Made From Scratch With Passion and Love

All of Andrea's books and paper goods are carefully made by hand from scratch with passion and love. Each one is truly a one of a kind piece.

Enjoy a visit to her wonderful Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/Nicopapergoods/.

by Nico Papergoods

My name is Andrea Kohler. I am a homesick (occasionally) Swiss Heidi. I grew up in Zurich Switzerland where I met my Swiss/American husband. After a few years back and forth, we decided to move to Seattle, Washington. We live with our thirteen year old son Nico in a 100 year old modest, but character full house.

When I was sixteen I started a 4 year bookbinding apprenticeship in my home town.

For fifteen years I ran a thriving bookbindery in down town Zurich. In the evenings I taught bookbinding in a craft School and earned my living. Today I have the freedom to explore the creative processes. After all these years I am still very passionate about my craft. About a year ago I started to sell on Etsy and it has opened up many new doors for me.

For more information about what I do, please visit my website

http://www.kohlerbookbinding.com/

Puppy Love

Kelly is the owner of Gone Doggie http://www.etsy.com/shop/GoneDoggie and is an avid dog lover and owner. Gunner is one of the dogs she has rescued and plays a very important role as he is a certified therapy dog. Kelly and Gunner volunteer at one of Kelly's local schools as a reading buddy. Children who have difficulty reading will bring a book and sit and read to Gunner. Kelly and Gunner work with grades K-2. Gunner is bigger than most of the kids that come to see him each week but, they are not afraid of him. Enjoy reading about Kelly and her wonderful shop.



by Gone Doggie

My name is Kelly. I am an avid dog lover and owner. As a little girl I would help my mom at her craft shows and I would always find little things to make to sell at the shows. As I got older I kept dabbling with different things. It was when I got my dogs that I took my love for creating and dogs and married the two and created GONE DOGGIE. I got my first dog and just fell in love. I adopted a second dog and it was after her adoption that I became involved in animal rescue. I began volunteering at the local animal shelter then began doing foster work. I then adopted one of my foster pups which made the third dog for my husband and I. I recently adopted my fourth dog.

I began creating my dog collars after trying to find fun but durable collars for my dogs. I needed something that would stand up to the rough housing of three large dogs. I played around with different materials and did lots of research on different hardware manufacturers. I finally came up with a collar a like and one that could be fun and durable but, still be made a reasonable cost. I donated many collars to my local advocate group then friends began asking me to make collars for their dogs. Next thing I knew I was signing up for craft shows and setting up my online shop www.gonedoggie.etsy.com.

In between my sewing I have my own pet sitting business. I do volunteer work with two of my dogs that have become certified therapy dogs. I also do work for our local animal advocate group, so needless to say I keep myself pretty busy.

I have a room in my home dedicated as my craft room. However I still spill out onto the dining room table and have even begun taking over another bedroom in our home. I keep telling my husband I just need an addition built onto the house for all my craft stuff. I have two different kinds of sewing machines and recently added an embroidery machine to my collection. I am always trying to come up with new things that are pet friendly and owner friendly. My next project is dogs beds.

The one piece of advice that I can give is to LOVE WHAT YOU DO and DO WHAT YOU LOVE! I know it's not easy but if you can figure out that balance you will be a much happier and satisfied person. I have been blessed to be able to do what I love fulltime but, it also took me a long time to know what it was that I really wanted to do.

You can read more about me and my dogs and see a list of craft festivals that I will be doing at http://www.gonedoggie.com/. Check out my online shop http://www.gonedoggie.etsy.com/ to see collars and other handcrafted items available for sale.

Holiday Time Is Here

Holiday Time Is Here

It's hard to believe that it is so close to Christmas. Excitement surrounds me. There are children to surprise, packages to wrap, cookies to bake and art to create. I was all snuggled and cozy resting in my bed with visions of creations dancing in my head.

Inspired by the freshly fallen snow I head to my studio with hot chocolate in hand.

I love the feeling of Peace as I enter my studio, it's been too long. My eyes wide with Joy I enter the space that embraces me back with open arms. When what do my wondering eyes should appear but new paints and supplies... it must be St. Nick!

