Monday's Inspiration: Etsy Artists

Blushing: a treasury on Etsy

Recently, I've been working on building up my store on Etsy, and spending time promoting other artists' work as well. There's a community aspect to Etsy that is very appealing. I'm finding that building treasuries (curating lists of various items, usually built around a theme) is very inspiring.

There are so many wonderful creative people out there, doing amazing things. When I build a treasury, I deliberately go looking for amazing handmade items. My most recent treasury, Blushing, was built around a soft warm pink like, well, a blush. Note the awesome flamingo from Cart Before the Horse!

I hear my dream kitchen calling...

It's poor etiquette to include one's own items on a treasury, so none of my pieces are pictured here, but I get so much out of seeing what other people are doing and feeling inspired by it. Take the kitchen treasury, for example. I stayed with a soft, near-neutral color palette, one that my friend Alison has really taught me to appreciate. While I don't really do any of the arts involved in making these items, the overall effect of the restrained, serene palette makes me want to put myself on a color diet for about a week - picking a simple palette and then seeing how many things I can do with it.

As a consequence of being a part of the amazing creative community on Etsy, I find myself learning and growing and stretching, and I value those things more than I can say.