March Team Challenge

An old saying goes:  "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb."  Not sure of it's original meaning, but I always thought it  referred to the March weather. The roar of Winter is winding down and the creep of Spring is approaching.  Applying it to our crafting,  most of us pursue our art with a vengeance because we are passionate about what we do.  I am proposing that we try something this month that is a little softer. I call it - Emerging Foggy Spring.  

Let's explore color in terms of tint. In color theory, a tint is the mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness. We often create with bright color and ignore tints of color. Create a project  with muted tints leaving lots of white space, if you can. i.e. flowery/botanical/plant project, but it   doesn't have to be flowery--that's just to get you thinking. This project is to challenge your thought processes about color, using tints. Don't be intimidated by the absence of bright color. Get creative!

Here are a few Etsy items to get you in the mood: 

Fog on Missouri Vineyard by PatternedParchement

Love the muted yellows! 

How is this for pale:

Bridesmaid Dresses by AtelierSignature 

Great for a soft and cuddly new baby:

Spring Baby Hat by TheYarnOwlsNest

A few more . . . . 

Pendant Necklace by Birribe

Pale Paper Pak by ValerianeDigital

And . . .  as Easter is in this month, we can't forget pastel jewelry for the season!

Big Bold Button Statement Necklace by buttonsoupjewelry

P.S.  Maybe a second part of this challenge is the photo part.  It is not always easy to photograph light items.   Maybe some of you photo "experts" can give us some advice in the comments!  Thanks!

Posted by BBA team member Linda of PruittCreations 

February Red Link Party

The Monthly Challenge for February was Red by Edi of memoriesforlifesb. Her words about this challenge were as follows: "February is about hearts, love, roses...the color red. Create any project you like using the color red!"

Artisan Spotlight - Oh Nostalgia

7 Questions is our spotlight on our favorite artisans. Please welcome...

Paige of Oh Nostalgia

1. What do you sell in your shop? Well, I actually have two of them. The one I used to join BBA is called Oh Nostalgia and it features vintage-inspired jewelry and a few home gifts. It's basically the hip, younger sister of my original shop, Little White Chapel, which sells wedding jewelry.

2. What is your favorite thing about etsy? There are so many things I like about it. The community is probably numer one and I've made some great friends because of it, but I also like having my shops on a well-known site with name recognition.  The whole setup is much easier (and cheaper!) than having my own website, that's for sure.

3. What is your least favorite thing about etsy? Sometimes it can be cliquey. And I don't like the curated landing pages for certain categories because I think they're misleading, but that's another rant for another day.

4. What does your studio/workspace look like? Most of the time it's messy. Before I went back to school I was a lot better about keeping it clean, but now that I have another plate to spin it tends to stay cluttered. (Oh well.) In terms of space, it's great. It's a small room but since I make small things, it works out. We recently put up a cork wall above my work station, and I plan to get a TV in there sometime this year so I don't have to keep dragging my beads to the family room when a large order rolls through.

5. What do you do to relax? I do all sorts of things. Watch TV or movies with my husband, read books, decorate my house, have wine-and-cheese nights with my friends, try new restaurants, travel...

6. What accomplishments are you the most proud of? I still get a little misty-eyed thinking about it: quitting my day job. I opened my first shop in the fall of 2009 with a $30 bead purchase. Two years later I was earning as much making jewelry as I was going to work, so I pulled the plug and became my own boss. Granted, I'm not rolling around on a pile of money or anything, but I make a decent living and I got here without taking on any debt. It was a lot of hard work and planning, but totally worth it and I'm so proud of my little company.

7. What are some of your goals for the next year? I still love both shops but now that I've been married for a few years, I'm getting interested in other things and want to take some of the focus off of my wedding line. I'd also like to think of a few more non-jewelry products for Oh Nostalgia, but I'm not sure what yet. (Maybe some prints? I don't know.) Ultimately I'd like my company to become more of a lifestyle brand, but that's not going to happen this year unless I learn how to clone myself or time travel.

Find more of Paige here:
Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/OhNostalgiaDesigns
Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlewhitechapel
Blog: http://littlenostalgia.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @paigeronchetti
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lwc_style/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/littlenostalgia