holiday shopping issueMaking your list and checking it twiceFinding the perfect handmade gifts for everyone

Healthy LivingINcorporate MaTcha tea into your holiday recipes

Eco crafts

UPcycled Holiday

ornaments

Handmade holiday pledge

Take the

PUTTING A PERSONAL TOUCH ON GIFT WRAP

dad sis

boss kitty

The Holiday Issue

Holiday Shopping Issue \ The Handmade Companion \ 3

C O N T E N T S ...

F E AT U R E . . .

Finding the perfect hand-made gift can be easy, fun and make those tough-to-buy-for friends, family members and co-workers glow.

. . . PA G E 1 2

E C O - C R A F T S . . .

Make your own upcycled ornaments out of scrap pieces of fabric, sweaters and old books!

. . . PA G E 6

L I F E S T Y L E S . . . MAKE HEALTHY HOLIDAY RECIPES INCORPORATING MAtCHA TEA.

. . . PA G E 1 0L E A R N I N G T O D I Y . . . Making quick, easy and charming gifts and wrapping them to look like works of art.

. . . PA G E 2 0

\ Editor In Chief ... Anne Hayman . . . anne@thehandmadegif tguide.com

. . . www.thehandmadegif tguide.com\ Photo Editor ... SARAH REED

. . . sarahreedphotography@yahoo.com. . . www.sarahreedphotography.net

\ Lifestyles Editor ... Phuong Le . . . www.konitea .com

. . . www.theteachick.com\ Eco-Craft Editor ... Michelle Stolz

. . . a is le3@comcast .net. . . www.upc ycleyourl i fe .com

\ Sewing Editor ... KAREN LEPAGE . . . r ingmaster@onegir lc ircus .com

. . . www.onegir lc ircus .com

4 \ The Handmade Companion \ Holiday Shopping Issue

C O N TA C T U S . . .

A N o t e F r o m t h e E d i t o r

Taking the Handmade Pledge

I decided to go handmade this year. {kinda like last year, right?} To my friends and family: I pledge that my holiday gifts are made for you with love by my two little hands or those of a super-talented artist/crafters. I am very conscious of where I spend my money.

I like the idea of keeping it in the hands of small businesses.

Especially those in my own community. I am very lucky to live in Metro Detroit, surrounded by amaz-ingly creative folks. Never a shortage of cool stuff around here! These days there seems to be some kind of handmade holiday shopping event in every big city. I’ve compiled a list on my blog {thehandmadegift-guide.com} of some of the larger events in the U.S. If you can’t attend shows, online shopping is the next best thing. {You can wear jammies!} I have a bunch of links to cool Etsy shops on my blog too. It really is a great visual guide to discover new crafters. Check out my make a gift section as well, a resource for finding tutorials for some DIY-ing.

I hope you enjoy our holiday special issue! The Handmade Companion will be a quarterly print maga-zine, with the first actual edition out in January 2012.

We wanted to give everyone a taste of the vibe of the magazine, with the launch of the first annual holiday issue. In these pages, our firecracker team of DIY-ers shares seasonal recipes using fantastic natu-

ral ingredients {like tea!}, cool upcycled ornament projects and we share some super awesome handmade finds from our fave online shops in our gift guide that makes buying handmade for everyone on your list a breeze.

The magazine will regularly feature hand-made lifestyle articles such as: healthy cooking/baking; sewing Q&A and projects; crafty ideas, how to’s and patterns; a ton of upcycling ideas, tutorials and projects for your home and The Crafter’s Business Association will share tips for those of you that sell your crafts, and more! {Yes, more!}

love, Anne• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Holiday Shopping Issue \ The Handmade Companion \ 5

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Saturday:\

Sunday:

Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday:

