Lollipop World

How scrumptious do these lollipops by Michele Boudreaux on Etsy.com look?!



The Brooklyn resident, makes lollipops in a variety of nifty flavors such as the Asian Orange shown above, Zesty Fennel, La Playa, and even a Grandma flavor, which I'm sure has a great kick to it.

I'm a sucker for lollipops (no pun intended), so these are definitely on my to purchase list!

Hope you're all having a great weekend. I'm getting ready for a gig tomorrow, making sure I have all my photo gear ready to go!

Craftopolis - an amazing tool for Etsians

I heard about edit express on Craftopolis.com about a week ago from one of my fellow fPOE members, and I just have to share it with you all! Especially if you have an Etsy shop this is a great Web site that facilitates running your shop and seeing an overall view of your progress.

You simply put in your Etsy shop name, and it'll pull out information from your shop and Google analytics account and give you a day to day and monthly summary. You can also bulk edit listings, instead of having to pull them out one at a time from your Etsy, including changing the price of items, descriptions, and titles.



If you haven't yet, check it out!

Haiku #1

so much for today.
there is a light that remedies
inside, lost in mind.

Fish Brooch

How darn cute are these fish brooches by tressbyGomez on Etsy.com?



The Italian crafter offers a bunch of handmade wearables, toys, and decorations through her shop, and photographs them ingeniously.

Day 69-75/365: Staying on Track

Oh loves, do you ever have those weeks where it's just oh-so-hard to keep on track? Where you just feel like blowing it all away and sitting on your arse and doing absolutely nothing. That's where I was at the start of this week.

I don't think I've ever faltered more during my 365 day photography project. And though I did manage to work on other things I had pending, I have to admit that I really dropped the gun this week to the point where I had to take one of my daily photos when I was already in bed, lights out, using my cell phone. Of course, the photograph of my half-started painting using the flash on my cellphone for light came out anything but spectacularly. But, at least I didn't have to say that I missed a day!









As I continue the journey in my project, I do my best to stay on track. Have methods that you've found useful for these times? Please share.

My Mum

My mom has been the greatest asset in my life. She has guided me, comforted me, made me laugh constantly, raised me with good morals, pushed me to triumph, and loved me above everyone else.

She is the hardest worker I know. And such a truly wonderful mom.

One of the saddest things to me is that when I was a baby my parents didn't own a camera. While my sister has a whole album put together of her earlier years, I have only a handful of images from my first few birthdays.

A few months ago my cousin tagged me in a photo on Facebook. I was so happy to see that it was of me and my mom when I was little. I love this photo so much. One of the handful I have, and will always treasure.



My sister and I spent the day with our mum in San Francisco yesterday. After a day of good food, cheesecake, amazing coffee, and a little shopping, we came home exhausted, but happy at having spent a relaxing day together.

What did you all do for Mother's Day loves?

Featured Seller: Liese Chavez

Artists truly have the ability to take the observer into another world. This cannot be more true than with the work of Liese Chavez, a self-taught artist from Manitou Springs, Colorado.

Her works mesh fables, fairytales, and dreams into vivid and enchanting paintings and prints that are truly for those that love to imagine.

Liese sells her various prints and jewelry internationally through her three Etsy shops: Pale Preoccupation, Deadpan Alley and Rhombus Jewelry.

"I find inspiration in all the dreaming I did as a child. I spent a lot of time inside my head. Still do," Liese said.



Although Liese has undeniable talent for bringing those dreams and visuals from inside her head onto canvases, she is a strong believer that her ability has formed not from pure talent, but from hard work.

"Sometimes I think that people get the idea that I woke up one day being able to draw anything I fancied. Drawing like painting is a learned skill, just like playing the piano or becoming an athlete. It takes practice and dedication. People often tell me they don't think they could ever learn to draw, but I think they are just being too hard on themselves. Give yourself a proper chance to try, then judge," Liese said.

Though many of us might have a "yeah, right" response to this, there is no denying that Liese's encouragement and modesty make her a truly likeable artist, whose imagination we feel truly invited into.



Like other crafts that take dedication to minute details and extreme patience, Liese's works take a lot of hard work and focus to finish.

"It can take dozens of hours of preparation before I begin what will become a final painting." From there "oils with layers of glazing take the longest, almost two months to finish..." Liese said.



But all that time is very much worth it when the finishing results are feminine classics.

"I create things as a way to connect to others and to keep my head in the right place," Liese said.

In five years Liese hopes to be a full-time artist that can still pay her mortgage and can give herself two days off a week. To her that would truly suffice.

You can follow Liese's imaginative journey through her Twitter and Facebook pages.