Free Gift of Shakespeare Tea with the Purchase of My Art Piece

Special This Month: My darling sister Andrea's Etsy Shop, Storybook Artifact, is offering a free gift of her Shakespeare Tea Blend (packaged by the ounce in a decorated wax-sealed bag), with the purchase of my hand-painted upcycled decoupage canister "Shakespeare's Muse" (a wonderful combination gift)!!! Please note that this is a limited time offer: good through the month of May.You can view her Shakespeare Tea Blend and my "Shakespeare's Muse" decoupage canister here:

Shakespeare Tea Blend

"Shakespeare's Muse" hand-painted upcycled decoupage canister

Also, please check out a recent treasury my sweet sister Andrea of Storybook Artifact created that was inspired by this offer and features my "Shakespeare's Muse" decoupage canister titled "Within the Mind of Shakespeare".

My Latest Work of Art in My Shop!

Sunshine on a Rainy Day - Hand-Painted Upcycled Decoupage Decor Tin/Canister:

"Save up for a rainy day" with this precious, meticulously handcrafted, one-of-a-kind money tin. This upcycled tin once contained cookies, now it has been painted and decoupaged with this lovely scene of a woman who has saved up for that rainy day. She sits upon a vintage trunk as she is surrounded by her savings, umbrella, and reminders that everything is going to be okay. The lady featured holds a sign with the "You Are My Sunshine" lyrics and is displayed behind a young girl with an umbrella looking towards a flying golden kitten which represents the sun rising from the clouds after a storm. This tin is covered with many inspirational yogi tea tags as well as charming, vintage twenties inspired images. This elegant piece can hold an array of desired items such as tea, candies, and sentimental items...and most definitely money or a coin collection! In these pictures, the shine on the canister is from the glossy Mod Podge finish. I applied two coats of Mod Podge to this canister so the images are protected, yet you can still feel the fun texture of the freckles!The eco-friendly recycled materials used in this item are: a tin/canister with fitting tin lid, magazine clippings, and yogi tea tags. This tin measures 3 inches tall and 7 inches wide. The interior of this tin is painted a shiny, luxurious gold!
My darling sister, Andrea of Storybook Artifact, featured this newest upcycled decoupage creation of mine "Sunshine on a Rainy Day" in her Etsy STAT Team treasury "Bee Wealthy, Wise, and Whimiscal".

I also created a Etsy STAT Team treasury today titled "The Pearls of Penelope"; with a play-on-words title, I pay homage to one of my favorite classic cartoons of all time "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop". This glamorous treasury features elegant beauties embellished with pearls. I feature Mademoiselle in Pearls, a lovely sketch from Andrea's Storybook Artifact; I also feature six new members of the Etsy STAT Team!

EtsyBlogger's Blog Carnival "Thinking Green": What Are You Doing to Make This a Greener Planet?

On the 28th of this month, Janet from "Honey from the Bee: Artisan Jewelry Inspired by Nature & Vintage Elements" will be hosting February's second blog carnival for EtsyBloggers on her blog "Honey from the Bee". The theme is "Thinking Green", Janet asks participants to write about what they're doing to make this planet greener. She says this could be about your art or just around the house or at work.

It didn't take me long to ponder over this because I have be "thinking green" for a long time. I have taken my artistic talent and combined it with my love for recycling to produce a one-of-a-kind functional, upcycled art piece that isn't only decorative but something lovely for the greenies too!

I recycle tin and steel cans along with magazine clippings and yogi tea tags and I incorporate all of these items that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill somewhere and use them in my art creations! I create my upcycled decoupage canisters by selecting and cutting desired magazine clippings and yogi tea tags and arranging them in a complementary pattern to produce an original theme and story.

I then paint the inside of each canister with a color that complements the hues of the images on the piece. All of my upcycled decoupage canisters are hand-painted with a glossy black background and small white freckles; which unlike polka dots are not perfectly symmetrical, hence the name of my shop "Eco-Friendly Freckles". These delightful freckles create a texture that is pleasant to feel, and a look that is unique and fun!

This greenie project of mine creates a beautiful, functional art piece that can be used to hold pens/pencils, paint brushes, kitchen utensils, teas, bath salts, soaps, candies, and anything your imagination can come up with! These upcycled canisters are great for containing presents too!

To view all of my hand-painted upcycled decoupage canisters in my Etsy shop, you can find them here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ecofriendlyfreckles?section_id=6793761

I have discovered an Etsy team that I LOVE!!! The Etsy Recycler's Guild is a GLOBAL community of Eco-Artists, crafters & vintage gurus, who have united in the name of GREEN, Team Tag: WASTENOT- founded in 2007., "recycled" in 2009, and have grown by leaps and bounds. Our tag is "Wastenot" which really sums it up.

