Stephanie Fizer Illustration

Jungle & Ocean Prints + Shop Update Tonight

Happy Monday to you!  

I finally finished up two more prints for the shop update, even though I toiled away shoveling dirt in my backyard all weekend.  

In The Little Jungle

In The Little Ocean

These two along with In The Little Forest and the three versions of the Gaggle of Owls print will be released in the shop later tonight--probably around 8pm-ish.  It's a surprise update :)

I have tons of new stationery and bookplate designs dancing around in my head, but it will be several weeks before they come into being.  And of course, I will keep you up to date on those happenings!  

This Artsy Life: Crave Jewelry Design

This week's artist interview is with Jaci from Crave Jewelry Design.  I actually discovered Jaci's work when I stumbled upon her adorable monsieur bunny necklace via Etsy's Pounce function.  I immediately just fell in love with Jaci's witty combination of natural and vintage elements in her work.  And happily enough, the silver version of the bunny necklace that first grabbed my attention is now sitting around my neck.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.

Hi! My name is Jaci and I make jewelry that I sell in my Etsy shop, cravejewelrydesign as well as in boutiques across the United States, one boutique in Canada and an online store in Taiwan. I graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh last summer with my Bachelors Degree in Interior Design, so aside from the jewelry business, I also work part time at a local architecture firm when they are busy and need extra help. I live in Ohio with my crazy family and our awesome dog, Ethel.

 

It looks like Ethel is an amazing assistant! ;)

Walk us through your average day as an artist

On an average day, I wake up around 8:00 and head directly for the coffee pot. I then sit down to check email, Etsy and Facebook. This is also a great time to order supplies. If I have sold orders from the night before, I re-list items, print out address labels and lay out the materials for the jewelry that I need to make. I generally find myself eating breakfast in front of the computer, usually around lunchtime, because I get wrapped up in things online. About this time I take a break and head outside (which is much nicer now that it has warmed up!) to get some fresh air and play with the dog, get the mail and clear my head.

 Once break time is over I head back into my apt/studio to finish putting orders together and packing things up to head to the post office. I usually either ride my bike to the post office or drive there and then head to the gym. This is also a time that I might run errands, pick up supplies, visit my friends at Office Max for printed goods or stock up on groceries (and dog treats!).

 I will usually do some odds and ends later in the day– this is a great time for taking pictures, the lighting is great outside - but then it’s back to making jewelry, corresponding with customers, editing pictures and any other things that I need to do. I usually call it a night around 11 or 12:00. 

geez, and I thought I was organized!  my workspace is a mess compared to Jaci's!

What’s your best business tip for those who are just starting out?

For those who are starting out, I recommend first to make sure that you are creating things that you are completely stoked about – if you aren’t happy or excited about your work, how are you going to sell it to someone else?

 At the risk of sounding cheesy, it’s important to keep your ducks in a row. Save receipts, keep track of the time that you spend on your work (and the time spent promoting it). You’d be surprised at how quickly costs can add up – and if you’re not careful you could end up in over your head.

 Be sure to provide excellent customer service to everyone and know that you can’t please everyone, so if someone is unhappy do your best to correct it and don’t take it personally.

 It’s easy to spend entire days working on new projects and ideas – which is awesome! If you don’t notice the time ticking away, you’ll know that you’re doing something that you love.

What inspires you and how do you maintain your creative flow? How do you handle NOT being inspired?

I find a lot of inspiration in color, in vintage items (I LOVE thrift shopping!) and nature. While I don’t tend to use a lot of beads in my work, they inspire me a great deal with their textures and colors and often lead me to create new pieces. I am always trying to find quirky and strange pieces to use in my work. I love to lay out a new idea and try to focus on an unconventional way to wear it while still keeping it functional and fun. I also like to keep things super simple at times. I like to create a little something for everyone.

 I am always inspired by compliments on my work and by knowing that I have happy customers. Knowing that I am making people happy completely makes my day!

 I keep a small notebook and jot down ideas when I have them. Even if I don’t have the supplies or the means of creating a piece I have in mind immediately, it’s great to be able come back to that information for inspiration. It’s amazing how easy it is to forget an idea, so this little notebook is like my vault.

