Ah, the last day of February. Soon it’s got to start feeling a little more like spring around here, but until then, I’m seeking out some colour and blooms to tide me over.
This set of mini 4″ x 4″ garden prints from Bomobob Photos is full of all the warmth and light of a summer afternoon. The TTV technique (an image taken with one camera, through the view finder of another creating the “framed” effect) is lovely and well suited.
Robert Cadloff has been photographing people and things since his childhood, and the variety of subjects in his shop include fabulous carnival pieces, travel photos, jewellery featuring his artwork and more.
Daffodils are such sunny little things – a nice way to brighten up a snowy February 28th in Alberta!
And these just make me feel like summer…
To see more of his work, please drop by the Bomobob Photos Cargoh or Etsy shops, or visit his Facebook and Twitter.
Make a little sunshine today,
~Sarah
My husband picked up a pepper mill in a shop the other day, and was making moves toward buying it… and my “somebody in Canada MUST make pepper grinders” antenna went up.
It didn’t take long for me to find the lovely, simple grinders from Mapleseed Gallery:
The Owen Sound couple behind Mapleseed Gallery are a talented pair – Irwin Seidman’s wood turning skills are on display in their Etsy shop, as well as Susan Seidman’s original artwork.
I love the detail on the grinders, which can be used for pepper, sea salt or other spices, but this figured maple bowl is fabulous. Obviously decorative, the grain and knots are featured prominently.
Mapleseed Gallery is Canadian in origin, in materials and in subject. This little 4″ x 4″ Snowplow watercolour by Susan is such a classic scene, especially this winter in Alberta (so much snow. My goodness we are ready for spring!)
To see more of the special work from the duo behind Mapleseed Gallery, check out their shop at Etsy.
Enjoy!
~Sarah
I will admit that I was a bit of a bookish child growing up. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly climbed my share of trees and rode my bike for days on end, but I have always found a good book to be something totally magical. It’s not at all surprising then, that for a good chunk of my life I entertained dreams of being a writer. I outlined plots, sketched characters for my great Canadian novel, and lurked around corners to hone my skills as an investigative reporter. Now I’m all grown up, and even though I may not be a Canadian Lois Lane, a really nice notebook can still make me swoon!
Why would you settle for a plain old boring notebook, when you can have something as fresh and pretty as these?
Original watercolour artwork decorates the cover, and the pages are all reclaimed and recyled paper
New Leaf Handmade Goods is the partnership between sisters Maria and Cecilia. Based out of Swift Current Saskatchewan, they have blended their love of paper and fabric with artistic talent and thrift-store sleuthing to create these beautiful books. The paper inside is all reclaimed, recycled or repurposed, so they are lovely to look at and easy on planet earth!
Perfect for a budding songstress, ready to be filled with poetic lyrics!
Mixed in among the blank pages in each notebook, you can find reclaimed treasures like sheet music, tracing paper, and map pages that give each book some serious personality. Maria and Cecilia even include a few notes about the origins of “your” paper, so you can truly get a feel for where the pages came from. Then it’s up to you to fill each page with whatever your heart desires.
Let your dreams soar...
There are even some childhood favorites that will bring back happy memories. I just read this one to my little girl a few days ago!
Some of the original story pages are mixed in with the blank sheets. So much fun!
Want to see what else the sisters have to offer? Head on over to the Etsy shop where you will find plenty more notebooks to choose from, as well as a whole bunch of great pillow covers like this:
oooooh I love this one so much!
Then, when you are done browsing, stop by their Facebook page or Twitter stream and say Hello, or visit the blog for musings, DIY and even a newsletter. Also, make sure you wish the girls a Happy Birthday because New Leaf turns one year old in just a couple of weeks! Congratulations Ladies, and keep up the great work!
Cheers!
~Jennifer
For folks in some parts of the country, yesterday was Family Day. It’s a holiday where we are encouraged to celebrate our families and those we hold dear. At my house we had a sleepy morning full of toddler belly laughs, then an afternoon of noisy and crafty fun with the in-laws, and a turkey dinner feast to top it all off. It was pretty nice, I must say!
One of the crafty projects that my mother in law had prepared were wooden plaques which we decorated with things like “Home Sweet Home” and our last names. It was a fun project and captured the spirit of the day. While my painting skills left something to be desired (ok, a LOT to be desired), I still think our little name plaque is something special. So of course I came home and went online to see what kind of spin someone with much more talent than myself could put on a similar project. I was not to be disappointed when I immediately found The Snowshoe Loft. These rustic and beautiful wood-burned signs are a lovely way to put your name on any space, be it a cabin, cottage, or even just a favorite room.
