Featured Artist

Good Sunday blogger friends and Happy Father's Day to all the dads. We had a super busy weekend. Our daughter Aly came home from college (she’s taking summer classes and working), and of course the preparation for Father’s Day. My Sweetie and I enjoyed the family being together to celebrate Father’s Day. I hope you had a great celebration at your house.

I want to introduce you to a new friend, her name is Susan and she is the owner of an Etsy shop called “Clucklebees”. Her handmade items are simply adorable. I asked Susan a few questions for this feature. I’m sharing them with you along with some photos of her work. Please note where you can find Susan on the WWW at the end of this feature.

How did you choose the name of your shop?
I have a love of roosters. I miss living in the country and I miss the sound of the roosters crowing down the street. I have roosters all over the place in the house, and roosters really say "country", to me. I also have this love of bumblebees. One morning, "CluckleBees" just popped into my head and I put it up for a vote with all my family members and friends, and everybody thought it was a great name. So... voila!






What inspires you to create?
Oh, so many things. A drive through the country, a visit to a local farm, visiting my old neighborhood, and thumbing through old books and magazines my Grandmother gave me. A visit to a farm, an apple orchard, a walk down a country road... that's all it takes and I'm itching to do something creative.

And then I have this totally feminine side that loves lace, the roses, and whites, pinks, and so on. My Grandmother had this beautiful white woven bedspread and a crotcheted bedspread that I inherited after she passed away. I also love vintage images of houses, people, and neighborhoods. Just the mix of those things together can set me into a wonderfully creative mood




What do you enjoy most about crafting?
I think it's mostly the act. The process of getting a flash of an idea, then drawing it up, or what happens many times with me, just grabbing a bunch of this and that and tossing it all together and seeing what becomes of it. It's always a little bit of an adventure because many times I'm not sure what I'm going to end up with. I love surprising myself and thinking: "Well, heck, that's came out pretty darned cute!", when I had no idea how it was going to come out in the first place! I’ve been an avid crafter most of my life ~ it’s just a part of who I am.





What other crafting would like to do and why?
I would love to learn spinning and weaving. I have always wanted to own a loom and spend hours making rugs, or bedspreads, or... whatever. One of my favorite people was Tasha Tudor. She had a loom that literally filled one room in her house. It was a beautifully crafted machine and she would weave these wonderful country pieces on it. I know I won't ever have a room-sized loom, but I hope one day to have a small spinning wheel and a portable loom, perhaps a Babywolf by Schact. Maybe if I'm really good, my husband will surprise me one day at Christmas. ;-)





Check out Susan's Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CluckleBees

And her Blog: http://clucklebees.blogspot.com/