Seasons

Autumn is on its way and soon it will be winter ! My favorite time of the year is spring . I am defintely not a cold weather person and find myself longing for the warmth of spring . In the winter everything here looks so cold and barren and I will long for the fresh , new greens of the leaves and grass , the first of the wildflowers to brighten up the world . The bluebonnets and paintbrushes are my favorites . Even before they start to bloom , I start thinking about painting scenes with fields of blue and fuchia . I miss them when they are gone and the heat of summer is upon us . But I don't morn them ,but become inspred by fields of yellow , blackeyed susans , and other flowers some of which I am not famililiar with the names , and grew up calling daisies .They look so bright along with the red of the indian blankets and the purple of what we all called horsemint [I believe it is really horehound] . They remind me of a patchwork quilt that Grandma made with yellows and reds and a little white to soften the effect . Now with Autumn aproaching , I am already painting leaves of red sienna , yellow ochre and oranges. The sunflowers are blooming and just a few leaves are beginning to turn but I have my memory , imagination and a few snapshots taken over the years to go by . I find my self anticipating the beauty that is coming . In Central Texas fall , is short lived and before we know it the cold of winter will be upon us . Even then I will be in awe of frost upon the grasses and the clean white beauty if we get a snow this winter will inspire a few snow scenes . Come January , I will once again be looking forward to spring , thinking of planting vegetables and flowers and painting beautiful pictures of wildflowers !

Bottled Up Designs

When I saw Laura Bergmans jewelry , I knew that I had to feature her shop ! She makes unque and beautiful jewelry from old , broken pieces of glass ! This is what Laura says about her work and what led her to create it : Living in the very rural Pennsylvania Amish Country, scattered throughout the woods and edges of the fields are where, many years ago, households would throw their garbage. (They didn't have trash pickup 100 years ago). Mostly, of course, this "garbage" was old broken glassware, and bottles where the contents were used up. Now, this is a treasure chest for bottle and glass collectors. I have been collecting bottles for over 20 years, and it always bothered me how we would take away the pretty whole bottles, but the broken remains would stay behind in the environment for the wildlife to have to deal with. After having one of my dogs return from a walk with a bleeding foot, I decided to start picking up these broken remains and started working with them. What emerged is Bottled Up Designs! I really did not want to put these pieces into the modern trash stream, because as a collector, I knew what they once were and I felt they are historial and beautiful.
I am now making jewelry and gifts from the antique glass and bottles reclaimed from these dumps, all in an effort to help the environment and wildlife. As an avid collector, I mount each piece on a card that details what the glass was originally, and how old it is. I feel the people enjoy the history behind them as well as how lovely this antique glass is! You may visit Laura's shop and see more of her unique jewelry by clicking on the title of this article .

Bottles Up Designs

Laura Bergman has a very unique way of crafting her jewelry and helping her inviornment at the same time . Laura talks about her craft '': Living in the very rural Pennsylvania Amish Country , scattered throughout the woods and edges of the fields are where, many years ago, households would throw their garbage . (They didn't have trash pickup 100 years ago) . Mostly , of course , this "garbage" was old broken glassware , and bottles where the contents were used up . Now, this is a treasure chest for bottle and glass collectors . I have been collecting bottles for over 20 years, and it always bothered me how we would take away the pretty whole bottles , but the broken remains would stay behind in the environment for the wildlife to have to deal with . After having one of my dogs return from a walk with a bleeding foot , I decided to start picking up these broken remains and started working with them . What emerged is Bottled Up Designs ! I really did not want to put these pieces into the modern trash stream, because as a collector , I knew what they once were and I felt they are historial and beautiful .
I am now making jewelry and gifts from the antique glass and bottles reclaimed from these dumps , all in an effort to help the environment and wildlife . As an avid collector , I mount each piece on a card that details what the glass was originally , and how old it is . I feel the people enjoy the history behind them as well as how lovely this antique glass is ! " Please take a look inside her shop and look at her beautiful and unique jewelry ! [You may see Laura's shop by clicking on the link in the title of this article . ]

