It's all about the flowers

I didn't realize until after I took the photos that my two latest projects are totally floral themed! That was so not on purpose. :)

I finished another tile last night and got around to taking some photos today. I still have a nice stack of tiles left and I'm having a ton of fun making these! This latest tile was driven by my goal to make some sort of a dent in my collection of buttons. I have so many that that's probably not going to happen, but it's fun to try!

So here's my Flowers In Sunset tile which you can find here in the shop.





I'm also trying something new with my fabric bowls. Not sure how this will turn out. Could be a total fail.

My very first giveaway!

So I'm taking part in my very first giveaway on the Unique Women In Business blog. Please go take a look, enter and give it a tweet, facebook...yada yada. Spread the word!

Here's what you could win!

Etsytwitter Shop of the Week - Firebirdhouse

Kristen Evans, the owner of Firebirdhouse Designs, loves creating unique jewelry designs and textiles from vintage and new components, as well as recycled/repurposed vintage pieces and fabrics.

Originally a fine artist, Kristen says " I love turning beautiful things with history into useable and wearable art and that really began to be the core of my inspiration. I like the challenges that come with recycling and reusing in new ways."

Original patinas, embroidered and hand needlefelted details, and high quality components are some of the things which set Firebirdhouse pieces apart from the crowd.

Her colorful shop is an everchanging display of pieces that "hold onto the charm of vintage while still having a modern or quirky edge."
The shop offers free shipping to the US and Canada and ships worldwide, as well as now offering a wholesale catalog.



An avid user of Twitter under the name @Firebirdhouse as well as co-leader of the EtsyTwitter Team, she says "I love the people I meet on twitter, and I try to talk, comment, and share just like I would if they were hanging out with me in my studio. I try to always be genuine and be myself. A lot of my sales come from Twitter but I don't ever make that my goal."

Firebirdhouse Designs is offering 25% off on purchases over $25 from August 17 - August 23rd. Use Code SOTW in notes to seller and your refund will be issued via Paypal. Excludes Joyce Richardson Benefit items

My first macarons!

Well I had my class last night on how to make french macarons. And it was a blast! And I may not have walked away with the perfect macarons...but I did learn alot and I've got something to build off of. I can't wait to practice making more! I didn't realize that the flavor totally comes from the filling, not the cookie. Most of the colors you see in the cookie part of the macaron, it's just food coloring. Although our instructor did flavor her demo cookies with a chinese 5 spice, which turned them pink. Me and my partner made the traditional french macarons which used almond flour. Then our second ones we made using almond paste. I think I prefer the taste of the almond paste ones more, but I like the look of the almond flour ones better since they look like the macarons you always see. The almond paste ones don't spread so any sort of imperfection when your piping...stays. They keep the same shape as you piped. It's a much thicker batter and you really get a workout when you pipe it! I didn't get any pictures of our almond paste ones, we kinda ate them. :)
For the filling we made the fleur de sel caramel. Yum! Plus I got to make caramel for the first time too! We had a ton left over so I took it home. Not sure what I'm gonna do with it yet.

Taxi!!

So I finished the Taxi tile piece and it is now in the shop. I need to make more pieces like this. I don't overthink it...I just do it. I'm still working on the fish one. It's missing something. But my bright and colorful Taxi Tile is ready to go! :)

Friends Swap Received!!

So I got my Friends swap package today!! Exciting!! I just want to first off thank my swap partner Sally for sending me such an amazing package.

So here are the goodies:

F is for Fabric. And what gorgeous fabric! Batiks! Oh lovely lovely batiks! I adore batiks. I can't wait to use these!



R is for Read. A very inspiring patchwork magazine from the UK. Super excited to look through this! Hmmm....maybe my next quilt will be in here? :)



I is for Inspiration. A seahorse pattern and sticky notes for any time inspiration strikes or I get an idea (brilliant, by the way). And I can't wait to work with these seahorses! I've got ideas already!



