Friday Feature! DZ Fantasy!

Its time for another Friday Feature! Donna from dzfantasy.etsy.com ! Donna creates whimsical woodland fairies, that are all one-of-a-kind! Such beautiful colors in her work. I particularly love the Green Leaf Diva! Take a peek at her shop, you may find the perfect gift!

What a cool necklace! You can wear it so many ways!

What pretty colors!





What led you to create your craft?
I love color, nature and fantasy! Even when I was a little girl I was fascinated with "fantasy", fairies and other magical creatures. It wasn't until about 13 years ago that I started designing cloth dolls, where I designed and created their clothes. After about 3 years of doing that style of cloth dolls, I switched to smaller more fantasy type creations,always being inspired by nature and color. As the years passed, my creations have evolved into what you see today....one-of-a-kind fantasy figures of cloth, with handdrawn, needlesculpted, hand painted faces on silk. I design and create all of my own patterns. I continued to refine my designs throughout the years so that I could get accepted into the better art shows which I have been doing for the past 8 years. I have to laugh now when I think of what my first creation looked like. lol!

What do you find the most rewarding and the most challenging about your craft?
I think the most rewarding part of being able to create my fantasy figures, is the look on people's faces when they stand in my booth at an art show, and smile!! It is always so rewarding to have past customers come back and collect another one of my creations, and tell me how good they make them feel. 

The most challenging part of creating is finding the quality fabric, yarns, accessories and tools that I need to create my designs. It seems like it is getting harder and harder to find what I need. I now buy most of what I need via the internet.

Do you have any advice for other crafters?
The best advice I can give to anyone who wants to create is to "create what brings joy to YOU", not what you think people will buy or want. If you are creating for the "joy" of it you will never get tired of what you are doing. The joy and passion that you put into your creations will then be reflected to others who see your work. One comment that I hear the most often at art shows is..."you are so lucky, to be able to create these figures", and I tell them, "I am". The people always answer back...."it shows!"

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to read, take walks in nature, photography, but I'd have to say most of my time is spent in some way connected to my art. It is my passion!!

Favorite color: I LOVE all colors...especially blends of rainbow colors.
Favorite movie: I don't spend much time watching or going to movies, but my Favorite movie years, and years ago was the AFRICAN QUEEN. Now that really dates me!
Favorite music: Country
Favorite Vacation Spot:  I love the Black Hills of South Dakota!


I hope you enjoyed this Friday Feature!  :)

Friday Feature - Eclectic Skeptic!!

Its time for another Friday Feature! Fellow EART Team member, Cathy from eclecticskeptic.etsy.com ! Please check out her shop, she has many unique pieces that would make great gifts! 


This beautiful bookmark would make a lovely gift for a friend who loves books!

I love these Psychedelic Gazelle Note Cards, perfect for all occasions!

And how cute are these earrings??

What led you to create your craft?
Since I work with a lot of different mediums, this is a difficult answer. Both of my parents encouraged my creativity through projects and by example. I had some wonderful high school art teachers and learned a lot about drawing, painting, making jewelry and designing and constructing sets. My mom gave me a Pentax K1000 SLR when I was in high school and you can see my love of photography reflected in the altered photos of my note cards and bookmarks. As far as the emphasis on flying pigs or pigasi in my shop, EclecticSkeptic, I guess I can blame that on a group of friends that enjoy the aerial porcines.

What do you find the most rewarding and the most challenging about your craft?
I love to see the puzzle pieces come together into a cohesive whole. This can be a matter of picking out the different beads, charms, chains and other components and fashioning them into earrings, necklaces, keychains, etc. or taking photos and then cropping and altering them to come up with pleasing compositions.

Do you have any advice for other crafters?
Hopefully if you are participating in a craft as a hobby or as a business, it is something that you enjoy. To me the creative process is a wonderful thing and the reward is the finished product. However, if you don’t enjoy the process, it can become drudgery and who needs more of that? So my advice is find something that you have fun with and that you find rewarding. 

