Wordless Wednesday

Southern Style Garden Bench by Rustic Treasures

Do You VooDoo?

It's that time of year again folks! The air is turning crisp...(okay less humid)...pumpkins are popping up in stores and I'm planning my November 1st Candy Run to the store. It's FALL folks, and in New Orleans that means Halloween weekend is The VooDoo Experience, better known as the VooDoo Fest! So get ready and head on down to Marconi Dr in New Orleans (just a hop, skip and jump from my old Alma Maters, Delgado and UNO!) on Friday Oct. 30th-Sunday Nov. 1st for an awesome 3 day lineup of musicians, artists and more.

If you can catch the Fest on Friday, Oct. 30th, there's two special acts I'd like you to check out! Please make sure to catch the The Noisician Coalition where our very own team member, MissMalaprop will have a role! And send me the pics!!

There are so many to see at the VooDoo Fest, but of course we are partial to our Louisiana musicians! The Benjy Davis Project invites you to catch them at 3pm on Friday, Oc. 30th at the Soco/WWOZ stage. Immediately after, they'll be doing a signing at the FYE tent. BDP has graciously offerred up an AUTOGRAPHED CD and Poster for one of our lucky readers!! And just to show we love all our readers, you can get the free MP3 of "Still Sweet" here also!

How to get your hands on the CD and Poster, aside from sending me massive amounts of chocolate? Easy peasy! Just head on over to the guys Myspace Page and listen to a few of their tunes and let us know which one is your fave in a comment here. (Be SURE to leave us a way to contact you so Rock Ridge Music can send you your prize!) Do you dig a BDP song not playing on their Myspace Page? No prob...just list that one! (Maybe they'll add it to their page for you!) While you're on their page, sign up for the mailing list and check out their Twitter and Facebook pages also!

To say there are some great artists playing at The VooDoo Fest would be an understatement. I mean, Kiss, Lenny Kravitz, Widespread Panic, Jane's Addiction, Eminem, just to name a few. But we all know our Louisiana artists are the best, so don't go just for the headlining acts, there is ALWAYS good music to be found at ANY Louisiana event! Then, the art, the food, crowds.....VooDoo fest IS as New Orleans as it gets!

So head on over if you can, and be sure to check out Benjy and the guys. Don't forget to leave your comment here with your favorite Benjy Davis Project song! You have until November 2nd to enter!!

Rock on!!

~~Amy

Promotional Graphics from Handmade Louisiana!

Feel free to save these, edit them, resize them, etc for your needs! :) Members, feel free to add them to pics in your listings or shops! :)
~~Amy

 

 

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

Zebra and Green Flannel A-Line Jacket by Hopscotch Square

October Giveaway!!

Okay, we know it's late! It's my fault...I was out of town the first week of the month!

Handmade Louisiana wants to let YOU have a little piece of US! Each month (for as long as possible!) one of our members will have a nifty giveaway for you to win!! Winning will not require too much...blood samples optional...and you'll get a piece of the great things our team can do!

This month, you can win a nifty soap from my very own shop!
You can win one of these three soaps!
Gingerbread cookie Fall Leaf Soap

Or a Green Fall Leaf Soap scented in "Home for the Holidays"

OR, a Gold Leaf Soap scented in Cappucunio Hazelnut

All my soaps are made from a base free of SLS, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. SLS is a common chemical in bath and body products to make them lather more, but it is also a garage floor cleaner! So soaps free of SLS are better for the skin AND the environment! I also use fragrance oils free of phthalates.







How do you win? I thought you'd never ask!

1. Visit one of my shops listed here. Come back and leave a comment on which item is your fave!
www.mamaslittlemonkeys.com
www.fleurdeink.artfire.com
www.ameliaamos.etsy.com
www.mamaslittlemonkeys.etsy.com
www.destashcity.artfire.com

2. Visit one of these shops belonging to my fellow members. Come back and leave a comment on which of their items is your fave!
CTStudios
Hurricane Pottery
DebiDeauxDesigns

You must leave a link to the items and you must complete steps 1 AND 2 to be entered. You MUST leave a URL, email, or contact IN your comment for us to contact you when you win!

You have until November 1st to get your comments in!

Extra entries:
1. Send an email to merry@handmadelouisiana.com with your email address for our future mailing list.
2. Tweet, Facebook, or promote this contest. You MUST provide a URL where you promoted this so we can verify.
3. Join our Facebook Group. Please make sure your Facebook account is set so we can contact you, and include info about yourself (friend, buyer, seller, artist, etc) in your application.


