Meet Jenn!

Our next crafter profile is Jenn from A Girl Named Rosebud. *Pictures will follow, Blogger is not letting me upload tonight, Boo Hiss!

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Why do I craft?

Because craft opens up a whole world of possibilites.
Because craft keeps me sane.
Because craft is a whole lot of fun, don't you know?

I have always considered myself to be a creative person. I'm pretty hands-on. I like to make make things. Craft appealed to all those pieces of me. It's fun to look at a piece of paper or a ball of yarn or some large pile of wool in my closet and think, "Well, I'm going to turn it into x, y, or z." Or sometimes it becomes more like a, b, and c. You don't always know how something is going to turn out, and a lot of times, I'm pleasantly surprised.

I started out by doodling and making crazy things out of construction paper as a kid, moved on to making things out clay -- I made a pig for my eighth-grade teacher once -- and then started wielding crochet hooks and knitting needles. I enjoy all craft and am always open to learning something new.

Craft also opened me up to the world of indie crafters, and it has been amazing to see all this talent from all over the world! I'm proud to be part of a diverse and dynamic community and really believe in shopping handmade and indie. And so I try to spread the word as much as possible.

You can find my handmade goodies at my shop, Rosebud Designs (http://www.agirlnamedrosebud.com/), and you can read my indie shopping blog, indie*galore (http://www.indiegalore.com/), where I try to do my part to spread the word about other fantastic crafters and their shops.

Handmade Parade updates

It's Missy here... taken over for a minute! I just wanted to share a couple of new developments with you! :)

First, the postcards are here! They are really cute and you should all want one... so make sure you email us, handmade_parade@yahoo.com, with your snail mail address so we can get one to you! And if you are an artist, they will be on their way to you shortly!

And second, I made a flickr group for Handmade Parade! The group is open to everyone so that customers and crafters can all come conversate and chat, but we are asking that only pictures from vendors and Handmade Parades be uploaded :) This is a great way to pre-view the show! And to see shows past as we grow! You can find the flickr group here, http://flickr.com/groups/377703@N22/
It's new and it was just born today... so be patient. I'm sure many more pictures will be uploaded soon!
Thanks for reading! Make sure you leave a comment so you can win a prize... plus we just need ya to show us the love sometimes :)

Meet Vallen!

Vallen Queen is the talented gal behind Queenly Things and also a proud participant in Handmade Parade.

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Why I craft. I craft to justify all the television I watch. If my hands are busy and I am productive it doesn't feel quite so slothful to be watching Law and Order reruns or back-to-back Midsomer Murder all weekend. Plus I just get inspired when I see all the lovely things other folks are crafting. My motto is "Hey, I can do that!"

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Catch up with Vallen at her blog, Queenly Things.

Congratulations!

LeAnn has won our first comment prize! We told you guys that we would have giveways and giveaway we shall!

Missy has graciously given us one of her lovely notepads for our winner. Since LeAnn has been sweetly visiting and commenting since Handmade Parade's blog started. Thanks LeAnn!

So keep commenting and let us know what you think of our little site!

Love,

Claire and Missy

Handmade Parade Grand Marshalls

Meet Melody!

Melody of Handmade Luck is our next profiled crafter. We are so excited to have her as part of our Handmade Parade Spring Fling!

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Why I craft?
It’s a necessity to sanity. When I find a few minutes when I’m not doing anything, I need to do something. My grandmother used to say that I had busy hands, but for some reason she stopped saying that when I became a teenager (maybe she didn’t want to give me any ideas). I’ve always been into creating and fixing things. I remember making homemade eye shadow when I was eleven out of crushed up mica and blue chalk. I also used to take jewelry that was given to me and swap parts and create new stuff that I liked better.
When I was twenty-one, I realized that they sold beads in stores, so I started beading basic stuff and giving them away as gifts. Beading got lost along the way, as well as the rest of my free time. When I wasn’t mothering my son, I was busy working two jobs or going to school to finish my degree. It wasn’t until after I graduated and was at home with my daughter that I found, when she was napping, some free time. Since jewelry making had always been a passion, I took it back up as quickly as I set it down, and I haven’t stopped since. I also like getting my hands dirty, so decoupage was a natural selection for me. I make coasters and magic boxes that invoke frivolity and capriciousness, something of which this world definitely needs more.

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You can find Melody's work at her etsy shop, Handmade Luck and a profile at Sacramento Craft Mafia.

Meet Amy!

Hey everyone! Meet the fabulous and talented Amy Cluck!

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Why do I craft? It's a tough question for me to answer. I don't know why exactly, I just do. Perhaps it's in my genes, perhaps it's because I was brought up to craft, perhaps it's just who I am. I craft because I am crafty!

But I didn't always know that I was crafty. I was raised around my grandmother's toll painting, my father's woodworking, and numerous other crafty endeavors. I come from a land of handmade Christmas gifts and home-baked cookies. But I didn't realize how special those things were until a few years ago.

After I graduated college with my degree in multimedia and web design, I finally had time to take a class for me. I decided that jewelry-making sounded fun so I signed myself up. I had a nice collection of beads and occasionally made jewelry, but that class opened up new doors for me. I loved the feeling of being able to visualize a piece of jewelry and then to make it. I loved the feeling of being able to sporadically combine colors and shapes without worrying if it was "right" or "wrong." I loved the freeness and the realness of it. Computers are great but there's something surreal about them. You get so wrapped up in cyberspace that you can forget there's a world around you of smells, tastes, textures, and colors that no computer monitor can reproduce. Crafting brought me back to reality.

I was so excited to find other crafters like myself out there. I was excited of the possibilities, that you could make hip crafts that were fashionable. I found sites like craftster.org (http://www.craftster.org/) and get crafty ( www.getcrafty.com) which inspired me. I met others online who were selling their crafts. And my collection of jewelry and handmade accessories were growing so fast that I had to do something. And so Peptogirl Industries was born.Today I make and sell crafts of all kinds, not just jewelry. I love learning new techniques and creating new styles. I only hope that other people enjoy wearing my creations as much as I enjoy making them!

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Find Amy's goods at:

www.peptogirl.com/

peptogirl.etsy.com

peptogirl.blogspot.com

Meet Melissa!

Handmade Parade is happy to have the very talented Melissa Valeriote on board with us! We asked Melissa why she was a crafter and she shared these words with us:

Why I craft...

We all have it. That little voice inside us that's always been there. It begins as a whisper, a tugging, a what if. Over time the whisper becomes a calling. If we listen long enough and trust in our talents we no longer have a choice but to take action. Next thing you know your dog is covered in glitter, your floors are splattered with paints, ribbons, and fluff and your fingers have been glued together on more than one occasion. Your destiny is revealed... you are a "Crafter".

After surrendering to the call, I began tapping into my love of holidays by sketching, sculpting, assembling and creating holiday pieces in my studio. I can't help but have fun when I begin each day surrounded by glitter, paper clay, wire, ribbons and small colorful bits of silliness that have accumulated through the natural course of my life.

This journey has brought me exciting opportunities in the retail market and the chance to participate with fellow artists in local folk art shows. Being part of this community of artisans and collectors is truly refreshing, bringing me great joy with endless sources of inspiration. I am grateful to have a career that is an extension of who I am and to be surrounded with things and people that truly inspire me.

You can see Melissa's work at her website Holiday Queen and two online marketplaces, Glitter and Grunge and American Folk Art (which will go live April 1st).