I am an avid crafter–how ’bout you? From time to time I’ll add reviews and/or a heads-up on something you might like to check out.
Disclaimer: Now–I need you to know, I AM a Craftsy affiliate. If you purchase supplies or courses through a link provided here, I do receive a commission. And I’ll be promoting whatever I think will be the most fun to work with, etc.
- “What to Give?” November 12, 2022
by Noella Noelophile®
(Royalty-free image by Pexels from Pixabay.)
The following article contains an affiliate link. If you click on the link and purchase art supplies, I may receive a small commission.
I still remember the evening my husband and I stopped by a mall to do some Christmas shopping.
Ugh, what a mess.
That mall was so crowded that you literally couldn’t walk without bumping into someone. After about ten minutes, we wanted to make a dash for the door.
We couldn’t even do that.
(Royalty-free image by StockSnap from Pixabay.)
People were everywhere, and if we were lucky we could take three steps before having to say “Excuse me” for the umpteenth time. Never mind looking for gifts–we were looking for a quick exit!
Well, we finally got out of there! Not sure we’ve been to a mall since.
Today we do as much shopping online as we can, thanks to COVID and simply wanting the time to find unique gifts.
Here are several of the places I like to shop online.
(Royalty-free image by Stefan Schweihofer from Pixabay.)
Jackalope Arts’ “Local Undercover”. Talented local artists offer everything from accessories to artisan foods, with free shipping. Order early, though. I was lucky to get the last couple of pairs of some very cute earrings, several Christmases ago, from one of their vendors. Some of these will sell out!
(Royalty-free image by Jan Haerer from Pixabay.)
Uncommon Goods. They’re an independently-owned online crafts marketplace, founded in 1999. They say on their website that they’re “always on the lookout for new designs” (artists and artisans, take note!) and have a “Better to Give” program in which they partner with nonprofits. For each purchase a customer makes, they donate $1 to the partner of that customer’s choice. (Plus, they offer a lot of “funstuff”, like a Christmas murder mystery game and a make-your-own-truffles kit!)
Now–I am not, in any way, shape or form, affiliated with, endorsed by, or otherwise connected with, either of these. I’m simply a fan.
(Royalty-free image by Uwe Baumann from Pixabay.)
However, one store at which I enjoy shopping, for which I am an affiliate, is Blick Art Materials.
Here’s my affiliate link for their “Holiday Gift Guide“.
Their “Leather Paint Basics Kit” looks like a lot of fun for a maker exploring something new. They have a set of LEGO “Gear Bots” that will keep young engineers busy and engaged under the tree–if they can get it away from the “bigger kids”! And a lot of their items, like the “Van Gogh Museum Watercolor Pocket Box”, would make fun stocking stuffers.
I admit, though–what had me laughing out loud was their set of gel pens with cats’ heads! Complete with a penciled-in, “MEOW”.
Have fun Christmas shopping this season, and wherever you go, may you be safe, healthy and merry.
Continue reading → - Creating Magic – Part Two August 23, 2022
by Noella Noelophile®
This article contains affiliate links. If you click on one and purchase something, I receive a small commission.
There’s just a hint of fall on its way. And that means–time to start crafting and creating the magic for Christmas season 2022.
Creating that, when I was a teenager, was something special.
On the main street of our small town, the Woolworth’s (that tells you how long ago this was!) suddenly seemed to bloom with crafts supplies.
Gilt paint, star-shaped sequins, and squares of red, green, white and gold felt began making their seasonal appearance, just after Halloween.
Today you can get these online any day of the year. Back then, they only showed up when the Christmas season was a few weeks away–which added to the element of “special”.
I remember crafting a lot of fun things as gifts. One, in particular, that gift recipients really seemed to like.
A DIY Christmas gift
It started with a tall, snifter-shaped candy dish. You know the type: a pedestal bowl but too large to be a drinking glass.
Then, out came the felt.
A white beard quickly covered the lower portion of the snifter bowl. White glue and iridescent white sequins made swirls in the beard. A red pom pon became the nose, and a cardboard ring, covered with white felt, formed the brim for a red-felt Santa hat. With a white pom pon at the end, of course!
