Tip In #2

Hello Again!

Well, as promised (and this is a momentous occasion, because even though I do promise -- and strive to keep those promises -- I rarely remember to go and post to the blog when I say I'm going to!) here is Tip-In #2 for the swap that I'm participating in.

This one is for Cathy, who stated that she'd like to have an "open theme" in other words, our choice! Now, usually I like these, but since I'm pretty new to Tip-Ins, I wanted to get a gentle nudge in the right direction, so I asked her what kind of themes were her favorites, and among the favorites she mentioned, she included one of my favorite themes (and my theme for this Tip-In swap!) Asian!


I am really quite pleased with this piece... another layered piece, and dimensional as well, the flowers at the corner left and the little Geisha in front of the bridge overlooking the irises "stand out" courtesy of pop-up glue dots. These two pieces are bits from an antique store find some time ago, they are "stand up" place cards. I trimmed the excess card stock away from the flower place card. I think they add just the right touch to this piece.

I hope Cathy likes it too!

Thanks for checking in with me!

~Anne

PS: don't forget my sale! It ends Sunday night at midnight!

Tip Ins!

Hello Everyone!

I've been working on some swap art lately, specifically, for a tip-in swap that I'm participating in. I have five tip-ins total that I need to complete... and I'm nearing the finish line with them... yay!

Here's the first tip-in that I completed...


As you can see, it's a Marie Antoinette layout. The scan doesn't show the layering in this piece very well due to the dimensions in the crystal embellishments, but I'm pretty happy with the way the piece looks in person. I hope that Stacy is happy with it as well...

Anyways, it's late... thanks for checking in with me.

~Anne

PS: I'm having a HUGE end-of-month sale! Please check my tea journal for details!

Have you joined byhand.me yet?

Hello Everyone!

I am having a lot of fun on the newest hotspot for all artists and lovers of handmade... byhand.me! It's absolutely free to join, it's a great place to hang out with other artists, and if you're an artist eager to sell your wares, it's a great place to promote yourself!

One of the newest features that have been added to byhand.me is the Spotlight feature, here's the most recent spotlight I created:



For those of you familiar with Etsy, as you can see, it looks a lot like an etsy treasury... and just as addictive to create... and you can use products from etsy, as well as Artfire, Made it Myself, Dawanda, 1000Markets and more. (Yeah, try that on etsy's treasuries! ha!) And here's the best part of all, you can make more than one! You don't have to wait until the treasury drops down to below 333 before you can make a treasury. You don't have to hope that you'll actually get a treasury (yeah, you and 600 other people racing to get a spot in the treasury!)...

In other words... SPOTLIGHTS ROCK!

And... perhaps even cooler is the Window Shopping feature! Here's an example:



This feature takes items that have been listed on previous spotlights, and randomly selects them. Hey... keep clicking on the "another" link above ... and check it out... what a fun way to shop!

Yeah... I'm having wayyyyy too much fun at byhand.me... why not join me?

~Anne

PS: Check out my blog for a great end of the month sale!

What I've been up to lately...

Well, besides tea (I'm working on a new herbal blend!) ... I've been working on Teresa's True Color Journal!
















This is the spread that I created for Teresa's Green, Orange and Red journal.

It's been hard to get myself out into the studio to work, because, frankly it's very cold out there! I do have a small space heater, and I do have a heated slipper thing (it's not really a pair of slippers, more like a cushion that I slip both feet into, and it heats and massages), and both of these things are terrific, however, it's still cold out there!

At first, I found Teresa's color choices to be somewhat intimidating, because I guess I find it difficult to use the three colors together... but, I am really happy with the way my spread came out. And I think I have a new appreciation for the color green!

I hope that Teresa likes it!

~Anne

Artfire Finds!

Good Morning Everyone!

Wow, it's 10:41 am on a Saturday... Usually, I'm still asleep!

Before I get to this edition of my Artfire Finds, I want to mention a few things... first of all, I closed my yahoo group, EccentricPastiche, last night. It was a very painful thing to do, but, also, I felt it was a necessary thing to do. I didn't feel as though I was (No... I KNEW I wasn't) giving as much to that group as I once was. And that was incredibly unfair to the rest of the group, so I chose to close it.

