Saturday Artisan: JewelryBySolange

Another great artist on Etsy. Meet Solange of JewelryBySolange, our Saturday Artisan. What a great artist, Solange is, willing to expand on her explanation on how to get organized and to share her favorite sellers.

Read on this great interview I have with her. You'll be sure learn a lot.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?

I was born in Argentina and came to this country when I was 5. I’ve always enjoyed making jewelry at a very young age and pursued it when I had to take an art elective in High School. I took jewelry my 4 years of High School and learned how to use different kinds of metal in my jewelry making & also did a lot of projects with epoxy & clay & really enjoyed it. When I went to college I missed Jewelry class so much and they didn’t really offer a class at the community college so I decided to take a class at the local art workshop. There I learned how to use Sterling Silver and made my very first ring. The rest is pretty much history. I’ve always been able to teach myself through books and videos on youtube. All my pieces are made by me and my fingers! No special machines used in my swirling process. I was just introduced to a wig jig, but haven’t used one yet. I think even though I hate that I’m constantly cutting my fingers and breaking my nails, I’ve become so accustomed to doing the swirling and hammering on my own and I think this is what makes them one of a kind…because you will never find two pieces that look exactly alike.

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most?

I think the best part for me is picking out the colors I’m going to use for each specific piece. Sometimes I’m surprised as to what colors really look great together. When you’re making any craft, I think, you can’t be afraid of colors and trying new things. I’ve learned that something you may not like might be something that someone else really enjoys. So I just try to be creative.

Could you share on how you organize your products, we all can use little tips here and there in this department?

I use plastic boxes. I’ve found the best ones in Wal-Mart that have 32 different compartments. I don’t like the ones where you make your own sections-in my opinion-they don’t work as great. I organize my beads by colors and types. So for instance one box might hold my Swarovski crystals, another box will have my freshwater pearls-you get the idea. I remember when I was younger I would get the huge bag of seed beads that came all mixed together with about a billion colors and I would literally sit there and separate each one by colors so that it would be easier for me to find the color I was looking for while I was beading…yeah my parents thought I was crazy haha…Then I have a separate plastic box for all my tools, wire – separated by using zip lock baggies. I don’t have a studio so they all get stocked on a shelf in my closet.

My supplies are all placed in individual baggies and then I have labeled zip lock bags with the types of beads or supplies I have for sale. For instance: 1 bag for pendants, 1 for pearls, 1 for turquoise, 1 for fabrics and so forth. It makes it so much easier to search for an item because I have sooooo many items in my supply shop. Eventually I had to get a plastic container to put everything because shopping bags were just not working/not enough.

What is your favorite item in your shop?

This is a tough one. Is it fair to say I love all the pieces I make? Well, if I had to choose…at the moment the Masquerade & Royal Princess Earrings with matching Pendants, as well as my Venice Rose Vine Collection Pendant are currently my favorite.

What is your best seller?

Well, I haven’t had this shop for a long time on etsy because I used to have a shop by the name of Custom Jewelry by Solange and used to sell earrings, necklaces, hair accessories, charms, rings, pendants & candles, but have since decided to go a different direction. I started a new shop, new line on etsy and focus on Earrings and Pendants because those have always been very popular in my previous shop.

Do you have a favorite Etsy seller?

I have a lot of favorite sellers actually. Even though I make jewelry myself, I like to get jewelry from other sellers on etsy. For instance, DHElegance makes some amazing dichoric glass rings (My sister, mom and I own a few), as well as Lavendercottage-she makes beautiful jewelry (I have her Labradorite 3-in 1 ring set and matching stud earrings-which I don’t even take off) If you’re looking to buy for your pets, I love the harness I got for my dachshund from PawshCompanions, Petables & Ciaohound make some really yummy doggy treats. If you’re looking to have a personalized photo quilt made try Zemphira…she did an amazing job on a quilt my sister and I got made for my parents anniversary. Try michellesthisandthat for yummy chocolate treats & mabellecherie for clutches-she is an amazing seller & team member. Pinkparchmentsoaps & AngelScents have really great soap creations. I can go on and on, there are just so many people I have shopped from and could recommend. I am part of the JETteam & Petsjubilee team on etsy, and if you do a wide search with those two names, you could find some really amazing shops to buy from.