C R A F T Y C A L E N D A R , We e k O f : Dec. 17 to 23

* g

roce

ry shop

for

party

men

u stuff *

* p

ut finish

ing

touche

s on g

ifts

* m

ake

gift w

rap

*

** W

rap

gifts * *

* m

ake

gift tag

s *

* make scarflette for mom* plan party menu

•* make ornaments for tree* shop on Etsy

\ Style Editor ... Sophie Fenby. . . sophie@thehandmadegif tguide.com

\ STITCH Kitsch ... Amy Cronkite . . . acronkite@gmai l .com

. . . thesmal lcraf t .com

\ Marketing/PR/Advertising ... Jennifer Scott

. . . info@thehandmadegif tguide.com\ COpy Editor/Design ... Jodie Fletcher

. . . jodel laf le tch@gmai l .com

\ \ Don’t miss our next issue of The Handmade Companion, coming in January \ \

6 \ The Handmade Companion \ Holiday Shopping Issue

Eco

-Cra

fts

rafting is a fun and relaxing way to spend time, and — if all goes well — results in something

beautiful.But here, Michelle Stolz of Aisle 3 will

show you how much more rewarding upcycling can be. Taking items that are no longer useful and would otherwise find themselves in a landfill and turning them into beautiful treasures is some-thing this crafty goddess has turned into an artform.

For this special holiday edition of The Handmade Companion, Michelle takes sweaters, fabric and old books and trans-forms them into charming ornaments even the most picky of decorators would be proud to hang on their tree.

For a plethora of other upcycled eco-craft handmade gift ideas, check out Michelle’s blog at www.upcycleyourlife.com or go to her Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Aisle3.

Deck your halls, trees and windows with eco-craft ornaments ... by upcycling unwanted items ...

C

Holiday Shopping Issue \ The Handmade Companion \ 7

L I S T O F T H I N G S Y O U ’ L L N E E D . . .

8 \ The Handmade Companion \ Holiday Shopping Issue

OL

D B

OO

KS

...

S W E AT E R S . . .

1

2

3

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5

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1

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Holiday Shopping Issue \ The Handmade Companion \ 9

L I N E N O R FA B R I C S C R A P S . . .

3

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his year have a HEALTHY Hand-made Holiday using

recipes created using tea.Koni Matcha is a special

type of green tea: a premium, jewel-green powder that is whisked with hot water in a bowl to make a delicious beverage.

Deep in flavor and intense sweetness, the healthful benefits make this tea a staple in your tea collection. Only the finest tea buds are hand picked. It takes one hour per mill to grind 30 grams of Matcha!

Matcha contains, by vol-ume, higher concentrations of catechins and vitamins be-cause when you drink matcha you ingest the whole tea leaf.

Koni Matcha blends per-fectly with flour, it’s deep in

flavor and intense sweetness, and it’s packed with antioxi-dants!

Matcha green tea has approximately 70 times the antioxidants of orange juice, even higher than blueber-ries, and its unique EGCG catechin element (the subject of much current research) is one of the most powerful immune-boosting and anti-cancer substances known. Several studies have shown it possesses anti-viral and antibiotic properties, which assist with everything from digestion to killing harmful bacteria to helping prevent colds and flus.

It increases your mental alertness and sharpness while also providing an almost meditative focusing, calming quality.

10 \ The Handmade Companion \ Holiday Shopping Issue

LifestylesKoni Matcha’s endless health benefits also taste wonderful in

... our favoirte holiday treats ...B y P H U O N G L E . . . T h e Te a C h i c k

TPumpkin Pie

Ingredients: 1 egg 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon Koni Matcha Green Tea 3/4 cup white sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk 1/2 teaspoon ground Koni Caramel Slim tea 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust Directions: 1. In a spice/coffee grinder, place 1/2 teaspoon of Koni Caramel Slim and grind to a powder form. You may need to smooth out a few

larger pieces with a mortar and pestle.2. Preheat oven to 450 de-grees F (230 degrees C).3. Add the sugar gradu-ally to the pumpkin puree. Beat well and stir in the Koni Matcha, flour, salt and spices. Stir in the corn syrup and beat well. Stir in the slightly beaten egg, then slowly add the evapo-rated milk, mixing until well blended. Pour the batter into the unbaked pie shell.4. Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 10 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees F) and continue baking pie for an additional 60-75 min-utes or until a knife inserted into the mixture comes out clean.

