Vacation Mode- Are You Ready?

Dreaming about summer vacations today. It's another rainy day and I'm really longing to get out and take a good roadtrip. That has to wait right now, so I thought I'd do a little dreaming with you here. What about you ? Do you have any vacation plans for this summer? If so, or if you're just dreaming like me, here are some Vacation Themed goods straight from Etsy that are sure to inspire!

This "take a hike" plaque by Mary Kate McDevitt strikes the perfect tone for me. Our last two summer vacations were to Glacier National Park, and I had a blast last summer doing a little "hiking" with my 5 yr old.

Love the photos in this Roadside Attractions Vintage Sign collection. By Bomobob on Etsy, this is a shop I hadn't found before but now LOVE!

Ok this "roadtrip" bib was just too cute so I had to include it. :) But it would be the cutest vacation-ware ever! I found it in Mountain Aven Baby's Etsy shop. She actually has a couple of cute baby girl dresses using the same fabric I used for my Won-Ton bag a post or so ago.

My mom (shameless plug) has a really fun vintage clipboard that she altered with paper and accents for a fun road trip theme. The top photo is one of my grandpa taken while he was on a roadtrip in the '40's.

Then there was this id tag necklace that seemed to say it all. The sentiment is a favorite of mine but I love how the tag looks so battered and worn. As if it truly belonged to someone who spent their life "taking the road less traveled." I found it in the Etsy shop Happy GoLicky. They strive to make jewelry that makes the "soul smile." I love that sentiment.

The Old Shop Teacher and my Mom

So each year when garage sale season starts my dad starts to come home with all these little knick-knacks and bits of things. "Can you use this?" Or "I thought you could use this-" are phrases I began to hear a lot of. The thing is that although I couldn't use them all he finds some really cool stuff. After he'd come home with a stash of skeleton keys, a ton of buttons, some really fabulous old wooden things, old bottles, etc. etc. I told him to open a vintage shop on Etsy. He thought about it a bit and recently we set up a shop for him, The Old Shop Teacher.

But what really makes it a great shop is that my mom is adding some of her art made from vintage items to it. Years ago she made an amazing lamp for the spare bedroom we sleep in when we visit. It's made of half of an old globe. I love it! She recently made a couple of more and has offered them for sale in the shop. And there's nothing else like it on Etsy- it's truly an original.

She's also been crafting these fabulous clipboards from a stash of vintage one's used in the high school my dad teaches at. They have a beautiful patina from years of use and I love that she doesn't over do it with the decorations/ribbons so that you can still see the old metal clip. I particularly love the one at left. She used paper from October Afternoon that has a map of MN on it. Then added a little red car traveling up 35W which is the road to Minnesota's North Shore- one of our favorite vacation destinations when we were kids. Although these work great as clipboards, I love seeing them displayed as photo frames.

My parents are both teachers and soon to be done with school for the summer so expect some more amazing finds and fabulous vintage creations soon!!!

Look What Found Me- Etsy's New Suggested Shops Feature

Perhaps you've noticed, perhaps not, but if you check out your favorites on Etsy you'll notice you now have a tab that says "suggested shops". Etsy generates them based on your previous chosen favorites. I was curious to see how much of these shops I'd a)heard of and b)had things I liked. I did recognize a few of the shops but with 200 to choose from many were new to me. As for the liking things, I think I spent a good hour paging through and looking at all the lovely lovely suggestions. But there were a lot that I glossed over, so it was all in all pretty hit or miss. Still, it's a great way to find some new shops.

Here are a few of the things I found:

Ranunculus Freeform Beaded Necklace

Bib necklaces and fiber are a combination I'm completely loving right now. How amazing is this necklace with just a simple black dress? This comes from a shop that was new to me, Irregular Expressions, but I am now completely in love with. Their entire inventory is not to be believed beautiful.

Tree Silhouette Leather Cuff

Another shop that caught my eye was Holly Hawk's, I love this leather cuff. The trees are beautifully done and I think I could wear this with anything I own.

Feathered Friends Art Print

Love this print of an original painting by Blenda Studios on Etsy. I think it's the bright/dark contrast that I'm really enjoying!

Sisters at Heart- Embroidered Mixed Media

After a bit more browsing I found this bit of art by Mary's Granddaughter which I really like. It makes me think of a good friend.

Looking at the selections I'd say Etsy thinks I like fiber, jewelry, birds, and mixed media. I can live with that.:)

So check out the new feature and see what your suggested shops might reveal to (or about) you!

