Handmade Holiday Gift Guide -Gifts for Mom

I've been wanting to do a gift guide for a while.  I'm starting out with handmade gift suggestions for mom.  I'm sure that my guides will get better as they come along.  It'll be a learning experience that you're welcome to join me on =-)

ePersonalizee

l Two Custom Hand Stamped Sterling Silver Personalized Disc Necklace and Birthstone 

l Love Personalized Stamped Copper Pendant Teal Apatite Gemstone

l Personalized Terry Velour Spa Shower Wrap with Matching Slippers 

eHolde

                                                                                   

l Hand Dyed Patchwork Purse

l Your Personal Pouch 

l Maven's Boho Hobo Purse

eDresse

 

l Sandmaiden Wool Dolman Sleeve Wrap Top or Jacket

l Caramel Relish Winter Corduroy Jacket

l Bokja022...Coconut cream

eAccessorizee

                                                                                                     

l Fingerless Gloves in Gray 

l White Star Flower Neck Warmer / Cowl  

l Royal Emerald Kanzashi Style Silk Flower Brooch

The purpose of this collection of 12 items is to give you some ideas on what and where to look for handmade gifts for mom this holiday season.  These are things that I would by for my mother if I had all the money in the world (or even just a little lol).  I hope you'll join me here next week for guide 2 of 5 =-)

Artisans Featured:

CandiceKane

CanadianRockiesArt

ShopMomento

YourSewSweet 

Antieuclid's Random Emporium

MavenStudio

Sandmaiden

RelishedArtistry

GiftByWish

HomeLab 

Ayca 

PetalMix

Fabulous Art Prints, Originals By Meluseena

Have you ever come across artwork that just tugged at something inside you?

While checking up on my personal twitter account, I came across a tweet from Meluseena which mentioned a 'new blog update with new art'.

I was immediately compelled to click what ever link this person had to offer because her twitter picture is so unique. It definitely stands apart from the rest!

When I first saw it, the look on the girl's face enticed me to make up a story about why it was what it was. I decided that perhaps she had just seen the guy of her dreams make his way to her sister, instead of her, take her hand and kiss it (so as to show his interest and intentions) in a far away time when that was what people did.

Or perhaps she had just gotten done preparing a nice dessert which she would proudly serve after supper. It had to cool, of course, so out of the oven it went an on to the trivet. Having gone out of the kitchen for just a second, she returns to find her little pest of a brother digging into it with his nubby, grubby fingers. The look on her face would be the calm before the wrath.

(this is a scenario that I am all too familiar with =-|)

I may have gotten a bit carried away with my impression of what this face was for before I actually clicked through to the blog. There, it actually belongs to a quite young looking, but fierce nonetheless, dark haired female who has (dare I assume) Napoleon Bonaparte dangling from her pinky finger while hanging on for dear life! It's absolutely wonderful!

The introduction that Lisa Falzon's blog header (http://lisa-falzon.blogspot.com) gives us as we enter both invites and dares us to scroll down to see what else there is going on there.

I think that what has drawn me into Liza's art world is the expression on her subjects faces along with the use of vivid color. Her works of art, which are also interpretations of history could very well be snap shots from another dimension!

Here are a few of her works that I like the most:

Goldilocks -

This Rug is Just Right -

art by Lisa Falzon

~~

The Girl in the Rose Veil

~~

Jack and the Queen

by Lisa Falzon

Lisa also offers wearable art and pocket mirrors. If you love her art as much as I do, you'll totally enjoy carrying around these small versions of her work.

Madame Pompadour

Pocket Art Mirror

The Girl in the Rose Veil

Wearable Art

~~

I invite you to delve into Lisa Falzon's world by visiting her:

Blog http://lisa-falzon.blogspot.com/

Portfolio http://www.lisa-falzon.com/

and

Etsy Shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/meluseena

Also,

You can become a fan of her facebook Fanpage

and follow her on twitter Meluseena

Lanee's Crochet offers Free Shipping!

... Now, and perhaps forever.

Now that the holiday season is upon us, I wanted to remind every one that Lanee's Crochet is shipping charge free.
A couple of months back, I decided to apply a free shipping offer to all items that I have for sale online (on Artfire, Etsy, and 1000Markets.   The price you see next to the item is the price you pay.
This way, you'll be able to easily figure on how much of your holiday budget you'll be spending without being surprised by the additional charge of shipping at check out.

