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Introducing: Leslie of StymiepieStudios and rockandrollhart

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I have been trying to get more clues into what gives artists inspiration. What inspires you and what would make you open an Etsy shop?  There are so many people that want to open a shop. They are creating along and someone says you should sell that! So I asked Leslie of StymiepieStudios a few questions a week or two ago. Here are her answers:

I find inspiration for my art in a random conversation, my mood. a song lyric, my childhood, my hopes and dreams. It can be something as simple as a color that gets my mind going toward a design..and then , somehow , what I see in my mind appears on the paper.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/87127941/personalized-piggy-bank-sock-monkey

I started on Etsy without knowing I had opened a shop! LOL! My niece knew that I wanted to sell my handpainted kids items on my own for a long time. I was working in a retail store and constantly being told “You should have your own store”.But I was overwhelmed by the unexpected death of my husband and both of my sons leaving for college and it was all I could manage to go to work every day, and run my mural business, painting on nights and weekends. So she opened a shop for me with a few items and then “gave ” it to me as a surprise(.It’s so ironic now..back then, I could barely use the computer..now I live on it, running my businesses…).Then we worked on it together for days. which became Stymiepie Studios..and when I had my first sale..that was it..it was all I wanted to do. That was in 2009, and I opened my second shop, Rock and Roll Hart in 2011, to do the art I had been carrying around in my head and heart all of my life. I had met many of the musical artists that I caricature and it was fun to do my version of the people that I knew back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was a 60′s hippie just starting out.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/67941633/art-print-rock-caricature-eugene

I think the most important advice to someone starting out would be love what you do, cause you’ll work harder at this than any other job you’ve ever had. I work 7 days a week, and rarely take a sick day (my boss is a slave driver!) ..because I’m the one that commits to the customer, and it’s my work and reputation on the line. If I promise to get something done, it’s up to me to do it. I left my 9 to 5 in 2010 and make a full time living from my two shops.I value each customer..many come back over and over and I’m proud of that.
I sell on Artfire and to many online and brick and mortar shops. It’s exciting to see my work all over the country and it helps to have income from different sources. Right now, one of the people that found me here on Etsy, is helping me develop a greeting card line and T shirt line of my Rock and Roll Hart art, that we will be selling nationally..that might not have happened so easily, had i not been on Etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/48381344/ballerina-toy-caddy-hand-painted-and

I don’t do craft shows anymore..I don’t have the time. I used to love them, but as my business has grown, the Holidays are my busiest time and I spend most days painting to fill orders. Craft shows are a great way to expand your customer base and get the word out about your product to people that might not see you online. Consignment isn’t a good fit for me as my items are usually personalized and most consigment shops want items to sell at time of purchase.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/61024807/personalized-flipstep-stool-construction

http://www.etsy.com/listing/61024807/personalized-flipstep-stool-construction

These past 4 years have been extraordinary, filled with validation of my work and opportunities that I never imagined. Some of the best parts are the friendships and support I have found on Etsy, through the talented artisans I have met..an incredible group of people that aren’t afraid to risk taking a chance to create every day and make a living at it.

 

You can find Leslie and her beautiful items here:

www.stymiepiestudios.etsy.com
www.rockandrollhart.etsy.com
www.facebook.com/LeslieMehlArt
www.twitter.com/LeslieMehlArt

When you stop by Leslie’s shop or any of her links please say that  you found them at Chocolatedogstudio! I trying to have an artist feature every Friday in an effort to give back to the artist community that has helped me so much.

thanks for stopping by,

Karen

Etsian Feature: Two Paper Addicts

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The Etsy shop:TwoPaperAddicts is the brainchild of Rose and Cris, two etsy friends who became cross country best friends, and who both have a serious addiction to anything paper. Rose lives in Michigan and teaches high school literature, chemistry and biology full time. She has two young boys who keep her busy, and a husband. Cris lives in Colorado. She retired from Corporate America where she taught time management among other things and has forgotten everything she knew!! She has a husband and two yellow labs who try to tell her she is on Etsy too much.

Much of the above I borrowed directly from their shop profile on Etsy! :0) They are teammates of mine on the EASL team  which stands for Etsy Artisans Success League. They both have separate shops of their own. They sell such lovely paper goodies.

