I fell in love with michelemaule’s ‘Someday Soon…5x7 Reproduction Print’ when I stumbled across it looking for things to fill a particular treasury. This is just one of many amazing images Michele has in her etsy shop. I had to see if she would do an interview for my blog and happily she agreed! I hope you all enjoy meeting her as much as I did!

Tell me a little bit about your background in arts and crafts.
I started making art as a young kid, and I always really enjoyed it.
It was my favorite subject in school. as I got older, it remained one of my most favorite things. So, after a lot of debate, I went to college, and graduated with a degree in it!

When did you first start creating things?
I began creating things at a very young age. Probably kindergarten is my earliest memory of making things. I remember some of my first art projects, and I remember always getting a lot of praise for the things I made.

What were the first things you created? and how did your creativity progress from there?
as I got older some of the more serious things I started making were paintings. I started painting when I was about 18. I was doing a lot of what I am doing now. Lots of painting and collage. It was a lot darker than the work that I am doing now. I think I've really learned how to express my ideas better throughout the years.

Is this your only business or do you do other things as well?
This is it! This is my one and only job and I love it.

Do you still dream about making other things? If so, what?
I'm always dreaming of doing new things. I really want to do more screen printing, and perfecting that. I'd also love to learn how to knit, or sew, but there are only so many hours in the day!

How did you come up with your shop name?
It was pretty easy. I just used my name. I think using your own name when having an online business is great for visual artists.

What are your favorite shops on etsy? Why do you like them?
There are so many! I really don't think I could pick one, two, three, or four favorites. There are so many talented people on Etsy. It really amazes me. Some of the ones that i am thinking of right now are:
http://www.beantownhandmade.etsy.com

The Garcia Tie Dyed Dog T Shirt
She has a Boston Terrier, and so do I, and I just love her shop.

I also love
http://www.mireio.etsy.com

Miereio Spa and Travel Pillow – Magnolia Blossoms
She has such lovely items. I want to buy it all.

and I love
http://www.theseawithin.etsy.com

Hungry Like a Wolf - Purple
beautiful bags!

How did you hear about Etsy?
My friend Angie actually told me about Etsy. We were at a craft fair, and she told me that she thought my work would do really well there. She was right!

Any words of advice to others?
Just work as hard as you can, and try to keep a positive attitude.
It can be rough sometimes, especially when you're first starting out, but it's so important to try and be as positive as you can.

It’s raining today!  Don’t forget your umbrella! Eloise Jumps in A Puddle by Flapperdoodle

 

Black Boa Second Line Umbrella by lizmpetro

 

Couture by UntamedMenagerie

Umbrella British Brolly Graphic Print Alternative Apparel Girls Cap Sleeve Vintage Soft T-Shirt by happyfamily 

Umbrella – Umbrella – Umbrella – Japanese Cotton Fabric – Fat Quarter from Meur

 

Welcome to the second edition of the etsy front page keyword list.  Hope this helps!  I know it’s definitely help me be more creative with my tagging…more so than size, color, and item at least….

a young wizard x 6

natural modern x 2

Back to School Gear x 5

Trashion Team

mod

Halloween x 3

July Beach Weddings

clearance

fractals and spirals

sale

noir

seaweed

bamboo

France

Slow Food

asian

trip down a rabbit hole

summer travel

leo

tennis

summer gardens

rustic

botanical

moss

July Birthstone:  Ruby

shell

linen

picnic

summer fashions

clam bake

distressed

Comic-con

roller derby

tropical

simple x 2

summer whites

summer festivals

margarita

mayan

woodland

handmade wedding

modern

houndstooth

lapin

7/28/09 – All  (or close to all) the admin picks were ‘found browsing etsy categories’….hmmmm…I wonder if it’s a Tuesday thing on etsy.  I’ll be interested to see what next week does :)

 

Remember, to see the themes/keywords that the Etsy Merchandising Team has laid out in advance go to the Storque article: 

http://www.etsy.com/storque/search/title/merch/

This will also be very helpful!

Taking the perfect pictures of my items on etsy seem to be a challenge I work on every day!  I’m always taking, retaking, editing, and re-editing everything I do.  At some point, I think…”These are fantastic…they’ll have to make front page!” and alas…doesn’t happen.  Here are a few new shot’s I’ve taken of some of my quilts. 

Springtime Wonder Quilt Disappearing Dog Star Quilt 

Under the Sea Baby Quilt  Raggy Bullseye Quilt

 

What do you all think?  Should I spend more time on this view/angle of a quilt picture for the rest of my quilt section? 

This past Saturday was my annual Apple Bash. This year it was extra special because we combined it with my father-in-law, Frank’s 60th Birthday Party. The bash is my husband’s and I’s last hurrah before Apple Season begins and we don’t have time to see our friends anymore. We love to see our friend’s and family and it’s a good time that lasts the whole night.

This year, one of my friends from my online etsy Quiltsy Team was in the area and I invited her to stop by – and she did!