I love using Royal Icing for my holiday cookies because it dries to a won-derfully smooth and hard matte finish.

Ingredients:2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour2 teaspoons of Koni Mat-cha Green Tea1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon baking powder1 cup softened butter1 1/2 cups white sugar or 1 1/2 teaspoon of truvia1 egg1 teaspoons vanilla extract3 tablespoons buttermilk, milk, or soy milkDirections:1. In a small bowl, stir together Matcha, flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in dry ingre-dients. Add enough of the milk to moisten the dough and make it soft, not wet.3. Roll dough into a ball and freeze for 15 minutes.4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.5. Roll dough to a 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface, and cut with a 3-inch Christmas tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 min-utes or until slightly golden. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to cool on a rack.7. Frost tops of cookies with either the

royal icing or the confectioner’s frosting below. Decorate as desired.Royal Icing Ingredients:2 large egg whites2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice3 cups powdered sugar, sifted3 tablespoons of Koni Matcha Green TeaDirections:1. Sift the Koni Matcha and powdered sugar together. Set aside.2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted powdered sugar tea mix and beat on low speed until combined and smooth.3. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

Ingredients:1/2 teaspoon Matcha green tea powder1/4 ounce strawberry liqueur1/4 ounce passion fruit juice2 ounces vodkaDirections:1. Rim a martini glass with sugar.2. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled.3. Pour into a martini glass.4. Garnish rim with a strawberry.

Holiday Shopping Issue \ The Handmade Companion \ 11

Sugar Cookies Banana BreadIngredients:3 to 4 Ripe bananas, peeled and mashed1/3 cup melted butter3/4 teaspoon of stevia OR 3/4 cup granulated sugar. A little stevia goes a long way.1 large egg, beaten1 teaspoon vanilla1 teaspoon baking sodaPinch of salt1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour4 teaspoons Koni premium Matcha Tea1 banana, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch slicesDirections:1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Gener-ously butter a 4-by-8-inch loaf pan.2. With a wooden spoon, mix the butter into the mashed bananas in a large bowl. Add the sugar, egg and vanilla. Add the baking soda and salt and mix.3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and the Koni Matcha Green Tea powder. Add to the wet mixture.4. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Line the middle with a row of sliced bananas. Bake for 55 minutes.5. Variations: Try adding 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts or replac-ing half of the mashed bananas with freshly diced pineapple!6. Makes 1 loaf with 16 slices.

Nutrition information per slice: 145 calories, 2 grams protein, 5 grams fat, 24 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 24 milligrams cholesterol, 129 milligrams sodium

Strawberry Kiss Mar-TEA-ni

A Very Handmade Holiday

Check out our Where To Shop Guide on Page 18 to find the gifts from the party.

Photographs

by Sarah Reed

holiday shopping Mom auntie

bestie cousin

Southern wood

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Southernwood

Patsy Fine

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PatsyFine

Red Leaf Bath and Bodyhttp://www.etsy.com/shop/RedLeafBathand-

KooKooCraft

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KooKooCraft

from cover: Dad’s getting: Sweet Pine Soaps http://www.etsy.com/shop/Sweetpinesoaps

Holiday Shopping Issue \ The Handmade Companion \ 15

holiday shopping holiday shopping brothernanny

co-worker me

The Macaron Queen

http://www.etsy.com/shop/

themacaronqueen

Sovereign Sea http://www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignSea

