FEST: April 2011

Friday, April 29, 2011

Interview with Creativeartcenter:

Who are you?
Hi Team FEST! My name is Sarah Berman. I am originally from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and I’ve been living in the US for about 12 years. I am married, and we have two beautiful teen girls.

What do you create?
I got to know the polymer clay art less than a year ago and I fell in love instantly! I make jewelry, boxes, key chains, wall art, and anything I want with this limitless material.

How did you come about your Etsy store name?
I have 3 Etsy stores. I’ve started the “Creative Art Center” as an after-school art class for preschoolers at my home, but I’ve soon realized that I’d need a much bigger infrastructure to keep up with that activity so, I had to close it up.
I’ve ended up with a huge inventory of art supplies, and wondered what to do with all that stuff?

That’s when I’ve opened my first online store at Amazon, and started selling my inventory. The result was good, and I’ve decided to upgrade my Etsy buyer account to a seller account. That’s my “Sarahb4” store.
At that time I was learning polymer clay techniques, and that’s when I’ve opened my Creative Art Center store. I think this name is appropriate, because I can create everything, not just jewelry or home decorations. Also, I have skills in glass painting, wood, graphic designing, movies editing, and photo restoration. I am working mostly with clay, but my store can have pieces made with all sort of creative and different techniques.
My third store is the “Sarah Berman Design”, where I sell my polymer clay canes.

Where does your inspiration come from? How would you describe your creative process?
My inspiration comes from everywhere, but I like to see artists’ master-pieces on any other media to start my work. When my creativity is down, I go to my art books (I have “thousands” of them! LOL!), and spend some time with them.

When did you know you were an artist?
The art was always part of my life. I drew since I was 4, and I still have a framed drawing that I made with black ink when I was a teenager. My family always considered me as a very talented girl.

What is your favorite material to work with?
I like many materials, but now I am in love with polymer clay and metal clay.

Where do you live in Florida?
I live in Cooper City, Broward County.

Could you recommend a fun activity near your Fl home that other members might enjoy?
If you have children I recommend the Discovery and Science Museum in downtown Ft. Lauderdale, where the children can learn and have fun while they are interacting with the exhibits.

What are some other sites to find out more about you and your art?
My Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/creative_art_center/

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Florida Etsy Street Team Treasure Hunt Challenge!

The time is almost here to begin the FEST Treasure Hunt!

Would you like to have the chance to win a fabulous set of prizes made by talented Florida artisans valued at over $200??

Check out this fabulous prize package, featuring a portion of what you can win (there will be more prizes to be announced soon!):

'Florida Etsy Street Team Treasure Hunt Prizes'

Fabric Bowl Reserve... zizzybob $10.00	Reserved for Team F... DMCJewelryCent... $20.00	SpringTime Redbud B... MiGoPhoto $24.00	Bright Flowers Jour... runningwithesc... $20.00
RESERVED - Please D... feedyoursoulth... $10.00	Paisley Butterfly G... hannahbird $10.00	Purple and Clear Cr... FeyFripperies $5.00	The Huldra - Fairy ... ArtSnark $15.00
Reserved for the FE... sewZinski $40.00	In Dreams - Mixed ... ArtSnark $10.00	Set of 4 Monopoly B... ashleykmckenzi... $4.00	Hibiscus in Silver ... TealwaterDesig... $15.00
Sea Glass Chips, Et... fragiacomoglas... $5.50	Floral Garden and W... MiGoPhoto $9.00	Original Marble Art... ArtSnark $10.00	Turquoise starfish ... angeloco $5.50

Here's how you can win these great items:

Starting on Sunday May 1st, 2011, there will be a daily clue that points to the name of one of the FEST member shops. A listing of all FEST member shops can be found here. Once you have figured out the name of the shop, you need to hunt through their item listings to find the hidden word; these words will then spell out a question. The daily clue will be posted here on the FEST Blog and possibly on the FEST facebook page.

The final clue will be revealed on Thursday May 12th, completing the hidden question. Once you have uncovered the question, all you need to do to enter is e-mail the answer to the question to FESTTreasureHunt (at) gmail.com along with your name. Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM EST on Saturday May 14th.

The winner will be selected from the correct answers submitted to the e-mail address before the contest closing through a randomization method (numerical assignments to the correct answers and selection via the random number generator at Random.org). The winner will then be announced here on the FEST Blog and will have the prizes mailed to them once a mailing address has been established.

Unfortunately due to laws and restrictions, this game is only open to Residents of The United States and Canada that are 18 years of age or older. You need not be a member of FEST to play, nor do you even need to be a member of Etsy to play. Organizers of the Treasure Hunt are not eligible to win.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Greetings From On Board The SS Tesla: 04/26/11

Greetings Fellow FESTers!

I apologize for the late post so here is a fun little activity that you can do with friends or by yourself if you get a little bored.

I present to you Captain Maricruz's Recipe for Sparkly Shoes!

Here's what you will need:

A couple of paintbrushes or make-up sponges

Fabric Glitter (Any color of your choice. I picked red!)

Fabric Glitter Bond

A couple of newspapers for you to work on.

Some Aluminum foil.

A pair of Shoes (They can be pumps, flats, converse, sandals, flip flops, even boots!)

Here are the directions:

Place the newspapers on top of your work surface. Then place several pieces of aluminum foil underneath the shoes you are going to make super shiny. Next place a some fabric glitter bond onto another piece of aluminum foil and take your paint brush or make up sponge and spread the bond on any area of the shoes that you want to add glitter to. Pour the glitter onto the area that you have added the bonding agent. Repeat as long as you need to get the sparkle that you desire. Make sure you gather up as much glitter as possible so that you can reuse it over and over (that's why this project requires several pieces of aluminum foil ;) ). After you have made your shoes all nice and sparkly, let your shoes dry. I would say give it somewhere between 4 to 6 hours to be on the safe side. After that, add some fabric glitter bond to seal it in and you now have yourself a very shiny pair of shoes that you can wear!

Here are some examples of what others have done:

By the very lovely Teresa from her blog Teresa Does It

Here is one from Glitter Projects

Here is an example of putting glitter on your sneakers!

I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial! I would also love to see the shoes that fellow Team FESTers have glitterfied!

Good Luck and Godspeed,

xoxo,
Capt. Maricruz

Saturday, April 23, 2011

April Team Challenge Entries

I present to you the April Team Challenge entries!!!NOTE: You may vote for MORE THAN 1 ENTRY!!!! Take your time to enjoy all the beautiful, creative entries from our fabulously talented Team Members :D Good luck one and all!!