Love Hand Made is "Hiring"!

Are you a blog-minded writer or contributor who loves handmade stuff and finds themselves swimming among the crafty community? We want you! And we want you now!

Love Handmade is taking the next step to super-stardom, and the rocket has four seats. Nissa and Taylor are looking for two new contributors who enjoy the handmade lifestyle as much as they do.

OK, so you're a craft-loving blogger - what's in it for you? While currently a little infant, we'd like to grow Love Handmade in to a big, bad blog. We'll be sharing everything as it comes, from ad revenue, to freebies for reviews, and beyond. That being said, you should be most interested in discovering, reviewing, and exploring and sharing the world of Handmade.

Still interested? Email me right away: nissanicole AT gmail.com. Please be sure to include a short description of yourself and a link to your writing online.

Can't wait to hear from you!

Featured Artist: Miss Courageous

A few weeks ago, I was the lucky winner of a contest hosted by Miss Courageous, a sweet crafter from from Boise, Idaho. I met Miss Courageous, (whose real name is Millie - I love it!) through Twitter, and have often enojoyed browsing her store at Etsy. Miss Courageous labels her brand as "pop jewelery and accessories". Being the mod girl that I am, her stock holds quite a few things I really like.



The prize for the contest I won was this fantastic recycled Vinyl Necklace - a piece from a whole line made of repourposed old records. This necklace is made of black vinyl, wrapped around a little nylon cord.



While I think the necklace is cute, I'm an even bigger fan of Millie's recycled vinyl brooches, like the one shown here. Here's her description for it, from Etsy:

I just like saying the word "Brooch". Maybe you prefer "pin", either way, it's fabulous, or if you don't mind a bad pun; "groovy".

The classic black and cherry red records were hand cut by yours truly, not mass produced with a laser ('cause we all know that's cheating).

Three record vinyl flowers are finished off with a cheery cherry red vintage button, "sewn" together with a bit of wire and securely attached to a pin back finding.

Wear it on your lapel, on your hat, or dress up your blah old handbag.

Don't worry all of you audiophile vinyl collectors, no rare or valuable vinyl is used in the making of my jewelry, all of the records are much better off after I've finished with them ;)

Make sure to take a moment to check out her store at Etsy to see more of these vinyl pieces! And if you're on Twitter like we are, follow Miss Courageous here!

LOVE Etsy: Picture Perfect Camera Bags

Sorry, Love Hand Made followers. Circumstances have prevented Taylor and I from writing here - but we're back! So don't fret, and thanks for continuing to follow even when we were MIA. We hope you'll love the features planned for the next few weeks. Please don't hesitate to email if you have any suggestions of things you love that we might love!

This winter, I started my own freelance photography business. While it's been fun to work on my personal branding and working to find clients, I've been stressing on the giant list of things that I need to purchase before the bulk of my work begins in a couple of weeks.

I have been agonizing over a carrying bag for my equipment for weeks. I have received some great suggestions, like the Kata Small Photo Organizer Case (which I LOVE for it's rolling wheels) or the Tamarac Expedition (Which is great as a backpack, and not too large). While both are excellent suggestions, I felt like they were missing, well, how do I say this...style?

Now the most important thing about my camera bag, obviously, has to be protection. Thousands of dollars worth of equipment must be protected - no ifs, ands, or buts. The second most important thing is efficiency. Can I fit all of my necessary stuff, with room for a little extra, and reach it without jumbling around?

But I can't help but want a bag that has a unique flair. I mean, isn't that what I'm going for with my photography?

That's why I was so excited to find these wonderful camera bags from Xcessrize at Etsy! I was honestly quite surprised to find a handmade alternative to the oh-so-boring bags I'd been seeing.
Xcessrize created this design exclusively, and hand makes all of the bags. She has an excellent selection of patterns and colors, and takes custom orders. What makes them perfect is the internal pockets for lenses, flashes and camera body. The sleek messenger style of the bag is also very efficient - it can be worn while working, slung over the back, for quick access to equipment!

Her store has a few options: the larger bags (interior shown above) are 18" x 10" x 3" and sell for $89.99, the medium bags are 12" x 10" x 5" and sell for $84.99, and the small size measures 10 1/2" x 9" x 3" and sells for $64.99. Each has a different configuration and size of interior pockets to best fit your camera and supplies - making this an excellent choice for a semi pro like me, or a snapshooter with less lugging to do!

