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

A Lively Abstraction

Original, Number 3 In Tree Series, 8x10 Ink Drawing - $95.00
Original Medium: Ink, Pencil, Marker and PaperSize: 8x10 (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)

DAMdesigns operates out of the San francisco Bay area (California), and specializes in unique abstract art. Danielle, the artist behind the Etsy store creates everything from ACEOs to jewelry, to wall-sized posters with her hand-drawn intricate patterns. She uses pen and paper, magic marker, polymer, acrylic spray, a variety of paints, rubber cord, canvas, recycled items, and other materials to create her artwork.

I love trees, so Danielle’s Tree Series especially appeals to me. Her style really gives these drawings with their concentric circles a very three dimensional look. Her trees are rotund and substantial, their branches showing lots of movement, and the negative space around them is filled in with what looks like a vibrating spiral.

Original, Number 1 In Tree Series, 8x10 Ink Drawing- $95.00
Original Medium: Ink, Pencil, Marker and PaperSize: 8x10 (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)

Unique Pendant. Originally Drawn Piece of Wearable Art. N4. - $7.50
Pendant measures approximately 1.5” by 1.5” (3.8 cm x 3.8 cm) and are round with see-through appearance. Black rubber cord is included free of charge.

The artist makes her policies clear and easy to understand and strives to deliver good customer service and communication with her buyers.

Come see more of her work at:
http://www.damdesigns.etsy.com
Read her blogs at:
http://www.damdesigns.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/damdesigns

Full of Surprises!

Southwest Heirloom Santa - $25.00
Santa sculpture doll measures approximately 18" tall including the stand to which he is permanently attached. Instead of a traditional Christmas tree he has with him a stuffed felt cactus! Embellished with bugle beads, a variety of fabrics, tiny lights, and faux fur.

Won't your holiday guests be surprised and thrilled when they walk in and see Santa greeting them just inside the front door! Quite a conversation piece, your parties will be THE latest hotspot once the word spreads about your clever home decor.

Debbie, owner of Craftymoose is a self-taught mixed-media artist who makes a wide variety of things but specializes in French beading and mixed-media art dolls most of which include beads and wire. The work has a folk-art feel to it, and all pieces are one-of-a-kind. I just love her beaded french flowers! Absolutely gorgeous work!

French Beaded Ring of Beaded Roses - $40.00
Made with Czech glass seed beads, some of which are vintage, about 60 years old. Each component was completed and then attached to a 7 inch ring. There is a loop attached to the back of the ring so this may be hung on a wall or in a window.

This hummingbird is also very pretty and would be splendid to hang in the window or above your bed or over your desk. This piece caught my eye because I am currently exploring creative ways of filling in wire frames. She has done a great job here of rendering this little creature and even has the markings and shading down!

Beaded Hummingbird Suncatcher – 14.00
Hummingbird hand-formed with 20 gauge black wire. His wingspan is 5" and he is a little over 5" long. Czech glass seed and bugle beads in different finishes were used to bead the body & wings. The head is beaded in metallic green & ruby transparent and the chest in peach with a pearl finish. The wings are done in crystal clear, topaz & copper.

Go check out her Etsy store. You never know what you might find...or what you might miss if you don't.

To see more by this artist go to:
http://craftymoose.etsy.com/

To read more about her and her activities, read her blog:
http://craftymoosecrafts.blogspot.com/

Celebration!

Image en miroir- Set of 3 mirror Eiffel Tower Tags PARIS -$3.95
Delicate pink parchment cardstock with chocolate brown ink
And ribbons with a little mirror at the bottom with a word on each.

Katie Lyn Sherry of myheart2yours located in Kansas City, Missouri, uses paper in a variety of ways to make her statement. Her other job is working as
a professional math tutor, teaching all levels from Jr. High through college.

"Paper was easily accessible when I was a child" says Katie Lyn. "I remember saving my money or begging my mom to get a new pad of construction paper... You remember? The one with the green cover that had two or three sheets of each color. It was so hard to decide which to use first. I think I always used the ugly ones first.

She embellishes her paper items using a wide variety of decorative parts and different techniques.
"Now that I have advanced onto more spendy papers, I have learned that you can ink, sand, stain, doodle, bend, tear, soak, alter, or otherwise mutilate paper and it still looks fabulous!"

