Holiday sale at CreativeCritters

Black Friday Cyber Monday sale at CreativeCritters

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from CreativeCritters!

CreativeCritters is having a holiday sale!  From Monday 11/22/10 through Tuesday 11/30/10 I'm offering 25% off orders over US $25.00!  Just use coupon code CYBERSALE at checkout to receive your discount.  Hurry in for unique handcrafted gifts that are sure to delight everyone on your Christmas gift list!  Here's just a sample of what I have to offer.

A few on the many and various items avai...

   Curated By: CreativeCritt...

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

 And there's much, much more!  My shop categories include Holiday Themed Gifts, Polymer Clay Sculptures, Fantasy Sculptures,  Animal Sculptures, Miniature House Sculptures, Pen Sculptures, Trinket Boxes, Stuffed and Knit Animals and Toys, Cloth Dolls, Plush World of Warcraft Characters, Organic Catnip and Cat Toys and Jewelry and Magnets.  Truly something for everyone!  Since most of my creations are one of a kind pieces, once they're gone- they're gone.  I can create pieces similar to those I've sold, however, so please feel free to message me if your favorite piece is sold out. 
Have a happy holiday, and thanks for stopping by!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Handmade Holidays

My Handmade Holidays

My holidays have just about always been handmade.  When I was young I had no money to buy gifts, so I made little presents for my parents and grandparents. Thirty years later, some of my first creations can still be found on Gramma's shelves!  I've always been a creative person, and as I got older I grew more skilled at sewing, sculpting, and crafting in general.  I was able to tailor the gifts for each person's tastes.  I even learned new art forms in order to create gifts for certain people.   For me, the joy of giving a gift I made myself just can't be beat.  Whether it's homemade cookies or an elaborate and meaningful sculpture, people appreciate something that comes not only from my heart, but from my hands.  This holiday season I'll be pretty busy, so I may actually break down and buy some gifts.  But every gift I give will be handmade.  That's become very important to me.  And I love supporting my fellow artisans as well- sales always make for a merrier Christmas!   When I buy on ArtFire, I feel like I'm buying from friends, and I've always been quite pleased with everything I've purchased on ArtFire.
Like many, I've already started making some of the Christmas gifts I plan to give.  My best friend and her family will be visiting for Thanksgiving, so we'll exchange gifts then.  She has a young son who loves dragons, and I'm working on a plush green dragon for him.  I may add a knight or wizard if I have time.  I really enjoy making gifts for children, and seeing that smile on their face when they open up their present.  I remember being a little girl and Gramma making dolls and stuffed animals for me.  Those were the most special gifts, because Gramma made them just for me.  I'd sit at her knee and watch her sew the pattern pieces together by hand, and just feel like I must have been so special for her to make something like that for me.  You know, that's what Christmas is about for me- the love of family and friends and the joy of being together with them.  And the gifts I give come from my heart and hands, not WalMart.
Here's wishing everyone a happy handmade holiday! 
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Scarlet Impressions creates beautiful handcrafted jewlery

Scarlet Impressions opened her shop on ArtFire.com 6-26-09 and sells some very beautiful handcrafted jewelry.  Her Biography reads: "All of my pieces are designed and handmade by myself in my home studio in rural Lincolnshire, UK. I have been designing and making jewellery for 10 years and have developed a wide variety of techniques that I use in my bespoke designs and that give the most choice, the highest quality and reasonable prices. I independently source all of the materials for my designs from quality retailers and wholesalers to ensure the best possible components are used. My findings are handmade by myself to give the best match for the designs and further quality to the products.
All of my pieces are tested for sharp edges and that they are fully connected. I take a lot of pride in my work and am committed to delivering the best possible product to customers."

Some of her very satisfied customers have said "Super doing business with such a professional artisan. Loved our communication", "What a stunning necklace! Even brighter and more beautiful in person! I love the sparkly gold in the glass. Thanks for a wonderfully easy transaction and super fast shipping from the UK.", "Absolutely beautiful, and AMAZINGLY fast shipping - got here in one week from overseas! Thank you so much, I will definitely be back!", "Absolutely gorgeous work from an amazingly wonderful seller! Thank you so very much! The jewelry is perfect!", and "Absolutely beautiful necklace, expertly crafted, shipped and received quickly, excellent customer service, a wonderful experience all around.  I look forward to working with this talented artfire artisan again."  Obviously this lady knows how to make her customers happy!  You can also find Scarlet Impressions on You Tube, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and deviantArt.  Below is only a tiny sample of the many beautiful pieces that can be found in this shop.  Do yourself a favorite and visit Scarlet Impressions to see all she has to offer!

And her prices are VERY reasonable!  With Mother's Day coming up, this would be a great place to find something nice for Mom.

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Miniature polymer clay houses from CreativeCritters

Today I'd like to talk about my miniature house sculptures.  I've been making these for quite a few years, and always enjoy them.  Although they take at least a week to complete, I enjoy getting lost in the process.  Each house is very detailed and built in stages, sculpting the walls and roof in polymer clay and baking them flat, then assembling the house, adding more details and clay, and baking again.  My favorite part is the landscaping, which is also the most time consuming.  I cut out every leaf and flower by hand (thousands of them!), and shape them before placing them onto the sculpture.  I  often bake the house 2 or 3 more times while adding landscaping and other details.  These houses range from about 5" tall by 4" wide to 3" tall and 4" wide.  I cover the bottom of the base with felt and always sign and date the piece.  My newest, and most unique piece would be my Lighted Glow in the Dark Pumpkin house sculpture.  This is the first house that I've put an electric light into (also the first vegetable house), as well as the first one to have glow in the dark clay elements.  I plan to make more houses like this in the near future (I've got a really cool idea for a mushroom house), as well as sculpting more of the traditional houses.  You can click on any of the pictures to go directly to the listing.  Each of these houses is a one of a kind creation, and any would a wonderful gift this holiday season.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

-Michelle of CreativeCritters