One Of A Kind – OOAK

Contributor post by Opal of ApronStringsOwlLady

Doesn’t it feel great to make or find a unique item and list it as OOAK, one of a kind, knowing your shop – exclusively – carries that particular item?

I love to paint OOAK owls and create one of a kind Halloween wreaths! It’s the best part of creativity, letting your imagination and materials flow into something uniquely handcrafted.

Sometimes it’s a vintage item you find – it surely must have been made years ago by a craftsman and is truly one of a kind! Tell us your thoughts about it.

Jerry and Opal from ApronStringsOwlLady says

Our OOAK one of a kind item – Owl Jewelry Board
My husband Jerry and I have designed and made unique items for many years. At times we get an idea, sketch it out and he will square up the edges so to speak – and create a marvelous item.
The following owl jewelry board he did on his own! I selected the fabric for the insert only, the rest was his excellent ingenuity and professional craftsman skills.

Owl Jewelry Board

Leila Blakelyfrom LasLovelies says

I’m sure I have quite a few items that are OOAK (even though I forget what the abbreviation stands for most of the time – Ha!) not that they were one of a kind at the time they were manufactured, but over time have become very rare. This piece is because, back in the 80’s, I collected tins that were of red, black and white in color to go with the my kitchen decor.

I had quite a few Hills Bros. and Schilling articles to display.
Over the past 15 years or so I have been selling my pieces to collectors and now this is my final piece that I am selling in my Etsy Shop. Sentimental? Maybe. After all it is my last tin.

Rare Hill Bros Coffee Tin

pam colangelo from PearlsVintagebyPam says

One of a kind!

Peruvian Placemats

These Peruvian Placemats are Unique. They are handcrafted and hand painted. Each one is different with a mask in the center. I believe even the paper is handcrafted. The colors and geometric designs are fabulous. There are actually 5 but 1 is a bit tattered. A Flea Market Find!!

Robyn Campbell from RobynFayeDesigns says

Caravan trailer bag

Definitely OOAK is this caravan bag. When I saw this fabric advertising takeaways my quirky brain immediately thought ‘handbag’ naturally. I just had to add sauce bottles and a hamburger to the serving windows!

Arek from ARPELC says

 

Tourmalin Ring in 14k gold

One of a kind tourmaline ring handrafted by me in 14k gold. Delicate, marquise shape ring with natural gemstone and tiny heart in the back.

Heather from ArabellaBlossoms says 

I design and sew each of my items. Almost all are OOAK because I may be working with a small amount of the fabric and also because it is difficult to make another item exactly the same.
One of my favourite expressions is that ‘the fabric talks to me’. I find myself getting side-tracked regularly as I browse my (extensive!) fabric and trim stash. I often sketch a design and write some notes, then slip it into a piece of fabric with the trims so I can walk away and stay focused on the project my sewing table! This small tote bag remains a favourite of mine from my range of OOAK handmade fabric gifts. It is an original design made from gifted and gathered vintage fabrics and trims

Tote Bag Handmade Vintage Cottage Chic Handbag by ArabellaBlossoms

 

Handmade Cottage Chic Handbag

willowvalleyvintage from WillowValleyVintage says

My daughter and I found this milk bottle at an antique store—-I’d never seen a woman archer depicted in a skirt before! The logo is certainly OOAK!

Originally used by the University of Wisconsin Dairy in the early 50s.

I like the image of a healthy woman participating in sports:

Archery Milk Bottle

Pam Maggio from PamsPawsJewelry says

I make handmade beaded jewelry and most of my items are One of a Kind although some I can make more depending on the availability of supplies.

I enjoy designing and making unique jewelry!

This bracelet is a cute, fun one for Halloween that I made to go with many Halloween costumes and the prevailing spooky colors in black, orange, green, and purple!

It is accented with a cute orange Carnelian gemstone bead and green Pearl made to look like a Fall pumpkin!

And, if you like the colors it can be worn anytime too!

I sold a similar one last year to a girl who just loved it for the holiday!

Happy Halloween and watch out for ghosts and goblins, LOL!

