A Treasury of Steel Town Handmade!

Check out this array of handmade awesomeness from Etsy Pittsburgh's Steel Town crafters!

your parade is doomed mini tote-SALE

by bbkbags

P is for Panda - hand screenprinted alphabet print

by strawberryluna

The Weight

by maudesplace

Bloom 1974 Calendar Towel Sling Purse

by VintageHotcakes

Ascen - Earrings

by CERCAjewelry

The Kindly Beekeeper Dancing Jack Necklace

by charmedbynature

SIMPLY SEAGLASS BEACHGLASS BANGLE BRACELET

by beachglassgonewild

Custom Wirewrap Pendant

by octarine

Cutter Quilt Teddy Bear

by lazypeas

Curious Rat

by hairycarrot

Original - Akimbo

by wandamarie

Rose 2005, 8 X 10

by 19Moons

Bettie Page Leopard Print Swimsuit Image Earrings

by BarkerBell

Sweet Pink- Original Chinese Brush Painting

by silentlotus

To see more handmade creations from our Pittsburgh artisans, check out our team's Etsy shop!

Help Save Funding for the Arts in Pennsylvania

Normally I try to keep my political opinions to myself and separate from the world of arts and crafts, but this topic is far too important to keep quiet about.

The Pennsylvania Senate, in their recent budget bill, propose to eliminate ALL funding for arts and culture, which includes museums.

From the Pittsburgh Arts Council website, "On Wednesday, May 6, 2009, the Pennsylvania Senate passed its version of the FY 2010 state budget (SB 850) with a 30-20 vote. The bill, introduced on May 4, eliminates all arts and culture grants in the state through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). While this is an unfortunate occurrence, the budget process isn’t complete yet."

The arts enrich our community and are part of what makes Pennsylvania the wonderful state to live in that it is. In these times of economic hardship, the arts give people hope and funding is now more important than ever.

Please, take the time to visit the Arts Council website and learn more about what you can do.

Take the time to sign the petition at the very least. Let's make our voices heard!

Join me as I vow, "I will not let the arts go quiet into this dark economic night!"

Etsy Pittsburgh Team Invading Artists & Fleas Market June 27, 2009

The end of June, the Etsy Pittsburgh Street Team will be taking a road trip to Brooklyn, NY to vend at the Artists and Fleas Market.

Participating Members include:

Charmed By Nature offers handcrafted jewelry with a sense of humor. Celebrate this colorful season with a piece of jewelry that reflects your love of nature and fun! Each of the leaves in my leaf necklaces is hand molded in clay using a real leaf. * no bugs were harmed in the making of my necklaces - they were sculpted from scratch...:)

Funvelopes offers fun envelopes, hence the name. Each funvelope is made from found paper and matched with a sheet of stationery (salvaged) & stamped with an matching image from my vast collection of rubber stamps. (Proof that she didn't fritter the 80's away doing something silly - she collected rubber stamps).Each funvelope are made by a person and not a machine. She even uses lick and stick glue on the flaps so you can seal them up.

BarkerBell offers a number of artistically created unique items. She combines vintage images and other favorites from the past with current trends and recycles and repurposes items whenever possible, creating many Steampunk, altered art, vintage image, & upcycled items.

Silentlotus has a deep fondness and appreciation for gems and minerals which makes creating with them a very spiritual process for her. She loves to blend them with sterling silver and pure brass because it enhances both the beauty and the properties of the stones.

19 Moons limited edition jewelry incorporates vintage and recycled materials to create wares that are both unique & eco-friendly. Your source for original Steampunk, Neo-Victorian, Retro & Industrial designs.

The team will have space inside the market as well as outside at McCarren park on Saturday, June 27th.

If you're in the New York area, take advantage of the opportunity to stop by, say hello, and perhaps even buy a unique item direct from one of the artists.

Etsy on the local news

The Etsy selling news story is going to air this Monday the 18th! 5pm show tune in around 5:45pm on channel 11. There will be a text version on the WPXI website after it airs. (Going to tape it myself) I hope it's a good piece and gets Etsy Pittsburgh some exposure!

A Foray into Silver Metal Clay

The Pittsburgh Etsy Team hosts workshops as often as possible to allow the members to learn from each other. The last of these workshops I attended was a silver metal clay workshop, hosted by Lynne, of Charmed By Nature.

From a drab, light gray lump of clay, I was able to make the wings above but pressing a brass stamping into the clay and cutting out around the design. The clay is a low firing version, so it's able to be baked in a regular oven and fired over a stove burner to finish it. A few more steps are involved, which I'll leave to the instructor, should she wish to hold future classes on the topic.

The workshop was fun and informative. Lynne is a very patient and knowledgeable instructor which makes her workshops all the more fun and worthwhile.

She'll be teaching an upcoming Polymer Clay workshop through the Pittsburgh Craft Collective and I can't wait to see what she inspires her students to make next.


My wings, as a brooch, with a brown doll eye added.

Introducing Unique Gel Candles! The Second Featured Artist for Today's CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market.

For today’s special double CityCraft artist feature, I'm excited to introduce our second featured artist, Lorry Barone of Unique Gel Candles.

Lorry is a gifted artist who has been handcrafting gel candles for close to eight years. Her candles are extremely safe, provide exceptional fragrance release & last twice as long as traditional wax made candles. She uses only the finest of materials when making her gel candles.

Lorry considers her Seascape Candles to be her specialty. Her delightfully whimsical underwater candles are most certain to please!

Her Drink Candles are sure to get a lot of attention too. They look so real they may be mistaken for an actual beverage!

Want to show some team spirit? Why not light a Unique Gel Candle fashioned in honor of your favorite sports team! For whatever you fancy or for whatever occasion, Lorry can easily custom design a unique candle just for you.

