Art Galleria Collection #11

Sample of the custom, original, and still life paintings…by… All Art For You

$200.00

Pears by the Stained Glass Window…by…Fine Art Studios

$450.00

Vendor in Leh…by…Global Artist

$150.00

Tiny and Friends…by…Bayou Girl Paintings

$70.00

Pears on a Window Ledge…by…Poor Dog Farm

$17.00

Heirloom Tomato with Knife…by…Cary Cochrane

N/A

Cupcake…by…Roz Art

SOLD!

A Blogger’s Reflection

March 17th, 2010 I joined the blogging world as a part-time novice blogger. I have learned much on this journey from blogging twice a week, sometimes more, venturing into writing other subject blogs, starting and stopping a weekly blog, and wanting to take my blog to new heights, so I don’t become bored and stop.

Boredom is a quick death to any endeavor that I have done in my life. Once I’ve mastered a skill, one would think I would continue onward. Nope, I stop and move onto learning something else, thereby never fully committing to any one subject long enough to become a guru. LoL!

While moving on to other endeavors is conducive to activities such as eating, leaving an abusive partner, or watching a bad comic, always moving onto something new is not conducive to earning a living, exploring a thousand churches, or getting a degree. Therefore, beginning after the posting of the Art Galleria Collection, I have decided to take a two-week vacation from blogging to recharge my creative faculties and to muse the next step on this blogging staircase to greatness.

Enjoy the entry of spring!

Sixthirtythree aka Tertia

Dress of the Week 8: Starlight Sparkle

Vintage Maven: CallMeChula

SOLD!

An elegant dress with a dazzling trim of rhinestones and beading.  Flowing with your every step, this stunning dress sparkles with a dreamy silver and aqua blue motif. An evening of romance awaits you.

Etsy Shops for Japanese Earthquake Tsunami Victims

Guest Post

Etsy Shops for Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami Victims
(Russian Artists Group Experience)
Story by Lovisetto

It was the 11th of March 2011. I woke in the morning, looked out of the window only to see that there was no sign of the sun in the sky.

“We have to wait a little bit longer for the spring to come this year,” – I mumbled and went down to the kitchen.

I am self-employed, so I can afford the luxury of sitting in front of the TV in the morning, sipping the fresh coffee and flipping through the TV channels. That’s how it all started for me.

*********
There was only one topic discussed on the news that day: the national disaster in Japan. During the first ten minutes since I had switched on the TV I had seen the horrible scenes of the giant tsunami waves covering the ground and wiping away entire villages. The scenes, which probably all of you saw as well since they were on all the channels across the globe, felt like a bad dream, like the worst horror film ever, only it was real. There was an announcement about more than 300 people dead and another 10,000 disappeared.

On Saturday, March the 12th, I switched on the TV in the morning just to hear that the situation in Japan was getting worse: the number of tsunami and earthquake victims has grown rapidly, people in the tsunami affected areas were not having enough food, drinking water and other essentials.

Later that day, I was on the phone with a good friend of mine who is a musician and had been with her orchestra on a tour in Japan. She said that she had been in some areas affected by the tsunami and she could not believe that the beautiful cities and villages on the seaside were completely wiped away. I could hear her crying while saying this.

The next day, Sunday the 13th, I decided not to watch the news in the morning as I was scared that something bad happened in Japan over night. Instead, I ended up flipping the news channels in search for fresh news from Japan and then browsing through the Internet looking for the same topic articles. I was absolutely distracted and could not stop thinking about what was happening in Japan. It was not the tsunami, but the radiation leak that scared me the most.

Being born in the Soviet Union, the country that had survived the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe, I was very well aware of the radiation danger. I personally knew the people who were involved in the liquidation process and those who lived in the radiation affected areas. Some of them had already died of cancer.

I decided to do something to help people in Japan. But, I did not know how. I knew that from the first day of the Japan disaster other Etsy artisans made treasuries to showcase the Japanese shops, but for me, it was not enough!

I decided to sell some of my necklaces and donate the money to the Red Cross charity organisation in Japan. I shared my ideas with my colleagues from the Russian Artist team. I proposed we get involved in the fundraising process as a team and start making treasuries for charity. I was surprised by how popular my post was. Till the end of the day we were not doing anything but discussing how the fundraising process should be organized.

