Featured Team CAC Seller

Sorry about not having a featured seller for awhile there, but now that I’m back up and running, I’m hoping this won’t be an issue again. So without further ado, here’s this week’s featured seller, Glen of Sneath.

To start, please tell us a bit about yourself. What's your story?
My name is Glen and I'm an unmotivated community college student from the San Francisco Bay Area. I got my Associates degree in Electronics > PC Technical Support. My only source of income right now is what I make from chainmaille. But I would much rather be working again, but when I tried to 6 months ago, I came up pretty much dry. I'm a computer geek who used to work as a merchandiser for the late CompUSA *sniff*, and I'm a musician who works with my church's high school youth group as a staff member and as one of the worship leaders. Either as the drummer, guitar, or singing (in that order).

While I am currently going to school as a mechanical engineering major with a manufacturing focus, I've been recently pulling away from that and looking for work in logistics. I started down the engineering path because my schools manufacturing program shut down for budget reasons, and at the time there weren't many other options to continue learning the subject. But, since then I've found options aside from spending another 4 years of college getting a bachelor's to learn manufacturing processes. All I really wanted to do is work with my hands, and/or make things.

The current life path I'm pursuing is a career in logistics (shipping/receiving and inventory is SO fun!). But, if that doesn't pan out in the next year, I'm considering joining the Coast Guard for the resume boost, and the on-the-job training. And heck, I'm too comfortable where I am. I don't like traveling and I've lived in the same spot all my life, but I think it would be a good stretch for me. After all that, if nothing works out (or maybe sooner, who knows), I've been toying with the idea of the mission's field. Preferably somewhere cold. I hear theres a lot of work to be done in Poland for the Roma people.
O ya, and I'm an Eagle Scout of Troop 71, 2006.

What is your favorite quote?
Proverbs 4:7
“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.”
and the wisdom I've gathered seems to say that I should “... seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness...” (Matt. 6:33), so that's what I'll do.

What is your favorite movie?
Don't really have one.

What is your favorite TV show?
An anime called One Piece. Currently about 400 episodes long and counting!
Oh, and I guess Smallville since its the only “TV show” that I keep up with.

What is your favorite song at the moment?
I Need You by Relient K

What kinds of music do you listen to?
Worship. I love listening to people who are passionate about praising God. Sometimes its praise music like Chris Tomlin, Shane & Shane and Jars of Clay, or Christian rock like Kutless, Skillet and Relient K. But, a lot of times it's the hard-rock/screamo stuff that really gets me, when I can find a good screaming worship band. Not too common, but things like Dead Poetic, Thrice, Underoath, and Spoken have really hit home.

How long have you been creating?
Since I was a little kid when I would play with K'Nex. I used to build forts, and other relatively large structures out of the stuff. I started doing chainmaille a couple summers ago after our worship team watched a Lord of The Rings marathon. I decided to look it up online and soon after bought 100 bright aluminum 16awg 1/4” rings. The first thing I made with those rings was a pouch/holster for my cell-phone, which has since been decommissioned... It will be missed.

What inspires you?
Seeing other people doing what they love doing, or watching them discover something that they love doing. More specifically, people who have found their niche in the body of Christ, and totally all-out about it. Even the lowest janitor is a great inspiration if he finds a way to bring glory to God doing what he does.

Please describe your creative process (the how, the when, materials, etc.).
I bring my rings with me wherever I go, so I sometimes maille when I'm out and about, but usually its at my desk between classes. If its a weave and color pattern I'm familiar with it goes pretty quickly. But many times its a custom order in a color pattern, ring type, or weave that I'm not very comfortable with. With those I start with one combination of colors, or ring types, and see if what I make turns out looking nice. About an inch or two into the weave I make the decision either to keep going with it, or to scrap it, and take it apart so I can use the rings for another attempt at the current project, or for a future one. Sometimes it comes together right away with no hassle, while other times I have to take it apart many times because I can't get it quite right.

Is there any kind of music you listen to when you create?
I either let my computer shuffle through everything I have, or I listen to an online Christian radio station. Every once in a while I'll listen to a theological CD. Greg Koukl from Stand To Reason has been what I've listened to most in that category recently.

What's your biggest artistic disaster to date? How did it help you progress?
My armor! It turned out fine in its own way, but the design was completely off the top of my head. No drawings, blueprints, or exact measurements. I made it in a blacksmithing class I took, and I did the majority of the shell with a swage block and any oxy-acetylene torch, for the most part all free-form. The biggest problem with it is that its held together with 4 bolts... 2 of which are on the back, meaning I need help to get into it. I did learn quite a bit about shaping metal though... because the hoops under the arms are doubled over and then channeled, and then bent... which is all kinds of stupid, and very difficult to make well with a hammer...

What's your favorite piece that you've done?
My favorites come and go, so for now I'd have to go with something I made very recently. It's a trackball from an old mouse I found, wrapped in chainmaille (go figure). I'm particularly proud of this one because it marks a landmark in discovering what I can wrap. I figured out a new way to cinch the sides up with rubber rings that allow for ANY size of ball. Granted, it might not work too well on anything but spheres, but I'll figure that out later.

What's the best advice you were given when starting out?
Hmmm... The best one I can think is from a bunch of fellow Etsy members. Something along the lines of “Don't panic because you're not getting many sales at first. Be patient.”

Do you have any advice to give others?
Seek God constantly and make glorifying Him the focus of your business (and your whole life for that matter). If your shop is just for getting bank, then you're wasting an awesome opportunity to be a light to the world.

