It's Great Fun To See What Other Studios Look Like

I look at Robin Egg's studio and I can picture how wonderful it must be to create in this space. To add fun music, tea and chocolate just makes it that much more fabulous. Looooove your shop!

Make sure to visit http://www.robinseggsstudio.etsy.com/

Robin's Eggs Studio

Hi Kerry! What an awesome series you're doing. It's great fun to see what other studios look like.

Welcome to robin's egg studio! The entire setup is tucked into an alcove in the master bedroom. This space was destined to become an artist's studio: the former resident of the bedroom was an artist too! There must be something in the air. All my work is done at a six-foot table, and mostly at night after my two little ones are tucked in.
The environment is as fun as I can make it: there's always upbeat music playing, a cup of tea or some chocolates nearby, and my children's artwork and photos are pinned to my bulletin board. As you can see I've got my paints, fabrics and such in a rolling cart that can get stashed away when I'm done for the night. I've had to hang my pieces on the walls as they're finished...no room elsewhere! It's nice to see how they look hung up, actually.

I've had to be extremely organized and have my little plastic sets of drawers nerdily labeled so I can find everything. In the future, the studio will be painted (robin's egg blue, of course) and have pretty curtains and a LOT more lighting. A utility sink would be great too, but there is no room and the bathroom is just steps away. A girl can dream, can't she?Thanks for visiting the studio!

.

Just Add Memories

I just returned from a little "before school starts" trip. We had a great time and took alot of pictures. I have soooo many pictures to place in an album. My girls are growing so quickly~it's hard to find the time to put all of the pictures in albums. If you are a busy mom like me you can have someone help you out~like ...Just Add Memories.
Just Add Memories

About four years ago I discovered Scrapbooking at my church's MOPs (Mother's Of Preschoolers) meeting. The craft for the night was making a paper bag scrapbook album. I had fun and went home thinking this is something I could do. A couple of days later I went out and purchased some stuff to get started. I have been hooked ever since!I love making scrapbook albums- especially for other people. I like thinking of the smiles people will have when they look at their pages or albums I have helped them create. It is cool to create something that will be treasured for many years to come.Personally- I am my family's record keeper in charge of the pictures and scrapbook albums. My kids are growing and changing so much! I want to remember every detail of our lives together! (Corny I know!)I love the process of taking paper, adhesive, and embellishments and making something beautiful out of it.

What makes scrapbooking special and unique to me is that each person adds their own memories to the page. You can have two identical albums and they will be different because it is YOURS. With your kids, family,and thoughts and feelings.

My scrapbook room is mainly where everything I work with is kept. Paper, albums, works in progress,my "office", my computer and etc. are in this room. I tend to bring stuff out of this room to create. Usually the living room table is where I scrap. Ocassionally the kitchen counter as well. On any given night I can be found scrapping away while watching TV with my hubby and dogs by my side. Olympics anyone?

I try to stay organized but it appears to be a losing battle. As you can see! I found a great dresser that holds a lot at the dump in a "swap" area. It was free and it works. I have a cart for patterned paper and wire shelves for cardstock. I like storage bin/drawer carts. I have four of these. I just got a new one for my etsy items made and to be made. My works in progress usually go on the big table until I come back to them. I love scrapping and doing it for others is incredibly rewarding.

Check out my shop at http://www.justaddmemories.etsy.com/

My Studio is Calling Me!

When I have been too busy to go into my studio and everyday life seems to get in the way~I feel an overwhelming pull coming from the basemen calling out... "Keeerrry . It starts as a soft whisper at first and then a little bit louder and louder until it becomes a scream that can't be ignored! When I reach my creative space- I'm in heaven and I breathe a deep sigh of relaxation.
I'm back!
Here is excuse #2 for spending time in your studio.
This one is by Jeannie M. Leighton~
"My two favourite excuses are: another day another dust bunny gets to live:and,creativity is calling-I'll take it in my studio".

OBTP
Obtp has been creating beautiful jewelry for over 25 years.
Check out her creating space.

