an artist a day website

if you do not already, i encourage you to look at this interesting website called artist a day. they feature one new emerging artist per day in the hopes of creating more exposure for them and art in general, everyday. the people featured work in a variety of media, and a few words about themselves and their vision are included along with one or two images. what a great way for creative people to create additional internet presence for themselves!

local artist gisela insuaste

boston illustrator ria brodell

portland photographer corey arnold

i love this and i love what they are doing, but i want to see more - much much more and more types of media please! they feature wonderful high quality talent here (including the brilliant jennifer maestre and mark khaisman recently), so whoever here among us is making the beautiful things, please go and submit your work for review!

thanks for the tip dear husband!

via joshspear

share this story

recycled pop top handbags

when jimmy buffett blew out his flip flop and stepped on a pop top, i bet it never dawned on him to make a purse out of it.

look at these lacy modern handbags made of recycled aluminum soda can tabs. lined with nylon, they are painstakingly pieced together with crochet techniques by cia do lacre and as panteras do lacre, two brazilian craft cooperatives, which are located in economically depressed areas near brasilia. they are distributed by san francisco’s escama studio.

they remind me of those bendy pop top necklaces and bracelets i made a million years ago, back when the tabs came off the cans completely. except these are much more sophisticated.

the cooperatives help each female artist on staff build business knowledge, self esteem and craftmaking skills. each bag is signed by the artist.

see their website for more info and a nifty tutorial. belts and jewelry coming soon!

you can also purchase the bags at zanadia.

share this story

bear art round up

new york giants 21, chicago bears 16.

i’m not the biggest sports fan in the world, but my home team, which should have won today’s professional football game, bombed out in the 4th quarter. i think i like these other bears much more right now:

birthday print from milwaukee’s little friends of printmaking

polar bear on ski vacation blank greeting card from delray beach’s citrus tree designs

bear vs. robot wallet by chris bishop for portland’s tiny meat

handknit merino wool koala bear from houston’s barking dog designs

long time original acrylic painting from tampa’s christina lyon

happy bears tee shirt from brooklyn’s marilyn patrizio

the bear regretted his decision print from sydney’s yellow monday

handmade benedict bear from adelaide’s little red pear

roomscape polar bear collage from austin’s one creative girl

surprise! they’re all available on etsy!

i think we have enough players assembled here for the tee formation now…

share this story

a trip to kup kup land and beyond

look at the happy, magical pincushions, brooches and more that have flown out of the mind of talented spanish artist kima and into her kup kup land. the vignettes are a wee 19 cm x 14 cm (7.5″ x 5.5″).

i frequently daydream about being a fairy or a gnome and living under a tall flower in the forest, and this is one of those times…

wait - hold on a minute - i’m snapping out of it to show you her slightly melancholic and disturbing acrylic, pencil and ink illustrations!

well, now i don’t know where i’m at in my head. this is all really great art.

check out this etsy shop to go to kup kup land, that etsy shop to see the lil’ butcher girl illustrations, and afterwards her blog too!

via craft via plush you

share this story

ornament swap deadline is soon!

i love the idea of creating a little handmade holiday token and releasing it into the universe for people around the world to enjoy, as well as receiving one back, so i’m all for this second annual holiday ornament swap that has been organized by the writers of freshly blended and cake and pie! to participate, click on either of the links and follow the instructions, and be sure to do it by friday november 9th at midnight eastern time!

i am planning to participate this year, and can’t wait to see what people make and receive. yay!

share this story

poppytalk handmade market - november

can you believe it’s november already? here are some choice items from the poppytalk handmade market, which just opened on monday:

handcut paper art from a little hut

prints from the azure grackle

sterling jewelry by liz mathews

photography and wearable art from thea coughlin

if this doesn’t inspire you to buy handmade for the holidays, i don’t know what will!

share this story

plush cat pillows

do you have a cherished childhood (or adulthood) pet that is no longer with us? my beloved cat toonces was 17 when she passed away 2 years ago. the whole family still misses her, especially mr. lucky, her loyal tabby brother/friend. i think i’m going to write to electric luna of ploesiepoesie in the netherlands to see if she can make me a lookalike plush cat! she does custom work in addition to her large inventory of kitties that are available for “adoption.” for her custom work she reviews the photos that you send and then creates a soft kitty clone. check out these examples:

she has a nice gallery of her custom work. i think i like the finished pieces as much as the feline photos that people have sent to her!

see for yourself and smile some.

via one floor up

share this story

final glimpse - renegade craft fair chicago!

you know i could go on and on with these round up posts, that’s how high the appeal of the goods were. but for now, please enjoy these last few notable artists from this past weekend event:

handmade books prints and journals from washington, dc artist moira mccauley’s bookish lady

felt creations from new york artist casey dwyer’s the candy thief

local artist gustav reyes simply wood rings (and puzzle boxes, bookmarks and jewelry boxes!)

brilliant multicolored letterpress stationery and screened prints from local artist kelly maron’s paper stories

share this story