Monday, February 9, 2009

Featured Artist & Giveaway

I recently met Donna ,a WAHM homeschooling mom through our ETSY She team (a group of homeschooling mom's that own home-based business on etsy.com). Donna has two wonderful shops CellChic and Huebsch Designs and she is generously sponsoring this week's giveaway of a beautiful Cell Phone Charm similar to the one seen below. Donna will let the winner choose which charm they prefer from her CellChic Shop(9.99 value).





I've had the pleasure of talking with Donna via email and got to ask her some question on running a homebased business and homeschooling...

What inspired you to begin creating cell charms and open your homebased business? I've always loved crafting of all sorts. I started beading about 5 years ago, and it really stuck! I made and gave away all the bracelets, earrings, necklaces and jeans jewelry that I could, and then I discovered the little straps for making cell charms...I was hooked! I made and gave them away until everyone I knew had one of my charms. I was interested in selling my crafts, but knew that weekend craft shows didn't mesh with our lifestyle. I placed my items in several boutiques, but having to sell them at wholesale prices made it difficult to make a decent profit.A few weeks ago, I discovered Etsy and thought I had died and gone to heaven! It was exactly the venue I wanted. It's like having your items in a 24/7 craft show with the entire world as potential customers, and you never have to leave your house!

What inspires you? Almost anything - I'll see something where the colors catch my eye, and think about how I can use that in a piece of jewelry or a decorative accessory. For example, I was making a pumpkin pie yesterday, and when I had dumped the sugar, ginger, and cinnamon in a bowl, I thought, "Ooo-o-oh! Nice colors. That would look great in a cell phone charm." Check my shop - I'll be adding a charm called "Sugar and Spice" soon :o)

Why do you homeschool? and what lead you to that decision? We homeschool because we feel it offers the best educational oppotunities for our very bright child. I guess what led us to that decision was the experience of having our child in public school for grades K-5, and realizing that we wanted something different.

How do you balance running a home-based business and homeschooling your children? With our eclectic style of homeschooling, it all kind of blends together actually. Starting the home-based business is giving lots of opportunities for practical, real-life educational experiences.

What has been you biggest handmade "oops"? There are probably lots! The first to come to mind is when I decided I just HAD to try working with PMC (precious metal clay). I made one attempt at a pair of earrings -- the clay dried way too quickly as I tried to work with it. I finally fired the pieces in my little "hot pot", and then promptly broke one of the earrings in half as I tried to finish them. Before I could try a second project, I broke the lid to my hot pot, so I have shelved my interest in PMC for awhile!

How do you spend your time when you are not creating? We love to camp, so every now and then we pack up the people, the 3 dogs, the cat and the Abyssinian guinea pig and head off to the wild blue yonder.

To enter the giveaway simply visit both of Donna's shops CellChic and Huebsch Designs and tell us in the comments section what your favorite items from her shops are. Giveway ends February 23.2009.

12 comments:

terryann said...

nice interview!

Momma J said...

I like the At the Beach cell phone charm and the Fun Wrap ring!

Marianne
mommajdesigns(at)gmail(dot)com
www.crochetbymommaj.etsy.com
http://crochetbymommaj.blogspot.com/

K Low said...

I am such a blue/green fan that I love the cell phone charms that are blues and greens. My favorite is the Erinite, Indicolite and Lime Charm. What a fun giveaway! Thanks!

K Low
http://klow.etsy.com
http://cardsncrafts.wordpress.com

A Dusty Frame said...

OOO! I love the colors of this
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20138001
It caught my eye right away;)!

Thanks for entering me!

Lizzie
adustyframe @ yahoo.com

mrsplaty said...

I like the cell phone charms, but love the brass bookmark on Huecsbh site. I read lots of books and often several at a time, so I rely heavily on them.

Christina

Lona said...

Very fun! I like the cell phone charm found here:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20135403

And this bookmark:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19761106

Thanks for hosting this giveaway!

Lona at shadysidefarm.etsy.com

Angie said...

Hey,

At Cellchic, I found this that I liked, although they were all pretty! "Cell Chic Phone Charm (Swarovski Capri Blue, Jet and White Opal) Very, very eye pleasing!

At Huebsch Designs, I especially liked these earrings: "The Red, White and Blue Vintage Bead Earrings!" Very Nice!

Thank you for the great giveaway!
Have a great day!
baileybobby6(at)hotmail.com

Michele P. said...

I love the At the Beach cell phone charm and the black & gold bookmark with knight charm. Also, when my daughter gets older, I bet she'd love the pompom earrings in school colors of purple and white!

micaela6955 at msn dot com

A Reader said...

I like the Strawberry Bon Cellphone charm.

Thanks for the giveaway!
Kimspam66(at)yahoo(dot)com

Shelley said...

Not sure I could pick just one :) They're all just lovely and the color combinations are fabulous!! Guess I'll say strawberry bonbon, but the Blue Zircon, Peridot, and White Opal is running an extremely close second...

Thanks for having this fun giveaway!

Audrey said...

Great interview!! I love to do features too - you get to "meet" the nicest people.
I like the Go Green cell phone charm and the Red, White and Black earrings.

Audrey
http://audreyscountrycrafts.etsy.com

Deborah said...

I like the Vintage Rose Quartz Cell Phone Charm and the Sunlight and Shadow - Swarovski Cell Phone Charm. I think they'd look great as key fobs, too! asthenight at gmail dot com