Like these:

 

These are just a few of their lovely items. Stop by and say hi and that you saw their wonderful paper goodies on Chocolate Dog Studio.

Thanks,

Karen

Super quick Valentine Party!

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I decided about 2 pm on Valentine’s day that our family needed a special dinner. Specifically, that the man that bought the roses needed a pampering dinner. He doesn’t make much of a fuss about not getting special treatment, but he has been working extremely hard and needed some appreciation. So youngest dear daughter baked her first cake (chocolate wacky cake), and I frosted it.

Here is the Wacky Cake recipe:

3 cups of flour (being sure to level off the top of the cup measure after each scoop)

6 Tablespoons of cocoa

2 cups of sugar

2 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of salt

Put all of these in the sifter and sifted them into a bowl. Then she stirred in the last four ingredients

2 cups of cold water

3/4 cups of salad oil (we used canola)

2 Tablespoons of vinegar

2 Teaspoons of vanilla

Stir it all together and pour it into your cake pans. We baked this at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool it and then frost as you choose.

The kids helped set the table, and iron a real red and white checked tablecloth. I do have a thing for table cloths besides they absorb spilled milk before it reaches the floor. :0) I started using tablecloths when the kids were much younger and the table over a carpet.

I took a  minute before the cake mixing started and made this garland. Yes, I was also on the phone and I am sure that my friend thought I was insane.

Here is the picture of the garland.

It took me about ten minutes, left over pink ribbon and scrapbook paper I will never, ever use for anything!  I cut out the hearts free hand with about four sheets of paper stacked together at the same time.  Using the straight stitch on my sewing machine I just sewed them onto the left over  cream seam binding and then the left over pink ribbon. Done! A heart garland to hang where my wooden words normally hang.

Our daughter wrote super quick place cards and put them on the plates. The guys set the table and carried in the super easy tamales(from the freezer section and steamed in the rice steamer). That along with the beans, rice, chips and salad made for a great meal. Everyone was happy and dinner was special. Did anyone notice the super quick garland? Nope!  Does it bother me, no! I called attention to it and everyone was happy. Blue moody feelings banished and everyone was pleased! Was the house spotless? Nope! Memories made and everyone happy! If we wait until everything is perfect then we will never create memories with our children or I am completely stressed and they are too.

What did you do special for Valentine’s day?

talk to you later,

Karen

Thankfulness Challenge day 2 and 3

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Ok, I missed writing yesterday caught up in creating little paper flowers for my Etsy shop! We are all snowed in here at home and probably will be for several more days. So today I get to write 6 things I am thankful for and 2 things I like about myself.

Things I am thankful for

1. A back that is healthy and  works for shoveling snow; granted I only worked for 20 minutes or so to give the guys a breather.

2. The pellet burner in our house. It has the ability to heat almost the whole upstairs and the cave of a living room on one bag of pellets for 12 hours. It provides a lovely glow and warmth to the room. It came with the house and for many years (due to asthma) we did not run it, but the asthma has diminished so we can once again run the burner.

3. Dogs! Our dogs that bark to remind us that it is time to get up and to care for others.

4. Two daughters! :0) They are wonderful people, talented and caring individuals. As beautiful inside as they are on the outside. Not perfect but awesome anyway.

5. Two sons, that work hard and keep us laughing!

6. Work! We have done the without work thing. No matter what the job, a regular paycheck is a wonderful thing.

That retaining wall is hip high. This should give you an idea of how deep the drifts are.

Done, whew I can now mark this off my list!

Now two things I like about myself.

1. I am good with color. What does that mean? Well, I have been known to buy items of clothing from one store one year and then get something that matches at a completely different store without trying to!

2. I am a pretty decent from scratch cook and I have taught my kids to cook from scratch. They can follow a recipe and create everything from pizza to cake to homemade bread. The biggest part of this is that they are not afraid to try! This also means that we have eaten some interesting dinners from time to time. lol

Ok, that is it for today!

Talk to you later,

By the Way, What are your three things to be thankful for and one thing you like about yourself? Leave me a note and tell me your three things and one thing about yourself that you like.