Pop-Up of Awesome

I am excited to be a part of the first-ever Pop-Up of Awesome to be held at The Studio of Awesome in Seattle this Friday and Saturday! It will be a unique set-up where 20+ artists will be featured in a boutique-style shop with one central check-out. Which means you get to browse and shop to your heart's content and then only pay ONCE for everything you want to buy! Sweet!

The Pop-Up of Awesome is part of a larger event going on in the Phinney/Greenwood neighborhood -- The PhinneyWood ArtWalk - The Big One. So, if you have a hankering for some handmade goodness, this is your weekend to shop!

Here are a few Instagram peeks of what I will be selling this weekend.

If you're in the Seattle area, I'll hope you'll check it out! And if you're not local and you see something that catches your fancy, please shoot me an email or leave me a comment.


Want to see a list of all the talented local artists that will be at Pop-up of Awesome?


Featured artists include:
http://Artbynorm.etsy.com/ art and prints
http://BellyofaWhale.com/ bags and purses
http://BunnysBakedGoods.etsy.com/ tea-time housewares
http://CatshyCrafts.etsy.com/ embroidery art
http://CommonObjectJewelry.com/ silver jewelry
http://DianeMacrae.com/ bags and purses
http://facebook.com/OneScrapAtATime cat toys for charity
http://FoamyWader.etsy.com/ gemstone jewelry
http://GlassElements.org/ fused glass jewelry
http://HauteGoat.etsy.com/ cashmere scarves
http://KathyOInspirations.etsy.com/ vintage remake jewelry
http://MagicMakeBelieve.etsy.com/ polymer clay sculptures
http://MatthewPorterArt.com/ art and prints
http://MaxandCoPost.etsy.com/ collectable postcards
http://MayhemHere.etsy.com/ art and prints
http://Moultonology.com/ garden gifts
http://NuetoMe.etsy.com/ recycled t-shirt accessories
http://Oliotto.etsy.com/ bracelets and tea towels
http://OrangeTwist.etsy.com/ screenprinted stationery
http://RainCityForge.etsy.com/ fabricated metal jewelry
http://SarahBakPottery.com/ pottery and housewares
http://ScarfCity.etsy.com/ knit and crochet wear
http://thePlayfulPotter.etsy.com/ pottery and housewares
http://Tote2Go.etsy.com/ repurposed fabric totes
http://TuttaLouPress.com/ letterpress stationery
http://WorldofWhimm.etsy.com/ kids play wear and costumes


Thanks for stopping by today!

Featured on Blackburg Belle today!

Look who's hanging out with April Bowles Olin today on her blog, Blackburg Belle!

You may know April from her creatively dreamy yet super-informative blog or heard her interviews on BlogcastFM.

I've been following April ever since I opened Catshy Crafts and am so happy to be featured on her blog today. She had a call to action on her blog a few week ago, asking for bloggers/creative entrepreneurs who wanted to be featured so of course I e-mailed her right away.

I hope you will click on over and read the interview and leave a comment there and let me know what you think! I talk about how I got started and how I try to balance family and business.

My first feature on Blacksburg Belle!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Catshy Crafts Named #2 Nursery Decor Etsy Shop in 2013 by Babble.com

What a way to start 2013!
Guess who made the Babble.com's list of Top 50 Etsy Baby Shops in 2013!?

Catshy Crafts earned the #2 spot for Best Nursery Decor and #8 Overall. (Someone pinch me!) I am so thankful to the editors of Babble for finding my little shop and featuring my hoop art.

This honor is especially sweet because of all the other shops that came before that I admire so much. In 2011, the likes of Gingiber, AshleyG and Mary Kate McDevitt were at the top of the list for nursery decor. And I happen to own items from each of these talented artists! I hope that I can continue to follow in their footsteps.

And congrats to the other shops in my category this year such as: ModGenes Designs (love that name!) and  Hen & Co (from Seattle!) and Colette Bream and Love Mae! Wow! Really tickled to be in their company. You can see the entire list here.

I never imagined I would be recognized in this way. Thanks so much for supporting me and helping my creative dreams come true.

Catshy Crafts is Featured Shop at Etsy!

I am beyond excited to announce that Catshy Crafts is the Featured Shop at Etsy today!

When I got the convo asking me to be featured, it took several days for it to sink in.
I was shocked to say the least. And a little wary.