 If I am feeling totally uninspired, it usually means that I’m burnt out and need a break. Taking the day “off” is a great way to handle not being inspired. I try to leave, maybe meet a friend for lunch or hit the mountain bike trail with my boyfriend and blow off some steam. Getting away from my studio and not thinking about my jewelry is usually a way to wind down and work on getting inspired once again. 

Jaci, thanks so much for sharing with us!  Please drop by Jaci's shop to check out her amazing creations or become a fan on Facebook for updates and deals :)

sterling peanut necklace

vintage enamel and gold butterfly necklace

golden acorn necklace

fine silver monsieur bunny necklace

silver wise old owl necklace

sterling squirrel necklace

New Woodland Prints

Happy Friday to everyone!  Just dropping in to show off a couple of new prints to be released next week:  

In The Little Forest

A Gaggle of Owls.  

Do you recognize these little guys?  They are some of the same owls from my little sketchbook snapshot a couple of days ago :)  

Because my owl prints are always so popular, I'll also be offering two variations of this print:  

 

and 

In addition to these prints, I also hope to add two more prints in a similar design:  one with jungle animals and one with sea creatures.  So the next update should be full of sweet new prints and hopefully some new stationery as well--just waiting on a shipment of lovely new envelopes :)  

PS-  Check back in just a bit for a new artist interview for This Artsy Life!

Tidbits and Things

Wow, time certainly flies when you're getting settled into a new house--I can't believe it's been 5 days since my last post, I've become such a terrible blogger!

There is definitely a lot going on around here, most of it involving playing catch up from last week and scurrying around to finish some projects in a timely manner.  And of course, there is all the house stuff--I've been to Lowe's or Home Depot 6 times in the last two days if that gives you any idea of what it's like around here.  

Although I don't have time for a proper post, I did want to share a few quick snapshots from around my house today:  

My backyard.  It's a mess, right? We're hoping to have that enormous hole filed in this weekend so we can sow some grass and enjoy our yard before summer ends!

Vintage lamp from my mother.  They are actually a set that used to be in my parent's bedroom back in the day, but now they are adorning my new living room.  

Just a pretty pillow I grabbed at Gabrielle Brothers a few days ago for $7!

One of my mother's Goodwill finds turned into a cute way to display some of my vintage thread.

Paint chips for various rooms in the house, still trying to make some final decisions on those.

A page from my sketchbook this morning, an idea for a new owl print popped into my head and I've been working feverishly to figure it out.  

Not sure if I'm finished with this or not, but it's a new print titled One Odd Little Acorn.  I'm hoping to release it along with a few new prints and notecard sets next Tuesday! 

A Tiny Home Tour

Happy Friday!  No rest for me though, I'm hoping to have some pretty new stationery + prints for a shop update on this coming Tuesday!  And maybe even a new printable set as well :)

But for today, I wanted to give you the condensed "before" view of our new house.  Since we've only been here a week, there isn't much in way of decor, but I'm just too excited to not share. 

This is the living room.  Our old blue recliner and beige sofa will soon be replaced with a pretty red sofa and loveseat.  And that horrible putrid yellow paint will be replaced with something bright and lovely, possibly a shade of aqua.  

Yes, the dining room is also painted that putrid yellow color, so it will also probably end up some shade of aqua--our living room and dining room run directly into one and another.  And yes, our teeny little apartment table and chairs will soon be replaced with a larger set.  We're really looking forward to cooking some dinners for our families soon!  

Our house was built in 1953 and these are the original counters and cabinets, which I love!  What I don't love is the weird green on the walls that doesn't really go with much.  I'm thinking maybe a nice orange for these walls although I plan on leaving the cabinets bright white.  

Tiniest bathroom ever.  Like really small, like 5 x 6 feet small.  And it is painted a brilliant blue, which is actually quite lovely been when you actually stand in the bathroom, it gives the feeling that you are drowning.  So I'll soon be painting the walls a pale, sunshine yellow with white trim.  

Our slightly strange master bedroom space.  All of the woodwork is unfinished so I've got plans to stain it much darker.  And we're still trying to figure out what to do with that extra slanty ceiling area in the back, probably just make it a nice sitting area.  

 

One corner of my studio space, which also features a ton of unfinished wood that needs to be stained.  There is a whole other side of the room off to the right that makes up my shipping and packing area.  I was thrilled to find an extra table in the basement of the house so I could keep a seperate drawing/painting area in addition to my computer/printer area which is obviously a bit crowded.  

