THE ETSY TIMES

AN ETSY TREASURY FOR EARTH DAY - RECYCLE.REUSE.REPURPOSE

2011-04-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

This wonderful Etsy treasury is curated by Lauren Hanson of EPOCA ECLECTIC

Lauren is a vintage enthusiast, stylist, buyer, and designer who likes to hunt for treasures and collect them too. She grew up in a lovely historic town in Michigan, full of antique shops and charm. This has a major impact on her love for these great treasures.

RECYCLE.REUSE.REPURPOSE

RECYCLED TELEPHONE WIRE EARRINGS
KRANKY
Recycled, Repurposed & Found Object Jewelry and Art

GREEN TRACTOR HOOD SIDE TABLE
THE STEEL FORK
Welcome! We create handmade & eco friendly farm tables and home decor- with a nod to the farm. You will also find our folk art metal sculptures made with recycled farm machinery.

RECYCLED SKATEBOARD BENCH
DECKSTOOL
Recyclin' in the USA...
Broken skateboards are a byproduct of our culture usually destined for the landfill. The deckstool recycles this waste into a unique, heirloom quality piece of furniture.

SALVAGED WOOD LOVE BIRDS MAGNETS
NALAUNIQUE
HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!
Come check out salvaged wood magnets and recycled magazine bowls!!!!

WEEKLY PLANNING ECO FRIENDLY NOTEPAD
MODERMOTIVE
Hello. Welcome to modernemotive, an eco friendly stationery and design company. I specialize in greeting cards, notepads and other paper goods for the home and office using FSC Certified papers and other recycled materials.

CLOCK MADE FROM RECYCLED BIKE WHEEL
STUFF MADE FROM STUFF
Hello and welcome to my shop on Etsy. Ever since I can remember, I have been taking things apart. Trying to figure out what makes them tick. One day I created a clock from a computer hard drive, and my life has never been the same since

MUSTARD AND CREAM AMPERSAND FELT PILLOW
EKOFABRIK
Eco Friendly Home Decor
Eco-friendly home decor from 100% plastic bottle recycled felt, vintage and natural fabrics.

BURST OF BRIGHTS
COLORSTORY DESIGNS
Unique handmade designs made with recycled magazines.

SUNSHINE YELLOW SEED BOMBS
DAVITA: RECYCLED GODDESS
Plantable paper, upcycled art and fine art photographic prints for your home or office by Davita: Recycled Goddess!

RECYCLED HOSE CHAIR
RIVERZEDGE ARTS PROJECT
RiverzEdge Arts Project is a social enterprise and youth development program giving educationally and economically disenfranchised youth (ages 12-24) in northern Rhode Island paid employment in the arts and a voice in the community

UPCYCLED BELT POUCH
5th SEASON: CLOTHING REBORN
Welcome to 5th Season where we aim to make the world a better place, one bag at a time.

RECLAIMED WOOD AND RECYCLED IRON SOFA TABLE
BLAKE AVENUE
Sustainable Elements for Your Modern Habitat

RECYCLED MAGAZINE DECOUPAGE MIRRORS
ASHLEY HEATH DESIGNS
as an interior designer I naturally love home decor, and I love it even more when it's something special and unique!
in my shop you will find handmade goods, to add some style and a smile to your home!

XO ... A SET OF ANTIQUE LETTERPRESS LETTERS
COOL VINTAGE

RECYCLED BILLBOARD BANNER STORAGE BIN
NOTTY POOCH
The home for recycled banner accessories and hand-printed cool tshirts.

FLIRTY RECYCLED BUTTERFLY MAGNET
FUSHICHO’S GALLERY
Super Cool Stuff.

All images Copyright of the respective artist. All Rights Reserved.
Treasury curated by Lauren Hanson.

MEET ETSY SELLER AND FANTASY STYLE ARTIST HANNAH LYNN DISNEY

2011-04-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hannah Lynn and her business Hannah Lynn Art are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Hannah was raised in northern California and moved to Idaho about five years ago, with her husband and children.

OLIANA'S OTTER

Besides creating beautiful art and making it available to collectors worldwide Hannah Lynn loves to spend time with family. Some of her favorite activities include cooking, window shopping, going out to coffee with friends and singing. She says her favorite day is one where her whole family can get out of the house and have some fun eating out and shopping.

DOROTHY & TOTO: DREAMING ON THE FARM

Hannah Lynn has been an artist all her life. In elementary school she was always drawing and classmates would come to her to have her draw things for them. When Hannah was in seventh grade she was commissioned to do a colored pencil artwork of a Bald Eagle for a science teacher’s son. That was her first paid art job. At home Hannah was forever on the floor drawing and coloring. After high school Hannah’s art activities diminished as the responsibilities of working and living an adult life. She really had no idea that doing art could be a viable career path at that time. It wasn’t until late 2006 when she found herself working at home, raising two lovely little girls, and studying online, that she turned again to her art as an outlet and hobby. She got herself a supply of good quality art materials and began experimenting with them. She found that she was truly out of practice, but kept working on reorienting her to the materials and her drawing. She wanted to market some ideas she had and researched how best to present them. Artist Trading Cards (ATC’s, 2.5”x3.5”), which she discovered on eBay, caught her attention and she felt that they were a fun product and that they would be manageable given her family duties and study schedule. Hannah began marketing and selling the ATC’s on eBay and found herself quite busy keeping up with sales. That is when she realized that there was serious potential for a professional career in art.

MENDOCINO MERMAID

When asked what type of work she does Hannah replied that she does exactly what she wants to do. As far back in her portfolio as she can go, she has found that she created character art of cute girls, expressive eyes and fantasy creatures. Her art is considered to be fantasy because most of her subject matter is fairies and mermaids, but she says her style is a bit different. Hannah brings a light, fun and innocent flavor to her artwork; that is just what comes out when she works. Painting faces and hair are her favorite subjects. She does portrait work, in which she caricatures the subject with a style similar to her other character work. These works are offered as ‘Fantasy Portraits’ on her website.

SADIE'S DRAGON

Like many children, Hannah Lynn loved Walt Disney movies and artwork. When The Little Mermaid was released, she wanted to become a mermaid. She watched the movie over and over and drew, traced and colored Ariel. The release of Beauty & the Beast brought more inspiration for Hannah and she dreamed of being an artist for Disney Studios one day. This affinity for and love of character art is still with her today. It inspires her to share art with others that will make them feel the way she did when she was a child: that the world is a magical, fascinating place full of life, color, excitement and discoveries. Hannah says that art is all about how it makes you feel when you look at it. Nothing else really matters.

TREE OF SECRETS

Hannah’s art style and skill is totally self-taught. She has found her own methods and techniques through trial and error and lots of practice. She started out using watercolor pencils as they were inexpensive and easy to clean up. Also, if she needed to leave her work station to tend to her children’s needs at a moments notice, she knew she would not come back to dried up, wasted paint. Over time she upgraded to artist quality materials and was quite happy with the results. She was also getting many compliments on the work and surprise that she was achieving her results using watercolor. This made her realize that she had a winning combination of style, method and materials.

GLACIER LILY FAIRY

Over time Hannah’s work methods have evolved, but they are similar to other watercolor artists. She sketches a drawing in her sketch pad and if she likes it, she will either re-draw it right onto illustration board, or trace it with tracing paper if she really loves the proportions. She then goes over the lines with permanent waterproof ink and erases all pencil lines. She then uses watercolor pencils to color the inked drawing on the illustration board before adding wet brush strokes to blend and soften the colors. Sometimes she pulls color directly onto the wet brush and paints like a traditional watercolor artist would. Hannah says she always starts with the face and eyes. Though it happens very rarely, if those don’t come out right, she does not continue and waste time on the piece. Colors are chosen as Hannah works on a piece. She says she spends a lot of time simply staring at a partially finished piece with a furrowed brow considering which colors to use. It is ironic that color choice is the thing she struggles with most as this is one of the most heavily complimented areas of her work.