We believe in recycling, repurposing, upcycling, and reclamation of used or discarded goods. We use these components in our crafts, jewelry, merchandise, clothing, and in our artwork. We also encourage sale of vintage goods, and house greenies who have developed alternative solutions for reduction of the carbon footprint.

We live green, we love to recycle, and that's what brought us together. Our team believes in Random Acts of Kindness, a movement to promote each other's shops and spread the word about living green.

For more about us view our blog at http://EtsyRecyclersGuild.blogspot.com

Two New Creations Added to My Inventory!

I have added to new hand-painted upcycled decoupage creations to my Eco-Friendly Freckles Shop! The one pictured above is a upcycled penny bank and it is titled "Beauty Bucks"; here are a few more pictures of it along with its description:

This artsy hand-painted one-of-a-kind creation is a pennybank featuring a free spirited lady taking leisure in her favorite pastime: shopping! Her indulgence brings her happiness and fulfillment, her positive mindset encourages her to save money and spend it on her blissful desires. As this shop girl kicks back and enjoys her online shopping, delightful mannequin heads dance around in her mind. Her savings appears as a gift to her from herself wrapped in a pretty red bow; she smiles as she sees some of her pleasant purchases: sweet treats and red high heels! A large "I ♥" image is featured amongst the mannequins, a sales sign, and a vintage Woman's Day magazine; expressing the fact that this leisurely lady "loves shopping"! On the top of this penny bank, located next to the opening where you can poke your money in, it reads "The gift you'll want to get your hands on."...small ravishing red boots are featured here along with a tiny red gift box containing that special gift to yourself!
In these pictures, the shine on the canister is from the glossy Mod Podge finish. I applied two coats of Mod Podge to this canister so the images are protected, yet you can still feel the fun texture of the freckles! A silver lock and set of keys comes with the penny bank so you can keep it locked up for safe keeping! When unlocked you can lift the lid (as shown in the picture), however the lid is a bit snug since this canister and interior has been coated with paint and Mod Podge...perhaps snug enough to keep intruders away from breaking the lock, yet not too snug so you can open it. :-)The eco-friendly recycled materials used in this item are: a tin can, magazine clippings, yogi tea tags, and recycled paper. This piece measures 5 inches tall and 3 inches wide. The interior of this tin is painted a radiant red and then painted over with glossy Mod Podge to protect the paint and add extra shine! This is a stunning penny bank...and would make a wonderful gift for yourself or a loved one!
The second, new hand-painted upcycled decoupage canister in my Eco-Friendly Freckles Shop is called "Capture the Beauty of Nature".A whimsical fantasy is featured on this spectacular one-of-a-kind hand-painted canister! A woman is shown with her vintage camera taking photos of the stunningly gorgeous wonders she finds outdoors...she is capturing the beauty of nature! Her positive inner voice gives her encouragement to follow her dreams as she watches her playful orange cat play with sunflowers and a collection of her colorful photographs of butterflies. Other attractively vibrant flowers are displayed on this canister as well as a charming white gazebo...maybe the woman will rest in there for a while as she gazes into her sweet soul.
You can display this delightful piece as a candle votive, pen or pencil holder, trinket container, or as a lovely work of art. This also makes a great gift for holding baked goods, candies, soaps, bath salts, teas, etc. Also in my shop are some handmade all-natural soaps that come in a black satin pouch that fits perfectly inside of a canister like this one...making a wonderful gift set! If you would like to have a black satin pouch along with this canister (instead of purchasing the soap) for keeping cookies/candies, teas, or anything else; just let me know with your order.
In these pictures, the shine on the canister is from the glossy Mod Podge finish. I applied two coats of Mod Podge to this canister so the images are protected, yet you can still feel the fun texture of the freckles!The eco-friendly recycled materials used in this item are: a tin can, magazine clippings, yogi tea tags, and recycled paper. This piece measures 4 1/2 inches tall and 3 inches wide. The interior of this tin is painted a radiant metallic purple and then painted over with glossy Mod Podge to protect the paint and add extra shine! Canisters like this one were opened with a special can opener that cuts with a very smooth edge, so you can touch the top of the canister and be completely safe!

The Recipe for Love

The Recipe for Love:

This is a pop art influenced canister featuring a loving housewife and her very happy husband. The woman is shown with a grocery bag full of all the ingredients she needs for "the recipe for love", as many of the food items dance around the gleeful couple.

