Beautiful Blues

Here's a preview of just a few of the beautiful blue items included in this collection which was curated by one of my fellow artists on Artfire.com, PatchworkMountain.

To see the entire collection, click on the link button below.

Deep Sea Blues

   Curated By: PatchworkMoun...

ArtFire.com

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St Patty's Day Blessings in Green

Having a wee bit of Irish in me blood, I just couldn't let tomorrow pass without posting some clever handmade goodies that made me smile. Smiling itself is a blessing these days, and I hope seeing these bring a smile to you this Happy Saint Patty's Day.



Thanks to the artists behind these green pieces that were found while roaming the pages of Artfire and Etsy.

May God grant you every blessing, especially the ones you forgot to ask for.

Hunt for Hidden Santa and Enter to Win a Christmas Gift Bundle

One of the online artist groups I belong to is the eSMArts team and we are "sharing the love" this holiday shopping season with a handmade bundle to warm your holidays!

Enter our Hidden Santa Treasure Hunt to WIN a Christmas Gift Bundle of unique handmade creations donated by the participating (sponsor) shops. The complete prize package, item photos and detailed descriptions will be announced on the Esmarts Blog shortly.

Our contest begins November 14th so check the Esmarts Blog for the full list of Sponsor Shops.
Sponsor Shop banners will be displayed at the top of the our team's blog (both left and right sidebar). To join in the fun and start hunting, simply click the banners to visit each of our Sponsor Shops.

How to Play:

• Check the Esmarts blog for contest details and a list of participating eSMArts Sponsor Shops.


• Visit each participating shop to find the hidden images of our Santa.


• Make note of the URLs where you find our Santa pictured!


• HINT: Santa images are not embedded yet. They won't be online until the contest start date of November 14, 2009.
  
  
• Contest runs November 14-28, 2009 (close is November 28/09 at midnight eastern).
  
  
• Drawing takes place November 29th.
  
  
• Winner will be announced here November 30th.
  
  
• Prize package ships December 1st, 2009.

Here's how to complete each entry:

1. Find 3 Santa images that you haven't previously submitted.


2. Email the URLs along with your name & address to esmartspromos [at] yahoo.ca to be entered. (Don't forget to substitute @ for [at] when entering the email address.)
   
   
3. 3 new Santa image URLs equals ONE additional contest entry so enter as many times as you like by finding 3 new Santa image URLs!


4. Entries will be validated to ensure that contestants are submitting new Santa sightings.

Check the eSMArts blog often for hunting hints and tips.

Happy Hunting and Enjoy!

Tip: If while browsing around a sponsor shop you do not find Santa's image, try looking through that artisan's sold items as another shopper may have already bought that item.

Believe it or Not: Dreary Weather Inspired Bright Tropical Colored Fish

Alas, here in Maine, the neon like autumn colors of leaf peaking season have passed and the past few days have been gray, chilly, and dreary. Being a southern gal who delights in bright sun light and the vibrant tropical flora of Louisiana, I caught my mood waning. But rather than give in to the call of the couch, a pile of blankets, and a good movie, I decided to create something that would transport my mind and my mood to a warm, sunny and colorful place.

Rummaging through a closet of projects that were put on hold, I came across 17 terra cotta fish shaped clay pots, which had originally been bought as supplies for a fountain I intended to make as a house warming gift for one of our sons when he moved into his own place. That was many moons ago, so I shook my head and chastised myself for letting my good intentions evaporate into "nada".

Then, "Ding!" The light bulb went off in my head. As I looked at the fish, I began dreaming about all the places I'd rather be. Tropical colors began dancing before my eyes, and it only took a few minutes to gather up some brightly colored paints, and voila... my mood brightened as I painted away.

These pots originally came from K's Studio in Portugal and are approximately 6"x3"x3". I used a glass enamel paint which was oven cured for durability. Each is a one of a kind original, but they were all painted using the same colors making them complimentary when grouped together. Each fish is a unique one-of-a-kind piece and has been assigned a number as part of this limited collection of 17 fish.

A grouping of them would make a stunning centerpiece in a beach side bungalow, or they could be used as decorations during a tropical themed wedding and then be taken home by members of the wedding party. Use as a pot for a small plant, fill with glass marbles or individually wrapped candies, or use as a pencil holder to brighten up your work area. Wherever you could use a splash of cheerful color, you can use one or more of these fish. You'll find them individually listed for sale in my Artfire Studio: ByCoco -- Art for Everyday Enjoyment.

This is the time of year, I'm usually focused on creating traditional holiday themed pieces, but even though these tropical looking fish don't conger up images of enjoying hearth side warmth during a snow storm, they do make me feel Merry, and I hope they'll do the same for you or for someone you know who likes tropical things.

