This weeks featured Etsy Artisians

I apologize for missing the last few weeks. Tax time has been getting the best of me, too much to do!

Here is the next batch of 5 Etsy artists. If you're an Etsy artist and would like a feature spot contact me!


Sweet Shawty's Accessories
How did you get started in your craft?
I've always loved to create things. Even when I was a little girl I would sit and try to make things (usually back then I was usually making this out of Legos). I get my talent from my Great-Great Grandmother. I have so much fun creating with my art. It's so exciting to me to see things come to life step by step. I've made different types of items. I really like to dabble in as many media as possible. I try to make items that people have never seen before.
Tell me about your featured item.
This is my favorite item in my shop. I actually carry one of these purses myself and I like it so much because it adds fun and color to my day! My daughter loves to take a Kool-aid juice bag in her lunch for school and I was thinking one day that there has got to be something that can be made from these instead of just throwing them away. The first item I actually made was a change purse. And from there I've made sizes of purses, wallets, notepad holders, key chains and even a Christmas stocking!
What inspires your creations?
I get my inspiration from my husband. We actually feed off each other. My husband is an artist and when he is at home painting and using his talent it inspires me to go create myself. For my years I neglected my talent. I never made time for it. But he has helped bring it back to me, for which I am very grateful!

JaK random art & design
How did you get started in your craft?
I have been crafting and making art in one way or another my whole life. I got into making cuffs out of recycled records mainly because I would go to a lot of record shows with my boyfriend. I would scour the bargain bins looking for cool album artwork which I loved from a graphic designer standpoint. I wound up with a lot of records over time that were not playable so I wanted to find new uses for them. So I started making jewelry and home accessories.
Tell me about your featured item.
I love sugar skulls and their roots in Mexican Folk Art. I love folk art and the way it has built the culture we have today and how far it can reach across generations, race, and continents. I create unique, eco-friendly, handmade jewelry. Made from recycled or found objects, each handmade piece of jewelry is a one-of-a-kind, wearable work of art.
What inspires your creations?
I can be inspired by so much, sometimes a color can inspire me other times it can be a series of events. Most of all seeing others being creative is what inspires me the most and pushes me to try harder and not give up.


dharma designs
How did you get started in your craft?
I'm an artist and writer and heart - and a hippie - but when I looked for jewelry to fit my style I couldn't find any, so I figured I'd make my own. Every time I wore one of my pieces someone stopped me to ask where I got it and it grew from there.
Tell me about your featured item.
It's my personal favorite, but I think it really illustrates my style as well. I love to mix different colors and textures, especially beads that are chunks or nuggets vs smooth, polished, or faceted. I like the organic feel of natural beads. Right now brown and green is my favorite color combo (it reflects an earthiness), followed by green and teal.
What inspires your creations?
Nature, spirituality, different cultures, art. I love to light some nag champa incense and a few candles, put on my Tibetan muusic CD, and make a pot of homemade chai. That really helps me unwind. :-)


butterfly mosaics
How did you get started in your craft?
I have been creating since I was little. I have always had a love for creating funky art. I just graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with a focus on science and math, so art is mhy escape from all the logic!
Tell me about your featured item.
My favorite item in my Etsy store right now is my button flowers. My button bouquets definitely represent my artistic style. They’re a little quirky, but fun.
What inspires your creations?
My inspiration usually comes from what is going on in my life. Currently, my inspiration comes from children. Right now I am a long term substitute teacher and my students are so fun and full of happiness that it inspires me to create bright and whimsical art.


Jeweled Elegance
How did you get started in your craft?
I was never able to wear jewelry growing up as I was highly allergic to most metals. I began creating jewelry so I could wear it. Also, as a person who embodied both eastern and western stylistic tastes, it was difficult to find fusion pieces that bridged those different looks. I initially designed wire-wrapped and beaded pieces, which sold well and I liked, but found the more unique materials, like wood, plastic, handmade papers and fibers, could tell a more narrative story and reflect more of the personal philosophy of the wearer. My customers buy because they like that uniqueness combined with the versatility of the designs' simplicity. I have an art degree and gallery experience, so it was natural to expand from jewelry, and I now have a line of knitted/crocheted accessories and home decor all with the same philosophy.
Tell me about your featured item.
This is a personal favorite. I spent the first half of my life in Asia and all my work has a simple gracefulness to it stemming from that early cultural exposure. I like this earring line because it draws on Japanese culture, has the warm simplicity and natural element of wood, is lightweight and easy to wear and really embodies my philosophy of "graceful - feminine - unique".
What inspires your creations?
The natural world, especially birds and nests lately, is always a source of fresh ideas. I also find Gilded Age turn-of-the-century design, Art Nouveau, medieval themes/pageantry and Asian art infinitely inspiring.

New features to come later this week

Well, the weekend kept me busy! I plan on featuring 5 more Etsians this weekend. I have lots to choose from!

My new item this week

I finally found some time to create a new pair of earrings.

They are called "Misty" after the soft misty colored blue beads. I've used ear wires that I made myself. I've begun using handmade ear wires more and more. These lovely earrings can be purchased in my Etsy shop.

Are you ready for the next 5 Etsy artists?

Here is the next batch of 5 Etsy artists. If you're an Etsy artist and would like a feature spot contact me!


