today’s a good day. my lovely sponsors connected goods are hosting a reader giveaway, and wait for it…it’s a $200 shopping spree on any of their fair trade goods! you can purchase anything you like from their gorgeous collection — from jewelry and clothing, to home and garden goods and all kinds of accessories.

it’s connected goods’ goal to offer the opportunity for you to connect with various artisans throughout the world by way of their fine craftsmanship and unique stories. The fair trade system strengthens the skills of the producers to grow and become self sufficient in the international trading arena, and connected goods connects you more directly to producers in developing countries, reducing the middle men, and helping local artisans make livable wages, while you enjoy products that are backed by a unique story and history. so you can shop away on connected goods, whilst helping out some artisans in need!

Note: comments are now closed, and we will announce a winner shortly! thanks!

to enter, simply:

• visit their facebook page and ‘like it’.

• comment below letting me know you did, and if you like, share with us what you might purchase with your $200 shopping spree. we’ll select a winner randomly from the comments section.

• as always, please leave a way to reach you via email, twitter or facebook, and we’ll announce a winner on facebook and twitter next week.

• please enter by wednesday, february 1, pacific standard time.

* giveaway sponsored by connected goods.

yes! i want to live in dottie angel’s world! she is a diy genius {as is her real-life alter ego, tif fussell}, and i cannot imagine a cozier place to spend the holidays! her house, also known as “mossy shed”, is full of crocheted doilies, floral patterns, paper lanterns, and vintage bits and bobs as far as the eye can see!

oh so dreamy! well, if i can’t actually be at mossy shed for christmas, i can get the next best thing. an inside glimpse of the life of dottie angel through this lovely book – volume 2 in the suitcase series by uppercase gallery:

so pretty, yes?! and now, to send you off for the holidays in true dottie angel style. oh, and ps. i want this gorgeous fireplace. a lot.

love, love, love! and with that, i hope all of you have a wonderful, restful, craft-filled holiday! i’ll see you back here in the new year with more crushes ~ the jealous curator xo

hiya and happy monday! i hope everyone had a wondrous weekend. today we have a special guest post as part of the Weekend Handmade blog tour from author kelly wilkinson, celebrating her new book, which shares loads of creative Weekend Handmade projects for you to consider.

Hi everyone! I’m so thrilled to be here at sfgirlbybay as part of the Weekend Handmade blog tour – Victoria’s site is close to my heart because it was one of the very first blogs I ever read religiously, and of course, it puts my hometown city in the spotlight. Over the course of the tour, I’m breaking my ideal weekend into its different parts, and posting about each part on a favorite blog. Which brings me here – thanks so much to the lovely Victoria for hosting this portion.

Sunday mornings mean reading the fat bundle of Sunday newspapers in bed with a big mug of tea, listening to the radio, and slowly taking in the world. But our pooch and her big, sad eyes will only leave us alone in this blissful state for so long. So after I get through a few sections, we’re up and at ‘em taking Mosby for a walk.

If I’m not meeting someone for bunch and I’m feeling indulgent, I’ll pick up an armload of flowers at the corner store (I cannot get enough of the dahlias this time of year – they make everything more happy). So when we get home, it’s some lazy flower arranging with records playing in the background – our weirdly eclectic collection ranges from Air Supply to Willie Nelson to Bill Evens (but if I am being completely honest, I will admit that I’m in a big Air Supply phase right now). More tea, and oh yes – did I mention my favorite late-morning breakfast? A soft boiled egg over bulgur with some grated cheese of whatever we have in the fridge. I know it sounds so hippy-dippy, but it’s savory and filling without being too heavy.

Here is my Irish father-in-law’s timing for a perfectly cooked soft-boiled egg, every time:

Put eggs and warm water in pan, bring to a boil over high heat. When it reaches a boil, hit a timer for 2 ½ minutes. Drain, crack and marvel at that gorgeous yolk color – it matches the mood of a sunny Sunday morning.

Photo credits: Photos by Thayer Allyson Gowdy

Weekend Handmade by Kelly Wilkinson offers more than 40 projects and ideas for inspired crafting. Follow the complete blog tour here, or at STC Craft’s site.