What inspires you?

Everyone always asks’ me…where does your inspiration come from and well, even though it should be the easiest question to answer, for me it’s the hardest. I usually have random ideas pop in my head. Different patterns and colors, sometimes I just open my bead boxes and poof, I have an idea. I’ve never, ever used a sketch pad to create my pieces, as weird as that sounds. I mostly create at night. If I have an idea, I have to get my beads out right away and create. If I’m not around my beads, I just try to keep the idea in my head until I am able to create or maybe make a note of the colors I want to use together.

How do you promote your shop?

I have a blog where I promote my shop as well as other shops on etsy. I have a facebook, myspace, indiepublic, twitter & flickr acct. I spend some time on the etsy forums. I currently have my own thread going on, which will actually be 2 years this june and have made some amazing friends. Word of mouth. I have found that doing jewelry displays in my driveway are much more successful then doing them in a craft show-not to mention it’s free and I don’t have to pay for space. I love doing private one-on-one shows with friends and I think my friends enjoy them the most, which is why they’re always requested. I try to have giveaways on my blog and facebook, as well as do blog features and giveaways on other blogs to get myself out there.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's giveaway sponsored by Solange!!

Spotted Tuesday: Purple Extravaganza

This week Spotted Tuesday is inspired by all thing purples. They are not the kind of colors that I see everyday and they certainly stand out.

Great Etsy finds:

1st row from the left:
Parma Violet Soap by morganstreet

Deep Purple Handmade Flower by PinTi


2nd row from the left:

Grape Bracelet with Vintage Buttons by Alterity

Project Pouch by worthygoods

Pinky Crafts' Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Kelli Lee (#45)!! You're the lucky winner of $15 gift certificate to spend at Pinky Crafts shop. Thank you so much Mishelle for your sponsorship and thank you to everyone who entered. For current giveaway, please enter here for a chance to win $20 gift certificate. Good nite!

Giveaway $20 Gift Certificate from FotoTale Designs

Win $20 gift certificate to spend at Foto Tale Designs.

Sarah of Tale Foto Designs is our Saturday Artisan this week. If you missed reading the interview, be sure to head over to yesterday's post.

Last week I was talking about how behind I am with my scrapbook project. I'm thinking at some point I should try digital. Maybe once I use up all the albums, I'll go digital. Time saving is really the selling point. hehe.

But you, one of you could be the lucky winner to win $20 gift certificate from Tale Foto Designs and could get a head start. Not into scrapbooking? No problem, you could you the gift certificate for wedding, baby or graduation announcement. Or CD labels?

There are a number of ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

• Go to Foto Tale Designs shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from her store. By the way, she has Christmas in July sale going on, so be sure to take advantage of that! :-)
  

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):

• Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedbacks are always appreciated.
  
  Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.

• Heart Foto Tale Designs shop and earn an entry. Simply let us know your Etsy username.
• Follow Foto Tale Designs on twitter and earn an entry.
  
• Follow my blog and you earn another entry. If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
• Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. Each tweet worths one entry and you can tweet each day until the end of the contest (a maximum of one tweet per day is counted). That's a total of 7 entries!

• Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.

• Mention this giveaway anywhere else such as Etsy Forum or your social media and earn an entry. Don't forget to leave a link or a way for us to acknoweldge that.
  
• Tell us how did you hear about this giveaway and you earn an entry.
• Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. You'll earn 3 entries (Leave three separate comments) for each referral. Be sure to let us know their names and simply ask them to mention your name their entry as confirmation.
  

• Purchase an item from Foto Tale Designs shop (Pssst, BOGO sale is going on now) and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments :-)

Contest starts now and ends on July 31st, 2010. Contest opens worldwide.

