Mother's Day is right around the corner...

I was looking something up on the calendar the other day and realized Mother's Day is coming up right shortly.  Not to worry, the Rural Creators' Collective has you covered.  Check out these amazing gift ideas that are in the store right now:

We have your traditional gifts of all things tea, (teapot cozy by Miriam of Minimade, teapot from Waylin Enterprise)

 lovely hand made soaps with the most delightful scents, (Tara of On a Branch Soaps)

and of course, candles...(Remembrances)

But we also have original gift ideas.  Why not give the gift of art?

 This stunning rose is by Yvonne Parsons

 Brand new to the shop...lots of birds, butterflies, and bees by Marla.  Original watercolours.

You'll have to excuse the photo here, but I was trying to capture that this lithograph by Lisa of L'immaginaria is actually sparkly.

 This great fabric sculpture swan is by Julie of Rustic Revivals

For the more modern tastes, I found this great architectural piece that would be perfect in a front entry...also by Julie of Rustic Revivals

For the gardeners, there is a collection of hanging planters and vases (they do actually have the ropes attached now, unlike in the photo) by Remembrances

And conveniently located downstairs is a flower shop for filling that vase or planter.

And of course we can't forget the delicious treats for mom as well, in the bakery which also happens to be conveniently located right down stairs.

Feel free to leave a comment with your Mother's Day idea.

In The Studio with Metis Caravan

Roni, of Metis Caravan is our guest blogger today.  She is generously offering the how-to on making one of her handmade leather purses.

From Roni:

Our leather is all salvaged and recycled.  Natural hides I buy when I go home in the summer to Cape Croker-Nawash.  If animals are hurt on the road or put to rest for health reasons, they are traded to First Nations' by whom they are used completely for crafts, tools, food.  Many of our harder tan or coloured hides come from used clothing stores to get repurposed.  No animals are harmed or forgotten.

Holes in hard tan leather like this are made with an awl and hammer.  For soft leather, a belt punch makes it a lot easier.

Stitching on medicine bags gets folded in so sage and other leaves can't crumble and fall out but most stitching is done on the outside so if you need a lace to tie something else this lace is accessible. A nice round stitch helps to keep small things in and is decorative.

A little water or glue on the knot shrinks the leather and keeps it tied tight.

We treat our leather with bee product.  It cleans any little spots off and waterproofs the leather.  We get ours in Carlisle, just up the road from Rural Creators' Collective.

Roni's work can be found year round at the Rural Creators' Collective in Carlisle (details on the side bar).   She will also be at the Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile August 23 and 24, 2014.

Linking up with: Keep Calm Craft On over at Frontier Dreams

Yvonne Parsons Photography - April Featured Artist

A little eye candy for you today.  Yvonne, April's Featured Artist at the Rural Creators' Collective is an absolutely amazing photographer.

She has the ability to capture landscapes with amazing detail...

 ...and has an unbelievable eye for what will make a great shot.

 You can check her Facebook page for many of the sepia toned portraits she captured at last year's Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile (pssst:  she's a returning vendor this year, so make sure you come see her and get an awesome portrait/family picture done).

 Not limited to landscapes, of course - she's great at product photography...

 ...and pet portraits.

Yvonne will be at the Rural Creators' Collective on Sunday, April 13th from noon until 2:00 p.m. doing Easter portraits.  You can schedule an appointment by emailing her at yvonnephotos@teksavvy.com

OR, if you visit her Facebook page and leave a comment in the caption contest for this photo, you could WIN your portrait sitting for FREE and also have an upgrade to an 8 x 10 print.

How amazing is that?

In The Studio - with Rustic Revivals

This time up, our "in the studio" feature is brought to you by our guest blogger, Julie of Rustic Revivals (she's also on Etsy over here by the etsy shop of the same name).

Step One: for thinner pieces of weathered wood, look for old fence lines to tear down, or someone's old deck.  The most 'coveted' signs are the naturally 'ripped' ones at both ends, to emulate the 'faux ripped'/jagged edge signs one often sees.

