Handmade for the Holidays: Gift Guide

I have to admit I have a wee little teeny tiny bit of a shoe fetish.  It's much more restrained now that I have three kids, but I still love me a great pair of shoes!







Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY for a chance to win 
a OOAK Custom Batik Onesie from AppleJaxie!
~Happy Shopping~










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*Handmade for the Holidays: Giveaway*

 Handmade for the Holidays: Giveaway 

For this week's giveaway, I'm honored and grateful to introduce to you, AppleJaxie!

In Jacky's own words...

 "We feel our clothing emphasizes individuality and hope that it continues to inspire people to love and be who they are letting their true COLORS shine!!!"


AppleJaxie is the collaboration of two love birds and their appreciation and passion for art. The result of this combination of soul is represented in our funky wearable creations. 
AppleJaxie is 100% from the heart handmade with lots of luvin!


AppleJaxie is graciously offering readers a OOAK Custom Batik Onesie!  
~Perfect for gift giving or for your favorite wee one~





You can enter to win by leaving a comment below!  Gain additional entries in the following ways, but remember to leave an additional comment for each entry
* Visit AppleJaxie and share your favorite item from her shop
* add The Sitting Tree to your blog roll, if you haven't already 
* become a fan on facebook, if you haven't already
* mention the giveaway on your blog, or on facebook.  

Comments will be closed Sunday night at 10p.m., and the winner will be announced Monday.  Please stop back to claim your prize!  

~Thank you so much for supporting independent artisans this holiday season~
Good Luck!

Comments Closed.  Thanks to everyone for participating and the winner will be announced Monday!

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Gratitude

Sometimes when everything falls apart, all you can do is search for the tiny little glimmer of light, hold onto it, and be grateful for it.  Sometimes, it will surprise you at how much is going right!

Today I'm grateful for...

*The wonderful salesman at the Apple store, who loaned me his power cord until my replacement arrives on Tuesday.
*Bob Ross
*French Toast
*Board Games
*Sunshine
*Shirley Jackson's "Life Among Savages; Raising Demons"

Have a beautiful weekend and don't forget to stop by tomorrow for this week's Handmade for the Holidays Giveaway!
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Custom Hoodie Sweater & Longies Set

Last fall, I had several orders for hoodie sweaters with matching longies, so I thought I'd offer them up as a custom order set this year.  Quite adorable if I do say so myself!






Available for sale today in my Shop!








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Generosity

Every once in a while, my children do something so over the top that it stops me dead in my tracks, making me so proud to be their mother.  My sweet, sweet Lucas approached me a few days ago with a muffin tin full of change he had been collecting from around the house.  With arms outstretched, he handed me his offering and stated matter-of-factly, "Here mommy.  Now we have enough money to buy our farm."


Soon, my young one, soon~
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Whole Wheat and Honey Bread Recipe

The seasons are surely changing, as this overwhelming pull to feed and nourish my family through the long cold time ahead of us, has taken over me like an ancient spirit.  Soups, stews, and the strongest pull of all, fresh homemade Whole Wheat and Honey Bread...


Here's our favorite recipe:

3C. whole wheat flour
1/3 C. honey
1/4 C. shortening
1 T. salt
2 pkgs. quick active dry yeast
2 1/4 C. very warm water
3C. all purpose unbleached flour
a few tablespoons of melted butter

Mix whole wheat flour, honey, shortening, salt, and yeast in a large bowl.  Add warm water.  Beat for 1 minute.  Stir in 1C. of all purpose flour at a time to make dough easy to handle. 

Place dough on lightly floured surface, and knead for 10 minutes.  Place dough in a large greased bowl, and loosely cover.  Let dough rise in a warm place for 40-60 minutes or until doubled.   

Gently deflate dough and divide in half.  Flatten each half into a rectangle and roll up tightly. Pinch ends to seal dough and fold under loaf.  Place seam side down in greased loaf pans and brush with melted butter.  Cover loosely again and let rise until double.  Heat oven to 375 degrees and bake on lowest rack for 40-45 minutes.