Let's call it a special, because it kinda is =-)

I've got a more than a few items that can serve as stocking stuffers or Hanukkah gifts in my studio- here are a few:

  Blue Crocheted Slippers

  Spring Green Hair Clip

  

 Coffee Cup Cozy

 

                                 

I've also come across a lot of good deals on Artfire which are marked by tags- Here are just a few of those as well:

Five Sparrows                                        

Jinx1764

Everyday Moments

~~

   It's not going to be hard to find great deals on handmade goods this holiday season with the amount of stuff that's out there as well as Artfire's Holiday deals tags.  I'm going to try and give you a little help with gift ideas in my upcoming gift guides.  The first guide is scheduled to be posted on Saturday.  

   I've got a unique group of people to think about for this holiday season, and I'm sure that you do too.  Items in my guides will be from various handmade selling sites and have an overall theme. 'For My Brother', With Mom in Mind, and 'My Crafty Friend' are a few ideas I'm working on.

If you've got suggestions for a guide theme, feel free to leave them in a comment.  I'm going to try to run them each week  up until the shipping deadline for Christmas.

Pumpkin Cookies ROCK!

With the fall season well on its way, the urge to bake has grown greater and greater as the days have gradually gotten shorter, the winds howling- a bit louder, and the trees slowly undress.

So far, I've baked Peanut Butter Cookies, Sugar Cookies and Pumpkin Cookies.

I LOVED the sugar cookies!!
I wound up using mostly cake flour in the recipe for these cookies. It called for AP flour, but at the time, I had more cake flour than AP, so I made do.
The recipe also called for butter, but all I had was margarine. I didn't account for the fat I used having salt already in it, so this batch of cookies came out tasting a bit saltier than I like, but they're still my absolute fav! Next time, I will use half AP flour and half Cake to see how it does (this time, they were very close to a tollhouse cookie texture, just domed rather than flat). I will also use less salt and unsalted butter. I've got a stick in the fridge waiting to be put to good use!

My in between cookie adventure was a quest for the perfect Peanut Butter Cookie (if there is such a thing- peanut butter has got to be my second least favorite cookie after oatmeal raisin).

I tried a 3 ingredient cookie recipe that I found online and while it was a solid, peanut buttery cookie, it was as if you never took a bite after is was swallowed. It melted away so fast that a few of us had to scratch our heads and wonder 'dang, DID I just have a cookie?'.

Then, I tried a recipe that a friend suggested which was a full recipe- complete with flour and vanilla and everything!
The recipe claimed that it was going to be a 'soft and chewy' cookie, but all I got was something that resembled a flat sugar cookie with only a hint of peanut butter. I didn't dig that recipe, or the other peanut butter cookie one, so there are no pics for those.

This Halloween, Dominic and I had planned to carve a few jack-o-lanterns. It didn't quite work out that way- we only wound up doing one, so I had a pumpkin to spare.
I had never cooked pumpkin before this year, so I had to resort to the internet once again to learn how to get it out of it's raw form and into something that I could bake with.
After slicing and boiling, and then pureeing in the blender, I got what was pretty close to, if not a bit more than a gallon of pumpkin stuff!

I could not wait to make something pumpkiny! bread- muffins- cookies- cake- pies... the possibilities!

After some searching on the internet for a recipe, I finally remembered that I've got a friend who bakes. After a little conversations, she posted a recipe for pumpkin cookies on her blog that I just had to try.

I'm so glad I did!

I made a pan of plain and a pan of cranberry chocolate chip pumpkin cookies and they both disappeared that night. I wasn't the only one who thought they were pretty good.

My little brother enjoyed them as much as I did!

The bit of whipped topping certainly did help. I was confused at first as to why I would dip a cookie in whipped topping, but after a few bites of the plain batch, it dawned on me that they're PUMPKIN cookies! and what goes better with pumpkin dessert than whipped topping? Nothing!
After those two batches were gone, I decided to try chopped walnut with the chocolate chips rather than cranberries.

It was El Oh Vee EE!

I've been totally praising this cookie recipe, but there is one thing I'd change-
I'd spice it up a bit! The pumpkin flavor was very subtle. It was almost like a light spice cookie. I'm going to add some allspice or something to the next batch.

Oh! another plus to this recipe - It is a fluffy, a mixture between cake and cookie really- almost muffin like cookie.
I decided to use a small tin to make a muffin cookie out of the last bit of dough. I just spooned it in and sprinkled the goodies on top. I found that the bottom was a bit soggy (I didn't use a liner or anything) but it was still great because after turning it over and allowing it to cool a bit, it was just like the inside of the cookie, only on the outside!