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I enjoy being outside, whether that is working in or enjoying my gardens or strolling along a nature trail.

Randoms about you!
Favorite color
That probably depends on my mood or what pretty color just caught my attention. 

Favorite movie
As for favorite movies and music, I can’t say I have ever been able to answer that question.  

Favorite vacation spot
I love destinations that allow you to enjoy nature. That can be the beach, the mountains or spaces in between.

I hope you enjoyed this Friday Feature  :)

Friday Feature - Inspiration Recycled!

Its time for another Friday Feature! I've got an awesome shop to share with you, from a fellow EART Team member... inspirationrecycled.etsy.com! Please check out her shop, she has many unique pieces that would make great gifts! 
Wouldnt this beautiful card be perfect to send to a friend?




And I love this Autumn Leaves Tea Infuser! How creative!!




What led you to create your craft?
I've always loved to create things, and over the years I have learned how to create jewelry, crochet, do beadweaving, collage, wet felt, needle felt, embroidery... I'm probably forgetting one or two, but you get the idea. I
love to learn new crafts! Most of what is in my shop is the result of fusing two or more crafting modalities together. The tea balls, which are my best selling items, are a result of the above plus my tea snobbery. Loose tea tends to be better than tea bags, but requires more accessories. Most tea infusers are either very utilitarian or else too cute for my taste, so I started making my own.

What do you find the most rewarding and the most challenging about your craft?
I love playing with colors and textures! The time it takes to get high quality pictures of each item can be frustrating, though.

Do you have any advice for other crafters?
Keep doing what you love, keep trying new things, and keep having fun.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
My more normal hobbies include trying my hand at more time consuming craft projects (I am currently learning to crazy quilt) and riding my bicycle everywhere. Stranger activities include fantasy role playing and practicing my earth based spirituality.

Randoms about you!
Favorite color
green!

Favorite movie
Nightmare Before Christmas. I watch is at least once per holiday season!

Favorite music
modern folk music!


Favorite vacation spot
Tough call. Probably Arizona, but Cape Cod is a close second.


I hope you enjoyed this Friday Feature  :)

Friday Feature!!

I would like to introduce a wonderful etsy seller and fellow Eclectic Artisans Team member, Michelle from her etsy shop, MichellesCharmWorld! 


She has many super cute items in her shop, such as this Lego Fun Bracelet!


and this adorable Sweet Roll and Coffee Necklace!




What led you to create your craft? Going to a private school (uniforms) my entire life, I was pretty limited in ways to express myself. I was tired of seeing the same old thing on all the jewelry shop shelves and desired for brighter, bolder items. Funt hings that would attract attention. I started working on things to wear on the weekends in High School when I would purchase items from the normal chain stores and take them apart to form 1 fabulous piece all while adding in upcycled items from around the house!    

What do you find the most rewarding and the most challenging about your craft? I find time to be the most challenging. I am up until 3am every day while it's silent just so that I can work. I don't like to sacrifice the time I have with my children and husband, so I work when everyone is asleep. I find the completed project most rewarding. To know I made something that makes people smile is a great feeling.  

Do you have any advice for other crafters? work hard and don't give up. IT's so easy to say that you want to throw in the towel when you have no sales, but try different things. Make something different, try different colors, photograph on a different backround. There are so many things to do!! Try it all before you give up.  
 
What do you like to do in your spare time? PLAY!!! I have 3 kids (ages 4,3,2) and I love to play with them, craft with them, build with them and all that! Anything that has us together is fabulous! I love going on dates with my husband and getting away from Mommy & Daddy world and when I'm alone, I love to read!!!

Randoms about you! Favorite color: PINK Favorite movie: Dirty Dancing Favorite music: Country Favorite vacation spot: Walt Disney World!!! (I was even married there!!) 


I hope you enjoyed this Friday Feature  :)