31Summers...

Sad time for the whole family

You just wouldn't believe what has been going on with my family lately. My Granny and my PawPaw are both in the hospital!!!!!!!!! Granny has been there for over a month now but thank goodness is feeling and looking so much better. We are praying she will come home in a couple of weeks. My Grandfather is now stable and should be able to go back to the nursing facility by the end of the week we hope.

This has been a long hard road for the whole family. Granny was PawPaw's caretaker for so long, I don't think any of us had any idea exactly how hard she worked everyday caring for him.

Anyway, the point of my post is that you just don't realize how much you depend on certain things until they are not there anymore.

This is Granny with my girls a couple of Christmases ago.

I didn't go see Granny as much as I should have but at least once a month I would go and spend most of the day with her. It was my time to regroup and settle. We always had a great time, we would of course discuss the latest family drama and news. But we would also talk about the latest craft, beading or sewing project. I think most of my creativity comes from her. She can sew like no tomorrow, make dresses and clothing better than anything you would find in a store.

I miss her and our visits, I hope she comes home soon, I will keep praying.

I have exciting news...

I have been excepted as part of the "Watch Me Create". This is the greatest blog! It blogs the creative process. I hope that this venture will open up a whole new world of creativity to me. I think that actually having to analyze and think about my creative process will make, well, more creative.

I have many new things happening right now. I already teach classes at "Obsessions" and hope that I have laid the proper ground work for a new teaching gig in the near future. 

The creative juices have also been flowing. More out of necessitie than anything else. I have collected too many beads, who thought there could ever be too many?????? Well, I like to be able to see everything I have when I get the creative spark. I now have too much to see all at once and it is driving me CRAZY. I am forcing myself to use some of those beads that have been hanging around forever. Hey, I need to make room for more you now.

I will leave you with a pic of one of my latest things.........

  

And these are a few of my favorite things....

                                                                         on

ETSY

 of course....

 This gorgeous vessel is from MoUo whom I just recently discovered on etsy. I plan on keeping an eye on her shop. I love the way she plays with color and crazy shapes. The name......my goodness what does that name mean you ask??? Read her intro to get the full story but it stands for Museum Of Useless Objects. Of course I don't see her items as useless. They could hold my handmade rings, small gifts and all sorts of tiny treasures. 

 

I am loving the birds on wires right now. Although there are many different renditions of the "Bird on a Wire" concept on Etsy right now some just stand out you know. This is one of those ways that I know I have very eclectic or scattered taste. I am in love with this I think because of its simplicity. This cutie belongs to Art and Philanthropy go check her out.

This is another favorite "Bird on A Wire" series. As you can see there is also simplicity here but entertwined into all three of these is the complexity in the sky colors. This makes me relaxed, like maybe it should be hanging over my bed in my bedroom that I am getting ready to redo. HINT, HINT hubby. You can find this at OneStepBeyond70's etsy shop.  

Being the jewelry maker that I am you should know there would be beads or jewelry in my favorites post. These babies came from Ginnovations. You really must check out her shop even if you are not a jewelry designer or beader. The color combos and shapes will spark you creativity whatever your craft. These beads seem to call me......Ohhhh' Dana, buy me please. Maybe I will listen when I get paid....

 

Check out the quilling, man this is almost what I would consider a lost art. But this gorgeous thing makes me maybe, maybe??????? No, I can not pick up another craft, I just don't have room or time or money!!! Well maybe I do, just some paper and glue right?????? Not only is the quilling awesome but those who know me also know that Cat's are my thing.... Twirled Treasures is a newbie on etsy, show her some love please...

Even though my baby days are through, I have been in baby mode lately. Two of my co-workers have had gorgeous daughters in the past month. These baby bootties are perfect. Not only are they warm and soft but they are apple green. I love it. This pattern and others are available from Monpetitviolon.

 

Hope everyone had a great holiday....

 Hope everyone had a great holiday. I did, very tiring but great.

My hubby helped me rearrange my work room and I love it. So the ideas just flowed and I got a few new things to go on etsy. Please go check out my first design of the new year.

31Summers...

  

On a sad note

My goodness this has been the strangest Thanksgiving!!! I hope everyone's was good and that you got to spend lots of time with those you love.

I did get to spend time with my family, got to see everyone that I wanted to but I did get a bit of bad news on Thanksgiving. My best friendlost her Mom that evening. It was very sudden and VERY unexpected. She had a massive heart attack. I was dumbfounded to say the least. I had spoken to her on the phone just about a week before hand. She was always very upbeat and quirky on the phone. You always hung up smiling.

