Solstice Blessings!

 A mighty log, adorned with candles to burn through the coldest nights. A green tree, adorned with memories! The settings to feed however many folk might wander through on this cold night.

A fire blazing bright, to ward of the dark while the sun is gone. Perfect for passing cups of mead around! Hail to the reborn Sun!

Happy Holidays to all my readers, no matter how you gather this season. May light and love be in your house.

Finds - First Snow

It snowed here in Colorado, and the trees have slushy bits of snow clinging to their changing leaves. It's a welcome sign after one of the hottest summers on record, and a step towards the winter weather. Today's Finds post has Colorado artist and our favorite subject - Snow!

An early Autumn snow, captured by MistyPhoto

Fabulous hair Kanzashi from MountainMusings, imagine wearing them on a snowy day!

Great note cards with sparse winter tree branches from MichelleMach.

A brilliant piece of tactile textiles, MelodyMoneyDesigns handmade this art quilt, and I'd like to believe finished it on a snowy night...

Add your own little winter touch to your holiday decor by making a Snow Bunny Ornament, FancyTiger's kit has everything you need, and you can make it as cute as you want!

This is the view I'm looking forward to, snow capped mountain slopes in the moonlight. Can it be Ski Season yet? Lovely Painting from CreatedbyStorm

The only thing better than stuff that reminds me of snow, is stuff that keeps me warm in it... Fluffy yarn by WildeThyme waiting to be a warm fuzzy for you!

It's not full on winter yet, but us Coloradans can be inspired by snow year round - there are places that get snow year round after all. The sun will soon melt this snow fall away, but I'm looking forward to the cold dark winter. What's the weather where you are?

Holiday Craft Fairs

I had the best craft fair this weekend. Not because I sold a lot (tho I did sell plenty), and not because of a magical venue. This was a fair with a central money table. They took %20, which is well worth it when one can leave early to go out to dinner, and not worry about being there in the early morning on a day with a foot of new snow fall. So my friend and I sauntered in a little late, and spent the day doing needlepoint while chatting with customers. I didn't have to do any of the paperwork involved with taking money! Has anyone else done a fair like this? Not the biggest money maker but a very low stress weekend!

Christmas, A Little Late but Still Sweet.

After a few days of delay we had a big Christmas with the boys family. Lots of gifts around the tree and the whole she-bang. I almost finished the Sweater in time, with just the front pocket not done. After a big meal we all got out computers out and had a mini LAN-esque party...
That's right, all of us are avid WOW players so we got together and all made new characters together and played as a group. This is what family together time looks like in their household! (And yes those are all Macs, this is a Mac house just like mine...)

White Christmas

We has it... Happy Politically-correct Non-denominational Mid-December Celebrations people!

The Gadget Lover makes Christmas Cookies

At some point in the distant past my Grandmother must have received a cookie press from some relative, and a family tradition was born. A delectable shortbread like cookie known as "Spritz" shaped by extruding it from a tube like adhesive from a caulk gun. A perfect blend of handyman skills and fine baking!

The cookies are a simple recipe, I use butter but my mother swears by margarine for optimal stability during handling. Note - if you use margarine it must be the full fat variety, even a high percent will make gummy cookies.
Cream together 1 cup butter and 2/3 sugar. Add 1 egg (the original recipe called for 3 egg yolks, but with new views on cholesterol and the larger modern egg this is the best substitution). 1 tsp flavoring (almond or vanilla, even a few cubes of melted chocolate works).
2 1/2 cups flour, start mixing with a machine but finish with your hands, not quite in a kneading motion but close. You want a fairly firm dough.
The press is a simple mechanism. We own several as my mother always grabs them at estate sales so we have spare parts. Each comes with little metal dies that make different shapes. Some make better looking and better baking cookies, the little dog ends up looking more like a fat horse. Some shapes are just traditional in the family. Most of our batch was made with the single star shaped hole, made into wreath-like circles.
The dough is put into the tube and the ratcheting handle squeezes it out. A cold cookie sheet is important for getting the dough to stick so it pulls off the press neatly. One also must be careful not to squeeze out too much as really big cookies don't cook well.