Don't forget to leave me your e-mail address. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, August 1st by a random number generator, by the artist. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday Artisan: Foto Tale Designs

Meet this week Saturday Artisan, Sarah of Foto Tale Designs. Absolutely I adore her shop. She offers practical designs that definitely help you in the organizational department and save you tons of time, something that we really need in our busy days. Read on and find out how she started her business and get inspired!

Tell us a bit about yourself and what art/crafts you make? 

 I am a stay-at-home mother of 2! They keep me very busy. I think that my kids are pretty cute, so I take loads of pictures! I did traditionally scrapbooking for about 15 years. I accumulated thousands of dollars worth of stuff, and it took up my whole office! I started to find that it was harder and harder to spend hours making one page, especially when I could only use it once. So I decided (at the coaxing of my husband, who wanted office space!) to go digital! I have LOVE D it! I love that all the time I put into my designs can be reused again and again! So, after getting into digital scrapbooking and learning Photoshop I found that I love to design and create templates. I know that most people are getting busier and busier every day, so I decided to start selling photo templates to those who don’t have time to create their own. My templates make it so easy (for those with some Photoshop experience) to quickly mask your photos and change your text, and then you have a beautiful, customized display ready to print with the printer of your choosing. You can reuse the templates as often as you want, change the pictures, text, maybe play with the colors a little and you have an endless amount of possibilities- so fun! And most importantly, it’s quick and easy!

Currently, in my etsy shop and on my website I have the following kinds of templates: graduation announcements, baby/birth announcements, photo display templates, wedding save the date cards, thank you cards, guestbook albums, photo albums, mini accordion albums, CD labels, CD cases, image box templates, blogging templates (a MUST have for everyone who blogs!), and many more, with new stuff being added all the time!

What is your favorite item in your shop?

My favorite item would have to be my blogging templates. I use these on almost a daily basis. I also think they are an item that everyone has a need for. We all know how slow blogger is to upload your photos 5 at a time, and then you have to rearrange them. With my templates, you quickly and easily mask your photos in and save the image as a .jpg and then you upload that to your blog. You know have many photos as one photo! Not only does it save time, but it gives a really unique, sophisticated look to your blog. You can even go further, and give the template some bling by adding in a paper background or coloring the borders. Tons of fun options! And again- SOOOO easy and quick! 

What inspires you?

My children, my memories, and my hopes for the future! As I watch my children learn, grow and play, I cherish the moments. I want to remember them at this fun, innocent, sweet stage in life! So I make designs that I hang on my walls and items that I use in my scrapbook; designs and templates that I know will mean the world to me forever! I get a lot of ideas for my color combinations from my past. Such as my wedding color combination, and those of my sister’s and friend’s weddings that I really liked. I also get the theme and feel for that specific design line from my feelings and memories of those special times in my life. I know that everyone has similar experiences and feelings, and I hope that my designs help them get in touch with those memories and that they help them display and tell their stories! 

What is your goal for 2010? And are you on the right track? 

One of my biggest personal goals for 2010 is to get caught up on my scrapbooking! I started off the years almost 1.5 years behind! I have been working away and I am getting closer to being caught up. I am about 5 months behind now. So I still have a lot of work to do, but I am getting there!

As for my shop, my goal for 2010 is to exceed 100 sales. I hope I am on the right track. I am working really hard to offer unique and fun products at a good price. Some days are slower and harder than others to find the time to put in, but I really enjoy designing and seeing my products develop from a blank screen. 

What is your favorite tool that you cannot live without? 

When it comes to Photoshop and designing, my best tool is my husband! He has been a computer programmer/designer for about 10 years and he really knows everything. He is always so patient with me and is always willing to help me and teach me new techniques. He is my go-to guy and mentor in the digital world. I sure love him!

Spotted Tuesday: That Bright Color

Ethan knows red. It's the color of Pooh's top. And he knows yellow. It's the color of Pooh himself.

Last night, we had a chance talking about the color of orange for the first time and that's the inspiration for this week Spotted Tuesday.