Irene Suchockihttp://www.etsy.com/shop/IreneSuchocki

Creole Shahttp://www.etsy.com/

shop/CreoleSha

from cover: Sis is getting: Shirasela http://www.etsy.com/shop/Shirasela

holiday shopping auntie

Knock Knocking

http://www.etsy.com/shop/knockknocking

other

Nia Crafthttp://www.etsy.com/shop/NiaCraft

Urban Heirloomshttp://www.etsy.com/shop/

UrbanHeirlooms

Sugar Me Desserterie http://www.etsy.com/shop/

SugarMeDesserterie

Mom

hubby teacher

from cover: BOSS is getting: Urban Eye http://www.etsy.com/shop/UrbanEye

Eclu

holiday shopping holiday shopping bestieother

niecegrandma

son

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GlitzGlitter

Little Sapling Toyshttp://www.etsy.com/shop/Littlesaplingtoys

Eclu http://www.etsy.com/shop/Eclu

Sea Pinkshttp://www.etsy.com/shop/

SeaPinks

from cover: Kitty is getting: Jenneration Fixx http://www.etsy.com/shop/Jennerationfixx

Glitz Glitter

. . . W H E R E T O S H O P G U I D E . . .

Here’s where you can find the gifts from our Handmade Holiday party!

Clockwise, starting in the bottom left corner:

\ http://www.etsy.com/shop/mamamayi\ http://www.southernyankee.com\ http://www.etsy.com/

shop/2beescreations\ http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetsapling\ http://www.cupcakesforclara.com\ http://www.etsy.com/shop/zemphira\ http://www.tlk-designs.com/\ http://www.etsy.com/shop/comfortably-lovely\ http://www.tierraverdesoaps.com/\ http://www.etsy.com/shop/loreleyjewelry\ http://www.unusuallyyours.artfire.com\ http://www.etsy.com/shop/3pearls

\ http://www.etsy.com/shop/metalsmitten\ http://www.lt3omg.com\ http://www.reviveyourbath.com\ http://www.etsy.com/shop/sunrisefibers\ http://www.100proofpress.com

Also check out the fun things at Soft Shell Crafts: http://www.etsy.com/shop/softshell-crafts

www.forgivingworks.com

boho

hippie

beautiful

colorful

free-spirited

freshfresh

modern

ageless

precious

loved

cherished

forgivinggiving

portrait . commercial . web/printSarah Reed Photography

www.sarahreedphotography.net

20 \ The Handmade Companion \ Holiday Shopping Issue

he holiday season presents a serious time crunch for most of us. All the dreams of

handmade holidays start to collide with the reality of every day life. I know that my ambition far exceeds the time I have available, every single year. Somewhere around Decem-ber 15th I begin to realize that I will never be able to make something for everyone in my life. When I consider what my gift recipients really want, something handmade may be the farthest from their minds. That real-ity doesn't have to thwart my intent to give of myself for the holidays, in a way that's relevant to the loved ones on my list!

This year, I've decided to let my-self off the handmade hook early by making my finishing touches ahead of time. I also want to stay true to my belief that "handmade" is more than the sum of its parts; handmade gifts should be meaningful, personal, du-

rable, and leave a trace of goodness in the wake of the holiday activity.

I've prepared a little tutorial to show you what I've done to make a little something special for everyone on my list. I'm making gift tags from special fabric scraps I've collected throughout the year and saved. These will not only be a sign of my love and intent, but also live on as something useful such as household decor, lug-gage tags, or bookmarks, depending on the person receiving the gift.

Collect the fol-lowing materials from your crafting stash to get started:

- large scraps of a base mate-rial (such as muslin, linen, cotton sheet-ing, or even fine paper)

- some kind of craft adhesive such

as fusible web, a fabric glue stick, or double-sided basting tape

- scissors or pinking shears- fabric scraps of varying colors

and textures- scraps of special trims, buttons,

or yarns for additional embellish-ment

- fine-tipped markers or letter stamps and ink

- a roll of ribbon or twine to attach the tag

- sewing machine and coordinat-ing or contrasting thread

- a list of gift recipients

Sewin

g

Creating meaningful, personal and durable handmade gifts ... with needle and thread ...

