Appologies to my followers

As you can see Ivys Attic has come to a bit of a standstill. Amongst other things i think trying to maintain three blogs was getting a bit much. I am trying to discover a way to integrate all three so i can simplify. I believe there is a way but have yet to try it. Thanks for your interest and patience but in the mean time please stop by http://fotf-constellations.blogspot.com/ to see what else i have been up to :)

The goose is getting...

Good morning, well how much thought have you given to Christmas, none, nope well i guess you are with the majority in that sense lol. Meet Lauren. I think i came across Lauren via another blog or a comment on a blog but was instantly attracted to her lovely art, some of which is festive and some pretty and patterened. I knew she would be perfect for my Christmas in July feature. Here is a bit about Lauren:-

I'm an Illustrator/Surface Pattern Designer that works from home! I trained at Huddersfield Uni (Thats 10yrs ago now... oh where has the time gone?) I achieved a first in BA Hons Surface Pattern..... I loved it!! Anyhow after this I got a job in London designing print for Fashion, painting straight onto fabric. This was fun for a while but I missed the variety of designing on paper and in Photoshop! So I decided to try my luck else where! I got myself a Licensing agent and set about learning to design for the greetings industry! So 10yrs on I've been lucky enough to sell designs world wide, mostly in America but quite a few here 2. Its Christmas most days in my world..... but the odd bit of floral or birthday mixed in for good measure! Today I'm designing pop-up and 3 fold greetings cards....... eeek! I love cats, music and red wine!!! 

I'm sure you can see why i love Laurens work so much just wish there was somewhere i could direct you to that you could purchase some of it. In the mean time you can check out her blog here

Thanks for sharing Lauren :)

Yes it's that time again - Christmas in July

Please meet Elizabeth, she is the founder of Childrens Woodland a company she created when she was only sixteen! I chose this piece originally to feature in last months Childhood favourites theme but due to lack of other posts saved it for Christmas in July. The reason i love this story is as a child we had this on a Disney album read by Jimney Cricket. I'm pretty sure if i remember this right when we were quite young we made a little display on a table with Christmassy things, snowy sheets with little lights and played the story whilst watching the scene (which probably didn't do anything compared to the animated things we have now). I'm sure we loved it all the same. So it's one of several things that i carry with me and makes me feel good when i read it to my son at Christmas time. Anyway this is a bit about Elizabeth and her company...

Creating handcrafted keepsakes is a pastime that has been passed down from one generation to the next in my small, Michigan family. That is one important reason why Children's Woodland is still a family owned and operated business.
I created Children's Woodland in 1996, when I was just sixteen years old and began by selling my cloth activity books at local craft shows. My customers were impressed with my attention to detail at such a young age and over the years my enjoyment of creating unique and well-made toys has not changed.
Today, after selling my products on eBay and Etsy.com and the debut of the Children's Woodland website, the main focus of my toys is still to teach as well as provide hours of enjoyment. It always makes me happy to know that my toys are being enjoyed by children as much as I enjoyed creating them.
Thank you for taking the time to visit us here at Children's Woodland! - Elizabeth Cole


I hope you will stop by and check out all Elizabeth's creations, you can check out her web site here. I'm sure you will find something suitable for the youngsters in your family whether it be for Christmas or any special occasion :)


HO HO HO...

The Interval - Festive Candle Jar Set

Ok so my childhood favourites seems to have come to a standstill, not for want of trying. I did have some Moomins lined up but since i got no reply from the store at Etsy it leaves me with a missing week and since there seems to have been a distinct lack of things that grabbed me with this theme I'm gonna have to re-think things. So with Christmas in July looming i am sharing one of my creations for this week. This is my Festive Candle Jar made using a re-cycled jar, Lili of the Valley die cuts and lots of enthusiasm. I personally love this as i do the Wedding Belles set i did this week found over at my main blog Constellations. Hope you like them :)

Childhood Favourites...

Meet Stupid Cats, Michelle or rather Bagpuss created by Michelle. This month or three weeks possibly as we are now a week into this month is all about childhood favourites and i couldn't resist including Bagpuss in this showcase. As i child i loved to watch Bagpuss in the shop with Emily and Professor Yattle and i have a Bagpuss clock in the bedroom that my son loved to play with until we took the batteries out. It was so loud when Bagpuss yawned lol.