At the beginning, the idea was not entirely supported by the team members. Some people had already donated the money for Japan and saw no point in donating again as a group through their art. Others did not trust charities, accusing them of spending a great percentage of the donation on their administrative needs.*********

Even though I understood why people were thinking this way, I was quite confident that our efforts could make a difference. Anyway, by the end of the day there were 10 of us who had declared that we were ready to start fund raising for Japan by donating our items. We also joined the Artist Aid group on Etsy where we found many like-minded artisans who were already selling and donating their art for charity.

This or That

$98……..or………Denim Tiered Dress…..$177

JulyS………………………………………………………..L’EST Rose

SOLD!…..or……..MIMCO Crystal Bracelet ……$89

CGamelin9……………………………………………..House of Fraser

SOLD!………or…….Zipper Motif Sunglass…..$389

Anna Jeanette……………………………………Alexander Wang & Linda Farrow

SOLD! or………….

Pure Fusion Makeup

Esmalte Chanel Le Vernis Blue Satin $10.62

$95………..or……….Lace bag…..$85.00 Sale

Christine Natay………………………………………….Karen Millen

$15.00……..or

Joyce C. Merie

SE Boutique Wedge Sandal……$79.95

Which is your favorite?

Resource: Polyvore

Relief Aid for Japan

Artists on Etsy are donating portions and sometimes 100% of their sales to the relief aid effort for Japan. Included are seven such artists. I, too, will donate a portion of the percentage sold from each sale from this blog post to aid Japan.

Below is beautiful haiku written by Balqis Zarienisya which expresses  sorrow,  relief, and hope. Although not written for Japan, since the three haiku were written one month and one day after and prior to the devastation, the haiku conveys the sentiment I chose to honor Japan and her people; in hopes that they return stronger as a people and as a nation from the devastating loss they experienced during the earthquake and tsunami on March 11th, 2011.

Excerpt from:

Another Round of Haiku at Random

Pain……by Balqis Zarienisya

A pain in saying,
The stone crashing on this heart,
Awaking numbness.

Relief…..by Balqis Zarienisya

Green is to my eyes,
Calming the mind so turmoil,
Discarding the pain.

Future…..by  Balqis Zarienisya

Million stars away,
A far far cry to be there,
Yet hope surging high.

To the people of Japan: Our hearts are with you.

Designer: Sofiart

$110

100 Assorted Organic Soaps

• Relief Aid: 20%

The heart symbolizes the intertwining rhythms of life and love. Celebrate the union of your marriage or the birth of your child with heart shaped soap favors at your wedding or baby shower. Made from environmentally safe materials the fragrances include: aloe and honey, calendula, chocolate, clay, fien greek, red fruits, and rose 

Designer: Lovisetto

$67.00

Butterflies Necklace

• Relief Aid: 100% 

An elegant necklace inspired by the “natural beauty of butterflies,” the paintings of Gustav Klimt, and vintage brooches. Using textile, simulated leather and pink glass pearls, Lovisetto, designed and embellished each butterfly. A pink grosgrain ribbon ties in the back and the necklace measures 10 cm also equal to 3.9 inches deep from top to bottom.

Designer: BarbarasBeautys

$15.00

Quilled Earrings

• Relief Aid: 50%

The creative art of BarbarasBeautys speaks to the loss and courage of the Japanese people during their time of natural disasters. Symbolizing their loss, and drawing inspiration from the Japanese flag, BarbarasBeautys quilled a pair of stunning earrings with a “red circle in white field nested within three teardrops.” Each teardrop symbolizes one of the three disasters which occured on that life-changing day in March.

Designer: Tisserande

$200

Silk Shawl

• Relief Aid: 20%

Wrap yourself in the warmth of a luxurious and heavyweight silk shawl. Designing with colorful turquoise and soft leaf green, Tisserande created a beautiful shawl with a pattern of alternating colored squares. Indian mulberry silk borders each side of the shawl. Fringed knots accentuates the overall design. For an iridescent appearance, iron wet after handwashing.

Designer: Cra1nes

$42.50

 Kimono Scroll Pendant

• Relief Aid: 50%

Suspended from a wooden twig is an exquisite Japanese chiyogami washi paper kimono pendant. Constructed to the washi paper foundation is an I-Ching coin of good fortune.  The kimono is an ensemble of gold, silver, and fuschia against an ebony background. Glass beads and gold wiring accentuate the design. Measures: 3 1/4″ x 2″

• Adjustable cord from 18″ to 24″
• Elemental protection: Glaze finish
• Included with purchase: A crane ornament

Designer: Uzura

SOLD!

