Slideshow Tutorial: Matchbook Notebook Promo Cards

This tutorial was lovingly put together by our own amazing Kellibeans Enjoy this tutorial and thanks Kelli for the hard work! This is a GREAT tutorial! I wanna go make one!

Etsy Mini For the week BROWN!

This weeks Etsy Mini is late,yes but it was worth the wait Check it out!

Enjoy these earthy brown creations from our VERY talented artists and craftspeople, If your looking for more items handmade in the state of Kentucky Please search teambluegrass
On Etsy!

Support your state, your neighbors,work at home mama's and your economy and Buy Local!

Next weeks Etsy Mini will be YELLOW

Etsy Buy Handmade BluegrassEtsy

Feature Friday: GloryBeHerbals

This weeks feature Friday shop is GloryBeHerbals Jackie Alberti Who makes some really awesome natural products. Keep an eye out from an article by Jackie on herbs and herbs and plants native to Kentucky. I know this will be a fascinating article as soon as we can get it together. But for now here is her interview so you can get to know Jackie a little better:


Tell us about yourself! What part of Ky your from, your family,if you have a day job? if so what do ya do?

I have been living in Lexington since I graduated from college in 1990. We moved to Kentucky when I was in 3rd grade-My Dad was stationed in Fort Knox. So I have lived in Radcliff, Dry Ridge, Richmond and Lexington. My parents and my brother live in Georgetown and my sister lives in Eastern Kentucky. None of us are originally from here but we love this state so we've stayed. In fact my Mother's brother has just moved back here from South Carolina. I have a teenage daughter and a husband (also a transplant from out-of-state). I do have a full time day job as a clerk at the Post Office, so I can help with shipping questions too!

What got you started in Crafting?

I originally started on my herbal path when I was in high school after I read Jeanne Rose's Herbal Body Book. I fell out of it for over a decade and rediscovered it about 7 years ago. I began to study herbs and essential oils pretty intensly on my own and finally decided to get a little formal education. So now I have certification as an herbalist and aromatherapist. It's not an easy education, either! You have to understand chemical compounds to be responsible in this business! All I can tell you is that I was on about a half dozen prescription meds in my early thirties. After incorporating herbs and aromatherapy into my life I don't take any prescription medications. It has had an enormous impact on my life so I want to help make a difference to other people.

Whats a normal day like for you?

I get up at 5 AM and have some coffee and alone time. I work from 7:30 until 4:30 and I run like crazy all day!!! When I have my lunch break I spend about 10 minutes eating and the rest of the time brainstorming-I always have something cooking in my brain and I always have a notebook handy to write down inspirations. When I get home I have dinner, clean up and then I have time to work on orders, my blog, new formulas, answer email, etc. I try to have a little time with my husband just to relax before bed. Actually, right now I'm working on this interview, and article, two orders, two loads of laundry and five months worth of samples to go in the spotted box........

Is there anything special you would like your potential customers to know about your work??

The most important thing I would like my customers to know is that I care about them like I care about my family. I will never use anything in my work that I wouldn't use on my own daughter. That's why I use the most natural ingredients I can and I only use pure essential oils, never fragrance oils. I believe in customer service so no one is ever going to be bothering with a question. I have met so many nice people doing this and I really love it!


Whats your favorite thing about Kentucky?

No matter where you go in this state it's beautiful! I think the fall colors in eastern Kentucky are every bit as beautiful as the New England colors they rave about on TV. Since I have family in New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, Kentucky has been a perfect place to live for my family.

What is your favorite product you make?

That's a really hard question. I think I enjoy custom orders the most and the perfumery. It's fun to make a scent that smells good and is healing to the person wearing it. Right now my favorite is my Introduction to Aromatherapy-it has all the stuff I wish my program came with. You can start making stuff the day you get it.

You can see all of Jackie's Natural bath and body products in her Etsy shop
For now here is a sampling:

Etsy Buy Handmade Glorybeherbals

Kool Kentucky : Grand Rivers Kentucky

I have bragged about Grand Rivers in western Kentucky before, but it is officially a great place. Well, at least according to Southern Living Magazine. I lovelovelove it here and so do many Southern Living Readers. I think ranking 8 out of who knows how many small towns is awesome. Especially since this little town only has 352 residents. This is a great place to vacation and a wonderful place to reside!







