September 2009 Newsletter: Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day Weekend! The summer is coming to a close but the new school year is just starting. If you have been preparing then you will be ready for back to school and Halloween. Please let me know what you have been up to. I would love to post it on our blog. :)

Our Featured Member

Bagsandmorebypam has chosen this month's featured member:cherilynnfineart. Please take a moment to get to know her by reading this article about Cherilynn, her art, and her love for animals.

Welcome New Members!

Please welcome our latest new members: patsdesigns and jenniferlynnprodutions. Please greet them and welcome them to our guild!

New Artfire Facebook Kiosk!

I hope you have all seen this new feature on Artfire. Its the facebook kiosk. You can literally sell your items on facebook by adding the Artfire facebook kiosk. You simply add this app to your facebook and then hit the plus sign to add another tab. Start typing in "artfire" and the app will show up. Its pretty simple.

Soft Launch of Coupon Code / Gift Certificate Feature

Now verified members can offer coupon codes! Its so exciting. I've been offering coupons but its been so hard to implement but now artfire had made it possible for the customer to insert a code and automatically get their discount. What you will need to do is set up the code before giving it out to customers. Follow these directions here.

Check out these great sales at our members' stores!

Hair clips, jewelry, and more - Buy 2 at Simply Smiss Accessories and get free U.S. shipping or half off international shipping at her artfire or etsy stores! Offer valid through September 2009. Also, with your purchase 10% is donated to an animal charity.

Bag n' supplies including swivel clips and magnetic snaps - 5% off everything at Tantalizing Stitches to first time customers at the TS artfire store. Simply enter "CFA" in Note to Seller! As always, 5% of the purchase price of every item is donated to El's favorite animal charity: http://paws-saipan.org/.

If you are a CFA member and would like your promotion included in next month's newsletter, please email me.

Your Pet Here

I would love to include a pic of your pet here. If you'd like to bring fame to your pet, please email me a pic of your furbaby!

And don't forget, spay or neuter your loved one! They will appreciate it as much as you :)

Volunteer~~~~

Help our guild grow by volunteering. If you don't have a project in mind I have a couple ideas. Just email me.

What's Happening at CFA?

Our Flickr group (needs a moderator)

Our Facebook group (moderated by Recupefashion)
Our Featured members (hosted by BagsandMorebyPam)

Thanks!

El - http://tantalizingstitches.artfire.com

Crafting for Animals Guildmaster

Featured Artist

Cherilynne Fine Art


Above is a small collection of the many fabulous watercolor paintings by Cherilynn Wood, our current featured artist. You will love reading about Cherilynn and visiting her shops, blog, and websites.

A Bit About Cherilynn

Cherilynn has had animals in her life since she was born, be it fish, hamsters, guinea pigs, or dogs. She has such a passion for them. So when it came to being an artist, she naturally wanted to paint animals. She has been painting in watercolor professionally for about fifteen years now. Since art school when she had an amazing watercolor artist teach her the wonders of watercolor she has never looked back to any other medium. She loves watercolor painting and wants to use her artist journey to capture the personality and character of the animals in a colorful and fun way. She enjoys layering colors and glazing paint to create depth and interest in her works. She also has a strong interest in color theory and playing with colors to see what results happen.

She has lived her life with art being her focus. She is a picture framer as well, working on conservation and archival framing to preserve and protect artwork for years to come. Cherilynn also met her husand at an art fair. He also is an artist working in watercolor. They have set out to be a creative couple living their artistic lives together.

Volunteering with Animals

A couple of years ago they moved to Chicago, and she got involved in a great no-kill shelter there that finds homes for rescued animals. She volunteers at one of their shelters that helps find homes for the hard to adopt dogs. These are usually older dogs, pit bulls, and ones with special needs. She has met some amazing dogs there and has seen the shelter's great work in finding homes for these dogs. In addition to volunteer dog walking for this organization, she donates 10% of her commission pet portrait profits. She sees everyday the great work that they are doing and loves being a part of it.

Her Artfire Studio

Cherilynn's Artfire shop is www.cherilynnfineart.artfire.com and her Etsy shop is www.beautifulkitty.etsy.com. She has started these because she wants her art to be available to everyone. She would love it if she could paint each and every dog out there in people's lives and hearts. To quote Cherilynn, "I think that they have such great character and personality." She thinks that the internet is a great way to have so many people see her work and how affordable it is and how everyone can have a piece of original art in their homes that means something special to them.

You may also enjoy reading her blog at www.cherilynnfineart.blogspot.com and visiting her website at www.cherilynnfineart.com

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The Featured Member column is hosted by bagsandmorebypam. If you would like to be a featured member, please contact her on Artfire.