Happy National Handmade Day!!!
The past few days have been a bit of a handful for me, and when I'm stressed out, I turn to my creative side. However, I don't really have time to make something, so instead, I'm popping back in to celebrate another more obscure holiday this week. If you thought Crayon Day was random... well, here's another one. When I was making my social media calendar for Happily Ever Hatter, I found all sorts of fun holidays. And instead of looking past some of the ones that didn't necessarily apply to HEH, I took note of the ones that jumped out at me- thinking that I might use them here instead!
Of course, words like "crayons" and "handmade" jump out to me due to my creative nature. I admit, I'm not sure I ever realized that National Handmade Day existed. I know March is National Craft Month, but I didn't know there was a day dedicated to handmade items. It falls on the first Saturday of April each year. It's a day to celebrate makers, small shops, local artisans and learning to make something yourself! Whether you learn a new skill, take time to work on a creative project or even bake a batch of cookies, it's all handmade and it all counts as a way to celebrate today!
I was originally going to share some of my own crafting projects, but since I haven't really worked on anything new lately, I thought I'd go in a different direction. Instead, I thought that I'd share some of my favorite handmade items that I have purchased from small shops through the years! (Some of these items I've had for over 10 years!)
Our wedding was extra special because of all of the personal touches and handmade items that I incorporated into it. From our Save the Date photo, to our aisle runner to all of our florals, Eliot and I had a lot of handmade items as part of our special day! I'll go into more detail in other wedding posts, but here are a few of my favorites.
I loved my bridal earrings and my tiara and they matched each other really well even though they were from different Etsy shops. (Neither are in business now.) I had fallen completely in love with the tiara and that seller wasn't making them anymore. After a lot of internet sleuthing, I tracked down the sellers sister and she was able to make it for me. They were the perfect touches with my wedding outfit!
I loved all of our wedding photos so much that I had to make one into our Christmas card. I found a seller on Etsy who would take your photo and add it to her chalkboard style card. I loved the little hidden Mickeys that I requested she add to the text!
Another small detail were the personalized hangers for myself and my bridesmaids... mine had Cinderella's carriage at the top and then Mrs. Cady on the bottom!
For our wedding party park photos, I got a special little bouquet for me and boutonnière for Eliot. Disney won't let you do actual bridal photos (unless you book them like we did) so I found these felt ones that were fun and colorful but not so fancy that Disney wouldn't let us take photos. Our Photopass Photographer got a lot of great shots!
My actual bridal bouquet on our wedding day was made by one of my friends from the furniture store that I worked at. Candy had been making bouquets for years and she wanted to make them for us as a wedding present. I bought all of the silk flowers and she made my bouquet, all of my bridesmaid's bouquets, my toss bouquet, my Mom and Nana's wrist corsages and all of the boutonnières for the guys. They all turned out wonderful and I treasure my bridal bouquet to this day.
The biggest purchase that Eliot and I have ever made on Etsy was my engagement ring and my wedding band set. I wanted something more unique after a bunch of my furniture store co-workers all had the same style I had originally been attracted to. I found this ring set by Laurie Sarah and I completely fell in love with it. Eliot and I split the payments up and took months paying it off, but I have zero regrets. It's beautiful, unique and I love it! Plus, she even had the inside of each ring engraved with hidden Mickeys and our names, wedding date or part of our first dance lyrics! (These are my actual rings; if you look closely, you can see the engravings!)
Speaking of jewelry that I love, this Mickey Balloon Necklace by MigotoChou is one of my favorite pieces. I love rainbows, color and Mickey balloons! This necklace was one of a kind and when Amanda posted it, I knew I had to have it! I love it!
I'm also a huge fan of the Monorail Bracelet Amanda made; it's is simple but very cute!
I also love my hand-painted Cinderella Castle necklace by Savanna Rodriguez. I tend to wear it on special occasions. I used to wear it the last day of work before a trip to Disney. I also wore it on my last day of work when I left my job back in August of 2018.
I don't have a picture of my actual hair barrette by Starless Clay, but this one is similar to mine. I love the style and details of the water swirls on this barrette! She closed her shop and is no longer selling, and I'm so glad that I have this colorful piece!
My Captain Jack Sparrow scarf is also by a seller that's no longer making them. I really love how it subtly nods to the dreadlock style and the beads and coins in his hair.
I've mentioned our candy corn shirts before, but I really love these Mickey tie dye shirts from Pixie Crafts. We also have a few other colors of these shirts and I love the style!
Some other shirts that I love are our Zootopia Shirts by Glitter Ever After. They were the perfect addition to our outfits when we finally met Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde wearing the mouse ears that I also custom made for us!
Switching gears to a closer to home, I really love incorporating handmade Disney details into our house and home decor. My Disney Pool Wreath by Sparkle For Your Castle is one of my favorite things. It's fun, colorful, and I love the characters on it!
Another piece of home decor that has me dreaming of warm weather is my Castaway Cay Residents painting by Marnie. Eliot and I have a few of her paintings and I love her style! This was the first original canvas that I purchased from her and I love it! It always makes me daydream of days at Castaway Cay and cruising with Mickey!
My second painting from Marnie was Enchanted Dress Shop. This reminded me of my grandmothers. I call Nana my fairy godmother and she used to make dresses for me when I was little so the dresses reminded me of her. My Grammie loved butterflies (fluttering near Cinderella's dress). The Cinderella dress reminded me of our fairytale wedding. Then, the girl with the dog reminded me of myself and how Eliot and I want to get puppies. I really love this piece!
Bliss was my third original painting from Marnie. Right now, it's currently hanging in the dining room after the whole Squirrel-Gate incident in my office last year. I've enjoyed having it here though. It's right across from where I sit on the couch, and I find myself admiring it often. It reminds me of when I was a little girl and experiencing the magic that is Disney and dreaming big.
Finally, Tickled Pink is the most recent painting we've purchased from Marnie. This was going to go in my office, but the aqua colors look really good upstairs in our master bedroom. This is currently hanging above our bed! It will probably eventually make it down to my office when I get another painting from Marnie to take it's place... maybe a custom one with Cinderella Castle?
We have a few other smaller home decor items that always bring a smile to my face too. Eliot's Eeyore Rubber Ducky that I purchased on Etsy is one of my favorites. He used to collect rubber duckies when he was younger. He also loves Eeyore so I surprised him with this a few years into us dating and he really loved it.
Another small item that I really love are my little Disney Coffee cups by Stacey Morgan Studios. I have a few ideas for these little magical coffee cups... so stay tuned!
Another thing I love is my Make Your Own Magic print by Customized by Cristina. I bought it as a print and as a postcard. I'm planning to put the postcard on my vanity as a daily reminder and I think the print will live in my office to inspire me.
Finally, this Magic Maker Sticker (which is also by Customized by Cristina) spoke to me. Those of you who frequent my blog probably know why, but the Magic Maker title is what I call myself as my job title, so that's very personal to me. I love how the sticker is fun, whimsical, colorful and the pixie dust and hidden Mickeys make it a dream come true! I wish she'd make this design on shirts and other stuff... I'd get it all!
Happy National Handmade Day!!! Why not create something beautiful today? °o°
Please Note: Eliot and I are not affiliated with any of these shops and we won't earn anything if you purchase something from this post. I just wanted to spread a little bit of magical good will by sharing some stuff that I love from Etsy! I know how much it means to small shops for their stuff to be shared.
All of these photos belong to the shop in which I've shared them from. If you link them from this post, please attach them to their corresponding Etsy shop!
No comments:
Post a Comment