So here is a little about Michelle and her work. Btw Michelle I'm thrilled to read that you write, i love to write too :)

I've had a passion for drawing since I was small, but it wasn't until I was living in Iceland in the 1990s that I got involved with a group of creative folk who suggested I tried selling some of my work in a local gallery. I was quite stunned when people actually started buying my pictures! I drew the first stupidcat in 2001 after a fellow artist introduced me to the crayon/ink technique that quickly became my preferred medium, and sold quite a few locally. I've been back in the UK for some years now, and it's only recently that I've started drawing again - mainly due to being made redundant and suddenly having a bit of time on my hands. I came across Etsy by accident one day, and thought "Hmmm, well it's worth a try!" so started popping out a few stupidcats. I've been delighted with the wonderful feedback I've had from fellow Etsy folk, and also with the lovely comments people leave for me on the stupidcats Facebook page, and on Twitter - it's given me the confidence to pluck up the courage to book a stall at my first ever craft fair in early June, which I'm very excited about. I've also been bouncing off the walls for the last few days after logging into my email account to find that I'd had my first sale on Etsy - hurrah!
When I'm not drawing (or working - I've managed to find a new full time job at last), I write stories for children under my pen-name of Rose Appleby. I was extremely lucky recently to actually secure an excellent literary agent after only sending out three manuscripts - I can't quite believe that myself yet!
In a nutshell, I'm just someone who loves words and pictures, and likes to make people smile. Oh yes, and I love cats of course. The stupider the better!

Thanks Michelle for letting me share your work.Please stop by Michelle's Blog and Etsy Store linked at the top of the post.

I just had to include this Vampire cat my son would just love to see this lol :)

For those that have never seen Bagpuss here is a snippet :)

All behind like the you know what

Sorry folks, I'm a bit behind with posts on Ivys Attic. I intended to have April off and seemed to have spilled over into May. I will be back. Once we are in June i will be back with more exciting things to feed your minds :)

Is there anything in particular you might like to see theme wise. July will be a festive theme, Christmas in July, it's a good time to start thinking about ideas of which i have lots already.Let me know what you think :)

Double Trouble

Meet Linda, i know you can phone a friend if you wish but i'm sure you can see from the featured pieces why i asked to feature Linda's work on Ivy's Attic, i think this actually covers the theme of Celestial and my love of owls.

Here is a bit of information about Linda and her work.

Scrimshaw is the name given to handiwork created by sailors, the indigenous art form of the
American Whaleman, who, in his idle hours of cruising for whale, devoted himself to fashioning articles and jewelry of whale ivory.

"The American Whaling Fleet ceased to exist in the last century, however, this art is being carried on by modern American artisans on materials that do not endanger any species.

Linda Layden has been a full time professional scrimshander for over 30 years. Her work is sold in fine gift shops, galleries and museums and found in many private collections. Her Etsy shop, www.lindalayden.etsy.com makes her work available directly to you and she welcomes custom orders."

Please take the time to stop by and check out Linda's other lovely pieces.Thanks for sharing Linda :)

By the light :)

Check this out, isn't it beautiful, can you tell what it is yet?

The temptation would be not to use it but just admire it but wouldn't it just look great, in the bathroom or bedroom!

Meet Bubbletub, maker of all things pampering and beautiful. Couldn't help but ask if she minded me including her in my month of all things celestial. This is what she had to say.

Hi Fairy thank you that is so sweet of you. I have no idea what to tell you I have been tinkering with soaps and toiletries for 25 years. My mom got me interested by introducing me to different herbs and what I can use them for.
I love my job and wouldn't do anything else in the world :o)
I love to garden and I am passionate about keeping things natural and holistic. Our mascot at Bubble Tub is my grumpy cat called Frosty Pawz he rules the roost making sure everyone is doing their jobs and stops to pet him lol.

Oops i forgot to include Frosty Pawz but had to include this ode to the Goddess of the Sea Amphitrite. Please stop by Bubble Tub and check out her gorgeous goodies :)

Celestial Delights

Continuing my theme of Celestial Delights please meet ShadowMoon. I think these beautiful pieces of jewellery pretty much speak for themselves. I know they caught my eye the minute i saw them

This is a little about ShadowMoon. I work full-time in an office where I sit and stare at a computer all day. I'm constantly being threatened with layoffs in order to make the company I work for very lean and unfortunately, mean. It has created an environment where the survivors of two previous layoffs are jumping through hoops and cannibalizing others work responsibilities in order to stay in the game Soooo, in dire need of an escape from all this, I turned to crystals and semi-precious gemstones. It was my salvation and an escape to something I loved. They brought me much needed peace, brought out my creative side and introduced me to Wicca. In an effort to keep my new love for the metaphysical properties and beauty of crystals and gemstones close to me (for protection against negativity) I started putting these items into jewelry. Then through word of mouth I discovered Etsy! A way to do what I loved AND make some money? What a concept! Although I do not make enough from Etsy to support me

or my family, it does support my habit, which is the joy of finding the things that I love and loving what I create with them. Add to that the thrill of getting a sale is just the cherry on top! :)

I think it's interesting what attracts you to the craft of another, of course i couldn't help to be grabbed by this beautiful jewellery but have also had an interest in crystals and their use for quite some time. My biggest problem is remembering what I've bought and what attracted me to it in the first place lol. Thanks to ShadowMoon for letting me share with you and thanks also for your comments about this blog, it has a 'very good aura about it' what more could i wish for truly :)

Please stop by ShadowMoons Etsy store found here.

