Puppies! :)

Hooray! We are picking out a puppy today!

You may know that we already have a pooch in the family, Miss Kasey Jones. I actually did an "interview" with her a while back. She is one of my great inspirations.

We have been talking about adding another dog to the family for several months and then saw these adorable puppies on PetFinder. Today we are going to see the whole litter and hopefully make a connection with one of them. If so, we will be bringing one home and fostering to adopt since he won't officially be ours until after he's been sterilized in June. We also have to make sure that Kasey approves of and gets along with her new brother.

Since Kasey is a girl we will be looking at the male puppies, and these are the ones we get to choose from. Prepare for the cuteness:

Banjo

Dixon

Mason

Rebel

GAH! So cute! How will we be able to choose?? I'm sure several paintings will result from this addition to the family. ;) Have a great day!

Monday Must-Have - HollymarkAfterDark

Today marks a new installment of my Monday blog series titled Monday Must-Have. Each Monday I will feature a fellow talented Etsian and his or her phenomenal work. Each featured artist will have his or her own online Etsy shop where you can peruse and admire his or her one-of-a-kind body of work. Hopefully you will find new favorite artists and artisans whose work you MUST HAVE. :)

Today's featured artist is HollymarkAfterDark.

Who are you (actual name/and or shop name)?

My name is Holly Lee, and my shop is HollymarkAfterDark.

What do you create?

I create a variety of items. Some of my items are on the sweet and innocent side, and others are a little frisky! I make keychains, magnets, door hangers, earrings, and charms! Some mature, some not. ;)

Where are you located?

Hopkinsville, Kentucky. A pretty small place.
When did you start creating?

I've made things with my hands for as long as I can remember. When I was younger I did a lot of paper crafts, lately my focus is on polymer clay.

Why did you choose your shop name?

I chose HollymarkAfterDark because this is my second shop. I opened one, Hollymark08 ~ compiled of more whimsical items. I started out making mature items as gag gifts for some of my guy friends at work, and my mom suggested I sell them. I figured I'd give it a shot!

What inspires you?

I'm inspired by many things. Mostly by nature, and by the people around me. I'm also inspired by all the handmade crafters out there. It's great to see so many beautiful handmade items!

What is the most time consuming part of your craft?

Honestly, the most time consuming is either the sculpting, or the photography. Sometimes my camera doesn't want to cooperate with me!
What is your favorite place to visit in your hometown and why?

I still live in my hometown, and honestly - there's not much to it! If I had to pick a favorite place, it would probably be downtown. The historical district here is beautiful!

What is your most popular item that you create (and why do you think it is so popular)?

I don't think there's any *one* item that is the most popular. However, my mature items seem to be a lot more popular than anything else in my shop. I get the most feedback on those items.

What do you do when you are not creating?

When I'm not creating, I'm either in school or relaxing. I was recently laid off from an automotive factory, and I'm spending this time focusing on school & on creating.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

To anyone and everyone that reads this - Go for your dreams! My goal in life is to become a clinical psychologist, and I've been going to school full time to move closer to that goal. I've been through times where I worked 3:30pm until 3am, went to school from 8am until noon, and did it all over again. If I can do it, anybody can!


Be sure to swing by Holly's shop to peruse her fantastic work. If you're interested in being featured in future Monday Must-Have segments, please feel free to convo me in my Etsy shop or email me. Have a wonderful day!

March Giveaway!

It's that time again; giveaway time! This month's giveaway runs from Sunday, March 15th to Sunday, March 22nd at 11:59pm EST. One winner will be chosen. The prize this time is a $15 gift certificate! The gift certificate can be used in my Etsy shop, www.alloverart.etsy.com, where I have a wide variety of items. I have several hand-painted fine art resin pendant necklaces, brooches, rings and bobby pins!

Here's how you can enter:

1) Go to my Etsy shop and pick out your favorite item.

2) Come back to this post and leave a link or comment telling me what your favorite item is, as well as a way to contact you in case you win. This could be an email address, your Etsy shop, or something similar.

3) Only one entry per person, unless you blog about my giveaway. If you blog about the giveaway, be sure to leave a link to your blog in your comment and you will be counted twice.

4) I will assign each entry a number. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. I will announce the winner on Tuesday, March 24th on this blog, as well as contact him or her.

Good luck to you all! Have a great day.

Workshop Wednesday Recap

Each week I run a blog series titled Workshop Wednesday. Each Wednesday features either a tutorial by yours truly or another talented artist or artisan, or a snapshot of an artist's creative process. Here's a recap of all the past wonderful Workshop Wednesday features.

