Celtic Swirls

This weeks wonderful artist is a friend of mine!  Her name is Connie, but she goes by Sunfire on-line, and she runs the wonderful shop BreathoftheDragon!  I had a lot of fun in August when we both participated in the 1st Annual Ellensburg Craft Fair and got to chat and see each other’s work in person.  We’ve been chit-chatting on-line ever since and she never ceases to entertain and amuse me Not to mention I love her work!  But enough from me…I’ll let you get to know her for yourself!

1. Tell us your story, what got you started in this business?

I was in the US Navy for 5 years, got out back in April 2006 because I did not want to ruin my body to meet their physical standards (I had shin splints that only got worse because of the running test each year). I finished my time, and was Honorably Discharged. Within a year of being out, and living in a town in WV, without getting a job within biking distance, I had to move, so I told mom “Here I come.” Now I’m living at home here in Wenatchee with my mom (thank the Gods she loves me as much as she does). Being around her and the crafty aura kinda rubbed off, and I decided, in late 2007, that I wanted to be crafty and make money, too. So I picked up a hobby I had tried once before – wood burning. Over the holidays, I made quite a few pieces to pass the time while jobless (still), and I got quite a few encouraging words from friends and family. Someone suggested I list a few things on Etsy, and in January, I did. The rest is, well, history in the making.

Speaking of gel candles, she currently has as start-up kit and other supplies up on etsy on destash!

2. Do you make any other crafts?

– I’ve tried making gel-candles before, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did the wood burning. I would like to try a variety of things, including making my own incense. But there are also a lot of different crafty things I can do with my wood burning, as my current “to try” list shows: keychains, coasters, picture frames, candle holders, bookmarks, and maybe eventually using wood pieces in jewelry…

3. What’s your favorite piece you have up on etsy right now?

That’s tough. I can’t decide if my favorite piece is the one I had the most fun making (Gypsy trinket box: made for an Etsy Team Challenge);

The one I am most proud of (Dream / Cherish / Live);

Or the one that I personally just love the most (Kanji Elements magnet set).

4. Where do you do your work and what do you listen to while you work?

I usually work wherever, as long as I have somewhere to plug in my wood burning pens. I have a handy tempered glass mat to work on, which sits nicely on my lap. Most of the time, though, I can be found burning at my desk, where I spend a lot of time anyhow. As for what I listen to, if I’m not watching soaps with mom, I’ve got my XM Radio on. Sometimes it’s set to the dance channel, sometimes the Hitlist, just depends on my mood and what I’m making. Detailed pieces I like to hear soothing, ambient sounds. Simple yet repetitive work is good for the techno stuff.

5. Looking at your work you have everything from Chinese characters to Celtic swirls – what draws you to the patterns you use in your work?

I go with things I like, and I’ve always been one that likes a lot of different things. Also, I wanted to make sure I have a variety of stuff, for a variety of people. I do market to the Pagan population, but I don’t want to alienate other religions or cultures. Coming up soon you should see the Eye of Ra, dragonflies, fairies, dragons, and probably some more Kanji (Japanese writing) symbols. I am also open to custom orders, so if you like unicorns or angels, or flowers or anime, just ask. I’d love the chance to practice different styles and themes.

6. Tell us one random thing about yourself!

Besides the fact that I can be very random? *breaks out in the Smurfs theme song* LOL
Well, I go barefoot a lot. I love a man who lives over 5000 miles away, whom I last saw in 2002. I don’t eat certain foods because of their texture in my mouth. I have a bad habit of starting things but not finishing them (except this hobby so far). Hmm… I’m sure I could go on and on, but I’ll save you all from that

Now here’s a few of my favorite pieces by Sunfire!

Sorry – you can’t buy this first one!

But how could I feature my friend without showing you the magnet I bought from her?

I love this Rose!

And I think this star is beautiful

Ok, so this is SUCH an over due blog!  I’ve been planning on writting this for days and for some reason it just keeps not getting written.  In my defense – life has been insane lately.

One of my goals has been to review items that I buy on etsy so that you guys get to see wonderful things that I get!  Free publicity for the sellers right?

The first is actually not beads.  Despite the title of my blog   I got some AWESOME lip balm from rachel323.  Here’s the pic she had up to advertise it:

I forgot to take a picture of the actual lip balm, but I can say that I love it!  Rachel was really sweet when my original purchase got lost in the mail.  Not only did she send me an new tube, she sent an extra one!  I was so surprised!  And honored   It’s not a scent that I like, BUT I’m going to give it one of my best friends and I can’t WAIT to see how she likes it   I definitely will be buying more when I have money   I’m thinking blackberrry, cappuccino, and fresh lime…

Now on to the beads!