Obtp

I have been creating one of a kind handmade jewelry for a little over 25 years. I use Semi Precious Stones, sterling silver and any eclectic or vintage stones I can find. Whenever we go away on vacations I am always looking in the local telephone books for bead stores. I really like to focus on earrings as I think for the most part it is more affordable for people that want to treat themselves to something nice without hurting the pocket book.

My husband has always been very supportive of me but of course not without all the jokes and comments most men would give. He recently had a portion of our very old basement finished into a bead room for me. Ok, ok so it's a bead room/laundry room but we all know I'll be the only one ever to go in it. So consider it just mine.

To help organize my special little spot I bought a nice crafting table at BigLots with a few little cubby holes for my tools and also some very inexspensive bookshelves and a JobLot.A helpful tip for your handmade jewelry is you should have it restrung every year or so, especially if it is a large chunky piece. After a while the wire can strech on it making it easy to break.

If there is one thing I can say about creating ,it is "Love" what you do and it will show in your work.

Make sure to visit www.obtp.etsy.com!

Critters, Critters Everywhere!

Ux Critters

http://www.uxcritter.etsy.com/

Signature 3 Artist's at UxCritter's Place on Etsy.com, include; myself, and my 2 children. In 2001, I picked up some beads and found the most exciting pastime I had ever known. It all started with 'downtime' at a salon I worked at as a nail technician. I couldn't sit idle very long and found myself beading at my nail station in between clients. As I finished projects, they were commenting on how pretty the jewelry was and would I sell it? Sales of my jewelry in the salon showed me that I had potential in the market place.

Sarah and Jesse also are very creative and became a part of the production and sales crew, and from our individual signature designs, came Signature 3, our logo. We took our finished projects to craft shows and discovered we had been enjoying the crafting so much that we didn't realize the volume we had as inventory until we headed out the door with it. The craft show circut was a short-lived experience, as the stress and strain of preparing for it and hauling all the product, and display units, there and back each time, was stressful.We then discovered the online sales potential with Etsy.com, and that has been the most rewarding experience we've known.

The name UxCritter's Place on Etsy, came from my online name which I had used previously, and I thought would be the most recognizable for my Etsy Shop. At the time I lived in Uxbridge and I am known foremost as a citter nut. My contribution to UxCritter's Place, personally, is a variety of materials and projects.

Sarah usually likes to work with more detailed and invloved projects, in which she will create her own designs, like intricate beaded patterns that she makes up her own graphs for, but lately she has been knitting and crocheting and prefers not to use a pattern, and does her own thing. She is finding however her products haven't been going online in UxCritters Place, since she has been keeping the end product for herself or friends and family.

Jesse is the true artist in this creative family unit. Jesse works with paints and brushes, woodburning designs, pastels, pencil sketches, and has now added fine art photography to his creative skills. His paintings, woodburning, and photography have sold in UxCritter's Place on Etsy, and can be seen in the sold section of our shop. However, college and work, tend to keep him very busy and wishing for more time to be able to create. The same goes for Sarah as she is busy with finishing up her last year in highschool. We try to update our UxCritter's Place shop on Etsy.com as often as is possible, so please drop by and see what is new and exciting from the Signature 3 Artist's.

Behind The White Door! or "Going into the closet!"

Here are some new items behind the red door.

You've seen what is behind my red door.

Here is what is behind the white door!

Check out Soap Sense. I loooove Dana's creative use of space!

Soap Sense

"Behind the White Door."

My Etsy shop, SoapSense, is relatively new, although I have been making cold processed soap for many years. Last weekend, I set aside several hours to organize my soap-making ingredient closet. The top shelf is fragrances and essential oils to make the soaps smell wonderful! The middle shelf stores every skin-nourishing oil imaginable. The bottom is miscellaneous ingredients from salts, to dried flower petals, to crushed seeds.

My favorite soap making steps are creating recipes, and unmolding that latest batch of soap to see how it turned out.

