Wonderful Wonderland of Hats and Bows

Meet Amy Ryan of Amy Wonderland

Amy is a crazy talented lady that I’ve had the privilege of knowing now for over 3 years, and have had the great fortune to have worked with her on several collaborative themed projects.  Her deep love of art has manifested itself in many different forms through the years.  She named several things she’s enjoyed, get a load of all these skills: writing, drawing, painting, sculpting, styling makeup and hair, photography, stitching, knitting, crocheting, singing, trumpeting, and body modification.  She says that for as long as she can remember she’s always adored making things with love and giving to others.  And that she does…

I wanted to show you a small demonstration of one of our collaborative efforts several years ago.  We did an Alice in Wonderland themed collection together.  At the time I was working with perfumery.  Here is a promotional banner which shows the fabulous hat Amy made and she wrote this awesome poem about our collection:

How cool is that?  And look at that hat!  Hey, I can rhyme too!

And speaking of hats, here are a couple that she’s designed recently.  These are Fascinator Hats from her CMTA Collection:

There’s something else you should know about Amy.  Amy is an amazing and giving person, and it goes way beyond her artistic abilities.

Amy bravely lives with a disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth.  She says, “It’s the most common disease you’ve never heard of.  CMT is a hereditary motor and sensory neuromuscular disease which causes pain, loss of sensation, and death to muscles in the body.  It can effect hands, arms, feet, legs, diaphragm (breathing), skeletal structure (scoliosis), memory, brain function and other parts of the body.”

And you know what?  Instead of giving in, Amy works hard.  Not only having the will to continue with her hat and bow making, but also donating at least 10% of her monthly gross income to the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association’s STAR Research Fund.  She says, “This fund works tirelessly; researching treatments and, hopefully one day, a cure.  I smile knowing that every item I make for my Etsy shop is durable, beautiful, enjoyable, and supportive of a worthy cause. I currently sell hair accessories, and will be adding different items to my shop whenever I can. I sell a collection of blue and orange items, which are the official colors of the CMTA.  50% of the proceeds of those items go directly to the CMTA charity.”

Amy works towards raising awareness and money for the CMTA (cmtausa.org), and continues to be a super courageous person who, despite wearing leg braces every day, using a wheelchair to get around, and can only use her hands for short periods of time – does all she does!  Such an inspiration…  She is a loving wife, a superhero aunt, and a very loyal friend who has a giant heart (to be sure) and loves to  smile and laugh.

It’s people like Amy that make this world go around much more beautifully, with her kind and warm spirit and gorgeous items that we can all wear and enjoy.  I myself own beautiful designs made by Amy.  Here is a collage of some of her recent hats and bows:

I truly hope you’ll stop by and see Amy.  She is the most friendly person you’ll ever get a chance to meet.  She also does custom orders, so drop her a line and tell her what you’d like to wear to brighten up your style and day.

You can find her online shop at: www.amywonderland.etsy.com

And her Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/AmyWonderland

It’s been a pleasure sharing Amy’s art with all of you, and I appreciate her sharing her personal story with us all.

To find out more about CMT, visit cmtausa.org 

Till next time, Stay Wonderful!

Jfay, Studio 3B

Originally posted on Yum Factor 10, American Crafted.

Studio3B – Featured Shop!

Our new featured shop is Studio3B!

Studio3B is filled with unique, beautiful purses and lip balm holders.  Every item is hand-crafted by Johanna (also known as Jfay), the owner of the shop. Studio3B is located in Houston, Texas.

In the years that I have known Jfay, I’ve found her to be sweet, giving, smart, fun-loving, wildly talented, and funny.  She has such a great way with words and a very unique story to tell.  When I approached her about making this feature, she was ecstatic.  I asked her to tell us about herself, her background, and her hobbies, here’s what she had to say:

“Hello, my name is Johanna Bustamento and I am a nut 😉 Haha! Nope, nope, let’s start over 🙂

I enjoy sewing and crafting of all kinds. I’m always looking forward to new and inspiring projects. I find inspiration everywhere, and have a long family history of artistic creatives, so it seems I may have inherited quite a few loves of different types of creative output. I like to keep it fresh, keep it new and always have fun.

At the present, I’ve been enjoying making lip balm holders. I came across this idea when looking for a project to incorporate using left over fabrics from my purse projects. I found only one “how to” on the subject, and it did not really work for me, so I set about to create my own design. After several experiments I finally got the look down that I wanted and also added a few extra features to make them really cute as well as functional.

So now I set about to find specific fabric just for these little cuties instead of them being the afterthought project. They’ve found their way to my heart, and have now taken center stage. I’m enjoying making cute and fun themed designs with these. My favorite right now is the Wonder Woman themed holders.

