August Team Challenge - Mellow Yellow VOTING

orangecatart

CardsbyDeb

ajsdesigns

paperfairy

uniquegrabs

pnkgeeni

michellenstamps

anjalicreations

paperpansy

isabellaflora

L7designs

Honizukle

I would like to thank everyone who participated in this month's challenge. Above is a list of all the particpants, please be sure to check out there shops and place your vote to the right of the blog.

The voting will end on September 7th 6:00pm EST with a winner being announced on September 8th.

VERY IMPORTANT, don't foget to leave a comment so that you could be eligible to win the card with the most votes.

Let the voting begin!

Friday Feature: WimziePrints!

1. Tell us about you and your shop.
Wimzie Prints is a colorful line of greeting cards, note card sets, enclosure cards and gift items (coming soon!) featuring my whimsical artwork. Combined with witty, thoughtful prose, Wimzie Prints cards are meant to gladden the heart and inspire a smile.

My cards are professionally printed on high quality recycled paper with soy based inks at a local (Spokane, WA) “clean air award” winning facility. I design and hand package each one at my home studio. They can be purchased online at http://www.wimzieprints.etsy.com and at select retail locations. Wholesale and licensing inquiries are welcome.
P.S. Be the first to find out about special deals and new designs by joining my email list at www.wimzieprints.com.

2. How did you get started in your craft?
I have been making greeting cards and stationery for family and friends since childhood. I often leave notes on a loved one’s pillow, in a friend’s make-up bag or tucked inside my husband’s shoe. In April of this year I found myself without any graphic design work for about 3 weeks (I own a Graphic Design Firm http://www.tgsdesign.com) and was absolutely bored to tears (hard to believe since I have an 18 month old son under foot...) so I decided it was the perfect time to start my greeting card line and Wimzie Prints was born.

3. What tool(s) can you not live without?
My Mac computer, wacom tablet, tracing paper and scanner. Not to mention my digital SLR camera...and uni-ball pens and the Internet...exacto knife, metal ruler...light table...a patient husband...is this list getting too long?

4. What inspires you?
Wimzie Prints brings all of my passions to one fun place. I love creating whimsical art and witty poetry. My many travels and fashion design school education (I went to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, CA http://www.fidm.edu), in contrast with a small town upbringing, lend a unique perspective to my artwork. I am inspired by just about everything around me: a trip to the zoo, flowers in the garden, my grandmother's love of all things "bee" (her last name is Stinger), fashion magazines and of course all occasions that call for a greeting card.

5. Name one favorite item from your store.



I love these high fashion note cards. A lot of people have commented that they love them but wouldn't know what to do with them. I recently had a bride from Canada purchase 110 of them to use as her bridal shower invitations. I like to just send them as notes or thank you cards to my girl friends who happen to love shoes (who doesn't love a beautiful shoe?)!

Tweets Giveaway from Honizukle

Honizukle is offering this week's giveaway. The winner will receive 5 of these adorable Tweets Cards of their choice. Please take a look at Honizukle's shop for more of her work. See below how to enter to win these cards.


From The Artist:
I really enjoy illustrating and paper. Seems natural to want to mix the two and make stationery! I absolutely love making my own patterns and illustrations and I get incredible satisfaction when I see the finished product.

How To Enter:
I just recently found out I am pregnant for the very first time. Needless to say, I am very excited but very nervous as I don't know what to expect. To enter please leave a comment and tell me what is the best thing about being a mother.

A winner will be picked from the comments on the evening of August 29th. When you leave your comment, please make sure there is a way that you can be contacted should you be the winner.

