Featured Brat - indigobaydesigns and littlepinkplum

The Military Brats of Etsy Global Street Team

~ Fall 2008 Brat Feature ~

Every few weeks we feature one of our members, this time we are proud to Feature:

indigobaydesigns and littlepinkplum
Double Brat with two stores!

See her etsy shops here;
http://www.indigobaydesigns.etsy.com/
http://www.littlepinkplum.etsy.com/
Her flickr photos here;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30849866@N07
also posted in the blog;
http://justsoterryann.blogspot.com/

1-Tell us a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, and personal stuff).

My name is Janet and I’m married with 3 kids. I live in El Cajon, CA (same place as our team leader oceankisses and also lizedgar). I am an Army brat and was born in Maryland. I graduated from high school in Japan and then my father was transferred to Arizona. A friend of mine was living in San Diego and asked me to share an apartment with her. So I moved out here and that was almost 20 years ago.

2-What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?

I remember in elementary school gluing Popsicle sticks together to make a picture frame, and then gluing macaroni shells onto the Popsicle sticks. My teacher spray painted the frame and I gave it to my parents. It was something all the kids in my class made to give to their parents for Christmas.

3-What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?

With my pocket mirrors, I look at various types of paper and try to figure out if that particular paper would be a good design for a mirror. And I make a lot of pendants based on what my two daughters like or ask me to make. I have recently started to experiment with my original drawings and digitally coloring them, and hope to turn them into mirrors and pendants soon.

4-What are your favorite materials?

Paper and more paper. I also like fabric. I sew a little and just made some lavender sachets to give as gifts this Christmas.

5-What have been the most valuable lessons learned from other artists on Etsy?

One important lesson I’ve learned from other artists on Etsy is to take great pictures since that is what is going to catch the eye of a potential buyer. That is something I still need to improve on, but I have come a long way from when I first started listing.

6-Why should people buy handmade?

People should buy handmade because it’s not a mass produced item that a million other people are going to have. You’re getting something very special that had a lot of attention, caring and pride that went into making it.

7-What features/services would you most like to see on Etsy?

One feature I would like to see is to be able to block non paying buyers from returning to your shop. I would also like to see Etsy become just as well known as the other “E” site. When I tell people that I sell on Etsy, I usually get a blank stare.

8-Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I love to read and I usually go to the library at least once a week to check out books or to get on the waiting list for the latest bestseller. I’ve been a stay at home mom since my son was born 3 years ago, and I spend a lot of time chauffeuring my kids around to school, after school activities, etc. They keep me busy.

9-Read any good books lately?

I just finished reading a book by Anne Perry. I love her Victorian murder mysteries.

10-In ten years I'd like to be…

... happy and successful at whatever I’m doing. I would also like to have some wholesale accounts. I just completed a small order for a boutique in Los Angeles, and I would love to sell my pendants and mirrors to more shops.

11-How did you pick your business name and your etsy avatar?

For littlepinkplum, I chose that name based on my favorite colors and the “little” part comes from me being not quite 5 feet tall. Indigo Bay is the name of a beautiful island resort near the Indian Ocean. I would love to vacation there someday.

12- What has being a brat at Etsy meant to you?

Not only is there a common bond of being crafters, but there’s also a special connection because of our unique background as brats.

Thank you to all who entered the Military Brat's Fall Challenge. This had the HIGHEST EVER participation in a team challenge! All of the entries were fantastic and in fact some have already sold their entries! HAPPY DANCE!! The entry that received the most votes was NCTeddyBearLady's "Speaking of Pumpkins" purse!

NCTeddyBearlady has a pattern for this pouch with two different themes. One is the "Blossom Pouch" currently for sale in her Etsy shop. Here's the story behind the purse!

"As it happens, there is a story to that pouch. I have, like so many Etsy artists, a day job. That day job is resident artist and teacher at a bead shop. For me it is a little like having a drunk working in a bar. Every day when I leave for work, my husband is fond of reminding me, "Remember that you are going to sell, not to buy." I don't often listen, I am afraid. Not too long ago, the owner of the shop where I work ordered some seed beads and some pearl cotton from color charts rather than actual samples. Most of the order was wonderful but one box of the pearl cotton and one master hank of beads looked nothing like the caramel color she thought she had ordered. Instead both were pumpkin orange, a color she was absolutely certain she would never be able to sell. Just about then, the Fall Challenge was suggested. Rather than have my boss return the beads and thread and eat the shipping costs plus a restocking fee, I suggested that I take her lemons and make some lemonade or should I say pumpkins. I definitely was not heeding to my husband's words that day. I had already done a blossom pouch that is currently for sale in my Etsy shop. It was only a slight stretch to work up a variation on the theme and turn the blossom into a pumpkin for the challenge. I have a customer who is a fanatic for my bears and pouches. Over the years she has spent well into the thousands on my work. I figured the pumpkin pouch would be a perfect thank you to her for all her purchases over the years. I was right. She loves it. Like so many of my projects, I work on them during my breaks at work. I usually sit in the shop at the work table when I do. As I worked on the pumpkin pouch, it generated a considerable amount of interest, so much so that I drafted a pattern for both the pumpkin and the blossom pouches."