Let cool, slice, slather with more butter, and enjoy...

~~~~~~~
The winner of this week's giveaway is lil' cowboys momma!!!  Please email me at sittingtree@frontier.com to claim your prize:)  Thank you to everyone who participated and especially to Raegan at Lilah Bloom Creations for offering such an amazing gift!!



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❉ Handmade for the Holidays Gift Guide ❉

Put a little balance back into your life, this holiday season, with these yoga inspired treasures...






 

Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY for a chance to win 
an Organic/Batik Yoga Mat Bag from Lilah Bloom Creations!
~Happy Shopping~

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❉ Handmade for the Holidays: Giveaway ❉

Handmade for the Holidays: Giveaway

For this week's giveaway, I'm honored and grateful to introduce to you, Lilah Bloom Creations!

In Raegan's own words...

 "Lilah Bloom Creations is an ECO-CONSCIENCE shop with a focus on 
SUSTAINABLE, ECO-FRIENDLY materials."


"Everything in my shop is handmade by me with LOTS OF LOVE and ATTENTION TO DETAIL! Each and every item that I create starts as an idea that is conceptualized from within and grows with every stitch. I consider my goods to be a labor of love and pour my heart and positive energy into each and every item."


Lilah Bloom Creations is graciously offering readers a OOAK Earthy Batik Organic Yoga Mat Bag!  
~Perfect for gift giving or for a gift to yourself~


You can enter to win by leaving a comment below!  Gain additional entries in the following ways, but remember to leave an additional comment for each entry
 add The Sitting Tree to your blog roll, if you haven't already 
✽ become a fan on facebook, if you haven't already
✽ mention the giveaway on your blog, or on facebook.  

Comments will be closed Sunday night at 10p.m., and the winner will be announced Monday.  Please stop back to claim your prize!  

~Thank you so much for supporting independent artisans this holiday season~
Good Luck!


Comments Closed.  The winner will be announced tomorrow morning!


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An upcycled gallimaufry...

Mike had the week off, which meant the kids got to spend some time playing football and I got to spend some quality time with my sewing machine!  There's really no rhyme or reason to this collection of upcycled items, just went where the wind carried me...

Doesn't this remind you of salt water taffy?  It's just as soft and squishy as its counterpart too!



The Triangulum Constellation...   Near the Andromeda Galaxy, a triangle was placed amongst the stars to commemorate the division of the universe amongst the three sons of Cronus : Zeus received the heavens, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld. 


Greensleeves, a traditional English folk song...
 


Kalsonger, means pants in Swedish.

Autumn Harvest Coat.  Just because it's fall, and who can resist a striped upcycled hoodie jacket?!

 Or an upcycled orange plaid vintage blanket?!


  The cool air and golden colors at twilight...



 And last but not lease, Wild Rose.  For my sweet baby niece, who always smells so sweet.


All of these unique, OOAK items are available for sale in my shop!  Also, don't forget to stop back this weekend for another big Handmade for the Holidays Giveaway!!



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And the winner is....

...FairyLover!!   Thank you to everyone who entered and I look forward to seeing all of you back next weekend for another amazing giveaway~
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✽ Handmade for the Holidays Gift Guide ✽

For the first Handmade for the Holidays Gift Guide feature, I'm proud to present, the NaturalKids Store!

I'm probably a wee bit biased since I'm a member of the team, but if you're looking for a wide variety of beautiful, artisan quality, all natural gifts for your family this holiday season, then you must stop by for a visit.  Or two..  Or three...


Featured Artisans (clockwise from top left); banana bottoms,


 ~Happy Shopping~





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✽ Handmade for the Holidays: Giveaway ✽

I'd like to start off our Handmade for the Holidays Gift Guide with a special giveaway of my own as a way of saying thank you to everyone who has bought a handmade item from me since I opened shop almost a year and a half ago.  


I started this shop after spending one whole summer under an apple tree learning to knit, watching my kids tend their plots in the garden, counting stars, identifying plants, insects and animals, and wondering how I could combine all the bounties of nature in with my knitting.  I decided on children’s clothing as a way to make a living for my family while staying close to the home and our way of life. I wanted clothing that they would be able to wear all day long and always be comfortable, no matter what the weather. I wanted each item to be as natural, beautiful and unique as each of my children, but practical and durable so that they could be free to roll in the grass, jump in the puddles, and snuggle up to the bonfire, without having to worry about stains or wear and tear.  


