The very first thing I wondered when I saw today's feature shop was to wonder what the name meant.
Designs by M'Ayanna on Etsy.
It's a beautiful name. Colorful. Graceful. And these qualities are perfect for it's meaning as well! Because M'Ayanna means "Mommy and Ayanna".
How did this beautiful name come about?
When today's artisan first started creating jewelry, her focus was on finding a wonderful creative outlet for her pre-teen daughter. Instead, it turned into an outlet for her! Where her daughter's interests were fleeting and waned quickly (as children's interests often do), Patrice carried on creating beautiful designs and creative jewelry.
At first just a hobby to soothe the soul, as often happens with creative people, her creativity soon overflowed and has since developed into a business as well as a hobby.
Her daughter (now 18) still contributes, although now she is the creative critique rather than a jewelry designer herself and together their shop has developed into a beautiful home for an eclectic collection of jewelry styles and designs that are sure to spice up the outfits of any who wear them!
YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURES ABOVE TO VISIT DESIGNS BY M'AYANNA ON ETSY AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND OR, IF YOU PREFER, YOU CAN CLICK RIGHT HERE!
If you like what you see in the Designs by M’Ayanna's shop, you may also enjoy visiting her blog or stopping by to say hi on Twitter![This blog post is a "BESTeam Feature" for the Boosting Etsy Shops Team. The BESTeam is dedicated to helping its members promote their shops and assisting each other in marketing, advertising and sharing the tips and tricks of running an online business. If you are a seller on Etsy and are interested in becoming a member of the BESTeam, the team is accepting new members and you can find more information about the team as well as apply to become a member HERE.]
So adorable you won't be able to resist browsing. That's what today's feature shop has going for them. How can anyone resist little puppy faces and sweet puppydog eyes, after all?
NanjoDogz on Etsy is a little shop filled with adorable puppies of all shapes and itty bitty sizes ready to be adopted and come home for some love. The shop features polymer clay dogs from german shepherds to dachshunds, poodles, spaniels and breeds of all kinds. Each pup is created with amazing detail and personality.
These tiny puppies are then created into Pandora-style beads, sculptures, pendants, tiles and more. Their focus on detail and quality to bring out the characteristics of each breed of dog makes these beads and goodies both unique and beautiful as well as absolutely adorable.
They have a variety of whimsical, unique and original items to share and also take custom orders as well!
YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURES ABOVE TO VISIT NANJODOGZ ON ETSY AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND OR, IF YOU PREFER, YOU CAN CLICK RIGHT HERE!
If you like what you see in NanjoDogz shop, you may also enjoy visiting the NanjoDogz blog!
I have a habit of falling for a very unique combination of creepy and cute that you really don't find all that often.
Today I'd like to introduce you to a shop that fits in this category beautifully and that caught my attention at first glance
AmoMirella by Mirella von Chrupek is a shop filled with this wonderful combination of creepy and beautiful from the tag line of her shop all the way to the pieces she sells there.
Now, I have to tell you first of all, I think dolls are creepy to begin with. Not all dolls. Specifically, I find porcelain dolls that blink are just bone chilling in the creepy department. So when I found this shop? It immediately set off my creepy radar. Yet, at the same time? The work is absolutely exquisite, adorable and just downright... well, cute!
Mirella von Chrupek's pendants, brooches and other beautiful pieces are just breathtaking in their whimsical, melancholic beauty and I think you'll agree when you take a look in her shop.
This shop's stock fluctuates quite often too! Some days I've gone in and there's been only one or two lonely dolls lingering within her shop and yet other days there's pages to browse through! So be sure to look back regularly to see new artwork and creations Mirella has to share.
YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURES ABOVE TO VISIT AMOMIRELLA BY MIRELLA VON CHRUPEK ON ETSY AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND OR, IF YOU PREFER, CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Eyes are the Windows of the Soul ~~ Sometimes I come across something in the handmade marketplace that just surprises the heck out of me and today's shop was one of those.
I go to metaphysical shops off and on all the time and you see dragon figurines and other mementos of that line at nearly all of them. I never really thought much about the artists behind these pieces because in most cases, they're mass produced.
I guess that somewhere along the way I became jaded to the mass produced items, because when I came across today's shop it was a reminder that there are truly talented and amazing artists behind all those pieces somewhere at their birth. That somewhere in the past there was an artist who created the piece that caught the retail market's attention.
Today's shop, Misty's Creations, is filled with beautiful, mystical creatures that are breathtaking and haven't gone to mass market but are so gorgeous they absolutely could in a heartbeat (but I'm so glad they haven't because the charm of OOAK hand crafting is far more appealing!)
