Featured Artist: Allover Art

1. Tell me a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).

Hello! My name is Ruth Jones and I am the artist and owner of Allover Art in Holly Springs, NC. My husband and I are newlyweds, and we live with our three year old rescue German Shepherd mix Kasey. We adore her and she has been a great inspiration to me. I specialize in original fine art oil paintings on canvas, as well as any other creative medium I can get my hands on. I also dedicate myself to creating custom art that speaks uniquely of you. I possess the ability to render an enormous diversity of subjects through oil paint. My custom work includes pet portraits, wedding portraits, family portraits, and landscapes. My talent for, and delight in, painting first took shape in high school where I was a member of the National Art Honor Society. A graduate of Rutgers University, I received a degree in Art History by studying the various eras, techniques, and great masterpieces that helped shape the art world into what it is today. I interned at a New York City art publication where I received further exposure to the workings of the art community. A few years later, the desire to share the knowledge and experience that I had gathered initiated the creation of Allover Art!

2. What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?

I was sitting in my bedroom one day on a weekend, back when I was in high school. I must have been bored because I decided I would realistically draw my hand. Well I drew it and my mom saw it and complimented me on it. That spurred me to enroll in a general visual arts class in high school, and it was there that I fell in love with painting.

3. Why should people buy your product?

I often find that people are looking for a painting to go in their home, or a way to memorialize a pet, and then they come across me. The majority of my work is custom and I take great pleasure in working closely with my clients to create exactly what they want. When it comes to my pet portraits, I have often heard that my paintings look like photos. A fellow Etsyian even said that when they went into my shop they thought I did photography, before they read my descriptions and realized that my works were actually oil paintings. I work to exceed the expectations of my clients.

4. Besides what you feature in your shop, do you plan to turn your creative mind elsewhere or what do you hope to creatively do next?

I am contemplating creating miniature acrylic paintings on wooden tiles. I have several 1 1/4 inch tiles that I am going to create small works of art on, seal in resin, and turn into pendants for necklaces.

5. Where would be the best location for showing off your product (the Louvre, Buckingham Palace)?

My work is best displayed in my clients' homes. However, I have found that vet offices and any place that dedicates itself to animals are also great environments for my work. Art galleries are also great environments for viewing my work.

Etsy Shop: http://alloverart.etsy.com
Etsy Teams: NCTriangle Team
Website: http://alloverart.net
Blog: http://alloverart-nc.blogspot.com

Featured Artist: Paint with Barb Oil Paintings

Paint with Barb oil paintings and beaded treasures

1. Tell me a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).

Barbara Furlong, Hermiston, Oregon, USA. I have been crafting all my life but I only started in oils in the last 4 years or so. I always thought oils was too messy but now that is all I do. I love it. I teach oil painting so I have lots of paintings to sell. To see all my paintings go to www.paintwithbarb.com

2. What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?

Photos of the sea, books, my mind. I think my students inspires me the most, they ask for something and then I have to do it.

3. What is your favourite thing in your shop and why?

All of them are my favourites. I love each of my paintings.

4. What is the best thing about your products?

They are priced fair, if you buy 3 paintings or more, free shipping.

5. What is the best homemade item you have ever bought?

Quilt

Etsy Shop: http://www.paintwithbarb.etsy.com
Etsy Teams: Interiordesignteam, wwao, bbest
Blog: http://paintwithbarb.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.paintwithbarb.com

Featured Artist: Cutiepie Company

1. Tell me a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).

My name is Milly and I live in Manhattan with my sweet beagle, Hunter. My Etsy shop features screenprinted paper goods, and will soon also feature my photo prints and prints of my collages. I have been doing mixed media and photography for a long time, and am really excited to be able to offer it on Etsy in the near future! My boyfriend also has an Etsy shop, Corporan Glass.

2. What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?

I'm not sure I can remember the first thing I made by hand, because I was probably too young to remember! I know that I have been drawing and painting and scribbling since I could hold a crayon. The first thing I remember making that I absolutely loved was in school. It was a construction paper collage of a bird and nest. I have a vague mental image of it that has always stayed with me for some reason. I simply adored it.