The jetty, pictured here, was also voted one of the 50 most romantic places to kiss in the United States according to Cosmopolitan Magazine. WooHoo! How lucky is that!











Many Many thanks to our lucky member, Denise Johnson AKA: 3Magpies
who submitted this article and lives in Grand Rivers. It looks like an awesome place to visit!

enter your email address in the form on the right to subscribe to our blog via your email! Look for more "Kool Kentucky" articles soon from our members who live in this beautiful state we are proud to call home.

Every Woman's Arts and Crafts Spring Festival

The Every Woman’s Arts & Crafts Spring Festival was held on May 9 at the Colvin Community Center in Radcliff. Organizers raised money from the gift basket raffle for SpringHaven Domestic Violence Shelter, and helped forge connections with other local artisans.

LaDonna Eastman, the organizer of the Spring Festival, reports that the event included “women artists and crafters from Radcliff, Fort Knox, Elizabethtown, Cecilia, Lebanon Junction, Rineyville, Bloomfield, Louisville, Prospect, Bowling Green, Glasgow, Russellville, Prestonsburg, Madisonville, Burlington, and Leitchfield in KY - and two from just across the river in Corydon and Jeffersonville, IN." Talk about buying local!


It was a fun filled day showcasing hand crafted items and art work created by female artisans in the central Ohio Valley region. Many of the vendors that participated have online stores through Etsy and are members of our very own Bluegrass Etsy Street Team (BEST). There were 12 Etsy shop owners at the festival in Radcliff that day! For those that were not aware of the Kentucky etsy team, by the end of the show they were aware of the benefits of joining the team, and many have already signed up as new members.

Here are some of the exhibitors that were at the show:

www.cowgirlrosie.etsy.com - Carolyn Campbell
www.aurorasgarden.etsy.com - Libby Goldsmith
www.maylessgarden.etsy.com - Libby Goldsmith
www.wanderingwhimsies.etsy.com - Belinda Johnston
www.joshuasfriends.etsy.com - Liz Kimble
www.themisfitdreamers.etsy.com - Asha Nagaiya
www.whimsybymari.etsy.com - Mari Nall
www.creativeeyestudio.etsy.com - Kim Ries
www.pearlbuds.etsy.com - Stacy Smith
www.lajumpinbean.etsy.com - Christine Toolan
www.wilmothfarms.etsy.com - Virginia Wilmoth
www.christensoncreations.etsy.com - Lee Ann Christenson

If you missed the spring show, Every Woman’s Arts & Crafts Festivals is planning a fall/holiday event as well – so keep an eye on the website for updates.

Feature Friday : MisfitDreamers

This weeks feature Friday shop is TheMisfitDreamers.
This shop is owned by the lovely Asha, who is also a painter and graphic artist. Her jewelry has such a unique style, just the right amount of bling to make me drool, and that unique touch that makes me feel like I know her just by looking at her work. She obviously puts a lot of herself into her work, and her style really is unique. So if your looking for some unique jewelry pieces check her out! So here goes our interview:


Tell us about yourself! What part of Ky your from, your family,if you have a day job? if so what do ya do?

I was born in Louisville, but I've lived in Radcliff my entire life. I have 1 sister, and 8 lovely cats that are like my children. I'm technically a graphic designer. I currently freelance, and am contracted out at a company in Louisville for 3 days a week.


What got you started in Crafting?

I've been crafty and creative my entire life. I've been oil painting for about 14 years and I draw, too. I'm attempting to learn how to sew. I got started in jewelry in 2006. I had a pair of earrings and I wanted to recreate them..so I bought some basic supplies and went home and started making earrings. Then people wanted me to make them some earrings. And then necklaces. And bracelets. And rings. And it's been going on like this ever since. I taught myself how make jewelry, and my favorite part is probably being able to buy all the beautiful beads and supplies I find. For the record, I still haven't made that first pair of earrings I meant to make..I might make them one of these days!


Whats a normal day like for you?

If I'm working that day, I have to wake up early [which I hate doing], and then I just create ads or signage for the store all day. Then I come home and I might make jewelry or work on catching up with stuff I have to do. On off days, I work on freelance projects, make jewelry if I'm in the mood, or paint [my true passion].