Enjoy these beautiful finds on Etsy.

1st row from the left:

Soap and Lotion Samples Or Party Favors From Red Leaf by ShopRedLeaf

NEW - EZ Canvas Bag in Orange by Kinies

2nd row from the left:

Vinyl Wall Sticker Decal Art - Funky Flowers by urbanwalls

Elegance 8x12 fine art photography original print by sunshineartdesign

Don't forget to enter the giveway sponsored by Pinky Crafts and win $15 Gift Certificate.

Orly Design's Giveaway Winner

A quick additional post today to let you know who's the lucky winner this time.

Congratulations Mary (#114)!!! You won a pair of love birds from Orly Design.

Thank you so much, Orly, for your generous give away! We all love your shop!

Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway to win $15 gift certificate from Pinky Crafts.

Personalized Owl Tags

Lately, I've been busy with owl tag orders. Well, who could resist these adorable owls? One of the orders was to have them personalized with Etsy shop name.

Voila!!
I'll show you more of custom orders that I've done. Stay-tuned!

Giveaway $15 Gift Certificate from Pinky Crafts

Win $15 gift certificate to spend at Pinky Crafts. 

Mishelle of Pinky Crafts is our Saturday Artisan this week. If you missed reading the interview, be sure to head over to yesterday's post. Mishelle generously sponsored this giveaway, giving away one lucky winner to spend $15 on any item in her shop, including custom order!! 

 Do you have a pile of photos that are just to precious to be neglected? I am! I'm working my way to finish my scrapbook albums as I am keeping us with the little one who grows wayyyyy tooooo fast!!

There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry. 

How to enter to win: 

Mandatory entry:

• Go to Pinky Craft's. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from her store. By the way, she has Christmas in July sale going on, so be sure to take advantage of that! :-)

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):

• Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedbacks are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.

• Heart Pinky Crafts and earn an entry. Simply let us know your Etsy username.
• Follow Pinky Crafts on twitter to earn an entry.
• Follow Pinky Crafts'blog and earan an entry.
• Follow my blog and you earn another entry. If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
• Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat or @PinkyCrafts" in your tweet. Each tweet worths one entry and you can tweet each day until the end of the contest (a maximum of one tweet per day is counted). That's a total of 7 entries!

• Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.

• Tell us how did you hear about this giveaway and you earn an entry.
• Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. You'll earn 3 entries (Leave three separate comments) for each referral. Be sure to let us know their names and simply ask them to mention your name their entry as confirmation.

• Purchase an item from Pinky Crafts and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments :-)

Contest starts now and ends on July 24th, 2010. Contest opens worldwide.

Don't forget to leave me your e-mail address. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, July 25th by a random number generator, by the artist. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday Artisan: Pinky Crafts

Meet this week Saturday Artisan, Mishelle, the creative designer of Pinky Crafts. As a papercrafter myself, I adore her creations and totally understand how addicted working with papers and those cute sparkly embellishments.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?
I've always loved crafts, but I got my official start in 2003, when I decided to create my own wedding invitations. I loved the process and how they turned out! I then moved into scrapbooking; I love to give framed scrapbook pages or personalized albums as gifts along with making stuff for myself. I'd been told that I should turn my scrapbooking into a business but I never had a chance - until my husband and I decided to make a huge change in our life. In January 2010, we quit the stressful careers that weren't making us happy, moved across the country, and decided to pursue careers that made us happier. My Etsy shop was born in April 2010, and it's made a major difference in my life! Its a huge change, going from an administrator at a community behavioral health agency to being a full-time crafter. My husband and I are both very happy so far, and I hope to keep this shop as my full-time job. I started by specializing in custom and premade scrapbooking, fun gift tags, and unique magnets. I've recently added party supplies - paper goodies for baby showers, weddings, birthdays, graduation, etc. I'm having so much fun.

What is your favourite item in your shop?
I'm partial to any of my wedding-themed items; I love weddings!