I loved that part because they spread nicely. I dropped mine onto the pan by the rounded tablespoon fulls and kind of smashed them down with the back of the spoon. Perfect every time.

Well... almost.
I did find that they stuck to the pan (or would have had I not hovered over them and poked at them every second).

They were a bit resistant on the leave of the pan even when I lined it with foil, and the chocolate chips definitely weren't feeling the whole getting off the pan thing. So, i'd suggest a light greasing, especially if you like to load your cookies up like I do.

I've got to thank Michelle for sharing this recipe with me. If I weren't afraid of a burnt outside and a jiggly inside, I'd pour this dough right into a pan and call it bread! (but I'll refrain for sanity's sake lol)
Thank you!

A New 4

Hey folks,

I just wanted to pop in and show you the newest Items in my shop. They just happen to be the top 4 in my shop's gallery.

The Red and White Peppermint Stick Scarf is my current favorite.

Measuring about 83 inches long and finished with a single pom-pom on each end, it's a fin way to get into the holiday spirit. Here I am modeling it:

I got the idea from my Halloween tube scarf. It's so Fun!

My other 3 newest items would make great stocking stuffers for yourself, a sister, or a girlfriend. Perhaps she's got a cute little short do and loves jazzing it up with hair clips and pins. A handmade hair clip would be the perfect addition to her collection, for sure.

And you can't go wrong with my neutrally colored gray and black flower/ snowflake pin. I think that when I first made it, my vision was of a fluffy, inviting snowflake, but the more I looked at it, the more I saw that it could also be called a flower.

Call it what you like, it's cute and is also a great winter accessory.

In the picture below, I jazzed up one of my mom's black leather purses with it. It would also look good on a fabric or textile bag.

You know, I never really know how to end a post like this one. Usually when I'm talking to some one face to face, I'll just say, 'ok bye' but how do you officially close a blog entry? lol

Oh yeah! - a little side note- I'm going to be putting a blog badge on here pretty soon, so that if some one out there loves my blog as much as I do, they can just grab it and hook it up to theirs.
With that, I'd love to start adding other crafter's badges to my page's middle and right side columns, so if you've got a badge with a code under it that I can grab- Let me know =-)

Heather's Haven Beads Like You Wouldn't Believe!

There was a point in time when I bought a bunch of seed beads with the hopes of stringing them together in a fancy, unique and stunning way.

While nothing creative ever came of that from me, the few failed attempts that I did make have given me a great appreciation for works like the ones produced by Heather of Heather's Haven on Etsy and Artfire.

Heather uses faces hand sculpted and sometimes hand-painted by her, what's got to be hundreds of beads, various textile materials, and other embellishments to make her Art Dolls, Pins, and other Jewelry.

Her work is simply and uniquely wonderful!

Here are a few of my favs from her shop and studio:

She's got a lot more good stuff to offer!
You can find her on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/heathershaven

as well as on Artfire

She blogs to! www.heathershaven2.blogspot.com

☺

You Can View my 1000Markets Shop Here

I've added a window to my 1000Markets shop to my blog. You can check it out on the right after this post is buried, but for now, here's what it looks like =-)

1000 Markets

LaneesCrochet

Visit the Shop

MBOI Makin the Best of It Chainmaille Jewelry

When landing in MBOI's shop, (sister shop to http://MakintheBestOfIt.etsy.com) I could not help being pulled in by the clear, dazzling pictures of chainmaille necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.

Sterling silver, copper, and steel rings are joined together to make exquisite works of art, which happen to double as body jewelry.

Did you know that Byzantine Chains, with their rope-like texture, originated in an ancient Roman civilization during the Middle Ages? This style of chain is actually named after its origins, the Byzantine Empire.

Back then, Byzantine chains were used as a way to show status. Today, you can wear yours to express your taste for things interesting and unique.

Andrew, the shop owner offers endless possibilities with his hand coiled, saw cut metals.

Whether you'd prefer something you see in his shop in a different metal, length, or even want to create something unique to you, he is definitely the artisan you want to go to for your next chainmaille piece.

Have a handmade Christmas with chainmaille gifts from MBOI - gifts for mom, girlfriend, wife or sister!

Homemade Lemon Cake

I have got to show you all this cake I made for my mother. Her birthday was on the 22nd, but she was away on that day, so I made it for her on Friday. We had a bit of company over Friday night, so there were plenty of tasters and opinions.