I was happy to meet Cindy of CinfulArt (on the right). My aunt-in-law, Barb, also a Quiltsy team member was our our party as well (left). (I’m in the middle!). Cindy and her husband (who’s name is escaping me right now) were a great addition to our bash. My FIL even brought up that it was nice to meet them and they seemed to fit right in (and there were at least 100 people there throughout the evening).

I imagine it was a bit intimidating to drive up to someone’s place that you’ve never met and see all those cars lined up! I’m so glad you braved it out Cindy…it was great meeting you and showing off my workspace, house and orchard. :)

You’ve guessed it from the title…it’s TREASURY SATURDAY!  Lots of great treasuries to share with you this week…items in my shop were featured for the first time by lots of new-to-me artists.  Very exciting!  I do have to tell you that I unfortunately did not take  a screen shot of my ‘Trees of Green’ treasury…I do apologize for that.  It was a cool treasury!

KarolsVintageArt is responsible for this first lovely treasury, “Backyard Picnic” that I am sharing with you today.  She featured the Adult Tie Dyed Bucket Hat from Kim’s Crafty Apple and the Purple Passion Juice Bracelet from theApple.  What a great treasury!   Intres put together this beautiful treasury that she called ‘clearly’.  She featured the White Magic Earrings from theApple.  PostcardsbyJanice created this fabulous quiltsy treasury and featured my Teal Tree Top Tote Bag.   ClubAloha created this fabulous ‘Purple Passion’ Treasury and featured  my Perfectly Purple Bubble Romper.  Waterrose created this stunning ‘Ruby and Silver’ treasury in which she featured my Beautiful Rose Baby Bodysuit (0-3 mo).  

Summer Safari was created by Phofun and featured theApple’s monochromatic olive branch earrings.   BellaBeadsOriginals created this super hot treasury called ‘Where Are my RayBans?” and featured my mother-in-law’s Bright and Beautiful Buffalo Ridge Quilt.  SerenStitches created ‘Alive With Color’ and featured my Flower Power purse.  Did you notice that I recruited a beautiful friend to do some of my bag modeling?  Thanks Kels! ‘Spring Flower’s – Pastels Quilt’ was featured in AllThingsQuiltsy which was put together by SuzyQQuilts.   ‘A Summer’s Breeze’, created by FabricsandQuilts featured my sister-in-law, Karma’s True Lover’s Knot Quilt. 

This is the other treasury I made this week (the one I remembered to take a screen shot of…I called it ‘stacked.’  these are all great items I found when I typed in ‘stacked’ into the etsy search engine.  The Stacked Turquoise Coral Earrings from the apple were featured. 

 

I hope you enjoyed another week of treasuries!  I know I did.  Everyone have a great day and tune in again next Saturday to see what the treasury land comes up with during the week!

I’ve been steadily plugging away at making more earrings for Blue Hill By Hand.  I made these Mahogany Seed Earrings just last week.  I just love how the Mahogany seed looks - each one is so unique looking. 

My two girls came to drop off one of my completed orders and they got these fun shaped Natural bubble wands.  I made some easy bubble mix and they had a great time blowing bubbles at the babysitter’s the next day!    The just dropped up a bag full of these Toucan Feather Earrings at the shop yesterday.  They were really fun to make using a combination of either serpentine beads or red bayhay beads with recycled rubber “feathers”. 

Today’s theme was easy to come up with.  This Saturday is our 8th annual Apple Bash and we’ve combined it with my father-in-law’s 60th birthday party…I’m expecting at least 100 people on my farm!  Lots of work to do but should be lots of fun!

Let’s see what I can find that matches my theme on etsy today:

It’s all got to start with the invites…these ‘Let’s Party Cards’ would be perfect from irasema.

 

The main food served for the evening is going to be a taco/nacho bar!  Yummy! 

They would look great served on this Nacho/Salad 10in. Turquoise Blue Fused Stained Glass Plate from sandmanglass22.

My father-in-law could use these ‘Set of Spares’  from aminyitray…at a party last summer he actually “Partied so Hard he lost his teeth”…

I wouldn’t be surprised to see something like JacobWalker’s ‘A New Perspective – Original Watercolor Painting’ later on in the evening on Saturday… 

It wouldn’t be apple bash without a bonfire…this handcrafted firebowl, Blonde Ambition, from peteabrams would look fabulous!

Here’s to a successful party!

My original plan was to keep a month long list but it is pretty long after just one week so I think I’m going to do it week by week.

