Phenomenal Artists Create Treasures That Will Make You Believe in the Magic That Exists All Around Us

This week, I laughed, I cried, I celebrated and I sat here in awe of these sensational, professional, talented, warm, risk-taking artists who challenged themselves to create works that will resonate with you long after you have viewed the work.

I wish I had completed my piece but this week it was not possible. Please know that I thank you - the participants, the readers - all who make this blog what it is. Thank you for believing in me, believing in each other and believing that together we have enough magic to make this world a brighter place.

Now, join me in celebrating belief in magic!

That's the thing with magic.
You've got to know it's still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you.
- Charles de Lint

http://pushbuttonalpha.blogspot.com/

Maureen, a talented artist, created this positively fabulous watercolor.

"The magic I believe in is love. Not the easy, hearts-and-flowers kind, although that is lovely. I mean the what-reason-in-the-world-do-I-have-to-love kind, that loves anyway because you know that loving is as necessary as breathing. (And yes, that is our first snowfall in the background of the photo.) So my offering is Love (seven times for infinity), a 9x9 watercolor with wax resist crayon. Hey, just TRY to resist love!! It always wins!!

http://aquamaureens.blogspot.com/















Jolene and Donna Hardy, creators of Funky Monkey Girls, created this simply gorgeous necklace.

“I was inspired by this Green Girl Fairy button to make this necklace with pearls and swarovski crystals....” said the Funky Monkeys.

http://funkymonkeys.etsy.com/
http://vivamexico.etsy.com/














Althea, creator of Salvaged Expression, created this truly beautiful piece.

"I call this the Friendship Candle," said Althea. "It is meant to remind me of a specific friend so I put in our favirote herbs, pennyroyal and lavender. The pink hue is actually a happy accident caused by a persistant red."

http://salvagedexpression.etsy.com/














Amanda, creator of Persistent Green, created this handmade and hand-bound journal.

"For me, imagination is magic. When creativity and play come together, new worlds are born. I'm excited to think what new creations might come about in this journal, which will be up for sale soon in my shop."

http://persistentgreen.etsy.com/
http://persistentgreen.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/PersistentGreen
















Teri, creator of Giraffe Label Designs, utterly phenomenal piece, the sisters wedding dresses (not really a name, but just what it is).

"I am really lucky to have so many people in my life that believe in me, and see magic in the things I create. I love sketching, but it is not something that I just knew how to do - it took a lot of practice and is still evolving. (My first sketches are soooooooo funny, and even my biggest supporters will testify to that!!!) My mother, who see's magic everywhere and always believes in me and encourages me, has been wanting me to do some sketches for her, and that is what I have done here. These drawings will eventually be framed and given to her. They are drawings of my sisters' and my wedding dresses. By the way, I have been wanting to add some drawings to my etsy shop...what do you think?"

http://www.giraffelabel.etsy.com/


















Trina, creator of Woven Chains Jewelry, created this simply fantastic piece titled, "My Wish".

"Sometimes in a grown-up world, magic can be very hard to find, so I decided to make something that reminds everyone that magic exists and is meant to be shared ... a teeny, tiny magic wand. Eventually, it will be a pin to wear everywhere. I hope that it will remind me -- and everyone else -- to believe!"

http://wovenchains.etsy.com/















Marja, creator of Glass Elements, created this truly magnificent piece, All Roads Lead to the Ocean.

"I love spirals - but I never knew how much until my husband and I traveled to New Zealand to get married a few years ago," said Marja. "There were spirals everywhere –called “korus” - the New Zealand Māori name for the unfurling fern frond and symbolizes new life, growth, strength and peace. We both resonated with the symbol and the meaning, and it has become something magical for us. This piece evokes a sense of that magic – growing towards something new, and all the new roads you take to get there…"

Listed here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32237353

http://glasselements.etsy.com/















Kris, creator of Lisianblue, created this wonderfully beautiful pieces.


"Believe in Magic

I went back to re-read the theme and noticed the phrase ".... honoring that someone or those folks in your life that have always believed in you." that I had not noticed before when I read it. There isn't anything else that would fit better than these creations..............................................

Magical is crocheting a little sweater, cap, booties for my grand-daughter who is expected to arrive in this world in January," said Kris. "Crocheting itself is magical. Magical is crocheting a sweater (not finished yet) a little cap, and booties (Peach set) out of left over yarn from a dress I made for my daughter's 2nd birthday (mom to be)- Being able to crochet these little creations for "her" is more special and magical because it was my Grand-mother who taught me how to crochet and knit, and always believed in me. Although she left this earth many years ago, she has always been with me. I hope I can be as good a grand-mother to my grand-children as she was to me. In honor of her, and especially for my grand-daughter with a whole lot of love, the beginnings of 2 different sets. Picture taken on material to be used for quilt, bumper pads, and other items."

http://lisianblue.artfire.com/

This week, I looked around and found JOY among Etsy artist items. These folks do not know they are in the TST yet...I am going to write to surprise them. More artists to celebrate and invite to play - YAY!


