kattitudes

Sachets are pretty simple really. My number one trick I have found is to sew my innards (lavender is a favorite, along with rose petals, but really, any botanical works) in a sturdy no-fuss smaller bag, then insert that bag in the outer sachet container). Yes, it is a cheat method, and it will not work if the sachet is transparent enough (think chiffon or the like) to see through, but in a opaque material like this, I wouldn’t fuss with fighting containment. I would mush all my materials into a quick and dirty easy bag, then sew that bag into a nicely made up bag.

The other benefit I have found to doing it my way is that if my sachet gets dirty, I can take out the innards and clean the sachet (or even replace the sachet altogether if the smell fades or I weary of it).

Now this particular sachet is just gorgeous to me because it fits one of my great loves in life; lace. Lace lace and more lace. All types. Battenburg is not my ultimate. In fact, it ranks pretty low on the list, frankly, but it will do in a pinch. It has been overdone in the sickly sweet stage, if you know what I mean. I prefer my lace along the needle lace lines. Something complex and ornate rather than just cut work.

Anyway, I love the way this heart embellishment has been tacked down, not just on the edges, but also has had the pearl trim beading tacked along the interior to really set off and echo the heart shape. A tassel was added at top to mirror the red of the felt material, and I just love the white running stitching that was used to put the whole thing together.

This is just a really visually captivating sachet. It really grabs you and draws you in and I like that about it. It needs a good scent to go along with it. I would go with lemon personally. Lemon verbena (which is my personal favorite).

Starting today, you will find a very handy page over there on the right hand side of the blog (it is listed under the pages). I have created a page that lists pretty quick and dirty some of my favorite shopping places online.

It is a first draft, so not all my bookmarks are up there by any means. However, some of the multitudinous places I wander online are up there so that you too can wander in and find some of the remarkable bargains I’m finding.

If you have places that you love, please – by all that is holy – let me know. I am always looking for a new place to shop. Send me a note, leave a comment, and I would love to check it out. I live to comparison shop (must. comparison. shop. It is in my blood).

Keep in mind, these are not places to purchase finished products. These are stores for you to purchase supplies for you to make your own gifts and wonders. This is for you to get your own crafty on.

There is plenty of time before the holidays hit to get something like this made.

If you have not been to a scrapbooking store, oh my goodness, you must. The papers there will overwhelm you. The selection and variety are incredible, so you would have no problem selecting something special for the background of this photo.

Of course, if you don’t have access to a scrapbooking store, there is always the scrapbook aisle in your regular craft store and the myriad of stores online that sell specialty papers.

Although most ordinary frames would probably be easily be deep enough to handle the buttons that are shown here, if you wanted to add enough depth, you could do this in a shadow box to create an illusion of space (and give yourself room to add more trinkets).

This would be a wonderful way to highlight and honor family members each year. If you remember to take a family portrait every year, what a great way to embellish your family photo before sending it on as gifts to friends and extended family.

I saw this favor box on BHG and loved it. I adored it. But most of all, I thought that it was perfect for Christmas. I give so many jewelry pieces that I am always looking for creative ways to wrap.

And knowing that I can run out and pick up bags and bags of faux pearls and use my glue gun to pile them up on the lid of all the spare boxes I have sitting around made this picture all the better.

This idea wouldn’t be limited to faux pearls. You could cruise through the dollar store and see what is available to use in the same manner. Little ornaments, tiny toys, all sorts of items might just spring out at you.

And if you wanted to do this for Valentine’s Day, you could use those horrible conversation hearts that no one should ever be eating. The concept is just fantastic and it really lends itself so well to so many things.

I’m actually looking forward to using this for Christmas this year. I was thinking about doing one with dog bones for the kennel owner, but realized that the dogs would never leave that alone. I guess I’ll stick with pearls.

Materials Needed:

Foam wreath form
Silk craft roses or dried rose heads in sufficient quantity to fill chosen wreath form
Glue gun and sticks

Prepare roses by clipping off stems, leaving approximately one inch of stem with which to work.

Starting on the inside top of the wreath form, glue roses to form. Place a spot of hot glue to the end of the stem to keep it firmly fixed to the wreath form.

Work around the wreath in a circle, slowly filling the wreath shape with roses, taking care to fill as tightly as possible.

• Medium-size rose petals (you will need about 20 petals per votive candle holder)
• Glass votive candle holders
• Rubber bands
• Glue gun with glue sticks
• Scissors

Secure a row of rose petals to the outside of the glass votive candle holder with a rubber band. Make sure the tops of the petals stick slightly above the rim of the candle holder (see photo for clarification).

Using a dot of glue behind each new petal, secure a second row of petals slightly below the first row (used to cover the rubber band).

Attach a third row slightly below the second row, so that it overhangs at the bottom edge of the candle holder.

Trim the petals at the bottom of the votive, so the candle holder will sit flat on the table.

A single potpourri classically consists of several layers of fragrance. There is the main scent which is what makes a potpourri smell primarily spicy, fresh, floral or more specifically like roses or oranges, for example.

