Key To Your Heart.

Give someone special the key to your heart. A swell vintage inspired brass key hangs from a long silver toned chain. A little glass heart hangs from the key to symbolize your love.

Love is in the Cards!

It was incredible difficult to limit myself to posting all of the items in Jill's shoppe Brownington Forest. All of her drawings are RIGHT up my alley. She has such a cute style and i love the colors she uses. She is also lovely to chat with.



How long have you been crafting?

I have been crafting and drawing my entire life. My mother was a big lover of crafting and a huge believer in the importance of imagination, so I started young.



Did you always craft in this genre?

Throughout my childhood I was always drawing and writing and at home we did so many different arts and crafts projects.
I continued to do arts and crafts in college, especially with the children I would nanny for. In college I minored in art instead of majoring in it because I thought there was no future in art. After college I did faux finishing and decorative house painting for a while and then went back to school for textile design, which I did for a few years.
Last summer I gave up the career in textile design to work on my own artwork. In late October of this year is when I first started selling my artwork.



Who or what inspires you?

Nature and animals have always inspired me. I spent most of my childhood outside in the woods around my house. Since I was young I adored all animals and insects, they make me smile. I feel most alive and happy when I am outside and close to nature. Everyday life and people also inspire me.



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

Sometimes it feels like I face many challenges, just figuring out how to run a business of art and what exactly do do with my art is a challenge because there are so many possibilities and no guidebook! Some of my challenges may stem from my tendency to think too much about things. One challenge I have had is finding great quality art paper that is either recycled or made of organic cotton! I still have not found anything.
But the biggest challenge of all for me is how to make money doing what I love- I am still trying to figure that out. Although it seems like I have been trying to figure that out my whole life, really I have just begun trying to sell my art and products a few months ago. These challenges are good, with them I grow and learn. If everything were easy I wouldn't grow at all. Also because of them I can appreciate my accomplishments so much more.



I suggest peeking at her Etsy shoppe to see the rest of her swell art work!

Long Dayz....

When i woke up this morning, i was singing a song on the way into my car. When the radio popped on, the EXACT song i was singing, in the EXACT place was playing. Strange....in theory, it should have been a good day...



Thank goodness for kitties, because it's been a really long day!! Sometimes....No, loads of times, I just want to work for myself already. What am i waiting for??

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. :)