PRINTABLE CUSTOM INVITES BIRTHDAY GIRL

Because of the more commercial type of artwork Hannah creates, she has not participated in shows in traditional galleries. She is present on many online marketplaces such as DeviantArt.com, Zazzle.com, eBay.com and Etsy.com. She is also a member of The IndiExibit, a wonderful group of independent artists who market their art through celebrity gifting at Entertainment Award Shows. Hannah recently displayed a canvas print at the Kids Choice Awards 2011 and included a small gift package of her work in The IndiExibit celebrity gift bags. Although Hannah doesn’t teach art, she does share her knowledge with anyone who asks. She gets many emails from fans and other artists and she is always happy to share tips with them.

RUNAWAY PRINCESS

What will we see coming from Hannah’s ‘easel’ in the near future? Hannah says she is branching out with a new series called ‘Girls Around the World’. There will be 12 paintings of cute girls in their home countries featuring elements like the landscape and native animals. The first to be completed in this series will be Auzzie Girl from Australia, an adorable girl holding a koala bear in the Australian Outback. Some other countries she is considering are China, America, France, Brazil, England and Mexico amongst others. These designs will then be made available on products such as a 12 month calendar, post cards, collectible figurines and more.

ALICE LOST

Other planned works for the future include more storybook themed pieces, more steampunk style works, and of course more fairies and mermaids. Hannah says she has so many ideas in her journals and sketchbooks that she can rarely make promises as to what will strike her next.

STEAMPUNK GENEVIEVE FAIRY

Etsy is Hannah Lynn’s main sales platform. In her store there she offers original paintings, limited edition Artist Trading Cards, bookmarks, cameo necklaces, coloring packs, signed prints, gift tags, rubber stamps, and printable crafting items like digi stamps and collage sheets. Similar items are also available on eBay and on Hannah’s website. Hannah Lynn Art is licensed and available from other companies on products such as cross-stitch charts, rubber stamps, purses and digital tubes; and more products are on the way. She also has a wonderful shop set up on Zazzle.com where her art is offered on t-shirts, posters, stickers, greeting cards, US Postage, Keds Shoes, stationary, iPhone & iPad cases, keychains, magnets and more and many of these items are customizable.

VAMPIRE WOLF WINTER - MELISSA

In the future Hannah plans to travel and share her artwork at conventions and shows. For now she is focusing on creating new products and licensing her art. She participates in local art shows and she looks forward to seeing familiar faces as the season begins this spring.

DREAMERS DOOR

Hannah Lynn Art Website

Hannah Lynn Art on Etsy

Hannah Lynn Art on eBay

Hannah Lynn Art on Zazzle

Join Hannah Lynn Art on Facebook

All Images Copyright Hannah Lynn Disney/Hannah Lynn Art, All Rights Reserved

Edited and Written by Ruth J Jamieson, Copyright Ruth J Jamieson, All Rights Reserved

WELCOME TO ETSIAN AND PAINTER TORRIE SMILEY

2011-04-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Torrie’s full name is Mary Victoria Smiley. She has been ‘Torrie’ all her life and she now signs and certifies her artwork by that single name. Home for Torrie is Charlotte, North Carolina. She has two beautiful grown daughters and one granddaughter Audrey Grace. Torrie works full time at a local hospital and paints in her off time. Her children often tell her that her little ‘hobby’ has gotten totally out of control, but she is having the time of her life. Torrie’s partner Kevin is very supportive of her painting, offering generous praise and his critiques are always right which enables Torrie to produce even better work.

ROBIN'S THREE EGGS III

Torrie’s one true love is painting. When she is not painting, she is sewing, quilting or crocheting little things for her granddaughter. She also loves trying to grow flowers. Though she says she has left many dead plants in her wake, she has not given up. Torrie also likes to visit galleries and admire other artists work. She likes to see the brush strokes close up, something you can’t do when admiring work on the computer.

LEMON

Torrie has always wanted to be an artist, but was not able to pursue that path. In 2002, at 43 years of age and her children grown, she decided to follow her dream. Torrie checked out every book in the library she could to learn how to use painting supplies and started painting what was in her head. As she was a single mother on a tight budget, she began selling her paintings on eBay in November 2005 in order to support her “addiction to painting”. Torrie has since sold over 500 paintings and the painting obsession continues.

THE OLD RED BOAT 2011

Torrie’s paintings are usually simple in composition and her goal is to create something pleasing to the eye that may make you smile. She says she is not into the deep, thought-provoking, controversial subjects. Torrie says she is not ashamed to say that she creates wall art to compliment your home.

THE SWAN IV

The material that Torrie started with and still uses most of the time is acrylic paint. She chose acrylic for it’s fast drying time and she felt that would not give her children the chance to mess with it. When she began using oil paint, she found that she tended to be covered in the project before she was finished, so she came to the conclusion that perhaps it was she who was messy. The oil paints she uses are water based to reduce the fumes from the chemicals in regular oil paint. Torrie also dabbles in watercolors and pastels. Pastels are used mainly for portraits of her family and friends. She likes all these mediums but in the end she uses the one that best suits the idea floating in her head.

FLOW BLUE POMEGRANATE

Torrie says her style is what she ends up with when she is trying to do something else. She has a lot of happy accidents. Because she is not formally trained, she pretty much dives in head first not knowing whether or not it will work. She thinks you could call her work Impressionism, or Realism that is just a bit too colorful and sometimes slanted in the wrong direction.

THE GREEN BOAT AT GIVERNY

Everything inspires Torrie. She is always pointing things out to Kevin and exclaiming at the wonderful colors, though he doesn’t seem to see them as richly colored as she does. She is also very much inspired by light and it’s effects on even the simplest objects. She says she still has not mastered getting the light she sees onto canvas, but that trying to get it right is so much fun.

THE GLASS BIRDS

Torrie is primarily a self-taught artist. Her formal art education consists of a couple of workshops she took to see if she was using the materials correctly. Although she would love to take formal classes, there is currently no time to do so. She does plan to do this in the future. Torrie watches videos by different artists to see how they have developed their craft. She says the artists who share their technique on YouTube are her heros and she has learned so much by watching them.

THREE PERSIMMONS

Group blogs that Torrie is a member of include: Artists International Gallery; Daily Painters International Gallery; and Daily Painters Market Place. She is also a member of EBSQ Art and Worldwide Women Artists Online.

Torrie’s work is currently shown at Sand Castle Winery and Gallery in Pennsylvania. She has also shown work at Flourish Boutique and Gallery in Indiana and Star Art Gallery in Star, North Carolina. In addition, Torrie has been a member of the Cleveland County Working Artists Guild and participated in shows at the Cleveland County Arts Council.

International shows with EBSQ Art, Artists Emerge and International Artist’s Magazine have featured Torrie’s artwork.

Though she doesn’t teach painting, and doesn’t think she will ever feel qualified to teach, Torrie does love sharing what she does given the opportunity. Mainly she has helped other artists with blogging, social networking and website setups.

THE PEAR CHRONICLES 009

Currently Torrie is getting ready to show her work at WSOC-TV studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, the local ABC affiliate station. She will be hanging large pieces, which is something she doesn’t normally do. The paintings for the show range from 8inches x 10inches to 30inches x 40inches. She says it has been a challenge working in the larger scale since she normally paints ‘alla prima’. (in one session without time for the paint to dry) Taking several days or weeks to finish a painting is quite unusual for Torrie.

