In the Holiday Mood

I always love the Holidays, but this year I am super excited. My son, which he just turned 3 is really into it this year. He can't wait till Santa comes, when we bake a lot of fun goodies, and make a gingerbread house. I can't wait for those things either. I can't wait to see my son's face on X-mas morning, and just the excitement of opening up things and hear him screech with glee.

I also would like to start a tradition with him, now that he knows what is going on. I am not sure what we should do though. We always make cookies, because I have a cookie swap every year. We always make a gingerbread house, and we always cut down a tree and decorate it. I want a tradition that really is special. I was thinking maybe doing a crayon quilt. A quilt block square that he colors and decorates, and I will make a quilt out of it. And then I can make it a wall hanging. I will post more on what I found on how to make a crayon technique quilt in a later entry. I don't know, I am still deciding what to do.

What is your family tradition?

Etsy Feature

With the holidays approaching I always think it is great to shop handmade. There is so much passion and effort put into creating products for people, it is just something a little extra every buyer gets, which makes handcrafted so great. I came across this etsy shop that does just that. Her name is Risa, and she has the shop, www.createdbyrisa.etsy.com. She has really beautiful jewelry pieces, which would make the perfect holiday gift for someone special.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your work:
I'm 47 years old--well 48 in a few weeks. My many roles include mom, new wife, friend, social worker, and last, but not least artist. One way or another, I've been making art most of my life. As a student, I always found a way to take extra art classes. After college I went off to work, but continued to make art in my spare time. Finding that spare time was harder as a single parent. I scrambled to find time and the space to make art. Now my kids are grown, I have an art studio (!) and I spend as much time as I can making art, jewelry, or whatever creative endeavor tickles my fancy.

How did you come up with your shop name?
Not too complicated...my name is Risa. I love that my name is unique. It means laughter.

What is your favorite item in your shop and why?
That's really hard, since I fall in love with every piece I make. But if I had to pick one piece close to my heart, I would pick my "Follow Your Heart: Create" necklace (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16367935) because it exemplifies my philosophy. It's also the piece I opened my shop with.


Any advice you would give to aspiring designers?
Follow your passion. And you are never too old to do that.

What are your favorite materials to work with?
I enjoy working in a number of different mediums, so it varies. If I'm making jewelry, I love including colorful seed beads and various glass beads. When painting, I choose to paint with acrylics on canvas. And then I have a passion for crafts using tissue paper and modpodge!

You can find her work at www.createdbyrisa.etsy.com, and you can check out her blog at www.createdbyrisa.blogspot.com

This always makes my day

I was featured on, Indie Craft Corner, it is a great blog, "it is a place for people to gather and view a variety of beautiful and creative crafts. Featuring indie craftsters each week along with some crafting tid bits here and there. " Please check them out at, http://indiecraftcorner.blogspot.com/. Thanks again for the feature.

Features

My blog is fairly new, but I am driving traffic to my blog more and more each day. I think being featured is very exciting, and it is great promotion. So I thought it might be nice to feature an etsy artist once a month. If you are interested in being featured please post a comment here. I will be contacting you with questions, if you are selected for the month of December. Thanks so much!