Friday Feature

There are things in life that you can't live without. Pets have them, children have them, calendars have special days to have plenty of them. What could these three seperate entities have in common? Why treats, ofcourse. Oh, the simple pleasures in life are what keep the spark in our eye the smile on our faces and the gitty in our laugh. Today's friday featured shop will have you doing all three. It is a treat all its own. I introduce to you a shop of illustrative treats to bring the child out in you. The seal of greatness is poured from the seems of a childhood and has found a home where it is shared with the world in the strands of illustration. I'm pleased to introduce you to

I am the Painted Peep Show

My name is Blake Roberts, I'm a Virgo on the cusp who loves long walks on the beach and grape flavored bubblegum... I kid! But, I do love reading a good folk story on a crisp Autumn day. I love painting or drawing while enjoying a nice glass of red wine. I grew up in Oklahoma, went to school in Georgia, and have lived in Los Angeles and New York. I was just accepted in the Society of Illustrators and work part time (outside of my illustration job). My work has been sold coast-to-coast and internationally.

The Painted Peep Show began with . . .

The first item(s) that started my shop was a series of four Halloween cards. But, I began drawing my own comic books as a small child and would copy and sell them to my classmates. I still sell work in my Etsy store, The Painted Peep Show, and continue to create narrative images. Most of my favorite pieces are children's book style illustrations that, I believe, can be appreciated equally by adults and their kids.

My favorite technique at the moment &

the tool I favor the most in my shop is . .

My favorite technique is probably graphite, but lately I've been more inspired to do watercolor or gouache paintings. And my favorite tool would be my light box... I would be lost without it!

What inspires your creations and what sparks your creativity?

So many things, but here are the most consistent: Halloween, autumn, folk tales, children's books, music...

Name one favorite item from your store & why is it so dear to you?

The Halloween card with the "lonely witch" is my favorite item. I think it tells an interesting, but simple story (or can even be enjoyed on a superficial level). Is she waiting for someone to answer the door, or just disappointed that she was given a toothbrush as a "treat"?
http://www.etsy.com/listing/54255934/set-of-4-illustrated-halloween-blank

What lies ahead for the Painted Peep Show?

Ultimately, I will be doing children's book illustrations. I want to influence young people with my images in the same way that children's books inspired me to draw when I was young.

Find me at . . .

Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop/thePaintedPeepShow
Twitter - https://twitter.com/PaintedPeepShow

Words of Wisdom . . . .

Never stop telling stories and using that imagination! And, to my fellow Crafters/Artists/Sellers, remember, everything you create is yours. Don't be discouraged by slow months. If you're getting down on your work, step back and reassess why you do what you do (and who you're really doing it for).

This friday feature has been inspired by: http://www.thePaintedPeepShow.etsy.com/


shared with you by: http://www.cisnexpressions.etsy.com/



Keep it fabulous .. keep it crafty.. Etsy Greetings

Friday Feature

Charm your greetings no matter the season with non other than the charming works of Kat and drew cards located at www.katndrewcards.etsy.com. Kat n drew cards is one of our very own Etsy greetings artisans that make gift giving extraordinarily simple. Wow, a card and a gift enclosed in one, who would of thunk it? Why Kat and Drew cards of course. Today they treat us with a gracious hello and some great words of wisdom. Ladies and gentleman here is the dynamic crew of

Kat n Drew Cards

.etsy.com

&

We are Kat and Drew.....

....the duo that makes cards and jewelry, pairing them uniquely together to create gift cards all in one. Staying true to our items, we are about giving more than cards, spreading inspiration and support with every vantage we can muster including supporting charities, featuring artists work and buying local from starting artists (when we can)!
I'm drew and together with Kat, we make cards. More than making cards, we write stories with everything we make. It has certainly been a journey coming to know how our creativity would take form but we're starting to figure it out. We're located all over Canada, really, because we shift and move whereever we feel like at the time but our home base is always Vineland, Ontario and its there that we've really blossomed our creativity. Kat takes on the cards, mostly, and I take on the words, mostly, but we are so involved in one another's creativity, sharing ideas and opinions, that we basically make everything together.
I, Drew, move back and forth from Vancouver, BC to Ontario depending on when school is on while Kat holds down the fort in Ontario. Tea breaks are a MUST around here as well as a break time outside to recharge.

The first item that started us off....

..... was a card from our "4YR Classic Cards" line. It incorporates a scrapbooking design, beaded jewelry and poetic writing all in one. The card was for Friendship, I believe, and was what started us working together from day one!
http://www.katndrewcards.ca/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=64&category_id=6&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=410

My technique includes a tea, most days...

I can't really write the most inspirational stuff every second of the day so music and movies usually provoke the good stuff. As for Kat, the morning is her greatest tool - she can do ANYTHING in the morning. Not to say the afternoon isn't productive but some of her most creative cards have come at the beginning of the day. I'd say the cuttlebug embosser is pretty high up there too. They just make such great impressions. However, usually a need drives the creation of cards. If we feel we cannot provide a card for a certain emotion or give support for a situation, we are on it to make sure we can help give you something - its all about giving and we try to follow that as much as possible

Love it, love it, love it ...

These small cards from our "4YR Cute Cards" collection are my favourite right now. They support our HEART2HEART campaign which showcases local and international artists and entrepreneurs with a portion of the profits - plus they're super cute.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50860699/embossed-cute-cards-with-charms

We dream ....