HARVEST MOON

Once that show is over, some of the paintings from the show will be available for purchase in Torrie’s online stores. Recently Torrie has started working on her landscape painting skills. So a variety of small landscape paintings will be posted online in the coming weeks. Pears will continue to be a theme in Torrie’s work as they are her favorite things to paint. As well, Torry has a list of wonderful customers who are patiently waiting for her to complete her exhibition, and then get back to work on their individual requests.

THE BIG RED PEAR

Torrie joined EBSQ Art in November 2005. She also began selling her paintings on eBay at that time. Currently she sells her paintings internationally at several websites including her Website Gallery and her ETSY store. Her work is also available for purchase on a number of other sites and blogs as well. Torrie’s work is collected throughout the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia.

STRAWBERRY MARTINI

TORRIE SMILEY’S WEBSITE

TORRIE SMILEY ON ETSY

PURCHASE PRINTS OF TORRIES PAINTINGS AT FINE ART AMERICA

TORRIE SMILEY ON EBSQ

Visit Torrie at her personal blog.

Visit Torrie on Facebook

LIKE Torrie on Facebook

Follow Torrie on Twitter

Artists International Gallery

Daily Painters International Art Gallery

Daily Painters Marketplace

CHALLENGE BLOGS WHICH TORRIE PARTICIPATES IN

ROOKIE PAINTER

DAILY PAINT WORKS

All Images Copyright Torrie Smiley, All Rights Reserved.

Edited by Ruth J Jamieson, Copyright Ruth J Jamieson, All Rights Reserved.

MEET ETSY SELLERS AND SISTERS BETTY AND ROSE REFOUR

2011-03-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

Betty Refour is a contemporary abstract artist and caregiver to her sister Rose, who is also an artist, and who is autistic. This artistic duo live and work in Oklahoma City.

A Quick Glance, Betty Refour

Betty is a sports fan and especially loves tennis. She also loves doing crafts and other creative endeavors. In addition to creating art, she knits, and makes jewelry, soap and candles.

Her Dreams Were Of Colors,Betty Refour

Betty’s fascination with art began when she was a child. She would sit for hours drawing geometric shapes in patterns and different color combinations. Later she became very interested in fashion, and began doing drawings of photos from magazines and catalogs. After high school, Betty decided to become a Fashion Designer and studied at a small Art & Design school in Texas. After graduation she couldn’t find a job as a designer and so pursued other interests. Years later, while recovering from an injury, Betty went out to purchase a painting for her home and couldn’t fine one she liked. She went and bought a canvas and supplies and went home to paint. Although her background was in illustration, she went ahead and put brush to canvas and found painting to be very therapeutic. She started getting commissions right away and has been painting every since. She did take a painting class about ten years later, but otherwise she paints to her own tune.

Lovely Day, Betty Refour

Abstract works and an occasional still life are Betty’s usual style. Rose creates charming, folk art and abstract pieces.

Beautiful Sunshine, Rose Refour

Betty is inspired by color, texture, fabric, architecture and many other things. The possibilities are limitless. Rose is inspired by shapes, colors, nature and people.

Another City Art Card, Betty Refour

Betty considers herself to be a self-taught painter.

Out On A Limb, Betty Refour

Since moving to Oklahoma, Betty has not participated much in local groups or galleries. She has however been in a few group art shows and has had one solo show.

Untitled Abstract Art Card, Betty Refour

Currently Betty has no plans to integrate any new methods or techniques into her work. We can however expect to see more bright colors and geometric shapes in her upcoming work.

Bloom, Betty Refour

Betty makes her work available in several places online. Original art, reproductions and note cards are available from her B. Refour shop on Etsy. Reproductions, jewelry and cards are available through her other Etsy shop Noteworthy Crafts. Her Cafepress shop B.Refour offers Breast Cancer Awareness products and Ovarian Cancer Awareness items are available at
B.A.Refour on Cafepress.
You can see more of her art at Bettys Art on Zazzle. Other online shops include Betty Refour Posters on ART.COM and original work is available through Betty Refour on Artist Rising.

She Sprinkled The Magic Dust Over The Flower Garden While The Sun Smiled In The Distance, Rose Refour

Rose’s artwork is available on her shop Rose Refour on Etsy and in her Cafepress shop Rose Refour.

The Diva Wore Red Lipstick, Rose Refour

Betty and Rose are active in Autism Awareness work. They are gearing up for events during April, which is Autism Awareness Month.

Trio - Because It's Always Best To Stick Together, Rose Refour

Visit Betty’s Website

Visit Betty’s Blog on Tumblr

Join Betty on Facebook

Follow Betty on Twitter

MOTHER NATURE PUTS ON HER CHARMS, Treasury Curated by Shannon Girouard-Fogl

2011-03-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

A Team Discovery Treasury including new sellers with 20 or less sales!

So come on and click on the new shops and show them some love!

Curated by Shannon Girouard-Fogl - Etsy Seller BiscottiQueen

WATERWAIF

Beads, seaglass, gemstones, glass, metals, and all jewelry supplies!

Full Strand Miracle Beads

AIDARI
Beautiful Art, Beautiful Home, Art, Photography, Illustration

Welcome to my Etsy shop, where you will find a unique and affordable array of photography, modern Illustrations, inspirational prints, colorful art work and jewelry.

Barns in Canola Field

OMIN, Illustration Shop

♥Welcome to my illustration shop!

Cut Leaf Stickers

LE PETIT BOUDOIR
Welcome to my Petit Boudoir.

A vintage inspired collection full of romance made with love!!
Something that you 'll love and want to make it yours...maybe is in this collection

Lime Green Chrysanthemum Filigree Earrings

HUWANG JUNGUO
Welcome!Thanks for your glimpse in my shop!

I'm a new member on Etsy,
All the dresses are made by our team.
Hope to hear more and more people love!
Happy shopping......

White Long Pendulum Chiffon Dress

STORY KING
Welcome everyone :)

Here is simple design about bags.
I hope you will love them.

Wool Felt Documents Pouch

VIRIDITAS MINERVA PHOTOGRAPHY
Fine Photographs for the Mythically Inclined

Featuring photography of our magical world by Hollin Elizabeth Pagos. Please be in touch to request custom sizes or sets.

Nature Glass

MADAM KOITEH
Beautiful by Nature

Organic shea butter, cocoa butter, and African Black Soap. Yoruba metaphysical herbal and spiritual supplies for Hoodoo, Santeria, Orisha, and all religious traditions.

Organic HYSSOP Bulk Herb

GARDENMIS
Fresh modern sachets and other delights

Fresh modern ~ organic sachets and bookmarks filled with lavender, jasmine, and roses & other delights. Welcome to gardenmis ~ grab a cup of tea and enjoy your visit :)

Fresh Green Blue Rosebud Adjustable Ring

GAO LEI SHOES

Hand Made Womens Shoes

STARLET & JULIET
Thanks so much for stopping by.

Starlet and Juliet offers a complete line of bath and body products as well as products for the home. We have been off of Etsy for a while but are back; and new products will continued to be listed. Our focus is to give our customers delightful products to either use or give as a special gift to just about anyone.

Milky Shampoo and Silky Deep Conditioner Set Peppermint

FOTORON

Reflection Fine Art Photo

DeLOOP
Hair Accessories Bridal & Fashion ...

Flower Crowns, Hair Clips, Combs, Bobbies Vintages & Romantic Jewelry! ...

Sage Green Roses Hair Flower Comb

FAIRY DUST CRAFTS
All of my items are handbuilt

100% handmade and always sprinkled with a bit of fairy dust...I work mostly in low fire ceramics, though occasionally you will find some high fire items.