What's coming up for you; any big plans artistically?
I'm selling at my first convention at the end of May, so I need to stock up on more marbles and findings, as well as mass producing all sorts of bracelets and key chains. Very excited about that... But as far as what I'm making, I've been swamped enough with finishing off the semester, working with the youth group, ordering supplies, and running my Etsy to have thought seriously about any big plans right now. Although, a while ago I was making candles by melting the excess, throw-out candles from my church's candle-light service (so much wasted wax). I made a chainmaille hanging thing for the candles, but never made the stand to hold it up. I guess I could work on that next.

Where can we find you? Both online and in stores.
www.Sneath.etsy.com
GESlagle [!at] gmail.com
www.myspace.com/holygorge Very old screen name which I converted into a big ad banner for my Etsy...
I'm also on facebook: Glen Slagle

Featured Team CAC Seller

Sorry about not having a featured seller last week, the time flew by me so fast that it wasn’t until it was too late that I realized I didn’t have anyone.   No, you’re not getting two this week to make up for it.  Just one, Simplypuresoycandles.

 

What is your favorite quote?

All things are possible if you believe! Mark 9:23

What is your favorite movie?

Titanic, but a close second is Dumbo (I know but we have kids!)

What is your favorite TV show?

House

What is your favorite song at the moment?

Dead or Gone, by TI and Justin Timberlake

What kinds of music do you listen to?

A little bit of everything, I enjoy all kind of music just depends on my mood! From instrumental to alternative!

How long have you been creating?

3.5 years

What inspires you?

Everything around me, things I want to use, things that i think are pretty, my kids and family.

Please describe your creative process (the how, the when, materials, etc.).

Is there any kind of music you listen to when you create?

No I like to concentrate!

What's your biggest artistic disaster to date? How did it help you progress?

Well I am bad at putting the wrong color in my wax!! Like if I am making lemon, of course it needs to be yellow well sometimes it doesn't get yellow, but maybe blue or green! LOL but after about 3 times of that... I pay very close attention to what i lay on my work table!

What's your favorite piece that you've done?

My favorite things that I make are my candles, I made a rustic pillar for Christmas that was black and red and it was my fav! Scented in Apple Jack.

What's the best advice you were given when starting out?

Take it slow and make sure your product is worth buying!

Do you have any advice to give others?

Just because others make items/products doesn't mean that everyone can. It is not as easy as you think! Everything gets better with practice!

What's coming up for you; any big plans artistically?

Well every April there is a store that lets me place my items there and we do very well until November! So I am very excited about that.

Where can we find you? Both online and in stores.

You can find me online at www.simplypuresoycandles.com on etsy www.simplypuresoycandles.etsy.com and in Ashe county stores Sally Mae's, The NorthWest Trading Post and in the surranding area in Boone at Green Mother Goods. We also do around 9 festivals a year so always out and about!

Navy Petty Officer Mike Monsoor

I got this email from my sister-in-law today, thought I’d share.

On 29 September 2006, 25-year-old Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor (MA2, not EOD2 as stated below) was killed during operations in enemy-held territory at Ar Ramadi, Iraq, when he threw himself on top of a grenade in order to save the lives of his fellow SEALS. As described in the final two paragraphs of a Summary of Action (SOA) regarding the circumstances of his death:

While vigilantly watching for enemy activity, an enemy fighter hurled a hand grenade onto the roof from an unseen location. The grenade hit him in the chest and bounced onto the deck. He immediately leapt to his feet and yelled "grenade" to alert his teammates of impending danger, but they could not evacuate the sniper hide-sight in time to escape harm. Without hesitation and showing no regard for his own life, he threw himself onto the grenade, smothering it to protect his teammates who were lying in close proximity. The grenade detonated as he came down on top of it, mortally wounding him.

Petty Officer Monsoor's actions could not have been more selfless or clearly intentional. Of the three SEALs on that rooftop corner, he had the only avenue of escape away from the blast, and if he had so chosen, he could have easily escaped. Instead, Monsoor chose to protect his comrades by the sacrifice of his own life. By his courageous and selfless actions, he saved the lives of his two fellow SEALs and he is the most deserving of the special recognition afforded by awarding the Medal of Honor.

In April 2008, Michael Monsoor (who had already been posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions in a 9 May 2006 incident, when he and another SEAL pulled a wounded team member to safety amidst gunfire) was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His funeral, attended (in the words of President Bush) by "nearly every SEAL on the West Coast," was held on 12 October 2006 at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. As shown at the end of the tribute video linked below, during Monsoor's funeral service, as the casket was taken from the hearse to the gravesite, fellow SEALs lined up in two columns to slap and embed the gold Tridents (a pin, pictured above, awarded for successful completion of SEAL Qualification Training) from their uniforms onto the top of Monsoor's coffin:

PO2 (EOD2)(Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Mike Monsoor, a Navy EOD Technician, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for jumping on a grenade in Iraq , giving his life to save his fellow Seals.

During Mike Monsoor's funeral in San Diego , as his coffin was being moved from the hearse to the grave site at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, SEAL's were lined up on both sides of the pallbearers route forming a column of two's, with the coffin moving up the center. As Mike's coffin passed, each SEAL, having removed his gold Trident from his uniform, slapped it down embedding the Trident in the wooden coffin.

The slaps were audible from across the cemetery; by the time the
coffin arrived grave side, it looked as though it had a gold inlay
from all the Tridents pinned to it. This was a fitting send-off for a
warrior hero.

This should be front-page news instead of the things we see every day.

Featured Team CAC Seller….

We've continuing our feature in the team blog, to coincide with Self Portrait Thursday. Each week we'll feature another team member. We're continuing things with Sharon of javachip.etsy.com.

