Indigo Luna

Third Time's the Charm

Today I am featuring another amazing EarthPath Artisan Street Team member.  Steph is so prolific she has three Etsy stores!  They all feature her beautiful jewelry and it's impossible to pick a favorite so I'll just show something from each one!

I absolutely adore this necklace!  The colors and the focal beads are just stunning.  You can find this one in her Silver Shadow Designs shop.

These fabulous shimmering star earrings can be found at Berry Patch Designs.

And this fun padlock charm necklace can is from her Undercurrent Etsy shop.

Whew!  She must have more energy than me!  I can barely keep up with one store!

Steph says she loves to combine the varying colors and textures of the natural world. There are so many feelings and places to love about our world!

The materials she uses in her jewelry are those that remind her of those places and feelings: turquoise, jasper and agate in their infinite varieties, other semiprecious gems, like amazonite's soft greens, garnet's rich wine colors, bronzite's gold-flecked chocolate depths. High quality man-made glass and metal beads join in the visual symphony; they have their own brightness and feelings to contribute.

Hearing and seeing that people enjoy wearing her jewelry is one of her favorite things about designing jewelry.

I'm sure you'll find something wonderfully sparkly and beautiful that you just can't live without in one of her shops...or maybe all three!

It's Elemental

Elements By Dawn makes wonderful jewelry that is simple and elegant.  I love her emphasis on line, texture and shape.  Nothing too flashy or obvious - just clean lines.

Dawn is particularly drawn to creating pattern and texture in her pieces. Through pattern and texture, her designs take on movement, visual and tactile interest. Through the use of color and form, she communicates emotion and energy. Dawn's pieces range from simplistic shapes and lines, evoking a sense of calm; to heavily textured with bold colors and lines, suggesting passion.

Her obsession with circles, spheres, disks, and symmetry is expressed throughout her designs - and you know how I feel about circles!

Dawn is constantly learning new techniques, as well as perfecting traditional methods of metalworking and design.

Additionally, she is a full-time student, wife, and mother of two boys. She enjoys listening to music of all types, especially industrial, techno, a little ska, and classical. Dawn is a self-diagnosed coffee and cheese addict. 

I love that guitar pick bracelet!  The perfect gift for your favorite musician or music lover.  Check out Dawn's Etsy store for lots of other wonderful pieces.

All Things Vintage and Sparkly

I found another Etsy shop with an adorable name: WanderlustNpixiedust  Her shop is filled with lovely sparkly things, vintage ephemera, journals, and other fun stuff.  I especially love this crown!

I think I would create amazing art if I had this crown to wear!

This artist says she loves antique and vintage everything. Clothing, jewelry, linens, textiles, anything beveled, books, ephemera, you name it. The older the better. In her spare time she likes to dabble in all things crafty. She's recently begun a blog of her own where she loves to share bits and pieces of the buried treasure she's collected over the years. Check it out if you have the time: http://http://wanderlustnpixiedust.typepad.com

I also love this necklace:

And these awesome vintage postcards would be wonderful to use in altered art projects or just frame and display.

So, if you have a yearning for something sparkly and fun, check out WanderlustNpixiedust's store!  You know you need that crown!

Holiday Shopping - Buy Handmade!!

Dear Family and Friends,

With the holidays coming up, we will soon be doing the usual wracking our brains, trying to think of what to get people. This year, I won't be heading to the jam-packed, stress filled mall to buy mass-produced goods. I am going to do all my shopping at home using Etsy!

Etsy is an online marketplace for artists and crafters. I know you have probably all seen my site.

But did you know that if you are trying to shop for me, I have already made it easy for you? From my site, look to the right hand side of the screen, under my icon, and you will see a link that says, "My Favorites." This will take you to links of items that I have already selected as being something I love. You can also look at a list of sellers I like. You can't go wrong!

Etsy will ask you to create an account before you buy anything, but it's quick and easy and don't worry, they will never send you emails or share your account info. Even better, once you have an account, YOU can start making a list of favorite items too, because I know you are going to find wonderful, amazing things you would like. To do some shopping for yourself, just click on the link at the top of the screen that says "Buy" and you will be taken to a list of categories you can search. Feel free to send me, and others, the links of things you like!

I think you will all love Etsy and find it to be a great way to do not just your holiday shopping, but all your shopping - birthdays, weddings - anything!

Support independent artist, buy handmade, avoid the mall!  Everybody wins!

