Introducing Wildcatleatherco!

Please meet wildcatleatherco, a talented leather jewelry artist I found while searching Artfire for great leather and jewelry items!

Pouch jewelry medicine bag brown suede leather small

Wildcatleatherco is leather artist featuring gorgeous leather cuffs, earrings and beaded jewelry pieces. This stunning array of leather items has been hand cut, dyed, carved,tooled, painted and/or designed by wildcatleatherco. Some of her pieces have a peaceful, natural Native American feel.

Leather wrist cuff stitched design hand made up cycled
The intricate stitch design adds just the right touch to this brown leather wrist cuff. Wear this earthy upcycled cuff for a relaxed look.

I am moved by wildcatleatherco's great appreciation and respect for animals and the world surrounding her. I asked wildcatleatherco a few questions about herself and her craft and here's what she said!!

Tell me about yourself and your shop/craft
I live in Central Fl with my husband and one Cat... Have always been a 3 cat household at least, but lost two of my babies, over the last 2 yrs.
Have been very much into making things for over 25 yrs.. Have made everything from Christmas decorations, Crocheted baskets, mop dolls angels, to jewelry and leather items.. and tons of stuff in between.

I'm now making mostly leather items, like cuffs, pouches, book marks and jewelry items. I plan on making journals, coasters, and barrettes in the near future.
I love working with leather, and wish I had started sooner. I can incorporate my love for making jewelry and use all the cool gemstones, feathers, and other jewelry making materials, that I love to work with.

Am a true animal lover, have not eaten meat in over 17yrs... So I was conflicted about working with leather, so I threw my concerns out to the universe and Spirit and asked for an answer. The answer was as long as people eat meat, the skins should not be wasted. I say a little prayer for the soul of the animal and ask permission, before using a new piece of leather.

2) Do you have a tip you can share regarding your art/craft?
Ok tip.. lets see..." Cut leather often will have rough edges... There is a plastic tool you can buy, but if you don't have one, Try using a piece of blue jean material or try other fabric you have in the house. Rub it up and down the leather to smooth."

3) How did your start doing your art/craft as a business?
When I got serious about making jewelry, it started out as a hobby I was serious about. But I got so carried away, that before I knew it, there was jewelry and supplies every where. I had a good amount of money invested.. I had no choice, but to start doing shows, which lead to selling online.

4) When you get in a creative funk, what do you do to motivate or inspire yourself?
Often I just let it ride, do other things till my creative juices start to flow again.. It's only a matter of time. But if I want to push myself I can go through my supplies and let my gemstones talk to me.

Peacock eye feather necklace copper beaded on leather

Where can we find you?
Most of my listings are on Art Fire http://www.artfire.com/users/wildcatleatherco

and http://www.wildcatleather.com

My Blog: http://www.artfire.com/users/wildcatleatherco/blog

I have 2 shops on Etsy at the moment http://wwww.wildcatleatherco.etsy.com
http://www.earthytoelegant.com

Everyone is welcome to email me at earthytoelegantQ@aol.com to find out what shows I will be at in the Rockledge Fl area. Just put " Your upcoming shows " in the subject line.

For more information and products from wildcatleatherco, please visit here at: http://www.artfire.com/users/wildcatleatherco

Beautiful Artistic Soaps by Shiny Cat Creations!

Hi Everyone! Sooo, I attempted to make soap once, yep once. I bought the crock pot looking soap melting device, all the fragrances and a mold, certain I would create a masterpiece! And well, I have to say I wasn't too terribly successful!So when I discovered Shiny Cat Creations on Artfire, I was in awe of her work and how tasty they looked!!

Milk Chocolate Soap how can it get better than this?

Perfect Valentines Day Gift for your sweetie! This milk chocolate glycerin soap smells like a cross between a tootsie roll and a milk chocolate piece of candy. This yummy smelling soap even has a “white chocolate” drizzle for that added cute touch!

I love that Shiny Cat Creations lists all her ingredients so nothing is a secret, its all good stuff!

Sweet and Fruity Body Butter Lotion Vegan! Talk about sexy, this creamy body butter lotion is just what the doctor ordered, perfect for those cold evenings! Fruity mix of blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry finishing off with a light scent of flowers and powder. If you love fruity smells, you will absolutely love this! This is a wonderful body butter that is thick and non greasy. It soaks in fast and feels silky after you rub it in.

