International Christmas Market - Christmas Gifts and Cards

This week I'm proud to present the work of a 'Baker's Dozen' of artists, photographers and designers from all over the world in a little virtual 'market' of products that I hope will give you some ideas for 
Christmas Gifts -

First, from Southern California:

FLORALS by FRED

I’m a 50 something retired municipal worker who decided to do something with a lifelong passion, photography. I enjoy many different styles of photography, florals and landscapes are a specialty. Choose from a large variety of floral and landscape posters, wall art and canvas photo art, T shirts, greeting cards and many other products to enjoy and treasure for years to come. I also take requests.

Fred's Zazzle Store

S'mores Snowman Postage 2 by FloralbyFred

.......

Nicola Jones from North Wales, UK

I'm Nicola Jones, owner and designer behind gooseberrymoon. I'm a self taught designer who lovingly combines hand-drawn and digital illustrations into motifs and patterns. With a less is more approach to design I create simple, elegant and timeless pieces of stationery and art prints.

Nicola's website

Monogram Nursery Art Print from notonthehighstreet.com

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Jayne Wilson from Houston, Texas

3D DESIGNS by JAYNE


Originally from England, Jayne Wilson is a self-taught artist who now lives in the Houston area in Texas. When she was introduced to the 3D digital graphics program Bryce in 2004 a whole new world of artistic possibilities opened up to her. Since that introduction, she has branched out and expanded her skills and now uses Vue Esprit and DAZ 3D to create artworks in a variety of styles, including landscapes, equine art, fantasy art and abstracts.

Jayne's Zazzle Store

Foal and Snowman Ceramic Christmas Ornament by 3DDesignsByJayne


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Boriana Giormova from Sofia, Bulgaria.

CUTE and STRANGE CREATURES

I draw funny creatures and design stuff. 
I have two wonderful kids which inspire me and I love to read books and to play video games.





Boriana's Society6 store

Happy Singing-Snowman Bag

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Jennifer Wohlferd-Rowlands, originally from Minnesota 

I'm an American expat living in Wales and I've started a small company based in the heart of South Wales, specialising in making wax candle shells and scented soy candles. A wax candle shell is a hollow wax shell made entirely of wax which is completely re-usable, they do not melt, so when used correctly will last for a very long time.  You place a tealight in the centre and it lights up the wax shell to create an enjoyable glow. 

Welsh Candle Creations website

Christmas Luminaries, Hurricane Shells and Tea Lights

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Sherry Harris from the High Desert of Los Angeles County, California

I'm a stay at home grandmother, awaiting the arrival of my first great-grandson any day. I've been married for 41 1/2 years to the same man. I have two children and six grandchidren...five on earth and one in Heaven. I sell Digital Collage Sheets for Busy Crafters. I find images so they don't have to. I've been selling digital collage sheets on Etsy, Artfire and the Website for over five years. I've been a crafter since childhood and love helping others find what they need.

Santa's Elves: Vintage Children: Digital Collage Sheet

Sherry's Cloud 9 Kreations store

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Cheryl Hall from New South Wales, Australia

GOLDEN JACKAL GREETING CARDS and PRODUCTS

My artistic passions lay in photography, designing and graphics. I like to share what I create and to try many different and varied things. Everything I have done on a computer is self taught and I've come a long way with that.

I have created my own website, regularly blog and have a networking group on facebook. Visit my website for all the links. http://goldenjackal.weebly.com/

Cheryl's Zazzle Store

Christmas card xmas Christmas animal kitty cat by GOLDENJACKAL

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Cherie Balowski from Michigan

My name is Cherie and I live in south central Michigan, in a lovely rural part of the state. I call myself a 'creative soul' because there truly is never a time in my life that I'm not either creating something or thinking about creating something. I feel Blessed to have an opportunity to sell my arts and crafts online and hope you'll visit my Etsy shop to view some of my work!

