Custom Ornament

Fully customizable ornament using your images and/or keepsake items, such as fabric, stamps, postcards, etc.

Now available in my shop.

Busy Busy Bee

Okay, so I knew I hadn't blogged in awhile, but I was a little surprised when I realized my last blog post was just over a month ago.

I've swept away the dust bunnies and am ready to hit the keyboard.

First, I'm pleased to announce that my divorce is final. Five years ago when I said my wedding vows, I didn't believe in divorce. But I've come to understand the certain situations warrant it. I am now officially a single girl again, and am looking very much forward to this new beginning. Starting with a new last name, which I will do just as soon as I can get the paperwork into my hand (my lawyer currently has it- or ex-lawyer, I should, say, since I no longer have a need for her services).

I have decided to make the business that I've been doing as a hobby for the last few years official. I will be getting my business license under the name that I have chosen: Shoppe von Shultz. I have also decided to keep CelebrateLife open. I had previously opened woogiewoogie for my handmade supplies- but CelebrateLife is near and dear to my heart and I am not ready to part with it. So I will instead keep my supplies there and get rid of woogiewoogie.

I am doing my first craft show on Sunday, and have been working well into the next day to get things ready. Only time will tell how it will go, but I have a good feeling about it. Of course, prayers and well-wishes are always welcome!

Now that my financial situation has been determined, I can go to the university and apply for grants and/or loans to finish school. That is high on the priority list, since I would like to be completely done with my degree before Tanner starts kindergarten.

I have a LOT of new projects that I'm working on, but I will save that for another day and another blog post. I would like to instead talk about something that touched my heart today and really reminded me again of just how blessed I am.

I got home from work and opened a package from a good Etsy friend of mine, beadbug00. I call her Jess when I'm not calling her bead. :)

There were two surprises in my box- a clay pendant that she had made for me that says, "CEL" on it (my Etsy nickname for those of you who don't know). And there was an extra surprise- one of her beautiful glass pendants with a ladybug on a leaf. I've had it hearted in her shop for awhile, and she was just so incredibly thoughtful and generous and I cannot wait to wear her special gift tomorrow.

As I write this I'm wearing a gift pendant from my other dear Etsy friend, Elizabeth (happylake). It's a clay pendant with three frogs on it and I've worn it to work a couple of times and have gotten compliments on it (no surprise!). I have three of her beautiful frog themed pendants, as well as some beautiful flowered pendants. Just look below, you'll see. :)

And then I had a convo from another Etsy friends (my Etsy friends SO rock!). MK (MissKnits) had included me in her Thankful Thursday blog. It was so sweet to be included, and it's a good reminder that you are affecting people when you don't even realize it, good or bad. And it makes me want to strive to always be a positive influence in other people's lives. You can see her blog here. (PS, she has way cute stuff in her shop. I personally love her washcloths and throw-a-fit dolls.)

So today, I'm thankful for all of these things and more. And I will definitely be around more, both on my blog, on CAKE, and the threads now that I have the long and difficult process of the divorce behind me.

LilPink's Purple Friend

Here is another entry in the ACEO Extravaganza. This fun character was created by LilPink and her friend, and she put it on this ultra-cute aceo.

This particular aceo is not for sale, but you can visit her shop here. I happen to be particularly fond of her octopus friends. :)

New Project

I found these authentic Italian tiles and just knew I had to do something with them. They are just beautiful, brilliant colors with glorious gold specks throughout all of them. So bright and happy. So I thought- perfect for wearing!

I'm currently in the process of turning them into pendants, and am waiting for a couple of supplies to finish them up.

The brown is so warm and gorgeous for matching your fall outfits, and the others are perfect for brightening up a dreary day.

Here are a few of them all wrapped and soldered. I was quite pleased with how well they wrapped. I was concerned about the copper foil adhering well to the tiles, but they did wonderfully.

This one has already been designated for my personal use. I love the brilliant gold specks against the pink, and can't wait for the bails that I ordered to come so I can wear this beauty:





These will be in my shop when they are done.

Second ACEO in the extravaganza

Abject Poverty Peru

This next aceo comes from my friend and fellow etsyan, Pat, of SouthhamptonCreations. It is a remarkable portrait drawing of a Peruvian deaf woman and mother of six physically challenged children. To support her children she sells flowers to tourists at a train stop at Machu Picchu.

To read the rest of the story, see the listing in Pat's shop.

ACEO Extravaganza

"Remembering Alex"


The first entry for the ACEO Extravaganza is in, and it is a beautiful one that I just cannot wait to share. The story is so very touching, you might want to grab a kleenex before you continue reading.

This aceo was created using the materials that were provided in the kit from my shop, adding only the yarn to the flower, the blue ribbon and the stickers.