Big, Really big. Martha Stewart, Oprah, Hallmark, big. Not to say we want to be any of these specifically but there is definitely something to basing your business around giving and creativity and the more people we can share that with, the better. If we can create and share with everyone we'd be just peachy.

You can find us ...

Everywhere, I believe. Multiple shops and sites as well as social networking sites. Have a look and say hey! We like to chat.

Shop
http://www.katndrewcards.ca/
www.etsy.com/shop/katndrewcards
www.etsy.com/shop/beyondcharms
Become a fan
www.twitter.com/katndrewcards
Facebook search 'Kat n' Drew Cards'

Follow
http://www.itsthatkat.blogspot.com/

Words of Wisdom

Anything we create is sort of an advertisement for the masterpiece we are as individuals. We are all masterpieces because at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day, there is always, only, you. so why not believe in yourself.

Thank you to all of you! and to Rocio for featuring us.
Giving only spurs more giving and that is the goal here.

Oh no no my dears, thank you for the opportunity to share your talents with all

our fabulous readers oh yes and not to mention the world. Let me be the first to say congratulations on beeing featured. - Cisne

This friday feature has been inspired by: http://www.katndrewcards.etsy.com/

shared with you by: http://www.cisnexpressions.etsy.com/

Keep it fabulous .. keep it crafty.. Etsy Greetings

Friday Feature

It is said that behind a brilliant man is an extraordinary woman. In fact, she is a woman of grand detail in modern realism and artistry and this weeks featured artist, Delin of www.delincolon.etsy.com. Married to a man of great talent in the arts she has shown to be an artistic visionary herself. Her arts are composed of simplistic intricate adbstract shapes and figures that come together in illusive explosive colors. Like a parade of lights her artistry will capture you and draw you into her world of expressive sculptives.

I am Delin Colon...


I guess it gives everyone pause to describe what they're all about, especially for those of us a decade beyond the half-century mark who've had a few different incarnations in this life alone.I grew up in a small artists' colony on the east coast of the U.S.and have been fortunate to have been shown the art in the world all around us. I've lived in many places on both coasts, my philosophy having been that if you want to know a place, you've got to know the people, and that means living there for awhile. My degrees are in French and Clinical Psychology, but I owned a successful stair building company for 25 years before retiring and moving to the Washington coast. I enjoy people, but do a lot of solitary activities like writing and my crafts. I have no favorite colors or items. I'm largely indiscriminate about enjoying the world around me. But I am more than a little partial to my two mini-dachshunds (one long-haired, one short-haired) and my very devoted and perfect husband.

The first item that started me in my craft...

I was about 7 years old. My mother is an artist who often gave us various media (paints, clay, etc.) to create with. But in this particular craft, I was at my best friend's house across the street from mine. The artist Ben Shahn, who lived nearby, had a grown daughter who was visiting my friend's parents. She took out some construction paper and just told us to cut out different shapes. Once we were done, she told us to arrange the shapes onto another piece of paper, then glue them down, and just see what we came up with. On that occasion it was a face. (I seem to lean toward faces.) On other occasions, they were just abstracts.

What is your favorite technique at the moment and what tool do you favor the most in your shop?

This type of collage - just cutting out shapes and pasting them onto paper - is what I enjoy doing at the moment. I guess my favorite tool is my scanner/printer which allows me to put the images onto cards and make prints, so that I can keep the original.

What inspires your creations and what sparks your creativity?

It's strange, but often, I dream the images and what shapes I need to cut out to make them. Sometimes I just cut out the shapes with no preconceived notion of what I'm going to make, but most often I dream the images.

Name one favorite item from your store and why is it so dear to you?

I think Serene Face (http://www.etsy.com/listing/41214996/serene-face-print-11-inx14-in-matted) which I have in both print and greeting card form, is my favorite because it's the first one I dreamed in this series, which I just started in 2009. Her face is just so warm, understanding, forgiving and non-judgmental, I'd like her to be my best friend.

What does your future have in store?

I'm very much a here-and-now kind of person (ok,yes, an old hippie), thinking that the tide of the present will naturally lead to the ocean of the future, so I tend not to stock up on goals, BUT personally, I've been working on a historical book that I'd like to finish and publish before the end of the year. As a crafter/ shop owner, I'd like to know that other people get some pleasure out of what I do - and I guess sales would be an indicator of that, so I'd like to be successful in that department.

I can be found at:
www.delincolon.etsy.com
www.delin-colon.fineartamerica.com

Words of Wisdom ...

I think it's a fallacy that wisdom comes with age, especially if you fried a few brain cells in the sixties (I often say that the difference the last 45 years made for me was switching from acid to antacid.) However, obvious as it is, I do feel it's extremely important to enjoy what you do. I think it's essential to have a passion for something in life and then occupy yourself with it. Then life becomes an artform itself. As my husband always says,"Art without emotion is mathematics" (www.discoveredartists.com/davidcolon)

Aww inspiring woman. Wow, modest, humble and extremely talented. A great visionary and one of my favorite "hippie" with a delightful story. Thank you for the opportunity such a wonderful gal.

Keep it handcrafted...Keep it local.... Keep it Etsy

EtsyGreetings .. keeping it real

Cisne
Blogged by: Cisnexpressions.etsy.com
Inspired by: delincolon.etsy.com