Sunday Morning Coffee and Etsy – 10/10/10

Good morning!  Well, I just couldn’t let a date like 10/10/10 go by without a blog post.  Yes, I have been very sporadic this year in my blogging, haven’t I?  Last post was 8/29/10 – I need to do better – I still find lots of gorgeous new things on Etsy, and I feel bad for not sharing them more often.  So, let’s get started on today’s wonderful collection…..

I happened across this shop a while ago, and quickly saved it to my favorites.  The message and the look inspire me – Less and More.  I am on the verge of a gigantic decluttering of my house and studio, and although my style is not modernist, I love the clean simplicity of  these beautiful and very useful pieces.  I can  definitely use a few of these mixed in with my cottage style decor.  Some of these can double as sculpture too.  The chopstick holder is wonderful – much better than hiding them in a drawer.  Makes me want to go out and buy some fancy chopsticks.  Not only that, now I’m craving Chinese food! 

What I really need, though is one (or many) of the desk organizers.  I especially like the nice-sized Crafting Cindy version.   Both my shipping desk and my jewelry bench would benefit greatly from a few of these.  

I’m considering moving my studio out of the basement and into what is now my packing and shipping room/bird room.  I’d love to be upstairs, and it would be fun to be able to actually have “decor” that inspires me rather than cold cement walls.  I came across this wonderful embroidered lavender pillow in the shop of Polkadots and Blooms.  What a great name for a shop filled with wonderful, and yes, very useful, fabric treasures!  

These handy little cloth storage baskets (small size pictured here – the also come in medium and large) would definitely help out my clutter issues and look great while doing it.  The exterior fabric is mangle cloth, a vintage linen fabric  between 60 and 100 years old.

 

I was also thrilled to find a shop, The Creative Gene,  this morning that sells handmade cotton dishcloths.  My mother started making similar ones for me years ago, and I am totally addicted to them now.  Unfortunately my Mom doesn’t always have time to keep making me more of them.  I fell in love with this lovely stack of 3 discloths aptly named Violet Petals.  My kitchen has a wallpaper border of potted violets, so these are completely perfect!

You’ll find other beautifully made items in this shop such as baby blankets, hats, and this wonderful crocheted storage basket that is a perfect fit for storing your handmade dishcloths!  Now I’m totally inspired to go do the dishes and clean up the kitchen – have a great week everyone! 

Sunday Morning Coffee and Etsy 04/05/10

Happy Easter Sunday to all of those who celebrate.   I hope it is a glorious morning where you are – it surely is here!  I’ve got my lavender latte in hand, and am taking a wee little break from my busy Easter Sunday  with a browse through my latest Etsy discoveries.

One of these recent new discoveries is Ethereal Art, the shop of  hugely talented artist, Marcia Snedecor.  Her work is dreamy and magical, and is the type of art that has a different meaning to all who look upon it. 

My favorite in her shop is a lovely piece titled “Delicate Balance IV”.   I just can’t stop looking at it – it reminds me of everything I love about nature, which is indeed a delicate balance of many pieces. 

In addition to original art, her shop also offers note cards using many of her  paintings.  Ive always been a lover of spirals in any form, so the card titled “Guardians” is one of my favorites.    The following is from her description of the work:  "This piece of art was inspired by the Golden Mean, a ratio that celebrates a harmonious relationship pf parts to a while. The ratio is roughly depicted in the spiral shell. Archways combine two geometric shapes, cube and chalice, and symbolize the triumph of the spirit. Identical twins present a mirror image and symbolize perfect balance inner harmony and Oneness. The golden spiral, our sacred path, is the guarded treasure."  Do be sure and visit Marcia’s  own website where you can see more of her lovely work.  

These  beautiful paintings remind me a bit of the amazing work of bead artist Kerri Fuhr.  It’s been a while since I have visited her Etsy shop, so I took a look this morning to see what  she’s been up to lately.  I first fell in love with her work a couple of years ago when I purchased one of  her dragonfly beads.  I think I need another one, and this lovely bead on a background of ivory tapestry is a stunner.  