Cards for a Lifetime

Created by: birdtracks

My husband Lane and I went to Crossville, Tennessee to the worlds longest yard sale. It goes from Alabama to Ohio. So much to see, with so little day light. I was on the lookout for craft items, material, ribbons, anything I thought I could use to make crafts. Several vendors had old cards for sale. I am guessing these are from the 50's. The pictures on the front give me that time frame.
This made me stop a think. How did these cards survive 50 years. I think that is because these cards meant something to the person receiving them. Instead of throwing them away, these cards were put away as a keepsake. Maybe they were sent by a favorite aunt, Grandma, boyfriend, best girlfriend. I keep the cards that mean something special to me. I have a blended family and my stepdaughter Kelly, who is 31, calls me Mom. She gives me Mothers Day cards. The notes that she writes in them are special and I put them away in my keepsake box.

When I make a card, I wonder if the person receiving it will understand that it was made just for them. Will they cherish it and put it in a special place to keep. Will it show up 50 years later at a sale for someone else to admire. I hope my cards end up that way. If some one will save a store bought card and Cherish it. I can only hope that a hand made card will also withstand the test of time.

http://www.birdtracks.etsy.com/

Tuesday Treasury

By: Everyday Grace


Large Floral Cards -Set of 4 by cabbagesandkingsArt



Personalized Stationery Setby upup



Wisteria- Handmade Couture Save the Date or Invitation by BeanSproutStudio



Rori Wedding Invitation Sample Set by steliedesigns



Citrus Punch- Handmade Couture Invitationby BeanSproutStudio



Friends by CardsByDeb



Flower Pattern - Notecard Set
by wheelerstudio



Secret Garden Thank You cards, set of four by juniperberry

Etsy Greetings Featured Sale

Each week EtsyGreetings highlights a sale from one of our member shops. This week, we are excited to offer you special pricing from Two Hand Design.

The Sale: Spend $20 or more (not including tax if applicable or shipping) and receive a free pack of gift tags-your choice (not including the tag samplers). Just tell me which tag design in notes to seller. Use coupon code: Free Gift Tags in note to seller when checking out.

This sale is for Etsy Greetings Blog readers only and is not advertised in my shop. Please contact me if you have any questions. Sale begins Sunday August 23-12:00 AM PST and will end Sunday August 30 12:00 PM PST.

Friday Feature: Georgina Kay Designs

1. Tell us about you and your shop.
Hi there, my name is Georgina and I am a 29 year old from the UK. I hasten to add I turn 30 in September and am still to decide if I am looking forward to it or not! :) I run my etsy shop with my Mum - Kay, hence our chosen name: Georgina Kay Designs.

I have a love for papercrafting and baking - in that order. My biggest passion is for creating scrapbook layouts. I love to take my photographs and turn them into something more than your average photo album. I write articles for an online scrapbooking store - www.scrapjazz.com as well as being on the design teams for www.scrapwhispers.blogspot.com and www.butterflycrafts.blogspot.com . I love making cards too and this is what I enjoy selling the most in my etsy shop.

My mum Kay isn't revealing her age! She has been crafting with wool for over 40 years and like me, finds crafting a great relaxer after a long stressful day in the office. She enjoys creating items people can use daily and will cherish. Ever practicle she enjoys knitting cardigans and jumpers to keep people warm and cosy in the winter. She does have a particular passion for creating baby blankets though and is never short of orders.

In our shop we sell a variety of crafts namely greetings cards, baby blankets, woolen goods, scrapbook pages and supplies. We are relatively new to etsy in the grand scheme of things and are enjoying finding our feet - seeing what works and what doesnt and trying to perfect our photographs of our products.

You can find out more about me on my blog: www.itsjusttoorandom.blogspot.com

2. How did you get started in your craft?
Thanks to my mum I have always been a creative crafty type. I remember many rainy days when we used to pull out our big craft box and simply create all day - anything from toilet roll fairies to giant play houses from cardboard boxes. I remember when I was at school that a friend of mine used to make cards and I was always intrigued as to how she used all these different techniques. One day I asked if she could show me and from that day I was hooked.

I left craft for a little while in Senior school and college and opted for dancing as a hobby and creative outlet instead. I still teach dance weekly but rediscovered my love for papercrafts about four years ago. I havent looked back since.