Quick and Easy to Find Handmade Stocking Stuffers

Are you looking for one of a kind stocking stuffers that won't break the bank? ArtFire.com, makes it easy for online shoppers to find unique yet inexpensive items as gifts this holiday season. Take a look at Artfire's Stocking Stuffer Trend Page.

On that page, you'll have quick access to items priced $10.00 and under that have been hand crafted and sized to fit in a traditional stocking. Below are just a few examples of what caught my eye when I went browsing through the stocking stuffer trend page:

Black Neck Warmer - Hand Knitted
by Orenda Luna

Lump of Coal Soap
by Alegheny Hearth (Soapsmith)

Ladybug Leaf Jumbo Paperclip Magnet
by RF Colorful Creations

Fleur de Lis (Pink and Black) Pendant
by Noisy Bird Studio

Amigurumi Hedggie Bubbles
by Rose Tree Creations

Please help the rest of us quickly find unique and fun gifts by leaving the URL of stocking stuffers that catch your eye in the comment section below. Or if you sell your handmade pieces through another online venue like Etsy, 1000 Markets, IndiePublic, Dawanda, etc. or even your own website, and your item would make a good stocking stuffer, feel free to post a link to the item you are selling.

Have fun shopping... And don't forget that most of the artists and artisans selling online are open to filling a custom order. Just contact them through their online shops to make your request.

And, as always, Kudos for buying handmade!

Pennsylvania Brick and Mortar Shops Dedicated to Handmade

Seems like the handmade movement may be really catching on through out America, or at least in Pennsylvania. Michelle, the jewelry artist behind Michabella Creations, recently wrote two blog posts about brick and mortar shops dedicated to promoting the work of local artists and artisans.

In Michelle's article entitled "Hello Bluebird Grand Opening" she introduces an online friend's brand new boutique and gallery located in the historic business district of West Reading, PA. By going to Hello Bluebird's website, you can learn all about why the owners dreamed of establishing such a shop and how they turned their dream into a reality.

In another article entitled "My First Jewelry Class", Michelle mentions The Hodge Podgery, an establishment located in Midtown Harrisburg that is dedicated to promoting the independent arts and crafts movement in Pennsylvania. Besides offering artists and crafters the opportunity to consign their functional handmade creations this shop also runs classes and workshops to the DIYers interested in learning how to do a specific craft themselves.

Where there are two, there are probably three, four, or even more. So, if you know of other brick and mortar shops throughout the country, or the world for that matter, please leave their name and link in the comments section below. If enough of you reply, I'll try to include the local shops and their links in another article about making your Christmas this year a Handmade Christmas.

Etsy Artists Help Fellow Etsy Artists

Visiting blogs is often like going on a treasure hunt. This past weekend, while checking out others’ blogs I found a wonderful, inspiring and uplifting nugget on a blog called “Bags by Melanie.” In the right hand sidebar, Melanie, who has an Etsy store also called Bags by Melanie, has a short write-up that Introduces H.O.S.T.

H.O.S.T. is the Etsy “Helping Others Street Team”, which is comprised of over 100 Esty artists who share the virtuous quality of compassion. HOST has its origins in a discussion thread started by Heather, of Heather R. Lange Art, at 3:15pm on December 20, 2007 entitled “Is Anyone in Need This Season?”

The response was overwhelming—almost 3000 posts in only 7 days. There were a lot of sad stories relating the need of Etsians and their families, but each sad story was answered by an outpouring of posts with words of encouragement, freewill gifts and donations, and leads on resources that might help meet a specific need.

Approximately five hours after the thread began, an Etsy buyer of handmade who goes by GeauxOrganic, commented “I think there needs to be an Etsy gives back street team.” Many participating in the discussion, agreed and 3 days later HOST became an official street team on Etsy.

I think Melanie’s mention of the HOST team caught my eye, because I recently wrote an article for HanmadeNews.org which was published in their Guild and Team Department. “Virtual Strangers Offer Surprise Support to Team Member with Cancer” tells the story of Etsy Artist Joyce Richards of Wild Orchid’s Beads of Glass who was recently diagnosed with Cancer and how members of her Etsy Twitter Team (ETT) reached out with the same kind of compassion that members of HOST show their fellow Etsians.

“Hosties”, as they call themselves, offer friendship, emotional support, help with shop promotion, and basic financial assistance. If you’d like to help the Hosties help others, you can become a member, go to their team blog and make a monetary donation, purchase an item from their team store or donate an item to their store. Below is a glimpse into the HOST Etsy Store.

