Show Vendor: Chili Sauce Cards

As I mentioned yesterday, I will be showcasing vendors that will be at the show next Friday.  The first of these is Chili Sauce Cards.  They create a variety of cute little paper goods like these birdie boxes.

Artist Feature: Honest Works Island Pottery

Today I wanted to share some very beautiful pieces of pottery created by Kelly at Honest Works Island Pottery.

Palm Tree Vase

What strikes me about this work is the mix of beautiful colors and patterns.  I've taken a ceramics class before and my pieces looked nowhere near as good as these.  Absolutely stunning.

Rooster Mugs

A lot of the pieces are nature inspired and Kelly says that, "Inspiration is all around! It's the simple things in life. The blue sky, the rolling clouds, the aqua waters, island palms, Everglade wildlife, birds in flight...the colors of nature and vibrancy of life."

Cookie Jar

See more work in her shop and blog.

Featured Artist: KAW! Studios

Today I am happy to feature Kaili from KAW! Studios.  She is a painter and wild-life lover so I can definitely relate to her pieces.  She even paints birds!

Mr. Owl Painting

Isn't he a cutie?  I think so too.  Kaili says "nature is my biggest inspiration! I am an aspiring wildlife biologist, and I love animals. The variety of beauty within the natural world is what fuels my art work."

In addition to painting, Kaili does some awesome photography.  I'm swooning over this cute dog print.

Greyhound Dog Photo

If you are an environment-lover, you will be happy to know that she takes care to be thoughtful of this in her packaging.  She says,  "I like to package & present my work in a way that makes it feel like you are opening a gift, however I also like to re-use materials. I re-use packaging materials, old magazines, cardboard boxes, and other items in order to package my work for shipping in a safe and earth-friendly manner. I am always looking for more ways to be eco-friendly in my work."

Octopus ACEO

Want to know more about this artist and budding wildlife biology, visit her shop here or her blog here.

Featured Artist: A Cup of Sparkle

By day, Melike conquers the world of biotechnology.  By night, she conquers the world of jewelry.  And that's just the start to the girl behind the etsy shop A Cup of Sparkle.

Turquoise Necklace

The more time I spend getting to know other artists, the more I'm finding an overlap between artists and scientists.  I studied biology at one time.  Perhaps it's the creativity needed to develop experiments that also shows up in the creativity to develop projects.  And Melike certainly has been busy.  She comes up with so many different and unique designs.

Hummingbird Nest

I'm really impressed with her business ethic.  Although she opened her shop less than a year ago, she has already made lots of sales and has been working to improve her product photography and customer service. 

Red Crystal Necklace

If you want to learn more about Melike and her awesome shop, stop by her blog to read more of the story behind the sparkle.

Featured Artist: Storybeader

When I hear the name Storybeader, I think of books and beads.  Very appropriate because that is exactly what Deb makes and sells in her etsy shop.

Collage and Painted Art Journal

Although she started her etsy journey selling ethnic jewelry, she has since focused on paper arts.  Her handmade journals are beautiful and all very unique.  In addition, she makes paper beads, which would be a great addition to a jewelry project.  My favorite part?  Some are named for the book they came from.  The beads shown below are from a dinosaur book called "I'm Bad."

I'm Bad dinosaur beads

For a girl who never would have dreamed of writing in or tearing up a book, this has been quite a change.  Deb says that she just fell in love with collage and now can't stop! 

Birdhouse Art Journal

To see more of her work, be sure to stop by her shop or visit her blog!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Things About Me!

I saw a post on craft blog about sharing 5,4,3,2,1 things about yourself.  I've been enjoying reading others' posts, so I'm going to join in the fun!  If you have done this as well, I'd love to read yours too so please feel free to share them in the comments.  Alright, ready?  Here we go!

One Project You Are Particularly Proud Of

Painted Bunting

1. A tray that I painted a couple of years ago.  It was the first bird that I had ever painted and I did it by following a step-by-step out of a songbird painting book.  We still have it in our apartment because I don't think I could part with it.  

Two Mistakes You've Made in the Past

Success Print on Etsy

1. Only two? Well,  staying in grad school as long as I did.  I was miserable six months in but I kept hoping it would get better.  Nope!  I don't regret going to school though because I think it taught me a lot about finding something that I love and not worrying so much about finding something "successful."
 
2. Painting our kitchen orange.  Ugly, ugly, ugly.  Luckily it is turquoise now.


Three Things That Make Your Work Unique

Song Sparrow Clutch on etsy

1. Using materials in new ways.  It's both my gift and my downfall.  As soon as I make one thing or learn a new technique, I'm looking for ways to use it in a new way or combine it with something else.  It's led to some unfinished projects.  I can't ever knit anything too large because as soon as I figure out my technique works, I want to start over and try something new.


2. Variety.  I can't stick to one craft so I'll try anything.  Painting, knitting, sculpting, metalwork.  If there is a class or book on it, I'll try it.  Shoot, I don't even need that, just give me a craft store and I'll read the back of the box.


3. Novelty.  I try to keep my pieces fresh.  I definitely am inspired by others and don't presume that no one has ever made something similar to me.  But I do my best to make every piece really stand out.  


Four Tools You Love to Use

1. Pliers. Essential for jewelry-making and pretty much anything I do.  They are my daily crafting tool.

2. Sandpaper.  It's such a small thing but can make a huge difference between a finished and unfinished piece.

3. Sewing Machine.  I just learned to use it this year, but it's been so helpful.  I'm no longer limited by thinking "oh well it would take so long to sew that."  I can do a quick seam whenever I want!


