The Handmade Tweet

It's been quite a while since I wrote a handmade tweet. I've missed having the chance to meet so many great artists but life has been so chaotic lately I just couldn't spare the time. I hope I'll have more time to post in the coming weeks and months. To kick things off here is a fabulous artist who is also a fellow member of Etsy's Trade-a-Holics Mi-Go Faster.

From MiGoFaster's Shop Announcement:

Looking for fun, interesting, and unique accessories and accents for your wardrobe and home? Then Mi-Go Faster is for you! Astrological, Gothic, and Beautiful Alternative gifts, purses, and sundries can be found here.

I have one of these purses, just a different zodiac symbol, and I can tell you how well they are made. I've done a bit of sewing myself and I recognize good work when I see it. They are lined and beautifully finished with several nice inside pockets and are actually quite roomy. Too often pretty purses just don't have enough space inside.
In addition to her purses and accessories she also sells some wonderful fine art photography prints. Click on the picture below to visit her shop.

Aquarius Astrological and Zodiac Themed Purse

20% Off Sale in my Artfire Shop

I'm currently offering 20% off every item in my Artfire shop. It's the perfect time to purchase that special something for your Valentine or just get a treat for yourself. Check back often as I will be adding new items throughout the sale. Sale ends February 14th.
The Grand Design on Artfire

After Christmas BOGO Sale

OK I know its been a really long time since I updated my blog, my bad. I'd make it a new year's resolution, if I believed in them. But anyhoo if anyone is still watching I wanted to tell you about my after Christmas sale. If you purchase any item in my shop you may have a second item of equal or lesser value for half price.

Is that a great deal or what? Just contact me to let me know what you would like for your second item and I will adjust the price or, if you'd rather, just order both and I'll refund the difference through paypal.


And here's one last incentive. Mention you saw the sale on my blog and get free shipping on your entire order. Don't miss out sale ends January 9, 2011.

The Handmade Tweet

I've been neglecting my bog lately but I've been busy with costuming and conventions and I'm suffering from a bit of computer burn out. It was taking up too much of my time and energy so I needed to get away from it for a while. Not only my blog but my shops and forums are also suffering from my absence, well at least my shops are, I'm sure the forums can survive without me but I do miss them. It's still a very busy season so my posts will likely continue to be sporadic but please don't give up on me, I really am still here.

That said, here is the first new Handmade Tweet for a while. It's for a fellow Trade-A-Holic team member Hair Flair aka 86bananas on etsy.

From 86bananas' Shop Announcement:

"Welcome to 86bananas, a little flair for your hair!!

As of now my shop is filled with unique, one of a kind hair accessories, all handcrafted with love. I use recycled and environmentally friendly products as often as possible, and no two items are the same. You can rest assured that no one else will be walking around with the same head gear. New items are added daily, so if you don't see the perfect piece, be sure to check back or convo me, and we can work together to come up with a custom design just for YOU!"

86bananas and I recently participated in a trading event. I sent her a steampunk necklace and she sent me a beautiful headband. It's similar to this one but a different colour. It's going to look fabulous with my neo-Victorian steampunk gown that I'm making for an upcoming convention.
 All of her accessories are fun and beautiful and I can personally vouch for their quality. To see more wonderful creations from Hair Flair just click on the picture below.

Fly Away- Headband with a large butterfly 

that is accentuated with feathers and leaves

The Handmade Tweet

Today's Handmade Tweet comes from Wood Beginnings on etsy.

From woodbeginnings' Shop Announcement:

"Thank you for visiting our Wood Beginnings shop.

My wife handles all the administrative tasks and I make the saw dust. I began my wood turning in high school and dabbled with woodworking and turning over the years but now spend my time turning. Blending lamination and segmenting are what I enjoy most.

All of our products are one of a kind using the best exotic and domestic woods that I can find. We have developed a nice following of collectors over the years and really appreciate their continued patronage and following us to Etsy."

