all I want for christmas...

It's been a long time since I put together a list of my favourite handmade objects and 'tis the season to talk about things we want and drop helpful, blatant hints, so here are mine (a little late, I know...). A limited edition gold leafed ceramic tray by upintheairsomewhere? Yes, please. A big, pretty much ideal Forestbound leather bag. Forestbound leads in perfectly to Foret, my favourite scent from OLO (inspired by all of the forests the maker has visited). A BFF necklace that I'd be psyched to have half of, made by In God We Trust. (I'm dying to see their "Heathers" series...I wonder which quotes they chose.) And finally, hand-painted silk and cotton scarf from Scarfshop's Holiday Shimmer collection. I'd definitely choose the gold one (to go with my platter...).

I have a bit of a tough time with the whole insanely commercial side of the holidays, but I think shopping handmade makes it all feel a little better. Rest assured, any purchase that you've made from a small business person has been greatly appreciated this holiday season. I have been very busy making, packaging, and shipping jewelry lately and I am thankful for each and every order. I love seeing all of the different addresses that my work is headed off to and appreciate it whenever a customer sends me a nice comment when they place their order or receive their package. It's amazing to be part of the process of getting the perfect gift to a special person. Thank you all so much for your support this year! 

What's on your handmade wishlist? Leave me a link if you have a post to share!

gold zag tray by upintheairsomewhere

ashcroft leather carryall by forestbound

OLO fragrance

best fuckin' friends necklace by IN GOD WE TRUST

holiday shimmer collection by Scarfshop

DIY Crystal Collection

Jeff and I were in Whistler not too long ago and we stopped in to check out a rock and gem shop. Although their selection of stones was pretty limited, they did have a wall of collector's kits that was kind of awesome. Inspired by these little boards with a variety of stones glued on them and interpreted in various ways (metaphysical stone collection, dinosaur fossil collection...) I've made my own mini crystal collections as swag for Got Craft? at the beginning of December. The first 45 people through the door on Sunday, December 4th at the Royal Canadian Legion on Commercial Drive will get swag bags, and each one of those will have one of the bedside crystal collections that I've put together. And yes, making 50 of these things did take a few episodes of Breaking Bad.

For those of you who aren't able to make it to Got Craft? I thought I'd share how I made these little boxes so you can make one of your own, with stones of your choice.

Supplies (and where to find them):


kraft paper box, I used 3" x 2 1/8" x 1" (available online here or at local beading supply shop)
clear-drying craft glue (I used Beacon 527 multi-use glue)
1/2" wooden cubes (optional - I used one for each stone)
Avery 5667 clear labels (or equivalent)
label template
various stones (look for mixed lots online, be sure to check dimensions, like this one)

The real key to this DIY is this list of materials. After that, it's all pretty self-explanatory.

1. Design your labels in Word or Indesign and print out one of each of your labels to see if you like the scale of the text and if they will all fit in the box you're using. I had to trim the labels in order to evenly space them inside the box. My text refers to some of the properties that some people believe these stones possess, you could also list things like the name of the stone, the type of crystal formation of the stone, or a full description of the physical properties of the stone.

2. Place all of your labels inside the box.

3. Glue in wooden cube plinths (if you're using them). It's a good idea to use this glue near an open window or in a room with good airflow. Let the glue set a little bit before adding the stones.

4. Place one drop of glue on the top of each cube and drop your stones into the glue, trying to position any flat side of the stone down for better contact.

5. Decorate the lid of your box however you'd like. I used a simple Sadie stamp and then tucked a mini card into each box.

That's it! You're finished! If you make one, please send me a picture!

a few new things...

I wanted to share with you some of the new things that I've been working on as I'm getting ready for holiday craft fairs and online shop updates. All of these pieces are available in the Sadie shop (don't forget to use coupon code: GOLOLAGO for free international shipping). Some of my new favourites stones are featured in these pieces: pink jasper, aquamarine, and tiny raw peacock ore nuggets. I've also been making more pieces using vintage chains and have been hammering lots of brass, much to the dismay of my neighbours, I'm sure.

If you're in Vancouver and can make it to Portobello West at the end of November or Got Craft? on the Drive on the first Sunday in December, I'll see you there! My next big project is making swag for the Got Craft? show. I'll share my project as it progresses...first I have to get the supplies in the mail! Have a great weekend, everyone. Lola has her surgery tomorrow. We really appreciate all of your encouraging comments!

animal collection II

I have a dog, but at one point I had a cat, too. Her name was Sadie and she died suddenly a little over a year ago after we'd had her in our lives for just eight years. I miss having her around, but Jeff and I haven't rushed out to get another cat because we are so busy with school and also because we're pretty sure we can never replace Sadie. More on her crazy personality some other time perhaps...

I was given a few animal-related gifts this Christmas, which made me very happy. I've also found some pretty awesome animal objects on Etsy lately, so I'm going to share those here, too. Above is a picture of the little bush baby (?) miniature my good friend Asrai gave me. These little figures used to come with Red Rose tea. Being from the Maritimes (where Red Rose tea is the only tea one drinks), my mom has a pretty impressive collection of these little guys. Perhaps this one marks the beginning of my own collection.

Jeff gave me this amazing necklace, made by Beetle & Flor from Brooklyn. It's the lower left mandible of a skunk jaw, and, yup, it has gold teeth. I honestly don't know how Jeff came to find this necklace. It is everything I love: natural history, gold, porcelain, and wearable. Amazing. I used to love teaching kids about all the animals skulls and bones that we had at the migratory bird sanctuary I used to work at. I would definitely have worn this every day to work if I'd had it then! Below is another porcelain favourite. These two bears hugging are made by KG & AB. I really love the clean materials and little details of all of their pieces. The figures under glass are my favourites, but I also covet the little porcelain forest animals.

bears in love under glass

letterpress whiskers poster

Finally, I found this whisker print in the Sycamore Street Press shop. Their posters are really fun and super affordable, and their letterpress cards are equally awesome. I think this one might be my favourite, but I'm having a hard time choosing just one! What are your favourite animal objects? If you want to see more of my favourites check out my first animal collection post.

Incidentally, here's a picture of Jeff and I and our dog Lola taken on New Year's Day. We went on a beautiful walk with our pals Jacqui and Blair and saw an amazing sunset with views over the entire city. Hope you have a greet weekend!