The next scents are the blenders which “ground” the potpourri. These back up the main scent and can consist of things such as wood shavings, dried berries, spices, fruit peel or a few drops of an essential oil that will compliment the main scent. Some oils that make good blenders are frankincense, myrrh, light musk, synthetic ambergris or lemon oils.

Finally, there are the fixatives which preserve the scent of the potpourri. While they do not lend their own scent to the mix, they keep the potpourri smelling fresh and new. The most commonly used fixative is orris root, which is the powdered root of a particular Iris variety. Powdered orris root is widely available.

Using a mixture of herbs, flowers, woods, oils and spices from the same family of scent is a good place to start. You can bulk up your potpourri with pretty unscented objects like pine cones, dried flowers and even sea shells. If your potpourri gets dusty from sitting around, place the potpourri in a muslin sack and shake it for a bit, Add a couple of drops of essential oil, give it a few more shakes and it is as good as new.

One enjoyable potpourri recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

* 4 ounces coriander
* 4 ounces orris root
* 4 ounces rose petals
* 2 ounces mace
* 1/4 ounce cloves
* 1/4 ounce table salt
* 1/4 ounce oil of lavender
* 1/4 ounce oil of cinnamon
* 1/4 ounce oil of clove
* 1/4 ounce oil of rose
* 1/2 ounce tincture of musk

Mr. Massey’s Favorite Potpourri

The following recipe is Mr. Massey’s favorite potpourri. Mr. Massey is half founder of Caswell-Massey, well-known supplier of scented bath supplies and scents. Caswell-Massey also has mail order where potpourri supplies and oils can be ordered.

To 4 ounces each of coriander, orris root, and rose petals, add 2 ounces of mace, 1/4 ounce each of cloves, table salt, oils or lavender, cinnamon, clove and rose. Include 1/2 ounce tincture of musk.

I love the execution but I think everyone is a little over the hearty heart theme. The dangles are well attached and all in all, it is a nicely put together set of earrings.

If you look close, you can see where the dangles have been attached, which makes it so easy to admire. The wire wrapping is close and tight and the ends have been nicely wrapped so that the cut ends don’t scratch against the ear (you would be surprised how often I test drive pieces to discover that the wire wrapped pieces dig and scratch. The cheap made clasps are the worst offenders).

If the hearts had been replaced with a drilled gemstone, I would be all over these earrings. I have seen this particular type of earrings made (and very successfully) with beach glass. Phenomenal. So gorgeous. And with everyone and their uncle doing their best to reproduce beach glass in their garage tumbler, at least fake beach glass is being reproduced fairly well and definitely within everyone’s budget abilities.

Where to find good beach glass? Again, eBay. As much as I hate to admit it, I am still getting my best deals on eBay. (Hey, at least I am admitting to it.)

Another entry into the super simple to put together; just takes a little concentration and review of your bead storage to make sure that you have all the pieces you will need. If you are not familiar with the style, the detailed silver bead in this particular necklace is called a bali style silver bead. Run a quick search on eBay for bali style beads if you are short any and if you like this particular look and we guarantee you will fill your quota, and then some.

Again with the wire wrapping. As you can see, if you are going to make jewelry, you are going to be twisting metal. Make sure you have some good pliers. And based on experience, good tools are really tools that feel comfortable in your hands and with which you feel familiar working. That is what makes a good tool.

One of the hardest parts (please note the tongue inserted firmly in cheek right now) of being a bench jeweler is that we have to build a stock of jewelry pieces and jewelry components to play with. If you want to make jewelry pieces as gifts, you need to be doing the same thing. Keep a small stock of chains available. Make sure that you have some nice classic pearls around all the time. In other words, basic jewelry pieces that you know you are going to be able to use in pretty much any circumstance.

Other pieces that you might wish to consider keeping an eye out for include the semi precious stones like the blue topaz here. We have found that if we keep an eye on eBay, there are times that we can find strands of briolette stones (which still seems to be going strong in popularity) for a song when sellers get tired and throw caution to the wind. However, it is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Keep your eyes open and comparison shop all the time.

We will say that it is not worth overstocking on your jewelry supplies if you are not going to be making a significant number of pieces. In other words, do not use up your hard earned paycheck on lots and lots of high priced stones or tools if you only ends up making one or two pieces. Not a great return on investment that we are looking for here. But we are looking for a great balance – if you happen to see some good jewelry items, inexpensively priced and they fall inside your budget that week, do not be afraid to snap them up and plan ahead for some utterly fantastic pieces for the holiday season. Jewelry is such a personal gift that your recipient is sure to thank you!

If you are already making jewelry, you know what pliers you are using to wire wrap. When we saw this particular earring, we recognized the basic heart design we had been taught previously and loved how the beads were incorporated into the heart.

Once you get the heart down, you can reproduce the heart over and over into chains. And once you create chains, you have necklaces, belts, bracelets, straps for purses, adornments for shoes, decorations for books, highlights for scrapbooks, ways to attach tags to wine bottles, hair decorations, electronic charms, Christmas tree ornaments, interior decoration highlights and the list goes on.

Imagination. Limited only by your imagination.