Hobbit Children

I first read The Lord of the Rings during a summer semester at college.   Since then I've probably re-read the trilogy 20 times, not including reading The SilmarillionThe Hobbit, Lost Tales, and JRR Tolkien's letters.  It is my favorite book of literature; a story of courage, friendship, and ordinary people achieving the extraordinary. 

So when my latest Pocket Spirit got a curly hair style from some mohair boucle yarn I have, she told me in no uncertain terms that she was a Hobbit, and by jove, she was indeed :-)

So here meet Violet Willowdown and Rose Fernbrake, two dear Hobbit children.  I used the camisole pattern for the bodice of their dresses, and made their skirts from some lovely fabric that was a gift to me from Stepheny at Katie What Can You Do.  Stepheny has a delightful blog, and is a very dear person of great insight.

And this is Ivy Heathertoes, wearing another sweet combination of crochet and fabric.  The pattern for the bodice and dress is here:

Link Bodice and Dress

The fabric for Ivy's dress was another gift, this from the very talented dollmaker Kate Erbach.  If you'd like to see some of her amazing dolls, you can find them here at My Sister Kate

Violet, Ivy, and Rose say 'Have a lovely day!'

No Coast Craft-O-Rama, Dec. 3-4

Here's another opportunity to check out many HandmadeMN members in person!

No Coast Craft-O-Rama
Friday December 3, 3 pm - 8 pm
Saturday December 4, 9 am - 5 pm
Midtown Global Exchange building
2901 Chicago Avenue S.
Minneapolis, MN



HandmadeMN artists you'll find at the show:

Julie Meyer
Lunch Bags, Reusable Bags, Hand Bags and Kitschy Cleaning Gloves



Kellybot
Handmade, vintage, recycled, jewelry



Clay By Clay
Metal Clay Jewelry Inspired by Nature



My Friend London
Handspun yarns, handdyed yarns, spinning supplies, soy votive candles



Uptown Urban Craft
Couture bridal accessories, stylin' baby & toddler apparel, and soft home goods




Just Another Day Designs
Stationery, Invitations, and Prints



HandmadeMN Giveaway - Light Reading

By Michelle of Evie's Tool Emporium

Congratulations to our latest giveaway winner! Thanks to all who entered and we wish you good luck with this week's giveaway!

This week Brenda of Light Reading is giving away this beautiful Paris World's Fair Map Lampshade.


Paris World's Fair Map Lampshade

This is a beautiful 5x9 hex lampshade made of paper on styrene. It is a Paris Expo map laced to the frame with organza, and the shade is a clip top. The gorgeous paper is by Cavallini - textured image, vintage map of 1889 Paris Expo and Eiffel Tower.

How to Enter:

Visit Brenda's shop, pick your favorite item and leave a comment on this post about it.

Open to US residents.

Please make sure we have a way to contact you!

For Bonus Entries:
Please leave each in a separate comment, as each comment is an entry (To qualify for extra entries you must do step one above).

1. Visit other HandmadeMN team members shops (listed in the sidebar here) and leave a comment(s) here with your favorite pieces.

2. Blog about this giveaway with a visible link back to this posting and comment here with a link to your post.

3. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment(s) with a link to your tweet(s).

4. Follow our blog (you want to do this anyway to learn about upcoming giveaways!). Leave a comment here letting us know you are a follower. If you are already a follower, leave a comment anyway, as each comment is an entry.

5. Follow HandmadeMN on Twitter. Comment back here with your Twitter link. Existing followers just leave your Twitter link here.

6. Become a HandmadeMN Facebook Fan. Comment back here with your Facebook name. Existing fans just leave your Facebook name here.

7. Become Brenda's Facebook Fan. Comment back here with your Facebook name. Existing fans just leave your Facebook name here.

8. Follow Brenda's blog Light And Paper. Leave a comment here letting us know you are a follower.

Contest ends Saturday, December 11th, at 12:00 noon Central. One winner will be chosen by Random.org.

Good luck!
HandmadeMN members are not eligible to win.

Thanksgiving, 2010


The good thing about growing older is realizing how much you have to be thankful for.

I hope all of you take time to pause for a moment and count the blessings in your life.  There is grief and joy in every life; may we have the strength to endure the grief, and the gratitude to acknowledge the joy.

Fun Friday Finds ~ On SALE!

By Jenna Halek ~ Artistic Edition

On SALE!
(Click on the image to enlarge)

Visit these HandmadeMN shops to see more:
Click on any of the names below
Third Row (Left to Right): pinswithfury, waternymph, LollyBopBaby, mncmoon
Fourth Row (Left to Right): wildheart515, JuJuBeesBoutique, ijbe, annprintz

Featured Shop ~ Sue Pariseau Pottery

By Sara of Auntie B Online

Now is the time we start thinking about holiday gift giving, and what better place to shop than from a Minnesota seller on Etsy.  Sue Pariseau Pottery is a good place to find beautiful things.