The wonderful Suitcase Series from uppercase presents the lives of artists and designers in book form, first with camilla engman, and now the fabulous dottie angel — crafter extraordinaire! Dottie Angel is the second in the series published by UPPERCASE — image-based books, full of artwork, beautiful photographs and artifacts from where the artists live and work — like an intimate diary or sketchbook with each including a packet of special treasures. The book is a precious souvenir of a creative journey shared between the reader and the artist.

and if you’re in seattle (lucky you!), you can join Tif Fussell (aka dottie angel) for the official book celebration in the beautiful Assemble Gallery this friday, september 30th from 6-9pm. Refreshments (and crafts) will be served. Get your book signed by tif and also meet Janine Vangool, the lovely publisher of the book and UPPERCASE magazine.

Assemble Gallery & Studio
September 30 • 6pm – 9pm
7406 Greenwood Avenue North • Seattle

today i’m super excited to share artist lisa occhipinti’s beautiful diy craft book, the repurposed library. the book features 33 projects share lisa’s unique, art-meets-craft aesthetic, as well as instructions to create your own projects and give new life to cast off books. and if perhaps you’re not super crafty, you can also find lisa’s beautiful paper sculptures in her etsy shop.

With an X-acto knife, glue, and a little ingenuity, the repurposed library shows you how “orphaned” books become home décor accessories, such as such as shelves, headboards and a little sewing box that lisa is sharing with y’all today — simply click this free [ downloadable PDF ].

i love this two-book illuminated luminary (above) and the bookshelf (below) from the pages of the repurposed library.

if you’re in san francisco this weekend, you just gotta visit The Renegade Craft Fair! On July 9 + 10, from 11am – 7pm, The Renegade Craft Fair will return to Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion for their 4th Annual San Francisco Fair! over 200 artists will be sharing their handmade goods for the free-to-attend marketplace celebration of indie-craft culture!

dearest readers of Victoria’s peachy blog, i must confess i can get a little antsy waiting for Mr Spring to show his face. when this happens i take my antsy-ness and turn it into crafty-ness. for me nothing says ‘spring has sprung’ quite like a cluster of happy vintage looking lanterns. these are tres easy peasy to make and best of all, only a few ingredients are required.

ingredients:

*an odd number of paper lanterns from a party store or online source – a variety of sizes would be nice. thrift stores often have them too.

*small scraps of vintage fabric and wallpaper in happy colors along with some bits of old lace or doilies

*embroidery thread in different colors

*a trusty sewing machine

*a covered area outside

*and last but not least, a little bit of patience

recipe:

open up your lanterns and hang them outside in a sheltered area. basically you are wanting the daylight to reach them but not the rain and wind or they will turn into a soggy mess. over a week or two, their original bright colors will slowly fade to beautiful vintage tones and the paper will soften a little, giving them a really lovely worn look.

whilst using your patience and twiddling your thumbs, watching your lanterns turn their peachy color, you may wish to make some ‘kite tails’ so your lanterns feel most special indeed. taking your little scraps, cut small rectangles and fold them over (so they are double sided). leaving plenty of thread at the top for tying on your tails later, start to feed your little scraps through your trusty sewing machine, finishing the tail off with a bit of lace or doily.

when your lanterns are faded perfectly, bring them back indoors, attach your sprightly scrappy kite tales at the bottom and using some colored embroidery thread hang them in a happy cluster in the corner of your room over the table or indeed perhaps your bed. without a doubt, wherever you choose to hang these happy lanterns they will bring a most springified granny chic charm to your nest.

thank you kindly Victoria for asking me to visit with your lovely readers whilst you are away, enjoying a well earned vacation ~ Tif

hey there, thinking of heading across the pond soon? already over in merry olde england? well, if you’re there in july, how much fun does this look like? an angela ritchie ace camp with none other than dottie angel, crafter-extraordinaire! summer camp on the beach in Suffolk, England with tif fussell, aka dottie angel. for more about tif’s crafty summer camp, check out the details at ace camp!

if you’re familiar with the handmade world, then you probably know about the blog indie fixx, one of the original supporters of independent art and design. well, indie fixx has a magazine, too – joie – such a good name for it!  joie, is an online lifestyle magazine covering art, diy crafts, living, design, and food and fashion, edited by Jen Wallace, the editor behind indie fixx.

as a companion to this month’s ‘lovely’ issue of joie you can also order the Lovely Print-It-Yourself PDF Booklet, containing 30+ printables from 17 different artists, Including Valentine’s Day cards and more. here’s a sneak peek…

the folks over at felt & wire were very kind to ask me to do a little guest curating, and round up some of my favorite pieces from their online shop. well, that was pretty fun, and i got to shop ‘virtually’. very easy on the pocketbook. here’s a peek at some of my felt & wire favorites — pop on over here to see all my picks.