How does your day go in general?
I'm most comfortable with routines and structure, so I try to keep my days much the same as they were when I worked outside the home. I usually get up when my husband leaves for work in the morning, feed both myself and Pancakes (my adorable bunny), get my workout in, and then I spend the rest of the day working on my shop or creating new items. If I'm really excited about what I'm doing, I sometimes have to force myself to take a lunch break! I try to be finished by the time my husband gets off work, so we can spend the evening together and play with the bunny - but I do sneak off to check on my shop throughout the evening.

What is your goal for 2010? And are you on the right track?
My husband and I had a joint goal for 2010: we want to work to live, not live to work. We're definitely on the right track, having quit the jobs that were taking us away from our families and turning us into mega-stressed versions of ourselves. I think we'll get make it!

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without?
Although its not technically a tool, I couldn't craft without rhinestone embellishments. I like to put some sparkle into my work!

Any advice for others running their on-line shop?
I had friends selling on Etsy, and I truly believed that the key to success was simply having a cute product. Not true! So much goes into having a successful shop, and you need to be prepared to put time and energy into every aspect. It's not only about the product, but how you photograph it, how your run your shop, how you market, etc. I'm still new at this, but I'm working nearly as much to get this off the ground as I did in my "real" job before Etsy. But this is much more fun!

Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

Creations of the Week: Flowers Bunch

These are SUPER adorable cards. Okay, I may be biased, but I'll let you be the judge. Leave me a comment whether you like it or not and trust me, I won't be offended :-)

The flowers are made from flower punches tied together with cute buttons. The leaves are handcut and I don't have a template for that....simply hand cutting and gauge the size.

I'm hoping I can list them at my shop sometimes tonight if not tomorrow, but if you really like them, simply contact me :-) If you like the papers that I use, feel free to browse my natsupplies shop where I have some destashed papers sold in great bargain.

My last note, if you haven't entered a great giveaway to win ceramic love birds designed by Orly Design, then why wait? Enter here please.

Giveaway Winner of Edward and Lilly

Congratulation Hbomb (#179)!

You're the lucky winner, selected by random generator by Rebecca to win her $20 Gift Certificate.

Have fun shopping at her shop!

Want to have a chance winning another fabulous giveaway? Enter Orly Design's giveaway here to win love birds ceramic.

Giveaway: Ceramic Love Birds by Orly Design

What about a chance of winning a beautiful pair of love birds?

Better yet, YOU choose the color!

Thank you Orly Design for sponsoring this week giveaway. Head over to my interview with her yesterday, if you haven't .


There are a few ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

• Go to Orly Design. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from her store.

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):

• Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedbacks are always appreciated.
  
  Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.

• Heart Orly Design and earn an entry. Simply let us know your Etsy username.
• Follow Orly Design on twitter to earn an entry.
• Follow my blog and you earn another entry. If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
• Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat or @orlydesignshop" in your tweet. Each tweet worths one entry and you can tweet each day until the end of the contest (a maximum of one tweet per day is counted). That's a total of 7 entries!

• Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.

• Purchase an item from Orly Design and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments :-)

Contest starts now and ends on July 17th, 2010. Contest opens worldwide.

Don't forget to leave me your e-mail address. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, July 18th by a random number generator, by the artist. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday Artisan: Orly Design

Saturday Artisan this week is all the way from Israel. I love international artists and it's so nice that Etsy is so global and allows all artists to meet in one place. Orly Design offers ceramic art ware, perfect for your home or as a gift. Furthermore, Orly Design does custom design for weddings. Here is Orly in her own words: My name is Orly, I’m married and a mother of 3 beautiful children. In the past 7 years we live in a moshav (village) in Israel.

Since I remember myself, even as a child in my parent’s house, creation was always there. My parents had a factory for knitwear, which sold all over Israel. I understand today that my attraction to the handmade creation field started back then. Over the years I have tried working with different materials and techniques, but once I tried ceramic – I fell in love! It’s a wonderful feeling to take a lump of clay with no shape or color and turn it into a personal, lively and unique creation. This kind of creation offers me endless possibilities. I enjoy creating sculptures, jewelry, functional and decorative items. I like to combine in my ceramic work other materials from the nature, such as rocks, wood, glass and more.