Then when “Santa” was complete, red-and-white peppermints went inside for a final, Christmasy touch. There! A gift for a favorite teacher, hairstylist or anyone else who loves Christmas decorating.
I wish I still had the picture of the Santa candy dish I made! But it was a really fun project, and if you email me that you’re interested I may just reconstruct it and put it up here.
Meanwhile, here are my affiliate links, in case you’re also crafting some festive fun things!
If you’re looking for pompons or other art materials, one of my favorite places to shop is Blick Art Materials. Here’s the link to their most-loved art supplies. If you type “acrylic pom pons” in their search bar, you’ll find the type I used on the Santa.
And here’s a new find, for special-project supplies: Lia Griffith Felt Paper Scissors.
Her website features packs of craft eyes, for stuffed animals and ornaments as well as some frosted-paper packs that have me imagining all kinds of quilled or paper-sculpted projects.
The website also offers wool blend felt, in a beautiful wide range of specialty colors. If you’re unable to find just the right shade of felt for a project (“peat moss” and “English rose” are two colors I haven’t seen anywhere else) you may be able to find it here.
Continue reading → - Creating Magic – Part One July 26, 2022
by Noella Noelophile®
(Royalty-free image by Leonhard Niederwimmer from Pixabay.)
This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one, I may receive a small commission.
July 4th has come and gone. Out in my area, the county fair’s in full swing.
According to my grandfather, that means summer is almost over.
Now, just a minute. Technically, summer is just over four weeks old! And as a kid, I never understood why Grandpa would say that.
But I completely get it now. And this week, I’m beginning to craft for Christmas.
What’s great about that, is that there’s time to think about what kind of magic I want to create. How about you? When you think ahead to Christmas, what kinds of things do you envision?
Along with my regular posts, I’ll be publishing several posts, this summer, about some ways to create the magic. (And yes, these do contain affiliate links!)
Lighting
(Royalty-free image by Pexels from Pixabay.)
Nothing changes a mood like lighting.
As a teenager, I participated in a church Christmas pageant. And when the show was over, the sidewalk to the church steps was illuminated–with luminarias.
Have you made those? They’re very easy: the 1960s versions involved brown paper bags, each with a candle embedded in sand at the bottom. You opened the bag, poured in enough clean sand to cover the bottom and come up about two inches in the bag, then set the candle in the center. Then, setting the bag up wherever it would be, the candle would be lit–beauty in an instant.
With California’s drought and fire risk, should you want to create luminarias, may I suggest battery-powered LED tea lights, as opposed to lighted candles. Setting them in clean sand is still a good precaution. And while the fire hazard is minimal with low-powered LED lights, how about having a carton of baking soda nearby–just in case.
OK, this is the link…
(Royalty-free image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.)
Meanwhile, if you’re thinking of lighting your home and need exterior Christmas lights, here is a link to one of my affiliates: LEDMall.com.
Their laser lighting technology involves an outdoor optical system which you plug into the ground on a stake. It then projects up to seven different colors of lights on your home.
Their sparkly white lights are my favorite, but they do have up to seven colors which their device can project, as well as motion patterns and special Christmas themes.
And, one additional idea
(Royalty-free image by Annette Meyer from Pixabay.)
Here’s one more light-related idea for you. For Christmas, or any other time.
Every Christmas, my favorite uncle made a special centerpiece on his living room coffee table. He’d take a tall glass bowl and put red glass Christmas ornaments in it. He’d use two sizes, large and small, and they’d look like fruit from an enchanted tree.
But he didn’t stop there.
Around that glass bowl, equidistant from one another, he’d set a dozen votive candles.
(Royalty-free image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay.)
Walking into his living room felt like looking at Christmas, in the very heart of his home.
My uncle said he’d seen the idea in a magazine. Wish I knew which one, I’d certainly give credit where credit is due!
Imagine the different variations possible on this idea. And it doesn’t have to be just for Christmas.