To start, please tell us a bit about yourself. What's your story?
I am a college student at UC Irvine, majoring in Studio Art and hoping to get a degree in Physical Therapy in grad school. I am half Filipino and half (Caucasian) American, and I have lived in the Philippines for my whole life up until college because my parents are missionaries there. I have two passports, I love dogs, I love cats, I love sports, I played rugby and soccer in high school, I played soccer for the Philippine national team when I was a senior in high school and I played for one year for my college team but now I am just playing club soccer and loving it! I love playing the piano, singing, ceramics, finger painting, running around barefoot in mud, playing soccer on the beach, jumping in puddles, drinking hot chocolate or english tea with a hoodie on in my jammies, surfing, baking cookies, eating cookie dough, and just plain eating.

I love to travel and I have been to Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Myanmar, Japan, China, Mexico, the U.S., Guam, the Philippines, and I will be adding England and the Czech Republic to the list this summer. I love taking pictures when I travel, and my greatest dream would be to become a photographer for National Geographic. Imagine the opportunities! My favorite things to paint and photograph are people, because I love the idea that you can capture a person or an aspect of a person in an image. I love God and I adore the fact that He is the ultimate Creator and has instilled in each of us a love for creating.

What is your favorite quote?
Anything by Victor Hugo from Les Miserables. These are some good ones:
“Laughter is sunshine; it chases winter from the human face.”
“Love is the foolishness of men, and the wisdom of God.”
“All those places that we no longer see, which perhaps we shall never see again, but whose image we have preserved, assume a painful charm, return to us with the sadness of a ghost.”
“This lowly sand which you trample beneath your feet, if you cast it into the furnace, and let it melt and seethe, shall become resplendent crystal, and by means of such as it a Galileo and a Newton shall discover stars.”

What is your favorite movie?
I’m indecisive! I love Batman: The Dark Knight, Bolt, The Incredibles, Pirates Of The Caribbean, The Princess Bride, Transformers The Movie, V For Vendetta, and the first X-men movie. I love action and superheroes and animated films, and I’m a sucker for movies made on ridiculous premises.

What is your favorite TV show?
Heroes! And the Office is a close runner-up. :)

What is your favorite song at the moment?
(*fin) by Anberlin

What kinds of music do you listen to?
A lot of rock and indie music. My favourite bands are Anberlin, Eisley, Emery, Ingrid Michaelson, Iron And Wine, Skillet and Sufjan Stevens. I really enjoy crossover artists/bands that are made up of Christians but not necessarily sold in the “Christian” section of the store. My all time favorite band is Anberlin, and I feel like they really get a good message across.

How long have you been creating?
Since I was teeny tiny.

What inspires you?
Beauty. I enjoy finding it in the strangest places. One of my friends told me that she liked how I make the mundane seem beautiful. That’s how I feel that God transforms us, he beautifies the ordinary.
“Beauty itself is but the sensible image of the Infinite.”
- Sir Francis Bacon
Beauty, of whatever kind, invariably excites the human soul to tears.
- Edgar Allen Poe
Please describe your creative process (the how, the when, materials, etc.).
I get crazy ideas all of a sudden and I drop everything and make it. It usually involves paintbrushes, watercolours, acrylics, India ink, or just pencils. It’s either that or my camera jumps into my hand and make me take fifty billion pictures.
Is there any kind of music you listen to when you create?
I like soft music, Indie folk usually, like Iron and Wine or Sufjan Stevens. But I also have this weird thing where I really like watching House when I paint.

What's your biggest artistic disaster to date? How did it help you progress?
When I was working on my portfolio for AP art, my first piece was not looking at all how I wanted it to, and I was very disappointed. My art teacher just told me to stick with it and keep reworking it. He told me something I never forgot: “If you get it right away you will end up with a boring piece of art. It is the struggle that adds character, the layers and layers that build up to make a complex piece of art that has so much more value than a piece that took no time at all.” It is so true! Now one of my signatures in my art is how I just go for it and slap on that dark brushstroke with confidence, because I know that I can rework it and build on top of it. It was always something I did with drawing, but it took me a while to find myself as a painter.

What's your favorite piece that you've done?
This is great, because it is that piece that I was just talking about, the one I didn’t like at all. It took me forever to keep tweaking it and reworking it but not I absolutely love it.

What's the best advice you were given when starting out?
From my art teacher again, it was to be willing to use anything. You have materials all around you that are much less expensive than things you can buy in an art store and work just the same. Be creative even when it comes to tools!

Do you have any advice to give others?
When you get your great ideas, just sit down and work on them, it always works best when you are excited about something. Then take a step back and look at what you’ve done. If you look at your creation with fresh eyes it allows you to see things you may have missed or come up with new ideas. Look at it in a mirror, upside down, from 20 feet away. And this goes for everything, not just painting! :)

What's coming up for you; any big plans artistically?
Well, artistically as in painting? Not really, just passing my classes I guess. But artistically as in musically, I’m starting a band! I’m the lead vocalist, haha, it’s really chill and not a big deal, but it’s still going to be a lot of fun.

Where can we find you? Both online and in stores.
www.javachip.etsy.com
www.starlike.etsy.com
http://support-a-starving-artist.blogspot.com/ (I haven’t blogged in forever though!)
www.zoshalucyna.deviantart.com
or search for Sharon Lynn Whelchel on facebook and add me as a friend. :)

Killer Hazelnut Brownie Bites

These sound really good. (stolen from food network)

Killer Hazelnut Brownie Bites

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1/4 cup cake flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts

Grenadine Frosting:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons grenadine

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease and flour.

In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together, butter, sugar, vanilla seeds and vanilla extract. Add eggs and mix until well incorporated.

Mix together the dry ingredients and slowly add it to the egg mixture. Mix until well incorporated.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and spread evenly, add hazelnuts to the top.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes until brownies are set and begin to pull away from the side.

Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack. Once cooled, remove brownies from pan and cut into 1 1/2-inch squares for individual bites.

For the frosting:

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream butter and slowly add the powdered sugar. Add grenadine and mix until a frosting consistency is reached.

Place frosting in a piping bag and pipe onto individual brownie bites.

Featured Team CAC Seller….

We've continuing our feature in the team blog, to coincide with Self Portrait Thursday. Each week we'll feature another team member. We're continuing things with Susan of Wagscreations.etsy.com.

To start, please tell us a bit about yourself. What's your story?

My name is Susan Foskin. I am a Christ-loving, fun-having, dog-hugging, wife to the most wonderful man I know. I strive for perfection (oftentimes too much) and like to work hard, and am learning to play hard too (something that doesn't come so easily).

What is your favorite quote?
I actually have two favorites right now… "Coincidence is God choosing to remain anonymous." And “The Best use of a life is to spend it on something that outlasts it.” I have the first quote on my outgoing email and the second quote I put on a huge sign on my living room wall.

What is your favorite movie?
My favorite movie is really generic but I am in love with things like St. Elmo’s Fire, Ocean’s Eleven, & When a Man Loves a Woman.

What is your favorite TV show?
I don’t watch much TV so if I have to pick one, it’d have to be Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne” since that is really all I watch on a regular basis.

What is your favorite song at the moment?
Favorite song at the moment…depends on where I am (work, home, car, etc..) I would say that it is either “Slow Fade”, or Vivaldi’s Concerto in d Minor, or anything by Toby Keith. I know it is rather spread out, but really it depends on where I am and what I’m doing.

What kinds of music do you listen to?
Christian (hymns, rock, etc..), classical, 80s rock, and country

How long have you been creating?
I’ve been creating for as long as I can remember, but I’ve been selling my creations for about 4 years.

What inspires you?
I’m not sure what it is, but God just delivers various ideas and inspirations for me to work with to me and I run with them. I may see a set of colors together on something else and think, “oh, that’d look really good mixed together on something I make”, or wonder how I can mix a particular patter or something on one of my designs.

Please describe your creative process (the how, the when, materials, etc.).
I usually have something in my head for a day or two and play around with it mentally for a little bit and then sit down in my craft room and start working on it. I often have several projects going at once (if I don’t, check my pulse!), and bounce back and forth from one to another. Many times, the project will take a direct turn from where it started in my head to where it ends up because in my rummaging around to find the perfect item that I was looking for in a drawer or canister, I will find an item that will work even better and take it a slightly different direction.

Is there any kind of music you listen to when you create?
I’m probably one of the few people that prefers silence and the sound of my dog sleeping/snoring at my feet while I create.

What's your biggest artistic disaster to date? How did it help you progress?
My biggest artistic disaster to date was a huge batch of clipboards that I was taking to a show and they had to be finished. I thought that I’d finish them in the hotel room, but I didn’t factor in the humidity of the location (from what I have at home) or the time needed appropriately. So they really did not turn out good at all, thus causing us to run really low on inventory for that show and high on stress.

What's your favorite piece that you've done?
I have several pieces that I really like, but one of my favorites is a domino necklace that I wear quite often that says, “Life is Good, Eternal Life is Better” and has a small silver cross on it. I like this piece because it has opened the door to allow me to share my faith with people. For instance, just yesterday, I wore it and a lady read it and said, “Wouldn’t that be nice?” (meaning having Eternal Life) and so I was able to share with her about Jesus Christ and how he died on the cross and stuff. It is not one of my bigger pieces, but I believe that it is a bigger piece in the grand scheme of things. This necklace is coming to my shops in the next week or so.

What's the best advice you were given when starting out?
Don’t give up. If you love it, then keep doing it.

Do you have any advice to give others?
Find what you are good at AND what you love, not just what sells. Because if you make something that sells a ton but you don’t enjoy making it and find great pleasure and love while creating then it is the same as any other job.

What's coming up for you; any big plans artistically?
I am working on getting into 2 other stores and I will hopefully be accepted into the local Mistletoe Market show in October (the Junior League show) here in Oklahoma City. I am also looking for wholesale shops to get into.

Where can we find you? Both online and in stores.
Wagscreations.com
Wagscreations.etsy.com
Timeless accents Gift Shop in Arcadia, Oklahoma
Loving Touch Crafters Mall in Yukon, Oklahoma

Featured Team CAC Seller....

We've started a new feature in the team blog, to coincide with Self Portrait Thursday. Each week we'll feature another team member. We're continuing things with Kelli of KelliRene.etsy.com.

To start, please tell us a bit about yourself. What's your story?
My name is Kelli. I'm married with two adorable cats and I love the Lord.

I've lived in many different places and currently live in Northern Virginia. I love to make stuff and I love to learn new processes in order to make stuff. :-)

What is your favorite quote?
Biblical:
24And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:24

Hamlet:
"'tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature. Possess it merely. That it should come to this! " Shakespeake

What is your favorite movie?
Right now it's Slumdog Millionare. LOVE that movie!

What is your favorite TV show?
House

What is your favorite song at the moment?
Irene by Toby Mac

What kinds of music do you listen to?
I like all kinds of music as long as it is GOOD within that genre.

How long have you been creating?
For as long as I can remember. It started with crayons and legos at a very young age.

What inspires you?
God's word. Nature. Music. Sometimes a misinterpretation when I look at something inspires me to something new.

Please describe your creative process (the how, the when, materials, etc.).

Um. I don't think there is a process. I'm very disorganized and usually go solely by what I am being inspired to make. It's more of what comes through me than what I think to do. I have a hard time focusing on one material alone. I think I suffer from ADD in the creative world!

