Hmm… well if this was a game of word association my guess is that most of you would have added the word ‘Grey’ to that post title. . . and that is not surprising given the current world wide phenomenon. Even if you haven’t read the trilogy that has set the record as the fastest-selling paperback of all time, you would have heard about it . . . seen it advertised, caught the catch phrases doing the rounds on social networking. . . umm, I even heard people taking about it while waiting in the queue at the supermarket.
But what if my post title was really ‘Fifty shades of ‘Handmade’
Seriously.
Handmade is just as amazing.
Being a child of the 60’s I remember when handmade was associated with ‘hippies’ who dyed their own fabric, grew veggies, made macramé and the odd bit of pottery.
If your mother made your clothing you weren’t considered ‘indie’ . . . people just assumed you couldn’t afford ‘real’ clothes.
Back in the days before the World Wide Web, creativity was often pigeonholed. You were described by your craft. . . she’s a knitter, she sews/paints/bakes etc. . . . and your creativity was limited by what supplies you could get your hands on.
Then an amazing thing happened. . . the internet opened all the doors. Online you could source crafty bits and bobs from all over the world. There were tutorials on how to make new things, beautiful blogs filled with inspiration . . . and online Marketplaces selling all kinds of handmade.
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Social networking spreads the word and Google and Pinterest share the photos.
It’s now okay to call yourself a crafter/DIYer . . . and now we do everything!!
We CREATE
So if I suddenly think I need an aqua vase to set off my pink roses, I just whip out my Mod Podge and food dye and whack some colour on a couple of old soda stream bottles.
In a couple of days time when the roses are tossed out, I’ll wash the bottles in hot soapy water to dissolve the painted on colour and store my bottles for the next creative endeavour. . . because that’s what we do.
Then we share are photos on our blogs and Facebook . . . and others come along and pin the photos to their boards. . . so that when someone else decides they need a pop of aqua in their day they will remember the Mod Podge painted vases.
That’s it from me today. I’m off now to visit my blog friends from all around the world and party at these link parties.
Hugs ~ Kerry
What a clever way of colouring glass – thank you for sharing.
Oh how I hated wearing stuff Mum had made when my friends had ‘shop bought’ stuff…I think there was a “brand” culture even then – Levi ‘stayed pressed’/Ben Sherman/Brutus/Doc Martin. Kids have always wanted the latest trends (although now it seems to be Smartphones/DS/iPad). It still amazes me that folk will pay huge sums for ‘Handmade’ from a store but want you to almost give it away if they know you made it at home.
The 50 shades thing really has gone World-wide and it is really quite a giggle to read some of the readers letters that have appeared in the daily papers here – one man wanted to know why it was ok for a woman to sit on a train reading one of ‘those’ books in public but he couldn’t read one of the ‘topshelf’ mags. As someone pointed out to him – it was to do with pictures **chuckle**. It is certainly a series of books that have folk talking.
Toni xx
You are right once again Kerryanne, I am sure that most of us would of definitely said Grey….I also love the fact that anything hand made is classed as Indie instead of just hand made by mum because we couldn’t afford the designer label. Oh how thoughts and ideas have certainly changed, and it seems for the better on most parts.
This is such a cool idea to color glass.I have seen it done but I have not tried it yet.It really makes you roses stand out even more!~~~Beautiful~~~ <3
xx
Anne
I’m sooooo glad that boho-chic is back in style, Kerry! A little gypsy in all of us is a good thing, I think! lol! I’ve never heard coloring glass like that, so thanks for the tip! They look beautiful next to the pink of the roses! 🙂
xoxo laurie
fina flaskor med vackra rosor.
kram
Hanna
I really love that in my lifetime the glory of being a DIYer and handmade artist has come to full bloom. I’ve been modifying & repurposing decor items since my mid-20’s and none of my friends really “got it”…and now it’s almost mainstream in my early 40’s :~) I wonder what it’ll be like when I hit my 60’s … will handmade rule supreme as it should? Hope so! Lovely post Kerryanne…
LOVE these!! WOW!!! Vintage and stylish!
Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!