Just as my family life has grown and evolved, so has my business life.  Not only do I offer unique hand knit and upcycled clothing & accessories, but I also offer a wide array of handmade supplies for those of you who are inspired to create your own unique works of fiber art!  I'm thrilled to have found so many communities of handmade artisans online and throughout the world who share my same passion for creating sustainable, functional and unique items. My hope through these generous offerings over the next few weeks is to inspire just one more person to give up the big box stores and join in support of the families who make up the Handmade movement!  Ok.  Enough of the sappy talk... on to the free stuff!!!

Handmade for the Holidays: Giveaway
A sampler box of knitting pattern kits!  
You choose 4 patterns from my shop and I'll INCLUDE enough yarn to create each design! 
(Note: Yarn color may vary from picture)


You can enter to win by leaving a comment below!  Gain additional entries in the following ways, but remember to leave an additional comment for each entry
 add The Sitting Tree to your blog roll, if you haven't already 
✽ become a fan on facebook, if you haven't already
mention the giveaway on your blog, or on facebook.  

Comments will be closed Sunday night at 10p.m., and the winner will be announced Monday.  Please stop back to claim your prize!  
Best of Luck~

Comments closed.  Thank you so much for entering!












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Somewhere Over the Rainbow...

...mittens are blue. And red.  And orange.  And yellow.  And green.  And purple, too.  My little guy LOVES everything rainbow and when I saw his face light up in response to these simple treats, I knew I had to offer them up for sale as customs!



Now for the updates::   
*I'm really excited and so grateful to tell you that almost everyone who has signed up so far for the holiday gift guide has offered to do a giveaway!!!  That means a fantastic selection of HIGH QUALITY, all natural,  mama made goodies coming at you for the next few weeks.  Be prepared to be blown away~  Also, there is no deadline for the gift guide, so feel free to join in the fun at anytime.  If I run out of weekends for the giveaways, I'll just spill over into the week.  This is going to be a fly by the seat of my pants kind of promo!!!

*I'm almost caught up with my custom knitting orders, so I'll be sewing another batch of upcycled sweater pants for next week and I hope to have a little upcycled surprise up my sleeve (Bad pun.  Very bad pun.)

*Hoping to have some hand dyed yarn up, too. (Thank you for waiting patiently, mamas.  I know you're going to love the new fall colors I've been dreaming up.)

I think that's about it for now.  I have no idea which giveaway will be first, so let's make it a surprise, shall we??  Have a joyous weekend~




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Handmade for the Holidays...


I know it's hard to be thinking about the holidays when the leaves have just barely fallen from the trees.  However, starting this weekend, I'm planning on using my Saturday & Sunday blog posts to showcase the work of handmade artisans with a Handmade for the Holidays Gift Guide.  Along with featured sellers, I will also play host to a few giveaways scattered here and there!  Let's get the word out that Mattel and Fisher Price aren't the only options this holiday season~

Here's the skinny:
*It's FREE!!   
*If you offer a giveaway, the whole day is yours, exclusively!! 
*All other artisans will be featured in groups of five or so...  I'll also let you know a few days before your feature will appear, so we can talk it up on fb, twitter, etc. 
*If you'd like to participate as a featured artist, please send me a link to your website and one picture you'd like me to use. 
*Email:  sittingtree@frontier.com

I'm so ✽excited✽ about this that I'm sure I forgot to mention something.  If you have any questions, just send me a note and I'll get right back to you!

Peace~
Liz 




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How to make tree branch buttons

Tree branch buttons are a fun and easy project for the whole family...

First, you take a walk through the woods and find a fallen branch from your favorite hardwood tree.  Our branch was about 1" in diameter, but you can use whatever size is available.  Obviously, larger branches make larger buttons.  I don't recommend using branches less than 1/2" in diameter as they tend to split when you drill holes in them.

Next, you find a capable participant (my dad!) to run the chop saw and cut a gazilllion disks about 1/4" thick.

Our branch was still very "green" so we let the disks cure for about a month before drilling, sanding and finishing them.

For the finish, we made a non~toxic beeswax polish from Plain and Joyful Living, but used coconut oil instead of olive oil.  You can see the difference in the buttons below.  The polish really brings out the luster and adds a beautiful warm glow!


Don't want to make your own?  You can purchase these Cedar Tree Branch Buttons in packs of three at my shop!







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