Sweet and Fruity Berry Soap

I asked Christina from Shiny Cat Creations some questions so we can all get to know more about her and her great handmade soap craft!

1. First off, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hi! My name is Christina and I used to make jewelry but now I make soap! My store is http://www.artfire.com/users/ShinyCatCreations and I’m absolutely in love with soap making. After 15 years I’ve finally found that thing that makes me say “THIS is what I want to do!” You can be so creative in the soap making process from picking out what types of soap (Olive oil is my new favorite) to picking out the color to match the fragrance. There are so many fragrances out there, I find myself wanting to try every single one of them! I spend many hours a day reading soap making blogs and websites and I am just amazed at what people can do with soap. I used to make candles when I was 20 and loved that, so I’m really surprised I haven’t tried making soap sooner since it’s so similar to candle making.

2. Do you sell anywhere else besides Artfire?

I have a few soaps up on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShinyCatCreations

If I have 3 or more of something, I’m listing it there also just so some more people see it.

The majority of my items will be at my Artfire store though.


This is a two part question:

3. What do you think has been the easiest part about selling on Artfire?

The seller’s tools are awesome! I love all the features like listing an item from one page, being able to have 10 pictures and so many more features that there are too many to list really. The SEO on Artfire is amazing also. They really do a lot of the SEO work for you. This is really the first time since selling online that I find my items on google.

The help on the forums is awesome also, from the administrators to the other sellers. They are all very willing to help you if you have a question.

4. What about the hardest part?

I would say getting out there and making myself seen. Trying to get people to look at your items without being “spammy”. Trying to promote yourself, promote others, design and make soap does get to be a little much some days. Sometimes I sit here and wonder where the day went!

Spice Cake Soap, Bundt Pan Shape


5. What future goals do you have for your Artfire shop?

More sales of course! My goals are to get myself seen on Artfire and off of Artfire by taking business cards to various places and possibly by having sales representatives. I’m going to start with my family first!

6. Where else can we find you? (Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Etc)

Artfire - http://www.artfire.com/users/ShinyCatCreations

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/ShinyCatCreations

Twitter – http://twitter.com/#!/ShinyCatCreatns

Blog – http://www.shinycatcreations.blogspot.com/

Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShinyCatCreations

So check out Shiny Cat Creations, she makes such creative and "tasty" soaps!!

Tired of the winter blues? RedRubyonFire will cure all that!

I discovered RedRubyonFire while playing around on Artfire.

Double Strand Green Glass Pearl and Glass Beads Spring Bracelet is one of my favorites! This sweet and elegant bracelet has 2 strands of glass pearls and beads, in soft green, pink and gold colours. This bracelet was inspired by RedRubyonFire's spring time where flowers bloom and baby grass grows.
The clasp is a 'S' hook clasp which makes it so easy to put on. The total length of the bracelet is 7 1/2" or 19 cm. So pretty!!

Delicious Spring Summer Glass Beaded Earrings with Gold Accents

Such pretty earrings! These delicious and abundance bunch earrings were made with smooth delicate glass beads that makes them look juicy! Their made with spring and summer in mind. Simple and yet beautiful to go with any of your clothing styles.
Total length of the earrings are 2.5" or 6 cm.

This shop is as fresh as a springtime breeze! Not only are her earring, bracelets and necklaces beautiful and charming, her delightful product photography will inspire you to take home a couple of her pieces!

I asked RedRubyonFire if she would share a little about herself and her jewelry craft so you can learn more about her!

1) Tell me about yourself and your shop/craft
My name is Yini and I am living now in Australia, born in Malaysia. I love creating my other studios is RROFGraphics (graphic design for handmade business) and CreativeKarma (the other crafts). Redrubyonfire is dedicated to jewelry I design and make.

2) Do you have a tip you can share regarding your art/craft?
Not really, I do enjoy making it more than anything else even selling and marketing. Also photographing it. I do think that is important to enjoy your craft and love what you do or make.