 Matsushima T-Shirt

• Relief Aid: 25%

Designed especially for the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, this elegant t-shirt is a collaborative work of art from a mother and daughter team. Uzura’s mother, who lives safely in another region of Japan, completed the beautiful calligraphy.

The lower half of the t-shirt, created by Uzura, is a depiction of the Matsushima Islands. In Japanese, Matsushima means Pine Islands. One of the three most scenic locations in Japan, Matsushima represents the beauty of Japan’s northeastern region which was devastated by the earthquake and the tsunami.

Designer: LittleesScentials

$75.00

Little esSCENTials™ Pink Cheetah gDiaper Cake

• Relief Aid: 10%

A funtastic three-tiered gDiaper cake wrapped with a pink cheetah designer ribbon around 56 small sized gDiapers for new parents. With a whole lot of whimsy, this cake of gDiapers is environemtally friendly because the inserts are flushable. In the center of the cake is a gDiaper Starter Kit which includes the following:

• 2 little gPants
• 4 water-resistant snap-in liners
• Swishstick and hook for easy access
• Handy User’s Guide (H.U.G.)
• $2 gDiaper coupon for those late night diaper runs
• Measures: 18″ x 9″

Disclaimer: All photos and haiku are copyrighted to the artists and author and are not for public domain.

Dress of the Week 7: Bar Barbarella

Vintage Maven: Between The Buttons Vintage

$64.00

Bar Barbarella  SOLD!

A  flattering and fully lined black and white cocktail dress with a V-neck shoulder baring bodice and a flirty peekaboo pleat at the front of the skirt.

• Label: Jessica McClintock
• Size: Small/Medium (4-6)
• Fabric: Acetate/Rayon
• Era: 80′s

April: Happy Budget Birthday

Welcome to another post of the Happy Budget Birthday series which includes practical and functional gifts for under $40.00.

Designer: Catfishcorner                  

Jumping Cat Wall Tile…$22.00

Catfishcorner creates this whimsical feline ceramic tile from a slab of stoneware clay. She then carves in the aquatic life, bisque fires, and finishes with a glaze. With an embedded hook on the back side, it’s ready to decorate any wall. 

Designer: SteerCrazee              

Insulated Steering Wheel Cover…$19.99

Shielded while parked in the hot, hot sun.  Protect your hands from the searing hot steering wheel in the summer with an insulated steering wheel cover. Made from Insul Bright, a heat reflective material that oven mitts are made from, this cover shields the entire front and partial back of the steering wheel. The color shown in the above photo is a paisley and floral pattern against a black background. Match the color of your car or your personality with other available colors or themes.

Designer: TheGreenGroovy                 

Table Runner…$24.00

It’s veggie time with the kids.  Handpainted vegetables on a burlap tablerunner will keep the kids entertained with identifying the vegetables while you prepare lunch.  The contrasting and rustic themed edges are sewn with Indian cotton fabric. The tablerunner measures 48.5 in. x 12.5 in.

Designer: SamanthasPorcelain               

Porcelain Coffee Jar with Spoon…$20.00

Start your  breakfast in the morning with two scoops of coffee from a porcelain coffee jar.  Colorful dragonflies fly amongst cattails blowing in the breeze. Not a coffee lover? Then you can store rice, lentils, or honey. Dishwasher safe and measures 5.5″ high.

• Until April 28th, 2011, use a 20% off coupon with code 46920 toward any purchase at SamanthasPorcelain

Designer: CarryMeCreations                

Walker Tote Bag…$28.00

Style your walker with a tote. With generous external side pockets,  a spacious interior, and side straps to prevent the walker from swaying, this pink and green tote will carry the stuff of life while you’re out and about. The tote can also be secured to a stroller.

Designer: StephanieMonster                   

Tea Wallet…$15.00

No time to make a cup of tea in the morning? Carry the tea with you in a tea wallet. Made from organic cotton with four interior pockets.

• Design: Modern Leaves
• Interior scallop embroidery
• Button closure
• Open measurements:  4.25″ x 6.25″