Featured Artist Sunday!!

Hi, I am back in the swing of my features now and I had a quick reply to my surprise convo, sooooo the featured artist is Whysper Fairy! It is fun to do this feature because I find out about artists who have hearted my shop and learn that they also read my blog. When you think no one is around...watch out. Two eyes are looking and reading. Such is the case with Whysper Fairy.

Now on to the interview:

how I got started crafting?

I don't really remember. I have been crafting different things for over 30 years. I love garage sales and find a lot of things to re-purpose or use in my crafts on the weekends at those. That is the best way to find goodies!!

I hoard....I mean collect everything if I think I will use it in crafting some day. I have an entire closet filled with "stuff I'm going to use one day!" I have four stores on Etsy due to my varied interests. Wow, I can't imagine managing 4 stores, I have a hard time with one. I love making soap. Decorative Victorian pretty soap is my favorite. Although I also love the look of organic brown square goats milk soaps too. :)

I sell soap in Julies Sparkly Bits although it started as a vintage shop as I love vintage too. Lol

I love finding vintage and antique jewelry. If it is a good piece I'll sell it as is. If it is broken I'll tear it up more and use pieces to make beautiful Victorian themed brooches. I also love hippie beads, findings and the hemp jewelry. I love buttons and ribbons and bows, cute findings and sparkly things. These things you will find in my shop Dinkalulu here on Etsy and Julies Little Bits.

My latest shop Whysper Fairy was born of trying to find a good inexpensive soap mold. It was hard to find what I wanted and for a reasonable price so......I figured out how to make molds and made it myself. I loved making molds and just never stopped. Now I have this store selling my molds so other people can make great soaps, fondant pieces, resin and PMC and clay jewelry!

Favorite part of what I do is working completely from home. That's is Great!!

I love what I do. After 30 years of working for someone else I am finally able to work solely in my shops and sell online. My dream has finally come true! Congratulations, it can be done!

In 5 years I see myself still crafting and making beautiful things. Hope to have some Grandchildren to visit by then too! Your children must be a little older than my son:-)

Thank you for this wonderfully inspiring interview!!

OK, Check out her shop, Whysper Fairy through the name or any picture!! Tell us what you like best from her shop. Have anyone bought from Whysper already?

iPhone vs. Droid

I am excitedly looking into to buying a new phone. I currently have a flip phone, which I love, but it's time to upgrade. I have had in mind buying a droid because I have several friends who have one and totally love it. The reason I want to upgrade is to take credit cards at craft fairs.

So yesterday, I went shopping with my college son. I let the salesman walk me through all the the different phones and talk about the pros and cons of each. (I didn't let him know I was interested in a droid) So he showed me the thunderbolt , Droid x, and the iPhone.

Wow, they are all impressive!! Price wise, the iPhone is the best bargain. I never thought I would want an apple product, but after seeing how it works...how could you want anything else.

What are your experiences with either the droid or the iPhone? Are they equal? Easy to use? Easy to use with etsy?

Thanks for your comments?

Wordless Wednesdays

Featured Artist Sunday, but wait, Today is Monday!!

My features have taken a spring break, but now I am back, although one day late, to posting about fabulous shops who have hearted me. This week's winner is ... drumroll...flowersbyljp!

Read on for her fascinating story-
I got started pressing flowers about four years ago. I had quit my job to care for my elderly mother full-time and had lots of time to get creative. We both loved gardening and flowers so she would help me start plants from seeds.

I was browsing the crafting section of books at the library and found one on how to press flowers. So I began pressing flowers from my garden in phone books, then using them to create cards and bookmarks or to decorate picture frames.

My favorite part is that I've tried several types of crafting and keep looking for new ways to be creative.

I've done French beading (making flowers by stringing tiny seed beads onto wire and twisting the wire into flower shapes), make beaded jewelry, beaded bobby hair pins, and vintage postage stamp magnets.

In five years, I'd like to be done de-stashing the vintage postage stamps, linens, and purses that I inherited from my parents and aunt and be listing only my crafts on my Etsy shop!

And hold on to your hats: Laurie, wants to give some lucky person a choice of one item FREE from her shop.

Now that deserves a round of applause!! Check back here on Friday to see who wins a free trip to flowersbyljp!!

Click on any picture or Laurie's store name to go and visit her wonderful store!!

MIA since the first of the month!

Wow, Have I really been missing in action since the last of February? Well, here's the story.

My husband and I were driving to celebrate his 60th birthday at a resaurant when I received a call from a doctor where my son is attending college. The doctor recommended that we come and pick him up because he had such a high fever (102-104) for five days and he and other doctors couldn't figure out why. He thought it might be a blood infection, gave me all this other scary talk, too. The university is 2 hours away.

So after Bob's dinner, we were on the road by 7:30pm. I was driving and it was a panicked mom trying to get to her son as quick as possible. A long the way, Ashby called and we coordinated a midway pick-up-transfer point. We drove him home and was at the house by 10:30. I called my school to tell them I would be out taking him to the doctor and ended up staying out 3 days. The bottom line was he had mono. It was a scary time for us. Spring break was the next week, so he was home recouperating.

We went to a gem mine to dig for sapphires as a fun thing do to before he went back to school.
He found 50 sapphires totally 45 carats in weight.


Enough of the my sad story, loyal bloggers, Couponcode Blog15 will earn you 15% off in my etsy store!! Come visit and find loads of spring items!!