Cat Mounted Print - I Believe

http://primoriginals.etsy.com/

After viewing this joyful TST are you feeling creative? Are you ready to dive in and start creating for the next theme??

Well, the next theme is theme is.........."Polka Dot Dancing".





Tune in tomorrow for more fun details!

Celebrate with a trip to Artsyville!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: If you did not have a chance to visit the TST Clinic yesterday and check out Caffeinated Frenzy's site and shop, please stop by and take a peek!

Please forgive my lack of comments recently. My family and I have been gearing up to move to a new place and, at that last minute, the approved deal fell through due to serious, SERIOUS greed on the part of the person we were going into this deal with. I am beside myself with anger - so great that sometimes it just comes out in tears. This just happened a day and a half ago and we have to be out of here by October 31st and we are back at square one. So, I'm distracted. I'm sorry but this place brings me peace so please continue to play. It keeps me sane and stops the tremendous pressure on us from burying me for a few minutes when I come here. I really can't believe this. Anyhoo...




Have you been to Artsyville? It is one of my MOST favorite places to go and Aimee, the creator, is one of the nicest people I've ever encountered on the web. Today, these two pieces speak to me.

Go visit her shop and awesome blog and share a little love today.

Welcome to the TST Clinic Featuring Caffeinated Frenzy!

Royal Twist - Cabled Scarf

Welcome to the 2nd TST Clinic! In this space, we have an opportunity to make a real, positive difference. We will work to help our fellow artists, crafters and small business owners by providing constructive criticism on whatever they would like to share - a blog, a shop, a new piece of work, etc.

There are a couple of rules. It's nerve-wrecking to step out onto the TST stage, expose something that means the world to you and say tell me what you think. Keep that in mind when you are sharing your thoughts. Allow yourself to feel what it would feel like to be on the stage here.

Then, listen to what the artist has said below, review her shop and when you return to comment, please think of 3 positive things to say and 3 constructive things.

Today we welcome Kelsey, creator of Caffeinated Frenzy into the Clinic!

http://caffeinatedfrenzy.com/

Circus - Knit Elephant

Kelsey is looking for advice on ways to fix up her shop as she hasn't had sales in awhile. She would greatly appreciate any advice.



I ask ALL of you out there to take a moment, visit her shop, and, with your heart AND business mind, share some advice.

Thank you, Kelsey, for opening yourself up and inviting us all in to help.

Imagine fighting for...

Throughout history, there have been people and governments that have sought to destroy art and literature. If someone were to come and try to take your books, your art, the things you treasure that would you fight tooth and nail to keep?

Then, moving further out into a community, if the institutions that house works of art were threatended, what would you fight to save - a library, a specific text, a museum, a specific sculpture or piece of work?

Theme 36: Believe in Magic

How you choose to interpret the theme is completely up to you. It simply needs to be tasteful – no pornography or messages of hate here. When you sit down to create, you cannot think about how people will or will not receive your work. You are required to simply enjoy the act of creating.


All of us have something beautiful inside, something that others see as "magic." Those people that see the beauty inside are the people that believe in us with their whole heart. This week, create something that captures the idea of Believing in Magic and honor that someone or those folks in your life that have always believed in you.

Important Guidelines



The work submitted must be something you have created and/or worked on between the time the theme was revealed and the Thursday unveiling. Please submit your response to Natasha@creativenachos.com no later than end of day Wednesday, October 7th if you would like it to be posted on Thursday, October 8th. OR send me a link to your response to include in the comments section of the post.





With your response please include:


1. Your name - either first name, shop name or both.

2. The name of your piece (if you choose to give it one)

3. Something you'd like to share (process of creation, idea behind piece) if you'd like to share anything. Please limit this to 2-3 sentences

4. The shop and/or blog links you'd like to include

5. Two photos of your piece or of each of the pieces (3x5 or 4x6 and 72dpi or a max of 96dpi - if you need any help with that please don't worry I'd be happy to help!)

Most importantly, have fun bringing magic to life!

WARNING: Unbelievably Inspiring, Truly Talented Artists With a Contagious Case of Joy Are Spreading It Everywhere!