All I can say it WOW! This is stunning, I've never seen a bowl anything like it before. All of his pieces are so unique that it was hard to pick just one to feature but this one really spoke to me. I love the contrasting shapes and colours. Click on the picture to see more unique creations by Wood Beginnings.

Springs First Tulip Wooden Bowl with Lid out of Bubinga and Birdseye Maple 462

The Handmade Tweet and Ad Astra Report

Today's Handmade Tweet started more two weeks ago at Ad Astra in Toronto, the first SciFi convention of the year. The Steampunk Salon was a big hit, that's me on the far right in my post apocalyptic costume, vintage gas mask and all. I was very pleased with the way it turned out, especially my ray gun.

My friend Lynda won the Next Top Zombie competition. She's the corpse bride on the right. I'm the gear head on the left.

A good time was had by all. I especially enjoyed the dealer's room. I took some of my jewelry to sell in the art auction and what did I buy in the dealer's room? More jewelry of course. Hey it's my passion, what can I say. I bought three fabulous wire wrapped rings and a pendant from Irina Pertseva of Black Currant Jewelry and I've gotten loads of compliments every time I've worn them.

Irina just happens to have a shop on etsy. You can visit it by clicking on the picture below. Her wire wrapped jewelry is amazing. Her designs are so intricate and unique. I wish I could have afforded to buy more. I especially like her use of natural stones in her pieces. There was a wonderful green agate bracelet I keep thinking about. Well maybe next year.

Golden Butterfly Necklace

Handmade Artists Forum Blog Ring - Featured Artist

This weeks Featured Artist is Mewes Mountain Arts. You can find her on the new Handmade Artists' Shop and check out her Etsy announcement for other sites where you can find her fabulous work.

From MewesMountainArts' Etsy Shop Announcement:

"Welcome to Mewes Mountain Arts!

Handcrafted jewelry for any occasion!

Come on in and look around! Please contact me if you have a special design request not available in the Etsy store.

To read more, visit http://mewesmountainartsandcrafts.blogspot.com/

I am also now on Facebook! Become a fan at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mewes-Mountain-Arts/454076045074?ref=sgm

I adore Celtic designs, especially in jewelry. It's the Irish in me. Click on the picture below to see more marvelous designs by Mewes Mountain Arts.

Liam's Celtic Guardian Bracelet

The Handmade Tweet

Today's Handmade Tweet comes from Nichole Topley Art on etsy.

From nicholetopley's Shop Announcement:

"Funky, Weird, Kooky, Crazy, that's me!

I tend to make things a little on the strange side. I never have been one for normalcy.

So relax, take a spin around my shop and you may find something you JUST can't live without!

Follow me! I'm {strange_magic} at Twitter.

Check out more of my art at my website!
http://www.nicholetopley-art.com

Now really, doesn't everyone need a Crocoplatygator? Surely no home is complete without one. But if he is not to your liking (no accounting for taste) you can find many other fanciful by clicking on the picture below.
How could you not love this face?

Aqua Freaks - Garrett - Decorative Sculptures

Handmade Artists Forum Blog Ring - Featured Artist

I've gotten behind on my blog ring features so here is last weeks featured artist, just a little late. The featured artist for April 4 - April 11 is Jen from Jennuine Candles. You can visit her blog here Jennuine Candles on Blogger. You can also visit her on Etsy and Artfire shops by clicking on the pictures below.

From jennuinecandles' etsy Shop Announcement:

"Welcome to Jennuine Candles...specializing in 100% palm wax candles with a variety of choices...container candles, pillars, votives and tarts/melts.

Take a moment or two and look around. If you don't see it, that doesn't mean you can't have it...just contact me!"

These little guys are so cute and I love the smell of baby powder. I think this trivet is wonderful, I do enjoy a nice glass of wine.