I do believe that when we have compassion and act on our compassion, we make the world a better place. I also believe, that in a time when so many in our country are struggling, it’s wonderful, inspiring and uplifting to hear and share good news. I hope this brief article, warms your heart and stirs up even more compassion in all of us.

Working Magic with a White Elephant

I truly believe “Necessity is the Mother of Invention” and nothing stirs up my creative juices like the need of a friend. And Mezz, of MezziG Creations and author of Creative Outlet, is a perfect example of exactly that. She took a friend’s sentimental white elephant and worked her magic by turning it into 8 upcycled heirloom pieces for members of her friend’s family. To the left is a picture of one of my favorites. To get the whole story and see the other 7 necklaces as well as a picture of the original piece of jewelry that she creatively re-purposed, I suggest you read her article entitled “For Friends.”

Mezz is a talented jewelry artist from Sydney, Australia who recently picked up kumihimo. “What is kumihimo?” you may be asking, at least I sure did. Kumihimo is an ancient Japanese art form of “gathering threads” and braiding them into intricate and highly decorative designs. It’s sort of a refined macramé that is done using a special disc as a loom. If you’d like to learn more about kumihimo, I once again point you to Mezz's blog where you will find these three articles: Braiding One, Braiding Two, and Using My Kumihimo.

I very much enjoyed running into Mezz in cyberspace. She comes across as energetic yet grounded. Her writing has a casual upbeat tempo and I found the samples of her handmade jewelry intriguing and her stories heartwarming. I thought you too might enjoy meeting her. And if you head for her blog, I hope you enjoy your time there as much as I did.

Extraordinary Work Space

While out cruising the web this Sunday afternoon, I saw something that made me stop and take a second look. A couple of weeks back, Kim, of The Polka Dot Press, gave us an inside glimpse of her workspace and cited the source of her inspiration as the magazine "Where Women Create."

I'm not usually the jealous type, but seeing her space made me think about revamping my own. I could take my ordinary space--a studio with a cement floor like a basement or garage and lots of shelving and flat counter tops made of plywood--and turn it into something extra ordinary.

July sounds like a good month for that type of project. Maybe I'll take some before and after pictures to share. Maybe I should get a copy of that magazine and read it first. Or at least I should dream about it for a few days... I sure would like to work in an environment that was comfortable, esthetically pleasing, and inspiring rather than just utilitarian or functional. Thinking cap on...

How about you? Any ideas??? Don't hold back. I may just incorporate your suggestions into my revamped space. So open up a comment box and tell us about the best feature in your workspace? Is there anything about your space that motivates or stimulates your creative process? Do you have a unique organizational system for storing your supplies or finished pieces?


Petty Cash Box photo courtesy of TippleandSnack of Etsy

Felted Pencil Cup photo courtesy of CozyCottageCreations of Etsy

Writing for HandmadeNews.org

I highly recommend HandmadeNews.org as a great resource for both buyers and sellers in the world of handmade. It's a comprehensive site, with a dynamic staff of columnists and editors writing for 14 sections or departments including:

Main Feature
Craft Techniques
Guild & Teams
Just for Fun
Craft Trends
Marketing
Business Tips
Inspiration
Green Wise
Featured Artisan
Item of the Day
Crafty Kids
Front Page
Most Popular

This site was launched on June 8th and is quickly growing in popularity. Some of the articles I've found most interesting include:

Create Your Own Seed Paper
An article about making seed paper that you can write a note on and
then the recipient can plant it rather that put it in the trash

Vetrazzo-The Ultimate Example of Trash to Treasure
An article about a company who makes gorgeous counter tops out of recycled glass
that competing as an elegant alternative to more expensive granite

Snow Globes For Any Occasion
These would be a great craft project for kids--even teens, a fabulous table decoration for a fundraiser or as a wedding favor or a get well present for someone stuck in bed.

Sock Coffee Cozy: A Craft Supply Challenge Project
You don't even have to be crafty to do this project. All you need are a stash of lonely socks who lost their partner to the hungry monster in the washing machine or dryer.

Recrafting Yourself in the Second Half of Life

Some of you may not be there, but at 50+ and in the second half of my life, all I can say is, "Amen!"

That's a sampling just to whet your appetite. New articles are published every day in each department. Now that I'm a columnist in the Guild & Teams department, I don't have as much time for perusing. So, why don't you go to HandmadeNews.org and read an article for me. If you really like it, use the comments below to recommend it to the rest of us.

Enjoy!

Hunting for Treasure

The Treasury an exciting and much used feature within the Etsy Community. Introduced in August of 2006, the Treasury gave community members an opportunity to to act as a curator by personally handpicking 12 of their favorite items and posting the grouping for others to view. Each collection is based on a theme that ties all the featured artwork together for an effective display. These individual lists remain active for 2 days, often soliciting comments from viewers and potential buyers who, with one click, are taken to the featured item in the artist’s store. The best of the best of these member-curated collections are occasionally promoted to the front page of Etsy, making this a valuable promotional tool.