I was nervous about the interview. And the photographs to be taken. And my studio! What a mess. I went on a 3-day cleaning binge to get in order for my photographs.

And now that the day is here, I'm still in shock.
But I am trying to let all the positive feedback in and enjoy the moment.

Thank You!

I also wanted to thank all the people who have supported my shop -- both as customers and cheerleaders on my blog, Facebook page, Twitter page and at the etsyRAIN craft show.

I wish I could name them all but here's a start:

My family! Jamie, my husband has ALWAYS been supportive of me finding my outlet (from when I was a scrapbooker to photographer to Etsian). He's never complained when I bought the "toys"  and tools I've needed for my craft (from a dSLR camera to a photo printer to all my trips to Joanns and Michaels). He's the best!

My daughters, Sofia and Zara for being my models and #1 fans of my works. For all the oohing and ahhing over my little pieces and always wanting me NOT to sell a piece so that they could keep it for themselves!

My sisters (one of whom has an Etsy shop too - while being a full-time costume designer in Chicago) and the rest of my family back on the East Coast.

My in-laws, especially Dianne, who is shares a love for photography and creating.

My friend Hannah for giving me my "break" at  my first art show at Cupcake Royale.

For my friends Hailee and Helen for being my first customers (at the art show).

And my friend Kayo for being my first Etsy customer EVER! (and who now has her own business!)

My online buddies: Kristina, Holly, Joscie, Traci, Crystal, Corinne, Katrinna for always "liking" my little status updates and giving me encouragement along the way!

My fellow etsyRAIN team members who I have met in person and online: Marlo, Amy, Hazel, Kelly, Kayce, Steph, Christine, Amrita, Emily and many more.

My blog readers who leave sweet comments on my blog (I really do appreciate them!)

And of course my customers!!! Thanks for letting me create something for you and your homes or your friends' homes!

So thank you if you ever "hearted" one of my items, commented on a blog post or shared a link or bought one of my items.

It means a lot to me!

Free Shipping Thank You

And as an extra special thank you, here's a coupon code for you. I will give free shipping to my U.S. customers just in time for the holiday gift-giving season!

Use coupon code "FREESHIPUS" for free shipping to the U.S. until December 15, 2012 at Catshy Crafts!

The little hoop that could / Featured on DisneyBaby!

I received a wonderful message from Casi, contributing writer for Disney Baby yesterday. My oval personalized hoop art is featured on DisneyBaby as a one of 15 Personalized Handmade Gifts for Mom.

You can imagine I was very surprised and honored at the same time!

This little hoop continues to be my best-selling hoop and seems to get the most attention of all my items.

In the past few months, it has been featured on the new Etsy "Browse" Categories Under Personalized Items for Kids......

And on Lover.ly, a beautiful new site that is essentially a visual search engine for all things wedding.











A different version of this hoop also landed on the Front Page of Etsy a few weeks ago! Yup, it's my little hoop that could!

On the Etsy Blog: Packaging Inspiration

I love packaging.

A few weeks ago, there was a thread in the Etsy seller forum calling for packaging tips and photos for an upcoming blog post. I submitted a few photos to the Flickr pool and crossed my fingers.

Turns out one of my photos was included in the article!

To make these tags, I first designed them in Photoshop using one of my favorite fonts ever. Printed them on kraft cardstock (from the scrapbooking section of the crafts store) and then used a paper punch. The punch has three different sizes of label/ticket shapes. I mostly use the large size and the middle size. As you can see here, I use them as labels on my hoops and wreaths and goodie bags I include with every purchase.

There were so many lovely packaging ideas shared in the article.  You can check it out here. Or go to the Etsy Packaging Flickr Pool.

Happy packaging!

newsworthy: catshy crafts published

Newsworthy? Well, magazine-worthy, anyway.

I was lucky enough to be featured in two magazines this summer.

Yarn-wrapped Wreath in Simply Handmade: Decor

Simply Handmade: Decor 2012 featured the very first thing I sold through my Etsy shop. My yarn-wrapped wreath! Delaney Gates, the magazine's editor convo-ed me through Etsy and asked if I wanted to be published. Of course, I said yes, and immediately went to work on a fresh wreath to send to the magazine. That was back in February 2012. My husband, Jamie took this photo of the new wreath along with the original that still hangs on my front door.

