Featured in another blog

Yesterday night I received an e-mail about a blog where I was featured and it gave me so much happiness mostly because it was my sister in law,Fern, who waas the one that introduced me to esty. Here is the link to the story:

http://thirtyonedesigns.blogspot.com/2008/08/pbc-etsy-team-member-feature-norakaren.html

Fern has a wonderful shop on etsy where she makes Personalized Photo Cards for any occasion. That means birth announcements, birthday party invitations, thank you cards, baby shower invitations, Christmas cards, Hanukkah cards & more. Below are my favorite designs from her online store. Feel free to contact her with any questions or special requests you might have, she will make a great design that you won't regret.

Fall Preview 2008 for regular and plus sizes

This are my newest creation.

The peacock silk screened and hand painted on this wonderful Tunics,dresses,t-shirts and blouses for regular and plus sizes. Everyone it's different. I paint them one by one.

They are all one of the kind, I don't repeat colors in the details: feathers,body,tail even the silver crown. Tones are grey,teal,yellow and burgundy for this coming season with a lot of details, glitters and raised outline. Several lenghts to wear as dresses ,tunics with leggins or not, or just a stunning t-shirt. The v-neck makes it different and so in style. The hoodies are a must and now for all types of bodies. Enjoy!

I'm so proud of this team!

The Fashion Design and Lifestyle team on Etsy ,that I belong to, is proud and excited to announce their new lending partnership with Kiva (http://www.kiva.org/), a charitable organization who lends money, donated from individuals and groups, to small businesses throughout the world. The fantastic thing about Kiva is that, once the loan is repaid, the lender gets to allocate the money to another small business. It is the gift that keeps on giving!

We decided to invest in Kiva as it helps small businesses like ours and it is international, just like our team. It is our way of reaching out to the larger world.

Sellers on the Fashion, Design and Lifestyle Team, lovingly referred to as FDL, have decided to contribute 10% of the sale price on items marked “fdlkiva” in the tags. Once the fund reaches $25.00, we will allocate these proceeds to help support an international small business whose market is similar to ours. For every $25.00 that we collect, we will continue to contribute towards as many businesses on Kiva that we can. Once loans are repaid, we will reinvest in another Kiva business.

To help us achieve our goals and help the world, please search http://www.etsy.com/ for keyword “fdlkiva”: 10% of the sales price will go towards our Kiva fund!

Watch here for our progress towards our goals, as well as information on the businesses that we invest in.

For more information about the FDL team on Etsy, visit us at:

Blog: http://www.fashiondesignandlifestyle.blogspot.com/
Etsy Team Page: http://team.etsy.com/profilest/fashion.shtml
Team Shop: http://fdlteam.etsy.com/

Featured artist Aly from DaintycrochetbyAly

Who are you?
Aly is the person behind the hook, always, thinking about the magic world of crochet. My hook understand me and I hold her carefully. I have a little boy and husband, I am originally from Venezuela, a hot country with kind people! ;-)

What do you create?
I crochet anything that comes to my mind and I see in my dreams, inspiration is everywhere... and I never know where is going to take me next time....lately I have been more creative with necklaces, its been my favorite thing to do. I used to do a little each sumer and this year my creativity has been focused on that.
How long have you been doing your craft?
Since I was a very little girl, my oldest sister taught me the basics, and while she was sewing, she kept next to her, we were always busy doing something, we never had time to be bored!, Through the years, I became really obsessed with crocheting, you wouldn't believe!! all the places I used to be crocheting, my classmates and teachers always saw me crocheting ! my family and friends, everybody knew about it!, seriously, I can't stop!.
What do you like about creating?
I love seeing just a thin thread becoming something...beads and threads are my favorites materials.
What do you like about your business?
I like creating something for people that they treasure, I love spreading the word about an art that many people consider something from the past, I hear all the time, "my grandma used to crochet".
How did you find out about Etsy?
One day I was thinking of designing a flower and I started looking for real pictures of flowers, I found flickr and next thing, I found etsy!
Do you sell your products anywhere other than Etsy?
Not right now.
What do you do when you're not creating products for your shop?
I take care of my litlle boy and family!, my most important thing ! My universe. Our blessing. :-)

Meet Candice from the Palm Beach County Etsy Team

Who are you ?

My name is Candice Hayden. I live in Jupiter and am the proud momof two awesome teenagers. We spend our summers up in the mountains of northwest North Carolina in Blowing Rock at the periphery of PisgahNational Forest -- so different from Florida in so many ways. Beingsurrounded by nature keeps me balanced and focused on the joys in life-- family, friends, health and wellness. I sit up here in front ofthe fireplace and look out at the mountains and a peace sweeps over methat I try to hold on to once I get back to FL -- though it is hardsometimes!