Congratulations NCTeddyBearLady! NCTeddyBearLady won OceanKisses Pumpkin Suncatcher!

A Brat Treasury by LocoBead

LocoBead dedicated a Treasury to all the Brats! Here's a screen shot and you check out the real deal here.

Fall into Autumn Team Challenge and Welcome New Brats!

Summer is coming to a close. Kids all across the country will be starting school in the next few weeks and Labor Day is fast upon us! It’s also time for the Military Brat Team’s fall challenge.

All team members are challenged to craft something for the upcoming autumn season and enter it into the contest. You can make something you usually craft or something completely different. Just make sure you use the colors of fall.

Post your entry explanation and picture in PAGES at the team discussion site on Google by Thursday, September 11. Remember, you must be signed in to post. If this is your first time participating in a Bratty team challenge you can go to PAGES and see previous challenges and contest photos.

Etsy shop owners and buyers will be invited to vote September 12 – 14. Oceankisses will announce the winner on September 15. The winner will receive a special made piece of stained glass art from OceanKisses.

If you have questions on the challenge please convo OceanKisses.

I’d like to welcome all of our new Bratty teammates! Please check out their shops and give them a warm welcome.
http://www.scooyouphotography.etsy.com/
http://www.sunchiefsoaps.etsy.com/
http://www.artbarkers.etsy.com/
http://www.swimminginfountains.etsy.com/
http://www.haveart.etsy.com/
http://www.bpdesign.etsy.com/
http://www.drycleanonly85.etsy.com/
http://www.butteredparsnips.etsy.com/
http://www.armywifewyo.etsy.com/

Here’s a sneak peak into our next team activity. BeccasBeadCreations and OceanKisses cooked up this great idea in the chat room for our Bratty Birthday! Team members will be asked to submit their favorite recipe (please keep it simple). It can be snacks, hors d’oeurvres, main dishes, dessert… whatever! Pictures of your recipe(s) will be encouraged. After all the recipes are submitted they will be posted here and at the Bratty Google discussion site. Becca has also offered to print copies for anyone who wants a hard copy. With the Holidays nipping at our heals this will be an easy activity that we can all participate in without sacrificing precious time with our families and time away from our shops. Look for more information on the Holiday Activity in the coming months.

Happy Birthday Brats!

It is our first birthday! In honor of the special event many brats are having special discount sales/offers in their shops. Great deals to be had, great items to choose from.

To see the list of shops and specials, follow this forum thread and browse around:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5740178

A very special thanks to our leader Oceankisses (Patti) for all the hard work she has put into developing our team over the first year. I'm sure our second year will be full of great opportunities and further growth.

What is a Brat?

OceanKisses Family Portrait, 1960

OceanKisses is sitting next to Daddy

Chaplain Lt. Col. Peter W. Booke and Laura Booke

RibbonalitybySushi's parents

Terryann, 1963, Japan

Odannysgirl's Parents

Odannygirl, Shelly, on a train in Turkey

Military Brat is a term for a person whose father or mother (or both) served in the United States Armed Forces during their childhood. The term “military brat” may seem harsh and unkind to many people but in reality it is a term of endearment. Don’t be afraid to call us Brats – we love it and cherish it. It is about who we are. We are proud Americans and proud of the culture our parents raised us in.

The average Brat attends 10 schools in 12 years. I’m a below average brat. I only attended 8 in 12 years. Most brats have never lived in a place more than 3 years. You might argue that we have no roots and no hometown. But, I would have to disagree. My roots are my country, family and friends. They are the millions of people like me whose parents served our country. My hometown is America.

Brats are highly creative people too. We often moved in the middle of the school year and learned quickly the most creative and effective ways to make friends. Brats are also creative because art gives us an outlet to express how we feel and to share our incredible experiences. TerryAnn, one of our bratty teammates has written in her blog (http://justsoterryann.blogspot.com/2008/05/military-brats-how-i-survived-11.html) “I am an experience junkie.” That’s what it means to be a brat. We must live our lives to the fullest.




“We military brats have lived dozens and dozens of places, few of which remember us, and we have known tens of thousands of people, few of whom hold us in their thoughts. We are incredibly adaptable. We can transform ourselves to a large degree, to become, for a time, what others wish us to be. We are good at this, almost shamanic. We grow up learning to pick up and shed accents, slang, manners of dress and attitude and behavior. We are quick studies at mirroring the people around us. We are natural actors, disappearing into a new role, then shrugging it off like a discarded silk caftan pooling in iridescent folds about our feet, already forgotten, as we reach for a completely different garment in which to lose ourselves.” Mary Edwards Wertsch – brat.