Everyone loves free!

I can't think of anyone I know who doesn't like free. What else could explain waiting in line for an hour at Ben and Jerry's for the teeniest bit of free ice cream on free cone day? And, as my nephew would say...

I don't like free......I LOVE free!!! (Except he would insert many other fantastically exciting kid things I don't know instead of "free")

And one of the best kinds of free is free handmade goodies. In fact I spent about 3 hours standing in line to get a swag bag of free handmade things from the Urban Craft Uprising this last winter. I had good company. And a good bagel sandwich. And then got great free goodies. Hurray!

So when I got a chance to add to someone else's bag of free goodies, I couldn't pass it up. "what? free?" you ask. Yes, the sure-to-be-wonderful Seattle etsyRAIN craft show is this Saturday, May 7th. And those who are willing to wait (for about 2 hours or so) to be the first in the show get swag bags of treasure.

So, I got to work making my first pieces of Wild Bear swag...

I decided to make Wild Bear bottle cap magnets. They require resin (of which I have plenty!) and then just something cute to go inside. I played around with my soon-to-be new Wild Bear Designs logo (you heard it here first!) to make bunches of wild mountain magnets.

And the close-up...

I found high strength, little magnets to put on the back for a clean look.

Once they were all done, they went into bags with a card and a special little note - not to be revealed here.

Who wants one? I do!

To get yours - and lots of other handmade treats - come on down to the etsyRAIN craft show. I'll be there myself in the afternoon, so just give a holler if you'd like to come along!

Keep Your Buckle On! Or...How to Make a Leather Belt

Since I spend an unusual amount of time chatting with folks about belts and buckles, I've made some interesting finds about what might simply be called "General Belt & Buckle Know-How". Not surprising, most folks don't think twice about the topic, but I happen to think it's pretty interesting. So, in the spirit of increasing everyone's General Belt & Buckle Know-How, this is installment one in Belts & Buckles 101.

Today - How the heck does a person make a nice leather belt anyhow?

While I sell high quality leather belts here at Wild Bear Buckles, I don't make leather belts myself. So, we are headed to the experts for the answer. Take it away Maine Line Leather...

How to Make a Leather Belt - A complete tutorial!