Thanks for creating this unique feature...I have enjoyed looking at everyone else's workspace too!

Dana Meanor SoapSense on Etsy: http://www.soapsense.etsy.com/

Handmade Vintage in a Century Old Farmhouse

How charming is this! Check out Susan's studio in a quaint century old farm house.


Paper Hill

Hi my name is Susan and I'm the proud owner of Paperhill.etsy.com. I've been creating all my life so I was thrilled to find Etsy. I make goods using almost entirely vintage materials. My line includes ring bearer pillows made from vintage wedding dresses & lace, one of a kind jewelry, vintage wallpaper covered frames and a few other things. My studio is the two sunrooms of our 118 year old farmhouse. It's only about 6 feet wide but it's mine. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Thanks Kerry for including me in this fun feature!

(Your welcome~I'm glad to do it. I love your space)

I am also the owner of paperhillfabrics.etsy.com.

Previous Life ~ handmade that is!

I love it when I can use something old or re-use materials in my art. I am so excited to find lost treasures. Have you ever heard the saying "someone's trash is someone else's treasure"! So true! I can often find fabulous vintage items to mix with modern elements creating unique gifts. East Coast Kitsch has some great organizational tips using recycled items. A great way to do our part in keeping our Earth green.

If anyone has any other "green" ideas ~send me a comment and I'll do a" green" eco friendly feature.

East Coast Kitsch

Here's a bit about me!!I love to create and I love to create things that have already had a previous life (although that's not all I do). I try to stay pretty organized so I am very lucky to have one room in our home to dedicate to my work. I do this as a hobby, but would one day love for this to be a viable source of income. I travel quite a lot for my work, so I always have a couple of projects with me that I can work on to keep me sane on my travels! However, when I get home I love to spend an evening locked away in my crafting oasis.

Jane's favourite tips:

**Use recycled tin cans to keep your crafting tools organized- they look super cool and you are reducing your footprint!!

**Make sure you have everything you need at your fingertips- know where you put things or you will spend more time looking for items you have diligently tucked away.

**Keep a scrap bag- I always keep my scraps no matter how big or small- you never know when you might want to use them!!

Thanks Jane I look forward to "greening" my space a bit more!www.eastcoastkitch.etsy.com

Three in a Space ~Working Together~ Is it Possible?

Have you ever tried to share your space with someone else.? My space is a family games room with a built in extra large workspace ~ the Ping Pong table. I don't share my space with someone else per say but I do need to clean up my stuff when we have friends over to use the space. I love my space and will use any excuse to spend time in my retreat.

Here is a top excuse for spending time in the studio:

"If I weren't in here, I'd be eating. This is my diet plan." Annie Nordmark in Chicago,IL

~ If you have any excuse to share please post in comment on the blog!~

Featured Etsy Shop ~Krafty Krew

Koodos to Krafty Krew who have mastered the art of togetherness.

By ~KraftyKrew

Well lets see ,we are a joint venture of 3 me , my mom, and my sister and we live in my sister's home. My mom and I share the converted garage so we do with what we have .It's a bit crowded,but we manage.

Let me tell you~ there are times it drives me crazy. I don't like clutter or piles. But since I am not in my own home; well there you go. We try to use plastic shoe boxes to organize. We also use those crystal lite plastic tubes for our pens, rulers, buttons, etc... I use a lot of binders to keep myself organized with my projects and my mom and I use file cabinets to store our patterns.

We also take pictures of our projects to keep a log of what we make.

My sister uses those space bags to store her fabric. She has more room. She had a room built to suit her.

I have a few shelves for my fabrics, which I love .Fabric ~you can never have enough. Who ever dies with the most fabric wins :~) My mom also has a few shelves for her fabric but you will notice that a lot of our fabric is stacked up. We just love to go shopping especially those great fabric shops in Los Angeles.

We all do try to keep our own items and tools separate but sometimes we find that someone has taken our stuff. All in all we manage pretty well. We have fun together and help each other to make the best item so we can list and sell.

