Etsy Twitter Team Picks Treasury

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

I love blue and it just so happens my Chilly Cat paper bead bracelet just showed up in a fantastic all blue Etsy Twitter Team treasury by SimplyDoodles. Thanks! Purchase Chilly Cat here and be sure to visit the SimplyDoodles shop here for digital banners and avatars.

Hot Of The Press: At Home In Arkansas Magazine

I like to enjoy all of The Beehive's latest press while riding my wooden rocking horse.

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

Well, not so hot off the press now, I can't believe it's taken me so long to blog about this momentous occasion. That's what happens when a gal's computer dies. Anywho, my Framed Custom Silhouette is featured in this month's At Home In Arkansas magazine in a great little spotlight on cottage industry. You'll find me alongside other fantastic Arkansas artists and crafters who sell their wares on Etsy.

Custom Frames Silhouette by The Beehive

See the online article by clicking here

Weekend Feature: The Scrappy Shack Die Cuts

Blah Blah Blah Word Balloon Die Cut by The Scrappy Shack

I'm so excited about this weekend's handmade supply feature. I've been growing more and more in love with designing and making die cuts but Lori of The Scrappy Shack on Etsy is the queen bee of die cuts. Her shop is full of beauties and she'll even do custom and wholesale orders! Have a look at her shop here, click an image in this post to be taken to the listing, where you can make it yours, and be sure to read the interview below. You can also keep up with Lori and her creations on Flickr here and on her blog, www.thescrappyshack.com where she has some exciting things going on. You can enter to win some of her die cuts here and apply to be on the Scrappy Shack design team here. Happy Crafting!

Circles Die Cut by The Scrappy Shack

Flourish Frames Die Cut by The Scrappy Shack

Alphabet Circle Frame by The Scrappy Shack

All photos used with the permission of The Scrappy Shack

Interview with The Scrappy Shack

What do you do for a living in the daytime?

I am a full-time mom and part time paper craft designer. Once upon a time I worked as a secretary in a federal prison, but when my daughter was born three years ago I left to stay home and watch her grow.

Tell us a little about your etsy self

Well....I spend my days running my cutter and my nights working on new designs. I keep a notebook next to me at all times because I have the most random ideas at the weirdest times. My Blah Blah Blah Word Balloon die cut was something I thought of while I was drifting off to sleep one night.

Tell us a little about your non-etsy self

I am married to Jay, who is the very best travel partner in the world. We love to travel and some places we have been together are Hawaii, Seattle, Napa Valley, and New Orleans, and right now we are planning our trip to my favorite city in the world - New York.

In 2006 my daughter was born and joined our family through the miracle of adoption. She is a fun and lively 3 year old, and she keeps me busy. Adoption is very close to my heart, and I love to share Lacie's story and hear other families' adoption stories.

What do you make and why did you start making it?

I design and create die cuts for paper crafting. I started my business to scrapbook memories for others when I left my full time job in 2006. I bought my cutter to help me speed my production time, and quickly fell in love with the machine and what I could do with it. Thus, my designing took off and now I am spending all my work time creating die cuts.

What inspires you?

Everything. Honestly, most of my ideas come at the oddest times and I most times I have no inkling where they came from.

What advice do you have for people trying to sell their crafts?

Network every chance you get. Carry your business card with you at all times and pass as many out as you can. Take advantage of all the networking opportunities online - Facebook, Twitter, photo sharing, blogging, Meetup, CafeMom, there are tons of ways.

For an online venue, invest in a good camera and learn to use it properly. Photos are the most important thing for setting up an online shop.

Funky Punky Treasury

My Kitty Punk upcycled paper bead bracelet made it into a cool treasury called Funky Punky by AMPdesigns. Thanks!

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

The Beehive Is Still Buzzing

The Beehive Custom Silhouette from client's photo

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

I promise I'm not dead, but my blog must seem that way. I haven't had my own computer for awhile now so I'm very limited in what I can do. It's frustrating and freeing all at the same time because I have to be choosy and because I'm not tempted all day to sit down and do "just one little thing" that turns into an hour or more of little things.

Things in life and The Beehive are trucking along though and I'm continuing to make things for my shop. I'm starting to get more and more inquiries about my custom scrapbooks and silhouettes and am holding my breath that it is a sign of wonderful things to come. Above is a custom silhouette I completed recently and below are the latest premade scrapbook layouts to The Beehive.

Happy Woodland Creatures: 2 adorable layouts in 1! See more images, and make it yours, here

Happy Birthday: 2 fun layouts in 1! See more images, and make it yours, here.