Halloween Colors Fall Bracelet

Lisajoy Sachs from saxdsign says

One of a Kind Artistic Jewelry is a unique specialty of mine. here I have the blue eyed lotus ring:

Human Eye Sterling Silver Lotus Flower Ring

This ring features an hand enameled human blue eye set in sterling silver. the Lotus flower is cut out of a sheet of sterling silver. it is a really fun piece a real “eye catching” ring…. Ha ha ha…

Nancy Duncan Fellowship from EponasCrystals says

I knew when I found this cross that is would make a wonderful necklace! Green Chrysostom nuggets, peachy sun stone diamond shaped beads, and lavender amethyst round and oval beads are hand knotted with tea stained silk cord. One of a kind and sure to cherished for years to come.

 

Cross Necklace Green Chrysoprase Sunstone

FrameYourStory from Frameyourstory says

Our one of a kind personalized plaque will warm the home or office.
We hand make personalized picture frames, plaques and crosses. Vickie handcrafts the work and paints, Nicole designs the graphics and together we are family. We are very proud to make each piece by hand and with love… from our family to yours. Thank you!

Parent Nana Papa Plaque

Susan Barrett-wells from TagAlongToyZ says

hello
I make children’s toys from plastic canvas..each one is unique and made to the customers specifications. this is a two floor gingerbread house that I completely designed myself for Christmas

Gingerbread doll house

Artsy Lady from WeirdVanity says

My pet portrait necklaces i feel are OOAK! And thats because it’s customized to what individual pet owners prefer. I got the idea to make them when I made one with my dog’s portrait. I felt like this is something I could make for a lot of pet owners who want their pets to be immortalized on a pendant! Some of my customers are so clever that they have converted the pendants into refrigerator magnets- clever cookies right? I usually ask for the name of the pet and a little description so that I can customize the background and make it very very personal for the customer and in the process turn the necklace into ONE OF A KIND jewelry that no one else can own!

Custom Pet Portraits

Candy Rauber from WickedlyCreative says

I love making OOAK items, the more unique and special the item can be the better! I especially love making OOAK textile art dolls with my own designed patterns. I hand print, dye, stamp and draw patterns onto white cotton fabric, add numerous machine sewn and hand embroidered details for added interest and textures. then I use vintage button and metal findings for a final touch!

 

 

 

 

Happy Dog art doll

Dawn Whitehand from DeeDeeDeesigns says

This OOAK necklace is unique because it is handmade and carved by me in my studio… what makes it extra special is the firing process: a saggar bonfire. This is a random process so that any pieces produced from this firing can never be repeated, so it is truly OOAK.

A saggar bonfire means the pendant is placed in a coffee tin full of organic material, such as seaweed, banana skins, cow dung, pine cones and sawdust. The tin is then placed in a bonfire for 3-4 hours.

Hanmade Pendant Reversible Necklace Boho Smoke Fired Statement Jewelry Ceramic Fern

 

Pinterest Gift Guides: Rose Gold And Sweater Parties

Contributor post by Michelle of EviesToolEmporium

The 2015 Etsy Holiday Merchandising Guide was released on October 6th, 2015.

The Christmas In July team turned the Holiday Merchandising Guide Into Pinterest Gift Guides.

Let’s enjoy the trends : Rose Gold and Sweater Parties.

Rose Gold

Arek from ARPELC says:

Delicate red sapphire ring handcrafted in 14k rose gold. Simple, beautiful and very romantic with tiny heart cut out in the back. It might be a perfect gift for wife, daughter, sister or just for you!

ARPELC

Natalia from expressyourself says:

This vintage 14K rose gold from my personal collection. Lovely gold ring with fine detail.

expressyourself

Sandy from TesoroDelSol says:

Most of my designs are inspired by ethnic styles derived by my travels to exotic places. I created a simple bangle from rose gold filled metal and gave it a subtle Moroccan look by forging this scroll pattern into it.

TesoroDelSol

Annie from DesignedbyAnneliese says:

I have taken a slightly different twist to Rose Gold and have these rose punches that are gold in colour! I imagined these to be used as confetti at a wedding, wedding anniversary or engagement party!

DesignedbyAnneliese

Ina from InaSudjana says:

Oh I LOVE rose gold. It is the sweet and soft reddish tinge that makes it stand out as oppose to stark gold.

I use it in almost all of my items that have ‘gold’ in it… including this headband.

InaSudjana

Sweater Parties

Arlene from ThisandThatCrafter says:

What is so special about this ornament is that a piece of a vintage sweater was given to me to use in a creation from a 92-year-old neighbor of mine. She was a seamstress for many years and is trying to find places for her items to go and be used instead of just being thrown away. She came from an era where you did not just throw away items… once an item was done being used in its original state you would reuse it in something else. She only had a small piece of the sweater left so this ornament is very limited. I am making one for her family and one for our family the rest will be for sale. Her piece of sweater will go on to bring many joy as they hang these unique and special snowmen on their trees.

