Some New Additions to the Shop!

It's only Monday and so far we have already had a busy week! There is so much thats gonna go on this week and we are getting pumped to send out some Christmas cheer to our customers! We've got some great deals planned from this week to NewYears and some of the exclusive to our Facebook and Blog followers. Here are some newcomers to the shop. So make sure to stop in and get some handmade gifts for your loved ones!

First, there are two lovely fox drawings in colored pencil by Rachel placed in vintage circular frames. The frames have charming hints of metallic gold on them. Second, we have my first snowman paper bead ornament! This was my first attempt and it went great! The beads are made from recycled sheet music and are strung on very vibrant red wire.

I love how most of Rachel's items are in sets. She has a great way with telling a cute little story in her illustrations whether they are goofy or love stories I adore them all. Turtle love is colored pencil in a vintage frame. The bear on a unicycle is ink and watercolor. I love how chubby the bear is and his little hat!

My son got to be a model for five minutes today sporting Rachel's colorful cowl. He loves getting dressed and trying new clothes so this was right up his alley. This cowl is perfect for keeping out the cold for both kids and adults. Rachel is also taking custom orders for cowls in most any color combination requested so be sure to request one on our shop home page if you are interested!
Another adorable fox illustration is up too! The frame was carefully hand painted and shows hints of pink. Perfect for a wedding or anniversary gift!

Lastly, we have a couple sets of crocheted snowflakes. I LOVE SNOWFLAKES! I enjoy making these so much I make them all year round. I have a basic pattern I use as the root for all my patterns but I make them up randomly as I get further along the snowflake to make them all just slightly different from on another. Stiffening them also adds to their little differences too. These sets are just the colors of the threads used. Coming later this week are more of my hand dipped snowflakes. I dip them in bright colored paints for an almost tie-dyed look.

More crochet and paper bead items will be up within the next couple days. I'll also be working on a ton more paper bows for the shop and for our Holiday Bazaar coming up at Wawasee Middle School. Be sure to check in for an exclusive deal for this busy holiday weekend!

- Hannah

A Few Things That Make Me Smile

My son's first self portrait.

Just thought I would share a couple things from this past week. A little parenting, thrifting, and some things that make me smile.

This week has gone by pretty quickly for me. I'm pretty sure I've spent the entire time trying to clean my house. And I mean trying. I still haven't remotely caught up with it. I saw a status this earlier this week on facebook that said "Cleaning your house with a toddler is like brushing you teeth with an Oreo". This is especially true since most of the time my son is trying to help. While I think it's great my son wants to constantly move around and DO something, my house is really paying the price. If it's not him pulling out new activities, it's me getting out projects and not finishing them and then along comes the 10 month old who lets you know just how sloppy you are when you find the most random items hanging from his mouth. 

I really am enjoying this time in my life though. They say these days when you children are young go fast. So I'm soaking it up. I'll take my most of the time semi clean house and enjoy these moments.

I found these three tea cups and saucers at the thrift stores the other day. They say Deruta Italy on the bottoms of them with some other symbols. From what I've researched they are for real, but in the meantime I find them beautiful and will enjoy them no matter where they are from. My husband wants to open up a Etsy account with me to sell some vintage items e've collected. Maybe these will go up on the site when it opens. We came up with a pretty great name that's fun and personal too! That'll be a whole other blog post though. 

I've been in the Christmas spirit these days. Well, I kind of am all the time, but much more so lately while making items for our Mumre shop. I love getting to use these papers while wrapping orders. I mainly use either brown packaging paper or this lovely embossed creme wallpaper. They are so elegant and simple. 

A pointillism snowflake doodle in my sketch book. 

Someone's gotta eat it.

Along with a bunch of other items we have new items in our shop, I listed this particular tree.
These are so fun for me to make and for some reason every time I see this particular one I smile and feel so much joy.
Perhaps it's because it reminds me of a child's drawing of a Christmas tree with all the zigzags, simple shapes and doodle look to the whole thing, but I'll take the joy, soak it up and use it to make more. Gotta spread the good feeling! Take a look on Etsy for this one and more like it.

Keep a look out for our up coming exclusive sales for our blog readers and facebook followers!

- Hannah

Red Flannel Festival

We just got done with an eventful weekend! Saturday we set up a booth at the Red Flannel Festival in Cedar Springs, Michigan. Boy, when they say red flannel, they mean it! Everyone was wearing red or flannel. We came prepared with multiple shirts on hand to wear and decorate with. 

This was our first experience indoors and was a nice change of pace. I'll be honest, I didn't miss packing and unpacking the bricks to prepare for some wind. We got a taste for a new kind of set up and were able to show off some new items that we've made! Rachel's gotten some made skills from her crocheting all the time. She's made some adorable infant winter hats, and super stylish cowls that I wanna snag and keep for myself! I've been working on more seasonal items like Christmas themed envelopes, cards and ornaments. 

First indoor display!

New bows and envelopes made from teen romance comic books. Saucy!

Infant sized winter hats. Our kids sport them and love to chew on the tassels.

Rachel's favorite color block scarf. Great color combinations!

Sweet drawings done by Rachel in vintage frames imported from Italy!

I crocheted this out of old telephone wire. I couldn't crochet anything for at least two weeks afterward! Thick stuff, but very cool. This type of wire is pretty hard to find for me. I'd love to get my hands on some more!

I love the tight stitching in this vibrant cowl!

Small crochet snowflakes. All uniquely made from a similar base pattern, but all different in their own way. I dip some of them in paint too!

Adorable bow barrettes for your hair!

Envelopes made from vintage "The LIFE Book of Christmas" books. 

Another cool thing we've decided to try out are some gift bundles of our handmade goods! Perfect for gift giving. We have a small bundle that will include items like a recycled crochet bowl, card with a original watercolor drawing (not a print), handmade themed envelope, recycled paper gift bow, and a hand crocheted snowflake ornament! Our larger bowls may include some crochet goods, or paper bead ornaments. We hope to have a variety of sizes up on Etsy within the week, and each bundle will vary slightly in colors and contents. Of course it's all in the process right now, but if you have an idea of a bundle you'd like from our shop make sure to let us know and we will hook you up!

- Hannah

Reading and Learning

I’ve been doing a lot of reading these days and finally made it to a book I’ve been sort of hesitant to read, but excited at the same time. I’m reading Grow Your Handmade Business by Kari Chapin. I love the way she writes and how easy she is to follow.  For as intimidating as starting a business sounds initially, she does a great job of easing you into it with excitement. I read Handmade Marketplace by her too. That was the book that got me really into being myself through my work instead of trying to do things people had expected of me. Since reading her book I’ve learned more about myself and what I’m really interested in.

So far, there are a lot of great things to be read in this book. I’m only officially the first chapter in (I love to skip around in these sort of books, but I really do read the whole book eventually ) and the words “be brave” have stuck out to me the most. It may be because I have a special place in my heart for the word brave (it’s my youngest son’s middle name). Being brave is such a good thing to have stuck into my head through this journey. I’m excited to try new things, why not have courage to do things they way we want to and not how we’ve only seen them done before.

I like the idea that all the things we make are one of a kind. Since we repurpose materials it’s unlikely that any piece will look just like another.  It leaves room for creativity ALL the time. Rachel and I are constantly coming up with new ideas and we aren’t pressured to keep to one particular path.  Between the two of us inspiration comes from so many different sources, we never really know what we are going to pick up next and make something awesome out of it.

-Hannah