3. What tool can you not live without?
Absolutely, definitely cannot live without my scissors. All you need is paper and a pair of scissors... and maybe a pen!

4. What inspires you?
I draw inspiration from all over the place. I am on a few design teams so get inspiration from other DT members as well as participants in the challenges. I love to read about papercrafting and subscribe to a couple of magazines. I adore searching etsy looking for great colour schemes or patterns too. I also belong to a few online forums where I enjoy browsing through galleries of very talented people. I feel that the internet is a wonderful hub of talent, especially on etsy.

5. Name one favorite item from your store.



My favourite item currently in my etsy store is this card. I just love the colour and texure of this card and the stamped image is one of my favourites too!

And a little peek into the studio (so small that she and her mum both can't fit inside for a photo!):

For a video tour of the studio, check out video one and video two.

Etsy Greetings Featured Sale: Happy Elephant Designs

Each week EtsyGreetings highlights a sale from one of our member shops. This week, we are excited to offer you special pricing from Happy Elephant Designs.


The Sale: Come and visit my shop. Today I'm offering free shipping on all your purchases (even custom or bulk orders)! Just make sure to use the code EtsyGreeting Free shipping when you check out, or convo me to let me know.

Tuesday Treasury

Fur and Feathers

By Orangecatart


Calico Cats Card by ThumbelinaCardCo



Get Well Dog Lover Card by forthetiny



Sparrow Notecards-Set of 5 Green by cabbagesandkingsArt




Hand Made Note Card - All in a Line by Lindentreephotograph



Happy birthday handcrafted card by QuirkynBerkeley



Pug Pool Party Birthday Card by CapeCard



Barclay Napping Notecards - Set of 4 by orangecatart

Silver Cloud Delights offers this week's Giveaway

These mini notecards are a cute tailored style. Each of the six cards are pink with a polka-dotted bow and the sentiment "just a note" is heat-embossed. They have a white insert on which you can write your own thoughts and turn the card into a birthday card, a thank you card or a card to let someone know they're in your thoughts. The cards measure 4.5" x 3.25" and come with envelopes.

Entry Requirements:

Post a comment here on the blog with
a) your favorite types of cards you receive (eg.: birthday, anniversay, etc.) and
b) the type of card you usually send to others
Twitter and/or blog about this giveaway and post the link in another comment for additional entries.

A winner will be picked on the evening of August 19th from all the comments left. Please make sure you leave a way that you can be contacted should you be the winner.

3. About my work: I make cards because I love to! It is a true hobby for me and I often draw inspiration for my designs from clothing styles, story lines and from the papers and ribbons that I use.

Please take a look at Silver Cloud Delight's shop to see more of her beautiful work.

Friday Feature: Up Up Creative

1. Tell us about you and your shop.

I am an independent designer from western New York with a relatively new online paper- and printable goods shop called Up Up Creative. The shop was named by my then-15-month-old son – I asked him one day what I should call my little store and he said, "Up up?" (wanting to be picked up, of course) and the name stuck.

The goal of my work is to provide modern, clean design and handmade goods that have practical and lasting applications (e.g. printable stationery sets, recipe cards, school valentines, wall calendars, and more). I only create and sell things that I would actually buy myself – things for the person who loves design and admires beauty but who lives within a budget. My work is clean but colorful; simple but with a sense of humor; bold but still understated. Much of it is downloadable and DIY – I want people like me who love to create things to be able to have a personal library of gorgeous designs.

I started Up Up Creative in 2008 after coming to the scary realization that writing my dissertation in English was making me miserable. Suddenly, I found myself gripped by the fierce need to create. I am the illustrator and designer, owner and operator. I am the marketing department and the shipping department. Up Up Creative is all me, 100%. And I love it.

