Bead Bugs Marathon

One thing I enjoy about being a part of Etsy is that you get to meet, talk with and make friends with so many people from around the world that you wouldn’t ordinarily get the chance to. For instance Kim, creator and owner of The Artful Salamander.

The art and craft world has been a part of Kim’s life ever since she was young. Her mother is a talented craftswoman who now does traditional bead embroidery and leatherwork for historical costumes. When Kim was younger, her mom had a small business making stuffed animals. Even her family has a strong tradition of making handmade gifts for Christmas and birthdays.

Kim’s Etsy shop is new, but she is not new to selling. Besides Etsy, she also sells her creations at one of the local Farmer’s market where she lives - one of the older sections of Calgary that has lots of trees, a couple of parks and “a friendly neighborhood where people actually talk to each other”. I guess one downfall is that “the weather can be kind of insane”. She also sells at Christmas craft fairs. This works out well for Kim as she had returned to school for a degree in Psychology and needed a flexible way of earning money, and to keep her grounded.

Kim heard about Etsy “through the Craftser forums, it’s perfect for my needs right now – and there’s the bonus of meeting yet another community of creative, vibrant people”. How very true! With the daunting research of what it would take to sell via a personal website (shopping cart, secure payment system, etc.) Kim obviously selected Etsy. Good choice Kim!

The Artful Salamander, Kim’s Etsy shop, has some very unique ”beaded art, jewelry and more”. Her “Bead Bug” pieces are colorful, creative and very realistic, if I don’t say so myself (don’t worry, they don’t bite). The shop name is very interesting to me - this is what Kim had to say about how she came up with her shop name: ”Salamander Designs” was something I started using several years ago when I had some wall quilts in a friend’s shop. I was working with a research and conservation project on amphibians at the time, and I’ve also always loved the medieval alchemist’ conception of the salamander as a Fire Elemental – such a contrast between that and the humble reality”.

Unfortunately when she went to register her domain, there was already a “Salamander Design” out there, but they sell office furniture – that’s a far cry from the creative work that she makes. So, Kim came up with “The Artful Salamander” – I think that is a fabulous name!

We are all inspired by one thing or another. When asked what inspires her, she said “what doesn’t?” Nature sparks her imagination, talking with other artists & crafters, magazines, browsing through beads shops, etc. Sometimes she even awakens with every detail in mind of what to make!

If you think this doesn’t keep her busy enough, she aspires to become a Counseling Psychologist. What are her plans? I couldn’t word this better myself: “It’s fairly likely that I will end up with a practice that looks like a cross between a craft studio and a bike/outdoor outfitter’s shop – I believe strongly that connecting to the physical and natural world is crucial to keeping ourselves in balance, as human beings. Maybe a book one day…”

Make sure to check out Kim’s Etsy shop and her main website blog at www.theartfulsalamander.com. You will be amazed at the detail of her work!

Happy Monday and Peace to all,
☼ Rocki

Yes, you can forget how to ride a bike “ow” (that was 3 years ago), but that isn’t going to stop Kim from one of her goals this summer to complete at least one brevet (bike ultra marathon) with the Alberta Randonneur Association: http://www.albertarandonneurs.com/

Friday Tidbits

April Showers Bring May Flowers

I'm working on an article this weekend for Monday's big blog roll. I'm very excited about it and am sure you will enjoy it too - it is about a fellow Etsian! In the meantime, thought I would show you some of my new creations (shameless self promotion) and then leave you with a little quote.

Above is my April Showers Bring May Flowers earrings. I'm creating more new earwire designs and I'm having a blast! This pair is dangling from a smaller version of my Elfin Earwires. I will soon be offering these handmade earwire supplies in my shop!

Teeny Tiny Elf Hooks - Sterling Silver Earrings or Nose Ring

Yep, I am adding nose rings to my shop. I wonder why? This tiny pair looks so cute as a single earring, but works either way. You can read more about my Teeny Tiny Elf Hooks here.

I wish you all a rockalicious (my new favorite word, found it in the 'Rocki' dictionary), happy and enjoyable weekend. Please be kind to yourself and everyone you come in contact with.

Peace and love to all.

Have a happy day!

☼ Rocki

Portable Mini Portfolio

Mark surprised me for Mother’s Day and bought me this cool digital photo keychain! (It was a total surprise because we had celebrated it on Saturday with some friends and I already received my gift). If you know me, you know how much I love photos, especially of my kids, Mark, family and friends. In fact, my house is full of pictures: walls, tables, albums, computer, fridge, shoe boxes, etc.

I don’t collect many ‘things’, but I admit that I do have a thing for unique photo frames. I’m pretty easy to buy for. Last year for my birthday my son Jason bought me a table top digital photo frame that is perfect when doing craft shows and events. You can showcase your work, studio, work in progress, etc., all at your table. Most people are drawn towards animation and that makes this one the perfect ticket item for your table – instant crowd!

Oh, back to the keychain. Mark knows that I’m not big on expensive items and am a frugal shopper. So, after he told me how much it was, I told him that I have to share this with my friends! There is a big variety of photo keychains to select from ranging in price from around $13 - $50, with the average price around $24 or so. There are different shapes (even hearts), sizes, colors, etc. This one holds 60 pictures and is super easy to download from your computer – I mean SUPER easy.

