DallasDesigningDiva

Written by Randi-Sue Deckard a very talented artist who is passionate about her work :
I'm a fused glass & silversmith who creates adornments that we "mortal goddesses" may wear (aka jewelry) or "add a little bling" to our home/office (from dichroic glass letter openers, wine bottle stoppers,paperweights, to small decorative dishes, etc..).I've always been crafty but never considered myself an artist just someone who experimented in different mediums. I started beading & bead weaving about 3 years ago but quickly moved into metal smithing within the first year. I get giddy every time I pull out a new sheet of silver ...the fabrication possibilities are endless!!! I love the medium glass and initially started out in lamp working but really got hooked on fusing glass about a year ago. Glass is such a flexible medium and I still have a list of different techniques s I would like to try!
My adornments are my voice to the outside world. Glass and metal allow me to share what I feel, hear, see and experience on daily basis through the use of color, texture and design. I love the fact that the pieces I create evoke an emotion or verbal response and I'm amazed how it is never quite the same for each person. Nor should it be. We all have a little bit different view of the world, right?
I know what I want to be when I grow up and everyday I try to learn or experiment with a new technique to push myself and my art into the uncomfortable zone....that is when majestic things happen! " You may see more of Randi's work by clicking on the link in the title of this article or by visiting one of the following links .

http://dallasdesigningdiva.etsy.com/http://designing-diva.com/ (main e-commerce site)http://stealmybaubles.blogspot.com/

Six Sisters

This is the interesting Etsy shop of a very talented artist ! This is her profile ; " I have always drawn ever since I was little . There were six of us girls and doing art got me noticed. So I did more and more. It was obvious to me that I would go to the Phila. College of Art ( now U of the Arts ) . I got in and got my BFA in Art Ed. I always loved the idea of teaching and I have done that for most of my life. Now I am concentrating on what I like to work on and it is the best time I could ever imagine. I get inspired by everyday things, fantasy, patterns, nature. Almost anything. I especially like doing portraits. I need to do more. My work is now such an essential part of my day I would be lost without it. Each piece of art work for sale in my shop is original. Nothing is exactly like the next. I do not scan or send my cards to a professional printer. They are done by me. Since every piece is painted or cut or glued by hand, you will notice the fingerprint of the artist in the work. Not an actual fingerprint, but you will be able to tell that a person did the work, not a machine. That is what I mean by fingerprint. " To visit Six Sisters , go to http://sixsisters.etsy.com or click on the link in the title of this article . I am sure you will find it as interesting as I do !

Precious Quilts

I fell in love with the beautiful quilts and crochet in this shop and I know you will to ! The following is by the artist herself . Please read this and visit her shop , Precious Quilts by clicking on the title of this article or by going to http://preciousquilts.etsy.com . ''I live in UK with my husband, my four 'babies' have flown the nest and we have a beautiful grand daughter now aged 17 months!About 25 years ago whilst living in the Middle East where I was busy with two small children and therefore unable to go work I became interested/fascinated with patchwork quilts. After teaching myself from a variety of sources I made large queen/king size quilts for family and friends. Initially, I was of the opinion that all quilts should be hand sewn.... well, that has now changed as it really takes too long. I still do the odd one but prefer to concentrate of baby quilts now and use my machine to put them together.My favourite fabric is Laura Ashley, particularly the vintage fabric which is hard to acquire these days but looks and feels so special. Noteably in patchwork quilts for babies or cots. I am happy to make all size quilts from large to very small. In fact I have a doll's house quilt on Etsy at the moment!In addition, whilst relaxing in the evenings watching TV, what better way to spend my time but crochet baby blankets? It is not often I do not have a crochet hook in my hand. I find it very relaxing and theraputic!Christmas is coming so I am feverishly making quilts and crochet blankets for those cute pressies or just for baby showers. All my items are unique - and all the way from England!''

Junkyard Gypsy

This is the most unique of all the shops I have seen on Etsy , yet ! Meet Beth Hinson and read what she says about her shop and her work :
My name is Beth Hinson, from Albemarle, NC, and my shop is called the Junkyard Gypsy. This is a brand new venture for me - I've only been on etsy for about 3 weeks, and just started about 4 months ago playing around with some assemblages. I LOVE to go to estate sales, antique auctions, yard sales, thrift stores, etc. and eventually had accumulated a lot of stuff that I didn't know what to do with. Odd pieces that really aren't that useful by themselves tend to catch my eye for whatever reason - a broken doll or an old beat up pot or a beautiful piece of flatware - I like to imagine the stories these things would tell if they could talk LOL. So anywho, one thing led to another, one piece of "junk" added to the next, and eventually pieces started to literally fall together. I would look in a box and see a sifter had gotten lodged against a round bowl, and voila! it looked like a head with a hat on it. And as fate would have it, in the spring I left an administrative job that I had been in for 22 years, where I had gradually come to feel totally stifled. That freed up some time for me to do something just for me and revive some small level of creativity that I had not used for a long, long time. I feel like a kid who has been let loose in a candy store - I am literally having that much fun! My husband is also a treasure trove of ideas and help - he has a workshop with all the tools I could ever imagine, and has been teaching me how to use them - I feel like Rosie the Riveter! As I began to come up with some pieces that I kind of liked, and began to show them around to some friends and get there feedback, I realized there might just be a niche market for what I was doing, and etsy seemed like the perfect outlet! I'm proud to say that a lot of the pieces used in my assemblages are "rescued" from their probable fate of winding up in the local landfill. So far, the Junkyard Gypsy adventure has been loads of fun for me - I'm looking forward to taking it a step further, and hopefully doing some craft shows next year, so keep your eye out for the gypsy caravan!
Please visit her shop http://JunkyardGypsy.etsy.com

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 . ]