My favorite… One of the things I stared creating lately (and I just love!), are items for weddings. I’m so excited when someone chooses one of my creations for their big day!

Until 6 months ago I taught computer networks collage. At the same time I also created and taught art. I’ve decided to quit my day job, and choose to create full time. During the day I spend most of my time in my home studio, where I create and teach art and ceramics for kids and adults. The hardest part in my creation…Every time I turn on the kiln I literally count the hours, minutes and seconds till I can open it, and this kind of kiln when working with ceramics, there are a LOT of minutes to count. In my nature I’m a kind of person who wants to see immediate results, so waiting is the hardest part of my creation process. For me, to open the kiln in the end of the process – it's like to open a treasury box with many colorful unique surprises … In the past I sold my work to friends, but due to increasing demand and friends recommendations I decided to open my Etsy shop, and I got hooked! I love the exposure, support and the wonderful atmosphere in this new world. To make other people happy with little simple things from daily life makes me so happy….

Orly's ceramics are great, aren't they? Wait till tomorrow, one of you maybe a lucky winner winning her ceramic :-) Stay-tuned!

Creation of the Week: Add a Little Touch

Hello again. This week, I'd like to share my new cards. What is special about these cards are the flower embellishment. It's handmade :-), handmade by me of course. 

I use beaded Indian fabric, cut it as a circle, double layer them. I placed them on top of layer circle punched papers.

I LOVE It! :-) It adds a little nice touch to the card as you know I love dimensions. Lol.

Not only that it's one of a kind embellishment that you can't find anywhere else, but I also have a part in recycling (these are scrap fabrics given by a friend).

Now it's your turn to show me your unique creation!

And if you haven't entered this week's giveaway....then you should head over here.

Spotted Tuesday: Classy and Elegant

Classy...elegant...simplicity....that's all I want! 

I'm pleased to share my Etsy finds from fabulous shops: 

1st row from left: 

5 feet Vintage White Pearl by DestashAttic 

Green Science by DressGreen 

2nd row from left: 

Bloom by byrdiegraphics

Forever by Baghy

Giveaway Winner of Tbeads

Congratulations to NGS (#75) for winning Tbeads' Giveaway. You have 48 hours to respond after being contacted. You never know whether your favorite item will be the one you're getting. This may be the case. 

Tracey has contacted NGS and asked her if she would rather get the bracelet she mentioned in comment #74 than the earrings. 

Talking about customer satifsfaction, eh? 

Thanks again to all of you for entering. 

Enter the current giveaway here.

Giveaway $20 Gift Certificate from edwardandlilly

Did you get a chance to read yesterday Saturday Artisan and get inspired? If you didn't, you should!

Rebecca of edwardandlilly generously sponsor a $20 gift certificate to spend at her fabulous shop.


There are so many ways to win. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

• Go to edwardandlilly. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from her store.

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):

• Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to get to know her more.
  

Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedbacks are always appreciated.

Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.

• Heart edwardandlilly and earn an entry. Simply let us know your Etsy username.

• Follow edwardandlilly on twitter and earn an entry.

• Follow edwardandlilly's blog and you earn an entry.
  

• Follow my blog and you earn another entry. If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.

• Like edwardandlilly's Facebook FB and earn an entry.
  

• Like Adorebynat Facebook FB and you earn another entry. Let me know your FB username please.

• Share or Comment on my FB page under this giveaway announcement to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here providing me with your FB name. OR 'Like' the giveaway announcement on my FB page to earn 1 entry. Provide me with your FB name.

• Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" and "@edwardandlilly" in your tweet. Each tweet worths one entry and you can tweet each day until the end of the contest (a maximum of one tweet per day is counted). That's a total of 7 entries!

• Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries.. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.

• Purchase an item from edwardandlilly and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments :-)

Contest starts now and ends on July 10th, 2010. Contest opens worldwide.