Here are a few of my current favorites:

What is Your Alternate Bliss?

Alternate Bliss has a wonderful Etsy store with gorgeous silver jewelry and original watercolors.  Plus, she has one of my favorite store names ever!  It always makes me want to start a list of all the blissful things I can think of.

Alternate Bliss is a Mixed Media Artist living in Utah. In her shop you will find orignal Art. Including Watercolor Art, ACEO's, Art Prints, and handmade Silver Jewelry

As I plan my next tattoo, which will feature a lotus with wings behind it, I find myself drawn to all things lotus.  I love this gorgeous necklace!

I also have a passion for Alice in Wonderland themed things!

She also has wonderfully evocative watercolor paintings like this one of jellyfish:

So, if you are in need of a little bliss (and really, who isn't?), visit her shop for some lovely goodies!  You can also see more of Alternate Bliss on her blog. 

I Don't Want to Grow Up

I've been slacking off on the blog lately.  I am supposed to be participating in this 90 features of Etsy artists in 90 days challenge but it started to feel like it was taking over my blog.  This blog has always been fairly personal and I've been having a hard time lately finding the right balance.  I love the idea of supporting my fellow Etsyians (who really do rock) and indie artists in general and other bloggers have written some lovely reviews of my shop but I also want to share myself in my writing and I start to get a little lost.

I've been struggling this week.  That old "what are you doing with your life?" dragon rears its ugly head again.  I still haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up.  I have those days where I start comparing my insides with everyone else's outsides and that is never pretty.  Other people seem so much more together and focused.  I get letters after your name envy.  Freaky smart, creative and obsessive just don't look as impressive on a resume.

I could, and probably should, go back to school.  But I don't really want to.  Not just to get a degree anyway.  It seems like such a pointless waste of time.  I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day already so committing to jumping through someone else's academic hoops for a year or more makes me feel slightly ill.  There are oodles of interesting topics I'd love to study and experiences I would love to have.  I'm just not sure "higher education" really qualifies.

I long to be a kept woman.  Seriously.  Mostly I want to *think* about stuff and then go out to the studio and *make* stuff.  I want to think, create, discuss, and absorb information and experiences.  I don't want to follow other people's schedules or directions.  I don't want to deal with red tape and bureaucratic bullshit.  I guess I don't really want to grow up.

I feel like a crossroads looms up ahead.  Decisions are going to need to be made.  I just wish someone else would make them.  I'd rather just live in my own little universe and never think about the future.  Picture me with my fingers in my ears singing "la-la-la I can't HEAR you!" at the top of my lungs.

Shiny Celtic Goodness

Celtic Goddess Jewelry was started in early 2001 by jewelry artisan Andee Harston. She loves to draw, paint, sculpt, make jewelry, and most recently, she has been dabbling in photography. She makes gorgeous jewelry in the celtic tradition as well as pieces inspired by nature and goddess imagery. 

She is influenced by spiritual learning and identifies very strongly with her celtic heritage.  Her gallery website has lovely photos of her jewelry and also has articles about following in the earthpath and pagan spiritual traditions, marketing info, and DIY articles about various arts and crafts.

Andee uses beautiful stones and silver in her jewelry.  Everything she makes will make you feel like a goddess when you put it on!

She also makes gorgeous pendulums for divination and rituals.

You can see and purchase Andee's stunning work here:
Http://sacredwaters.etsy.com
http://celticgoddessjewelry.com (gallery)
http://celticgoddessjewelry.etsy.com

Organic Herbal Goodness

Summer Sea Herbs is  run by the wonderful and talented Tracy who is also the founder of the EarthPath Artisans street team.  She always has a kind word and helpful advice and is a fantastic team "mom".  I am so glad that she started the street team so I could have the opportunity to meet so many lovely people.

Tracy makes her fabulous  all natural and organic herbal blends into teas, tinctures, and incense like this Prosperity and Abundance incense blend perfect for rituals and altars.

 

This 100% organic herbal incense is charged to help you with spells and rituals that focus on bringing more prosperity and abundance into your life. This blend contains Cinnamon, Clove, Frankinscense resin, and other herbs for balance and manifestation.  And Tracy reminds us that once you do ritual or spellwork around prosperity and abundance, don't forget that you need to
support that work with action!

