I was wandering around etsy one evening, as I am apt to do once the kids are sleeping, and I was seeing a lot of shops that had really nice, professional banners and avatars. You could definitely tell that they are either in graphic design or got someone who knows what they are doing to do it for them.
So I went onto the etsy forums to see if anyone who makes and sells shop packages was having some sort of promotion or sale, and I found someone! PhanieMarie (Stephanie) was celebrating the fact that she and her husband were finally debt free, and the first five people who replied to that post would receive a free shop package! I was totally pumped! I think I was the third or fourth person to reply, so that meant that I would get one! YAY!
PhanieMarie messaged me and asked me if there was anything specific that I preferred. I told her to take a look at my shop and be creative. She took a photo of one of my cards (one I wouldn't have expected, either), and she made a beautiful banner, avatar, and reserved button for my shop. I was so surprised and impressed - it was totally the best decision to let someone who doesn't know me personally design something for my shop based on what my items and pictures. I LOVE IT! It was also equally impressive that this was all done the day after I replied to her post. So, of course, I wanted to tell the world; and the best way for me to do that is to feature her on my blog.
Here is a bit about PhanieMarie in her own words:
I began tinkering around with graphics design when I discovered the internet and personal web pages ten or so years ago. My first page was "Stephie's Purple Pool of Placidity" on angelfire and I made all of my graphics in Paint. When I began blogging on LiveJournal some years later I found a niche for icons (by then I had discovered Photoshop) and I started making them for my friends and random readers. At the time I found nothing more gratifying than making these images for other bloggers; I was never much of an artist in the traditional sense and graphics design was so appealing in that I could erase my mistakes and start over easily.
My creative process usually involves immersing myself in Photoshop until I suddenly come upon something that sparks my imagination. It can take hours to get to that point but, for me, the time flies. I'll admit that I can get burnt out easily; it happened to me recently so I took a break and made a birthday gift for my mother-in-law (I've discovered shadowboxes-- they're like condensed scrapbooks but far less intimidating). The time away from Photoshop gives me a chance to unwind from the pressure of competing against other stores and reminds me that I truly love what I do-- creating something that uniquely expresses someone's personality. Of course, it's a bonus to earn money doing what I love; however, if that ever becomes the only reason for designing it will be time to move on to another craft.
I also crochet and I'm about to teach myself to run a sewing machine. As a stay at home mother to four children I'm blessed beyond measure to be able to raise my children in the Lord while taking care of a recouping soldier (my husband of one year, Dan). We have a cozy home with a huge backyard in North Kansas City, MO. Along with our children we have two rescued cats: Marley (a maine coon who thinks he's a puppy) and Sophia (a sophisticated debutante of domestic mix). I love cats but my husband isn't fond of them; in protest to Marley's adoption he made a cat fort out of a cardboard box.
God has blessed us richly; in obeying Him and following His lead we have found indescribable peace and joy in our simple lives. To be able to create personalized graphics for other handmade sellers is just the icing on the cake!
If you want to take a look at some of the items that PhanieMarie has available in her shop, take a look here, here, and here.
So if you own an etsy shop, and are looking for a way to get your shop looking more professional and clean-cut, let PhanieMarie know, and she will do a fabulous job!
Wow, cool!! I saw the banner on your shop and it is really adorable! Thanks for sharing this artist!
ReplyDeleteShirley, this is so wonderful. This blesses me so much; I can't thank you enough!!
ReplyDeletePhanieMarie