Is there anything special you would like us to know about your work?

About my jewelry..I love to combine unique beads to form pieces. I have my beads/supplies in containers with compartments or in bags, and I will often scratch around in them until I find something I like and know will work well with what I have in mind. I make a wide variety of styles because I don't want to limit myself to one thing, and I love to create different things people will enjoy.

About my art [I don't have any items up right now, but will soon]..I truly love fine art. My favorite genre is surrealism and I often create things in this genre. I'm often inspired by experiences and song lyrics.


Whats your favorite thing about kentucky?

I guess my favorite thing about Kentucky is that it's home. I love to visit other places. I would love to move to New York or possibly Cleveland some day, but I definitely want to come back to Kentucky. It's comfortable, cozy, and at just the right pace. I like the central location of it, as well [I go to a lot of concerts and this is helpful ^^].


Whats your favorite shop(s) on Etsy?

Just a few of my favorites, there are so many!
http://www.cicelymargo.etsy.com
http://www.VintageFiligree.etsy.com
http://www.elleabelle.etsy.com
http://www.nervoussystem.etsy.com
http://www.OnTheInside.etsy.com
http://www.Lululalaland.etsy.com

You can see more from the very talented young lady in her Shop on Etsy. We are so proud to have you on the team Asha!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade themisfitdreamers.etsy.com

Etsy Mini For the week PINK!

Here are some incredible PINK items from teambluegrass!

If your looking for another color free free to Shop on Etsy for more items Exclusively from the team! Type in teambluegrass in the search box to find ALL our stuff! All items are handmade with love and care here in Kentucky.

Next week color is Brown! Oooooo!

Etsy Buy Handmade BluegrassEtsy

BEST Team Meet and Greet

Our Kentucky etsy team held their first Meet and Greet on April 25 at Tina Mackin's Smackin Art Studio in Louisville. Team members traveled from all parts of the state to attend. There is something to be said for placing a face with a name and meeting the people you've been chatting with online! Libby Goldsmith was introduced as our new team leader, taking over for Corinne Sullivan, who recently moved to Chicago. Libby has big shoes to fill, but we know she will do a great job.


Our team went around a circle and introduced ourselves and explained our history with the team, the items we create and how long we've been with etsy. Of particular interest was hearing how our team was originally formed, which was explained to us by Carolyn Campbell, one of our founding members. We took a break for lunch and walked to the very popular & funky Lynn's Paradise Cafe and stopped at some of the shops along Barret Avenue.

Returning to Tina's studio later that afternoon, we had an informal discussion about some of the challenges we face and new ways to market our shops. We discussed the etsy forums, twitter and plurk, shipping questions, special sales and contests, development of a team shop, tags in our listings and promo items. Team members brought samples and business cards to exchange at the close of the meeting. Tina Mackin and Kim Ries donated items for a door prize and Tammie Fosbart's mom was our winner.


Everyone had a wonderful time and we were already planning a fall meeting before this meeting ended!

If you were unable to attend the spring meeting, stay tuned for the details of our fall Meet & Greet. We hope to have it in central Kentucky in September.

See you then!

Feature Friday : MommieDawn

This weeks Featured shop is MommieDawn: She has AMAZING photographs of the Kentucky Landscape. She has captured our beautiful state very well in her work. She is also an activist for changing the way we mine for coal. It is very destructive to the environment and has a lasting impact on nearby families. She has provided a link Ilovemountains.org so we can read up more on how this mining has such an impact on the landscape.

She was very happy to to be featured shop this week, I am very proud to have her on the team. We have so much talent here I am constantly amazed! Here goes the interview;

So Miss Dawn tell us a bit about yourself?? My mother is from Perry County, KY and my father from Beckley, WV so I am 100% Appalachian and that is something I treasure. I was actually raised in Frankfort, KY. I adore Frankfort of course with its varied topography, lush landscape, and colorful history. But I have to admit I feel more of an attachment to Eastern Kentucky where I spent much of my time in Grapevine and Chavies near Hazard. I think it was such an adventure growing up, each time my mother, brother and I traveled the Mountain Parkway and watched the land and roads change from the gentle hills of central Kentucky to the foothills and then on into the beautiful green mountains that were the backdrop for experiences that shaped our lives.