Here's our pile of cooking happiness. The trees were dyed green, one could flavor them also if you desired. Mom and I like to add lots of sprinkles sparkles and red hots (the little cinnamon dots) but there are a few scrooge-y purist in the family who prefer them totally plain, we even keep them in a seperate tin to avoid contamination by goodness... ^.^

There you are, what better thing to do on a cold snowy December afternoon... too bad it was clear sunny and almost 60! Winter in Colorado is a fickle thing.

I'm getting in the Holiday Spirit

Well that Holiday is sneaking up. We're making cookies, we're puzzling over what to get the teenagers on our list, we're drinking eggnog in the traditional manner (with rum that is). So I decided to waste some time on Etsy and make a blog post, whet better thing to do during the busy Christmas season?

First, a reminder that I really have to keep working on my Christmas knitting! (just one more quest, I promise, I'm almost a level 71...) This awesome art yarn from AuthenticFiction has all the best. Merino? check. Felt flowers? check. Sparkles? check. It's a Christmas party in a skein...

how about some art as a reminder that red and green weren't pulled out of no where. They are seasonal colors because of the bright reds that are left over from fall in berries and leaves. These red maples from TwoDogGardens remind me of Christmas in Tokyo last year, with bright red maple still hanging on.

Now red and green doesn't have to be just a seasonal thing. These earrings from MarjorieWells could accessorize a holiday outfit, and be worn the rest of the year too! Peridot is a favorite gem of mine so I know I have plenty of clothes to match this green...

Not all of us can pull off a plaid skirt... (I know I can't) but all of us can carry a cute little bag made from a plaid skirt! SandBagsDesigns created an upcycled tote in Christmas colors so you can put some green and red in any outfit.

How about something a little bit crafty? Like some sweet little crocheted flowers ready to be stuck/sewed on to your next project? CraneCrochet makes some awesome little items, perfect for adding some flair to an item. Also perfect if you are like me and have not yet figured out crochet patterns :p

You're running out of time to order things online for the Holidays, but you can still pick up some sweet stuff for year round, or just get a jump on next year ^.^

Holiday Handmade Awesomeness!

This weekends show was super! I had a very nice space (check out that pottery display, that was built in to the wall!) and hung out my finest. I sold lots of stuff, I'm awefully short on yarn now, and I sold the Rocket teapot and all four rocket cups. (Now someone else can worry about them breaking...)
There were tons of people! People lined up out side more than an hour ahead of the start time trying to nab swag bags full of awesome stuff.
And the 60 crafters were laid out in three, count them three, rooms of awesome handmade goodness. Big thanks to Fancy Tiger and the Denver Handmade Alliance for putting together such a great show!

Holiday Handmade this weekend!

Be there or be square!
Tonight Friday December 4th 6pm-9pm
Tomorrow Saturday December 5th 10am-4pm

Get there early for free swag bags!

It's being held in a Church just a block from Fancy Tiger,
32 Lincoln just off of Ellsworth and Broadway

Come check out the crafty awesomeness!

I'm Thankful for "Shop Local"!

Shopping season is upon us, but don't go hit the malls! Those tired predictable gifts are feeding a boring economy. Support Handmade! I used the "Shop Local" feature on Etsy to bring up pages of people making awesome stuff in my own backyard. Here's some of my favorite picks in the colors of the season. Be sure you check out what's being made in your backyard!

Check out this sweet yarn creation from BeckyPotter! A warm fuzzy for these cold Colorado winters. An exciting design and nice colors you could wearthis in many ways and with many ensambles - casual to formal. Not to mention, nothing is more stylish than handmade!

How about some original Art for the food lover in your life? Bonus, it's technically christmas colors, but no one will notice that if you hang it year round! Sharonschock has a number of cute little original paintings just waiting to find a wall of their own. Art is classy, fun and will last a lifetime, a perfect gift!

Here's something to write down all those holiday memories in! Derrick from Disconsolator makes high quality beautiful hand bound books, in many colorful fabrics and styles. He'll even do custom work for you - how great is that?

How about something Eco-friendly? (I can hardly get through a blog post without one) Kimwhitecreations made this lovely sparkly cup cozy so you can say no to the cardboard sleeve in style. Extra points if you bring your own cup. Warm beverages and cute stuff... What a great way to celebrate the season!

Remember, when you shop handmade it allows us crafters to have a good holiday season too! No matter howmany gifts I give this season it's a great joy to know that some stranger is getting my goods with love. Cheers to all, and don't run up your credit cards too high...