Hands On: A Craft Blog

Peeeyeew!

2005-10-28T14:43:00.000-05:00

For a subtle reminder that ALL EMPLOYEES (or guests in your home) MUST WASH HANDS, take a look at this adorable skunk soap dish at Happy Owl Glassworks.

You light up my life

2005-10-27T09:33:00.000-05:00

I saw these at the Renegade Craft Fair up in Chicago and probably would have bought one if it wasn't raining so hard. Check out the cocktail umbrella lamps at bright lights little city.

Pretty pretty t-shirts

2005-10-26T15:00:00.000-05:00

If you don't already know about Threadless, you should. A small company with a very DIY aesthetic, Threadless lets you upload your t-shirt designs. Other users then vote for the designs they'd most like to wear, and the winners are printed up and offered for sale. The designer gets $750 plus $250 of cool Threadless product. It's a great way for a designer to get wide exposure for his or her work. One of my favorites is Predicament, designed by Andy Weitzel.

Say cheese!

2005-10-25T08:15:00.000-05:00

Photo booths have always been one of my enduring joys. But there just aren't that many frame designed to hold the pictures. So you end up tacking it to your bulletin board or taping it to your refrigerator. Well, no more! Check out the beautiful stained glass frames at Whispering Willow.

RSVP requested

2005-10-24T14:02:00.000-05:00

Getting hitched? Artist Ellen Forney can design your personalized wedding invitation.

But are ninjas ever really off duty?

2005-10-21T13:47:00.000-05:00

You know how much we love the ninjas here at Hands On. And I'm betting you might know someone else who wants a shirt to let everyone know they're an off duty ninja. If you do, send them to Kitsch Clothing right away.

Doesn't fall far from the tree.

2005-10-20T12:12:00.000-05:00

Nothing says fall like a crisp apple right off the tree... Or like these cute, crisp apple skirts at Made with Love by Hannah.

Under the Sea

2005-10-19T23:58:00.000-05:00

Octopi? Octopusses? What do they call themselves? Maybe that's what has these little guys at SquidFire so worried.

Thumbs in the thumb place, fingers all together

2005-10-18T09:50:00.000-05:00

These would come in handy on a morning like today where I was so tired I didn't recognize a coworker standing in front of me in the line for coffee for a good five minutes. That's the kind of day where you might need these well-labeled left and right mittens by Bennie and Olive. Come to think of it, these also would have been helpful when I was in first grade and couldn't remember which hand was left and which was right until my left pinkie got roller skated over at a friend's birthday party. Man, that hurt.

Boo!

2005-10-17T13:24:00.000-05:00

Just in time for El Dia de los Muertos. Check out the Day of the Dead art at Chicano Pop Art.

Girls with Guitars

2005-10-14T08:09:00.000-05:00

Are you ready to ROCK?!!! Design your own message for your guitar strap at Sparkle Craft.

Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?

2005-10-13T23:57:00.000-05:00

Yes. Another wallet. But how can you not want to get this for the Star Wars fan in your life? (Or yourself?) Check out the star boys perfect pocket wallet at Blissen.

Say cheese.

2005-10-12T10:12:00.000-05:00

Just because you hope your high school yearbook photo never sees the light of day doesn't mean that you don't get a delicious little tingle of schadenfreude from seeing other people's terrible pictures. Every time you pull out your yearbook billfold from Buy Olympia you'll heave a little sigh of relief.

More felted goodness.

2005-10-11T09:28:00.000-05:00

Winter's on its way. Keep warm with the Necktie Scarf at SuperMaggie.

My preeeecious.

2005-10-10T10:38:00.000-05:00

Do you all have any idea how hard it is for me to keep from buying all the great stuff that I find for this blog? Really, it's like an addict trying to recommend the best place to buy meth or something. But in the name of things like car and rent payments I restrain myself. Except when I really just can't. Like with the stuff at smallthings jewelry. As soon as my paycheck deposits this week, one of these rings will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine.

Your thoughts here

2005-10-07T08:19:00.000-05:00

The folks at Ex Libris Anonymous search the world over (or at least their local book shops) for books with interesting titles and covers. They then take out the boring bits, leave in some of the funnier text and illustrations, and fill the rest with blank pages so you can write down your very own thoughts on things like, "why does God love kittens so gosh darn much?"

Start a forest in your cube

2005-10-06T09:56:00.000-05:00

If your green thumb has turned to brown, but you just can't stop envying those who can make real bonsai flourish check out Chocosho's Atomic Bonsai Kit.

Mmmmm, felt.

2005-10-05T13:30:00.000-05:00

These bags say Spring and Autumn to me at the same time. The delicate flowers combined with the thick felted fabric make for a tote that brings a little bit of sunshine to the year's shortening days. From Buy Olympia.

Car wheels on a gravel road

2005-10-04T06:45:00.000-05:00

Are you a girl who likes her hands on a hardbody... pickup, that is? Check out the one-of-a-kind car and truck logo handbags at So Charmed.

Hug your ninja today

2005-10-03T11:14:00.000-05:00

Ninjatown residents though peaceful prefer to be left alone and go about their daily ninja activities (like ninjaing, napping and practicing ultra-secret moves). [Read more about Ninjatown here.]

Check out the cuddly ninjas from Shawnimals. This is a limited edition set. Take a look at Shawnimals' other toys to get an idea of what the ninja will look like when made.

Kickboxing. Sport of the future.

2005-09-30T09:05:00.000-05:00

Don't want to sell, buy, or process anything? May I suggest making just one exception for this super-awesome Lloyd Dobbler t-shirt at Chocosho.

Have you heard about the pirate movie? It was rated Arrrrr!

2005-09-29T11:55:00.000-05:00

This is a little bit outside the scope of this blog, because I'm mainly going to focus on already-made products that you can buy if you want a handmade gift, but if you are looking for things to make yourself, you can't do much better than Jenny Hart's patterns at Sublime Stitching. Imagine your delight if those tea towels you got from your grandmother had actually had pirates on them. Avast!

Merry F***'in Christmas.

2005-09-28T08:34:00.000-05:00

Happy nothing, you godless heathen. Need one holiday card that covers all your bases? Check out 16 Sparrows' checkbox holiday cards.

Sock Monkeys!

2005-09-27T20:24:00.000-05:00

Finding your life too empty of sockly goodness? You can go to 4 Ring Circus and adopt a monkey.

Greetings and Salutations!

2005-09-27T19:34:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Hands On, where I'll be bringing you the best handmade products and the niftiest crafts. If it's cool and it's DIY, you'll find it here.

We'll be starting out with items made by the participants in Chicago's Renegade Craft Fair. The fair took place this past weekend in Wicker Park, but thanks to some heavy rains most of the aisles between the booths were so muddy it was hard to keep from slipping long enough to make it to the vendors' tables. So if you didn't get a chance to go, or if you did, but are wondering what you might have missed, stay tuned here!