Baby Powder Scented Palm Wax Candle Melts, 

Teddy Bear Shaped Set of Four

Handstamped Grapes & Cheese Design on 

Tile Candle Trivet or Coaster

The Handmade Tweet

Today's Handmade Tweet comes from one of my favourite sculptors Creatures From El who I am happy to finally see on esty.

From Creatures From El's Bio:

"Ellen was born in Markham Ontario and raised among mildew and snails. She took to shaping three dimensional forms naturally at a young age. To Ellen sculpting has always been about life, biological narratives and cultural statements. The tedious hours of labor act as the mysterious foundation from which each sculptures personality springs forth."

I discovered Ellen's fabulous creations a few years ago at a scifi convention and I've been completely captivated by them ever since. I've amassed a small (not too small) collection of her work over the years and I seldom visit her table without coming away with one or two of her creations. They are all so vibrant and alive and they always speak to me.

I've followed Ellen's blog for a while now and was very happy to see her on etsy. I'm also looking forward to seeing what she has created for the Ad Astra convention in Toronto this weekend. I may be coming home with a new dragon for my ever expanding collection. Click on the picture to see more of her amazing creatures and if you're in the Toronto area this weekend come out and see them in person, the pictures just don't do them justice.
You can find out more info about the convention here: Ad Astra

Cyan Celtic Tail Dragon

Handmade Artists Forum Blog Ring - Featured Artist

The featured artists for this week are Kimberly of  Makin' the Best Of It and Andrew of Chainmaille By MBOI.

From Makin’ the Best Of It's website:

"Makin’ the Best Of It was originally started due to a severe addiction to creating in general.  Hand painted glass is a way to add color to your world without adding more useless “stuff.”  All of our glassware is heat cured enamel so it is top rack, dishwasher safe…in other words…it is meant to be used."

Kimberly has some extremely beautiful hand painted glassware. Gorgeous flowers and leaves for all four seasons. These however were a little different and especially appealed to me. I just love animals and animal prints. My house is full of them, both the animals and the prints, so I could see these fitting right in. For more of her beautiful designs just click on the picture and browse her wonderful website.

Hand Painted Animal Instincts Glasses

From MBOI's website:

"Chainmaille is a lost ancient art that my wife and I enjoy making together. MBOI is a sister site to Makin’
The Best Of It which originally started with Hand Painted Glass but has grown due to our severe
addiction to creating in general.
MBOI is made up of my wife Kimberly ( The President, CEO, Controller, Painter, Mailler, and Creative Superpower) who is currently in the process of finishing her teacher degree, and Andrew ( Stock boy and Mailler ) who is a Senior Estimator for a Heavy Construction Company which is based in New Jersey.
We have 2 boys who keep us running all the time.
We currently reside in Point Pleasant, NJ which is a small beach town on the Jersey Shore."

Chainmaille is fascinating but it looks like so much work. My fingers ache just looking a it. Andrews designs are so intricate and beautiful I don't know how he does it. I can't imagine how many hours it took to make this bracelet. He obviously has way more patience that I do. Click on the picture to see more of his finger destroying designs.

Copper and Turquoise Romanov Bracelet

The Handmade Tweet

Today's Handmade Tweet comes from Erika Price Originals on etsy.

From ErikaPriceOriginals' Shop Announcement:

"My passion is making beautiful one-of-a-kind jewelry! Each of my handmade creations is unique, and designed & handmade by me using the finest quality materials. Every piece is gift-boxed and I ship worldwide. I also donate all profits from my jewelry sales to charity. Please see my policies and profile for further details."

Mmm butterscotch, my favorite. These beads look good enough to eat but if butterscotch is not your favorite flavour click on the picture to see all the beautiful jewelry in her shop. I know you'll find something more to your taste. Also check out her other shop Erika Price Designs  You'll have a hard time choosing your favorite. Remember that all of her profit goes to charity so if you see something you love you'll also be supporting a good cause.

