Isabelles Attic, A Grandmother's Inspiration

Be sure to stop by and visit Isabelles Attic http://www.isabellesattic.etsy.com/ where you will find  "new family heirlooms for you from my sewing basket". Isabel shares the story of her shop and her Grandmother's inspirations..."My greatest inspiration to sew is my grandmother Isabel. She was a homemaker and sewed for a living. It always amazed me how she could turn one of her drawings and a simple piece of fabric into such beautiful creations, such as dolies, dresses, curtains etc... I always looked forward to seeing her finished product. I hope that you will enjoy my creations as much as I enjoyed my grandmother’s".

by Isabelles Attic
Hi my name is Liseth and I my store is http://www.isabellesattic.etsy.com/  . I have named it after my greatest inspiration, my grandmother Isabelle. She had a natural talent for crafts and clothes making, which I always admired. As Isabelle did, when I am home, I like to create a variety of items such as vintage style, fun beanies, purse and more.

Crafting and sewing takes me to a different level of relaxation and lets my imagination go free, the best outcome from this is it makes me proud when I know my items have found a new home to bring a smile to their face. My motto, when I’m creating a new craft or having a bad day I try to remember this quote: “The only time you fail is when you don’t try”.

For great deals and updates on new items or just to chat with me you can also find me on twitter: www.twitter.com/IsabellesAttic  or stop by in the etsy forums it's a great way to meet other etsy memebers and learn from them too.

 
 

My Very First Primitive Folk Art Doll

Here is my new little handmade Primitive art doll. I had so much fun creating today! It all started late last night just after my little ones went off to bed. I have been wanting to try to make an art doll out of clay for a long time. When I was away recently I picked up a fabulous magazine called "prims" Art Inspired by a Bygone Era published through Stampington & Company which is the the same company that publishes my most fav magazine ever "Somerset Studios".

I was thrilled to find this Premier issue and couldn't wait until I could find the time to give it a try!
...As I was saying I started around 9:00 last night and forced myself to go to bed around 2:00 knowing that my little ones were going to be awake at their regular "early" hours. I was having so much fun that I had considered pulling an all nighter- but thought better of it.

I woke up early because I was so excited to get back to creating my little doll. It was the first day in a very long time that I spent creating with no regard of time. My girls would come in and out and spend time with me, creating their own work and chatting while my little doll was taking shape. They helped me to pick out her wings and her dress, the beautiful rhinestone vintage pin she should wear and the colour of her hair. We could see her coming to life and were excited to see her complete.

Many hours later...around 4:00 this afternoon I finally completed my little Prim doll. I think that she is adorable and I had so much fun that I can't wait to make another very soon! You can see more pictures of her in my Etsy shop http://www.thereddoor.etsy.com/.

Sentimental Culture & Old Time Traditions

"My family has been actively involved in crafts and jewelries for over 50 years now and since a child all I remember is always creating something...clothes for my dolls, head pins, teen gloves...you name it...but my true passion remained jewelries....colorful and vibrant, just as my Old Europe."

Enjoy a visit to Didi's Etsy shop where you will be enchanted by her wonderfully beautiful, handmade jewelry http://www.etsy.com/shop/handarts.

by Handarts

My name is Didi and I'm coming from Eastern Europe, Bulgaria. Growing up there was so much fun because of our sentimental culture and old time traditions. My country is a little over 2000 years old and is a modern representation of the "old world" though still caring lots of rituals and traditional celebrations.

We are warm, curious and tough and we love music, vibrant colors and decorations. I believe my interest in arts comes from my background and especially my family. My grand father is a furniture designer and renovator, my grand mother is a professional tailor and she designs and sews most of our clothes. My mom is crazy about painting, decorating and altering vintage stuff. I was always exposed to creativity and somehow slowly found my love for Jewelry.

Started pretty early...maybe 7 years old I won a small "new talents" competition with a hammered rose pendant...and never stopped creating since then. I have passion for Silver and light colored crystals and stones. Designs appear in my head at any time and one of my biggest inspiration is Europe from the 1930's, the era of sterling silver and quartz cabochons. I have a small desk specially bought for my Jewelry Passion and though is hard to keep it in order sometimes, I love creating on it.

Currently live in beautiful Louisiana with my husband of 4 years and my 2 years old leopard gecko. My co workers love and buy my jewelry and they were the ones who told me about Etsy. I love it because it reminds me so much about Home...people are sweet and talented and as an artist it's great to meet so many friends with love for Handmade.

Creative Journey

Today's feature "Glad Ragzz" so eloquently describes her creative journey. She is inspired visually by beautiful and artistic pieces and loves to try new things in her work. I can relate to the excitement of trying a new technique and using new materials.
Have fun visiting her shop http://www.gladraggz.etsy.com/ and enjoy her feature!

by GladRaggz

I'm a visual person, and am inspired when I see something that I consider to be beautiful or artistic. I've always loved antiques and vintage clothing, so I also draw inspiration from the look and feel of old clothing and accessories. I find something very romantic, sentimental, and appealing about the fabric and abundant handwork that went into those lovely old gems. For a while I did a lot of needlepoint using the original Berlinwork charts, but now my work seems to be a combination of antique opulence and new materials.

Good examples are my winter handbags, crocheted with a variety of new, "high tech" sparkly yarns, and adorned with luscious vintage jewelry. Since moving to Florida, I've used a lot more color than I used to, and I love bright, happy reds and oranges. For summer, I like to use cool, crisp blues and whites, and try to weave "ocean" themes into my summer work whenever possible. Being someone who bores easily, I love to keep "moving" in my creative journey, always trying new looks, new materials, and never wanting to create the same piece twice. Unless I have a special request for duplicates, all my shop items are unique and one-of-a-kind.

Please visit my vintage shop and blog:

http://rekindledpassions.etsy.com/

http://www.carpetbaggercreations.blogspot.com/

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!