Etsy Featured Shop: Crafted Love

Us artists have a curious mind.  And a curious mind leads us to the most unexpected paths.

Take my dear friend Allison, from Crafted Love.  She is an architect student, photographer, graphic designer, and crafter.  Ufff... she's definitely busy.  Did she say photographer? I had to ask.

 She shared some of her photography, and I was pleasantly surprised.  Spontaneous and crisp, the pictures told a story.

If you look close enough you'll be able to see her reflection on his sunglasses.  This portrait definitely holds potential for future photographic development.

As with her photography, her craft has a simple yet refined appearance that attracts customers time and time again.

Feel free to visit her store and browse the beautiful items she creates.  I'm sure you'll find a little something that will suit you beautifully.

http://craftedlove.etsy.com

Etsy Featured Shop: Ardent Reverie

San Diego has a lot in common with Miami: great weather, the sea, art, and of course, excellent handmade artists.

And this is the location of my latest Etsy discovery.  Ardent Reverie turns out to be a collaboration of two sisters with beautiful ideas.  Yarn, beads, fabric, paint, and canvas serve as medium in their creative enterprise.  Colorful, simple and eclectic, this little shop calls for the bohemian (like me) to explore and acknowledge their exquisite taste.

Brick Red Chunky Cowl

Customizable Brass Pendant

I love, love, love this origami crane hair clip

and my favorite of all, is this mixed media art.  I include the items description:

Original painting done in acrylic paint.
Actual fabric and thread are sewn into the canvas. In addition the needle used is also attached. 

Ardent Reverie also has a webpage where they keep their followers up to date on their creative adventures.  Check them out and discover this authentic Etsy store.

Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ardentreverie?ref=seller_info

Website:  http://www.ardentreverie.com

I miss my island...

I was born and raised in an island.  A tiny island in the Caribbean, filled with songs, heat, and humor.  The breeze carries a salty flavor that sticks to your skin on humid days.  A flavor that lingers on your tongue after swiftly brushing your lips in particularly humid days.  The breeze, a soft and timid carrier of all kinds of aromas:  freshly ground coffee, coconut oil, pineapple juice, cinnamon, and sea.

My island loves music, loves rhythm, loves percussion.  It dances to the sound of drums as if it's possessed by african gods.  Marching its way through the pebbled streets of the old city, it shouts for joy and celebration.  For all the good and the bad.

I yearn for my island.  I miss the people, their smiles and faces.  The familiarity of everything, the streets I grew in, the songs on the radio, singing out loud while driving my old car, my dog, my short pants, my flip flops, the island state of mind, watching the coast fade away on my rear view mirror, the long days at the beach, eating street foods and a beer.

Those are the things I miss.

Etsy Feature Shop: A little bit of Sunshine in the middle of Winter

This morning Miami woke up with a mist hanging from the clouds.  It was foggy and cold, and I wondered where was my dear friend Sunshine when we needed it the most.

And I found it!! LoveElycia kept it in her Etsy shop.  Sunshine was so happy there, that pulled me in with him and showed me all the fun and beautiful collection this shop has.

Say Anything Headbands

I particularly liked this "Speak your Mind" art prints

I think I'll get me one of these silly mustaches

A lovely spring dress for the sunny days ahead

LoveElycia also has a really funky and entertaining blog that kept me browsing and reading for a while.  It is really exciting to find lovely spirits that share the same good energy.

Here is her blog address...

http://www.loveelycia.com

The Kiss, by Gustav Klimt

... the warmth of his embrace comforted her; it lifted her spirit into a sublime state of contentment that remained for the rest of their existence...  π

I am lucky to say that my love kisses me daily.  After a while we started dating, I told him that he reminded me of this painting.  He'd never heard of Klimt before, and was astonished at the image the first time I presented it to him.

In honor to our kisses, I did a decoupage pendant that I am currently selling at my Etsy store.  Follow the link below to see the listing...
http://www.etsy.com/listing/65273647/the-kiss-of-lovers-a-masterpiece-wood

Hello, New Year

First post of 2011.  And so it starts....

I spent the first weekend of the year at home with my sweetheart.  Watching movies, researching on the net, brainstorming on new things to come.  It was good.

There's a vibrancy in the air that I can barely describe.  It's an anticipation, a hunch.

In the meantime, I leave you with inspiration that I've found on my adventurous wonderings through Flickr.

From Lang's Flickr Photostream

From Anja's Flickr Photostream

From William McCarthy