DevinLarson

May you have a delightful warm day on this greatly inspiring fall day from all of us here on EtsyGreetings. Well, as wonderful as friday is, here on EtsyGreetings they are twice as awesome. Why? Well because here at Etsy greetings we show love to our great team members as we get the opportunity to peer into our very own team member's shops. Now that you have been introduced to our Feature friday blog get ready to warm your hearts with gitty as magic pencils inspire the workings of this A+ artist. It is my pleasure to share with you the delightful shop of:

All I have to say is......

Ok, I lied I have more to say than wow.

but a few words from our Artist herself.

Tell us a little something about yourself. Where you from what you do and what you love.....

I am a ..... Doodling Addict & proud to be from the beautiful Pacific NW!

I have two little ones running around which are a constant source of giggles, glee and inspiration. (Convo me about Aly's "Slug Crusade" if you want a good laugh.) My Hubby, dog and garden are my other loves.

I design decorate in Portland, Oregan where I am a teacher by trade and adore it! My focus at the present is raising my girls and being a Mom. I still teach 1 1/2 days a week Computers & Technology at an amazing elementary school just down the street. Got to help put gas in the ol' Subaru.

Your color palette is cheerful and captivating for both the young and the young at heart.

You have a natural nat for the daydreamers and a great eye for artistic imagination

not to mention an awesome illustrator.

Your card creations are simply the eyes into a great picture book very well illustrated with

imaginative lines and dreamy colors.

How did your creative artistry come about?

well I... Started making cards to (as my Hubby would put it) "Do something" with all the doodles I have stacking up. Doodle for me...Is an illness. I even doodle in the carpool line. I think I need help.

Artists are not easily understood thats why we share our passions,visions and stories through our creations.
Continue to create many more great designs because
here at Etsy Greetings we celebrate our artists and their
wonderful works.

All the artwork you see here has been proudly created

by http://www.devinlarson.etsy.com/

Best wishes for a great weekend

your friday feature blogger, Cisne

http://www.cisnexpressions.etsy.com/

Uniquely creative

keep it real - uniquely designed - have it handcrafted

keep it - EtsyGreetings

KillamCreative

Do you know this woman? Well you should!

You're in luck for this woman goes by the name of KilliamCreative and she is todays

friday featured shop artist.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Susan, the mastermind

that runs the KillamCreative shop here on etsy.

Susan is an active creative in the artistic community of Maryland NY.

An amateur photographer, card designer, and paper crafter and a modest woman

above else has fills the emagination with delectable beauties.

But by the looks of her portfolio we can very well see that she is a great designer.

Her creativeness and carisma has certainly found its comfort in the beauties

she creates.

Susan's fascination for piecing projects together is a clear indication

of her photographic sence and ability to capture the moment.

A gift that can be admired in all her works.

Endearing and sweet her cards are simply darling.
If you found delight in Susan's wonderful works

You can find her at

Shop: http://www.killamcreative.etsy.com/

Follow: http://www.killamcreative.blogspot.com/

http://www.killamcreative.com/

This blogpost was inspired by: http://www.killamcreatives.etsy.com/

Brought to you by : http://www.cisnexpressions.etsy.com/

Have it unique, keep it handcrafed, find it here on EtsyGreetings.

Elves in the Attic

As the fall peeks over the horizon we can't help but pull out our list of gifts? no, no, no. Helpers of course. Mr.St.Nick has a north pole full of them and it seems that they have found a new place to scamper to. It seems that they have been spending their time up in the attic. The sound of little feet fill the empty spaces beneath the floor boards above. Shall we see what the

Have been up to? We sure will.

Every creation unique in its direction visually stands on its own charisma.

Completely in its own "parallel universe".

Julie started her creations as a child with the basic creating tools of that time,

good old paper and scissors. A favorite still to many this technique seems to have

flourished her creative nature morpheing into scrapbooking

and has found its way to be shared with the world through card crafting.

Of gothic demise Julie the Elf keeper has flourished in many creative colors and techniques.

I have to say the "dark side" suits her well.

As her creations come together in the attic or as she refers to it as her studiolet

they bring new life to goth design.

Wow, its like i walked into my freshman year. What a "freak".

I must meet her stylist. She's simply ravishing.

Her strokes of chaos otherwise known as her creativeness

to capture the realism is captivating.

Dare I say it ...... Spooky!

Natural attention to detail in a simple and captivating technique keeps

her elves as one of the top creatives of my october list.

So thats where little miss muffit sends her spider to vacation.
As this little spider vacations Julie finds her creatives are best

used to brighten the lives of many families over seas in the

Hero Arts/operation write home.This project is meant to

bring a smile and a warm hello to the families of the armed forces

as they continue to stand strong miles and miles away from each other.

