Jewelry Keepsakes, and other Handmade Surprises

Super Sweet Pink Necklace - $12.50
Mixed media; a miniature jar filled with pink sparkle dust, bow, pink Czech crystal on a 17” antique raw brass chain.

Autumnleah is an eclectic Etsy shop containing unusual costume jewelry, scrapbooking, hand-sewn children’s clothing, and other handmade items. This sole proprietor lives in Dallas, Texas, and has a degree in graphic design. She’s a stay-at-home-mom, so running a small art-based business out of her home provides just the balance she needs to give her fulfillment while she is home with her child.

Some of her most interesting pieces are her necklaces which are made with a combination of materials and have a romantic and sentimental, almost Victorian flavor to them (see the pink one at top and the black rose below).

Black Rose Necklace - $9.50
24” base metal chain with black rose and silver bow, red leaves at the top.

This next piece was created using decoupage, drilled, and sprinkled with glitter, for a homespun somewhat antique look.

Hope - $7.50
The heart measures approx. 1.25" inches across and the ribbon is 18" long; Choice of either a light pink or a brown ribbon necklace with your purchase.

And last but not least; she offers a package of 4 online store banners (1 for each season). This is a very clever idea. I’ve seen lots of people offering store banners, but this covers all the bases.

Four Seasonal Store Banners -$10.00
One of a kind; they measure 760px by 100px each
(Above is a sample)

Autumnleah is currently running a big sale. Nothing is over $15.00. Prices are perfect for those on a budget.

To see more handcrafted creations go to;
http://autumnleah.etsy.com

To learn more about this seller and what she’s involved in read her blog;
http://autumnleahdesigns.blogspot.com

Art Prints; In The Eye Reflected Back

STEAM PUNK CAT- Original Fine Art Photomontage Print - $25.00
Printed on high quality Archival paper; total size is 8.5 x 11 which leaves a border for framing...the photo itself is approx size 10 X 8.


Citrus Tree Designs cards and prints is an Etsy store our of DelRay Beach, Florida that specializes in art cards and prints using photography, illustration, photomontage, digital alteration and special effects.

The artist creates very powerful and thought-provoking images such as the one shown at top called Steam Punk Cat with a backdrop of industrial buildings at night, its neon mechanically riveted eyes seeming to make a social commentary on life imitating art or art imitating life. Is it a real cat turned mechanical or a mechanical cat becoming flesh and bone? It could also be making a statement about artificial intelligence in the post-industrial age. Have our computers become our new pets? Does the hellish red glow hint at “progress” being the root of evil possibly? There’s a lot there to interpret, and after all that is the hallmark of great art.

This next photo print shows a calm inviting walkway to what looks like a representation of what heaven must be like. The path is weathered and somewhat rustic implying that life can be kind of rough on the way, but that what lies at the end is well worth the effort in striving.

Path to Serenity - Original Fine Art Photography Print - $20.00 Total size is 8.5 x 11 (leaves a border for framing). The photo itself is size 10.5 x 7,
printed on high quality Archival paper, with a luster finish

A very unusual digital Christmas card, this Harley Davidson in the snow makes a nice card to give that guy who loves to ride or work on bikes.

SPECIAL EDITION HOLIDAY MOTORCYCLE CARD - Original Image - $3.50
A 5x7 folded card that says “Happy New Year” on the inside and comes in a sealed cellophane envelope.

In Time To Move a delicate-looking house is perched precariously upon a hilltop. Although the fantasy landscape in this piece is dreamy and ethereal, the house also looks threatened by forces that might wash it away at any moment and take with it the inhabitants inside.

TIME TO MOVE - Original Photomontage Fine Art Print - $20.00
Total size is 11 x 8.5 which leaves a border for framing...the photo itself is approx size 10 x 7, on high quality archival paper.

If the eye is the window to the soul, then this print expresses that concept with a sky blue that seems to symbolize transparency and good intentions, almost childlike in its purity. A girl peaks from behind a lacy spray of flowers. What appears to be a red teardrop gemstone (maybe a Ruby or Oxblood coral briolette) drips from either her eye or the flower bundle just in front of her. Perhaps it’s her life force exposed to the elements like a drop of blood seen outside the body, or a tear giving way to something precious that she’s created through the fruits of her labor. The macro look of the face and the tiny reflection in the eye seems to give the viewer the feeling that she is only inches away from one’s face, conveying a reciprocal level of deep intimacy, an internal knowing that goes in both directions. I have seen this phenomenon in several artists’ work and the effect is hauntingly beautiful.

PERSONAL GROWTH - Fine Art Print - Original Digital Collage - $20.00

Total size is 8.5 x 11 which leaves a border for framing...the photo itself is size 10 x 7.5

If you are looking for something meaningful to hang on your wall or to send as a gift this shop is a very good place from which to make your selection.

To see more fascinating printed images go to;
http://CitrusTree.etsy.com

Read more about the artist and her activities on her blog;
http://citrustreedesigns.blogspot.com

Put Some Bling on that thing!

Rosi of berrybeads from Long Island, NY enjoys making items that are both functional and pretty. One of her specialties is her beaded badge-holders which she constructs from glass, base metal bead spacers, and sometimes gemstone beads strung on 26 pound capacity beading wire that is double-crimped to keep the item you purchase secure.