And so we welcome you to join us at Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and see Unique Gel Candles along with many more talented artisans.

Introducing Ohana Glass Designs! The First of Today's Featured CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market Artists.

For the first of today’s special double CityCraft artist feature, I'm excited to introduce artist Natasha Vazquez Lee of Ohana Glass Designs.

Natasha is a most talented artist whose interests include creating fused glass pendants & other beaded jewelry pieces. Her mediums of choice include dichroic glass, Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, Czech glass & lampwork beads. Her designs are nothing less than stunning & oh-so-romantic!

Natasha provides perfect imagery when describing her works. Take for example her depiction of the above pictured In the Secret Garden necklace, “A simple twist of the key, a gentle tug on the creaky old door, & a riot of colorful blooms explodes into view.”

For the Swirling Eddies earings pictured below, Natasha invites us to, “imagine a romantic boat ride in a serene pond, trailing your fingertips through the clear, cool water…”

Her craft truly is a splendor of visual poetry!


Natasha is a recent member of Etsy Pittsburgh & we are thrilled to welcome her to the team!

And so we welcome you to join us at Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and see Ohana Glass Designs along with many more talented artisans.

Introducing Mira Ethnicity LLC! The Second Featured Artist for Today's CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market.

For today’s special double CityCraft artist feature, I'm excited to introduce our second featured artist, Meera Viswanathan of Mira Ethnicity LLC.



Meera is creator & proprietor of a stylish line of handbags made exclusively of fine Dupioni silk. Her classic, elegant bags are, “designed by women who know what a mother & a working woman want.” Each bag is durable, lightweight & generously outfitted with plenty of pockets for organization.

Meera provides high quality workmanship at affordable prices. Her bags are sure to make a bold fashion statement, combining style with functionality. As eloquently observed on her website, “why settle for ordinary bags when you can get extraordinary silk bags?”

Mira Ethnicity Bags most definitely, “have it all – style, craftsmanship & lasting good looks.”

And so we welcome you to join us at Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and see Mira Ethnicity LLC along with many more talented artisans.

Introducing Lazy Peas! The First of Today's Featured CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market Artists.

For the first of today’s special double CityCraft artist feature, I'm excited to introduce artist Lynn Patton of Lazy Peas.

Lynn is an inventive artist whose interests include fiber, jewelry & paper craft. She likes to take found vintage objects & repurpose them into new & usable things. Her creations are truly unique & eco friendly!

Lynn has many vintage-to-new crafting endeavors. She often transforms vintage fabrics & quilts into beautiful purses & adorable stuffed creations. Her interesting jewelry designs often include such items as vintage typewriter keys, buttons & belt buckles. For paper crafts, Lynn often enjoys using old photographs in her works.

Lynn is an important new member of Etsy Pittsburgh & most certainly makes a welcome addition to the team!

And so we welcome you to join us at Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and see Lazy Peas along with many more talented artisans.

Introducing Angel Sent Wreaths! The Second Featured Artist for Today's CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market.

For today’s special double CityCraft artist feature, I'm excited to introduce our second featured artist, Carole Anne Robb of Angel Sent Wreaths.

Carole designs pretty decorative wreaths from various materials. Her one of a kind wreaths are available in all colors & shapes & can be made specifically for any occasion desired. Every handcrafted wreath is adorned with a single gold angel which is an insignia on all of her lovely work.

And so we welcome you to join us at Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and see Angel Sent Wreaths along with many more talented artisans.

Introducing Ale’s Creations! The First of Today's Featured CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market Artists.

For the first of today’s special double CityCraft artist feature, I'm excited to introduce artist Alejandra Quezada-Crowder of Ale’s Creations.

Alejandra is an exceptional paper craft artist who creates lovely & affordable items using paper, yarn & glue. Her specialties include but are not limited to making cards, tags, scrapbooks, bookmarks & frames. Alejandra's designs are fun, colorful & absolutely delightful to look at!


And so we welcome you to join us at Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and see Ale’s Creations along with many more talented artisans.

Introducing As I Am! The Second Featured Artist for Today's CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market.

For today’s special double CityCraft artist feature, I'm excited to introduce our second featured artist, Alyssa Truckenbrod of As I Am.

Alyssa creates wonderfully smelling all natural skin care products. Her tried & true formulas have been thoroughly researched & tested. She provides quality products that promote health & goodness for your skin.

Alyssa is also a very gifted jewelry artist. She describes her style as being, “very simple, organic & primitive but with a very classical feel.” Her remarkable jewelry is most often made from sterling silver accented with brass, copper, patinas, natural stones & other found & non-traditional materials.

Alyssa has been a member of the Pittsburgh Craftsmen’s Guild since the late 1990’s.

And so we welcome you to join us at Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and see As I Am along with many other talented artisans.

Introducing Adina's Artistry Wire Jewelry Creations! The First of Today's CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market Artists.

For today’s special double CityCraft artist feature, I'm excited to introduce our first featured artist, Adina DeRoy-Stouffer of Adina's Artistry Wire Jewelry Creations.

An extraordinary jewelry artist, Adina specializes in creating stunning hand formed wire wrapped & fused metal pieces. As a traditional artist, she completely handcrafts every single component of her jewelry.

Although her favorite materials include sterling silver & gemstones, due to the rising cost of silver Adina has begun experimenting with alternative found objects such as copper pipe, roof flashing & other building materials. Her recycled & repurposed found object works are not only amazingly beautiful but are eco friendly as well!

Adina is an accomplished silversmith who also teaches classes at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

So we welcome you to join us at Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and see Adina’s Artistry Wire Jewelry Creations along with many more talented artisans.