Find out more of this cause by clicking the link below;

http://www.flickr.com/groups/heroarts/discuss/72157624923367320/

I can't get enough of this spider. Hes just too cool for words.

For more great finds from this weeks friday feaured artist

Shop; http://www.elvesintheattic.etsy.com/

Follow; www.facebook.com/elvesintheattic

Thank you to Julie and her Elves in the Attic for making it a

great friday feature. After all its the creatives that make this segment a must read.

Thank you for allowing us to peer into your shop.

Want it fabulous, have it handcrafted

find it here on Etsygreetings

Inspired by: http://www.elvesintheattic.etsy.com/

Written by: http://www.cisnexpressions.etsy.com/

Thepaintedpeepshow.etsy.com

There are things in life that you can't live without. Pets have them, children have them, calendars have special days to have plenty of them. What could these three seperate entities have in common? Why treats, ofcourse. Oh, the simple pleasures in life are what keep the spark in our eye the smile on our faces and the gitty in our laugh. Today's friday featured shop will have you doing all three. It is a treat all its own. I introduce to you a shop of illustrative treats to bring the child out in you. The seal of greatness is poured from the seems of a childhood and has found a home where it is shared with the world in the strands of illustration. I'm pleased to introduce you to

I am the Painted Peep Show

My name is Blake Roberts, I'm a Virgo on the cusp who loves long walks on the beach and grape flavored bubblegum... I kid! But, I do love reading a good folk story on a crisp Autumn day. I love painting or drawing while enjoying a nice glass of red wine. I grew up in Oklahoma, went to school in Georgia, and have lived in Los Angeles and New York. I was just accepted in the Society of Illustrators and work part time (outside of my illustration job). My work has been sold coast-to-coast and internationally.

The Painted Peep Show began with . . .

The first item(s) that started my shop was a series of four Halloween cards. But, I began drawing my own comic books as a small child and would copy and sell them to my classmates. I still sell work in my Etsy store, The Painted Peep Show, and continue to create narrative images. Most of my favorite pieces are children's book style illustrations that, I believe, can be appreciated equally by adults and their kids.

My favorite technique at the moment &

the tool I favor the most in my shop is . .

My favorite technique is probably graphite, but lately I've been more inspired to do watercolor or gouache paintings. And my favorite tool would be my light box... I would be lost without it!

What inspires your creations and what sparks your creativity?

So many things, but here are the most consistent: Halloween, autumn, folk tales, children's books, music...

Name one favorite item from your store & why is it so dear to you?

The Halloween card with the "lonely witch" is my favorite item. I think it tells an interesting, but simple story (or can even be enjoyed on a superficial level). Is she waiting for someone to answer the door, or just disappointed that she was given a toothbrush as a "treat"?
http://www.etsy.com/listing/54255934/set-of-4-illustrated-halloween-blank

What lies ahead for the Painted Peep Show?

Ultimately, I will be doing children's book illustrations. I want to influence young people with my images in the same way that children's books inspired me to draw when I was young.

Find me at . . .

Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop/thePaintedPeepShow
Twitter - https://twitter.com/PaintedPeepShow

Words of Wisdom . . . .

Never stop telling stories and using that imagination! And, to my fellow Crafters/Artists/Sellers, remember, everything you create is yours. Don't be discouraged by slow months. If you're getting down on your work, step back and reassess why you do what you do (and who you're really doing it for).

This friday feature has been inspired by: http://www.thePaintedPeepShow.etsy.com/


shared with you by: http://www.cisnexpressions.etsy.com/



Keep it fabulous .. keep it crafty.. Etsy Greetings

Paper Path

In my daily treasury ventures I came across some great treasuries in which I found one of our very own members, Rachel Smith of Paper Path.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c25732e778c6d91722991d7/traces
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c3b07a678206d91c4ad10cc/blue-and-red-with-no
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c3b0084cff58eef5a11874b/you-heart-me-like-red
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c2d22a624d48eef0e875d34/feeling-bookish?index=3

Rachel's artwork is a vision in motion of artistic delight. Her pieces liven the sences as abstract and aestetic illustrations collaborate into works of {art}istic mechanics.

Today she is sharing her love and wisdom with us. We are glad to have her.

{ Tell us a little about yourself }

My name is Rachel Smith and I am currently living in Idaho with my husband, Taylor and two cats. I love to zip around on our scooter, take photos with vintage film cameras and scour thrift stores for inspiration. I{'m} about to begin my third, and final year of graduate school and will finish with my Master’s in Fine Art. I am particularly drawn to things that are left over by society and repurposing those items to create new implications and contexts by reorganizing preexisting images, texts, texture, etc. My etsy shop, Paper Path, is a nice reprieve from some of the tedium of studying and stress of graduate school. I have found it to be a great creative outlet that challenges me in a completely different way than my fine art installations and collages. I am enjoying the challenge of making cards, collages and crafts that are not oriented around a gallery setting, but still creative with a small business twist.