3. What is your favourite thing in your shop and why?

My favorite thing in my shop right now is the Walking the Dog gocco print. The drawing of the little girl is based on myself as a young girl. And the beagle pictured is based on my beloved beagle. Call me nostalgic...

4. Who is your dream buyer? Brad Pitt, Queen Elizabeth.

That is an interesting question! I have been thinking about this one for a few days. I'm not sure, to be honest. Maybe Holly Becker of Decor8 blog? She's not really that famous, but I totally admire her and I love her blog!

5. What is the best homemade item you have ever bought?

I bought an awesome jellyfish screenprinted t-shirt in Brooklyn recently (at Artists and Fleas) from a sweet and very talented woman, whose website is Heartisans.com.

Etsy Shop: http://www.cutiepiecompany.etsy.com
Etsy Teams: Etsy Beagles, Loco for Gocco

Featured Artist: Art 2 the Extreme

I am an elementary art teacher from Indianapolis, Indiana. I graduated from college with a Visual Arts Education degree and a Ceramics concentration.

Travel is a HUGE part of my inspiration to create art. I have been to England, Scotland, Mexico, and lived in Italy for a short period of time to study art.

I love working with ceramics, printmaking, and fibers most of all! In my free time, I create art to share and sell, as well as scrapbook.

Art is all around us. It is everywhere and in everything.
My art is my world and I guarantee that my work is 100% original and of the highest quality. Buyer satisfaction is of extreme importance to me.

Please enjoy and feel free to provide feedback or receive further information about myself or my products by contacting me at art2theextreme@yahoo.com.

Etsy Shop: http://art2theextreme.etsy.com
Blog: http://art2theextreme.blogspot.com/
Squidoo: http://www.squidoo.com/art2theextreme
Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/art2theextreme/

Featured Artist: made by Railyuh

While I like to experiment with a variety of crafts, photography has always been one of my first artistic loves (the other is writing). I especially enjoy landscape photography and I think the beauty I see in the natural world inspires me to fill my home with natural handmade items. I hope sharing my images will bring a little beauty into the lives of each person that views them.

Some people have asked where the name "railyuh" comes from so I thought I'd share. My first name is Aurelia (pronounced uh-rail-yuh), but I grew up going by my middle name because Aurelia was hard to spell and pronounce. By the time I was in high school a shortened version, "railyuh," became my nickname with a few close friends. It soon became my online screen name, hence my shop with items "made by Railyuh"!

Feel free to visit my blog to learn more about me and to see sneak previews and updates for my shop. I'll also be featuring some of my favorite Etsy shops, artists, and items there: http://etsyfind.blogspot.com/

If you are interested in a custom order, I would love to arrange a series of prints or cards in sizes and images chosen by you.

If you are looking for something different, perhaps a series of magnets or a gallery wrapped canvas featuring my photos, please convo me. If you have an idea in mind, we can figure out a way to make it happen.

*Proud Member of the Etsymom and Etsy Bloggers street teams*

Etsy Shop: http://railyuh.etsy.com
Blog: http://etsyfind.blogspot.com

Featured Artist: Citrus Tree Designs

1. Tell me a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).

Name: Stacy Beck
Location: Delray Beach, FL

My Black & White Abstract print is currently on exhibit during the winter show at:

D'Art Gallery
116 Pleasant Street
East Hampton, MA

My cards have been blogged here:

http://Kiddlins.com
http://Kopahetsy.blogspot.com
http://hauteinnovations.com/?p=47.

I have also exhibited at All Florida Fine Arts Show -

Cornell Museum of Art and History,
Delray Beach Florida

My Flickr Account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/citrustreedesigns/

My Blog: http://citrustreedesigns.blogspot.com/

My sister & I have an infant and toddler line of clothing: MakristaBaby.com This is where we earn our living.

2. What is your favourite thing in your shop and why?

My favorite item in the CitrusTree.etsy.com shop will have to be the Photomontage's I am currently playing around with. They allow me to express my creativity more fully than my photography alone. And...they are just plain fun to create!

3. Why should people buy your product?

I would like to have people purchase my items because they are unique and of course HANDMADE.

4. Where would be the best location for showing off your product (the Louvre, Buckingham Palace)

Any gallery would do as far as showing my work...I would be thrilled to exhibit in New York, as that is a city close to my heart.