The neat thing about Simply Handmade is that they love Etsy! And feature many Etsy shops, even including the Etsy shops' URL prominently in the article. I even got my little old blog mentioned.

"It's My Party" Scrapbook Layout in Scrapbook Trends

Scrapbook Trends (a sister publication to Simply Handmade) published one of my scrapbooking layouts in the August 2012 issue. From time to time, I submit my pages (both paper and digital) to various scrapbooking magazines and occasionally one will be chosen. This particular page was very special to me. The fact that I broke out the paper scrapbooking supplies in the first place was the first indicator. Why was it so special? Well, it was all about my artist's reception and unofficial launch party for Catshy Crafts!

Full Circle

And to bring the whole experience to full circle, in typical scrapbooker fashion, tonight I made a page about it. This time a digital page using digital kits by Sahlin Studio.

newsworthy | Key to My Heart Elements by Sahlin Studio

As always, thanks for stopping by my blog today!

July Sponsor: Kayla Aimee

The month is almost over, but I haven't even shared with you my July sponsorship over at Kayla Aimee's website: Only Slightly Neurotic.



Her blog is full of hilarious anecdotes about her life as a new mom and not-so-newlywed, crafty tutorials and DIY home decor. Seriously, this girl is witty and sweet and super-talented. And I'm not just saying this from reading her blog. I actually met Kayla Aimee (or KA) in Nashville 4 or 5 years ago. Back then I  was a scrapbooking fool and was on several Creative Teams - one of them was ScrapinStyleTV.com - now sadly closed for business but it was fun team to be on. And I fought back a lot of social anxiety to travel across the country to spend several days with a bunch of ladies I never met in real life for a scrapbooking convention. Good times.

Anyway, that's a bit of back story. 


So, I hope you'll check out her website and see the kind words she said about my shop. You might even a find coupon code for Catshy Crafts there :)

It's a Small World

Coincidentally, two more friends (also former scrapbookers with Etsy shops) are also sponsors this month.

Little Boo & Pie is Martha's shop of fresh and vintage-y children's clothing and accessories. (I also met her in Tennessee!)

Baby Bird & Bub Bub is a delightful print shop run by my sweet friend, Kristina.

Clearly, Kayla Aimee's site is the place to be!

Thanks for stopping by today!

etsy love mondays

I have 2 new treasuries to share! One that I curated....


and one them I am featured in


Enjoy!

Most Treasured: Etsy Finds

I forgot to share my news! I was shocked to find out that my "I Heart You" hoop was featured in the Etsy Finds' "Most Treasured" newsletter on Wednesday.  According to the newsletter, it contained "what's trending today among the tastemakers of Etsy's Treasury". I was definitely tickled to be on the list, especially because the photo had my husband holding the hoop.

Etsy Finds' Newsletter: Most Treasured

In case you're not familiar with Etsy Treasuries, they are collections of Etsy items that are curated by Etsy members. Any one can make a treasury. The only rule is that you can't feature your own item. I recently jumped on the treasury bandwagon. It's fun to come up with a theme or color scheme and then do a little window shopping in search of the most beautiful items. You can see all the ones I created here. And here's my most recent one:



And here's a treasury curated by Aldari Art by that features my hoop along with a bunch of other gorgeous Etsy items.



Do you make treasuries? Link me up. I'd love to see them!

one of the most shared tutorials of 2011

If you subscribe to the Stitch (Papernstitch's newsletter) you probably read the news already! My felt flower tutorial is one of the top 2 shared tutorials on the Papernstitch blog for 2011 with more than 2,000 tweets.

Thanks for sharing my tutorial! I love making felt flowers and glad that some of you do too!

In other news, I'm hard at work writing my Catshy newsletter. What? You didn't know I had a newsletter? Well I do! :) If you want to subscribe, you can do so on the right-hand side of this blog. And if you do, I'll send you a 10% off coupon.

DIY: guest tutorial on papernstitch!

I am excited to share a new tutorial with you!

Felted Flower in Five Ways

This time, it's posted on the Papernstitch Handmade blog. 

I hope you can check it out!

And while you're there, I definitely recommend browsing through the other DIY tutorials....and if you have your own indie craft business, Brittni's podcasts and creative business tips are definitely worth your time.





P.S. Tomorrow is the last day of my Holiday Sale! Enter holiday25 at check out too get 25% off your order at my shop. Thanks for visiting!