However, for those who are interested in keeping up on the lastest concerning my 'zine, please feel free to join my newsletter. Sign up to the right of this post! Don't worry, I won't be spamming you with newsletters, I will only post a newsletter when there is news to post concerning my 'zine.

Second, I wanted to remind you to join byHand.me!

Now... let's move on to the Artfire Finds! This week, we have a couple of jewelry finds, as well as an amazing photograph!

First, let's kick this off with a gorgeous fused glass pendant from AAE-artglass Studio...


Now, let me start by warning you, when visiting this Artfire studio, be prepared to want EVERYTHING you see! All of her pieces are simply stunning. Choosing a favorite was a difficult thing, but something about this particular piece - which she calls "Blue Canyon" - really spoke to me. I love the colors, and the swirls... it's a spectacular show!

What a great addition to any wardrobe, what a great conversation piece!

The photograph I'm going to share with you today comes from Spice of Life Designs Studio...

I found this photograph from Rainwolf (another Artfire Artisan), who Plurks with me, and posts a "photo of the day" on Plurk. This was one of the photos of the day last week and I just fell in love with the colors! So bold! The Glass Ceiling II is part of a series of photographs that were taken at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis.

Spectacular... and can you imagine what a burst of color this photograph would provide for your home? Wow!

My final Artfire find comes from Sunny Skies Studio...


It's been a long time since I've worn any ear jewelry (I allowed my ear holes to close up when I had my second child as I didn't want to go through the pain of having another tug on the earrings by the baby!) and it's been almost 2 decades since I've worn ear cuffs, but this work of art makes me think about wearing them again! And all of the jewelry found at Sunny Skies Studio is not only beautiful, but also affordably priced!

"Secret Garden" is a gorgeous earcuff, handcrafted out of sterling silver wire. Amazing!

So, that's my Artfire hotlist for today... I hope you enjoy what you see, and maybe it will inspire you to do a little shopping and support an artist or two!

And while you're shopping, don't forget my Weekend Rebate Special... this weekend only!!!

Thanks for reading along!

A New Online Playground for Artists!

Hello Everyone!

I am writing today to share with you some information about a whole new website that has been created for artists.

It's called ByHand.Me and you can access it with this url: http://www.byhand.me

It has been designed to be a social community to help promote handmade wares. It's a place for the artists who sell their wares on places like Etsy or Artfire. It's also a place where artists can find support, and learn more about how to better promote yourself as an artist. At ByHand.Me, you'll find:

• An Artisan Directory - for artists with a business. You can add your business, along with where you sell online, and how you can be contacted. A great way to help build your business online!
  
• Forums - a message board where members can post about handmade wares, ask for advice, promote your business, or just socialize!
  
• Member Blogs - Each member gets their own blog. Also, and this is really cool... your blog entry can be on the front page of the site! Kind of like flashing, only you probably won't get arrested for it. woo hoo!
  
• Social Networking - the social networking feature allows you to connect with other artisans.
  
• Chat - A place to communicate in real time with other members. It's also a great place to facilitate your own procratination issues. If you're an artist, you probably know what I'm talking about.
  
• Private Messaging - A safe way to talk in private. Maybe play a game of telephone with other members. Remember that game?
  
• RSS Feeds - OK... so I don't know what RSS feeds are. But maybe you do... If you do, well, you can do that here. If you don't, well, then, you can continue in your blissful ignorance of them here. Or maybe, you can get into a private message or chat with Adam (the creator) and he can tell you what it's all about. Because artists support each other like that.
  
• More! - just the way it sounds... more... not less. And more is more.
  

And it's all free! That's the best price. Unless you could find someone to pay you to join a site, and that, honestly, might feel a bit weird... sort of like paying someone to be your friend, or giving the bully on the playground your lunch money so they don't beat you up after school.

You can learn more by visiting Rebecca's Soap Deli News Blog.

Join today, and then find me on there and add me to your connections ... my user name is Liberteas... you know... like my tea shop? Speaking of which, it's really nice to brew a cup of tea before you sit back and socialize at ByHand.Me. It's sort of like having tea with friends... only you don't have to get dressed up and wear a hat. Unless you want to.

So, that's all for now. Hope to see you at ByHand.Me soon!