Remember to Come Check Out Handmade Unique! **Portable Bar Soap in a Tube Featured Today!

Follow Handmade Unique and be inspired everyday by all the incredible handmade items I feature daily!

Recent Features:

• Unique Idea! Soap Bar in a Tube by SudsNSuch
• Unique Embroidery by flyinghaystacks
• Unique Technique - Duo Patterned Crochet Throw by ...
• A Unique Story...and Gorgeous Jewelry by mcflashpa...
• Unique Recycling: Toothbrush Toothbrush Holder by ...
• Adorably Unique Treasure "box" by designlab443
• Necktie Unique - Fashion from Upcycled Neckties by...
• Wow! Really! Super Unique Popcorn Soap by RiverCit...

***psst. I also have a couple more spots of a FREE month of advertising left!

I've been included in a Gorgeous Treasury by IndigoOrchid!

I love the color combination in this treasury! Unexpected!! The bottom right earrings are mine.

Stop by and comment! Persimmons & Plums Treasury

Have You Seen My Petting Zoo? I *heart* Turtles, Fish, and Frogs!

I just adore the cute little widgets by abowman. Little animals you can interact with!

Try it: Scroll down the blog, they're on the sidebar
•Feed them all by clicking in their "cage"
•Pick up the turtles and move 'em around. If you spin them and let go, they'll continue to spin.
•The little fish will follow your cursor around hoping to be fed.

Soooo cute!

I'm kind of bummed because they don't fit in my sidebar well. I think because I have a 3rd party blog format it's messing with the code. -oh well, doesn't distract from the cuteness of the widgets.

Hey! I was featured in the Etsy Top 10!

I was excited to see yesterday that my hammered copper earrings were featured as an Etsy Top 10 by Timothy Adams! How cool is that!

These are the earrings featured:

Thinking Outside of the FileBox -or- The Art of Organizing Your Art

Organization-

This is a difficult subject for artists, because most artists I know just aren't organized. It's a left brain/right brain thing, I think. But it's also sort of a yin/yang thing - for your mind to be able to create it needs to be free of the restraints of clutter and the tedium of constantly searching for supplies! I personally haven't found it to be a zen sort of thing though, I really have to work at it!!

I have actually been accused of being super organized, which cracks me up because I'm far from it. I'm just smart enough to know that if I don't keep myself disciplined in organizing my life, my life would be hardly livable, swimming through a sea of papers, art supplies, tools, office supplies, etc, etc. etc. I really do struggle with it- I just don't let anyone see that side.

In my struggle, I've found some things out about myself. One thing is that I Have To See It. If it disappears completely from my site, stored away under a bed or something, I will completely forget that I have it. I know this, it's happened before! Another thing I've found out is that I'm lazy! and this laziness is key to my organization. Being lazy allows me to create the very easiest way to organize something, easy to take it out and easy to put it away again. Laziness is the secret to invention -did you know that? :D

My favorite easy organization secret is plastic drawer units. I have lots of them. I have them on wheels, I have large ones and small ones and tiny ones, and I have them all over; in my studio, on my worktable, in my storage closet, in my bathroom... really, everywhere. They are easy to transport, easy to access, easy to label, they stack and they keep out dust (and cats). ;D

Another favorite is my Wall of Beads. I don't work with huge amounts of beads, so it's easy for me to keep them all in little baggies and pin them to a large cork board above my worktable. This is sort of the epitome of my way of storage. Visible (so I don't forget I have them), easy to access (because I'm lazy), and pretty (because I'm an artist and I don't like ugly).

So there you have it. My favorite storage systems and a lengthy commentary I'm not sure you were ready for. LOL. But it's not often I get to go on in length about something as ordinary as storage!

To read more Creative Organization solutions, go to the EART team blog and start from the beginning of our ring of bloggers posting this week.

Not the best photo... but in it you can see 3 drawer units and my beads on my cork board.

I'm Honored to be in Another Treasury - Memories of Oludeniz by CellChic

Take a look at this gorgeous treasury put together by CellChic on Etsy featuring my new Hawaiian Gems hoop earrings!

Thank you CellChic!

New Handmade Unique Blog - Follow and Be Inspired Everyday!

I'm officially inviting everyone to follow my new blog called Handmade Unique.

My Inspiration for Handmade Unique:

Since joining the ranks of online indie artisans a few months ago, I've encountered so many absolutely creative people making fantastically unique items.

After quite a while seeing all these creations and having only my husband to share them with, I decided to make this blog as a way to show the world.

I hope you find everything as wonderful & unique as I do.

I list new finds daily, so follow me and be inspired everyday!

Friday Favorite: The Lovely Art of Barbarix

I love the earthy, gritty feel of the artwork by Barbarix. Something about the colors & style in her pieces just really appeal to me and I love to look at them. Hope you do to.

Visit her Etsy store to see more.

In constant search of motivation!

I'm joining in on blog ring with my team members from The Eclectic Artisans Team today and writing about what motivates me.

It's a difficult subject. Different things motivate me at different times. I actually think I'm motivated most by switching things up, I'm not a person for routine (which is a struggle having a child because children need routine! lol) so when I'm in a funk I try to find an outlet to let my distracted mind wander.

Right now it's crochet. I'm actually loving crocheting because it's as close to meditating as I've been able to get. I think it's the counting and the stillness of it. I can't allow my mind wander to a million different places because I have to keep count and I'm very still except for my hands -in fact I usually unravel most of my skein at once so that I'm not distracted by having to stop and unroll more. LOL.

I might stick with crocheting for awhile, but I will probably have to try something else at some point to allow my jewelry making creative juices to keep flowing freely.

So anyway, I guess my motivation is change.

Take a look at everyone else's motivation posts -starting here- and maybe you'll get motivated yourself!

I've been featured in a beautiful Etsy Treasury by Ripperarts! -Urban Life-

Take a look at the gorgeous colors and textures in this treasury called Urban Life! To me, "Urban" is all about texture, muted, earthy colors, & edgy design!

My necklace is in the top row, 3rd column. It's in good company :D

Michael and Talina of RipperArts make gorgeous wooden and crochet items. Check out their shop!

Treasury is up until midnight Sunday night. Stop by and leave a comment!