I like to give (as well as receive!) gifts that are useful.  Sue has some lovely works of art that are also useable and durable.  

One of the coolest inventions ever created is the butter bell.  Sue Pariseau Pottery offers a butter keeper that will not only keep butter fresh and creamy, but will also look classy on the dinner table.


How about this stunning burt-red serving bowl?  The detail is amazing and any hostess would love to serve her delicious veggies from a vessel like this.


I really like this next piece.  An apple baker!  Place a cored apple in the baker and voila, a delictable treat.  Sue even provides a recipe card!


Think food.  Think gift giving.  Think entertaining.  And when you think of these things think of Sue Pariseau Pottery for handmade pottery that is pretty and useful.

Vintage Love

by Jen, Painted Fish Studio



I am obsessed with vintage/retro chairs. Thankfully, I’ve managed to keep my obsession under control by choosing to focus on photographing them, rather than buying them. (Otherwise I’d be the crazy lady with piles of chairs artfully stacked in her back yard!) When I have a weekend that’s full of boring chores and errands, my little creative treat is to hop in the car with a camera (preferably an instant camera of some sort), and drive down University Avenue to see what some of the stores in the St. Paul Retro Loop have out for me that day. And I’m usually not disappointed, even in the dead of winter!

My trips aren’t always of the drive-by variety. I will occasionally step inside, and marvel at the mid-century goodness. One day I bought the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, circa 1968, at Succotash, thinking that it’d be a great source of collage material. But I just cannot bring myself to cut up this treasure-trove of fifties and sixties interior decoration: the palette (including tarnished old gold and brown!), the textures (wood paneling, faux brick walls, velvet davenports!), the apparent lack of interest in windows and natural light (depressing!). And there’s an ashtray on every table for Pete’s sake! I’m not cutting that baby up.

I digress… If you need a vintage pick-me-up, check out the St. Paul Retro Loop. There are 5 stores (Lula, Succotash, Up Six, Classic Retro @ Pete’s and Swank) that are stocked with tons of inspiring goodies!

Happy hunting!

HandmadeMN Giveaway - Warm Hugs Corn Bags

By Michelle of Evie's Tool Emporium

Congratulations to our latest giveaway winner! Thanks to all who entered and we wish you good luck with this week's giveaway!

Today we bring you this fun family set of All Natural Corn Bags from Margie of WarmHugsCornBags!

Family Set of All Natural Corn Bags

Corn Bags are an all natural way to relieve stress, tension, muscle aches and pains. They are made with 100% cotton fabrics and filled with only the highest quality clean whole corn. Corn Bags can be used for both warm or cold therapy. Heat your bag in the microwave and they will stay warm for up to an hour or store it in the freezer and use it as an ice pack.

Fun, easy and completely portable! Use on aches and pains, as a bed warmer, stomach aches, cramps, stress and tension pain relief. Feels great after outdoor winter activities like sledding and skating or use as a cold pack to ice injuries, fevers or little bumps and bruises.

This family set includes:
2 Lil Hug Boo Boo Bags
2 Kidz Cuddlers
1 Small/ Large Set

How to Enter:

Visit Margie's shop, pick your favorite item and leave a comment on this post about it.

Open to US residents.

Please make sure we have a way to contact you!

For Bonus Entries:
Please leave each in a separate comment, as each comment is an entry (To qualify for extra entries you must do step one above).

1. Visit other HandmadeMN team members shops (listed in the sidebar here) and leave a comment(s) here with your favorite pieces.

2. Blog about this giveaway with a visible link back to this posting and comment here with a link to your post.

3. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment(s) with a link to your tweet(s).

4. Follow our blog (you want to do this anyway to learn about upcoming giveaways!). Leave a comment here letting us know you are a follower. If you are already a follower, leave a comment anyway, as each comment is an entry.

5. Follow HandmadeMN on Twitter. Comment back here with your Twitter link. Existing followers just leave your Twitter link here.

6. Become a HandmadeMN Facebook Fan. Comment back here with your Facebook name. Existing fans just leave your Facebook name here.

Contest ends Saturday, December 4th, at 12:00 noon Central. One winner will be chosen by Random.org.

Good luck!
HandmadeMN members are not eligible to win.