ThisandThatCrafter

Barbara from MermaidsHatbox says:

In the 90’s, when my husband and I went out for Christmas shopping in the city we traditional went also to the Christmas market, to a special restaurant and to the Laura Ashley store to look for winter warm sweaters.

The fashion of Laura Ashley was not really my style, but the sweaters are special. This was the only Ugly Christmas sweater in my collection.

Now I have only two of this collection. Those that I found the most beautiful and the ‘Ugly’ which I bought 1993. It was long, long ago that I wear this sweater, but I’m fascinated by the variety of knitting and embroidery every time I saw it.

MermaidsHatbox

Mother’s Day – Gift Ideas

Contributor post by Megha of bytheartbug

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and here are some lovely gift ideas to celebrate this special occasion.

Dawn Whitehand from DeeDeeDeesigns says,

As well drawing my inspiration from the natural environment I also use recycled products to create some of my jewellery (because of my love of the environment and the need to minimize waste)

This necklace has been created using recycled buttons and beads and makes a great statement for those mums who love to care for the environment and make a fashion statement at the same time!

Bar Necklace Upcycled Buttons and Beads

Catherine Clifford from DesignsByCnC says,

When I was little, I loved to play dress up with my Mother’s clothes. She had beautiful high heeled shoes and lots of great hats. This is my favorite card in my shop, because it reminds me of her.

Happy Mother’s Day Card

Lia Russo from Ghirlandiamo says,

Generally all necessary little things to sew something are collected, at worst, in a drawer or, in the best case, in an old cakes tin box.
For this reason I thought to create a nice basket specifically dedicated to sewing.

I hope my cheerful decorate basket will be a nice gift for a beloved mom!

Decorated sewing basket

Arek from ARPELC says,

Mother’s birthstone necklace in 14k gold- the precious gift for wonderful Mothers with heart and birthstone set inside.

Diamond gold necklace with heart

Kristen Sargent from KestrelCollection says,

I made a Mother & Daughter matching bracelet set. This is something sweet that can connect the two, like a sophisticated friendship bracelet. It would make a great gift for mom from a daughter of any age.

Pink Pearl & Gold – Mother Daughter Bracelet Set

Sandra crochet from Ankleknits says,

I knitted this delicate Baby Alpaca cowl scarf thinking of all of the women’s in my life: my mom, grandma and sisters. They all live to far from me. I imagined how they would wear this soft and cozy cowl everyday to work, to store, to beach in a cool day or just to be warm and stylish. This and other cowls in my store would be perfect gift for them!

Knitted Cowl Scarf

Sharon from SharPharMade says,

For the mom that sews …

Butterick 3677 Sewing Craft Pattern

Lin Collette from rhodyart says,

This is a gift for the really offbeat mom who loves zombies!

Ideal for fans of American Horror Story and the Walking Dead, it’s a mini collage on canvas that can be displayed in small niches, on a desk, or a shelf. What’s special about the piece, if only to me, is that the woman on the piece is my mother when she was expecting my oldest brother way back in 1949. So it truly is honoring Mother’s Day.

Zombie Inspired Small Art for Lovers of the Undead

Sarah Johnson from BellaBoutique23 says,

I am so thankful that I can call my Mom my best friend. She is always there for me to love and support, she is the one person I want to share my joys and sorrows, and she stands by me through it all. This beautiful little card says just that with a simple greeting, “My Mother, My Friend” and is also a gift with 4 tea light candles to give a special Mom.

Mother’s Day Greeting Card

Becky from LollysCubbyHole says,

Pretty for Mom or Mom-To-Be! I love the fact that I can bring my grandma’s garden into my house with a wreath or two… ah, memories..they are the best!

Ivory Burlap Wreath

Sue and Misty from shabbyshopgirls says,

My mother had a little girls tea set to play with when she was just a girl, which my sister and I also played with. To this day she loves to collect cups & saucers! This is a gorgeous Lefton set with dainty little Violets! Perfect size for just a spot of tea!