These pieces are each one of a kind. Each and everyone is an artist's hand-crafted expression and lovingly sculpted and painted with care. Some of them are so life-like that they can easily be gazed upon for hours in fascination.
I'm personally both impressed and mesmerized by the eyes in these pieces. Their eyes are so realistic it's as if each piece has it's own soul. It's so rare to find such a stunning feature displayed so beautifully as you will in these pieces.
If you love dragons, unicorns and other mystical creatures or if you know someone who does, I strongly encourage you to check out Misty's Creations and take a browse through their shop. I am so very, very impressed and I think you will be too!
TO VISIT THE MISTY'S CREATIONS SHOP ON ETSY, YOU CAN CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE OR, IF YOU'D RATHER, CLICK RIGHT HERE!
Good morning! Today I'd like to introduce you to a shop filled with vibrant, colorful stained glass artwork. Usually, when I think of stained glass, I think of windows and I'm pretty sure most people are the same.
I have a cousin who has a great deal of talent in making stained glass windows and lamp shades, actually, but I'm pretty sure it's a rather common association.
Jas Glass Art offers so much more than that though! The shop is filled with unique handmade stained glass art including sun catchers, wind chimes, screen door bugs (like the one pictured in this post), dream catchers, necklace pendants, garden decor and much more.
The shop is ran by Jill, who creates some very cute and unique pieces that she has for offer in her shop. Her designs are all original and handmade by her and her sun catchers are made using the "lead came" method.
Jill loves to incorporate lampworked beads, plain and heat treated copper, vintage faceted glass jewels, glass nuggets and lead crystal prisms into her work to create unique, beautiful pieces that you won't find anywhere else.
Her pendants are also created with lead-free solder and lead-free came.
If you like glass work and stained glass, this is a shop I definitely encourage you to check out! She has some adorable stuff and you might just find the perfect gift for either yourself or someone you've been shopping for!
YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE TO VISIT JASGLASSART ON ETSY AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND OR, IF YOU PREFER, CLICK RIGHT HERE.
When I first came across today's shop, I was fascinated. First, by the piece featured here in this post. And then, when I followed the link that took me into their shop, that fascination grew with the first glance at the many other amazing pieces they have for sale as well.
I love lampwork. I've been a big fan of fire since I was a wee little thing, and the fact that you can use fire to mold and shape glass into such unique and amazing pieces of art as is possible in lampwork artistry? It's just breathtaking to me and extremely inspiring.
I also love going into a shop online and feel as if I've stepped into an artist's museum exhibition.
Vonbeads Glass Gallery accomplishes this with flare and beauty both.
Each piece in their gallery is like a tiny world encapsulated in a bubble of glass and seems almost alive within their dreamy ensconced worlds beneath each bubble. Looking at this pieces is like a peek into those dreamy other dimensions.
I've spent well over an hour or more in their shop just enjoying the artwork within, and I'm sure you'll be fascinated too, so go take a look!
TO VISIT VONBEADS GLASS GALLERY ON ETSY, YOU CAN CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE OR, IF YOU'D RATHER, CLICK RIGHT HERE!
Today's shop is very diverse with an earthy, whimsical flare for fantasy that really caught my attention.
I first saw today's artist's work when I was browsing through some of the treasuries on Etsy, and I was immediately drawn to the sculptured pieces like the one that I saw featured. I followed the link and found myself transported to an earthy realm of whimsy that I was immediately enchanted by.
Besedina is filled with wonderful sculptures that are rich in detail and personality. Little miniature pieces of art, cup holders for pens, pencils, crayons and more as well as fairy art prints, little magnets featuring more of the artist's sculpture talent and other bits and pieces such as jewelry boxes, jars, pendants and more.
It's a wonderful shop and one you shouldn't miss, so be sure to stop by and take a look around!
YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE TO VISIT BESEDINA'S SHOP ON ETSY AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND OR, IF YOU PREFER, CLICK RIGHT HERE.
I could very easily go on and on about today's shop for pages and pages. The talent of the work in today's shop is just breathtaking, even more so because the works of art are done on such a very small scale.
Meet Heather Kent, the artist in question concerning the pieces of wearable art that I'm introducing you to today.
Heather is a wonderful woman from Long Beach, California who I first met via Twitter where she was helping others learn the ropes of the Etsy-verse. I have to admit that lurked on her conversation for quite some time before introducing myself, but she was such a wonderful and inspiring, not to mention helpful, person that I had to "meet" her myself.