E is for Embellishments. Which I'm quite addicted to. :) And these are beautiful embellishments. The little fishies especially caught my eye.






N is for New project. And a very exciting project indeed! A really awesome bag, which I should mention will be my first bag to make! SO exciting! I've looked at so many patterns for bags but have been too afraid to take any on. This will be fun! And just taking a peek at the back fabric in there....GORGEOUS fabrics!!




D is for Drink. Yummy fruity tea! I can't wait to bring this with me to work Monday and try some! Mmmmmm..



And last but certainly not least S! For Sweet!! Yummy yummy sweet chocolate. Cadbury chocolate to be exact. I cannot begin to say how awesome the Crunchie bars are. I tried them for the first time when we went to London a few years ago and I've been addicted ever since. They've got this yummy honeycomb crunch center. And then she sent me Cadbury Egg Twists! I look forward to Easter every year so I can gorge myself on Cadbury Eggs and ever since the twist came out I've been dying to try it. But they don't have them here in the US.


Look at that center!



Happy girl!!

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: Uber Art

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: Uber Art



If you are in the market for a stunning hand-bound journal or guest book, look no further than UberArt.etsy.com. Beth’s work is to die for! Any paper lover would agree that her work would be a pleasure to create an art journal with. Your guests will also love to sign their names in her guest books, and these would make a great addition to any event, not just weddings. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a guest book from that backyard BBQ that was so fun last summer? You can have blank pages added to the back of Beth’s guest books for photos and mementos. A book like that would be cherished for years to come!

All of Beth’s books are made with tender loving care, with superior workmanship, and great attention to detail. She is a self-professed super-perfectionist and if it doesn't pass her quality control, it doesn't leave her studio!

“My customers inspire me to create books that both of us love. Making something beautiful that will be cherished and loved is very rewarding for me. I love working with paper, collecting paper, coordinating papers, touching paper... and so on! Selling my books gives me an excuse to buy more paper!” says Beth about her work.




Beth has an undergraduate degree in studio art and a Masters in Art Therapy. She has studied everything from paper arts to jewelry design, collage and pottery. She is a self-taught book artist and has been making books since around 2003.

Recently she worked with the Grammy Award winning rock band, The Fray, to create a backstage guest book for their 2009 summer tour. You can view her portfolio at flickr.com/photos/uberart.

She ships internationally and is running a sale for this week: Mention "EtsyTwitter" in the Notes to Seller section for 10% off any item in her shop (expires Sunday 8/9/09).

Follow her on Twitter @UberArt
Read her blog: uberartshop.blogspot.com

The sea and the city

How's about a little more in progress stuff?

One of my fabulous yard sale finds from Missouri is coming in quite handy this week! I was able to buy an almost full box of plain white ceramic tiles for a dollar!! Unfortunately, with all of the other things I bought, I didn't have enough room so my mom is sending them to me bit by bit. But still...what a find! So I've decided to alter them and make some smaller artwork for your walls.
These have been alot of fun because I just sort of let go and didn't really stress the planning to much. And so far they seem to be working out quite well. I'm especially happy with my little fishy:



This piece is going to be nice and dimensional.



Now, my city piece...well I'm still not quite sure where I'm going with this one, but having alot of fun with the process!

Friends Swap

So awhile back I signed up for a Friends Swap being hosted by Kris from Sew Prim Khris. The point of the swap is to learn a bit about your swap partner and then send them an item starting with each letter of the word "friends".
My swap partner was Sally from Running Stitches.
I haven't received my package yet but she's from the UK, so it'll probably take a bit to get here. But I've been meaning to post teaser pictures of what I sent her. :) Cause ya know, it's fun!

Scrubbies!

This month I made my Unique Women in Business purchase with Brianne from the shop Beegrl88.

I got myself some scrubbies!!! And she made them for me in blue and red. They're perfect, and super sweet! I love the shape!

But she doesn't just make scrubbies. She also makes really cute charms too!



Definitely check out her shop. She's got lots of great cute items!