One of the reasons I am talking about this is because my friend and her Mom were just getting to know one another again. Her Mother had run out on the family when she was just a young teenager, so they have been estranged for years. From what I understand she wasn't the most pleasant Mother to live with either. Over the last year my friend had decided to try and reconnect with her Mom. To try and salvage some sort of relationship. Her Mom was very open to that but wanted to just pick up where they left off like nothing ever happened. It wasn't that easy for her daughter. She needed answers and apologies and closure on that part of her life. Then she could start to build that relationship.

Now her Mother is gone. She is feeling massive amounts of guilt because she wasn't as willing to just forgive and forget.

How do I feel about this? I don't know how to feel. I don't think my friend should have had to forgive and forget that quickly. I also hate that she is feeling this guilt now. What to do? How can I help her? What do I say? How do I show her that she did nothing wrong and she was doing the right thing by taking those first baby steps to make a connection with a Mother who abandoned her and her siblings?

I am sorry to burden the few people who read my blog with this. More than anything I just needed to talk about it. Advice would be great, your thoughts on the subject? The one thing that I can say for sure is cherish and be thankful for those you love, show them daily how much you care for them and how special they are to you, for tomorrow they could be gone.

Giveaway Time!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone, I hope this week is treating everyone great. I have some good news. I am being featured on the Barefoot-Mommy blog. 

  This blog is so much fun, Krissy the blog owner, features new and upcoming designers of all kinds as well as hosting giveaways on her blog.

As a matter of fact I am also hosting a giveaway. There are many different ways to get your name in the hat for the prize. Please head over to her blog and check out my feature and enter my giveaway!!!

Scroll down to find my post!!!!!!!!!

I have also put a few new things in the shop. Here is a sneak peak, go check them out........

 

 

 

 

Featured Artist

You are just going to love todays featured artist. She has beautiful things in her shop. She is also offering my readers some "freebies" if you mention 31Summers when you purchase.You may want to buy just for the freebies, they usually include either a mini block magnet, a card sample or gift tags. Enjoy!!!!!!!

 

Wendy of

   Wendy Conrad Art

My name is Wendy Conrad and I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia with my husband and 2 rescue dogs, Camille and Elsie. I support local animal rescue groups by donating artwork for auctions, and also have charity sections in my etsy shop. After googling myself I became aware the Wendy Conrad is also a country singer. Who would’ve thunk it?

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I’m a novice wine lover. I enjoy karoke. We love to go hiking with our dogs, even after one of them got lost for awhile on the Appalachian Trail.

How did you first get started creating things?

I can’t remember back that far… I was always making stuff as a kid, from homemade Halloween decorations for our house to pencil drawings of my dad. He’s where I get my creative spirit.

Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.

It starts with an idea in my head. I get them all the time and in every direction! I have to carry around a note pad to write them all down. When I have time to spend in my studio or at the craft table, I get the note pad out and the ideas come rushing back to me. I can’t stop until I have completed the chosen idea. Sometimes they work beautifully, sometimes they are complete disasters. But at least I set them free from my imagination and into the world. I have been taking photographs since 1988 and have been painting consistently since 2007. However, I go where the ideas take me, and I have been experimenting more with mixed media and altered art, as well as making handmade cards.

I am becoming more inspired to use recycled materials in my work. I find uses for things that others might consider useless. This is what gives me the most satisfaction.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

My husband is a painter, so of course there are a few of his paintings that I adore. We also purchased this huge Japanese original painting on ebay for some outrageously low price. It is gorgeous, and whenever I look at it I am taken to another place.

Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.

Wow! That’s a tough one… These are my current faves:

Books- New Earth by Tolle, The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace, anything by Nicholas Sparks

Movies- Shawshank, Life of David Gale, Lion King, American History X

Songs- Gravity by John Mayer, Crash by the David Mathews Band, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlotte Church, Michael Buble, Joss Stone.

Web Sites- majaba.org (of course!), current.com, flickr, google

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?

Be prepared for anything. Be willing to take constructive criticism. Read the Storque. Learn how to take AMAZING photos. Be patient and don’t give up.

How do you promote your work?

Participating in blog features (hehe), flickr, myspace, business cards everywhere, Little Black Boxes, charity auctions, local art shows and festivals.

