Monday's with Etsy

I'm so excited about this weeks pick! (Not that I'm not normally excited, but I guess I'm even more so this week... you'll see...)

I met this fellow Etsian on Twitter. I have recently become a Twitter fanatic, and not only does this person always give the nicest, most helpful replies, but she's funny and very personable.

Honestly, I hadn't visited her shop until the other night when another person on Twitter recommended something from her shop. (I know...but sometimes I forget who's Profile I've checked and whose I haven't. Guess that happens when you're being followed left & right!)

Anyway, let me introduce you to Sharon Paradiso of Seedlings: Jewelry Because.

Dark Blossom

Sharon's shop offers hand-crafted jewelry of all shapes and sizes. There you will find a small selection of goodies ranging from earrings to bracelets and necklaces.

Across the Universe

Her color selections are naturalistic, presumably because her creations are "inspired by and created from natural materials (including recycled materials where possible)." Recycled materials??? Woot! That's a big plus in my book! I'm constantly looking for ways to incorporate something to be "upcycled".

Swirlmaille

And, she had one piece of crochet jewelry lurking on the second page... Hey, this is a fiber arts blog, after all!

Cosmos

While I enjoy her work immensely, the thing that put Sharon over-the-top this week was her decision to do more with her shop. Twenty percent of every purchase goes towards making a donation purchase at Heifer International. If you're not familiar with this amazing group I encourage you to visit a previous post I did earlier in the year or their website.



As Sharon states this is "a group that takes the "teach a person to fish and feed them for a lifetime" just a bit further with gifts of animals, bees, etc.". These gifts enable families around the world, including the United States, to start their own home business and eventually procure a better livelihood for not only themselves, but their entire community!



Visit Seedlings: Jewelry Because to enrich your life and the life of someone else!

Photographic rights are retained by Seedlings: Jewelry Because.

Have you heard of Amigurumi???

While searching for my Monday's with Etsy featured seller I continuously ran upon Amigurumi Patterns. I'd never heard this term before. I happened to be Twittering at the same time, so naturally I asked about it on Twitter. (Have I told you that I'm addicted to that site??? Well, I am...)

Thanks to Jadielady & mysie_at_etsy for their help with this mystery!

Amigurumi means Knitted stuffed toy in Japanese (according to Wikipedia). Although crochet appears to be just as common during creation. The toys can be intricate or artistically rendered.

Traditionally, the patterns run in spirals and use multiple colors. These creations are made on small or fine needles, which prevents the stuffing from escaping. This translates into very time-consuming for me! ;-)

The patterns I've found are precious. Here are a few of my favorites...

Worm in Apple

Fairy Doll & Mushroom Set

Fuzzy Guinea Pig

Elton, the Sheep (doesn't he look like the Serta sheep??)

From the traditional to the not-so:

Pancake Stack Treasure Plate (this reminds me of an actual plate from the 60's!)

If you are interested in any of these patterns, just click on the photo and it will take you straight to the proper individuals' Etsy shop.

*****

Moral of the story -

If you're looking for a way to test your skills and while away some hours...these may be just the thing you're looking for! Enjoy!

Photographic rights are retained by the individual artist.
Links are accessed through the photos above.

Monday with Etsy

I spent yesterday combing the Etsy Pounce feature for "new" and "undiscovered" artisans. I found some really lovely shops. Unfortunately, several had no seller "Bio" or Shop Policies listed. As much as I want to share Etsy finds with you, I'd like to know something about the seller (other than what their listings look like) before I feature them.

To me, buying handmade is an entire package. That's the same reason I love shopping at the farmer's market - I want to get to know the person behind the creation. It adds something to the experience for me. It's something you simply can't get shopping at Walmart...

During this long search I Twittered about it a few times. As luck would have it Popsicle Stick found me there. Will wonders never cease! Just when I needed a fiber arts oriented post...

Skate Socks Granny Square Afghan

Apparently she's been selling on Etsy for several months now, utilizing her fiber and other mediums to entice us. What a sunshiney, happy shop. It reminds me of the 70's!

Hang Ten Crochet Bracelet

She states that she picked up the crochet skills from her mother who went everywhere with crochet in hand (hallelujah...that makes me feel not so crazy!)

Knee Socks and Nikes Crochet Scarf

With almost too reasonable prices, and 100% cotton, customizable creations how can you miss? Hop over to visit when you have a moment and snatch up a great deal for that upcoming birthday or shower!

Bubblicious DNA Crochet Bracelet

(Doesn't this look like the old Bubblicious package??? Too cute!)

All photographic rights belong to PopsicleStick.

Mondays with Etsy

Pottery is another love of mine. Actually, I guess you could say that I like anything you can make with your hands. Making something out of earth is an added bonus for me!

I found Emburr a few weeks ago in the Etsy forums. I just LOVE her things! Ms. Monika has some cute pins made out of clay tiles- walruses, frogs, sea turtles, etc... There are even some color pencil drawings, mostly showing nature. But, my favorites are the larger pottery items...

Teal Tree ceramic soap dish, $12

Set of Cream Colored Cups, $22

Trio of Fish candle holder in Teal, $30

Monkia has a Fine Arts Degree from Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, so she's accredited and has apparently devoted her life to art. Who can fault that?

Her "Bio" on Etsy states that "creating is what she does & who she is." That's refreshing to hear these days as more and more artists are creating solely for the purpose of gaining riches or fame. It's like a teacher stating that they teach so that they can help others grow & learn. Heart warming, isn't it?