Set of Four Bamboo Green Ceramic Buttons

THE LION AND THE CRAB
Fun eco-friendly knits for babies and children

Bibs, hats, headbands, & fun accessories for babies and children.
Hello, and welcome to Lion and the Crab, a shop devoted to quality, handmade, whimsical knit accessories for all the little people in your life. As a mom myself, I strive to create unique styles of bibs, headbands, and toy animals with colors that pop and are knit with a luxurious vegan cotton blend for softness against the skin and fantastic durability. All knits are also 100% machine washable

Sky and Sea Blue Flower Button Hand Knit Cotton Baby Headband 0-6 months

FIVE LITTLE GEMS
Beaded Jewelry Designs

Romantic and sparkling hand-crafted jewelry featuring crystals, lampwork beads, pearls, semi-precious gemstones, shell beads, glass and acrylic flowers. My name is Holly and welcome to my Etsy shop!

Necklace Aqua Green and Amber Brown Agate Necklace in Silver Moon Mist

All Images Copyright to the respective Etsy Seller, All Rights Reserved.

Treasury Curated by Shannon Girouard-Fogl.

EMELE PHOTOGRAPHY ON ETSY

2011-03-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

Emele is Emily Goodwin. Emily uses the name Emele, a combination of her first and middle names, on her ‘online venues’. Emily was born in Cambridgeshire in the UK. She moved, with her family, to Crete, Greece for 7 years when she was 18. Now she splits her time between the UK to be with her partner with extended vacations to Greece!

FORT TOWER ARCHITECTURE

Emily is a cat lover, bookworm, Sunday afternoon baker, lover of art, design and crafts, and an avid bargain hunter. She loves to learn new things, one of which is knitting. She says she isn’t very good at it yet, but she works away at it. She also works on a cross stitch project that she has been working on for 10 years.

CAT LOVE

Emily is arty, crafty, and creative and she makes her living online. She says a 9 to 5 job is just not for her! Emily blogs, writes articles, designs and creates physical art through her photography. She started her online creative ventures with handmade cards and gifts. When she bought a digital camera so she could photograph the items she had made, in order to upload them for sale on her website, she discovered the joys of photography and realized that she could make money from it, she's never looked back!

YELLOW FLORAL PRINT

The next adventure for Emily is to venture into the world of paintings. She has gathered all the materials and supplies and is waiting for her muse to inspire her to put brush to canvas! (It never happened, the materials are still unused!!!)

BLACK AND WHITE FLOWER

Subject matter for Emily’s photography can be pretty much anything! Emily is self-taught and enjoys taking photos of flowers, especially macro shots; cats and other animals; scenic views and anything else that catches her eye. Her photos often end up as prints or featured on home décor/gift items in her online Print on Demand sites. Emily also shoots photos of tiled floors, rusty padlocks, and other similar types of photos and sells these as micro stock online.

HOTTENTOT FIG MACRO

Emily is a self-taught photographer. She tends to shy away from the technical side of things and tinker on her own. Gradually, using books, websites and tutorials, Emily is learning the ins and outs of her camera, what it can do, and more about photographic techniques and possibilities in general.

SNAIL PRINT

Some business goals Emily has are to place her prints in brick and mortar shops for sale and also to license her photography. As well she plans to introduce cards and calendars to her ETSY shop.

FLOWER INCHIES SHEET

Currently Emily is working on more ‘Nine Square’ photo designs similar to some she now offers in her shops. Eventually she will introduce a new Nine Squares print monthly. She has also developed a line of digital downloads of her floral images which other artists can use in their product designs. Some are currently being offered in her ETSY shop and more will be coming soon!

FLOWER CENTER INCHIES

Emily offers products and designs on several sites. She sells prints through her ETSY shop. In her Cafepress shop, she sells keepsake boxes, clocks, coasters, and journals which feature her photography on them. Her Zazzle store also features products with her photography on them. These products include cards, magnets, mouse pads, prints and more.

CRETE MOUNTAIN VIEW

While working on her various online shops and blogs and marketing on twitter and facebook, Emily meets many, many talented, creative people. Although she wants to collect all of their work, it is not possible, so Emily came up with another way to ‘collect’ their work and support these artists.

PEBBLES PRINT

Since Emily is a web designer and an SEO girl (search engine optimization) she developed a blog where she features the artist’s she supports. She focuses on getting people who are searching online to the blog, and then, hopefully, to purchase some of the artist’s work whether that art be on a poster, print, mug, tshirt or something else!

“CREATIVE ARTIST’S BLOG is a Blog for Artists, Photographers, Designers as well as Art lovers and Shoppers. Find new artists and artwork, Be inspired, Learn & Support the Creativity!”

Visit Emily Goodwin’s Personal Blog

EMELE, Emily Goodwin on ETSY

EMELE, Emily Goodwin on Cafepress

EMELE, Emily Goodwin on Zazzle

EMELE, Emily Goodwin on Redbubble

FOLLOW EMELE ON TWITTER

LIKE EMELE ON FACEBOOK

All Images Copyright Emily Goodwin, All Rights Reserved

Written by Ruth J Jamieson, All Rights Reserved

NEWS FOR SELLERS AND BUYERS ON ETSY

2011-03-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

As a SELLER or a BUYER on Etsy, you should check your settings on the site.

Along with the changes to create CIRCLES on the site, your name and buying history are now public information by default settings on your account. A GOOGLE search on your name can reveal all purchase details and the viewer can then find you on facebook or elsewhere.

Read this article for more information:

Etsy users irked after buyers, purchases exposed to the world
By Jacqui Cheng | Last updated about 17 hours ago

ETSY SELLER CHRISTINE SCHWARTZKOPF IS A PAINTER AND FRACTAL ARTIST

2011-03-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

Christine Schwartzkopf was born in Ohio, loves Florida and now lives in Portland, Indiana. She has always been called Christi. Christi lives with her daughter, two grandchildren, eight Chihuahua’s, one cat, one lovebird and a couple of tanks of fish. She says she has had pretty much all kinds of pets over the years and she loves animals with a passion. Someday soon Christi is looking forward to moving back to Florida to soak up some rays and continue creating her beautiful art.

HIDDEN WONDER

As a child Christi watched her mother do all types of crafts and sewing and when Christi was quite young, her mother taught her to do lace tatting and doilies. Christi’s older sister is an artist who paints in oils, and when Christi was about 12 years old she painted her first oil painting with lessons from her sister. At school, Christi frequently got caught drawing in class when she should have been doing school work.

SUNRISE

As a young woman, Christi’s life was busy with work and family. Artistic endeavors shifted to the back burner as she raised her young family. In the mid- 80’s she took some lessons in acrylic painting and developed painting abstracts into a hobby.

EARTH AND SAND

In 1996 Christi made some changes in her life and creating art became her focus again. She did a lot of cartoon artwork for her children, and began painting again too. Ebay gave Christi an outlet to market her paintings and she also discovered the EBSQ community.

LONE TREE

Christi’s art has a very strong presence of nature. Florals, landscapes, creatures both wild and domestic and people are strongly represented in her paintings. She has also created a large body of strong and dynamic abstract works. Many of Christi’s pieces can be seen in her portfolio on EBSQ.

WILD FLOWERS
WINNER OF THE PATRON'S CHOICE AWARD, EBSQ Fractal Exhibit 2011

Through EBSQ connections Christi has sold more of her artwork and also learned how to work in other mediums. She tried watercolor and decided that was not the medium for her. Prism color pencils were another medium Christi learned to use, and she likes to work with these. A number of these pieces have been sold on Ebay and Etsy.

