Spring Color Palate

Are you in the mood to break out of the winter drearies? Then put on some spring sunshine. Whether or not you follow the seasonal fashion color picks, you will find inspiration, and hope that spring is coming, in the Pantone Spring 2010 Color Fashion Report.

Splashes of some of these colors have been included in my new spring designs. As the season warms up, my gathering pins will do a beautiful job of pushing up your sleeves. For a bright, eye catching accent choose my OOAK carved rose necklace. Additional splashes of spring sunshine can be found by browsing EDCCollective and EclecticSkeptic. If you have a particular color combination in mind and don’t find it listed, contact EDC about a custom order. I’d love to help you bring a little sunshine to your world.

EDC Places in the ETC January Design Challenge

Many of the teams on Etsy hold design challenges. That has been the case for both of the teams that EDCCollective is a member of, Etsy Texas Crafters (ETC) and The Eclectic Artisans Team (EART). Generally, the design challenges have a theme and the entries are supposed to represent that theme. Often the winner of the challenge is selected by people casting their votes for the entry that best represents the theme. The winners may receive a prize donated by another team member or some extra promotional support by the team.

During the past year I have entered a few of my team’s challenges as well as some other contests. The January ETC Design Challenge had the largest number of entries that I can recall for an ETC challenge during this past year. There were forty entries, and prizes were awarded to the top eight vote getters. So I was very excited to receive word that my entry was awarded seventh place! The theme of this design challenge was “Winter’s Wonders”. I entered my Sparkles Holiday Card. My description of why this entry fit the theme was, “In this part of Texas, our winter wonderland is often a crystal fairyland of ice coated trees. I took this photo on a clear day following an ice storm and added the flying pig for a bit more "magic" in the air.”

My prize was donated by MoltenGecko. I received a lovely abstract poinsettia glass pendant with an adjustable cord. The design of the adjustable cord is quite clever and I thought it was an nice addition to the piece.

EDCCollective's Anniversary, Entry in the Handmade Olympics

What has been a bittersweet one year anniversary for me of the opening of EDCCollective on Etsy with my mom, due to her passing last November, has just been given a high powered, make you feel good boost. I know my mom would have been excited and proud for me.

I just found out that one of my items was selected as a finalist in the 2010 Handmade Olympics Eco-Friendly Event on RikRakStudio’s blog. I am so pumped!

There are twelve amazing finalists in this event. Judges for each category narrowed the entries down to the finalists so that you, the public, can vote for the winner in each category. While I would really love your vote in the eco-friendly category, I encourage you to check out all of the finalists and vote accordingly.

HANDMADE OLYMPICS UPDATE (2/19/10)

Unfortunately, I did not land a spot on the medals stand, however I really appreciate the opportunity to compete. I am still thrilled to have been one of the 12 finalists picked by the judge of the eco-friendly category from the 138 nominations in that category. You can see a complete list of the medal winners by clicking here.

Thanks for the Treasuries – January, 2010

I was honored to have 7 of EDCCollective’s and EclecticSkeptic’s listings featured in treasuries on Etsy during the month of January. One of them found its way into 2 different treasuries and another even made it into 3 separate treasuries. Even better, one of the items sold as a result of the treasury while the treasury that it was featured in was still active! I have made a collage of the 7 items that were showcased during January. (Click on the collage to see a larger view.)


I really appreciate the efforts of the treasury makers and truly am honored each time one of my items is picked to be spotlighted in one. Because of this, I have listed below (in alphabetical order) links to the 6 different shops that featured at least one of my items, as well as an item of theirs that I especially like.

Enjoy window shopping and I encourage you to click on the shop links of anything that pleases your eye.

CorkyCrafts
Wine-related products make the perfect gifts! If you are a wine connoisseur who happens to appreciate hand made items, look no further.



DivaDea
Polymer clay artist offers art, jewelry, home decor, beads and buttons.





GaBeadz
Exclusive handmade jewelry designs are presented by GaBeadz.



NoahsArkCollection
Animals of many kinds can be found here as SS charms, beads, jewelry and sculptures.


PnkGeeni
Handmade cards listed here.



PunkynMunky
Unique and creative hair accessories, Ribbon Sculptures and instructions to do it yourself are available at this shop.

Great Backyard Bird Count 2010

I want to share a fun and important opportunity with you that I have participated in for the last few years and encourage you to get involved this year. It is the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). Why have I participated? Part of the allure is being able to contribute data as a citizen scientist to a worthwhile research project. Also, I enjoy either watching and counting the birds from my dining room or getting outside to a park or other good bird watching area.

I could go on, but there is so much more info by the organizers of this event, that I encourage you read their press release to learn more about how you can help and to see some amazing photos taken during last year’s event.

This worthwhile project can be great fun for you and your family, so I hope you will get a chance to participate. Happy counting!

Heart Your Valentine

Give your heart to your Valentine with one of the following gifts available from EDCCollective or EclecticSkeptic. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) For more information about an item or to purchase it, head on over to the shop listed under each item.


Did you see something you liked, but it needs a cute flying pig charm? Or perhaps it’s the other way around? Many of these items can be made with or without the flying pigs. To see if I can add a flying pig to a featured item, contact me at EclecticSkeptic. For items sans piggies, contact me at EDCCollective.

Design This – Native American Hair Accessories

I described in an earlier post how an Etsy alchemy listing led me to include feather wrap pendants to my offerings at EDCCollective. A recent alchemy listing inspired me to add feather hair accessories as well. The title of the alchemy listing was “Native American Necklace and Hair Accessories”. That peaked my interest and I clicked on the request to read the description. I responded with one of my feather wrap pendants and was told that a different style necklace was being looked for, but was asked if I could make something similar in a hair thong?

Hair thong, now that was a new term to me, so I did some research on the web and came back to my prospective customer with some ideas and questions. After getting some feedback, I sent a photo of mock ups of three different types of feathers that I had on hand that I thought would lend themselves to this project. My customer liked the design and feathers of the middle one the best, so I proceeded to complete a pair of Native American inspired hair thongs based on it.

I liked the way the gray and white feather mock up looked, so I made a couple of pair of hair thongs based on that design for my shop. The third photo in this post shows the completed custom hair thongs as well as the ones for my new shop listing. While looking for hair clips for this project, I found some that would compliment other feathers that I had in stock. I used these colorful new clips to create some peacock feather hair accessories.

I have really enjoyed working with the feathers and creating these wonderful hair accessories. The natural beauty of feathers allows them to be used for a variety of projects. Stay tuned to see what new creation I’m inspired to come up with next.