{ What was the first craft project that began your Etsy venture? }

I have been making art for as long as I can remember. So to be perfectly honest my first item that started my craft was crayons applied to my parents’ living room walls. Now a days found objects and materials motivate most of my artwork. I am constantly collecting bits and pieces that are discarded by people. I’ve always made unique gifts and cards for my friends and family and when I discovered etsy it was a perfect way to expand my audience and make a {profit} off of my craft.

{ What is your primary technique & what tool do you favor the most in your shop }

I work primarily in mixed media/collage. My process is "cut + paste" making my favorite tools glue and scissors and lots and lots of collecting. I collect papers of all kind. Anything I encounter in my day-to-day life, travels and thrift store hunting can become fodder for my next project.

{ What inspires your creations and what sparks your creativity? }

Memories and nostalgia play a huge role in inspiring my work. Found objects and imagery are essential to my work, because I feel that such items retain traces of past ownership, which directly reference memories. I am also drawn to imagery representing systems. Maps, anatomy illustrations, sewing patterns and grids are items that I’m constantly using.

{ Name one favorite item from your store and why is it so dear to you? }

http://www.etsy.com/listing/49119721/storybook-collage
This collage is currently my favorite item on my shop, because I feel like it encapsulates everything that I want my work to be about. I find the tension between intimacy and exposure of the found images and texts to reference ideas of personal and collective memories already embedded in the items while continuing to create a new narrative.

{ What are your future goals for you personally and as a crafter? }

My future goals are to finish up my final year of graduate school with a strong show and thesis next spring. Sometime in the future I would love to start a gallery and restaurant with my husband who is a chef. What’s better together than food, wine and art! As for my shop I would really like to continue to expand it to include a wider variety of handmade paper items. I would also like to start to incorporate more of my fine art collages and projects into my store.

{ Find This Weeks Featured Shop @ }

etsy store paper path:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/paperpath

as well as my blog paper trail:
http://rachelsmithart.blogspot.com/

{ special advice, comments, wisdom from this weeks featured shop }

Keep colleting, creating and caring.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Inspired by Paperpath.etsy.com

Created by www.Cisnexpressions.etsy.com

{ keep it real ~ keep it handcrafted ~ keep it Etsy Greetings }

Fiona Designs

Good day to you all from Etsy Greetings!

Today we have a treat of a bargain and another fine shop to share with you.

Fiona Designs' cards has been featured in many treasuries on etsy and I'm happy to say she is now gracing us with her passion, expertise and great cards. She has been featured on the following treasuries
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c3a08749be26d910a3f70b2/typographical?index=0
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c36e486a4088eeff9662230/bubblegum
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c31edb88c818eef948f6ffa/a-profuse-of-chartreuse

and she continues to share her passions through her thoughts, feelings and expressions of color and sentiments in her wonderful cards. See her work in the treasuries above or in her shop but today she is found with us here at Etsy Greetings. She is curently offering great items at great prices in the latest christmas in July Etsy sale. What a great beginning to what has begun a bargain weekend. Great deals aside here on Ety Greetings fridays is the best way to get to know your favorite shop owners. Therefore I am pleased to introduce you to Fiona the mastermind, designer, creater, amongst other things, shop owner of Fionadesigns located athttp://www.fionadesigns.etsy.com/ .

{ Tell us a little about yourself...}

{ I am a } Stationery Designer . Artist . Graphic Designer . Photographer . Knitter.
I am a graphic designer and an artist, designing stationery and greeting cards, and also have corporate experience as an art director at a Fortune 1000 company. I earned an MFA in 2000 from Parsons School of Design. Designing stationery is what I am passionate about. Creating sentiments and then placing them on the page until I am happy with the layout is enjoyable and satisfying. Then it's on to color (and Pantone swatches!!) and finally picking that perfect shimmery envelope to color coordinate with the design. I am relatively new to etsy and I am thoroughly enjoying the etsy greetings team and am slightly (okay - really) addicted to creating treasuries which I have only recently discovered.

{ What was the first item{s} that started you in your craft? }

There were actually two holiday cards that got me started.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/48580760/holly-jolly-jolly-greeting-card
http://www.etsy.com/listing/48572672/noel-greeting-card

{ What is your favorite technique at the moment

and what tool do you favor the most in your shop? }

The tool that I use most often is my computer - I am a huge Mac fan. I also would be lost without all the wonderful typefaces and quality printing businesses out there!

