Member Feature: Crazy Daisy Creations

Tell us a little about your shop

My shop includes jewerly including necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. I use mostly sterling silver components in my pieces. I also tend to favor towards swarovski beads and pearls.

What brought you to etsy? I started making earrings in grammar school (with help from my dad). I needed a new creative outlet, such I started back up agian. My fiance told me I should try selling what I make, to help with the cost of our wedding, so I decided to try out etsy.

How long have you been crafting?

I guess I can say that I've been a crafter since I was about 10 years old, making beaded earrings and pins. Over the years (minus the high school years), I have always been crafting in some form, whether it be making wreaths for holidays, making other holiday decorations, making decorations/collages for my room, to now back to making jewerly.

What is your favorite item in your shop right now?

My favorite item in my shop is my flower pendant necklace. This would not be up for sale if I could wear jewerly more often!!! (I work full time as a physical therapist, so I have to keep jewerly to minimum)

What is your "day job?" Full time outpatient physical therapist

Where do you find inspiration? Looking at different websites or spending hours looking over the selections at various craft stores

What is one thing you wish you could do better? Make rings!!

What is one crafting tool you couldn't live without?

My bead organizer

What is your favorite book/movie/song?

Favorite move is "The Notebook", favorite song "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton, and I LOVE paranormal romance novels

Where else can we find you? My facebook page

Member Feature: Clever Confections

Tell us a little about your shop

Clever Confections & Gifts features a variety of yummy edible treats from Decorated Cookies, to unique flavored Cupcakes. We also offer Chocolate yummies too from Peanut Clusters, Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Sticks, Chocolate covered Pretzels, Chocolate Crosses, Seashells, Starfish and Sand Dollars!! Anything for your special event! Our decorated cut-out cookies are a hit and we offer a varietey of shapes such as Baby Onesies, Cupcakes, Martini Glasses, Football / Baseball Jerseys, just to name a few. Our non-edible gifts are wonderful as well! We have Tile Coasters, Baby Blankets and more! If you don't see something here that you may be interested in, plesae don't hesitate to inquire, we're very versitile! All of our edible products are made fresh to order! We also offer non-edible gift items!! So be sure to check out CleverConfections & Gifts for all your Gift Giving Needs and all items made by Clever Confections whether it's edible or non-edible items are made from a smoke free home!

What brought you to etsy?

I had a personal website for my 'business' for a couple of years, and it was while I was in the midst of planning my wedding when I was introduced to the Etsy site. Simply amazing!! I loved everything about the way the Etsy. From a customer's standpoint as well as the seller's. About 6 months later and tons of encouragment from friends and family, I took the plunge and opened shop!

How long have you been crafting?

While I've been 'crafting' for a number of years, I've been a cake decorator since my son's 1st birthday! Since then, I've taken numerous classes,and eventually became a certified Wilton Instructor. I taught for 7 years and absolutely enjoyed it tremendously. Aside from cakes, cookies, and baking in general, I dabbled in jewelry making and love to sew!

What is your favorite item in your shop right now?

As of right now, my favorite item in my shop for me are the Baby Onesie cookies! I absolutely love making these!

What is your "day job?"

I go to school full time (despite the fact that I'm A LOT older than most attending college, AND my middle daughter who is 21 tends to joke with me that we'll be graduating with our BA at the same time). I also help 'plan' events year round so that along with my Etsy shop and word of mouth business keeps me busy!!

Where do you find inspiration?

I get inspiration every.single.day from everyone I come in contact with or everywhere I go! I see things and think to myself "ohhh, I could make that into a cake" or, going down an aisle at the grocery store, I see a bag of graham crackers and think "that would make awesome looking sand for my beach themed cake I'm doing this weekend". I also love blog hopping and getting ideas from other creative people!

What is one thing you wish you could do better?

I wish I could be better at creating my own digital files! I'm so not creative when it comes to digital scrapbooking or things of that nature. When it comes to the 'paper' end of my parties I host, I always rely on fellow KNET member Loobie Labels to help me out!!

What is one crafting tool you couldn't live without?

My one crafting tool I couldn't live without would be my Kitchen Aid Mixer! That baby has whipped up tons of pounds of cookie dough and cake batter!!! Icings as well!!

What is your favorite book/movie/song?

My favorite book is The Notebook; favorite movie is Sweet Home Alabama; and favorite song at the moment is You're Beautiful by James Blunt.

Where else can we find you?

I have a personal blog and a Clever Confections blog which I haven't really done too much with, but would welcome followers there as well. I also have a Facebook Fan Page.