The fabulous thing about these holders is that I make them using key rings, and you can clip and carry them anywhere. Even if you’re not carrying a bag. Some have large enough clasps to clip them to your belt loops and you can also clip them to any zipper pull. My new motto now is, “Stay kissable on the go!”

My other new passion is blogging. I began blogging a while back and had an idea of where I wanted it to go, but then kind of let it lag. I’m now back with a clearer vision and much eagerness. My blog is named Yum Factor 10, American Crafted. The main focus of Yum Factor 10 is to celebrate the fabulousness of American artists, artisans and crafters. My family and I appreciate the hard work and dedication that these very talented people put into what they do.

I’ll be blogging about all kinds of fun stuffs. From mouth watering goodness – and probably a shared family recipe or two in the mix, to celebrating those who provide us with beautiful things, and make things that make us look gorgeous, to stylish art, very crafty things, and who knows what all I’ll find! And definitely we’ll be trying some craft beers and IPA’s. That’s one of my (and my family’s) newest hobbies.

There is also a showcase on Yum Factor 10 for local stars in our area, and I plan to be adding an International Friends category soon. So all kinds of fun stuffs going on. I hope you’ll stop by and visit. I’m always on the lookout for fresh talent to showcase, so drop me a line if you know of anyone that I should check out. yumfactor10.com

Also, please stop by and visit my Etsy Shop for some fun fashion accessories. www.etsy.com/shop/studio3b“

You can also find Jfay, Studio3B, and YumFactor10 at:
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+WickdJfay
Instagram: http://instagram.com/johannabustamento
Studio3B Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studio3bcreations/
YumFactor10 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yumfactor10/

Studio3B is always adding wonderful new items to their shop, so be sure to check back often!  Jfay welcomes custom orders, so feel free to message her.  There are also new and exciting things being added to the Yum Factor 10 blog all the time!

Written by: Amy Wonderland

3 Gears Glass and Gifts – Featured Shop!

The holiday shopping season is here, and this week’s featured shop is 3GearsGlassAndGifts!

3GearsGlassAndGifts is filled with functional art glass for everyday life.

3GearsGlassAndGifts is owned and operated in Colorado by Reba. She has been a glass artist for over 20 years. She loves to teach and create. Her home based studio specializes in ready made glass art for every day use and enjoyment. Having a background that started with stained glass, Reba likes to incorporate many different types of techniques into her creations.

3GearsGlassAndGifts has a wide variety of useful housewares, along with one of a kind pieces. A lot of Reba’s ideas come from nature, and stunning sunsets and sunrises that she sees. Her best sellers are her mosaic soap dispensers. Her shop also offers lotion dispensers, stained glass, jewelry, fused glass soap dishes, fused glass bowls, fused spoon rests, fused glass art, mosaic wall art, mosaic tissue box covers, and fused candle screens. Reba adds new pieces all the time and welcomes custom orders!

Stop by 3GearsGlassAndGifts, stock up on gorgeous fused and mosaic glassware, and keep your eyes open for gifts for your loved ones! For promotions and updates, follow 3GearsGlassAndGifts at:
www.facebook.com/RebaAt3Gears
www.twitter.com/ThreeGearsGlass
www.pinterest.com/RebaAt3Gears/
www.instagram.com/ Reba3GearsGlass/

 

Written by: Amy Wonderland

Mickey and Chicken – Featured Shop

The holiday shopping season is here, and this week’s featured shop is MickeyAndChicken!

MickeyAndChicken has a huge variety of versatile, affordable, accessible styles for busy women.

MickeyAndChicken is owned and operated in Denver by Janet. She is inspired by beautiful fabrics that feel amazing, gorgeous gemstones, and pearls that catch her eye. Her designs are simple and created to let the beauty of each piece of fabric or gemstone take center stage. The shop name “MickeyAndChicken” comes from Janet’s younger daughter; her two favorite accessories are her Mickey Mouse blanket and her “Chicks Rule” blanket. “These two blankets – which she affectionately refers to as ‘Mickey and Chicken’ make her feel happy, confident, cozy,” Janet says, “I hope my designs make you feel the same way.”

Janet’s shop is full of scarves, cardigans, ponchos, kimono shrugs, bags, totes, purses, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Each piece Janet creates for MickeyAndChicken is designed to be versatile and affordable so that every woman – no matter how busy she is – has easy access to a stylish, polished look. She works hard making every item unique, beautiful, durable, and fashionable.