What do you create?

I create artisan quality, high-scented soy candles in my own handmadepottery.

How long have you been doing your craft?

I have been an artist my whole life. I have been exposed to everypossible medium during my life. In my freshman year of high school, Iwas in an arts program where we learned to throw pottery. I put thataside until a couple of years ago when I took a pottery class at PBCC.I was hooked. I went out and bought my own wheel and kiln and turnedmy guest apartment into a studio. Ha! That took care of the guests!Anyway, I started making teapots and then I found I had all theseteapots and I'm not even a tea drinker! I received a soy candle as agift and I was captivated by the scent and the smooth, almost edible,quality of the wax. That was my - to quote Oprah -- aha! moment. Iresearched how to make soy candles and I love the extension of thecreation. Now my pottery actually has a use!

What do you like about creating?

Up until recently, I worked only in the two dimensional realm, mostlyin oils. But I found I got very anal and caught up in the productinstead of the process. With clay, for a short while, the artist andthe process are one. When you are having a bad day, the clay feelsit. It wobbles, it caves -- it is a direct expression of how you aredealing with the world in that moment. On a good day, the cool claymoving beneath your fingertips is soothing and the product iseffortless. Throwing pots is better than therapy! On thatparticularly good day, it is a spiritual experience.

What do you like about your business?

I was in the corporate world for so long. My world revolved aroundthe meaningless -- paperwork, deadlines, petty disagreements. It was so against my nature. Now, I determine what has meaning. I can dealwith the world on my own terms. Every day is something new. Everytime I take something out of the kiln, every time I try a newfragrance, it is like Christmas! My business is a joy and I welcomeeach day with an eagerness I never felt working in the old businessparadigm.

How did you find out about Etsy?

I literally stumbled on it when I was doing a google search. I don'teven remember what I was searching. It looked interesting and Isigned up on a whim, not knowing much about it. I still am prettyclueless about many of the widgets and I couldn't put together atreasury if my life depended on it!

Do you sell your products anywhere other than Etsy?

I have a small "vignette" in the historic Shoppes at Farmers Hardwarein Boone, NC. It is what once was the epicenter of male life indowntown Boone before Lowes and Walmart moved in. A beautiful threestory brick building with wood floors and wainscoated walls, it ishome for many small businesses selling everything from antiquefurniture to Vera Bradley bags to expensive jewelry.

What do you do when you're not creating products for your shop?

I am the mom-mobile! My daughter is driving now but my son won't bedriving until December so I am still "needed" to cart a bunch oflaughing teenagers around. I am so blessed. They grow so quickly, itseems only yesterday that I was arranging play dates. I am an avidreader and I write as well. I also am a class-a-holic. This fall Iam taking a photography class and a photoshop class. I love to learn new things and will probably go to "school" for the rest of my life.

You can find all her very artistic candle pieces and more of this awesome craftisan at

http://www.madhatterspottery.etsy.com/ and http://www.madhatterspottery.com/

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Chain reaction at Church of all Nations in Boca Raton, my kids pictured and featured here.

Gorgeous Designs: Poltock and Walsh

The super-talented duo have seriously impressed me! From featuring a dramatic skirt from their Autumn-Winter 2008-2009 Preview Collection on Vogue.com Loves, to having one of the most beautiful and desired accessories for Summer 2008, the beautifully festooned flower garland, London’s new talents Poltock and Walsh are designers on the rise!
Their Summer 2008 collection was not just dreamy but greatly inspiring. It featured soft beautiful colors, dreamy silky materials, lots of ruffles, and the most amazing must-have flower garland accessory, pictured below. The flower garland was featured on Vogue.com Loves and described as “the most beautiful accessory this summer.” It is absolutely stunning and can be worn over everything. You can have it as a center piece and pair it with a simple shirt or tank top or you can go extra-extravagant and put it over a short dress.
And now Poltock and Walsh are back with their Autumn-Winter 2008-2009 Preview Collection and scoring another Vogue.com Loves space. For the coming season, all eyes will be on the dramatic skirt from their collection, pictured below. The silk skirt resembles a twist of flower ruffles and is in the autumn colors of plum and crimson. You can chose to wear it simple with a black tank top or more dramatically during the evening with high heels. You can purchase the skirt on the fashionable pages of stylefinder.com, where it is referred to as the “most gorgeous, envied and ultimately must-have skirt of the moment.” I'd love to create yours with my own hand made flowers.

Los colores

To identify fashion how-to’s for accessorizing and pull together upcoming styles.