In a society where negative criticism and cynicism can be prevalent, there is something deliciously rebellious about choosing to be joyful. When you stand up to negativity around you and silence it within yourself, you are left with a HUGE open space in which true beauty can grow. That is the perfect fertile ground for JOY.

Thanks to Brandi, the true JOY REBEL, today’s Thursday Sweet Treat is filled with more joy rebels creating from a space that’s bright, light, warm, inspiring and filled with love. These works of art created by super talented artists will make you want to dance in the streets, sing when the feeling strikes, laugh out loud and live every single day with joy in your heart.

Thank you, Brandi for inspiring me to be joyful and create a theme that celebrates JOY. Thank you for being a part of this special Thursday Sweet Treat as well.

And now, without further adieu let us do the dance of JOY!!!!!



Maureen, a talented artist, created these sensational pieces.

"Oooooh, beware of Spreading Joy!!!" said Maureen. "After painting this 9x9 watercolor, I just couldn't stop myself . . . joy oozed, dribbled, leaked out all over!! Natasha, if these 7 photos are too many to post, I understand. But it's all your fault--this overflow of joy--for giving us such a juicy prompt!!"

http://aquamaureens.blogspot.com/

Agathe, creator of Meherio68, created these incredible pieces.

"I'm a busy bee, but, still— as you may or may not have noticed before, I love red, all reds," said Agathe. "Now that is a colour that gives me joy. Especially in nature— roses, poppies, and sweet peas on my balcony! Today, I treated myself and rummaged in my stock of gems. I ended up with these cute earrings that are garnets on gold. And they too give me great joy!"

Blog: http://lebarduvent.blogspot.com/
Etsy shop: http://meherio68.etsy.com/
DaWanda shop: http://lebarduvent.dawanda.com/
















Althea, creator of Salvaged Expression, created this stunning work.

"I decided to do something just a little different with mine since I've been captivated lately by the idea of Guerilla Gardening," said Althea. "It's the idea of taking empty land ie. the grass between lanes of a highway or an abandoned lot and growing beautiful and/or edible things there for everyone. I made a set of garden bombs for areas you can't access due to fences, fear, topography or what have you and filled them with wildflower seeds. The clay (harvested from a hillside on my property) will melt away in the next rain and the seeds should sprout. The large one has 4 acorns in it and reads "Spread seeds of joy."

http://salvagedexpression.com/














Catrina, creator of Minoukatze.blogspot.com, created this beautiful piece.

"I was thinking of things which always cheer me up, and cute little singing birds do the trick," said Catrina. "This is one of my watercolors combined in Photoshop with photos of birds. To see more, my art blog is at http://minoukatze.blogspot.com/."

http://minoukatze.blogspot.com/













Kelsey, creator of Caffeinated Frenzy, created these two, fabulous pieces.

"Here are two creations for this week," said Kelsey.

1. Ribbet - Hand Knit Frog-like thing.

2. Two Tone DNA Scarf - This one's still in progress, but I was thinking about how to make a mellow blue burst with joy.

http://caffeinatedfrenzy.com/

Ribbet



Two Tone DNA Scarf













Brandi, the JOY REBEL, created this awesome piece, titled, "Let's make our own joy vocabulary."

"This piece was inspired by this blog post: http://www.joyrebel.com/2009/09/mission-monday-creating-world-through.html."

http://www.joyrebel.com/












Felicia Kramer, creator of Another Bright Idea, created this gorgeous piece titled,“Art is Joy Perpetual".

"What else can I say except that art spreads joy!" said Felicia.

http://anotherbrightidea.etsy.com/
http://www.feliciakramer.blogspot.com/












Natasha, creator of Doodlestar, created this piece.

"I was walking down the street after reading something Althea had written about being rebellious and joyful and this image popped into my head. Thanks for the inspiration, Althea. I think I want this to be a journal cover. It's just makes me happy; it fills me with JOY. And of course, it makes me want to surf. LOL"

http://doodlestar.etsy.com/














Jodi, creator of Jodi Horgan - Beaded Art to Wear, created this incredible bracelet titled, "Joie de Vivre".

http://www.jodihorgan.etsy.com/
http://jodihorgan.blogspot.com/















Janet, creator of JanetDavies, created these exceptional pieces.

"I started to say that I have been really focusing on finding joy in my life but what I really mean is that I’m remembering the joy that I have always had and that still is with me now, even when it’s hard for me to see," said Janet. "One of the practices that has brought me a lot of joy over the last 20 years or so is my daily dog walk. Lately the weather in my beautiful Sonoran desert home has been HOT! This is the hardest time of year for me, the summer has been long and too hot, and while the rest of the country is enjoying crisp weather and the brilliant fall colors, I am cranking up the swamp cooler to deal temps in the 100’s. So when I woke up to temps already in the mid 70’s ( promising temps well into the upper 90s...again) I took my cranky, grumbling self out for the daily dog walk and I saw the most spectacular sky! So incredibly beautiful! I had to photograph it to share with all of you.Of course my dog Chewy always brings me joy, mostly because he is so full of joy!"

http://janetdavies.etsy.com/





















Trina, creator of Woven Chains Jewelry, created these phenomenal pieces.