I had not made a cake from scratch since, if I remember correctly, the first grade. It's an awesome and quite simple memory for me that goes like this:

One day, I brought home a recipe for cake from school and my mother was so interested that she was willing to make it with me. And so we did!

I chose this recipe because it's pretty simple. Although it calls for all-purpose flour, I really wanted to use cake flour (because I'm SO looking forward to starting Culinary school - I'll be studying baking- in February.)

That's a long time to wait, so I think I'll get back into baking again while I look forward to starting that new adventure.

Anywho- to substitute cake flour in for all-purpose flour, all you have to do is add 2 tablespoons per 1 cup of flour.

The recipe called for 1 1/2 cup AP flour, so I used 1 12/2 cup cake flour plus 3 tablespoons of the good stuff.

My son helped me with this, doing the measuring and some of the stirring. It was just an all around great thing to do.

Now... I don't know what it is about the taste, but I didn't dig it. Every one else did (except for my son, of course)

It was the consistency of a box cake- Nice and fluffy, but not too much so, and according to the reviews on the recipe, which can be found here, it tasted more like wedding cake than birthday cake.

I thought, GREAT!

I el oh vee ee wedding cake, this is going to be so awesome!

To me, it tasted like a really fluffy cakey biscuit. I cut the cake in have to make it 2-layered and put some of the lemon cream on the inside, too

But every one else loved it, so it is what it is.

I'm going to attempt a good ole down home 7up cake next, something that is more my style. Wish me luck!

1000Markets, Here I Come!

So, I've decided to take the 1000Markets plunge. I just love the way the site looks and the fact that not just any one can sell there. (although the process is a bit much, it's all good.)

I'm still waiting for my shop to be approved, but I have no doubt that it will.
Until then, I've been browsing the site and have decided to put together a spotlight of things that welcome fall - Enjoy =-)

You Better Check Yourself!

I am super excited to tell you all about my plan to help promote breast cancer awareness!

Last month, I decided that I wanted to do something to help celebrate and contribute to Breast Cancer Awareness. The plan was to make something pink and donate what ever was left after shipping and covering supplies to help get the word out about breast cancer, what we can do to catch it early, and to give hope to those who have via the Susan G. Komen website - http://ww5.komen.org/. But after chatting with a friend, I learned that her sister is a survivor who runs in a race for the cure. Michelle (Glass Identites) is already donating portions of her sales to her sister's camp. In order to be able to run, the entrant or orginization has to have raised at least $1,000 for the campain. I'm not sure where she is or how much she has to go (will let you know when I find out) but I've always wanted to do something like that, but never have the right timing or connections.

SO, rather than go to the Susan G. Komen site to donate, I'm going to give my donation to Michelle's sister so that she can run for us.

You can find my donation items in the "For the Cause" section of my studio.

When the month began, I sat and thought about how I had been affected by breast cancer. After a bit of thinking, I decided that I've been lucky enough to not have been affected by it at all.

But when I layed down to go to sleep, my eyes popped open with the memory of a lady that I knew only as Dee. I wasn't very old when she was around...probably 4 or 5. I remember tagging along with my aunt to see her friend. I remember her asking her how she was and her mentioning that 'she wasn't thinking about that titty'. She was glad it was gone, I'm sure. Dee had had a mastectomy.

She was an older woman, and her house was kind of dark in the inside. Like there were no over head lights, only lamps. She was a nice lady who I really never knew and who died as a result of having breast cancer. But I do still remember her.

So, what is it exactly?

"Definition of breast cancer: Cancer that forms in tissues of the breast, usually the ducts (tubes that carry milk to the nipple) and lobules (glands that make milk). It occurs in both men and women, although male breast cancer is rare."

(Definition taken from the National Cancer Institute's Breast Cancer Homepage)

--

There are things that we can do to keep people in our lives longer, and to make sure that we ourselves are around to see the day when _____.

Did you know that

• the older a woman, the more likely she is to get breast cancer?
• white women are more likely to get breast cancer than women of any other racial or ethnic group?
• African American women are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women?
• men can get breast cancer, although it is rare? Less than one of every 100 cases of breast cancer in the U.S. occurs in men.
• in 2008, it is estimated that men will account for 1,990 cases of breast cancer?

Check yourself.

Encourage your loved ones to check themselves.

Talk about it.

And please remember that women aren't the only ones affected by breast cancer. Men get it too, so tell them to check themselves as well!