She has bumblebees, too, which I might like even more than her dragonflies.  Check out this amazing set with a large focal, two smaller matching beads, and several little accent beads.  Oh, what I’d like to make with these!   New this year in Kerri’s shop are her lovely horse beads, as detailed as tiny little paintings,  just like the bees and dragonflies.  This beauty in shades of white and grey is just begging to be made into an incredible necklace.    I used to have an Arabian horse, and this bead reminds me of one of the greatest of all – Nazeer.  My sweet little bay filly was one of his great-great-great granddaughters.   Hmm, I think this gorgeous spring weather we’re having is making me want to go riding.  Wow, I wonder if I remember how – its been years! 

Alas, it’s time to stop daydreaming and get on with my day, so on that note, I’ll say goodbye for now…….

Sunday Morning Coffee and Etsy – 01/10/10

Hope everyone’s New Year is going well so far!  I’m still enjoying that feeling of a fresh new start that comes each January.  The anticipation of  new artful treasures waiting to be discovered is such a happy feeling I can almost forget the frigid temperatures outside.  One day last week as I was checking on my Etsy shop hearts at Craftcult.com, I came across an ad that showed  a lovely  beaded bracelet in the most delicious colors.  I just had to click on it, and discovered Fredbean’s Nook, the shop of bead artist  Emma  who lives on Aquidneck Island near Portsmouth, Rhode Island.  I am in love with the colors and textures she uses in her pieces, and I want every one of them!  The “Garden of Color” bracelet is what caught my eye first.  The soft jewel tones and matte textures in this piece are perfection!

The “Sparkling Skies” necklace is my next favorite.  I do love turquoise, and her beadwork, paired with the great textured square silver beads is indeed heavenly.  This piece reminds me that I want to make some silver beads, and has given me inspiration for getting started on that new project! 

Emma’s hoop earrings are also wonderful – simple, classic, and oh, so perfect for the necklace!

These beauties also come in a delicous raspberry color, – just about the color of raspberry sherbet – yum!

 

Another great discovery this week is handmade shoes. Yes, handmade shoes, believe it or not – check out  Smartfish! 

 Indeed,  Alisha Budkie makes shoes completely from scratch!  She studied Industrial Design at the University of Cincinnati, where she focused on footwear design.  She also spent time interning at Adidas and New Balance.  Alisha’s designs are classic and understated – the perfect everyday shoe.   And if that’s not enough – her shoes use sustainable materials, are completely vegan, and created without using any adhesives.  The pairs pictured above are made from natural brown hemp canvas for the uppers, the outsoles are made from natural latex and sawdust (hand poured into molds made by Alisha!) and the insoles are made from salvaged cork, that has been coated with natural latex.   The lining is made from organic bamboo.  (Bamboo is good – read a little about bamboo clothing here)  Last, but not least, if your shoes happen to get dirty, the insole can be removed, and the shoes turned inside out and washed.  Perfect!

I found these wonderful shoes on the Etsy Treasury created by Walrus Tusk, that featured my little moonstone ring.  What an eye she has – her gorgeous treasury made the front page of Etsy yesterday afternoon – woot!  

Originally from Fairbanks, Alaska where she  learned the art of bead work, she now lives in Arizona where she draws her inspiration from the dry desert environment.  Walrus Tusk not only does bead work, but quill work, sewing, knitting, creating petroglyphs and refinishes furniture too! 

All of her beadwork is beautiful, but her Silver Medallion bracelet is simply sensational!  (And how great would it look with those shoes – yum!)  This bracelet would go with absolutely everything I wear – the soft greys with the hint of beige is an inspired color combo, and her workmanship is evident in every detail. 

I can definitely ‘see’ the desert landscape and colors in this piece.  I used to live in Arizona, and I do miss the warm dry air and the views that go on forever .  It is very much getting to be time to go back for a visit – I wish I was there right now.  I need the sun!  I do hope you all have been keeping warm on these frigid January days!

My summer ‘blog vacation’ is officially over!

And yes, this is finally a piece for my “Stones of the American West” collection.  One of my main goals this summer was to increase my production speed so I can keep up with orders and work for my galleries, but still have time to create new things.   Ha ha, and my goal for the Fall is to keep up with orders, make new things, and still have time to blog and twitter…….and we won’t even mention the benign neglect that my poor garden has to put up with!

Speaking of galleries and shops – I now have work in the lovely Spirit of the Hand gallery located in Dandridge, Tennessee, just outside of Gatlinburg.  I’ve shopped there for years, one of my very favorite places for Christmas gifts and fabulous pottery.  I’m so excited to have my work featured there!

