Haiti By Hand

 

I happily stumbled upon this store by some roundabout blog surfing.  Boy am I glad I did.  Haiti By Hand is a store set up by Rebecca Sower.  Here is the description in the store announcement:

Haiti By Hand is an artisan group of Haitian women begun by Rebecca Sower. Just days before the earthquakes of January 2010, Rebecca was in Haiti working with this group of women. This etsy shop was established to showcase and sell the handcrafts of the Haitians, as well as a shop to sell items donated by artists and crafters who want to help this group of Haitians rebuild and establish themselves after the devastation of the earthquakes.

The entire purchase price of every item in this shop goes directly to the relief and rebuilding efforts of Haiti By Hand in Despinos, Haiti.

I Love that Rebecca is teaching these women a skill.  They are being empowered.  What an amazing & inspiring story.  You can read the stories & see pictures of the work first hand over at the blog.
What can you do?  Shop.  Donate your artwork or supplies - haitibyhand@att.net.  Twitter, Facebook, Blog.  Do what you can.  Tomorrow, I'll be donating some new jewelry I've been working on.  I just need the sun to peek out in my world.

One World One Heart 2010

Welcome to my One World One Heart post for old friends & new visitors

Wow, it's the fourth year that Lisa has hosted this wonderful event. As I was thinking about my post, I thought how perfect that it is themed a Magic Carpet ride.

This is my fourth year participating & I have been in 4 different locations for each one;

my hometown Tampa, FL

Dover, DE

Charlottesville, VA

and this year Kuwait City, Kuwait

I wanted to make something this year to commemorate this Magic Carpet Ride. I decided to make an altered composition book with a photograph I took here in Kuwait. Did you know there are beautiful beaches here? I didn't! I can't get over all the beautiful scenes here in Kuwait. If you're interested, you can see more Kuwait photos over on flickr. Just do a search with Kuwait as the key word. I've got a small photo set over there as well. I've visited mosques, markets, & even a few camels!

So here are the few things to sign up to win this composition book.

This is an international event, so all are welcome!

It's a blogging event, therefore all bloggers are invited to enter.

To enter, comment on this post only & make sure you are signed in with blogger or leave your blog info/email so I may contact you.

The ending date is Sunday February 14th at 11:59PM EST. I will announce the winner on Monday February 15th :)

So what is One World One Heart & why have I come back every year? Lisa gives the history & explanation here. For me, I've met so many people from around the world. Last year I even met a OWOH blog friend in person. Hi Cindy!

It's been fun to find so many like minded creative bloggers! I've learned & been inspired by so many. I hope you take the time to visit as many blogs as you can!

Comments are Now Closed.  I'll announce a winner later today!

New Cards

These cards are such fun. I keep making them in batches. I can't sit down & just make one. I'm hoping to beef up my inventory for the local craft shows, so I've been *trying* to make something creative everyday; a few cards, a pair of earrings, a canvas. I'm finding it tough to make the items then photograph & do a writeup for the website. I've had myself on hold with the web store, but not meaning to do so. I plan to get some updates in late this week.

Hope you all have a good week!
Come back tomorrow for One World One Heart

New Beginnings...

not just for the recycled magazine pages turned into paper beads, but what I will be doing with them. This is something new for me & it's very humbling to know that I will be sharing my craft with some special people.

In other news, I can't get enough of this mosque. I go grocery shopping & I find myself having to drive by to take pictures. I think I'm in love. I need to summon the courage to get out of the car & take closeups. The fun of having wheels again!

In yet more news, I'm slowly learning how to use this new camera of mine. I haven't been able to take macro pictures without fuzziness & the flash going off. I even resorted to my old camera to take pictures of some new jewelry. I was disappointed to not be able to use my new one. I started reading the manual in addition to other articles then just kinda stopped. I guess I just like to jump in & get started Kinda frustrating when you don't know what you're doing!

New Creative Stuff This Week

I'm plugging along. I'm tired & have no reason why.

Here are a few pictures from this week. I took some pictures of different mosques in a few neighborhoods.
I've also been making some cards. I've been using my photographs as the main component.