I still haven't decided on colors for my studio, but I do think I'm going to put a cluster of silhouetted tree trunks/branches on that back wall with the big window.  

Speaking of window:  

It looks like out over my neighbors enormous yard that has a pretty little stream ending in an enormous goldfish pond.  

The downside of the windows in the studio and the rest of the house, is the enormous awnings over each window.  They do a fantastic job of keeping the house cool, but they also prevent a lot of natural light from coming inside.  I'm not sure if they are going to stay or go. . .

But as you can see, we're certainly got our work cut out for us!  Especially since I work from home, I find it hard to resist working on the house all day long :)  

And of course, I'll update with more photos as our home slowly comes together :)

Rainy Day Friends

So since I just moved into a new studio space, I figured it would be a good time clean out some old original artwork :)  My work is creeping in a whole new direction these days and I LOVE it, but my Etsy shop still contains some artifacts of the girl-that-was.  So right now, a few originals and a few mounted prints are marked down 20-50% with Free Shipping until tomorrow.  Enjoy!  

Also, I had a new release with MFT Stamps yesterday, Rainy Day Friends.  One of my favorite things about producing these clear stamp designs is seeing how other creative ladies use them.  

So I thought it would be fun to showcase a couple of them here:  

Joanne B.

susiestampalot

Michele Boyer

Amy Scheffer

Aren't they lovely and so sweet?  If you've done something fantastic with one of my stamp designs, please email me(sfizer @ gmail.com)with pictures/links so I can share them here!  

 

This Artsy Life: MarmeeCraft

Hello dear readers!  I'm back and safely tucked into my new home!  The move went as smoothly as moving can possibly go and after much sorting and unpacking, we're finally settled in.  Today, I'm playing a bit of catch up and trying to adjust to working in my new studio space.  Don't worry, pictures will be forthcoming--although we do have a lot to do to transform our space into our own :)  

In the meantime, I'm a bit late on last week's installment of This Artsy Life.  Well actually, Typepad is a bit late as I scheduled the post to go up on Friday but Typepad though it would be fun to just delete the post altogether!  But better late than never, right?  

This week, I am featuring Marjorie from MarmeeCraft who in addition to being a charming illustrator is also just the sweetest girl!  Having been a fan for ages, I'm sure you will love her work as well which features whimsical wildlife alongside some proper ladies.  Come to think of it, I probably need to add a piece of MarmeeCraft art to my collection soon!  

   Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do:

Hello there! My name is Marjorie and I run an Etsy shop, MarmeeCraft where I sell my original artwork and prints.  I live in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina with my darling husband and our two lovely and quite spoiled cats.  Our little house is all surrounded by a (seemingly) enchanted wood and I’m ever inspired and moved by its beauty! 

 

 Walk us through your average day as an artist:

My day usually begins around 6 am when we wake up, feed the kitties, make breakfast and I help my husband off to work.  Then, after I’m all dressed and ready to start the day I usually settle in at the computer at about 8am where I sip my morning tea, answer any e-mails or convos, print out any orders and catch up on all the craft and art blogs I like to visit.  I will usually work on my blog postings at this time, as well…which includes photo editing, writing, etc. Then I sometimes spend a bit of research time…like looking up a certain animal or flower I want to draw, re-ordering any dwindling supplies (like shipping mailers, print papers, inks, postcards, etc).  All the computer-ing is usually finished by about 10-11 am.  If I have orders to process  I  will get them all printed, packaged and print the postage so they are all ready to be shipped in the next day’s Post. Then I set to work at my little drawing table and paint, draw, sew, cut, paste, glue, sculpt, varnish or generally throw myself into  whatever project it is I’m currently involved in until around 4pm (when I stop work to get supper ready for when my husband arrives home). Of course, there are little work breaks throughout the day (to eat lunch, do laundry, tidy the house, feed the cats, take out the trash, bake cookies, have tea with the bears…the domestic part of my job).  After dinner I sometimes wander back into the studio for more work, usually I do most of my idea sketching at night…for some reason my brain seems to feel a bit more creative and dreamy in the evening…perhaps it’s the lightening bugs!