Ya got any kids? How is the family? I am now married with two children and I hope I can give to them the chance to have a childhood as magical as mine. There’s will be spent traveling mostly to Shelby County, KY to see my mother who has settled on beautiful forested property with a large pond and their paternal grandparents who also have a forested retreat for them to explore.

If you have a day job tell us about it! I have been working in highway design since I was 19 years old. So that’s eleven years now, wow!

Tell us ALLL about your Art! My photography is an effort to tell my story. I have a photographic memory and make strong associations with my visual and emotional experiences. So every photograph in the collection that I choose to share is offering something of me to the viewer. I sometimes know right away that a photo is perfect and that I want to share it. Sometimes, though, I am prone to ignoring a photo for a long time and then stumbling upon it later only to realize it is stunning. This initial overlooking is because I need time to forget my emotional experiences when I was moved to photograph something before I can let go of the fact that I may not have accomplished what I wanted to with a particular shot. And then, the beauty that is there can reveal itself to me and I feel so lucky!

I did not realize that my photography told a story until I was considering moving beyond the joy of privately collecting them and instead sharing them also with others. At that point I began to wonder how I would discuss them with others and I realized that there is a tremendous focus on what moves me about Kentucky itself. A simple locust tree, considered a weed by some, is a glorious display, especially when you find rows of them and it seems there are infinite delicate white blooms dangling like wisteria. Then there is my personal history as an activist trying to help sound the alarm about what mountain top removal and valley fills are doing to the Appalachian Mountains in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia.

I remember when I was studying in the library and heard some agricultural PhD students discussing their work and doing flyovers of an area that they were monitoring. They could not pronounce the word correctly but I knew that they were talking about my Chavies! I tuned in and heard that there was this astounding amount of destruction visible from the air and that from their perspective it was just pitiful, even laughable that it had been allowed to happen. And so that was my wake up call. I heard then that the University of Kentucky was going to sell some of the Robinson Forest in Breathitt County off to be mined in order to raise money for a scholarship fund. I got heavily involved in the fight to curb those intentions. It was clear that my people were being asked to choose between pristine land (and I say this technically because there is a watershed that is unscathed there by human activity and to say this is important would be an understatement) and their children. Let me reiterate my point, the people of Eastern Kentucky, in this situation, were being told in essence, they had too give up their land for their children’s educations. When I made that point in front of a panel of politicians I felt like an outsider as the mayor of a town in an area I’d lay my heart and soul out for told me to go back where I came from. But two days later the politician who had started the inquiry into selling the land changed his mind and said nearly verbatim what I had that day in a newspaper article. I knew at that point that I could make some tiny ripple of an effect and I haven’t stopped trying to pay attention and do what I can since.

These days I am not a student, and so I have no time for demonstrations and going door to door to affect policy. But, I write my representatives every time I’m made aware of a vote that holds promise for change. And now I have a mission to share the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains with art collectors and hope that they’ll take an interest in the artist enough to discover that I am praying they’ll notice that there’s an entire region wishing that the rest of us would realize that our conveniences and cheap energy come at a huge cost. Children die when boulders break free from mining jobs and land on their beds, homes are literally knocked off their foundations and carried downstream when impoundment ponds fail and release millions of gallons of toxic sludge so that it can bury everything in reach and pollute the resources of untold numbers of people.

In a sense my photographs are just pretty visions captured on film. But I hope that the collection can become a tribute to my ancestry and my descendants and chiefly, a visual stimulation of empathy for the Appalachian region. Too often we are presented images of poverty, but that’s not the story I want to tell. Our land is beautiful and worthy of reverence.

Any other hobbies? Among my other hobbies, I am a knitter, one who is attempting to draw and paint from time to time, and I LOVE graphic design, making invitations for events that are special and unique or ad layouts, etc. I owe an unending debt of gratitude to my mother for letting me waste her materials while I tried to be as creative as she is growing up!! I hope to find what comes as naturally to me as so many things do to her. I remember when she taught me to draw each leaf on a tree instead of just the outline of a canopy. Watching her layout designs for things over the years…how it all just flows from her, she’s definitely been the inspiration for exploring this part of myself.

