My First Time Being Featured!

I've done features on fellow Etsy artists here on my blog, but have never had the honour of being featured anywhere before. I got a wonderful surprise this morning when a lady I made a pay-it-forward banner for sent me the link to the feature she did on me on her blog! :D I'm so excited! What a wonderful feeling. :D

Check it out: The Ordinary Housewife - featured artist- Genuine Article

Kelly has a fabulous little Etsy shop of her own, which she just started listing in this past weekend. :) She does wonderful work with silk and crochet.

(click the images to view the items)

Isn't this the most gorgeous shade of turquoise? :)

An adorable hat for the stylish toddler.

This charming scarf would be the perfect accent to any outfit.

And check out her work painting on silk!

Take a look at some of the features I've done on other Etsy artists- jessijewels, CelticKnot, hdawnparratt, and lewesiaglass.

Featured Artist - lewesiaglass

I met Lynn from lewesiaglass in the Etsy forums- the Group Hug thread to be specific. She's such a warm, kind, and talented woman that I couldn't help but like her immediately. :)

Lynn lives in the UK, has raised three grown sons, loves to travel with her husband of 41 years, and finds glass painting to be a very relaxing hobby. She takes her beautiful creations to craft fairs where she has been quite successful, and also sells her amazing pieces on Etsy.

I just placed a custom order with her for my sister, and she's already been really wonderful to deal with. :)

I recently interviewed Lynn. Here are my questions and her answers. (Click on the photos to view the items.)

What first interested you in glass painting, and how long have you been doing it?

About 12 years ago I visited a craft fair,in our local area, and just by chance there was a glass painter there. I liked the look of it, and thought, I'll try that. That was it, I was hooked.

Can you describe the process of your pieces from start to finish?

Firstly I just look at a the shape of the glass, be it a vase, candle holder, bottle, photo frame, and imagine what would fit the shape. The next step is the cerne relief outline, which is applied and then left for 24 hours to set. The outline leaves a well to which I apply the paint. I mix the paint straight on the glass, so half the time I have no idea if I am marbling how the paint will turn out. Again, I leave it for another 24 hours. Lastly, I add the finishing touches- the staimens in flowers and the viens in the leaves, and at last it goes into the oven for 2 hours to harden off. The last thing I do is wash it, and that's when it sparkles. I get great pleasure to think I have painted this!

What inspires you with your painting?

Anything. I love just to paint. I see glass, I want to paint it.

Do you have a favourite colour or technique to work with?

I suppose green and blue are my favourite colours. Green leaves, tree grass. And blue, there are so many shades of blue. My favourite technique is marbling. I mix the colours straight onto the glass, so in effect, I really don't know how they will turn out. I like doing that.

Do you enjoy painting on any one item in particular?

All items of glass are my favourites, because you start with a clean clear object, and you add to it, hopefully with a beautiful design that someone other than you will love.

What is your favourite item currently for sale in your shop?

My favourite item for sale in my shop is, the square white
and yellow iris.

How much time would you say you spend each day on your craft?

Whatever spare time I have, some days the ideas keep coming and other days not, I'm like all craft workers, you have good and bad creative days.

How did you first discover Etsy?

My daughter-in-law, she told me about this terrific site she had found, and told me, no one does hand painted glass like you, they will love it, but then she's biased!

What is your favourite part of Etsy?

I love the craftsmanship of so many talented people here on Etsy, the time the love and the patience they put into their craft, also the friendliness of it, I have been blessed with meeting alot of good friends just by being on the forums. Etsians also offer so much help.

Do you sell anywhere other than Etsy?

I do the occasional craft fair, not many because there is only so much that I can paint, and if it ever became a job, where I knew I had to paint, my pleasure would be gone.

If you enjoyed this Artist Feature, check out the ones I did on jessijewels, CelticKnot, and hdawnparratt.

Featured Artist - CelticKnot

The Etsy forums are a wonderful place to meet talented artists and kind, warm people. I met one such lovely person, Kristine, from CelticKnot a few months ago and have subsequently purchased a pair of her gorgeous earrings as well as two jars of her origami Lucky Stars. :)

Kristine is currently having a really great sale to raise money for a camera. She has tons of beautiful things ready to list in her shop once she's able to take photos of them. So be sure to stop by her little corner of Etsy to check it out. :)

I recently interviewed Kristine, here are my questions and her answers. (Click the photos to view the items.)

What first interested you in jewelry and origami, and how long have you been doing each?

I first became interested in making jewelry during the summer of 2007. My husband was in the Navy at that time and was away on a deployment for several months. I needed a way to pass the time and satisfy my creative side. I researched how to make earrings and dove straight into it. Since then I have been making earrings, bracelets, necklaces, keychains, bookmarks, wine glass charms, cell phone charms, and zipper pulls.