You can display this delightful piece as a candle votive, pen or pencil holder, trinket container, or as a stunning work of art. This also makes a great gift for holding baked goods, candies, soaps, bath salts, teas, etc. Also in my shop are some beautiful satin pouches that fit perfectly in this canister and can contain candies, cookies, soap, teas, etc.





In these pictures, the shine on the canister is from the glossy Mod Podge finish. I applied two coats of Mod Podge to this canister so the images are protected, yet you can still feel the fun texture of the freckles!

The eco-friendly recycled materials used in this item are: a tin can, magazine clippings, and recycled paper. This piece measures 4 1/2 inches tall and 3 inches wide. The interior of this tin is painted a gorgeous hunter green. Canisters like this one were opened with a special can opener that cuts with a very smooth edge, so you can touch the top of the canister and be completely safe!

Tickled Twenty-Two Year Old Twins!

Today is Andrea's and my birthday and we turned twenty-two! We had a delicious build-your-own burrito lunch with our grandmother at Andrea's charming home. We also opened gifts, "girl-talked", and played our favorite board game: Scrabble...at the end of the game, we each created a story with all of our scrabble words which was hilarious and so much fun!

My kitty, Nozomi, in a Scrabble box:



I also have some photos of a hand-painted, decoupage canister (titled "Girls Night In") that I made Andrea a couple of years ago for her birthday and a comment from her about how much she adores it!





"I love this canister that Jessy made me for our 20th birthday a couple of years ago. It has always reminded me of us and how funny, honest, and close we are with each other. This is one of her first creations (with the larger freckle dots); however, her creative eye is most certainly prominent in this early art piece as in all her creations. I'm looking forward to spending our upcoming birthday with each other again this year (on April 2nd), and hope to soon be throwing Jessy a little art party at my place to feature some of her latest art creations. :-) Love you Jessy; Happy Birthday." - Andy

Brilliant Baby

This one-of-a-kind hand-made item is newly listed in my etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ecofriendlyfreckles

Brilliant Baby:

An adorable baby boy is immersed in a book titled, "What Would Socrates Say?" as he finds himself pondering over life's meaningful thoughts and yearning for wisdom. This brilliant baby is surrounded by his books and wooden baby blocks that read, "how smart is your baby", as these thought provoking messages appear before him: "If you see good, learn something. If you see bad, learn what not to be.", "Wisdom becomes knowledge when it is personal experience." "You are unlimited.", "To learn, read. To know, write. To master, teach.", "Live in your strength.", "When ego is lost, limit is lost.", "Be proud of who you are", "Truth is everlasting.", and others.





You can display this eye-catching piece as a candle votive, pen or pencil holder, trinket container, or as a stunning work of art...this particular canister would look wonderful in a baby nursery! This also makes a great gift (maybe even for a baby shower) for holding baked goods, candies, soaps, bath salts, teas, baby items, etc. Also in my shop are some beautiful "cello" bags made of 1.2 mil crystal clear polypropylene that are decorated in elegant white lace and are used as candy bags, food bags, soap bags, or for any small item. These are great for using in this size tin when giving as a gift to contain other presents.





In these pictures, the shine on the canister is from the glossy Mod Podge finish. I applied two coats of Mod Podge to this canister so the images are protected, yet you can still feel the fun texture of the freckles!

The eco-friendly recycled materials used in this item are: a tin can, magazine clippings, and yogi tea tags. This piece measures 6 inches tall and 3 inches wide. The interior of this tin is painted a gorgeous golden yellow. Canisters like this one were opened with a special can opener that cuts with a very smooth edge, so you can touch the top of the canister and be completely safe!

True Love - Princess Bride

This Princess Bride themed canister features Princess Buttercup and her dear farm boy Wesley as they peer into each other's eyes with deep affection and passion...for they both have found their TRUE LOVE! The white horse that they ride off into the sunset with together at the end of this charming film is also displayed on this tin. The complementary yogi tea tags that are featured say: "Truth is everlasting", "There is no love without compassion", "Where there is love, there is no question", and "Love is unchanging and limitless".

You can display this delightful piece as a candle votive, pen or pencil holder, trinket container, or as a stunning work of art. This also makes a great gift for holding baked goods, candies, soaps, bath salts, teas, etc. Also in my shop are some beautiful satin pouches that fit perfectly in this canister and can contain candies, cookies, soap, teas, etc.





In these pictures, the shine on the canister is from the glossy Mod Podge finish. I applied two coats of Mod Podge to this canister so the images are protected, yet you can still feel the fun texture of the freckles!

The eco-friendly recycled materials used in this item are: a tin can, magazine clippings, yogi tea tags, and recycled paper. This piece measures 2 1/4 inches tall and 2 1/2 inches wide. The interior of this tin is painted a gorgeous golden yellow.