Welcome to the First Day of Summer

It's hard to believe that it's the first day of summer. We've been experiencing a heat wave here and lovely warm temperatures for a couple of months now.

All the same, HAPPY SUMMER.

Do you have any day trips or longer vacations planned?

Don't you love this print from UrbanDreamPhotos! It really shouts out "summer fun" to me.

Etsy Interview With Lee From CloudNineCreative

Today's interview is with Lee from CloudNineCreative. The shop features hand drawn, original, highly detailed drawings and jewelry created by NZ artist and designer Lee Sinclair. Take a look inside the shop - you'll love what you see! Read on.

About Me
Hi, my name is Lee Sinclair I’m a 29 year old Freelance Graphic Designer born and bred in New Zealand. From a young age I was always interested in art and crafts. Throughout school I studied art and photography and at any opportunity would be making a ‘creative mess’. It wasn't until recently when I returned home to NZ after six years of being overseas I decided to follow my passion and really push the 'crafty side of me'.

At present I'm working on a series of Russian doll drawings, mounted on patterned fabrics and framed. Various styles of jewelry using beads, wire & brass fittings. And a collection of highly detailed ink pen drawings consisting of patterned hearts and various other icons. Each piece is made with great care, attention to detail, and genuine love and passion.

What inspires me
I'm fascinated in intricate detail, patterns, textures, nature, anything vintage, typography and bright colours, so generally my works fall in to one or more of these categories.

Why I love what I do
I really enjoy making a product from start to finish, with no machines, very little tools and a lot of patience and hard work. It gives me great satisfaction to know people are enjoying my works. I love doing what I do, and really don't think I would want it any other way.

Where else might we see my work?
My Website – www.cloudninecreative.co.nz
My Facebook Page –www.facebook.com/CloudNineCreative
My NZ online shop – www.cloudnine.felt.co.nz

Favourite item in my shop

My red love heart drawing
http://www.etsy.com/listing/49949259/red-love-heart-original-pen-drawing
It was one of my first creations.

Etsy Artist Feature - Dana Laymon Photography

This week I am featuring Dana Laymon of Dana Laymon Photography. Dana is relatively new to Etsy and is offering free shipping to her first customer. So take a look at her shop and you'll see her work is amazing. I've only featured a few prints on the blog but it was very difficult to choose!



Give us a little background about yourself.
My name is Dana Laymon and I live in Wilmington, NC. I'm fairly new to Etsy (just joined in Jan) and love the community here. I have a full time job but do photography on the side and it's truly a passion of mine. I do weddings and portraits mostly. My husband and my new puppy also keep my very busy.

How to you manage your time?
Time right now is pretty hard to come by :) I have my full time job and then I do weddings once or twice a month and then do editing and work on my website in my "down" time. It keeps me pretty busy.



What are your goals for 2009?
A goal for '09 would be to just sell something! i will probably jump up and down when i get my first sale. just the thought of someone wanting to own my work is cool to think about.



And just for fun...
Favorite color- green

Favorite food- sushi at the moment, i love food :)

Favorite music- all kinds, i listen to almost everything. i gotta help promote our friends' band the "annuals". i love them

Favorite movie- because i'm a sap, i haven't gotten tired of the Notebook yet