I (HEART) ETSY

I admit it!... I am totally NUTS about Etsy!!

As a "Maker of Things" at Heart, I have sometimes wondered if other people were as obsessed with creating colorful arts & crafts from simple everyday materials as I am. I love everything about colors & textures and taking what's at hand & making "something out of nothing!" The process of creating simply fascinates me!

So, you can imagine my great delight to first learn of Etsy's Handmade Market Place! Suddenly I had access to an incredible, ever-changing online gallery of creativity from around the globe! What's more, I could learn about other artists & crafters like me, and virtually "peek over their shoulders" as they skillfully create their wares.

I find it so inspiring & encouraging to have found so many other "Makers of Things" in this world!... And I'm grateful to know there are so many others like me who share the joys of creativity!! 

The art & handcrafts above were created by Etsy sellers whose colorful & whimsical work I admire!   :)

ARTFUL RESOLUTIONS

"Carolina Snowfall"

I'm not one to make New Year's Resolutions... Unfortunately, I've learned from past experience that I don't follow through very well on my best intentions!

But this year I hope will be different for me! I'm feeling the need to define what I'm doing art-wise better & simplify, simplify, simplify!! I want to clean out my studio & make it a cozy place to create (instead of a cluttered place just to store art supplies!). I want to step away from my computer & rediscover the joys of quiet time set aside just for sketching and journaling.

Most of all, I want to listen to my own heart & create art that reflects ME... and pleases GOD.


** As YOU enter the New Year, what are YOUR Artful Resolutions?... and how do you hope to achieve them???

Perhaps we can encourage one another as we grow as artists in the coming year!!

Too Cute To Spook!

"Too Cute To Spook!"

I have such fond memories of eagerly dressing up in home-made costumes and visiting neighbors for candy, doughnuts, and hot apple cider on Halloween night! Mom and Dad always walked along with us, chatting with friends, as we went house-to-house with our buddies.

Today, my husband and I are the neighbors who wait at the door with a huge basket of candy and a big welcome for the children! I always look forward to the adorable parade of princesses and pirates, firemen and fairies, cute bumblebees and baby pumpkins! :)

Wishing y'all a fun and family-friendly Halloween!! :)

CHOOSING SIMPLICITY

"Amish Quilt"

For most of my college years, I had the privilege of attending a small, Christian college nestled in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I'd come there to study Nursing; and, like most college students, I'd come at a time in my life when I was figuring out my own beliefs and values.

This was no ordinary college, for it had its' roots firmly planted in the soil and heritage of the Mennonite community . I had no idea when I enrolled as a student (so many years ago!) that I was also about to embark on a cross-cultural journey...

One of the life-changing lessons I learned while in college was the value of living more-with-less. I gradually began to discover that living simply was a deeply held value for the Mennonite community. These were people who thought globally and acted locally. They talked about being good stewards of the earth. They helped me see how a minority of the world's people live affluently, while a great majority of others live every day in poverty. They challenged me to develop a lifestyle that focused on service instead of accumulation. They showed me how to think "outside the box" about recycling, reusing, and renewing our worlds' limited resources. They helped me discover the value of living in community.

I will forever be thankful for my years living among the Mennonites!! Their teachings about simplicity and the way in which they modeled a lifestyle of more-with-less influence who I am and how I live to this very day.


My cooking "Bible" continues to be "The More With Less Cookbook" by Doris Jansen Longacre (c) 1976 Herald Press.

BLOGGING >"< CAATS

One of the unexpected JOYS! I've experienced from selling my artwork on eBay has been discovering the large and diverse eBay Art Community. Many artists, creating in a wide variety of media, sell their artwork as Self-Representing Artists (SRA) on eBay.

These artists "meet" each other and interact together in eBay groups ~ some large, some small, and some focused on certain art topics.

I am a member of several eBay art groups; but my favorite BY FAR is CaaT (Complementary Art And Things). CaaT is a supportive group of artists who seek to help each other learn and grow, both as artists and as successful business people.

Since many artists are now turning to blogging in order to bring their art and their thoughts to the public, CaaT has recently started its' own Blog Theme Group. Each week we will be representing in some creative way that week's blog topic. Some may write or paint or collage or sculpt or capture the spirit of the theme with photography. The interpretation of the theme is entirely up to each artist's very unique imagination! :)

Up to this point, I've been illustrating my blog posts with my own original artwork. I LOVE the idea of creating a blog in this way!! The reality of this approach for me, however, is that, with the crazy~busyness of life, time for artmaking sometimes gets squeezed out. As a result, my blog updates have been few and far between.

And so, I'm embracing something new.... I will still try to illustrate my entries ~ afterall, that's part of what makes blogging FUN for me! But, I may also sneak in a few unillustrated posts now and again. Who knows?... I may even have to try my hand at photography!

No matter what form blogging may take for me from here on, I look forward to joining with fellow artists on this one-of-a-kind creative journey!!