Cyber Monday Deals

ni-chern Designs - 20% off ready to ship items when you use the coupon code BFCM2012

simplypaperie - 15% off with coupon code shop2012

MeadowlandDesigns - 25% off ready to ship items with coupon code HOLIDAYSPECIAL25

indra08 - 25% off all items with coupon code HOLIDAYSALE25

Thyme2dream - Buy a Gift, Get a Gift Sale - Free Thyme2Dream Gift Card with every purchase $25 or more.  The more you buy the more you get, offer good thru December 31st, 2012.  See listings for details. 

NewleryJewelry - Free Shipping till the end of the month with code GIVETHANKS

Reused and Re-purposed

A master crafter sees the world differently.  They see the world and the objects of everyday life in a totally unique way.  They see discarded objects - objects the rest of the world considers outdated, trash, old - and they see it's potential.  They see what it's next life will be, and mold, stitch, glue, cut, giving it new life.  

 

Cobalt Blue Rim Large Cake Plate Pedestal from BeadedThreads

Fanciful Recycled Zipper Dragonfly Brooch from Sparkleintherain

Hand-stitched Recycled Record Album Journal, blank sketchbook from iamthemandy

Wristlet Clutch, Accessory Bag with D-ring & Key Ring Strap from ReVelo

100, 1 inch Hearts Cut from United States Road Map from jammasgirls

Bullet Necklace with Swarovski Sapphire Crystals from FabTabulous

A Piece of Glazed Earth

If you have a love of handmade pottery than you need to know about Glazed Earth!  Glazed Earth pottery is unique, colorful and well crafted.  Each piece is made with care, using white earthenware clay or red earthenware clay.  Slabs are rolled to their desired thickness and then pressed with stamps, lace, doilies, handmade stamps and found objects to create the desired textures and impressions.  All glazes are food safe and each piece is one of a kind!

 Tea Bag Holders & Small Dishes, Potion Bottles, Vases, Tea Pots

Say it Right with Simply Paperie

Laura Hudson is a Kansas City based graphic designer who absolutely loves paper products and designs stunning custom wedding and event invitations, as well as beautiful stationery for every need and occasion.  Laura also makes lovely small and medium sized spiral and hardbound journals.  Her complete line of paper products in her Etsy Shops at Simply Paperie (stationary and invitations) and Studio 873 KC (journals).

'Hey There' orange circle greeting notecards

Black lace personalized stationary, set of 10

 Modern Wedding Invitations

Black and Gold 5x7 spiral journal

Custom Portraits from Linda Evans Davis

Linda Evans Davis, of Linda Evans Davis Art and Design, loves to make pretty pictures, and honor the relationships between animals and their people. No one loves us, trusts us, or forgives us as readily as our pets. They deserve to be honored.  Linda offers beautiful high quality signed prints of her original acrylic portraits on canvas in her Etsy shop.  She also does commissioned custom portraits upon request, you can contact her through her Etsy shop.  

Beaded Threads

When Karen of BeadedThreads hears the words, handmade, she can't help to also think of elegance, detail and craftsmanship, and it shows in every piece offered in her Etsy Shop.  Karen designs and hand-fabricates each piece of jewelry and home accessory she sells and using glass, semiprecious stones, fiber, silver, brass or copper in her designs.  

Serpentine and Yellow Jade Necklace

Lucky Elephant Bracelet in carved bone and Glass Beads

Lotus Flower Pendant and Green Shell and Pearl Necklace

Fanciful Things

Karla is the immensely talented and skilled craftsman behind Thyme2dream and Thyme2dream weddings, specializing in Fairy and Elven jewelry for everyday and special fantasy, medieval and renaissance occasions.  The unique and unusual handcrafted items ~ ear cuffs, bohemian wraps (ear wraps), arm cuffs, tiaras, circlets, hair vines, combs & twirls, rainbows and other fairy accouterments ~ found in Thyme2dream are enjoyed by Fae & Elven folk everywhere! {But we have it on good authority that mortals really like them too!} 

Renaissance Woodland Autumn Tapestry Triad Necklace

Ear Cuff Wrap, Faerie Moon Goddess

Happy Birthday Mr. President

In honor of Presidents Day, where we celebrate the birthday's of George Washington (Feb. 22) and Abraham Lincoln's (Feb. 12), we're showcasing these two whimsical penny creations from jewelry designers CuriouslySappy and christinavitale.  

