TRASHION ECOETSY AND OUR EARTH TREASURY on Front Page

I was lucky enough to get a treasury the other day titled Trashion EcoEtsy and our Earth - this one was so popular that it rose to number two before it expired. I captured a screen shot (sort-of) so that you could see it for a little longer.

The items are all constructed either of discarded materials or are earth friendly items. It is so awesome that you can buy recycled or upcycled and it looks so awesome. Thanks to all of you who checked this treasury out and for creating such wonderful items.

There is a picture of the front treasury page showing that this treasury was in second place but I can't seem to insert the picture into this post so here is the link to view it. http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/ecoetsy/photos/view/d6fc?b=1

Kae

2 Treasuries on Etsy - Check them out

I snagged a regular treasury and a treasury west last night and both feature VAST, Trashion and EcoEtsy items and how well all these concepts fit together. I hope you will look at each item in the treasuries to help them move to the hot list at the front of the treasury list so happy looking.
Here is a link to the main treasury:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=28815
And the link to treasury west.
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=1544
Kae of Kae1Crafts and Kae1Supplies

Eye-Popping Art Featured

Interview with Christine of EyePopArt

How did you get started with your art or craft?

I was 19 years old and living in a studio apartment in Great Falls, Montana with Chuck (who is now my husband, we have been together for 17 years). Chuck had bought some acrylic paints from the hobby store and painted a cool canvas. Then one day I just started painting on this old hardshell suitcase that I had, and found that it was really fun. It got a great reaction from our friends and from then on I was painting mad psychedelic patterns all over everything in sight, seriously, guitars, tabletops, a pop machine, the interior of our car. There are some pictures on my website at http://www.eyepopart.com.

Anyway one day, after we had moved back home to our native town (Portland - we were just in Montana long enough to live in the mountains for a while and then have a baby!), someone gave us some records and that's when the mandala thing really took off. I painted lots of mandalas when my kids were babies, then I went to work in the corporate world for about five years and tried my hand as a vendor at Portland Saturday Market in 1998.
That didn't last, there was just too much going on. We bought a house and I spent my free time painting murals on walls and ceilings. We've been in our house for ten years now. My house was recently featured on "Look What I Did" on HGTV.

So one day I found myself laid off from my big career as a commercial salesperson in the printing industry, and I decided to turn to Trillium Artisans, a local nonprofit, for help in starting up a business and selling my artwork.
Trillium works with low income artisans who use recycled and reclaimed materials in their work. Amazingly enough, I am now employed part time as the Program Coordinator for the organization. I sell my Mandala Record products through Trillium and also help to run the program, which serves a very cool group of about 26 (and growing!) artisans here in Portland, Oregon. Check us out at http://www.trilliumartisans.org.

What do you find the most satisfying about your creations?

I really enjoy the beauty of the finished product, and I am always eager to finish up a piece so I can simply look at it and love it. Mandalas are just so beautiful, no matter who makes them. I have done some wonderful projects with elementary and middle school kids, and I get the same excited feeling of just loving the design and wanting to see the finished product.

Of course, the process itself is very satisfying too, especially with mandalas because they are so powerful and are used throughout the world for centering, healing, and meditating. I enjoy the process equally when I am the one designing and painting a mandala and when the work is being done by kids under my advice. It's just fun to watch it all come together. There's something about the circle that truly satisfies the soul!

What do you find the most difficult about selling your items?

At shows, it can get really tedious to receive a lot of compliments from people who do not buy. It gets hard to keep smiling and thanking people for their kind words after several hours of no sales. This used to happen to me a lot and was one of the main reasons why I quit doing Saturday Market (both in the '98 season and when I went for it the second time around, between 2004-06). That was before I started making my record cuffs! Since I came up with a wearable product, I've done much better.

The hardest thing about selling on Etsy is just keeping up - with everything. There's so much going on and it's really hard to stay on top of it without feeling like I am getting sucked into my computer and never have time to make stuff!

How about sharing one time-saving or eco-friendly tip with the readers?

Time saving tip: use a planner. Set aside time once a week or even once a day for planning. It helps me stay organized.

Eco-friendly tip: use recycled boxes and packaging materials!

