Amazing! Artists With A Special Touch

Impressions - Artisan Jewelry by Heidi

Heidi Coghlan of Summerville, South Carolina writes in her profile, "I have been "doing crafts" as long as I can remember.... I create so you can Create Yourself." I started learning about Heidi from her blog where I found articles featuring other artisans, meal planning tips, and articles about her tools of the trade. All of this was fascinating reading! She also has a Facebook page so that she can link to the rest of the world. I was truly in awe when I visited her shop on Etsy.

Purple Starburst Peruvian Thread Earrings

 I don't wear a lot of jewelry - it's just not my style.  But I do wear earrings and Heidi has a large and diverse inventory of earrings. I've seen these Peruvian Thread Earrings at craft shows and have just marveled at the patience it must take to do the weaving.  But never have I seen any like Heidi's.  Not only are they meticulously woven, but the copper frames are all hand wire-wrapped as well.  Every detail is beautifully formed.  And the addition of the tiny seed beads in the created web is simply stunning.

Hand Twisted Copper Wire Swirls with Rose Swarovski Crystals

And then, I went to her copper earrings section and was just in awe of these Swarovski Crystal and hand wrapped swirl earrings.  Again, notice the balanced and fluid wrapping of the swirls.  The combination of clear and rose crystals is so romantic and very timely with Valentine's Day coming up soon.

Celtic Dragon Earrings

I just had to check out her section of Pewter and Silver Earrings and found these wonderful Celtic Dragons! Suspended from sterling silver ear wires, the dragons float along with you held by Celtic knots and plum gemstones.  

Heidi's shop has bracelets, necklaces, sets and cell phone charms as well.  But I don't want to spoil all of your fun discovering the wonderful pieces Heidi has on your own!  You will have a wonderful time visiting all of Heidi's sites, just as I did! 

My rag doll, Gail, is just tickled to be part of this delightful Treasury!

This weeks Featured Artisan for Share the Love Tuesday from On Fire for Handmade is Diane's Dangles! 

 

Diane has wonderful creations for you to see in her shops. 

 

Not only does Diane create true treasures she is dedicated to promoting her fellow artisans which is a wonderfully kind act! You can find Diane's Dangles on:

Artfire
Twitter
Facebook 

Blog

Diane also has a 2nd shop on Artfire called BeadSouk... take a peek there too!

Amazing! Artists With A Special Touch

T.Rusk4U

 

The featured artist this week in the Handmade Artists Forum Blog Ring is T.Rusk4U, a lady who does it all.  She is not only a fabulous jewelry artisan, she also owns a shop in North Carolina which sells nothing but handmade items, maintains two blogs, a twitter feed, a Facebook page and is a tireless promoter of other handmade artisans.  Whew!  I'm tired just thinking about all that she does!

 

T.Rusk's work is stylish, classy and classic.  This beautiful, delicate bracelet is just stunning.  And these delicate lampwork, wire- wrapped earrings are so feminine an lovely.

 And if you're looking for truly classic, there is nothing more timeless than a graduated pearl necklace with matching earrings.  This beautiful set was created using the pearls from a pair of older, broken necklaces.  So on top of everything else, T.Rusk is 'eco-friendly' to boot!  Gorgeous... just gorgeous!

T.Rusk's store is Hollyhocks, LLC located in historic downtown Mebane, North Carolina.  All of these lovely pieces and more can be seen and enjoyed in person when you drop in!  

 

On the web, you can find her all over the place!  There's the T.Rusk4u blog, the Hollyhocks LLC blog, her HandmadeArtistsShop, her Etsy shop, Twitter and Facebook (I think I got everything!).

 

Please visit her sites and shops - you'll be so glad you did!

 

Amazing!  Artists With A Special Touch

Jewelry by NaLa

These are my personal favorites!

Valentine's Day is coming and who doesn't love a new trinket to celebrate the occasion?  Please do visit Jewelry by NaLa for a delightful selection of jewelry.  Care and artistry is in every piece she designs. Aren't these earrings just lovely?!  Is my husband reading my blog?  Need a gift idea sweetie?  :}

 
NaLa is also the featured artisan  from On Fire for Handmade  this week! You can find NaLa at:

Etsy 

Her Blog

Facebook

 

NaLa also hosts a wonderful group on Facebook called Handmade Harbor which spotlights artisans in all venues. 

 

On top of all of her talent, NaLa is a wonderful person who truly immerses herself in the promotion and support of others.  Please do visit her sites and show her some love!

New Math...  I Liked the Old Math Better!

 

In the old days when I went to school, 2 + 2 = 4, 5 - 3 = 2, if you had $10 and spent $8, you would have $2 left.  So when I set up my spreadsheet to keep track of my little business, I employed logical math strategies...  This is what I spent versus what I received. 

 

My spreadsheet has a variety of columns.  Expense columns include Materials & Supplies, Advertising, Postage, Web Site Fees, Liability Insurance, and Taxes Paid.  Then there are columns for Sales, Buyer Name, and Buyer Email Address.  The spreadsheet is programmed to add the columns down, giving me a total spent or received in each one, and across - giving me a running balance of whether I'm showing a gain or a loss.  At the end of 2010, my first year in business, my spreadsheet indicates that I have a loss of $13.11.  I couldn't be more thrilled with this! 

 

Enter Schedule C.  I printed this form from the IRS website and filled it out using the numbers from my spreadsheet.  After subtracting this from that, entering numbers from one line to another, and answering all of the questions, Schedule C indicates that I have a net profit of over $400!  All I want to know is how I spend that $400 that really isn't in my pocket!!! 

 

The lingering question is this...  If the US Government used "old math," would we not be in the economic meltdown that we're now experiencing?

 

I give up.....................