Robin Thompson TX

This is a new Etsy shop that I found . I fell in love with her picture frames . I know you will to . ----I ask Robin Thompson to tell us about herself . The following is the result :" I am a Texas girl. Born and raised here. I'm originally from Lubbock but am now in the Dallas area.
I make photo frames, Christmas ornaments, and greeting cards. Many of them use my photography, as photography is my biggest love! The greeting cards aren't on etsy yet, but they will be!
I've done photography since I was a teenager. It then turned into making my children my models which grew into being the "photo mom" at every sporting event! Four years ago, when we moved into our tiny rural town, the photography bug exploded.To get home, I drive through four ranches of longhorns, there is a pond and trees and cattle behind my house, old town feel and I have spent so much time capturing the small town in Texas feel.I first incorporated the country photos into greeting cards. After making picture frames for friends and the "want" for them grew, I decided to do it on a bigger scale. I'm hoping to use the crafty side and the photography sides together to make incredibly unique items.
I have spent the last 15 years owning a mobile DJ company and being one of the few female DJs in the DFW area. As my children get bigger and more involved in their lives, I have the desire to be home with them more, supporting them and enjoying them. I slowed down DJing people's weddings and decided to focus on the life around me! " Robin has not had a sale on Etsy , yet , but I am sure that will be remedied soon !You can visit Robin's Etsy shop by clicking on the link in the title of this article and visit her blog http://robinthompson.blogspot.com/
http://www.robinthompsontx.etsy.com/ http://www.robinthompsontx.com/

Organic Stills

The following is an interview with the very talented owner of Organicstills.etsy ::
What is your name? Natalie Richards
What craft/art doyou make/create? My primary focus is photography, which I've been doing seriously for about 3-4 years now, but I've also been knitting and crocheting for about a year and absolutely love it! I like to dabble with other crafts, including jewelry making, decoupage, digital art etc. There are so many things I'd like to try! Where are you from? I grew up in England, which is where my parents still live, but moved out to California to go to college. I just love it out here and so I stayed.
How long have you been creating? I think I've been creating for almost as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I used to cut up old rags to make clothing for my dolls. I didn't really craft all that much in high school and college, but really just picked it up again in the last few years...and now I think I'm in overdrive!!
Have you had special training or are you self taught? Most of my crafts are completely self-taught. My photography started with a 35mm point and shoot camera that didn't even have a zoom lens and I learned entirely from experimenting. One of my co-workers taught me to knit and crochet because we were starting a charity group here at work. I blame her entirely for my yarn obsession. =) Everything else I just pick up along the way. I love looking up new tutorials online and getting new crafty ideas from places like craftster.org.
Is there anything else that you would like to share ?I love being part of the handmade "revolution" and I am so grateful for sites like Etsy for giving artists an opportunity to show their work to the world, as well as connect with other artists. If you make something that you love, there is nothing better than to be able to share that with others! If you would like to see more of Natilie's work please visit her shop , http://organicstills.etsy.com or click on the link in this articles title .

Christina Perdue

Christina Perdue, photographer and all around artist, is self-taught in fields such as photography, graphic design, image manipulation, and painting. She is inspired by the world’s beauty and strives to reflect that in everything she creates.
Christina first became interested in photography in high school; this is when her and her camera became inseparable. She has since then upgraded her equipment and enjoys photographing the beautiful sights of her home state, Tennessee. Christina specializes in infrared and black & white photography. Go take a look at her shop by clicking on the link in this article .

New In My Shop

This is one of the new Leaf Paintings in my shop . My paintings are all original paintings and are one of a kind , meaning I will not paint the same one twice . Some are not framed , but if you wish for me to add the leaf border and frame , let me know . Framed , they make great gifts , decorative accessories and conversation peices . Etsy Texas Crafters First Monday Specials is coming up September 3 , 2007 . I will have items in my First Monday Specials section of my Etsy shop , marked down from two to five dollars off each item ! And will send a five dollar gift certificate with each sale over ten dollars !