3) How did your start doing your art/craft as a business?
It's a long and funny story. I did not start with the intention of making jewelry like the ones sold in my studio. I wanted and still aspire to make something more intricate. I started with collecting lots of beads thinking that with the variety I would be able to come up with what I wanted. My stash grew and I actually started just making simple but creatively put together pieces to help make something of my overflowing stash.

Then I enjoyed it a little too much, so that inspired me to create my Spring/Summer collection, which actually required me to purchase a whole new complimenting group of beads and findings! But I enjoyed it

4) When you get in a creative funk, what do you do to motivate or inspire yourself?
I really just do something else. With the variety of crafts I am currently in, I hardly get bored. Or I just look into youtube to see if there is something new I could learn, may it be crocheting or HTML, new is new to me and learning is great fun!


5) Where can we find you?
Artfire: http://www.artfire.com/users/Redrubyonfire

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/RedRubyonFire/145500008337

Twitter - @redrubyonfire

Blog - www.redrubyonfire.blogspot.com

Thanks so much RedRubyonFire for sharing your lovely necklaces, earrings and bracelets with us! Your bead work is beautiful!

Charming Spring Themed Dangle Earrings

Featturing, Sarasinart, Beautiful Beaded Jewelry!

I discovered a talented bead artist called SarasinArt that creates beaded jewelry using natural materials which are earthy and unique. She uses various materials and styles to suit any outfit or personality! She is currently working with some components from India, China and Tibet! She carries lots of choices including necklaces, earrings and bracelets.

Here are a couple examples of her gorgeous bead work in a necklace and bracelet. Please visit her site listed below for more great options!

Funky Fresh Water Pearl and Mother of Pearl Necklace, Copper Toggle

This is one of my favorites, it is really edgy and fun! This necklace is funky, with long pieces of mother of pearl and freshwater pearls and copper. Some of the pieces of mother of pearl are 1 3/4" long, but most are about 1". The necklace is 17" long. Copper seemed to want to go with these colors, so she added some round copper beads between the five pieces of mother of pearl at the center, then added a nice solid copper toggle. It's a fun, lively necklace that's sure to inspire comments!

Chunky Brown Bracelet, Multi Gemstones, Czech, Bone and Copper Beads.
This bracelet has Moukaite, jasper, onyx, several kinds of bone beads, several styles and colors of Czech glass beads, a couple African trade beads, copper beads, too many beautiful things combined to mention them all! It will wrap 4 times around your wrist. The brass bell and the little copper leaf add some fun, and wearing this will be all fun, and you will get compliments. Altogether, it makes a very classy looking bracelet, for dressing up or even with jeans and a neat neutral colored shirt.

I asked Sarasinart a few questions about herself and her art-Enjoy!

Tell me about yourself and your art
I'm 62 and have loved jewelry all my life. I began making some jewelry several years ago. I work full time in mental health, and that's pretty intense sometimes. Making jewelry is my relaxation and my "time away from it all." I am known as earthy and so is my jewelry. I like to live as close to the earth as I can, remembering that we are visitors here.
My favorite type of beads are African trade beads, and I have come to be known best for them. The beautiful colored beads from Ghana are of a special interest to me. The bead-making in Africa is both a source of income in an impoverished area, and a labor of love that dates back centuries in methods.
Most of my sales come from local shows and well-organized street fairs in the warmer months.

Can you share a couple tips for our readers?
2.Buy very good materials, because your items will show that you do; and always share with the customer what the components are. Give the very best customer service you can, because happy customers are returning customers.

How did you get started in your business?
3.Being a few years from retirement, and having been making jewelry for a couple years, I decided to try to market some things. I'm hoping I can build enough business to supplement my retirement if the economy holds up well enough for me to be able to retire before I'm ancient! Nonetheless, having my jewelry business is very enjoyable to me, but is just part-time while I'm still working. So it's good for now, and good for later!

How do you get out of a creative funk?
4.A creative funk is bad. Several times when that happened I simply stepped away for a couple days, then bought some beads or components, something "different", and left them lay on my work table. Usually within a few days those items that I had no real purpose in mind for, take on a purpose and a plan in my brain, and I'm off and running again!

