North Florida Craft Revolution

NFCR Tiny Tot Treasury

2007-12-13T15:08:00.000-05:00

Emmommy did a wonderful job putting together this

fun treasury!

It's full of great gift ideas for those of you who are

blessed with sweet little girls.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=18527

How to Shop an Estate Sale

2007-12-13T08:11:00.000-05:00

Here is a very cool, and informative tutorial, courtsey

of Surface to Air Media, on how to shop an estate sale.

Follow this link to read it:

http://www.surfacetoairmedia.com/NFCR/tutorial_EstateSale/index.html

Also, visit her shop to find some nifty vintage items:

http://www.surfacetoairmedia.etsy.com

Seller Spotlight

2007-12-11T08:39:00.000-05:00

Bird House Designs

Describe yourself:
I'm an a wife and mommy to one beautiful, compassionate, creative little 3 year old girl. Both of my parents are imaginative and artistic, but my mom has to be the main source of creative talent. My mother who is an artist in her own right, has done everything from painting, stained glass, sewing, to clay design. So naturally from about the age of 5, I have participated or at least watched her many craft sessions. I love to create and come up with new designs. I think everyone needs and outlet, something that provides them with the freedom to be creative.. whatever activity that may be. So aside from practicing yoga, taking time to create something whether it be pendants, magnets, beaded jewelry, and even the occassional painting, provides me with that much needed outlet. And of course, being able to sell those items on Etsy, is a fantastic bonus.

What do you do when you are not creating things?
I work a day job hiring professional speakers for groups of CEOs. I really enjoy cooking and baking and I'm an avid yoga practictioner. Most importantly, when I'm not crafting I'm spending time with my husband and daughter which is what I enjoy more than anything.

How long have you been crafting?
I've been crafting since I was about 5, but let's just say I've had an actual craft room for about 2.5 years now. I've been selling on Etsy for just over 1 year.

Why should people buy handmade?
Because it was created by someone doing something that they love and are passionate about. Buying handmade typically provides you with product that is unique and created with much thought process, not spit out by a machine.

What are your favorite materials?
clay, wood, copper, beads, paint, recently been playing with filigree

What makes your items unique?
I guess I would have to say that my items are unique because I've never seen anything like them sold anywhere.. or on anyone. Plus I have such a wide variety of product from the decoupaged pendants to my wire and beaded jewelry.

http://www.emmommy.etsy.com/

Great Minds Think Alike

2007-12-10T08:28:00.000-05:00

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=18269

For your viewing pleasure, here
are two perfectly coordinated
Treasuries, full of beautiful items picked
from NFCR shops, by Surface to Air Media
and me, Alyburd Designs.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=18239

2007-12-06T09:57:00.000-05:00

Shop Spotlight, The Purple Whale

2007-12-05T08:32:00.000-05:00

The Purple Whale has a wide variety of crafts to offer, including children and baby items, home decor and jewelry.

Let's get to know the crafter behind the shop.

Describe yourself:

I am a wife to my awesome husband Keith, we have been married 5 years, & a SAHM of my 2 year old Emma. She is my world & I am so thankful that I can stay home with her. My bracelet making business began as a creative hobby many years ago. I always dreamed of having my own business and that dream became a reality when I became a stay at home mom in the summer of 2005. I came up with the name, The Purple Whale, designed my website & all logo's business cards, etc. Thank gods I did the website when my daughter was 3 months old because I do not think I could do it with a 2 year old running around! I have a background in advertising and graphic design. There is nothing in this world more important to me than being able to stay home and take care of my family. Having my own business provides the outlet to let my creative side bloom.Thank you for taking the time to meet me!
What are your favorite materials?

It is difficult for me to have 'favorites', but I do lean towards, beads & paper.

What do you do when you are not creating things?

I am always creating. If I am not physically involved in a project, then my brain is turning with new ideas. I always keep a notebook with me to jot down my inspirations & ideas. I have also been known to call my own home when I am out & leave myself a message on the answering machine of a new idea so it is there waiting when I get home.