5. What is the best homemade item you have ever bought?

The best handmade item I have ever purchased, it a Spiritual Bracelet from BlueMango.etsy.com The bracelet has one of my favorite Emerson quotes: "Stand in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air"

Etsy Shop: http://citrustree.etsy.com
Blog: http://citrustreedesigns.blogspot.com

Featured Artist: Autumn Leah Designs

I absolutely love making jewelry and come up with new ideas every day so my pieces are always fresh and unique!

I am a stay-home mom and I love being able to see my daughter grow everyday... with that said I also need something to keep me sane. So I make stuff! I just recently started making jewelry so it is my habit right now but I also love making anything on my computer. I do all of my scrapbooking digitally. I create Christmas cards, birth announcements, birthday invitations etc. I have a degree in graphic design so that is my passion. I would never actually work in the advertising world (too much pressure) but I love using those skills for personal use or for friends, etc. I love to look at a craft and figure out how to make it myself. That is why my shop is kind of eclectic.

I am also willing to do custom pieces if you need something specific for an outfit and I also customize my prints.

Etsy Shop: http://autumnleah.etsy.com
Blog: http://autumnleahdesigns.blogspot.com

Featured Artist: Deabusamor

1. Tell me a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).

Hallo! I'm one of those inconspicuous people who serve you coffee at Starbucks for breakfast and hand you dinner with a smile at KFC. Who knew that apart from my "day job" I also dabble in polymer clay and jewelry! (I hate calling myself 'clay artist' or 'jewelry designer' -- it sounds way too professional!)

Now you do! I'm Sheika Lugtu and I love making jewelry though I think I shine most when I dream up polymer clay pendants, beads and charms (leave all the design work to others, I always say.)

I only got into clay 5 months ago and feel I've really found my medium. I'm hoping to eventually be able to support myself through my claywork and paintings.

2. What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?

Growing up I had very strict parents who didn't believe in buying toys, so I spent my time "playing" with books. The very first doll I ever got was a Barbie during my 4th grade church 'Christmas gift-away'. Since I couldn't buy alternate clothes for her, I took two triangles of cloth (cut from old cotton pjs,) stapled them together and called it a skirt! Since then I've built her a cardboard doll house complete with clay miniatures.

3. What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?

Though I was born in the Philippines, I've lived and traveled to very many countries including most of the Middle East, India, Bahrain, Hong Kong etc. I currently reside in the US but I feel like I've seen so many cultures that I don't draw from any just one. In all my works I try to draw the various works of art, religions, customs and cultures I've seen.

4. Where would be the best location for showing off your product (the Louvre, Buckingham Palace)

On people. It's my dream come true when customers wear my work because they love it and it goes with their style and fashion.

5. What is the best homemade item you have ever bought?

This may sound weird but years ago, I had a friend whose family was very poor. She wanted to buy her little brother a GI Joe he'd been wanting but didn't have the money for. I saved up my weekly allowance for 2 months (it came up to about 17 dollars) and bought a painting of hers (it was a sunset with two stick figures sitting on the beach, and v-shaped birds flying in the sky.) I wish I could find it now, but I think my 12 year old self lost it in my many travels.

Etsy Shop: http://Deabusamor.etsy.com
Blog: http://omgcow.blogspot.com

Featured Artist: Witty Workshop

Valérie Parizeault is a Canadian Illustrator & designer from Montreal. She is the owner of Rose Flash, Playfully spirited Jewelry (www.roseflash.ca) and the creative mind behind the Witty workshop (www.wittyworkshop.etsy.com), a place to buy and enjoy her Illustrations and prints. Inspired by whimsical moments, children’s universe and storytelling, she is living her dream life as an artist with her husband by her side and her black cat Tokyo. Tree hugger and business connoisseur, she blogs both in French and English about Eco-friendly causes, Indie designers and her daily life trough her creative blog Pot aux Roses (www.pot-aux-roses.blogspot.com) and about the ups and downs of entrepreneurship through her business tip blog Bite (www.bitethebusiness.blogspot.com).

Etsy Shop: http://wittyworkshop.etsy.com
Blog: http://pot-aux-roses.blogspot.com

Featured Artist: Alternate Bliss

1. Tell me a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).

My first name is Tanya... Born in England, raised in Utah! Let's see I'm a social worker/kindergarten teacher by day, artisan jeweler by night literally! lol I have degrees in English & Social work as well as a minor in philosophy. I'm currently teaching a kindergarten class and finishing up my masters in education.

