4th of july craft ideas!

My first fun craft come from Familycorner.com

how cute are these? and so much fun!

How about a star garland for your picnic? look how easy it is to make

from our friends at Enchanted learning

turn a plastic milk container into action fun at the picnic! so easy and fun to do!

Ball Catchers

man I want to make this for me! I love these to wave around at the parade! and durin the fireworks! you can find the directions to make these at disney's family fun

I want to see your 4th of july craft ideas!

stay tuned tomorrow same craft time same craft station! till then make some crafty memories!

For a yummy picnic idea ck out my allrecipe.com blog

My Dad

Hello Darlins

Today I want to talk about my Dad, being fathers day and all.

He became a Dad on dec 23, 1955. I dare say life became a great challenge for him ever sense that day. the day I was born.

I could tell ya how well he protected us kids from the outside world and allowed us to be kids. I could tell ya how he would play kickball with us or basketball with my boyfriend. I could tell ya how a man deaf in one ear could hear my girlfriend and me out in the tent and he was clear in the house when she told me she broke her bra strap and he yelled ya want a safety pin? But no i wont tell you about his humor and how he teased me throughout my life ..

I want to tell you about the day I learned I couldn't marry my Dad.

I was all of 4 or 5 years old. Dad was driving to work and I got the honor of going with him. Not sure why I must have been drivin Mom nuts and Daddy was giving her a brake. lol anyway I remember lookin at him and think wow he looked so cool with his arm on the window and tappin his ring on the roof. I rolled my window down and tried to get my arm to fit but no matter how I tried I was to small so I gave up. I looked at the man and woman next to us at the red light and thought I wonder if they think we are married. And I said, "Daddy do you think they think I am your wife?" Daddy gave me one of those looks of not knowing whether to laugh or ignore me. The people next to us chose to laugh. Daddy smiled at them and said, "little girl they dont think we are married. Little girls dont marry their Daddys." and there it was the sound of my heart breakin for the first time ever. "but Daddy i love you" I pleaded and very gently my Daddy said,"I love you too. Daddy-daughter love that never goes away." Then he smiled at me. and everything was all right.

Daddy I love ya and I wish you the best fathers day ever!

And I did marry a man with many of my fathers traits and its our Anniversary today. I love you Charlie :)

 So darlin go hug your daddys and tell him a special story of love about the two of you!

House party!

Hello Darlins!

Today I wanted to talk about home parties. Back in the day, I did 1 party a week. I made good money , met interesting people and promoted my store and listings.

My very first party was my step moms idea. I was making jewelry as a hobby and for gifts. I had two shoe boxes filled with earrings, bracelets and necklaces. As my step mom looked through the boxes she exclaimed she was gonna give me a party to sell my jewelry. Sell it? Wowzers! She gave me the best party ever. She invited everyone within a 20 mile radius lol ok maybe not everyone but the house was packed and I sold everything! And, And !!! Three bookings out of that first party and I didn’t have to ask anyone they wanted to book! A business was born.

Since that day my parties improved greatly. Hostess gifts, displays, pamphlets, invitations, business cards, thank you cards, recipes for snacks, and a daily planner! Man did I need that planner! I also hired family or a friend to help me.

Imagine this… you received an invitation from a friend to attend a homemade Jewelry party with the artist. You are intrigued and go.

As you enter the living room you meet me. I say something like thank you for coming and hand you a pamphlet. I mention there are some lovely snacks in the dining room.

Once everyone has arrived I start.

My pitch is simple I describe the making of the piece I am holding. How I made it, why I chose what. Then I pass the item around. I say, “now ladies if you see something you want then just set it under your chair or next to you, but darlins no fighting! Lol I usually get a giggle.

At the end of my presentation I tell them feel free to look at what I have to offer here in the displays , to total and check out please see my friend here she will take good care of you. Be sure to tell my friend if you want to book a party cause you will receive a discount.

I then walk over to the snack table and tell the hostess how lovely everything looked and thank her for supporting me. I answer questions and thank each person for coming and make a point of saying I am glad my creations are going home with someone that will love them.

After everyone has gone I give the hostess her gift. It doesn’t take long to pack up and we drive back. I pay my friend once we are back.

So crafters, if you want to make some money and promote, consider house parties.

If you want to support a local craftsperson.. ask around at shows, or friends. I like to say , “ When the hostess is ready the crafter will show!” J

Interested in being a salerep for jewelles,

email me

you kids amaze me!

Hello Darlins!

I must say you kids amaze me!

just look here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6852577  jewelry out of skateboards!

I love it!

In the last few hours I have seen friendly plastic become jewelry, bottle caps, and old tshirts reused to make blankets!

 I am so inspired I dont know where to start first!

I think maybe the Tshirts. I have a pile of old clothes that are going to the thrift store I think I shall go through them again and see if I can unravel them and make some yarn!

Also i think I may cut some clothes into long strips and make a rag rug for the kitchen. My greatgrandma made them for hers!

Its not a new concept to reuse what ya got for other needs. My greatgrandparents did this everyday to survive.

Now I am gonna look at my cast off items and see what I can reuse them for!

Thank you kids for teachin this ole gal a new trick!

keep on amazin me ok?

have the best day ever and make some happy memories!

A kind word goes a long way!

Hello Darlings!

I am new to all this and this is my first blog entry on Made by Hand. woohoo (hope i am doin this rt)

I have been on twitter alot lately and have found the crafters and artsy folk to be the nicest folk on there!

I have also found us crafty folk to be the most enlighthen. Ready to bring a smile to each other and spread possitive words not negative.

On the other hand.. and here comes the old lady in me. lol  there are alot of followers out there that only have nasty negative things to say. And I must say I enjoyed blocking them! I wouldnt want someone like that to handle my creations.. they is my babies .. no way this mama is gonna let her baby end up in hands of the hateful.

I know you darlins reading this dont need to learn this, cause you are crafty or love crafty items. But boy there are alot of people that need to learn .. if you cant say something nice then dont say anything at all. 

lol oh boy I feel better! getting that off my chest!

My prayer for the day is for the peoples of this world to learn that words have power. And as a part of the human race we have a responsiblity for the words we use.

Peace begins inside each of us. Use loving peaceful words and your world is a bit more peaceful.

Ok that is all I am gonna say or an old lady standing on her soap box!

Have the best day ever and happy crafting!

Pearls

Hello Darlins!

What a lovely day here. its almost 70, with beautiful sunshine. As I sit here with my laptop you can smell the sweet smell of cut grass and the smell of the balsam pines as the wind gently comes through the woods.

So while I am in this happy mood I listed my favorite earrings ..

Aphrodite Pearl Dangles

Swarovski Pearls on stering silver dangle around a quartz gemstone.

I named this design after the Goddess Aphrodite who brought us mortals pearls and love from the sea.

CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements Crystal Pearls - with a heart of the finest Austrian crystal. These "pearls" are finished with multiple layers of highly luminous pearlescence. The result captures the look of a fine South Seas pearl and combines it with the exquisite craftmanship you've come to expect from CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements

Well Darlins its time for me to play with beads! have the best day ever and make some happy memories!