How long have you been crafting?

I have always been a creative person. My real crafting, or as I like to call it, designing, did not begin until my last year of college. I learned alot about the art & concept of design through my Advertising major.

Why should people buy handmade?

I believe the biggest benefit of buying handmade is that you are supporting an artist. I always feel great after a purchase on ETSY, knowing that I am supporting someone like myself.

What makes your items unique?

What makes my items unique is that they all are inspired by my own personal life experiences. Most of the onesies come from life as a new mommy, the bracelets are my original inspiration for entrepreneuership & everything else is just this or that of what I like to dabble in. I have opened a new ETSY store for my newest design venture & I am so excited about it. My new shop name is dlkdesigns. The inspiration for this new shop is simple. I raided my 83 year old grandmother's bookshelf in her garage & found a few true treasures. The first things I am working on are simple pendants made with a vintage (1950's) dictionary & a vintage (1950's) world atlas. Once I started going through just these two books & brainstorming I was in love. You know you are in to deep when you can not put down a dictionary & an atlas. I swear I could not stop!! I have a whole bag full of books, so there will be more to come. The funnest part about the raid is that I found little notes in the margins from when my 50 year old aunt was a kid with, I love ...(her now husband), This is of course the first pendant I am working on. I can not wait to see her expression a Christmas!

http://www.thepurplewhale.com

http://www.thepurplewhale.etsy.com

http://www.dlkdesigns.etsy.com

http://the-purple-whale.blogspot.com

Mother Crafter by Bleuroo

2007-12-03T07:49:00.000-05:00

I've found that my most creative time, when my mind is swimming with new designs and general to-do lists, is mid-morning to early afternoon. Of course this is the time I'm stuck behind my desk, an hour's trip away from my home and all of my crafting supplies. So I've taken to emailing myself with new ideas when they strike, trying to capture that creativity while I can. But then I have an hour's drive home (that is if no one has rear ended the semi in front of them while rubbernecking at the crash in the ditch that occurred because the driver spilled their soda, etc.), so I don't get there until after 6 p.m. most days. Then I walk in the door and am drawn to my boy like a moth to a flame. I mean, who could resist the most adorable child ever to have graced the face of the planet when he is in your own house?! So I must cuddle and play with him, while multi-tasking (catch up with husband, change out of god-awful office clothes, change a diaper, throw a load of clothes in washer, trip over dog, etc.). Then, what's for dinner? Hmmm, frozen pizza again, brilliant! Sneak in a few minutes to watch the boob tube and it's time for baby's bath, then bottle, then rock him while he drifts off to dreamland. Now it's after 8, time to spend with my husband before he goes to bed to wake up at 3 a.m. for work. After all of this, I'll put in some time on the computer, catching up with emails, Myspace, and Etsy (of course!). Now it's way too late and I should have been in bed an hour ago, but hey, who needs sleep, right? Not us mothers.
So what's my point in all of this, you might ask. Well, did you notice any time allotted in the above day, which is extremely accurate not only for me, but for thousands of other mothers out there, for crafting? Ummmm, yeah, me either. I usually do as much crafting as I can on the weekends, which often gets interrupted by fussy baby or laundry or dishes or other random household chores. And don't get me wrong, my husband really isn't some useless lump on the couch that ignores the babe or my efforts to work. He may be a bit clueless about how to fasten a diaper correctly, or not packing in 3 loads of clothes in the washer at once. But he's a keeper. In fact, he's one of the reasons that I get as much done as I do. But still, there's only so much time in a day. Which leads me to ask: how do all of the working, crafting mothers do it?!? How do you create 20 pairs of earrings (or whatever your artistic forte may be), promote your shop effectively, parent a child(ren), be a partner, keep a house, have a life, oh yeah, and go to work 40 hours a week (plus commute time)……well, you get what I'm putting down. And let me clarify, when I say working mother, I mean working outside of the home, but I know that all of this can, and does, apply to work at home moms, too. To me, you are either a work outside or inside of the home mom, none of this stay at home crap! Mothers who stay at home with their kids work their tails off, too, if not more so. I know I'm exhausted after a full day with my guy! But my focus is on working outside of the home because that is what I know, and I think it does pose it's own set of challenges and problems. So, now that that's out of the way…..