Is there any kind of music you listen to when you create?
Nothing to busy or too loud. I prefer listening to the voices of female singers for some reason. It lifts me up. I like music I can sing along with and can understand what they are saying. Cesaria Evora is one of my favs. I like Sheryl Crow a great deal too.

What's your biggest artistic disaster to date? How did it help you progress?
Oh, I've made some pretty horrendous paintings! You know, you try to rework them and rework them and then they turn to mud. I've learned that it is dangerous to fall in love with an idea. And, I've learned that canvases are wonderful because you can paint over them!

What's your favorite piece that you've done?
I raised a very pretty vase in my holloware class simply by heating and hammering a flat sheet of copper. It is amazing what metal can do through heat and force. It became a pod shaped vase. Sadly, I lost it in our move. :(

What's the best advice you were given when starting out?
The best advice... hmm.... I've been given so much good advice. I think the best advice I have received is that there is never 'one right' way to do something. There are many routes to get to the same destination. All valid. Kind of like our walk with the Lord.

Do you have any advice to give others?
Always give credit to God in all that you make. Because every good thing, even our designs, come from Him. And, don't let other people's opinions dictate your own designs. Stay true to your vision.

What's coming up for you; any big plans artistically?
Yes. I am going back to school for a psychology degree. My goal is to have a job that helps people and to make art my fun and my release again. I no longer want art to be my 'job'.

Where can we find you? Both online and in stores.
KelliRene.etsy.com (for jewelry)
KelliBelli.etsy.com (for supplies)
VintageKelli.etsy.com (for Vintage items)

Featured Team CAC Seller....

We've started a new feature in the team blog, to coincide with Self Portrait Thursday. Each week we'll feature another team member. We're continuing things with April of SilverSunbeam.

To start, please tell us a bit about yourself. What's your story?

I'm that girl who pursued college to go into "a Profession" and came out a housewife instead. A decade or so later I'm really happy my plans didn't work out. I've had the opportunity to travel, live abroad, and see whole worlds I never could have imagined with my upbringing. We lived in Scotland for several years while he worked on his Ph.D. and joked that we'd use his education (in Art History) to start a lavender farm. It was a good joke those many years... So, what do I do? I'm a cat-wrangling housewife-artist who just got married to the farm. The lavender plants start arriving at Stratheden Farm in late March.

I started making shrines a few years ago, before I fully admitted I was a Christian. I knew I loved what I'd studied in the Gospels (I minored in Theology at college) but had difficulty reconciling what I knew was there and what I saw in the various denominations I'd tried over the years. Ultimately I just gave up and told God he'd just have to send an angel to teach me directly because I was formally quitting the search. Through a strange set of choices that made no sense to anyone, I ended up in Eastern Europe learning to sing Georgian Orthodox Chant. If you don't think God listens then try asking for what you actually need. I was surrounded by all these amazing people who told me about their religion and, without them knowing it, reconciled all my questions and confusions. I came back to America and immediately set out toward becoming a full member of the Eastern Orthodox community. In concert with bringing me closer to Him, I've begun to understand the deeper levels of my own art. It isn't just pretty pictures for me, it's a doorway to the divine I've been blessed to offer to the world.


What is your favorite quote?

"Done is Beautiful." My old boss at the College of Santa Fe costume shop used to say it to me all the time.


What is your favorite movie?

I have to split myself on this one. Half of me says it's All Quiet on the Western Front (the original German print) for sheer power. The other half says it's Whiskey Galore for absolute humor. It was made by Ealing Studios just after WWII and, having no budget for actors, they simply went to a Scottish island and hired the locals for all but the lead roles. It completely captures the Scottish soul, even now.


What is your favorite TV show?

I really enjoy the various BBC detective mysteries on PBS. Old or new, I like them. I'll try to follow the series but I don't actually make plans around turning on the tube. There's too much life out there to be watching the box regularly.


What is your favorite song at the moment?

The song that always puts me in a good mood is Ode to Contentment, which is a little Shaker "gift song." Libana has it on one of their albums. It's sustained me since high school. I sing it to myself when I'm feeling overwhelmed or frustrated.


What kinds of music do you listen to?

Almost everything... organ music, folk, bluegrass, old time, old rock and roll, Shaker, Orthodox chant, big band, electronica... If it's done well I'll listen to it.


How long have you been creating?

I got into crafting proper when I was about ten. We'd lived with my grandmother for most of fourth grade so we could finish the school year in Maine before joining my father who'd taken a job in Tucson, Arizona. I watched in complete fascination while my grammie sewed doll dresses for me on her tiny, old, Singer sewing machine. What amazed me was the idea that a person could make something. When we arrived in the desert that summer one of the things my dad made sure Mom had was a sewing machine. Why, I don't know, as she's not at all crafty. I claimed the machine and, sitting on the floor (my feet still don't reach the ground from a standard chair...) I taught myself to sew. Skip ahead nearly fifteen years and I'd recently graduated from college, decided I never wanted to work in costuming or psychology again, and my husband decided that freed him up to pursue a Ph. D. at St. Andrews Uni in Scotland. So, off we went... and me with no work permit! I went back to school at Dundee College and took a year of entry level textile design classes... conquering linguistic hurdles and my fear of drawing along the way. The next year I moved on to Elmwood College where I attempted a Higher National Certificate in General Art but bombed the collage / mixed media unit so didn't get the qualification.


What inspires you?