CAGED SPIRIT

In 2010, EBSQ initiated monthly fractal shows. Intrigued, Christi downloaded Apophysis, gave fractal creation a try and fell in love. She has been hooked on fractals ever since, sometimes staying up all night to finish one. She finds them absolutely amazing. Christi says she gets the itch to paint periodically and does, but for the most part she spends her working time creating and working with fractals.

PICK UP STICKS

Currently Christi is creating more fractals and getting up to speed in CS5 to improve post process work and editing of her fractal art. Coming up in the next six months and beyond, Christi will be marketing prints of her fractals and continuing to build her Zazzle shop.

FRAMED COLOR

Christi markets her artwork online at several sites. These include an Artists profile at EBSQ Self Representing Artists, sale of originals in shops on ETSY, Bonanza and Deviant Art, and print on demand products featuring her art on Imagekind and Zazzle. She is currently adding a new shop with originals and prints available for sale, on Artfire.

SOLAR FLARE

Christi Schwartzkopf on ARTFIRE

Christi Schwartzkopf on BONANZA

Christi Schwartzkopf on DEVIANT ART

Christi Schwartzkopf on ETSY

Christi Schwartzkopf on IMAGEKIND

Christi Schwartzkopf on ZAZZLE

Visit Christi on EBSQ

Friend Christi on Facebook

Follow Christi on Twitter

All images Copyright Christine Schwartzkopf, All Rights Reserved

Written by Ruth J Jamieson, Copyright Ruth J Jamieson

GETTING TO KNOW DONNA RIDGWAY, MONTANA PHOTO DOCUMENTARIAN

2011-03-02T13:45:00.000-08:00

Donna Ridgway is a native Montanan and she says that Montana is her favourite place on this earth. Her great grandfather homesteaded on the mountains west of Dupuyer, Montana and six generations later her family still lives amongst their beloved Montana mountains. Donna and her husband Robert are now retired and are pursuing their creative interests. Robert is a cowboy poet and also restores old cars. Donna creates artwork and takes magnificent photographs of the landscape and creatures of Montana.

MINIATURE HORSE BLUE EYE

Donna grew up farming and ranching, so she has a close affinity for the land and the animals that live in Montana. Caring for animals, (especially horses), all her life has given her a deep love for them and they are what inspires most of her work. At one time Donna and her husband drove truck cross country. They had moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. An unexpected chance to move back to Montana arose and Donna found that tears began to stream from her eyes and she found she couldn’t stop crying. That was the moment when she knew how much she loved Montana and what an inspiration the scenery and animals of the state are to her. Montana is her muse.

HORSES IN MONTANA FROST

A 14ft by 70ft trailer home is Donna’s work studio. Currently it is being fitted with new energy efficient windows, new insulation and other upgrades so that Donna will be able to work in the space year round. She says it will be a wonderfully adequate space for an artist when it is all done.

FRITO THIEF SPARROW

When Donna was just a toddler, not even old enough to talk, she would stand up on the front seat of the car between her mom and dad and point to every horse she saw in the fields. She would yell to be taken to the horses. Her parents were not horse lovers and didn’t comply with her gesticulations and requests, but Donna says that she knows from this story that she loved horses from the moment she was born. She also knows that art was part of her soul then as well. As soon as she could draw, she did.

ZEBRA CAROUSEL HORSE

The mediums Donna uses in her work are varied and she switches them according to the mood she is in. She uses colored pencils, pastels, acrylic, oil and watercolors. She has carved shapes into linoleum blocks for printing and she works in polymer clay too. As Donna says, “One medium is as satisfying to me as another.” Donna likes to work wet in wet when painting. She is a prolific artist on a never ending quest to produce the next image, whatever that may be.

MOUNTAIN GOAT ON CLIFF

In 2003, Donna bought a Canon 10D, and the camera instantly became Donna’s medium of choice. She still paints and draws, but it's the camera that fascinates, challenges, and entertains her best. In 2008, Donna added a Nikon D300, with a 70-300 mm Tamron lens to her photography tools and she says the camera has become an extension of herself. In the last few years Donna has begun to do digital art using her photos, creating original works of art. Her main subjects are horses. Montana is her secondary subject matter; she says the state drives her creatively.

FIGHTING STALLIONS ON PRAIRIE

Donna went to a country school growing up, one where the teacher taught three grades at a time. Her teacher in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade was also an artist. While the other children went outside for recess, Donna studied art with the teacher. Later in life she studied with Betty Hudson Savage in Polson, Montana and with Joan Mason in St. Ignatius, Montana. Currently she participates in webinar classes on landscape painting with Johannes Vloothuis. She also studies online tutorials for using Photoshop and her cameras.

PRAIRIE CAMOUFLAGE

Donna is a member of International Equine Artists, Front Range Art Association, World Wide Women Artists, The Montana Etsy Team, and The Whoa Team on Etsy. She has been represented in many juried shows in Montana and nationally and won awards for her work. She is on the list of Montana Outdoor Magazine photographers and has had a cover photo published on the Stable Woman Gazette. Horses in Art magazine has published her articles several times. In April 2005 Donna was an invited exhibitor at The History Museum.

BUSTIN' OUT APPALOOSA

Sometimes Donna teaches informal art lessons for a neighbor or friend who mentions they would like to paint. She is happy to show them some basics so they get together over Donna’s kitchen table and work until the students feel they can carry on by themselves.

LITTLE DOE

In the near future Donna has a few things she wants to accomplish in her art. She would like to paint some of the locations she loves most along the Rocky Mountain Front. In addition, Donna will be creating more digital art as she is in love with her Photoshop Elements 7 program and the images she can create using her photos.

HORSES IN MONTANA SNOW

Donna's original art can be purchased at her studio in Vaughan, Montana and online in her Etsy shop. She sells original paintings, ACEO cards, photographs of Montana and Giclee prints of her photos and paintings. She also offers her art on products in her Zazzle shop, RedBubble gallery and on Finer Works. The Art for Conservation site also has some of Donna’s artwork available for sale.

SPIKE ELK IN MONTANA

Donna’s beautiful work is constantly being featured on Etsy and she loves the community there. She is very excited about making her work available to collectors through Etsy and now that she has a professional page on facebook, more and more people are finding Donna’s exceptional work on Etsy. Donna finds this a great way to share her beloved Montana and horses with people worldwide.

Visit Donna Ridgway on Red Bubble

Visit Donna Ridgway’s shop JACK MORGAN on Etsy

Visit Donna Ridgway on Zazzle

Like The Nature of Montana Photography on Facebook

Visit Donna Ridgway on Art for Conservation

All Images Copyright Donna Ridgway, All Rights Reserved

Written by Ruth J Jamieson, Copyright Ruth J Jamieson 2011

CHERIE BALOWSKI: SMALL TOWN GIRL AND CREATIVE ETSY SELLER

2011-02-16T04:37:00.000-08:00

Cherie Balowski is from a small town in south central Michigan, land of the lakes. She was born an artist. Her passion for art, creating crafts and singing started at a very early age. Cherie started making art with crayons, watercolors, pencils and chalk.

GIRL FRIENDS

Cherie says she is a small town girl who loves good guitar music, classic rock, singing and playing her guitar, riding her motorcycle, visiting her son and two grandsons in Arizona and art, ART, ART!!!

I LOVE BUGS

Cherie’s first 'crafty type' projects were sculpting and painting on clay. She also carved rubber stamps, embossed copper plates, learned macramé and made paper mosaics and collages. In high school Cherie started sewing. Then she started painting anything she could get her hands on. Once she discovered the computer, a whole new world of digital art was opened for her.

PAISLEY QUEEN

Cherie is inspired by the beauty that surrounds her.

