BACK ON THE ARTFIRE CRAZY TRAIN

So, I finally got caught up and get a semi schedule going and of course you know something is going to happen to derail all that!
My daughter who is about 25 weeks pregnant apparently came down with the swine flu.  She has also asthma - not bad asthma - but she does have it.  So, she ended up in the hospital.  And I ended up taking a trip to Colorado Springs to take care of my grandson.  She got out of the hospital the day I arrived, but, it's a good thing I went so I could hang out with my adorable grandson and she could rest.  She is doing better, but still tires pretty easily - so ladies if you are pregnant, please get the swine flu vaccine - what you end up on is much worse than the vaccine!  She was planning on getting her and her son vaccinated as soon as she could - but seems like the flu came 1st!   I'm just glad she is still around and baby seems to be doing ok through it all.

So, once again I'm playing catch up!
Where did I leave off?  Well, starting with LilBritKnits who makes some of the cutest handknit baby booties such as these Cowboy Booties

in blue and white yarn.  Aren't they just adorable!   Well, of course I'm into baby  booties right now! lo

And if you aren't into or need baby booties, she has some wonderful dish clothes, tea pot cozies, cup cozies and some other scrumptous knitted items.

Somewhat misleading is CatInALife who makes some truly awesome jewelry - from beaded jewelry to these amazing Egyptian Swirl bracelets.  And proves that if you have a great product, you can sell jewelry on ArtFire!  She is also very active in the forums.  Since Oct is Breast Cancer awareness month, I'm featuring this awesome Pink Egyptian Swirl Bracelet

and this very pretty Lampwork Pink Flowers Black Glass necklace and earrings set.

For the month of Oct,. she will be donating part of her proceeds to a domestic shelter. 

Nice variety today  We all need soap right?  So, why not pamper yourself with some awesome handmade soap by Cora's Blissfully Natural Products LLC

also known as Dragonfly.  I didn't read all of her descriptions, but the ones I did read have goats milk in the soap - what a luxurious way to pamper your skin.  One of my favorite scents is lemon so I chose her Lemon Cove soap

now, that would be a treat!

Or her Goddess By Baby Phat Goats Milk Soap - she has a nice variety of scents and even some body oils.  A very good thing for the cold winter months - milk is very soothing to the skin, and most of the handmade soaps aren't as drying as many on the market today.   Pamper yourself, and buy one or two for a friend too!  They make great items to keep on hand for gifts. I've also used many soaps in my drawers to add a nice scent until I'm ready to use the soap.

Hopefully, I'll get back on track here and do these blogs on a more regular basis again - at least until sometime in January when my granddaughter is expected to arrive.

Remember to get those flu vaccines - especially if you are pregant!!!!!

ARTFIRE CRAZYTRAIN RIDERS WONDERFUL CREATIONS

The hardest part of all this is well, 2 things actually, resisting the temptation to buy some of the items I find, and thinking up titles for each blog!

I am so close to being caught up!!

Starting out today's lineup is Maggie McMane Designs with her wonderful jewelry creations.  LOTS of earrings - if you can't find a pair of earrings in this studio that you don't absolutely love, I'll be very surprised.  And Pendants/necklaces - lots of fun jewelry - from some very simple but prettty designs to more dressy.  One of her featured items right now is this adorable Snowman Necklace

Nice creative use of those bead caps and beads I think. This is  a necklace that both big girls and litle girls would enjoy wearing.   And, it would go with just about anything you are wearing, from blue jeans to something a little more dressy.  Wouldn't this be fun to wear to a Christmas party?

Earrings, can you have too many pairs of earrings? A friend has about 200 pairs of earrings - more than anyone else I know. However, if you love earrings and having a large variety, this is the shop to visit.

These little Green Flower Dangle Earrings look like they would be fun to wear, I love dangly earrings.  This is one of the coolest features of buying handmade, even with all the jewelry sellers on ArtFire - there is such a huge variety of how people put their jewelry together.

Once again 2 out the 3 riders today make and sell jewelry.   Sweet Whimsy (love studio name too) has a nice variety of mostly glass tile pendants.  She has just added another pendant out of a different medium,

 but - can you guess? Her Palm Pendant is a OOAK creation, so nobody else will be wearing one exactly like this one!   Love the iridescent effect on this don't you?

Yesterday, I featured an original aceo of a flamingo - found another flamingo today!  Only this time, it's on a pendant - not by the same artist as yesterday.  Glass tiles are fun to play with and I'm always amazed at the variety of designs people put on these. This is Sweet Whimsy's Flirty Flamingo pendant.  What a great variety in this studio and on ArtFire in the jewelry world.  

Are  you wondering if the there are other creations besides jewelry on ArtFire?  Yes , there is.