My friend who runs breathofthedragon recently put up some beads on destash – and I snapped ‘em up!  Not sure yet exactly what I’m going to do with them, but they are gorgeous shells

I recently custom ordered some beads to go with a pendant I traded for with my friend gogokioko:

The beads are shaped like coffee beans!  They are reddish and I’ve got a few ideas of how I’ll use them with some wood beads I have to make a wonderfully addictive necklace

I also bought these from the same seller, crazyladybeads.  I don’t know precisely what I’m going to do with them yet.  I might put them in a fancy bracelet or I might make some spendy and fancy earrings…

Lastly, but definitely not least I went CRAZY in justDESTASHbeads and bought WAY more than I should – but the price was sooooo righ!  Imagine my joy when I opened the pack and saw all of these…

Oh yes I’m a happy girl   The only down side is…I had to leave most of my beads in Ellensburg when I came home to stay with my parents for a week while Moses finished packing up our apartment   I’ve been keeping myself busy with weaving projects and doing designing!  And, the good news is, I’ll have plenty to keep myself busy with over the next month or two as I hope and pray for orders to come in to replenish my bank account!

5X7 Print

This week’s featured artist is a gal I had a lot of fun getting to know at the Ellensburg 1st Annual Craft Fair – Nicole of NicolesVisions!  Not only is her work beautiful, I discovered that she has a lot of good business sense and some great ideas to help other sellers!  Oh yes, and did I mention she’s a fellow member of the Eastern Washington Etsy Team?

1. Tell us your story – what first got you started in photography?

Wow. Umm…. My kids? I got my first real camera when my oldest daughter was a baby. I took pictures of her & everything else too. When she grew up & went into the military, I began to think maybe I could do something with my photography. I took pictures of her in uniform that she & everyone else liked. Fast forward to my younger daughter being a senior, & with her prom, I took those pictures as well. It was not only a way to save money, but it was fun. Fast forward to when we moved here to Washington in ’05, my father saw my talent & said I should “do something” with it. We began by hanging some of my work in his café. It totally evolved from there. In fact, it continues to evolve all the time.

Follow up Question – So how many kids do you have?

I have 2 girls. Both are grown now at 21 & 25. My youngest is still back in FL, enjoying life. I’d love to see her follow some modeling dreams, or writing dreams. My oldest is Sunfire of Breath of the Dragon here on Etsy.  She does lots of cool wood burning stuff.

2. What made you decide to open up a shop on Etsy?

My girlfriend encouraged me to open shop here. She has a silver jewelry shop here. We had become friends & in the process she told me all about Etsy. So, here I am!!!  My girlfriend is Kati. Her shop is Awesome Silver Jewelry. She does some really cool stuff with sterling silver. And what’s really neat is the fact she does it all, from designing her pieces, casting them, polishing them & setting stones in those that have them. Nifty stuff!

3. Do you make any other crafts?

I make lots of things now that all incorporate my photography. I started out as just a photographer. You know, the kind that mat & frame pictures & that’s all. I am so much more than that. Sticking with just that I would get bored. So I kind of do other crafts, but they all center on photography. Right now I’m making book marks, note cards & coasters. Who knows what else I’ll come up with to put pictures on.

4. What is your favorite piece you have up on Etsy right now?

That’s gonna be tough. I think it is two fold. My favorite picture on something right now would be my grapes. They are a magnet in this listing:

My favorite “thing” would probably be my coaster set. I will be listing a tile set soon too.

But I also love my new line of book marks, of which I only have 2 listed so far.  Here’s links to the first one, and the second one!

I have a total of 30 different ones so far. I’ll list more of those real soon too.

5. Where do you do your work and do you watch or listen to anything while you work?

I work here at home, mostly at my desk or at a work desk I have behind me. We have set up a nice “office” type area now. I listen to the soaps if I’m working in the afternoon. In the mornings the radio is on. Sometimes, I pull out some of the Goddess Chant CD’s. They totally help me focus & relax so I can do the best work possible.

6. Tell us one fun and entertaining fact about yourself

I’m totally spacing out on this one. I have no idea what to say. Some people think that because I married a man 10 years younger than me that that would be an entertaining fact? I love it! Best thing I ever did. Well, next to having my girls.

And here’s a few more great pieces by Nicole!

Here’s a set that she offers!

And a set of notecards she offers

I’m in a treasury!  Thanks spottedcowsoaps!!!

It’s been a good day.  Not feeling to great tonight – just kinda woozy for some reason – but I’ve gotten a ton done!  I’m doing some trades with NicolesVisions and BreathoftheDragon so I shipped those out today.  Excited!  Getting some presents for other people and one just for me

I’ve also sorted through all the loose photos of earrings that I had, updated all the pieces on-line that needed it, and implemented my new inventory system on my earrings.  *phew*  Plus, while I can’t do everything, I can create jewelry again!  I’ve made a new necklace set that I’ve been thinking about for awhile.

I’ve decided (after finally putting away purchases from the last two weeks) that I REALLY need to make a bunch of stuff before I let myself buy anymore.  My 12 boxes are full!  Ok -  so I’ll probably break down and buy more boxes at some point – but I should actually use the beads I have and focus on getting the new pieces on-line instead of spending money