Etsy Artist of the Week - Tracey Gurley!

Tracey Gurley is our talented artist for the week! Tracey does wonderful landscape, still life, and nature paintings, inspired from my very own North Carolina!What are your creative inspirations?
I am inspired by all of the beauty around us. A lot of times, we don't take the time to notice the beauty on this earth. I hope to help people to take a moment and "stop to smell the roses."

Are you a crafter full time or part time? Full-time.

If full time, how did you make the leap? I decided to become a stay-at-home mom when my daughter was born. I've always been a crafter and artist in some form of media. After my daughter started school, I decided it would be a perfect time to follow my dream.

Who encourages you to create? I always have the desire in my heart to create.

Do you have a blog or website? http://traceygurley.com

ACE Team hits the Etsy Front Page!

Merry Christmas to all!

We're so excited that members representing our team were featured on the front page of Etsy Christmas morning!
The treasury is in honor of our After Christmas Team Sale. Each participating shop is offering specials and discounts from 12/26 thru 12/31/2008. See each shops' announcement for details.

Here is a list of the participating shops:

Allover Art
April's Originals
Denimnotes
E.B. Spider
Gone Doggie
Mad Hatter's Pottery
Maria's Funky Treasures
Moore Magnets
Mychelle
Newfangled
Pampered Ponytails
Survivor's Therapy
Tracey Gurley
UberArt
What's Her Name

Etsy Artist of the Week - Pampered Ponytails

This week's featured artist is Crystal of PamperedPonytails.Is there a story behind your shop name?
I let my daughters name my shop when I was making hair accessories. It doesn't really fit now, but the name has grown on me.

What made you decide to open your own shop?
I love crafting and just wanted to see what interest their would be in what I made. I was just very curious if I could be even a little successful at it.

What is your favorite material to use? PAPER

Talk briefly about your favorite item:
My mini notepads. I just love to make them. They are simple and very useful.

What are your creative inspirations? Anything and everything around me.

Are you a crafter full time or part time?
I am a full time crafter and a stay at home mom. I took my business full time by just expanding on the crafts that I was already making.

Who encourages you to create? My three daughters.

Do you have any advice for other shop owners? Do what you love.

Do you have a blog or website? http://PamperedPonytails.blogspot.com - it is still a work in progress, I am trying though.

Newfangled Artist of the Week!

The artist extraordinaire this week is Jen of Newfangled!
Is there a story behind your shop name?
The definition of newfangled is "attracted to novelty" and I am always trying something new. When I see an object the first thing I think is "what I can do with it?" The name also represents this new venture of selling my art online.

What made you decide to open your own shop?
Long Story short: I am attempting to live my dream by selling art on etsy as well as local boutiques and galleries. I am new to selling online, but I love the idea of sharing my creations with the entire world and I love the inspiration I get by browsing through etsy everyday.

What is your favorite material to use?
As a mixed media artist, I use all kinds of materials from paper to buttons to old books. One of my favorite materials is a huge vintage dictionary which is slowly losing all of it's pages. I use it for everything from jewelry making to lining the inside of cigar boxes.

Talk briefly about your favorite item:
My favorite item is my Decoupaged Cigar Box because it features a lovely drawing by a long-gone artist and I love repurposing objects. It's also my favorite object because it was the first thing to sell in my shop.

What are your creative inspirations?
I love the idea of making something new out of something old. When I see an object I just start thinking about what I can do with it, and go from there.

Who encourages you to create?
I am encouraged and inspired by a lot of people in my life: My boyfriend, friends, and family. My boyfriend is always encouraging and supporting me and my friends and family save scraps of paper and other "junk" they think I will like (which I love!!) My sister-in-law is always helping with me projects and giving me ideas. She is also my model on etsy!

Do you have a blog or website? http://www.jdbrown.net

Tell me any other interesting things about yourself you'd like for me to include in your article:
I am a mixed media artist and I love doing creative things with different materials. Right now I'm making bangles out of paper and focusing mostly on different types of jewelry using paper. You will also see a few decoupaged pieces and other random things in my etsy shop from time to time because I can't stick to one thing for long.

An interview with 31Summers

This week's featured artist from the ACE team on Etsy is Dana of 31Summers. She describes herself as a very eclectic crafter and enjoys making all kinds of things. Dana currently has jewelry, magnets, and baby bibs in her shop, but she says you never know what else you'll find!Is there a story behind your shop name?

I have been creative all my life and when you are like that at some point you start to believe it when people say, "you should sell your stuff". So when I was 31 I decided to open shop. My last name is Summers so at that point I had lived 31Summers…

What made you decide to open your own shop?

I needed a way to support my habit of buying new supplies. My goal when I started was to make enough to buy more supplies.

What is your favorite material to use?

I have so many, at this point wire and beads are my favorites. I also sew and fabric is an addiction as well!

Talk briefly about your favorite item:

My favorite item in my shop at this time would have to be the two bracelets in my "Curls and Balloons" series, I plan to make many more of these.

What are your creative inspirations?

My inspirations come from all over, I may see something in a magazine and make it my own. Lots of times I just pick up the wire and start bending or see a color scheme and throw all those beads in a basket and start stringing. My girls are also a great inspiration, they are always coming to me asking if I can make this or that. Between all of us we can usually figure out how to make it work.

Are you a crafter full time or part time?

I am a crafter part time, I have a full time job an animal clinic. It is one of the most rewarding careers you could ask for. If you are having a bad day all you have to do is walk into the back and pick up a kitten or puppy, instant peace for me!

How do you find the time to create?

My girls and husband are so very supportive of me, if I come home and have creative energy to burn, they will take care of dinner and come in my sewing room and talk while I work. I have some of my best conversations with my daughters in the craft room. I also am a night owl, so usually after everyone is asleep I craft.

Do you have a blog or website?
http://dana.blogs.com

Tell me any other interesting things about yourself you'd like for me to include in your article:

I am a very eclectic crafter, I often joke that I have Craft ADD, I jump from one thing to the next. If you will check out my blog and Flickr pictures you will also see that I love mosaic. I did my Grandmother's front porch steps!!!!!!!! Check them out in the "Other Projects" photo album. I also teach classes at my local bead shop here in town and that helps with supply cost as well. I also meet so many great people there. It is my new favorite hangout.

Merry Christmas!

Some wonderful items presented to you from our ACE team! Click the picture to see an enlarged version. Links to our members' shops can be found in the members list on the right sidebar.