Weekend Feature: Gilt Goods Handmade Paper And Embellishments

Chocolat, Decorated Papers and Embellishments for Artisans by Gilt Goods

In my recent handmade supplies hunt it never even occurred to me that I might be able to find, not only handmade supplies like buttons, brads and tags for scrapbooking, but the actual paper itself until I ran across this fantastic shop, Gilt Goods! I know, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a little slow. Don't get me wrong, I knew I could buy handmade paper, you know that stuff that's beat to a pulp then reformed into paper, but it never crossed my mind that I could get adorable, unique, printed pattern paper. Can you tell I'm drooling a bit?! That's because all of these lovelies started out as original drawings, something you won't find at your local scrapbook shop. Gilt Goods has paper and embellishments as well as digital designs and other fun surprises. So what's stopping you? Get to shopping handmade supplies!

Go visit Gilt Goods here or click any image to be taken to it's listing, where you can make it yours. Be sure to read the interview below!

Peapod Baby Decorated Paper Collection by Gilt Goods

Snails Blank Sticky Labels by Gilt Goods

Fairy Garden Digital Collage Sheet No. 7 by Gilt Goods

OPHELIA Russian Ballerina Paper Doll by Gilt Goods

All photos used with the permission of Gilt Goods

Interview with Gilt Goods

What do you do for a living in the daytime?

I work part-time as a graphic artist for our local non-profit arts agency, which I love, and also do free-lance work on the side. When I'm not at work, I am with my 5 year old son (and recent preschool graduate thank you very much!).

Tell us a little about your etsy self

My etsy self is still trying to figure out what in the world to sell on etsy! I really love the venue, but I haven't found my niche yet. I sell all kinds of things at several stores, but these things don't do as well on-line. Because I LOVE to design papers, and have had good response in "real life" to them, I'm excited to see how these items will do on etsy.

Tell us a little about your non-etsy self

My non- etsy self is married to a super guy (our 15th year!) and we have one kid, who is just the greatest. I have a degree in art history (minored in painting) earned about a million years ago. I love designing so much that after spending all day on the computer at work, I come home and spend the few "free" hours of the evening Photoshopping on my laptop in bed. I mostly work on a 5 year old iBook G4, who is really a member of the family. When I actually get off the computer, I make jewelry, read everything in sight, bake biscuits, and take family trips in the camper van.

What do you make and why did you start making it?

I make decorated papers for crafters, artisans, scrapbookers, bookmakers, anyone who is looking for papers you can't find anywhere else. I make notebooks and other paper goods, but it was frustrating to see the very same pattern I was using show up in 6 other shops. I wanted exclusivity! So I started printing out my own designs, and people were more interested in the paper than the product! I have just started to offer digital download papers. I love to draw and design even more than I love crafting (although I do that too), it's just so satisfying to take my illustrations and create something beautiful and functional.

What inspires you?

I draw inspiration from everything around me! Sometimes it's a book about the middle ages and miniatures, sometimes it's a fabulous vintage kimono fabric scrap, or the color of the moss that grows on our pine trees, or my kid's cute robot drawings. I would say a common thread running throughout everything I do is an appreciation for our natural world and the beauty of the everyday experience.

What advice do you have for people trying to sell their crafts?

Make sure you really love doing what you're doing. I've had people want to make a wholesale order of those adjustable rings with the glass marble thingies over my paper designs (I did have a sample of one, and it was on my line-sheet...) and I just didn't want EVER to make another ring! I HATE making those things! So. Make what you love. And the other thing I think is really important is to have your own voice, your own point of view. After all, anyone can glue a glass and paper magnet together, what makes YOURS special?

Thank you to Sunny for this feature!

Creating Handmade With Handmade, It's A Hoot!

What A Hoot premade owl-themed scrapbook layout by The Beehive

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

I've recently been hunting down handmade scrapbook supplies to use in the making of my own goodies and it's been so much fun! The quality of the supplies have been out of this world, it makes it hard for me to use up the mass produced supplies I already had! it's also a fantastic feeling to be supporting my fellow crafter and to know that the things I'm using were made by the hands of human beings, people with stories and lives and passions.

What A Hoot premade owl-themed scrapbook layout by The Beehive

Features fantastic owl and tree tags by A Scrappy Design, a couple of Tessa Ann's wonderful handmade buttons and Aimoobaroo's all too perfect fabric covered owl brad.

Happy Woodland Creatures Memory Catcher by The Beehive

I used 2 of Aimoobaroo's fabric covered brads on this memory catcher, the deer and the little birdie on the mushroom. I think I'm in love!

Stay tuned for more fantastic handmade things from The Beehive made from fantastic handmade things! I have a premade layout using some of Tessa Ann's big, cute as pie buttons in the works. Just a hint: happy woodland creatures make me happy!

To add my What A Hoot layout to your scrapbook click here.
To bring home the Happy Woodland Creatures Memory Catcher click here.