What if that dish were filled with silk flowers for summer? White and gold birds and trim for a wedding or shower? Glittery pumpkins for autumn? Red Valentine hearts? Or even some special symbol that’s important to someone you love, for that person’s birthday or your anniversary?
Something else you can do: use LED candles in votive glasses–and set them atop an inexpensive circular mirror from a local discount store or craft store. Now you have “twice” as many lighted candles, lighting up Christmas–or any other special occasion.
Continue reading → - Wrapping, Bows and Procrastination December 2, 2021
by Noella Noelophile®
Royalty-free image by Bruno /Germany from Pixabay The following article contains affiliate links. If you click on one, I do receive a small commission.
How can anyone love giving Christmas gifts–yet put off wrapping them till it’s almost too late?
Maybe you have the answer to that question. I don’t.
But it happens every Christmas season.
In this article, I’d like to share some gift wrapping ideas. Starting with those for the Noelophiles® among us who love to wrap and will spend hours making those gifts look “just so”, and progressing to those who tend to realize, “Uh-oh, I forgot to wrap Aunt Mary’s gift,” at 5 pm on December 24th!
Royalty-free image by Gaby Stein from Pixabay - A gift, dressed up as a…
One Christmas–and only one!–I wrapped every gift as a different item. Packages became Santas, steam engines, toy soldiers, Christmas trees, cats, dogs and, in one case, a skating pond. (Construction paper, sequins and white glue were constant companions!)
The downside? You guessed it–time. One gift could take an hour to wrap: “Hmm, maybe add a mouse with long whiskers to this Christmas grandfather clock?”
There’s also the obvious question: “Aren’t people going to just tear through them and throw the wrappings aside?”
Sure, in some cases. But one aunt actually took home her gift with the skating pond wrap intact! It’s a fun craft if you have extra time or want to get some family members involved.
Royalty-free image by congerdesign from Pixabay - Enhanced presents!
Start with a wrapped box–usually in a solid color like gold or red. Now, what could go on that? A silver-paper snowflake (takes about five minutes to fold and cut)? A stack of three progressively-smaller green bows that, when arranged just so and glued together, look like a Christmas tree? (Red sequin trims or small beads for “ornaments” are optional, or you may want to add tiny foil-wrap cutouts.)
Or, maybe you have two gifts, one in a flat box and another, smaller rectangle box? A festive “chimney” on a snow-covered roof is pretty easy to accomplish by wrapping them in red paper, hot-melt gluing the smaller box to the center of the large one (white glue could work, as well), and then adding cotton and/or silver sequins for a “snow” effect. (I almost recommended silver glitter, but it tends to get everywhere–even if it comes preattached to the bows!)
- “Uh-oh-I-forgot-to-wrap-it” gifts
As far as I’m concerned, the shift from wrapping boxes to putting items in decorated gift bags is a great gift, in and of itself.
Here are my affiliate links for Bags and Bows, which offer, among other things, specialty tissue paper and gift bags with reindeer and white snowflakes. (With one warning: they sell in bulk. At the time I became an affiliate, I was under the impression that they sold to consumers, but they’re really more geared to small businesses. So if you’re in need of a lot of gift bags, their case of 250 “Joy” bags for $50 plus tax, may be right up your alley. (So might their reams of tissue paper!) But if you need smaller quantities, you might want to consider local craft or party stores instead. You could also consider Blick Art Materials–this is also an affiliate link–which has tissue, gift bags, sequins, and beads in smaller quantities.)
Toss a gift in the bag, add crumpled tissue paper and a bow, and possibly an inexpensive artificial flower or a glass ornament from the local discount store, and–ta-da! It looks gorgeous and festive, and you’re ready to enjoy the look of delight on your recipient’s face.
Whatever you choose for the gifts you give this Christmas season–up to and including giving “intangibles”, which can be the absolute best gifts of all!–may it be a fun and festive experience, for you and those you love.
Continue reading → - The Makers’ Warmth October 20, 2021
by Noella Noelophile®
This article contains an affiliate link. If you click on it and purchase a product, I do receive a small commission.