Tin Can Inspirations

Soda Can Flower Pendant

What to do with tin? Shape it? Cover it? Cut it? Stack it? The artist behind the flower pendant at left tried it all when she created this mini work of art. I stumbled on Monica Marie's shop when searching for tin can creations on Etsy. I've been playing around with a few myself and wanted to see what others are doing. Here's some of the crafty goodness I found....

The Bird and Nest embellished tin can below was created by Faith Meadows' Designs and is part of what she terms her new "tin treasures" line of items. While this can was covered, painted, and embellished it's actual shape wasn't re ally altered.


Then there are the tin tops. What to do with them once you've opened the can and cut them off? I toss them into the recycling with this reluctant "I should be able to do something with this...." feeling. They seem a little large for pendants (although I suppose I could use the tomato paste lids in that way).

But I LOVE the solution picardcreative on Etsy came up with. She creates these outrageous, "sassy girl" MAGNETS out of them. How super clever is that??

So there's a few ideas to get both of our minds whirling... what would you do? Would you create a curtain of tin can lids? Would you stack the cans, make little banks, or planters of them?

 Edit: I'm at my mom's and showed her the tin can from Faith Meadows and she loved it and bought it! Thanks Mom for supporting handmade!

Time Mis-management

Just a quickie post today. I've been swamped with all kinds of little time distractions. Not the little meanderings I talked about last- but life stuff. Things that are important but take time. For instance, super cool that both queries I sent to Sew Somerset were accepted but there is the whole have to write the articles thing now. Tuesday afternoon a reporter from WCCO called and wanted to interview me about Etsy. SUPER COOL but that meant frantic cleaning and prepping the project they wanted me to work on. Tuesday and Wednesday- shot. And there's this book I decided to write on the back burner constantly simmering.Today I realized that I have 20+ wire flowers to make for keychains for my Moms group to stitch tomorrow. It'll be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the teaching experience but....it all takes time and right now all I want to do is play with the beautiful new fabrics I picked up this morning. How to balance the "life" stuff and "fun stuff" is still a mystery to me. If any of you have a clue- I'd love to hear from you!

"Fly"- Artist Tricia McKellar

"Fly" is a photograph taken by Etsy artist Tricia Mckellar. I was browsing Flickr yesterday and in a serendipitous moment happened upon her work. I absolutely love it. Yes- it's birds and anyone who's seen my work knows I have an affinity for birds. But that actually developed from my love of flight. More explicitly my love for observing flight. The toss of a paper airplane, the drift of a feather in the wind, a kite in early march. I love to see things fly. My favorite made up image of daVinci is to think of him standing outside, sketchbook in hand, watching the flight of birds. How this scientist/artist must have wondered at them. The beauty and the impossibility of something soaring through air. Gliding, being held aloft by an unseen breeze.

Tricia actually seems to capture that entranced moment of wonder. By focusing on the birds and limiting the elements in her photos she mimics the ultraconcetration we experience watching something that fascinates us. Just birds and the telephone pole in that great and glorious sky. No nearby tree or home. No other point of reference no other distractions. She has created an entire series of moments like these. Entitled with single words like "beginning", "departure", and "wanderlust". They all eloquently capture a moment in one beautiful, simple shot. I am very grateful she has allowed me to share her work with you- it's all so lovely. To see the other photos I mentioned, visit her shop on Etsy- www.eyeful.etsy com.

Make Friends

Last August I took the leap and started an Etsy site. I was a wreck for weeks before we launched. It was just so intimidating to actually put my work out there. I was far more concerned that no one would like it than I was that anyone would buy it. That came later :). It was so worth it! I found validation on Etsy. People did like my work and I even do pretty well selling it. YEAH! But FAR more importantly I found a community of people that are incredibly supportive of each other. One of my favorite Etsy finds was Shelley from Singlestone Studios. She is an amazing artist who's vinyl wall graphics are truly unique and extremely well crafted. She has been extremely supportive and has even gone so far as to surprise me with matching graphics for this blog and my etsy site. I LOVE them!!! Many artists try to operate in a vacuum. They are missing so much by not "making friends". We don't create in a vacuum. We absorb everything around us, including the work of other artists, I truly believe that it is part of who we are. I have been so blessed by the Etsy community, the sellers and the buyers, that I truly consider them to be the best thing about my time there.

So anyways, please check out Shelley's etsy site and her blog- they are both full of eye candy for the color and design enthusiasts! Here is one of my all time favorite wall graphics from her site. Wouldn't it look lovely in your home?