Member Feature: Cupcake Dream

Tell us a little about your shop:
Cupcake Dream specializes in decoration and digital designs for children. Add a personal touch to a special event or nursery with these vibrant, whimsical creations.

What brought you to etsy?
I found Etsy when I was planning my wedding years ago. After becoming pregnant, experimenting with different crafts for my daughter's nursery was a regular thing. When a friend saw some of the things created for the room, she suggested I start up a store of my own. Since an actual store front was not possible at the moment, I decided to give Etsy a try.

How long have you been crafting?
Even as a little girl, I loved making things. In school, I was always labeled, “creative” but had a really hard time sticking to one thing. Since then, I have done my best to expand my creative hobbies. Each new chapter of my life has given me more opportunities to experience something new. I've tried everything from scrap booking to sewing, graphics to wood work, and painting to jewelry making .

What is your favorite item in your shop right now?
It would have to be a tie between the polka dot cupcake invitation or the owl nursery closet dividers.

What is your "day job?"
My day job is taking care of my beautiful, amazing daughter. I really love being a stay at home mother and sometimes I can get a little crafting in during nap time.

Where do you find inspiration?
My kids give me all the inspiration. Being around such colorful personalities allows me to create playful products for the store. Sometimes I pull colors from the clothes they wear, or design based on a favorite toy or character they love.

What is one thing you wish you could do better?
I would love to be able to draw better. Give me a computer and I can create just about any design. Give me a pencil and paper and you'll get an amazing stick man.

What is one crafting tool you couldn't live without?
My designs would be nothing without a computer.

What is your favorite book/movie/song?
Book: Not a big fan of books. Movie: Dirty Dancing Song: I Saw God Today by George Strait

Where else can we find you?
Etsy
Facebook

Member Feature: Loobie Labels

Tell us a little about your shop.
My shop sells personalized party items, as well as small gifts. My biggest sellers have always been personalized candy bar wrappers - Hershey bars, Kisses, Miniatures, etc. That was all I started out with when I first began. Now I'm branching out. I sell gifts, photo candles, bottled water labels, custom made business fliers and a lot of other items that will soon be listed. My shop is still fairly new, but I'm working on getting my entire arsenal listed so people can see the true scope of my capabilities.

What brought you to etsy?
I got tired of people asking me "What's your website?" lol. I tried to do my own website but I'm pretty computer illiterate and it was a huge flop. I had already created an etsy account for buying, so I figured why not go with a shop here? Now my repeat customers have a place to go if they want something, and I can reach out to new customers and show them what I have to offer.

How long have you been crafting?
I've always enjoyed crafts and creating in general, ever since I was a child. But I've been doing the custom labels for about 3 years now.

What is your favorite item in your shop right now?
I really like the photo wedding favors. We're planning a destination wedding and it's a great way to show off your wedding location. I'm also working on samples for at-home weddings.

What is your "day job?"
During the day, I do in home daycare. I also work as a respite worker, which is basically a very well-trained babysitter who has the skill and knowledge to take care of special needs children. I have a degree in social work, but gave up my career to stay home when my daughter was born.

Where do you find inspiration?
I get my inspiration from the people around me. They all have reasons to celebrate, and every item in my shop is the result of a celebration that someone I know and love has had. I go to weddings and birthdays, graduations and Baptims, and I think "It would be cool if I could make......" Then I go home and turn the idea into reality.

What is one thing you wish you could do better?
I really do stink at photography. That's a bad thing.

What is one crafting tool you couldn't live without?
My printer! I'm the one who got the ladies on the DIY board all excited about the Canon Pixma MP 620 when it first came out, and I'm still using mine! I know all its features and all the little tricks to make it perform at its highest level.

What is your favorite book/movie/song?
My favorite book is Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews. My favorite movie is Clerks 2, and my favorite song is "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts. (That song has a special place in my heart, because it was the first song I sang to my daughter when she was in the NICU after she was born. Every time I hear it, it brings tears to my eyes.)

Where else can we find you? Right now, I'm focusing mainly on my shop so I'm not into the social networking scene much. Aside from my etsy shop (Loobie Labels) you can find me on facebook.

Member Feature: Little Paper Boutique

Tell us a little about your shop.
I make greeting cards, invitations, announcements, note pads, gift tags, and pretty much anything paper related. Some of the items are made of paper and other items I make on the computer and have them printed.

What brought you to etsy?
I shopped there for my wedding and loved how unique and fun everything was. I was so impressed by the quality of the items and how nice all of the shop owners were. Once I started selling items, that was the first place I thought of, I wanted to be a part of the community.