Vintage Lefton Demitasse Cup and Saucer

 OldBookSmith from OldBookSmith says,

Everyone knows how many roles a mother is called upon to fill, and how many different hats she wears over the years of parenting. We wanted to honor these many responsibilities in a lighthearted way, and created this dictionary print as the perfect gift to show mom her many talents have not gone unnoticed!

MOTHER Dictionary Print

Aquamarine – Pantone Fashion Color For Spring 2015

Contributor post by Michelle of EviesToolEmporium

Color trends are a wonderful way to celebrate the seasons!

According to Pantone one of the top colors for Spring 2015 is Aquamarine.

Pantone Spring 2015

Aquamarine is cool, calming and ethereal. Aquamarine is a shade with a wet and watery feel. Open and expansive, this restful blue also acts as a stress reliever.

Members of the EtsyChristmasinJuly Team have many Aquamarine items in their shops! Here are a few!

Carolyn from SproutsPressDesigns presents her screen printed pouch, with images depicting thistles; a plant commonly found here in Ontario. Carolyn sketched the thistles outdoors, on a glorious summer day. She hand printed the fabric with aquamarine ink as she felt it best captured that perfect summer day: blue skies with the odd fluffy white cloud.

Crisp White Linen Pouch Screenprinted With Thistles In Aquamarine From SproutsPressDesigns

Merri from from ShoreItUp is inspired by the ocean and this aquamarine clutch is one of the first clutches she made. It embodies the cool calm waters of a far away tropical paradise. Aquamarine is truly one of her favorite colors.

Aquamarine Beach Clutch From ShoreItUp

Utary from Oyeta says that when she sees or hears the color aquamarine, it always reminds her of the white sandy beach and the color of the ocean sparkling as the suns shine on it. The serene sound of the waves and the warm breeze of the wind. She found this beautiful linen fabric in aqua and make this clutch with starfish brooch to remind you of the beautiful beaches and ocean and the beautiful memories left.

Aquamarine Starfish Clutch From Oyeta

Barbara from MermaidsHatbox shares that when she colored the silk in this color, she wanted to sew something for herself from this. Then the silk get lost in her fabric stash. As she was digging it out again, the idea came spontaneously to create a summer hat / beach hat from this, which reflects the colors of the sea. As a contrast, she chose white denim. To represent the sparkle of the sea she embroidered the silk with beads and sparkling paillettes.

Aquamarine Sun Hat From MermaidsHatbox

Patricia and Rebecca from northandsouthshabby crafted these bowl filler ornaments, looking to capture the hues of the Caribbean Sea. They think the shade is a perfect color to compliment any coastal cottage or shabby beach decor. The attached fishing net adds an authentic nautical feel. Their customers agree, as these ornaments remain one of the most popular items in our shop!

Beach Ornament From northandsouthshabby

Susan from SSFDesigns shares that this corset and boy short was inspired by its color. Shes loved how the satin fabric shimmered and changed colors like the sea. She thought it would make a cute and sexy corset with a French vintage look!

Aquamarine Corset And Boy Shorts – Plus Size From SSFDesigns

Kristy Jo from KrystalKlarityBeads loves the natural look of beads with the natural inclusions that you expect. Kristy Jo is more about nature than she is about bling. And more about passion than she is about things being really expensive and making her money. Kristy Jo just love rocks! She loves this simple, uncomplicated design because the pieces have some brown inclusions and imperfections – and that is life, and nature! This piece feels calming to her when she is looking at it or holding it while thinking of a spring or summer sky – that is why she made it and kept it simple.

Aquamarine Bracelet From KrystalKlarityBeads

candy frizzell from TrueEarthDesigns mentioned that she wanted to use two contrasting blues, but still complementary in color. She chose Amazonite and Aquamarine and loves the heart shaped gemstones.

Amazonite Necklace And Heart Shaped Aquamarine Gemstone Sterling Silver and Earring Set From TrueEarthDesigns

Natalya from GlassNatalyaDarlin loves the cool color of aquamarine. This set was created in very hot days. Really there was a wish for cool! And it such turned out. She added to aquamarine pink and purple color, the necklace reminds her of “Polar lights”.

Aquamarine Necklace And Bracelet Set From GlassNatalyaDarlin

Aquamarine Bracelet From GlassNatalyaDarlin

Arek from ARPELC creates jewelry from the heart. He loves the combination of rose gold and beauty of the blue aquamarine stone. He treasures simplicity in design. Arek thinks this ring combines all these features.

Aquamarine Ring From ARPELC