Find SarasinArt below! Thanks SarasinArt for being our featured Artisan!

http://www.artfire.com/users/SarasinArt

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/SarasinArt/220821782003

http://www.hexfolkmarket.com/shops/gypsy

http://sarasinart.wordpress.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/SarasinArt

Featuring, Ginger's Garden Soaps!

Featured Artfire Seller, Ginger's Garden!

Ginger's Garden is an absolutely wonderful site featuring perfumes, handcrafted soaps and skin care! You absolutely must grab a cup of coffee and spend some time looking through the great variety of handmade items she has on her site.

Valentine’s Day Sweet Heart Soaps with soap dish gift set
What a way to say "I Love You" with this sweet set of handmade Heart soaps? The heart soap even comes with a soap dish! I really like that Ginger's Garden lists the ingredients in the soaps so there are no mystery ingredients!

Burgundy Wine Handmade Artisan Soap
Not only is this soap stunning to look at, but it is made with real wine!!! But the neat thing is, the wine doesn’t add any scent. A pretty burgundy swirl livens up each bar. This soap would make a perfect gift for the wine enthusiast in your life.

Sassy Mojito Lip Balm

Mojito Lip Balm smells awesome and has moisture rich oils and butter. Mojito flavor has hints of sugar, mint, lime and rum for a subtle flavor. I say you're ready for happy hour with this fun lip balm!!

So we did a little interview with Ginger's Garden soap so you can learn more about her and her wonderful shop!

1) Tell me a little about yourself and your art/craft

As you already know, my mother and grandmother made soaps, balms and infused oils. I was allowed to make my first soap on my own around 1969.

It was a simple, small batch and I was pretty proud of myself. I have made soaps off and on since then. I teach Aromatherapy classes where I sold some of my soaps and Aromatherapy oils. My handmade soaps and oils sold mostly word of mouth. I have done craft shows, home shows, art fairs and sell soaps locally. In 1991 I realized that I needed a web presence. Using PrintShop, I made my site, bought my name and started selling soaps and other items this way. It was a bare bones site, but it gave my customers a chance to see what I had available. I also sold and still do make balms, lotion bars, Aromatherapy perfumes, men’s shaving needs, natural products for babies and gift baskets.


2) How did you start your business and what are your goals with this business?
I started my business professionally in 1991 when I realized that there was a market for good quality, handmade products. I prefer to keep my business small, so I can oversee all parts of my business, whether it’s the planning, formulating, making or packaging. I know what is exactly in my products and I use the best ingredients that are available to me.


3) What sparks your creativity?
I get my creativity from nature and things I see around me. I look at shapes, colors and textures and get ideas that way.


Find Ginger's Garden here!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gingers-Garden-Soaps-Lotions/334014655382

ArtFire: http://www.artfire.com/users/Gingers-Garden

Twitter: http://twitter.com/soapbuddy

Blog: http://gingersgardensoaps.wordpress.com/author/soapbuddy/

Website: http://www.gingersgarden.com

Fused Glass Jewelry-how to suggest a custom piece!

I adore creating anything in fused glass. Yes, anything! I just finished making an adorable big eyed owl in glass! So many little pieces! Can't wait to fire it! So basically I create fused glass jewelry in the form of pendants, earrings and necklaces. I also can create business card holders, bottle stoppers (I just listed 2!), plates, wall hangings, etc. As you can see below, I also love painting in fused glass!

Hockey Stick and Puck Fused Glass Pendant

I get inspiration from so many places, my mother in law suggested creating ice type themes that would be attractive to people in Michigan. So I started with hockey and hope to move on to skiing and the like. I will post those soon!

Coffee or Tea Fused Glass Pendant with Heart

While at a coffee shop enjoying my hot chocolate with cute candycane sprinkles, I got the idea of creating a coffee or tea themed fused glass pendant. How cute would that be? People love coffee and tea, and they love fused glass pendants!! (Well I hope!!)

I love creating custom jewelry for people, anything is possible. Image that you need a creative birthday gift for your mom. Questions you would ask yourself is, what does she like? Flowers, gardening, photography, music, dancing, exercising, reading, (coffee, perhaps?) ;) Well, I can create great choices for you in any of those topics! I think I just might get started on a couple of those ideas!