Meet ccdesigns

Corinne from oneadaychallenge at Etsy

Who are you?

My name is Corinne Portalatin. My friends all call me Cori. My business name is CC Designs. ( Cori's Creative Designs).

What do you create?

I love to create jewelry for all occasions. I have a wide range of jewelry that includes bridal jewelry and hair accessories. I find wire wrapping jewelry the most enjoyable technique. Maybe because it takes a long time to create a piece of wearable art. My business is evolving from beaded to artisan wire wrapped jewelry.

How long have you been doing your craft?I have been making jewelry since 1995. I first started out wanting to earn some extra money when my son was a toddler. I found an ad about making money and quickly found out it was a scam. I was so taken by jewelry making that I had wanted to pursue it more. My husband had also passed later that year and I knew I was going to be a stay at home mother for my son. I relocated to my hometown and found out that in- home jewelry parties were a lot of fun and profitable. I took a couple of years away from jewelry making in 2003 for a change of pace,and went work in an office for a couple of years. In 2005, I found a small shop to consign my jewelry and wanted to return to creating jewelry full time, because I was missing it. I also never had enough time to complete the custom orders that I was receiving from the consignment shop. In 2007 I found etsy.

What do you like about creating?

Creating helps me relieve stress and depression. I love spending time creating wearable works of art. I have dreams at night about different designs, even the bead colors. I wake up in the morning thinking about that piece of jewelry and can't wait to get started on it.

What do you like about your business?

I love that I can choose my own hours, even though I'm a workaholic, some days I just don't have time to work. I love to see people wearing a piece of my jewelry, even more people I don't know. My first experience with that was one day in church shortly after moving back to Missouri. I saw a lady wearing a necklace that I knew I had made. I remembered the person bought it as a gift for her mother at a jewelry party.

How did you find out about Etsy?

I found etsy doing a google search trying to find places to sell my jewelry. I wasn't happy with selling only on consignment. Do you sell your products anywhere other than Etsy? I sell my jewelry locally at a wonderful home decor store in Troy called the At Home Outlet. I also sell in a FTD Florist Gift Shop in Warrenton. I sell online at Ecrater, and Icraft.

What do you do when you’re not creating products for your shop?

I enjoy playing bingo with my fiance (Kevin) and when I visit my family we usually play Scrabble. I really love to work large jigsaw puzzles, but etsy has taken that time away from me for now. I think I may take a vacation soon just to work a puzzle. I keep saying that. I love lighthouses!

What are some other sites to find out more about you and what you love to create?

(Blog, Flikr, MySpace, etc.)My blog is http://www.designsbycori.blogspot.com/My flick'r is http://www.designsbycori.flickr.com/

Here is your place to decide

If you’ve ever spent an hour trying to figure out what to wear, spent hours searching to find the right shoes to go with a skirt your just purchased or have had trouble putting an outfit together (like yours truly), here’s a solution: go to polyvore.com. This is a web site where I go mostly to show my unique items,since they love uniqueness.There you can mix and match pieces from hundreds of websites to create a virtual outfit or simple create a clothing/accessory collage. It’s super easy, really fun and a little addicting. To help filter through the hundreds of choices, you can type in exactly what you’re looking (example: brown wedges, blue purse, etc.) and poof! A wide selection of choices is displayed. Just drag and drop what you want from the menu to your work area. If you need inspiration, browse through the multitude of collages other users have created of which, you can also narrow down your choices by selecting a main color. When you’ve finally got your outfit collage together, polyvore creates a link for you to post your creation in a blog or a message board. Take your creation a step further and actually bring your outfit to life. Each item you use is listed with the website link so you can purchase the item for your actual closet. Talk about making dreams come true.

Duets

Members of the Fashion, Design and Lifestyle Team have been doing some collaborative efforts together. If you could, what artist on Etsy would you most like to collaborate with?

Here featured are Beth and Becca,Aly and me, recycledideas and sttubborndog

*********************************************Wanna learn more about us? Check us out!Interested in our team?http://team.etsy.com/profilest/fashion.shtmlCheck out our blog:http://fashiondesignandlifestyle.blogspot.com/To see what the team has to offer, also check out our team shop at: http://www.fdlteam.etsy.com/

Honored again with a new treasury

I studied graphic and Fashion Design in Argentina.Painting and designing is a true passion for me. I owe this to my Father, whose love for life,art and the needed inspired much of what I am today as an artist,person and believer.