So I hope the pictures don't scare you .We do have some kind of organization , don't ask me what it is but I guess it's working for the moment LOL!!! If anyone out there wants to help me ,come on over and help me clean up my work area LOL!!!

Thanks for the opportunity~ kraftykrew aka Rita, Frances, Irene.Pss... the person you see in the picture is my mom. Here she is making her purses and wallets .She also makes soft sculpture dolls. You should see her Mr "T" and Betty Boop. I cant wait to list those. I think everyone will go gaga over them .

http://www.kraftykrew.etsy.com/

Inspiration

What inspires you?
Is it a song? a quote? amazing colours? talking to others? (not yourself! or maybe you inspire yourself~good for you!)

Above is a picture of my little art doll. She sits serenely in my studio and has become my creative muse. I can't seem to part with her now. Every time I look at her I feel peaceful and inspired.
Yesterday was a super fantabulous day. My city had their annual Art Sale and Exhibition ~Art In The Park~ with over 40 Artists and Artisans. Juried artists demonstrated and sold a variety of work.
I had a very successful day and was thrilled to have a chance to network and talk to people personally about my work. Shows or exhibitions are a great way to get more exposure for your art or craft. It's important to find a good match for you. Is it worth your time and energy?
For me this day was and I had a great day. I am inspired to step into my studio to create more. I enjoy seeing smiles and hearing the fantastic feedback. Everyone seems to enjoy telling me the special place they have for my art. They have already made a personal connection to my art and have made it their own. I love this !
So now I step into my studio, with fresh ideas and new inspiration.

Have a Peek at Mia's Inspiring Shop

Mia Sophia's Shop

Glass fascinates me. It can have different personalities and dimensions just by the way the light shines through it. I think everyone should have a special piece and that is why I use it to make jewelry. The favorite things I make are my miniature stained glass windows.

I take really special glass that has amazing characteristics, cut it to a small size so that everyone can have a piece for a window or to take with them on a chain. I make sure each one is special. My two spaces are my garage and my office

My garage studio is where I can do all my cutting, grinding and soldering. I use my office to put together the final touches and my packaging. I prefer my garage but, alas, no a/c so I can’t spend much time in there during the summer.

In order to stay organized I collect any kind of empty container to keep my glass. I organize it by color and size so that I can find the exact piece I need. I also have LOTS of Band-Aids handy! The mark of a glassier.

I love what I do and wouldn’t do anything else.
Visit Mia at her shop! http://www.miasophia.etsy.com/

Now This Is How It's Done

Well ...we got to see my messy creating space ~ yes it does need some T.L.C.. Dee's space on the other hand looks wonderfully clean and organized.
Barefoot Bath and Body has got organization down pact!

Don't let Dee fool you. Look how organized her space is!

Check out Dee's Space.

An inspiration!

Feature ~ Barefoot Bath & Body

Hi, I'm Dee and here is my workspace(well, one of them at least!). I have a large craft room/studio/shipping center upstairs that is the size of a two car garage...I love it!

On one wall is a full length table which I have divided up into what is now two sections...scrapbooking, the other section is shipping. The shipping section used to be jewelry making, but I'm not a skilled jeweler and found the creations I was making could be made by anyone, in other words not unique...so I quickly gave that up.

On the other wall is my soap curing and storing racks, a bookcase which holds all my needlework and yarn, and books that I adore...plus I have an antique rocker there so I can be comfy should I choose to take up one of a hundred different needlework projects I have taken up and abandoned due to other interests.

Then there is my sewing machine! I dream about and make soap, lip balms, and in the fall and winter candles and body butter balms. Over two years ago I got fed up with big company soaps...the detergents in them were killing my skin..so I got to work researching the art of soapmaking. Originally I started with Melt and Pour...and found not all melt and pour bases are made equally...so I strive to keep my melt and pour stock of the highest quality. After Melt and Pour I moved cautiously into Cold Process soap making. I say cautiously as making soap should not be entered into flippantly. There are safety concerns for not only the soaper, but for the consumer as well.I make my soap in the kitchen and laundry room of my home. These areas I did not photograph as they look like typical kitchens and laundry rooms...