1/14 - How To Create A Resin Finish On A Wood Tile, by Allover Art
1/21 - Handmade Dog Collars With GoneDoggie
1/28 - Handcrafted Wooden Toys With McCoyToys
2/4 - Pet Portrait Process With Allover Art
2/11 - Photoshop Tutorial With McGuinness Photography
2/18 - How To Make A Canvas Collage, by Tangente
2/25 - How To Create A Reversible Headband, by Zemphira
3/4 - Crocheted Flower Earrings With Jennifer White Designs
3/11 - How To Create An Eco-Friendly Cuff, by TuscaloosaRoad

This is an ongoing series, so be sure to check back every Wednesday for a new feature. If you're interested in being a part of future Workshop Wednesdays, please feel free to convo me in my Etsy shop or comment on this post. Have a great day!

Designers Downtown Market

***Due to the rainy weekend forecast, the first day of the Designers Downtown Market has been moved to Saturday, March 21st. ***

Next Saturday, March 21st, marks the first day of the Designers Downtown Market and my first art and craft show for 2009. The market will be located in downtown Raleigh, so all you fellow North Carolinians won't want to miss it.

The Designers Downtown Market features fine locally made arts and crafts with an outdoor big city feel. The vendors showcase some of the finest handcrafted arts and crafts in the area: jewelry, pottery, apparel, stained glass, paper crafts and more! There are five shows throughout the year. Every show is different, with new artists and craftspeople coming in every event. Browse the vendor list on the Designers Downtown Market site to find out who will be at the upcoming Market.

The market will take place at 509 N. West Street in the parking lot of Ornamentea and the surrounding area from 9am - 3pm. Come by and check it out!

Thursday Treats

Handsoap set by Foliage - $18

Weeds Earrings by PolishedTwo - $8.50

Fox In Forest Pocket Mirror by MadisionCraft - $4.50

Peeps Polymer Clay And Sterling Silver Earrings by TeamChickenPants - $12

It's A Warthog Easter Blank Card by FranticMeerkat - $3.50

Workshop Wednesday - TuscaloosaRoad's Eco-Friendly Cuff

Today marks another installment of my weekly blog series titled Workshop Wednesday. Each Wednesday will feature either a tutorial by yours truly or another talented artist or artisan, or a snapshot of an artist's creative process. This week's Workshop Wednesday features Karen of TuscaloosaRoad. She has put together a great tutorial on how to create an eco-friendly cuff.

Eco-Friendly Sweater Cuff

What You’ll need:

Sweater fabric - Your local Goodwill or other thrift stores will carry sweaters of all kinds in fairly good condition. Choose sweaters that have a tight weave - cashmere works best because it’s natural and VERY soft. You’d be surprised what you’ll find while at the thrift shop. They carry some very nice items, and you could easily spend hours there. You’ll have to remind yourself to keep on track and repeat to yourself, “I’m shopping for sweaters, I’m shopping for sweaters!”

Yarn - This can also be found at your local thrift shop.

Embellishments - anything will do…a favorite button or pin, or a stash of beads works nicely.

Step 1:

Gather your sweater fabric together and choose colors that you feel will go together nicely. Here I have 4 sweaters in a creamy cashmere, a taupe cashmere, a camel colored cotton cable knit (say that three times fast!) blend, and apple green mohair blend. I ended up using all sweaters except the taupe cashmere on this project.


Step 2:

Now your ready to design the length, style and circumference of your cuff!

Cut several strips of sweater fabric of the same length and lay them out, making sure there are enough strips to cover the circumference of your forearm.

I find that if you use the ribbed areas of the sweater, it holds nicely when you sew the pieces together.

Choose the yarn you’ll be using. Here I’m using bright mustard, rust and olive colors in a 100% wool blend. Notice that my yarn contrasts with the natural colors of the cuff material. You can use whatever yarn color suits your fancy.


Step 3:

Using a very simple overstitch, stitch your cuff pieces together lengthwise. This step takes a little while. I’d say this cuff took me 2.5 hours to stitch. Grab a cup of tea, put on your favorite TV show, and stitch away.

Make sure to overstitch the top and bottom of the cuff too, to deter any fraying.


Once you finish sewing, you’re almost done! Notice how pretty and sinewy the stitches contrast against the fabric on your cuff. It will look very organic and if some of the ends fray a little bit, that’s o.k! It will add to the character of your cuff.


Step 4:

This is my favorite step. Gather together some trinkets for embellishing your cuff. I found these at garage sales and on Etsy. I chose the enameled calico cat pin for this cuff. I’ve decided to name him Cecil. I love the mustardy yellow color on Cecil the cat’s fur. I used him as my cuff’s center-of-attention.


Step 5:

Your done! Now you have an eco-friendly cuff that will look beautiful with a sweater and a pair of jeans. And it will keep your wrist warm too!





Be sure to check out Karen's work in her Etsy shop! If you're interested in being a part of future Workshop Wednesdays, please feel free to convo me in my Etsy shop or comment on this post. Have a great day!