The creator, Melissa, tells the significance of each piece of the aceo here:

* The butterfly--origami folded from a 2.5 x 2.5 square of brown floral paper, represents a free spirit

* The angel holding the rosary--punched from the scrap after trimming the butterfly paper, represents the angel assigned to Alex

* The rosary and "a" stickers are from my supplies--"A" is for Alex, the rosary is his

* The blue ribbon--we lost Alex on Sept 9, blue is September's birthstone color

* The heart is punched from the ACEO blank and mounted on the center of the letter "O" from the kit, will be used to attach a hanging hook

Melissa said that this aceo will hang on her Christmas Tree in memory of the dear baby that was lost to them, and will help to celebrate and remember the baby that was in their lives for a short time.

You can find more of her dear creations at catscradle.

Breast Cancer Awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and to help the cause two wonderful Etsyans, MissKnits and SarahinFlorida, have hosted a challenge calling shops to create items relating to breasts/breast cancer and list them in their shops with the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for a Cure.

54 shops have risen to the challenge so far, and although the challenge doesn't officially start until September 20th, several items have already been listed and sold. In fact, $72 has already been raised, and I know that number will skyrocket in the coming weeks.

I am very happy to participate in the challenge, and have listed several items in my shop, with the hope of adding several more before the 20th. Above, you see the picture of one of the aceo's that I made and is currently for sale in my shop.

If you want to see where the challenge originated, you can visit the thread on Etsy. The thread also contains a list of all of the participating shops as well as the items as they are listed. It will also keep a running tally of the money raised as the items sell.

Very Vintage

I have to admit, my first few months in Etsyland I didn't visit the vintage category very often. Okay, never. I found Etsy because of its handmade pledge, and was so in awe of everything you could find there that had been crafted out of felt and paper and duct tape (oh yes, I just said duct tape) that it took me awhile to discover the wonder that is vintage on Etsy.

And after reading a very intriguing article in Glamour magazine about how vintage is a much greener choice than buying new (it only makes sense) I became that much more interested in vintage.

My Etsy friend JanEleven has such a wonderful assortment of vintage finds that I wanted to share a couple of my favorites here. This is one of a couple hundred photographs that can be found in the black and white book from the reign of Queen Victoria. Each photograph in the book measures 8 x 10 and has a description with it. This is one of the most wonderous things I have seen lately, but alas, it is not in my budget, so I will ogle it until it sells to an appreciative shopper.

Jan also has a neat selection of vintage bracelets. This sterling silver bracelet can be used to hold your personal charm collection, but I personally like it just the way it is.

You can find some non-vintage items in Jan's lovely shop, where she will happily serve up a cup of tea while you browse through her hand painted aceo's. And I think it is so neat how she does them- she does them in sets of four, and I've never seen the same one twice in her shop. She has a wonderful Alice in Wonderland set in her shop currently, but it was too suiting to share her "celebrate" aceo on my blog. Isn't it marvelous?

Scrumptious Soap

Get a fresh towel and start warming up the shower now- because you'll want one after hearing about this lovely soap!

This has a wonderful goats' milk base, for great moisturization. And it's pretty as can be. But that's not my most favorite part. This soap contains tea tree oil, which new studies are showing not only helps with sensitive skin, but may also help with breathing issues such as bronchitis and even asthma.

I agreed to test that theory, being that I have severe asthma, and I have to tell you that in my personal and quite unprofessional opinion, the tea tree oil soap really does help. You know that menthol-y scent that the medicinal rub on creams have? This has the same relief to it. I have used it when I felt like an asthma attack was coming on, and have felt better enough to not have to use my inhaler. Now don't mistake this for medical advice, but I just wanted to share my overwhelmingly positive experience with this wonderful new soap from sandro95.

Summer Bead Party

One of my most favorite Etsyans (yes, I have a few!) was so very generous to host a Summer Bead Party. The lucky participants were sent one pound of clay to create beads or pendants with.

After we create the items with our clay, we will ship them back to happylake and she will fire them and send them back to us. I think it was such a creative idea and such a wonderful thing for her to do for us.

Here are a few things that have been created with the clay so far:

The pendants directly above and below are from beadbug. I love her rectangle with the heart on it. I can't wait to see that one through to completion of a necklace. I just know she will do something fantastic with it.

I also love the leaf with the ladybug. She has been doing very charming glass pendants with ladybugs on them. Which suits beadbug oh so perfectly. :)

The next ones are from SouthhamptonCreations. She is another lovely Etsyan whom I've come to know and love. She made some very cute pendants as well as some beads with her clay:

Don't those seashells just make you want to head to the beach?! She has such a variety of designs there, and they are all so unique.