Royalty-free image by by Bruno /Germany from Pixabay When I was small, someone in my family was always making something.
I can still see my grandmother, sewng in her “back room”. She’d work the treadle of her ancient Singer machine with a vigor that belied her seventy-plus years.
Dresses, doll clothes, patchwork quilts and various other items of clothing resulted from those sewing sessions. Her stitching was perfect.
Royalty-free image by smartmdblond from Pixabay Today, we still have two of the quilts she made–which never fail to bring a smile, as some of the patches are leftover fabric from the dresses she wore. Snuggling under one of those quilts evokes the memory of Grandmom, dressed for Sunday church services or fixing herself up to “look nice” in the afternoons, just as she had when my grandfather was alive.
In our house, knitting needles, crochet hooks and yarn were staples. My mother appeared to enjoy crochet most. She made many a “sacque, bonnet and booties” set, as she called them, for new babies in the family. And we would always make something together for our church’s yearly bazaar.
What I remember best, are the needlework magazines we bought, from which we’d choose a pattern and run up the item for the bazaar’s “handmade” table. Stuffed animals were my specialty, while Mom made her lacy baby sets. Invariably, they sold early.
Royalty-free image by donschenck from Pixabay And when I moved out to California, needlework helped me to feel at home.
On San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, in the late 1970s, was a wonderful needlework/textile store. They had crewel needlework kits for Christmas ornaments. I still remember paying my $5 (it was the 1970s, after all!) and taking my work with me to stitch over my lunch break in Ghirardelli Square.
Today, we still have those two ornaments. As well as the latch hook projects (pillows and wall hanging) I created for my apartment, several years later.
Royalty-free image by Lola Rudolphi from Pixabay In a time when women were just coming into their own and starting to be taken seriously, professionally, stitchery was one means of creative expression. Often a woman (like my grandmother and my mom, for whom educational opportunities were limited) would display her talents through the items she made.
Fast-forward to 2021. Most people still love to make things. For Christmas gift giving, we generally like to go with a kit or creativity-encouraging item.
Royalty-free image by Anita Smith from Pixabay A favorite response, from one of our gift recipients, happened a few Christmases ago. My then-eight-year-old cousin unwrapped a jewelry-making kit we’d chose for her. She just barely suppressed an excited squeal!
What do you most enjoy making? And what maker craft would you like to introduce to special people in your life? This Christmas season especially, let’s go for that joyous squeal.
Here is one possible link for your consideration. As noted above, this is an affiliate link, and if you do wind up buying a kit or other items, I do receive a small commission.
But, I also really like Leisure Arts. They have all kinds of crafts supplies and instructions, and here is my affiliate link for their kits, for your review.
And? Just for the sheer fun of it, Leisure Arts is having a 50th anniversary. Their webpage says they’re giving away free stuff! Here’s the link for that, which I’d better, in the interest of openness, consider to be an affiliate link as well. I shouldn’t receive a commission on something free! But, I’m going to err on the side of caution here. If you aren’t in a position to buy from them but would like to see what they have available for free, I hope you find something you especially like.
Continue reading → - Last-Minute–and Thoughtful December 23, 2020
by Noella Noelophile®
Please note: the following article contains an affiliate link. If you click on this and make a purchase, I do receive a small commission through ShareASale.
(royalty-free image by karosieben from Pixabay
This year’s been different, in every way.
Christmas shopping is, too.
Today, I’m sitting at my computer, shopping online. So many people say, “I don’t know what to get for (name). They have everything/they don’t like anything I buy/I really don’t know them well.”
And the clock is ticking down to Christmas! Oh no! What to give them?
I remember, when I was a teenager, everyone seemed to think cologne was the go-to gift for someone my age. And conversely, I thought cologne or dusting powder would be a great gift for any senior relatives or friends.
Um–not so much.
Instead, here are several suggestions.
- What about an experience? Do you know what this person really enjoys doing as a hobby, or might like to explore? Is there something they’ve always wanted to learn?