Thanks so much Dawn, this was a great interview! I can really feel you have so much passion for your work and its obvious thru your gorgeous photos.

You can click on any picture in the Etsy Mini to go to her shop. Thanks SO much Dawn for being my latest "Victim" ! Keep making those purty pictures!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade mommiedawn.etsy.com

Etsy Mini Wednesday! Green!

Search Teambluegrass for more fabulous items in EVERY color of the rainbow from our team!

Etsy Buy Handmade BluegrassEtsy

Check back next wednesday when the color of our Mini will be....PINK!

Feature Friday! SewcutebyKatie

For this first edition of feature friday I wanted to feature one of our brand new team members,SewcutebyKatie! Katie is real sweet, she lives in Louisville, Kentucky and she sews the cutest kids stuff, her shop name aint lyin'!

Here goes our interview:

So Miss Katie, tell us all about yourself? I am 34, married with two boys ages 3 and 6 and have lived in Louisville all my life. I am actually in between jobs (gotta love the economy) but hoping to get a new job soon as a Recruiter for an insurance company. I have been in the insurance business for the past 10 yrs but I love to sew.

How did you get started Crafting? I started sewing as a kid and took some lessons in middle school and I was always crafting something. In college is when my skills really improved because I worked for an alterations shop and a costume shop and was around people who could show me the "right way" to do things. I have a home sewing business doing alterations, monogramming and some home decor stuff. I love to make stuff and if I can make some money doing it great!

Whats a "Normal" day like in your life? Currently my days are filled with sewing (mostly alterations) while I'm in the job transistion but when I have "day job" I do everything in the evenings and weekends when I have free minute so it usually gets pushed to Saturdays.

Whats your favorite thing about Kentucky?My favorite thing about Kentucky is the weather because we have 4 seasons although I wish it were more like 3, could do without the really cold weather.

And the big question, did your horse win the Derby this year? And no my horse did not win the Derby, probably bet every horse but the one that won but I had great seats for the first time ever so I didn't care! lol!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~***********************~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Katie has a very good selection of adorable baby things in her shop, handmade bibs, burp cloths, the cutest appliqued onesies for boys and girls too! I wish I could have found her shop when the boys were little all those YEARS ago, you know how hard it is to find cute stuff for boys! Well she has VERY cute stuff for boys.
Click on any picture to go to her shop, or the links above.

Thanks so much Katie for being our first feature! Check us back next friday for more!



You can subscribe to our RSS feed, or you can look in the top right hand corner and we now have an option for you to subscribe via your ** email!** Yes you can get all that~teambluegrass~ goodness delivered right to your inbox the minute we make a new post, it just takes a minute to sign up and you never have to miss any exciting team action again!

Collection of pretty blue

Thanks to the very talented members of our team for making these gorgeous blue items for us to drool over...If your looking for more just search on Etsy.com for "teambluegrass" you will find items of every color imaginable! Or just click the word and the search has already been done for ya!
NEXT WEDNESDAY: the color green!

Etsy Buy Handmade BluegrassEtsy

Our May Team Giveaway!

Congratulations to our April contest winner - Maria R from Drop of Sunshine, picked via random number generator! Our April giveaway was a handstitched coffee cozy of your choice created by Sara Andrus the Savvy Stitcher. For more of Sara's creations, check out her etsy shop. Thank you Sara for participating in our giveaway promotion! And congrats to Drop of Sunshine!

We are excited to announce our giveaway for the month of May! This lovely clutch is hand crafted by Toni Johnson of Vernon Ave. I have seen Toni's work in person and she has great attention to quality and details.


I'm Like a Bird
Take me in flight or just to the market. This mini pouch, makeup bag or wallet is so filled with charm. Cotton inside and out with hand embroidered edging, and a handmade adornment with embroidery, ribbon, felted wool, shells, and beading for extra personality. The closure is a magnetic snap.

Dimensions are 8" l x 5" h.

This giveaway is valued at $25.00.


How Do I Enter?
In order to enter this drawing, please visit the Vernon Ave store, then come back to this blog and post your comment. Tell us what you like about Toni's shop or tell us your favorite item. If you post this giveaway on your blog, let us know that too, for an additional chance to win. Good luck to all!