Saturday, August 30, 2008

The Purse Tote - Oops I didn't do that on purpose !!! - Black and White Chrysantemum fabric with touch of Silver

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Or maybe it is ok........... missed it by that much. > <

Sometimes after making, creating, sewing, ironing, and otherwise being creative, you make an Oops! I have had my share of OOooops ~ es in the past and mostly I carry them myself or I take them apart and begin again. This time I decided it wasn’t that bad, and I have noticed that other Etsians have listed Oops also. In fact there was a treasury devoted to Oops a few weeks ago and they were lovely.
This is an "Ooops" because the snaps were put on off center and attached slightly to one side... This is priced slightly lower than the others because of the Ooops. If it is not sold in one cycle on etsy it will not be renewed and I will carry it. It is really a beautiful fabric. Oh! I might get another for my own collection! It is really a beautiful fabric. If this Oops is calling your name you can buy it at my shop..
Then put Oops in the search box and see what else comes up you will be surprised!


Friday, August 22, 2008

Bug Storm ~ and other adventures on the Road.

Bug Storm ~ and other adventures on the Road.

Many of you may know that I have been going on "road trips" this summer to visit the local colleges and universities in our area that my teen may want to attend fall 09. They do these tours, and we visit the classrooms and dorms, it is really neat way to help make a decision.
This was our last trip, and we were on a six hour drive in Eastern Washington, about dusk. When there arose such a splatter! I couldn't believe what we were seeing, splat! Splat! SPLAT!!!. It was a Bug Storm! It contained all sorts of bugs, locus, ladybug, flies, mayflies, and other really juicy ones!
My car has a kind of grimace, after having to endure it!

One large one still left stuck on after 300 more miles................ It got so thick that there was just a small place for me to see out of the window, and I had to constantly use the window cleaner to keep that area clean.
Ladybugs too!.................... They were so thick, it looked like a snowstorm.
Well ... it lasted about 5 minutes and when we arrived at the hotel later that night, there were about 50 still attached to the grill, too bad I didn't take a photo of that! These photos are from the next day when we got home 300 miles later, so alot blew off already.
I also let my teen drive, through the mountians, but that is another adventure, that the description is better left for another day!

Friday, August 15, 2008

BRATs of Etsy - Featured Seller - Artist! - Handsoncrafts

The Military Brats of Etsy Global Street Team ~ August 2008 Brat Feature ~Every few weeks we feature one of our members….
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Handsoncrafts
See her etsy shop here;
http://handsoncrafts.etsy.com
See her web site here;
http://handsonartsandcrafts.com
See the post on our Bratty Blog here;
http://etsymilitarybratteam.blogspot.com

1-Tell us a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, and personal stuff).
My name is Mabel. I’m 29 years old. I live in Chesapeake, Va. I’ve lived here for 5 years.I was born at Andalucia, Spain. I'm a Navy wife and mother of 4 wonderful children.


2-What is the first thing you can remember making by hand?
How and why did you make it?Oh it was a Sarah Kay frame made of a few posters and some glue; I made the posters shine with many covers of glue that made it look shiny and hard. Then I put cotton on the back and glued on a frame!! I remember it was beautiful!!!


3-What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?

Love inspires me, the love of my children, my husband and even my puppies, Nature inspires me too and also God. Sometimes an idea just comes to me and I run to get a paper and a pencil and draw it before is gone, and then I make themcome true!



4-What are your favorite materials?

Oh, Cold Porcelain, I have been working with Cold Porcelain since I was 13 or 14 just watching THE MASTER, My MOM!


5-What have been the most valuable lessons learned from other artists on Etsy?

Do not underestimate, if anything overestimate it makes you look good and keeps the customer happy.
6-Why should people buy handmade?

For me handmade means made with love and care. It is something that one person puts hours of work, total attention andLove.

7-What features/services would you most like to see on Etsy?
I would like to see them advertise more.

8-Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I am a stay at home mom with 4 kids. I have 1 boy 13 years old, my big helper. Also I have a 1 yr. old little girl that keeps me really busy. and 3 year old girl, who loves to eat all the time and go outside. ha! Ha! hA! And my sweet 9 year old girl she is my strength.




9-Read any good books lately?

Oh yeah "the 5 languages of love" I think everyone needs to read this book, it is awesome.

10-In ten years I'd like to be…
Hmmm having my own boutique gift shop!!!

11-How did you pick your business name and your etsy avatar?

Well Hands on Arts and Crafts, which is my business name. My mom's store is "Art In Your hands" So that's the reason for “Hands" then I do Arts and Crafts so they came together very well. Don’t you think? And my Etsy Avatar I just picked one of my pictures and I made it my self. Here is my mom’s web address; I want to share her site http://www.artinyourhands.com.

12-What is a Brat and how does that help you craft?

Well My Dad was from the Air force of Spain so I grew up traveling. When I was a kid it was really hard to adapt too manydifferent places, but then turned fun when I start doing crafts and learning new Crafts and techniques from different countries. I learned Jewelry in Peru, I learn to cross stitch in Korea and many other crafts in different countries, so CRAFTS helped me a lot and are very important in my life!!! When my husband goes on Deployment I just sit in my studio at night and submerge my self there, it makes the time fly!!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Custom Shoes from Japanese Pirate

Custom tennis shoes by the Japanese Pirate…. My daughter, who is studying to become a graphic designer, has these custom shoe creations she is offering for sale. A customer may send a short list of ideas (simple color choices or cartoon samples will do for inspiration) they wish to include. She will use that list as inspiration to create and design a pair of shoes just for you. You will notice she has a love of all things Japanese, so the shoes pictured here are of little Japanese cartoons.


She wears them quite often, and gets so many comments! There is a big Wow Factor involved!


Happy sunshine !
Rainbow swoosh……
What ?

“Nani” means “what” in Japanese hence the ? question mark.No puddle jumping! This is her personal pair therefore the wear in them.

These sell for $35.00 plus $6 shipping.

Currently available in sizes… 5, 7, 8 and 9….We are currently looking for some more 6’s.

You can order your own pair by leaving your email in the comments below I will contact you for your list of ideas you want incorporated into your own pair, and send you a paypal invoice.
This process uses sharpie pens and is fairly color safe; however, these shoes are not to be worn on the beach or on very rainy days…. And absolutely no puddle jumping allowed!

Friday, August 1, 2008

BRATs of Etsy - Featured Team


YEP! The Military Brats of Etsy Global Street Team was featured in their blog the Storque.

We also got a front page treasury picked by Etsy themselves..

Here is that front page.... in all its glory...
To see what we are up to lately check out the Brats Street Team Blog!