Gift Guide for Makers
Let It Snow pillow pattern by Sharon Holland
Nothing beats a handmade gift like these all-winter decor pillows made from my free Let It Snow pillow pattern. But let’s be honest, sometimes it’s hard to find the perfect gift (handmade or store bought) for a fellow creative person or ideas for what you’d like to put on your wish list.
This year I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to work with several fabulous companies either as an affiliate (I get a small kickback on sales made from my affiliate links from this blog as a thank you for my promotion and time) or the company is a sponsor (company sends me products and I, in turn, offer giveaways on this blog or Instagram).
I only affiliate myself with companies and sponsors that I endorse 100% and feel their product or service is a true value and outstanding product. So, with that said, this Gift Guide for Makers blog post is mostly a product review of these amazing companies I’ve become an ambassador for and some of the links provided are affiliate links in which I will receive a small return from any sales made from those links.
The Quilter’s Planner
Photo courtesy of The Quilter’s Planner
I had the great opportunity to make a quilt for the 2018 Quilter’s Planner calendar and magazine. You can read about my quilt in the Share the Love: 2018 Quilter’s Planner blog post. Founder Stephanie Palmer and her amazing team not only produce an outstanding quality calendar and magazine they but host a block of the month sew along where the blocks are part of the fabulous magazine, they are a wealth of quilting information, tutorials, and support on their website, and they are all passionate, talented sewers themselves and truly lovely people!
Photo courtesy of The Quilter’s Planner
Wether you grab a calendar for yourself or for a quilting friend you’re getting way more than just a calendar. Check out all the features and options with this affiliate link HERE.
The Dutch Label Shop
The Dutch Label Shop asked if they could send me labels and in return, I would write a review of their product—nice! I was just about out of my old labels anyway so the timing was right but I didn’t just want any old labels and had to check them out before accepting the offer. I was impressed with what I saw on their site and images of the tags and labels printed so went ahead and placed my order.
I chose a Woven Logo label that center folds (the raw edges are sewn into a binding or garment seam). If you like the size I selected, here’s a screen shot of how to select this type and size of label (below). I uploaded my Sharon Holland logo design for a custom label but you can also work from their templates and fonts to create a label on their site.
When ordering a center fold tag like mine you want to know what size the tag will be once folded in half. I ordered a 2” high tag so when folded in half it becomes a 1” tag. If you sew it into a binding you will loose 1/4” on the raw edge side, so keep that in mind. The width of my labels are 2-1/4” wide.
I am slightly disappointed in the peach color I ordered but the color may have been affected by the blue thread used for the logo since this is a woven label. I did not opt to have a photo proof so I cannot tell you if the colors would have been true looking or not with a proof. Regardless, the labels are a fine quality and should do extremely well when laundered.
The customer service from this company is excellent but shipping is a bit slow so order early if you want labels for Christmas. I am please to be able to offer you a 15% discount on your order if you use the promo code: sharonhollanddesigns15 when ordering.
oliso
There are definitely many perks that come with my line of work and getting an iron from oliso is one of them!
Let’s face it, most of us don’t give much thought to our irons and pretty much dread that aspect of sewing. This pink cutie makes ironing almost fun! I still have yet to add any water to my oliso pro because I prefer to iron without steam for the most part. As long as the iron gets HOT enough like this model does I don’t feel the need for adding steam.
The outstanding and innovative feature of an oliso iron is the hydraulic lift system. It takes a bit of getting used to—to leave the iron flat but you soon adjusts your muscles memory of standing the iron on-end. Soon you also realize you’re not nearly as fatigued by all the lifting of that old iron.
The biggest selling point to me of this oliso iron is the safety. I’ve always been nervous about a traditional iron falling over if the ironing board is bumped. And as one that has always had kids or dogs under foot as I sewed it was a constant concern. This iron is so steady and responsive to lift the hot plate up off the surface immediately after your hand is off the iron—it’s a dream to use!
Side note: I just went to their site to get you the link and oh my goodness, saw they have a OLISO SMARTHUB™ that looks pretty amazing! Are you familiar with sous vide cooking? Well, check it out—it’s such a smart way to cook.
I get no affiliate kick backs from these links but oliso is now a sponsor of this blog which means in the future I will be hosting oliso iron giveaways for the oliso pro and for their new mini iron!
Skillshare
Give the gift of learning to yourself or someone special. Skillshare (affiliate) is an amazing resource for whatever you want to learn or improve a skill. I’ve had a membership with them for two years now and I’ll never have enough time to view all the incredible courses—there’s so many of them and so many being added! The beauty of a membership is you can watch an unlimited number of courses!
Here’s some screen shot examples (not linked) of courses but just about everything under the sun is a Skillshare subject:
Fundamentals of DSLR Photography with Justin Bridges
Watercolor Winter Illustrations with Olga Bonitas
Insta Creative | Documenting Your Creative Journey on Instagram with Linda & David
How to Sell Your Art on Etsy in 2017 with Melanie Greenwood
Beginner’s Guide to English Paper Piecing with Kylie M. Kelsheimer
The Beginner’s Guide to Fashion Fabrics: Wovens with Caroline Somos
Okay, those all look amazing, right? Many of these I have in my Class list and am currently watching. The great part about being a Skillshare affiliate is I can offer my followers a 2 month free membership! This allows you to watch as many course as you’d like for FREE when you use this Skillshare affiliate link. If you end up purchasing a membership after your free 2 months I will get a small commission from your purchase.
Color Master Designer’s Palette
I first introduced you to the Color Master Designer’s Palette bundles in my October 18th blog post HERE along with a free quilt pattern for the fat quarter bundle.
Art Gallery Fabrics has made gift giving easy with these beautifully packaged box sets or paper label bundles. You can give a gift of your favorite AGF fabric designer to yourself or a friend. Each fat quarter or half yard set contains 10 prints from across the designer’s fabric collections and are expertly matched to create a new curated palette. My Sharon Holland Designer’s Palette contains prints from Signature, Coastline, and Sketchbook.
As you remember from the Community Sampler sew along Bloc_Loc Rulers has been a wonderful sponsor on this blog. I only recently started using these rulers with our sew along and have no idea how I’ve lived without them all these years! I you’re going to ask for Santa to bring you anything this year and don’t already own some of these rulers you better put them on your list and be on your best behavior!
I just recently splurged for the Blooming Cogwheels templates and pattern book. You’re looking through the back of the templates because I haven’t even removed the paper on the templates yet. I also received a Pineapple template and am excited to test these babies out early next year. I just wrapped up my spring fabric collection (coming in May) and want to make some special quilts with these templates.
Hopefully you have a few gift giving ideas or maybe ideas for what you’d like to receive. It’s been a wonderful year and I want to say thank you to all of you that have been following along with my blog, sew alongs, and creative pursuits throughout the year. I’m hoping to make at least one more post before the end of the year and fill you in on some of my goals and aspirations for 2019.
Happy sewing everyone,
Sharon