If you remember the ‘60s the style will look very familiar to you; seed beads interspersed with larger glass beads in a kind of boho look.

If you’ve got a cell phone or mp3 player then you don’t have to be rich to add some bling to that thing! Cute and fun stuff is waiting for you. Go and get some of these accessories, and take a few home for friends and family while you’re at it.

She also offers decorative zipper pulls;

Butterfly Bling Zipper Pull - $4.50
Measures 1.25 inches (about 5.5 cm) long including the clip and is fashioned from glass beads and silver base metal

cell phone charms;

Heart Charm Cell Phone Bling - $4.50
Decoration for a cell phone or mp3 player; Glass beads with silver color base metal spacers and a sterling silver heart charm. This piece measures 1 3/4 inches (4.2 cm) without the 2” cell phone leash.

as well as regular fashion jewelry, all priced at $25.00 and under;

Fishy Earrings - $8.00
Funky abstract fish earrings formed by hand using silver artistic wire; 3 inches (8cm) from the top of the ear wire, and hung with a stone bead.

Copper n' Stone Necklace - $25.00
19 inch long ID badge lanyard made with 18 mm stone beads and copper wire bent in the shape of swirled hearts.

To see more bling go to;
http://berrybeads.etsy.com

Read the artist’s blog here;

http://blog.berrybeady.com

Hand Printed Little Friends for Your Special Occasion!

Gocco Animal Card - $3.00
A 4.25" by 5.5" folded card, blank inside, with lake blue envelope included.

Becca, the artist behind mycatlulu is from Santa Cruz, California, she has a BA in art, and works days as a desktop publisher. Her printed item business was named after her cat that she loves dearly and is home to some unique and inventive prints that have the clean look of simplicity while conveying a professional and classy look.

She belongs to the following street teams;
California Crafters Club of Etsy

EFA- Etsy's For Animals
GoccoPaper
SF Bay Area

This next set of dove cards is extra special and allows 50% of the proceeds from your purchase to go to Amnesty International USA, an organization whose mission is to “undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of our work to promote all human rights"(Excerpt from Justgive.org.)

Gocco Peace Dove Set of 5 Note Cards - $10.00
A peace dove printed onto folded cards with peppermint background, measuring 4.5" by 5.5", blank inside, with matching meltic blue envelopes.

Save 20% on this next set of non-traditional Christmas cards showing the pretty silhouette of a sea horse in black with a bright red glitter dot at the snout to look like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (only this time it's the sea life version).

Gocco Rudolph Seahorses- Set of Five - $8.00
4.25" by 5.5" folded note cards- high quality white card stock, blank inside with matching red envelopes. Since each card is hand printed, there can be slight differences in each card.

Her various animal cards can be ordered in any combination, and each is packaged in a cellophane sleeve, and mailed in a bubble mailer.

Becca welcomes custom orders, so if you have a wedding, family reunion, want to tell everyone of the birth of a new baby, or have another event you want personalized, keep her in mind and ask for a quote.

To see pictures and learn about her printing process be sure to look at her Flickr photo stream; http://www.flickr.com/photos/beccaphoto/2145339002/in/set-72157600158235106/

To watch her store for more lovely stationary and other printed items go to;
http://mycatlulu.etsy.com

Stay up on her activities by reading her blog;
http://mycatlulu.blogspot.com

Marilyn's Horn of Plenty!

Paterkillar Beaded Beads Necklace - $80.00
Eight beaded beads strung on a 32-inch leather string, each approximately 1 1/2 inches long. Interspaced between us are moonstone beads (13). This piece can be worn as a longer necklace, a choker, a bracelet. 2 blue and white, 2 turquoises and orange, 2 red and yellow and 2 purple and white- all on a black base.

Marilyn G of cigarboxbeads is a retired home Ec teacher from Seal Beach, California, with twins and a husband. Her retirement only makes it easier for her creative ideas to flow. She loves to knit, crochet, and do bead-weaving to create upscale elegant jewelry.

Her style of jewelry has abundance written all over it, from her caterpillar-like beaded necklace shown above, to multi-layered pieces such as this one called; Cottage Garden Bracelet.

Cottage Garden Bracelet - $85.00
Woven with a square stitch base and a vintage mauve-purple flower button, with loops on the other end of the bracelet, to accommodate a small wrist or a medium sized one. The bracelet measures 8 inches from one end to the other, with 2 loops of tiny gem chips, will fit a wrist of 6 1/2-8 inches.

To this elegantly netted piece below (this is an absolute steal for $85.00)! This is another piece you collectors should grab quickly. I have seen similar items made by other artists that are selling for about 2-3 times that price!

Chocolate Mocha Truffle Netted Choker - $85.00
15 inches long, except for the clasp. Choker is entirely netted into a cloth-like mesh.

To see more of Marilyn’s beautiful bead-woven jewelry, check out her Etsy store;
http://cigarboxbeads.etsy.com

To learn more about the artist and her current activities, make sure not to miss her blog;
http://cigarboxbeads.blogspot.com