Butterscotch Lampwork Glass and Gold Vermeil Necklace

Handmade Artists Forum Blog Ring - Featured Artist

The featured artist for this week is Creative Minds.

From Creative Minds website:

"We live in VT and have been making jewelry for 5 years, and have been adding other crafts over the last few years.  We enjoy crafts so much that we have decided to make a business out of it.  We came up with our business name, Creative Minds, while working on one of our many creations.  We also greatly enjoy kids.  We hope to one day be able to open a craft store, both selling a wide range of craft supplies and a place for kids to do crafts, and kids craft classes."

What a lovely necklace. The colour of the beads is so rich and fabulous. Creative Minds offers a variety of handmade jewelry and other creations. Click on the picture to check out their website. You can also visit them on their blog Creative Minds

Raspberry Swirls Necklace

The Handmade Tweet

I've been a little remiss in keeping up with the Handmade Tweets lately. The fact is I've just been too busy. It's heading into con season again and I've been madly working on steampunk costumes for myself and jewelry for the art shows. So, I probably won't be posting every day but I will have a new feature at least several times a week so check back often.

Although the featured artists may be lacking in frequency they more than make up for it in quality. Here's a great example from A Little Character on etsy.

From A Little Character's Bio:

"Website: ALittleCharacter.com
Blog: StuffByTace.com

I have 16 years of hands on craft-ing and art-ing experience and 15 years of *practice* before that. Oh dear....I've just given my age away......

If you heart my store, you may want to subscribe to be notified of new additions. Just look in your favorites for this option."

OMG! I will definitely be signing up for notifications. I love these! It was so hard to pick just one to feature. I chose this one because, not only does he have the most adorable face, but he reminds me of the house hippos commercial that I enjoyed so much and of course the Telus Christmas commercial. I'm usually not fond of Christmas commercials but I kept singing that one at work. I kept everyone entertained. If you haven't seen either of them you can check them out here:
House Hippo
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
I bet by the end you'll want house hippos to be real too.

Be sure to click on the picture and check out all the other amazing characters in A Little Character's shop. They are all too wonderful for words, good thing there's lots of photos.

Charles Bongsworth the third, a Hippopotamus

The Handmade Tweet

The St. Patrick's Day Handmade Tweet comes from Netta Beads on artfire.

From nettabeads bio:

"Thanks for stopping by to check me out. I am a jewelry artist who works in glass and metal. I live in the beautiful mountains of northeast Tennessee.

I started out making lampwork glass beads and then that evolved into metalworking. I use only recycled copper in my creations. Instead of depleting the Earth's natural resources of copper, I use the copper that we already have here. I use old electrical wire, copper washers and roofing material.

I love creating unique pieces of wearable art. I hope you enjoy my jewelry as much as I enjoyed making it."

This pendant really made me laugh. If only I had seen it in time to order it for today. Coming from an Irish family St. Patrick's Day has always been very important to me, and loads of fun. So I wanted to feature something fun and unusual for one of my favorite days. When I saw this I knew it was the perfect thing. Click on the picture to see more Irish, and not so Irish, jewelry from Netta Beads.

Repurposed Scrabble Tile Pendant - 

Green Magically Delicious

Handmade Artists Forum Blog Ring - Featured Artist

This weeks featured artist is T.Rusk4u on etsy.

From T. Rusk4u's Bio:

"I have been a creative and resourceful person ever since I can remember.My first real crafting love was sewing,and I have tried countless other crafts. Jewelry making started as another hobby, but has grown into an obsession! I love everything about it from choosing the materials and actually designing something beautiful! I am always looking to learn new techniques and expand my knowledge and skills. I am happily married ,have 2 grown children, and two dogs.
I am a proud member of the Etsy HAFteam! Support handmade!!"