Particularly this year?
In the interest of safety, if you are in a position to do so, you may very well be isolating at home. And there are a number of excellent online classes that come to mind.
(Royalty-free image by Kotaro-Marks from Pixabay.)
What is your local theatre company or arts collective offering, remotely? Has your intended gift recipient always wanted to take an improv class? Or are they bored and wanting to get moving safely (where a virtual dance class, by a small performing-arts company or community college, might be just the thing, and would also help support the arts, in honor of your gift recipient)?
Do they have a passion for cooking where an online gourmet class might be fun, or a hankering to make something they’ve never tried before? Arts centers, particularly nonprofits, have had a rough year of it–and are reimagining themselves as best they can.
Or, perhaps…
(Royalty- free image by Susanne Jutzeler, suju-foto from Pixabay.)
2. Giving a gift in that person’s name to a charity they support?
One of the best gifts I received at my workplace in Los Angeles, a number of years ago, came as a surprise. I’d baked cookies for co-workers, and one came up to me with a gift card.
“I didn’t know what to get you, so…”
Inside the envelope was a note that a donation had been made, in my honor, to a local food bank. What a fantastic idea! I really hadn’t expected a gift. In fact, one of my favorite memories of Christmas is my late mother’s statement,
“I don’t exchange gifts. I give gifts.”
What’s really important to your gift recipient? Education for all? Caring for animals? Protecting the planet? And to make sure your gift is going where it’s needed, nonprofit Charity Navigator is a website that can’t be beat. (No, that’s NOT my affiliate link!)
If you have someone like that whom you’d like to honor, that’s a great way to do it. And a terrific alternative to a crowded mall. I still recall the evening, a number of years ago, that we walked into a mall to try to do some last-minute shopping…
..and we could barely move. It was packed!
We got enough of being elbow-to-elbow with everyone within about fifteen minutes. We’d already said about fifteen “Excuse me”‘s in that time! And we turned to leave…
…and could barely move for everyone! We wound up almost trying to run out of that mall, to get away from the crowds!
(Royalty-free image by Ulrike Leone from Pixabay.)
Ever since, I’ve been shopping year-round–at crafts fairs. Which brings up the third, and my favorite, suggestion:
3. Go handcrafted–and go “indie”. Try Etsy, or any of the crafts fairs that normally exhibit at this time of year. Specifically, Dickens Fair, which you’ll see in my earlier post, has been offering “Dickens Fair at Home” in support of their artists, many of whom lost opportunities to display their work throughout the year. They make unique items, that are seriously fun. (And no, that’s not my affiliate link, either!
But, here comes my affiliate link.
4. Some of the gifts people seem to enjoy most? The ones that enhance their creativity.
One Christmas, a favorite preteen cousin came close to giving a squeal when she unwrapped her present. We’d given her: a jewelry making craft kit.
Let’s go for the squeal, and the joy. Especially this year. With any of the preceding suggestions, or with this one:
Pre-pandemic, one of the places where I’d often shop for creativity-boosting gifts: Blick Art Supplies, in Pasadena. They offer both craft kits and (these seem to be especially popular) “How to Draw” series books. This year, I shopped with them virtually. Here is a link to Blick Gift Ideas.
(Again, full disclosure–if you click on the link and make a purchase, I do receive a small commission.)
Browsing the link, you’ll see stocking stuffers, craft kits for kids and us “big kids”, and easels/art supplies.
(Royalty-free image by Bruno /Germany from Pixabay.)
At this late date, it might be fun to order something that strikes your fancy (while staying as safe as you can!). And then, wrap up a picture of what the gift represents, with a note that it’s coming? So that there’s something else to look forward to on December 26th?
And just in case you’re in a mischievous mood, adding extra boxes or maybe some padding to the package in unusual shapes, so your recipient wonders what in the world it can possibly be? (Not that I’d ever, ahem, do that…)
Whatever you choose for the special people in your life, have a wonderful, Merry Christmas. And may any gift you give them be greeted with a joyous squeal!
Continue reading →