4. Photoshop.  Of course for editing photos for showing off my work, but also for editing images to use in my work.  I paint birds but then love to use the images over again in different ways.  Photoshop is great for editing them in the way I need.


Five Inspirations

1. Nature. If you've spent any time on here, you know I use birds in a lot of my work.  They're so pretty!

2. Pinterest.com.  Yeah, I could spend hours looking on here.

3. Thrift stores.  I like to go about once a week and do a lap.  I'll find fabric to use in my pieces or a cool wooden box to fix-up.  


4. My Husband.  He is so supportive and a great designer himself.  I love bouncing ideas off of him and listening to his thoughts (yes, you can go awwwww).


5. Blogs.  I subscribe to way too many blogs because there are about 150 new posts in my google reader every morning.  Oh my.  There are just so many creative people out there!


 

Featured Artist: Lori Anderson

I can't even start talking about the jewelry that Lori Anderson makes until I show you her website.  It's awesome.

Don't you love the colors and design?  I'm really impressed by the overall package presented by Lori in her design work.  I was lucky enough to win a bead giveaway from her blog, Pretty Things, and even the packaging of these beads was beautiful and matching.  Ok.  Now that we have covered that, let's focus more on her pretty, pretty jewelry.

Symphony Necklace

All the beads above were made by Lori herself.  They were all flame-enameled.  Lori says that part of her bead training came through her biology education and the many chemistry labs associated with it.  I suppose working carefully over a Bunsen burner for an experiment does have some similarities :)

Fan Mail Earrings

These earrings are also pretty awesome.  Really, you need to check out this shop and this blog.  I've been inspired reading Lori's blog over the past few months.  Did you know she spent four years in the air force in Korea?  Wow!  I think I enjoy reading about her life so much because I can identify.  I studied biology and planned on teaching but several twists and turns and crazy jobs later, I'm now starting my own craft business.

Featured Artist: Memories for Life Scrapbooks

Today, I'm super excited to share the work of Edi, one of my internet friends from the Etsy Bloggers team.  Her shop is called Memories for Life Scrapbooks and she makes awesome pieces.  Here's a glimpse of one.

Family Album

Cool, huh?  The best part, she gets to use a laser. Edi seems to be able to cut or engrave anything.  Albums, necklaces, frames, whatever!  I love seeing all the different applications of her creative process.

Custom Engraved Pet Photo Pendant

I'm just fascinated by this.  It's awesome!  Edi loves the creative process and enjoys the opportunity to create these pieces.  She's been paper crafting for over 15 years and has been having so much fun experimenting with technique.

Custom Engraved Coasters

To find out more about her work, I recommend stopping by her blog.  You can get a glimpse into the story behind some of her custom pieces, like this recent anniversary album she created.  Be sure to stop by and find out more!

ps: When you get a chance, stop by The Hot Glue Hangover; I'm giving away $20 of store credit to my etsy shop.

Featured Artist: Pthalo Azul

Today I am featuring some really gorgeous pieces by Rachel Jones.  She specializes in laser cuts, paintings, and prints.   Here is one of my favorite pieces from her shop, Pthalo Azul:

Birch Wood Deer

What a sweet little deer.  Rachel is mainly an illustrator but loves playing around with other mediums as a way to improve her skills.  I think this is really awesome; by forcing herself to "draw" in other mediums, she is able to improve her drawing and painting.  Seriously too, check out this great print.

Red Riding Hood

Wondering what her shop is named for?  Me too!  Luckily, I have an answer.  She says that her "shop is named after my favorite inspiration, the blue-est blue you'll ever see, pthalocyanine blue, phtalo for short (TH-A-LOW)."

Brooch Owl Sillhouette

Stop by her blog for some great inspiration.  She shows off some cool artwork and also gives really great tutorials on web design; very helpful for any artists out there trying to start a blog.  Here's a recent explanation on writing basic code.

Aside from her work, Rachel enjoys food and music.  A girl after my own heart, she says "it's a pretty good day when you can play/sing along with others and then eat good stuff. Preferably stuff with cheese on it."

ps-stop by Moxie Tonic today because I got featured!  There's also a special coupon code.  Exciting.

Featured Artist: Green Onions Textiles

Today I am very happy to be sharing the work of a very talented seamstress, Nan from Green Onions Textiles.  I know you are dying to see her work, so I'll show off a piece before I tell you more about her.  Here's a stuffed dog that I think is just precious.

Stuffed Flannel Dog on etsy

Cute, right?  Okay, let's move on.  I can definitely identify with Nan who started her etsy shop last February (me too!) and says she started selling because she was running out of room in her house.  In her etsy shop, you can find lots of cute pieces such as the puppy above and this bag below.

Circles on a Circular Bag on etsy

Interestingly, Nan studied art history and now works as the director of an art museum.  Impressive, right?  I think it's really awesome that someone who works with so many great pieces in her professional life also spends her free time creatively.  This has even helped shape her own work.  She says that "as an art historian, a good deal of inspiration comes from knowing about various art movements throughout history.  Sometimes I’ll see something in a magazine or book, sometimes in a store, sometimes on somebody, and I’ll start thinking about how I can modify it or use an aspect of it in a design." 

Red Cotton Skirt on etsy

I also recommend checking out her blog.  A quick scroll through shows lots of great tutorials and inspiration.  Here's a really great post she did demonstrating the way that her different inspirations came together into one cool project.

I hope that helped inspire you.  I'm feeling inspired myself.  Feel free to stop by and tell Nan how cool she is or buy one of her pieces, I won't stop you :)