If you would like to join Handmade Louisiana please email Merry at merry@handmadelouisiana.com and she'll send you what you need to know! There is never any cost to join HML!

Good luck!

Local Musician Review--Benjy Davis Project

I have had the pleasure of seeing the Benjy Davis Project live twice and both times it was fantastic! How such a young band can play with the sound of great experience is amazing. This band from Baton Rouge, Louisiana has built a substantial following all across the US, but their strongest fans seem to naturally hail from Louisiana! Great musicians are not something we are short on down here, and BDP is another example of that!

Their energy is fantastic, and I'm not much on technical musical terms, but they are awesome...how's that? :) I LOVE when a band can write their own music, and these boys know how to rock it out! Their shows never disappoint. From soft love ballads, to edgier tunes about social issues affecting us all,  BDP has something for everyone.

From their Myspace Page:
In the wide world of American music, certain bands have a way of building an exciting life for themselves away from the glare of national attention. Much of that is because of the relationship the group has with its fans. It usually starts in small clubs or even backyards in their hometown, then spreads to nearby cities, neighboring states and soon across entire regions, until the band finally comes into its own as a national presence.

The Benjy Davis Project is poised to take on that presence. They’ve spent the past seven years building fan strongholds around the U.S., releasing three albums that capture their unique force. Davis’s songs speak to the ability of music to move an audience, as seen in countless nights of touring and performing. There comes a point in a breakthrough band’s career where they finally turn that corner into greatness. With the release November 4th on Rock Ridge Music of the Benjy Davis Project’s album, “Dust,” this Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based band now moves into that moment.

“I want to reach people and hopefully touch them in some way.” That’s how Benjy Davis describes his mission, and music is his medium. It’s always been that way for him, since he was a young teenager in Louisiana, listening to everything on the radio, taking it all in until it would be his time to step up and become an artist. He formed the Benjy Davis Project in 2001, which began as a simple folk-rock duo but soon grew into one of the most popular bands in Baton Rouge. Eventually expanding into a six-piece group, the Project has recorded three albums prior to “Dust,” each a big leap from the one before, and played across the country as headliners and support act on shows with John Mayer, Better Than Ezra, North Mississippi All-Stars and others, as well as events like the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. All this experience has brought them to that place where they can become the next band to take their Southern-based sound to a new level of national popularity.

You can follow the band on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace 
I can't wait to hear the bands next album! Be sure to check them out and if you can catch them live, I suggest it! Naturally, purchasing their albums helps support our goal of supporting local musicians, artisans and local community! I have all three albums and LOVE them! :)Check them out on CDBaby and on Amazon.











 

Wordless Wednesday

Purple Window Panes - by LisaRaspino

Congratulations JodieFlowers!

JodieFlowers and her Book Bugs won our Handmade Louisiana Craft a Long! Congrats Jodie! You can find her adorable, whimsical items in her shop at jodieflowers.etsy.comhttp://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=28880.

Keep your eyes peeled for our next Handmade Craft A Long!

Thanks to all who entered and voted!! Who will win it next time???

~~Amy

Vote in the HML Craft A Long TWO!

This month's theme was "Education, School and Learning". Our members were free to interpret the theme how they saw fit!

Let's see what these fantastic artisans came up with!

Entry One:

Blue Fairy Bookmark from VoyageJewelryDesigns

Entry Two:

Literary Soldered Pendant from CTStudios

Entry Three:

Four Book Bugs by Jodie Flowers

Entry Four:

Fancy Lady with a Book from Black Dog Studio

Entry Five:

Fall Orange Bag--School/Halloween and More from PachaMamma

Entry Six:

School Uniform Hair Bow by GirlsLoveBows

Entry Seven

From Lemon Jitters, "Since the ancient Athenians, owls have symbolized wisdom and knowledge."

Entry Eight:

Back to School Clothing (back in the day!) from Splendiferous Fiber

Entry Nine:

DIY Chalk Cloth Bag from Destash City/Mama's Little Monkeys

Which piece best represents Education, School, and Learning in YOUR opinion? Vote for your favorite! Don't let your favorite Louisiana Artisan down!!

Show your support for these great artisans by VOTING in the poll on the left sidebar. And please be sure to visit our winner from last month's Craft a Long, BDOriginals!

Thanks so much!

Wordless Wednesday

Pink Hedgehog by GARsticksandstring