Big huge announcement!

Wait for it...

I will now be selling my stuff on Etsy!  I have been working diligently to create my whimsical and fun shop called October Cat Studios.  I will be selling unique, one of a kind gift items for almost anyone. I will focus on my fabric bowls, art quilts (mini framed and larger wall hangings), art dolls, traditional quilts and one of a kind painted button pendants.

In addition to selling my art on Etsy I will also have a Facebook page called October Cat Studios.  Please be sure to follow/like/join, it is open to everyone!  On this page I will be posting a lot of my previous artistic endeavors as well as new ones.  I will be sharing links to other artists I like and you can also travel along with me when I go to quilt shows and the like.  

Thanks for your support and please tell all of your friends about October Cat Studios.

Featured Friday Artist: Betsy Youngquist

I am a HUGE Pinterest person (you can find my page here).  I have a board called Art Dolls and Softees because not only do I design art dolls I LOVE looking at other peoples creative imaginations as well.  Be warned, on my Pinterest board I have pinned 579 pictures in this category alone! 

A few months ago I pinned this picture:

My first thought was "How did she do this?!"  I was intrigued by all of the beads and how they all just made sense, the colors, the placement, the sizes, everything.  Then in the winter issue of Where Women Create she is a featured artist!  I was so excited to learn more about this very talented lady, Betsy Youngquist. In the article her work is described as "Betsy's work reflects a fascination with the intersection of humans, animals and mythology.  Stemming from a  lifelong love of all creatures great and small, her work weaves together the human and animal spirit."

Here is a link to her website if you would like to find out more about this very talented artist: Betsy Youngquist.

And here are just a few more of her designs:

She also sells her work on Etsy at: Betsy Youngquist Beaded Mosiac Sculpture

Etsy Conversations

I have started listening to podcasts again.  For those of you out there that aren't familiar with podcasts it's like a recorded talk show that you subscribe to (free) and can listen whenever you want (and over and over again if you want).  I mainly listen to arts and crafts type podcasts but there are literally thousands and thousands out there from news to comedy, from learning to speak Spanish to baby care.

I recently stumbled upon one called Etsy Conversations and it is amazing!!

As some of you all know I have tried to sell on Etsy before with little success.  I'm not sure if I'll try to sell my stuff again on Etsy but if I do I will be taking a lot this podcasts advise.  There are definitely a few things I've learned:
1.  Do not assume that people will "find you" you have to get out there and market yourself every way imaginable.
2.  Social Media, use it!  Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram.  Plug into everything and figure out what works for your business.
3.  Learn how to tag your merchandise.
4.  It takes a lot of hard work and determination.
5.  Make personal connections with your customers, write thank-you notes, if they aren't completely satisfied work to make it right.

Etsy Conversations is a bi-weekly podcast this interviews artists that sell on Etsy and their "secrets" for success.  So not only have I gotten a lot of useful information I have also been introduced to some great artists!

52,000 Buttons

The number 52,000 is an inside joke between my mom and me.  When I was a little girl I used the number 52,000 to describe something very large.  It didn't matter what it was, 52,000 years, 52,000 steps, 52,000 feet (you see where I'm going with this) so this is what I decided to call my new shop on Etsy.  52,000 buttons because that is about how many of these little jewels I have. 

I started buying buttons about five years ago for my arts and crafts and what I realized was that they were too pretty to use, I just wanted to put them on display.  I love all buttons!  From celluloid to glass, from bakelite to fabric covered I love them all.  The older the better.  What I have found is that there are other button lovers as obsessed as me!  So I have decided to sell them on Etsy.   

I will have a number of categories such as vintage yellow, vintage metal, celluloid and my favorite category will be my hand painted buttons.  Here is a picture of some of my hand painted lovelies:

These things are virtually indestructible because of the special topcoat I use.  I have run them through the washer and dryer to see if they could withstand a good beating and they all survived!

 

 



I will be closing up shop for a few weeks because I'll be on vacation (buying more buttons up North) but please bookmark it and stop back by!
The address is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/52000Buttons

Swivel Head Sally

A few months ago when I became interested in making art dolls I showed you a picture of a red and white apron that would eventually turn into Swivel Head Sally.  This apron was from a box lot I won at an auction for $1.00

I draw all of my own patterns so when I was thinking about her torso I thought of two triangles, one inverted so the waist was small.  I created the body out of the red fabric because there was more polka dot fabric and I knew I wanted to make the legs real long.

I was only going to use the fabric from the apron to create this doll.  I went ahead and cut out a little red skirt.  I had in mind to layer the polka dot fabric with the solid fabric.  There wasn't enough to do this so I went to my fabric stash and picked out three random pieces of fabric that I had leftover from other projects.

Eventually I would use the decorative stitches on my sewing machine to "hem" each layer.

This is swivel head Sally waiting for her head:

She was without a head for some time because I didn't want to make another fabric head.  They are art dolls because one uses different mediums in the same design.  I decided I would mold a head out of Celluclay.  This would be fun because I could get my three and five year old boys involved too.



This head turned out to be her sisters head because I wanted Sally's a little bit more round and this ended up being very flat on the bottom.  But I ended up doing something a little bit unique with this form that I'll tell you in the next blogpost.

Meet Swivel Head Sally:

Her ponytail sits right on top of her head and is held by a scrap of fabric from one layer in her skirt.  After I painted her face I sealed it with Delta Ceramcoat Interior Varnish.  Then I painted the free form design on her torso.

  And last but not least her shoes...

Before I painted the red and white polka dot fabric blue I coated it with Aleene's Fabric Stiffener and Draping Liquid.  This has a total of about five coats including a sealant.  After everything was dry, the very last thing I did was to lace up her little ballet type slippers. 

Selling on Etsy again!

I am so excited to be selling on Etsy again.  I love creating art and anything and everything inspires me.  There is so much great talent out there and Etsy is definitely the place to find one-of-a-kind pieces.  I am still in the process of uploading my watercolor ACEO's and button pendants to sell but please take a look-see: www.kimagination.etsy.com