FEATURED ETSY SHOP - FABRIC GREETINGS by ALYCE TEMPLETON

LEARN LIVE HOPE Fabric Postcard

(CLICK on the above photo to learn more about this card)

I'm happy to welcome Alyce and her Etsy shop, FABRIC GREETINGS, as a featured shop here on DZFANTASY. Alyce's shop name says it all.....when you pay a visit to FABRIC GREETINGS, you will find one-of-a-kind, handmade greeting cards, post cards, all created with Alyce's personal touch. I love the quote on the card above!

Let's read Alyce's interview below to get a bit more of an insight into Alyce and her creative fabric greetings.

What led you to start creaating your art/craft?

I think I decided early on that I was going to work with fabric. In the late 40's and 50's, my Mother made dance recital costumes. I was allowed to play with the scraps. That meant my Betsy Wetsy doll had wonderful bright, glittery taffeta diapers and nightgowns. Isn't that a sight to think about! I never lost my fascination with fabric. Through the years, I continued to sew. I sewed for myself, I sewed for others – one semester of college was paid for by making the outfits for a sweet adelines chorus. I made slipcovers, quilted items and then found whimsical cloth dolls.

How did you decide what medium you wanted to work with?

For years I made and taught doll making in this area. I even managed to win some awards for my dolls. Then that thing called arthritis took over. My hands no longer would hold a needle to do the hand work on a doll. So it was off to find another medium using fabric and the sewing machine. I saw some fabric postcards at Quilt Market in Houston several years ago and became interested in them. Over the years, I have altered and changed many of the original things I learned about the cards. When I realized how much people enjoyed getting them, I began making them in earnest. That is how FABRIC GREETINGS came about.

What aspect of creating your art/craft do you find the most enjoyable?

I think the thing I enjoy most about the cards is being able to go “outside the box”. I can incorporate many different media into a card or it can all be fabric. There is a world of wonderful patterns and colors out there just waiting to be found and used. I am doing my best to do just that!

Quilted Fabric Panel Notecard

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If you had to choose a fruit OR a vegetable to describe your art/craft, what would you choose, and why?

I think if I had to choose a fruit or veggie to describe my craft, it would be a grape. A cluster of grapes is a cluster of grapes. They all pretty much look alike until you really look at them. No two grapes are the same size, shape or color. Yet, they are all grapes. And the day after looking at them, they have changed again. That's what is the thing about my cards. A card is a card is a card. Until you really look at each one, you are not aware of the different techniques and fabrics that make up that card. And the card I make tomorrow will be nothing like the card I did today.

If you had to choose one other medium in which to display your creativity, what would that be and why?

If all the fabric suddenly vanished from this earth and I had to select another medium, I think it would probably be paper. I think that paper would probably let me be as creative. I would most likely need to learn new methods of working with it. There are so many card designers on Etsy who do wonderful things with paper. I am sure they feel the same way about it as I feel about fabric. But let's hope I never have to make that change. I probably have enough fabric in my studio to hold me for years.

What message, if any, do you want to convey with your art/craft?

What I want people to know is that there is a way of making someone feel very special without even saying a thing. I think anything hand crafted and given says just that. In an effort to give back for my blessings, I contribute all the proceeds from the sales of the breast cancer awareness cards to my Relay for Life team. It is not a huge amount, but it makes me feel as if my talent is doing something for someone else.

What advice do you have for other artists/crafters?

I am fairly new to Etsy. I have had an off line business for years involving my sewing. I learned long ago to find what I like doing and do it. Don't get discouraged. Look at it as the cup being half full not half empty. My sales have been slow compared to others, but I like what I do and when I least expect it, a sale pops up. Now, I am fortunate in that this is not how I make my living. Age has some benefits.

Alyce, thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts and creativity with everyone! It was a great interview, and it is always fun and interesting to learn what motivates another person to create what they do.

Be sure to pay a visit to FABRIC GREETINGS by clicking on the links below.