Step Two:  For painting, you will want to find pieces that haven't split TOO much.  While knots and cracks make for delightful character in beams, walls and other larger signs, you'll want to find a weathered piece whose surface is still 'tight'.  (Worm holes are excellent though).

Step Three:  I try to always paint my signs from the middle OUT, to balance where letters will go. The characters and arrows should be painted (or wood-burned, or twig glued) on first, then letters added around them.  For various methods and fonts, see here.

Step Four:  for consistency of shadowing to add a more 3-D 'pop' to letters, choose which side and direction your light source would be in and keep this in mind at all times when you add in the black or darker colour behind the letters.

Step Five: for extras like dots or half-moons, simply turn the paint brush upside down.  Wipe off excess paint after every second dab.

Step Six:  I often use jute rope or rusty chain and small u-shaped fence staples to attach a hanger, but this custom order requested eco-friendly furled paper 'raffia' bows in the blue tones.  It can be time-consuming to unfurl the paper, so sometimes I leave it 'roped' and just unfurl what is needed for the actual bows!

Step Seven:  The finished product is ready for hanging.  Sometimes I prefer to tie the bow off to the side (see last photo) rather than dead centre, as it's easier to hang and looks less contrived.  If the sign is meant to hang over a finished wall, I will sometimes cut and glue old grey felt to the back to avoid any potential scratching on walls.

Step Eight:  If you head off to the Rabbit Hole, don't forget to find your way back!

Linking up with: Creative Friday at Natural Suburbia

From the Farm Blog Hop

Happy Spring!

Happy Vernal Equinox to all!

Although most members of the Collective are still buried in snow, we can still dream of the nice weather to come.  Take heart, my friends.  The spring weather will get here eventually and bring with it all the lovely things we have missed so desperately this winter.

PS: the picture above is from last year and the inspiration for this piece:

which will be coming with me to the Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile for those who want to see it in person.

Stones of Time -in the Community

Christine Aiken of Stones Of Time is featured this month at St James Anglican Church (138 Melville Street, Dundas, Ontario)

 The show is running for the whole month of March, every day.  

 You can also see her work at the Rural Creators' Collective

 (address and store hours on the side bar).

 To see the show, contact Christine at seefossilart@hotmail.com  or call 905-526-0523  or

 905-512-8461.  

She can speak to your or your group about the process, about her work, or just leave you to enjoy the display on your own.

 Christine will also be at the Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile in August.  It promises to be a wonderful show!

March Feature: Metis Caravan

This month's feature artist at the Rural Creators' Collective is Roni walker of Metis Caravan.  She has been working hard to set up the display.

 To set the mood, she has set up a small teepee on the landing:

Roni has a large selection of items to choose from in the store this month.  From leather pouches and drums,

 dream catchers and earrings,

 necklaces,

 (lots of necklaces, all unique and handmaid),

 to leather items.

And all month, she is offering 10% off any of her items.  Now is the time to stop in and pick out that special item for yourself or as a gift.

Roni chose to write her own feature this month.  This is what she has to share:

"In our Native way...Ojibwa, Seneca, Cree, we welcome the new seasons with a ceremony which includes kindness to one another in the community. We share with each other a pot-latch dinner and a giveaway blanket. In each case everyone from the community brings what they can and everyone goes away full. The giveaway means each person brings a gift (something they've made or something they've used, don't need any more but may benefit someone else. All the gifts are laid on the blanket then in turn each person takes something from the blanket.

In our co-operative store, " Rural Creators' Collective " We try to show cultures in a simpler time, Cornish, Celtic, Aboriginal and others by sharing the traditions, teaching the crafts and selling our own works - antiques, reproductions, recycles, etc.

In March my Native Crafts will be the featured art of the month at the store and I will be sharing the ceremonies to welcome Spring. Since a store setting doesn't allow for a giveaway and feast for the community I will be showing the giveaway by giving out AOK cards to those who visit MetisCaravan at the store all month. This way they will experience the gift of the card and the giveaway of the kindness act (should they choose to participate) and the sense of  Community if they then give the card to someone else.

I'm so excited."