2. How did you get started in your craft?

My introduction to design was through my undergraduate degree in communication systems and technology. In my program, we studied human-computer interaction (how people actually use computers) and so much of what we talked about pertaining to communication had to do with visual communication. I was immediately taken in by the idea that the way something looks contributes to its meaning and to its function.

It took me about ten years after I began in that program to really come around to this as a career. I did a lot of freelance web design in my early twenties and also worked as an IT consultant and web programmer before returning to graduate school in English (I have always had a romantic attachment to books and I always thought I’d prefer teaching literature to undergraduates than teaching oral comm., thus the switch in fields for graduate school).

It wasn’t until I was neck-deep in my dissertation that I suddenly found myself needing to make things all the time, and I’d say that in the last seven months since I started selling on Etsy my craft has really developed and I’ve started to find my own voice and style.

3. What tool can you not live without?

My imagination. And free babysitters. And Adobe Illustrator.

4. What inspires you?

Everything. Sometimes it’s actually overwhelming being inspired everywhere I look. I’m inspired a lot by my daily life – what I need, what I notice, what’s going on in my relationships. My crazy love cards, for example, are 100% inspired by my relationship with my husband as well as the relationships between my close friends and their significant others.

5. Name one favorite item from your store



Oh geez, just one? The cool thing about Up Up Creative is that every single thing I put in the shop is my new favorite. Every sale I make prompts the thought, “Oh, I love that one.” The most personally meaningful item in my shop, though, is probably the Feelgood List. I loved making it for myself, I love the design, and most of all I love the response I’ve gotten from people. I love reading their list items. I love their emails and how their Feelgood Lists make them feel.

Pinky Creations Giveaway

This weeks giveaway is being offered by Pinky Creations. This is a set of 3 notecards. I love the look of this one red chair.

To enter all you need to do is make a comment here what your favorite color is.

This giveaway runs from August 13th through August 15th with a winner being picked by PinkyCreations on the evening of the 15th. Please make sure in your comment that there is a way that you can be reached should you be the winner.

Please take a look at Pinky Creations
shop to see more greeting cards, tags and stickers.

Etsy Greetings Featured Sale: Lucky Duck Designs

Each week EtsyGreetings highlights a sale from one of our member shops. This week, we are excited to offer you special pricing from Lucky Duck Designs.



The Sale:
From 8 a.m. EST Wednesday, August 12 through 8 p.m. EST Wednesday, August 12 enjoy 20% off any single item in the shop. Buy 2+ items and enjoy a bonus of free shipping.
Just enter coupon code "EGLOVE" in the notes at checkout and you will receive a revised invoice before paying, or you will receive a refund via paypal

Water Color Stamp Tutorial

Created by: Paperpansy

When my husband and I were on vacation in Murphy, NC, I found a small scrapbooking shop called Bear Pages Paper Arts. This was the most amazing shop. It had everything I could have ever wanted. The owners were very gracious and showed me a couple of techniques they were teaching in classes the following week. I would have loved to attend, but I was going home. I tried the water color stamping technique. My example is only my second try so I've got lots of practice to do, but I would love to share the technique. It's so much fun!!!

1. Using Coldpress Water Color Paper, 140 lb., first stamp image of flower pot.

2. Next, take a small paint brush, dip it in water and then blot on a paper towel. You don't want it too wet or it will puddle. You only want your brush damp. Using the damp brush pull the color toward the center to create shadows and shading.

3. After your shading is to your liking, add foliage using a combination of stamps or just one. I used long leaves from one stamp set and stems for my flowers from another set. Just mix them up to create the look you are after. Again take a damp paint brush and go over the leaves and stems gently to give them that blurred water color look.

4. Next, add flowers and blend with damp brush.

5. Add centers to flowers and blend with damp brush.

6. Touch damp brush to stamp pad and create shadow.

7. Mat with cardstock and affix to card.

Give it a try. I can't wait to use some life like bird stamps I have. I just need to get a bit more adventurous. I would love to see some of your work using this technique!!! Have fun and play!