Lastly (for now- as more participants email their pics I will post them), the wonderful hostess, Elizabeth/happylake. She has some remarkable things made, as one would expect from such a talented potterer. The bottom picture, with the pendant with the three flowers, is my personal favorite.

To see her tutorial about safely packing and shipping clay pieces like these, please visit her flickr page.

And I'll leave you with one more of my own pieces, which will likely be in my shop after the bead party is completed. :)

ACEO in a Bag

After participating in two challenges/parties now, I've decided it was time for me to host one. Plus, it's a good reason to use up some of the extra scrapbook paper I had around, because Lord knows I haven't scrapbooked with it. I have done many other things with it. But that's beside the point.

My friend from CAKE said that wanted to host an ACEO trade. She is known as Foohy and Mootsie on Etsy (both of her personalities are spectacular!). And so we decided to double the pleasure.

I will host a challenge, and she will host a trade, simultaneously, and we will have a huge ACEO extravaganza!

In case you don't know what an ACEO is- ACEO stands for Arts Cards Editions and Originals. They must be 2.5" x 3.5" in size. That is the only limit. Well, that and your imagination. They can be drawn, painted, collaged, photography, quilted, whatever your heart desires.

For my challenge I have put together these starter kits. All or none of the materials can be used. And I have included a fun array of materials. In each kit there is a heavy cardstock blank ACEO with a protective poly sleeve, 3 assorted pieces of scrapbooking paper cut to ACEO size, 3 assorted pieces of scrap paper, 3 assorted fun shaped die cuts, 2 assorted die cut tags, 2 assorted die cut letters, 1 small silver round brad and 1 small flower brad.

The first ten spots will be reserved for the top ten members on the CAKE BNR. There are ten additional spots that will be available on a first-come first-served basis at a buy-in price of $4. That covers shipping materials and costs.

The basic materials are free. This is going to be a fun challenge to see what can abound from 20 different artists when creating these magnificent little art cards. There are enough materials in the kit to create more than one. When finished, they can be kept, traded or listed for sale.

Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall

I used to paint. A lot. I did so many custom picture frames that I burned myself right out. Which was a good thing. Everything for a reason, remember?

So I took my time away to work with paper crafting for awhile. I made a zillion greeting cards and then needed something to do with them all. That's when I found Etsy. And what a blessing that was.

Then, because of a thread I found one day in the forum, I learned what ACEO's were. I had never heard of them before, and the little pieces of art intrigued me to no end and I tried my hand at those. Then somebody said that they loved my artwork, but just didn't collect ACEO's and did I do prints. So I started doing prints. And then I turned my prints into greeting cards and postcards.

Then, I decided to turn my prints into pendants. At first, I bought the pendants already handmade and put my artwork into them. But the idea of soldering my own pendants kept with me. And I wondered if I could learn how to do that. And then it became a challenge. So I ordered my first soldering kit. I have soldered several pendants so far. And I have, quite by accident, developed my own style in which the pendants have a distressed look that complements my simple style of artwork perfectly. More on that later.

So where is this going? Right back to the beginning. I decided that I wouldn't do prints in my soldered pendants, like I do my Artful Pendants that are currently in my shop. Instead, I wanted to do all OOAK (one of a kind) artwork. I start with watercoloring the background, and then I draw the artwork on.

And that led to the itch to pick up the paintbrush and put it to larger pieces again. Here is the first painted piece that I have introduced to my etsy shop: http://celebratelife.etsy.com/

Scrappiest Scrapper Challenge

Alright, I know my blog has been neglected lately. I've had a million and one things going on (who doesn't, right?). But I have some exciting new projects planned and will be dedicated to getting them up over the next couple of weeks.

First, I was lucky enough to get a spot in the "Scrappiest Scrapper Challenge Contest" hosted by a talented etsyan, sewphisticate. The premise was to see what 20 different artists would do with the same basic raw materials.

So she provided us all with mini, and I do mean mini (they measure approximately 2.1" x 2.4"), scrapbooks that she created herself using one piece of 12x12 scrapbooking paper. That's right, she is an origami guru! Here's my book before I started:


Because sewphisticate was generous enough to allow us to offer our books for sale in our shops after we decorated them, I decided to leave every other page blank for personalization by my buyer.

So I went with a simple, clean-lined flower theme in my book (my typical style), starting with the front inside cover, and ending with a sweet little quote on the back inside cover. Here are the results:









If I decide that I can part with this mini book of art, you can find it for sale in my etsy shop. If you want to make your own, you can get yours at http://sewphisticate.etsy.com/.

To see what the other artists have done with their mini's (I have seen a few and they are awesomely creative!) you can check sewphisticate's blog here: http://sewphisticate.blogspot.com/. She will be featuring a new mini every two days, and will eventually be choosing her top three.