Here is an interactive tool which teaches us how to perform self check exams properly:

http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/InteractiveTools.html

Random Love

So, Lanee's Crochet's Summer Sale is over - Thanks to every one who stopped by to check it out!

I was browsing Artfire using the shop by color feature and felt like seeing red. Lots o

f neat stuff came up, but here are a couple that REALLY caught my eye:

A Red Felt Heart from TheFunkyFelter

(The perfect heart felt gift =-)

--

Little Pokeball Cat Toys from Mouchois

(great for pokemon lovers who also love cats!)

Sale Ends Wednesday!

Hey folks, I just wanted to remind you all that Lanee's Crochet has a sale going on for which you can use coupon code SUMMERSALE09 to recieve 30% off items found in the follwing Lanee's Crochet's categories:

Hair Clips

Baby Hair Clips

Kitchen Items

Purses

Accessoires

The weather is changing every where!  My friends who reside in the Southern Hemesphere, be sure to look around, this sale has some Christmas and Hannakuh gift potential for ya!

--

Visit LaneesCrochet's Studio

SAVE 30.00 % On Select Studio Categories

Use Coupon Code:

SUMMERSALE09

during checkout.

Handmade Cards

I'm looking forward to fall and winter and can't wait for the Christmas season.  

If you're looking for Christmas gifts, or just simply something to warm you or a loved one up this year- be sure to check back - You never know what deal you'll find here ☺

I've got stocking stuffers on the Brain!

The more I dive into my inventory, the more stocking stuffer potentials I come across. I'm trying to get better photos of my things and get them picked up by google by trying a few holiday SEO optimization suggestions that I got from Artfire's Promote/Learn section.

I found this one along with a couple others in the bin:

Last year, I did some features with stocking stuffer suggestions. This year, I think I will read a few gift guides and perhaps try to fashion my features after this idea. I've got a brother who loves to lay around and watch tv when he's not working himself to death, a son who is 6 and loves video games, a mother who is not too picky but loves things that are pink and practical, and an aunt who never throws anything away, and can find the beauty in the most pitiful looking things.

So, perhaps doing a mini gift guide will help me drum up ideas on what to get them while commiting to a Handmade Christmas, while giving others a direction to go in as well..

New and Improved Twitter Background

Tim Adams posted a link to his new tiwtter back ground design, and I think it's just wonderful!
It inspired me to update mine ( I had been using one of the default ones they have), so I sat down for an hour or so and really thought about how I could make my twitter page a bit more appealing to my followers.

Keep with the brand of course!

My favorite colors are yellow and blue, and so, they've become Lanee's Crochet's brand colors. I was lying awake one night thinking, 'I should have some kind of graphic to associate my shop with as well', but unfortunately, I'm the worst ever drawer of yarn balls or anything that is associated with crochet period.
I think it's best for some one like me to stick to geomtrical shapes for such things- and so, here we are!

I'm totally happy with how it turned out. I've tied in my shops' banner and font as well as added this new element to the mix, and it still looks pretty decent! (hell yes i'm patting myself on the back on this one- c'mon, you have to agree that it's pretty cool) =-P

I'm encouraging those of us who have a shop or studio some where as well as a twitter on which we share our specials, new products and help promote others to personalize the twitter!
It's delish and will let ppl know where they're at!

Follow me @laneescrochet

Switching Gears Isn't Anything New

I've been on this lovely little planet of ours for 25 years, in Vegas just as long

g, but somehow the seasons keep creeping up on me! Year after year, I find myself looking up at the trees or down at the street to see crisping leaves tumbling (down or away).

Fall is not going to catch me slippin this year!

No Sir!

I've already begun refreshing things in my shop that would make good stocking stuffers

Such as this Coin purse

But I've still got to get some fall Items made and ready.

This Fall Handbag was a good start, but I've got more to give!


This Fun Halloween Colored Tube Scarf and Striped Cuff are soon to come =-)
 

From That to This

I've recently decided to get back to the basics of things as far as what I'm making for my shop and what I'm doing with life in general.

With that, I've decided to break down my bath accessories sets, so first up on the break is this one:

Originally $15, I offered 4 towels and 2 facial scrubbies. I've reduced this offering to 2 towels and 3 facial scrubbies. Now priced at $7 (and with free shipping worldwide, that's a steal!)

I've still got several smaller sets to list so be sure to check out my twitter channel for updates and announcements on those =-)

http://www.twitter.com/laneescrochet