Dream On . . . .

It's sleeting in Philadelphia today and I'm curled up inside, jewelling away to get ready for my holiday shows. I'm ready for a little mental vacation. How about you?

If you're starting to feel frazzled with holiday preparation, kick back with me for a few minutes and visit Mary Hamilton's ETSY shop Dream ON http://dreamon.etsy.com. Mary lives in Florida, studied art in college and keeps refining her eye and her technical skills by continued study with fine artists she respects. In her shop you'll find original watercolors, prints and greeting card reproductions of her paintings.

Heading this article are Mary's "Gulf Shores" notescards, a reproduction of her painting of that name. Snow white dunes with gently waving sea oats overlook the Gulf. These come in a set of six cards packaged in a plastic case and wrapped with a gold band. Perfect for a gift.Next is one of the cards from Mary's Florida Visions series, a set of six different painting reproduction notecards. In the Florida Visions set are birds, charming beach scenes and landscape images of the Everglades.
Mary also has many quirky animal images in her shop. Above is "Road Trip" an original watercolor from Mary's "Cage Free" series of "ridiculous roostahs." The painting is 11" x 15" and is painted on Arches 140 lb. watercolor paper. Next is the whimsical "Power Nap," a print of a mixed media collage. Paper is 8 1/2" x 11" card stock and the image size is 10 1/4 " x 4 3/4".

Mary also writes about art and artists on her blog "Dreams About Art" http://dreamsaboutart.blogspot.com/. She's a member of the "90 Features in 90 Days Challenge." Stop by and read her reflections on the artists and artisans of ETSY.com.

Darjeeling Paper, Ltd.

Michael Gresh is the designer behind ETSY shop Darjeeling Paper, Ltd. http://darjeelingpaper.etsy.com. Michael is a man of many trades, a designer of hotels by day, craft inventor and schemer by night. He is a self-proclaimed "paper nut" who spends his time coming up with new and inventive ways to use up the stockpile of paper he's accumulated over the years.

At Darjeeling Paper you will find a variety of well-crafted, cleanly designed, greeting cards, calendars and hand-bound books that would make great gifts for co-workers, friends, or anyone you know who appreciates attractive design.

Heading this article is a photo of a four-pack of blank-inside notecards featuring four patterns in vibrant colors. The cards and envelopes are approximately 4" x 5 1/2" and are packaged together in resealable cellophane pouches. The photo above is of a hand bound address book titled "India Postage." You can keep track of your friends, acquaintances, and clients with this hard cover, elegant book. The front is adorned with a interchangeable nameplate, and features a beautiful India Postage stamp. The inside sheets are acid-free paper, and each lettered section has sections for 40 entries.These softcover mini-journals are glue bound and wrapped in paper by popular designer, Amy Butler. Each cover is made of double-sided cardstock, making these little books an easy carry-along, fitting neatly into a purse, or briefcase. The books measure roughly 4"x4" and contain approximately 96 pages.

Michael is, with his girlfriend, co-owner of DemiGod Studio, an eclectic duo of craft and art show afficionados. He started Darjeeling Paper, Ltd. as a way to showcase his paper goods, and to distinguish his work as a new product division of DemiGod. You can learn more about DemiGod at http://www.darjeelingpaper.com.

Michael is taking part in the "90 Features in 90 Days Challenge." You can read his latest reviews and learn about some great artists at http://www.darjeelingpaper.com/blog.