She blends each batch of incense, by hand, with a mortar and pestle. She uses whole herbs and large resin pieces to keep the individual properties of each herb as intact as possible. She says that making herbal products is an absolute joy for her, and her love of Nature comes through in her work! She's  a certified Herbalist with over ten years of experience healing with herbs. She makes all her herbal products with the finest organically grown and ethically wild-crafted ingredients available because she believes that her products are truly better when she uses ingredients which have NOT been irradiated, treated with pesticides or sprays. Your body and spirit needs good, clean energy!

Check out her blog at: http://summerseaherbs.blogspot.com

Now that cold and flu season is here, try some of Tracy's wonderful cold and flu care tea.  The entire proceeds from the sale of this tea are going to raise money for one of Tracy's friends. From the description:

"My dear friend, Vickie of CreationsbyVickie, is a breast cancer survivor. Now, two of her close friends had had breast cancer recurrences. This is devastating. We are trying to raise money for their co-pays and drug costs, which are quickly spiralling out of control!
The entire proceeds of tea sales will be given to the fundraiser to help defray some of the costs of staying alive for these two beautiful women.
Thanks for your help!"

That is just the lovely, supportive kind of person that Tracy is known to be! 

Isn't She Charming?

Today's featured Etsy artist is the talented and lovely Earthcharms, also known as Salyx.  She is part of the EarthPath Artisans Street Team and a practicing Kitchen Witch with a love for the Celtic side of Paganism.  The other day in the Etsy forums she said that she talks like she was "raised by iconoclasts and has watched way too many Joss Whedon shows".  I knew there and then that we must be soulmates!  And I think my daughter needs a t-shirt that says that!

©Norah Burrows
www.norahburrows.com

Her Etsy store features beautiful jewelry, charms and bookmarks made with gorgeous stones.  She has loved nature and stones since she was very young. Her father taught her the scientific side, and her mother encouraged the spiritual side.  I love how she includes the properties of the stones used in each of her pieces.

This awesome pirate wench choker is made with green adventurine.

-Green Aventurine - Take chances.
Key words: Purification, independence, health, well-being.
Hardness: 7
Zodiac Sign: Aries
Numerology: 3
Chakra: Heart

Along with stones she also adores photography, modeling, singing, snarking TV shows with her friends, Scrabble, makeup, crazy cat behavior, creek walking, getting piercings, clothes, and buying CDs.  She has tons of fun photos on her Flickr page like this one of her cat Klunk helping: http://www.flickr.com/photos/80954354@N00/553485559/

Here are some other places to stalk earthcharms:
blog: http://www.earth-charms.blogspot.com
site: http://www.stones.salyx.net
communities:
http://www.myspace.com/salyx/
http://etsylove.ning.com/profile/earthcharms
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80954354@N00/
http://picasaweb.google.com/salyxwoodbine/

Feel Like a Goddess

KreativeMindz makes lovely fabric creations. Goddess Hair wraps are one of her favorite things to make. You will feel like a Goddess when your hair is all wrapped up in a beautiful fabric!  Plus it keeps your hair up and out of the way, and is stylish, too. Even though Aly lives in Cincinnati, these wraps make me feel right at home as they are so very Eugene style! 

KreativeMindz is a husband and wife team, supporting each other through love, laughter and creativity. An-G, one of Aly's best friends, who is a wonderful seamstress and enjoys sewing in her free time, when she isn't being a vet, also creates for the store.

KretiveMindz mostly make clothing (in all sizes and colors), Goddess Wraps™, Hot Packs, Bags, Purses, Wallets, Cuffs and many other cool things! Beau is a very skilled craftsman and carpenter. Check out the Wooden Kreationz section to see some things he is now adding.

Aly was born and raised in a home of artists. Her mother a painter, and her father a photographer.
As a kid she was always doing some sort of "project". This has continued for her thoughout her life, dipping her hands in all sorts of creative "projects". She found her nitch in sewing.

She mostly stays at home and mothers her two wonderful and beautiful children (9 and 2), her husband and best friend, their 3 dogs and a cat, and their beautiful land. This keeps her busy, as I'm sure you can imagine, but she still tries to sew on a daily basis, even if it's only 15 minutes. She has been making clothes for many, many years (15 to be exact).

This husband and wife business team enjoy their land and organic gardens. They love hiking, fishing, swimming, playing, camping, fires, drum circles and a show when they can catch one.

Aly is also part of the EarthPath Artisans street team and a very supportive and encouraging person.  I love supporting other artist mamas!