GARDEN LOVE

Cherie is an artist who works with whatever medium she is in the mood for that day! She enjoys creating art in many forms, from digital art collage sheets, digital clip art and digital scrapbook pages to hand painted gourds, baskets, beaded jewellery, paper mache, felting and everything in between.

FUNKY HATTED WITCH III

Cherie especially loves creating ACEOs...they are Art Cards, Editions & Originals. There is quite a growing number of artists and art collectors who see that these wonderful 'small format' works of art are fabulous collectibles! They are in the standard trading card size of 2.5" x 3.5" (just like baseball cards) and can be purchased in as many art forms as you can imagine. Altered, sketched, 3-D, photographs, digital art, fabric, mechanical, beaded, pencil, ink, acrylic, oil...the list is endless. As long as they are the standard size, they are considered ACEOs.

ST PATRICKS DAY

Besides original ACEO art cards for sale in Cherie’s ETSY shop you will also find a great collection of digital art that you can purchase and then receive through your email system. These fun and unique clip-art sheets are great for digital scrapbooking, journaling, scrabble tile pendants, altered art, ACEOs, greeting cards, stickers, postcards...whatever you can dream up!

MERMAID AND CHILD

Currently Cherie is designing for various POD (Print On Demand) sites such as Zazzle, RedBubble, Greeting Card Universe and more.

PRINTABLE CANNING JAR LABELS

Cherie enjoys meeting fun 'creatives' online at Twitter and FaceBook. You can join her at many of the online art groups that she is proud to be a member of like Mixed Media Workshops and Magical Holiday Artists.

EASTER STICKER SHEET

Cherie’s Arts ‘N Crafts on ETSY

Cheries Arts ‘N Crafts on Soopsee

Cherie’s Art on Bonanza

Cheries Art on Artfire

Cheries Art Card Store

Cheries Art on Printfection

Cheries Art on Zazzle

Cheries Art on Picture Trail

Cheries Art on YouTube

Cheries Art on Ebay

Art by Cherie on Skreened

Cheries Art at Redbubble

Cheries Arts ‘N Crafts Blog

Cherie’s Art on Facebook

Cherie’s Art on Twitter

ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT CHERIE BALOWSKI, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WINDI ROSSON PAINTS WHAT HER MUSE FANCIES

2011-02-09T06:14:00.000-08:00

Windi is waiting for spring. She is waiting to smell the wild honeysuckle, to see the day lilies bloom, and to pick tons of fresh gardenias from the garden on the 5 acres in Georgia where she and her family live. There in the midst of the woods Windi finds peace, quiet, and inspiration for her richly colored, beautiful artwork.

ABLAZE

Windi is a self taught artist. She paints in acrylics and oils, and works with mixed media and photography. The images Windi paints are pulled from her imagination as she believes that when she does this, the painting takes on a life of its own. She says that a painting can start out as one thing, such as a landscape, and then become something entirely different, such as a figurative abstract. Windi’s inspiration comes from many sources and she likes to say that she paints whatever her muse fancies that day.

THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKING

Right now Windi is painting some smaller paintings for a brick and mortar venue. She is also experimenting with some mixed media works. Once the warmer weather returns, Windi will be getting back to doing some paintings in oils.

LATER IN THE DAY

These days Windi is quite excited about having secured a new venue in her home town. For the past few weeks she has been busy preparing art work for that. As well she shipped art work out recently for a ‘vinyl’ Art Show in Tempe, which takes place later this month. In addition, Windi is currently awaiting results of some juried art shows she entered work into.

FEBRUARY TULIPS

Windi signed up very early to be a part of Etsy on the suggestion of another EBSQ artist. Life and other things got in the way and she did not start really utilizing the site until a few years ago. Once she saw that it was going to be a viable venue, she began to use the site. She says it is one of the easiest sites to use and navigate for both buyers and sellers.

BLOOM ELEMENTS

Original offerings in Windi’s Etsy shop were mixed media pieces and original paintings. Now she offers original paintings, prints, jewelry and in the future she will be offering art supplies. Recently Windi started offering gift certificates in her Etsy store and she is planning on some special promotions via her Facebook fan page in the very near future.

YELLOW BOAT, RED SAILS

Windi says Etsy has allowed her to broaden her customer base and come into contact with people like minded about selling/buying original art. Her clientele varies from people just starting out collecting art, to other artists and non-artists. Recently, she has seen a rise in interest from interior decorators and designers contacting her about her work.

FEED YOUR SIGHT

Advice Windi offers for new Etsy sellers is to make sure to update your stock frequently and take advantage of showcases if possible. Windi says she loves how Etsy has grown and that it has kept its handmade roots. She says this clearly distinguishes Etsy from other eCommerce sites.

GOOD START

In addition to Etsy, Windi markets her artwork on her website, Live Journal, Facebook, Twitter and wherever else she can find a venue. She offers a lot of original paintings and some prints and tries to keep a diverse price range with the originals. Most of Windi’s original paintings are offered in her Etsy store, however they are also available through her website. Anyone can contact her directly for purchase.

Windi also has a second Etsy store, ART SKRAP, which is where she markets her jewelry products.

Reproductions of her art work on consumer products are available in her Zazzle shop.

Fine Art America offers high quality prints of Windi’s artwork.

Many of Windi’s small original paintings are offered through Art-O-Mat machines around the country.

Visit Windi Rosson at WINJIMIR STUDIOS

WINJIMIR on Etsy

ART SKRAP on Etsy

WINJIMIR on Zazzle

WINDI ROSSON on Fine Art America

Join Windi on Facebook

Follow Windi on Twitter

Connect with Windi on LiveJournal

All images Copyright Windi Rosson, All Rights Reserved

Written by Ruth J Jamieson, Copyright Ruth J Jamieson

MEET NEW ETSY SELLER HEATHER LEE

2011-02-02T05:03:00.000-08:00

Heather Lee is a lifelong artist following in her artist father’s footsteps. From her home in Fairfax County, Virginia, Heather paints, creates beautiful art quilts, and raises her young children. Although she learned about ETSY a few years ago from a friend, she just began marketing her art on the site recently.

ABSTRACT QUILT

Heather’s art reflects her environment. She misses the mountains of Colorado and feels that influences what she wants to paint. Her new views are of tree tops and forests and this has prompted her to paint a series of tree paintings.

SNOW

Inspired and guided by her father, Heather has always been an artist. She studied Art at college and earned a B.A. in Fine Art. As a professional artist she has experience as a florist, hot glass and stained glass designing and designing custom textiles.

BUDDHA WITH GUITAR

Heather has always been inspired by the beauty in nature and that inspiration has intensified. No matter how traditional or unusual a subject, she enjoys exploring different possibilities and techniques. Her medium of choice, when creating her paintings, is watercolor painting.

HONEY BEE

Watercolor is a very challenging medium and Heather is always working to improve her skill level and explore new ways to use it. Heather loves working in watercolor because she feels it represents a moment in time because it cannot be reworked much, if at all, and the final product contains a lot of spontaneity

GHOST TREES

A new type of painting that Heather has begun to explore recently is original, watercolor Artist Trading Cards. She finds them an exciting option for expression.

ACEO - LITTLE BEE

Heather’s decision to open a shop on ETSY came after she found she enjoyed shopping and browsing on the site. She found a very high quality of work in the ETSY shops she visited and felt like she would be in good company if she has a shop there.

ACEO - ORCHARD

Since opening her shop a little over a month ago, Heather has listed some of her paintings and art quilts. With the goal of offering smaller artworks at various price points, she has since added greeting cards created from her original paintings and hand painted Art Trading Cards. Her goal is to offer something for everyone who enjoys her art or wishes to give it as a gift.