I'll be ordering from Xcessrize soon - once I decide what fabric I want!

Nissa Nicole is Live at Etsy!

After a long two months of work, I'm finally launching my store at etsy.com!

Please take a moment to check out my work! Find my Etsy Store here.

Event: Oakland's Holi-DIY Festival - December 14th, 2008

I'm excited to share that I'll be joining the Oakland DIY Crew for this year's Holi-DIY festival! If you're local to the Bay Area, you should bring your caboose down to the Oakland Stork Club December 14th for a flurry of DIY/Hand Made gifts and burlesque show. There's food, drinks, and most importantly, you can see me for your very own Santa pictures!

Please be sure to email for details about the festival.

LOVE Etsy: Give A Hoot!

As alluded to in Nissa’s previous post (and as you may have seen on Etsy and elsewhere) owls are making a HUGE comeback this fall. As a lover of all birds, I find myself naturally drawn to owls. It started a few months ago with the purchase of my Nohohon solar owl, and has quickly begun to overtake my home.

If you’re looking to score some owl stuff of your own, Etsy is a great place to start. From modern owl jewelry to vintage owl figures and up-cycled owl stuff combining new and old elements, here’s my list of some of the best on Etsy!

1. Vintage Owl Trivet Set from retro rubbish. These wrought iron trivets were painted aqua by the seller for a cheery look that would just so happen to match my good china… Other sellers have them in singles in their natural black color if the blue is too much for you, but personally I think the color is quite charming!
2. Three Ceramic Owls from dappledesign. These cuties are only 3.00 for the set, and remind me of candy apples and all things fall!
3. Blue owl pin from Girls are made of Sugar, from Madrid. This is one of several owl pins reminiscent of Tarina Tarnatino jewelry (but way less expensive!). This one is definitely saved to my favorites list.
4. Vintage Tomy Answer Clock from uknowuneedanother. I really want this for my baby, to teach her how to tell time some day. I’m sure I’ve probably seen this as a kid, too, but I can’t place where. It just seems so familiar and sweet.
5. Nocturnal Czech Glass Owl Earrings from Heatherly Designs. I own a different pair of earrings from Heatherly Designs (the Sweet Fruit earrings) but these have been on my wish list for weeks. There’s something about their cute little iridescent faces that makes me want to snap them right up. They come in several other colors, too, if white isn’t your cup of tea.
6. Vintage Avon Owl lotion container, from Olive Vintage. If you like this little guy, you’re in luck, because there are a ton of them on Etsy vintage. Be warned, though, not all are in as pristine condition. I love the idea of using him for q-tips or even just putting him on display somewhere other than a powder room. I have no idea what he’s made of, but he reminds me of those milk glass vases my mother used to get flowers in at the hospital.

Feature: The Fremont Sunday Market and Krissy Maier, Seattle, Washington

In August, my Husband and I drove from our home in El Cerrito, California up the west coast for about 48 hours of "vacation". We were inclined to make it to Seattle, Washington, but because we had no idea how long we'd be able to stay in the car, we left the ultimate destination T.B.D. Twelve hours later, we pulled on to a friend's street Seattle, refreshed from a long drive out of the Bay Area.

We spent our one day of activity time stumbling on neighborhoods that we'd never reached in previous visits to the city. Since we'd driven, we had our car rather than just public transportation. The best part of our visit brought us to the Fremont Sunday Market, situated in the historic and beautiful Fremont/Queen Anne distrct of Seattle.

The Fremont Sunday Market is a mecca for handmade and recycled things. There are wood workers, vinyl album sellers, paper makers and jewelry crafters spread along the small street. I enjoyed much of what I saw, but fell instantly in love with the one booth, filled with the works of Seattle-based artist Krissy Maier.

Krissy's designs are created under the label Orange Box Jewelery, and she specializes in recycling old found vintage jewelery pieces for a new life. I wandered around her booth for quite awhile before I decided to take this blue and white beaded owl pendant, made with sterling silver wire and clasp - as all of Krissy's pieces are.

I love my necklace, and I wear it often. I'm hoping to visit the Fremont Sunday Fair and Krissy's booth soon, on another visit to that wonderful city. 'Till then, I'll be hoping she adds more inventory to her online store so that I can add to my collection. Check out her work at Orange Box Jewelry!