Victorian Pocket Spirits

The works-in-progress from a couple weeks ago are now clad in their Victorian finery.  The pattern for all of these delightful little dresses is an Annie Potter Presents leaflet entitled "Victorian Darlings."   To fit the Pocket Spirits I used size 20 crochet cotton or size 8 perle cotton and a size 7 crochet hook for the dresses.  The sweet little boots were crocheted just as the pattern called for, with size 10 crochet cotton.  This pattern book is out of print, but if you do a Google search, you may come up with some used copies that are available.


Abby and Meghan

Felicia

Catherine and Bearable

Rebekah

Felicia in her nightgown

I did work out a couple of patterns specifically for the Pocket Spirits.  The nightgown above is one of them; you can download the pattern here:


Felicia in camisole and pantaloons

And also a pattern for a Victorian camisole and pantaloons.  I'm sure these patterns look familiar to you, but the instructions are now specifically for the Pocket Spirit size dolls.  


These dresses also fit the 16cm BJD dolls, such as Lati Yellow and Fairyland Puki Fee.  For the long sleeved dresses you might want to crochet the sleeves a bit longer than the pattern calls for.  

Rebekah says "Have a lovely day!"


Fun Friday Finds ~ Seafoam Mint

By Jenna Halek ~ Artistic Edition

 Seafoam Mint
(Click on the image to enlarge)

Visit these HandmadeMN shops to see more:
Click on any of the names below
First Row (Left to Right): redshoes26design, kav122, Kellybot, STELLAandHODGE
 Second Row (Left to Right): BathNBeads, mirasolfarm, cayennepeppy, JulieMeyer
Fourth Row (Left to Right): appleberryink, Hiddenjewel, sacredsuds, MaryLittfin

News from Carlsbad

So, all this time that I was in my writing Carlsbad Caverns, I accumulated a bit of news. We're seven weeks out from Unearthly's release on January 4th, and it seems like every few days something amazing happens. Reviews are pouring in like crazy on Goodreads, people are pre-ordering the book on Amazon, and all kinds of fun stuff like the completion of the book trailer is happening in the meantime. So keep checking back, because these things are all going to go live very soon.

The rights to Unearthly have sold in a number of foreign countries, bringing the total list up to:
Germany
Portugal
Spain
Poland
the UK
and Australia/New Zealand, which will publish in January as well, with this lovely cover:
Squee! I love my US cover oodles, but the Aussie cover really took my breath away! Just look at that smoky forest!

This past week a few of the big reviewers have run their reviews of Unearthly, and they've all been positive.

Kirkus Review said:
After receiving visions of saving a teenage boy from a forest fire, 16-year-old Clara Gardner (one-quarter angel-blood), her half-angel mother and her younger brother relocate from their suburban California home to Teton County, Wyo., so Clara can find this mysterious boy and realize her angel purpose. Despite the ever-growing surge of angel stories and its hefty length, this solid debut novel stands out with even pacing, fully developed characters, vivid descriptions of the West’s rugged beauty and Clara’s independent spirit. As she learns more about her gifts and angel lore—particularly fallen angels known as Black Wings—from her evasive mother and a fellow angel-blood classmate, Clara struggles with her mother’s expectations of her purpose (is she just a heavenly puppet?) and her desire to acknowledge her human side (does she have any control of her own life?), as well as her feelings for both Christian, the boy from her visions, and rodeo star Tucker. The cliffhanger ending, with an unexpected twist, leaves plenty to ponder until the sequel. A divine supernatural romance. (Paranormal romance. YA)

And Publisher's Weekly also gave Unearthly a STARRED review, which is beyond awesome.

To top it off, my author page on HarperTeen went live this week.

I've sent my draft for Book 2 to my editor now, which means I'm no longer caught in the tunnel vision of writing all the time--so I can actually pay more attention to all this stuff. I know I've said this before, but it's incredibly surreal. Yesterday I was chatting with fellow debut writer Courtney Allison Moulton, whose book Angelfire is coming out this spring from HarperTeen, and she said, "When are we going to wake up?" I knew exactly what she meant. This feels like the best dream ever.

Now to catch up on my emails. . .

HandmadeMN Market - Baskets and Bags

by Rita Wetzel, RitasCreationsOnETSY

November 20th is fast approaching and that means you're in for an exciting day of shopping at the HandmadeMN Market at the Ballentine VFW. Our vendors are madly performing their magic transforming fabric, wire, beads, paper, photos, paints, tiles, wool, and all other kinds of raw materials into fabulous handmade products!


Not only are our team members busily preparing for the market but they have also been very generous in donating their handmade goodies for our Giveaway Baskets and Swag Bags. Take a look at these donations!