Day to day it's watching my six joyful cats. I want to embody that kind of freedom to be happy because we humans are so intent on making ourselves unhappy. That's not how God intended us to live! When I'm working on a piece I'm thinking mostly about imparting that good feeling. Spanish Catholic artwork of the Southwest has always been a big inspiration because of the love that's put into even the coarsest piece. That's led me to all sorts of other art... from Pictish standing stones, Aztec temple sculpture, and Hopi Katsinas to Appalachian folk art, Pictorialist photography, and Rembrandt. My taste is rather all-over-the-place.


Please describe your creative process (the how, the when, materials, etc.).

In a lot of ways I'm "just the hands" when I'm making a shrine. I learned after struggling through designing the first few that if I just checked out and asked the box what it wanted they went together with a whole lot less frustration.I now know that it is the saints themselves who direct the making of my devotionals. All the pieces in my Etsy shop were made either on my dining room table or in my old "studio" which was really just a camp table in the spare bedroom. I'm in the process of moving into a new home where I'll actually have a dedicated studio.

I begin by asking what the subject wants me to do to ornament their icon. I'll hold up two or three ribbons, different papers, ten different beads until I feel like I've heard their wishes. If anyone actually heard my internal conversations they'd lock me up in the nut house! Some boxes take a couple hours to complete while others will be put on hold for months until I've found the exact piece to finish it.

The shrines are built onto small boxes, mostly old Altoids tins, or into old bottle caps and filled with resin. I want them to be both beautiful and highly functional. The idea with the boxes is that you can store a memento or write your needs down and put them in the box for the saint to work on for you. I pray over each one as I make it. Nothing formal, though I think that's about to change, but just asking that the item bring healing and "good medicine" to it's final owner.


Is there any kind of music you listen to when you create?

Internet radio is my newest passion. I'll tap into WAMU, a bluegrass station, or into Ancient Faith Radio ( http://ancientfaith.com ) which is all Eastern Orthodox chant. Both put me straight into the proper head space. If I'm working on a secular piece then it's folk music, old big band jazz, and NPR.


What's your biggest artistic disaster to date? How did it help you progress?

Did I tell you about failing my collage / mixed media unit for the Scottish Higher? That's not quite descriptive enough... I completely bombed it. Not "didn't do well" but completely, utterly, and spectacularly failed. We're talking panic attacks and everything. I have no idea why it was so bad for me, it just was. Ultimately we agreed that the teacher wouldn't ask me to turn things in but I'd show up every day and work as best I could so as not to be a poor example to the younger students. Less than a year later I'd made my first shrine, a mixed media confection to help an ailing friend. It was Saints Lucia and Roch. The making of it was nearly effortless. Do you see the humor here? I do hope you do! I think it taught me not to worry so much about "making the grade" ...very humbling!


What's your favorite piece that you've done?

That is definitively my St. Nino Equal-to-the-Apostles shrine. It was a real breakthrough into both dimensionality and a more obviously devotional function. It has a little dish for offering flowers or lighting a tiny candle. She's the patron saint of Georgia (the country) and she went to a woman in England who really wanted to visit. No doubt the good saint is arranging things for her as I'm pretty sure she did for me.


What's the best advice you were given when starting out?

"Don't be afraid to be eccentric." My role model, much to the horror of our mutual friends, is a crazy Danish friend in Scotland named Aase Goldsmith. She's jolly, irreverent, and isn't afraid of anyone or anything. She's a piece of artwork in and of herself and I can only hope to be as inappropriately appropriate an old lady as she is... she also isn't afraid to freely admit to believing in fairies. Aase's motto is to do whatever you want because when you do people will just think you're an "odd bod," and let you get on with it.


Do you have any advice to give others?

Have some trust. Learn to love without condition. Be nice. If you're religious then allow yourself to trust God in all things. When you you are quiet enough to start listening, and then DO what God suggests life goes so much more smoothly. I love telling people that we're all going to the Big Rock Candy Mountain because God loves all his children with perfect equality, forgiveness, and mercy.


What's coming up for you; any big plans artistically?

Getting into that new studio! Right now I can just squeeze in there enough to work on some floral hair pins (in the shop soon, I promise!) The next big thing is to prepare myself to paint my first icon. Normally this would be Christ but I think it's going to be St. Fillan, my Name Saint, as there are no icons of him to be found. (My Christian name is Fillina.) There are a number of art venues in my new little town of Floyd, VA so I'm also gearing up to gearing myself up to get into one or two.


Where can we find you? Both online and in stores.

I'm only selling on Etsy right now. The shop name is SilverSunbeam ( www.silversunbeam.etsy.com ) You can also read about me on my blogs. "Crafting, with Cats" ( www.craftingwithcats.blogspot.com ) is me blethering on about faith, craft, and domestic life. My husband and I also write a blog about our farm adventure ( www.strathedenfarm.blogspot.com ) here on Stratheden Farm. My Flickr stream is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/silversunbeam

Great Pictures...

Got this email from my sister the other day, thought I'd share...



Taken from world's tallest building 'Burj Dubai'
@ 2,620 ft!!! AMAZING!!!!




Look at the edge (uppermost right corner) of the picture,
thanks to the lens, you can almost see the turn of the earth.

The persons who are working on the upper most Girders
can see the rotation of earth.






Amazing striped icebergs

Icebergs in the Antarctic area sometimes have stripes, formed by
layers of snow that react to different conditions.

Blue stripes are often created when a crevice in the ice sheet
fills up with meltwater and freezes so quickly that no bubbles form.

When an iceberg falls into the sea, a layer of salty seawater can
freeze to the underside. If this is rich in algae, it can form a
green stripe.

Brown, black and yellow lines are caused by sediment, picked up
when the ice sheet grinds downhill towards the sea.

Featured Team CAC Seller....