I’ve also been busy this summer with quite a bit of custom work, which I am finding that I really love!  My customers are truly a source of wonderful inspiration for new pieces to add to my shop!  I’m making myself a pair of these Dragonfly Dreams  earrings that I made for Doris to go with her Dragonfly Treasure ring (originally inspired by another customer request!)  Doris loves iolite, and both her ring and earrings have gorgeous iolite stones.

 Another request from this summer with an iolite stone was this sweet pendant that I did for Robin.  This one will soon be available in my shop, too.  I’ll be calling it “Live, Dream, Soar”, a saying that I’ll be incorporating into several new pieces that I’m working on.  

 

 

I’ve also been playing around a bit with fold forming this summer.  I really love this technique, and will be filling out an entire line in the next few weeks.  I wish silver prices would go back down so I can do some pieces in silver, but sheesh, I hate to buy a bunch of sheet at today’s prices – it’s almost $17.00 per ounce!   Here is a sneak peek at my next cuff-to-be.  This is just a small piece that I was playing with, and unfortunately, not long enough for a cuff.  It’s not soldered or anything yet, I’ve just got the embellishments set loosely on the piece.  Not sure what I’ll be going with in the end.  I might end up making a brooch and some earrings out of this piece.  It’s made with 16g copper, requiring HUGE fire to get it hot enough to solder, but I love how the thicker metal makes such detailed ruffles and textures.  (had to get out the BIG hammer, too, lol)   This fold forming technique is the ‘line fold’ which has been hammered flat after it was opened.  It’s amazing what can be created with fold forming, such fun to play! 

That’s all for now, but I’ll be back soon with great Etsy and 1000 Markets finds, as well as more about what I’m working on, and of course, gardening and cooking tidbits.  See you all later!

 

Technorati Tags: Maury Mtn. Agate,artisan ring,sterling silver ring,amethyst,dragonfly earrings,iolite,copper,fold forming

New Work and Today's Bouquet

I've been concentrating on finishing some new work for the Glamour and Glow boutique up in Horseheads New York. This little boutique is so lovely, I wish I was close enough to visit! Some of my favorite jewelry designers have work there, including Emily Gray, whose work I've drooled over since I first saw it!

Her gorgeous Clementine earrings are a perfect match for the flowers currently blooming in my garden! I think today's bouquet is my favorite so far this year. I love the combination of the pinky orange in the Sunset variety of coneflowers combined with the vibrant Paprika yarrow, the classic purple coneflowers and the hint of sweet blush pink in the calla lilies.

My garden is definitely a source of inspiration for my work. One of the pieces I sent was this little daisy pendant with a black star diopside center. I love making these, and this design will be in the shop very soon.

Another new design is the fold-formed silver leaf that will become the first piece of several that I'll be putting in my shop. This one has a lapis stone highlighting it - I love the crisp look of lapis and silver. I'm working on a pair of earrings in this design, so simple, but still interesting and fun to make. I love fold forming, and can't believe I haven't gotten around to doing more of it until now. I'm finally setting my one of a kind stones, too.


I started a 'Stones of the American West' series last summer, and have never replaced the pieces that sold so I 'm working on those now too. Hope to finish an amethyst in Maury Mtn. agate ring shortly with this great little stone.

Something else I'm working on is new earring designs for the shop. I've got a new hoop design going with a forged ruffle. I'm going to adapt this pendant design into earrings. I've really been in the pendant mode lately, and I need to get some more earrings going. The problem is making two ruffled hoops that match, not so easy! Actually, making earrings is not my favorite thing to do because I never want to make the second one - I want to move and and make something else!

Oh my - check these out this mid-week Etsy find!

I happened across the most beautiful shop on Etsy this evening, and I just had to share! Even though I rarely wear anything but jeans and tee shirts, I do love beautiful dresses, and enjoy dressing up (when I'm skinny enough to have fun with it, that is, lol). The costumes created by Steph of the Deconstructress Designs shop are so gorgeous, I'm inspired to start working out and losing weight this very minute!



Van Gogh's Starry Night is one of my all time favorite paintings, and Steph's Starry Night Fairy Gown captures the feel of the painting perfectly. What a dreamy dress - without the fairy wings it would make a perfect dress for an evening of dancing.



Another stunning fairy dress was inspired by Monet, another painter whose work I love. I could easily spend an evening dancing in the lovely Monet Waterlilies fairy costume, too!