This is a gift set that has super cute wine themed napkins, wine themed coasters and the best thing, a handmade dragonfly wine bottle stopper! This stopper can be used for oil or decorating pretty bottles too! The possibilities are endless! Ah, the joy of creating!

Phoenix Bird Sparkly Dichoric Glass Pendant

I got a wild hair this week to hand paint the majestic Phoenix Bird. After excitedly removing it from my kiln and the residual ooohh's and ahhh's had passed, I thought, "what exactly is the meaning behind these beautiful and strong birds?" Suppose I should know since I just spent 2 hrs painting one!! So here is what I found out!!

The Phoenix bird symbolizes rebirth, especially of the sun, and has variants in European, Central American, Egyptian and Asian cultures. In the 19th century, Hans Christian Anderson wrote a story about the phoenix. The Phoenix Bird is described as a Peace Symbol by some. Others describe the phoenix is a mythical bird that is a fire spirit with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet (or purple, blue, and green according to some legends). It has a 500 to 1000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again.

Phoenix Detail from the Aberdeen Bestiary

While the Phoenix is traditionally associated mainly with rebirth - something rising from destruction to begin again, or the daily rebirth of the sun - it is also strongly connected with peace. In many tales, the bird lives only on dewdrops and never harms anything; rather its powers of healing and regeneration bring comfort and an end to suffering.

The saga of Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling has elevated the Phoenix to new heights of mythical and magical ability—the great wizard Dumbledore has a Phoenix bird that not only blazes and returns much more often than every 500 years, but plays a frequent role in saving the lives of others.

The fabled virtues of the Phoenix, gathered from J K Rowling and other sources, include:
* The tendency to inspire creativity and hope with its beautiful appearance and song.
* The ability to heal mortal wounds with its tears.
* The ability to heal itself, either spontaneously or through cremation and rebirth.
* The ability to disappear, sometimes with a flash of light or sudden blast of flame that is unlike the blaze that marks the beginning of a new life.
* Magical feathers that impart special properties to other objects they are used in, such as magic wands.

The sparkling Phoenix Bird was created in my home studio utilizing glittery dichroic glass. I hand painted the phoenix bird which took a lot of time and patience!! I then fired the glass in my kiln to very high temperatures so the image of the phoenix will never chip, flake or rub off. Painting the phoenix image took a lot of time but I love the idea and the imagery of the Phoenix Bird. I like the idea that something can be created from nothing and that in the midst of destruction and death, you can rise again to be majestic and strong.

To visit my shop and see more pictures and information on my Hand painted Phoenix Bird, Click here!

Turkish Evil Eye Pendant Fused Glass.

So I have been asked a couple times to Please, can you make Evil Eyes? What, pray tell, is an Evil Eye? Well, after doing some research I found out that the thought behind the “EVIL EYE” is that people could unintentionally or intentionally, curse you by giving you the evil eye.

Here is this evil eye!


Or, perhaps they envied your new dress (it IS super cute!), your new car, or cheesy bean burrito (stop eyeing my burrito!)or your child’s beautiful face. Maybe you thought of something before they did, or you cut them off in traffic & therefore gave you dirty looks.

These DIRTY LOOKS could be harmful, so you want to avoid them at all costs (unless you are Chucky, the Evil Doll!)

That’s where the “EVIL EYE” comes in: they catch the gaze of the one giving you the EYE, & therefore they do not catch your eye with that initial bad intention.

Pretty cool, H U H?

Many people hang “EVIL EYES” in their homes and in their cars for some kind of protection. I have an evil eye for you!

Here's my Turkish Evil Eye Fused Glass Pendant, Handmade by me!

Attempts to ward off the curse of the evil eye has resulted in a number of talismans in many cultures. As a class, they are called "apotropaic" (Greek for "prophylactic" or "protective," literally: "turns away") talismans, meaning that they turn away or turn back harm.

Disks or balls, consisting of concentric blue and white circles (usually, from inside to outside, dark blue, light blue, white, dark blue) representing an evil eye are common apotropaic talismans in the Middle East, found on the prows of Mediterranean boats and elsewhere; in some forms of the folklore, the staring eyes are supposed to bend the malicious gaze back to the sorcerer.