BLUE ROSES

As a new Etsian, Heather says it is too soon to tell what effect having a shop there is having on her Art business. As well as building her ETSY shop, Heather is building an impressive portfolio on artist site EBSQ, and evaluating some other art websites where she may consider opening shops. For now though, her focus is on ETSY.

ACEO - FIREFLY I

Heather finds the community culture on ETSY wonderful, she says the people are kind and helpful and that makes the whole experience a whole lot easier and less lonely. She also loves how buyers and sellers can contribute equally to treasuries, favorites and comments. Her advice to new ETSY sellers? Join a team, network and be patient.

Visit Heather at Sunny Lee Studio on EBSQ

Browse Heather’s shop Sunny Lee Studio on ETSY

Join Sunny Lee Studio on Facebook

ART TRADING CARDS an International Collaborative Cultural Performance

More about ACEO'S

All Images Copyright Heather Lee, All Rights Reserved

Written by Ruth J Jamieson, Copyright Ruth J Jamieson

WELCOME TO ETSIAN LYNNE REICHHART

2011-01-26T05:48:00.000-08:00

Lynne says she is a starving artist working hard to create fun, lovely and sometimes different artwork for your enjoyment.

Lynne promotes her work on Etsy, Zazzle and other inventive ways. Recently she joined an intrepid group of independent artists, ‘THE IndiExhibit’, who together participate in celebrity gift lounges at various Award Events.

FUSCHIA FLOWER CLOSE UP

This January 2011, Lynne participated with THE IndiExhibit in presenting gift bags in GBK’s Golden Globes gifting lounge in L.A. and the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL in Utah. Lynne’s display piece, a watercolour painting called ‘Fuchsia Flower Close Up’ was chosen for the Golden Globes GBK gift lounge TV & press release - to represent The IndiExhibit. Lynne’s artwork showed up on all the local L.A. television stations all day long.

Everyone that stopped by the IndiExhibit table in the Golden Globe gift lounge received a signed and numbered limited edition print of Lynne's Vancouver BC painting.

VANCOUVER B.C.

Lynne Reichhart reached a point in her life when she felt it was time to explore her creative side. With the support of her husband Steve, Lynne created an art studio in their Upstate NY home and she now leads a happy, busy, creative life painting and marketing her art online

BALLET SLIPPERS

After embracing her creative journey, Lynne studied at the Munson-Williams-Proctor School of Art and at the Kirkland Art Center. She feels that having a better understanding of the fundamentals of art enables her to create better quality artworks. Lynne continues to study with an art professor, learning new techniques and pushing her artistic boundaries.

GLOWING ABSTRACT

Inspiration for Lynne’s paintings is diverse. Objects or scenes draw her inexplicably to them. Each of Lynne’s paintings represents a journey through light and shadow, through perfection and deficiency, through truth and magic. Lynne goes beyond recording what she sees; she interprets, expresses and adds her creative spark to each image.

SOUTHERN MANSION

Lynne describes her style as representational. She loves to explore working with different subjects, mediums and surfaces. Her three top favorite mediums are acrylic, watercolor and colored pencil on canvas or paper. Lynne also paints on three dimensional objects such as tiles. Subject matter such as still life’s or close up floral images are most often painted in watercolor on paper. Lynne says that anything goes with acrylics. She prefers to work in smaller sizes that are more intimate and affordable for her collectors.

PITCHER WITH GRAPES STILL LIFE

Lynne Reichhart has showed her work in many juried, group and solo shows over the years. She has also had her work published in several books including ‘Art on a Plate – The ACEO cookbook’ and ‘Create, Collect, Trade, a Collection of Artist Trading Cards Created by Artists and Students I’ and Create, Collect, Trade, a Collection of Artist Trading Cards Created by Artists and Students II. The latter are used as school teaching tools for the young artists of tomorrow.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES ACEO

Lynne is a member of several of her local Artist organizations and volunteers for those groups when she can to help promote arts in her corner of the world.
Rome Art Association
Rome Art & Community Center
Central New York Watercolor Society

Lynne’s on-line Artist group memberships include:
WWAO (World Wide Women Artists Online)
Visual Artist Street Team (VAST)
Central NY Etsy Team

BEAUTIFUL LAS VEGAS PARASOLS

You can find Lynne Reichhart’s work at several on-line venues.

Besides original paintings and prints, Lynne also creates hand painted pendants, bookmarks, tile coasters, tee shirts, cards and many more fun items to give as gifts featuring her work. She just loves wearable art and other functional ways to offer her work. These items can be found in Lynne’s Etsy shop artbylmr

FUN ZIPPER PULLS

Lynne’s shops on Zazzle and Cafepress offer a great variety of products with her artwork on them. (magnets, cards, mouse pads, tees, shoes, iPad and iPhone cases to name a very few)
Fine Art by Lynne Reichhart on Zazzle
Art Gifts with Attitude on Cafepress

Connect with Lynne Reichhart here:

ORIGINAL ARTWORK BY LYNNE REICHHART

LYNNE REICHHART ON TWITTER

LYNNE REICHHART ON FACEBOOK

LYNNE REICHHART FINE ART ON FACEBOOK

AN ARTISTS RAMBLINGS by Lynne Reichhart

All Images Copyright Lynne Reichhart, All Rights Reserved

Written by Ruth J Jamieson, Copyright Ruth J Jamieson.

CAROLYN SCHIFFHOUER – MOON DANCE DESIGN

2011-01-19T03:21:00.000-08:00

As long as she can remember, digital artist Carolyn Schiffhouer had an inner desire to express her creativity. Her artistic journey led her through a maze of mediums and techniques, from experimenting with fibre arts, to performing Celtic music for 7 years and finally to exploring the endless possibilities of digital graphic art.

INTO WINTER, Carolyn Schiffhouer

Carolyn became an ‘Etsian’ after observing that some of her cohorts at EBSQ were marketing their work there. Knowing she needed more outlets to market her beautiful work, she opened her Etsy shop MOON DANCE DESIGN. Her clientele generally find their way to her shop via word of mouth.

BARN WITH SKY, Carolyn Schiffhouer

The tools Carolyn uses are the computer, various types of digital software and her own photography. Some of the software she uses includes Photoshop, Painter, various types of Filter software and Apophysis.

Carolyn see’s the computer as the paint brush of the 21st century and feels that this medium will have the impact on the art world in this century that the camera, or the style of the Impressionists and Abstractionists had at the turn of the last century.

Inspiration for Carolyn’s amazing images comes from the world around her. In addition to the wonders she achieves with digital techniques, discovering Fractals opened Carolyn’s horizons further. Using her diverse tools, she layers images, filters colors and creates digital collages comprised of photos, fractals and effects to produce amazingly beautiful images with a somewhat surreal flavor.

AWASH IN FLOWERS, Carolyn Schiffhouer

Next up from Carolyn’s studio will be a group of cityscapes. She has amassed some great photographs of some beautiful cities and feels it is time to create a series. I’m looking forward to seeing this new collection!

PILLARS, Carolyn Schiffhouer

Carolyn’s advice for newbies to Etsy is to market, market, market! Being active in the Etsy community is a great way to be found.

WHITE ORCHID, Carolyn Schiffhouer

Besides Etsy, Carolyn markets her work on Ebay under the ID bromley2. Other Moon Dance Design shops can be found on ARTFIRE and BONANZA

Connect with Carolyn on facebook at Digital Art of Carolyn Schiffhouer

CROSSING THE LOG BRIDGE, Carolyn Schiffhouer

In addition to her online shops, Carolyn belongs to two galleries, The Winkler Gallery of Fine Art in DuBois, Pa., and the Earthworks Gallery in Penn Yan, New York. Recently Carolyn did a show at a local Retirement Community and is presently having a one woman show at Michelle’s Café in Clarion, Pa.

