Thank You to My Followers

I so appreciate each and every one of my followers and from time to time I like to do a post where I can showcase their shops. This time around I would like to feature 3 more very talented people who are kind enough to follow along on my blog.

Larissa is a fellow member of the Handmade Artists Shops.  She and her husband, Eric, sell their high quality all natural soaps, among other indulgences, in Reef Botanicals located on the HAF website.  Their products are so rich and colorful that you can practically smell them just from looking at the photos.

"Fudge Chunk" is the perfect gift for that chocolate lover in your life.  Cocoa is one of the ingredients in this creamy handmade soap. It looks just like chocolate fudge ice cream doesn't it?  Yummers!



 


Can you smell the lemons?  This is a scrub made from lemons, sugar and natural oils.



Reef Botanicals sell gift baskets that are loaded with scrumptious products from their shop.  What a great gift for that special person in your life.

Jillian is the owner and artist behind JillianReneDecor.  She is also a fellow member of DesignStyleGuide, a online site for all you home decor needs.  What Jillian can do with buttons is quite amazing. Using thin gauge wire and various sizes of buttons she creates these lovely flowers and attaches them to pillows or to various fabrics that are then framed making it a very unique piece of wall art.

 What a wonderful gift  this framed button art would make.   It's bright and colorful and can be hung on your wall.

This is just a small sample of what Jillian can do with a pillow.  This design makes this silvery gray fabric light up.  Very chic.



This is one of my favorites.  I just love black and white together, especially in a zebra print. 
Jillian has embellished this fun pillow with this bright red flower made from buttons. Stunning!



Sara lives in New England and sells her beautiful jewelry on Etsy in a shop named LillyQueen.  Her lovely pieces are made by incorporating vintage and new together to create truly unique designs.

These luscious ice blue glass vintage diamond faceted earrings just sparkle. I love that they are embedded in antique brass.  Great color combination and very trendy.

This 17" necklace boasts an antique brass bird charm with 3 Swarvoski glass beads in royal blue. Just a darling piece.  This is called "Raindrops in Summer".

This bold bracelet is the perfect neutral to wear with anything.  It's made up of smokey quartz vintage Lucite beads and faux pearls held together with a vintage lobster clasp.

It is always a pleasure to showcase all the wonderfully talented followers of my blog.  I hope you will stop by each of their shops as this is just a peek at what they can do.

New Ideas for the New Year

Now that we have entered the New Year I am thinking of making some changes. Not in the "New Year's" resolution kind of way, but with what direction I want to go in regards to my mosaics as well as other interests I have boiling on the back burner.

One change I have made recently is I have opened 2 more shops on Etsy; Memories Mosaic Supply, which carries a variety of personally selected hand cut dish tiles, focal pieces, half cups and vases and Memories of Yesterday, a vintage shop that will have a variety of memorabilia, keepsakes and collectibles that Ralph and I have accumulated over the years.

When my mother-in-law passed away several years ago we brought home approximately 30 boxes of memorabilia from her life as well as her boys. There was nearly every toy my husband and his brother ever owned up in her attic along with costume jewelry from the 40's, 50's, and 60's. She also stored everything that was left to her by her sisters so you can just imagine what all we found.

Of course we use many of the gorgeous serving dishes she accumulated and we certainly are keeping anything that is of sentimental value, but there was just so much of it that we decided to go ahead and sell it. We both believe she would rather we took a fun vacation or something of that nature rather than to continue to house all these pieces up in our attic.

Another idea I am tossing around is adding a jewelry line to my mosaic shop as well as specialty pieces for the various holidays throughout the year.

I would love to hear what your plans are for any changes to your shops.

Thank You to my Followers

I so appreciate the people who have chosen to follow my blog that I like to take the time to showcase their talents, whether they are an artist or a fellow blogger. Today I am saluting 5 of my followers. I hope you will take a moment and look through their shops as they have some amazing things.


Kerri is the owner of a brand new shop on Etsy called OHearn67. I just love this pen and ink drawing of a giraffe. I so wish I could draw and I always gravitate to those with wonderful talents like this.

Kerri's shop has a variety of lovely handmade items at very reasonable prices.










Klaire, of Mystic Silks is a wonderful friend and fellow teammate of Design Style Guide, a website dedicated to promoting handmade home decor.



I chose to showcase this gorgeous silk scarf of hers because it is done in my favorite color combination of blue and brown. Klaire also sells her original silk paintings in her shop on Etsy which you may have seen when I did an article on Mystic Silks on my blog. To read more about the meticulous process involved in creating these beauties please refer to my archives.





DoxalloDesigns is where you will find one-of-a-kind high end jewelry. I felt her explanation of this incredible ring was wonderful and that is why I chose this piece to showcase her talent.
"I created this ring while on a lakeside metalsmithing retreat. The bumpy border reminds me of the meandering shore of the lake and the rocks which are often found alongside the water's edge. I imagine the triangular jasper as a boat skimming along the top of the water."

This is what art is all about. Seeing something in your mind's eye and creating your version in a tangible piece.




Linda, from MosaicSmith is a friend I met in a group on Etsy called Talking Mosaics, a place to share your love of all things mosaic. She has a fantastic ability to take a picture of something and turn it into the most amazing life-like mosaic. She also has a vivid imagination and created this stunning mosaic using an escargot tray. Each circle in the tray has it's own design made from glass Linda has hand cut to fit. This would be a wonderful conversation piece in your kitchen.

AmiKami makes vintage inspired hand knit and crochet fashions. This adorable piece is called a "fascinator" which is an alternative to wearing a hat and ear muffs. What's really great about these are the many ways you can wear it. I have 2 styles shown here, but there are several. She also sells bracelets, necklaces, headbands and more.

Thank You to My Followers

Every now and then I like to take the time to showcase the talented followers of my blog as a thank you. If I remember correctly I had about 69 followers last time and I am now up to 84 and I am thrilled to have all of you become a part of my everyday life happenings. Here is a sneak peak at some of the items you will find in their shops on Etsy.



This adorable "Baby Girl" congratulations card is from http://www.justineehlers.etsy.com/ . Is this the cutest, or what? I just love the black stripes with the pink as it is very different and fun. There are cards for many different occasions, I just thought this one was sweet.





These are one of my very favorite earrings for the fall season and Halloween. This was handmade with polymer clay and swarovski crystals by http://www.kabidesigns.etsy.com/ .

I think this retro fabric (from the 70's) of gorgeous purple flowers is just too fun. http://www.originalmischief.etsy.com/ has a wonderful shop where you will find more goodies made with vintage fabrics.

http://www.suziesarmoire.etsy.com/ has some of the most fabulous bookmarks you've ever seen. Each one is unique and makes the perfect gift. This one is made with metallic purple, red, garnet, and ruby colored beads. Look at the darling little sandal on the end.

"Tree on Chainmaille" is just one of the wonderful designs by http://www.handmadebyrach555.etsy.com/ . I just love the intricate work done on this one.