The captions in many of her handmade cards and gift tags show a whit as sharp as the paper's edge. Katie Lyn made her mother a retro card for Mother’s Day and she proudly took it to work and showed everyone. Her somewhat dark humor shows in this tag below;

Humor Me MOMMYS DIET 4x6 inches LARGE Retro Tag - $2.55
Made with Basic Grey Papers or Bazzil Textured Cardstock and finished with Prima Flowers and sequins.

"I have an ebay store that is not yet stocked with products," says Katie Lyn, "but I mainly sell through Etsy.com or through private consignments from personal friends or acquaintances. Person to person is very successful. My items tend to be very full of embellishment. It needs to be touched to be appreciated, no picture in the world can take the place of holding a cool art item in your hand."

12 Itsy Bitsy Etsy Thank You Mini Notes - $4.00
(Set number 2), 3 x 2.5". Each note comes
with a crisp sealable cellophane bag.

Katie Lyn has learned to be sure to charge enough for shipping to cover all the costs you might not think of are involved in mailing the item. "Most department stores or catalog ordering companies charge a minimum of $6.00 to ship even the smallest item," she points out. "There is a reason for this. Of course I don't charge that much! But packaging, pay pal fees, extra goodies, listing fees and everything else included as costs of a sold item can actually make the difference between breaking even or losing money." Her advice to other artists is that they need to "value themselves and their products! Don't be afraid to ask for what it will take to mail your items."

Techniques Katie Lyn is interested in learning are how to solder with copper and Microscope slides.

To prepare for holiday shoppers she has listed with a few Independent artists gift guides as well as promoting on her blog and on etsy.

This scrapbook below has lots of bright colors and can be used as a baby book or for a little girl to put pictures in and precious things she wants to save

Oh Baby Girl 4x4 Wire bound scrapbook— $12.00
One of a kind, thick, and with lots of ribbons, tags, pockets, and other stuff


BLOB ART Gust- $5.00
Measures 4x6, hand drawn, and One-Of-A-Kind, drawn with marker on thick art board. Signed, titled, and dated on the back.


Doodle Blob Art PSYCHOTIC 80s- $5.00
Measures 4x6, hand drawn, and One-Of-A-Kind, drawn with marker on thick art board. Signed, titled, and dated on the back

Long-term, her goal for her business will be to streamline her products listed on Etsy focusing on what has sold the most, and to continue to be unique. "I am also planning on developing a website where customers can purchase supplies, kits and finished art directly from me."

"I sold a custom scrapbook for $250.00. It was worth every penny to the buyer! She was a busy new mom and didn't have the time to do justice to her pictures that she treasured. She gave them to me all sorted by subject and I made a complete baby book for her."

Katie Lyn welcomes special orders and wants to make your dreams in paper come true!

To see more paper creations go to:

http://myheart2yours.etsy.com
http://katiepaper.blogspot.com/

East Meets West- A Melting Pot of Pop Culture

Meet Yaslani; a Mixed Media Artist from NJ whose materials of choice are paper, acrylic, gouache, colored pencil, found images & objects, vintage photographs, her own photography, and just about anything else she can get my hands on. “It's fun for me to look at an object in a hardware store or around the house and figure out how I can transform it into art” says, Yaslani, whose bamboo tile pendants read like an historical diorama. Pictures of movie stars, geishas, musical greats like Billie Holiday, Tarot Cards, even Amelia Earhart is fodder for her creative process.

Her work is a mix of American and Eastern Indian influence, with paintings of giraffes and elephants, and a consistent color palette in red, gold, sepia, black, beige, and yellowed, antiqued, bone.

Moonlight, a 4x4 mixed media canvas is made with a hand painted wooden elephant and layers of paint, paper and modeling paste. The artist sprayed it with a non-yellowing varnish so it will be beautiful for many, many years!

Citywalk shows a giraffe and a lion roaming through the streets of what appears to be an urban area after dark. The choice of colors and motif are distinctly East Indian, showing architecture in the background that has the characteristic red and gold colors and ornamentation found in that region. The stars are depicted by rhinestones, scattered in an indigo sky behind the buildings.

See or purchase more of this artist’s work at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=63187
and check out her blog at: http://yaslanisgroovespot.blogspot.com/
This seller offers free US shipping!