Hats, Scarves and Coasters for Charity!

My 12 year old son (pictured in the featured image) has worked for months to make a variety of hand made items to sell for charity, as part of a school project, which he has expanded (he just had to make 1 item for school, and he has made so much more!). All of the sales money will go directly to the charities, since the materials to make these projects have been donated by me and my mother. His chosen charities are Heifer International (click on the name to go to their site) and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Rheumatology.

The main items are hats that have been hand knit on a loom. They are made from regular (photos 1-4) or velvet-like (photos 5-6) yarn. They fit toddlers to small adults. Smaller hats can be requested – he has a couple for babies. He also has 1 very soft scarf to sell (shown worn by him in the featured image), made from blanket yarn. All items should be washed by hand and laid flat to dry.

My dear son has also enjoyed a form of painting called hydrodipping, which involves putting paint on water, swirling it to make a design, and dipping objects in to coat them. He made wooden coasters this way, and I coated them in resin to seal them for use with beverages and make them washable (by hand).

Suggested donation: $7 per coater, $20 per hat or scarf. All items can be dropped off at your home in West Los Angeles, picked up in West LA, or be mailed (for additional fee, otherwise it would have to come out of the charity $).

Thank you for taking the time to read this and helping my son become a mensch!

Hand Painted Wood & Ceramic Gifts

Recently, I have not had time to make soap (but there will be new batches of cold process soap in a few months), but I have a collection of hand painted items that are now for sale.

Some wooden boxes, a wood tray, a few light wood coasters, many ceramic tile coasters, and a few ceramic signs. Everything has been painted with a medium known as “alcohol inks”. Many items also have designs cut out of vinyl and pasted on top of the painting, like stickers. Wood items have been sealed with an acrylic sealant. Ceramic items and all tiles (including the wood ones) have a layer of resin on top, to make them shiny, hard, smooth, and okay to set your drinks on. The resin says it is good for up to 110Âș C (230Âș F), so if you put something hotter on it, it may stick a little bit, or make a bit of an indent in the resin.  Most of the items can be personalized. Enjoy!

This set of 4 coasters is all resin, so it is light and flexible, made in an ocean wave pattern. Photo shows all sides.

Next are rectangular ceramic signs, about a foot long and 2 inches tall. Great for a house, room, or desk. Have sturdy permanent double stick tape on the back.

CeramixSigns (3)
Welcome Ceramic Sign

CeramixSigns (4)
Unfinished Ceramic Mountain Sign- Waiting for your name or word choice

CeramixSigns (2)
Welcome Ceramic Sign

I can also add vinyl sayings and images to 100% cotton “flour sack kitchen towels” (it’s a thin white material, good for kitchen clean up or making into a hair covering or mask). Here are some examples.

These are all of the ceramic tiles I have available and ready for shipping. All have a cork backing and are 4″ x 4″.

These are light wooden tiles. Thin, and not as nice as the ceramic ones, but still fun, and can be placed in a card. All have a cork backing. These are supposedly 4″x4″, but are not cut perfectly, so are slightly smaller.

Finally, these are the large ceramic tiles I have available. They are 6″x6″ – perfect size for a trivet (for items up to 110ÂșC) or for house signs. If you want to use it as a trivet, I can back it with cork. If you want it as a sign, I can put the strong, permanent, double sided tape on the back.