In my designs I try to display awesome moments in life, colorful places, creatures and most of all things that inspire me to live and let live a better life. Seven years ago, I came to this wonderful country to work for a fashion designer.She was having very good and ambitious projects until September 11, when she decided to close her business and went back to Domenican Republic. But even with the bad situation ,momentarily, I started painting on jeans at her request with pictures remembering the Twin Towers and the World Trade Center and all who died and gave their lives there. It was a very ambiguous moment. With Clara Victoria, I worked in many artistic mediums and designed her collection for the Montreal Runway, but none activity have satisfied me more than painting on fabrics and canvas.

I started with different materials but I fell in love with jeans (denim , actually, a very loyal fabric). My work is defined by color,shine,glitters and fashion styles. I am constantly inspired by the graphic elements in nature and icons in every new design.
When I met Linda from the masterpiece Gallery of Boca Raton she told me try on canvas, and it worked amazingly!!

You can find me at etsy teams too: I'm a proud member of the FDLteam, MAG:Miami Artisan Guild, Etsyfest team and Hollywood Craft Mafia.On Indiepublic member of Poshmama,Land of etsy,Kawaii,I am a mom hear me roar,Craftymama and How do I get myself out there.My work is displayed at:Orkut.comFlickr:4f's groupTalentdatabase.comRedbubbleSmidge Canada dawanda Europe.


How to:First I choose the image who comes to my mind, maybe from nature, like birds or cities, or memories or maybe from any fashion event that I see. After this I translate this images to paper called "boceto" meaning the idea made real, but only in a simple graphic. Then I start developing my idea on canvas or jeans,and it follows the fabric paint with the glitters.Every painting has between 3 to 5 coats to create the colors I'm looking for. If needed I add glitters at the end and then a clear coat to keep it safe.Fabric paints can't be removed so ...I have to be super careful.Every artisitc piece is original. No copies.All unique even when they seems similar.






Connections:I love to send feedbacks and I love getting them! IN SINTESIS *Fashion Designer since 1992*Worked for trade marks and fashion brands in Argentina and United States*Sketched runways and events*Hand Painted art work on denim ( a very loyal fabric) and canvas are my favorites*Clothing ,shoes and accesories *Blessed in all for the LORD

Earth day is here...

Tribal and earthy for the end of summer

New Hand Painted and Silk Screen Printed Designs.

Check out my new collection. Justed created one of a kind dresses,t-shirts,tunics and more in this Peacock Painted Style in clothes 60%cotton and 40%modal.Super nice fit and stretchy for your awesome curves.

The peacock silk screened and hand painted on this wonderful tee.Everyone it's different. I paint them one by one. I don't repeat colors in the details: feathers,body,tail even the gold crown.In this lenght you can wear it as a dress,tunic with leggins or not, or just a stunning t-shirt. The v-neck makes it different and so in style. The short sleeves are not that short ( they go down very close to the elbow) Express Brand New items.

Jennifer sees the light!

Jennifer from MaidenShade takes the act of covering bare bulbs just a "shade above" what the rest have to offer. I met her not long ago at the Island Fest Show in Tampa and from the start she iluminated the day. Her personality and the way she handles her business made me feel like I knew her very closely when in reality that was our first encounter.

MaidenShade is artistically handcrafted lights - lamps, nightlights, and lampshades - featuring unique designer fabrics and high-end trims. Choices range from everyday, holiday, religious, and nursery/child themed lamps, nightlights, and lampshades, to special requests including coordinating items like light switch covers, tissue box covers, wastebaskets, pillows, and curtains.

Her web site contains lots of new products made for different ocassions and situations like: Everyday,Nursery,Child,Holiday,Custom orders,Religious and much more!

Check her wonderful creations at http://www.maidenshade.com/

Finally I took the liberty to copy this phrase from her web site that says a lot about her:

“Don’t live with that treasure God deposited in you undiscovered, and don’t die with the treasure still in you. Give birth to the dreams and desires that God has placed in your heart.” --Joel Osteen

Oh My Cavalli

For Fall 2008, the most wanted drink on the block will undoubtedly be Coke Light in bottles designed by Cavalli. The limited run of 300,000 bottles will be destributed exclusively in Italy from September through December. They are seductive and feminine, in typical Cavalli style and will surely become collectables.

The Coca-Cola light bottle is said to appeal to women with a strong personality, who is extroverted, modern and like to experiment; women who love beauty, design, art and culture.

I'm a proud member of Posh Mama

Do you know Posh Mama and Poshtidbits Magazine? I'm a member since a few months ago and I enjoy it very much all the comments and advice received from this online magazine and group. Posh Mama Online Magazine and Social Network is a positive and upbeat community made up of women from around the world. You will feel immediately welcomed as it is the sweetest spot on the 'net. Come hang out, network and make some great friends at www.poshmama.com.