Stop by MickeyAndChicken today, browse all the fabulous fashions, and stock up on affordable gifts for your loved ones, and while you’re at it, treat yourself too! For promotions, updates, and other fun stuff, follow MickeyAndChicken at
www.mickeyandchicken.etsy.com
www.twitter.com/JanetLondon
www.facebook.com/MickeyandChicken

Written by: Amy Wonderland

Pretty Byrd Designs – Featured Shop!

Just in time for holiday shopping; this week’s featured shop is PrettyByrdDesigns!

PrettyByrdDesigns is overflowing with original paper creations!  You can find a beautiful card or small gift for any occasion.

PrettyByrdDesigns is owned and operated in Ohio by Beth Byrd.  Beth is an amazing artist whose creativity shines through in every item she handcrafts.  She is particularly drawn to flowers, nature, and botanical themes.  Her love of the past is often seen in her work, which tends to express a vintage style.

Beth’s shop is filled with greeting cards, decorative boxes, journals, mixed media art, and other original paper craft items. She is wonderful at working with her customers to fashion special, one-of-a-kind creations.

Beth is a proud member of the design team for Ewe-N-Me Printables, as well as a crew member for Canvas Corp Brands/7 Gypsies. Additionally, her cards have been featured in “Take Ten” (Spring 2015) and “The Stampers’ Sampler” (Spring 2014 and 2015). You can stay up-to-date with Beth and all of her amazing goodies by following her blog.

Custom orders are always welcome. So, take a look at PrettyByrdDesigns today, find gorgeous works of art at amazing prices, and feel free to message Beth for all your custom needs!  www.prettybyrddesigns.com

 

Written by: AmyWonderland

Bold and Beautiful meets Quirky Cute

And that headline, ladies and gentlemen, describes Sweetiepips.

Sweetiepips is one of my favorite jewelry shops with it’s wide range of styles and beautifully bright colors.   It’s run by a very fascinating lady name Katrien, who is an awesome artist and absolutely loves what she does.  It definitely shows!

Katrien describes her work as “Unique, Bold and Beautiful Bits “N” Pieces”.   She says that she loves to ponder, experiment, design, and create unique and beautiful things.  “Taking inspiration from past and present, vintage and contemporary fashions and styles, my bits ‘n’ pieces then unravel and evolve quite organically.”

And showing off her whimsical side, you have to love these cute and sometimes quirky designs:

Bright Pink Cat and Meow Earring Designs

Fried eggs on toast anyone? Earrings that is….

And I really love these cute rain cloud brooches:

I hope you’ll stop by and visit Katrien and Sweetiepips very soon.  You never know what treasures you’ll find there!

Feature by Jfay, Studio 3B

Coloring for Adults! Relaxing Fun

These are too fun!  Oh how I miss coloring.  How about you?

Check out these fun coloring sheets for adults from LaSoffittaDiSte.

 

 

A great way to enjoy a favorite childhood pastime again, and perhaps have your own masterpiece to hang with pride.

 

They have many fun pages to choose from with very intricate drawings that look like a ton of fun to color in.

 

I’m loving this fun Gecko coloring page.  I may need one of these for myself since we call our home Casa de Gecko.

 

I’m ready to break out my colored pencils, how about you?

Here’s the link again to LaSoffittaDiSte.  You can download a copy of these plus other funtastic pages for only $1.92 ea.

Feature by Jfay, Studio 3B

Sweet Designs

How cute is this ring?

I absolutely fell in love with this Sweet Pastry Ring Design from GeschmeideUnterTeck in Kirchheim, Germany.  This is made by artist/designer Isabell Kiefhaber.  Isabell says that she loves to  design and work with her hands to make unique jewelry.

And because of this love, the idea to “Geschmeide unter Teck” was founded.  (“Jewels below Teck”)
Teck is a lovely castle at the edge of the “Swabian Alb”, which she sees in front of her window.

This must bring her much inspiration, because her designs do not end with sweets, Isabell has many many different types of jewelry creations.  I’ve picked out a few of my favorites to show you here.

This Sewing Basket Ring is so darling!  Look at the details she puts into her work.  There’s even a piece of thread in the little needle!

And here’s one for all you Knitters out there:

These are just too fun!

Isabell also accepts custom orders.  You can choose your ring color, size and what contents you would like in your ring.  Custom orders do take about 3 weeks to produce, but oh so worth it!

Be sure to visit Isabell’s lovely shop where you can find these rings as well as earrings and necklaces.

So much Yum for your eyes to take in when you browse through  GeschmeideUnterTeck!

Feature by Jfay, Studio 3B

A True Inspiration

From Derbyshire England to right here in Houston, TX, (where we are very lucky to have her) I’m very excited to introduce you all to a very fine lady who has been an inspiration to me as well as a great leader who inspires many entrepreneurs to follow their dreams.

