Featured Etsian Artist~fivelittlegems

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I am in absolute lust over this shop! When I saw her avi in the Etsy forums, I knew she had to be on my blog! Her avi showed off a beautiful beaded wire necklace at the time.
The photos look professional, the lighting and placement is perfect, IMO.
Worthy of being framed upon my wall...

I love all the wire necklaces, but I have to say this one is my favorite.
Which beauty is your favorite?

fivelittlegems

Your store name is cute, how did you create it? It was either that, or 5 little stinkers. I always wanted to name my shop for my children, of which I have 5, and I didn't think the stinkers thing would go over too well in the jewelry world!

You're very talented, when did you discover this talent? Thank you! I've been doing some sort of craft since the day I figured out how to use my hands, I think. I'm sort of a jack of all trades when it comes to crafts. I settled on jewelry because I have a serious jewelry addiction myself and it was so much fun to wear things I had created and have strangers stop me and ask "where did you buy that?" That's the ultimate compliment, I think.

I love your Flower Wire Necklaces, what is your favorite piece? It always seems to be the one I'm currently working on. But if I had to choose a favorite, it would be my "Tanzanite Crystal and Lucite Flower Wire Necklace" because my favorite color is purple.

I see you have a houseful! How do you find time to focus on your craft? Mostly I work on my jewelry and webstore in the evenings after the kids have gone to sleep. I was laid off from a full time job I had been at for 23 years last October when I was on maternity leave with my youngest. It's been both a blessing and a curse, with 7 mouths to feed, but we're hanging in there. Being a full time mom is tough, but it's much more rewarding.

When you're not busy creating beautiful jewelry, what other craft do you enjoy? I love crocheting! I've been making my way through all my family and friends crocheting afghans to keep everyone warm in the cold Ohio winters. It's such a relaxing craft.

If you could do anything, what is the one thing you'd hope to accomplish in your life?

I hope to accomplish a perfect balance between business and pleasure. Right now, things are pretty hectic with 2 teens and 3 little ones under 6 years old. I don't get a whole lot of sleep with all the responsibilities that come with that as well as a jewelry business, but I'm working hard at making it all come together. Oh yeah, and I'd like to spend a few minutes with my husband every once in awhile! Sometimes he gets really neglected around here. But he's a great guy and knows that I love him even when I'm sleeping at my desk.

We know what you love to make for others, but what kind of things do you buy for yourself?

I'm sort of a minimalist in regard to my home and my choice of clothes (except jewelry, of course!). With all these people here, less clutter is a good thing. Plus the kids are constantly growing out of their clothes and wearing out shoes, so most of my spare money goes toward that. One of the things I do indulge in is scrapbook paper! I have hoards of it. I'm a scrapbookaholic. It's tough to squeeze that in, but I'm sure I'll have more time as the kids grow older so I just keep socking away the pictures and quotes and stories for later and buying pretty paper whenever I see it.

Our Fellow Etsians are great people, if you could meet one of them who would it be? It's so tough to choose just one. There are so many wonderful and talented artists on Etsy. But one stands out above all others. EarthGrrrlCrafts. She was the first person to befriend me and lend a helping hand to my clueless self when I joined Etsy. She's always been able to give me a chuckle and knows just when to send a convo if I'm having a bad day. Plus she makes cool jewelry!

Is there an interesting blog that you can recommend to my readers? I haven't had much spare time for following blogs, so I'm afraid I don't have any recommendations at the moment. But I've recently been signing up to follow some great blogs, like yours for instance, so hopefully if I'm asked in the future I'll know just who to recommend!