Lucky Penny Necklace by CuriouslySappy 

Domed Penny Bracelet II by christinavitale

For the Avid Reader

Rose Brown is a fan of fandoms! Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Hunger Games, and now The Mortal Instruments. She simply can't get enough and as a super fan, her love of good literature influences her jewelry design and is the inspiration behind everything she creates for her Etsy shop, ReadingFanGirl. 

Rose creates everything from delicate necklaces and earrings to ornaments, key chains, and bookmarks, each with a subtle or not so subtle book reference.  Pictured above we have The Hobbit inspired door necklace, Harry Potters Golden Snitch keychain, and a Beaded Mockingjay Katniss Peeta bookmark.  For more pieces inspired by literary works, visit her shop, ReadingFanGirl, and take a look at her sold items too. 

Party in Style

Bright, colorful and affordable DIY parties are what you'll find at Gretchen's shop, Three Little Monkeys Studio. Custom orders are gladly accepted!  Gretchen is a graphic designer and mother to three sweet "little monkeys" who provide lots of inspiration and opportunities to throw parties!  She shares her fun and playful party printables and artwork with you in her Etsy shop.

Find a wide variety of themes for birthday parties, baby showers and everyday fun at  ThreeLittleMonkeysStudio. 

Artist Megan Leong

Megan Leong is a local Kansas City mixed media artist who is inspired by feminine traditions, memories, landscape and textiles. Her shop, ShinyButtons, showcases her work with mixed media, watercolor and acrylics in pieces in all sizes and in all price ranges in a variety of subject maters.

You can see more of Megan's work this Friday evening, February 10th, in a two person exhibition at Got Art Gallery in Lee's Summit.  Megan will show her work along side the work of Jennifer Bricker-Pugh.  Megan will be showing select pieces from her MFA thesis exhibition along with other work she hasn't exhibited locally.  Find out more about where she is showing her work and more about what she's working on by following her on facebook. 

Top 40 Under 40

KCEtsy's very own iamthemandy has been nominated for KC Connections Class of 2011 Top 40 under Forty!

We are so proud of Mandy and the impressive success of her shop this year. Please show your support and cast a vote for her at: connectinkc.com/node/268 (Mandy Stos)

A minimum of $5 is required to cast one vote and will be placed in the charity pool. If iamthemandy receives the most votes and wins the title, all proceeds raised in the voting process will be donated to her charity of choice, Parisole Arts Foundation based in Kansas City.  Of course you are always welcome to up your donation to your desired amount, thereby casting multiple votes.

Rock Star Wedding Bands By SilverTrove Designs

KCEtsy Team Member Carol Braden-Williams of SilverTrove Designs has been making original design and custom made sterling silver jewelry for over 20 years. Carol is passionate about every piece she makes and looks at every challenge as a new adventure into her creative abilities. She loves getting to know her customers so she can create a piece that fits their personalities, but she has always had a secret dream of making jewelry for rock stars. 

Recently, Carol's dream came true when she was asked to create custom wedding bands for country-alternative singer, Kara Clark, and former Danzig band member, Eerie Von. The happy couple was married on September 17, 2011 and they love showing off their new custom made, matching wedding bands. Check out their music on at reverbnation.com.

Aha Moment with iamthemandy

KCEtsy's Mandy of iamthemandy was recently featured in Mutual of Omaha's Aha Moment videos. So what is an Aha Moment? A moment of clarity, the aha moment is a defining moment where you gain real wisdom - wisdom you can use to change your life. Here's Mandy's Aha Moment:



You can learn more about Mandy and what's she's done with her Aha Moment in this recent interview with The Kansas City Creative Quarterly where she discusses her creative process and her beautiful upcycled products.

