I met Etsy seller Lisa Griffin through my Etsy Item of the Day shop submission page.  I was really excited to come across her cool origami bookmarks.

My favorite designs are the ones pictured above, but here are some other great bookmarks listed by Lisa:

“I am a mother of three and a professional designer & illustrator,” Lisa told me. “Being an artist has its challenges while also balancing mom, wife, family & friend “duties” but I can’t imagine living any other way.  I enjoy spending time in my home studio, whether those hours are spent dedicated to a project, meeting a deadline or stocking the shelves of my Etsy shop. Sometimes, it is enjoying time with the kiddo’s surrounded by paints and brushes – children’s art is always a refreshing inspiration in my humble opinion.”

“A creative lifestyle is not always easy,” she continued, “but I honestly can’t imagine not being an artist mom.”

When Lisa isn’t working on her crafts for Etsy.com, she says she is likely cleaning, cooking or doing laundry.  ”Or playing Mom Taxi and cheering on kids at baseball and soccer games or dance recitals,” she explains.  ”I also love to read and bake yummy desserts.”

I like to ask Etsy sellers where they like to shop on Etsy.com.  Lisa told me that there are several talented shops she enjoys, but a couple of her top favorites would be:

PaintingWell – Lisa says this is a lovely and talented artist who paints for cancer awareness and is a cancer survivor.  ”She is a gem of a lady and so talented,” Lisa said.

ArtsyLois – “Bright, colorful fun and charming pottery pieces. Another fantastic artist who graces Etsy,” she said.

Lisa’s advice to sellers is to now give up and keep at what you love.  ”It is easy to become lost in the shuffle of Etsy but if you believe in what you do and want to share what you do with others, keep at it,” she said.  ”Making other connections with artists and crafters help, they are in the same boat as you and understand when you might hit a creative rut or feel discouraged.”

So what’s next for LMGDesign?

“Definitely more illustration, I want to add more of that element to my shop as it is what I really love to do,” Lisa explained.  ”My puzzle piece art is my other big love. I am amazed at how it has touched so many families living with autism. These pieces are my most requested custom work in the studio. Until I run out of puzzles… which will be a very long time… I will keep experimenting with them.”

If you love Lisa’s work, be sure to check out her entire Etsy shop by clicking the shop name (LMGDesign) at the top of this post.  You can also follow her on Twitter @LMGDesignEtsy and visit her blog!

- Jackie

When I saw this “I Heart Books” photographic print from Etsy seller CatherineAnnDecor, it made me smile.

I really, really heart books!

So much so that a group of ladies I know came together awhile back to form a book group that meets every 6 weeks or so.  It’s fun to meet with other people to chat about books (and drink a bunch of wine).  I get so much more from the books after discussing them with the girls!

I am super excited to announce that I am actually making time to read something that is not on the book group list.  It’s not often that I make it a priority to read something that isn’t on deck (aka on my “to do” list), so I’m stoked about this!

I just started reading “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” by Muriel Barbery and I am loving every second.

Here’s a bit about it:

The novel was written by French novelist and professor of philosophy Muriel Barbery.  It follows events in the life of an apartment concierge, Renée Michel and a darling (yet also unstable) girl named Paloma Josse. Paloma is the daughter of an upper-class family living in the upscale Parisian apartment building where Renée works.

Renée is a widow and she has supervised the building for 27 years.  She keeps to herself and (of course) is a total cat lady.  She hides how cultured she is from the tenants in the building.

Twelve-year-old Paloma lives on the fifth floor with her parents and sister whom she considers snobs. A precocious girl, she hides her intelligence to avoid exclusion at school. Dismayed by the privileged people around her, she decides that life is meaningless, and that unless she can find something worth living for, in her words, beyond the “vacuousness of bourgeois existence”, she will commit suicide on her 13th birthday on June 16. She steals her mother’s pills, and she plans to burn down the apartment before dying.

So far, it’s an amazing book and I find myself looking forward to the next time I can take a moment to jump back in!

Has anyone else read this book?

- Jackie

If you love shopping on Etsy, and also love to read, here are some cool things I have found on Etsy.com in the past that I dropped into my site’s “Book Club” category. Enjoy!

- Jackie

My latest book in my ladies’ book group is “Shantaram” by Gregory David Roberts.  I am really loving it so far… Has anyone else read it?

Here is a bit about the book:

Shantaram is really well-written book that is actually mostly autobiographical.  The novel has aspects of crime, love, and everyday life in India.

Mr. Lindsay (Lin) finds himself in Bombay after he escaped from an Australian prison where he had begun serving a 19-year sentence – imprisoned for a string of armed robberies peformed to support his heroin addiction, which started when his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his daughter.

You’d think this is a lot to take in, but for Gregory David Roberts, this literally is just the beginning of the story!

I’m not very far into the book, but I thought I would search Etsy.com today for things tagged with “India.”  I found this fine art print, and wanted to share it with all of you!

- Jackie

Sorry, been a bit behind on posts lately because of the Sundance madness.

Which reminds me…

I am also behind on my ladies book group selection – “The End of Eternity” by Isaac Asimov!

I am loving these bookmarks from Etsy seller fashionfucsia!  I thought they would make a great gift.

What do you guys think?  What are you reading right now?

- Jackie