"The Spreading Joy Theme touched me more than any I've done yet. I have three entries," said Trina.

http://wovenchains.etsy.com


1. "Stars and Rainbows"

"I'm definately channeling my inner 8-year-old with this one. Two silver and gold stars hang from either end of a rainbow. Its made to hang from a rear-view mirror or on a wall."








2. "Joy in the Garden"

"I love little critters. When I found these wonderful charms of insects and small animals, I knew they were going to have to be a charm bracelet. I also like the sun, moon, and star charms and what they added. I couldn't stop smiling while I was working on this piece. It brought me joy!"






3. "Simple Joy"

"A simple bracelet and pendant set, that brought joy when I made them."















Amanda, creator of Persistent Green, created this magnificent 4 1/2" x 5 3/4" handmade marbled journal.

"I couldn't think of a better way to spread joy than to host a giveaway!" said Amanda. "This journal marks the launch of a new product line in my shop (I'll be listing more for sale in the days to come). Please come visit my blog today for "joyful" details on how to enter to win this journal, made with my hand-marbled paper."

http://persistentgreen.etsy.com/
http://persistentgreen.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/PersistentGreen














Marja, creator of Glass Elements created these unforgettable pieces titled, Color of Joy.

"Funky, fun and full of color – these pieces radiate joy – and help cheer up your day just by wearing them," said Marja. "So be bold – and wear your joy. :)"

http://www.glasselements.etsy.com/
pendant: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31842393
earrings: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31842762














Phoenix Ravenswing creator of Crow Tarot, Kitty Hawke Cat Bird Crystals and
One Earth One Tribe, created these fantastic pieces.

Talismans by Crow Tarot
found at
http://www.crowtarot.etsy.com/

Our Other Etsy Shops
http://www.kittyhawke.etsy.com/
http://www.catbirdcrystals.etsy.com/
http://www.oneearthonetribe.etsy.com/



"This little guy was originally destined for another Treat, but after I saw the theme on Friday, I understood why I hadn't completed him before and had completed him now," said Phoenix. "He was originally intended for sale, but mysteriously developed this chip after I announced that, so apparently he is also supposed to join our collection."



"In the interest of spreading some joy around, I'm offering a custom-made miniature garden bottle (~2.5 to 3.0 inches high) to the first 5 TST-ers to say they would like one," said Phoenix. "They are great for small hydroponic cuttings, or for a miniature silk or dried flower arrangement, or, and thnx to Lisianblue for the idea, your favorite fragrance oil. These in the pic are samples of ones I've done before, for folks to get an idea of what they look like. The wire comes out rather randomly, but I can customize color selection to the extent of my bead stash. Enjoy!!! :-D"





"For those of you old enough to remember "Rocky & Bullwinkle", the duology of "Mage & Squirrel". :-D"

"The first series was taken in early September or so, the second last Saturday as I was getting ready to take photos. There was actually a squirrel up there both times, but the second time, I was JUST getting ready to hit the button, in fact, I think I had, when the batteries died. By the time I'd changed batteries and gotten back to the living room, the squirrel had moved on to bigger, better, and hopefully for it, less soggy pursuits. :-D I was, however, able to catch Mage in his look of "Please let the glass turn into a Squirrel-Permeable Membrane... PLEASE!!!" :-D"

This week, I looked around and found JOY among Etsy artist items. These folks do not know they are in the TST yet...I am going to write to surprise them. More artists to celebrate and invite to play - YAY!





SALE- Original Simpler Times JOY Painting Commission by Robert David Bretz
http://paintallnightstudios.etsy.com/

Glittery primitive JOY Chritmas letters with jingle bell
http://craftjunkie28.etsy.com/

Fhiona Galloway JOY Peacock Swan and Poppies Magnetic Recycled LOCKET SET
http://polarity.etsy.com/

After viewing this joyful TST are you feeling creative? Are you ready to dive in and start creating for the next theme??

Well, the next theme is theme is.........."Believe in Magic".

All of us have something beautiful inside, something that others see as "magic." Those are the people that believe in us with their whole heart. This week, create something to honor that someone or those folks in your life that have always believed in you.

Tune in tomorrow for more fun details!