Why do we do it? I mean, why do we work so hard and stress so much over something that, for most of us, we don't have to do? I would venture to say that the majority of us are not making huge profits off of our creations, and therefore not contributing greatly to our finances. I would think most of us might be making enough to cover our materials and promotional efforts, but that's about it. But I hope I'm wrong, I hope you ladies out there are selling your socks off! For me, not so much. But I keep on, with a drive that I've never really had for anything else in my life. Why do I stay up later than I should, using up precious sleep time with promoting and stitching and sorting beads? Why do I spend more money or time than I should at the craft store? Why do I spend countless hours taking and retaking, touching up, cropping, and uploading pictures? I think I can answer for all crafting mothers out there when I say we do it because we LOVE it!! Honestly, what other reason is there to do it? I mean, if you can make big bucks off of your art, then that's the icing on the cake. But I do it because I need to do it. I need to have a creative outlet. I need to share my work with someone, whether they buy it or not. I need something that is strictly mine in this world. My house is not mine, the work I do at my job is not mine. My husband does not belong to me, nor does my child. They are their own individuals who's lives I play a part in, but they are not mine. But my creations, my designs, my ideas, my art, that is mine. I can craft what I want, I promote how I want (whether it's effective or not), I can market and price and package how I want. No one can tell me what to make, no one can say don't do that design, don't create.

I started this blog out with one question in mind: how do working, crafting moms do what they do? Now I realize, the how and the why are the same. We do what we do because we love it, and that's how we do it. We love it, so we will make time, we will stay up late, will spend our profits on more art supplies, we will take countless pictures. Our love of our craft permits us the drive and fire to do what we want, to make it work. And it's not easy, and it's not always perfect. But it's ours, and it's what we take pride in. We can say "Look. Look what I created with my own two hands."

My store is small, I have not sold much. And you know, that's okay. Would I love to sell more? Yes, of course. And I know it will probably get harder before it gets easier. But I'm here, trying and sharing. That's all I can ask of myself.
I'm a mother first. But I think being a mother has opened up my eyes to so much more than I saw before. And in this way, it has made me a better, more conscious crafter. No, it's made me a better, more conscious person. I just hope I can stick with it that long. But even if I were not trying to sell my crafts, I would create. It's ingrained in me. Just as my mother sewed, painted, made jewelry, quilted, and her mother before her, I will create, too. I only hope I can pass the appreciation of the handmade arts on to my son.

--~Bleuroo Handcrafted Sweetness~
http://www.bleuroo.etsy.com/

NFCR Update

2007-12-01T08:27:00.000-05:00

There is a lot going on with the NFCR this weekend!

Annie Jack Designs is participating in the Southside Woman's Club craft show. If your shopping for baby, swing by and see all she has to offer. She also sells beautiful accessories, perfect for stocking stuffers!

Dabni Mccrary will have a booth at Crispers in the St. Johns Town Center to from 11am - 4pm. She has lovey purses and adorable helping hands children's apron sets. Don't be surprised to find more NFCR members milling around there.

And Pockets of Sage is the newest NCRF member. She has a shop full of beautiful backpacks and purses for your viewing pleasure. Make sure to stop by her shop and say "hi".

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

The Sampler

2007-11-29T09:05:00.000-05:00

Who needs chocolate when you can choose from one of these delectable items!

I have lived in Florida for the past 11 years, and I have to say that I felt like I was in a creative void. Then I found Etsy, and in turn, found these wonderfully creative and talented people. While sifting through the shops, I've discovered beautiful, well crafted pieces that would fit into any high end gift shop.