Tell us a little about your personal life â?" married, children, pets, hobbies other than your art, favorite food, place, activity â?" whatever you want to share.

I'm married to my soul mate and best friend, Charles Claringbold aka Chuck Thrust. He's that tall, weird guy with pink socks and dangly earrings and a tribal tattoo (an original Eye Pop design!) around his neck. I am also a doo-wop singer in his band, Dartgun, a loud, rocking indie punk group that performs at Portland rock clubs once or twice a month. Check us out at http://www.myspace.com/dartgun.

Two kids, Tangereen Velveteen, age 13, and Julius Elvis Chaos, age 11. Tangereen is a mad scientist and math whiz, and a beautiful, creative sweetheart. Julius is a flute player, squirrel lover, and comic book artist. Check out his shop at http://www.cafepress.com/juliuschaos.

My other big loves are READING, camping, and playing chess (I'm not very good, but I love it). I also enjoy blogging and you can check out my blog at http://eyepopart.blogspot.com.

Share a favorite quote or thought with us.

Kurt Vonnegut said, "A plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit."

Thanks!
Christine

ANNOUNCING the 1st MONTHLY EtsyBloggers TREASURE HUNT-JAN. 19th

**♥** ANNOUNCING the 1st MONTHLY EtsyBloggers TREASURE HUNT-JAN. 19th!!!! **♥**

**♥**JOIN IN THE FUN!!! **♥****♥** WIN YOUR Choice of prizes!!! **♥**

HOW TO PLAY:
At the end of this post is a list of participating EtsyBloggers Street Team shops. Each shop will have our team logo as one of their item's images in their shop:


The team logo won't be the 1st image for the item, it will be the 5th OR the last image for that item, so you'll need to click on each item to see all the pictures in at least 10 different participating shops to find the logos. Go from shop to shop until you find 10 of the team logos, write down the shop name and also all of the item names which contained the logos. While you're doing this, decide which ONE of those items you would like as your prize. THEN convo StormyDesigns immediately with your finds AND which ONE of those items you would like to choose as YOUR PRIZE!!

WHEN IS THE TREASURE HUNT:

The EtsyBloggers Treasure Hunt BEGINS at 12:00 AM EST Saturday Jan. 19 and ENDS at 12 AM EST Sunday Jan. 20 OR UNTIL ALL prizes have been found, whichever comes first, so be sure to start playing as soon as you can after the hunt begins. It will be announced here in this thread when the Treasure Hunt has ended so check this thread for updates.

WHO CAN PLAY:

Limit one prize per person.

You must be an Etsy member to win, buyers and sellers are welcome!

Members of the Etsybloggers Street Team are not eligible to win.

HOW MANY PRIZES CAN I WIN:
Limit 1 Prize per person. Prize availability depends on how many participating shops there are.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE:

You must convo StormyDesigns with all the info needed and you must have the verification number that StormyDesigns gives in order to claim your prize. To claim your prize just purchase the prize you are claiming without paying and leave it in your shopping cart. The shop owner will be notified of your win and your verification number shortly after you are so they will be expecting your order. You must enter that verification number or convo it to the shop owner so they can verify it with the number that they were given by StormyDesigns. The numbers must match so make sure you get them right.

GOOD LUCK & Have fun playing!!!

The following is the official list of shop links for participating shops:

http://JoeyAndAleethea.etsy.com

http://StormyDesigns.etsy.com

http://VanillaLotus.etsy.com

http://NahiaCreations.etsy.com

http://NaptimeCrafts.etsy.com

http://GroovyVinyl.etsy.com

http://DeabusAmor.etsy.com

http://aprettyrock.etsy.com

http://aliciamaeprints.etsy.com

http://BeckyKayDesigns.etsy.com

http://msbelle.etsy.com

http://SignatureSterling.etsy.com

http://debtybeautifulbeads.etsy.com

http://Kae1Crafts.etsy.com

http://cserpent.etsy.com

http://LazyTcrochet.etsy.com

http://ShannonSaylor.etsy.com

http://BonnyJewelry.etsy.com

http://Alteredevents.etsy.com

http://pensiverabbit.etsy.com

http://perpetualplum.etsy.com

http://TulipsTreasureBox.etsy.com