestyle articles such as: healthy cooking/baking; sewing Q&A and projects; crafty ideas, how to’s and patterns; a ton of upcycling ideas, tutorials and projects for your home and The Crafter’s Business Association will share tips for those of you that sell your crafts, and more! {Yes, more!} love,
Anne
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
C O N TA C T U S . . . \ Editor In Chief ... Anne Hayman . . . anne@t hehandmade g if t guide.com . . . w w w. t hehandmade g if t gu i de.com \ Photo Editor ... SARAH REED . . . s ar a h re e dphotog raphy@ya ho o.com . . . w w w. s ara h re e dphotog raphy.net
\ Lifestyles Editor ... Phuong Le ... w w w.kon ite a. com ... w w w.t hete achi ck . com \ Eco-Craft Editor ... Michelle Stolz ... aisle3@comc ast . net ... w w w.up c ycle you rl i fe. com \ Sewing Editor ... KAREN LEPAGE ... r ing master@oneg irlci rc us . com ... w w w.oneg irlci rc us . com
4 \ The Handmade Companion \ Holiday Shopping Issue
C R A F T Y C A L E N D A R , We e k O f :
Dec. 17 to 23
Saturday:\ •* make ornaments for tree * shop on Etsy
Sunday: * make scarflette for mom * plan party menu
party menu stuff *
Friday:
* grocery shop for
Thursday: * make gift tags *
Wednesday: ** Wrap gifts * *
Tuesday: * make gift wrap *
* put finishing
touches on gifts
Monday:
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
\ Marketing/PR/Advertising ... \ Style Editor ... Sophie Fenby .. . s oph i e @t hehandmade g if t guide.com Jennifer Scott ... info@t hehandma deg if t g u i de. com \ STITCH Kitsch ... Amy Cronkite . . . ac ron k ite @g mai l.com \ COpy Editor/Design ... Jodie Fletcher ... j o del l af letch@ g mai l. com . . . t he sma l lc raf t.com
\ \ Don’t miss our next issue of
The Handmade Companion, coming in January \ \ Holiday Shopping Issue \ The Handmade Companion \ 5
A Very
Handmade Holiday
Check out our Where
To Shop Guide on Page 18 to find the gifts from the party.
Photographs by
Sarah Reed
holiday shopping Mom
auntie
Southern wood
Red Leaf Bath and Body
http://www.etsy.com/ shop/Southernwood
http://www.etsy.com/ shop/RedLeafBathand-
cousin
bestie
Patsy Fine
KooKooCraft http://www.etsy.com/ shop/PatsyFine
from cover:
http://www.etsy.com/ shop/KooKooCraft
Dad’s getting: Sweet Pine Soaps http:// www.etsy.com/shop/Sweetpinesoaps
holiday shopping
nanny
brother
The Macaron Queen
Sovereign Sea http://www.etsy.com/ shop/SovereignSea
http://www.etsy. com/shop/ themacaronqueen
me
co-work
er
Irene Suchocki http://www.etsy.com/ shop/IreneSuchocki
from cover:
Creole Sha
http://www.etsy.com/ shop/CreoleSha
Sis is getting: Shirasela http:// www.etsy.com/shop/Shirasela
Holiday Shopping Issue \ The Handmade Companion \ 15
holiday shopping er
auntie
oth
Knock Knocking
Mom
Nia Craft http://www.etsy.com/ shop/NiaCraft
http://www.etsy.com/ shop/knockknocking
hubby
teacher
Urban Heirlooms Sugar Me Desserterie http://www.etsy.com/shop/ UrbanHeirlooms
from cover:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ SugarMeDesserterie
BOSS is getting: Urban Eye http:// www.etsy.com/shop/UrbanEye
holiday shopping other
bestie
Glitz Glitter
Little Sapling Toys
http://www.etsy.com/ shop/GlitzGlitter
http://www.etsy.com/ shop/Littlesaplingtoys
grandma
Eclu
http://www.etsy.com/ shop/Eclu
from cover:
son
niece
Sea Pinks
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ SeaPinks
Kitty is getting: Jenneration Fixx http:// www.etsy.com/shop/Jennerationfixx
. . .
W H E R E
Here’s where you can find the gifts from our Handmade Holiday party! Clockwise, starting in the bottom left corner: \ http://www.etsy.com/shop/mamamayi \ http://www.southernyankee.com \ http://www.etsy.com/
T O
S H O P
G U I D E
shop/2beescreations \ http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetsapling \ http://www.cupcakesforclara.com \ http://www.etsy.com/shop/zemphira \ http://www.tlk-designs.com/ \ http://www.etsy.com/shop/comfortablylovely \ http://www.tierraverdesoaps.com/ \ http://www.etsy.com/shop/loreleyjewelry \ http://www.unusuallyyours.artfire.com \ http://www.etsy.com/shop/3pearls
. . .
\ http://www.etsy.com/shop/metalsmitten \ http://www.lt3omg.com \ http://www.reviveyourbath.com \ http://www.etsy.com/shop/sunrisefibers \ http://www.100proofpress.com Also check out the fun things at Soft Shell Crafts: http://www.etsy. com/shop/softshellcrafts
boho
Sarah Reed Photography portrait . commercial . web/print
hippie beautiful www.sarahreedphotography.net
colorful freespirited fresh modern ageless precious loved cherished for giving www.forgivingworks.com
It’s A Wrap!
The care and love that went into making the gift, reflected in ...
the final handmade touch
B y A N N E H AY M A N . . . T h e H a n d m a d e G i f t G u i d e
W
rapping gifts is the best way to use your DIYish-ness. I like to use old paper bags from the market, but you could recycle any paper that you have. I like paper bags because then I can stamp ’em up and create my own patterned one-of-a-kind wrap. Experiment with grouping together a few smaller stamps and using them together to make a neat repetitive pattern, paint the paper using stencils, use stickers, rub-on's, glitter and anything else you can think of to decorate an empty canvas. I also love using fabric scraps or upcycled fabric to wrap my gifts. I tend to use old curtains in natural fab-
rics like cotton or linen, but you could find some amazing shirt/skirt/sheets at the thrift store and cut them up to use. I wrap the gift just like I would if I was using paper, except I use a little drop of fabric adhesive to keep it together. {Be careful with this: a little dot really
will hold it together. You do want the recipient to be able to open it without a knife.} Then wrap your gift! Use fun sewing notions like ricrac, pom-pom trim, lace, ribbon, fabric strips to decorate the wrapped package. There is a link to tutorials on The Handmade Gift
22 \ The Handmade Companion \ Holiday Shopping Issue
... Guide that will show you how to make fabric flowers to decorate your packages. {Make sure you check out Snazziedrawers.com for the most beautiful fabric flower patterns.} I also like to use natural elements like evergreen branches and pinecones {spraypainted silver or gold}.
Read our blog. Attend a craft workshop. Become a member. Vend at a market. Explore and express your creativity with Flint Handmade!