MaruMaru

I just returned from beautiful Las Vegas. Wow wow,wow! I was so inspired by the amazing lights and colours. Everything is so super grand and alive in Vegas! It is extremely energizing to be a part of the Las Vegas life. I can't wait to create something. I think that my next piece will definitely reflect the glamour and the glitz of Vegas!

These gorgeous pieces by MaruMaru would look lovely worn in Vegas or anywhere!

Check out MaruMaru's beautifully glamorous pieces at http://www.marumaru.etsy.com/.

Hi! My name is Michelle and I graduated last year with a B.A. in Communications and a minor in Japanese. I opened up my shop 2 years ago on Etsy which was when I began making jewelry. Now that I have finished school, I have too much time on my hands! I started liking jewelry when I began working in the jewelry department at a well-known retail store. At first, I didn't see what the big hype was over jewelry until I would stand for hours at a time and become anxious to try a few things on. When I wasn't helping customers, I was trying on jewelry whenever I could and soon enough I put everything I liked on hold so nobody could buy them! I'm really picky about jewelry, so whenever I'd buy a necklace, I'd use my pliers to take off or add parts to it to make it just right. I'm inspired by fantasies from when I was a child. I wanted everything to be in pink and blue like cotton candy, ride on a unicorn and eat ice cream all day long. My grandmother owns a very large land in Japan and made it into beautiful garden that is now a popular tourist attraction. I would spend my childhood in her garden looking at blue Hydrangeas wishing I could take it all back home with me.

In my shop, you will see lots of flowers from rose cameos to Czech flower beads.MaruMaru.etsy.com is an online boutique that features retro and vintage style jewelry from flower cabochons and 70s kitsch to cute owl charms. I love vintage-inspired and retro charms, and absolutely cannot live without color. I wanted my shop to reflect this, so I started using origami papers I had lying around to use as backgrounds. When I'm not playing around in my jewelry supply box, I'm at the movies or drinking champagne!

Fatally Cute

by kmwatkins

I am Karen Watkins and I am a artist who mostly does paintings that lean towards the illustrative side. I paint exclusively with acrylic on illustration board, canvas, and wood. I also love to hand sew and have started needle felting recently. Much of my subjects are cute animals, imaginary creatures, living environments, and young women.

Color is also important to my work. My art besides being cute, a lot of times has a sense of humor and is also at times creepy. In my studio area I try to keep everything I use everyday very accessible like my paints, brushes, palette sheet, etc. Things like extra canvases and bare wood plaques I keep together so I can grab whatever I need when I need it. I also have my little muses on my desk (little toys) on my desk for extra inspiration.

http://www.kmwatkins.etsy.com/

Check out Karen's blog

http://fatallycute.blogspot.com/

A Studio That Sparkles

Sparkles By Design

www.sparklesbydesign.etsy.com

Well, I finally got my studio organized...what a job. I started making jewelry about 7 years ago because I needed a necklace to match an outfit I was going to wear to a special occasion & since I've always done crafts, gift baskets, etc. since I was young, I thought...why not try making jewelry and it's been a learning process since then. I love designing & creating jewelry. It's relaxing and, also, rewarding when I see the finished pieces. I get ideas for a piece of jewelry any time of the day & anywhere.

Then, I try to sketch a picture of what's in my mind & list the materials & colors I want to use & then I start making it when I'm ready to create.

Sometimes I like the original idea, but other times, I make several changes along the way of working on a piece. I love to use some item that gives a little sparkle such as Swarovski crystals, metals, glass beads, & pearls. I have a good friend that I've known for almost 30 years & every time she would see me she would comment that I always had to have a little sparkle on me in the jewelry I would wear, so I guess that's where I came up with the name for my shop. I enjoy making jewelry because it seems that it makes customers smile & happy when they look at it, try it on, or purchase it. I especially love making jewelry for weddings, which I have done several. It's fun to get together with a customer & create a design customized especially for them and it's even more satisfying to see the appreciation on the customer's face when they are given their finished purchase. A little info about me is that I love gardening & crossword puzzles (when I have time). I always take the time to admire & cherish the beauty that nature gives us. The colors, the sparkle, & the uniqueness. Too often people are rushed and don't realize that they don't even notice the many beautiful things around us that nature has provided us with. When I need a few moments to relax, I sit out at our beautiful fish pond & waterfall. Family is very important to me, too. I have my husband, 2 adult daughters, 2 step-daughters, 2 son-in-laws, & 4 grandchildren. I, also, work 10 hours a week in a local child care program working with the pre kindergarten age. I've been there for almost 14 years. I would like to thank anyone that visits my Etsy shop and to thank you for this great opportunity to introduce myself & my Sparklesbydesign shop through Etsy. Thank you very much for your time.

A Generation of Artists and Crafters~ A Before & After Studio Tour

Here is a great before and after studio tour. Check out Giggling Goldfish and her new studio and more pictures of the gorgeous transformation.


Before

After

Check out Giggling Goldfish Etsy Shop www.gigglinggoldfish.etsy.com

Giggling Goldfish

I come from a family of artists and crafters and have been creating ever since I can remember. I grew up working and playing in my father's wood working shop and knew early on I loved to work with my hands. So of course when I had children of my own I hoped they (two beautiful girls and a 15 month old boy) would love and appreciate art and creating as I do.

Fortunately both of my girls are creative in many ways and do appreciate the concept of handmade and my son has a little space all his own in my studio. My youngest daughter and I have been creating together for a while now and I am enjoying it immensely. It is so awesome to see things thru a child’s eyes. She and now my little son bring so much color and life to our creations. I am inspired by so many things especially color and try to reflect our fun personalities into the things we create.

This is our studio in the making. I had tons of fun collecting little things here and there to create our space and even more fun building my little tables. I am a flea market and salvage yard junky and have been hording my little finds for years and now was able to put some of them to good use. I try to work on it here and there when I have time, but nonetheless I am so thankful to have a place to bring our thoughts to life.

Haha, that doesn’t mean I still don’t take over little parts of the house though. I am like a whirlwind when I am in the middle of a project with little bits and pieces everywhere, but as soon as I’m done I have to clean it all up and reorganize for the next time. For me it is much more relaxing and allows me to focus on what I am doing when I have a clean space. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gigglinggoldfish/sets/72157603946800035/

Good luck on your art space…I look forward to stopping by and taking a peek where you create.