And wait - there's one more truly amazing fairy dress you must see - the Autumn Pixie Fall-en piece. The way this one has been constructed to look like the wearer is rising from a pile of fallen leaves is wonderful. I need to find a fab Halloween party this year and go in one of these beautiful works of art!








I was excited to read in her shop announcement that one-of-a-kind formal wear made from new and antique materials is coming in a new shop that Steph will be opening on Etsy. I'll definitely be watching and waiting, that's for sure! The shop name is entwinedapparel, and will feature beautiful, unique wedding and bridesmaid dresses as well as some casual dresses.

Sunday Morning Coffee and Etsy - 06/07/09

I'm starting my week off on the right track. I need to get back on schedule with my blog. Amazing how being late just once leads to a whole string of blog-neglecting incidents, oops! Apparently spring and summer are a major distraction for me. In fact, I'm having a tough time sitting here instead of heading out to my tattered old 'daydreaming chair' in the garden. I do want to share some truly stunning work that I've run across in the last several weeks, though.

I meet the most wonderful artists by either creating or being featured in Etsy treasuries, and Maurice Sewelson of Sewelsonwoodcraft featured me in his treasury a while back. I was stunned by the beauty of his work when I clicked over to his shop. My stepfather was a talented woodworker, and I learned to appreciate the beauty of a piece of fine wood at a very early age.

Maurice's shop is filled with examples of beautiful exotic woods that are showcased at their finest by his amazing skill. I think my very favorite is the Spalted Red Gum woodturned lidded vessel. This shape of this piece is gorgeous, and the ebony accents are just perfect with the grain of the wood.



Another piece of his that I would love to have is the Australian Jarrah Burl woodturned vessel with its fascinatingly patterned eucalyptus wood. I would just love to see this piece on my living room coffee table. Perfect.

Speaking of Australia, another piece of spectacular work that I've found lately are the 'Sunset at Great Barrier Reef' pieces from the shop of Corinna's Atelier. Color always grabs my attention, and these just jumped off the computer screen when I was doing a search for a coral themed treasury that I'm planning. The way the stones in the Sunset at Great Barrier Reef Necklace blend into each other with their various shades of pink, coral and cream is nothing short of mesmerizing.



The matching bracelet with its meticulously crafted abundance of tiny stones is positively delicious. I especially love how each side of the piece is exactly opposite in design, making the blending of the colors even better. I am definitely going to have to create something using these colors!

On that lovely note, I must leave. Time to head down to the studio and make things. I got a wonderful shipment of deep purple amethyst, sagey green amethyst, sparkling lemon quartz and topaz, and the lovliest shade of rose quartz with a frosted finish. I love making simple little wire-wapped necklaces from fabulous gems, and I can't wait to wrap up a few of these and get them in the shop. I finally did post a piece made from a piece of the pretty translucent white chalcedony that I've had for a while - I named it Through the Mist, and it just had to be accented with a sweet little golden dragonfly!

Sunday Morning Coffee and Etsy - 04/26/09

Another lovely spring morning is at hand, I'm on my second cup of coffee, and looking at my last tulip yielding the spotlight to Miss Nelly Moser. It's been a lovely spring for tulips here because of the unusually cold winter, and I've enjoyed every minute of their beauty.

I'll soon be heading down to the studio, and no, I'm not going to do my growing pile of dishes first. I've been catching up on twitter and facebook, and life in general after two months of being crazy busy. I'm still slightly behind, but not hopelessly so anymore. I have learned my lesson about keeping inventory on hand for wholesale orders rather than trying to fit them in and still keep up with regular and custom orders. Things have been slow in my Etsy shop for last week, so I should be able to work on several new designs I've got in progress soon. I've been having much fun with a custom ring shank design, which has now inspired a new pendant idea that I'm itching to do, too. I love when that happens!

Onward to the shopping for new Etsy treasures! I'm in the mood for an earring party today after finding these completely gorgeous earrings from Designs by Autumn. They were created with stunning multicolored sapphires, and I just love the design, it reminds me of bejeweled angel wings!

Another lovely I found in Autumn's shop is the gorgeous Paradise Reef necklace with yummy larimar and white coral. Just wow! And there's a bonus - the parts are interchangeable and can be worn in 4 different ways, from the single starfish to the full pendant shown here - great idea!