After downloading some pictures I had an idea. Now I know this isn’t a new invention and I’m sure others are probably doing it, but I wanted to share my idea all the same...

This would make a fabulous portable mini portfolio! It’s kind of awkward to carry around a portfolio and/or your creations while hiking through the zoo, jogging through the park, grocery shopping with the kids, and so on. But with this handy little gadget you can download your work, clip it right to your purse, jogging shorts or baby’s pacifier (well, scratch that one) and have it ready to show in a flash! When you hand out a business card you can give them a little taste of what you do, right there on the spot! This could make them visit your shop sooner than later. You know what they say: ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’.

I think I’m going to treat myself to a belated Mother’s Day gift and pick up another photo keychain. This way I can have one for my family & friends, and the other one for my mini portfolio.

Make sure to have plenty of business cards on hand!

Happy Monday everyone!

☼ Rocki

p.s. I think I'm going to embellish my keychain a little and add a few rocks n beads ;)

Weird. That's all I can say.

I went to the grocery store the other day to pick up a few things. While selecting my fresh veggies something strange caught my eye. I looked at it and then quickly turned away while barely pushing my cart. I stopped. I simply had to investigate this.

My first thought was that it looked like a, well, um… never mind. My second thought was that it looked like this huge deformed finger. I nonchalantly looked around to see if anyone was watching then carefully picked it up.


I wasn’t sure if I was on candid camera and being laughed while turning this thing all around in my hands while trying to figure out. Then a thought entered my mind “I wonder how this would work as a new ring display.” Then I noticed some other details of it that REALLY made it stand out. I started to giggle then set it back down. I tend to have a warped sense of humor and the way the past few weeks have been, well, this was a welcome bit of humor – even if I was the only one laughing.
The sign said “Ruby Crescent Potato”, but this sure didn’t look like any potato I’ve ever seen. Inside I started to sing “one of these things is not like the others…” I knew what I had to do, but no way was I going to bag this little guy up all by himself - that would surlely look strange. Again, I looked around and no one was looking, so I quickly grabbed a handful of them (normal ‘fingerling’ potatoes that is), stuffed them in the bag, carefully put it in my cart (didn't want to break him) and left the veggie isle so fast that I think I left tire marks.
To end this sick and twisted story… obviously I took photos of it (weird, I know), measured it (5 ½”, yes I know, REALLY weird) and then stuck it in the fridge. It’s still in there - standing up with the help of a little sticky pad I put it on. It’s kind of creepy when you open the fridge actually. Oh, we did eat the other ones - very tasty.
I wonder what this would go for on Ebay?
Happy Friday!
☼ Rocki

All Fired Up

I came across a very cool and unique Etsy shop the other day when I was looking for glass items to put in a Treasury I was working on. I knew I had to blog about it, so I contacted Lisa Rippee, the owner/creator of Cloud Eleven. I’m glad I did as I believe I’ve made a new friend.

I’m a firm believer that challenges and events change the course of your direction in life (I speak from experience). A stressful job as a juvenile intake and assessment specialist took up most of Lisa’s time. I can only imagine her stress! Long hours and overnight shifts isolated her from friends and family. Then one day in March of 2005 Lisa picked up a torch. Hot glass became her therapy, obsession, meditation, passion, and the perfect vehicle for her creative expression. Who needs a therapist when you have a torch!

Lisa has a studio in her home, in Kansas City metropolitan area (on the Kansas side). Her home is small & colorful, and some describe it as eccentric (I would love to see it!). She enjoys listening to music while creating, but in the beginning she only listened to instrumental Jazz “while learning the rhythm of the glass dance” (how poetic!). The Beatles, Zepplin and Mary J. Blige are in her CD player right now. Right on!

When asked what inspires her, this is what Lisa had to say: “Anything that elicits a strong emotional response would probably be the short answer. Everyday moments that make me smile or laugh usually find their way into my creations. The social issues that I’m passionate about show themselves as well. My muse is very in tune with my moods."

Lisa’s creations are fun, amazing and full of life. There is a big variety as well: Wine Stoppers, Vessels, Magnets, Focal Beads, Sculptural Glass Vessels and more. I especially love the blown-out mouth vessels as they are so realistic (many have uvulas!) In fact, I bought the Make Me Smile vessel (the one at the top of this post) and can hardly wait until he arrives!

Oh! Lisa eventually left the high stress job. Her torch therapy led her to a part-time job at a local stained glass shop called Bearden’s Stained Glass and eventually a shop on Etsy. How did she come up with her Etsy buisness name? When she first started flame working, every time she turned around it was 1:11, 11:11, etc. So, she figured she was on the right track of making her dream come true and since hot glass had her “beyond cloud nine”, she simply had to name her business Cloud Eleven.

Just goes to show that when you get all fired up about life’s challenges, you can turn them around into something spectacular!

Happy day everyone!
☼ Rocki

P.S. Lisa sees dead people. I do too, but I’m not telling anyone ;)

Kiss My Gorgeous...

GLASS!

I don't know how I got so lucky, but I scored another Treasury -

that's 2 in one week - a record for me... woo hoo!

If you would like to see some fabulous and talented fellow Etsian's,

check out my Kiss my gorgeous... treasury!

The colorful picture above is one of Vicki Leigh's talented creations:

Circular Bubbles Stained Glass Window Panel

Happy day everyone!
☼ Rocki