Square Rat
How did you get started in your craft?
I've always sewn. It's something my mother and I have done since I was a teen. She taught me. I got hooked into hand appliqué with her and we've always had a project we've been working on ever since. We appliqué the old school way, by basting and needle turning each individual piece. It's time consuming and tedious, but the end result is worth it.
Tell me about your featured item above.
I'm going to New Orleans in March and this reminds of it. Can't wait!!! This represents what I do in a nutshell and the current line that I am working on. All my pillows right now are done in this manner and this price is actually a deal because it's one of my firsts and I'm just trying to get it out there for people to see.
What inspires your creations?
Fabric inspires me. Take me to a fabric shop and I go crazy with inspiration!! Any quilter will agree with the inability to logically reason at a fabric store. "Do I have this fabric yet? Oh, I think I could use this in that one quilt I started fourteen years ago and never finished. It's just a fat quarter, that's not that much." Us quilters justify our addiction through the purchase and use of fat quarters. Of course that's never enough to make a quilt, so that's how I started using the fabric for pillows. My pillows started as presents for everyone I could give them to, mostly children and they eventually grew into home decor.

Char's Beads 4 U
How did you get started in your craft?
Many people ask me how I got started beading, well, I began to bead when my dear mother fell ill with double pneumonia and had to be put on a respirator...it was the beginning of a long 6 month battle until she passed in May of 2005. I believe that God had a hand in orchestrating a meeting between myself and a lady who made beaded jewelry. I just happened to run into this special lady in a crafting store. This woman inspired me to begin making jewelry and beading. Through beading I was able to keep my mind occupied so I could cope with what was happening in my life. I would come and visit my mother in the hospital and show her all the beautiful trinkets I had created and she loved them so much! I used to come into the hospital and place a special lavender bracelet on her wrist. It was adorn with a beautiful silver butterfly on it. I made it just for her! She'd always loved butterflies, they had a special meaning to us, the butterfly symbolizes eternal life to us! I have come to realize that each piece I make allows me to heal. I treasure the day that I was introduced to this wonderful craft! www.charsbeads4u.com
Tell me about your featured item above.
The cross guitar pick necklace represents who I am as a person, not only because I'm a Christian, but because I play guitar and love music! I have found that this has become the most popular item I've sold on Etsy

3Dots
How did you get started in your craft?
I started making these wood jewelry last summer just for fun because I wanted new unique pieces for myself. After getting a lot of compliments on them, I started selling some bracelets and necklaces to my friends. Not so long ago I randomly found Etsy and joined in! I love being part of Etsy, it's the perfect place to find unique and one of a kind items!
Tell me about your featured item above.
The "Tall inukshuk" necklace I present you today gives a good idea of what you can find in my shop. By his simple lines and his modern feel, this one represents very well my style and what i'm into.
What inspires your creations?
I'm really inspired by modern Art, architecture and contemporary interior design. I'm also very attracted by linear and geometric shapes. Nature is also a great source of inspiration to me. I love working with wood every little piece is always different!

Islandsweet
How did you get started in your craft?
I have been a professional visual artist for over 30 years. My background is in painting but over the past 6 years I have been spending more and more time in the "craft world". I've taken my love of colour and design into my textile work - rug hooking, sewing and knitting. and now instead of painting canvases, I'm painting functional objects with motifs borrowed from my textile work.

Tell me about your featured item above.
The candy floss scarflette is indicative of where my most recent knitting is heading. I love to experiment with colour and texture. these little scarflettes are fun to create. I gather a pile of yarns, fabric strips, ribbons etc. and just begin. The loose ends are part of the design and energy of the piece. I have an extensive collection of vintage buttons - so my big reward at the the end of the project is getting to choose just the right button to finish it off.

What inspires your creations?
I find inspiration for my work in my life. From my home on the west coast of Newfoundland, Canada. From my friends (many of whom are crafts people), from my garden. from my books and magazines. Definitely from the internet now.

AmiAna
How did you get started in your craft?
I learnt to crochet from my husband's Grandmother - one Sunday night she taught me how to crochet peggy squares and then the next day went and checked out a bunch of crochet books from the library for me and pretty much left me to it. From there I started making all sorts of things from patterns - primarily I would buy StitchCraft magazines I found at opshops from the 60s and 70s - they were chocka with all sorts of knitting and crochet patterns and also I liked the style of that era. Then I started going along to a Market day at the insistence of a friend and eventually one day I realised that as a result of making so many things to pattern and hence learning all those stitches I had learnt them so well that I could make things from a picture and even make up my own patterns and designs - and since then I have never used a commercial pattern again. I used to ask Grandma for help and now I often help her out ;) (incidentally she is also very proud of me)

Tell me about your featured item above.
It is definitely one of my favourites. It is also bourne of another of my designs. I like it cos its simple, classic (classic colours), and classy, its different in a unique way, stunning in its simplicity, versatile in terms of wearability - multi-season and also for complimenting casual or formal outfits - I like things that are versatile - it appeals to my practicality. Also it has flower motifs - showing my pacific leanings, whilst the shape (and perhaps choice of colours?) shows the asian influences in my work.
What inspires your creations?
My creativity is inspired mainly by two big influences in my life - firstly my Pacific Island heritage - my mother is Samoan and I also live in New Zealand - an island in the South Pacific. I like to use flowers and floral patterns in my work and I also like to throw together colours you wouldn't usually think would go together - go against the grain so to speak - but I think nature often does that too - just like with flowers!I also love earthy colours such as forest and sea colours - again linked to my Pacific Island heritage I think.
The second big influence in my work is Japan and Asiatic themes/colours/styles/shapes. I have lived in Japan and have great respect and admiration for their innate fashion sense and effortless style savvy.
I am also of course inspired by tv, music/music videos, movies and era styles (as mentioned previously)!

I'm ready to feature 5 more artists

The response I received for Etsy artists to feature was wonderful!
I have enough to keep me busy for quite some time. I'm working on putting together the next 5 shops to feature. I hope to have them posted by the end of today.