New Valentines Goodies!!

On my Etsy and website, www.cherryrunway.com, i just added a bunch of new Valentines Day goodies. Don't you have someone to show your love to? Buy her some pretty new jewels!!

Felt Brooches To Strike Your Fancy!

I can't express how much i adore Laura and her shoppe Lupin. She makes adorable felt pins and mobiles. Her work is just incredibly detailed! Laura also has a personal blog where she not only showed her work, but is also runs the crafting 365 group, where she and other amazing artists show us a photograph of their art 365 days a year.



How long have you been crafting?

I've made stuff for as long as I can remember - I was an early upcycler, saving any interesting little box or piece of sparkly paper that I thought might be "useful". I've always had some kind of project on the go, and normally 3 or 4 half-finished in a drawer somewhere!



Did you always craft in this genre?

My felt obsession only really began last year. Before that felt was just another material - I liked to use it to make handstitched card toppers, and when I was a kid it was my material of choice for making hats and other accessories for dolls. I sewed a little, drew a little, made collages and gift boxes, all sorts of things. Knitting was my way to relax for many years, but I was always dreadful at it and I never really progressed beyond simple blanket squares. We stay very warm in the winter, but it's not the most exciting crafty endeavour! Nowadays I have so many things I want to make out of felt that other crafts rarely get a look-in...



Who or what inspires you?

I have found it hugely inspiring to connect with communities of crafters via the internet, on Etsy and on Flickr. Feeling part of a crafty community helps me feel like being this felt-obsessed is "normal", I get a huge boost from every comment on one of my Flickr photos or sweet message sent via Etsy, and seeing how high the bar has been set makes me strive to improve my own work. In general though I just like turning my various obsessions into felt - I look at things and think "how would I make that out of felt?", and sketch furiously until I find the solution.



What challenges have you found while taking your craft into the business world?

The list of skills I've developed in my first year in business is very long! I design my products, make them, photograph them, list them, blog about them and promote them, package them, ship them and restock them... Selling on Etsy has been great as I've been able to start out very very small, and learn all these things gradually, but the learning curve has still been huge. I am trying to build on what I've done so far, to learn from any mistakes I've made, and to have the confidence to say "I make this, it is awesome!" :)



Her work is great, so head over to her Etsy site to see all of her brilliant work!! She's very nice and would love to hear from you. :)

Some nifty new cards!

I've been trying to make some cute and quick cards to make to send to Gallery owners when i send them information about Cherry Runway. These are my three favorites i just made. What do you think?









In other news..i've been wanting to post more interviews about stellar artists, but Etsy hasn't worked for me in DAYS!!! It's driving me nuts. I can't look at any of the images! I this happening to anyone else?

POST 101!!! Let's celebrate!

To celebrate, i shall make this blog a cake.



Okay, so i didn't exactly bake to celebrate this blog, but, i did bake a cake to celebrate my friend Courtney's birthday. This is a gluten free cake, made especially for her! I think it came out kind of cute. It tasted pretty darn good too. :)

Dinner makes for Happy Bellies.

My friend Riley and I made dinner the other night, well, he watched, and cut onions and i made dinner. I think it turned out REALLY well though. I love that satisfied feeling i get when i eat something wonderful, and that little extra when i know it's healthy too.

To make this brilliant meal;

The beans were soaking over night and then boiled so they were all ready to saute. Saute enough of them to just cover the pan with some Olive Oil until they are brown [this, is the hardest part for me, i am so impatient!]. Then add some onions for flavor. [It doesn't matter if it's red or white].



Just saute up some mushrooms while your boiling broccoli. I like to add loads of garlic, pepper, oregano and pine nuts to mine, and i wait until the mushrooms get just a little brown. [mushrooms i can wait for, maybe because i love them so!] Then i sauted yellow squash and added tomatos just for a few minutes. Now it's healthy and colorful!

Boil pasta in the broccoli water. It saves time and doesn't affect the pasta much. Tonight, i added lemon, fresh Romano cheese i [i mean Riley] shredded, and probably way to much pesto. Pesto, in my opinion goes on EVERYTHING, and in large quantities.



Now serve and your ready to go! The hardest part is not going back for thirds. :)

Enjoy!

Harmonious Paintings!

I was recently introduced to Harmony when she made a comment on my blog. I'm always intrigued when people i haven't met yet find my blog. [even more so, when they post a comment and say hello.] So of course, i had to check out her blog. As soon as i saw the beautiful tea pot paintings, i knew i had to write about her. Harmony has a shoppe called Harmony Vanlue Tanguay and has beautiful oil paintings. Not only does she paint lovely tea pots, but has a great style, painting angles and objects that are sometimes missed in everyday life as art.



1. I have been creating in one form or another all of my life. My mom is a seamstress (and fellow Etsian - uniquelynancy) and my dad is a carpenter, so I don't think a week went by as a kid when we weren't doing some sort of craft project.



2. No, painting is actually a fairly new pursuit for me. I went to school for theatre, graduated and moved to New York. While there, I began figure modeling for artists to make money while I auditioned. I became increasingly interested in the visual arts as a result, and eventually ended up studying with two of the teachers I had modeled for in the fall of 2006. That was my first official art class. I've been painting seriously for about 3 years now.



3. Oh man, so many people and things. I see potential paintings pretty much everywhere I look - the open doorway of my bathroom, the spices on my kitchen shelf, the faces of my friends and relatives, the landscapes of my town. There is really so much beauty everywhere, and in the simplest of subjects. It's overwhelming. I actually have a list of things waiting in line to be painted right now! I'm also inspired by other painters, past and present. Seeing great work inspires me to work harder and improve with every painting I make.





4. It's been challenging for me because art is a tough market to get into, and because this is a relatively new venture for me. Buying art is a very personal experience for people, and I know my work isn't going to appeal to everyone. But I take comfort in knowing that someday the right person will come along and fall in love with one of my pieces and give it a great home! I've gotten wonderful feedback from buyers so far, and that makes it all worth it!



Check out her Etsy site, and look at her paintings of silverware, they are really swell too! :) Oh, and say hello to Harmony, she's very nice!

How Stellar!!

This morning, i hopped on the computer at work and was extreamly excited that my "Rest Easy" chair necklace was being featured! I've never been featured before and it was a brilliant treat! I then checked my messages and Andrea from Munieca told me she featured me. Twas a briliant way to start the day!!

Thank you so much Andrea, you ROCK!

[And Thank You to Riley for [skipping class?] to run to the library to save this Etsy page for me. Your stellar too!]