Known as nazar (Turkish: nazar boncuğu or nazarlık), this talisman is most frequently seen in Turkey, found in or on houses and vehicles or worn as beads.

A blue eye can also be found on some forms of the hamsa hand, an apotropaic hand-shaped talisman against the evil eye found in the Middle East. The word hamsa, also spelled khamsa and hamesh, means "five" referring to the fingers of the hand. In Jewish culture, the hamsa is called the Hand of Miriam; in some Muslim populated cultures, the Hand of Fatima. However, it is considered a superstition to practicing or religious Muslims that any symbol or object protects against the evil eye. In Islam, only God can protect against the evil eye.

Here is a tree of someone super serious about warding off the evil eye!

So, better safe than sorry, right? My Handmade Fused Glass Turkish Evil Eye Pendants are smooth, comfortable, lightweight and well, super strong at reflecting back someone's EVIL EYE! I mean, if you are dressed super cute, have super cute hair and super cute matching shoes, while eating a pink super tasty cupcake with sprinkles, you KNOW you will be getting the Evil Eye!!

Please join my blog, let me know what you think of evil eyes!!

Interesting History Of Dichoric Fused Glass!

Dichroic Fused glass pendants and A Brief History of Dichroic Glass
The most amazingly sparkly glass an artist can buy is called dichroic glass. I love working with this glass, you can layer it to form so many different color combos it boggles the mind! Placing different colors of fused glass beneath the dichroic glass will create a different result too. Here is an example of my dichroic glass pendants!

Dichroic glass is loaded with depth, sparkle and beauty. It constantly changes colors as it reflects and moves within the light. I utilized red dichroic glass as a ball of fire in the first fused glass dragon pendant above. It really gave this piece the look of fire that I was going for! In addition, the red dichroic fused glass utilized in the lower dichoric fused glass dragon photo looks red when you are looking at it straight on, but shifts to gold when tilted slightly. I was thrilled how the dichroic fused glass really gave these red dragon pendants the extra edge!

I know many of you are familiar with dichroic glass or "dichro" as it is commonly shortened down to, but do you know the history of it?

Where did dichroic glass come from:

The first and oldest man-made type of dichroic glass uses metals, such as gold and silver, that are evenly mixed throughout the glass to form a type of colloidal dispersion called a "solid sol". The metal particles are so small (5 - 200 nanometers) and so well dispersed throughout the glass, that on inspection, the glass appears completely homogeneous and monochromatic. A truly amazing example of this type of dichroic glass is the Lycurgus Cup. The Lycurgus Cup was created in the 4th century AD in Italy. In reflected light the glass appears green. In transmitted light the glass appears red. Check out the pic below, I was amazed!

Lycurgus Cup - example of dichroism

The second and more recent type of dichroic glass uses a vacuum deposition process to add layers of various metallic oxides on top of the glass. This is what most people think of as dichroic glass.

The history of this second type of dichroic glass dates back to the 1950's and 1960's when NASA, defense contractors and the Department of Defense developed this high-tech material for use as optical filters. They were also looking for a solution for a shield against cosmic radiation and many other uses. For example, the golden sheen on an astronaut's face shield is a dichroic coating meant to protect against the harsh glare of natural and obviously unfiltered sunlight.

So now you know a little more! I thought it was pretty fascinating, especially after learning how far back dichroic glass dates!!

Absolutely Amazing "Pencil" Artist!!

So I was poking around another blog site today, just seeing what the rest of the world was us up to and discovered these photos!! Per the words of janice from, http://bit.ly/grPGiP, "I think the artist is a retired gentleman by the name of George Kachinski. I really do not have to say anything else except "Prepare to be amazed!" I totally agree with her! I mean REALLY look closely! At first you will say, "Sherry, why the heck are you posting pics of whittled down pencils, my gerbil can do that!" I say, oh no my friends, I would like to see YOUR gerbil try this!!.....ENJOY!

So I am reading a wonderful book, "Captured By the Light" by David Ziser. Captured by the Light: The Essential Guide to Creating Extraordinary Wedding Photography by David Ziser

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Currently reading and will always use as a reference. Stunning book, very detailed with what lighting to use and when.



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