Since then, I've learned a lot from Heather, and from the very first, I've admired her talent.
Heather Kent makes beautiful jewelry, you see, which in itself is my passion. But she puts a new twist on it because each of her pieces of jewelry is a framed piece of hand-painted water color artwork. GORGEOUS watercolor artwork!
She paints animals, birds, nature, plants... just about anything, and they're all beautifully done and rich with color and style. She even takes custom requests for only an additional $2 fee. You really can't beat a deal like that.
At the moment, she's in the process of re-shooting all her works and so her shop is just a bit sparse but trust me... you won't want to miss out in taking a browse around and you *will* want to come back to look again and again as more and more of her items return to being listed! So be sure to stop by and take a look. There are so many pieces in her shop already that I'm dying to snatch up and own for myself, I know you'll find something you love too.
YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE TO VISIT HEATHER KENT'S SHOP ON ETSY AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND OR, IF YOU PREFER, CLICK RIGHT HERE.
I have to admit. I make a lot of jewelry, and I absolutely love it, but I've never quite mastered the skills involved with wire working. Not that I can't do the basics, and do them very, very well... but when you get into the more complex designs I just haven't found my groove.
The other day I found a jewelry designer that has. In fact, she creates some of the most beautiful pendant mountings I've ever seen, not to mention has wonderful taste when it comes to picking out the pendants and beads to accentuate with her wire working endeavors.
Amanda Houser is the artist behind these beautiful pieces, and it's clear she takes great care in the details of her work and love creating jewelry. Her pieces are beautiful, eye-catching and unique.
She mainly work in stainless steel wire because Surgical stainless steel is hypo-allergic, which means that even if you or the person you're shopping for has a bad reaction to most metals, you have a good chance of that not being a problem with these pieces. Not only that, but stainless steel doesn't tarnish either, nor does it require any special cleaning which makes these pieces not just lovely but durable as well.
Be sure to check out Amanda's shop, Wire Butterfly, to see more of these beautiful pieces she has to offer and don't miss stopping by her profile as well. She has a wonderful amount of information about the artist tucked away there
TO VISIT AMANDA HOUSER'S WIRE BUTTERFLY SHOP ON ETSY, YOU CAN CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE OR, IF YOU'D RATHER, CLICK RIGHT HERE!
Okay, so maybe it's the science geek in me or the jewelry slut in me, or possibly that part of me that just loves innovation. But, when I saw today's shop, I knew I had to do a feature.
I mean, you see scrabble tile pendants a-plenty in the handmade market place. Sometimes you run across others that use coin or plastic backing, etc. But, have you ever seen someone using microscope slides??
Exactly. Innovative! Original! Unique! Not to mention beautiful.
Cher (aka HM Designs) runs a shop on Etsy called "Into Creating" where she makes these wonderful microscope slide pendants that encapsulate miniature pieces of art behind glass that are then neatly soldered around the edges for a delicate frame and polished to a high shine.
She doesn't just use her own artwork either but is more than happy to create custom pieces just for her customers! For artists, this is a terrific idea! I mean, what better way to show off your artwork and draw attention to it than by wearing a piece of it showcased in a beautiful and unusual piece of jewelry that people are going to be sure to notice?
This is also perfect for those out there shopping for gifts for others that want to personalize their gift or want a unique piece of jewelry infused with your own personal sense of style. Cher is happy to create custom pendants just for you!
TO VISIT CHER'S INTO CREATING SHOP ON ETSY, YOU CAN CLICK THE PICTURES ABOVE OR, IF YOU'D RATHER, CLICK RIGHT HERE!
I got really excited and beyond fascinated the first time I saw work by this particular artist, and I'm thrilled and honored that they agreed to letting me feature them here on my blog.
This artist is a glass worker, and what I saw 
is the focal pendant that you can see pictured here in my post. This lovely, softly etched and hand-formed borosilicate glass shell pendant is so beautiful that my mouth dropped open in amazement and I was left speechless.
For those that know me, speechless isn't something that happens all that often so you can understand my excitement.
I'm sure a part of my fascination is the fact that I have a great admiration for those that do lampwork arts and other types of glass work. The other part of my fascination? It has everything to do with my love for beaches and oceans.
Lori Lochner is a full-time studio glass artist, metalsmith and jewelry designer. This piece, like all of Lori's beautiful glass art pieces, is meticulously created and then kiln annealed.
YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE TO VISIT LORI LOCNER'S SHOP OR, IF YOU PREFER, CLICK RIGHT HERE.
