Heartful Handmade Blog

reflecting on a grateful life

Thanksgiving is especially relevant this year, what with the worldwide rollercoaster ride we've been on recently.  Originally a harvest festival, this 400 year old tradition of gathering together to express gratitude for all we have is in perfect alignment with current thinking that draws a correlation between one's level of gratitude and the level of satisfaction with one's life: 

da funk is in da bag

Defunct Baggage is the go-to place for retro, funky, feminine, and fun bags and wallets by indie designer Amber Waddle.  She's got purses, checkbook covers, wallets, and pouches in bold and confident color combinations and designs.  And the style doesn't end where the zipper begins because these bags are hip and happy inside and out.  Amber's bags are practical wearable art that will dress up jeans and add punch to suits and dresses. 

a new handmade community

 Artfire is a small (relative to Etsy) community of crafters and artisans, with an easy site to navigate.  The bulk of the Artfire crafters seem to be into making jewelry.  Most of the other categories, and there are many, have from 0 to about 100 items offered.  But that makes the site much less daunting a proposition. 

stylish sensible shoes

Sara MacIntosh is a modern day cobbler who gives new meaning to the term "sensible shoes".  Her shoes are classically stylish and most are suitable for either men or women.  Sara constructs her shoes to be precise fits for both of your feet.  I've never had shoes that fit both of my feet perfectly, but I do remember being able to get a better fit. 

handmade journal software

DavidRM is an indie software developer.  He originally created The Journal twelve years ago as a quick project to learn the Delphi programming environment.  A freeware offering, it was primarily downloaded by people in the Delphi community, but user feedback led to its extension and the rest, as they say, is history.  By the time The Journal 4 [current download is Journal 5] hit my radar screen a few months ago, it had evolved into a mature and robust feature rich package with a selection of optional extensions.