B y K A R E N L E PA G E . . . O n e G i r l C i r c u s

T

Holiday Shopping Issue \ The Handmade Companion \ 21

First, think about who will receive your token of handmade love and kindness: What do they like? What makes them smile? Do you share any special history you could express with the materials you've gathered?

I'm starting with my teenagers. They are both boys (so, nothing fussy or purely decorative) and they both LOVE to read.

Jack loves red and black. He's trendy, sporty, and hilarious.

Peter loves gold. He's quirky, out-doorsy, and quick-witted.

Neither one of them have hand-made-anything on their wish lists, but I still want to give them some-thing unique from me that they will be able to use. I'm making book-marks to serve as gift tags

Now it's time to start making!1. Cut 2 of the base fabric to

bookmark size using pinking shears, or regular scissors. I went with 1 1/2-by-7 inches. Cut a length of ribbon or trim to 14 inches.

2. On the right side of one of the base fabric pieces, stamp, write or draw your message.

3. On the right side of the other piece of base fabric, adhere your scraps. Thread your machine with the desired thread color and choose a stitch you like. Turn the presser foot pressure down (if yours is adjustable) to make moving the fabrics easier. Stitch your scraps down to the base fabric. Give yourself some freedom from straight lines, and stitch all over the place!

I chose a loose outline with a

straight stitch here. I overlapped the fabrics in some places, and was sure to stitch through all the layers to secure them to the base fabric.

You could opt for anything you like; stitching ribbons, trims, and fabric scraps in random order, or lay-ing out a pattern to stitch in place.

4. Once you are happy with your design, you may stiffen the fabric by pressing fusible web between the two layers, right sides facing out. (I opted not to take this step, but it will give the bookmark a crisper appearance.)

5. Stitch around two long edges

and the bottom short edge.6. Fold the ribbon or trim in half,

and tuck the folded edge into the top short opening. Stitch across through all layers to close the end and secure your ties.

7. Use the free ends to tie the bookmark to your gift.

I hope creating these little some-things give you a permission of sorts to give yourself a break, while mak-ing meaning in your holiday details. Please share, adapt to meet your needs, and enjoy as you wish. Have a heartfelt, handmade, holiday season!

22 \ The Handmade Companion \ Holiday Shopping Issue

rapping gifts is the best way to use your DIY-

ish-ness. I like to use old paper bags from the mar-ket, but you could recycle any paper that you have. I like paper bags because then I can stamp ’em up and create my own pat-terned one-of-a-kind wrap. Experiment with group-ing together a few smaller stamps and using them together to make a neat repetitive pattern, paint the paper using stencils, use stickers, rub-on's, glit-ter and anything else you can think of to decorate an empty canvas.

I also love using fabric scraps or upcycled fabric to wrap my gifts. I tend to use old curtains in natural fab-

rics like cotton or linen, but you could find some amaz-ing shirt/skirt/sheets at the thrift store and cut them up to use. I wrap the gift just like I would if I was using paper, except I use a little drop of fabric adhesive to keep it together. {Be careful with this: a little dot really

will hold it together. You do want the recipient to be able to open it without a knife.}

Then wrap your gift! Use fun sewing notions like ricrac, pom-pom trim, lace, ribbon, fabric strips to decorate the wrapped pack-age. There is a link to tutori-als on The Handmade Gift

Guide that will show you how to make fabric flowers to decorate your packages. {Make sure you check out Snazziedrawers.com for the most beautiful fabric flower patterns.}

I also like to use natural elements like evergreen branches and pinecones {spraypainted silver or gold}.

The care and love that went into making the gift, reflected in... the final handmade touch ...

Wrap!

It’s A

B y A N N E H AY M A N . . . T h e H a n d m a d e G i f t G u i d e

W

Read our blog. Attend a craft workshop. Become a member. Vend at a market.

Explore and express your creativity with Flint Handmade!