Friday, November 29, 2013

Weekly Spotlight - Lori Coats

class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> I am so happy to introduce Lori Coats who is one of the people I have met through my crafting and who is very talented!  




She designs some incredible jewelry with incredible gemstones and beautiful metal work.  

From Lori herself: 

I am originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan. I have been a rock hound since childhood, and have always been fascinated by Mother Natures little gifts. I moved south as a young adult, and have been living in Central Florida for over 30 years.

I began making my own jewelry due to my love of gemstones, my inability to wear base metals, and in large part due to my shallow pockets. It occurred to me that I could make good quality jewelry on a budget.  Many friends and family suggested I sell my creations but with holding down a full time job it wasn't high on my priority list. So I began to planning this little endeavor for a retirement activity.

I became unemployed after more than 26 years with the same company early 2012, and found myself forced into life changes I wasn't prepared to make. So, Pretty Rock Shop was born!

I wish to share my love of beautiful gemstones at affordable prices.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Weekly Spotlight - Sharon Gilnack

I am so happy to have this week's spotlight is on Sharon Gilnack who is a wonderful knitter who creates wonderful homey and warm hand knit items for your home.  



Words from Sharon herself......

HollyKnitterCreations has been on Artfire since March 2011 when I needed something to do after retiring in 2009.
My grandmother’s encouragement started my journey into the love of fiber.  
In college I taught myself how to knit and enjoyed creating a hooded sweater
with cables and popcorns for those cold New York winters.

I am visually challenged and cannot read printed material and through innovation and computer software allows me to use a screen reader that audibly reads information from my computer.
My favorite aspect in knitting is to create small cloths where the knit and purl stitches form a picture.
I have over 150 picture patterns to fit every occasion from simple apples to quilt inspired designs.
When making cloths for special orders, I try to work with the customer to make something special for them The Antique Car cloth and the Golf Cloth were originally special orders and have become customer favorites. The Ninja cloth, Skateboard, Bulldozer, and Butterfly were originally made for my grandchildren. The Ballerina Dancer was a special gift for my nieces and friends. 
I also designed a special towel with hand knit topper that has ties instead of the traditional buttons and I have just branched out with machine embroidery to make special towels such as the Chocolate Labrador on White with a Brown topper. (I have a friend that does the embroidery).
I am starting to expand into more baby Afghans, scarves and hope to increase this line next year.

The designers I work with are awesome to provide me with patterns in a specialized format in addition when needed will modify a pattern to fit special requirements. I do respect copy write and always get permission from the designers to sell items created from their designs
My Artfire studio is a combined effort from start to finish. I could not have a business in Artfire without the help of family and friends. My husband is my photographer and my friend from college helps me list my inventory. The Artfire mentors and artisans have been helpful and supportive.
In conclusion my love of knitting brings me joy, satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment whether knitting for charity, family or my business.

“Discover the hand crafted difference”

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Weekly Spotlight - Crafts of the Past

I am thrilled to introduce Anna Garner - owner and creator of Crafts of the Past.  Anna brings forth the historical artifacts and creates amazing unique jewelry.  She has a vast variety of incredible items, you just have to take the time to browse through her store.  Crafts of the Past on Artfire


Please take some time to look at her incredible talent!

Directly from Anna:  Though I had used the modern form of modeling clay for making seal impressions for publication for quite a while, I had not dreamed of actually creating pendants, beads and whole sets of jewelry from the material. But my work with the Bactria-Margiana bronze stamp seals led me to create bronze metal pieces from polymerized bronze powder bearing the stamped images of the antiquities.

From my work with bronze clay I became attracted to polymerized art clay for making models for my bronze jewelry. That lured me into exploring the possibility of hand sculpting art clay jewelry from the latest forms of polymer clay, a medium that is both durable and beautiful. My exploration landed me into a new endeavor with a new identity for my studio's products: Polly Ceramica. Many of my products are stamped with the Polly Ceramica logo. 

I enjoy the chameleon quality in polymer clay. I can shape it however I wish it to be or I can let it show me how it wants to be shaped -- known as the organic method of creating art clay ornamentation. I enjoy using the organic technique of creating my Polly Ceramica jewelry pieces. Here are some of my recent creations:



Thursday, November 7, 2013

Boulevard of Artsian - 3

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Weekly Spotlight - Cards by Li Be

Getting to know the artist is important to understand their work.  A new feature of my blog will be to connect with an artist and find out a little more about their craft.   This week, I am happy to introduce Lisa - owner of Cards by Li Be.  

I really love the work Lisa does, her work is detailed and expressive and would like you to get to know her better.  

Cards by Li Be! is in the business of handcrafted designer cards for all occasions. Each card is created with the utmost care and attention to detail and quality and the finest products are used. Be sure to browse the studio for the many card designs available.  Custom messages can be printed on the inside of most cards.  

Please visit her lovely shop:  Cards by Li Be







If you would like to be featured, please contact me in my Artfire store JazzitupwithDesignsbyNancy

Monday, November 4, 2013

Complimentary Colors - Orange and Green

Pink, Purple and Green - Christmas Countdown week 7