A humongous variety of items, many of them ooak unique creations, and Harmon Art has some wonderful unique creations such as this Dark Red and Black Cannonball Gourd, not something you are going to find in your big box stores or the mall.  Besides, who wants to play in traffic around Christmas?  Easy Christmas shopping, sit in your chair in the comfort of your home and go shopping in your pj's!  Harmon Art has a wonderful variety of gourds and other creations, but I admit I'm fascinated with their gourds such as this Dark Red & Black Doodle Kettle Gourd, Handpainted, looks like they had fun painting this one! Just a sneak preview - check it out to see all the wonderful doodles on this unusual gourd. 

What's your favorite pick for today???

I'm off to work on my blog about my ornaments and other creations which you can find here http://lisianblue.com/ I just bought my own domain, there isn't much there yet, but I would love to have you come visit.

Thanks for visiting and have a super day!

RIDIN ALONG THAT ARTFIRE CRAZY TRAIN

So, I'm almost caught up and then I have another couple of days feeling like someone smacked me in the face! And then I feel half way ok. I am sooooo glad though that I haven't gotten really sick - and hoping I can keep it that way this fall!
As we were doing a "My favorite childhood movie"theme on Thursday Sweet Treat, I thought it would be fun to include this Fairy Godmother resin pendant by Luv To Sparkle - what little girl wouldn't love that? Probably even a few big little girls!

Being a big fan of bunnies, I had to include this Happy Bunny Resin Necklace. lo I just went back through this fun studio - there really are some cool resin pendants here - not all for little kids! You can just tell these pendants are full of glitter - and that's a hard thing to take pictures of - cute - cute - cute!

And more cuteness from Val Made with a studio full of some very cute cards. Christmas cards, congrats, Easter, get well, new baby, and more, along with some pretty handknit scarves, caps and other items. So, if you have a special occasion coming up that you need a special card for this would be a great shop to visit.

These are really cute cards.

I love watercolors- I don't do such a great job with watercolors so I really admire anyone who can paint with them - and I just love MyrnaM's sense of humor. I suppose when you are a grandmother of 22 you probably both need a sense a humor and have just developed one by that point!
Love this "Cat Art April Showers" ACEO - in case you don't know what an ACEO is, it is Art cards editions & original - they are 2.5" x 3.5" Most of the art in this studio is of original art. And at some great prices.

and one of my other favorite subjects - birds - in this case the American Kestrel - almost hard to believe that this sweet looking bird portrayed here is quite the hunter! Wonderful watercolors by MyrnaM.

I have been really resisting buying anything on ArtFire although there are a lot of items I would love to have - just because! But, with the limited income I have, most of my "spare" income that isn't being put towards bills has gone to supplies for my own artistic endeavors. However, I did purchase something from one of these artists today - not saying which one - I'll post it when I get it - oh oops - no I won't it's for a Christmas present!

Buying handmade is such a great way to have something unique to give someone you love for their birthday, Christmas, anniversary, or just because!

ARTFIRE CRAZY TRAIN RIDER AQUAURIANN

If you are into fantasy art and reading, this is the studio to visit. Or just into fantasy art! AQUARIANN has some really cool bookmarks, pinback buttons, njotecards, originals, prints, and ornaments with her totally cool fantasy art of fairies, pirates, unicorns, dragons and more.
This would make a great stocking stuffer for those pirate fans.

Sweet birthday present or maybe a solstice gift? She also has originals, so if you want to get something really special, you can do that too.

Really like the colors in this one of the unicorn. She has some pretty awesome dragons too.

Pictures link to the item!

Thanks for checking out my blog and have a wonderful day.

ARTFIRE CRAZY TRAIN RIDER HOOK YARN & INKER

I think it's time to start addng in the current ArtFire Crazy Train Riders.
I also wanted to mention that ArtFire just recently came out with these sweet Handmade Christmas badges for us to put on our blogs, or other places - you can see an example of one on the lower right side of my blog. Yeah ArtFire - they are always coming up with new things to help us out!
And speaking of Handmade Christmas, Hook Yarn & Inker has some wonderful handmade items that would make some wonderful Christmas gifts or for any holiday, birthday, or for yourself!
Pretty and colorful is this Gumdrop Hippie Hat (love the name too) - Looks like you couldget a bunch of hair into this - and be warm too!
I absolutely love the design of this - Sunburst Cotton Flapper - it's sort of hard to see in this photo, but it has this sweet flower on the side - cute cute cute!

Besides the wonderful caps, eye masks, slippers, belts, there are some great eco friendly products in this studio. I've been using towels for cleaning for years - haven't bought paper towels in years - but this is a fantastic idea for a floor duster - no more throw away duster covers! and there are some fabulous bags, and other eco friendly items too!

I highly recomend you check out this studio on ArtFire for some great handmade items for yourself, Christmas, Hannukah, birthdays - or just because!

Pictures link to the item in the studio.

