Etsy Treasuries

I must admit that Etsy is my favorite online shopping experience.  And, I'm not just saying that because I also sell there.  (Warning:  Shameless Plug!!!  Dandelion Designs (dandedesign))  Browsing is easy, searching is fun, and finding treasures is exhilerating.  You can chat with artists and makers, request a custom item, and chat with other Etsy users.  You don't have to be an Etsy seller to sign up and experience everything that Etsy has.

One of the coolest features is Etsy Treasuries.  Treasuries are lists of items curated by an Etsy user.  They are often put together based on a theme, color, or keyword.  For example, here is one of my treasuries that I put together.  See if you can guess the keyword.




It is truly an honor to be featured in a treasury.  As an artist and maker, I really get giddy at the thought that someone searched hundreds of Etsy listings and thought mine was the perfect fit for their treasury.  It's like being featured in a gallery among so many wonderful pieces.  I have been fortunate enough to be featured in several treasuries.  Here are a few:










Be sure to click on these and leave the curators a comment that you saw their treasuries here.  You can even make a purchase straight from the list.  To see all the treasuries that I belong to, or to create one of your own, log on to Etsy and get your shop on!

Sunday Art Therapy #14

I hope all of those who celebrated Thanksgiving this week have had a blessed time with friends and family, managed to travel safely, stuffed yourself with holiday fare, and hopefully was able to be a blessing to someone else.

I also hope you were able to get some crafty creativeness in this week.  I am excited to be featuring Michelle from Mich L. in L.A.  Michelle creates the most amazing jewelry out of the oddest things.  For example, wouldn't you love to have a pair of these?



Courtesy of Mich L. in L.A.

I am a sucker for anything that is (or even looks) vintage.  These chandies are right up my alley.  Who would know that Michelle paired the lovely ornate findings with the plastic centers from........Q-Tips???!!!  I'm not kidding!  Michelle has made gorgeous jewelry from plastic fly swatters, badminton birdies, broken hoses from her car engine, and breath strip packets. 

Michelle is an artist, a visionary, and an engineer.  Oh, to play in that brain of hers. 

Michelle, darlin', you are truly one of my favorite artists and greatest creative inspirations.  Thank you.

So, let's see what your amazing creative minds have been up to.  This week, feel free to post anything your kids or guests may have created during this holiday weekend.  I can't wait to see what you've been up to.

Remember, you can post to both the Flickr group (by clicking the link in the slideshow) and the linky party below.  Please check out each other's projects and leave some comment love.

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1. Waterproof pool jool 2. Catherine

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Wild For Style

The end of the summer does not mean the end of great fashion.  I have added the perfect pieces to take you from the final days of summer right into the new fall fashions.

First, my Millefiori glass necklace is perfect for those late summer days at the lake or back yard parties.  It can be worn as a necklace or as a bracelet

Next, this necklace makes a bold statement with its asymmetrical design featuring a large fucshia shell focal surrounded by animal print ceramic beads.

Lastly, the Girded Silouhette necklace features a large semi-precious black stone wrapped with silver wire in a geometric patter.  The pendant is hung from an 18 inch silver chain.  Perfect by itself, or make an even bigger statement by pairing it with the animal print necklace.

All three of these necklaces feature a handcrafted 20 gauge silver wire hook clasp.  These clasps create great versatility in these pieces.  Use the clasp to hook these pieces onto other chains to create a fashion-forward layered look or to wear the pieces as bracelets, sweater links, or eye glass chains.

Don't wait!  Grab these from my Etsy shop today.  Each piece will arrive in a gift box with coordinating card ready to give to yourself or someone special.

I'm linking to these parties:

All Thingz Related
Anti-Procrastination Tuesday
Tip Me Tuesday
Get Your Craft On Tuesdays

Templates Galore & My First Etsy Sale!

I just made my first sale in my new Etsy shop!  I literally squealed with excitement.  Now I need to worry about packaging.  There are several Etsy articles on the importance of branding and packaging, so I know that I have to set myself apart but still be cost and environment conscious.  So, I've decided to package the 3-strand Ivory Pearl Necklace purchased by a wonderful Etsy shopper in Florida in a pillow box.

Check out these boxes here.

I'd really like to use paper that is embedded with seeds that can be planted like the ones shown here, but I don't have any of that paper handy at the moment.  So, I will pull from my stock of beautiful scrapbook papers and use the template found here.  This link is chocked full of templates for envelopes, cards, and boxes.  Be sure to check them out!!

Receive your own beautiful pillow box filled with beautiful jewelry items from my Etsy shop. Visit me soon at Dandelion Designs.

Finding Inspiration

Do you remember being a kid, laying on the grass and looking up at the sky trying to find familiar shapes in the clouds or stars?