{ What inspires your creations and what sparks your creativity? }

So many things inspire me - the loved ones in my life especially - many of the sentiments on the cards were created with them in mind. From a visual perspective I am constantly inspired and in awe of nature, flowers, birds, landscapes, you name it. I love taking photographs that you can see on my blog. Knitting and painting pet portraits in acrylics also really sparks my creativity.

{ Name one favorite item from your store and why is it so dear to you? }

It's so difficult to pick a favorite but the most meaningful design is "welcome to the world oh sweet little one" as it was created with my newborn niece in mind at the time.

{ What are your future goals, personally and as a shop owner/crafter? }

I want to continue to expand xed notes and flats are coming soon! A card will be posted every day in July in conjunction with Fiona Designs' "Christmas in July Sale."

{ Let us know where we can find you .. etsy .. facebook... blog... etc. }
http://fionadesigns.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/FionaDesigns
http://www.fionadesigns.com/


{Any special advice, comments, wisdom or thank yous you would like to share with pur readers?}
I want to say thank you to the etsy greetings team for this opportunity!

There you got it folks simple and sweet down to the core.

This has been another delightful Etsy Greetings day

Until next time { keep it real keep it handcrafted keep it Etsy Greetings}

Signing off ~ Cisnexpressions

Cisnexpressions.etsy.com

Isabellaflora

Isabellaflora.etsy.com

When hearts & hands come together we get dynamic duos of life love and family. This Etsy duo is simply inspiring through the works of their hands and mutual insight of .

I'm speaking of the wonderful creatives of Isabellaflora.

{ http://www.isabellaflora.etsy.com/ }

A shop of colorful beauty & the botanical affection of a brush on canvas.

Art is brought to life here in the wonderfull world of Isabellaflora where

a father and daughter share their wonderful lives through the inspirations of creation.

At the beginning there was one and then there was craft hour. As time progresssed and brushes were filled with piers of color..... well I will let Eve tell her story. She tells it the best.

So tell us about yourself and your shop IsabellaFlora? How did the delights of Isabellaflora find its way to Etsy?

{It al started with} My first watercolor {which I } painted about 3 years ago when my girlfriend suggested I give it a try. I'm so glad I did!! The dreamy colors from the paint and the way they interact get me so excited!! I've always been drawn to the ethereal nature of watercolor. In the meantime, my Father, who is now 92 years old, presented me with some fantastic photos of flowers. We decided to collaborate, and have had fun ever since. He started photography in 1928 so there has been a long passion for his hobby. It started with a little black box that only took 1 image at a time. Now he has 3 digital cameras and is wizard at photoshop.

Everything beginnings somewhere, that something begins it all. What was your very first Etsy creation and what inspired it?

One of my first successful paintings was my Morning Glory. I've never had a lesson in my life but I think I inherited creative genes from both my Mother and Father.I've found that our greeting cards are a good way to share beauty with the world.

As we peer into your shop we find an array of beauty.

Where do you find your visual inspirations?

There is no question that flowers, leaves and all things botanical sparks my creativity. I am a botanist and have always been very tuned into the outside world and the plants that surround us. Flowers are a universal language.

Every creation has its own story and every creation has a special part of us with in it. What is your favorite creation in your shop?

This is difficult, but if I had to pick a favorite, then the Pink Petticoats by my Father (http://www.etsy.com/listing/20172700/pink-petticoats-card). I have it hanging in my bedroom so I enjoy it everyday.



As we continue to create we can't help to set goals for ourselves and our shops.

What creative goal can we expect to see incorporated into your shop?

My goal is have my cards sold in every state. I also just started to convert my watercolor images into fabric so I can also use the patterns on tote bags, purses, and scarves. It's been really exciting to see this happen.

Etsy Greetings is a truly dynamic group of visionaries with great talents. As we offer many exciting and new items to the world we have found ourselves in the best company supporters of each other. Offering great advice to one another as well as a ciber shoulder to cry on.

We contine to insight in loving advice. What is your advice to the Etsy greetings group?

The best advice I can give to everyone out there is get personal with all potential clients. This means phone calls and letters to basically stay in touch. I have met many wonderful shop owners. And.... like my Father says.... keep a positive attitude!!!!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to share my story with etsy greetings!I think this team is wonderful.
Cheers!
Eve

No, Thank you Eve for sharing such wonderful works of arts with not only us but the world. The love of a daughter and father holds true as it has completely been poured out into your great artisic pieces. They are wonderful insights of the inspiring bond that makes Isabellaflora delightfully wonderful. May god bless you, your father and your shop for sharing it with us.

Thank you for such a wonderul story.

Continue to inspire ~ Regret no first step ~ Follow into the dimension of many great steps toward greatness Sincerely, Cisnexpressions

www.cisnexpressions.etsy.com