A woman after my own heart. I love everything about making jewelry too, except parting with it, sometimes. I certainly wouldn't want to part with this beautiful bracelet. In fact I wouldn't mind having anything in her shop. Click on the picture to see for yourself. You can also find her work on, among others, on her blog T.Rusk4u

Brass and Iris Brown Czech bead bracelet, Victoria

The Handmade Tweet

Today's Handmade Tweet comes from Orangyred Ink on etsy.


From orangyredink's Shop Announcement:

"Unique Ink designs that are as nice as a tattoo chest piece, but a lot easier to remove...:)

All "Eriginal" designs are hand painted, hand drawn and hand designed by me. No cheesy ink jets here :) Color tweaks, lettering and custom chain length always complimentary.
Want Something you dont see? Please read my policies and convo me with any custom requests."

This tattoo pendant is not only a lovely piece of jewelry it's also a wonderful piece of irony. That forever love that didn't quite last forever no longer requires surgery to help you forget. For more beautiful, and easy to remove, tattoo jewelry just click on the picture.

Yellow and Orange Rose with Custom Banners NEW

Today's Handmade Tweet comes from The Queens Dowry on etsy.

From TheQueensDowry's Shop Announcement:

"Welcome!

There's a tale of a queens sunken treasure, lying scattered upon and buried within the oceans floor, all await for discovery. This appeals to me firstly because I was born under the sign of the fish. Secondly, because all my life I look for such "treasure". Most of the pieces found here are a result of hours, and sometimes weeks, searching high and low for that special piece, which is off the beaten path, appealing to the eye, and unique!

I hope you enjoy your visit wandering through these unique treasures found..."

Browsing this shop was like a journey through the looking glass. There are so many wonderfully fanciful things to see, like this greenman. It's a beautiful casting on its own and the accenting pieces she's added finish it off without overwhelming it. Click on the picture to see more fabulous and fanciful creations from The Queens Dowry.

Handsome Greenman - 
vintage forest spirit renaissance necklace

The Handmade Tweet

Today's Handmade Tweet comes from fellow etsy blogger Rustic Goth.

From Rustic Goth's Bio:

"Hi There,

Thank you for visiting my Rustic Goth Shop.
My dark and dreamy paintings and prints are rather sad and surreal in nature, at times a little whimsical and weird.

You can find my Rustic Goth originals only in this Etsy Shop.


"Creating art is what I do...it is how I live... how I connect with the world that exists
outside of my studio...how I connect with my own feelings.

It is my hope that each work of art that I create, invoke a reaction, of some kind, in the
viewer....and a special connection with it's owner."


Well these works of art definitely invoked a reaction from me, I adore them! I have such a love for unique and unusual artwork. This one really spoke to me because it reminds me of the night my husband and I were sitting on our back porch watching hundreds of fireflies flying around a bush in our yard. It was so surreal that at first I thought I was imagining it. I had to ask my husband if he was seeing it too.
If you love whimsical artwork as much as I do you simply much click on the picture and check out Rustic Goth's shop.

Catching Fireflies --- Whimsical Dark Art Print

Featured EtsyBlogger for March

This month's featured Etsy Blogger is Vicki of DizzyDragonflies.

From DizzyDragonflies' Shop Announcement:

"Welcome!

I have always loved creating items. My main love has always been yarn, knitting and crocheting.

By accident I started selling my handknit items, people offering to pay for me to make them something that I had on or had given to a friend. This eventually resulted in the birth of this shop.

Now I have tried my hand at spinning, and hand dyeing yarn and love them both. Once again, I find myself making something that I love and am able to sell it."


It is wonderful to find something you love to make is appreciated and desired by other people. We are all very lucky to have this creative outlet. I've recently begun crocheting and I can see wonderful possibilities for Vicki's yarn. I love the vibrant colours she uses, I'm never been much for pastels. You can find more beautiful yarn, plus some wonderful hand knitted items in her shop. Just click on the picture to be taken there. You can also follow her creative process by visiting her blog. knittingdragonflies

Tropical Waters