Seasons Greetings

Warm greetings in this winter holiday season! The snow has arrived and some biting cold temperatures on on their way here. I bundle up my dog in a 'coat' when the temp's get low. The cats have decided to sleep the cold days away and sunbath in the picture window.

My Etsy shop is open again and I highly recommend shopping now and not later. For those who do like to shop handmade, shipping can take 5 days to reach you. So be sure to stick to a tight time schedule if you are shopping online!

I've decorated out little home with a nature theme. My family gifted us a handmade faux tree years ago, so I can't just let it sit in the basement come December. I prefer to make some decorations, such as paper garlands.

I also have these pretty globes that are made with pine cones, dried berries, twigs and twine. I love ribbon so I added some and hung them up with wooden clothes pins. 

I hope 2017 brings you the best of health, bountiful gardens and happiness with friendships. So a very Happy Hanukkah, a very Blessed Yule, A Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings!

image from thiswallpaper.com

Fabric charm bracelet - How To!

Hello everyone, welcome to Autumn! For a while there I thought it would never arrive, we had days of hot, muggy 80*F weather {yuck!} and I even had to dig out some capri pants. But after a weekend of heavy rains it seems Autumn has returned.
So sorry I am lazy at blogging, I just manage to be busy offline a lot. But as promised a short and sweet DIY How To project! All I used for my project was: fabric, sewing machine, metal snap, any metal charm you like.
Ok so lets this going, shall we?

I picked a blue cotton fabric, pink and solid ivory

Start by cutting some strips of fabric, one from each color. I cut about 8"s long and perhaps 1" to 3/4" in width. You may pick a different length or width depending on how wide or skinny you want your bracelet to be.

pick your metal charm for bracelet

I picked a metal rose colored arrow charm. It came from a store bought bracelet - but, it was far too small for my wrist. So I removed the pieces that attached to the ends of the charm. You can see this charm has holes at each end, which made it easy to use for a DIY bracelet!

my fabric strips - turned into a braid!

I took my fabric strips I had cut, folded them in HALF and just sewed them. Let the edges be raw for a chic cute homemade style! Then you simply braid your three fabric strips - as seen above. I then sewed my braided fabric to some ribbon on the back. Start at one end and just freehand stitch the braid to the ribbon - no need to be fancy. I used a pink shade of thread, it blended in and you couldn't see my stitches. 

Is yours all braided now and sewn to the ribbon backing? Good job! Now I just laid my braided piece out over my wrist - to get a measurement. I then laid my metal charm on top, I marked where to place the CHARM with some pins (as seen in above photo). 

all done - ta da!

Once you have the position for your charm, sew it on. To finish the bracelet I used small metal snaps for a closure. You can always just tie your longer braided pieces at the ends, or add a different type of closure. Here is an Etsy link for types of bracelet closures you could use. That's it!

I hope you enjoyed this fun fabric bracelet with charm. My coming posts are about my shop re-opening for the holidays {visit it HERE!} and my upcoming gifty-type projects I'm making.

35% Off Sale & Gifting

It's the holiday rush, people will knock out teeth for some deal at a big name store (after waiting for hours in line in the cold)! But honestly, who wants to deal with that? Not me and likely not many of you out there.
So the alternative, you ask? Shop online, shop local and make handmade gifts! I have a 35% Off SALE going on right now to help you in buying affordable handmade gifts this season. So please stop by my CraftinessbyB shop to find something for that special someone this season.
Now if you feel the urge to make handmade I have a list for you! Daunting you say, I thought so too. But just 2 weeks ago I decided to make a few things for gifts this year.

Handmade gift idea #1: soaps

Gift wrapped homemade soaps

Soaps can be a fun & easy gift to make for others. I went to Michaels craft store and found a soap base (they have olive oil, shea and others). They come in a big block, just pick some coloring and scents *sold right next to them* and go home to your kitchen! I added dry tea leaves, flowers and even oatmeal to some. I melted the soap in the microwave in a microwave safe container, then poured it into molds. Here is a great DIY on soap making by Bridal Buds.

Handmade gift idea #2: lip balm and lotion

Lip balms with shimmer

Lotions, lip balms and soap ~ oh my!

I started small, I bought a sample size balm base plus balm tubes on Etsy by CandleLynnSupplies. Her base is just right, natural ingredients and easily melts. Now I got it in my head I wanted more so back to Michaels store I went and found a 'spa' kit with lip balm and lotion supplies. Let me say this: the kit was fun, it had supplies to make all this (includes scent, colors, labels, containers) but their lip balm base was a pain! If you want to play with just making lip balms I highly suggest going to Lynn for good supplies.

Handmade gift idea #3: handmade by you!

Yep, good ole fashioned handmade gifts. They can be just about anything you enjoy making and giving. And for those with kids you just know people adore the kiddie gifts. Their hand prints, their paper ornaments, photos, artwork. To help you get those crafty juices flowing here is a great list of 101 Handmade Gifts from Everything Etsy. Cute ideas such as this one, or this one, oh and this one!

I hope I have given you some great ideas this year and you can now be on your holiday gifting way!