This is a tool to help everyone for tagging their items. Remember though…DO NOT MISTAG! It annoys EVERYONE! I’m hoping by reading (and typing) this list up everyone will be able to improve their tagging technique. I know I have things that would fit into these tags that I never would have thought of using…maybe you do to…

international travel

sailor

back to school gear x 8

slow food

Bastille Days x 2

rustic x 2

July’s Birthstone – RUBY

tattoo

pop icon

linen

nautical

rustic July Weddings

Mediterranean

summer cooking

trip down a rabbit hole

wheat

hand dyed

blythe

geometric

new moms

mint

July Weddings

summer beach vacations

eco friendly x 2

green

free shipping x 2

whiskey and rye

Tour de France

primrose

western

ruche

bacon

windswept

barn

distressed x 2

surfer

modern home

scholastic style

moss

tropical

cottage

handmade wedding

woodgrain

woodland forest

bright

young wizard

Halloween

*NOTE* on 7/21 majority of etsy picks was found by ‘browsing etsy categories… I have no advice on how to get found through that…

I may be added a few more to this list before the day is done…actually...I just checked and I have them all!

I had the pleasure of meeting some truly lovely ladies from the Always In Season store at the Wholesale show I attended last month. They turned into my first wholesale customers!

I dropped off the remainder of their order last week and was able to take a peek at the store. It was truly lovely and what a great cause! (the zippered bags I made…)

Per the website:

The Always in Season retail store is located in the Health Care Center Annex in Independence, WI. It features seasonal decorations and crafts, gently used books, a variety of cheeses, patio and lawn decorations, specialty foods, gift baskets, and more. In addition, in the early spring Always in Season hosts the Picket Fence Perennial Sale which offers gardeners a wide variety of perennial flowers and plants.

AIS Products

The store also features goods produced by AIS Products. AIS Products is a division of the Vocational Rehabilitation Department of the Trempealeau County Health Care Center.

AIS Products produces their own molds, pours them with a resin mixture and adds the finishing touches. Resin items are extremely durable. It affords clients living in our communities and residing in our facility with work to enhance their daily lives.

Our products are available to retail and wholesale representatives. AIS Products currently has several contracts for replication. We can be contacted if you are in need of replicating an item in resin. Visit the Sub-Contracting page for more information.

Participants in the Vocational Program are involved in the production of the resin products. Our mission in the Vocational Program is "to create a higher quality of living for individuals by developing vocational skills, use of client empowerment and preparation for the public and/or sheltered work force."

During my visit I was happy to see some familiar items!

These lovely items are from StorylineDesign. The bags on display are from yours truly, KimsCraftyApple. Does this display look familiar? Yup, it’s the same place I contract out to… Blue Hill By Hand. And some fabulous headbands from the lovely tiebeau.

I only took pictures of the items in which I knew the artists’ behind them. There were tons of fabulous, one of a kind, items for sale. I was only there about a half hour but could have easily spent much more time. I even ended up buying a birthday gift for my sister-in-law, Karma. (Can’t talk about it too much since I haven’t given it to her yet).

Make sure to check out their website by clicking HERE to find out more about their operation.

On Thursday, July 9th, Nichole Jeske wrote a spectacular feature on none other than little old me on handmadenews.org! I was so excited to get the email. If you would like to read the article click HERE!

Thanks for all your support!




http://www.handmadenews.org/article/index.php?id=906

I have gotten quite a few requests for custom orders over the past year and I just want to let everyone know that I LOVE doing CUSTOM orders!  I love trying to make what you are looking for.  What I do is extremely one of a kind so I will never be able to duplicate what I’ve done exactly again.  What I encourage you to do is to keep an eye on my ‘style’ of work.  If there is a style you like but the colors aren’t exactly it or you want a t-shirt instead of an apron or you need a different size in something or you want a less expensive ring base…please just let me know!  I’m more than happy to work with you.

All that being said, I am unable to work on custom orders from August 15th through October 31st.  Apples season begins and I pretty much have no time except for things pertaining to apples.  I do not plan on closing my shop at that time, but I plan on just selling what I have available.  The other 9.5 months of the year I am more than happy to work with you.

Here are a few custom orders I have completed in the past (please excuse the imperfect pictures…):

This custom order the client liked the Perfectly Purple Bubble Romper but needed it in 18 month size and wanted some pink added.  This person requested napkin rings…all different colors. Blue t-shirts were requested here. (I made two of them so the brother’s matched somewhat)  This customer loved my  candy drop ring but wanted to go with the less expensive ring base…no problem.This customer liked the horizon style onesies I do but needed a different size. This request was for matching hats…two different sizes. A family was taking a trip and requested matching dyed clothing.  In the end it was two men t-shirts, 3 tank tops, 1 child t-shirt and a baby bubble romper…this one was a lot of fun! This particular customer really liked my candy drop rings but has a LOVE of purple..I was more than happy to add some additional purple into my design.This custom order actually came about from the hooded towels I sell at my apple orchard.  A person had received one for a gift and just loved it…she wanted more so we completed the transaction through etsy.   I was contacted to see if I could put the Russian Nesting Matryoshka Doll from my aprons onto a tshirt for her daughter…not a problem!

 

So, please, if there is something in my shop that you really like but it’s just not quite it…let me know, I’m more than happy to work with you.