How long have you been crafting?
I have been making items for a few years now, but only selling for about a year now.

What is your favorite item in your shop right now?
I love my little matchbook notepads. So easy to throw into a purse or car in case you need something to write on.



What is your "day job?"
I am an event coordinator for a golf club. I love my job and seeing all of the weddings and showers definitely inspire me!

Where do you find inspiration?
My job inspires me (seeing all of the color combinations). I also get inspiration by colors in nature and in clothes.

What is one thing you wish you could do better?
I wish I could sew. I am in awe of the people that can just take a piece of fabric and create clothes or purses. I can sew a blanket and that is about it.....

What is one crafting tool you couldn't live without?
Stamps and ink. I have a huge collection of hundreds of stamps...

What is your favorite book/movie/song?
I just got a NookColor for the holidays, so I am on a big reading kick right now. I just finished The Time Traveler's Wife and it was much better than the movie! As for movies, I am a hopeless romantic, I love Serendipity and the Notebook. I could watch them over and over...

Where else can we find you?
Etsy: http://www.littlepaperboutique.etsy.com/
Website: http://www.littlepaperboutique.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/littlepaperboutique
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/littlepaperboutique/

Member Feature: Pearls Night Out

Tell us a little about your shop
Pearls Night Out is a shop dedicated to jewelry that is stylish, fun, chic, and unique. While I love jewelry for special occasions and I have a special place in my heart for jewelry for brides, I think jewelry is for every day and can make any day a fun, special day.

What brought you to etsy?
The first time I ever heard about Etsy I was purchasing beads and crafts supplies in a local store and the salesperson mentioned it to me as an avenue for selling my jewelry. At the time, I had never heard of it and Etsy was smaller than it is now and I just forgot about it for a while and then I wanted to focus on my store a little and I remembered what she said.

How long have you been crafting?
I've always loved crafting and over many years have dabbled in different things. In high school I loved to sew and took sewing classes. I made some really (awful) things, like a bubble skirt and a jumper. In graduate school I took several oil painting classes. I've also tried crochet and card making. When I was planning my wedding I really wanted to do all DIY projects, but we had so many guests that it wasn't feasible. I was inspired by some necklaces I saw in a shop and I decided to try to make jewelry for me and for my bridesmaids since that was a manageable number and I was hooked! The rest is history!

What is your favorite item in your shop right now?
That's probably a tie between the pink and green Cami necklace and the new Blue Leopard necklace. Both of them have bright colors and Kazuri beads and they both have personality and I love that!

What is your "day job?"
During the day I am a physical therapist. I specialize in working with people with neurological disorders and dizziness.

Where do you find inspiration?
All over the place. Craft magazines mostly. But, sometimes, I like to look at color combinations on different design websites.

What is one thing you wish you could do better?
That's easy! Use my camera and photograph my jewelry!!! I always struggle with that.

What is one crafting tool you couldn't live without?
For jewelry, I'd have to say my bead board, but if you want to know my favorite craft tool of all, it'd be the Cricut machine!!!

What is your favorite book/movie/song?
I don't have one favorite book, but I do have a favorite author- Jodi Picoult. I love her books.
My favorite movie is probably Dirty Dancing.
My favorite songs are anything and everything by Elton John.

Where else can we find you?

Blog: http://pnojewelrydesign.blogspot.com/
Facebook: Pearls Night Out

Member Feature: 19Eighty Expressions

What brought you to etsy?
After a few people told me I should sell my cards I decided to open shop at etsy. It seems the perfect place for my creations.

How long have you been crafting?
This type of crafting started when I was planning my wedding in 2008. I realized I really liked designing things. I did quite a bit of graphic design for my wedding items as well as papercrafting. Just in the past few months I started dabbling seriously in papercrafts such as scrapbooking and making cards.

What is your favorite item in your shop right now?
My favorite item is the Cupcake Birthday card. It's fun and colorful.

What is your "day job?"
I work in accounting and finance.

Where do you find inspiration?
I look online for most of my inspiration. I also use everyday experiences such as vacations I've been on to come up with my card designs.

What is one thing you wish you could do better?
Color digistamps. I cannot figure that one out. I love the look of them when they are colored.

What is one crafting tool you couldn't live without?
My Cricut Expression!

What is your favorite book/movie/song?
I don't really have favorites of anything. I like to try out all types of books, music, and movies.

Where else can we find you?

19Eighty Expressions on Facebook, and on Twitter @ 19EightyExprssn