After completing this challenge, I am now ready to start working with my clay that I received from happylake. This is part of a "Summer Bead Party" that she is graciously hosting. She sent each participant one pound of clay, to be made into beads or pendants, and sent back to her to fire for us.

My clay has been sitting here teasing me for several days and I absolutely must start working with it tomorrow!

I will be blogging about not only my own creations with the clay, but every participants' creations. Again, I cannot wait to see what everyone comes up with!

In addition to that, I have determined to take on soldering. For those of you who personally know me, you know that this could very well be a dangerous endeavor, as I am known as quite the klutz. But it is something that has been intriguing to me, and I have ordered all of the supplies and am waiting for them to arrive in my mailbox.

Oh yes! Blogs to come about that, assuming I don't burn all of my fingers off, lol.

Tonight I found out that I was the recipient of a very special award, called the Arte y Pico Award & Appreciation. Rhonda, a gifted etsyan , a fellow CAKE member and friend chose me along with four others for the award. You can read about it here:

http://thecozyloft.wordpress.com/2008/07/06/arte-y-pico-awards-appreciation/#comment-153

This week, I will be choosing five very special people to give the award to and blogging about it here as well. Thank you dearly, Rhonda.

And lastly, I would love to host my own challenge in August. As you very well know, I am a bit of a paper fanatic, so something papery would suit me well. But I am taking ideas and suggestions. So please comment and let me know what it is that you would love to do if you could participate in a challenge.

Retro Dandelion Prints

I am very excited to introduce my retro dandelions in prints!

Please enjoy :)

Voleur de Bijoux

These pretties are my newest addition to my jewelry collection. They are genuine grey pearls from Voleur de Bijoux. I was stunned at how simple and elegant they were all at the same time.

Voleur de Bixoux, otherwise known as Tran, is a fellow etsyan, a founder of the Etsy Team CAKE (Creative Artist Kick-Ass Etsyans) and has become a very dear friend.

Here is another sample of the absolute beauty that she can create in a pair of earrings (she is quite obviously a talented photographer as well):

You can find her at http://voleurdebijoux.etsy.com

Little Artists

Ah yes. My love for art has been passed on to my little guys. This is my youngest, not quite two, and painting away. If this picture had been five minutes later, you could see that he painted his paper, his hands and arms, and his face. A very creative and adventurous little guy.

And as we all know, sometimes being an artist is just plain hard work!

Here is his big brother, deep in concentration over his masterpiece. And just in case you didn't already know it, green is the *best*

Do you like my new banner?

I absolutely *love* it! And I couldn't wait to show it off and let you know who the talent is behind it. It is one of my beloved Etsy friends, Jessica, also known as beadbug. You have seen her pendants here and now you can see the great things she can do with graphics.

She doesn't have any listed in her store yet, but you can contact her for special requests. Find her at http://beadbug00.etsy.com/.

While I adore my banner, I still believe that Jessica's biggest talent lies perhaps in her gorgeous pendants. You have seen her fused glass pendants on my blog before. Today I got two new pendants from her.

And this one is called a Tagua Nut Necklace. She sliced a Tagua Nut, dyed it lime green and made a truly beautiful piece of wearable art out of it. Hello, can you say *creative*?

Have I told you lately...

How extraordinary etsians are? I joined etsy as a means to sell a few of my crafts, and have found that there is much more to it than that. I have met some of the most kind, most generous, most creative group of women that I never knew existed.

I participated in a contest and got to know many of the posters there. It is so much fun to get to know the personalities of other etsians.

I won these goodies from BeadBug00 and her threadkiller contest on etsy. I practically have not taken this one off since I got it!

She also sent a very pretty and elegant greeting card. You can see all of her beautiful items at http://beadbug00.etsy.com/.


Then, as if that wasn't thrilling enough, another etsian, UneFemme, offered to give me this ACEO. Yes, give it to me. Because she knows how much I love them, and thought I might appreciate it. Are you kidding, I love it! It's gorgeous. How often do you find people who want to do something incredibly nice for you, just because?

I am expecting a print from UneFemme, and can't wait to show it off. For now, you can see her lovelies at http://UneFemme.etsy.com.

Arizona Birdhouse

I have lived in the desert my whole life, and sometimes am still taken aback by the beauty of it. This year I decided to get out and get a few pictures before summer sets in (by about mid-April, no doubt) and it gets too warm to be out. I found this bird hanging out on the Saguaro cactus, which make great homes for birds and are also very pretty to look at when they bloom.

Below is a picture of flowers growing in the most random place, a pile of rocks. But that shows the wonder and surprise that takes place in the desert.

And this is something that I love. No matter where you look in the valley, there are mountains everywhere. It makes for a beautiful view! You can see the mountains in the background as I stood on a different mountain. The only drawback to living amidst millions of other people is the resulting air quality, which can be seen here.