Day 21 of Christmas in July Craft challenge and Meet the Maker: Sylvia Love from Loves Gypsy Market

Twas the 21st day of our challenge.

Our hands are tiring from all the crafting!

But lo only 4 days left to go,

So craft away, Craft away all!

Today is a down day, where you can choose your own craft, finish one up that you have started or do a coloring page from The Quiet Grove.

This is the necklace I worked on last night for a friend. What have you been working on? Leave a picture in the comments or on our DIY Facebook page.

Don't forget to fill out our rafflecopter. Happy Christmas Crafting, only 4 days left.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We have been going steady with our Follow Friday on our Instagram feed. It has so fun to meet so many makers and give them the opportunity to be featured on our Instagram feed and here on our blog. Take a moment and subscribe so you don't miss out on meeting any of these great makers or our Top Five series. Coming soon we will also be blogging about Hand Crafted Artisan product reviews. If you would like to know more about the product reviews or even how to join in on this exciting opportunity head over to this page for more info. We love supporting other artisans and we hope to have the opportunity to help support you as well.

Today's Maker feature is Sylvia "Sy" Love from Loves Gypsy Market.

Where are you from? I was born in Detroit Michigan and currently live in Southern California.

How long have you been crafting? My entire life.
Wow, that is cool.

What drew you to Knitting and crocheting or what inspired you? My mother.
That is great, what a blessing.

Is there a story behind your shop name and if so what is it? I love to make all kinds of different items so that is why I called it LovesGypsyMarket. Love for my last name and GypsyMarket because of all the different items I make.
This is fun.

When did you start selling online? Almost 2 years now.
And What drew you to sell online?I retired and wanted to find something to keep me occupied and the challenge of seeing if I could make things people would like.
What hopes do you have for your business in the future? Mostly just for the fun of doing it. That's so nice to have a low key and an enjoyable goal.

What is your most favorite piece that you have made? I have several favorites but really like my large t-shirt bag. A t-shirt bag sounds like a fun item, I'll have to check it out.
What is one thing you would love to share with others who are considering going into the handmade business? It takes a lot of time and effort and is not easy and very competitive but if you love what you do and have fun doing it then go for it! Thank you for this great advice. All the best with your shop.

LovesGypsyMarket.etsy.com
https://www.facebook.com/LovesGypsyMarket/?fref=ts https://www.instagram.com/lovesgypsymarket/ https://twitter.com/syl_gypsymarket
https://lovesgypsymarket.tumblr.com
https://www.pinterest.com/SLGypsyMarket/pins/
Check out this review from Handmade Hunthttps://www.handmadehunt.com/etsy/lovesgypsymarket

Meet the Maker: Karey Bitney from Karried Astray

Karey Bitney

Hello, Friends. Happy Friday! How has your week been? Ours has been fairly busy. One of the fun things we did this week was a field day for my three oldest children. We had some great sunny weather with a breeze to help keep us cool.

If you are a small shop and you would like to be featured in our series Meet the Maker, please email me to inquire.

I look forward to Friday's and our Follow Friday activity on my Instagram feed. Karey was a winner of one of our free feature giveaways.  I am so excited that she won. Not only does she have an awesome small shop but she is one of my dear maker friends whom I have met online. I have been truly blessed by her friendship in the maker community.

Karey is from San Pedro, California and currently lives in Reno, Nevada. She has been crafting on and off for years. She has done all kinds of things from paper mache to painting murals on walls.

Karey what drew you to your particular craft or inspired you to start crafting?
"Sewing is one of my passions along with other crafts and one year my youngest daughter who was 6 yrs old at the time, designed a dress on drawing paper and I made her dream come true for Christmas that year by sewing her designed dress. The first bag I made was crocheted with yarn and lined with fabric. Sometime in 2014, I found a Facebook group called Swoon pattern group and sewed my first cross body bag. I really loved cutting, ironing, sewing, and birthing the bags and watching them come to life. "

Karey started selling online in September of 2015.  What drew you to start selling online? 
"You can't buy unique, colorful pattern fabric purses, stores mostly just have solid color bags. I had sold bags to friends and family and thought the public would love to have one-of-a-kind handbags for themselves."

What hopes do you have for your business in the future? 
"I am hoping to offer different designs of handbags and bag sewing kits." That sounds really cool. I would love to try one of those kits when you start selling them.

What is your favorite piece that you have made?
"They are all my favorite but currently there is a bag I design named Nikki, and it's a cross body bag. I have a new item coming soon, which is a wine bag :)( I don't have a name yet) which will be my new favorite."

What is one thing you would love to share with others who are considering going into the handmade business?
"Don't quit, work hard and learn everything about SEO and advertising."

So very true. Thanks for sharing Karey. I wish you all the best with your adorable bags.

You can find Karey's adorable bags online at these locations:
Instagram: @karriedastray
Facebook: Karried Astray
Etsy: Karried Astray
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHUbE3jmJMg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pBro4yMX2g