Starry Home Crafts Feature and Giveaway (WW)

I have another wonderful artist and handmade shop for you today! I first discovered this unique shop in the Artfire forums when Mary Ellen, the talented owner of the shop, posted a question about one of her items. I was interested enough to click over to see for myself what she was talking about, and my first thought was, "Wow!!" I was completely impressed, and now I'd like to share with you, Starry Home Crafts!

 

Hi I'm Mary Ellen. I live in central New York with my husband, a dog or two and a couple of cats. We have three grown sons and plenty of time on our hands. There is a long list of things that I love to create. My first passion is quilting, and there are always hundreds of ideas rattling around in my head that involve colorful fabric.

I took an early retirement from the post office in 2009. I don't really think of this as retirement so much as a change in career paths. I have been quilting for 18 years and knitting and crocheting for closer to 40 years. These are my favorite things and I intend for my next career to include them.

My new workplace is my Starry Home where I create and market my quilts, ornaments, dolls, frames, postcards a whole smorgasbord of handcrafted goodness. 

 

I learned to crochet, knit and embroider at a  young age, thanks to my talented creative mother. I still love to do all of those things.  I taught myself to quilt in my late twenties and that has become my passion. Hand quilting is a wonderful form of meditation for me. My main inspiration and teacher is Nature. Just like in nature, I like to put all the colors of the rainbow into my quilts. Some of my favorite work has been unique ideas that came from customers.

I love the challenge of taking a theme and creating it in my own  way, or using a familiar pattern and making it in a different colorway that I would not normally use.

A piece of advice for the beginning quilter, pay attention to the experts, but don't forget to play around a little, don't be afraid to break a rule now and then. I guess that advice can apply to a beginner at selling online too. There are many wonderful helpful friends to be found on the internet. Take their advice, but add a little of your own creative soul into the endeavor, and remember to have fun while you're at it.

 

Aren't her creations beautiful! The items that had me saying, "Wow" were her quilted shower curtains! I've never seen anything like them before! Aren't they just beautiful?!

Now that you've had just a little taste of the wonderful creations you can find at Starry Home Crafts, you can browse around her Etsy and Artfire shops for yourself! You can also check out her Facebook, Twitter, and Blog to stay connected on the newest happenings!

Starry Home Crafts has very graciously provided a giveaway for my readers! One of you will receive  their own handmade reusable fabric lunch bag! Add an extra fun touch to any sack lunch with this bright, whimsical bag!

The Giveaway: Complete the mandatory entry below and any additional entries you want to, and make sure you include your e-mail address!!

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Starry Home Crafts, browse around, then come back here and tell me your favorite item AND leave me your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win.

Extra Entries (please leave a separate comment for each one and don't forget to leave me your e-mail address!):
*Follow me on Google Friend Connect (1 entry)
*Add Starry Home Crafts to your favorites on Etsy or your market on Artfire (1 entry)
*Blog about this giveaway (2 entries)
*Tweet this giveaway (can be done once a day - 1 entry each)
*Share this giveaway on Facebook (1 entry)
*Share this giveaway with friends through e-mail and let me know you did (1 entry)
*Comment on any non giveaway blog posts and tell me which one (1 entry)

This giveaway is open World Wide. The giveaway will close on August 24th, and the winner will be chosen by random.org and notified by e-mail. The winner has 48 hours to get back to me with their address or a new winner will be chosen.