Emburr's selection is currently limited, unlike many larger Etsy shops. I think that's a good thing. When artisans create for pleasure that's normally what you find, a limited selection, lovingly made. If you want cookie-cutter and huge stock - go to Walmart...

Hurry over and snatch something up before I buy all of the goodies! At prices like these, how can you resist?

Photographic rights belong to Emburr.

Mondays with Etsy

We have another yarn "find" this week!

Atlantis Roving

SolsticeSupplies shop provides fiber from locally (Canada) raised animals. At Solstice Studios and Farm they raise llamas and angora rabbits for their fiber, along with dairy goats and chickens. They're working towards building a eco-community or village "where happy people and animals can exist in harmony together." How sweet!

Playground Roving

Solstice Supplies also buys fleeces and roving from local fibre farms. Their selection appears to all be dyed and ready for spinning. This is a perfect shop for those of you that already know how to spin or are looking to delve into this area.

Not into spinning and have no aspirations for it? I have located a two sites that have free project patterns for crocheting & knitting with this unspun roving! Or, you can try your hand at Needle Felting...

Pufpaff's has a pattern for crocheting rugs with roving. This would be perfect for the kitchen or tossing in front of the fireplace. This link provides a great knitted scarf pattern from Painted Ewe Rovings. It's a PDF file, so you can print it out immediately!

Jungle Drums

The listings state that they can work with you on quantities and dye lots. Fantastic!

All photographic material is property of SolsticeSupplies.

Mondays with Etsy

It's Ok We're Still Home

Today's find is BarbraJoan. Yes, it's another visual artist...


Barbra Joan is an artist living in Central Florida. She works in many mediums but enjoys watercolor and pencil/graphite the most. Her favorite subjects are flowers, women, nature and animals and she enjoys "bringing as much beauty to this world as I (she) can." Barbra Joan was honored with the Artist of the Year Award 2005-06 for her watercolor and pencil work!

Flower Pots

Sunflower

These designs come in different sizes, some are matted and some aren't. All would be beautiful to display in your home...

Her listings state that she is currently selling original works of art and may move into prints in the near future. Snag an original while you can!

All photographic rights are held by BarbraJoan.

Mondays with Etsy

Lily of the Valley

As promised, here is another wonderful Etsy "find", MayaLee . She lives in Sweden with her family and loves photography!

Maya Lee states that she has many other creative interests but, has been drawn increasingly more toward the photographic arts. A few of her pieces are TtV, Through the Viewfinder. According to her listings, this means that the photograph is made with two cameras, the first camera looks at the true object of interest and the second camera is used to photograph the image shown on the first cameras viewfinder. How interesting!

Maya Lee says that photography has enabled her to see the world more clearly and allowed her to "see more details, being more aware of the colors and tones around me (her)." Isn't it amazing what we learn through our artistic endeavors?

Ranunculus

Turquoise Hearts

I Love Yarn

The photos come in various sizes, all seeming to be a standard size thus easily framed. All are priced very reasonably.

I was instantly drawn to the color and clarity of these photos. They're all very light and airy in appearance, which imparts a feeling of happiness for me. Of course, my love of flowers AND yarn didn't hurt either...Enjoy!

Maya Lee, your lovely photos and shop banner inspired me to do something a bit more creative with my own shop banner. A thousand thanks for sharing your talents with the world!

All photographic rights are held by MayaLee.

Getting to know Etsy Day...

Today is Etsy Day! Woohoo!

For those of you that aren't familiar with Etsy - it is an online marketing community predominantly for those of us that manufacture BY HAND.

Hundreds around the world form this cottage industry. With this kind of selection you're sure to find something uniquely original for yourself or someone else.

There are sellers of handmade paper goods, leather goods, original acrylics and photos, prints, jewelry - costume to fine, custom clothiers, etc... If you can dream it, they probably have it!

Click the button to find the treasures..

Special thanks to schugirl for this fantastic idea. This image is copyrighted to be used only for Etsy Day.

Mondays with Etsy

I've decided to do a post weekly showcasing some wonderful Etsy finds. The themes will vary. Some will be Fiber Arts oriented - hey, this is a knitting blog - and others will be about things that tickled my fancy.

Be sure to join me on Monday's to see what I've found. Hehehe, wiggling my fingers and showing a devious smile, this will be like a weekly treasure hunt!

Here is this weekends find -

TwilightKnits has hand dyed yarn!

Isabella

Wicked

Dizzy Girl

Blues Springskein (cute name!)

Yummy colors!

These are all Merino Wool blends. The yarn comes in skeins of 450-462 yards and all are a fingerling weight. Perfect for those socks you want to work on or for that new baby that's on the way! There are many other color combinations available in the store, so be sure to visit TwilightKnits store.

Added bonus - there is currently a SALE going on!!!!!

JadieLady, I hope this post doesn't ruin your "yarn diet"...

All photographic rights are held by TwilightKnits.

Admirable efforts

While working on my new Etsy shop configuration, I've also been doing research on what sales on their site. I'm thinking that rather than being inspirational or assisting me in pricing comparisons, this may end up being detrimental to my slim, trim pocketbook...

These beautiful creations are all sold in one shop on Etsy - Gsakowski Designs . The photos are a sampling of their collection. My first visit to their shop left me drooling. A few are reminiscent of the 1900's and all are graceful, colorful, and so artistic. Of course, my deep love of flowers certainly taints my opinion...

The saving grace - I have no where to wear this gorgeous creations to (otherwise, I may buy out the store!)