Member of the Month for May 2014

Our member of the month for May is Jackie of StitchMikki.
Congratulations Jackie!

Jackie is a very talented textile artist.  As you can see from her profile page on Etsy, her work is wonderful; interesting and varied.
 
Here is a short bio in her own words:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are an English family living in beautiful British Columbia. Before emigrating from the UK we also lived on The Isle of Man for 5 years, a rather extraordinary place.

I have always been creative ... I was knitting and sewing even when I was at primary school and have worked my way through a stream of hobbies ... cross stitch, oil painting, tatting, knitting etc. While we lived on the Isle of Man I had the opportunity to take a visual arts diploma as a part time student. It gave this mother of 3 small children a much needed creative outlet and really encouraged me to experiment with different media and that is where I really started playing around with textiles.




When we first came to Canada I participated in the local craft show circuit (including "Art in the Park" on Canada Day) for a while selling my cards and also handmade beaded purses. I was invited to join a local cooperative and so became a member of The Kamloops Courthouse Gallery for several years.



Last year we took the big step of building our own house. I took temporary leave from the gallery as I knew this would be a time consuming venture. I still wanted to have that 'creative outlet' though and Etsy has filled that gap for the last year and a half.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Emily has been onboard with our shop since January last year ... I would not have been able to get going without her help as I couldn't even decide upon the name on my own ... let alone upload a banner!

Emily is currently an art student and has a particular interest in all things Japanese. She is hoping to eventually go to Japan and has been learning Japanese in preparation. The art she produces most is in the Anime style.... her drawings are very cute.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So ... life as an Expat ... it has it's 'ups and downs'... even in a country which speaks the same language the cultural differences can be enormous. But living here we have had some incredible experiences and that is what I remind myself when I have a bad day - here is my list of the best things to do in Western Canada (from personal experience):-

Jackie

Go skiing or boarding in deep powder snow with the sun shining;
Camp by a lake with a salmon or AAA steak cooking over the fire and watch the sun set with a glass of wine in hand;
Explore the amazing wilderness and see bears, deer, wolves, moose, coyotes, bald eagles and osprey in the wild- very exciting - if a bit scary! - you can also go whale watching;
Go canoeing on a lake or paddle down river;
Go whitewater rafting if you are a bit more adventurous;
Relax in a hot spring pool - there is one called Ainsworth Hot Springs where you even go into a cave.
Sail on a BC ferry - sit on deck, soak in the scenery and enjoy the wildlife;
Visit Dinosaur Provincial Park and see fossils still in the ground;
Ride the 'Peak to Peak' at Whistler - over a 1000 feet off the ground and quite possibly the most amazing thing I have ever done!;
Attend an outdoor blues festival;
Tour wineries in The Okanagan;
In Vancouver visit the craft shops on Granville Island or hire bikes and cycle round the seawall in Stanley Park where there is also a fantastic aquarium.
Have a cream tea in Victoria.

You may have noticed a bit of a recurring theme with the food and drink there!

I have been trying to get more 'onboard' with the social media of late.
I LOVE instagram and have started using that to show pictures of work in progress. The other social media I do less of.

instagram.com/stitchmikki
www.etsy.com/shop/StitchMikki
www.facebook.com/Stitchmikki
www.pinterest.com/stitchmikki
twitter.com/StitchMikki
www.tumblr.com/blog/stitchmikki
stitchmikki.blogspot.ca
www.rebelmouse.com/StitchMikki this page lumps all my social media posts in one place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks Jackie for this insight into your life as an expat and life in British Columbia... sounds like an amazing place!

Check out Jackie and the rest of the expat shops on our new Expat Showcase Link:
https://www.etsy.com/pages/etsyexpatsshowcase







Posted by Linda of Just One Look for Etsy Expats

'Spinning A Yarn' Monthly Team Challenge

Our team challenge for April was called 'Spinning A Yarn' and boy did we get some stories!

Great imaginations at work Team!!
 
Wonderful yarn crafts plus items with a story to tell.
From mermaid shells to story book fabrics.

Here is a list of our entries:
An Irish sweater.
Crocheted Earrings
Mohair Loop Scarf
Vintage Net Curtains
Poky Little Puppy PJs
Richard Scary Vintage Fabric
Mermaid Medallion
Celtic Knot Egg
Tasmanian Devil Necktie
Knitting Pamphlet
Hand Knitted Scarf
Textile Art Card
ACEO 1920s Woman
Crocheted Capelet

Click on individual items or see them all here in our fantastic treasury!


