Getting Ready for the Cold - in June?

It's 90-zillion degrees out and humid.  But now that I'm making and selling things like scarves and hats, I've resigned myself to the concept that the retail season is different from the actual season in which these things are worn.  So... I've added the first hat, a real, knitted skullcap-style hat... to Fabric of my Mind.  It's a soft, cozy tan acrylic in small/medium, so it's good for women, teens, and tweens.  The tan is a great neutral that goes with everything, and acrylic is warm and soft, washable, and perfect for anyone who's allergic to wool or straight up vegan.

Artist Spotlight: Part Ninety-One

You've met the talented Kris here before, but now she's got two shops at Handmade Artists!  The one from which I've shopped is Reflections, where she's got all her wonderful glasswork, ornaments, paperweights, wind chimes, vases, suncatchers, candle holders, and crazy amazing art.

Getting ready for Valentine's Day!

 

I love this tetrahedron!  I have one like it, but this is beautiful.  They're just so fun to look at and definitely a conversation piece for your desk.

I just love these wind chimes! 

The other is lisianblue, where she makes available her amazing knitted and crocheted items, quilts, and some other amazing things.

How cute is this snake?  It's a necklace, a toy, a lariat... all at once!

This piece, quilted, beaded, and collaged, just absolutely blows me away.

To keep up with Kris, be sure to follow her blog.  Never know what she'll create next!

It's been a while...

... since I talked about the Handmade Artists Forum & Handmade Artists Shop.  It's still going strong, stronger than ever, in fact, so if you haven't checked it out, you really should take a look.  The shop is growing by the day with talented vendors.  If you're serious about supporting handmade, this is a great place to shop, especially now for the holidays.  The place is committed to 100% handmade wares, no mass-produced, no resellers, and they're serious about keeping out the riffraff.

Speaking of the holidays, one of the members made this terrific video to give you a sampling of what you might find if you wanted to start in on your shopping - don't forget, Chanukah is early this year!

And if you're an artisan, crafter, artist, or creator yourself, you really should join and visit the forum.  HAF is committed to promoting all handmade, so whether you sell on HA or any other site doesn't actually matter.  You can find lively discussion, support, a cheering section for your creations, constructive criticism, creating assistance and instruction, and even photos of the members' pets!

You know I'm incapable of leaving you without photos, so here are some of the things recently posted in the forum.

And for good measure, a HAF pet!

Artist Spotlight: Part Eighty-Five

Wow, 85 artist highlights I've brought you.  Not bad.  Today's is a new one on this blog, HippiesCreations.

The shop is on HAF, but it's based in Central Virginia.  The artist behind Hippie's Creations was raised near Frankfurt, Germany, with a diverse upbringing.  She started crafting as a child and crocheting at 17.  This is the focus of her HAFshop, and look.  The sheer diversity of what she makes is really something else.

I love her hat styles, like these two summer hats.  The one with the floppy brim is just adorable!

And her clothing is so cute!  I don't think I've ever seen a crocheted mini skirt before!

Another new one for me is this star-shaped baby afghan.  So cute!

She's got ultra useful stuff too, like this purse, laptop sleeve, and coffee cozies.

And on the other end of the spectrum are these stuffed sheep and monster, aren't necessarily necessary, but holy crow are they cute!  That monster face!

She's also been woodburning since 2005, making hemp jewelry since 2004, and fine jewelry since 2006.  I'm kind of hoping to see that stuff in her HAFshop too!  She draws, paints in watercolor, and uses polymer clay.  She makes me look single-faceted!

In between all that, she's a mom of 4 boys, one old enough that he's in the armed forces, and the youngest a special needs kiddo who's 8.  And while doing all this crafting and raising her four boys, this amazing woman had obtained her BA in accounting and MA in mental health counseling.  The woman is an inspiration!

Artist Spotlight: Part Eighty-Three

You've met her here before, and here too...

So, let's catch up, shall we?  She's added some more adorable stuff to her shop, like bibs with matching booties.

And hair clips for the kiddos.

Also for the kiddos, she did up this awesome girlie skirt.

Of course, there are still awesome hats.

And check out this gorgeous vintage quilt that she made & then more recently revamped!

So... more news.  In addition to her current Handmade Artists Shop, she'll be opening a second shop soon for her gorgeous glasswork!  Stay tuned...

Artist Spotlight: Part Seventy-Five

You've met today's artist before, back in May of 2011.  It's Kris, of the shop Lisianblue!  When I last introduced her to you, we talked about her Artfire shop, but she's since opened a Handmade Artist's Shop, and it's really worth taking a look.  This shop focuses on her knit and crocheted work.  Like these...

Gorgeous, right?  I love that skinny scarf!  And I know we're headed into spring, but I couldn't resist including the Santa hat.  It's just too adorable.