Many artists who belong to an Etsy Street Team will create a treasury to highlight and promote the artwork of their fellow team members. It’s always exciting to get an email from the creator of a treasury announcing that one of my items has been featured. But not all curators contact those whose art they have featured.

I just learned of a site, Craftopolis, that allows an Etsy Artist to search through all the treasuries to find any of their items that are currently being featured. To my surprise, when I entered my shop’s name, ByCoco, under the “Treasure Hunt” tab, it told me that I was a featured artist and gave me the link to the treasury. What a thrill.

On that same site, an artist can perform a gift guide search to see if they are featured in one of Etsy’s popular gift guides. Alas, just as I expected, none of my items are currently featured in a gift guide. But that won’t stop me from returning to Craftopolis every day or two to check again.

Checking for Etsy shop hearts on Craft Cult or checking to see if I’ve been featured in a treasury or gift guide on Craftopolis, may not be the most productive use of my time, but it’s fun. And we all need to mix a little fun in with the task of promoting our shops and selling our wares. So, if you haven’t already tried using Craft Cult and Craftopolis, I suggest you try them both and let me know what you think.

Claypatties from Manchester Maine

Potter, Kim Brennan, alias Claypatties on Etsy, is a fellow Maine artist. Her specialty is pottery and her creations are inspired by vintage Weller and McCoy pottery that she and her mother used to find at flea markets. “Those were the good old days,” she grinned. “I work primarily in the drippy greens, blues and earthy browns that are steeped in historical references.”

While reminiscing, she recalled stories of growing up in suburbia, playing hide and seek with the neighborhood kids, and trading prizes they found in Cracker Jack and cereal boxes. Her mother was an avid antique collector, and as a child, Kim, became fascinated with train sets. She says that it was the hours spent creating scenery and staging for the trains that sparked her work with dioramas.

Kim enjoys experimental and non-traditional firings and one of her platters was recently published in the Lark 500 series, “500 Plates and Chargers.”

Some of her favorite things in life include listening to all types of music, Air Stream travel trailers, dogs, New York City, and drinking beer under the stars while firing a kiln.

Living in the northern woods of Maine, I can certainly relate to the star gazing and hope someday to visit her studio in person.

A few of Kim's pieces are pictured in this article but there is also a collection of her pieces spotlighted at the bottom of this page. Clicking on any picture will take you to that item in her shop Claypatties.

Feel free to comment on her work or on this article.

Artfire Cafemom Team: Giveaway #4: aBitofColor!!!

The earrings that are being given away by aBitofColor are the cleverest I've seen in a long time. If you love nature, or live in the woods like me, You owe it to your self to at least take a look. I'm not much of a jewelry person, but I wouldn't mind having these and it's easy to enter. All you have to do is leave a comment to enter.
Are you up to a little friendly competition? Click on the link below and I'll see you in the comments section.

Artfire Cafemom Team: Giveaway #4: aBitofColor!!!

Who is Coco?

I was born and raised in New Orleans where the atmosphere is rich with culture and where imagination is celebrated through its architecture, its music, its food, its Mardi Gras and its other festivals. New Orleans is a large city with a small town flavor and a special love of the arts—visual, performing and culinary.

As a military wife of 30+ years, I've experienced different cultures within the United States and abroad, each exuding their own indigenous artistic flair for transforming the ordinary in life into something extraordinary. Beauty abounds if we just take time to notice.

As the mother of five children, necessity has often been my inspiration and on a fairly regular basis has proven to be the mother of invention. Parenting has been a wild and unpredictable ride, and I'm excited about becoming a grandmother this July (2009).

Among other endeavors, I am a self-taught artisan specializing in stained glass and decorative folk painting (European style stroke work). Over the years, I've also dabbled in carved candles, soap, clay, needlework, fountains, basic carpentry and refinishing, various types of sewing, and jelly making. Often while creating something in my studio, I am tapping into my knowledge of and skill in more than just one artistic medium.

My other passion is for transforming trash into treasure or giving new life to something old. Both the process of creating and the process of transforming objects are spiritual experiences for me--It's when I feel most alive.

I look forward to sharing my infatuation with everything creative. Hope you will visit often (bookmark me now or subscribe to be a follower of this blog). Read about what interests you, and please, Please, PLEASE, leave your comments, make suggestions, and ASK QUESTIONS. Questions can be about art & craft techniques, selling on line, life in general, or even about me personally.

Enjoy!