Starlight

Meet Starlight, you can find her here and the best bit is she is in the sale over at the Dreamy Giraffe :)

Those of you that stop by regularly will know i am a big fan of Kathy's work so this is my second post here at Ivy's Attic featuring her work. This month, and I'm a bit late posting is my Celestial themed month so you can appreciate my reasons for choosing to include this piece.Thanks to Kathy for letting me include it, you can read more about Kathy and her work here. Please stop by and take a look at Kathy's other wonderful art.

Thought i would include her 'Finding Wonderland' piece too, seems only fair while some of the world is going mad in wonderland lol.

Starry Moon Owls

Welcome to the Magical Art of Vicki, she is responsible for the cuties above and look at that moon, draws you right in doesn't it.

Here's a little about Vicki. I have painted Fantasy art about 10 years. I am inspired by the Moon and all things Magical! I paint Goddesses, Witches,Vampires, Angels, Unicorns, Gothic Lolita's ~anything enchanting, romantic or Magical! Acrylic is my favorite medium, I also paint in watercolor. I am currently licensed with Artistic Minds.

Vicki is the last of my choice artists for this the month of February but all being well i will be looking out for a new theme for the month of March. Don't forget to stop by and check out Vicki's other pieces.

In the Pink

Meet Susan Boerman of Susanville Wow another amazing artist and another beautiful Owl amongst other pieces. I asked Susan if she would like to be featured on Ivy's Attic and this is what she said:-

'Thanks for your interest in my work and I would love to be a part of your blog!

Here's a short summary of myself:
I have drawn and painted all of my life and have a Bachelor of Arts degree. In the '90's I discovered acrylic paints and decorative painting. In more recent years I started doing whimsical artwork with touches of realism. I like painting what some people refer to as my "little people", which are child-like figures. I also like to paint animals; owls and sheep have been my favorites this past year. Joining Etsy has helped spark my creativity greatly and it was from finding a lot of owl products over the past year that I got excited about trying them myself. Now I don't know if I can stop! I'm currently working on owl pendants and brooches.

I am very excited to see the Owl pendants, i know how predictable am i lol :) Thanks for letting me feature your work Susan. Please stop by and see all the other wonderful creations Susan has for sale at her Etsy shop the link is above.

Whoo...

Meet Marisol Spoon.

I think you can probably tell from the piece i have featured why i contacted Marisol to see if the husband and wife team would like me to feature their work on Ivy's Attic. Not only is the Owl beautiful but so is Elsa.

This is a little bit about about Marisol Spoon:-

Thank you so much for you interest! Would love for you to feature us. A little about us - We come from the mountains of North Carolina and currently live and work in NYC. I am the painter. The girls, animals, and landscapes are mine from start to finish. My husband draws out the ships then I paint them. We collaborate on designing the other products in the shop (the wearables and a few other things that are on their way). So in a lot of ways its a team effort. The work is inspired by nature, vintage aesthetics, off beat tales, and classical painting among other things.

Personally i think this is a brilliant collaboration of artistic minds and hands but you can make up your own mind. Please check out their web site here blog here or stop by their Etsy Store at Marisol Spoon. Enjoy :)

Are you in the mood for love?

Ok so this is the month to remember the ones we love. Not that we should need an excuse but sometimes we just need a quick nudge. Typically you would expect this post to be about valentines day but nope. This is about what i love and this month is about Owls and some of the wonderful artists i have found.

Please enjoy the work of Nancy. I only came across her art recently and asked if she would like to be featured here on Ivys Attic and this is what she said.

'That would be great!

My name is Nancy Lee and I started as a graphic designer. When I got pregnant with my son, I decided it was best to work at home. So I started to do a few freelance jobs and then I decided to try Etsy for fun. I always loved to draw and having a baby inspired more kid friendly themes like the owls. Everyone seemed to loved the owls so I continued to draw more and more owls.'

I have to say i love all of Nancy's pieces but as it's Valentines shortly i couldn't help but include this one Click on the highlighted area to pop along to see Nancy's other wonderful pieces. Thanks for sharing Nancy :)