Decorating With Handmade

What is your decor style?  Shabby chic? Rustic? Traditional?

Would you like me to tell you what looks great with every style?

Handmade.

Adding handmade decor to any style brings a uniqueness to your home that you just can't find in any big box stores or factory made furnishings.  A little touch here, and little touch there, and

VIOLA'

your home is uniquely yours.  Here's a few great ideas to get you started.

(If any links are available, you will find them under the pictures.)

Isn't this a great way to create mood lighting in a room?  Stop at any flea market and scoop up some old ladles.  Bend them and mount them on a piece of wood, add a candle...and perfect.  Use wonderfully white chippy wood for a shabby chic look, or use rough wood for rustic, and smooth painted wood for a more traditional look.  A great and easy DIY project.

UHL art

No home is completely "you" without an original piece of artwork that represents your style.  Not only does art express your inner feelings, it is also a great investment.

Ali's pots

And sometimes it's just the little things that can make a house your home.

What's your favorite decorating idea to bring personality to your home?

Be blessed,

Debbi

What's new in handmade....

Let's visit several places today and see what's new out there in handmade land.

Here's a little cutie from The Craft Star, 

American Flag Mouse

by Warmth.

At Handmade Artists I found

a Steam Bee Steampunk Necklace

by Designs Bloom.

For a country girl, I have to admit I am strangely attracted to steampunk. lol

I haven't been here for ages, but at Artfire I found a

3D white persian cat mug

by

MadamePomm.

And my final stop is at Zibbet.  I love this

Laser Cut Leather Cuff

by  Lydia Wall Millinery.

Well, that's it for today.  Now it's up to you.

Remember, when you buy handmade, you are supporting small business.

Be blessed,

Debbi

A handmade head cold.

I've been fighting a head cold for the past week, (not to mention a problem get blogger to load on my laptop), so I figured I would share with you the essentials for a handmade head cold.

First you need Kleenix.  And while you can buy the colorful boxes, isn't this musical notes tissue box by ColorPopShoppe.  It's a fairly new shop on Etsy, and there are tons of other sofa box covers to choose from, but you know me, I love to promote small business.  And being a musician, I love this fabric. <3

Next you need something to snuggle under while resting on the sofa, and getting waited on by your adoring loved ones.  

(Did that make you giggle? Me too.)

I am partial to anything old fashioned, and I adore the pinwheel pattern of this quilt by Home Sewn Studio at The Craft Star.  It was hard to chose a favorite quilt because there are so many amazing quilters at The Craft Star, so click on the link above and see them all for yourself.

 And when your adoring loved ones are bringing you chicken soup, or a nice cuppa hot tea, tell them to use these large chocolate brown mugs made by River Rock Art at HandmadeArtists.  I love large mugs, and these hold a full 20 ounces!

So now I'm ready to relax and watch some of my newest favorite show....

Dr. Who.  

What do you do when you're not feeling well?

Be blessed,

Debbi

our cherokee weekend

This past weekend Chuck and I ran away from home.   Now, being foster parents, running away is not as easy as it sounds...but we did it!  Once we decided to take some time for ourselves, and had the kid weekend arrangements all made, the question became...where to go?  We thought of the beach, we really love the Outer Banks of North Carolina, in fact Amanda and Brandon got married on the beach at Nags Head.  But with the temperature here in the foothills already hitting the lower 90's, the beach was just going to be waaaaay too hot, so we opted for the mountains, to Cherokee North Carolina.  What a wonderful time we had there...I highly recommend this to everyone.  We went thru the museum, and then thru the Oconaluftee Indian Village.  This is a guided tour thru a recreated Indian village, and amazing.  No matter how old you get, there is always something new to learn :)

Our tour guide, (the one with the pony tail) was so very knowledgeable, and passionate, about his people.  And this tour really got my mind in a whirl of ideas for our shop.  So today I decided to do a little window shopping on Etsy and would like to share what I found.  First, some art...

 I picked this first one because of the vibrant colors and theme.  The Cherokee were a peaceful tribe, and preferred to stay home then go to war.  They had several festivals during the year which included the corn dance.  You can find this Feather, Gourds, and Indian Corn in oil in the Etsy shop of JoEllenArt.

And what is an Indian without a horse?  Just look into the eyes of this painted pony.  He's staring at you, lol.  This is an ACEO card OOAK original by Rosalie Rushing.  You can find this Indian Horse named Cherokee in the Etsy shop of biggirl4664.

Then there is the pottery.  Watching how the woman in the village made her pots was very interesting.  Did you know that the Cherokee did not spin their clay?  It was all done slowly with nothing but their hands shaping the clay.

 The colors of this Cherokee Pottery Mug are very vibrant and bright.  This is in the Etsy shop Purplevelvet711.

This vase is hand painted with a beautiful Indian maiden and her wolf.  This vase measures 11" high.  You can find Cherokee Indian Woman with Wolf at the Etsy shop TheMichelleK.

And last, but certainly not least, my latest favorite craft, beads and jewelry.

 Nothing says Indian like the color turquoise and beads.  These Beaded Native American white buffalo earrings were designed and hand crafted by a registered Native American, and you'll find them in the Etsy shop Tribalimpressions.

Now this bracelet is name "The Digusdi" which means cousins in Cherokee.  Our tour guide tried to teach us a few phrases in Cherokee, but boy was that difficult.  You can find this at the Etsy shop jstinson.

I hope you enjoyed my trip, and that you find something Indian to get for yourself.

Debbi

the next generation of artists

I just wanted to share with you some pictures I took of my daughter Hannah totally immersed in her newest art kick.....pottery.  I got her this pottery wheel for Christmas, but we finally just opened it today.  She has been out on our back deck since lunch (3 hours) still working on the same lump of clay.  She is such a perfectionist, that as soon as it starts to wobble, she balls it back up and starts again.  She's started and balled and started about 10 times, or so she told me. hahaha.  She doesn't like to be told what to do, she is definietly a hands on learner, so all I can do is pass by and toss out suggetions. :)
But at least she's having fun, as you can tell by the clay smile.  So enjoy the pics. I hope they put a smile on your face too.