I sigh in my Happiness and remember how I Love to be here.

As I sit and begin I exclaim as I paint- happy creating to all and to all a good time!

Montage Studio's Creative Space

Montage studio has a fabulous space to create in . She has a beautiful and serene view to inspire her and great organizational tips. Check out her studio.

Montage Studio

I am a photographer and painter and do both in my home studio.

Visit http://www.montagestudio.etsy.com/

The space has a beautiful view, with mature trees and whatever wildlife my dogs haven’t scared away. My desk is where I alter my photographs and scan ephemera and painting to make digital collages. Although I shoot both film and digitally, most of my latest work is mainly digital.There is a large wooden table that I use for painting. It is wonderful to have such a big workspace, where I can leave several projects out at once. When I lived in Paris I always had several projects going at once and found that this really took the pressure off of one piece having to be utterly brilliant.

On the table I have a sweet little cubby to hold my paint; the larger bottles are housed in a lovely Salvation Army find behind glass doors.By nature I am a packrat and love being surrounded by “stuff”…BUT it can also get to me when there is no order to things and I spend half the day looking for a particular paintbrush!

I have been slowly tackling my piles, and am trying to keep “like with like” as they say: papers in plastic storage drawers; paintbrushes in earthen pots; books, journals and magazines on the new shelves that my brother-in-law put up recently (three 8 foot shelves: pure joy). I do TRY to keep my desk area tidy and free of clutter, but I am still working on that one!Having lived in apartments for most of my adult life, I feel so lucky to have a house with such an amazing studio space. I often work late at night and love the peaceful setting and the fact that the refrigerator is just a few feet away!!!

Check out Montage Studio's blog http://montagestudio.blogspot.com/

Licks,Love and Luck!

Zygote creates works for Fetish Ghost in Stockton, California. Check out his handcrafted ceramic collection! I love his studio space!
Fetish Ghost

My name is Zygote. I create works for FetishGhost in Stockton, California. For over the past 20 years, I've generally been known for my unique approach to handcrafted sterling macabre. But... it's been over the past 2 years though that I've been building up a clientèle for my October Harvest gift ceramics, (gallery quality seasonal tea ware and large treasure canisters.) This collection was created initially to serve a handful of localized niche markets in Northern California, but with Etsy, the studio is really starting to grow beyond it's preconceived boundaries. I have to admit, it's cool!

I really enjoy creating new works for this collection.My main studio is an old vintage 1920 garage complete with an old leaking roof, basic electrics, and no cooling or heating. I LOVE it! Despite it's exposure to the elements (or because of it), it provides a well ventilated space for all of my work. This has proven a necessity with controlling a healthy work environment that works well with kilns and dusts.

I've also located my photo booth in the root cellar to control the light conditions and my computer is next to my bed. Apparently late nights are the norm when it comes to photo editing and writing all those descriptions. It's archaic and it's still a work in progress, but it seems to get the job done at the moment.

My organizational tip is to invest in a lot of shelving. Plan for storage, but make that extra effort to sell what you have on hand. Sitting on a pile of work helps build-up inventory for special events... but... well, it's really easy to build up too much of a good thing.

Live free and have fun! Come check me out!

http://www.fetishghost.etsy.com/

Licks, Love, & Luck...-Zygote-

Do What You Love!

Simple Stitches has been sewing since she was a little girl. Whether your passion has been life long or a new pursuit...it is probably something you love to do and couldn't live without. People ask me all of the time where do I find the time to create as a busy mom, teacher and coach. I respond that I find the time for myself and it is what I Love to do! If you take care of yourself first and do what you love ,you will happily have time for others. Now go and have fun doing what you love!
Simple Stitches 101

I've been sewing since I was a little girl. I haven't always had a sewing room, but I always seem to take over a section of the house and make it my "creative cocoon". I love the fact that I am able to see all of my fabrics while I work. It allows me to be more creative, and try new combinations. I also love wool and woolfelt, and have an extensive collection of those as well. When I'm not at my full time job, you can find me creating in my favorite room ! Come and see what I've made....http://www.simplestitches101.etsy.com/

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/