Where I find Inspiration

Sometimes I feel like my creative mood gets pushed aside but all the other things going on in my life. There are a few things I do to get me back in the creative mood that I thought I’d share with you! Who knows, it might even inspire you to get creative 😉 Here are five things I do

1. Turn up that music!

    

I don’t know about you but music is a huge factor at changing my mood. It doesn’t matter how horrible my day has been, sometimes just turning on a good tune will make me forget about everything else and put a smile on my face 🙂

2. Change my scenery.

    

Sometimes picking up all my stuff and moving to a different place really changes my mood. I notice a lot during the winter that being cooped up inside really puts a damper on my creativity. The best thing for me to do is take my camera, notebook, pencil, and find a new place to inspire me. If scenery doesn’t do it for you – window shopping ALWAYS fixes my problem. One trip around JoAnns and I’ve got a million projects I can’t wait to tackle 😉

3. A Good Old Fashioned Magazine or Book.

    

I may be the only person who still buys magazines but I love reading about other people’s inspiring stories and designs that they make. I also love flipping through the pages and thinking – I’d love to do that in my house! Who cares if it’s a small cheap craft that you might not even keep – if it gets you back into be the creative person you miss, the job is accomplished!

4. Good Old Pinterest Never Fails

I could probably blow an entire hour without blinking an eye when it comes to pinterest. If you have no idea what I’m talking about – you need to google it now!! There are thousands of pictures on clothes, styling, hair, home decor, recipes, crafts, and pretty much anything you can think of on Pinterest. I’m a huge fan and it easily gets me motivated to try something new.

5. When everything else fails – take a breather.

If I’ve tried everything above and it still seems like I’m not feeling the creativity – sometimes I just take a break. Plan a day of relaxation and resting. A nice long hot shower, maybe make your favorite meal, or if you are like me – purging some of the stuff around your house to feel less cluttered! That always puts me in a good mood 😉

Let us know what you do to find your inspiration and keep motivated in the comments section below! We’d love to hear it.

Love Always,

J

Etsy Craft Party

Hey everyone! We are so excited to show off the event we are about to have 🙂 Etsy and Michael’s Craft Store are teaming up to throw a world-wide event to get everyone crafty!!

Our team has decided to join in and we got our craft box in the mail today! Check it out:

 

We got Sharpies, Scissors, Paint, Glitter, Glue, Tape, Decorative Paper, Wood Plaques, Sponge Brushes, and more!

 

I’m SOOO EXCITED!! I also went to the thrift store and picked up some more goodies, clothespins, twine & crochet thread, batting, and a wooden wreath. Thursday I’ll be going through all of my crafty supplies around the house to add to the collection and hopefully the rest of team brings us other great goodies to work with.

The theme of the craft party is Wish You Were Here! We are all coming up with some awesome ideas of what we are going to do. Here’s a few from pinterest I found and can’t wait to try out if I can find all the materials to bring 🙂

http://pinterest.com/jennifer_e_otey/area-inspired-crafts-etsy/

 

Only five more days! ❤

 

Love Always,

J

Feature Friday: Gida’s T’nalak and LAHI

Gida’s T’nalak and LAHI  

Hello Northern VA Craftaholics! My name is Nicole and I decided a year ago to craft for a cause.  My particular cause is helping the T’bolis, an impoverished Philippine tribe, by sewing handbags using the beautiful fabric they weave, called T’nalak.   The textile and T’nalak bags on my co-owned Etsy store all go back to helping these people.

It all started with a desire to make unique Christmas gifts that would bless the recipient at the same time help the impoverished back home.  So when I did my research, I stumbled on the video. Click the picture below to see:

 

I now work closely with Gida’s T’nalak International which ensures that the T’bolis are paid a Fair Trade wage.  Gida, (granddaughter of the weaver featured in the video above) says of her work, “It is very personal. After a weaver reaches a certain degree of expertise, she becomes a “master weaver” – someone who can interpret and take inspiration from dreams, hence the term “dreamweavers”. By all accounts, this seems to be an intense personal experience for the weaver, and the moment she succeeds in doing this is the moment she becomes an artist.”

For me, I find the process of making the bags incredibly humbling.  Despite my amateur crafter status, when I work on T’nalak, it is as if I can do the fabric no wrong.  I believe it is indeed a blessing to work with and a blessing to give this beautiful craft to others. The T’bolis are spirit-worshipers, who accompany the weaving of T’nalak with prayers.  I,,in turn, am also compelled to pray to my own God while sewing and it becomes meditative work that allows me to be a more peaceful and cheerful homemaker. Much like fellow NOVC team member, Nadir L’s “gentle crocheting rhythm.”

To see more about the roughly 90-day process of creating T’nalak and the T’boli tribe – check out my blog www.nschauder.blogspot.com.

Gida’s T’nalak & LAHI

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Bring On The Spring

Listings from our members!