Meet Lindsey Buckley of SAjolie

Lindsey is at the helm of our Afternoon Tea, Chat and Treasuries Team on Etsy.  She leads the way with her great ideas and always with a sense of camaraderie.  It is honestly the best group or team in which I’ve ever been associated, and it is a huge credit to her and how much time and effort she puts into everything she does.

Not only is Lindsey our fierce leader, she is a devoted wife, mother, and daughter.  She has two businesses of her own, being both a realtor and jewelry designer, is the leader of our ATCT Team and hostesses an Afternoon Tea Luncheon/Meeting Group in Houston as well.   Did I mention that she’s also an avid traveler?

I believe she is what is described as a dynamo — or perhaps we should call her a Texas Tornado!  I honestly do not know how she manages to do everything that she does (and do it so well).  I’ll not question, just be very grateful that she is a part of our lives.

I wrote to Lindsey recently to express how she has inspired me, not only in promoting my little business, but also artistically.  I very much enjoy her passion for her new home here as well as the passion in which she puts into everything she does.

And speaking of what she does…  SAjolie, her French inspired jewelry boutique is a true delight!

Again, where she finds the time to produce such beautiful items is beyond me — But I will say that I think she must do more than one thing at any given time.  I contacted Lindsey to inquire about custom jewelry items one evening.  She was very gracious and communicated with me via her Etsy shop, sending me pictures and examples of what choices she had available, all while prepping dinner for her family.  I told you she is a dynamo!

Here is a picture of the custom key ring that I commissioned from Lindsey.  It came out so stunningly beautiful and arrived gift boxed so lovely. I was very excited to give this as a special gift.

SAjolie features an eclectic fusion of Bohemian, Spiritual, Cowgirl and Charm. You can find something for all jewelry styles within the large collection of her vintage and handmade pieces. Lindsey says that she loves nothing more than a custom order.  And I can certainly vouch for that!

There are over 1500 items in her shop in which to happily browse, many with inspirational messages (of course!), and something for just about any occasion you could imagine.

And did I mention that the shipping is free?  Believe me, when you cross paths with Lindsey, everything is a positive.

I hope you have the good fortune of meeting Lindsey in some capacity, and I certainly hope that you’ll visit her online boutique for very special jewelry items to commemorate a special event or person in your life or just for something gorgeous to wear!

Article by Jfay, Studio 3B

Trapped in Time Designs

If you love clothes, fashion, costumes, theatrics…  Oh, if you love timeless fashion and style, period, then you are going to fall in absolute love with Mairi Lothian of Trapped in Time Designs.  Her slogan is “Because style doesn’t have an expiration date.”

I love that!  And I adore her clothing designs.  They speak to me on every level.  I love period fashion and any and all things theatrical, so I’ve been a fan of her work since I first laid eyes on her beautiful creations.

Mairi’s designs bring timeless beauty and fashion sense to the modern world.  She has managed to make her clothing into very wearable works of art that you can easily feel comfortable showing off in many settings or turning a few heads at various occasions.

Mairi also designs very elegant costumes.  Many of her designs have a Mardi Gras, Burlesque, or Circus theme, and some have a Steam Punk, Vintage or Gothic appeal.  Gotta love her sense of style, that’s for sure.  This is one of my favorite costume designs from her.  It’s called the Voodoo Queen.

Look at all the detail that Mairi’s put into this and the time it must take.  I am in complete awe…

Here’s another of my favorite Trapped in Time Designs, the Checkered Pepum Skirt.  It’s like a lace up corset skirt. So gorgeous!

I could spend hours just browsing through her shop and not being able to make up my mind.  Everything is so breathtakingly fabulous.

Here are a few words directly from Mairi about her work and how this all came about:

“The name, Trapped In Time Designs, stems from my deep love of all things vintage, retro and old. I’ve never felt quite at home in the modern age, never quite felt like I fit in. I love vintage films, books, styles, and furnishings. I had often mused that I was a 1950s housewife trapped in the modern age.”

“I work in my home studio on a 1946-era Singer machine that I inherited from my grandmother. I also have a 1970s-era Singer and a 1990s-era Bernina, but the ’46 Singer is my favorite of the bunch. I love that I’m creating beautiful garments on the same machine that my grandmother used for years.”

“I’m a one-woman show, designing, creating, shipping, marketing–all of it. I take great pride in my business and the quality of my product. I take great joy from talking with customers and creating the perfect garment for them. My designs go on some grand adventures!”

I sincerely hope that you’ve enjoyed this timeless fashion journey with Mairi and all her fabulousness and that you’ll be sure to tell your friends about her gorgeous creations.

You can find Mairi online at Trapped in Time Designs on Etsy.

Jfay, Studio 3B

xoxo!