Let's see what else can I tell you... Oh my sculpting and watercolor painting abilities only recently came about. I am completely self taught and honestly believed until I was 30 that I had zero creative abilities. I was tormented because I felt so creative but never dared to explore it! So my advise is... go for it... what have you got to lose! I laugh when I look at my path... I just go wherever my heart leads me. For now my passion is directed towards my family (husband of 10 years and two daughters ages 1 and 3, always and forever my passion), teaching, fine silver and just creating stuff in general!...lol.

Affiliations: Member of Altrusa International (community service oriented group).

2. What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?

1st thing I remember making by hand was a kindergarten craft project that involved dipping my hands into this mint green pasty paint and pressing my hand onto a sheet of construction paper that featured a typed out poem about little hands. I'm assuming it was a Mother's Day project of some kind.

3. What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?

Inspiration: Comes from all things, music, art, literature, family, walks, drives, quiet moments, film, fellow artisans.

4. Why should people buy handmade?

Buying handmade means more than buying something you like, it means you're buying from a fellow artisan, from a name not a conglomerate. It means you truly value the artist and the final creation. It supports a community that lives and breaths creativity.

5. Creatively where do you think you'll be in five years?

Creatively, in five years I hope to have discovered more of my talents that have been dormant. I didn't know I could paint or sculpt until I was 30. I honestly believed that I had zero creative ability. I have never taken an art class in my life up until my 30's. Scratch that I actually had an art appreciation/history course in high school which I loved, but sincerely believed I could never paint or sculpt. I can't wait to see what things I'll be making.

Etsy Shop: http://alternatebliss.etsy.com
Blog: http://alternatebliss.blogspot.com

Featured Artist: DreamON

I always loved to cut, paste, paint and draw from my earliest memories. Creating art is what I do, it's built-in by my creator, He enables me, and I love it.

My college degree is in art. In addition I have received training from some fine national and regionally-known artists. Some of my most important lessons came from not so well-known, but wonderful artists who now paint in the sky, and local artists who teach the basics, as well as the artists I paint with.

I value the presence of a recognizable subject in my paintings. I love it when the center of interest appears in the midst of background objects that aren’t so well-defined. I want watercolor to look like watercolor, and I want my paintings to have a painterly look, not a photographic copy. Therefore I am an impressionist, because I don’t want to over-control the media.


Etsy Shop: http://DreamON.etsy.com
Blog: http://DreamsAboutArt.blogspot.com

Featured Artist: Kala

1. Tell me a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).

My name is Karen, I'm mum to two beautiful children and a professional artist and illustrator from the UK. I love to create and have trouble deciding what to do so I usually end up trying to a bit of everything from painting to jewellery making and crochet, which is why I opened an esty shop.

Here you will find my artwork, prints and cards,
my crafts and jewellery can be found in my new shop opening soon http://upwiththelark.etsy.com/

My main website is www.chalkhillstudio.co.uk which is where I sell my stationery and gifts for those special moments in our lives! To see what goes on in my life visit my blog http://karenjinks.blogspot.com/

2. What is your favourite thing in your shop and why?

My favourite item is usually the last thing I've made. I have a lot of interests and skills so find it difficult to keep making the same thing over again, so one day I will be making books or cards, the next I will be painting, the next making jewellery or lightcatchers. In fact my favourite thing is the actual process of making, there is nothing more satisfying.

3. What is the best thing about your products?

I suppose it's the fact that a lot of my items can be personalised, and I offer a full bespoke design service so customers can get something they wouldn't be able to get anywhere else.

4. Who is your dream buyer? Brad Pitt, Queen Elizabeth.

Believe it or not that has already happened and no, I'm not telling!

5. What is the best homemade item you have ever bought?

Gosh that's a tricky one, there are so many talented artists out there but my latest purchase that I am completely besotted with is a handmade top made from vintage scarves from the wonderful Kate Fletcher at greygoat.etsy.com. Simply stunning!

Etsy Shop: http://kala.etsy.com
Blog: http://chalkhillstudio.blogspot.com/