We've started a new feature in the team blog, to coincide with Self Portrait Thursday. Each week we'll feature another team member. We're continuing things with Amy
of Amy's Treasures.

To start, please tell us a bit about yourself. What's your story?
My favorite color is clear with transparent polka dots… I mean….

Let’s see… my shop is something my mom, sister and I had been talking about doing since the early 90s. Only with my sister and I both working and putting ourselves through college, it just wasn’t the right time. Now that I’ve discovered etsy, I have a venue for that. I have very little formal training in pretty much anything except singing. You don’t spend 13 years in choirs without learning a thing or two. ;) But as far as my crafting goes, really it’s a lot of hands on training, or figuring it out as I went along. I did work at Michael’s for a few months around ’94, I think it was, doing demos. I learned a lot in terms of working with different crafting materials. One day I would like to bring back some of those techniques and put them to use on something for my shop.

What is your favorite quote?
I just can’t get past this one, it’s too fun “Personally, I prefer a good shag.” Ducky from the episode "Dead and Unburied" - NCIS

What is your favorite movie?

Too many good ones to nail one down, I like action, sci-fi, comedy (not most of the crap out now), thrillers, things like that

What is your favorite TV show?

See above. But to name a few… NCIS, Hustle, Burn Notice, Psych (do you see the pattern?) also watch a lot of food network and HGTV, but not as much of the latter.

What is your favorite song at the moment?

Hm… don’t really have a favorite at the moment…

What kinds of music do you listen to?

Persian, Christian, classical, piano, 80s music, 70s, classic rock (exSCUSE ME, oldies, you have no idea how old it makes me feel to hear 80s songs on oldies stations)… pretty much anything except any form of rap, old school metal (the new metal isn’t metal to me, but the screaming stuff I don’t care much for), any form of country.

How long have you been creating?

Since the 80s, at least. I grew up in church and did crafts in Sunday School and VBS, so this is nothing new.

What inspires you?

Anything and everything.

Please describe your creative process (the how, the when, materials, etc.).

Well it probably depends on different things. Some times I’ll see beads that inspire me to make something, while other times I’ll have something on my heart that I want to do (my sunrise, sunsetpieces) that I’ll carry with me until I find the right materials/beads. I would like to move past the “costume jewelry” stage and work with more “real” materials some day, maybe even learn a little metal smithing. I do plan on learning how to make stained glass though. That is something I’ve wanted to do for nearly as many years as I’ve been wanting to start my shop.

Course then there are the times when I’m watching something while I work and it influences the piece I’m working on. *cough*cosmosnecklace*cough* Or I’ll be listing to an interview while getting dressed which then influences something else. *cough*sapphireandsteelearrings*cough*

What's your biggest artistic disaster to date? How did it help you progress?

It has to be when I worked at Cookies By Design (which is where I got carpel tunnel). I walked in one morning to be handed an order for pizza cookies, one that was to read “Congratulations on the engagement”, only I was so rushed and no one checked my spelling that, I forgot an e in engagement (it read engagment) . I was banned from pizza cookies after that. Course had they not rushed me that would have never happened.

The ban was eventually lifted when we got an order for the Northwestern University’s logo on a pizza cookie with the words Happy Birthday, and a person’s name. That came out great, I’m so glad I took a picture of it. I should mention, unless it was a Disney cookie, all designs were freehand drawn and colored with frosting. We had stencils but those were for the licensed Disney cookies, and the soccer balls. I always free-handed the soccer balls, because I’d fill them all in with frosting, instead of only do black on a white glazed cookie. It looked so much better fully frosted.

What's your favorite piece that you've done?

Hmmm… I have so many pieces that I love, it’s hard to pick a favorite. Off the top of my head though I’d say either my Rat Pack set or my Rose and Babies Breadth headband/tiara. I love roses though, so that could sway me to liking that piece. ;)

What's the best advice you were given when starting out?

Hmm…. Can’t say I’ve been given any advice per se, but I’ve been given lots of encouragement by the ladies that got me started on etsy; old friends of my sister’s.

Do you have any advice to give others?

Just keep making what inspires you, do what you like. Don’t try to make things that you don’t like just to go with the latest trends. You will ultimately hate what you are doing and no longer want to do it. Don’t worry about being trendy, trends only last a season or two. Just concentrate on making your shop something you’re proud of. Fill it with things you love and enjoy making.

What's coming up for you; any big plans artistically?

I recently opened a café press shop, which I’m having fun with. When I have the funds, I will be getting a paid account there to add more options. I will soon start experimenting on making cuffs that will cover wrist supports. Since I have a weak wrist, I have to wear one most days and hate when I wear it to weddings or something. It’s not that I hate the “what happened to your wrist” question, it’s that it sticks out like a sore thumb. I know, that’s just being vain and picky but it just doesn’t go with anything. It’s functional and necessary, but not always wanted.

Also, my sister and I are going to be working on trying to duplicate a tree top angel our late uncle gave us back in the 60s(?). We will fight to the death over this angel but she’s all mine! The lights need to be restrung but I can’t for the life of me find a short strand of Christmas lights that aren’t battery operated. So if I can find that, we will try to make my sister one and if all goes well, add them to my shop.

Where can we find you? Both online and in stores.

http://www.amystreasures.etsy.com

http://www.amystreasuresattic.etsy.com

http://www.cafepress.com/amystreasures

Featured Team CAC Seller...

We're starting a new feature in the team blog, to coincide with Self Portrait Thursday. Each week we'll feature another team member. We're starting things off with Leah of Matic Studio.