WHAT A RIDE ON THE ARTFIRE CRAZY TRAIN

I'm almost caught up! This has been good going back and looking at these studios again - I've managed to tweet items from everyone's studios - but I'm taking a little more time to pick items to feature on my blog.
And just what do I want to put on my blog?
How about some beautiful jewelry by Jewelry By Sandy , it's that garnet thing again - I fell in love with this piece the 1st time I saw it - I think it would be beautiful no matter what color of stone she put in there ( ohhh what about blue!), I love the way this is wrapped, it's very elegant -

This one has always fascinated me - how in the world does a person do this? I admit, I've tried a little bit of wire wrapping, I usually manage to end up with a tangled mass of wire, but to make a sweet little net to hold that gorgeous stone - how creative and so beautifully done. She even has an awesome unicorn with a cool jade horn! Check it out - it's pretty neat!

I just cannot imagine why anyone would want to buy jewelry at the mall when they can buy some awesome pieces by SpunSister Designs like these simply elegant sodalite earrings. I could wear these all day and then out dancing too (if I went out dancing that is!) Change from the work clothes to that little black dress and your ready to go.....................................................

Or how about these Thai Lanterns - nope just can't imagine buying jewelry at a big box store ever again with artisans like these around! I have always loved silver jewelry , and I think silver and black is such a fantastic combination, don't you?

Shifting gears abit we come to DoMosiacs with some wonderful mosiac creations like this Amethyst Accent Mosiac Wall hanging - pretty isn't it! I keep thinking it would look great out on my patio, but then I'd probably not put it there because it's too pretty to hang where other people could get it! Kitchen wall maybe...............................

and the last stop for today is DoMosiacs Winter In Summer Mosiac Leaf - pretty colors! and oh I just found the coolest thing - a mosiac orb! , nope not giving the link for it - you gotta go find it - just click on the leaf, read about it and then go check out the rest of the studio - some pretty neat creations - and then make sure to visit the jewelry artists too!

Love that picture of the leaf next to the snow!

Hey have a great day - I'll be back later for another stop along the CrazyTrain Trail

Designs By Patricia Hall on ArtFire

Patricia Hall out of Hillsborough, NC specializes in making natural stone, lampwork glass and shell beaded items.
Lampwork fascinates me - these lovely brown and cream colored beads are so cool - I love the way the colors swirl through the glass.

Or how about these with the caramel swirls with the little lines of blue - come to think of it - caramel - thats sort of what these remind me of!

And this is just stunning, with the 3 flat black agate beads with the jet glass beads! So Pretty - this one is on the last page of her listings so if you go looking for it - that's where it is!

Do check out this studio - she has some lovely jewelry - many with natural stones that are just beautiful!

Title links to Patricia Halls studio on ArtFire

NinjaJenn On ArtFire

One of the really fun things about promoting other shops, is you get to see some of the fun items people do. It's interesting how one technique has turned out soooooo many different pendants. NinjaJenn does glass tile, scrabble tile, and other wood pendants. Even though this wooden heart is covered with chiyogami paper, it sort of reminds me of an art nouveau design. The paper is coated with resin to protect it, also making it water resistant.





I kind of like the fogginess of this butterfly pendant, makes it look somewhat mysterious. I almost want to get a magnifying glass out to see if there are any fairies hiding in there! Pretty cool.

Title will take you to her shop on ArtFire.

Chantilly Lace on ArtFire

Ok, so I'm going to try really hard to get back on a regular schedule of featuring other ArtFire artisans.

Today we have ChantillyLace of ArtFire, who claims to be a romatic at heart and lives in Edmondton, Alberta, Canada.

I just love this bracelet. I think this a really intriquing design. Even though it looks pretty delicate, it is actually fairly sturdy. I know, because I've tried this pattern based on a short piece by my ex-mil. But this one with it's pink pearls, purple and opal Swarovski crystals and sterling silver wire, is quite stunning don't you think so?

Lots of pretty romantic creations in this shop. Be sure to check it out for some quality handmade items.

TITLE LINKS TO HER SHOP

The Jewelry Shop on ArtFire

"The Jewelry Shop" on ArtFire sells some awesome handmade jewelry and some very cool vintage pieces.
The handmade pieces are made by 3 family members and include beaded, wirewrapped and silver fabrication. So you have some nice options to choose from, and they are all very reasonably priced I think.
These are a couple of my favoites.


Lightening Strike Sodalite Sterling WireWrap Pendant
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=ViewListing&product_id=81237


Flight of The Heart Wire Wrap Necklace
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=ViewListing&product_id=103294

Title of this post links to the shop.
Go check out this shop with some awesome jewelry.

Crazy Train on ArtFire Promoting Caterpillar Peacock

Some wonderfull creative ladies came up with a super idea of a bunch of us getting together and promoting each other.

So, for today we are promoting http://caterpillarpeacock.artfire.com
(title of my post links to her shop)

I of course had to choose this calla lily brooch that is needlefelted and then the teeny tiny beret!






Lindsey, the owner/creator of Caterpillar Peacock lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
She says she is inspired by so many things: color, nature, my mom, funny things on the internet, old school games, comic books, anything from the 50's through the 70's, Alphonse Mucha,....The list goes on and on.

Support handmade artists, you get something unique, artistic, well made, that isn't mass produced. or
you can go to some local big block store and buy something everybody else has!