Don't forget to leave me your e-mail address. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, July 11th by a random number generator, by the artist. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday Artisan: edwardandlilly

Meet this week Saturday Artisan, Rebecca of edwardandlilly. Her shop is full of Embroidery, homewares, soft toys and brooches handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 

What distinguish her shop from others are the originality and the eco-friendly materials she uses. Read on and learn how to be inspired and good to your environment at the same time. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts you make?

I've always worked in the arts and a few years ago I decided to replace study with something creative. I always wanted to make my own clothes so started teaching myself to sew. At first I was making little soft toys for my nieces, these eventually led to sales and edward & lilly was born.

My focus now has shifted slightly more toward embroidery but the softies are still around. I love the handmade community both online and in my home town of Brisbane, I'm a member of the BrisStyle Etsy Street Team and the Brisbane chapter of Brown Owls where I've met some fabulous crafty friends.

Which part of the creation process that you like to do the most?

I love it when tiny details turn out even better than first intended, I love the way a little softie develops its own personality as soon as the face is stitched on and I love seeing my little critters transition from pencil and paper to fabric and thread.

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?

I always have a number of production lines going for each product, I try to work on one a week but it depends on orders, demand etc. My crafty space is pretty tiny so these are usually stored in containers and boxes. They have to be easy to access so I can whip them out at a moment's notice, even if I only have 5 minutes to spare I know there is always something on hand to cut, stitch or pin.

What is your favourite item in your shop?

Right now it's my new zipper pouches although there's always a special place in my heart for the little faces of Cuddly Cats.

What is your best seller?

For a long time it's been embroidered brooches but more recently tissue cosies have been in demand. Lavender Scented Birds are also a popular item with my stockists.

How does your day go in general?

Because I work full-time and have pretty busy weekends I try to make the most of every day. Computer work is done at meal times and on lunch breaks, I walk everywhere so that's my thinking time for ideas, problem solving or new product designs, creative time is usually between 7-11 pm, I like to take product photos in the morning before work when the sun is at its best and any other bit of time I can squeeze in is spent creating, even a spare 5 minutes before heading out the door is valuable. If I feel the need to watch a great show on tv or a movie it's always with a pile of embroidery in my lap. I love being busy, I wouldn't have it any other way ;)

Do you have a favourite Etsy seller?

There's so many it's crazy, I recommend checking out my Etsy favourites and my blog for some great finds. This week I'm loving Little Viking Girl.

What inspires you?

My nieces are all animal lovers and are the main inspiration behind my softies, their reaction to them is all that matters because then I know that a little girl walking by a Cuddly Cat at market won't be able to resist pointing it out to her Mum.

The major inspiration for my designs and material choices is nature. I'm constantly inspired by the shape of birds, the patterns on a fish, the delicate nature of flowers, cute little critters and the texture of natural fibres. Sketching these beautiful things is one thing, stitching them gives me a whole new respect for the natural world around me.

What is your goal for 2010? And are you on the right track?

My goal for 2010 is to create more one-off embroidery pieces to add to my current product line. I have two series on the go at the moment, one of the embroidered Australian fish species and the other is more figurative. I think owning a unique piece that you know no one else will ever have is a very special thing. Being kind to myself, animals and the environment is also high on my list of goals for this year.

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without?

My little white plastic embroidery hoop, it stretches fabric perfectly, it's small enough to embroider a scrap of fabric and it fits in my little portable craft-on-the-run container in my bag.

How do you promote your shop?

The obvious ones are my blog, Twitter and Facebook.

The most important ones are being genuinely involved in the craft community, word of mouth, a high-quality product, lovely customer service and all the others things that lead to repeat business.

Any advice for others running their on-line shop?

Be true to your creative self. It's the only way to love what you make and to create a product that sets itself apart from the competition.

Saving money is important, tell us one thing that you do to save money?

Buy handmade or second hand as much as you can, and have a go at switching to a plant-based diet, everything else will fall into place.