Spring Celebration -- Nature Acre

For today's feature as part of the Spring Celebration I am featuring a relatively new Etsy shop called Nature Acre. You could win this lovely gift set with a wine bottle bag and 4 coasters, valued at $15. Here is the description:



"We are on the brink of spring and summer, when outdoor entertainment and enjoyment will again be possible. Go wine tasting, and bring a bottle home in style with this reusable gift bag. Use it for yourself, or give as a gift. Bag is made from 100% cotton material, and is machine washable. Coasters are also made from 100% cotton, and are lined with thin polyester batting; they are also machine washable. Drawstring closure. Wine not included."

Nature Acre makes other household items like the Cedar Satchet and the Martini Olive Throw Pillow below. They also sell some interesting destash and vintage items.

The interesting thing about this shop is that the proprietor is married to none other than Sinclair of Nature With Me fame. Sinclair is a very talented and generous crafter/blogger who also organizes a charity craft project each month called Sharing Our Gifts. I've gotten to know her pretty well through the past year but I had no idea that her husband was also involved in the handmade community. I asked him a few questions about their lifestyle and goal of living a handmade and sustainable life.

1. How did you get involved with crafting and what are your mediums?
Like most people, I did crafting as a child. As I progressed into adulthood, my interests were more focused on music and theatre, but I have always drawn and considered myself an artist. My wife has been instrumental in rekindling my interest in crafting, mainly in the knitting realm, but also in needle felting and sewing. I like wool as a medium, but am open to many other materials as well.
2. Where do you get your inspiration?
I find inspiration from nature, works by artists, my daughter (who is becoming an outstanding artist in her own right) and my wife. My wife is very helpful when I want to bounce ideas around.

3. Did living a handmade life bring you and your family closer together?
Absolutely! It is very fulfilling to have a common interest in arts and crafts and a profound appreciation for all things handmade. We love to find and make unique and carefully crafted items. It brings us together to search for materials and discuss ideas, and it also slows us all down and causes us to live a more thoughtful and aware lifestyle.

4. Tell me about your goal of living a sustainable lifestyle and what does it mean to you?
Making my own usable items, growing my own food, learning to use manual tools of various trades, and purchasing as little assembly line merchandise as possible are some of my sustainability goals. It is important to have quality goods that were not created with the built-in, planned obsolescence with which we are bombarded in our consumer driven society. I have made little changes toward the goal of living a sustainable lifestyle, such as purchasing an antique safety razor and buying replacement blades that can be resharpened rather than using a disposable razor.

5. What are your goals for your business in the future?
At this point, I consider it a hobby. My goals are to grow as an artist and really discover what I can do and how far I can go within the realm of handmade crafts.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/natureacre
http://naturewithme.blogspot.com/
http://sharingourgifts.blogspot.com/


See the contest rules here to find out how you could win your own Wine Bottle Gift Bag Set!

Charity Knitting

I have great respect for Sinclair from Nature With Me. I really don't know how she does everything she does. In addition to her main blog she also organizes a charity blog called Sharing Our Gifts which is striving to do 50 Projects for 50 States. The current project is for the Oklahoma Brain Tumor Foundation. She is collecting "hats, scarves, or shawls to donate to the organization. As always, these can be knitted, crocheted, or sewn, and they must be handmade. If you do not knit, crochet, or sew, you can still be involved by purchasing a handmade item from one of the wonderful sellers on Etsy or Artfire."

This project came at the perfect time for me. My craft shows are done and I was needing something to work on to get me inspired. I am sending in two of my first hats that I've made along with a few scarves. I've been working on the patterns to do hats in flat knitting, and figuring out how many stitches it takes with the different weights of yarn that I use on a regular basis. I used acrylic yarns that are machine washable which I think is important for charity knitting.

Two people that I love dearly have been affected by brain tumors, although thankfully they were both benign and operable. My sister and my mother in law both had tumors within 6 months of each other 5 years ago. It was a scary time because any surgery to the brain can have side effects. They both fully recovered and my MIL even got back much of the peripheral vision that she had lost allowing her to continue to drive.

Here is some information about the Foundation from their website:
"The Oklahoma Brain Tumor Foundation (OKBTF), was founded by Nancy Thomason after the death of her son Cade Thomason to a brain stem PNET tumor on February 17, 2000. She vowed to fight the disease in honor and memory of her son Cade.

OKBTF is dedicated to meeting the needs of Oklahoma families, caregivers and patients affected by primary brain or central nervous system tumors. We work to provide for needs through education, advocacy, research and service."

There is still time to send your donations in and they are due by January 5. Details are on the website here. She even has some patterns that can be used to make charity scarves and hats listed now. I hope to be able to support more of Sinclair's projects in the coming year and I hope you will too.