Hall of Fame {Artful Goodies}

Welcome to a new artist feature and giveaway, and a new year! I hope you were able to ring in 2010 with family, friends, and fun. . .

Today, I'm so happy to introduce to you a talented Etsian and fellow North Carolinian! Meet April, of Artful Goodies. Her shop is filled with unique hand stamped and inked jewelry.

Keep reading to get to know a little about her and her craft.

What inspires you?
Nature and all things I love. I actually have 2 sides of me. One that loves the sweet, pretty things like flowers, trees, birds and bees. Then my other side that loves skulls, tattoos, and COOL stuff.

Where do you call home?
Are you from there originally? Lexington, North Carolina is where I call home. I have lived in North Carolina my whole life in other nearby cities. Lexington is a small town with not much to do but be creative. lol

Name something unique to where you live.
My town has a BBQ festival every year. We love BBQ here! Local artist are hired to paint and decorate fiberglass pigs for businesses to sponsor. YES I said pigs! They are huge and some artist are very creative and morph them into all kinds of things. A challenge? YES But there have been some really cool ones. My husband and I have worked on 6 of them for the past 2 festivals. They are available for auction if they do not sell prior to the festival. Its always interesting to see what they bring.
Share an interesting fact about yourself.
Well....... I am a chocaholic!! I eat something chocolate everyday!

If you had to describe yourself in a word, what would that word be?
Eclectic! That is me in a word! I like so many different things and styles.

What made you decide to open up shop?
After many years of making things and selling them to friends and family, I was introduced to etsy and was hooked immediately. I have always tinkered with jewelry but fell into hand stamping images and the resins by accident. Being a scrapbooker I had many stamps to play with. My husband had used resins for fishing lures he was creating and I noticed the extreme shine they had. A light bulb went off and I started playing around with colors and images.

How did you come up with your shop name? Any special significance?
I feel my pieces are mini art pieces. I have such eclectic style that I wanted to keep the name open to other possibilities. Goodies kinda covered it all. So ART and GOODIES = "Artfulgoodies".
Name your favorite thing about selling handmade.
Knowing I am making items that are one of a kind, and lots of love goes into creating something that is a joy to make. The feedback I get when someone says "OMG I LOVE IT!!" is the biggest reward ever!

Do you have a day job or sell on Etsy full-time?
For 12 years I have had my own decorative finishing business (Wallexpressions). I provide unique finishes to home owners, builders and businesses for walls, cabinetry, ceilings and furniture. I also paint murals (which is my favorite thing to paint) in baby rooms, kitchens, salons and recently finished a local winery.

Give us a little glimpse into what a typical day in your life looks like.
Not too exciting may I say but.... my day is waking up @ 6:00 and starting my must needed pot of coffee. I try to check my etsy every morning and take any pics of any new items to list. I take my daughter to school everyday and start my day of painting and creating. After ending my day around 4-5:00 its time to do homework and feed the family. Following up on e-mails and etsy in the afternoons and any errands (like the dreaded grocery store). Then its time for the baths and my night time chocolate snack. Told you it wasn't too exciting.
Share with us a favorite Etsy purchase or shop.
A sock monkey I purchased for my daughter from the UK. We will never be able to travel there but it super cool to have something handmade from another country.

List a few of your most favorite pastimes.
Painting for sure! I also scrapbook and love to make just about anything. Bakeing sweets and snacks :)

Read any good books lately?
My only reading lately consist of Junie B books with my daughter. They are funny and great though.

What is your most prized possession?
The photos of my dad. He died when I was 7 and our home burned when I was a teen so there are only a few that survived.
What are three of your favorite foods?
pasta, stewed potatoes and..........you guessed it CHOCOLATE!

What would you like to learn to do?
hmmm..... take awesome photographs. I do love to play with the camera and really enjoy trying to capture moments. My computer has over 10,000 images I have took over the years.

What are you listening to right now?
Some biker crap my husband is watching on TV! lol
Name one place you must visit in your lifetime and why.
I would love to visit New York just so I can say I have. My sweet little country life just doesn't compare to that fast pace you get in the big cities!

Anything else you'd like to share?
I want to thank you for having such a great blog and letting me be a part of it! I'm not a big blog reader but was hooked on yours the first time I read it! So kind of you to spread the word of other etsy members.

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April, thank you so much for stopping by to share with us. It was a pleasure getting to know you better.

Keep up with April through her shop and on twitter!

Time for a Giveaway!
April is so generously giving away one of her beautiful pendants to one reader! The winner will get their choice of any pendant from her shop -- a $16 value. Sweet!

To enter, just tell us what pendant you will choose if you win! Don't forget to include your name and email address or Etsy username so we can contact you!

Please read carefully, as the rules have changed!

For extra entries you can:
Tweet this giveaway (you can do this once per day!)
Follow my blog
Blog about this interview/contest
Purchase from Artful Goodies

Just leave a comment with your answer. Then, an additional comment if you are applicable for extra entries.

For example: If you want to enter and you also tweet the giveaway and follow my blog; leave your original comment + another that you tweeted + another that you are a follower = a total of 3 comments. Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.

You can also tweet the giveaway once per day and get an additional entry for doing so!

Contest ends Sunday, January 10th at 11:59 pm EST. Winner will be chosen at random and will be announced the following day.

Good luck!