Everyone loved YarnBirdy's finger puppets and they were chosen as our winner.

Congratulations Alexis!!

Fairy Tale Finger Puppets

Thank you all for participating and giving us such a fun and lovely treasury:)

See you all next month for our May's Challenge:
'Double Take'






posted by Linda of JustOneLook for EtsyExpats

Netherlands: King's Day.

One of our expat team who lives in Holland, has written another interesting blog article.
This time about Dutch Koningsdag.  (King's Day).

Check it out here!

Thanks for the interesting read Shannon.

Member of the Month for April: Inspired Creations

The names were all added to our bowl (one of Monique's lovely creations) and the names were mixed and mixed .....
and the lucky winner is ......

 Yay!  Carole!!

Carole Fontaine is the owner and creator of
Inspired Creations.  Here is a short biography about her life and work:







Carole Fontaine (Spiritual Name: Nam Karan Kaur) got her BA in Graphic Arts in Montréal, Canada, and moved to Florida 20 years ago where she lives on a sailboat with her husband and Dozer the puppy dog.

After years of misdiagnosed medical problems, her search for holistic remedies opened her eyes - and heart - to the world of yoga, meditation and energy medicine. She studies Kundalini, Iyengar, Kriya and Raja Yoga and is a certified Reiki Master.

A few years ago she left the unsatisfying world of corporate deadline driven commercial art and started her own line of Reiki Infused Crystal Jewelry.

Besides making "Inspired Creations", she works as a freelance graphic designer, teaches Meditative Writing Workshops and volunteers in monthly women's healing circles as well as in her local hospital in Reiki Circles for Caregivers.

Her love for the holistic reflects in her fabulous handcrafted jewelry which has a high vibrational quality that will happily resonate with the wearer.
~ ♥ ~
Her jewelry is available at the HYATT REGENCY SPA66 of FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, USA
and at KIKAU School of Yoga in Ste-Foy, QUEBEC, CANADA
~ ♥ ~

Connect with her online!

www.facebook.com/InspiredCreationsInc
Pinterest: pinterest.com/carolefontaine
Twitter: twitter.com/ReikiCreations



Visit her Etsy shop where you can pick out your favourite jewelry.
here are some of ours.

Ancient Wisdom Amethyst

The expat team has been featuring Carole's lovely items online this month.



These are from top left to bottom right:
Drop of Ocean ... Pearls and abalone
Freshwater Pearls .. Goddess of the Sea
Turquoise wrapped pendant
Heart Chakra ... balancing and protecting

So many beauties to choose from.

Raw Crystal Points and Pearls - "Divine Goddess"

You really must stop by her shop!  Find these and lots more at Inspired Creations.




Check out Carole's feature on our new team page and visit the other team member shops too!
@ Etsy Expats Showcase




posted by Linda of JustOneLook for EtsyExpats

NEW!!!! Etsy Expat Showcase.

We have a new feature to display our team shops and items.  Etsy has created team pages and we are calling ours:

Etsy Expats Showcase

Check it out... we will constantly be adding new items and updating for the seasons and special events.  

Bookmark the link ( to the right of this page) so you can stop by and browse and shop whenever you get a chance.  Lots of great items from all around the world.  

Thanks for looking in:)

Yours Truly, The Expats curated by Etsy Expats Showcase on Etsy

March Challenge: Glitz and Glamor

Our monthly challenge treasury  for March was full of pretty, bright, sparkly items.  

So many lovely choices. .. diamonds, sequins, glitter..... even an organza dog's party dress:)  (Well done Sally for stepping up to the challenge and creating a new item).  

This glamorous copper sequin jacket from 
 Jan of boutiquefantastique was a big hit and won the most votes.   Sure to liven up any outfit!  

Thanks to all of you for coming by and commenting and voting.  Be sure to stop in next month for our challenge....  "Spinning A Yarn"

See you all there!



posted by Linda of JustOneLook for EtsyExpats

Member of the Month for March

Cloisonne Butterfly Set

Once again another month is whizzing by.
This month Karen's name was pulled from the bowl and we have been featuring many of her fabulous items in treasuries and on our Pinterest boards from her two Etsy shops:
Made With Love By Karen and Everything Florida


Karen is very versatile and offers so many different items from hand knits and handmade jewelry to tie dye shirts.


Originally from the UK, Karen moved to Florida 7 years ago.  She is a mummy to a 16 month old little girl and has 3 rescue animals.
Sounds like a busy lady!!