My favorite tool is my stick blender! Oh my I could kiss the inventor of that little tool! It has reduced the trace time of my cold process soaps down from 3 hours to a little under 15 minutes or less!

As you can see by my pictures I'm not very organized. My entire house is spotlessly clean, but my craft room is the place where I kind of let go and if it is easy to reach and more convenient to be in a mess...then I will leave it that way. Some days I have a lot of orders and there is no time to put shipping materials away after each use. The one thing I do insist on and do practice ad nauseum however, is all my paperwork is put away in a timely and orderly manner.

I draw inspiration from my surroundings. I live out in a wooded area, so nature and all the fantastic colors I see every day inspire me. My daughter also inspires me...especially when I'm in a rut she gives me ideas, which, not surprisingly end up being best sellers!

You can see Dee's wonderful soap products at http://www.barefootbathandbody.etsy.com/

My Messy Workspace

Do you love your workspace- no matter what it looks like?

No matter how big or small?

No matter how messy it is?

I do . I do . I do!

I love the feeling of walking into my creative space and feeling an instant sense of relaxation and calm. Most times my space is pretty clean because I find it hard to create when it's too messy (can't find things fast enough). I have two little girls that also love to join me in my space and we work together in "creating harmony".

Are you kidding !

If you have kids then you know it is not harmony... but they do come in and stamp or paint. Most of the time it is fun.

Here is a peek into my workspace..... this needs a WARNING attached!

Enter at your own risk!

Here are some pics.




So..... What did you think? Was it that bad? Could you see potential? I will send in an after picture "after" my exhibition. Send me a comment to let me know what you think of this site. Any suggestions for improvement?


P.S. Remember ETSY MEMBERS YOU CAN BE A FEATURED STUDIO...IT COULD BE CLEAN OR MESSY LIKE MINE! JUST CLICK ON THE RED DOOR & CONVO ME....IT'S THAT EASY! ... Great free promo and link back to your shop!

See the first blog for all the juicy info!

~Kerry~

Premiere Etsy Studio Feature

Welcome Everyone,

I am so pleased to offer "Etsy Studios". It is a close up glimpse into the creating spaces of Etsy artists. Artists share their creative workspace and their organizational tips. It is so much fun to peek into someone else's studio. You will find many different studios inside including large glamorous art studios , closets transformed and well ...work spaces that need a little transformation and organizational help!!! It's all here. We will share organizational tips and post questions for readers to answer. ~Please make sure you read to the end of the blog so that you don't miss anything exciting!~

~If you are an Etsy member and would like to be a featured studio-

just click on ~ The Red Door~ To The Right

Here is Etsy Studios' first feature .... ~Enjoy~.

Etsy Shop~ I Sew Cute

I am a mom, wife, tomboy turned girly-girl craft goddess…who works on my passions of art & craft at home. I simply love to make things and am addicted to Craftster & Etsy. I just found etsy early this summer through a friend & love both selling & buying there.

It is nice to find a variety of unique items all made with love!

I just started blogging this summer and have a resin tutorial posted there for anyone who has been hesitant to try it. It makes me sad to think there’s amazing crafters out there just sitting on the fence about working with this incredible medium…it’s wicked addictive & not as hard as you’d think!

http://isewcute.blogspot.com/

I turned a walk in closet into my ‘craft room’…and it is desperately crowded, however brightly painted! ;^)

My main crafty loves are sewing, drawing, & knitting. I have an etsy store with only jewelry and a couple of patterns for embroidery now, but hope to expand with sewn items & handmade Christmas items by this fall. I’m convo friendly and love to meet other crafters!

Visit her Etsy Shop www.isewcute.etsy.com

Cheers!

~Tip~ Store items in old shoe boxes.
Label what is inside.

Have a great day and come back often for new Studios. You never know ~it could be You next!