Then I found this great pair of pink and white lampwork saucer beads just perfect for a pair of earrings in my fellow Team Wetsy member's shop, Starlight Designs. I love the cranberry and white twisted stringer around the edge, they look good enough to eat!

I made a pair of golden grains earrings recently for a customer, and it reminded how much I love working with gold. I wish the price would go down so I can buy some gold wire and sheet. I'm starting to eye my gold jewelry and wonder how many things I could make if I melted it!


I found these gorgeous gold and emerald earrings in 2 Trick Pony's shop (gotta love that name!), who creates in a solar studio. I love the design on these and and warm glow of the gold that reminds me of a well loved heirloom.

Another pair of earrings that has the look of an heirloom is the lovely Yetkatarina Earrings from M. Augusta Woodland's shop. Such lovely colors and beauty with a slight touch of rustic. These so need to be hanging from my ears!! They also remind me that I need to get out my Russian filigree DVD and give it a whirl. I have wanted to do it for two years now, and it's time to get started.

I did actually buy a new pair of earrings recently, that I completely love - these beauties by Beth from her Mermaid's Den shop, one of my Team Wetsy and Wet Canvas friends. They are really beautiful, such a great design and workmanship!! Now I want more in different colors!

It's time for me to get the day started, so I'm going to go put on my new earrings and get going. 'See' you all later!

Sunday Morning Coffee and Etsy - 03/29/09

Good morning all! It feels good to be back on schedule. It really is Sunday morning here in the Eastern Time Zone, and I really am drinking coffee and pondering what to write about while I am waiting to catch a treasury when it opens up in an hour or so. Eureka! One of the picks for my 'Clouds of White and Golden Honey' treasury has sparked the subject for this morning's post. Earlier this week, I received an email from Abby Horowitz that she had featured my Lush Pearl Dangles in her spotlight on the Found-Handmade website.


I never tire of looking at other artist's creations, so of course I took a peek at Abby's shop. There I found this amazing white turquoise Buddha pendant, along with many other treasures that reminded me of my love for Tibet, the Himalayan mountains and the teachings of the Dalai Lama. One of my favorite movies of all time is Seven Years in Tibet, which adds Brad Pitt to these wonderful things - does it get any better than that? (but I digress....) This movie is the true story of Heinrich Harrer, and his experiences as a tutor and friend to the young Dalai Lama in Lhasa, Tibet during WWII. Hans Harrar's books are on my 'short list' of books I want to read the minute I get a chance.



What fun I've had this morning searching for items related to the Dalai Lama and Tibet on Etsy. One of the most meaningful is the mixed media piece titled Tibetan Reliquery by Kage Harp of Rusted Wings Gallery. This piece is a poignant reminder of the sad situation of the Tibetan people.



I also did a search on 'Tibet' which brought me to the Silk Road Jewelry shop.I love the combination of white and gold (I guess you probably figured that out from my treasury choices!) and this gorgeous Chank shell pendant is a stunning example of these colors. (A Chank is a Conch from the Indian Ocean) In this pendant, the lovely shell is surrounded on all sides by heavily repoussee'd brass. It was handmade in Kathmandu, Nepal by a skilled artisan.

I love how the Silk Road shop supports small artisans from around the world. Here are Designer Anne Singer's own words about her art: "We gather unique handmade elements from artisans in Africa and Asia and combine them with genuine gemstones and a variety of metals to produce unique, one-of-a-kind wearable art. SRJ's purchase of their artisanal works helps to support many extended families living in difficult circumstances.

When you purchase a piece of Silk Road Jewelry, you are also helping to provide a livelihood for Tibetan Refugee/artisans in Nepal, as well as women and extended families in Afghanistan, Bali, Ghana, India, Israel, Morocco, Niger, Tibet, Turkey, Yemen....."

Another piece I love from Anne's shop is a stunning turquoise necklace with a focal pendant that was made in Adil Qazi’s shop in Kathmandu, Nepal. He and his brothers are Tibetan artisans living in Nepal since the Chinese Invasion, and the sale of their works provide a comfortable living for their large extended family.

All these gorgeous pieces have me inspired to go down to the studio and start creating, so I'll finish the last of my coffee and say goodbye for now. Hope to have pictures of some of my new work, as well as the custom pieces that I've been working on in the next few days. And maybe some more copper fusing...... and ..... and...