Still she finds time to make these lovely items for her two Etsy shops.



She has such a wide selection it is hard to decide which to feature.

Fabric Ruffle Scarf

However, her newest items are these lovely fabric ruffle scarves like this black and red one above and this black, white, grey and pink one:

This gorgeous Kanzashi flower headband is toddler sized but Karen also makes larger sizes.  Check out her shop and request a custom order if you don't see the size or colour you are looking for.

Don't forget to look into her Everything Florida shop too, where you can find her tie dye tee shirts

and other tropical delights.  

          Kid's tee shirt.  

It has been fun checking out Karen's shops this month.  Thanks Karen ... hope you enjoyed it as much as we all did!   

Hope you all stop by and see her and don't forget to check in to see who is our next lucky Member of the Month for April.  

Posted by Linda of JustOneLook for Etsy Expats.

February Team Challenge: Best Foot Forward

Our February Challenge was to pick the item that gave the best first impression of our members' shops.

As expected, we had several wonderful entries and here is our lovely treasury.

Several different items were voted on.  The one with by far the most was this lovely stained glass panel from Shirl.

If it looks familiar, it is.  It was also featured in our blogspot on our member of the month for February!

We really love Shirl's items!





Once again, thanks to all who entered and commented and voted.  Couldn't do it without you!

Stop by next month to see our March treasury:  "Glitz and Glamor"

We should get some gorgeous entries for this one!  One voter per seller.... anyone can vote.
See you all there.






Posted by Linda of JustOneLook for EtsyExpats

Member of the Month for February.

After a bit of a break for the Holidays we are back with our team member of the month.

Once again the names were all put into one of Monique's lovely glass bowls and her helper shuffled them well before picking out a name.

Yea! It's Shirl of artophile.


We are all happy to get a chance to poke through her shop and view all her lovelies.   Like this
beautiful stained glass flower panel.



 Shirl is so talented.  She paints, carves and engraves, makes stained glass and that's just what we see in her shop.
Originally from Scotland, true to her roots, one of her favourite themes is her celtic knot in many different forms.

Celtic Knot Ostrich Egg.

The intricacy of her carved ostrich eggs is amazing.  She says this one took hours.  Isn't it incredible!

Painted Celtic knot

This is just a small sampling of Shirl's talent.  Please check out her shop and be sure to look through all sections. 






This stained glass tree panel is beautiful.  Look at the detail. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Unfortunately February is a short month and 28 days went by fast.  

I asked Shirl if there was something she wanted to add like a recipe or something about her shop or creating process.  

She has a few words for us:

"Being picked for Member of the Month has been a huge thrill and I'd like to thank all the team members who made treasuries, favorited my stuff and generously showered my shop with attention. Sometimes it was quite overwhelming!

Living in the mountains of West Virginia can be a bit isolating, especially in winter, so all the love really warmed me up!

I tried to come up with a recipe to share but when I was thinking of my favorite foods, all I could think about was McVitie's Chocolate Digestive Biscuits, so here's my "recipe" for them.

Get in the car and drive through the mountains for one and a half hours until you reach Blacksburg, the town where Virginia Tech is.
Go to the Kroger store and find the International section. Calmly stride up to the shelves of British food and swipe as many packets of choccie biccies as you can fit into the buggy without causing a riot, pay for them and then drive back up the mountain road to home.
Make a cuppa strong English Breakfast tea, carefully open a packet of biccies and enjoy! 

Thanks again my lovelies, this month has been a blast!"

That sounds like a very involved recipe ...definitely time consuming and delicious:)  

Thank you too Shirl.. you keep us laughing. 

Posted by Linda of JustOneLook for Etsy Expats.

Fourth Featured Seller is from Malaysia: Honey's Hive.

Our featured seller from Malaysia is Honey.
 
Originally from Wisconsin in the US she now resides in Kuala Lumpur where she runs her lovely quilling shop Honey's Hive.



From cute to sophisticated and all very elaborate here are a few of her offerings.


These pretty paisley earrings in gold, silver and white are amazing.  Such patience!




and these gorgeous rose chandelier earrings
 
 really quite exquisite.  



When thinking about Honey's shop, I always think of her cute animals and love the bright colours she uses when creating them.  

Love this beautiful butterfly pendant 

 lovely bright seahorse  and  pair of dolphins.




You can also find tutorials and supplies and many, many more lovely items.

Find out more about Honey by going to her profile page on Etsy. and visiting her shop.






Posted by Linda of JustOneLook for EtsyExpats