Cherie's Etsy Store

Poinsettia Wreath Clipart

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Nandita Singh from India

I'm a freelance Surface Pattern designer from India. 

I love to see colour in everything. My style is hand drawn intricate Indian motifs in bright and eye-catching colours. 

My work is inspired by the colourful, geometrical and floral drawings of India, and the detail art works of ancient Mughal Paintings.

Nandita' Society 6 store

'Delicate Branches' iPhone or iPod case

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Countrymouse Studio, British Columbia, Canada

I create watercolor paintings of birds or animals. Love of nature drives me to create and humor makes the journey worthwhile so if you love nature and have a sense of humor you should enjoy your shopping experience. 

My store has unique, customizable giftware: T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, travel mugs, stickers, tote bags, shoes, ornaments etc.

Countrymouse's Zazzle Store

Well, this is a mouse pad! Cute Mousepad by countrymousestudio
 

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Wendy Flynn from S.W. London, UK

I am a surface pattern designer and Illustrator from SW London who designs under the name Doris & Fred named after her Grandparents.

I have been creating art for as long as I can remember, doodling, taking photographs and making a mess. I love colour and pattern and gets my inspiration from everything around me, from park trips with my son to digging veg at the allotment, vintage fabrics and trips to the beach.

I love using a mix of hand drawn motifs, photography and digital magic to create fun fresh designs.

Wendy's website

'Walk in the Park' iPad Case

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Inkflo @ Chez Inflo, living and working in France

I work from France and I love all things quirky! I am a bit of a fidget, so I'm constantly changing my designs, but hopefully that means I can't rest on my laurels, and it keeps my store new and exciting.

Inkflo's Zazzle store

I Love Shoes keychain. by Inkflo

Sarah Hudcock from Vermont

Sarah is a self-taught artist, but all that means is that she loves to draw, paint and create pretty much all of the time. She raises a small flock of chickens, sells her unique greeting cards to small shops around Vermont and elsewhere, and is fond of exhibiting yearly at the fair in her tiny town of Newfane.

Sarah's Christmas Cards and links to website

Roosters Carolling Christmas Card

Missed out this time?

If enough people are interested (at least 10)
 I'll hold another 
International Christmas Market
(in a couple of weeks' time)
 please just follow the instructions below
as soon as possible!

Max Shapey, LCSW, on Blocks to Creativity

A few days ago, Artsy Shark - a Site for Emerging Artists - posted an excellent interview with Max Shapey, LCSW, a clinical social worker and psychotherapist, who grew up in a creative family. This clearly and concisely written  article, 'Helping Artists Find Balance', points to some of the underlying reasons why artists get into difficulties and suggests strategies for overcoming them. Do take a moment to read it!

On a lighter note, these 'Ten Commandments for Reducing Stress' were doing the rounds by email a few years ago -

1. Thou shalt not be perfect nor even try to be.
2. Thou shalt not try to be all things to all people.
3. Thou shalt leave undone those things which ought to be done.
4. Thou shalt not spread thyself too thin.
5. Thou shalt learn to say 'NO!'.
6. Thou shalt schedule time for thyself and thy supportive network.
7. Thou shalt switch off and do nothing, regularly.
8. Thou shalt be boring, inelegant, untidy and unattractive at times.
9. Thou shalt not feel guilty, ever.

And finally -

10.THOU SHALT NOT BE THINE OWN WORST ENEMY!

My favourite is No 8 - what's yours?

The photos are of the River Usk at Crickhowell, the next little town up the road from Abergavenny, taken last week, after what turned out to be a wild goose chase in search of someone to print my cards. It still may turn out to have been worth the trip though!

Right-brain/left-brain quiz for artists

I'm sure it's a great oversimplication but I found this online quiz that is supposed to tell you whether you are predominantly using your right-brain or your left-brain.

I came out as 80% right-brain but I think that is probably quite a lot higher than it would have been if there hadn't been a number of questions where I wanted the sometimes/sometimes option instead of yes/no or maybe just an 'it depends' option!!!