What are your favorite features on Etsy or the ACE team? What new features would you like to see on either site?

Love the etsy forums and chat rooms (maybe a little too much!). The Storque is also a wealth of information. I would LOVE to be able to schedule new listings, that way you can do an entire week’s worth at once even if you are not going to be by a computer.

In ten years I would like to be?

Doing what I love and living my life free of restrictions.

www.wendyconradart.com

 

www.wendyconradart.etsy.com

Discount offered...................

Connie from

 

is offering all of my readers 25% off all orders if they type 31Summers in the notes to seller. Scroll down two post and check out her artist interview. Don't forget to check out her shop at Zen Design Studios!!!

I am so excited........

I am so excited, my hardware jewelry has been shown on two different websites. I have been working pretty hard to get my name and etsy shop out there and it looks like I may be getting there.

  The first website to feature the story of the hardware jewelry was Whip up. I am sure most of you already know about whip up but just in case you don't. It is the coolest blog featuring all kinds of handmade things and the wwonderful artist who make them. Here is my blog post on Hardware Jewelry.

The second website was the Hallmark blog, they are a lot like Whip up as they also feature gorgeous handmade things. Theyare sponsoring the Carnival of Green Crafts which features crafts from around the blogging community that were upcycled or recycled. My bracelet and earring were included in the group, go check it out, it is the third post from the top. There are lots of beautiful work to gaze at, enjoy your time there.  

Featured artist Monday......

Todays featured artist is..............

Connie

Of

 Connie is also offering 25% off all orders too to all of my readers if they type 31 summers in the notes to seller.

 

Tell us a bit about yourself, name, location, affiliations, and personal stuff.

 

My name is Connie Krebs and I live in Lakewood, Ohio with my husband of almost 5 years and my two daughters who are 4 and 1. I am originally from Amherst, NY and have a BA in dance from Baldwin-Wallace College. I am a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and also hold a Property and Casualty Insurance License for the state of Ohio. I am really into animal rights and am keeper to 4 great tom cats and one newly rescued purebred mutt.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I am a stay at home mom and also teach dance 3 days a week. I teach adult tap, children’s creative movement, cheerleading, and musical theatre. I enjoy being out, especially in the fall! I read every night, love taking our dog to the dog park, and also dabble in a variety of other crafts.

How did you first get started creating things?

I actually started learning about graphic design when I was an insurance agent. I wasn’t dancing and had a lot of pent up creativity, but the only tool I really had a lot of access to was a computer. I was asked to make a couple flyers for various company activities and soon was poring over any tutorial, book, and podcast I could get my hands on about graphic design and business design. From there it just took off and every day I am learning a new technique or getting a new idea for a project.

Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.

When I get a new project I usually can already see in my head a basic design. I don’t sketch anything out or think about it too much, just sort of piece the work together one layer at a time. I use Photoshop mainly although I am starting to get interested in Illustrator. All of my work is done either while the girls are sleeping during nap or after they go to bed, and I always need some sort of background noise. Since most of my work is designing for Etsy shops I first focus on the feel of the shop and what product the store mainly sells. From there I choose a font and graphics that correspond with the look I see for the design. Most times I do 2-3 different designs for the customer to choose from and once a design is chosen we tweak it until we are both happy!

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

Since I do not actually make items my favorite handmade possession thus far from Etsy is a great strawberry tote that was especially designed for me, although a bag scrapbook made by another Etsian is a very close second.

Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.

Book: Granny Dan by Danielle Steel, Movie: City of Angels, Song: Kite by Patty Griffin; Websites: (shopping)

www.wrapables.com; (crafting) www.notmartha.com; (fun) www.phonezoo.com

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?

Get your shop in order before you push your wares, make sure you have all your policies in place, and don’t park in chat rooms, people don’t take well to that.

How do you promote your work?

I hang out in chat rooms a lot, I love to trade which gets me a lot of return customers, and I blog about new items as often as I can. I always carry my own cards that I have designed as well as samples of other cards I have designed for people so I can show all the different styles that I can do. I also have a tendency to pull out my Mommy cards around any woman that might have kids, just in case!

What are your favorite features on Etsy or the ACE team? What new features would you like to see on either site?

I love the chat feature and Alchemy, I am not sure what else could be added to Etsy, there is so much there already!

In ten years I would like to be?

In ten years I would like to be dancing and designing, just as I do today. Maybe have a whole studio devoted at home to both though would be nice… maybe someone can talk to my husband about that?