The computer is in my little studio/sewing room, so I am always available to check e-mails, or Etsy conversations and answer any questions or process orders throughout the day. For instance if an order comes in during the evening, I will usually have it processed and ready to ship by the next morning (unless it’s an international order, I ship these once a week, usually every Saturday).

Weekends are for errand running (grocery shopping, post officing, picking up any supplies I might need for the following week) and for spending time with my husband and relaxing! (Though, I still process orders over the weekend, too).

I wish I could say I was more organized and kept to a set artistic schedule (if there is such a thing), but in reality I sort of flutter hither and yon from whatever inspires me and what feels right at the moment.

  What’s your best business tip for those who are just starting out?

Do what you love, and don’t worry too much about if it will sell or not.  If you have a passion for what you do, there will be a customer who will love it, too! Also, if you don’t already have a website or blog I think it’s a lovely way to inform readers (and potential customers) about what you’re working on and what inspires you so that others can really understand where you’re coming from as an artist…and step inside your little world!  It’s also a really good way to learn about how other people handle their shops and businesses and to meet other artists who are working in the same field as you.

Also, specific to selling your work on Etsy, there are some really amazing and ever so helpful features on Etsy (through the Storque and their many guides and how-to’s) that are quite invaluable!

Google is also a wonderful thing, indeed, for finding answers to the many, many questions that come up…from where to find just the right packaging and shipping supplies to business cards , as well as finding art/craft how-to’s and techniques!

 

    What inspires you and how do you maintain your creative flow? How do you handle not feeling inspired?

I’m inspired by ever so many things….mostly by a sense of nostalgia for the past and by a love of nature, animals and whimsy.  I have a passion for antique clothing (mostly 19^th century) so I am often inspired to create a piece by seeing a beautiful Regency gown, the details in a bit of old lace, or by the expression on the face of a girl in a 1880’s photograph.  I also really love 19^th century folk art (and Pre-Raphaelite art, too)…especially portraits and floral details.  19^th century literature also flitters here and there in my creative conscience, bringing up stories from Austen and Hardy, and Dickens and Trollope as I sketch and paint.  Another thing that is a constant source of inspiration to me is music….it’s always floating about in the room while I’m working and my mind does not ever wander so fully as when I’m listening to something magical.

When I’m not really feeling inspired, I just take a break for a day or two….and watch a film that I love, or listen to something lovely, or read a book, play fetch with my cats, wander in the woods, bake a cake….  I try not to get stressed about not always creating every minute of every day and instead try to let things come about naturally and as they pop into my head.

Everything is Alright Print

Monsieur Hedgehog Print

Oliver the Dapper Little Bunny Jointed Paper Doll

Agnes Original Miniature Portrait

Thanks for providing a glimpse into your delightful little world, Marjorie!  

The Lovely Bride: Portfolio Sample

Another sample from my portfolio.  Available for licensing.

The Happy Couple: Portfolio Sample

I'm spending some time these works working on adding more spot and editorial illustrations to my portfolio.  Currently I'm on a wedding-theme kick and this is one of the illos I finished up yesterday.  

It's Tea Time

We're mostly packed up now and ready to move into our new house this weekend.  I don't know about you, but apartment living has always felt so temporary to me.  So along with the feeling of permanence that comes with owning a house, I feel more comfortable actually decorating and buying things that aren't so disposable.  

That said, part of my goal in decorating the house is to support handmade and vintage sellers and stores whenever possible.  Of course, I will be documenting and sharing the transition of my new home as I go.  

Today, I've been thinking about the kitchen which has an amazing 1950s red countertop and the original 1950s cabinets as well.  I love love LOVE anything to do with tea drinking, teacups or teapots these days and since I've already started a tiny collection, I thought I might expand upon it for my kitchen decor.  

Here are a few fun things I found on Etsy this morning, all on the Tea Time theme:  

1.  Tea Time rubber stamps by CraftPudding

2. Custom Pretend Tea Set by NiftyKidstuff

3.  Brew Print by Stephanie Fizer(that's me!)

4.  Teatime Wall Stickers by lovemaestore

5. Queen of Hearts Vintage Teacup from thecookiejar

6.  Teapot Mini Hanging Wall Clock by decoylab

7.  Miss Teapot Print by TheNebulousKingdom

8.  Tea Time Print by Jenn Ski