To start, please tell us a bit about yourself. What's your story?
I am a WAHM to Nalia (Sugarfoots) who just turned 2 and Noah who will be five next month. I am married to my absolute soulmate, but polar earthly opposite. I am so creative that it keeps me awak at night. I am a jack of all trades and get bored with one thing easily. I tend to be very outgoing, but relish my alone-time. (sometimes I got to the restroom downstairs just so I can hear silence for a few moments!) I love to dance and sing, though singing is NOT something I am good at! Ask my kids! I love to cook and bake and live for my java in the morning! I enjoy my real friendships and cherish my few true friends. I love my Mama with all my heart and pray I can be half the mother to my kids that she was to me.

What is your favorite quote?
Que sera, sera- whatever will be, will be (knowing the Lord makes this one SO much easier to accept!)

What is your favorite movie?
Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve (it's a flick from my childhood that is special to me and my Mama)

What is your favorite TV show?
LOL- SCRUBS!!!!

What is your favorite song at the moment?
Slow Fade by casting crowns

What kinds of music do you listen to?
anyting with a great drum beat or bass ling- I enjoy male vocals more than female and prefer alternative/grunge as well as latin/salsa

How long have you been creating?
umm...when does conception REALLY begin? 28 years I would say?

What inspires you?
honestly, my God and the beauty He provides all around me....my kids and their absolute love of life and innocence, and the person I see when I look into my husband's eyes looking back at me

Please describe your creative process (the how, the when, materials, etc.).
well, it starts with finding rare and unique yarns, fabrics or beads....that combined with my hooks and hands eventually turns into my finished product. I never really have anything in mind until it forms itself. that's why my items are all one of a kind (unless I get a custom order for more of the same). I am NEVER without at least one skein of yarn and a hook, so the where part is WHEREVER I am at the moment

Is there any kind of music you listen to when you create?
I listen to K-Love since I only have a radio dowsntairs, but I usually put on my latin jive if I have my IPod- it amps me up while I paint and seems to force me to paint more vibrantly

What's your biggest artistic disaster to date? How did it help you progress?
um....I would have to say a painting I was commissioned to make for my step-father. It was a colored oil painting to be made from a sketchy, 80 something year old black and white blown up photo of a village in portugal. I HATE painting landscapes and told him so. He still insisted I paint it and I HATED the final product. I will never again do something I am not comfortable with or do not enjoy doing artistically. it makes me doomed to fail, I feel. It also makes me strive to find venues that challenge and provoke me creatively.

What's your favorite piece that you've done?
my oil painting- Compelling Fire

What's the best advice you were given when starting out?
Do what makes you happy- that's it! No formal training, just the encouragement of a Mama and a Gram who knew I could be whatever I wanted and saw my potential while helping encourage and funnel it while I was so young

Do you have any advice to give others?
Seek God in all you do, and in doing so, follow the one path you were destined to lead

What's coming up for you; any big plans artistically?
I have a trunk show coming up next month and am gearing up for my spring line. I just finished remodeling my Studio and have been enjoying photographing my items in ONE spot!

Where can we find you? Both online and in stores.
You can find me at:
http://MaticStudio.etsy.com
http://Sugarfoots.etsy.com
http://TheDreamGiver.etsy.com
http://MaticStudio.blogspot.com
I am also on facebook- Leah moerschel
myspace-themusingmama
maticstudio [!at] hotmail.com

and I am featuring some of my smaller pieces at Le Chic Boutique in New York as well as Two Old Bittys baby boutique in Lousiana.

The first mammogram is the worst.

A little humor for everyone. Be warned, do not read this if you have a full bladder, or anything in your mouth. We are not held responsible for anything that may happen to you while you read this. (just to clarify something, this was an email I got years ago. haven't seen it make the rounds since, but I had to dig it out, too funny to keep hidden)

The first mammogram is the worst. Especially when the machine catches on fire. That's what happened to me. The technician, Gail, positioned me exactly as she wanted me (think a really complicated game of Twister - right hand on the blue, left shoulder on the yellow, right breast as far away as humanly possible from the rest of your body). Then she clamped the machine down so tight, I think my breast actually turned inside out.

I'm pretty sure Victoria's Secret doesn't have a bra for that. Suddenly, there was a loud popping noise. I looked down at my right breast to make sure it hadn't exploded. Nope, it was still flat as a pancake and still attached to my body.

"Oh no!" Gail said loudly. These are perhaps, the words you least want to hear from any health professional. Suddenly, she came flying past me, her lab coat whipping behind her, on her way out the door. She yelled over her shoulder, "The machine's on fire, I'm going to get help!" OK, I was wrong, 'The machine's on fire,' are the worst words you can hear from a health professional. Especially if you're all alone and semi-permanently attached to A MACHINE and don't know if it's THE MACHINE in question.

I struggled for a few seconds trying to get free, but even Houdini couldn't have escaped. I decided to go to plan B: yelling at the top of my lung (the one that was still working). I hadn't seen anything on fire, so my panic hadn't quite reached epic proportions. But then I started to smell smoke coming from behind the partition. "This is ridiculous," I thought. I can't die like this. What would they put in my obituary? Cause of death:
breast entrapment?

I may have inhaled some fumes because I started to hallucinate. An imaginary fireman rushed in with a fire hose and a hatchet. "Howdy, ma'am," he said. "What's happened here?" he asked, averting his eyes.

"My breasts were too hot for the machine," I quipped, as my imaginary fireman ran out of the room again. "This is gonna take the Jaws of Life!"

In reality, Gail returned with a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. She gave me a big smile and released me from the machine. "Sorry! That's the first time that's ever happened. Why don't you take a few minutes to relax before we finish up?" I think that's what she said. I was running across the parking lot in my backless paper gown at the time. After I'd relaxed for a few years, I figured I might go back. But I was bringing my own fire extinguisher.