It's like a warm welcome home, personalized just for you!
My husband *dreams* of having his own man cave. If/when that happens, it would definitely need one of these!
Coral is a hawaii-born creative type who fell in love with winter and fall when her family moved to Canada. She is currently an urban woman, but dreams of a cabin in the woods, surrounded by nature’s beauty. She burns all her signs by hand, without using any stencils or machines, under the watchful eye of her wiener dog named Walnut.
The cabin and tree image adds an extra special touch
I also really like these pretty little woodland animal blocks. They would be great mixed in among family photos on a mantle or shelf!
They are all lovely, but I think the moose is my favorite.
You may not be encouraged to carve your initials in a tree these days, but Coral’s signs send the same warm and enduring statement of love, and are way more portable than a huge tree! Or they can even be used as directional signs to an intimate outdoor wedding.
LP and SW, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g....
If you want to see more, or to order your very own custom sign, visit The Snowshoe Loft’s Etsy shop. While you are there, make sure you browse around, and see if you can find a picture of the adorable Walnut!
From my family to yours, have a wonderful day!
~Jennifer
With so many creative people in the handmade industry online, there are bound to be some interesting things happening… here’s a little taste of some of our favourite Happenings online lately:
Cargoh is upping the ante, and has introduced their first video artist profile. I was captivated watching it. Indigo is an amazing artist and it was so interesting to hear her speak (instead of just reading her tweets!). Watch for more video profiles coming up soon!
Cargoh Artist Profile – Indigo from cargoh on Vimeo.
The Rik Rak Shop is running a wonderful event called the Handmade Olympics – don’t worry, no athletic ability required, but plenty of crafty handmade talent is on display! This is your chance to vote for your favourites in 8 different categories. There are some fabulous artists, blogs and products represented! Go vote (you have until February 23rd to make it count!)
Pop Montreal, a very cool music festival taking place in September, is hosting a design contest for their next t-shirt! Puces POP, the handmade marketplace that runs alonside the music festival as well as in March (new this year) and at various other times throughout the year, is a great handmade/DIY venue. Put your design skills to work – deadline to submit is March 4th.
Enjoy,
~Sarah
Beat those February blahs with these fun, brightly coloured accessories from Quebec’s Button Infatuation.
Spring in button form!
Love the monochromatic look of this white set, and the sweet flower in the middle is lovely!
Sweet and fun, with a vintage-looking twist
The creator behind these lovely pieces is Marylène, of Saguenay, Quebec. She obviously has a passion for buttons, and yellow! You can see some of her other favourites on her Tumblr account (also? Yellow!)
These bright colours are just so... fun!
I really like the asymmetrical styling of these necklaces, and the little birdie on this “Pinkish Pistachio” necklace is a nice touch.
Perfect hit of colour with a t-shirt and jeans. Simple, but fun and unique!
You can check out Marylène’s shop here, visit her Tumblr blog or find and follow on Facebook!
Happy Thursday!
~Sarah
P.S. Spring is only 33 days away. Yes, I’m counting now.
As many of you know, I have recently returned to my “outside-the-home” job after maternity leave with my little munchkin. This also means, among other things, a return to planning and packing lunches. So far I have managed to get something together every day and avoid starvation (or a desperate McDonalds’ run). However, usually my lunch has ended up thrown into a big ugly shopping bag. So what’s the big deal with that? Nothing really, but picture this: Me, attempting to look “professional” and “put together” (ha!), carrying my purse, baby’s daycare bag, and a grocery bag lunch, while balancing the baby on my hip and fishing my keys out of a pocket. Yeah, that’s what I thought.
So, while it might not be a huge deal to have a stylish and pretty bag to carry my lunch, I think it will make a difference in how I feel about myself each day as I dash off to work. Enter: Urban Harmonie Designs. I think these eco-friendly, reusable, and super-chic lunch and snack bags are fantastic!
This is light years better than a shopping bag, am I right?!
The pink polka dots are girly and cute, but not over-the-top. Perfect for work or school.
These bags are made with laminated cotton, and are free of all the nasty stuff that normally accompany most plastic items. Even better: you can just wipe them clean with warm soapy water! Vicki (aka Urban Harmonie) has a love for all things vintage, so her fabric choices often have a retro feel. Her bags are all handmade in her Vancouver studio.