The TCWitchcraftFactory creates "everything and anything that improves your home life and outlook!" You will find these hand-carved stamps in the Gift Baskets and the mini cards in the Swag Bags - the 1st 25 visitors will receive a Swag Bag full of assorted handmade creations from our team members.


These amazing rings and pendants are fashioned by KellyBot! Buttons have never been in better hands - Kelly's creations are so very beautifull!


LittleBigPants delights all with her handmade creations for the sophisticated child! These fabric ornaments and postcards will be making an appearance in our Gift Baskets and Swag Bags!!




SacredSuds makes divinely inspired handmade soaps! The mission of SacredSuds is to "provide soulful soaps that help channel positive energies into your life". And, just take a look at these hand and shower bars that will be making an appearance in our Giveway Baskets and Swag Bags. Awesome!




You may also want to check these previous sneak peaks to see what you might win in the HandmadeMN Giveaway Baskets and/or Swag Bags...
-http://etsymn.blogspot.com/2010/10/more-goodies-for-handmademn-fall-market.html
-http://etsymn.blogspot.com/2010/10/handmademn-market-gift-baskets-and-swag.html



Hope to see you at the HandmadeMN Market:
-Saturday, November 20
-10:00 am - 6:00 pm
-Ballentine VFW at 2916 Lyndale Ave S in Minneapolis

Images of late fall


Bicycling in our old home town of Columbus, Indiana over the weekend.  It was mild and breezy, with that touch of melancholy that comes with late fall. 

Winter may be with us soon...but the sun was shining on this day.

HandmadeMN Giveaway - Created by Kristen M

By Jessica of Clay By Clay

Congratulations to our latest giveaway winner! Thanks to all who entered and we wish you good luck with this week's giveaway!

This week Kristen of Created by Kristen M is giving away this lovely set of cards


This is a set of ten assorted greeting cards, all done in a similar color scheme of browns, blues, and pinks.  The fun set includes one anniversary card, one thank you card, one wedding card, two sympathy cards, three birthday cards, one congratulations card, and one baby card. Most of the cards are blank inside, ready for your personal message.


Open to US residents only.

How to Enter:

Visit Created by Kristen M and pick your favorite item and leave a comment on this post about it. (Scroll to bottom of post and click on Comments)

Please make sure we have a way to contact you!

For Bonus Entries:

Please leave each in a separate comment, as each comment is an entry (To qualify for extra entries you must do step one above).

1. Visit other HandmadeMN team members shops (listed in the sidebar here) and leave a comment(s) here with your favorite pieces.

2. Blog about this giveaway with a visible link back to this posting and comment here with a link to your post.

3. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment(s) with a link to your tweet(s).

4. Follow our blog (you want to do this anyway to learn about upcoming giveaways!). Leave a comment here letting us know you are a follower. If you are already a follower, leave a comment anyway, as each comment is an entry.

5. Follow HandmadeMN on Twitter. Comment back here with your Twitter link. Existing followers just leave your Twitter link here.

6. Become a Facebook Fan of HandmadeMN. Comment back here with your Facebook name. Existing fans just leave your Facebook name here.

7.   Become a Facebook Fan of Created by Kristen M.  Comment back here with your Facebook name.  Existing fans just leave your Facebook name here.

Contest ends Saturday, November 27 at 12:00 noon Central. One winner will be chosen by Random.org.

Good luck!

HandmadeMN members are not eligible to win.

Fun Friday Finds ~ Something to Talk About

By Jenna Halek ~ Artistic Edition

 Something to Talk About
(Click on the image to enlarge)

Visit these HandmadeMN shops to see more:
Click on any of the names below
First Row (Left to Right): Twistmo, claybyclay, mermaidsdowry, UpcycledAndFound
Second Row (Left to Right): ChickaDeesigns, TheCozyCorsetCuff, Owlshop, XOHandworks
Third Row (Left to Right): redshoes26design, ShaggyBaggy, ljbe, mncmoon
Fourth Row (Left to Right): XOSupplies, SuzAndRoo, TCWitchcraftFactory, RiyahLiDesigns

A Simple and inexpensive doll bed YOU can make

Just in time for Christmas :-)  Here is a picture tutorial for making a very simple and inexpensive doll bed for your favorite girl.  The bed requires no woodworking skills (I certainly don't have any), and uses inexpensive wood turnings available at any craft store.  I purchased most of my pieces from Michaels.  Here is the link to the picture tutorial to make this bed:

Simple and inexpensive doll bed from wood turnings

Some additional pictures of the bed in process.  Enjoy!

Trying out the pieces before gluing

The pieces selected

The bed stained, glued, and varnished

A cozy bed for Pocket Spirit Catherine.  You can also make a nifty dress form with wood turnings as well :-)

...a few of my favorite things...