I have been interested in origami for many years, but I was an admirer rather than a creator. I absolutely love stars, so I was extremely excited when I discovered origami lucky stars. In the one month since I made my first star, I have made thousands and they are filling up every possible container in my apartment. They’re very addictive!

What is your favourite colour to work with?

I love to work with silver, blue, and emerald green. Rainbows are frequently seen in my shop.

What style of jewelry do you prefer to make over the others?

I love to make all styles of jewelry, but I would describe the majority of my jewelry as vibrant and fun. My favorite earrings to make are shooting stars and cherry blossoms, and my favorite necklace is my planetary necklace.

What type of jewelry do you, yourself, wear most often?

I wear my gorgeous engagement and wedding rings, a diamond star necklace given to me by my husband when we were dating, and a variety of my own earrings. I love to wear shooting star, Celtic knot, cherry blossom, and rainbow helix earrings. I have recently started making memory wire bracelets, and I have been proudly wearing them.

How did you first discover Etsy?

I was first introduced to Etsy by a friend several years ago. She recommended the site to my in-laws who had a candle business at the time.

What convinced you to sell on Etsy?

I fell in love with Etsy immediately and opened an account when I was encouraged by family, friends, and strangers.

Are you happy with how your shop is going?

At the moment, things are very slow because I no longer have a camera. I have a ton of beautiful earrings and bracelets and lovely lucky stars that I can’t wait to add to my shop. I am currently having a 30% off sale to help buy a camera.

How much time would you say you spend each day on your crafts?

I spend several hours a day on my crafts. I love to make earrings and lucky stars while watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy every evening. I also spend a lot of time in the forums talking to wonderful Etsians, helping to answer their questions, and promoting my shop. Chances are, if you see me in the forums, I’m typing and making lucky stars at the same time. Like I said, they’re addictive!

What advice do you have for new sellers?

My advice for new sellers is to believe in yourself and your crafts. Do not undersell your items; your time, creativity, materials, and talent are worth a lot! Good pictures are essential. Use all of your picture slots; they are very valuable. Photograph your items at different angles, and use size references, whether they are in the picture or described in units within the description. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Get to know your fellow Etsians. Etsy is the nicest, friendliest, most creative and diverse community in the world. I love Etsy!

If you enjoyed this post, check out the Artist Feature I did on jessijewels. :)

I love being in Treasuries!

I woke up today to a wonderful surprise - I'm in a Treasury! :) The gorgeous and fabulous Miss Jessi of jessijewels created a beautiful Treasury featuring people from The Hug Thread, a friendly little oasis in the Etsy forums.

The sunflower photo at the top right was taken by my sister, Natashia, and is for sale in our shop. :)

luvin' in the garden ...


Coincidentally, I entered a contest run by CelticKnot today, and won $5 off any item in her shop! I showed Natashia her shop and she fell in love with the Rainbow Helix earrings featured in the above Treasury. Thus, they are no longer available. ;)

And the winner is....... *drumroll*

I just ran my very first contest! I was inspired by two lovely women I met in the Etsy forums, HappyTazzie and CelticKnot who have both run successful contests in the Promotion forum. Sales were slow and I was a bit bored, so I decided to give it a try. :)

I made a post stating that the first 20 people to post in the thread would get their name in the hat, and I would pull for three winners. First place got a $10 discount on any item in my shop, second and third place each got a $5 discount.

It took a lot longer than I thought it would to get 20 people to post, but it was probably due to my choice of day and time (mid afternoon on a Wednesday) and also perhaps because my title wasn't "grabby" enough. But with my frequent, determined posts and the generous help of the people who were involved, we finally made it to 20 contestants before the day was out. :)

I wrote down all the names on paper, cut them apart and then drew for the winners.

First place went to mistym03, who has a very colourful, eclectic little Etsy shop. She chose this gorgeous bracelet that my mother, Juanita, designed and created.


Second place went to mystiqueisland, who has some truly gorgeous photographs for sale in her lovely Etsy shop. She's going on vacation and chose one of my premade vacation banners with her prize money.


The person who won third place in the contest hasn't gotten back to me yet, but I will update this post when I know more! :)

On the whole, I think this contest was a great success! I met a lot of lovely people, and was very blessed to have the support of some friends who helped keep my contest running. A big thank you to jessijewels, Debashri, CelticKnot, BrittanyAlecia and cottonlily for all of your help with keeping the thread bumped up in the quicksand-like environment of the Promotion forum. :)