Face in the clouds over Hawaii

Well, I had a similar experience as an adult. I was 24 when I flew on a plan for the first time. As we started our descent into Nassau, Bahamas, I looked through the break in the clouds and could see straight through the clear water to the "face" on the ocean floor. Do you see it?

That trip was 7 years ago. I hadn't thought much about that picture until I saw this beautiful agate pendant listed by one of my favorite suppliers. As soon as I laid eyes on it, all of the memories of that trip and that monumental moment of breaking through the clouds and seeing that beautiful ocean came flooding back.

I have tried several compositions to reflect the beauty of this piece, but none of them have been successful. Even stringing it by itself doesn't work. I can't seem to find a suitable stringing material. I welcome your ideas.

If I use your idea, I will give you 50% off of the finished piece.

Just because I think it's cool, here's another "face" picture for you from another trip to the amazing Atlantis hotel in Paradise Island, Bahamas.  I saw this "face" in rocks that bordered a waterfall at the hotel.

I'm linking to these parties:
         

Etsy Shop Now Open!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. Some of you, like me, are still enjoying it. One productive thing that I did get done this weekend is opening my new Etsy shop. I have been addicted to Etsy for some time now and it's great to be a part of the handmade movement.

So, come on over and visit my shop, Dandelion Designs. Anyone who makes a purchase in the month of July and puts "Seeds" in the notes to seller section will receive a 20% discount. To receive the discount, please wait for a revised invoice from me before paying by Paypal.

Here is a small preview:

Stash Busting: Fern-inspired Necklace

I actually made this necklace a few weeks ago, but I did create it from items in my stash.  I used natural green shell beads and antiqued brass chain to create this lovely 16" necklace.  But, my favorite piece is the steel fern frond that I purchased on Etsy from Black Sheep Beads. 

I have been very inspired by the ferns I've seen this summer.  In the south, you can usually find them hanging from nearly every porch.  I can remember my grandmother bringing her ferns from their winter hibernation spot and hanging them from hooks on her front porch while telling me how they were about as old as me (around 5 at the time) and who she got them from.  Ah, summer.

photo by maryruthrowell on photobucket

I'd love to hear what you think of this project.  I plan on making it available in my Etsy shop opening in July. 

I'm linking up to these parties:

Fiddlehead Ferns:

I am an avid blog reader. One of the blogs that I love to follow is Ruffled. It is a blog for vintage-inspired weddings. I love to see how modern brides are combining colors, textures, DIY projects, etc. I came across a picture of a bride who used fiddlehead ferns in her bouquet and boutonnieres. I loved the graphic nature of them. They have a very modern, simple shape and beautiful colors.

Immediately I began sketching. I wanted to capture their geometry as well as the interesting negative spaces a grouping of them made. I know that a painting is in the future for these guys. My mind also quickly leapt to the jewelry design possibilities. I scanned Etsy to see what others have done with these beauties. I knew that I wanted to make an asymmetrical necklace with a grouping of fiddlehead ferns as a link. I found these gorgeous vintage glass beads from Black Sheep Beads and had to have them.

I used my WigJig Delphi to make the fern shapes from copper wire and paired them with the green beads. Here is the result. This lovely piece will be available in my Etsy store opening in July. 

I’m not finished with this seed of inspiration! Stay tuned to see what’s next.

The Ripple Bracelet

It's definitely summer time in Tennessee, and for us that means weekends spent on the lake.  There is no better place to get inspired.  We've been getting those pop up summer showers on the lake lately and I wanted to capture the beauty of the ripples the raindrops make as they hit the water.  Nature can be organic and geometric at the same time.  The perfect concentric circles of the ripples was the inspiration for this bracelet. 

The bracelet is 8 inches long and made of silver-plated metal.  The clasp was handmade using a WigJig.  At first, I wanted to use a toggle clasp, but found this clasp to be much easier to close.  I'll have this item in my new Etsy shop opening in July. 

I hope this will be the first in a series inspired by the weather, specifically storms.  I have tons of ideas and sketches and can't wait to get creating!

A Bracelet Idea: An Epiphany in Sherbet

Ever had an epiphany?  One of those moments where you could almost see the light bulb switch on above your head?  That was me last week.  I had an epiphany in .....drum roll..... sherbet.  That’s right, sherbet. Orange to be exact. I’ve been hooked on the stuff lately. When I was making myself a big bowl of it before lunch this week, (yes, BEFORE lunch. I love being an adult!) I got a very interesting shape when scooping it with a spoon. I took a picture of it before I finished it off. Wouldn’t this be a great look for a bracelet? I’d love to be able to pull off this ruffled, or ruching, effect with paper but fabric might work best.

This is going to be fun. Don’t discriminate when a seed of inspiration finds you. It just might be in your next dessert.