        

Newspaper and Crab Hair F        wristlet clutch with gathers 

LittleAsianSweatshop                   33Colors

$57.00 USD                                      $18.00 USD

       

Turquoise Polka Dot Ribbon      Hand Painted Colorful Vine

studiolemyx                                     GinaDavisDesigns

$3.00 USD                                        $15.00 USD

      

Anchor Pendant                            Custom Premade Banner Pu

kteediid                                             charmsbydiana

$9.00 USD                                       $12.00 USD

      

The Perfect Bridesmaids – S        Sleeping Beauty Turquoise 

CraftyStitches                                   NaturalGorgeous

$100.00 USD                                   $40.00 USD

       

Red Crafters Sketchbook –          Crochet Purple Dangle Earrings

sahabo                                                StitchesPlease

$17.50 USD                                      $9.95 USD

       

Lady Bug Market Tote Bag          Paper Blossoms of Pink. larg

seasowusa                                          anticipationcards

$15.00 USD                                      $12.00 USD

       

Ceramic Bowl, White Crackl       Little Window Tanzanite Earrings in Fine Silver

ThrowingShop                                 amyabramsdesigns

$32.00 USD                                      $24.00 USD

       

Digital Floral Print, Card, G        iPad Apron Art Craft Vendo

VintageDandelions                        TailaCustomDesigns

$2.00 USD                                        $20.00 USD

 Which one is your favorite?

A Crafter’s Life

I couldn’t resist posting this. I was browsing through my facebook the other day and I saw someone had shared this on their wall:

 

Since this is a group of crafters, I thought it fit us all pretty perfectly! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

 

Love Always,

Jennifer

New Listings: A little bit of this & that!

Great New Listings You Don’t Want to Miss!

        

Specimen 114 – 210 yards            drop ruby earrings

TheFiberists                                       mongmung

$22.00 USD                                       $10.00 USD

        

Recycled T-Shirt Scarf                   Seashell Oval Mirror

AndreaLFittsDesigns                      kmkmosaics

$30.00 USD                                        $65.00 USD

        

Garter Black Lace and Pink           Android Wall Mirror

GartersByLori                                    PlainlyStated

$8.00 USD                                           $25.00 USD

       

Clutch Purse Tangerine Oran        Golden Stitch Markers (set

PeetSwea                                                ArdenJewelryDesign

$14.00 USD                                         $20.00 USD

         

Initial (Letter) Covered in              Heart, Key, and Star Ribbon

SimpleSumptuous                             steelheart

$38.00 USD                                         $18.00 USD

         

Crochet Pattern — Daisy Em        Set of 3 Stacking Bracelets – 

Huggermugger                                  kissemhut

$1.50 USD                                           $15.00 USD

        

Just breathe copper handst        Infinity Scarf Blue Jegging 

Lolasjewels                                         KikiCloset

$25.00 USD                                       $30.00 USD

       

Laptop Case Sleeve 13 inch         Newborn hat for baby girl

NagihanDesigns                                CraftyPastimes

$26.50 USD                                        $14.00 USD

Thanks for stopping by! If you see anything you’d love to have – just click on the link below the picture!

Love Always,

Jennifer

Destash Bashing It Up!

Today was our Destash Bash and get together and I cannot even start to explain how much fun it was! We had a great number of people show up with lots of interesting things to give away! Of course I scooped up a few things of my own 🙂 It’s hard as a crafter to not think of a million amazing things you can make with other’s stuff. For those of you who missed it don’t worry I’m going to dive in to all the things we chatted about! But for now – let’s check out some pictures!

We had tables full of supplies from fabric, yarn, beads, paper products, and more!

It was a great way to get to know everyone and the materials that they use and don’t use anymore.

What better way to get to know someone than see what they are the most passionate about?

Of course I couldn’t resist showing off what I picked up 😉

Coming from someone who has had a hard time finding my group of friends after moving and settling down – it really meant the world to me to be in a room full of people who share the same interests and common goals. Etsy has been more than just a way to show the world what I can make but a stepping grounds for who I am and thanks to Etsy Teams, it’s given me the opportunity to reach out to others and find who are just as excited about this road ahead of us as I am!

Once we all got settled we started talking about who we were, where we were from, what we make in our shops and our other interests. We talked about upcoming events that I’ll be posting in team threads and here on the blog that you might catch us at. One thing that was brought up for a future get together was critiques. I can’t think of a better way to get input on your shop then from people who are on etsy on a daily basis seeing what’s out there and what works – so keep your ears open for that one! Another thing I’m looking forward to is to find a “home” for or monthly gatherings. We’ll be looking into libraries and other places that we can book to meet up and craft or just hang out.

We talked about craft shows – the good, the bad, and the ugly! How do you know if the craft show will be a success? What can you prepare yourself for? Tips and tricks to make it benefit your store.

There was a great discussion about Treasuries, BNRs, and Marketing. All great things in order to boost sales, views, and feedbacks. This is something I’d love to talk more about with anyone if they have any questions.

One thing that I don’t want to forget to mention is providing and promoting for our shops! I’m really excited about expanding as a team and being able to support each other during this process.

I have to say this meet and greet was a complete success. Not only did I walk out of it feeling like I had just met an amazing group of people – but I am so excited about meeting up again and creating this group of people with such a wide variety of skills into a group of friends I’ll never forget!

Love Always,

Jennifer