Etsyselling.com Tradeaholic Team Feature!

How fun! Our team was mentioned on the etsyselling blog, yay! Maybe we'll get some more awesome shops to join :D

You can read it here: http://etsyselling.com/2009/11/team-time-etsy-traders/

Muffintop Designs

Everywhere you immerse yourself with new groups and ideas you will find yourself picking one or two that really strike your eye. Whether it is one or two really fantastic people in a new clique, one or two shops in a great mall or one or two artists in a new gallery. I have been lucky enough to stumble upon Muffintop Designs in my travels around Etsy and I have fallen in love with her work!

While strolling through her shop recently, one of her beautiful stacking collections caught my eye. When worn together it gives the appearance of a single disc shaped ring with beautiful organically shaped spheres surrounding it. When taken apart you can see the fabulous amount of detail in each piece that creates this grouping.

This set is called Rustic Sterling Silver New Moon and Organic Orbit Stacking Rings - Set of 4, and is available in her shop here.




I was lucky enough to get a chance to ask her some questions about her work. I really love finding out more about those who can create such fabulous pieces of art. It brings more meaning and value to their pieces to know their background.




What made you decide to start making jewelry?
- i went through a bit of a difficult time personally and for the first time in a long time, lost my creative drive. a friend introduced me to beading, and the rest is history! i'd always wanted to make jewelry - recently i was going through a box of old papers and found a necklace i had made when i was 16!




What inspired your stacking rings?
- my wedding set is made up of three rings and i've always loved the layered look. i love it that you can change your "stack" depending on your mood or outfit.




Do you have a daily crafting routine with a schedule and goals, or is it just something that just happens when you have time?
- having a 6 month old baby really forces me to maximize my crafting time! i'm never sure if i'll have time to make anything or fill orders, so i squish as much soldering as i can when she's in her playpen or down for a nap. sometimes i have the torch going at 5am! but i haven't done too badly!




Grannies or Tinies :D?
- tinies. lol!




Do you make jewelry for the mini?
- not at this point. she'd try to eat them. she's teething.




What inspired Tradeaholics?
- there was a thread in the forums at the end of 2007 (i think) where people were listing their shops if they were willing to trade. i started another thread when i compiled all of those shops alphabetically (geez, where did i have the time?) and it grew and grew and grew. fellow etsy seller AKHotDoggies started the traders' list (http://etsytraders.blogspot.com ) which she and i kept adding to. then AKHotDoggies and beadalicious came up with the idea of having a team and the rest is history!




Tell me about a few of your favorite trades. Or, What are some of the things you love trading for?
- my first trade with with fabulous etsy seller magymai711 - she fell in love with some of my beaded bracelets and i got some amazing collage sheets. lately i've gotten some great stuff - tutus from thegirlyplace, key fobs from tracydesigns, fudge from hillsidebakery, and jewelry supplies from julieellyndesigns. i love trading for handmade bags, totes and purses, and now that the mini is here, baby girl stuff!




If money wasn't an object, what would you create?
- i would be definitely creating high end rings, earrings and bracelets, using lots of gemstones, silver and gold. i don't have the money or the space for the equipment i would need, and i would probably need to take more classes! (of course, i'd hire a personal instructor!)






Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you find something you love in the Muffin Top Shop.

Website, hurray!

It sure is awesome to know someone who can build websites!

My awesome friend Mike is building a great site for me :D I am very excited, I actually own my own dot com! http://www.constructivetendencies.com/ will be live as soon as he can get it pieced together. This will allow me to show off all of my work without having to type out my previous 41 character long address! I am also escaping the clutches of Photo Reflect.com and moving on to bigger and better things.

I am trying to keep it simple so that my artwork is the main focus, not my fancy website. I hope to have a site where I can mention people that contribute to my creativity, so it will end up being good marketing for everyone!

Excitement!

This calls for a latte. I'll be right back.

Annnd back.

I also wanted to update on my ring endeavor! I have been busily crafting up little photo seaglass rings like California Dreamin' and by morning I should have two more ready to list. One of which features Bearial, my darling travel companion featured at the top right of your screen, and one features a shiny sealed dime. No, the dime doesn't fit with the other seaglass rings, but it's still pretty fantastic in my opinion.

Let there be business cards! (Designed by yours truly)

Yes, I now realize I wrote the wrong address on my card, but this is being fixed right now! I am hoping to spread these babies far and wide and find some new clients that want my photographic expertise. Here's hoping!

Through the Viewfinder

Much more to come on this subject, but I thought I would share my second TtV shot ever, the Lovey Birds. They are available as a set of two in my etsy shop here. As always, there is a 15% discount if you mention my blog in your message to seller. The percetnage will be refunded in paypal. This pair of birds is a small set of porcelain treaures I found one evening out with my mom shopping. I really love the idea and style of TtV photography, but I am just getting started, so much potential! I have been deathly ill lately, so I couldn't go outside for my TtV images, so I made little stups, which this cute picture is the product of. I am currently buying Duaflex cameras on ebay and spiffing them up and reselling them, so if you are looking for TtV equipment please contact me :)

Potbelly

Recently I got the fun opportunity to do a shoot for a local Texas band, Potbelly.

They have a fantastic reggae/rock sound, and the band members couldn't be nicer! They invited me to one of their practice sessions to do a few shots and I ended up with some really fantastic ones.

I placed one in my etsy shop here.

My personal favorite part of the shoot was doing their individual portraits. There are so many group shots of bands, but you rarely see anyone except the lead singer heavily photographed. I took the opportunity to catch each element of the band in their own personal role.

Each member had such a strong personality, which made it super easy for me to do my editing. I am currently really loving the desaturated look, but I wanted to retain some flair for this image because the portrait is of the very talented lead singer and he is definitely not a desaturated kind of guy. Desaturated kind of guy? It's late, cut me some slack.

It's much too late, but the guilt of abandoning my blog recently finally won! I have many many many projects in the works that I am more than excited to share, so stay tuned! I also will soon be featuring MuffintopDesigns and her fabulous work, as well as doing a tribute piece to a few etsyians that I admire.

Goodnight blogspot! I will do my best to share the wonders of Through the Viewfinder photography with you tomorrow :D

Jerseymaids

Today I am writing about Jerseymaids, an Etsy.com artisan that uses the unique and fantastic Polariod camera as her creative outlet.

Her work ranges from beautiful views of Paris to super heroes on patrol and arrives at your doorstep lovingly packaged in forms such as earrings, magnet snap interchangeable rings, necklaces, prints and calendars.

I have always been taught the means to create the perfect photo. Perfect color, perfect clarity, perfect lighting.... But as the years have gone by I have been drawn to things such as Polaroid art, which in the hands of a skilled photorgapher such as Jerseymaids, can lead to beautiful works of art. They are a far cry from the classic photographer's goal, but that is what makes them so amazing. He work lends a fantasy view to the norm, something looking through a high powered couple thousand dollar lens couldn't possibly capture.

As a photographer and an art lover, I am quite proud to say I own a copy of Onion Bloom, and it sits lovingly on my floating shelf next to a vintage Petri fisheye lens and a small moss terrarium. {Don't you worry Jersey, I'm working every day to try to get you one too ;D } It is on the wall that faces me when I wake up and is often the first thing I see each day. A warm, glowy image of the flower moving slowly in the wind reminds me of fields unmet and sunny days yet to be taken advantage of.



Take a walk by her shop, I promise it will leave you with similar feelings.