REEF BOTANICALS & FABRIC OF MY MIND

One of the fun things about being a long time member of HandMade Artists Forum is watching some of the other artisans grow and branch out.  One such artisan is Larissa, creator of Reef Botanicals and Fabric Of My Mind.  Actually, it's a husband wife team, of Eric and Larissa who discovered a mutual love of making things from scratch.  Between the two of them, they cook, bake, brew, craft, paint, photograph, knit, sew,  create candles & skin care products. and oh, both of them hold down full time jobs. Whew! Oh wait, I forgot, Larissa's face painting and their recently added bee hives, which Larissa has lovingly painted with Winnie The Pooh characters!
Painting the bee hives has led to painting other things too, and Larissa plans to expand this into painting murals.
It all began with Reef Botanical'sShop with high quality all natural handcrafted soaps and other indulgences.
Such as this soothing and skin radiant Honey & Oatmeal Soap

They also create lip balms,  bath salts, scrubs,  other bath products as well as lovely candles.

Fabric of My Mind eventually evolved, with knitted scarves & hats, toys, as well as some sewn toys and creations.  Many of these creations are from Larissa's own patterns such as this fun Designer Knitted Green Dinosaur Scarf

Larissa also creates such classics as this beautiful Deep Blue Celtic Knot Hand Knitted Scarf

One of my favorites is her Flossie The Cow creations such as this one in Black & White.




These are all the places you can find Larissa &/or Eric.

www.ReefBotanicals.com
www.FabricofMyMind.com
www.ReefBotanicals.blogspot.com

www.NJFacePainter.com
www.NJFacePainter.blogspot.com
www.NJBodyArt.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/ReefBotanicals
www.twitter.com/ReefBotanicals
www.facebook.com/faceandbodyart

 

Larissa does some awesome face painting too!  

 

Don't be shy, leave a comment or two!  But, remember, comments are moderated so they won't show up right away!

 

HARMONY

Harmony is not only a pleasing arrangement of parts to one another, but also an agreement
in action, feeling, sentiment or the like. Harmony is about agreement, accordance, unison, melody concordance.  We most often think of harmony in terms of music, but harmony also comes into play in any art form.
When I look at Andrew & Kimberly's work, I see harmony.
Where does harmony come from?  I think it can come from many "places", but I believe it primarily comes from love.
Love for what you are doing, or creating.  Andrew & Kimberly are creating so much more than their jewelry, painted glass and other art.
This harmony is also a major component of Handmade Artists Forum & Shop.  I believe it may  come from their love of each other, the love of handmade and a shared commitment.

Besides her work outside the home, taking care of 3 "boys",  co-running HAF & HAS as well running On Fire For Handmade, Kimberly creates some beautiful sea glass pendants, as well as some awesome altered art using books you can find in her Handmade Artists Shop, Makin The Best of It
Love this Sterling Leaves Sea Glass Necklace

  And of course this awesome Cobalt Blue Message Pendant









Kimberly also creates some wonderful hand painted glass that you can find at MakinTheBestOfIt
















Besides holding down a full time job and co-running HAF &HAS, Andrew does some pretty special chainmaille jewelry by "twisting rings" that you will find at Chainmaille By MBOI.  Not only does he put all those little rings together, he creates most of them, if not all of them!

One of my absolute favorites is this Sterling Silver Roundmaille Bracelet

Chainmaille, sort of boggles my brain, but this Copper Elfsheet Chainmaille Bracelet really does!









This Stainless Steel Persian Unisex Necklace is just totally awesome!

You can also find these awesome chainmaille creations at Chainmaille By MBOI
If you look at handmade creations in a different light, you will see the harmony, especially when it's a creation by either one of these two very special people.
You can also find them on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/KimberlyAKitchen



Harmony.


Would love to hear what you think, please remember comments are moderated, so they won't appear right away.

HANDMADE ARTISTS

So, of course I'm late for my 1st blog ring post in quite a while! Better late than never though, right?
One of my favorite places on the net is Handmade Artists Forum & the Shop too of course!
Kimberly & Andrew started the forum early Spring 2009, and it's been growing ever since.
It's a friendly place.  We have discussions about our handmade creations, promoting, styles, tools, techniques, and even one thread devoted to "What are you doing today?" - that's my favorite thread! There are threads to post you creations with sections for art, jewelry, knitting, sewing & crochet, and one for creative creations for everything else.  You can post your creation and get supportive comments, feedback, and maybe other ideas if that is what you are looking for.  Posts aren't closed, it's a pretty free nice open discussion.  Differences of opinions happen but they are kept on a friendly basis.
Before too much longer the HandMade Artists Shop was created.  This is sweet!  For a mere $5.00 a month, you can list as many items as you can create!  And each of those items will be either tweeted, put on Facebook, google +, Pinterest,   or all of the above!  Many people also promote other shops &/or items on their blogs, Facebook pages, & tweet etc.  And if you need help with something, Andrew or Kimberly are a mouse click away, and you will get a quick helpful reply!
I highly recommend investing in a shop and becoming a member of the forum if you make handmade creations to sell. You can  come hang out, share you're creations, join in other discussions, and well, just hang out!
And to give you a peak at some of the wonderful creations on HAS:

Green Sea Glass Stack by Makin The Best Of It

Sterling Silver Daisy Chain Necklace by Chainmaille by MBOI

Night Music Throw by Sewdifferent

Tiny Handmade Rag Doll by IKnitQuiltSew

Got your curiosity going??? these are just a very few wonderful handmade creations you will find on HandMadeArtists Shop.  Other categories include: Bath & Beauty, Candles, Crochet Knitting & Needlecraft, Metal Craft, Mosaics.......and much more!

Sit back, relax, and go shopping in your jammies while sipping a cup of your favorite brew, or cold one!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Love comments, just remember they are moderated, so you won't see your comment right away!