For the Men

If you thought Etsy was just for the ladies, you would be seriously mistaken. Check out these masculine finds for the manly man.
"For The Men" curated by CuriouslySappy.

All Things Earthy

In honor of Earth Day, April 22nd, CuriouslySappy curated the treasury All Things Earthy using team members whose focus is on all things earthy, recycled, upcycled, repurposed, reused and organic!

Once in a Blue Moon

This beautiful collection of blues was created by FabTabulous and features items from many KCEtsy Team Members Shops. Please visit Etsy and leave a comment regarding this playful collection.

In The News:: MyPaperGarden

It's always thrilling to flip through a magazine and see something or occasionally someone you know personally ... it continues to be like that for the KCEtsy Team!
The current issue of Midwest Living Magazine (March/April 2011) carries a spread that showcases Green Crafters. Kansas City's own Lisa Presley, the artist behind, MyPaperGarden. Lisa was showcased along side five other green midwest crafters; each artist reusing vintage materials or even trash to create amazing gifts and accessories. Lisa pairs vintage paper, in this case vintage maps, with clear vinyl putting both through her sewing machine to create fantastic accessories ... wallets, eReader & passport covers, broaches, and her featured tote bag. All made with vintage paper and clear vinyl.

Lisa says, "I do not use a heat lamination process, contact vinyl or commercial vinyl blanks. My process of covering the vintage paper front and back with clear vinyl and machine stitching it together shows the natural beauty of the vintage paper and gives a quality artisan look. The paper and vinyl once sewed together is surprisingly durable."

Midwest Living turned to Etsy when seeking out Midwestern artisans crafting items using upcycled vintage materials to feature in their 'green' crafts article for the Discoveries section. The writer ended up selecting only one non-Etsy seller to feature. Lisa said, "The writer came across one of my tote bags made from vintage atlas paper, and contacted me thru Etsy, with a convo."

Congratulations, Lisa! The Midwest Living March/April 2011 issue is still on news stands. Be sure to pick up a copy and see Lisa's feature for yourself, and of course, stop by her shop and see all her creative green talent. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and worth seeing.

Mouth Watering Goodness

Can you get any better than hot pink and bright lush green? Not when the sun is out, it's finally over 60 and it looks like Spring is finally here to stay!


FabTabulous, curator of HOT PICK BOUQUET treasury on Etsy, has a little something for everyone in this cheery collection ... classic and whimsical, dressy and everyday, traditional and modern. Please click over to Etsy, view this collection, leave a comment and click on some of your favorite items.

Artist Spotlight:: aLittleHomie

Kirsten O'Hara, use to consider herself a non-crafter. "As a young adult," she says, "I lacked the patience to carry anything through to a quality finish. I was bursting with ideas, but I was so focused on getting to the end that I rushed through the process. I always ended up with a rotten product."

Still, she had an unexplainable urge to create.

Nearly eleven years ago, on their first anniversary, she and her husband were downtown shopping plaza. He offered to buy her any ONE thing. Intimidated by the vastness of choice, she asked him, instead, to take her to Wal-Mart. She wanted a new hobby, and came home with a pair of knitting needles.

"...Hey, I'm a simple girl. It was probably his greatest gift to me. I haven't put the needles down since. Through knitting, I have learned both patience and a love of the art. I love the colors of the yarn. I love the texture as it slips over my fingers. I love the rhythm in the clicking motions. "

"I have learned to love the process. Knitting gives me the chance to sit, ponder, reflect and refresh. It relaxes me. It fulfills me, and I am now happy to create ... and create and create and create."


Kristen's shop, aLittleHomie, specializes in ready-made hand knit creations and knitting kits. She is currently running a special on her washcloth knitting kits, free shipping to the US and Canada, plus 10% off the kit price! See her shop listings for details on how to get the discount. If you're not a knitter, you can purchase Kristen's ready-made sets of 6 hand knit washcloths. They come in a beautiful array of colors and make an excellent Mother's day or baby shower gift.

You can learn more about Kristen and her creative process on her blog.