I'm planning on doing a few craft shows here in the spring. I'm beyond excited about all the opportunities here.

Have a good weekend.

I Can Hardly Stand the Creative Juju...

Get a load of all this creative goodness!!! I'm so excited to be teaching again for this new session of Artist Class. You Need to go take a look at the link. The projects are just gorgeous! I can't wait for class to start.

What is Artist Class?
Here's it is in the words of our hostess Mary Green:

Artist Class is an online collection of
12 project tutorials and 12 artists and contributors.
Artist Class is held over 4 weeks on a private blog; registration allows you access.

The project tutorials are presented as blog posts, one every other day, over 4 weeks. You'll also receive bonus images, templates and tips and tricks - something every day! The blog is open a full three months to allow plenty of time to begin and finish projects.

ARTIST CLASS is $59

but my blog readers get a

$10 Discount by using discount code kateveeme

Registration is here.

There are some seriously cute projects screaming to be Valentine's Day gifties. The nice thing about this class is that all the projects may be downloaded for future reference. Here's the list of talented & creative artists for the class:

Danielle Muller www.thevintagedragonfly.typepad.com

Dawn Edmonson http://the-feathered-nest.blogspot.com/

Hope Wallace Karney http://besottment.typepad.com/

Karen Watson www.thegraphicsfairy.com

Lesley Venable www.flatwoodsfolkart.typepad.com

Martha Kohley http://vintagetrifles.blogspot.com/

Michele Witchell http://www.lifeonthisgoodday.blogspot.com/

Nerissa Alford http://www.creativerantsfromnerissa.blogspot.com

Rosemary Garcia http://www.etsy.com/shop/PinsAndNeedlesToo

Tina Jensen http://tinybear-dk.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you in Class!

Coming Soon...

A New session of Artists Class! There is special pricing until Jan 9th - that's today so hurry over to register. Classes start Feb 1st & run through the end of the month.
Mary Green sets up the month long on-line class for us. Go take a peek at her blog & say hi. She has lots of inspiration & clip art for use in your projects.

I'm excited to be an instructor again. Here's my tutorial Chunky Funky Bracelets made from "bead soup". It's great for leftovers & beads you buy by the piece. It's a fun way to experiment by mixing different components in one piece. You'll get some design instruction & basic jewelry techniques in this class. I'm always trying to find ways to use components in different ways or add unexpected details. This bracelet is a great way to try both.

That beautiful canvas collage above is by Dawn Edmonson. Those of you that joined us the first time will remember she was also an artist during the first Artist Class. This project will have digital downloads so you can personalize it a little or a lot. This would make a sweet project for Valentines day!

Year in Review 2009

My first "collection" I designed. (I just added the link & realized there's not much left!)

Snow in Charlottesville Va. Oh how I miss Charlottesville & the snow!

I love all the elements in this picture. I went through a Marie Antoinette inspiration phase. See below for the reason why.

Eeek! Stampington & Co published my cuff above in the special Marie publication. It was quite a thrill & honor for me. I still look at my copy with awe.

Check another one off the list. I went to my first art retreat & attended Art & Soul in Hampton VA. I took a class with the amazing Jane Wynn. I blow torched those trinkets above.

A summer in limbo. We're ready for our move, but the government wasn't ready to send us. We lived in VA & MD this month. The only constant - channeling some creative juju. This cute journal was made by Tara Anderson.
Still waiting to leave for Kuwait. I individually packed each of my jewelry pieces.

Finally on a jet plane. We crammed as much of Maryland in as we could. I love this state & hope to return one day.

Lots of new views. It took a bit of time to get settled but I'm glad to be here.

Got my craft goodies, have a couple of places to create in the house & finding my creative footing. What a great feeling.

By far, my favorite dress, but still unworn due to the alterations necessary. No worries, another ball coming up in the spring.

We did a couple of cool trips in December. The Desert, The Beach & The Grand Mosque.

I'm so blessed for the full life my family & I lead. Here's looking to a great 2010.
Happy New Year!