I know one rainbow-loving girl who would probably eat just about anything as long as it came from this colourful snack pouch!
This one is even reversible, you could change it up depending on your mood!
Urban Harmonie can be found on Cargoh, Etsy, Twitter, Facebook, and her very own website. Why not pop by and say hello?
Now if only I could be as inspired about what to put *in* the lunch bag!
~Jennifer
It is supposed to be relatively warm-ish in Ontario this week. Everyone I know is pretty excited by the prospect of maybe seeing those temperatures climb into some positive digits, (so much so that my dear husband is already planning to dig the bbq out of the snow to have some steaks on Friday!).
Maybe it’s a bit of pessimism due to a long sleepless weekend with the toddler, but I can’t help reminding myself that we are not out of the wintery woods quite yet. I expect that once this little warm spell passes, we will still have a few blasts of frigid arctic air to contend with before the *real* warm-up starts to happen. So, instead of being sad, I have decided to celebrate our Canadian wintery-ness by sharing some sweet and pretty cold weather gear from Knittles.
Baby can look this adorable *and* have warm ears? Win-win!
Calgarians Mavis and Olga create these cozy and cute pieces, along with an occasional “guest designer” named Marcy.
Eeee! It's a Baby Beret!
What’s that you say? Adult sized ears have been known to get chilly as well? Don’t worry, the Knittles crew have you covered (literally).
They call it a "wooly helmet"... it's like your personal armour against the icy air.
They also have a whole selection of neck warmers and scarves, some fingerless mittens, and even patterns for the crafty guy or gal who would rather DIY.
Visit Knittles at their Etsy shop, their icraft site, or follow along on Twitter.
Even if the weather is chilly outside, all Cupid needs is one of those precious little aviator hats!
Here’s hoping that your heart is warm with love on this Valentine’s Day.
~Jennifer
Happy Valentine’s Day to all our friends here at C+H. May your day be filled with kind words, thoughtful moments and people you cherish!
{“Summerun” print by Valéry Design Wrks of Edmonton}
xo xo
~Sarah and Jennifer
It seems everyone took a bit of a break from the craft show scene after the holidays, but spring is on it’s way (or so I’m told) and with that hope, so comes the need for a little more shopping :)
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Whistler, BC: Whistler Winter Arts Festival
“The Whistler Winter Arts Festival, February 1 to 28, 2011, is an annual month-long showcase of the performing arts, literary events, film screenings, snow sculpting, art exhibitions and street performances.” This weekend, there’s an added element as the Whistler community celebrates the first anniversary of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games. Get your Canada mittens and remember the spirit of the 21st Winter Olympics!
If you’re in the Vancouver area, there are many anniversary celebrations taking place – check here for a great list!
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Calgary: Market Collective
The Market Collective in Calgary was, according to their website, “created to strengthen the art community in Calgary by showcasing the works of local artists, artisans and musicians”. This independent show includes live music and a featured artist for each market. This time, it’s Jennifer Kitagawa (photographer and haiku master) and Canadian musician Daniel Huscroft.
The old Ant Hill Building, Kensington area, Calgary
148 10 Street NW
February 12 & 13, 2011 (10 am – 6 pm Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm Sunday)
Admission – $3 or food bank donation
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Montreal: Foire de la Saint Valentin – Valentine Artisans Fair
Montreal’s Foire de la Saint Valentin, presented by Old Skool Crafts, is a free admission event with a wide variety of local artisans. They even have a kids craft room, and face painting to help entertain them while you shop!
February 12th – 13th
11 am – 6pm
St. Michael’s Church
105 St. Viateur W. Corner St. Urbain
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Toronto: Erotic Arts and Crafts Fair
Fair warning – Don’t click the link unless you’re prepared to see things that you might expect to find in the bedroom of consenting adults (some images NSFW unless you have a super understanding boss!) Taking place just 2 days before Valentine’s Day, it’s a fair bet that there will be some folks looking for a little extra-special gift for the love in their lives at this event.
From their website: “Knitters, crafters, zinesters, card makers, and artists of all types will be creating erotic objects for this one day celebration of DIY sex and romantic culture.”
Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St. West)
Saturday, February 12th, 2011 from noon to 8 pm.
Admission is free!
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If you know of any upcoming events that we should feature here at C+H, send us an email at events@canadianhandmade.ca and we’ll gladly share the love!
Cheers,
~Sarah