WELCOME TO KATE'S KARDS

2011-01-11T19:01:00.000-08:00

Kate Lesko-Smith is a fibre and visual artist and I have had the pleasure of her friendship for the last 12 years. As a young girl, Kate began her journey with fibres & needles, fabrics and scissors. Over the years this talented lady has learned innumerable styles of fibre craft and designed and completed countless projects.

NOVEMBER CARD (flower of the month)

I met Kate when I juried her into my cooperative Artisans gallery in 1999 and we have worked together on various projects ever since. She has helped me improve my knitting skills over the years and I taught her how to work in clay.

MEDIEVAL LETTER

Kate’s primary inspiration is colour. She loves bright, rich saturated colours and uses them in all her projects with abandon. Other inspirations are Celtic and Mediaeval themes and unique embellishments. She loves to add fine sparkling filaments, beads, crystals, unusual buttons and other beautiful details to her work.

BEADED CHRISTMAS TREE

Kate’s Kards is the name of Kate’s Etsy shop. The shop features Kate’s hand painted, stitched, and beaded note cards. Current creative themes are based on nature and the four seasons. In the works right now is a new product line, Artist Trading Cards. Quite frequently Kate does special orders, customizing colours, threads, beads and other details for her customers.

BEADED SNOWMAN

Originally, Kate's cards were placed in local shops and galleries. Seeking more exposure and better sales figures, Kate looked on the internet for a place to sell her cards online and found Etsy. 2011 will bring Kate’s fourth anniversary on Etsy and the addition of her new Artist Trading Cards line.

WINTER PINE TREES

Kate enjoys interacting with customers from around the world and creating customized cards for them. She prefers the Etsy business model to placing her cards in shops because in shops the cards sometimes got damaged or stolen and she had to carry a large inventory.

STITCHED CHRISTMAS ANGEL

Kate also markets her designs at Kate’s Kards on Zazzle.com. The selection available is small but growing.

WELCOME TO FOGL'S KITCHEN

2011-01-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

Biscotti Queen, known as Shannon Fogl to the rest of the world, baked with her grandmother for years and now passes on her Grammy's wonderful biscotti to you. Shannon started Biscotti Queen & Fogl’s Kitchen on Ebay and moved it to Etsy in May 2008. The move was inspired by friend Tracey Greene another Etsy seller.

Originally Shannon offered only baked goods, mainly Italian biscotti created from Grammy’s recipes, in her new Etsy shop. In 2009 jams, jellies and other types of preserves were added to the company’s offerings. All of Fogl's Kitchen's products are created from seasonal produce sourced from local family growers, and from the Fogl’s own small family farm. Due to this sustainable production practice, offerings from Biscotti Queen/Fogl's Kitchen vary with the seasonal availability of ingredients.

CRANBERRY ORANGE BISCOTTI

Currently available biscotti flavors include: Sweet Vanilla and Confetti; Whole Wheat Honey Cherry; Fresh Lemon; Almond Cranberry; Chocolate Chip and Toffee; Green Tea; Fabulous Orange Cranberry; Fresh Cinnamon and Pecan; Chocolate Black Forest with Pecans and Butterscotch; and Double Chocolate.

GREEN TEA BISCOTTI

The selection of preserves created in Fogl’s Kitchen includes such well recognized favourites as organic Blueberry Syrup, Sweet Apple and Pear Jelly and Apple Butter. Biscotti Queen also offers such temptations as; Caramel Apple Preserves, which cause a stampede of reserve orders on facebook when the imminent creation of the preserves is announced; delicately flavored Lavender and White Clover floral jellies; Hot and Sweet Hot Pepper Jelly; fruit chutneys; sweet mixed fruit preserves; Peter Pecker Pickled Peppers; and a divine Rosemary glaze marinade.

APPLE BUTTER

Amongst the clientele of Fogl’s Kitchen/Biscotti Queen are families who are moving away from highly processed foods and GMO raised produce and looking for more organic alternatives. They want to support small family farms over large scale agriculture.

The Fogl’s live on a small one acre hobby farm, where they grow a lot of the produce used in the company’s products. This produce is raised organically and pesticide free. What they don't harvest on site is purchased from the local farms and farmers markets that the Fogl's support, and those farms and farmers also use healthy and sustainable farming practices.

LAVENDER FLORAL JELLY

Fogl’s uses many channels of networking outside of Etsy to help meet their customers. Shannon Fogl is on a mission and likes to be able to answer questions from anywhere, so she uses Twitter, Facebook, local farmers markets and a popular website called BackYardChickens.com

Shannon started marketing on Etsy because she found Etsy to be more personal and easier to network on than Ebay. Rather than being lost in a sea of listings, the company got their own shop, with easy access to forums, and to the blogs of other sellers, who work just as hard as Shannon does to bring people a product that isn’t mass produced. The company now feels it is a part of a community of sellers and buyers, not like it is lost in an over crowded bulk store.

Etsy has helped Fogl’s Kitchen to nearly triple their business annually. They find the Etsy site clean and streamlined, not over cluttered with ads or links that confuse the customer. This has made things very easy for new customers to come on the site, sign up and make a purchase quickly without confusion or long validation processes. The shop even gets a short store link, so it fits very nicely on Shannon Fogl's business cards.

Shannon thinks Etsy is a very savvy alternative to setting up and maintaining her own website for sales. The price is nice and making a listing is quick and simple. Shannon, the Biscotti Queen highly recommends giving Etsy a try.

BLACKBERRY JAM

I asked Shannon Fogl what advice she had for newbies just getting started on Etsy and here it is:

“Like any business you are responsible for marketing yourself. Etsy has some GREAT benefits to using their site to get you traffic,as long as you take advantage of the information.

Etsy has a 'treasury' feature that allows sellers and buyers to create groups of their favorite items from several sellers. These treasuries can become frontpage featured for meeting popular search terms, having gorgeous pictures and suggesting items that look very nice together. The team at Etsy make picks for the frontpage by choosing a treasury they think is worthy.

Take advantage and build treasuries of your favorite items when you can. Notify the sellers they were included, and a lot of the time they return the favor by including one of your items in a treasury they create. Being on the frontpage of Etsy is a fabulous way to get traffic and sales.

Also, read Etsy's blog, specificialy the 'sellers handbook' section. It is updated constantly with the popular search terms and word searches on their site. This is very handy for you, to know what searches are being used for popular items. You may find out that 'foxes' are in, and you will probably get increased traffic that month if you have anything to do with foxes in your shop. A popular search could be for weddings, if you have some pretty floral arrangements in your shop that will help draw traffic. Make sure you use all the terms you can to bring your item up in searches directly on Etsy. You get to choose 14 search terms in each listing to describe your item, don't waste them.
http://www.etsy.com/storque/seller-handbook/

Etsy is very new age and all handmade. Unless you are offering great supply items, try not to list mass produced items, it is very frowned upon.

I also want to say it's nice to favorite or 'heart' a shop. Its a great way to network and make new friends. Building blocks for a good sale should never be passed by!"

Fogl's Kitchen can be found on Etsy at:

http://BiscottiQueen.Etsy.com/

Here's a special gift from Biscotti Queen for our readers!
A coupon code for 10% off on your next purchase at Fogl's Kitchen: BLOG10

Follow them on Twitter:

http://FoglsKitchen.Twitter.com/

Or on their Blog

http://FromSeed.Blogspot.com/

All images are Copyright Shannon Girouard-Fogl, All Rights Reserved

Copyright Ruth J Jamieson, All Rights Reserved
Written and